By Michelle Flaherty Has the incentive for first-time home buyers to break into the market just gone away? My non-scientific market research has shown me that it has not. My buyer clients are still excited about the house hunting process, low interest rates, and attractive offerings at low prices – and I’m hearing the same from my peers. In fact, …
Agent/Broker Relationships: Who Wears the Pants?
By Brandon Rodriguez When I first became an agent just shy over 7 years ago, I was a novice and this dichotomy was not apparent to me. I was under the impression brokers were in charge. They gave you a desk space or office, nice decorated conference rooms, brochures, and you could even do desk duty for them. Not to …
The Way They Do It, You CAN’T Do It
By Michelle Flaherty Having grown up in a family real estate business, I have seen my parents conduct themselves in certain ways. Now that I’m a REALTOR(R), I try to model their behavior as much as possible. In almost every instance, this has been invaluable to me – I’ve been able to use them as resources for uncharted situations and …
Safety, Salesmanship, and the Anonymous Internet Lead
By Michelle Flaherty A couple weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a person I didn’t know. The person was inquiring on a property that another broker in my office had listed, and they wanted to set up an appointment to view it. So I did a few things I almost always do before I meet a new prospective client. …
The No. 1 Reason Most Real Estate Pros Struggle to Close the Deal
By Drew Burks What’s in a number? I think we can all agree that not much has changed in the real estate industry over the years; so when social media took the world by storm, it was exciting to see how well it was received by real estate practitioners. Unfortunately, there is an underlying principle being taught to practitioners and …
Finding Your Home in the Real Estate World
By Brooke Wolford I was recently working in my office and got to thinking as I look around at all the other practitioners. All but a few had a relative who was able to mentor them. Then I look at myself… I am flying solo here. I was lucky enough to start out in the closing end of the business …
Don’t Be a Secret Agent
By Crystal Webster Insert the popular 60’s song here. My mentor reminds me of this on a regular basis. What’s the use of being in real estate (or insurance, or sales, or anything for that matter) if no one knows? You’re not a super spy, you’re not doing covert ops, and you’re not incognito. Be proud of what you do, …
You Never Know Who is Shopping Your Open House
By Heather Soldonia In the current real estate market I have heard both brand new practitioners and veteran brokers express that they are resorting to some basic prospecting strategies and among those is… open houses. When I first began working as a REALTOR® my broker advised me to go to at least 10 open houses “to learn what not to …
Taking a Lesson From the Grammys
By Brian Copeland Watching the Grammys is always a highlight in my year. As a former music publisher with still interest in a few companies, I still get to vote! This darn REALTOR® addiction and the constant need to find applications for my business and profession in everything I see drives me nuts; so, of course, I have to comment …
Watch for the Signs: Look into Your Crystal Ball
By Dave Robison How many times have your clients or friends asked you about your crystal ball? My clients ask me all the time. It’s almost daily you hear, “If I buy this house, how much do you think it will appreciate in the next 2 years, or 5 years?” or “How much more money will I make on my …