What Do I Know? (Image from sxc.hu)

In thinking about the prospect of blogging, I had to ask myself, “What do I know?”

There are tons of real estate brokers who know much more about the biz than I; however, they are off doing other things. Perhaps they don’t enjoy writing or sharing their knowledge. Maybe they would rather spend their spare time fishing or golfing. That being said, I love sharing my thoughts, and the perfect pastime for that type of person is writing a blog!

Being a Real Estate Broker
Being a real estate broker is not for the faint of heart. So many people think that it is the easy path to a fortune. There have been some rock stars emerge in the business that have shot to the top like out of a cannon. Some stick and others fall like a shooting star. The majority of new brokers will scratch and claw their way to a level of sales that are comfortable for them. It usually takes 1-3 years to get to where you feel like you’ve ‘made it’.

The Broker Exam
Studying and taking the state exam is no pushover, not in Oregon or one of those southern states that begins with an A. The other states may have an easier exam, but I doubt it what with all the new restrictions and laws put into place in the past couple of years both at the state and national levels.

The Peddling Begins
Once licensed, one has to begin to peddle like crazy to drum up buyers and sellers; usually depending on family, friends and neighbors to get you going. All this while getting acquainted with the routine in a real estate office, their protocol, filling out all the contract forms, learning how to advertise listings, meeting loan officers and escrow closers. A nice reprieve is the weekly multiple listing service (MLS) tours and broker luncheons to get a peek at new listings, and meet other brokers from all over your city. You may start to wonder when you are going to put all that knowledge, that you had to learn to obtain your license, is going to come into play.

The People Connection
Well, you will use some of it now and then (and it is always good to know that you learned something a while ago about that subject, and you know where to go to find it again when you need it); but no class prepares you for the most important aspect to real estate sales. That is the people connection, but what do I know?

Talking
Well, I know if the new broker is a talker instead of a listener, it will be difficult to pinpoint exactly what the buyers are looking for. He/she may wear out the client by showing them houses they like or that they think the client should like, and lose the client to a more understanding broker. If he/she only talks about what they are going to do for a seller, complete with all the wonderful advertising they will do and a higher price they know they can get, it may turn off the sellers. It could backfire to the point where the client picks another broker who actually does the work without trying to impress them.

Listening
A broker will save themselves a great deal of wasted time if they learn to listen very intently to their clients and show only houses that fit the criteria of their buyers. Likewise, listen to the sellers to learn what their needs are while their home is on the market. Don’t make promises you cannot keep is good advice in any business, but it can make a marked difference in the bottom line in real estate sales.

Let Me Hear From You
I would really like to hear from the reading public out there as to what subjects you would like to see covered. If you want to write, criticizing any facet of my blogs or my lack of experience or knowledge, just know that I will only agree with you. I do not have a Ph.D. in anything, nor do I claim to be an expert in anything. After all, what do I know? I write about my experiences so that you may glean what you need to grow as a broker or buyer or seller. I wish there had been someone to tell me the real deal when I started in real estate - it would have shortened my learning curve a great deal!

Until next time…..
Lynne

Highlights include:

• Wealthier neighborhoods that avoided subprimes may be hurt this upcoming year.
• Already hurt markets (like Las Vegas and California) shouldn’t slide as much as before because they’ve already fallen so much.
• Unemployment will make more of an impact, especially in Texas (energy sector) and Charlotte, NC (financial sector).
• Some places (DC, San Diego, Boston, and Orange County) might start to recover due to people picking up low prices.

Also included were links to the guys that do these predictions:
HousingPredictor.com, Moody’s Economy.com, and Miller Samuel

Whenever I read articles like this (at least after finishing the Black Swan and Practical Speculation) I wonder about the error rates and methodologies of the predictions. For example:

HousingPredictor.com is projecting a 19.4% decline in Manhattan home prices in 2009

But with what error rate (the +/- X%)? If the figure is +/- 50% how useful is it, and with all the wild variables, how does anyone expect to do better? The job analysis is interesting though.

Not that I have any better information nor do I think they’re doing a bad job nor do I lean toward a better or worse view, I just wonder about the inherent limitations of such forecasts.

What do you think?

I’m guessing most of you have already read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. In the book he talks about the Cashflow game he designed to help raise people’s Financial IQ’s. If you’ve never played this game, you definitely should.

The point of the game (outside of the financial learning) is to escape from the rat race. You have a job and get a regular pay, you get chances to make small deals and big deals. You can lose your job, buy doodads, give charity, have kids, and work creatively with other players to split or resell deals. Throughout the game, you keep a balance sheet, keeping track of your assets, liabilities, income, and expenses. The goal is to have your passive income greater than your expenses. Then you’re out of the rat race. These are valuable concepts that a person can apply to their life and their businesses, including real estate.

There are different ways to play the game, the easiest being the online or e-version. My little brother and I started playing this game when he was just ten, and even he picked up the concepts really quickly. However, the board version is even better because it teaches you to work as a team. Unlike other games, the game can be played with all the players helping each other out (at least that’s how we played it during my last meeting) and this creative cooperation (for example joint deals or deals for a percentage of the income or giving loans) are creative learning tools that you can’t get through the electronic version.

I didn’t know these guys were around, but a couple weeks back I attended a Cashflow workshop in Santa Clara. The man who runs them, actually helps host a biweekly meet-up and he’s not alone. There are over twenty five clubs in the Bay Area (CA). To find one, just search for “cashflow” on meetup.com.

Joining this club will help you network with like-minded people and build your business, financial, and real estate skills.

You see, there are many things that may affect the price of real estate – not necessarily external factors such as recent increases in overall price or how crisis affects the market. I am discussing about typical advantages and disadvantages that affect the price – for example, a home in a quiet neighborhood with a medium-sized garden, lovely color, durable materials, interesting furnishings and other similar advantages, will naturally cost much more than one in placed in a rather cramped, noisy neighborhood but with the same advantages as the other home.

The location and neighborhood is one of the greatest factors affecting the home’s price. The features, weather, area, noise level, parks, scenery, and schools–especially schools–have a very serious affect on the home’s price. Whether a house is on a busy street or a quiet street. The look of neighborhood homes near it or the proximity to an airport (and airplanes flying overhead) as well. All these factors play a role in a home’s price.

The house itself also plays a role and one can be far above or below the average for a neighborhood, however the neighborhood itself is very dominant when it comes to price. Lately another factor plays in the pricing, with the downturn in the market, one can also take a look at the number of repossessed or foreclosed properties nearby and the amount of homes for sale. If everyone around is selling, prices drop.

As you can see, the neighborhood itself has a huge role to play in the pricing of a specific real estate property.

(Note: This article is the first of a series on buying real estate contributed by freelance author Sabina Munteanu. Contact her via RAC)

I have a feeling, even with all its problems, TARR is going to return, however it could just as easily keep falling. I thought it was done dropping at $4, but I was wrong. Everything went down.

There is definitely room to grow. It was just there, eight times over.

Would be great if it started making more money than it lost =D

Here’s the scoop:

Flip This House, A&E’s #1 rated lifestyle show, has been to Charleston, Atlanta, San Antonio, and New Haven. Which city will be next?!!

813 Casting and Departure Films are conducting a nationwide search for the new cast of characters who will be featured on the upcoming season of Flip This House! Will it be your team?

We’re looking for confident, charismatic, motivated and opinionated people who “flip” residential properties for a living. We want real-estate adrenaline junkies who love the high risk, high reward nature of their jobs and who are devoted to doing a great job!
If you would like your team to be featured on the upcoming season of Flip This House, send an email to fth@813casting.com. Include your contact info, bios on you and your team, and some reasons why your team should be the next to be featured on Flip This House! Teams should consist of four or more people.

Web Site: www.aetv.com/flipthishouse/
Schedule an interview with Casting Director Steve Grant. Email fth@813casting.com

If you know someone who might be able to do it, they have a $500 finder’s fee as well (maybe I shouldn’t share that, but why not… just cc me in the email if you’re the aspiring house flipper)

Find the next cast of Flip This House and Find Yourself $500 richer!

Did you know that Than Merrill and the New Haven team were found through a referral? If you think you know someone who would be GREAT on Flip This House - tell us about them! If they get cast, you’ll get a $500 finder’s fee (and a cool story!) Email us at fth@813casting.com. Make sure to provide all necessary contact info.

He made some calls, got a Realtor. We were both super excited. Even calculating for having tenants move, it just seemed like a no way to lose situation.

It was a good thing he got a Realtor though, and got good pics of the house. Turns out there’s something wrong with the foundation. The house is leaning over, and will eventually fall over unless work is done.

While it still may make a little money, my friend decided to pass on this one considering quite a few miles states away (in California).

Here’s the link to the video: iamfacingforeclosure.com/116/mistakes-are-only-sins-when-not-admitted-robert-kiyosaki/