Idaho Real Estate >> ID Real Estate Specialist

The Answer is BOTH! 

I wrote about a similar experience I had last month and for new members I think it is good to hear what just happened to an associate of mine yesterday.

My associate came into my office yesterday so upset with himself.  He made the same mistake many of us that are too heavy into technology have made.

My friend had a lot of success having buyers go to his website, search for listings using the IDX technology and call him with listings they want to see.  It has worked great for him as it has for me.

Along come John and his lovely wife Sally.  John calls my associate and tells him that Sally and he were referred to him to buy a home.  My associate says great, do you have a computer?  John responds by saying "Yup".  My associate says great.  Go to my website and do an MLS search and let me now which homes you would like to see and give me a call.  Thanks for calling and have a great day!

Three days later my associate call John and asks him if he and Sally found any homes they would like to see.  John replies by saying "We just bought a home this morning from another Realtor".  My associate says "But I thought you wanted me to help you find a home"?   John replies by saying "Well you told us sir to go to your site but Sally and I are not big on computers.  We just bought one cuz our son told us to.  We would much rather go look at homes.  We thought maybe you were to busy so we called another Realtor that took us out yesterday and showed us some mighty fine homes and we really liked on of them and bought it this morning". 

Ouch!

I told my associate friend "Been there done that" and I have learned to Ask, Ask, Ask!

Do you want your coffee black or with cream and sugar in it?

Don't speak Spanish or another 2^nd language?  Don't worry and please read on.

I was blessed to be born into wonderful Hispanic farm family that taught me two things I am eternally grateful for; a wonderful work ethic and having Spanish as a 2^nd language.  I started real estate in 1980 and for years did not promote my 2^nd language and just took in for granted that just knowing the 2^nd language I would have a strong Spanish speaking clientele. 

This was true to a degree but my 2nd language didn't benefit me real well until 1998 when I created with the assistance of Arch Telecom Arch Telecom my bi-lingual hotline.  I contacted Arch Telecom in the spring of 1998 and asked if they could create a bi-lingual hotline.  After contacting their tech department in Texas Arch Telecom came up with my bi-lingual hotline which I later found out was the 1^st bi-lingual hotline in the nation.

What I did was record the information on every listing in English and Spanish.  Callers then called a toll free hotline number and entered 1 for English and 2 for Spanish.  All listing information is recorded in both languages.

From a buyers standpoint my calls increased 20% the first year, 28% the 2^nd year and over 40% the 3^rd year and on.  The way the system works is that buyers can call the hotline for property information and either leave a message to be called back or be forwarded to my office or cell number.  If they have a fax they can even have a property flier faxed to them just by pressing another number. The beauty of this is that the number can be called 24/7 and buyers don't have to wait for an office to open, SELLERS LOVE THIS.  You can post the toll free number on your fliers or on any print advertising. 

From a Sellers standpoint I use this tool to secure more listings.  Basically I show sellers my full color fliers I will place in front of their home and show them my call log of all past calls (available on-line from Arch Telecom), showing them the high number of Spanish speaking callers my system brings in.  I go one step further by pre-recording listing information for their own home I am after and have the seller call my 800 number and listen to the recording I have made on their home.  This seals every listing I want hands down. Why would any seller list without this program and not increase their ability to attract more buyers?

A huge advantage is that you can call the buyers back that call without violating the "Do Not Call" laws.

Don't speak Spanish? No problem.  I had a Realtor call me from Oregon after reading an article written about my system.  She loved my program but didn't speak Spanish and I simply said "Hire someone to record the Spanish recordings on all your listings".  You can also have a Spanish speaking person call these buyers back and get an appointment scheduled where you can bring in an interpreter.  She did what I suggested and has seen a tremendous increase in business. 

If you don't want to deal with calling the Spanish speaking buyers back simply refer them to a Spanish speaking agent in your market area for a 25% referral fee.

This system isn't only for Spanish speaking buyers.  You can use it for any other foreign language that is strong in your market area.

I want to congratulate Active Rain member Thesa Chambers regarding her blog Closet Smoker | Time to Quit  where she admitted to all of us she had a problem with smoking and made a resolution to stop.  She said she didn't use the word "Quit" because of it's negative connotation.  I felt in my heart she was looking for support and was reaching out to all of us.

Her blog sadly only received 3 comments which surprised me. I think it takes a lot of guts to publicly admit a problem or a bad vice one has and to make a commitment to change. Not everyone has the courage to do so.

This blog may not get read much either because there is no marketing plan or brilliant news flash.  But that is O.K. with me.

This isn't about me gaining points for writing a blog.  In fact I hope the Active Rain Gods will not give me credit for writing this blog.  It isn't about me getting attention.  It is about supporting a fellow Active Rain member and telling her "I am proud of her" and I pray and hope she made the commitment on March 1st, 2007 to "Stop" smoking.

If you didn't stop Thesa just know that you have an Active Rain member friend in Idaho that is proud of you for stepping up to the plate and I am pulling for you.  I know that you have touched a lot of loved ones in the process of your efforts.

Your friend,

George

Many of you read a recent blog I wrote "Adversity - One Lady's Incredible Story of Conquering it"  In that post I referenced Maryland Realtor Elaine Northrop which was interviewed by Howard Brinton back in 1998.  In that interview Elaine openly talks about the adversity in her life and what she did to overcome very difficult times to eventually become the #1 producer worldwide for the Coldwell Banker real estate company.

Elaine explained in her interview that many people in life accept the fact that this is the way life is and this is what I have and will always have.  Her favorite quote at the end of the interview with Howard was:

"Conceive it, Believe it, Achieve it"

Conceive that it can be done

Believe that your are capable of doing it

Achieve it

Elaine goes on to explain that when she started opening up her mind and visually seeing what she wanted her world started to change.  She says when she started giving herself "permission" to have more than what she had settled for in the past huge doors started to open for her.  She says that when we limit ourselves because we think "We Can't" the result will be that we will stay in the same world that we have created for ourselves.

When I think about it every super star Realtor I have ever met didn't think that he or she couldn't sell 20 million dollars in real estate. They just went out and did it and gave themselves permission to do it.  They did whatever they had to do to get there and no one was going to stop them.

Children are so incredible to watch as they grow.  They start with a crawl, then a walk, then they start to ask hundreds of questions in their quest to learn and find out more about their world.  What if they never tried to crawl, walk or asked hundreds of questions?

Let's let the child in us out. Lets asked hundreds of questions of people that intrigue us in our daily lives including members of Active Rain to help get us to our destination.  Start visualizing what it is in life you see yourself having.  Is it more time with your family, more production, or taking up playing a musical instrument you always wanted to learn but told yourself you didn't have the talent for? Sometimes we can get so confused with all the information we hear and see.  Sometimes we just need to clear out minds and look at what it is we want in life and go after it. It will amaze you that when you set your mind on a goal with a passion in your heart you will come up with ways to get there you never thought you were capable of doing.

Give yourself permission to have it and go get it.

Conceive it, Believe it, Achieve it!

 Posted By: George Tallabas - Boise Idaho Real Estate Agent- Associate Broker 
with RE/MAX Advantage, Canyon Counties #1 Brokerage in sales and listings
specializing in Boise Idaho Real Estate and Southwest Idaho Real Estate. 

Yes, today is my first month anniversary on Active Rain and all I can say is WOW!  I joined at the encouragement of Allan Hainge's Cyber Star newsletter http://www.cyberstars.net/

To date I have 1 buyer coming to my area to purchase investment land that found me on Active Rain and I have given out 2 referrals that look like both will work out great! 

I would need to write 30 pages on here to thank everyone I have chatted with or spoken to on the phone.  I won't take all your time reading it so all I can say is Thank you, Thank you, Thank you all for making my time on here one of the highlights of my real estate career! 

At the very moment my seller said that I politely said: I know commissions are negotiable but "I don't reduce my commission from what I quoted you...If you want a DISCOUNT BROKER, I can refer you to one".

There was a silence on the other end of the phone and my seller said "Can I ask you why you won't reduce your commission?"

I replied "Well you see, I'm a Professional"

1) I am adamant about education and volunteer to take additional classes every year.  It's important for me to have the best education to take care of my clients.

2) I sat on the planning and zoning commission of our county for 5 years in the 90's to help me understand property issues from the local government point of view.

3) I have a website I have worked hard on for over 9 years and it yields me over 65,000 hits per month.

4) I place full color fliers in information boxes complete with an 800 number in English and Spanish to capture every possible buyer.  It was the first bi-lingual hotline in the United States.

5) I email all the top producers in our MLS with every new listing I take.

6) I post every listing on 5 of the top listing websites and re-post them every month.

7) I call my sellers every week, even if I don't have any news to give them.  I just want them to know I care.

8) When an offer comes in I can assure you that you will receive the best counseling available to you. My counseling will have your best interest in mind.  I have been known to advise some sellers in the past to walk away from offers if the offers were not in their best interest.

Lastly, "I have a list of everything I do from the time I take the listing, through the listing period, negotiation of an offer, the pending stage, at closing, and after the closing.  My list has 47 functions on it.  Here it is for you to view".  "I learned to do this at a Howard Brinton Seminar and it works wonders".

Which one of these functions I do would you like for me to eliminate so you can get a discount on the commission I charge you?  Actually Mrs. Seller I dont' even want to do that.  You see, when I list a property I put my heart and soul into it.  If I can't deliver the best to every client on every transaction, I would rather not be involved in the transaction. 

"You see, this is why I am not willing to reduce my commission".

There was a "Wow" from the seller and we said our good byes.  I didn't respond to her for 3 days and then on the 4th day I receive a call from Mrs. Seller.  She simply said "George, I'm ready to list my home with you, please send over the contract".

The commission issue was never brought up again.  The property sold on the 32nd day of the listing.

"I'm a Professional"

In 1987 the movie "Wall Street" hit the movie screen. In 1988 author John T. Molloy wrote the book "Dress for Success". From the late 80's through the mid 90's a lot of business people thought that a shirt and tie or a knock out business suit for ladies equaled success. 

To me, this is like saying that every business person in the United States should drive a BMW without regard to where one lives or what the culture of an area may be.

I read an article in the Realtor magazine in the 90's that really hit home to me the importance of looking at ones audience and knowing how to fit into that audience.

The article was about a Realtor in Florida by the name of Michael Davis (see I told you it impacted me!).  Mr. Davis was stuck at a certain sales volume that was in the range of 4-5 million dollars per year.  He drove something like a Mercedes, wore two and three piece suits, and advertised he was a top producer.

Out of frustration Mr. Davis contacted Hobbs Herder advertising for a complete analysis and makeover.

To make a long story short, Hobbs Herder gave him a list of changes. 1) Get rid of the suits and start wearing classy polo shirts and casual slacks, 2) Get rid of the Mercedes and buy a Land Rover, 3) Get rid of "Look at me advertising" and use advertising photos that include your children and or something you like doing.

Michael took the advice and within a year his volume was up 50%. By the following year his sales volume had more than doubled. He realized that for years he had failed to connect to the people he was helping.

The point here is to dress equal to your average client/customer and area.  Dress way over the norm and a client may feel they don't measure up or may feel you are making too much money on them.  The same goes for the car believe it or not. A Realtor in the rural town of  Moses Lake, Washington years ago purchased a Cadillac as a way to reward herself.  Her income dropped considerably that following year.  She got rid of the Cadillac and her income started to rise again.

No one wants to hear how great we are and that we are part of the "Multi-Million Dollar Club".  All they want to know is "what are you going to do for me?".

I had my own experience with attire. I wore a suit and tie in a small town of Idaho for 17 years. I remember that I would feel "less than" if I didn't wear a tie on a given day of the week.  My income was good but never great.  Several years ago the suit and ties were given to Good Will and I started wearing nice Polo shirts and nice casual pants. I did it because I just got tired of being someone that wasn't me. My income has increased every year since and I had a record year in 2006.

I started talking to a very important representative of Carl's Junior restaurant in 1998 regarding a new location for them in Idaho.  We spoke on the phone for 3 months before we met.  When we finally met the first thing out of his mouth was "Thank you for not wearing a stuffy tie"!  He was dressed more casual than me! We hit it off and I sold Carl's Junior a location here in Idaho.  I still have a very good relationship with them.

Bottom line is look at the average person you are working with in your market place.  Does the image you portray compliment the average type of people you will be working with or could it be giving off a message that isn't good for you?

Don't be what you may think you have to become to be successful.  The media tries to convince us we have to look a certain way.  Forget the media and just be who you are. Be yourself and be a person your clients can relate to in your attire, the car you drive, and how you promote yourself.

Be prepared, you never know what kind of people you may run into!

 Posted By: George Tallabas - Boise Idaho Real Estate Agent - Associate Broker 
with RE/MAX Advantage, Canyon Counties #1 Brokerage in sales and listings
specializing in Boise Idaho Real Estate and Southwest Idaho Real Estate.

With some of the powerhouse sites like Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Amazon, etc. who would have thought that Active Rain would see the success it has seen and now exceed 20,000 members in it's short life? Against the giants of the web it has surely been an impressive growth.

I don't know about you but I think it is "So Cool" when I write something and someone out there likes something about it and responds to me.  We all want to be heard and want someone to value our opinion. When many times the people closest to use don't acknowledge us it is good that someone out there in CyberSpace thinks what I have to say has value.

Yesterday a member sent me a comment and just loved a post I wrote 3 weeks ago that had to be found on something like the 5th or 6th page of the Realtor forum. She liked it so much she asked for permission to use it in a class she is teaching. Wow!... that was good for the old ego!

Makes me wonder what the future holds for Active Rain?  Will we video conferencing be in the future? Will I be able to see Sarah from W.V. while she is typing on her computer?  Will Scottie beam me up to somewhere in CyberSpace to shake hands with Jim from Atlanta?  Don't laugh, look at what we can do today that was unthinkable just 10 years ago.

What about a national convention where we can actually meet someone face to face that we have been exchanging comments with for months?  Would a national conference be worthwhile or would everyone be seated at their tables with there Laptops open and blogging with the other members that are home logged onto Active Rain!!! LOL.

Whatever the future holds for Active Rain, congratulations on the 20,000th member.  One can only imagine what the future holds for you and all we can all do is "Get on board for the ride".

The world  news announced tonight that gas has gone up 33 cents per gallon in the past 30 days.  It is likely gas will take it's normal upward summer hike.  Prepare now to save on your gas costs.

Thinking about a new car? http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ has gas mileage estimates and more information for 1985-2007 model year cars.

Check best prices. There are excellent sites out there like http://www.gaspricewatch.com/new/ that you can checkout for the best local prices on gas.  Many of these sites are updated at least weekly. They also offer good tips on conservation.

Slow down. Even a five mile per hour decrease in speed can affect gas mileage considerably.

Use overdrive gears and cruise control wisely. They improve the fuel ecomony of your car when you are driving on a highway.

Keep tires properly inflated. Under inflated tires can cut fuel economy by 0.5 percent per pound of pressure below recommended levels. Get yourself a guage and check the pressure yourself.

Use the octane level you need. Read your owners manual and find out what octain level is good for your vehicle.  Using octane levels higher than the recommendation is useless and just costs you extra dollars.

Give your car a tune up. A poorly tuned engine can increase fuel consumption by up to 50% or more. Change all your filters as often as recommended.

Don't idle. Unnecessary idling can consume as much as a gallon of gas per hour. It also wastes more fuel than restarting the engine.

Maintain a consistent speed. Accelerate gently, brake gradually (when you see a FSBO!), and avoid sudden stops.

Get more things done.  If you are going to take a listing far from your home or office get as many things done on that same trip such as taking additional photos of a different listing along the way or placing additional fliers in an information box.

Consider extra weight. The excess weight of car top carriers and trailers causes engines to work harder and burn more gas.

Consider a Hybrid vehicle.  If you have days when you will not be showing properties and mostly doing office work and running errands, consider investing in a hybrid vehicle.  I have a friend that has a Toyota Hybrid that is getting 70+ miles to the gallon in town!

Most of all drive safely! We need you back here on Active Rain!

Several members have written recently about the sub-prime loan debacle.  Many are concerned about the ramifications and what all those borrowers out there will do.  I would like to offer my opinion as to the history of mortgage lending over the past 20+ years.

In 1980 I had a young couple come into my office and wanted to buy a home.  At that time they had two options.  1)  They could save for the down payment (both were working) which at that time was about $2,500 including closing costs or,  2) They could have qualified for a Farmers Home Administration loan with no down-payment but they earned slightly too  much money to qualify.

I didn't hear from them for about 3 weeks.  They then came into my office and were so happy because the wife had quite her job and they now qualified for the FMHA loan.  Oh, by the way, they drove up to my office in a brand new car they had bought 2 days prior to coming to my office. 

What happened here is that the wife quite working so they would qualify and they also got farther in debt.  They didn't want to have to "SAVE" money so they took the highly traveled road of "Give me a loan I don't have to work for".

There isn't a year that goes by that I don't think about that sale I made 26 years ago and it still bothers me. You see our government created a program that took the incentive away from a lot of people to work for what they have.

A lot has been written about adjustable rate mortgages and they have been blamed for causing the high and growing number of foreclosures hitting the market.

This has been my observance in S.W. Idaho the last few years: Kids come into my office, write up an offer on a home. They come to closing and get their earnest money back and pay no money down, not one cent. You see they found a lender that would make them the loan and an appraiser that told them what they wanted to hear. They immediately move into their new home. Within months, if not weeks a new 4-wheel drive truck appears in the drive-way along side the Mrs. new sport car.  Neither vehicles fit in the garage because it is stuffed full of toys.

You see they want these toys because mom and dad have them and they want them too. Doesn't matter they can't pay cash for them because they are bombarded with credit card offers and "No down 1 year to pay" programs.  Pretty soon they get into this vicious circle of debt as described in the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by author Robert Kiyosaki http://www.richdad.com/  

"A Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) report announced that the country's annualized losses on bank credit cards had ballooned to its highest level in 14 years. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which issued the findings, the losses accounted for 5.22% of every $100 charged to the nation's credit cards; bankruptcy amounted to roughly half of "bank credit card charge-offs."

As soon as the bills start mounting up the first thing they let go of is their home.  Why? because they had nothing invested!  They had none of their hard earned money invested in that home.  They would rather hang on to their 4-wheel drive trucks, sports cars and motorcycles and just let the home go.

In many cases the debt of the home was more that the value to resell This is because closing costs were added to many sales prices and over mortgaged the home in relationship to it's market value. This has resulted in massive foreclosures.  Just drive through any entry level subdivision, USA.

In many cases borrowers just filed bankruptcy and turned around and bought another home months later until the bankruptcy laws were finally changed.  Thank God the bankruptcy laws were toughened. Can you imagine where we would be if they were not toughened?

What was really sad is that it was easier for a young couple just out of bankruptcy to buy a home than it was for a self-employed hard working couple that had good credit!  The self-employed couple was penalized because they were self-employed.  What is wrong with this picture?

When I grew up I was told that if I wanted something I had to work hard to earn the money I needed to afford what I wanted to buy.  Come this century of "I want, I want, I want" and "I deserve, I deserve, I deserve".

I can assure you that if buyers are told they must now come in with 3, 5 or 10% down they will find a way to get it if they really want a home.  And you know what? That would be a good thing because they then know they had to work for it and they have something invested in it.  They would have a little more pride.

I admit there are people that really needed and deserved sub-prime 100% financing but the vast majority of loans were made to couples that didn't have the discipline to own a home.

Lets bring back pride in home ownership. Lets GIVE our youth the opportunity to WORK for down payments and to qualify on their REAL ability to pay.