Real Estate

Best Practices for Real Estate Brokers and Agents

By Joe Lins
August 24, 2016

I had the opportunity to sit down with Laurie Popp of Century 21® to discuss best practices I use within my real estate business at CENTURY 21 Discovery. We discussed advice for brokers and managers, creating the type of office culture that allows the agents to succeed and advice to agents just starting out in the business.

Brokers and managers need to be available to their agents. We need to communicate with them how they want to be communicated with (email, text, voice mail, in person). Get back to them right away. We need to set a good example as their leader. This is what the consumer wants and the agents need to learn to have a quick response time.

I’ve been accused of being “Old School” and I think that’s a compliment. Our office culture mixes the old with the new. We take advantage of the tools and technology Century 21 has to offer and we teach our agents how to use these tools. It’s not just about who has the latest technology. We also teach them the good old-fashioned skill sets they need to have in this business: negotiating, time management, preparation, etc.

My advice to new agents is to invest in yourself. Hone your leadership skills and have passion for what you do. Most importantly, be ethical and moral. I don’t believe that real estate agents are going to go away. It’s not a common purchase. It’s not buying an airline ticket or a pair of shoes online. It’s a lengthy process and a good agent is needed to help the consumer navigate the process.

About the author: Joe Lins is President and Co-owner of CENTURY 21 Discovery. If you are interested in becoming part of the CENTURY 21 Discovery team or would like more information about our services contact Joe at 714.626.2069.

Last-Minute Open House Cleaning Tips

By Guest Blogger
July 14, 2016
This was originally published on the official blog of Century 21® on February 19, 2016

Your open house is almost underway! You’ve already made sure your home is warm and inviting and you’ve taken time to carefully stage it. Now, here are some last minute cleaning tips to quickly spruce up any areas you may have missed.

Prep for Pets
You may be ready for your open house, but your four legged friends might have other ideas. Perform a last minute inspection of any areas your pets frequent to make sure they haven’t left an unpleasant surprise somewhere in your home. Also, pet hair has a way of showing up unexpectedly. Vacuum carpets and sweep any floors with a rubber broom to clean up debris that may have gathered since your last cleaning.

Check Your Entryway
Although you may have painted your front door and meticulously cleaned your home’s entryway in the days before your open house, recheck it on open house day. Be sure to check for marks on your door, damaged plants, disheveled door mats, and unexpected messiness that may have accumulated in front of your home since you last inspected it.

Clean Up After Kids
If children happen to be in your home during the hours leading up to your open house, you may want to check for additional messes before potential buyers arrive. Look at your lower windows for finger smudges, which can be cleaned quickly with a cleaning agent and microfiber cloth. Also check your doorway for dirt, and look at the lower part of your walls for crayon streaks or other stains.

Ready Your Refrigerator
While easy to overlook, the inside of your refrigerator should be as neat and clean as the rest of your kitchen. Make sure it isn’t full of half consumed food or overstocked to the point where it looks cluttered. Additionally, any fridge magnets should be removed to further depersonalize your home for potential buyers.

Care for Your Lawn
Last minute removal of lawn debris can make your home more appealing and may attract more buyers. Depending on the season, eradicate lawn clutter with a leaf blower, a rake or a snow blower. If you’re too busy for exterior home cleaning, consider hiring someone to do it for you, so you can focus on the interior of your home.

These last minute cleaning tips may help your home shine brighter on open house day.

*Article reprinted with permission of Century 21 Real Estate LLC.

The Value Of The Up-Desk

By Stephanie Goedl
April 12, 2016

CENTURY 21 Discovery offers our agents some unique opportunities that are not available at most real estate offices. We have the technology, tools and online lead generating sources that our agents need to remain relevant and to succeed. We also offer a way of doing business that some may consider “old school” but it works! It’s called the Up-Desk.

The Up-Desk is the front desk of a real estate office that agents can sign up to work. They assist with answering the phone and can take any leads that come in from those phone calls. Most offices have done away with the Up-Desk because they think it’s a waste of time for the agent.

Not so! Our office has a distinctive location on a main thorough-fare in North Orange County, California. We are located across from a major medical center and have a large marquee that 30,000 cars a day drive by. That’s a lot of eyeballs. Because of our prominent place in the community we have quite a few calls off our marquee as well as walk-in clients. The agent at the Up-Desk benefits from this. Just as important, the client who chooses to do business in this manner benefits as well.

Instead of me telling you the benefits of the Up-Desk, listen to our agent Jacob McCann of the McCann Family Team tell you how working that desk helped his career.

Some people think “old school” is a bad word. Not in my book. I’m thrilled we can provide our agents with a variety of opportunities to achieve their business goals. I’m also glad we can accommodate our clients in the way they want to be served. Do you have an Up-Desk success story? Please share in the comments section below.

About the author: Stephanie Goedl is the Chief Operating Officer of CENTURY 21 Discovery. For more information about CENTURY 21 Discovery you may call (714) 626-2000.

Unique Benefits of a Property Management Company

By Blake Borowski
March 8, 2016

Owning a rental property and being the landlord comes with a unique and challenging opportunity. Some individuals might decide to give the landlord responsibility at least one try, and while it might work for them, there are some benefits that a property management company can provide that a landlord lacks.

Numerous Rental Payment Options

Although it is possible for landlords to set up numerous payment options, it makes sense for property management companies to do so as they will end up accommodating a large number of tenants. For instance, while most landlords accept money orders and checks, property managers are accustomed to accepting online payments and direct deposits through a bank or credit union.

An Emergency Line

The ability for maintenance requests to be made in an online form is unique, but a special line for emergency maintenance or repairs is highly valuable and a great way to provide tenant solutions.

Established Vendors

As a landlord that manages one or two properties, it is just not possible for a vendor to make it their top priority to provide your properties with maintenance and repairs. However, some property management companies have plenty of work and use the same vendors on just about every occasion.

A Systematic Approach

Landlords that are still learning how to manage their property will likely be taking each day and responsibility one step at a time. However, property managers have a systematic approach to managing a property, which means your property will get managed in an effective manner, no matter what.

About the Author: Blake Borowski is the Founder of White Glove Property Management in Fullerton, CA. If you would like more information about the unique benefits of using a property management company call him at 714.515.3395 or visit the website www.whiteglovepm.com.

Know Your Negotiation: Tips for Real Estate Agents

By Guest Blogger
March 1, 2016
This was originally published on the official blog of Century 21® on February 17, 2016*

One of the many reasons a home buyer or seller turns to you, the real estate agent, is for negotiation help. They might lack experience and feel insecure when it comes time to talk about money and their potential purchase or sale. While you may have already brushed up on some tactics, realize that negotiating in real estate presents a unique situation. Here are some tips that may help.

Check Your Emotions, Not Theirs
Common advice recommends negotiators to remain unbiased and objective — strong emotions can potentially hurt your deal. However, as a real estate agent, it’s important to remember that emotions do play a part in your business. A home may often be the largest investment in a client’s life. Acknowledge and understand that clients might have a lot at stake, while continuing to remain unemotional during negotiation. Your clients may appreciate that you understand their point of view while maintaining a professional demeanor.

Prepare Your Clients
Whether your clients are the ones buying or the ones selling, get them up to speed on how a typical negotiation occurs. Although you may be responsible for leading the process, you can still make your client feel like a participant. Lay out the procedural steps for them, so there are no surprises or unexpected obstacles. Answer as many questions as possible beforehand so they don’t feel out of the loop or overwhelmed when the negotiation occurs.

Manage Expectations
While you may have good intentions to get your client the best deal possible, don’t promise it. After all, you can’t. A negotiation is a live, working discussion that can take many turns. Make sure your clients understand the worst case scenario by talking to them beforehand about all potential outcomes. As mentioned before, buying or selling a home may be an emotional endeavor for them. Mentally preparing them for less than favorable outcomes takes the shock out of the situation and may reduce mental stress.

Discuss Alternatives
The “worst case scenario” conversation shouldn’t end with a simple acknowledgment of potential outcomes. Create a plan of action just in case those outcomes are realized. What would your client like to do if the buyer won’t budge on an asking price? What would the buyer like to do with certain home inspection results? Deciding on an action beforehand can reduce the time and effort of decision making in the moment, which may lead to more objective, unemotional choices.

Report Facts Only
Since it’s your job to remain detached during this process, make sure you remain that way when reporting negotiation outcomes to your client. If a seller is angered by an asking price, but accepts it anyway, you may want to leave out their emotional response when reporting the offer acceptance. Their reaction is unnecessary to the business transaction, and can only add superfluous feelings of attachment to the process.

Negotiating in real estate can be a high stakes game, but these tips may help you to remain calm while you work out the best deal for your client.

*Article reprinted with permission of Century 21 Real Estate LLC.

Interview with C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young

By Joe Lins
February 15, 2016

I had the opportunity to interview California Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young after her presentation at the Pacific West Association of REALTORS® February general membership meeting. I asked her three questions about the real estate industry and specifically Orange County real estate.

Those three questions were:

1) What is the biggest disruption facing the real estate industry?

2) How healthy is the Orange County real estate market?

3) What is the biggest opportunity for the consumer in Orange County?

She’s a smart woman and I value her insight. Watch this short video for her responses.

Escrow and How It Works

By Nancy Mattaliano-Castaneda
February 2, 2016

Buying a home is a huge undertaking and requires a good understanding of the process. In California, once a buyer and seller agree to the terms of the sale the next step is to open escrow. First time buyers or people who have not bought or sold a home in awhile may not know what escrow is.

Here is a brief overview of what escrow is and how it works.

What is Escrow?

Escrow is a process that protects the interest of all parties in a real estate transaction, ensuring that all the conditions of the sale have been met before property and money change hands.

Why Do I Need One?

You need escrow to ensure that all parties have complied with the escrow instructions before any funds are disbursed or title is transferred. The escrow company has an obligation to safeguard the funds and/or documents while they are in the officer’s possession and to disburse funds and/or convey title only when all parties have met the terms of the escrow instructions.

What is the Escrow process?

Once a purchase contract has been negotiated to the satisfaction of both the seller and buyer, a legible fully-signed copy is forwarded to the escrow company. The escrow officer will then prepare supplemental instructions and place the earnest money deposit into a trust account. The buyer and seller can move forward separately, but simultaneously, in obtaining inspections, reports, loan commitments, funds, deeds and many other items using escrow as the central depositing point.

Who to Contact with Questions:

Your REALTOR® will answer questions about your purchase contract agreement. Your loan officer will answer all questions about your loan status, conditions of your loan and the loan process. Your escrow officer will help or direct you with any other questions. A good escrow officer understands you will have questions and should be willing to answer them or direct you to the person who can.

About the Author: Nancy Mattaliano-Castaneda is an Escrow Officer at Equity Escrow Group, Ltd. in Fullerton, California. For more information about Equity Escrow Group, Ltd. call 714.626.2095 or visit the website www.equityescrow.net.

The Disruptor

By Joe Lins
January 13, 2016

A hot topic of discussion in real estate circles is what will be the next big disruptor in the industry. Will it be some new technology we can’t even imagine yet or a new company we’ve never heard of before?

I believe the disruptor needs to come from within the industry. The disruptor should be something that the industry has failed to do. It needs to be the self-regulation of ourselves to create higher standards that will make us relevant to the client.

What I mean by that is the industry needs to step it up. We all know the licensing requirements to become an agent are minimal and don’t provide the additional skills sets needed to do the best job for the client.

This topic came to the forefront of the conversation when the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) released the D.A.N.G.E.R. Report back in May 2015. One of my earlier blog posts discussed this topic and how the #1 threat to real estate professionals comes from within the industry.

As REALTORS®, we have to do a better job of taking care of problems within the industry. That means REALTOR® association grievance committees and pro-standards committees have to do a better job. It also means individual REALTORS® have to do a much better job of reporting violations and not letting the violators get by. If we don’t do this then they will continue to be violators and they won’t be motivated to get any better. Not good for the industry and not good for the client. If we don’t do this, we run the risk of the government stepping in and attempting to regulate us. Check out the interview with PWR Director Al Ricci and real estate blogger and analyst Rob Hahn on this topic.

My goal is that CENTURY 21 Discovery will be the big disruptor in the industry in Orange County by providing the additional training and coaching agents need to succeed in this competitive industry. I’m not talking about the latest technology or tool. Everyone should have that by now. I’m talking about the skill sets needed to work in the client’s best interest. What does that mean? It means communication and negotiating skills, knowledge of industry requirements and most important, adherence to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.

Only then will professional REALTORS® have the knowledge, skills, morals and ethics needed to give the customer the right information they need to make the decisions that are right for them. The disruption needs to come from within.

About the author: Joe Lins is President and Co-owner of CENTURY 21 Discovery. If you are interested in becoming part of the CENTURY 21 Discovery team contact Joe at 714.626.2069.

Investing In Your Resale by Staging Your Home

By Mary Sauer of Modernize
December 8, 2015

In most regions of the country, it is a seller’s market. In previous years, sellers were doing just about anything they could to get an offer—sometimes even selling their home for less than it was worth. Now things have turned around and homes are selling within days of going on the market. It is definitely a new time for real estate, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. But when it is a seller’s market, that doesn’t mean you can relax your selling strategies. Instead, it is vital you take advantage of the high demand for homes by doing everything possible to attract the highest offer on your home. One way this can be done is by using a professional stager to prepare your home for photos and staging.

Via Modernize

What is Home Staging?

There are many ways to invest in the resale of your home, but one strategy is to stage your home with the help of a professional. While most homeowners know to declutter their home or move larger items to storage, many do not have the design knowledge it takes to stage their home without assistance. This is where a professional home stage becomes incredibly valuable to the home selling process. A professional home stager is similar to an interior designer, except they specialize in creating a simple space where potential buyers can imagine their own furniture and belongings.

How do I Find a Home Stager?

If you are looking for a professional home stager, asking for a recommendation from your realtor is a great place to start. Many realtors, including Century21, offer home staging services to their clients. Their experiences realtors can work with you to create a beautiful and simple space before you place it for sale.

If your realtor does not offer specialized home staging services, they will most likely be able to recommend a professional they trust to stage your home. The average home staging service costs $625, and this number can vary greatly based on the size of your home and how much work must be done to prepare your home for walk-throughs.

Via Modernize

Is Home Staging Really Worth it?

In some cases, homeowners wonder if home staging really worth the extra expense. The truth is, staging is vital to attracting the right buyer to your home. According to buyers surveyed by Realtor.com, as many as 46 percent of families who first look at homes online are more likely to schedule a walk through if the pictures are staged. In addition to this, 81 percent of buyers revealed they had a much easier time imagining their family and their belongings in a home when it had been professionally staged.

Getting buyers in the door and peaking their interest aren’t the only benefits to home staging—it also seems to increase the dollar amount of offers. The average increase in selling price is between 1 and 5 percent, which greatly exceeds the money spent on staging.

At Modernize, we know how small changes can make a big impact on the appearance of your home. Because of this, we encourage our readers who are selling their homes to consider working with a professional home stager who can help them get more potential buyers in the door and increase the selling price of their homes.

About the Author: Mary Sauer is our Guest Blogger who works at Modernize. Modernize is where you come to get inspired, see what’s possible, and connect with a professional who will make your dream home a reality.

How to Stage Your House Over the Holidays

By Guest Blogger
November 11, 2015
This was originally published on the official blog of Century 21® on November 3, 2015 *

Selling your home during the holidays doesn’t mean you have to hold back on the festivities. Let your home shine while attracting buyers during the most wonderful time of the year with these seasonal touches.

Deck the halls:

Don’t let selling your home stop you from spreading the holiday cheer. Subtle hints like a welcoming evergreen wreath at the front door, mulled cider brewing on the stovetop or hand-sewn stockings hanging from the fireplace awning gives the space a jolt of spirit.

Trim the tree:

Usually the most eye-catching piece of the living room during the holiday season, make sure your spruced-up Christmas tree matches the aesthetic you want to sell to potential buyers. If your living room has a clean-cut scheme with ivories and whites, for example, make sure your baubles fall under the same color palette.

Tone it down:

As tempting as it is to blow up some lawn ornaments to celebrate the season, it’s best to go for a minimalist approach during this crucial selling time. Neatly highlight the defining elements of your home’s exterior with snow-white lights or hang a fresh garland with bright red bows from your rooftop or mailbox.

Warm up:

Before open houses, make sure your home feels as cozy as possible. Now’s the perfect time to light a fire in your fireplace and warm up your home. If your home is lacking the fiery centerpiece, turning up the thermostat to a comfortably toasty level gives potential buyers extra incentive to linger for a while to escape the brutal cold outside—and allows them to fully digest the best qualities of your home.

Tune up:

Fill up the hallways with contemporary holiday classics while potential buyers are roaming the halls. Make a mix of festive favorites: go old-school with Frank Sinatra’s “White Christmas” or Natalie Cole’s take on “The Christmas Song”…or just play Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas (Is You)” on a loop.

Feed the masses:

The best way to make somebody feel at home—potentially at their future home—is through their stomach. Whip up some holiday-themed cookies and mocktails to serve during your open house; the extra hint of hospitality will keep you in the mind of prospective buyers even after the last present is unwrapped during the holidays.

*Article reprinted with permission of Century 21 Real Estate LLC.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: