Relationships

Here’s a thought:

I was talking to a group of associates this morning to whom I stressed the importance of building strong relationships.  We were talking about business, but it got me thinking of the importance of ALL relationships;  those that you have with clients (past and current), prospects, service providers, and certainly friends and family.  Regardless of the relationship, remember to nourish it, respect it, and tend to it with acts of kindness. 

One of my dear friends lost his mother during the holidays this year and another lost his 4 year old daughter (she battled for her life with several severe medical conditions since birth – of all things, she passed away on her birthday (hard not to type or read that without getting choked up)).  I share this because it’s a BIG reminder of how precious life is and therefore, how important our relationships are – don’t take them for granted!  

On this note, we all lost a fellow Realtor, Dianna Burgess, at the end of this last year (Dec. 28^th).  Dianna had sold real estate in Fresno for about the past 15 years and was a wonderful and kind person.  I knew this, but the feeling was punctuated both in her obituary and in the program from her service (which Connie Wilson shared with me), wherein her family shared that it would be Dianna’s wish, and I quote, “In lieu of flowers please honor Dianna’s spirit of caring by doing an act of kindness to others”.   I have carried this thought around with me for nearly 3 weeks now and have tried my best to act on it.  In doing so, you realize that there should never be any quota for such acts.  At first we might have to do them intentionally, but once we form the habit, maybe we can do them as effortlessly as Dianna and those you know who are just as caring. 

Go do a random act of kindness today.  Make someone’s day just a little better.  Do it for a stranger.  Do it for a friend.  Do it for a client.  “Pay it forward,” but never keep score. 

 

What are you waiting for?  Go!

You're better than that (better than Zillow, Trulia, etc.)

You’ll want to read the attached article on the role that websites like Zillow, Trulia, etc. are playing in our industry. It always helps to use analogies that are easy to understand. In this case, these sites are at best to real estate as Kelly Blue Book is to the auto industry. I say at best, because much more must go into the process of evaluating a home than a car. First the auto sites list every single vehicle feature for you to check, as well as the mileage and condition specifics. Unlike valuing a home, there’s nothing else to consider – not even location, which is one of the biggest determining factors in real estate!

Kelly Blue Book can’t say that the car is worth $10,000 parked on this side of the street but only $8,000 if parked on that side of the street. The side of the street doesn’t matter in pricing a car, but in real estate if my home backs up to a busy street vs my neighbors who is on the quiet side of the cul-de-sac, it makes all the difference! The online house estimate sites are similar to the Kelly Blue Book, however, in that they tell you the car is worth $8,500 to $10,000, but when you go to trade it in, the dealer might only give you $5,000!! The dealer, just like a home buyer, is the market. Bottom line, these sites provide some rough estimates or trends, but you, as a professional, offer the solution for more accurate values and how sellers can best take advantage of the market.

• Though they are fine for spotting trends, these home valuation services only offer rough approximations by computer programs.
• The sites all us
  
  
  e "automated valuation models" or AVMs to aggregate mountains of data for a broad and perhaps inaccurate valuation.
• "While not reliable for determining the precise value of a particular home, the services do a decent job of capturing overall market trends.
• Property valuations by these automated sites often vary from one to another by at least 10%. Couple this with their inaccuracies and they could be off by 15-20% or more.
• The figures are only averages of highs and lows in that area and doesn’t account for all of a home’s specific features, upgrades, conditions, or even exact location.

Good luck!

Patrick

 

Great thought and a good article!

Dear All,

 

Attached is an article from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal that touches on our current real estate market conditions (all of which we covered at the sales meeting yesterday).

I think this is a particularly good article for your apprehensive sellers who are either holding off from listing or are listed but overpriced.  Here’s why it’s good:

1.        It hits on rising interest rates “testing” buyers’ willingness to pay more than they would like.

2.       There has been a slowdown in sales and traffic in August and September .

3.       Rising mortgage rates are making it more difficult for sellers to ask higher prices in markets (Like our Central Valley) that have experienced the most appreciation in the last 12 months (remember, the National average in price appreciation is about 10% year over year and our Central Valley has had appreciation from (20-25%).

4.       The median sales prices in Fresno (but this range/example is fairly consistent from Merced to Hanford) over the last 3 months have been – June $185,000, July $183,500, August $185,000  -  so the question is, with this stutter, have we reached a ceiling in our current market?  If we haven’t, we’re real close!

5.       Our response to the Sellers’ apprehension and desire to time the market perfectly and sell right at the HEIGHTH OF IT ALL needs to be a standard response – one that you can repeat in your sleep:  “M/M seller, it is impossible to know exactly where the top of the market is until we’ve passed it, and are looking back, and then it’s too late; the train has left the station.  You see M/M seller, unfortunately, there is no bell that sounds when the market’s train leaves the station and 9 times out of 10, if not more, the folks that try to time it just right miss the train altogether and are left holding their bags or in this case, left with an unsold property or having to take less than they could’ve gotten”.   It seems as though the market is signaling that the train is about to leave the station – with that said, where do you think we should be priced so as NOT to miss it?

 

Good luck!

Cheaper to Own vs Rent - Buy now!

Dear Associates,

Below is an article that every buyer must read. Affordable pricing and low interest rates are still making this the perfect time to buy a home or investment property, but the window may be closing.

• Owning is cheaper than renting by 35%

Supporting stats are based on calculating the cost of buying and renting for identical sets of properties, including maintenance, insurance, taxes, closing costs, down payment, sales proceeds, and the monthly mortgage payment on a 30-year fixed rate loan with 20% down and monthly rent. Also assumed that people will stay in their homes for 7 years, deduct their mortgage interest and property tax payments at the 25% tax bracket and get modest home price appreciation (approximately 3% annually).

• Calculations show that for 78 of the nation’s top 100 largest metro areas, the tipping point for the financial gain of owing vs. renting is if interest rates hit 10%.

o    We’re still well below 5%!

o    This is a huge incentive for buyers to buy now!

• Because both home prices and interest rates continue to show signs of increasing, by next year, buying probably won’t be as cheap relative to renting next year.

o    Buy now!

EVERYTHING DONE IN MODERATION EQUALS SUCCESS

Below is a hand-out from the sales meeting in Fresno this week. With inspiration from a few books and several articles that I’ve recently read, I wanted to share a few thoughts that I had. I hope you’ll take a couple of minutes to read them, and a few more minutes to let them soak in, and then take action!

Also, remember that hand-outs like these are good to pass on to your clients and sphere.

Have a great day!

Patrick

Another lifeline is extended to homebuyers....

Dear All,

Attached are two very important reads.  The first is an article from the Wall Street Journal this week on the Fed’s push to ease credit for home buyers, particularly “boomerang” buyers (those that have gone through a short-sale or foreclosure in the last few years, but have cleaned up their credit and are wanting to again purchase).  Government purchased loans continue to make up the bulk of all lending and this can be significant to opening up the market to more buyers.  You don’t have to agree with these steps, but we do need to take advantage of what is out there to help the consumer.

The second attachment is a Q & A on the government’s (FHA) action and illustrates parameters of the initiative.

Please look at both of these and spread the word!  Get those buyers in to your trusted loan officers at Royal Charter Mortgage!

 

Good luck!

 

Sell the Farm and buy the McMansion!!

If your clients, family members, friends, or  anyone for that matter is thinking about moving up, now is the time!

Read the attached article to find out why!

About 60 days ago, I sent out newsworthy information about the price of Jumbo loans falling.  Historically, jumbo loans have always exceeded the cost of conforming loans (conforming in our marketplace as you know, are loans under 417K).  In 2007 the spread was as much as a full 2% difference on a 30 year mortgage.  So if a conforming loan was at 5% then, the jumbo borrower would have paid apx. 7%.  As of the end of June, 2013, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association pegged the spread at only .02% difference and as of today, this article says that Jumbos are now running .02% less expensive than conforming loans.  Mortgage bankers who have been in the business for 30 years or more have never seen nor did they expect this.  To Sweeten the pie, many of the lenders are only requiring 10 to 20% down.  Never has there been such a great time to get a jumbo loan.

Please do 3 quick things:

Read the article

Pass it along to everyone you can think of – time for your past buyers to “Move it on up!”

Have these same people talk to your favorite loan officer at Royal Charter Mortgage

 

Go get ‘em!