Mike's Blog

Well, I will try this again...A complete post just went bye bye..I hit the space bar and some other key.....Zap its all gone.....Man, that sucks..

Anyway, I went back to the blog from Jason Crouch about the old video games....he is talking Frogger, Asteroids, Pac-Man........and Pinball...Man, did I ever love pinball.. I also liked Asteroids..I spent some lunch money on that game!!

I also used to play Fooseball at a very high level. I used to win tournaments. I was considered very good. I had learned the moves, and with a lot of practice, I developed serious skills. I even made money at it..

One day, I realized I had not played in a while..Then it had been years...I tried a game in a old hang out...I couldn't do it anymore. I was not in practice, I did not play hours on end any more.

I think many Realtors are facing this same level of frustration. After years of being good at it, they have gotten away from the basics. I see Realtors still thinking floor time gets the job done..Not any more..

Remember when we spent hours walking our farm area, passing out cards. Remember when we worked in Booths, sent mailers, attended all the Chamber functions.. We were building skills, networking, asking everyone the magic question. Who is asking the Magic Question 10 times a day any more...The agent still working the basics, AND doing the internet and high tech stuff is going to get the deals. That is the agent who is going to perserve and win!!

We need to practice our skills to stay sharp. It takes hours of actually working with people to get leads, gather referrals. I have to say that the more often I get out of the house (& Office) and get amongst real people, different people every day, the luckier I get. I tell people we are doing business, and they look at me stunned..

I hear,  I thought the market was terrible??? I reply, We are dealing with investors buying below market properties, there are tons of deals now, its a great time to buy. *****Who do you Know that is thinking about buying or selling proeprties??"'  I love the magic question..I constantly am surprised when someone replys with a lead...I shouldn't be surprised, its just too simple....it just works when you do...!!!

I tell everyone I am looking for deals. I tell everyone I work with investors that have cash and can close quickly. My phone rings and dance card is full. I am the same person who was close to failing terribly in this business. I was waiting for my web page to do something, for my ads in the books, my quarter page ads in newspapers. I wasn't out walking talking Real Estate..The skill building is a job we must work on every day. Go back to basics.

There is a wave of good business coming, you had better keep your skills sharp!!

Ok ok,,,I did jump head first on the short sales bandwagon. I did read and research all I could find. Now I feel like I could write a book.

I even made a move to  a Real Estate firm that works them with a system. Its only a system if everyone plays by the rules. Some lenders are wasting our  time. Our assistants are getting burned out of being on hold, and dealing with yet another person who does not have a clue where the file is, and how many offers we have faxed in. I am involved with dozens of these cases, a simple yes or no would be like finding water in a desert.

I specifically want to thank the fine company of Option One, who has single handedly managed to solve the unemployment problem in India. By assigning no less that 30 telephone operators to a single file, I can sleep better tonight knowing I am doing my part to keep that country flush with cash.

Not one person is ever available even 5 minutes later, and you WILL be give different fax numbers to send in your short sale package to. Sorry, they do not use E-mail. Faxes must be given 48-72 hours to be processed. You mean shredded. Or lost...

Gilligan has a better chance of getting off the island than I do of getting a package acknowledgement thru Option One. I have a real idea what their One Option is, DRIVE US CRAZY.  We call, we fax, we fax again...I have a letter stating not to send the file in multiple times, and operators telling us they have never received the file.

We are spending much more time now on the select pre-foreclosure situations where the home can be saved and purchased outright from the sellers before we have to deal with this nonsense. Its frustrating as Hell to finally have found a source of money to spend and to try to work this way. I have new secrets now, and it sure as @#$%$# is not fortunes thru short sales...There are great deals in short sales, but it's not worth the aggravation with the current situation. There are better ways....I will keep in touch..

PS...Option One can call me any time to make a rebuttal case....please hold while I get a nearly English speaking person to talk to them

Ok...Talking to people in foreclosure will change your attitude.  Years ago, when I opened an auto shop close to a senior gated community and a limited care nursing facility, I had no choice but to acknowledge what getting older would mean to me. Your whole attitude has to be impacted.

Now I am working with distressed home owners more often than I would like. The tales of woe are not getting any easier to take. This afternoon, I was with a recently abandoned wife with 2 kids. Her auction date is set in stone, she has not taken advantage of any of the offers we sent her earlier. She has not made a payment in 8 months, and has not saved any money.

I asked her, what her plans are for the day after the auction, when the locksmith and the Sheriffs department will show up to clear the home and change the locks....Well, she hasn't saved a dime, and was hoping our company would buy the home.

Well we might, but we would prefer selling it to someone that feels a stronger responsibility to pay for it on time. She is crying steadily now, and I can see my time here is up. She wants me to understand she wanted the kids to have a good Christmas, so she went all out. Does she have any money to move into an apartment, or is she planning to move in with family??......No, she is just crying al ot and calling Churches and Legal Aid.

The tragedy is not that she is being evicted, foreclosed on. The tragedy is that she ignored our offers to help for the last 5 months. Her payments were only 501.45 per month, so she is losing the house for less than 5,ooo. Up until Dec 28, we could have helped her by catching up the payments, took over the mortgage, in fact there are a variety of choices. But now, after ignoring it all, all she has is tears...There is nothing I can do...She will be homeless in 3 weeks...

Remember, in the beginning of the foreclosure process, there are a lot of options..Later, it gets worse...tears won't save your home...planning and positive action toward the problem will find some sort of solution....Ignoring the process will not make it go away, in fact, will actually speed up the time-line.

Today I got started late on my rounds. I worked from home, I don't like the Fla cold.

I have a stack of files to look at in person, and to take pictures of the homes. I look at up to 15 or more homes some days, and then go back and put together reports for our investors so that we can know which homes to bid on.

Part of our process is to also take a good look at the neighborhood...We try to figure the best price the home will sell for when fixed up, minus commissions and investor profit. If the seller is home, I do ask to see the home and find out if they have a place to go. I can sometimes get them more time in the house, and maybe even get them started in a lease option somewhere else.

The list I am working today is made up of all after Judgement letters. In most cases, there is nothing that can be done short of all cash, and if they had that, they should have done that already, before the last piling on of fees occurred. Right at the end, we see about 15k in fees just get thrown on top of the mortgage balance.

Today, we have several people home, and they are all willing to talk. I take my pics, make my notes, I have two solid prospects to run thru our lease option plan. They have been saving their money by not paying the mortgage, they have sufficient down to qualify for an option. I of course, get paid for putting folks in lease options, so its a good day.

At my last house before coming home for lunch, I stop and there are two cars in the drive. I grab my file and my camera, and get out to take my first pics. As I walk up the drive, the door opens, and I remember to act with caution. There are times when people in foreclosure think I am with the lender and are openly hostile,

But the man is very friendly, and I give him my card, and proceed to tell him what I do. He asks me inside out of the cold (Fla Cold mind You, nearly 52 degrees) and he and his wife sit down at the kitchen table. I explain some of the options in foreclosure, and begin to go over the file with them...They begin to look puzzled, and before long, after a few moments...................I realize I am in the wrong house!!!!!!!

It seems they too are behind three months in their payments, and were happy to talk to someone in person. Their lender was not working with them, and they would sure like to have someone ( ME!) help them thru the process...they would love to have someone just take over the home, this is the last year they want to come down and do the snowbird thing....Their other home "up north" is nearly paid for, they just can't make payments on both any more...I agree to come back later today and list the house, and to make them an offer. I have learned to actually do a title search "sneek peek" before even making an offer.

So, that's the luck of the draw. I knocked on a door, and found someone in pre-foreclosure. Even went to the wrong house. either way, when we work folks this far in advance, we can normally work something out. This one will do fine.....I get directions to the Correct house...No one is home, I leave a card in the door..they have waited too long...but its a nice house, with final judgement of 134k, we will put in a bid anyway...

I love this business..The longer I am in it, the more I see I can provide a very needed service to the general public that really deserves professional representation.

In my earlier days, I was honest, eager,newbie agent and a real thorn in the side of any more experienced agent as I was learning the ropes. I was the question guy who was consumed with learning it all as soon as possible. My questins were non stop, I wanted to learn!!

I found a wealth of information in a not so obvious place. The filing cabinet. The filing cabinet became my friend, worth hours a day in detailed information. I looked at closed files, completed files. I looked at the HUD-1 statements, analyzed the math.

The listing agreements were of a particular interest to me, I was amazed at the amount of difference there were in different agents and the way they wrote up listing agreements. I learned how some agents put together listing presentations, complete with pictures, detailed CMA's, tax reports, neighbor hood information.

Others were not as well put together, but still apparently worked. As I got a bit more knowledgeable of the individual agents, I noticed other patterns. The agents who had their own full time assistants had much better packages, and definitely more closed packages. Their deals were more complete, more detailed, and seemed to consistently be representing better quality listings.

Now, it is a full two years later. I now share an assistant, my packages are consistently more detailed, My CMA's are beautiful, and my presentations are all printed off our color printer and neatly placed in transaction folders. Our properties are looking better too, gated communities, much nicer homes in my mix.  I have time to spend more productive time with new customers, mainly investors,  and prospecting due to sharing an assistant to handle many of the time consuming,. yet necessary daily tasks of being a Realtor.

She sends letters, takes initial calls, and creates bid packages to save me time to be more productive. My broker is one of the most organised agents I have ever seen, our files are perfect, with sectional tabs to keep paperwork organized and in order. Yesterday we were in the conference room with a well heeled investor. We brought in a selection of our file folders, and he was impressed. Every folder was in perfect order, and each file was in the same order.   He decided to deal with us, and I feel it was the detailed files and reports that gave him the confidence to invest in our deals.

So, I challenge all the new, and not so new agents to look at their basics. What do your files look like. Are they consistently in order, and does everyone in the office maintain the same discipline in maintaining their files as well. If you got sick, were on vacation, ect,,, could someone come in behind you and not miss a beat? In our office it is required....I love the structure, and see how it increases our potential production.

Does your office have a system for keeping files in great order, and provide a method to remain efficient. If not,are you wasting time looking for items that are somewhere, anywhere.....Think about it..

Welcome to the life of a Realtor.

We are finally going to closing in two more days.  I am pleased, its not a huge sale, but my buyer is glad to finally get into his new home.

What takes so long to close a cash deal. How difficult is it to close a simple transaction??

Well, let me tell you. The subject property has been owner financed, sold subject too, and put out on lease option and contract for deed. We have quit claims, deeds filed, transferred and not recorded. It just goes on and on. 

The problems are text book, seminar problems that somehow all ended up with 15 conditions to clear title. Six improper transfers, every mistake that can be made with Office Depot forms. No kidding... Its a mess..

NO lawyers, no title insurance, no surveys. No title agents, and at least one forged notary..Its tough to figure out!

Our job as Realtors is to make sure the property is conveyed properly. Shortcuts create real problems later. It has taken us over two months to get this mess straightened out.

So Friday is the day, we are finally going to have a closing. The title agent, my wonderful, extremely patient, very perfection driven Wife, has finally located all the parties. She has located people in 4 states, and has done a wonderful Job. Today, the seller saw the final HUD, and wanted to complain about the price.

I cannot believe my ears. She has not been able to sell the place for over two years, due to the title problems. We finally get it all clean, and she wants to complain. My time in this transaction is 5 times what a normal difficult transaction would have taken.

Customers in general do not appreciate what we in the Real Estate fields go thru to get a case to closing. This was my most extensive, most messed up file I have ever seen. We are finally going to close.

Sometimes when we are looking for a medal, a simple thank you would go a long way.

Some days all we get is NEXT

I am watching my cat. Its a boy cat, not known for being the smartest feline. But he is a good cat, and does all the things that a good cat does.

He shows up on time to be fed. You don't have to call him.

He uses the litter box, does not make a mess on the floors.

He will crawl up in your area and lay down very close to you, so u can pet him if you wish. SO basically, he eats, craps, and sleeps on a regular basis, and creates a nice sense of comfort to have him around...

So, it doesn't matter if you like cats or not, this one wouldn't bother most folks. Lately though, he has found the new electric blanket. Its a nice blanket, with dual controls, and he is most lately to be found waiting on this device.

He doesn't sleep with us, but the second we are off the bed, he is in the blanket. He will wait for hours for the warmth to come back once its turned off, I do believe my wife has put it back on low again to keep him happy. More than once I belive....I wonder if there is a lesson here for us.

If we just sit around quietly, do we think we too deserve to be fed. Do we think that as Realtors, we just get the listing and wait for the buyer. I mean for someone to turn on our blanket.   Do we believe that just because we have a license, that the world owes us a living. For all the complaining here on AR, an outsider would tend to get that idea.....

I'm not in the mood to take this analagy to the fullest, but I am looking at the cat and wondering if I should turn it on again for just a while until I go to my first appointment. After all, he is just laying there, doing nothing.....

It starts to get cold here in Fl in Dec. That Fl cold, mind you. We know its cold when we have to put on shoes that tie up and need socks.  Our sandals and flip flops have to take a break.

It's been getting colder for a while up North and this time of year we see more and more out of state plates. The snowbirds are back,and they are looking for second homes. Or short term fully furnished rentals. The ones who watch the Today Show and Jim Kramer will tell you in a minute this is a terrible time to buy. Unless we can get a steal, of course.

I seem to get my share of snowbirds looking for steals. And there are steals, at least steals compared to last year. In fact, most of the homes they did not buy last year are still available. But now they are available for less. This is the fear of the current buyer market. Yes the deals are very good now, but if I wait, won't it get better?

 It sure seems to be working out that way...Sorry folks, but those are the facts...

This is why the weird offers are coming in. Seemingly off the wall offers. But are they really so far out. If the forecasted drops continue into 2009, do the offers of today look that bad?

I tell my sellers, "If you MUST sell, then get ahead of the market. Dropping your price later keeps you even, and now we are here 6 months later discussing dropping below the offer you would not take before.

Its a tough call for those who got so used to prices moving up for over ten years straight. The Musical Chairs of Real Estate Game is still being played, and you can try to sit this one out if you wish. The huge battles coming up is at the Property Appraisers office. They will hear from me soon as well. I bought a property that is valued by them for at least 15k more than we can get offers for now. In good times, the Property Appriaiser office was 20% behing the curve, not ahead of it!!

Ring....Ring....Ring...Thank you for clling the Property Appraisers Office  All lines have been busy, and will be busy for quite some time  Please leave a message, again, all the lines are busy at this time...

See, I am not alone!!

So what do we do..Banks are calling for second appraisals, lenders are re - evaluating comps in final underwriting as a normal procedure now. Deals are falling apart on the day of closing, even a lenders commitment is not a solid promise to actually fund anymore.  I say, educate your buyers, educate your sellers. Communicate and document all conversations with back up emails...Explore the cash flow benefits of lease options, and don't sit back babysitting one deal that may not close anyway.....

And finally, look for investors with cash, and learn how to find really good deals. If you have a few Cash closings, you can breathe again. For me, the snowbirds represent new cash sales for the bargain shoppers....Its bargain shopping time, and you should get to know where the deals are...As always, I welcome all feedback.

Here is a shout out to all, actually to the very few who work this business like a job.

Remember when you got started, when you had to account for your time. Imagine in any other field where an hour or two a day was considered good enough?? No?? Well, when you get a check every week, you are held accountable for performance. There are goals set. Priorities Established. Then you are expected to start an action plan. Get moving. Call people. Then visit people. Then make something happen. Ok...you've been busy, now you cn take your 10;00 AM break, and then go back and do more.

I read that the average Realtor works less than 2 hours per day..

That is sad. They leave the house, they have the tools, they know where the houses are...Whats the problem?

That's easy. No Accountability. NO Minimum requirements on each hour we spend.

We are allowed to fail, and then put tremendous pressure on ourselves to get a property closed. And if it does, we are still broke, because we are not producing on  a regular basis. Its really simple math.

Isn't it funny, that many Realtors now are leaving the business, and find themselves doing for their new boss exactly what they would not do for themselves.

 What a shame.

This is a call to action, Folks. Get busy. Get Productive. Keep an Hourly log for a month...shoot!!  Do it for a WEEK. If you dare....If you really are brave...find a pal and do it for each other for a week. Set MINIMUM GOALS.

Get off you Butt and make plans to be successful...If you do this, you will do great. Your new boss will not pay nearly as well.