Luxury Clues

A Look at the Future for Luxury Real Estate: 3-D Cell Phones

Three-D holographic images have been around since the 1970's. One of the earliest examples was at the Walt Disney Haunted House ride. While the technology is not new, being able to get it on to your handheld device is another story completely. 

Mac Funamizu is the creator of the new Cobalto concept phone, a completely new way to imagine how the phones of the future will work. Using the ideas from the movie Minority Report, Funamizu has created a stunning looking phone that will display your caller or whatever they choose to send you in 3-D. 

Check out the images to see what you might be calling on in the very near future. 

Posted by Bernice Ross. Have you listened to RealEstateCoachRadio yet? Last week Stacy Spickes hit a home run with her great short sale training tips. This week, Terri Murphy joins us to discuss Negotiation Mistakes Most Agents Make. I also start a new series on Working with Buyers. 

The New Normal for Luxury Real Estate Buyers

 Despite the recession, there are still plenty of people who have money to buy the best properties. Not every business and not every bank account is hurting. In the "new normal" for the luxury real estate market, several important trends have started to emerge. 

1.  Some major banks are making "portfolio" jumbo loans.A portfolio loan is one that the bank makes from its own funds. It is not sold on the secondary market. This was fairly common for jumbo financing back in the 1970s and the 1980s. Several major lenders are making these loans for their best clients. They may keep them as performing assets in their portfolio or hold on and sell them when the market improves.

2. Seller financing. Approximately 35 percent of all properties in the U.S. are owned free and clear. This means that the sellers who own these properties can elect to carry part or all of the financing for a qualified buyer. This can be an especially attractive option, especially when there is a substantial down payment. Furthermore, since jumbo loans generally cost more, an owner could charge eight or nine percent. This is a much better return than most other investments right now.

3. We'll just pay cash. Almost no one is talking about this trend, but a number of luxury agents are still reporting that cash transactions are one of the primary ways people are selling their homes today. If someone is spending $5 million or more, in most cases they couldn't finance more than $1-2 million anyway. They're simply opting to pay cash for the property since the alternative minimum tax provisions may prevent them from deducting the interest anyway.

Posted by Bernice Ross. Need help making more money in your real estate business? Real Estate Dough is the most comprehensive training book in the real estate industry that takes you step-by-step through the prospecting, listing, buying, and technology strategies you need today to prosper tomorrow. 

A Whole New Twist on Honeymoons, Champagne, and Spas

 Weddings and champagne go hand-in-hand. So do hot tubs and private spas at honeymoon time. If you want to see a "champagne spa," the folks at TrendHunter shared these great photos of a spa at Caesar's Pocono Resort. This is unlike any spa you have ever seen before. The question is whether it is filled with champagne? Check out the spa itself as well as a photo of the suite.

Posted by Bernice Ross. Get the best training tips in the real estate industry every day at RealEstateCoachRadio. Five minutes a day, five days a week, to help you make your business soar!

 

  

Avoid Being Stung by Urban Myths

 Last week I did a post looking at what you could do to protect yourself if you're on an open house or showing a property and someone attempts to assault you. There were a number of comments on the post. One of the recommendations was to use wasp spray. One of our readers observed that the cans clearly state that it violates Federal law to use this other than for its intended use. 

To determine if I had repeated an Internet hoax, I checked out this fact on Snopes.com. In terms of the wasp spray (as opposed to pepper spray), they have a very thorough discussion of both sides of this issue. Based upon their comments, it's not exactly clear that the use of wasp spray is an issue if you are under attack. 

In case you're not familiar with Snopes, it's the best place to check out those odd claims and facts that come across your email. In fact, before you forward any email that may be questionable (in other words, it's a "strange-but-maybe-not-true" situation), it's a good idea to check it out on Snopes. The same is true with your blog or on social media sites. One of the worst ways to destroy your credibility as a luxury agent is to be taken in by one of these urban myths.

Posted by Bernice Ross, Join us on RealEstateCoachRadio.com, just 5 minutes a day to get the best information, strategies, and systems from real estate's leading trainers and speakers.  

Don't Let this Deadly Habit Harm Your Real Estate Business

 One of the greatest ways we hurt our motivation, our personal lives, and our businesses, is by doing something my husband calls "compared-to-yous." While we all do this, women are especially prone to engaging in this type of behavior when they say, "I'm too fat," "I need to go on a diet," "My hips are too big" etc. 

How can you tell when you are engaging in this activity when it comes to your real estate business? Here are some examples of how people sabotage themselves using this harmful approach: 

1.  I am too old to learn about social media or text messaging. That's for young people.

2.  John was born rich. He has all the right contacts. I will never be able to achieve his level of listing success because I don't have those kinds of connections.

3. Susan has been selling real estate in our neighborhood for 20 years and is the top producer in town. I'll never be able to break into doing business here.

The trap in each of these statements is that the person is comparing themselves to someone else. Someone who looks very successful from the outside, may be struggling with diabetes, family problems, an addiction, or some other issue about which you have no idea. 

What can you do to stop this harmful behavior? Here are five easy steps.

1.  Each person has their own specific combination of strengths and weaknesses. To become a top producer, you don't need to be good at everything. Instead, become really proficient at one or two areas of the business. If you're really good at getting leads from open houses and you hate cold calling, focus on holding open house more often. If you are good at getting leads from networking, spend more time at networking events. The goal is to develop your business around your strengths, not your weaknesses. 

2. When you feel the urge to compare yourself to someone else ask, "What can I do that this person can't do?" It may be something as simple as being a good parent or grandparent to your kids and grandkids. It may be that you are more charitable. Find the points where you differ and celebrate those differences. They are what makes you the unique person that you are.

3. It can be highly discouraging when you watch someone who is very good at what they do and you're only a beginner. When you start to feel not good enough, remember that every expert was once a beginner as well. 

4. Don't try to be someone you're not. People will value you for how much you care about helping them, not based upon who you think you should be. Today's buyers and sellers don't want to hear how great an agent is, they want to know how you can help them get the best deal when they buy or sell their home. 

5. When you catch yourself in a "compared to you," it's normally based upon someone who has something that you don't have. Instead of envying what they other party has, immediately shift gears and name five things about which you are grateful. If you're having trouble, consider that you have heat, clean water, a roof over your head, good health, people who love you, etc. Being grateful is the best way to avoid becoming stuck in the "compared to you" trap. 

Posted by Bernice Ross. If you liked this post, listen in to our new Internet radio show. packed chock full of the best real estate training tips in the industry from the best of the best in the real estate business. Why not check it out right now at www.RealEstateCoachRadio.com. 

Eleven Ways to Keep Your Home from Being Ripped Off

Regardless of where you live, burglaries are a real issue. If you want to protect yourself from being ripped off, here are eleven ways on how to do it. 

1.  Anyone who knocks on your door could be casing your home for a burglary. No matter how official they look, never invite these people into your home or hire them to do a job for you. 

2. While most service people are honest, there are some who are not. The burglar could have a legitimate job such as carpet cleaning, delivering furniture, or doing yard work. This allows them to see who works during the day and who is away. Make a point of saying, "Someone is almost always at home" or if you have an home office say, "I work from home." 

3.  Regardless of who visits your home, always double check to make sure all the doors and windows are locked after they leave. A friend or child could have inadvertently left a door unlocked. A burglar posing as a service person would have left a door or window unlocked on purpose. 

4. A stuffed mailbox, newspapers on your porch, flyers, or a snow covered driveway with no tire marks are an open invitation for a burglary. If you're going away, stop your mail and your newspaper. Also, don't forget to have the neighborhood kids remove any flyers and make plenty of tracks in the snow. 

5.  If you are away, place a radio and your lights on timers. In fact, it's smart to have the radio on throughout the day, Make sure it's loud enough to be heard by someone who could be listening at a door or window (but not so loud as to disturb your neighbors.)

6.  Always use your alarm system. If you haven't done so, consider installing motion detectors throughout your house, including any second story windows or doors.   

7.  Avoid leaving a phone message saying that you are out of town. Also, never post your vacation information on social media sites such as Facebook or MySpace until you get home. It's very easy to determine your address. If you don't believe this, try putting your name, city, state into Zabasearch.com

8. Set up a neighborhood watch. That nosy neighbor with the barking dog may be your best protection from getting ripped off.

9.  Burglars empty all drawers and medicine cabinets in the master bedroom and bath looking for valuables and prescription drugs. Store your jewelry and other valuables either in a built-in safe or somewhere else in the house. In most cases, burglars do not bother with kids' rooms.  

10. If your alarm system pad is visible from the outside of the house, have the alarm company move it where it is not in plain sight. 

11. If you end up face-to-face with a burglar, an excellent deterrent is wasp and hornet spray. This is readily available and is much safer than a gun. The spray cans shoot 20 to 30 feet and temporarily blind the burglar allowing you to escape. Aim for their eyes.

If you would like more resources, check out CrimeDoctor.com or Burglars on the Job by Richard Wright. 

Posted by Bernice Ross, Are you ready for the best five minutes of real estate training with America's top speakers and top producing agents? If so, don't miss www.RealEstateCoachRadio.com. Stay in the know and make more dough!

Are You Ready to Raise the Bar in Your Real Estate Business?

 Have you ever had one of those days that you just felt like quitting? And when it came time, did you quit or push a little bit further? How did you feel after your decision? Each day we get the opportunity to raise or lower our personal bar in life. The choice we make has a huge impact on our confidence, growth, goal accomplishment, and quality of life.

Demanding a little more from yourself or pushing a little further each time you do something are both examples of raising the bar. It is our own responsibility and choice to raise the bar - no can raise it for us. The good news is that we benefit when making this choice and we know that these benefits come directly from our own actions.

Let’s consider an example. Suppose it is important for you to save money. If you’ve not started a savings account yet, one way of raising the bar is to actually go set up the account and commit to saving a small amount each month. Later, you could raise the bar by taking all the money you would have spent on impulse buying and putting that into your savings account. When starting any new habit, start small to make sure you experience success. Then, raise the bar over time.

Unfortunately, we are often our own worst critic. We set goals and when we fail to reach them, our critic has lots of ammunition to help us lower the bar. It takes patience and perseverance to overcome years of habit based on self-criticism around the action or inaction we have taken. One way to overcome a habit based on self-criticism to substitute it for the raising the bar strategy. Step by step, you learn to transform this self-criticism into self-confidence and consistent goal accomplishment.

Raising the bar is neither hard nor complex and everyone can do it. The hard part is that no one can make you do this – it must be your own choice. Once chosen, your challenge then becomes to consistently do what you committed to do.

Posted by Bernice Ross and Byron Van Arsdale. If you liked today's post, join us at www.RealEstateCoachRadio.com--just five minutes a day to get the best training tips and strategies in the real estate industry and it's free!