Posted by Kevin Mazur on January 22, 2008 at 12:59 PM
PRUDENTIAL TROPICAL REALTY ANNOUNCES NEW
LUTZ/LAND O’ LAKES OFFICE LOCATION
We are pleased to announce the new location of our Lutz/Land O’ Lakes office at 20537 Amberfield Dr., in the new Devonwood Professional Office Park in Land O’ Lakes.
The shiny new facility features approximately 4,000 square feet of elegantly appointed office space. According to Marsha Northrop, managing broker of the Lutz/Land O’ Lakes office, “This dynamic new location, together with the company's commitment to the market place, our core group of sales professionals and our ability to grow, we can more conveniently facilitate the real estate needs of clients in Northern Hillsborough, Central Pasco and Southern Hernando counties.” In addition to providing residential, commercial and property management services, the office also offers mortgage and title services – all under one roof.
“The real estate industry is constantly changing and it is Prudential Tropical Realty’s goal to ensure our sales executives have the latest tools, resources and knowledge to provide each and every client a world class experience,” states Northrop. “Our full time professionals are as dedicated to the office's success as they are to helping their customers achieve success in buying and selling real estate.”
Posted by Kevin Mazur on November 27, 2007 at 02:09 PM
Are you ready for some good news? According to nationally-syndicated columnist Kenneth Harney, “….homeowners still control near-record equity holdings, just under $11 trillion.” So despite, the bad news that is constantly being reported, the fact is that “…most homeowners’ equity stakes are intact. Or even growing.”
Granted, prices are off 4.4% on average, “…but if prices more than doubled (as they did in 33 metropolitan markets between 2001 and 2006), even 10 percent and higher average price drops in once-booming areas of California and Florida have left owners with most of their paper gains intact.” What this means is that for most homeowners, even though price corrections continue, the adjustment is minor compared to the significant gains enjoyed during the previous five years.
Enjoy reading more good news by checking out Ken Harney’s article here.
Posted by Kevin Mazur on November 9, 2007 at 12:12 PM
The old saying is true, You can NEVER get enough of a good thing!
Just 2 weeks ago PTR acquired Marie Powell Realty. Well, we had so much fun and success with that one, we decided to do it all again.
Prudential Tropical Realty is proud to announce that we have acquired the Tampa office of Murphy-Matthews and Associates. This acquisition expands PTR's market presence to more then 500 sales executives and employees with 12 locations throughout the Greater Tampa Bay area.
Dewey Mitchell, co-owner of PTR explains,
We are so optimistic and confident in Tampa Bay's real estate market that we will continue to actively invest in both resources and people. At a time when national and local firms are continuing to leave the market, we are fortunate to be in a position to acquire companies which allows us to expand both our market share and presence throughout the Greater Tampa Bay Area.
John Murphy, owner of Murphy-Matthews and Associates, had this to say about the acquisition,
The day we opened our doors our goal was to provide our customers with outstanding market knowledge and service. Prudential Tropical Realty not only shares our passion for putting the customer first but also brings the power of the “Prudential” name.
John Murphy will remain active as a Property Manager with PTR's Property Management Services Division. Murphy has 25 years of experience and has been active in several Tampa Bay Area real estate associations, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and Tampa/Hillsborough Visitors & COnvention Bureau.
Check back often, because we are not done yet!
Comments (1)
Posted by Kevin Mazur on October 25, 2007 at 09:49 AM
We are very proud to announce that Prudential Tropical Realty has purchased Marie Powell Realty, Inc.
This acquisition brings the PTR family to 12 locations and approximately 480 sales executives and staff throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Dewey Mitchell, co-owner of PTR, explains:
"We are very bullish on the future of Tampa Bay's real estate market and we believe the time is now to invest in both resources and people. We are looking for companies that are not only a good cultural fit but companies that can assist us in expanding our market share in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties."
Laurie Neiman, owner of Marie Powell Realty will take over the role of Managing Broker of the Port Richey office. Her Take on the move:
"Because the philosophies of both companies are so similar, aligning Marie Powell Realty, Inc. with Prudential Tropical Realty was an easy decision. Prudential Tropical Realty offers our buyers and sellers comprehensive real estate services along with the power of the 'Prudential' name."
Posted by Kevin Mazur on August 21, 2007 at 01:18 PM
One of the first thing that almost every Home Buyer needs to do is to get a Mortgage.
We are all aware that the mortgage industry has seen a liquidity drain in the past few weeks. Company after Company are going bankrupt or facing serious financial problems. Just in the past week or 2 American Home Mortgage, the nations 10th largest mortgage lender, went belly up and Countrywide faces 'unprecedented disruptions'.
Well, not all of the news is bad. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (WFHM) has seen an increase in their stock price and has been able to steer themselves clear of the crisis that is confronting the nations home loan industry.
Prudential Tropical Realty is proud to be a partner with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in our sister company - Capstone Home Mortgage.
A few facts about WFHM:
Wells Fargo is a well capitalized, diversified financial services company with a proven track record of generating 20-years double-digit annual compound growth.
Wells Fargo Bank is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to have the highest credit rating from both Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.
WFHM is the nation’s #1 retail mortgage lender and servicer of home mortgages.
WFHM has long lived by responsible lending principles and made the right decision not to make loans with features that are inconsistent with its responsible lending commitment (for example, option ARMs and other negative amortizing products).
Wells Fargo continues to be a leader in responsibly originating and servicing residential mortgage loans.They remain committed to making homeownership possible for a wide spectrum of consumers and to keeping people in their homes.
WFHM collaborates with industry stakeholders to further improve the solutions we can offer customers who face financial difficulty including a proactive plan to help nonprime customers with impending ARM resets.
WFHM leaders have been invited to participate in numerous high-profile discussions including: providing testimony to a Congressional committee of U.S. House of Representatives, a Federal Reserve summit on responsible lending; a small group meeting with the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
WFHM has been identified by prominent public officials as an industry leader that views its responsibilities to consumers and investors seriously, and acts in the best interests of both.
Posted by Kevin Mazur on August 15, 2007 at 09:48 AM
There is NOTHING more important for a listing then Photos! Photos can make or break a listing.
According to Jacky Teplitzky, an executive vice president of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate in New York (taken from an article in the New York Times entitled 'Making Every Pixel Count')
“Good photos will grab people’s attention and help you sell a home, Bad pictures will absolutely give you trouble, because you won’t have any calls on it, and nobody will come to see it.”
I am constantly amazed at some of the poor photos that agents put on some listings. How can customers accept this?
There is a great piece in the New York Times entitled 'Making Every Pixel Count', that instructs Realtors to do everything that they can to ensure that a listing has high quality, meaningful photos. The author, Vivian S. Toy, even goes so far as to create a multi-media presentation about the topic. This should be fundamental training material for not only Real Estate Agents but Sellers as well.
Posted by Kevin Mazur on August 7, 2007 at 07:31 PM
Clearwater, FL - Prudential Tropical Realty is pleased to announce Dale Smelser has joined the Countryside/Palm Harbor office, 2539 Countryside Blvd. Suite 3. Managing Broker, Ginger McQuigg, made the announcement recently.
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Land O Lakes, FL - Prudential Tropical Realty is pleased to announce Elizabeth McDowell has joined the Lutz/Land O’ Lakes office, 23026 State Road 54. Managing Broker, Marsha Northrop, made the announcement recently.
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Brandon, FL - Prudential Tropical Realty is pleased to announce Christine Kramer has joined the Brandon office as a Real Estate Agent, 3248 Lithia-Pinecrest Road. Managing Broker, Louise Key, made the announcement recently.
Kramer brings with her two years of real estate experience previously from Keller Williams.
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Brandon, FL - Prudential Tropical Realty is pleased to announce Michelle White has joined the Brandon office as a Real Estate Agent, 3248 Lithia-Pinecrest Road. Managing Broker, Louise Key, made the announcement recently.
White brings with her two years or real estate experience previously from REMAX where she earned her ABR Designation, Relocation Specialist Certificate and the REMAX Executive Club Award.
Michelle attended Newberry College and earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
Posted by Kevin Mazur on July 19, 2007 at 01:58 PM
I received an email the other day with a request to post this casting information for the A&E show 'Flip This House'. So if you are 'confident, charismatic, motivated and opinionated' give them a call.
Now Casting the New Season of Flip This House on A&E!
Flip This House, A&E's #1 rated lifestyle show, has been to Charleston, Atlanta, San Antonio, and New Haven. Which city will be next?!!
813 Casting and Departure Films are conducting a nationwide search for the new cast of characters who will be featured on the upcoming season of Flip This House! Will it be your team?
We're looking for confident, charismatic, motivated and opinionated people who "flip" residential properties for a living. We want real-estate adrenaline junkies who love the high risk, high reward nature of their jobs and who are devoted to doing a great job!
If you would like your team to be featured on the upcoming season of Flip This House, send an email to fth@813casting.com. Include your contact info, bios on you and your team, and some reasons why your team should be the next to be featured on Flip This House! Teams should consist of four or more people.
Find the next cast of Flip This House and Find Yourself $500 richer!
Did you know that Than Merrill and the New Haven team were found through a referral? If you think you know someone who would be GREAT on Flip This House - tell us about them! If they get cast, you'll get a $500 finder's fee (and a cool story!) Email us at fth@813casting.com. Make sure to provide all necessary contact info.
Posted by Dewey Mitchell on June 1, 2007 at 03:23 PM
I have been in Real Estate for many long years. During that time I have come to believe one thing above all else - A higher level of consistency in all areas of service is important to the consumer. In an effort to GUARANTEE that our customers receive a consistently high level of service, Prudential Tropical Realty is offering the Quality Service Certification (QSC) Program for all of it's agents.
For the first time, a standard of service and accountability is being offered to consumers related to the quality of real estate services delivered. The QSC program is a third-party training and monitoring system. Holding the QSC designation requires a sales associate to follow a well-defined and prescribed process of service, to present that process in writing to every customer and client and to guarantee its delivery. To measure our service levels and guarantees, an independent research company sends the consumer a post-closing Quality Service Assurance Survey asking tough questions about the details and overall satisfaction of service provided by the sales professional and broker. The results of these surveys are posted online to a public website.
I am confident enough to say that QSC is - and will continue to be - a large part of our culture. No one else in the Tampa Bay Real Estate market is providing these guarantees in writing, and it gives each of our agents the ability to be a cut above the rest.
The past few years home buyers were coming out of the wood work looking to purchase. Mostly first time home buyers. What has really changed? Interest rates are now the lowest they've been all year, there is inventory galore, sellers are eager................. So what is stopping people from buying?
Fear. Fear that things may get even better? My opinion is that things are pretty darn good now. Waiting may or may not be a good option for people. Once everyone figures out that now is the time to buy everything will change once again. They say it's either a buyer's market or a seller's market, not both.
Here are Four Great Reasons To Buy
If you've ever thought about buying a home, but decided that it was too big a financial gamble, think again. It's possible you haven't considered the risk of not buying a home. For the majority of working people, home ownership is the single most reliable way to achieve financial security. Without it, you may find it almost impossible to gain access to the kind of capital you'll need to support yourself in your old age, pay for your children's education or start a new business.
Since the 90's, overall housing prices have remained stable, though in some areas of the country they have fallen by as much as 25 to 30 percent, and mortgage interest rates have dropped dramatically. But, like many people, you may continue to think of home ownership as something beyond your reach. Here's why that thinking could be a big mistake.
1. You may wait a long time to see rates this good again. Suzanne recently saw a house selling for $125,000. She has $20,000 in savings to use as a down payment; $105,000 30 year mortgage at 6% would cost her $629.50 a month, and she may have another $160 a month in real estate taxes and insurance, for a total of $789.50.Suzanne is hesitating: $ 789.50 feels like a stretch for her now, since she is paying only $650 for her rental. But if she waits, and prices and mortgage rates rebound to the levels of five years ago, the exact same home might cost her $150,000, and she could be paying an 8 percent interest rate. The bottom line: she would be stuck with mortgage and tax/insurance payments of $1113.90- almost twice her current rent for exactly the same home.
2. Renting deprives you of big tax breaks. Home ownership is one of the last remaining tax shelters. In the example above, Suzanne would be able to deduct about $9,000 in mortgage interest and real estate taxes on her annual tax return. She earns $30,000 a year, which puts her in the combined 31% federal and state tax bracket. Therefore, her tax savings could come to about $2,900 a year or almost an additional $250 in take - home pay each month. If she rents, she'll get no tax breaks whatsoever.
3. You need to start small to trade up. You may feel that there will be plenty of time to get into the housing market when you feel financially secure. The problem is, you'll probably need the profit you'll make by selling your "starter" house to be able to afford the one that you'll want in the future. In the last 6 years, the median price of a single-family home rose an average of nearly 8% a year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
4. Your future is going to be expensive. Financial experts generally suggest that to retire, you'll need to build up enough in savings and investments to generate yearly income of 70 % of your pre-retirement income. That's a tall order- and a reason to start amassing some serious capital soon.
Most importantly, a good Realtor can show you properties in your price range making your search almost effortless. Realtors who are "Buyer's Agents" get compensation buy the selling agent, therefore it costs the buyer nothing for having representation.
We would like to take a moment to recognize one of our Realtors with a heart, Russell Lagaan. Russ works out of our New Tampa office and is an active supporter of the Sunshine Kids Network. The Sunshine Kids Foundation adds quality of life to children with cancer by providing them with exciting, positive group activities, so they may have fun and celebrate life!
Back in September 2006, Russ participated in the Sunshine Kids trip to Orlando where he met 13-year-old Anthony Marshall. He spent a lot of time with Anthony and they created a special bond. Recently, Russ received word that Anthony’s health was failing and that the boy had requested to see him before he passed. Setting aside his busy work schedule and taking time away from his own family, Russ made the trip to Houston – headquarters for the Sunshine Kids Foundation – and spent several days with Anthony. Anthony’s father later told Russ that spending that time with him was so special to Anthony and brought a smile to his son’s face.
As of this writing, Anthony is still alive and battling his terminal disease. When asked about his trip to visit Anthony, Russ said, “He did fake a great smile for picture taking the day I arrived. Tough kid! Real tough!!”
For more information about how you can be a part of the Sunshine Kids please visit http://www.sunshinekids.org.
If you have any other great stories about one of our Realtors, please let us know about it by posting it in the comments.
Posted by Kevin Mazur on April 11, 2007 at 04:31 PM
That's right. I'm talkin MONOPOLY!! Every Real Estate Investors favorite board game.
On May 19, 2007 Charity Works, Inc. will be holding their annual fundraiser - MONOPOLY Night. The event will be held at the Belleair Country Club and Prudential Tropical Realty is once again proud to be a presenting sponsor of this event. As a matter of fact, Dewey Mitchell and Allen Crumbley (the owners of Prudential Tropical Realty) will serve as the honorary chairpersons.
For more information about the event, please call the Prudential Tropical Realty Clearwater office at (727) 461-1700, or check out this video.
What do all of these have in common? Not only are they all Champions, but they all did it with a GREAT Team. None of these Teams had a great standout player. Each of them had a Great Overall Team that made ALL of the players better. A Team that consisted of the Players, Coaches, Front Office and Support Staff. Each group played their part in making the organization into a Champion.
That is what we are trying to do here at Prudential Tropical Realty, build a World Class Real Estate Team that consists of the best Agents, Managers, Executive Staff and Support Staff to become Champions of the Tampa Bay Area.
The center piece of this process is our TeamBuilder program. More then just helping to build a World Class Team, TeamBuilder offers financial rewards that can help to build your future. Simply recruit an agent to our Team and profit from their success.
It is a virtual roller coaster ride but what is unique is that the course of the roller coaster is set to the plot of the historical US home prices going back to 1890. Very Interesting!
Posted by Kevin Mazur on March 26, 2007 at 03:27 PM
Recently, Prudential Tropical Realty announced some changes that were being made within the company in order to help accomplish short and long term objectives. These decisions were made after careful and diligent analysis and we are very confident that they will help provide added strength to our associates, company and the markets we serve.
First of all, the Palm Harbor Office will be merging into the Countryside Office and will be from this point forward known as the Countryside/Palm Harbor Office. There are several reasons for this:
We have two mega offices in the same market that are both operating around 50% capacity. By combining the offices, the capacity level becomes much closer to 100%, with greater efficiency.
The Countryside Office has a “marquee” location, very visible with 24 hour access and a very efficient layout.
The Palm Harbor Office although very well located, lacks visibility, has an inefficient layout, and is difficult to access after hours. A/C and restrooms are also not accessible after hours.
Ginger McQuigg will be the Managing Broker of the new Countryside/Palm Harbor office and Pam Cohn will be the Assistant Managing Broker.
Dewey Mitchell, co-owner of Prudential Tropical Realty also co-owns a retail parcel in the area of the East Lake Woodland’s Country Club. The property management company for East Lake Woodlands and an office affiliated with another large real estate firm were previously located on this site. We are planning to locate a 3,000± sq.ft. real estate office in the new facility.
We feel that these strategies will ultimately position us better in the North Pinellas Market. It will give us greater coverage in the high volume areas of East Lake Woodlands, Ridgemoor and Lansbrook.
Also announced was the closing of the Lakeland facility. When we purchased the Lakeland office, May 1, 2005, there was a mass exodus of associates (due to personal reasons unrelated to Prudential Tropical Realty) ; consequently we were left with two associates. We immediately began trying to rebuild capacity to a level that was acceptable. Although we made progress, we still had to subsidize the office consistently. Coupled with the fact that the office did not fit our standard footprint, we decided it was best to close the facility.
We gave the associates the choice of working from our Brandon or Dade City/Zephyrhills offices. We also let them know that we would consider leasing an executive suite for them.
Given the market conditions it was just not prudent for us to keep subsidizing the Lakeland office. We are still very high on the Polk County market in general and Lakeland in particular and still plan to re-enter the market when the timing and circumstances are right.
We want you to know that our financial condition remains strong. However, we don’t want to cripple ourselves, as we work through the current market conditions. We are positioning our company to not only come out of this market stronger, but to take advantage of opportunities, as they arise.
Together with our dedicated sales team we will continue delivering a World Class Experience…..One Client at a Time.
Here are some comments from agents regarding this news:
Dewey,
There is no one I would rather have lead this company to a strong future than you and Alan. Everyone likes to follow a strong leader. It make us feel stronger.
I like that you are taking a personal interest in the residential side of the company, it'll inspire the agents to rally around their leader and their company making us stronger. The more we see you the better we want to do for you, when people see their leader watching you'll find most will work harder too impress you.
In a softer market we need strong leadership, I feel the two of you can provide that leadership to inspire drive and determination to make this company excel.
I am looking forward to watching "our" progress as Prudential Tropical Realty. We can do it. I'm happy to have you in the lead.
Russell Laggan
New Tampa
Thank you, Dewey for your detailed letter. I have the utmost confidence in you and know that you have taken time to prayerfully consider the changes you have announced. I am very happy to be associated with your company. Please know that I am working very hard and praying hard to generate income here, as are the agents in our office. We are truly appreciative of all your hard work and dedication.
Thanks again,
Rachel Friesema
Countryside/Palm Harbor
Dewey,
I want to take a moment to thank you and Allen and Linda for all that
you are doing, have done, and will continue to do for us! It takes
great courage, respect and business savvy to look at the market and make
intelligent decisions about our company. To have the ability and the
honesty to let us, the associates know what is going on is truly
admirable. Thank you so much for creating a company that I can be proud
to represent!
Posted by Kevin Mazur on March 19, 2007 at 02:56 PM
After all of the media hype and bashing that the Real Estate industry has taken over the past few months (Bubble? What Bubble?), it is finally nice to see some good news.
The report was written up in an article on the FAR website.
Overall the report is rather positive. According to the FAR Article, "This is the first time in the UF survey’s five-quarter history that the buyers’ investment outlook for residential development has brightened. It declined for the first three surveys and remained flat for the fourth survey at the end of October, starting to rise only in this latest survey."
I'll let you read the rest for yourself.
So what do you think? Have you seen things settle? Are things on the rise again?
SELLING A HOME...............BUT DO BUYERS WANT TO BUY? TAMPA, FL
It seems as though the whole Real Estate industry is at a stand still. At least in Tampa, FL where for the past 4 years we have seen a big boom.So what happens when sellers want to sell their home and the buyers aren't BUYING? The answer is NOTHING until something changes.
With interest rates higher than the past few years and insurance rates doubling and tripling in some areas my guess is the prices will have to come down. We are seeing insurance at 3,500 per year for an average 1,500 sf home in Seminole Heights. Add that on to your monthly payment and what you can afford will come down by nearly $300 per month. Stephanie D'attoma, with SunTrust Bank, figured that on a regular 30 year fixed loan, that the extra $300 per month would equate to approximately $46,300 less that a buyer can spend. Likewise, an interest only loan would be equal to approximately $52,500, which is what most home buyers are doing.
Many sellers many not want to hear that they may not be able to get the highest price as their neighbor who sold last year at this same time. Looking back on the past few years one could say it was a feeding frenzy to get a buyer's offer accepted. Once you submitted an offer there was always that intense waiting period when the buyer would want to know if another offer came in behind theirs and beat them out. I would always say to my clients, "if you really want this home your offer has to be very aggressive". I had one client last year offer 10K above the asking price because he really wanted the home.Fast forward 1 year, and I cannot say those same words to my clients looking to buy. In fact, buyers have become a hot commodity in this section of the State.
When my Real Estate partner, Michelle Jordan and myself attending the Greater Tampa Realtor Association Meeting a couple weeks ago, we heard that GTAR was expecting a 25% decrease in membership in the next year! Our guess is because of the lack of buyers in the market. Sellers are being told to expect for their home to be on the market 6-8 months, instead of the abnormally quick 2-3 month listing period last year.
What to do if you are a Buyer?If you are a buyer and are considering purchasing a property have a Realtor search properties that have been on the market at least 90 days. There's a pretty good chance that the seller is getting tired of waiting for a buyer and may be more motivated to sell.
If you are searching on-line, you don't have a way of knowing how long that particular home or condo has been on the market. A Real Estate Salesperson can give you that information. We can also tell you if the home had been previously listed and taken off the market. Why would someone want to know that? A property that has been listed since October of last year, had 3 price changes before listing with a new Realtor. Chances are that the sellers are very motivated and a lower offer with no Contingencies may get accepted.
Make sure you are pre-qualified with a lender and get a "good-faith estimate" This will detail your closing costs, estimated taxes, insurance and your monthly payment. This should be a free service that lenders provide. Ask your Realtor to look at the estimate to make sure it is a realistic amount for Home Owner's Insurance and Taxes. We are seeing buyers become unqualified because their lender didn't estimate the correct amount and the whole deal falls apart, sometimes at the last minute.
Sellers, hire an experienced Real Estate Agent.If you are selling your home make sure the Realtor you choose is doing the appropriate marketing for your property.Do they have a website?How many websites will your property be submitted to? There's always Realtor.com that once a property is listed in the MLS it also goes on Realtor.com.Does your Realtor pay for extra pictures on Realtor.com, or is there just one picture?What do the pictures look like? With so many homes on the market your home should stand out with professional looking high quality images.Has your Realtor suggested de-cluttering your home? This will make a big difference on how the home presents itself.
Ask for feedback on showings at least one time a week. This will help you determine why your house isn't selling.Price the home competitively.Take a preview of other homes for sale in your neighborhood. How does yours compare?Is there new construction in your area? If so, what are they selling for? Expect to be priced less than a brand new home.
Rae Catanese, a Realtor who specializes in the Tampa Bay Area, can be reached at Prudential Tropical Realty- South Tampa at 813-784-7744 or on-line at: www.TampaBayDwellings.com
Posted by Kevin Mazur on March 9, 2007 at 09:43 AM
How many times have you heard any of the following?
99% Satisfaction Rating
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
9 out of 10 Satisfied Customers
What is the first thing you ask yourself when you see these kinds of statements? "Who is coming up with those numbers?" or "How do I know those numbers are real?" or "Where did I leave my car keys?" -- Oh wait, that last one is just me!
Anyway, how do you know that claims like these are real? Anyone can make up numbers and make a claim, but it takes a TRUE Professional to be able to independently back them up. That is why all of the agents at Prudential Tropical Realty have recently become Quality Service Certified®.
Holding and maintaining the QSC® designation requires a sales associate to follow a well-defined and prescribed process of service, which is presented in writing to every customer and client and to guarantee this service is delivered.
So what does this mean for you? Well that is easy -
It means that we can back up what we claim! And to prove it, we post it all online for everyone to see!
Posted by Kevin Mazur on March 5, 2007 at 11:49 AM
Top agents think of listing presentations as a Swiss army knife—an invaluable tool that always covers the basics but can be customized to fit just about any situation.
So says broker and author Jim Remley in his latest book, Real Estate Presentations that Make Millions. Listing presentations are easy to underestimate, yet this brief meeting with a client can determine whether your agent closes a deal from a satisfied seller—or is saddled with a time wasting, energy-draining listing that won’t move.
“The most important tool in every real estate agent’s utility belt should be his listing presentation.” Remley says.
The analogy is an easy one to accept. But why do so many agents leave listing presentations with only blank stares from the audience? And after these presentations, why do so many agents agree to take overpriced listings that are sure not to sell?
Remley, owner of Pro Performer Seminars in Sutherlin, OR, offers some tips for making sure your agents’ listing presentations get the job done.
For starters, listing presentations must be short, to the point, and easy to understand. In today’s world of hectic schedules and short attention spans, the average adult can stay focused on a single speaker for only about 20 minutes. So keep your presentation clear and simple.
The Three P’s
Wondering how to hone your presentation? Forget about touting your resume and accomplishments and head straight to what the client cares about. Remley calls them the “three P’s”; price, product and promotion.
Price: “The number one reason why a home will or will not sell is its price,” Remley says. “This should be the first major discussion point in the presentation.”
Product: “Every home becomes a product the moment a ‘For Sale’ sign is placed on the lawn,” Remley says. “Sellers should be encouraged to improve their home’s condition to increase their odds of securing a buyer.”
Promotion: While the first two P’s are determined largely by the seller, this final P is the purview of the agent. It’s up to the listing agent to market the home in a way that reaches the widest possible audience.
Too often agents’ neglect the three P’s in their listing presentations, Remley says. This is a sure way to create unhappy customers. It might be easier to talk about sports or politics, but you need to stress the three P’s to illustrate that you know their importance and to persuade the sellers of their importance. Remley recommends comparing the three P’s to a three-legged table; if one leg is off-kilter, the house won’t sell.
Raising the bar
Too many brokers and agents think it’s acceptable to sell only half their listings. Remley considers this a 50 percent failure rate. After all, why would you want to disappoint fully half your clientele? What’s more, unsold listings are simply bad for your image.
“A stagnant listing, one that has been on the market for what seems like decades, can be extremely embarrassing,” Remley says. “It’s almost like paying a guy to stand on the lawn of your listing with a bullhorn screaming to every agent that drives by, “This agent can’t sell this house!””
In many cases the failure stems from the listing presentation. The agent simply didn’t have the guts to rein in the seller’s unrealistic expectations. As hard as it is to turn away a listing, Remley suggests what he calls the “100 percent seller” plan, in which agents take on only listings they believe will sell. This requires some brutal honesty during the listing presentation.
Remley suggests using this script: Explain that half of listings fail to sell, and that your goal is to sell all of your listings. Then say, “To accomplish this goal, I have to work quite a bit differently from most agents. So we can go two ways here: I can tell you what you want to hear, or I can tell you the truth. Which would you prefer?”
Embracing “edutainment”
It’s not good enough for agents to wing it in listing presentations. To really persuade busy sellers, agents must grasp that they’re “edutainers,” that is, part educator, part entertainer.
The listing presentation should tell the seller about the condition in the market they’re entering, but it also should be fun and compelling. Top agents use technology to tackle the edutainment task; they’re typically adept at using Power Point to convey their message. Edutainers are sure to memorize their scripts. Sure, this sounds like grade school exercise, but it’s not, Remley says. Preparation is simply part of being a professional. Just as accountants memorize parts of the tax code and actors memorize their lines, agents should memorize their presentations.
Rote memorization is just the first step, though. You want to give a “planned presentation,” not a “canned presentation,” Remley says. So you need to really know your presentation so that you can forget about remembering what you want to say and focus on how to customize your pitch to clients and listen to their responses.
No matter how witty and engaging your presentation is, you also need to lob some queries that will tell you where you stand. Remley calls these “engagement questions.”
Some examples:
“What is important for you to talk about today?”
“What kind of advertising appeals to you?”
“Can I do a curb-appeal appraisal?”
“How does what I’ve said sound so far?”
The goal here is to seek the prospective clients’ input throughout the presentation. Remley recalls making the rookie mistake of performing his entire listing presentation to a couple of sellers, then asking if they’d like to list their home today. Their response: “NO!”
You want to find out what your audience is thinking and to have a chance to ease their fears and soothe their objections. And once you’re closing in on the listing, Remley suggests advancing from the “engagement questions,” queries that will yield valuable information about the seller’s mindset.
The gutsy questions include:
“If the home doesn’t sell, are you more likely to wait or to adjust the price? Would you like to adjust the price now?”
“Can I point out what you should upgrade to generate better offers?”
“Can I show you what an inspector would require be fixed before closing?”
Contact Jim Remley, Pro Performer Seminars, 800-361-6848, www.properformer.com
Posted by Kevin Mazur on March 5, 2007 at 11:40 AM
Beginning this year, Daylight Savings Time (DST) has been extended by 4 weeks. So rather then moving our clocks forward by one hour on April 1st, we will need to make the change at 2:00 AM on March 11th. At this point in the conversation, can someone please tell me what we are saving them for? It is not like we can Bank Daylight and use it later. "Gee, I was going to go to the beach today but it's raining. I think I will use some of my banked Daylight savings to brighten up my day!"
But I digress.
This change to DST can have some detrimental side affects for those of us living in the computer age (and these days who isn't?). Most computer systems are currently scheduled to change their clocks for DST on April 1st. In order to bring the systems up to date with the current changes, there are patches available for every operating system. I HIGHLY recommend that you install these patches before Saturday, March 10th. No the world is not going to come to an end like the whole Y2K problems, but not updating your systems could cause you to be late for or miss a meeting with a client. It could also cause emails to be delayed or not delivered.
Below are links to the patches for Windows and Apple operating systems:
There is an additional problem from those of you using the Microsoft Outlook Client for their email and personal information management. Just installing the operating system patch will not fully remedy the situation because it can not change any existing items in your calendar. If you rely on Microsoft Outlook you will also need run the Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool. This tool will update all of your existing calendar entries.
I hope this information is helpful.
Good luck and happy patching.
Oh, and make sure to save those daylight hours, you never know when they might come in handy.
IB spend 2.2 weeks, on average, with their agent before buying, while the non-internet buyer (so called traditional buyer) spent 7.1 weeks with their agents.
IB previewed 6.7 homes while the traditional buyer previewed a whopping 15.4
81% of IB stay with the first agent they choose to contact
I would be very interested in hearing any experiences that you have had. Have you found internet buyers fit this mold? Are you an internet buyer and agree with these numbers?
Posted by Kevin Mazur on February 19, 2007 at 03:47 PM
Found this article today. Seems that Real Estate Blogging is one of the next BIG trends in the industry.
Particularly interesting is line, "In a recent survey done by Blogging Systems, a leading real estate blogging service 68% of real estate agents said they would be focusing on blogs as a marketing tool in 2007!"
This just goes to show what a powerful medium that blogging is.
Yeah I know, those two normally just don't go together, but take a few minutes and give it a read. It has some helpful information for sellers and agents.
I especially like the line,Confucius Say: 'Don't Use Cannon to Kill Dragonfly'!
Posted by Kevin Mazur on February 5, 2007 at 03:44 PM
Blogging is all the rage these days [Thank you Captain Obvious, they are reading this blog after all]. More and more and more Real Estate Blogs are cropping up each day. If you are thinking of creating a blog or already have one, I HIGHLY recommend that you read the following 5 part mini-series from the Zillow Blog. You will find them very helpful.
Posted by Kevin Mazur on January 18, 2007 at 03:05 PM
Welcome to Prudential Tropical Realty's - TROPICAL REALTY BLOG!
I am sure at this point you are asking yourself, "What is a BLOG?" Well according to Wikipedia - A Blog is "a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order." So what exactly does that mean? Blogs are one of the newest forms of Social Media. A mechanism for sharing information with a more personal touch.
Here is a good article that recently appeared in RIS Media's Real Estate Magazine. It gives a good overview of this whole Blog thing.
Through this Blog we plan on sharing ourselves with you the reader. Sharing our Industry Knowledge, Market Analysis, and sharing what we are all about at Prudential Tropical Realty.
