Luxury Clues

A New Way to Stay in Touch with Your Real Estate Clients at NO Cost!

You probably have been hearing a lot about Twitter and Facebook. Even if you don't intend on using these tools, it's still important that you go on these sites and complete a profile. The reason is that it will prevent someone else from taking your name and posting fake comments supposedly made by you.

The main reason to be on these two sites, however, is to build referrals. The simple way to do this is to make two posts per day on each site. On Twitter, your post is limited to 140 characters. It can be done in just two minutes from your cell phone. When you make your post (i.e. Tweet) it goes out to anyone who is following you. I started using Twitter about 3 weeks ago and I'm up to over 300 followers. On Facebook, you can start a group that shares an interest in your community. Talk about local events, the local school sporting events, what's happening in the mortage market, interesting real estate tidbits, as well as sharing your passion for golf, reading, or gardening. Notice, I did not say to post any marketing messages. This approach requires the real you to show up and be interesting.

While this may be challenging at first, the cost savings are incredible. You can build you referral database by starting a Facebook group for your zip code if one doesn't already exist. If it does, go up and read the comments. Respond to what people say, but don't force yourself on them as a Realtor. Show up as you, just as you would for a Fourth of July picnic--talking about business is not what your neighbors want to hear about. They want to hear about the new restaurant that was fabulous or where they can go to get help with getting their property taxes lowered.

Bottom line, be a real person, join the conversation, and have fun.

Posted by Bernice Ross, author of the #1 Selling Book at NAR 2008 Convention, Real Estate Dough

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BRoss

Boca Raton, Florida

This lake front estate includes a guest house with gym and infinity edge pool.

Listing provided by Point2Homes

In or Out of Control?

Is your life out of control? Are you a control freak? Either extreme can be a challenge. With change coming at us faster and faster, feeling overwhelmed is a natural consequence. A common reaction to overwhelm is paralysis: there is so much to do that we are unable to do any of it. When we finally begin to tackle some of the tasks that are overwhelming us, many of us go into control mode as a means of coping.

The "learned helplessness" research demonstrates that when people lose hope and give up being at cause in their lives, they not only develop serious disease, they often die. Having a sense of control is an important aspect of creating a happy and balanced life. The difficulty is most people do not distinguish between the control of their reactions to life's events (healthy) vs. attempting to control life or other individuals (unhealthy). Attempting to control others or life's events is usually tied to attachment to outcome. We need to be right, we need to be in control. This need normally sets us up for failure, since no one really has the ability to do anything other than control their own reactions to life's events. This in turn, creates a vicious cycle where we create expectation, the expectation is not fulfilled, we feel less in control, we try to exercise more control, the situation deteriorates even faster, and we become increasingly overwhelmed.

If you would like to break this detrimental pattern, here are three strategies. First, begin by identifying a time where you had a great deal to do and handled everything effectively.  Now compare this to a time when you were paralyzed by overwhelm. What was the difference between the two situations? How did you handle yourself in each situation – was it the same or different? How did you feel after handling the situations? What worked? What didn't work? The next time you face overwhelm, use the strategy that produced results for you.

The second strategy is to let go of attachment to results. This can be extremely difficult. The key is to realize that each of us can only do our best. Letting go of how things should be lets us shift focus to doing the best we can under the given circumstances. We cannot control outcome, but we can control how we react to the outcome.

The third strategy when facing overwhelm is to identify something small you can handle well. By taking baby steps, self-confidence increases and your sense of not being in control lessens. Also, if possible, choose to handle a small aspect of something important rather than handling something easy, but unimportant.

Remember, how you use control is a choice. Exercising control over our responses promotes our health and well-being. Giving up hope, being paralyzed by overwhelm, or trying to exercise control of others undermines our health, happiness, and ability to function effectively.

 

Posted by Bernice Ross, Want to get control of your life? If so, our talented real estate coaching team at RealEstateCoach.com can help you conquer the tough market, increase your profitability, and help you live the life you truly dreamed of living.  

A Simple Strategy to Stop or Delay Foreclosure

 An article recently ran in AP News that described a simple strategy for delaying or possibly even stopping foreclosure. The tip is, "Ask the lender for the original paperwork." A study conducted by the University of Iowa found that lenders are often negligent in maintaining the required paperwork. Approximately 40 percent of the time, the lenders were unable to produce the note. While most lenders have electronic copies of the paperwork, making this single request may stop the sale or at least delay the foreclosure. This gives you and the owner valuable additional time to sell their property, workout a short sale, or persuade the lender to do a workout.

Posted by Bernice Ross, RealEstateCoach.com--the home of the best real estate training and the coolest real estate game in the industry--Real Estate Dough!

Photo by our good friend Jeff Turner, President of Real Estate Shows. Follow Jeff on Twitter or find him on Flickr.com at RESPRES

 

 

Working with Russian Buyers? Ten “Don’ts” that Can Get You in Trouble

Some experts predict that up to 40 percent of our 2009 sales will be from people from other countries. Currently, the economic client is so bad in so many places that global buyers are desperate for safe havens. U.S. real estate, despite the tough couple of years that we have had, is still about the safest investment on the planet.

For those born in Russia, owning property in the U.S. is the ultimate status symbol. The bigger, the better. Here are ten things to avoid when you are working with Russian real estate clients.

1.  Don't expect Russian buyers or sellers to compromise. They view compromise as being weak. Researchers say that compromise results from having a market economy. Russia is new on the scene and entrepreneurism is still viewed by most Russians as an "illegitimate activity."

2.  Never shake hands with a Russian over a threshold. It's considered to be bad luck.

3.  If you bring flowers to a Russian client, always bring an odd number.

4. It's considered rude to put your hands in your pocket.

5. The ulitmate insult is to show the sole of your shoe to someone else. (In case you're not familiar with the photo, it is of Russian Premier, Nikita Khrushchev pounding his shoe at the United Nations in 1960).

6. Always serve food when you serve drinks. Hospitality is extremely important.

7. Never tell your Russian clients/hosts that you have to use the restroom. Discretely excuse yourself.

8. Avoid sitting on the steps of a public building.

9.  When you work with Russians, begin with small talk first. Next, have a cup of tea or share a drink. Then discuss family or personal talk. Business of the day comes last.

10. Russians have no rewards in their culture for being on time. They consider Americans to be very impatient. Don't expect them to be on time or to be on your schedule.

Posted by Bernice Ross, CEO www.RealEstateCoach.com, home of the most comprehensive real estate training and coaching in the real estate industry.

World's Ugliest Building--Why Not Demolish It Vegas Style?

 Weird Asia news had this great post about the world's ugliest building. It's a 3,000 room hotel where they began construction in 1987 and then stopped in 1992 in Ryugyong, North Korea. The hotel is so ugly that people who take pictures of the city generally airbrush it out.

What would be cool would be to see them demolish it like they have done in Vegas with the old hotels. I saw the old Frontier hotel demolished in 2007 it was an amazing experience, complete with fireworks leading up to the demolition. To see pictures of   more Vegas implosions, click here

Posted by Bernice Ross, CEO, www.RealEstateCoach.com, the place you go to make Real Estate Dough!

Don't Make this Costly Mistake in Your Luxury Real Estate Business

Recently I was speaking with a manager from a major firm who shared an interesting story about one of his top producers. This agent was on a 90 percent split. She was paying her buyer’s agents an 80 percent split. It seems logical to assume that she is very smart, because she’s earning an extra 10 percent from her buyer’s agents. In truth, she’s actually paying her buyer’s agents more than she is earning. Here’s why.

  

Many agents when they make a referral or bring on another licensee to help them in some aspect of their business opt to give these people a percentage of their commission. Normally this number comes off the top. This is a poor decision because it fails to take into account all the expenses that when into acquiring the lead including website fees, traditional and web marketing fees, gasoline, insurance, E&O costs etc. When you take all of these costs into account, the top producing agent is probably getting about 60 to 65 percent while the buyer’s agents are getting 80 percent. Clearly, this is not a good situation.

  

The way to correct this situation is to track your expenses on every listing. If you partner with another agent or are part of a team, commissions should be split after the expenses have been deducted. While it can be challenging to break out expenses on each listing, it’s a smart idea to do so. For example, if you closed 10 transactions last year and earned gross commissions of $100,000, your average gross income per transaction was $10,000. Now look at your tax return. What was the total of all of your Schedule C business deductions? Assume that is was $40,000. That means that you actually netted $60,000 or 60 percent and had 40 percent in expenses.

  

If this scenario was applied to the example above, the agent would first deduct the 40 percent off the top and then split with the other agents 80-20. Putting it differently, instead of paying the buyer’s agents 80 percent, she really should have been paying them 48 percent (80 percent of the commission after deducting the 40 percent in expenses.)

   

The critical point here is that it’s extremely important that you track expenses on each of your listings, regardless of whether you work with another licensee. Tracking expenses incurred for every one of your listings and every buyer (including those who don’t close a transaction) allows you to identify what’s working and what’s not, and, as a result, increase your profitability.

 

Posted by Bernice Ross, Need a coach for your luxury real estate business? If so, email me at [email protected]. I have openings for 5 individual clients who want to become the dominant luxury agent in their market.

Guanajuato, Mexico

This week's featured estate is a fabulous Colonial / Morrocan Style home in the heart of downtown Guanajuato.

Provided by Point2Agent

Fifteen Gifts to Give Your Valentine Throughout the Year

To honor Valentine's Day, here are 15 ways to show your Valentine how much you care, not just on February 14, but throughout the year.

 

1. Awaken your Valentine with a good morning kiss, instead of an alarm clock.

 

2. Leave your Valentine a "post it note" in their brief case, drawer, or car letting them know you were thinking of them.

 

3. Surprise your Valentine when they come home by placing heart shaped helium balloons that say, “I love you” in the garage.

 

4. Give the gift of a smile—clip out cute cartoons, funny sayings, or amusing articles to let your Valentine know you love to laugh with them.

 

5. Give your affection openly (yet appropriately). Hold hands, put your arm around your Valentine, give your Valentine an impulsive kiss just to show you care.

 

6. Give compliments often—"I love how that looks on you," or "You did such a great job on that". Let the compliments come from your heart.

 

7. Does your Valentine pick up the mail? Send them a special card just to say how much you appreciate and love them.

 

8. Say "thank you" often, especially for the routine things you do for each other such as cooking, washing the dishes, doing the grocery shopping, or taking out the trash.

 

9. Leave a message on your Valentine's voicemail just to say "I miss you" or "I can't wait to see you when I get home."

 

10. Listen to your Valentine, even when you disagree. Avoid interrupting and allow them to finish their thought. Let your Valentine have the last word.

 

11. No matter how much we love each other, each person needs their own quiet time to read, reflect, or unwind. Honor your Valentine's need for "alone time."

 

12. Join your Valentine in an activity he/she normally does without you. Have a good time.

 

13. Spend at least 5 minutes holding each other before you go to sleep every night. When you kiss good night, never forget to say, "I'm so happy you're in my life—I love you."

 

14. When you are traveling, call your Valentine each night just to let them know that you are OK, no matter how late it is. 

15. Give your Valentine a hug often - especially when you are specifically asked. Enjoy the hug as if it were the first time you ever hugged your Valentine.

(Photo is from Union Square in San Francisco)

Posted by Bernice Ross and Bryon Van Arsdale, www.RealEstateCoach.com, the home of the best training and consulting in the real estate industry as well as the #1 Selling Book at the 2008 NAR convention, Real Estate Dough, Your Recipe for Real Estate Success.

Watermill, New York

 Don't miss this estate and its grand 2-Story entry w/fireplace and wide staircase.

Listing provided by: Point2Agent.com