My Wife Kicks Ass!
By · CommentsYou know that feeling you get when you know that you know your stuff? You can be in any situation, field any question and come out feeling like you are truly an authority in your field… that feeling. My entire professional life, I have taken pride in that feeling. I work my ass off to get that feeling and it’s great!
Today, I got to feel that for someone else- My wife Jenn. I sat in on one of her classes this morning and was totally blown away at how damn good she is. It was such a cool feeling and it totally occurred to me… this IS the feeling of being proud. Not the “thank god she turned that wallet in, I am proud of her” thing, but the “that’s right, my wife kicks ass!” thing.
Absolutely Awesome!
Short Sighted
By · CommentsWhy is it that people are so short sighted? I am amazed at how many people consistently try to squeeze out a bit more money from a job, a client, a friend. Does no one realize that they will get that money, but they WILL completely screw themselves out of the opportunity for more business from that contact in the future?
I am convinced that this is one of the final stages of the economy crapponizing and must indicate that things will turn up.
I Know What's Wrong With The Economy…
By · CommentsPeople are smart and companies are STUPID! – That’s it… please allow me to illustrate:
I am working with some buyer clients; a great couple- first time buyers, great credit, motivated to get into their first home, etc… these people are EXACTLY who should be benefiting from the “Insert Expletive Here” market we are all struggling through.
We have been working together for a few weeks now and in the course of our searching, we come across a great place in Gilbert, listed at $165k. Looking at the listing sheet, I was thrilled to find out that this is not a lender owned property (as MANY are these days under $200k) but rather a corporate relocation. Being trained as a corporate relocation specialist, I am very comfortable that I will be dealing with a system with which I am very familiar.
In the course of our due diligence prior to submitting our offer, we find out there is already an offer in on the property. I don’t know what the offer is, but I have been told that it is a less than full price offer. My clients come to the decision that we will submit our offer in the “highest and best” manner and cross our fingers. Our offer is:
Purchase price – $165,000 w/ Seller contributing 3% ($4,950) to cover Buyers closing costs. NET TO SELLER: $160,050
We submit, and we wait. I get a call from the agent that the Seller (the homeowner’s employer) has countered. No biggie, it always happens, “So what is it?” I say. She tells me:
Purchase price – $155,000 w/ Seller contributing 0% to cover Buyer’s closing costs. NET TO SELLER: $155,000
Do me a favor at this point and take a look at the two scenarios I have put up here. Our offer has the Seller netting over $5,000 MORE than their counter offer. I ask the listing agent “Are you sure this is right?” She tells me it is and explains that the Seller has a contract with the homeowner / transferee that they will cover the mortgage but no “Non-Customary” costs, ie: the closing costs we asked for. Intrigued I say “Well, it’s interesting and I will take it to my clients”.
Sure enough, as great as the deal sounds, my Buyers just can’t do it. It is simply a cash issue. They recognize that they would make out better on paper with the Sellers offer, but it’s no good if they don’t have the cash. I go back to the listing agent and tell her our situation. She agrees to take it back to the Seller and “Go to bat” for my clients.
Next day I get a call from the listing agent- “They said NO”. Completely perplexed, I go back to my clients and tell them that we are back at square one- Time to start over.
I’m driving after this conversation and this whole thing is just not sitting right with me. So I call the agent back again and have a very friendly, but very pointed conversation with her. I explain to her that I am having a hard time explaining this to my clients, and I am realizing that it’s because it makes no sense to me. So I ask her to please clarify how this offer is being rejected.
The listing agent goes on to tell me (while sharing her frustration) that even though she knows our offer is better for the Seller, even though the homeowner knows it is better for the Seller and even though the Seller knows that the deal is better for them, the fact is that they have a contract with the homeowner and this contract says NO CLOSING COSTS. “So their contract trumps logic?” I ask “Yes” I get back…. And that’s pretty much it.
So here are my thoughts- while the whole world is searching for the reason that our economy is in the crapper, why millions of Americans are being laid off, why Real estate values are soooo down, pretty much why things suck- I have it figured out. People are smart and companies are STUPID! Every person I spoke with about this scenario recognized that it made no sense but admitted that there was NO opportunity for Human Intervention. There is no one able to go above the almighty contract and make a decision that is better for the Buyer AND the Seller.
So besides just listening to me vent about this, please allow me to break down for you the result of this stupidity, and how it affects me, you and EVERYONE who reads this.
Because of this contract that could not be worked around, the other offer submitted on this property was accepted. This means that the Seller, a MULTI BILLION DOLLAR BIG NAME PHARMACUTECAL COMPANY (whos name starts with a “P”) has accepted an offer that is netting them approximately $20,000 less than our offer. What does that mean for you and everyone else? A few things:
- This home has gone been sold to an investor and is now at a greater risk of being abandoned should that investors financial situation take a turn for the worse. For Example, I don’t live there, so why should I stretch to keep paying for it.
- The $20,000 lower sales price means that this home will now become a lower sales comp for the entire neighborhood. This means that neighbors who sell for months to come will have their home valued lower because of this sale.
- The listing agent who worked diligently to perform her duty and bring her clients the highest and best offer possible will now make less money and have less money to spend since her compensation is a function of the sales price.
- The pharmaceutical company who was at the helm of this deal has now lost an additional $20,000 on this transaction. I hope this does not come as a surprise to anyone reading this, but losses like that do not get absorbed into the massive black hole that is big pharmaceuticals. This loss will be split up a teeny tiny bit across EVERYONE who relies on the drugs that this company manufactures in the form of higher drug costs meaning there are literally millions of people who will be affected by this transaction.
Now imagine this scenario playing out thousands of times a month. Thousands of decisions being made on policy and NOT on common sense. THIS IS THE PROBLEM PEOPLE!!! The world has lost its way by refusing to allow common sense to correct a problem that is heading things in the wrong direction. Now more than ever, it is the responsibility of every individual to apply common sense in their life and their career as well as demand it of those whom are make decisions for them. Get on it people! Of course, if you disagree, please feel free to let me know 
Soapbox Out!
Am I the only one outraged!?!
By · CommentsFor a while now I have been actively living the whole “Just work harder than everyone around you and it will be o.k.” philosophy. And you know what, it has been- Things are going better for my business than most people I know, work with or around. But I have to say, I am officially tired of what I see everyday. Realtors are broken, some in spirit and others in their entirety, the lending world has become something that I can only describe as a joke and everyone in between seems to be running scared, all the while looking down. Most businesses, small and large have chalked this up to a “The Economy” and have resigned themselves to allowing their underpaid employees to treat their customers like shit.
My point is this- Why do I not see or feel any sense of outrage out there!?! I can’t be the only one who is getting tired of picking up the slack for others, tired of qualified borrowers not getting loans, tired of terrible customer service and tired of having it all thrown in my face. Where are the angry masses calling for accountability- for blood?
Customer Service Is NOT Dead!
By · CommentsNow this isn’t a Real Estate related post, but I just had to write about this experience. A couple of years ago, I bought a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses. Pretty sure I spent about $150 on them (I love my glasses). Anyway, they broke after about a year and a half. No biggie, I figured I got my lifespan out of them so I stopped by my local Sunglass Hut and picked out a new pair- spent about $180 (please don’t hate me). So another year and a half goes by and what do you know, these glasses break. I don’t mean the arm falls off, I mean the rim breaks and they are FUBAR. So now I’m thinking o.k. this is not right. I am beginning to feel the effect of the “cell phone factor”- everything is designed to crap out on you just after a year or so. So I bring them down to Sunglass Hut and give my nice guy pitch to the 12w bulb behind the counter. “Hey, I bought these about a year and a half ago and they broke. I know the warranty is a year, but I have spent over $300 on glasses here over the years so how about a little nice guy assistance?” (just read it and assume no sarcasm). “You’ll have to call Ray Ban” says the robot behind the counter. So just to recap to this point- customer service is feeling pretty dead. I mean what does Sunglass Hut care, just swap out the damn glasses and make me want to come back right?
Phase 2- I call Ray Ban and go through the automated process of collecting the info to send my glasses in. Long story short, I am told to send the glasses, a check for $12.50 and a note explaining the situation. I do it and I Put it all in a box and settle in to wait my 6-8 weeks.
(Now I really have been on a customer service kick lately. I am of the belief that when the economy is bad and money is tight, people, companies, everyone should be doing as much as they can to keep customers happy and most of all, LOYAL! The only problem is that I have NOT been feeling this at all lately. I mean, there are a few that live it, but the masses are still trying hard to HELP natural selection take them out of the game.)
So, the “Yay!” twist you ask? My doorbell rings yesterday and I open it to see UPS driving off and a little brown box sitting by my door. I open it up and what do I see? A brand new pair of glasses, in fact, the exact same model I sent in- not a fixed pair of glasses, not even a crappy refurbished pair, but a brand new, in the package pair of glasses. Sweet! THIS is why I am o.k. with spending $180 on a pair of glasses. THIS is why people buy Lexus instead of Toyota, Infiniti instead of Nissan- The customer service!
So the moral of the story- Here I am with my new glasses, happy as can be and feeling completely taken care of. I have gone from being on the fence about this company to jumping fully into their yard. So I can honestly say that when the time does come for me to buy a new pair (because with a 2 year old, any pair of glasses ultimately has a limited life span) I will happily buy another pair of Ray Ban glasses. Nice job Ray Ban. If I had a “Customer Service Is NOT Dead” award, you would win it!
I’m In It, I Get It and I Teach It!
By · CommentsLast week, Realty Executives hosted its final quarterly event of the year. Pretty cool event- there’s a vendor trade show, lots of relevant break out sessions and lastly, they always offer a company wide session that is both an update on the company and industry in general as well as a class that counts towards the required continuing Education credits all Realtors need.
This last session is always headed up by John Foltz, top dog of Realty Executives Phoenix and this time featured a few minutes with Rich Rector, top dog of Realty Executives International. The class was hosted by both John Foltz and one of my personal favorites, Bill Gray of the Arizona School of Real Estate and Business. These two guys are great together, funny and informative, but more importantly, they ALWAYS leave most everyone walking away with something that is good for them- sometimes in a business sense, sometimes personal, sometimes just useful stats, but something!
This is a long set up I know, but at the class, Bill Gray after almost 20 years of doing these events with John Foltz, was asked to leave everyone there with a few words and this is what he said: “I’m in it, I get it and I teach it.” Pretty simple at first thought, but what really stuck for me was that I know lots of people in the industry who are some of that, but very few that are all of it. So what’s the point? I’m glad you asked. Here’s my take:
“I’m in it” – It amazes me how many agents I deal with who have real estate as their “other” career. I regularly have to work around other agents other jobs!! I don’t care how good you consider yourself to be, it can NOT instill confidence in any client, renter, buyer, seller, whoever, that you have to miss a call, wait to get to a fax or put off showing their home for a day or two because this is not your full time gig. I guess what I am saying is that I for example do nothing but Real Estate for work, I love it, I live it and I AM IN IT for the long haul, through ups, downs and sometimes sideways. This is the Realtor equivalent to having skin in the game. I HAVE to be good at what I do, because it’s all I do. I don’t have Home Depot, or my uncle’s restaurant or anything else to fall back on.
“I get it” – It’s one thing to work in Real Estate, it’s another thing entirely to “get” it. To truly understand the ins and outs of financing, negotiating, how the market really works, not just what you see in the news. This is connected to the whole “I’m in it” thing and this is one point where I think a lot of agents miss the boat. Getting it doesn’t mean I know everything, but you know how some of your friends get it and others are clueless in life… same deal. If you are going to be an expert at something, you have to truly understand it, you need to surround yourself with resources and other successful people who do what you do, you have to never stop learning and you have to get what is not obvious.
“I teach it” – This is by far what I think is the biggest disconnect for people. I come from a background in the automotive industry, specifically performance and repair. In the auto industry, legitimate business people rely heavily on trade secrets, proprietary shortcuts and hush hush contacts. By contrast, in Real Estate, if you are doing it right, most everything is on the table at all times. I am not talking about negotiating or offering your clients intents or wishes, I am talking about how you do what you do. In the auto world, my best customers had no idea how we could (properly) do a clutch install that books out at 5 hours in 90 minutes, and that was just the way it was. In Real Estate, a true professional educates their clients on… everything. The process, the contacts, the reasoning, the logistics- everything. I don’t inform my clients on what decisions they should make, I teach them what they need to know to make the right decision for them. It is incredibly important for your clients to trust you, and I am a firm believer that trust comes from comfort and comfort comes from being informed.
So, where was I going with all this- believe it or not, I really am not attempting to tell the world that I am the best Realtor around. I am telling the world that your Realtor, the person you are entrusting what for most people is their largest purchase, their most significant investment to, better fit the “I’m In It, I Get It And I Teach It” bill. If not, then you can give me a call
An A+ client is always an A+ client
By · CommentsSo not too recently, while cleaning out my desk (and surrounding clutter that is my office space) I came across a client list that I had printed from my previous business. Not a job, but my business that I ran with my father and brother. It was an automotive performance and repair business. On the surface, couldn’t be further from the world of real estate, not true on a deeper level that I will get into in a bit.
My wife, being the marketing, networking and just overall genius that she is suggested I start calling some of my past A+ clients to reconnect. Not all of them, just the people who were loyal to my business, referred others to me and those with whom I bridged the gap of a cold business transaction to create at least a basic friendship. At first I thought to myself- great idea, this could be a really great way to reconnect with people I enjoy and it can’t be bad for business either. Then the doubt set it. I literally went in my mind from “this will be great” to “these people are gonna wonder why the hell I am calling them” and so my list sat, collecting even more dust for longer than I could like to admit. Honestly, I am really embarrassed at just how much I had psyched myself out. I really began to think of all the reasons that this would not work. Eventually, I thought people would just figure I was looking to drum up business…. Not a good mindset at all.
So finally, after MUCH coaxing, (and a little teasing, thank you Jenn) I picked up the phone and made my first call… boom, they pick up, and long story short- Awesome call! There was friendly conversation, there was “what are you doing now”, and just to further acknowledge how bad my hesitation had hurt me, this particular client had just bought a home, less than 2 months ago, and they did not like their Realtor. OMG, I thought, that would have been my deal… if I had just gotten up the guts to make that call when I first looked at my list.
So about 15 calls later- I feel like an idiot for not doing this sooner. I have genuinely reconnected with some awesome people, and I have even gotten new business out of it. Where am I going with this clever anecdote? An A+ client really is always an A+ client. These people knew me in a completely different line of work yes, but the fundamentals from old to new business are the same. Everyone knows that car repair is right up there with door to door vacuum salesman as far as the initial level of trust goes. So to have solidly earned these peoples trust in such a tough business in the past, means that I still have it for the future.
Trust is by far the hardest thing to earn in business, more than money or success. Every day people get the “yes” from someone who doesn’t like or trust them. And while that is great for the sale, it is no not great for the business. Trust is key, and once you earn it, as long as you don’t do anything stupid, you can keep it, even with months or years in between.