If you’re a VAR member who has (inexplicably) not yet registered for VAR’s Convention & Expo 2008, you should have gotten an e-mail this morning comparing the lives of two REALTORS®. One who decided to attend the convention, and one who decided not to. 

This marketing effort was inspired by Twitter. Quick status updates of what people are doing throughout their days. For those of you who have registered (or who deleted the e-mail), I thought you might enjoy seeing this (especially if you’re part of the Twitterazzi).

By the way, the deadline to get your hotel room before the rates go up is Friday, September 5 (yes, that’s tomorrow!). Register now and book your hotel room before rates jump!

Update: With the hurricane season proving to be a busy one, the website address has been changed to:
Hurricane Info 08. Please check it to find out how you can help.

There is an amazing group of volunteers compiling & organizing information about Hurricane Gustav, please visit:

Visit Gustav Information Center

note: please cross post

OK, ready? Repeat after me… “NO”

Try it again…”NO”

That’s what you should be saying firmly when the bank/lender says or “demands” that you lower your commission on your short-sale listing.

That’s also what you should be saying firmly when the listing agent says that the bank “demands” that the commission be lowered and that you, as the buyer’s agent, have to “split the difference”.

Too many agents are letting banks get the best of them. I’ve said “no” several times and have never had a problem. There are plenty of other agents that have also said “no” and have not had a problem either.

Can you actually say “no”?

Yes, you can! And you should. If you haven’t already, check out Lem Marshall’s presentation on short-sales which covers what’s required and what’s not and what’s legal and ethical.

Will the bank kill the deal if you say “no”?

I’ve yet to hear of a bank not approving a short-sale over 1 percent worth of commission. If someone has, please let me know and I will stand corrected.

So next time the bank tells you that you have to cut your commission to almost nothing, just say “no” and move on to the next subject. You’d be surprised at how well that works…

I’m still recovering from four days attending Inman Connect in San Francisco, including RE BarCamp the day before. Not only did I have the opportunity to listen to talented speakers and engaging panel discussions, I also got to meet so many people in person that prior to this week I knew from their writing or from interacting with them in various social networking places.

The online real estate community is an interesting bunch; I spend an awful lot of time listening and have thus picked up so many great ideas that I have implemented in my writing and my business. Being able to shake these folks’ hands (or hug them, most likely) and engage in face to face discussions on how they write, how they work their businesses… wow.

To recap what I learned, I have to write in soundbites, as there were a number of things that struck a chord with me:

• Dustin Luther’s suggestion to interview industry folks that we use and recommend on our blogs…lenders, title folks, inspectors, stagers, etc. They can be the ‘featured interview’ and you can send them a link to the post when you publish so they can send it to their sphere.
• Daniel Rothamel taking that suggestion further; interview/feature your past clients on your blog, highlight their unique story
• Quoting Frank Llosa, who was responding to someone who suggested that listing agents work way harder than buyer’s agents: “If you think a buyer agent is only a taxicab with a keycard, then you had a sucky buyer’s agent”
• Dustin on using social networking sites: you wouldn’t walk into the middle of a PTA meeting and yell “Hi, I’m a Realtor! Here’s my phone number and my website!”, so don’t do that on those sites either.
• Nicole Nicolay’s suggestion to become more involved with local schools to help them get the things they need
• Dustin: already established online communities are “low hanging fruit” of opportunity
• Jeff Turner and YEO…You Engaging Others, reinforcing face to face contact going hand in hand with internet marketing
• Dustin: “The internet doesn’t replace contact, it enhances it”

Overall, I think the most prevalent theme from the Bloggers Connect portion of the conference was that we need to remember to blend our online marketing efforts with our more traditional, face to face skills.  I heard it said in many different ways that we need to use those efforts to grow and enhance relationships that are already there, as well as give us the platform to make new connections.

When agents in my office asked why I was going, I told them I wanted to come back with ideas on how I could improve my blog and my business. I definitely came away with tons of ideas (my head is still spinning). Just as important, though, I had a chance to strengthen the relationships with the amazing friends that I continue to learn from. Worth every penny I spent to be there.

Cheers,

Heather

For you REALTOR-types who own the requisite gas-guzzling land yacht (suitable for schlepping customers hither and thither), here’s some advice from today’s YOUR MONEY column in the NYT:

Your neighbors may turn up their noses, but keeping your gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle, or buying one coming off a lease, may be a smart move….

….Given the plummeting demand for big vehicles and the rise in gas prices that is responsible for the market turmoil, it is probably tempting to ditch your own large vehicle and trade down to something smaller.

But many experts suggest sitting tight, for a variety of reasons.

Here are some questions to consider if you are tempted to get rid of your gas guzzler, and some tips for figuring out whether it may be more financially sensible to hang onto it for a little longer….

Complete story here.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or ‘How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.’ That doesn’t make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are – just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it’s not a conversation anymore; it’s a pitch. And you’re not a human being; you’re a marketing rep.” — Peter Georgescu

Via HousingWatch we learn that Lending Tree is now offering consumers the ability to shop for FHA-backed loans on their site. Some industry insiders say it’s an “interesting shift” that the mortgage lead generating service has taken, as the company gained notoriety in some circles for allegedly helping to lure unsuspecting consumers into so-called exploding ARMs during the height of the housing boom.

I actually used Lending Tree along with BankRate.com to compare loans several years ago. I had good experiences with both sites.

What say you, REALTORS®? How does this strike you?

Has anyone else noticed a nasty little trend emerging in their markets recently?  I have not had much experience in different types of markets - only licensed since 2004 - but one thing has been bugging me.  In the New River Valley, in 2004 - 2006, we had a really hot market and properties were moving … in 2007 it stabilized a bit, and 2008 has seen the same except in some areas.  But one thing has continued to move, and in the wrong direction.

Commissions paid.

What gives?  I’ve been feeling it in my gut for a while, and my year-end totals bear it out - year over year, the total brokerage fee I’ve received has gone down.  Last year was my best year ever in real estate, and the brokerage fee received was the lowest.  2.2%.  GULP.  I did a random sampling of twenty homes currently listed in our MLS this morning and found that of those twenty, 14 were offering 2.5% to the buyer’s agent and 6 were offering 3%.  Compare that to 2004, when, of twenty homes sampled, 12 were offering 3% to the buyer’s agent, 7 were offering 2.5%, and one was offering 2%.  I bet if we sampled every brokerage in the NRVMLS we’d find a similar trend as what I’m reporting here, and I’m wondering what people are seeing in their own markets.

The logic here seems skewed.  In a hot market, it seems sellers would be negotiating lower rates because - in part - properties would sell faster on average, and in slower markets the fees paid might be higher.
Anytime a commission is cut in order to win a listing, I as a buyer’s agent have my income reduced when I had nothing to do with the cut.  Yes - I can have a buyer sign an Exclusive Right to Represent - but I don’t offer that and so any commission that’s cut affects my bottom line.

Any thoughts on what we’re seeing?  It’s a disappointing trend, because there are many markets in Virginia where property values are falling … if others are seeing this as well, in falling markets, then some of these agents have to be gasping for air.  Are we just not defending our value to clients?  Are more and more vendors and referral companies holding their hands out (yes and yes, IMO).  Your thoughts?  What are you seeing in your market?

[Blogmaster's note: While we encourage a free exchange of views, just a reminder to readers that commissions are set by brokers and fully negotiable.]

From this morning’s New York Times:

WITH the nation embroiled in a housing crisis, one would expect the Department of Housing and Urban Development to be playing a central role. But HUD is a marginal player. Although its Federal Housing Administration division has agreed to underwrite new mortgages, it is merely following the leadership of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department.

This is no accident. HUD’s sidelined role is a product of its anachronistic approach to both housing and cities. It might be best to simply close the agency and create a new cabinet-level commitment to urban development.

Complete story here.

Take the second CREST survey as we drill down into how much business REALTORS® are getting from their blogs and what social networking tools they use in conjunction with their blogging efforts. Everyone who completes the survey gets a copy of the executive summary, so get cracking! This survey closes at 9 a.m. EDT on August 21, 2008.

Oh, by the way, the results of our first survey were released today.

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