Hawaii Randy's Real Estate Opinions: June 2008

Here is almost everything you need to know about real estate ethics:  Follow the Golden Rule.  Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.

Yesterday I sat in an NAR ethics class.  I was somewhat surprised by how many agents did poorly on the quiz questions.  There was one question that I may have been one of the few out of over one hundred agents to get it right.

The question was if an agent calls on a listing and asks the expiration date, if the listing agent refuses to give that information can they contact the seller directly?  The answer is under the C.O.E., yes.  I knew that from discussions here on Active Rain. 

When dealing with ethics, you take the COE, the state law, the local COE and use the strictest one.  In this case there is an even higher authority.  I would never do it period.  I follow the golden rule.

As real estate professionals we should know the COE and the laws like the back of our hands.  When we come to a situation where we are not sure, consult your broker and always follow the Golden Rule.  If you are not sure it is most likely not OK.

In the end there are two agents on every transaction.  When you list a home for sale you are depending on other agents to help sell it.  When you have buyers you need to cooperate with other agents to find and get them in the home of their dreams.  So even if what you are doing meets the letter of the law or the COE, it may not meet the Golden Rule and it may hurt your reputation among other agents in the area and your clients.

My new mall signs appeared this weekend.  The picture was updated to show the new lighter me.  They had a few minor updates and a change of colors.

Today while out at the soccer fields a couple of the youngsters from my son's team approached me and said we see your picture at the shopping center.  You are a celebrity right?

In a similar experience awhile back, a group of neighborhood children wanted my autograph.  I Was Asked for My Autograph Today

I have been getting similar responses from adults.  Well none have asked for my autograph.  :) 

The May 2008 numbers are in.

Single Family Home Sales volume is down from the period last year, but median prices are making a rebound.  Prices at the 2007 levels.

Condominium Sales had a similar drop in volume while the median price has shown a modest increase. 

With interest rates still holding, buyers should see it a good time to take advantage of the market conditions in most areas.

*These numbers were taken from the Honolulu Board of Realtors MLS system and Old Republic Title.  They are deemed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.

You can find out more about real estate in Hawaii at: www.HawaiiRandy.com

Have you ever heard that joke?

Unfortunately this is not a joke.  After three weeks of trying to reach an agent to schedule a showing, I am still waiting. 

A little over three weeks ago, I set up appointments for my buyers to view 6 of 8 properties they wanted to see in a particular neighborhood.  The reason for 6 of 8 was that one the owners had a family gathering and the agent for the other one did not return my calls.

The following week I called again and got no response.  We continued to look in other neighborhoods and my clients gravitated back to that property.  They really want to see this one before making their decision.  It is a short sale, which they are not excited about. The home is larger and lists more upgrades than the others.

This week I left voice mail and e-mail messages; still no answer.  I tried to set up the showing through their office and was told by the agent on floor (who chuckled a little) that agent is very busy.  I now have left a message for the broker-in-charge.  I am waiting to see if that gets me anywhere.

This type of unprofessional behavior really makes us all look bad.  If you are not going to properly market the home and follow-up with buyers and their agents; don't take the listing short sale or not!

My biggest fear is that when my clients finally see the home they may want it.  The thought of having that agent on the other side of an escrow is a painful thought.

Earlier today I was speaking to a young agent, who asked me my opinion on whether to take continuing education classes online or in the classroom.

I very much prefer to take classes live over online for a couple of reasons.

• You can not ask questions of a computer.
• I spend too much time on the computer now.  I prefer real humans.
• It is an opportunity to network with other agents.
• I like taking classes with different instructors.  I particularly enjoy real life examples they share form the vast experience.
• Taking a class is a great excuse to turn off my cell phone for a period of time.

Many of the agents in my area have taken classes with me for designations or CE over the years.  Many great relationships were started there. 

I am still friends with several agents I met taking CRS classes in other states.  I have a referral right now from one of them

While showing properties this weekend it hit me.  The reason so many properties seem to be improperly identified is there are not enough categories in the MLS system.

For example let's look at the condition of homes.  We definitely need some more categories here. 

Instead of just excellent, we need a few levels of "Excellent"

1. Really Excellent - Move in condition, with upgrades and a great yard.
2. Nearly Excellent - Recently painted the bedroom
3. Almost Nearly Excellent - Paint and carpet less than 10 years old
4. Used to be Excellent - You should have seen it 10 years ago.

Above Average Condition

1. Really Above Average - Ready to Move in, but could use updating
2. Nearly Above Average - Badly needs paint and carpet
3. Almost Nearly Above Average - The roof is not leaking.  The blue tarp was recently replaced.
4. Used to Be Above Average - The termites holding hands are keeping it standing.

This post may be a little tongue in cheek.  But seriously, agents who list a home as Excellent Condition when it needs about $50,000 worth of repairs, is wasting a lot people's time.  It also hurts their credibility and loses the public's trust of our industry.

Another related post: Your Reputation May be Your Best Source of Business

I was reading a post from William Feela titled, Why do you tip your Server.  This blog post got me thinking about how treating others will impact your business.

Looking back I can think of many examples in my business.  Here are three that stand out.

1. I have sold three homes through the employees of the Jack-in-the-Box across the street from my office.  One of the employees there got her license and joined my company.  We recently sold a co-listing together and help each other. 
2. I have had 5 transactions so far with the folks at the car dealer where I bought my vehicles.  I am working on two more possible listings at this time and have received a few more referrals.
3. I teach chess at the area rec. center and am president of the state chess association.  I have lost count on how many transactions and referrals I have gotten through the chess community.  The car dealership connection actually started with a chess player, who is a salesman there.

There are two things about the business I have received from these are other community sources.

1. I never push my business when I am out and about.  No pushing my business cards, etc.
2. I am not stealth. I wear custom golf shirts with my business embroidered on them and have signs on my vehicles.  I also do a very good job of marketing in my community. Everyone knows who I am and what I do for a living.

 I am not a pushy salesman; I hate them.  I do what I call passive aggressive marketing.  I make sure that everyone knows what I do for a living and do not push it.  I treat people the way I would like to be treated and volunteer a lot in my community.  The net results are that my business has seen steady growth when many others are struggling and I have made many great friends.

I wrote a blog post in January 2007: I am a Passive Aggressive Marketer. (if you look at the mall sign, you may notice that the picture was taken 200lbs ago).

Back to William's post that got me thinking down this path.  Something as simple as an extra buck here and there for good service, may one day translate into a great client or a wonderful source of referrals.  You never know where you next client may be coming from.  So treat everyone as if they are the most important person in the world and don't be stealth.

While many agents are struggling there is a lot of opportunity for top agents to gain market share.  One consistent pattern I am seeing among struggling agents is that their level of service has stayed the same or dropped and their marketing is almost non-existent.  When business volume gets a little tight in your market it is not the time to cut back on those two items.

Last year I made a goal of doubling my business.  Most people thought I was crazy.  In order to be successful I developed a plan that included three parts to it.

1. I marketing plan that will bring in the needed level of prospects to gain the additional business and that will target the communities I want to focus on.
2. New systems to handle the additional business efficiently.
3. Hiring an assistant to relieve me of the paperwork demands, to allow me more time with my clients.
4. Improved clients services, to demonstrate added value above and beyond what they may get from other agents in the area.
5. Personal improvement. (Losing weight, going to the gym)
6. Increasing family time.  Balance is critical in our lives.

A little over a year ago I began increased my personal marketing.

1. I purchased large signs at the two largest shopping centers in our community.
2. I expanded my websites
3. Sponsored community events
4. Co-sponsored a soccer club and the high school soccer team.
5. Sponsored the sports depart and the local private school

My listings all get:

1. Large sale sign at curb and a lock box. (Beginning this summer electronic lock boxes).
2. Virtual tour
3. Single family homes and luxury condos get their own website with domain name.
4. Advertising on about 20 websites
5. Regular open houses and broker's open houses.
6. Featured at regional monthly REALTOR® meetings
7. Picture ads in the weekend newspaper.
8. Flyer boxes at the curb
9. An in-house assistant to work with the listing through closing
10. Also available for an additional marketing fee:

•  
  • Professional staging or staging consultation,
  • professional photographer (although mine is pretty good
  • Besides the basic virtual tour you can have added a style designer and floor planner
  • Home warranty package

 If you want to win the battle for the hearts, minds and business of clients, they need to find you first and they need to see the value in choosing you.  In a tighter market you need to improve to compete.  To improve you need a plan and the drive to execute it.

 Good Luck and have a prosperous 2008.

$995,000 for this Mililani Mauka Luxury Home on the Perimeter.

95-1053 Halepahu St.  -  Mililani, HI 96789

                                                Click on Picture Below to View Website

This great home has many nice features including:

• Large island kitchen
• 2 Family Rooms
• 3 bedrooms/ 3 full baths, plus a guest room/ den
• Dining room
• Office
• Laundry Room
• 2 car garage
• Central air conditioning
• Tinted windows
• 2 covered lanai (patio)
• Professionally landscaped yard w/ sprinklers, 2 water features and custom lighting

This great home has its own website and virtual tour. www.AmericanClassic4.com

The virtual tour includes 360 degree panoramic pictures, a style designer that allows you to change flooring, cabinets, counter tops and wall colors.  It also has a floor planner that allows you to layout furnishings in the rooms.

Actually a reality show may not be the best choice maybe, something like a Jerry Springer Show^TM would be a better fit for a few.

JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY - JERRY

Let me make a list of a few experiences I have had that could stir a few ideas for a show:

• A sale of over a $900,000 home being threatened by an argument over two $50 potted plants.
• I received final loan approval in the morning to have the buyer want to cancel that afternoon because they claim they could not get their loan.
• A seller who switched out an old refrigerator for an even older one the day before closing.
• A home that was listed as needed minor repairs.  The roof was sagging so bad, I was afraid to enter.
• A new high end home with dog poop all over the porch in front of the door the day of showing.
• A simple sale of a condo, a less than stable real estate agent and over well 400 pages of e-mails and numerous phone calls and faxes.
• A GFE from a funding bank showing a 4.25% ARM on a full pre-approval with docs.  All loan deadlines blown and the final loan approval with a 10.5% ARM with a pre-payment penalty.
• Real estate agents offering to give a better deal on their listing if the buyer dumps their agent and goes with a dual agency with them.
• Developer agents who try to talk you out of the developers units because they have other listings of their own in the development.
• After submitting an offer on a property the seller pulled out all of the fixtures and appliances and thought no one would notice.
• An agent selling a small studio calling it a 1-bedroom.  Many strange stories tied to that one.  An entire episode by itself.
• The escrow officer who got mad at a seller and held up his money for a few days to get even.
• The agent (a principal broker) who would not return phone calls, e-mails or faxes, yet expected the other side to finish the sale without needed documents and access to the property.
• The agent who will not shop property, but want to earn the commission for representing the buyer.
• The agent without a car.
• The loan officer who never heard of FHA or VA

I better stop here; this list was bringing back too many bad memories.  Those of us who do this professionally deal with a lot of interesting folks (the nicest way I could put that) almost daily. 

Our clients depend on us to protect their rights against folks like some of these on the list.  In the end the most challenging of my transactions are many times the most rewarding for me.  I know those are the ones that our clients need us the most.