Here’s the scenario. A consumer calls you based upon a blog post that you have recently made. He is in dire NEED of the services of a competent and professional real estate agent.

He must sell his house quickly. He is in foreclosure and he does not want his credit damaged more than it is already. He already has had a short sale denied by his bank because he has too many other assets. His only alternative is to sell the home.

Here are the vital signs:

1. The home is worth approximately $300,000.00 as determined by comparable analysis
2. He owes $208,000.00 on his first and second mortgage combined
3. He has a Federal Tax Lien in the amount of $22,500.00
4. He has a municipal lien for not maintaining his pool (it’s a green slimy mess) and it has been running since October 2007 at the rate of $1,000.00 per day
5. He has not paid the County Property taxes in 2 years and he owes the County $12,500.00
6. He has not listed the property because he thinks he can not afford to pay commission and he’s not willing to sign a listing agreement that he can not terminate at will
7. His wife is on title with him but she’s now in Chicago living with her parents and wants $5,000 from the sale of the house
8. He needs at least $5,000.00 himself to be able to move on with his life
9. He will also need to stay in the house for 30 days AFTER the closing because it will take him that long to move because he can’t move until he gets the money from the closing
10. The house has pretty good bones but will need:
a.  basic cosmetic work
b.  new landscaping
c.  the pool drained, cleaned and refilled as well as a new pump
d. the roof needs to be replaced (estimate from local roofer is $8,500.00)
e. the garage door needs to be replaced

Other than what has been stated above, the home is located in an upper middle class neighborhood with good schools and is in close proximity to great amenities like a major mall, fine restaurants and exciting nightlife activities. It is also located within an area of stable employment.

This house goes to auction on October 31, 2010. What would you do? Seriously, often times we are accused of “realtor bashing”… not true, it’s the sub-par ones that irk us. However we know there are some consummate professionals, many of whom have taken offense to some of my posts.

Well, I have decided to make a concerted effort to engage real estate agents with much more civility, and to network with fellow real estate professionals so that we may all further our endeavors through the camaraderie of being brothers and sisters at arms…if you will.

So in that regard, I want to be more of a resource facilitator so that we can all benefit from our mutual experiences.

I am sure that someone, hopefully many, can come up with a plan to successfully help Mr. “Smith” sell this home and move on with his life.

So please, let’s work together not only to help Mr. Smith but to help each other should any agent anywhere be faced with this kind of challenge in the future.

What would you do?

Foreclosures, the sub-prime crisis, trustee auctions, mortgage bailouts, you name it and it has been Murphy’s Law personified in the real estate industry.

The housing industry is mired in the worst slump in recent history and many real estate agents who earn their living from the commissions earned from the sale of a home have found themselves unable to make a living.

Many are opting to leave the business in search of part-time jobs to support themselves and their families.

Some have left the business altogether and others are working as secretaries and office administrators or restaurant managers working 50 and 60 hours or MORE per week and STILL making less than they did as a real estate professional.

But not all those working in the real estate industry have met the same fate. Meet Wendy Daley. Wendy was working for a real estate agent when the market hit the skids. She had to do something.

She hadn’t received a commission check in over 4 months and in June she realized that with September coming soon, she had to do something to generate some money to pay for her son’s sophmore year at college.

After spending weeks looking at everything from Amway to Ebay she realized that she didn’t want to just get a quick fix.

She wanted to make an income that wasn’t about selling juice or make-up to family and friends and then relying on them to tell two friends and on and on. No, that multi-level marketing crap wasn’t going to work.

After all, she had just spent 12 years in a business that dried up because no one in her sphere of influence was buying or knew anyone that wanted to buy. So going into some multi-level marketing scheme wasn’t going to work.

Then one day the lightbulbs went off and she realized that the secret to her future success wasn’t in selling houses to people she met at the bakery.

She also realized that she did not want a store, did not want to make anything, did not want to be involved in shipping anything and definitely didn’t want to be involved in dealing with customers anymore.

As a 42 year old, recently divorced mother she wanted to make sure that her son was taken care of and that she could begin enjoying life again with the freedom of pursuing her life’s dream of traveling and giving her son and herself the life that they deserved.

After reading the New York Times BestSeller, The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss she had found the Secret to living the life that she wanted and now all she had to do was find the Secret to making the money she desired.

It took Wendy just 45 days to develop and implement her plan and for the last two months she has generated over $50,000.00 per month working under 10 hours per week and is happier than she has ever been.

Find out what Wendy did and what you can do….

A couple of days ago I asked, if real estate agents had any idea as to how to make money. Hmmm, the results were quite revealing. Most agents we have spoken to and who desired to remain anonymous feel that they really don’t have any hope of making any money before the end of the year. What are your prospects? Seriously…look in the mirror and answer that honestly. Do you see yourself making any significant dollars before the end of the year?

As we begin talking about alternative ways for agents to make money, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself:

1. How much take home (net) income do I NEED each week / month?

2. How much How much take home (net) income do I WANT each week / month?

3. How long has it been since you reached either #1 or #2 above?

4. How much money are you willing to invest to obtain either #1 or #2 above?

Be real people. We all know that Realtors are some of the tightest people on the planet and that everyone is always touting this and that for free, but let’s get serious. If you want to make the income that you WANT, there is most assuredly going to be some form of a personal investment. We’re not talking a lottery ticket here. That’s not business

5. How much time and effort are you willing to commit to achieving your goal as stated in #2 above?

6. What level of computer experience do you have and please don’t tell me you think AOL is the Internet?

7. Do you have a blog or a website? (Active Rain is not a blog and does not count)

8. How often do you check your email? If it’s not at minimum 2x per day you really need to check yourself…unless you are already living the 4 Hour Work Week. In that case I applaud you.

And most importantly, if you are shown real opportunities for you to achieve #2 above, would you be willing to act on it right away?

I’m not looking for you to answer me via comment. I am looking for you to be honest with yourself and your spouse / significant other and seriously introspect and come to some conclusion as to whether or not you are happy with your current income and if you are ready to do something about it.

It’s a very easy question that many will shun. That’s okay, those who look the other way already have their destiny mapped out for them. But you who know that they are not satisfied, those of you who know there is something more, something better, but just want to be presented with a bevy of ongoing opportunities both in and out of real estate….those are the people we want to be working with.

A little introspection never hurt. It can also be quite freeing.

Over the last year the B&B Crew have interviewed a number of people in the real estate world. Some very prominent agents, some very prominent business leaders and some representing some of the best products being made available to the real estate industry.

However, I can’t remember interviewing a character as funny and enlightening as Tim Mai. Mai’s story is unreal. He and his brother escaped Vietnam on a fishing boat in 1986. He was 11 years old and his brother was 18 at the time that they escaped .

They spent seven days and six nights at sea and were mugged by pirate boats. Being robbed and stripped of all valuables, they were lucky and did not meet the same fate of death as happened with other unfortunate escapees.

Eventually, a Malaysian boat picked them up, and they spent six months in a refugee camp before being transferred to a camp in the Philippines.

After a short stay there, the United States accepted the Mai brothers, and they ended up in Houston. What a story!

Now Tim Mai is a real estate investor who has devised a system that is allowing many newbie real estate investors to absolutely make a fortune in what many real estate “professionals” are calling a down market.

It’s become almost comical how those in the business of actually profiting in real estate are looking at those responsible for brokering the sale of real estate. I wonder if real estate agents really truly wonder what the world outside of ActiveRain and ActiveGenius..err..I mean Agent Genius really think of them.

Obviously they don’t otherwise they would actually DO SOMETHING about their image. While some real estate agents are worried about being able to put gas in their tank to get to the supermarket tomorrow, we have been speaking to some investors who are making 5-6 figures per MONTH.

What recession? What bad market? What down economy? What’s even more impressive is that for them to be making that kind of money it means they are actually SELLING HOUSES. TO REAL BUYERS. WHO HAVE MONEY. WHO ARE LOOKING FOR DEALS.

Why is it that these guys, who don’t have the benefit of a week long education nor a valid NAR membership card in tow, can actually be making money…lots of money.. in today’s market? Simple…they know how to market! They know how to find property, anywhere in the Country and sell it to any buyer in the Country …without ever seeing the property or meeting the Buyers.

Warning: Before any agent reads this and inserts foot into mouth, this is ALL LEGAL and above board. You’re water cooler rhetoric should be saved for someone else you can bloke smoke at.

Tim Mai is a funny guy. He makes funny videos and he sells houses and teaches people across the Country how to successfully profit in today’s real estate market despite what everybody thinks.

If you don’t know who Tim Mai is you may want to check him out. Hey, you might actually learn how to make some money in real estate. Imagine that…making money in your chosen profession…amazing!

Have you noticed the funeral dirge being played out on the RE.net lately. Redfin layoffs, Zillow layoffs, and tons of real estate agents lamenting about the market.

I have a question. What do Redfin and Zillow layoffs have to do with real estate agents not making any money? As far as I have been able to ascertain, and maybe I am wrong, but those who unfortunately met their demise at Redfin and Zillow were employees. They lost a J-O-B!

Maybe that’s what’s wrong with the real estate industry. Too many agents treat their chosen vocational pursuit as a job instead of as a business. If business is down you either do something to make it better or close up shop. An employee does not have that luxury. They are dependent upon the decisions of others to ensure their continued bank deposits.

Yesterday I wondered aloud if real estate agents even cared about making any money. I really don’t think earning a living and creating business and generating a substantial profit is the goal of most Realtors.

A real estate agent, controls their own destiny. The true professional should know how to make money in any type of market. While we saw the tremendous volatility in the stock market last week I simultaneously saw more E-trade baby, Charles Schwab and Scottrade commercials than I think I have ever seen. Why do you think that is?

Could it be that good , bad or indifferent, they are still making money. Whether you were dumping your declining portfolio or being opportunistic, you still had people trading. People were still buying and selling and one top indicator of that was trade volume. Who do you think got paid by all those trades? If you don’t know, then maybe you should not be in business and you should lay yourself off.

Here’s the rub…the type of market is irrelevant to those who facilitate the buying and selling in the market. They get paid either way.

When I hear real estate agents whining because of this and because of that I realize that they are trapped in the mentality of an employee and have no real sense of what being in business means.

Want proof? Why is it that more millionaires are made in so-called down markets than in what is considered an up market? Right now is the best opportunity to become a millionaire in real estate than we have seen in years. You just have to know how to capitalize on this market and pick the carcasses clean.

Does that bother you? Does that make you uncomfortable? Then go get a job, you’re not cut out for real world business opportunity. It’s true. If making a substantial profit in today’s economy bothers you then we all know who you’re voting for and you don’t get to wear the Joe The Plumber T-Shirt.

I recently ran across a neat video by a guy named Frank Kern. Kern is a well known Internet marketer. What makes this video so compelling is the simple, almost DUH way that Kern talks about the opportunities in today’s economy. The title of the video is How Much Money Will You Make In this Recession?  Why You Have More Opportunity Now Than EVER Before!

[flv:http://www.realestateradiousa.com/videos/kern2.flv 512 384]

He so simply expresses the truth of the matter. It’s all about marketing. Pure and simple. If you want customers, if you need additional income, then you need to be marketing. Employees don’t market. Employees don’t spend any money on marketing. Business owners invest in marketing.

If you’re not investing in your business, if you’re not investing in a proven and significant marketing campaign, then go ahead and give yourself a pink slip and call it a day.

You are your own employee and you will not make it in through to the other side…that is the other side that YOU are seeking. The true wealth seeking opportunist knows that they don’t need to get to the “other side”.

They know how to profit in any market.

How do you spot an employee masquerading as a business owner?

Hmmm…the next time you are on a blog or social network and they you read a post or comment about how tough the market is, or how they don’t want to spend any money on marketing or if they are accumulating post after post or comment after comment from others who feel likewise…then you are wading in pink slip land.

This may seem like a real DUH! moment, but seriously, have you seen or read what is going on in the so-called Re.net? I mean every where I look I am seeing a post about everything EXCEPT making money in real estate.

Today I went to some of the blogs that are considered preeminent in the industry and after suffering through page after page of mindless drivel there was nothing I could take away from ANY of the posts that would allow me to implement in my business today that could have me on the road to making money.

I have begun to think that making money is no longer an objective for many real estate agents. Maybe with the government getting into our business lives it is to be expected that some would adjust comfortably into a Socialist atmosphere.

However, I can’t lose hope on all of humanity and I can’t lose hope in the real estate business that we as professionals in this sector have become over populated by agents who really don’t have the premise of earning a profit as a clear business objective.

Twitter this, and Zillow that, and Homegain and the other thing…whatever….are there any real estate agents left out there that still regard being in business to actually make a profit as being the primary reason for being in business?

One of the reasons we have been somewhat dormant over here at Real Estate Radio is because we have been taking some time and networking with some people in the real estate industry who are absolutely making a killing! I am talking about some people who are making five to six figures per month with little effort. I am speaking with some serious movers and shakers and wondering, where do so many real estate agents go wrong?

Is it the vortex sucking social blogs that get so many writing about nothing that’s got so many trapped? Are the “big dogs” and geniuses of the Re.net nothing more than country clubs for the similar thinking? I really don’t know. But what I do know is that we have been talking to some real money making killers out here in the field away from the blogs and it has really got me wondering…Do real estate agents really want to make some serious money?

Love to hear what you think. We’re going to follow this up with some profiles of some in the real estate industry who are actually making some fat cash and you’ll see what they have to say and what they’re doing.

It’s possible that you might learn some things and one thing I know…when you’re done listening to these guys, you’ll be able to actually do some of what they say and have the opportunity to make some cash that same day!

We know some will be skeptical. Don’t worry, there’s always the usual suspects for you to seek out that familiar, yet dampened shoulder to cry on, but if you want to actually wake up in the morning with a purpose and would like to see cash in hand by the end of the day, then you may want to read and watch our follow up segments.

I mean, that is…if you actually want to make any money.

The California Association Of Realtors recently released their “2008 Survey of California Home Buyers”. The data found in this survey isn’t all that astounding to those who have actually been using such information to improve their business. However it further underscores how many real estate agents are out of touch with reality in regards to what today’s consumer wants and expects.
I can hear it now. The stubborn cold-calling, door knocking old school, 3 yards and a cloud of dust, real estate agent angrily discounting the data in the survey. “It doesn’t apply to me”. “Real estate is local”. “My market is different.”

You know them, you’ve probably read their baseless, rantings on multi-agent, back-slapping, hoo-rah sites wherein no amount of data, survey results or trade information relates to them. You know them, they are the ones who still probably have AOL email addresses and may in fact still think that AOL is the Internet.

They’re the ones who are just finding out that you can take screen shots of images on your computer or believe there is “Google Juice” for “an open house this Sunday in Boise”.

If you’re still reading their blog posts and listening to what they have to say after you read this information then you deserve the lack of income you are enduring.

Does that upset you? It should! It’s time you as a real estate agent who wants to run a “business” wakes up and takes notice of what is REALLY going on in the industry.

The CAR Survey was conducted using a sample group comprised of recent homebuyers. 1,249 who used the Internet and 351 who did not and went the traditional route.

Like I said earlier, the data is not startling, but it is remarkable. Here is what the survey found:

1. Home buyers expect and want real estate agents to answer the friggin telephone or respond by email! People, can you imagine calling your local hair salon or dentist’s office or lawyer’s office and not being able to get in touch with anyone and if you do, no one returning your call?

We all know that real estate agents are some of the worst communicators on the planet. Unfortunately, the consumer knows this as well.

96 percent of Internet buyers expected a response within four hours or less…31 percent of the Internet group expected  an IMMEDIATE response!

84 percent of participants ..let me say that again…84% of buyers said that they considered the agent’s response time to be either a “very important” or “extremely important” factor in their decision-making process.

I recently took 20 random listings off of the MLS and called each one of them. I called on Friday morning and Saturday morning. 40 phone calls in all. 2 agents answered their phone and only 4 called back.

Do you really think the real estate industry is slow or have agents simply given up? Until real estate agents grasp the idea of communication as a business tool, there are going to be a lot of real estate agents existing under the poverty level. This is an easy fix. You see what the consumer wants. Deliver it! Real simple. You don’t need a business coach to learn how to be accessible and answer the phone or an email!

2. “I don’t work with buyers because I’m a lister and buyer’s waste my time”. Nothing signals the label of dinosaur quicker than these words being spoken or written by a real estate agent. If you hear a real estate agent uttering these words, back away, no run away, lest you be struck by the rapidly approaching comet.

Today, gas prices across the USA are rising because of the recent hurricane. Refineries are not able to produce gas so the price goes up because the inventory can’t meet the demand. Unfortunately, in most markets across the country, the same supply and demand impact is not present.

In fact it is much to the contrary. There is so much inventory that it has dwarfed demand. So why are some “mega-producing” agents heralding the fact that they are “listers”. Doesn’t their statement pretty much mean that they don’t understand Business and Economics 101?

Now let’s look at that nutso mantra of “buyers are hard to work with” BS that we keep hearing. I have a question…too hard to work with compared to what? The NAR says that the average buyer’s agent spends 14 or so hours with a buyer. So just what is the buyer taking you away from? Oprah? Dr. Phil? You’re other job?

The fact is that the recent CAR study shows that “Traditional” buyers take as much as 10.3 weeks searching for a home and wanted to see almost twice as many homes with their agent (23.3 homes) as Internet buyers (12.7 homes).

200% more, twice the amount of work…Hello McFly!! , I ask again. Buyers are too much work? Maybe you are working with the wrong buyers!

3. Today’s consumer is not satisfied with the performance of their real estate agent. Again, not surprising. In the CAR survey, customer satisfaction with the home-buyer process dropped in EVERY category and dropped 16% from the preceding survey last year. Wow!

Almost 80 percent of those who were not happy with their agent’s performance said the agent “did not negotiate aggressively on their behalf”. That’s completely understandable since most real estate agents are not trained negotiators.

I recently watched a David Knox video and he amusingly pointed out in one of his workshops, that going back and forth with counter-offers is NOT negotiating. Don’t you think if you are going to be in this business that you might want to learn some negotiating skills?

Watch Divorce Court or re-runs of L.A. Law..do something! If you’re not going to learn how to properly negotiate then you are doing a disservice to your soon to be former client. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard a real estate agent tell me how “insulted they were by my low ball offer”. No…what’s insulting is that you don’t know how to negotiate aggressively and you expose yourself as an amateur by making such an utterance.

Why do I say “soon to be former client”? The CAR survey found that only  71 percent of the Internet buyers would use the same agent again. That would not be all that bad except for the fact that this is down 21% from the same period last year.

If you think that’s bad, it only gets WORSE when you speak to traditional buyers. Among the “traditional” buyers, only 27 percent reported they would use the same agent again…which is down 20% from last year and down an alarming 52% from 2005.

Business people do not ignore this kind of data. However, many real estate agents will.

3. You need a well marketed, SEO intensive Blog or website if you are going to survive as a real estate agent. There it’s said. It’s in black and white. What are you going to do about it! Going to keep hanging out singing Kumbayah on some mass agent community network or are you going to actually up your game and get your site up to today’s standards. Your choice but guess which agents are going to succeed?

Homebuyers who used the Internet in the home-buying process reported that the first Web site they visited was Google (40 percent), followed by Realtor.com (28 percent), Yahoo Real Estate (8 percent), and Zillow (5 percent). Four percent reported that they first visited the Web site “of a home that I was interested in,” while 3 percent reported that Craigslist.org was the first site they visited and 13 percent were unsure.

Hmmm, when 40% of the market is using Google to find homes just what do you think they were searching for? If you have to think too hard for the answer you may already be lost!

They’re not looking at single property websites, they’re not looking at your broker’s website, they are not looking at your company’s main website. 33% of respondents cited an individual real estate agent’s Web site was cited as the most useful Web site during the home-buying process.

4. Yard sign calls, brochures, pamphlets and the like are of little or no interest to today’s consumer. They won’t deliver you business! The survey found that 90 percent of buyers in the Internet group found their real estate agent using the Internet, while just 9 percent found their agent through a for-sale sign and 1 percent through an agent’s marketing materials.

Ok, so what are you going to do with this information? We already know that most will discount it as it not being relevant to their endeavors. Some won’t believe it and others won’t even know how to respond. That’s fine.

It’s the others out there that this is written for. That small percentage of maverick real estate agents who use contemporary data and means to actually run a real estate business. You know who you are. Take this data and run with it. You are and will continue to distance yourself from the pack and this survey confirms you are on the right track.

For the rest of you, please, by all means, continue with your ignorance and old school methodology. It’s expected and counted on. Seriously, how else are we in the New World Order of Real Estate going to overtake you if not for your ignorance.

For that, we thank you.

TV news reports and newspaper articles almost universally tell the same Chicken Little tale: real estate is dead and only an escapee from an insane asylum would dare invest in real estate in the next two years or so. I couldn’t agree more.

If you’re a novice investor and you’ve identified real estate as a possible investment opportunity AND you dive in without a proven system, a solid mentor and guidance that can help guide you through the minefield that is today’s real estate market AND you overpay for a property, the news reports are accurate.

At the same time, if you’re a smart investor you’d never dream of investing in any commodity without knowing ahead of time that you could turn a tidy profit at some future point in time. To do otherwise would be akin to diving headlong out of a perfectly good airplane with an equally good parachute still on the seat. If you do your homework, the next two years or so could be the foundation for what could very easily become a multimillion dollar investing portfolio. However, the ball’s in your court.

There’s no doubt that a declining real estate market presents some very specific challenges – and unique opportunities. How you approach investing will determine whether you look back on this period with sad-eyed regret or starry-eyed wonder.

Make no mistake about it. I’m in no way insinuating that real estate investing in the next two years will be completely hassle free. However, If you follow a system and use sound investing strategies and do your homework you can still purchase property for as little as fifty cents on the dollar. Even after factoring in repairs, you should be able to build instant equity and have a property that will provide you with a positive monthly cash flow.

If you closely police your costs and make certain that you only buy property that can produce an ongoing residual monthly income it really doesn’t matter if the market continues to fall – even if it falls to the extent that it temporarily sucks all of the equity out of your property. Read that last sentence again. It really doesn’t matter because real estate will rebound at some point and it’s not likely to take all of your equity, if you’re in the right markets. The more property you control when the market comes out of its freefall the greater your potential for runaway profits.

As the market goes through this challenging period you’ll see opportunities present themselves that a rising market doesn’t have. When the market is rising and interest rates are low the demand for quality rentals tends to fall because more people are interested in buying houses of their own. A constricted, declining market tends to put pressure on the rental real estate market – which means opportunities abound for increased rental rates – which means that positive cash flow can grow even more!

By using common investing sense you’ll wake up one glorious day and realize that the market has warmed and prices will once again begin heading north. Then the positive cash flow that you will have enjoyed to that point will seem inconsequential compared to the quick strides the value of your portfolio will be making at that point in time!

So hang in there, use your head, and snap up all the property you can get your hands on. It will be worth it in the long run. The payoff isn’t that far in the future. To make it happen you have to Take Action!

The New World Order Interactive Real Estate Business Training Program is about instructing real estate agents as to how to unlock the entrepreneurial power of running and benefiting from a successful real estate business.

Running a successful “business” is way beyond getting listings and prospecting. Very few people have the unique entrepreneurial qualities of unremitting advocacy, evangelism, and dedication; Real estate agents have to realize that being an independent contractor is basically having a job and that entrepreneurship is an art, NOT a science.

Michael Gerber, the esteemed business trainer who is known worldwide for his E-Myth business program kicks off the first week of class in the New World Order Interactive Real Estate Business Training Program.

Gerber says that despite what many real estate agents think and are taught, the real estate industry is not unique in its challenges, it is negatively positioned in its model of operation. The discipline of enterprise leadership, and the rules, standards, and practices which define it, are the same no matter where they are practiced, regardless of the type and size of business.

Suffice it to say that Gerber’s observations are are based on his vast experience and success in teaching more than 30,000 E-Myth Mastery clients over a period of 27 years.

Gerber states that of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started each year more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th anniversary.

Is real estate different? Of course not, we are seeing hundreds of thousands of agents leaving the business and hundreds of thousands more holding on to their licenses while they seek “work” elsewhere or maintain a second job!

The mortality rate of real estate agents is actually WORSE than the national average.

Even the National Association of Realtors has stated that most new agents (5 years and under) exist with income levels below the national poverty line or in the general vicinity thereof.

These are indeed chilling statistics. Those few which not only survive but flourish have cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective strategies and tactics.

Don’t work IN your business, work ON it! The first step is to realize that you are indeed IN business and you must know that one of the keys to success is mastering what Gerber calls the The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company.

While you may not be the next IBM or the next Walt Disney Company, you can learn to truly DOMINATE your competition in your local real estate market by learning, implementing and mastering the seven essential disciplines followed by every major world class enterprise.

If you would like to take your real estate “business” to the next level and learn to realistically DOMINATE your local real estate market, join Michael Gerber and the rest of our stellar faculty by enrolling in the New World Order Interactive Real Estate Business Training Program.

Learn more about the New World Order Interactive Real Estate Business Training Program here.

When it comes to Positive Attitude and Customer Service, I have always been impressed by the Mayor in Mishawaka, IN, where I live. Mishawaka is not too far from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. Mayor Jeff Rea makes it a priority to train, educate and inspire his people in Positive Attitude, Customer Service and in Wellness. The other day I wandered into City Hall with applications for two of my children to run in the city triathlon.

Having no clue where to drop the applications off, I was met by an employee who rose up out of her seat and personally took care of it. She could have pointed me another direction, but guided me to an area where she cheerfully processed everything. Positive Attitude and Customer Service – the two go hand in hand.

When I deliver “How to Build a Positive Attitude and KEEP the D a r n Thing” and “The Spirit of Customer Service” I share insights on how personal fitness and appearance play vital roles. Mayor Jeff has taken the bull by the horns when it comes to fitness and is setting a shining example for us all. You should be able to get a lot of valuable insight from this newsletter, because of him.

I see Major Jeff many times each year. When I saw him a few weeks ago, I just about fell over backwards. “MAN, YOU ARE IN GREAT SHAPE!” I blurted out.

I was really impressed. Of course, then I had to know how he did it! The two pictures below show the 38 year old Mayor before and after. Mayor Rea was 247 pounds in January. He is around 172 today. I called him up because I wanted to know how he did it and how he keeps the weight off.

“Charlie, I brought a Wellness person in to speak to our team. She did weight and body fat testing and talked to us. Based on her charts she told me I would classify as ‘obese.’ I was like, “Come on...” Hearing that, and having a history of heart trouble in my family, got me going.

I didn’t do a fancy diet. Instead, I set my mind to eat better and smarter. My schedule as Mayor had me grabbing a Coke here, a candy bar there. I cut out soft drinks. I had been having seven or eight a day – that’s 180 calories each and all the sugar. Eating out, I would eat half the portions and take the other half back for lunch the next day. I tried to focus on what I was eating late at night. I cut out the bag of chips at 9 at night. They say if you can repeat a pattern 12 weeks, it is ingrained in you. That’s what happened to me. You train your stomach. I had a chili cheese dog at the golf course the other day. My stomach said, “Jeff, we don’t eat those anymore.”

Charlie, I think diets lose weight real fast, but people put it back on fast. I lost 75 pounds over this time by setting a simple but powerful goal: to weigh less than the week before. That really works.

When I started all of this, I started walking a half hour a day. That led to riding my bike and then I started running. I had never run before. Now, I run five miles every other day. I ran the Sunburst (which finishes at historic Notre Dame Stadium) 5K in 24 minutes, which is amazing to me. I have been doing the little stuff – walking to work and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

My doctor has been on me for years about my family history of heart troubles. I didn’t want my first heart attack to be the thing to get me in better shape.

The power of encouragement has really helped me. Even though some people think I have been battling an illness or had gastric bypass, the ones that know I did this through smart eating and exercise are so encouraging. I was walking to work the other day and a lady watering her flowers said, “You look great, Mayor Jeff! Keep it up!” As I sat at my desk, I kept thinking of what she said.

Charlie, it is so nice to be able to buy new clothes. I have to. I can’t fit in my old clothes. They’re too big!”

*****

Wow! In “Stoke the Fire Within” I talk a lot about commitment. Mayor Jeff kept coming back to that word. He truly made a commitment to lose the weight, and he has done it. “Commitment” and “Care” are two powerful words that can knock mountains on their rears.

One of the things I hear most often from companies and organizations is, “How does someone stay on fire? How do you STAY motivated and upbeat and all those good things?!” One of the things I share in “How to Build a Positive Attitude and Keep the Darn Thing” is how to use newspapers to stay positive.

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t have Quiet Time in the morning. Some people do Yoga. Others stretch (I can’t stand stretching, but should do more . . . ) Whatever, Quiet Time is that time of the day you can control and help set the foundation. I used to “hit the floor running” but found that only set me up to have an Exasperated Attitude throughout the day.

Part of the process is going through the local paper specifically looking for articles on inspirational people. The nice thing about a paper is you can dart around and find positive news on local people you can relate to.

I often count my blessings by reading about the adversity others go through. I gain inspiration by their quotes in the article. Here is a timely example. On one occasion I picked up a USA Today in a coffee shop. I briskly scanned for an inspirational story.

In the Sports section I found a story on Denver Broncos Quarterback Jay Cutler. The 25 year old was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in April. He didn’t feel sorry for himself for a second. He bought books and went to work fighting it. He said he was inspired by an 8 year old who had to be awakened three times a night to have his blood sugar level checked. Cutler couldn’t imagine being a parent getting up three times in the night. 

I stay positive by reading many obituaries! Say what?! These days families often write the obituary. I find those to be very inspirational. I am motivated by the person’s “dash.” The dash is in between their birth date and death date. The “dash” is their life! That little dash represents so much.

I often read of the passion they had for life, family, their business and community. That pumps me up for the day. I also am inspired by their humor. I was reading about one fella who had passed away recently. He was a character! They said he was always “up to something.”

He was a practical joker. Every time his mother in law visited she made it clear the house wasn’t up to standards. She would start vacuuming. Well, this fella would hide out in the hall and unplug the vacuum and dart around the corner. The mother in law kept replugging the vacuum over and over. It drove her half goofy trying to figure out why the plug kept coming out!

Reading that article reminded me to have fun that day and that week!

That is not meant to be an inflammatory statement whatsoever. It’s a direct question. I don’t want to presume anything but in reading so much of what is on real estate agent focused blogs, one has to wonder if that is really the case.

Many of our readers know that we operate a real estate investment company. We would not be in the real estate investing business if were not to generate revenue and retain substantial profits therefrom. Our business is real estate investing, our radio show is a marketing and advertising platform associated therewith.

When we look at a deal it has a very antiseptic feel. We operate under a very simple premise. Do the numbers make sense. There are very little if any other variables to consider. If a deal appears profitable to us, then more than likely we will greenlight it and look to engage the transaction and work a very profitable deal from acquisition to disposal. There is no reason at all, not a single reason to be involved in a transaction that is not profitable.

However, from the perspective of most agents, it appears that earning a profit (commission) is a crapshoot at best. We have heard from many agents who tell us that nearly 8 out of 10 listings in the current state of the real estate market go unsold. Top agents seem to only be successful in earning a profit only 40% of the time. Your results may vary, but nonetheless, we have been told that the expectation of earning a profit on every transaction is absurd? Wow..really? Great business model you have there…not!

So the question that I pose in the title of this article is aptly stated. Why would anyone want to be involved in a business wherein on average, they can only be expected to earn an income that is just above the poverty level in the first few years and not all that great beyond?

Of course there are exceptions and there are some mega agents out there like Craig Proctor and others who do over 300-500 sides per year, but those agents are seriously few and far between.

Well one reason some agents stay in the business is that with the proper training, and the right direction there is a chance that they can indeed reach a level of success like the mega producer’s in the industry.

Yeah right…and I want to be like Mike too! Here’s the deal. No matter how hard I train, no matter who my coaches are, I simply don’t have the skills to be a Michael Jordan. That would be quite harmful to my ego if it weren’t for the fact that there aren’t many people walking the planet that will ever be as good as Michael Jordan.

There are many online communities in the online real estate world. Some are very good at what they do. However one of the common denominators that I find lacking in many of the sites that I go to is the direct focus and attention to earning a profit. While I am absolutely sure that there are many real estate agents that want to know how to blog and effectively utilize SEO strategies, and while I am also sure that there are many agents in the Country that want to learn how to knock on doors and be shown how to use Twitter and Facebook, I am equally sure that most agents, real estate investors and even some consumers, want to know how to make money in real estate.

I have to admit, some of our focus was misdirected and we got caught up in the whole RE.net real estate blogosphere water cooler chatter, but beginning today, we’re going right back to our main focus of showing you, our valued reader, how you can profit in today’s real estate market.

Of course we’ll continue to cover news and current events in real estate but our focus here on Real Estate Radio USA is not going to be about what font to use, or what PHP code to write, or how to use Twitter or Facebook. We are going to be all about making money.

We’re talking hard-core in your face wealth building strategies for anyone who wants to profit in today’s real estate market. We have come to learn that our audience is not the current fold of real estate bloggers. We have researched and realized that our main core audience is comprised of agents, real estate investors and individuals who want to make money in real estate and are prepared to take the steps necessary to do so.

We have assembled, and will continue to assemble, a panel of real estate investing and general business experts that you will not find on any other real estate blog or website..anywhere. We don’t want to discuss the posts of others nor are we going to be interested in their commentary. If you come here or listen to our show it’s going to be about making money.

I can already here some now. “All they care about is making money”, “They don’t understand it’s about relationships”, and my favorite..”they’re not agents so they don’t understand”. Well, they’re right! We aren’t agents and we are unashamedly interested in earning a profit in our chosen profession. If I wanted to be a charity I would have formed a non-profit organization.

The problem some will have is that it seems we came to a rather abrupt decision when in fact that is not the case at all. We did not make this decision. Our readers and listeners, through many emails and calls, have told us to stop the inane blog coverage, get away from the “Dear Abbyish” mentality and give them the information, tools and strategies to make money in the real estate business. So we’ve listened.

We’ve added some of the best business and real estate investment minds in the Country to post articles and be wealth building contributors here and to be guests on our show to tell you how to make money.

All of the tips, strategies and methodology behind what you will hear is completely legal, absolutely ethical and assuredly proven to make you money. If you wan to know how to survive and prosper in this business, listen and read as much as you can on Real Estate Radio USA. If you want the inside scoop on the real estate blogosphere, then you’ll have to go elsewhere.

There are over 1 million real estate agents and I truly feel that there aren’t more than a couple hundred serious real estate bloggers. That means there are a ton of real estate agents in the business who simply want to know how to make money and the quest for the “great post” just doesn’t make it for them.

We’ll do our best to show you how to profit in today’s real estate market. Whether you’re an agent, investor, or consumer, we welcome the opportunity to assist you in your profit making endeavors.

I welcome you to enjoy, participate and contribute to the revolution.

Lately there has been quite a buzz in the real estate blogosphere about the likes of Trulia and zillow “stealing” business from real estate agents.

Nothing could be further from the truth. These newly arrived real estate behemoths are merely beating their competitors. Albeit these are competitors who viewed these entities as partners without realizing that they were empowering their “partners” to gain significant market share.

Realtors being angry at Trulia and Zillow is like Jack’s Hamburgers being mad at McDonald’s. Who is Jack’s Hamburgers? Well Jack’s is a small family operated hamburger “chain” here in the Fort Lauderdale area. I use the term chain loosely because there are only 2 Jack’s Hamburgers locations. Jack’s is the kind of place that would have caused Ray Kroc to think of the McDonald brothers.

In a search on Google for Jack’s you won’t find his website anywhere. However, you will find reviews of Jack’s everywhere. His business is marketed on many various search aggregators and community portals. He is a direct competitor to the national fast food chains in theory only.

While Jack’s is a hamburger joint, he did not care, nor has his business suffered because of the advent of fast food franchises. Jack’s has been a fixture here in Fort Lauderdale for over 35 years. When the new kids bearing “Happy Meals” and Chicken Nuggets” came into the market, it did not cause him to say that they were “stealing” his business. They couldn’t steal his business.

If you want fast food go to McDonald’s. If you want a hand cooked made to order ground sirloin hamburger with the thickest milkshakes you have ever had, then go to Jack’s. Guess what? It will even cost you more, but you’ll love it and you’ll be back.

Jack can compete with the big boys because he is a local fixture which people have come to know and tell all their friends and families about as a quality alternative to a fast food joint.

Jack can also compete because he knows that he does not need a significant market share of hamburger consumption to make his business profitable.

How does this compare to real estate? Well if you are asking, that’s part of the problem. It means that for the most part you are not running your real estate “business” like…well, a business.

We keep hearing the mantra that real estate is local. If that is true and I believe it to be, then I want to ask any real estate agent or any consumer where the local office or store of Zillow and Trulia can be found? If real estate is local then surely there must be a Zillow or Trulia store somewhere in the community. However, that is not the case.

Zillow and Trulia exist and have grown because they have gained significant market share, if not market dominance, and are exploiting your inability to serve the local consumer.

I actually applaud Zillow and Trulia. I want to be involved in a industry that requires me to up my game in order to compete. I want to do my best to train and become better to unseat my competitors in the market. Even if I fall short I have actually gained something. That something being market share.

Here’s a question you need to ask yourself. What percent of your local real estate market share does Trulia, Zillow, Homegain..etc…maintain? Then ask yourself, what percentage of your local real estate market share do YOU maintain? And lastly, what share of the market do you NEED to obtain to be successful and profitable?

Here in Broward County, Florida, even in this so-called slow market, there are an average of 500-600 single family homes sold per month. The average home in this area being around the $300,000.00 indicates that the average commission is approximately $9,000.00 per side.

If one were able to capture even a hal of 1 percent of market share one would have a minimum of 2.5 sides per month…or $22,500.00 in earned gross commissions. I don’t recall seeing any of the Zulliagain‘s in the sales history of the last month recap. That being said, they are not set up to invade or inhibit your market share.

What you need to ask yourself as an agent is what you need to be doing and what should you be doing to increase your local market share.

From a marketing perspective, if we all agree that 85% or so of homebuyers begin their home search on the Internet then the prudent agent would realize and understand that they need to improve their relative market share by being out in front of their competitors where it is they are shopping.

Trulia and Zillow can’t beat the local agent in market share or web presence if the local consumer knows you exist! When someone puts “Charleston real estate” in Google, then a local Charleston agent had better show up or Trulia or Zillow or Homegain will service that consumer better than you will. You can’t blame the aggregator or the consumer for relating. You didn’t give them a choice.

Incidentally when you input the search term above, there are a few agents showing up that I suspect have no problem with the likes of the Zulligain‘s of the world. Why? They don’t even show up. How can any real estate agent complain about the Zulligain‘s when they aren’t doing anything to compete. By not competing effectively, you are succumbing to your competition.

If you are tired of the Zulligain‘s “stealing” your business then improve yours. It’s that simple. Real estate is local and so is the organic search on Google. We all know that the first position gets the lion’s share of the traffic..but the other 9 aren’t going broke. I want to be on those SERP’s. I want to show up above the Zulligain’s as well.

I want the Zulligain‘s to supplement my business, not BE my business. I am going to utilize the Zulligain‘s to HELP me gain market share, to augment my marketing efforts not BECOME my marketing efforts. That’s what I seek in a partner.

I want to gain market share and I want to be like Jack’s Hamburgers. I don’t need 1 Billion Sold to make a good living. 3 sold will make my month. Will it help yours?

It is known that today’s consumers are looking for greater meaning in their purchase decisions beyond price and efficacy. You better have a proven methodology for catapulting your real estate business brand to greater market share and market dominance without having to outspend the Zulligain‘s because you won’t be able to.

A big reason that so many complain about the Zulligain‘s is that their own current state of affairs exposes a weakness in the development of their marketing strategies or lack thereof.

This is a tactical error in business. Too many involved in real estate are trying to find the cheapest, easiest way to market and promote their brand instead of realizing that only works once you have obtained and captured your desired market share. Even then there has to be a sustaining level for ongoing strategies.

The real estate business model is not equipped to compete with the Zulligain‘s and that’s the biggest problem. Too many real estate agents have cars pushing their engines instead of the other way around. You can’t be effective as the Zulligain‘s or even as an effective marketing savvy Realtor unless you are committed to maximizing the horsepower of your localized brand as the catalyst for securing market share and market dominance for your real estate business.

Am I going to lament and complain about the Zulligain‘s of the world? Hardly, I embrace them and want to cooperate fully with them. I’ll work to get my business known locally and globally for my search terms and I’ll use the Zulligain‘s to give me a bit of extra push to get there.

I don’t think they are stealing my business, I know they can’t. I won’t let them. Why are you?

As many readers and radio show listeners know, I have been a contributing writer over at the Bloodhound Blog. Well, all good things must come to an end and I have decided to focus my energies on profit making endeavors.

While I enjoyed mixing it up with the readers of the BHB, it takes a lot of time to research an article, compose the article and then constantly maintain an article while tending to comments and such.

It’s a lot of fun to spar with readers from across the RE.net but it really doesn’t do much for the pocketbook. While I am grateful for the learning experience and tremendous exposure afforded me by the guys at BHB, I have decided to focus my time on our blog, our radio show and the ongoing syndication talks, my “for fee” based writings, and on our soon to be released real estate sales website.

Spending time away from home has not allowed me to focus as needed and as such it’s time to direct energies where energy belongs. Our traffic numbers and listenership is higher than it’s ever been and we want to make sure we build our franchise and brand as strongly as possible without fear of dilution. The only way to do that is to make sure that a clearly defined focus and objective is followed.

One of the biggest changes that you will notice right away is the turn we are making in delivering more informative, inspirational, and educational content for those who want to improve their business, whether real estate or otherwise.

Another change we will be making is directing a large part of our writings and radio show content towards potential consumers. While fun to speak to those in the re blogosphere, we feel it is more productive to broaden our audience and include messages delivered to the consumer. We feel that there have been limited outlets wherein the consumer can gain an insight into the business and we want to help the consumer obtain as much knowledge as possible about buying a home.

In this age of transparency we want to take that to a whole new level and foster change and growth by making sure the consumer is informed as much as possible.

Another direction we will be taking is speaking more to the real estate investor as well. The market in real estate is prime for the taking for many investors and we have received many emails from real estate investors and those who want to promulgate wealth through real estate. Now there’s a concept that has been swept under the rug lately.

How are we going to achieve the goals we have set out for us? Well, we have booked some of the brightest minds in real estate, social media marketing, entertainment and the general business world. By utilizing many of the guests that we speak to as catalysts for change and motivation it is clear our message is becoming louder and louder.

As many of you know, our guests have appeared on such networks as HBO, CNN, Fox News, Bloomberg TV and many others are authors and consultants for Fortune 500 companies. In elevating our brand and focusing on the objectives that I am charged with, there is no way that I can continue writing on the Bloodhound Blog. It simply takes too much time away from that which I need to be focusing on.

Lastly, many of the posts I have written on the Bloodhound Blog were taken as being bombastic and sometimes a bit much to take. Not making any excuses but I was fueled by an environment that fostered an adversarial mindset and it was somewhat awkward writing and commenting to an audience that simply chose to either discredit certain statements or did not take the time to understand the statements.

In either event it is fortunate that the small amount of those that commented in the negative do not outweigh the many who have shown me their support for trying to elevate an industry that has been somewhat reluctant to embrace change.

Rather than trying to convince readers about change, I will be focusing on delivering a message of change and motivation to an audience that is wholly receptive.

I have spoken to Greg Swann and left the door open to a possible return and I thank him for what was a great opportunity. Now it’s time to turn the corner and crank up the foreclosure profit center and ride this market for all that it’s worth!

It’s a great time to be in real estate and there is so much money to be made it is almost too good to believe. I would like to invite you to join myself, the staff at Real Estate Radio USA and the profit oriented success minded guests we bring to you each day in making the rest of 2008 a truly remarkable year.

As Seth Godin would say….Be A Purple Cow! I set out on January 1, 2008 to follow Godin’s precepts and become a purple cow and I have been remiss in my pledge to myself and my team by straying from our intended purpose. But I’m back now baby!

Let’s rock this joint! If you’re ready then join us, if not, that’s fine too.

Yes, I know that there are blogs everywhere in this so called RE.net, Web 2.0 world, but lately it seems like I am walking down the halls of my high school. There’s the cool kids over by Mr. Hannah’s homeroom. Over there in the smoking lounge can be found the punks who always seem to just be hanging out. In the middle of the cafeteria is where the jocks can be found laughing it up.

By the theater lurking in the dark you’ll find the goths and the freaks, and over there, with the saddle shoes and pony tails next to the gummy floor are the gum-clacking gluehead Heathers all talking at the same time with nobody really saying anything.

Lately I have noticed that the cliques in the real estate blogosphere have become much more pronounced and apparently the Web 2.0 Realtor superdelegates seem to think they are speaking for the rest of the common folk. How sad!

Excuse me if I am wrong, but I thought that blogging in real estate was about buying and selling real estate. When did it become the muse of soda jerks who haven’t any real business and spend night and day writing and finger pointing about all that is not real estate?

Do I care, or for that matter, does anybody really care what this blogger is doing or what that blogger said about this guy or that guy…except if it is regarding a technique or strategy to help one another actually sell real estate?

Think about it for a second…the reason each of us took finger to keyboard to dive into this new world was because we thought it would enhance our business? I for one, call it selfish if you want, only intended to blog to attract eyeballs because eyeballs are important to advertisers and advertisers spend money.

Additionally, in learning how to efficiently blog and write, we created a radio show to help promote it. Now we have progressed to the point that we have taken what we have learned and are beginning our foray into a real estate blog to buy and sell houses.

Never did I decide to get into this because I cared an iota about “Sue” and her idea to change the world, or Fred’s ideas as to what he thinks Hillary should do. I certainly did not start my venture to obtain “great post comments” or have points bestowed.

I began blogging to make money! I want to be successful in buying and selling houses and selling advertising. All of the other smarmy BS is getting a bit old.

Lately it seems that the ‘conversation” on the blogosphere has turned trivial, boring and somewhat spiteful. I don’t wish any person in any endeavor misfortune and I hope that this forum is a way for us ALL to find ways to prosper but I am beginning to have my doubts.

Russell Shaw and I have had our words and I respect what he has to say even if he does not respect what I have to say. I respect the contributions of old schoolers like Jeff Brown even if he thinks that some of what I believe as to the opportunity that new business models hold is the future of real estate. No disrespect, no ill feelings…just dissenting viewpoints.

I recently watched a news show featuring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia. Scalia is an ardent conservative. One of his best friends is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a staunch liberal by any definition. However, they are the best of friends and hold the utmost respect for each other.

They have battled and have had very heated discussions over many issues that they have been at different ends of the spectrum on in regards to perspective and ideology. Yet, they do not denigrate into mundane writings about the other. Maybe the Re blog world should take a lesson. It’s not about you, it’s about the business of real estate.

Recently we began somewhat of an investigative report that we were going to air. It involved looking up the sales activity of many of the so called noble class of the RE blog world.

After a week of looking into this and having our “moles’ review MLS sales records in various locations it became apparent that many in the blogosphere have had more time to write because they have not had any real sales activity. Many of the Gang of 50 have had less than 10 closed sales this year with a great many having less than 5.

You know who you are and you know the truth about your sales activity this year..or rather the lack thereof. Don’t worry, we’re not going to name any names but suffice it to say quite a few “prominent bloggers” need to concentrate on their real estate business instead of their blogging.

We were going to have a show about this but decided against it because it is now obvious. People are too busy blogging instead of actually selling. Maybe that’s why there are so many posts about everything EXCEPT the purchase and sale of real estate.

Maybe (OMG..I can’t believe I am saying this…) but maybe Russell Shaw is right. Maybe many in the business of real estate should be tending to more of the business of real estate and less in the blogging of opinions and obvious discontent with others.

Forget Redfin and what they are doing. Don’t worry about Bloodhound Unchained and whether or not Odysseus is going to succeed. Yes, Russell Shaw has a new home on agent genius…is any of that going to help you sell or buy a home today?

In this business of blogging I believe that the technology affords us the opportunity to explore new business models and propel the business to new heights. It’s okay if you don’t believe the same and it’s okay if you do agree. What’s more important is that we work together to improve each other’s businesses.

Tell me what kind of reaction your clients are having to the media doom and gloom, tell me what works with certain lenders and what doesn’t with others, fill me in on what certain asset managers are doing and how they are handling their REO inventory, what marketing is working for you and what isn’t….who cares if you found a new hand creme or widget that displays an animated character on your blog?

Help me sell! Help each other sell! Let’s work to improve each other’s business. Here’s another interesting tidbit. How about us all actually utilizing blogs to speak to consumers. There’s a novel concept. Speaking directly to the people who may want to buy or sell real estate.

Many of us have blogs with high traffic. Many of the blogs with somewhat high traffic have the same Gang of 50 or so commenting.

I turned off commenting on our real estate sales blog. Not interested in hearing comments from bloggers..I want contact with consumers and it’s working. If bloggers want to comment they can do so here. My real estate blog is for the consumer. I am in it to sell real estate not make friends with bloggers.

Maybe it’s Saturday and I need more sleep, but this blogging thing is becoming all too boring and uninteresting. I mean we are talking about real estate aren’t we. It’s not the sexiest business on the planet. Not like we’re running a race car around a track at 200 miles per hour or anything. We’re trying to buy and sell homes.

At least some of us are.

Anybody got any ideas as to how I can attract more qualified buyers to the South Florida area when mortgages are becoming harder and harder to obtain?

Now that’s a comment or blog post that would actually be interesting to read!

The old way is out and the new way is in. The manner in which you are presently engaged will cease to exist. You must change. You will have no choice!

The date of the metamorphosis has been announced. February 17, 2009 is the day of reckoning. You will either change or be left in the dark. Period!

“By law, all full-power television stations nationwide must switch from the old method of transmitting TV signals known as analog to digital television (DTV) on February 17, 2009. While the benefits of DTV are remarkable, millions of households risk losing television reception unless they take the easy steps to receive a digital signal.”

The cable industry and entertainment industry are taking the necessary, almost beyond necessary, steps to ensure that their customer base knows that in about a year, the way they currently are doing things will change forever. You either change or you will not be able to watch television.

Imagine that, an industry not debating change but mandating it. Imagine that, an industry that has decided that the manner in which they have done something is obsolete. Imagine that, an industry that was willing to embrace change because it actually IMPROVES the consumer’s experience.

Who would have thought it possible that an industry could do this? Who would have thought that an industry would want to do this?

Why make such a sweeping change? Well research determined that DTV is a “more flexible and efficient technology than the current analog system”.

Since digital television is a more efficient use of technology than analog television, the “turning-off” of the old way of broadcasting televised programming it will also free up parts of the airwaves so that incentive for even further innovation is provided to ambitious entrepreneurs.

So not only is there going to be a change to improve the consumers experience, the change is being made to facilitate the progress of future enhancement by others.

Imagine that, an industry that not only embraces change but does so in order for others in the business to succeed as well..

What if the real estate industry did this? What if the real estate industry announced to all of its agents and to the consumer as well that the industry as you know it today, was turning off and those who did not get with the new program would cease to exist?

I know, it’s totally wishful thinking but if Lawrence Yun looked at the numbers, perhaps he could recommend such a change to the leaders of the National Association of Realtors. He certainly would have the data to back up a wholesale change in the manner in which the real estate business is run.

We all have seen the studies, although some disregard them, they are the truth. The public does not hold real estate agents in any regard and finds that the real estate agent as an occupation is pretty much a dodo bird on life support.

Makes you wonder how so many studies, by so many prestigious universities and research firms are disregarded yet the highly biased NAR data is held in such reverie. “People love us…we have the data from the NAR” …if the NAR data is even remotely credible how come it is basically only their data that says that? Any other studies mentioning the exaltation of Realtors? I haven’t seen one and I look hard to find anything else that supports the NAR position as to how highly thought of Realtors are.

So yes, I think Yun would have great support documentation to proffer a proposal to shut down the current way business is being transacted in the real estate sector. That is not to say that anything even needs fixing. This is not by any means a declaration of the current business model being broken. While that may be a personal opinion, it is certainly not a blanket statement or cause for Yun’s fantastical announcement.

Much to the contrary. Most televisions, even the older ones, the “Old School” units with rabbit ear antennae, still work. They still allow you to see your favorite programs. Nobody claimed that the current broadcast system does not work. What is claimed, and supported by a multitude of research, is that the current system is obsolete and wholly inefficient. Additionally, most consumers want DTV.

Who is the television consumer these broadcasters are seeking to appease and serve by providing a much more brilliant and enhanced product to? Demographics, which is the measurement of who your target audience or consumer is, remains critical to the broadcast industry. Primary in demographic analysis is the analyzation of age and gender. These are the two principal demographic characteristics that TV audience research uses.

While it is beginning to skew younger, the 18-49 year old demo has long been the target for advertisers and accordingly, producers provide most of their programming to attract and satiate this segment of the population. The drill down goes further in cable with various niche programming but for the most part, advertisers are looking for the younger skewing 18-49 year old demo.

What is the target demo for real estate? Well according to the 2007 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers it appears that the following provides a snapshot of a Realtor’s target audience:

* 84 percent use the Internet to begin their home buying search
* 92 percent of those 18-29 use the Internet and 85 percent of those 30-49 use the Internet and then the numbers begin to drop off considerably in the remaining age groups
* The median age of first-time home buyers was 31
* The typical repeat buyer is 46 years old
* The median age of a home seller is 45
* First-time home buyers accounted for 45 percent of homes purchased in 2007
* Twenty-seven percent of home buyers reported using social networking Web sites, such as, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn
* Among home buyers aged 18 to 24, 45 percent reported using social networking sites.

So it can be reasonably determined by a cursory review of the NAR data that the target demo in real estate mirrors that of television.

That fact being irrefutable, why can’t the real estate industry provide a more efficient and appealing business model to its target consumer and while doing so provide an incentive for those ambitious agents to be continually innovative in their entrepreneurial endeavors as real estate agents?

If I was Dick Gaylord, as the President of the NAR, I would take the necessary steps to inform my rank and file agents, along with stating to the consumer, that business as it is known today in the real estate industry, while not broken and still working, is turning off as of February 17, 2009 and all those not prepared for the change need to upgrade or they will be left in the dark. Sometimes change needs not be subtle.

If the broadcast industry can make this kind of mandate effective, why can’t the real estate industry do the same?

 

“Buying a house is not the same as buying a house on fire”
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon explaining his bargain basement deal to buy Bear Stearns

Other than finding a deal on a home you want to live in for the next five years or so, you would have to be an absolute fool to buy a house in today’s market anywhere close to list price.

There is no room for speculation in real estate today. If you are going to invest, which is vastly different from speculating, you have to be prudent, ultra-conservative and economically responsible in your purchasing practices.

Real Estate Speculation:
Buying a property with the expectation and hope that the property values appreciate over time so that the property can be sold for future profit.

Real Estate Investing:
The purchase and sale of a property for IMMEDIATE profit OR the long term holding of a property that cash flows from date of purchase. Houses are no longer piggy-banks or ATM’s. A knowledgeable and experienced real estate investor understands that you make your money when you buy and you are not buying a property to continually refinance and pull cash out over and over. Those days are over. Unless a property can be turned immediately in a salvage wholesale transaction, an appreciation based purchase is financial suicide.

So you can see from the above definitions, speculators are an endangered species in today’s market and an educated investor can make an absolute fortune given current market conditions.

The bottom line…CASH FLOW IS KING! No property should be purchased in any market, under any circumstances, by any investor unless it can be sold immediately for profit or if you choose to buy and hold..it must cash flow from day 1.

No exceptions allowed. Jamie Dimon didn’t strike an extraordinary deal, he invested with great market prejudice and vision. Accordingly, he got his terms or no deal.

If you are buying property in today’s market and you do not intend to live in it as your personal residence, then you should be buying your investment properties in much the same way.

So just how do you buy the Jamie Dimon way:(read about the Bear Stearns Bailout) Here’s another way

1. Completely ignore list price. It has absolutely no bearing on what you will pay. When we look at investment properties, the MLS asking price is wholly irrelevant. It’s a pipe dream conjured up by a real estate agent hoping to sell the house to a retail end buyer or an unknowing and inexperienced investor.

2. Comparables are like list prices: Forget them, ignore them don’t bother wasting the time on what somebody tells you what they think a property is worth. It does not matter. A property is worth what you are willing to pay. It’s that simple. Value is determined by what any specific buyer is willing to pay at that specific moment in time.

If a property was worth asking price, it would be sold to someone willing to pay that price. A prudent investor understands regression analysis and its rendering of a real estate agent’s comparables as being absolutely worthless.

Speaking of price regression, some Realtors not having a clue, and the need to make sure you are buying right, check out this video from Fox News: (click play button to begin)

3. Be prepared for a fight: The best way to avoid a fight is to be prepared not to get into one. I can hear it now..”it’s a low ball offer”…”the bank / homeowner will never accept this offer”…”I am insulted by this offer”…if you hear these statements be prepared to walk away. You are dealing with a Realtor who is an idiot.

Don’t waste your time. If you’re looking to buy an REO send your offer direct to the Asset Manager for the lender. The biggest impediment in purchasing investment property is the ignorant Realtor who has absolutely no idea what they are doing.

Can you imagine for a moment what would have transpired if Jamie Dimon had to present his offer to a Realtor? JP Morgan Chase bought Bear Stearns for pennies on the dollar and the most economically brilliant minds in the world were involved in that transaction…and you have to listen to a Realtor who went to school for a week and has no idea about the evaluation of realistic investment criteria in today’s market. That’s a conversation not worth having.

There are some very good Realtors out there who have the knowledge and experience to work with the investment community but they are hard to find. When you find one, they are worth their weight in gold. In the interim, walk if you don’t get your terms and get your offer to the Asset Manager.

4. Make your offer on your terms and your terms only: Here’s a freebie. This is how we structure an offer:

Gross Annual Market Rent
less taxes
less insurance
less maintenance (HOA, lawn, pool, any utilities..etc)
divided by ROI or Cap Rate Expected
Equals Gross Purchase Price
less estimated repairs needed (if any)
Equals Maximum Net Offer

For example we determine through our evaluation of verifiable market conditions that a subject property has an annual rental potential of $12,000.00 …indicating that the property can be immediately rented for $1,000.00 per month.

For our purposes let’s assume we have confirmed that the taxes on the property are $1,500.00 per year and that the insurance premium is $1,000 per year. Tenants pay the water and all utilities on this house and there are no HOA fees. We would pay the monthly pool service and lawn service and those two expenses run about $150.00 per month or $1,800.00 per year. So here’s the numbers on our deal:

That is our offer for that property based upon current market conditions. Notice that neither the asking price nor any agent supplied comparables had any bearing upon what our offer will be to purchase this property.

Will we get all of our offers approved? We can’t even be sure that most of our offers will even be presented. But that’s not the point. It does not matter. What matters is that the deals that do get presented and do get approved are winners and are money makes from day 1 irrespective of what is going on in the market. 

A deal of this nature cash flows and pays for itself with no out of pocket investment. Our tenants pay our mortgages even if we have to go the hard money route.

The best part of this is we, and you, will ALWAYS be able to obtain 100% financing for a deal with numbers like this.

We’re putting out 50 offers next week. I will be happy with getting one accepted. Most will be rejected, many won’t even be presented, but I am going to make a great deal of money on the one that does get accepted.

If Jamie Dimon can do it, so can I…and so can you!

 

Last weekend I was watching some of the games of what has become an annual rite of spring passage, the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  The tournament has become a brand of its own, March Madness.

In just about every business office in the Country, there is some talk about how everybody is faring in the office pool.

But as I watched the games and stories unfold last weekend, something became very apparent to me. What happens to college students, who when looked at on paper and seemingly have no chance of winning, do the unthinkable?

I watched West Virginia topple Duke, Western Kentucky overcome Connecticut and what may have been the biggest upset of them all thus far, Davidson upended Georgetown.

What makes 12 young men, who are not being paid, overcome great adversity and perform at a level that no one expects them to?

How could a team from the mountains of North Carolina, with no big time college football experience, stroll into a stadium of 100,000+ hostile spectators emerge victorious when no one believed they even had a chance?

Courage, Pride, defiant Determination and instilled Confidence.

What motivates you? Every day we read stories that say the housing market is horrible, there is nobody buying, agents are leaving the business, foreclosures are at an all time high…you get the picture. On paper you look like you have no chance of wining. The deck is stacked against you and most wonder why you are even bothering to show up. In fact, many real estate agents don’t.

Can you blame them? Based on the stats and projections you are supposed to lose today. Everything you read establishes you as the underdog. There just does not seem to be any way you are going to win. You are matched against an overwhelmingly powerful adversary and it appears to everyone sitting in the stands that you are about to get your lunch handed to you.

In this position you only have two choices:

1. Succumb to your adversary before you take the field by believing you are over-matched; or,

2.  Show some inner pride, decide to be zealously courageous, defy conventional wisdom with spiteful determination, and enthusiastically accept and believe that you will NOT be defeated.

It’s not about your opponent, it’s about the game you will play and how well YOU will perform.

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” -John Wooden Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach

I can’t wait for this weekend’s games!

 

Last week presidential candidate Barack Obama fanned the flames on a continuing racial wildfire when he said his grandmother was a “typical white person”. So we wondered if you are a typical white person…or some reasonable facsimile thereof.

“…she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn’t know, you know, there’s a reaction that’s been bred in our experiences that don’t go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that’s just the nature of race in our society.”

Well, I am not going to touch that with a ten foot pole. What I do wonder though is how many Realtors act like typical white people.

No, this is not a racial argument. This is about ignorance. The statement Obama made and the controversy surrounding him is truly one of ignorance.

We’ll let Mr. Obama deal with his racial issues on his own. What we would like to ascertain is what Realtors are doing that has them acting just like “typical white persons”. Just like the person described in Obama’s statement.

His quote describes a person who upon meeting someone or even seeing someone they don’t know involuntarily reacts based upon historical experiences. The quote further describes a person whose instincts are basically environmentally influenced.

That person rather than seek to change or come to some understanding why they feel the way that they do, accepts their inadequacies, resists change and allows said reactions to become so inherently natural that it becomes a part of their persona.

I don’t think that these type of knee-jerk assumptions and reactions are necessarily unique to the racial aspect of our society.

This “typical” person can indeed be found in the business character of a lot of “typical”real estate agents. However, this attribute is not by any means found in all real estate agents. For those agents who are not inherently ignorant to proven business principles and have adapted and embraced change, would not be “typical”. They would be the exception to the norm. They would be atypical.

How do you know which agents are “typical” and which ones are atypical? Simply ask a real estate agent to quantify their value in a real estate transaction or justify the commission they charge in a real estate transaction.

The ones who answer you with rhetoric, mantras and non-measurable assertions of value are most assuredly “typical”.  The American Psychological Association has stated that ignorance and fear have been catalysts for racism. The same ignorance and fear causes many real estate agents to act in “typical” fashion.

In order for the real estate industry to progress and overcome it’s propensity for ignorance and fear, I believe the National Association of Realtors must act to instill a Culture of Change whereby the American consumer is protected and the rank and file members of the NAR are held to a mandate of atypical operation.

1. Universal Rating System:
The NAR needs to embrace transparency. A URS would go along way in re-establishing credibility and trust with the American consumer. Allowing the consumer to see a scorecard as to the recent successes of an agent would allow agents who are atypical to increase their market share and expose “typical” real estate agents for being the sub-par performers that they are.

As such, a “typical” agent would have to work hard to increase their rating or be forced out of the business, which in either case would be better for both the consumer and the industry.

2. Raise The Entry Requirements
The ability to enter the business is far too easy. No other “profession” has such a low threshold of entry. The new applicant should have at minimum two years of college education or similar education at an accredited real estate school.

Instead of a one-week class, the educational requirements should include a much higher curriculum base. I believe a 1 year educational program at the very least would be in order. The syllabus would cover a two semester program and include training on sales, marketing, real estate laws and principles, technology application and more.

Once the training is complete then and only then would someone be allowed to sit for a test to be licensed. If this is a profession, then training and education should prepare the applicant for the BUSINESS of real estate.

It has been estimated that nearly 85% of new real estate agents have no prior business management or sales experience. This is hardly worth the conveyance of professionalism upon a new real estate agent.

3. Compensation
The compensation model needs a complete overhaul. Should “typical” real estate agents be paid the same as atypical real estate agents? Should compensation be tied into the price of the item sold as the only barometer of efficiency? Should the listing agent who does not market the property and is not responsible for obtaining the buyer be entitled to a 50% share of commission on a transaction?

I think not. This type of compensation system does not reward performance and encourages the existence of the less than mediocre real estate agent.

Commission should be performance based and according to some factor of the URS. If an agent has a higher rating, then their compensation would be reflected as such. This would require that all agents work diligently towards raising their rating as their ability to make money would be based upon their ongoing level of performance.

There is no reason whatsoever that an unproven upstart should make the same amount of money as a proven veteran. It does not work that way in any other business.

4. Revision of the Code of Ethics:
The COE needs to be revised to be more of an enforceable document. As it is now it is a guideline. It is like a $2.00 lock on a $300.00 door. It’s only there to keep honest people honest. The unscrupulous know what they can get away with and they know how to get away with it with impunity. It’s a meaningless document with absolutely no provision or ability to be enforced. Simply put, it is not law. In fact in its present state it is inferior to the law which makes it wholly unenforceable.

There are too many ambiguities that a shrewd agent can exploit to their pecuniary advantage. The loopholes need to be closed and the local boards given more power and ability to punish offending agents. There also need s to be a better voice for the consumer to be heard. As trust and credibility are attributes of a successful agent, the NAR would be remiss in allowing the consumer to continue to have such a lowly perception of the atypical real estate agent.

5. Industry Standardization and Uniformity:
While real estate is local, there still needs to be some standardization of services and operational procedures. When you go to a McDonald’s anywhere in the country, you can pretty much expect there to be uniformity of presentation. If you visit a Home Depot anywhere in the Country you can expect to see a uniformity of presentation.

This standardization allows for businesses and franchisees to develop brand awareness and affinity with the consumer. The consumer knows what to expect when they frequent an establishment that has uniformity of presentation.

That is not to say that a local office can not express their office in a unique manner. They may obviously do so while incorporating uniform standards.

For instance, there should be certain mandates that tell an agent what items MUST be incorporated in all listing presentation. Individual customization would be naturally encouraged but certain data relative to the URS mentioned above should be a part of the listing presentation.

These are just some of the changes that could help the NAR regain the public’s trust for the good of the industry. It would also help separate the “typical” real estate agent from the atypical true professional.

I would imagine that the atypical real estate agent would embrace such change and foster the development of communication to tear down the walls of mistrust and incredulity that exists with the American consumer.

While one can also be reasonably sure that the  ”typical” real estate agent would fear such change and further display the ignorance to progressive thought that makes them so similar in nature to Mr. Obama’s “typical white person”.

 

Any frontal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always ready to defend their most precious possession; their ignorance.
Hendrik Willem van Loon

Look me in the eye.
It’s okay If you’re scared,
So Am I

But we’re scared for different reasons!
I’m scared of what I won’t become
And you’re scared of what I could become

Look at me!
I won’t let myself end…Where I started
I won’t let my self finish…Where I began
I know what is within me,
Even if you cant see it yet.

Look me in the eyes!
I have something more important than Courage,
I have Patience

I will become, what I know I Am

Web 2.0, Dollarization, Transparency, Disintermediation, RE.net, an Open MLS, Trulia, Zillow,…change IS the only constant. Welcome it and seek to become legendary…fear it and you will succumb.

This NIKE commercial shows the spirit of the new era of real estate. So go ahead….look me in the eyes!

Sincerely,
Agent Rockstar