If you don’t know it yet, you soon will understand that real estate is a tough business.  As an independent contractor, no one is watching out for you; except you.  I would like to offer some words of wisdom and advice to the newby Realtors and others that I wish had been given to me back when I started my real estate career five years ago.

Having a real estate business is just like any other business.  You must protect your information including contact lists.  It is tempting to utilize all the tools that your brokerage may offer to stay in touch with clients and do marketing campaigns.

However, you should know that companies may take that information and use it for their own benefit if they choose. If you think your brokerage is above that, I recommend getting something in writing before you use the company products, computer and email.

It is easy enough to avoid the entire issue with a few simple practices:

1. Own your domain name.
2. Have your own website with an independent company that specializes in real estate products to host and maintain it.
3. Have an email address that is not managed by your brokerage.
4. If you want the convenience of a secondary company email, do not give the address to clients or publish the address on any websites. Continue reading this post

HomeGain.com recently conducted its third nationwide home improvement and home staging Home Sale Maximizer™ survey (previously conducted in 2003 and 2007) to reveal the top 12 low cost*, do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvements for people getting their home ready to sell.

Nearly 1,000 REALTORS® responded to the survey. (See complete survey results)

Referring to the charts below, the top home improvement per region by return on investment (ROI) is:

• Home Staging (West and South)
• Clean and Declutter (East and Mid-West)

Lightening and Brightening is the 2nd most popular home improvement project in all regions that Realtors recommend to home sellers, except for in the Mid-West, where Landscaping takes 2nd place.

By price increase, the top home improvements are:

• West: Updating Kitchen and Home Staging (Tie for $2,500 each average home price increase)
• East: Updating Kitchen (average of $3,500 price increase) followed by Painting Interior Walls and Painting Outside of Home (Tie for $2,500 each in average price increase)
• South and Mid-West: Updating the Kitchen (average of $2,500 price increase)

The top most recommended home improvement Realtors advise their seller clients are:

• West and East: Clean and Declutter (98%)
• South: Clean and Declutter, Lighten and Brighten, Replace or Shampoo Carpets (all tie with 98% recommendations)
• Mid-West: Paint Interior Walls and Replace or Shampoo Carpets (both tie with 99% recommendations)

Complete Regional results are as follows: Continue reading this post

HomeGain and CyberCity 3D announced a new partnership today (read PRWeb press release), which provides HomeGain’s real estate agent members the ability to display CyberCity’s 3D Virtual Viewing marketing products directly on HomeGain.com.

3D Virtual Viewing promotes homes for sale through the Google Earth™ API virtual globe. It provides an interactive, 3D model of the home designed to increase web advertising exposure and attract consumers searching for their next home.

See 3D home listings on HomeGain.com

HomeGain Realtor members can now link their CyberCity 3D models to their property listings directly from their AgentView product. Agents simply enter the 3D model URL in their HomeGain® account for that listing and a “View in 3D” button will automatically appear on HomeGain’s Search Results and Listing Detail pages linking the Google Earth™ API 3D model to the home listing.

If you don’t follow up on your leads, don’t complain you are not converting leads.

Those who know me know that my only goal in life these days (ok, I have some non work related) is to have the highest conversion rate amongst Real Estate brokerages in the country.   The better we become with our lead conversion (leads to sales) the more excited I get and the more detailed I get in teaching my Agents how to get the most out of their leads.  It’s always a challenge.

Right now my biggest challenge is getting the right Agents who have the work ethic to become successful.

I’ll give you an example.  I have a new Agent, I think this is her 8th week with me so far.  She has her second closing tomorrow and she wrote 3 contracts this past month.  That gives her basically 5 transactions by the time she finishes her first three months with me (she has 120 leads in her system).  Pretty amazing.

I have another Agent, who started with me 5 months ago.  He has closed 3 sales, has 4 contracts on the short sale board and wrote 4 more contracts in October.  Both these Agents have just started their Real Estate career.  They are brand new Agents!

Now let’s look at my 5 bottom Agents.  Continue reading this post

All of us are fully aware of the recent changes in the appraisal industry.  Another victim of yesterday’s market, there is now a “hands off” message that lenders take very seriously.

What I have observed is that the bigger the lender, the more distance that exists between loan officers and appraisers.

For instance, it’s my understanding that Bank of America uses a third party company to set up appraisers…whereas some of the more local lenders are able to “select” a pool of local appraisers thru whom they can rotate business.

As a listing agent, I have found that my input in this new climate is crucial.  My job is not to influence, but to educate.

In a couple of instances, I have opened the door for appraisers who were clearly outside of their geographical comfort zone and the information and comps I have provided were important in verifying a clear market value.

A recent experience clearly confirmed the need for listing agents to meet with appraisers.  The names, location, and exact pricing have been changed to protect the innocent…but, otherwise, this is a 100% true story.

In September, I received an offer on a condo that was listed for $1.45 million in Georgetown (three cheers for Georgetown, right? But that’s another story of market holding strong).  After a round of negotiation, the seller accepted an offer for $1.375 million.  The lender for the buyer was a large, national company.

Although I asked the buyer’s agent to let me know when the appraisal was scheduled, the lender did not  keep either of us in the loop (perhaps he couldn’t…because he, too, was not in the loop) and, because the building had a concierge, the appraiser did his on site inspection without giving me notice. Continue reading this post

Congratulations to Realtor® Andrew Duncan of Keller Williams Realty in Tampa, Florida for being the next $50 winner of the HomeGain Agent Appreciation contest!

A HomeGain member since 2006, Andrew is an AgentEvaluator® Gold Club member, an AgentView member as well as a HomeGain Blogger. “That’s fantastic!” commented Andrew on hearing the news.

The correct answer to “How Many Max Gorillas Are There?” is: 10!

As the Agent Appreciation celebration comes to a close, we are also pleased to announce the Grand Prize winner of $100 — Laurie Hill of Desert Gem Real Estate in Surprise, Arizona.

Laurie has been a HomeGain member since 1999. She is an AgentEvaluator Platinum Club member and a BuyerLink™ real estate agent. “Yeah, that’s great,” said Laurie. “I’ll gladly accept the honor and the $100!”

Thank you to all weekly surprise participants for making it a great Agent Appreciation month. See you next year!