Real Estate Agents

Information for Real Estate Agents

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.

Giving Tuesday 2015

By Joe Lins
December 1, 2015

Today is the 4^th 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.

This year, our 21^st 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.

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.

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.

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.

Mobile Apps for Real Estate Agents

By Stephanie Goedl
July 30, 2015

Mobile Apps….what would we do without ‘em? As REALTORS® we have a multitude of apps to help us in our business. Here are some of my favorites that I recommend to the agents in our office:

Open Home Pro
This app that you download to your tablet device allows you to capture contact info of the visitors that come into your Open House. After you upload photos of the home into the app it provides a slide show of the property for your open house visitors to view. It also has a feature that allows you to automatically send a thank you email to that lead after they leave the Open House. I suggest you place the tablet with slide show running on the counter or dining table near the entrance so visitors can sign in.

Videolicious
This app allows you to create and edit videos on your iPhone or iPad. You can email the video directly from the app or publish to Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. With this user-friendly app you can create agent profile videos, client testimonial videos and property or community videos. They have an amazing customer support team that responds quickly to email questions. It’s a great way to connect with your clients via video.

Dropbox
This service allows you to take your documents, files, photos & videos anywhere and share them easily with other people. This service is available as a desktop and a mobile app so you can access it anywhere. The nice part about this app is that it lets you share files that would be too large to email. Dropbox offers 2 GB for free. You can purchase more storage space if needed. This is a must for professionals on the go.

Typic
This app allows you to add filters, effects and text to photos. My favorite feature is the ability to add your logo to the photo for a small upgrade fee. This is great if you are using photos across multiple social media platforms. Your photos will have your logo embedded on them and will look like they were professionally done.

Below is a short video with an overview of 4 additional apps that will help you in your business.

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.

The #1 Threat to Real Estate Industry

By Joe Lins
June 29, 2015

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) recently released the D.A.N.G.E.R. Report which stands for Definitive Analysis of Negative Game Changers in Real Estate. You can download a copy of the report HERE. NAR commissioned Swanepoel | T3 Group, an outside management consulting firm, to conduct an analysis of the threats, opportunities and trends in the real estate industry.

While there were many threats to the industry and our profession from outside the industry, there was one huge threat mentioned in the 160+ page report that comes from within the industry. According to the DANGER Report, the #1 threat to real estate professionals and the industry as a whole are other agents who are unqualified and/or incompetent. The Report says, “The real estate industry is saddled with a large number of part-time, untrained, unethical, and/or incompetent agents. This knowledge gap threatens the credibility of the industry.”

The Report cites the low state requirements to become a licensed real estate agent. The national average to get a license requires a measly 70 hours of training. Having the bar set so low to enter the profession or even remain in this profession is a recipe for trouble. Agents are allowed into the business with a very basic knowledge. That’s okay, you have to start somewhere. The problem is the brokers who hire these agents without providing any additional training or oversight and just letting them loose on the streets.

I see it firsthand every day. In California we have many forms and requirements that are constantly changing. What happens when the broker does not provide the ongoing supervision or training or insist the agent get it from through their local association? I can tell you from experience with agents from other firms, at times it isn’t pretty.

We recently had a new Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) roll out in California. Our Executive Leadership team knew it was coming and prepared our agents over the course of several months by providing training on the new RPA. About a week after it went into effect, I got a phone call from one of our agents who was in a transaction with an agent from another firm. That agent knew nothing about the new RPA and didn’t know how to complete it. Our agent asked if we would be willing to train the other agent on the new RPA. I said “Absolutely!” A well-trained agent is good for everyone involved including the industry.

I’m not looking forward to the roll out of the new TRID requirements later this year. Not because it’s a new requirement. We’ve been talking to our agents about this for weeks and they will be receiving training so they are ready for the change. I’m dreading it because I know that most agents on the other side of the transaction will not have a clue. When that happens the person who will be the most vulnerable and frustrated will be the client. Their dissatisfaction is a negative impact on our profession and industry.

Yes, the training to become a license real estate agent is minimal. That is why it’s up to each broker and real estate association to have higher requirements to be affiliated with them. Every market and state is different but there needs to be a consensus from the leaders in this industry to raise the bar and hold the Brokers who don’t, accountable.

For those of us who believe this is a true profession and one that we consciously chose, this should be a no-brainer.

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.

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.

Your Digital Presence is an Extension of Your Business Card

By Suzy Lins

February 9, 2015

Why does a real estate agent need a digital presence? During a recent New Agent Orientation at our firm I explained to our new recruits why they need a digital presence. What exactly is a digital presence? Simply, it means your online activity through either your website or blog, social media, comments you made on a video, etc. When someone looks you up online, all these should appear in that search. I like to think of it as an extension of your business card. That’s why it’s so important for REALTORS® to have some sort of digital presence.

Your digital presence is an extension of your business card

According to National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2014 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 40 percent of buyers and 38 percent of sellers found their agent through a referral from a family member or friend. That same report stated that two-thirds of buyers and 70 percent of sellers only interviewed one agent before they found the one they wanted to work with. Most clients are not shopping around for agents once they get that referral but there is a pretty good chance they are checking you out before they call you. Google yourself to see what shows up. Is this a good representation of you and your business?

The same NAR research showed that 92% of buyers used the internet in some way during the home buying process. Many buyers find the homes they are interested in online and sellers go to third-party aggregator sites to get an idea of what their home is worth but very few find their agent online. The reality is that everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who is in real estate. If not, they’ve been living under a rock! If I was looking someone to help me make the biggest purchase of my life, first, I’d get a referral and then I would probably check them out before I called them. I’d “Google” them. That’s why it’s so important for real estate agents to have a digital presence that is current.

While there are a lot of ways to beef up your digital presence, these are the 3 things I tell our agents to focus on right away:

LinkedIn – Get a LinkedIn profile with a professional photo and complete the profile with your experience, education, certifications, volunteer work, etc. If you don’t have a professional photo headshot, get one. We have a local photographer that will take 12 professional portraits with the proper lighting and background and give it to you on a disk for $75. You own the photos and can use them across all your marketing efforts. On that same note, if your photo is more than five years old get a new one. It drives me crazy when I see agents use a photo from 20 years ago. I hate to break it to them that they don’t look anything like that anymore.

Website – Get a personal website. There are plenty of affordable websites out there for real estate agents. Through Century 21 every agent in the system is provided a free website. These are template based sites that allow the agent to personalize them with their own information. FYI – Most buyers will probably not go to an agent site to start looking at homes. They will most likely go to sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, etc. But when that potential client does research you, that site will come up in their search results. It’s another way to show you’re knowledgeable and legit.

Facebook – For those who are already on Facebook I recommend they create a Facebook business page. This is an easy way to market yourself and your listings within your own circle of influence. Facebook business pages also have the ability to do micro-targeted advertising at just dollars a day. It’s a great tool for advertising that new listing or an Open House. Also, since Facebook is the largest social media site out there it will appear high in a search engine ranking when you get “Googled”. One other thing I tell our agents is that if they are going to have a Facebook business page they need to post to it regularly. I suggest a minimum of three times per week. You don’t want people coming across your Facebook page only to see you haven’t posted anything in six months. That looks like you don’t care and are not engaged in your business. Plus Facebook makes it easy. You can schedule your posts in advance.

Additionally, I recommend that every agent set up a free profile on third-party real estate sites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia. These sites allow you to customize your profile, show your recent sales/listings and even get client reviews.

There are many more ways for agents to market themselves, but this is what we recommend to our agents as they begin to develop their digital presence. Remember, just think of it as an extension of your business card.

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.

What’s Your Value?

By Joe Lins

January 5, 2015

Our Leadership Team at CENTURY 21 Discovery recently held our annual strategic planning meeting for 2015. At that meeting we set aside a portion of the day to review and discuss our Value Package. We wanted to make sure every member of our team knew the value of what we provide to the agents at our firm as well as being associated with the Century 21® brand.

A few months before we presented it at our Strategic Planning Meeting, the owners and Chief Operating Officer sat down to review and update everything we provide to our agents when they come to work at CENTURY 21 Discovery.

I include this value package review process as part of my weekly coaching session with our agents. A Value Package should be a part of every REALTORS® arsenal that they bring out when they meet with a potential client or go on a listing presentation. It can be as simple as bullet points of the services provided to the client and how it will benefit them. Whatever format it is, it should be what sets you apart from the other guys.

I do this every time I recruit a new agent or counsel a current agent who is being wooed by another brokerage. I have to show them what we offer versus what they will get at another firm. Just like the agents who are competing for listings with other agents we are competing for good agents with other firms.

Along with all the training, office equipment and supplies we provide to every agent, I have to remind them about the 40 years of branding that Century 21 has. Aligning with the most recognized brand in the industry allows the agent instant recognition of what they do. Alignment with XYZ Company does not promote this sense of stability and longevity with today’s consumer. I also explain that being a part of our firm ensures a high level of support and knowledge they probably won’t get from a competing firm.

Here’s a story to highlight what I mean. In California, they rolled out a new Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) in November of 2014. Months before it came out members of our leadership team attended seminars and classes to learn about the new RPA so we could train our agents. Over a period of weeks we held classes to ensure our agents were familiar with the new contract once it came out.

By the time the new RPA became a requirement our CENTURY 21 Discovery agents were well versed in it and ready to do business. Our agents encountered many, many agents on the other side of transactions who either had no clue that there WAS a new RPA or if they did, they had not been trained on it. Their brokerage had not prepared them for a major change in the industry. I even had one agent ask me if I would train the agent on the other side of her transaction. I said, “Of course!” I’d rather have our agents in a transaction with other agents who know what they are doing.

The value our firm provides to our agents encompasses the basics like office supplies and equipment along with the bigger things like training, knowledge and a pro-active involvement in industry changes. That’s our value. What’s yours?

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 Celebrates Giving

By Suzy Lins

December 2, 2014

Today is the 3^rd Annual Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving back. It’s the Tuesday after we give thanks (Thanksgiving) and the Tuesday after getting great deals (Black Friday, Cyber Monday). What a nice way to kick off the holiday season!

CENTURY 21 Discovery celebrated our version of Giving Tuesday exactly two weeks ago. Our Celebrate Giving with CENTURY 21 Discovery charity event is our annual fundraiser where we get together for a night of dinner, bidding on auction items and a little fun to raise money for local charities in our community.

: Dinner with friends!

: Bid ’em up!

: Playing the “Heads and Tails” game

It’s always held the week before Thanksgiving to kick off the season of giving and it’s usually on a Tuesday. This was our 20^th year of the event.

Our first event started out as a little dinner and small auction at a local Italian restaurant to raise some money for a charity. It was just agents, a few spouses and some title reps. Over the years we started inviting clients and others in the community. We’ve had to move to a larger venue twice to accommodate our growing guest count.

We are excited that it has grown, because it’s important to all of us at CENTURY 21 Discovery to give back to the communities we serve. Since its inception we have raised over $279,000 for local charities and this year we raised $19,000 in one night!

Many of our agents serve on non-profit boards or volunteer with organizations in the community. We encourage that and are proud of that because it’s part of our Core Values and it sets us apart from other firms in this industry. We at CENTURY 21 Discovery are grateful for all the #Unselfies who came out for this year’s event to help us make a difference even though we were two weeks early!

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

4 Key Take-Aways from the C.A.R. Expo

By Joe Lins

October 20, 2014

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) Expo in Anaheim. There were 9,000 to 10,000 attendees at the three day event. In between the learning and networking I also gained insight into what to expect from the 2015 housing market in the Forecast presented by C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. It was great to make new friends and run into some old ones. One of the highlights was listening to a dear friend Terri Sjodin give her tips on crafting persuasive presentations.

Joe Lins, Terri Sjodin, Stephanie Goedl at the 2014 C.A.R. Expo

In an earlier post I said I would be giving an update on my key take-aways, so here they are:

1) What is your Value Package?

This topic was a central theme in most of the presentations I attended. A Value Package basically means: What value do you provide to your clients and in my case, our agents.

All REALTORS® need to have a list on paper and committed to memory the services you will provide to your clients and what sets you apart from your competitors. This should include what you know about the markets you serve that can’t be found online. Your micro-market knowledge will set you apart from the third party aggregator websites like Zillow, Trulia, and establish you as the go to person in your market. Your Value Package should be part of your Listing Presentation and listed on your website.

Our management team recently reviewed and updated our firm’s Value Package which will allow us to articulate the value of being associated with our company to our agents as well as the agents we want to recruit. In a recent coaching session I presented our Value Package to the agents and explained that they need to model their own Value Package after our company Value Package.

2) Education

C.A.R. provides a variety of education to its members which include continuing education, professional development classes and designations/certifications to distinguish you as a specialist in a particular niche of the industry. You have the ability to choose your own learning experience: Live Lecture or Face2Face at your local association, Remote Learning and Online classes as well as Home Study programs. One of my favorites is the online 12 session course for new agents. As professional REALTORS® we need to stay educated to be relevant in an evolving industry.

3) Track your Business

REALTORS® need to know where their business is coming from. Take the time to ask why or where a client found you so you can track which marketing efforts are working. If the bulk of your clients are coming from a specific tool: emails, Just Listed postcards or an online ad then focus you efforts on those areas where you are getting the best results.

4) Real Estate Office Layouts are changing

The physical layout of the real estate office is evolving into a new model. Sitting around a conference table in a board room is no longer as effective as it once was. Progressive firms are changing this style of doing business by providing a more relaxed and informal meeting area that features chairs around a coffee table. Kind of like sitting in a client’s living room.

I learned a lot at the 2014 C.A.R. Expo and at the end of each day I thought my head would explode with all the information coming at me. These key take-aways will allow me to improve my business and provide an even better environment to allow our REALTORS® to be more progressive, passionate and professional.

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.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: