Realtor Safety Week

REALTOR SAFETY WEEK – September 13 – 19

As in many professions, REALTORS, as well as the customers they serve, are subject to risks and could be victims of crime unless they are smart and take precautions as indicated in the REALTOR Safety video, newly updated for 2009-2010 in recognition of the upcoming REALTOR SAFETY WEEK – September 13 – 19.

http://bit.ly/WE3Qy

Check out the helpful tips in this video. They apply to the home, the office, at a property, to your family and so much more. The helpful tips in this 8-minute video apply to REALTORS, their customers and are practical enough for everyday use for just about everyone.

1457B Route 191, Stroudsburg PA

Beautiful Beyond Belief! Don’t miss this sparkling property – Better than brand new! Perfectly polished hardwood floors. Kitchen w/granite countertops, Cherry cabinets, Stainless steel appliances, tile. 10′ Stone-faced firepalce in family room, central air, central vacuum, master bdrm w/sitting area, walk in closet. Master bath offers spa tub, granite counters, glass shower. Walk out basement. $389,900. Call Kris Collis for more information.

View the Virtual Tour:

Wisdom Gained from Experience in Real Estate

What Life Teaches

In a world where everything’s done at Internet speed, there’s valuable wisdom to be gained from past experience.

By F. Harry Stowe June 2009 (Source REALTOR® Magazine)

One is a former minister. Another spent years perfecting crème brûlée French toast and other signature dishes at his Austin, Texas, restaurant before taking the plunge into real estate sales. Two others have spent more than 30 years in the real estate business.

What all these real estate pros share is life experience. That experience, they say, plays an important role in their success. Their sales tactics may not differ greatly from those of our “30 Under 30” class of 2009 But with richly varied resumes and memories that predate Internet communications, they have important lessons to offer about cooperation, patience, and taking the long view.

Patrick Dixson has been in residential real estate just four years (after a stint many years ago in commercial). But the 56-year-old owner of RE/MAX Capital City in Austin, Texas, is leveraging his 20-plus years in the restaurant business in New Orleans and Austin.

“In a restaurant, you have to have a good relationship with your customers in order to support and grow your business,” he says. “That takes constant work, constant tinkering.”

Dixson began his restaurant career working in New Orleans for famed chefs Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse. There, he learned quickly how word-of-mouth referrals could fill restaurant seats. When he and his wife, Sharon Watkins, opened Chez-Zee Bistro Grill in Austin 19 years ago, he would work the room by night and build a customer database by day.

His wife still operates the restaurant; meanwhile, he’s applying that experience to his new career. “In the restaurant business, you’re on stage. And it’s the same in real estate. Once you learn the technical side of the business—the contracts, the legal requirements, and those sorts of tasks—the biggest part of this business is relationships. You have to build a network and then do such a good job that your customers refer you to their friends and associates.”

A thousand miles north of Austin, Mike Royce, 56, has been plying his trade for 31 years. When he started in real estate, Jimmy Carter was president and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage carried an interest rate of about 18 percent. But, like Dixson, Royce says the lessons he learned early in his career inform his work today.

“Back then, it was all about having a clear understanding of your market,” says Royce, CRS®, the broker-owner of Realty World–Royce & Associates in Dayton, Ohio. “Fundamentals were the key then and they are now. If you let that get away from you, you’re going to struggle in any kind of a market.”

In addition to knowing the market, these business veterans say, you need to:

• Set goals.
• Hold yourself accountable.
• Manage your time well.
• Be devoted to customer service.
• Have a laser-like focus on business planning.
• Know when and how to adapt ideas that are shaping this and other industries.

You can’t keep up on all those fronts alone. That’s why Royce is a member of the Mason Mentoring Group, named for the Ohio town where he and about 10 colleagues from Ohio and Kentucky meet roughly once a month. Members found each other as they pursued their own educational needs.

“We’re in the same region, but we aren’t really in competition,” Royce says. As a result, they’ve referred business to each other on a number of occasions. “The referrals are nice,” he says, “but they’re actually just a side benefit of this group. Our first goal is education.”

Networking is essential, agrees Vickie Brockelman, 53, especially at a time of tremendous turbulence and great technological change. Brockelman is a sales associate with Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way in Mount Pocono, Pa., a growing market west of New York. “Meeting your colleagues in informal groups is one of the best ways to test ideas and grow your network.”

Listen to This One

But even more important than sharing your ideas is being a good listener, Brockelman says. “When I talk to people who are new to this business, I emphasize how important it is to listen to their colleagues and their customers,” she says. “It’s really one of the most important skills anybody can have in this business.”

After recently meeting with someone who wanted to list a property, Brockelman advised the prospective seller to reconsider. “The more I heard, the more I realized that he might be better off waiting to list the property. It was the best option for him.” She advised him to go to his lender and try to modify his loan. “It was right for him, and I hope he comes back to me when the time is right for him to sell,” she say.

When it comes to being a good listener, Lynda Conway sees a strong parallel between real estate and her earlier career, leading a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). “As a minister, I learned that, to get to the bottom of an issue, I had to carefully ask certain questions and then listen to each side.

Often, I was faced with very emotional situations,” says Conway. For 13 years, Conway’s full-time gig has been selling real estate as a partner in The Turner Team, affiliated with J.B. Goodwin, REALTOR®, also in Austin. She and partner Bettye Turner close between $10 million and $20 million in sales annually, she says, and she regularly draws on her background to help people facing tough real estate decisions—and to counsel colleagues.

Lately, Conway has been advising other sales pros to become more financially savvy now that lending and borrowing has become more difficult. “Our clients are expecting us to help them in this time of difficulty, and we should be able to answer their questions about finance. They’ll know if you’re trying to fake it.’’

That’s where Elise West Greenberg’s college economics degree comes in handy. Greenberg, ABR®, CRS®, is a practitioner with Weichert, REALTORS®, in the Philadelphia suburb of Blue Bell, Pa. She offers mortgage trend information at her Web site, with a clear explanation of why now is a great time to buy.

“It’s very important that you provide useful information that is easy to access,” she says. The 50-year-old has been in real estate sales only five years, but her economics background and previous career marketing high-end kitchens have served her well in real estate.

Use Down Time Wisely

Randy Keleher, too, learned valuable lessons in another arean that he applies in real estate. For 30 years, Keleher operated a ski shop in Connecticut. Today, he’s a sales associate with William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage and Insurance, in Shelton, Conn.

At his ski shop, he learned the importance of making your marketing plan fit “both the overall market conditions and the individual client.” He also learned how to prepare for both busy and slow times. Off-peak months in the ski business, he says, taught him the value of sharp business planning and operational skills.

“We’re in a tight market right now, but we still see opportunity,” says Keleher, who has been in real estate six years. “If I had any advice to give, it would be that people in our business should use this time to their advantage—to educate themselves about their market and work on building their client base. It’s really a time to lay a good foundation for when things turn around.”

Keep Learning

Although experience is a great teacher, it’s important to never let your knowledge get stale. Dixson has spent considerable time recently focusing on the art of negotiation. He has even begun formal training to be a Certified Negotiation Expert, a designation offered through the Phoenix-based Negotiation Expertise LLC.

“It’s a tool that many of us need to work on,” he says. “My experience has been that many people not only have a tough time saying what they want to say, but they also have a tough time actually understanding what the other person wants.”

In addition to seeking out training opportunities, Dixson has paid attention to developing real estate mentors, who’ve helped him get beyond the basics and set stretch goals. His highest priority, he says, is to talk to 50 people every week.

Whatever your age or past experience, “mentors are critical in this business,” says Elise West Greenberg. For the past three years, Greenberg has been a corporate trainer for Weichert, REALTORS®, training associates in 20 offices. Her first bit of advice to students is to develop a business plan—but she realizes that’s easier said than done. “There are plenty of people out there who will gladly help you create and monitor your plan. Go to meetings of your colleagues. If you build a network, you’ll start to get referrals.”

One area where experienced practitioners might benefit from reverse mentoring—that is, seeking advice from younger practitioners—is in the use of new technologies.

“To be very honest, I don’t know how Twitter can be useful to me and my clients,” Charryl Youman, a practitioner with Prudential Florida Realty, in Venice, Fla., says with a laugh when asked about the microblogging service that allows users to send and read short messages on computers or other Web-enabled devices. Those short messages, known as “tweets,” are shared with communities of users around specific topics, and have been adopted by some in real estate as another means to stay connected with clients and prospects.

Although she’s a LinkedIn user, Youman says Twitter is still over the horizon for her. But that doesn’t mean she’s dismissing it altogether.

“During my days in marketing in the legal profession I was expected to keep learning,’’ she says. Youman spent 25 years in legal marketing, including seven years at a national law firm that specialized in real estate. “There is no difference in this profession. It’s all about adapting and growing, and thinking like a business executive.”

K496 Fairhaven Drive, Tobyhanna PA

.19 Acres – Nice Building Lot! Enjoy the lake, pool, tennis courts, and more when you build your next home here. Community sewer and water, road maintenance,and garbage service provided too. $7750. Ask Bobbie Smith for more information.

First Time Homebuyers – Don’t Miss the Deadline

FIRST-TIME HOME BUYERS – Don’t miss your chance to become a homeowner because you missed the deadline

Time is running out – November 30, 2009 is the Cut-Off

By now, everyone knows about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the $8,000 tax credit available for first-time homebuyers. It’s the best incentive to buy a home in decades.

It’s important to note that the deadline for who qualifies is fast approaching. While November 30, 2009 seems ages away, it will be here before you know it. And that date is the deadline for closing. To qualify for the tax credit, your purchase must close by the November 30, 2009 cutoff.

So, if purchasing a new home to take advantage of the tax credit is on your “To Do” list — Get moving!!!

Currently, there is so much activity in the marketplace — appraisal requests, lots of refinancing and regular home purchases because of great mortgage rates. Closings are taking longer than ever and are even being pushed back every day.

Call any of our agents at Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way today to help get started in buying your first home in the Pocono real estate market.

More Tax Incentive Info

• You are considered a first-time homebuyer if you, and your spouse if you are married, have not owned any other main home during the three-year period ending prior to the date of purchase.
• In June it was announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act tax credit of up to $8,000 could be used as down payment or for closing costs on FHA-insured mortgages.

Find more info at www.IRS.gov or www.realtor.org

117 Gollum Lane, Tamiment Pa

Price Reduced! Beautifully maintained colonial in Robt Trent Jones golf community. Enjoy amenities including pool, fitness ctr & lake…or relax in the privacy of your screened porch, sprawling deck, cozy den w/ gas fireplace, or well-appointed owner suite. Entertaining is easy w/ formal living & dining rooms, huge kitchen w/ sit-down island. Count on the versatility of a full basement too! $199,845. Call Karen Wagner for more information or to view this home.

View the Virtual Tour:

1233 Larkspur Lane, Tobyhanna PA

Tobyhanna real estate ~ 1233 Larkspur Lane has JUST been REDUCED $189,700!

”A SLEEPING GIANT”, TOUR PROVEN! QUALITY CONSTRUCTION! UNIQUE DESIGN! CODDLED BY OWNER’S LOVE! DOWNSIZING NEEDED=YOURS TO BEHOLD AND CONTINUE CODDLING! Nestled within the cool breeze of trees a true pleasure and treasure to call yours. New Health Club type under construction at Pocono Farms rounding to a full amenity package for all ages.CHECK LOW TAXES. Ask for Dawn Kephart 570-972-0127.

View the Virtual Tour:

First Day of School in a New School

Starting school is always an adjustment for children of any age, but starting a new school in a new town after a move is a much bigger adjustment. In fact, according to psychologists, moving and starting a new school is the third biggest and stressful transition for children after death and divorce. But, with a little preparation, parents can make this major transition easier on their children (and themselves).

BEFORE THE MOVE
Tell children gently and with much understanding about the move. Put a positive spin on the news, but be sure to answer your child’s questions honestly and with empathy. Remember, they may be afraid and sad to be leaving their very best friends and enter into the unknown. They may not ask many questions at first but be sure to be prepared to answer questions when your child is ready to ask.
Spend time with old friends and say goodbye in a special way – Having positive goodbye time with old friends will help children transition from one life into another. Ask other parents to speak positively about the move. Provide small trinkets that can be keepsakes for the children to exchange.

Ask your child to help with choosing the new home. Have them search the listings and read and discuss information about school districts in the area in which you are planning to move.

Investigate school districts. In the Poconos, visit www.creyourway.com for links to all Monroe County school districts. Conduct searches online on sites like greatschools.com to learn more about the schools in the towns you are researching. Don’t forget to review the newspapers and the township web sites to learn as much as you can about the schools and the administrators of the regions you are interested in living.

AFTER THE MOVE
Unpack in a timely way and get your new home organized. Starting a new school and new extracurricular activities will be hard enough for your child. Make sure their room and their home are organized and settled to help the adjustment.

Meet your new neighbors as fast as you can and help your child meet the other youngsters in the new neighborhood that may be attending their school. Starting a new school will be easier even if they have one new friend.

School Days

1. Visit school before with child. Introduce your child to their classroom and the environment so they are comfortable when school starts. Get a school map and  study the school map with your child before school begins. Tour the school – locate their new classroom, any additional classrooms, where the gym, cafeteria, bathrooms are. Have some fun working together to get “lost” in school and “finding” your way back.
2. Meet the teachers – Make an appointment to meet the new teacher(s). Have a  meeting with each, ask what their expectations and style of teaching is. Ensure that your the teacher understands clearly that the child(ren) are new to the area and may not have made any friends yet.
3. Ride the bus – if your child will be riding the school bus, see if you can get a copy of the route and show your child the neighborhoods they will be seeing when they get on the bus on the first day of school.

Make sure student medical records are available and up to date. Be sure to have your child’s entire medical and dental history for the new school, new doctor and new dentist. Immunizations may be different in the new school, particularly if you have moved to a new state, so make sure you give yourself enough time to find and visit your new doctor.

THE WEEK BEFORE
Get organized – Things in a new school and new town will be hard enough, so getting organized is your best bet for making sure your child acclimates quickly and with little chaos. Create a central family calendar with children’s school, sport and extra curricular activities as well as which parent will be responsible for the execution of the calendar for the day.

Get on a sleep schedule – Starting the week before school starts, start getting children to bed on the schedule they will keep during the school year. Create the same type of school-year routine – come home from sports (a day at the playground); cook and eat dinner, create some sort of project each night that might be considered homework, pre-bed hygiene routine and off to bed.

THE NIGHT BEFORE
Work with your child to prepare school supplies, backpack, lunch funds, class schedules and a first day outfit. If there are locker locks involved, work with your child to memorize the number. Ensure your child has easy to use and find supplies and that your child is wearing clothing that is comfortable and makes them feel great.

THE FIRST DAY
Provide a special first-day breakfast for your child. Check on outfit, backpack and supplies one last time, kiss your child goodbye and wish them well. After saying goodbye, cross your fingers and wait until the final bell rings.

ONGOING
Check in with your child on a regular basis. Even if they seem fine, ask them how they like school, make sure there is no major change to their grades, extracurricular activities, mood, etc. You will still be adjusting to your new neighborhood and possibly job, so be sure to check on your child to make sure their adjustment is smooth too.

Is Virtual Staging Deceiving?

For those who are unfamiliar with virtual staging, virtual staging is where you take a photo of an empty room and then digitally enhance the photos with artwork, furnishings, and other finishing touches to make the space seem more inviting. Virtual staging allows buyers to see the potential of the home, while the home owner or agent save money on staging costs.

A recent article from The San Francisco Chronicle (“Virtual Staging Sparks Sales of Vacant Homes” by Judy Richter) took a look at the growing trend of real estate professionals using virtual staging to move listings.

While virtual staging seems like a win-win, some question whether the altered photos may deceive buyers.

There are several benefits to this marketing tactic that make some in the real estate business attracted to virtual staging, particularly the huge cost savings of staging on the Web rather than paying for actual physical staging. Some real estate agents say they have saved thousands of dollars in staging costs by opting for virtual over physical staging.  Those who have used virtual staging report an increase in buyer traffic after virtual staging photos are posted than if they just posted photos on the Web of the vacant rooms in the house.

But are these altered photos accurate renderings of the space? Or are they misrepresenting the property by sprucing them up digitally?

Realtor, Kirk Lebowe of PreVue Properties in Los Angeles County, said he doesn’t disclose that the home was virtually staged. He sees it as a way to give the buyers decorating ideas. After all, he said, “You’re not selling (the home) with the furniture.”

Are agents who use virtual staging opening themselves up to potential liability issues?

Do you think virtual staging is deceiving, or is the Agent providing buyers with “free” decorating ideas?

405 Zeman Street, Portland PA

Idyllic, Charming Beauty in the Country for Large or Extended Family, yet Minutes to Town and 80. Be Captivated and Fall in Love with this Amazing Home that will Exceed Your Expectations: Meticulous, Move-In Condition, Acreage on Cul-de-Sac, Privacy, Beauty, Quality Workmanship Throughout, Inviting Landscaping, Flat Yard. Relax on the Deck or choice of 2 Patios. 3 Propane Fireplaces Heat Entire house. $229,900. Ask Kris Collis for more information.

View the Virtual Tour: