North Orange County Real Estate

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.

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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 Property Websites

By Suzy Lins
March 30, 2016

The fun part about working at CENTURY 21 Discovery is that I get to see all the cool marketing tools that our agents have access to through the Century 21® system. One tool that benefits our sellers as well as our agents is the Unique Property Sites. These are websites that are dedicated to selling the home. We all know buyers are searching online and these sites provide them with the property details and photos as well as allows sharing the sites through social media and email. These sites are designed for mobile devices too so buyers can access them from anywhere.

Check out this short video about the sites:

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About the author: Suzy Lins is the Communications Director for 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.

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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.

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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.

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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*

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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.

 

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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.

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.

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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.

Giving Tuesday 2015

By Joe Lins
December 1, 2015

Today is the 4th annual Giving Tuesday, a global day to give back and celebrate generosity. We are so proud to live and work in such a charitable community like North Orange County, California. Two weeks ago we held our annual Celebrate Giving with CENTURY 21 Discovery charity event. It’s our way to kick off this season of giving.

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This year, our 21st year, we raised $19,000 to give to local charities in our community. Since its inception we have raised close to $300,000! As a result of the success of this event, we have formed the Discovery Charity Foundation.

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Giving back is part of our culture at CENTURY 21 Discovery. In our 2014 blog post about Giving Tuesday we mentioned that many of our agents and staff serve on non-profit boards or volunteer with organizations in the community. They continue that practice and we fully encourage it. We believe it’s our duty as well as an honor to support the communities we serve. It warms our heart.

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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.

Dealing With Multiple Offers

By Jim Stearman, Attorney at Law
August 27, 2015

In a hot real estate market, it is not uncommon for multiple offers to flood into the listing agent’s inbox. Effectively dealing with multiple offers is the sign of a good agent who is looking out for the best interests of his or her sellers. When you receive multiple offers, it is wise to get your manager involved. If a mistake is made, your clients may be put in the position of selling their house twice so you should take the extra step of protecting you and your clients before they start making phone calls to you to find out what went wrong.

By making a counter offer to all offers received, accusations of discrimination or unfairness can be avoided. The sellers, of course, have the option of accepting one of the offers or negotiating with only one or two of the buyers but, in most cases, issuing a counter offer to all prospective purchasers will usually result in a better price for the sellers.

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To avoid selling the house twice, it is recommended that you use C.A.R. Form SMCO, Seller Multiple Counter Offer, when counter offers are going to be made to multiple offers. This form contains the necessary language to protect the sellers by informing the buyer that sellers are making multiple counter offers to other prospective buyers and that certain conditions must be met by the buyers for the counter offer to be deemed accepted. Many agents feel that you should not counter back on price but, instead, should ask all buyers to bring back their “best offer”. At that point, the sellers would hopefully be in a position to accept at least one of the multiple counteroffers. You can always negotiate upon terms other than price but you may lose buyers if your sellers counter with another price in response to the buyer’s “best offer” price.

When you’re representing the sellers of a home that will likely receive multiple offers, you can really help them out by getting them ready to make a good decision. Some of the things that could help them would be a review of their financial situation and to find out what is important to them. It could be that your clients would rather receive a lower offer with no contingencies that will close quicker than a higher priced offer that won’t close for several months. Just remember to tell your clients that you are there to guide them through the process and to help them get the result that is best for them but that they are the ones that will ultimately make the decision on which offer is best for their needs.

DISCLAIMER: This article has been prepared for general information purposes only. The information in this article is not legal advice. Since legal advice is dependent upon the specific circumstances of each situation, please contact an attorney for a consultation on your matter if you have any questions.

About the author: Jim Stearman is an attorney in North Orange County, California with over 35 years of experience. His areas of expertise include real estate transactions, general civil law disputes, business and commercial transactions, partnership law, corporate law and enforcement of judgments and collections. For more information about Mr. Stearman please visit his website www.jamesstearmanlaw.com.

Homeowners Insurance Purchasing Tips

By Stephanie Goedl
July 21, 2015

I recently had the opportunity to interview Michael Williams of Williams Insurance Brokers as part of our Community Conversations Series. He offered some great insight and tips on what to consider when purchasing Homeowners Insurance. Watch the full interview below. Remember, when purchasing Homeowners Insurance always consult your professional insurance agent when you begin the home buying process.

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.

Videolicious is a great marketing tool for Real Estate Agents

By Suzy Lins
April 21, 2015

Recently, a group of our professional REALTORS® attended a webinar by Alan Haburchak of Videolicious. Videolicious is an app you can use to create on the spot videos. It’s a great marketing tool for real estate agents to use to create a Listing Video, a “Come Check out my Open House” video or even a Client Testimonial video. It’s all done on your iPhone or iPad. Within about 15 minutes you can create the video and send it out to your social media sites, email to clients or upload to YouTube.

I know most of us don’t like how we look in photos let alone in videos. It took me a bit to get over how I looked on screen. But then I realized…that’s how I look. It was a blow to my ego but I got over it. If you can’t get over it and still don’t want to be on screen you can do a voice over of video clips and photos to create a marketing video.

I put together this short Videolicious video to show our agents just how easy it is and to motivate them to give it a try.

Our CENTURY 21 Discovery agents have access to an upgraded version of the app because of a partnership with Century 21 and Videolicious. Right now it’s only available on IOS products but there are plans for an Android version soon. Once you give it a try you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to use!

About the author: Suzy Lins is the Communications Director for CENTURY 21 Discovery. For more information about CENTURY 21 Discovery you may call (714) 626-2000.