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Allison James Estates & Homes - May 2013 EMagazine Issue 47
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YouTube - A Powerful Market-ing Tool
I Have It, You Want It... House Prices Continue Their Ascent
THE NATIONAL INTERNET BASED REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE ISSUE 47 | MAY 2013
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Read InsideCommunicating Value to Your Sellers
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Index
ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES®
Address:309 Tamiami TrailPunta Gorda, FL 33950
Phone:866-463-5780
Website:www.allisonjamesinc.com
Index
The Dangers and Risks of Standard/Bulk Referral Agreements
I Have It, You Want It...
Agent Spotlight: Scott Whitwam
YouTube - A Powerful Marketing Tool
Important Notice
Communication Corner: Communicating Value to Your Sellers
Technology Topics: Getting More Than You Bargained For
House Prices Continue Their Ascent
Take a Realtor.com® Goal Setting Assessment 5/1-5/15, Earn MVP Reward
Meet Our Agents
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ABOUT US
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One of the benefits that Allison James Estates and Homes agents have is a team of vigilant brokers and a highly engaged corporate team that is continuously working to avoid legal problems and pitfalls that our agents and
company could fall into. By simply signing the wrong document you can enter into an agreement that binds you and the company to terms that can not only damage your business, but subject us all to needless and quite dangerous litigation. One of these is-sues is the now, quite common practice, of referring lead genera-tion companies’ use of “standard referral agreements.”
Standard referral agreements are a convenient way for a refer-ring broker to send multiple leads to an agent or broker without executing a new referral agreement for each subsequent lead. While this practice makes receiving leads more convenient it can be fraught with many dangers. Some of these common dangers include:
The referring broker’s request to use our listings and other company information in their marketing. In other words they can market any and all of our listings anyway they want. This in es-sence creates an advertising presence that is in direct competi-tion to you when you are attempting to market your listings. This is also an attempt for the referring broker to skirt IDX and/or MLS rules for publishing listings and our company information.
Indemnification for how information is disseminated and for the referring broker’s policies and practices. Language in stand-ard referral agreements often takes any liability off of the refer-ring broker and places it squarely onto you our agent and our company.
Many standard referral agreements have escalation clauses that increase fees and commissions due to the broker and agent
if very specific steps and processes are not followed by the agent. These are tripwires placed deep into the verbiage of the referral that are designed to trigger increased costs to you as an agent.
This is a partial list of what can happen with standard referral agreements. Although there are many other malicious term that exist in standard referral agreements there are some that have no such language and are beneficial to our agents and company. Allison James Estates and Homes is now maintaining a growing blacklist document to provide a guideline to agents and brokers about these referral agreements. This list will be updated regu-larly and will have the date of the last update associated with each referral broker. We will attempt to update the list as often as possible. If you wish to execute a standard referral agreement, first check the blacklist to see if the referring broker is on the list. If the referring broker is on the blacklist do not sign the referral. If the broker is not on the blacklist, always speak to your broker before signing the standard referral agreement. We will review all new standard referral agreements and if any are malicious we will add them to the blacklist.
Jeff Green, Managing Broker in Northern California,Allison James Estates and Homes
The Dangers and Risks of Standard/Bulk Referral Agreements
“Standard referral agreements are a convenient way for a referring broker to send multiple leads to an agent or broker without executing a new referral agree-ment for each subsequent lead.”
Another wonderful feature of the WOLFconnect system provides you as the agent the ability to expand your communication level through an interactive, inter-nal communication feature. Agents are notified of
properties for sale that have not yet been registered with MLS (Haves) as well as specific property requests from buyers who are searching for a property (Wants). The extranet automatically notifies agents of properties entered as Haves matching the criteria of the Wants.
Haves and Wants Adding Haves 1. Go to the Haves/Want Icon and click Haves and Wants.2. Click “New Have”. Complete the details of each section:
PostingPosting Length: Select the number of days to post this listing as a Have within WOLFconnect. Have will be re-moved from the list when the number of days has been reached.MLS: Select the MLS Board that the listing is listed with.Listing Number: Enter the listing number.MLS Area: Select the MLS Area (entered in the Set-up menu of Haves/Wants). Listing AddressEnter the Listing Address for the new Have. Listing PhotoUpload a photo of the listing.
Maximum file size: 300kb. 4k-10k recommended.Only use letters, numbers and dashes in the file name.Only upload jpg files. JPG files Should be in RGB format to be visible on the Internet Listing DetailsProperty type: Select the property type.Listing Price: Enter the listing price.Bedrooms: Enter the # of bedrooms.Square Feet: Enter square footage.Bathrooms: Enter the # of bathrooms.
NotesUse this space to add additional comments about the property. *The disclaimer check box at bottom of page must be checked. Click the Save button to save the new Have.
To edit or view the details of a “Have”, click on the “Have” in the List to open the details page. Filter the list to find the “Have”, and click underlined column headings to sort by that column.
Adding Wants
1. Go to the Haves/Want Icon and click Haves and Wants.2. Click “New Want”. Complete the details of each section.
PostingPosting Length: Select the number of days to post this Want within the extranet. The Want will be removed from the list when the number of days has been reached.MLS: Select the MLS Board.MLS Area: Select the MLS Area(s). MLS Areas are en-tered in the Set-up menu of Haves/Wants. Client Contact InformationInformation entered automatically creates a client con-tact for the agent in their contact list under My Leads/Contacts. Listing DetailsFor maximum results, the Listing Details must be en-tered. Property Type: Choose the desired property type.Price Range: Enter the buyers price range.Square Feet: Enter desired square footage.Bedrooms: Enter the number of bedrooms.Bathrooms: Enter the number of bathrooms. NotesIn the Notes section, further describe the Want. *The disclaimer box check box at bottom of page must be clicked. Click the Save button to save the new Have.
To edit or view the details of a “Want”, click on the “Want” in the List to open the details page. You can use the filter to help find the “Want”, as well as clicking on any underlined column to sort by that column.
Jill Lemons, Agent Relations Coordinatorat Allison James Estates & Homes
I Have It, You Want It...4
FIT TOGETHER • WORK TOGETHER • GROW TOGETHER
Our Complete Enterprise Solution integrates your back office, front office, web solutions & more.
GET STARTED TODAY! www.lwolf.com or 1.866.CRY.WOLF(279.9653)
Your ONLINE presence to the GLOBAL Real Estate MARKET!
Lone Wolf’s globalWOLF websites offer professionally designed, user-friendly website layouts with functionality to attract buyers and sellers, and build traffic
to your site using our simple suite of customizable tools.
For more information visit us at www.seriousagenttools.com
Agent website features include: A website that will showcase your value to consumers
Powerful listing enhancement tools
Edit your own content through the simple Web Manager tools
Superior Microsoft Virtual Earth® mapping
Lead management and distribution
Home Hunter personal property search
Listing search functions and robust open houses
Web traffic reports
Social media features
SEO tools
Mobile websites
Dynamic templates
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FIT TOGETHER • WORK TOGETHER • GROW TOGETHER
Our Complete Enterprise Solution integrates your back office, front office, web solutions & more.
GET STARTED TODAY! www.lwolf.com or 1.866.CRY.WOLF(279.9653)
Your ONLINE presence to the GLOBAL Real Estate MARKET!
Lone Wolf’s globalWOLF websites offer professionally designed, user-friendly website layouts with functionality to attract buyers and sellers, and build traffic
to your site using our simple suite of customizable tools.
For more information visit us at www.seriousagenttools.com
Agent website features include: A website that will showcase your value to consumers
Powerful listing enhancement tools
Edit your own content through the simple Web Manager tools
Superior Microsoft Virtual Earth® mapping
Lead management and distribution
Home Hunter personal property search
Listing search functions and robust open houses
Web traffic reports
Social media features
SEO tools
Mobile websites
Dynamic templates
AJ Spotlight
Scott Whit-wam, Arizona Agent, began his involve-
ment in real estate as an investor in 1989. That is nearly 22 years ago and long before terms like distressed property & short sale were part of our vo-cabulary.
Scott states, “I believe in adapting to a changing market to be positioned to make the best deal you can. Accomplishing this requires a deep commit-ment to learning.”
Scott has achieved the following designations:• National Association of Realtors Short Sale
Foreclosure Resource (SFR)• Harris Real Estate University Certified Dis-
tressed Property Designation (CDPD), Luxury Distressed property Designation (LDPD), Ac-credited Shortsale Designation (ASD), Certi-fied Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Specialist (HAFA), REO Specialist Designation (RSD), CBS Certified BPO Specialist (CBS)
• Titanium Solutions Home Resource Consultant Designation (HRC)
• Zillow Preferred AgentHe currently resides in the city of Mesa where
he has lived the last 6 years. Scott’s primary cities include Mesa, Gilbert & Chandler but he conducts a considerable amount of his real estate business is in the cities of Scottsdale, Tempe, Queen Creek, Apache Junction, San Tan Valley & East Phoenix. He also provides real estate services in/to all the west valley cities as well.
He holds membership in the following associa-tions as they have set elevated standards of conduct for real estate professionals:
• National Association of Realtors (NAR)• National Association of Hispanic Real Estate
Professionals (NAHREP)• South East Valley Regional Association of Real-
tors (SEVRAR)• Mesa Chamber of Commerce• Business By Referral (BBR)• Christian Business Networking (CBN)• Leads By Example
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- A Powerful Marketing Tool
Scott WhitwamAJI Arizona
Many real estate agents use YouTube as a powerful marketing tool. HOW ABOUT YOU?
If you haven’t jumped on the YouTube bandwag-on, you are missing out on an effective method of
showcasing properties and generating leads for your real estate business.
Join our State Florida Broker, Robert Milligan, of Allison James Estates & Homes, along with one of our team members in the National Growth and Development Division, May 22nd, 2013 at 10:00 AM PST to see how to manage and get analytics of your videos.
What will be covered in the Webinar:
Part 1:• Allow your listings to sell themselves and give home buyers
the ability to pre-screen potential homes before they con-tact you by creating a YouTube channel.
• YouTube actually reaches the specific audiences you are looking to reach: real estate buyers and sellers.
• Did you know that YouTube viewers are 90% more likely to obtain information about real estate online than the aver-age American? Tap into this audience on YouTube and ac-tively engage with potential home buyers and sellers in this media rich environment.
Part 2:• YouTube Analytics is a robust tool that provides informative
data and insights about your content, your audience, and your programming.
• How to manage your videos• See YouTube Analytics regularly to assess your channel’s
performance and investigate changes or trends across dif-ferent metrics.
REGISTER NOW for our May webinar, email [email protected].
We hope to see you there!National Growth and Development Team
Allison James Estates & Homes
7Important Notice
EFFECTIVE MAY 1, 2013, ALL EMAIL TO CORPORATE PERSONNEL SHALL BE SENT TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESSES:
Matthew Crumbaugh, [email protected]
Jessica CrumbaughDirector, National Growth and [email protected]
Jill LemonsAgent [email protected]
Alysha AratariNational Growth and [email protected]
Accounting [email protected]
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You have read my articles on buyers, nurturing buyers and widening your sphere of influence using long tail mar-keting strategies. Well, in this article, I want to focus on seller strategies. With the market ramping up to former
glory days…albeit slowly…some regions are experiencing a brisk seller’s market due to shortage of inventory.
The shortage, of course, was created by the one-two punch of builders holding back on new permits and resale homeowners delaying their sales until there was some pricing strength in the market. Tight credit had made it particularly risky for builders to starts spec homes. The “shortage” of inventory is now well docu-mented and results in upward pricing pressure – a simple exercise in supply and demand. So builders have started to come back in. In my region, new starts, or permits, are up 70% over last year. So the “shortage” will start to decline as these new homes are com-pleted. That means that the sweet spot for selling an older home is probably right now, before new inventory is complete.
Buyers are always in the market for different reasons. The tide of buyers looking for a good deal will keep the demand high, which means that as long as your resellers are putting their homes on the market at not too unreasonable prices, there will be offers, and opportunities to negotiate. A little loosening of credit would help us all, of course, but there are certainly “A” bor-rowers out there looking for a home before housing becomes, in their view, “too expensive” again. With the brisk pace of resales in some markets, agents have re-entered the practice in droves. So how do you differentiate yourself?
Let’s talk about attracting sellers firstYou have several opportunities to attract sellers:1. Email marketing with a landing page and link to request
more information2. Social media to share market news and seller strategy 3. A monthly newsletter where you might share the same4. Speaking engagements on selling and market timing 5. Postcard mailers, door hangers, print ads and other such
traditional means, if they work for you!6. Referrals from your raving fans - past clients and friends7. Face to face discussions in your groups, church, school or
community events
8. Your LISTING PRESENTATIONOf all of these tactics, six are intended to widen your sphere of
influence, i.e. make your connections aware that you are an ex-pert in your field. But only TWO of these have the power to clinch the deal, and those are your face to face discussions and your listing presentation, which may happen simultaneously!
It might be time to dig into your arsenal of “value-added” tools and add those details to all of your one-on-ones and listing presentations. Why would I assume you are not? The incredible buyer’s market we are just coming out of has made many list-ing agents weary. It did not seem to matter how much, or how good, the agent’s marketing was for the home. For awhile there, all that mattered was getting the seller to a beaten-down price; it’s been very tough on sellers. There hasn’t been much reason to put a lot of extra money into selling the home. In my region, hard-working agents gave up on expensive marketing because the closed to listed ratio declined so badly they could not recover invested dollars. So many listings failed.
The good news is that it’s probably safe to get into the water again.
There is some sense to some extra marketing dollars spent now to sell an older home, which gets me back to my first point: Communicating Value to Sellers.
To differentiate myself, I would want to talk about resurrecting some things that you may not have done lately.
An Appraisal – Rather than deliberate over a listing price, ask the seller to get a professional appraisal done.
Staging – This one is so important and yet so intimidating that I will spend more time on it below.
800 or Talking House Audio Tours – Remember those riders with the 800 number tours? Notice how they have declined over the downturn? Resurrect them. The phone number and tour ca-pability are not expensive IF you are selling homes!
The Desk Book – This great little tool was simply a nicely bound book for the front hall desk where a buyer could flip for informa-tion on the town and neighborhood, read through the subdivi-sion covenants, see a plat map of the subdivision, lot shape and dimensions, see a floor plan if available, and would contain some nice photographs of neighborhood amenities, lakes or parks. It
Communicating Value to Your Sellers
COMMUNICATION CORNER
9could include the Residential Property Disclosure and any adden-dums specific to the sale. It could also include maps from where you are to where your buyer needs to go – shopping, work, medi-cal facilities, favorite malls, nightlife.
Professional Photos – You can always tell on Realtor.com when an agent used his own camera versus when he hired a profes-sional photographer. In my region, the pros offer packages of 24 professional photos for as low as $90. Don’t skimp on this espe-cially a higher end listing!
Color Flyers – This is not something I have always done, but if you choose an ivory or pale yellow paper, would it be easier for the customer/buyer to find your flyer in the mess of paper in the back seat when the buyer needs to recall the home or re-check its features? Of course, we can’t ALL do this so keep this one a secret.
Email Flyer Campaign to All Local Agents – This has become very common and is worth mentioning to your seller. We have less and less time which means these little reminders that come across our desk from colleagues have become more and more ef-fective when we are on the phone with a new buyer and speaking off the top of our head about what’s available.
Virtual Tours – You have all been doing this, I know, but don’t stop now, it’s gotten easier! The new “virtual tour” is now a taste-fully done slideshow that zooms in and out of scenes. Vendors are offering to shoot the photos and stitch them, and with some vendors you may use shots you have already purchased from a photographer or you may shoot them yourself. Try TourFactory.com – I think this one is unbeatable! The product is impeccable and the music choices are terrific.
Seller Reports – if your MLS does not already offer reports of showings to your seller, make this available.
Open Houses – not so fast, not so often, but still a useful tool. I like to have the house listed at least 60 days to saturate the mar-ket before I offer to run an Open House. There is always a new buyer agent who might want to run it for you.
Back to staging for a minute. Sound expensive? Stagers run the gamut from several thou-
sand dollars to just several hundred. One smart thing you can do is to identify owners or part owners of décor and consignment shops, talk to them about helping to stage a home, talk up the angle that showcasing their inventory comes with the privilege of putting their business cards near all the special pieces and they may even list the sale price. Then, negotiate a small fee for them to come along to preview the house and then return with some special staging décor. Often, a shop owner will have a seamstress on call who could help with updating window dressings and pil-lows. We have even successfully used Velcro and pins to create an added and more contemporary effect on a sellers window treatments. In this instance, you are not asking a stager to talk about paint colors or de-cluttering the house.
This means you have already talked your seller into putting ALL of their belongings into storage or the garage, except for the ab-solute minimum that they need to live there, or, ideally, they have moved out. You have also already used your best Realtor sense in encouraging the repainting of various rooms, touch ups to trim or doors, replacement of worn door handles and blinds, refinishing a floor or replacement of carpets.
Think about how many homes you have sold. Do you trust yourself? Are you not watching the same Home Shows I am watching? Then you do NOT have to hire a stager for de-clutter-ing, paint, carpet, or wear issues. You just need to be assertive. You should make the case that you are willing to split a stager’s fee WITH the sellers under only four conditions: a) that they have
Getting More Than You Bargained For
technology topics
It happens at least once a month (sometimes MUCH more often): the popup arrives on your desktop po-litely informing you that Java, Adobe Reader, or some other piece of software has released a new version and
is ready for an update. As is the ritual, just click through the prompts until is says “Finished” and all is well, right? That may be the case for what you were updating, but it might amaze you how many extra passengers tend to come along for the ride on these updates.
Toolbars, search engines, browsers, and hundreds of other pieces of “bloatware” that you may or (more likely) may not want are often times bundled in with the software you were attempting to download and update. These tag-alongs tend to slow down your PC, conflict with other software you do use, or worse yet, cause unexpect-ed system issues.
What to do then? Those same prompts that are so easy to click through as quickly as possible to get to the end often times give you the best first line of defense. With many of these updates (Java and Adobe especially) there will be an opportunity to un-check an already checked box that allows the software to install these extra compo-nents. Just a simply un-checking of the box will not hinder the software you were actually trying to update, and will prevent this extra baggage from coming on board.
So before you begin the race to the install finish line, watch out for items you may be opting into without real-izing it. Your PC and your own patience will thank you!
John Joyce, CEO of Republic Technologies Corporation, leading the IT Support efforts for
Allison James Estates & Homes
COMMUNICATION CORNER
an appraisal that is less than a year old or are willing to pay for one, with the assumption that they are not trying to price the home at any more than 5% over the appraisal amount b) that they are willing to do the repairs, touch-ups and decluttering that you advise, even some light updating c) they will give you the listing for a minimum of 8 months d) the sellers will sign a buyer agreement with you for their next home.
With all four of these conditions met, I shave my listing com-mission considerably for them. I find sellers mostly warm and rea-sonable through this process as they appreciate the great effort to which I go to get the best price I can for their home.
One more important point: due to the shortage of homes, it is not necessary for a seller to do a complete home update to sell. Updating is important, but if only one important room has been updated over the years by the seller prior to selling, say, the kitchen has granite counters, nice cabinets and nickel fixtures, it is entirely possible to cleverly “stage” the rest of the home enough to attract a buyer’s eye. For some tips on this, write me at [email protected].
If you talk up all these strategies and create a reputation of executing, how could a seller afford to “not” hire you?
To your success,Meg Russell, Regional Managing Broker
for the Triangle, North Carolina and Certified EPRO
Nationally, house prices continued to rise in February, contributing to the overall recovery in U.S. house pric-es. According to the most recent release by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. house prices rose by 0.7
percent on a month-over-month seasonally adjusted basis in Feb-ruary. This is the thirteenth consecutive monthly increase for the House Price Index – Purchase Only. Over this 13-month period, house prices have risen by 7.4 percent. Over the past year house prices have risen by 7.1 percent.
The February increase in house prices was geographically widespread, increasing in nearly every division of the country. The Census Bureau uses divisions to segment the four major regions of the country; Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. February house prices increased in each division of the country except the Middle Atlantic region. Despite the February month-to-month decline, house prices are 1.9 p higher than when they bottomed out one year ago.
The trend in house prices has generally mirrored the trend in mortgage applications for purchase. Prices are moving higher as demand increases from buyers coming back to the market and
House Prices Continue Their Ascent
pushing application volumes up from housing bust lows, levels last seen in the late 1990s. Between January 2011 and February 2013, the HPI – Purchase Only has risen by 6.4 percent. Mean-while, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Applications for Purchase Index has risen by 5.8 percent over this same period.
For full histories of the FHFA US and 9 Census divisions, visit http://eyeonhousing.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/fhfa2.pdf
RISMedia
“Over this 13-month period, house prices have risen by 7.4 percent. Over the past year house prices have risen by 7.1 percent.”
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Take a Realtor.com® Goal Setting Assessment 5/1-5/15, Earn MVP Reward
NAR PULSE—You and your agents earn the Goal Pro-ductivity Package download from Realtor.com® after taking the less than 5 minute Midyear Adjustment to Keep Goals on Track Assessment. The Goal Productivity
Package gives you and your agents a personalize action plan, a webinar, a video coaching series, and a toll free number for help and solutions.
This week’s other headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include:
Most Popular Vehicle: Jeep Grand CherokeeThe 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee is now in the lineup of vehicles
available for the $500 cash allowance offered by Chrysler Group LLC in partnership with NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Program. The cash allowance can be added to most other savings incentives.
Before you visit your local dealer, view current incentives online, and read through the complete set of rules and benefits at REAL-TOR.org/Chrysler.
Realtor.com® First to Add School Search in Significant Update to Mobile App
School is in session. Realtor.com®, the online real estate lead-er, rolls out a significant mobile update, pioneering search-by-school functionality in its successful iOS and Android apps. Now home buyers are able to see school and district boundaries on a map, search for homes for sale assigned to a school or school district, and see which schools are assigned to (or nearby) a prop-erty listing.
RISMedia
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Mary UlvevadetCalifornia
Referred by Randi Gross
Patricia MurrayFlorida
Referred by Walter Grohosly
Caroll HirstCalifornia
Referred by Ryan Phillips
Lorie Anne AuerCalifornia
Referred by Bryan Auer
Yadira ArteagaTexas
Referred by Maria Pena
Elissa NakagawaraCalifornia
Referred by Brenda Brown-Williams
Erich WeissCalifornia
Referred by Kathy Vazquez
Evelyn ParadisNew Hampshire
Referred by Chris Paradis
Joel P GlantzMassachusetts
Gina DunkerOregon
Jo Ann O’FallonCalifornia
Referred by Jeff Green
Richard HundleyCalifornia
Referred by Jeff Green
Joyce BenninCalifornia
Referred by Saundra Stormer-Simm
Giorgio AzzarelliFlorida
Carmella SmithMaryland
Paul Furst California
Cynthia GladstoneCalifornia
Tatiana UsoffOregon
Sasha RashevskyOregon
Edward Barker, JrCalifornia
Referred by Peter Mylerberg
Bobby M HaradaCalifornia
Referred by Richard Hundley
Lisa BarbaCalifornia
Referred by Denise Perry
Scott GaddyCalifornia
Referred by Beverly Paine
Sean McBrideFlorida
Referred by Henry Mejia
Anthony AllevaVirginia
Amy LoweNew Hampshire
Marcia HilberOregon
Meet Our Agents
THE NATIONAL INTERNET BASED REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE
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I want to personally thank all who have helped grow Alli-son James Estates and Homes® to the successful, virtual real estate company it has become!
Jessica CrumbaughDirector, National Growth and Development
866-463-5780, Option 5
We, at Allison James Estates & Homes®, understand that our own agents are the Best Recruiters! Everyday we add new agents to the company that you, our realtors have referred.
Main NumberFax
Matthew CrumbaughPresident
Jessica CrumbaughDirector, National Growth &
Development
Alysha AratariNational Growth &
Development
Agent RelationsJill Lemons
Agent Relations Coordinator
Accounting Department Berella Hall
IT Department
Corporate Phone List
866-463-5780866-355-9300
866-463-5780, Option [email protected]
866-463-5780, Option [email protected]
866-463-5780, Option 1941-677-2544 (Cell)[email protected]
866-463-5780, Option 2 941-875-3585 (Cell)[email protected]
866-463-5780, Option [email protected]
866-463-5780, Option [email protected]
