Realtor Coaching & Training: NAR
2010 Mega Trends in real estate that you need to pay attention to…..
1) Short Sales becoming the preferred ’solution’ to stave off the never ending increases in foreclosures…in most markets short sales will dominate. Agents who have learned how to do short sales will be what we term..the New Mega Agent. Agents, Learn the right way to do short sales…right now. Watch the FREE Agent Short Sale Secrets video and download the FREE Agent Short Sale Secrets book <–Click Here.
2) MORE government programs, policies, intervention (meddling) that will result in the existing real estate industry losing its traditional dominant control over housing..
3) Vastly more people leaving the real estate industry vs new people becoming agents. In California, unlike previous recessions where people became agents when they lost their jobs..in other words higher unemployment = more new agents. Now the trend is the exact opposite. Agents leaving and fewer people wanting to become agents. What will this mean going forward in terms of the influence the NAR has in D.C.? Fewer agents means less income…less lobbying….less influence.
4) Mega Brokers becoming Mega Virtual Brokers. We expect that there will be several national real estate brands that turn away from the traditional real estate ‘body shops’ where the goal was more (and more) agents. Replaced with 100% virtual offices where the agents will be held to higher standards.
5) The long standing American ethos of…owning a home…is gone. More people will reject that their brand of the American Dream must include home ownership.
6) The death of the McMansion. Demographics simply don’t bode well for home owners with McMansions. Bottom line, there is a massive over supply of these types of homes. Evidence of this changing trend is…
7) Jumbo Delinquencies. Sure, some homeowners with these McMansions are missing payments due to hardship. However, studies have proven that the more educated, the more ‘wealthy’ someone is the more likely they are to do a strategic short sale (or foreclosure). As you will learn in this video, 9.6% of ALL Jumbo Mortgages were delinquent in December. Its predicted that 10% of all Jumbo Mortgages will be delinquent in January!
Watch this great CNBC video for more proof that the day and age of the McMansion are over….
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Many agents are still confused about commissions when it comes to short sales.
Here is what is important:
1) If the INVESTOR is Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac the commission can’t be any greater than 6%.
2) There is an appeals process if you have any (or had any) issues collecting your commission as a result of the servicer (or more traditionally called ‘the Bank/ Lender/ Mortgage company etc) not paying you 6%. (this is assuming the listing contract that the seller signed was for 6%)
3) To learn if its a Fannie/ Freddie loan go here: http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/loan_lookup.html
As you know we have been offering short sale training for years and years now. We were the first national coaching company to teach agents how to do short sales…and we are by far the largest. Thousands of agents have received their HREU CDPD* (Certified Distressed Property Designation). We have made it easy for you to learn everything you need to know to easily list and sell short sales. Watch the FREE Short Sale Secrets video and grab your FREE Short Sale Book. If you would like to go ahead and enroll now for only $97 call 1-866-422-9497 or sign up here
Fannie Mae Confirms Short Sales Commissions Policy and Establishes Appeals Process
National Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Division
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20001In discussions between NAR and Fannie Mae, Fannie Mae has reconfirmed its short sale commission policy
and established a process for REALTORS® to follow if issues arise. On February 24, 2009, Fannie Mae sent
Announcement 09?03 to its servicers instructing them not to negotiate commissions on short sales below
the amount negotiated by the listing agent, unless the commission exceeds 6 percent.Private mortgage
insurance companies and second lien holders may still seek to reduce commissions. In response to
concerns raised by NAR that some servicers of Fannie Mae loans are unaware of this policy or believe it is
not binding, Fannie Mae has established a process for NAR members when short sale commission issues
arise.Step 1: Determine whether the loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae. Only the holder of the loan is
allowed to do this, so do so in the presence of your client or after obtaining their written permission.Use this website: www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup, or
If you don’t have convenient internet access, call: 1?800?7FANNIE (8am to 9pm Eastern Time)
Step 2: If the servicer is unaware of or disagrees with the policy, provide a copy of Announcement 09?03 to
the servicer and negotiate an appropriate commission based on the listing agreement (up to 6 percent).Step 3: Contact Fannie Mae if the dispute is not resolved directly with the servicer. Be prepared to provide
the property address, name of owner, and Fannie Mae loan number (if available):Call: 1?800?7FANNIE (8am to 9pm Eastern Time), or
Email: Resource_center@FannieMae.com.
Fannie Mae Announcement 09?03 (2/24/09)
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2009/0903.pdf
AND FreddieMac’s Commission Guidelines….
Freddie Mac Issues Written Short Sales Commission Policy
National Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Division
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20001On August 20, 2009, Freddie Mac confirmed in writing that its servicers are not allowed to renegotiate short sales commissions. According to the policy, as a condition of the servicer’s acceptance of a short sale offer, servicers cannot renegotiate the sales commission below the amount agreed to by the real estate broker and the seller/borrower. However, if the negotiated commission exceeds 6 percent, servicers are required to limit it to 6 percent. This Freddie policy is consistent with Fannie Mae’s policy. Private mortgage insurance companies and second lien holders may still seek to reduce commissions.
NAR has asked Freddie to establish an appeals process for cases when servicers refuse to comply with Freddie Mac’s policy.
Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Bulletin 2009-22 (August 20, 2009)
http://www.freddiemac.com/sell/guide/bulletins/pdf/bll0922.pdf
Fannie Mae Short Sales Commissions Policy and Appeals Process
http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/4fb4f4804e824cf0a6e8e696c79aa288/government_affairs_fannie_short_sales_policy.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=4fb4f4804e824cf0a6e8e696c79aa288
NAR’s Short
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Everyone in the real estate industry should be all for loan modifications.
There should be a new NAR rule that requires every Realtor to at the very least understand how loan mods work. How many more homeowners will YOU help when you know how to do loan mods?
ANYTHING that keeps homeowners from becoming renters is good news for the real estate industry.
Any way you look at it a foreclosure is a ‘bad thing’.
Yes, I know that HREU is the nations leading source for agents to learn how to list REOs…and without foreclosures there will be no REOs.
However, one of the core values of Harris Real Estate University is to be of service to others. A foreclosure does more damage that just creating a financial loss. The cost in terms of human suffering is extreme. More divorces, more suicides come as a direct result of financial suffering and never before have so many suffered.
For the sake of our country everyone in the real estate industry must do whatever they can to help others. Learn how to do loan mods. Some agents are offering legal, ethical loan mods while others have become their markets resource for information on loan mods. Watch the FREE Agent Loan Mod Secrets video to learn how to get started with loan mods. Consider modding your own loan…save yourself money now…then, consider offering loan mods to everyone you know.
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It seems like everyday there is more housing news released….that conflicts with the news from the previous day…
Who are you to believe?
Simple, yourself. You need to learn how to be your own best counsel, your own expert. Dare I suggest that you learn to be your own ‘Guru’.
Helping you do just that is the primary aim of this blog. We want YOU to have the information….all the information….so, that you be prepared for what is happening how and what will happen next.
You need to gather the information and decide for yourself what is really happening in the housing markets. Don’t discount or underestimate how much YOU know. You are in the ‘field’ everyday. You are working with real buyers and sellers who will or won’t buy. You know what is or isn’t selling. Remember, even the best source of information is going to report trailing information. In other words, they can only base their reporting on what HAS happened. You need to learn to study your local market and know the sales statistics cold. That information is what IS happening NOW. Learn to trust your instincts and experiences.
As you know, there was a report from the NAR that really shook the markets today…the headline was..’Historic Increase In Housing Sales’.
Lets look into these claims a little further..as unbiased as we can. (I have included a great video from CNBC’s Diana Olick.)
Here were the NAR’s talking points:
* Sales increased 23.5% year over year..
* Prices down 7.1%
* National inventory at 2 and half year low.
What does all of this mean? Who are the buyers for these homes?
Please use your personal experience and think about the answer to those questions…
Well, as you very well know the buyers were almost exclusively investors and first time buyers. What is also interesting is that large institutional investors are indeed buying ‘bulk’ from the banks. We have heard from HREU students in Arizona that many properties are selling BEFORE the actual foreclosure auction and for less than the opening bid amount. (its questionable if doing this is legal and I suspect that we will hear more about this soon).
Bottom line, an increase in homes sales is (obviously) great. But, when a majority
of the buyers were ‘investors’ who will simply put the homes back for sale…are we really getting anywhere?
Please keep in mind that many investors are buying and then ‘flipping’ shortly after closing. If a home sold to an investor and then resold to an end user buyer…the NAR stats counts that as TWO SALES. What would the total number of sales really be if the ‘investor flippers’ were not included in the NAR’s numbers…. In other words, what are the real sales numbers…how many end user, real buyers are buying?
Makes you go hmmmmmmmm……doesn’t it. Agents, in YOUR market what are you seeing? Who are the buyers YOU are working with…..and perhaps more importantly…who are the buyers buying the Short Sales and REOs….?
(investors?)
Lets not forget the realities of this market..as we shared with you last week:
1) 14.4% of ALL mortgages delinquent (or homes already in foreclosure) in the US. Read that again and ponder how significant that really is…14.4% of ALL homeowners with a mortgage are behind or already IN foreclosure. That is a historic record.
2) Ready for this….PRIME borrowers…as in NOT SUB-PRIME….borrowers are now the leading edge of this epic housing mess. 33% of all delinquencies (and those already in foreclosure) are PRIME.
Agents: If you are ready to become a REO listing agent…KNOW THIS…its not too late for you. Listen to this 90 minute How-To List REOs Teleconference (or webinar). You are about to learn exactly what you must do now to become a REO listing agent. Listen to replay NOW.
3) Next fun fact: 144% INCREASE in FHA delinquencies year over year. Anyone want to place any bets on the long term viability of the FHA in its current incarnation? Anyone?
4) Saved the most staggering stat for last…get ready…The total number of delinquent (and in foreclosure) homeowner/ borrowers is GREATER than the total number of homes for sale. Lets put this into perspective: There are currently around 4,000,000 homes for sale in the country. Thus, there are MORE THAN 4,000,000 homes delinquent or already in foreclosure. Rounding this out a bit, many studies have estimated the total number of homes in the US that are foreclosure bound (if the homeowner doesn’t wise up and sell the home via a short sale) is 13,000,000 to 15,000,000.
Agents, HREU students…is there ANY doubt in your minds that you simply MUST be listing and selling short sales and learning how to become a REO listing agent. In most markets across the country short sales and REOs ARE the market.
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Emergency Short Sale Secrets teleconference is this week…
Now, click here for all the call in info:
Emergency Agent Short Sale Secrets Event Info <——Go Here Now.
Here is your video invite:
Hello,
Emergency Short Sale teleconference is THIS WEEK….
…..many changes happening now for Short Sales…stuff you need to know…
According to the CEO and Founder of RE/MAX, Dave Liniger, If you are not
doing short sales you need to get out of the business. (That may not be an exact quote
but, you get the idea.)As we reported on the blog last week..the Treasury Department is now coming out with a stream-lined national standard for short sales!
…..YES, you read that correctly….FINALLY, a standardized short sale system is in the works (we will go over this in detail on the teleconference)
More proof that short sales are gold in this market?
According to the NAR nearly 50% of ALL sales in the US were…..Foreclosures (and short sales)…..
You simply must be doing short sales if you you expect to stay in real estate.
And, I am here to tell you that…when you do it right…short sales are one of the best ways
to make money NOW.Take action now…join us for this week’s Agent Short Sale Secrets FR-EE Teleconference.
This Thursday November 12th at 12:00nn PST, 3:00pm EST……while you are thinking about it click the link for all the event info:
Emergency Agent Short Sale Secrets Event Info
This is the event where you will learn all of the must-know-now short sale
info..If this call is anything like the last one.. this teleconference will be completely full.
100% of the spots will be taken.Because you are getting this message…your ’seat’ has been reserved.
Now, click here for all the call in info:
Emergency Agent Short Sale Secrets Event Info <——Go Here Now.If you’re market is anything like mine nearly every home for sale
is a ‘Short Sale’ listing. Now, you will learn exactly how to:1) Plug and Play marketing ideas to easily list short sales.
2) Assemble a Perfect ‘Package’ that gets accepted nearly every time.
3) Communicate with the lenders and get them to call you back.
4) Step-by-Step how to do short sales, how to get started now.
5) Plus, many more secrets revealed.
6) How the NEW Obama Housing Plan will make Shorts even better, easier, quicker!You will love the ideas and energy you will get from this call.
Expect to take pages of great notes.One more thing..I know this sounds crazy. Please don’t share the
info about this call with other agents. This call will be completely full.Before its too late……
Click here NOW for all the call in info:
Emergency Agent Short Sale Secrets Event Info <——-Important Link.Speak with you soon,
Tim and Julie HarrisP.S. This is not a ‘fluff call’. We respect your time and will be
giving you the information you must have to cash in on the Short
Sale listings explosion that is taking place now.P.P.S. This call is taking place at 12:00 pm PST, 1:00 pm MTN, 2:00
pm CTR, 3 pm EST.
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Facebook For Realtors
How-To Use Facebook For Realtors….what NOT to do!
Facebook has become a crucial aspect of any agents online marketing plan. Facebook is proving to be a powerful, effective (and mostly FREE) way to get the word out about your real estate business.
Its important that you know the public (and secret) rules for using Facebook.
Its crucial that you understand that you DON’T own your content that you post to FB. They do. You could spend hours and hours posting, updating content to your FB account just to have your account ’suspended’ for breaking one of these ‘rules’.
1) Don’t add too many friends. FB will send you a warning if you are seen as adding too many friends…but, once you get that warning it may be too late. There is no published ‘official’ info on how many friends you can add per day…so, be careful. You can have only 5000 friends max.
2) Not completing your profile. You wont have your account shut down for an incomplete profile but, if will make you look unprofessional. Remember, your real estate clients ARE searching for you on Facebook. Make it so when they land on your FB page your presentation is professional.
3) Spamming your friends. This includes: posting to too many groups, posting to too many users walls. YES, FB is a social network and yes your goal is to engage with others. But, if you do this too much…kiss your FB account bye-bye. By the way, no warning is granted for this one…your account will simply go ‘poof’.
4) Joining too many groups. Sort of like the prior point.
5) Not using your real name. Facebook wants you to use your real name…for example: http://www.Facebook.com/TimandJulieHarris
6) Tell the truth. This one should be of no surprise..Don’t lie in your profile. For example, don’t lie about your education level, schools attended etc. FB may find out and you can say bye-bye to your account.
7) Don’t poke too many people. Once you are on FB you will know what that means. (I know for the unititiated this point may sound a tad obscene)
8)4:1. Remember that ratio. You will be given the opportunity to ‘update your status’ on FB as often as you would like. The ‘golden ratio for updates’ is 4:1. 4 personal-ish updates for every 1 commercial-ish update. In other words, DO update your profile with personal stuff. You can decide how personal you want to be. Warning: BE PROFESSIONAL. Every 4th post you can talk about a listing etc.
9) NEVER bash anyone online. Aside from the recently passed NAR guidelines for social networking, which should be enough of a reason not to snipe others…its just rude and will make you look bad. Remember, despite what you may believe you are NOT anonymous on line. You can be sued for libel.
10) Don’t log-in to FB too often or over stay your welcome. Facebook has been known to shut accounts down if the user is spending too much time on their site. The average FB user spends 20 minutes per day on FB. So, if you are spending significantly more time on their site…they may give you the virtual boot. Why? Because you are using their bandwidth, their servers..and costing them money.
11) ENGAGE. A great idea (I just learned this one) is to post questions for your status updates. Ask questions that will lead to potential clients engaging with you….for example: ” Need to buy my daughter a 16th B-Day gift…any ideas?”, or “Looking for a new book to read…any suggestions…open to any topics?”. You can also ask more ‘commercial’ type questions…”just listed an amazing 4 family with cash flow postitive #s…less than $200k!…interested?”
12) Placing ads in Marketplace vs the paid Social Ads. Hey, guess what…FB wants to make money…big surprise, right?! Facebook will go after Realtors who place property listing ads in their MarketingPlace section (free) vs their new Social Ads (paid). We have been experimenting with Social Ads with good results.
13) The Golden Social Networking Rule. You know the Golden Rule…’Treat others like you would like to be treated”. Well the ‘Golden Facebook Rule’ is to engage (speak with) your FB friends the way they want to be communicated with. In other words, if someone posts a comment on your FB Wall…comment back. If someone invites you to join their Fan/ Business Page…JOIN!.
14) Start a Fan/ Business FB page. This is IN ADDITION to your primary Friends Page. Consider taking FB up on their offer to start your own Fan/ Business Page. The benefits of doing this are many…unlimited ‘Friends’, you are given way more levity for commercial marketing etc. Oh, and its FREE.
15) What Starts On-line must be taken off line. Last one…you must take your online connecting…offline. So, you have 300 FB friends. You have been following these rules and have earned their trust due to your diligent and thoughtful contributions, status updates etc. You then read how one of your FB Friends is talking about real estate. Maybe their status update is?: ” Neighbor just listed their home…wonder how much they are asking“…you need to engage with that person. Its not enough to just comment on their status update…you need to…..pick up the phone and call them. You might say something like this…” Hi, this is Tim Harris….I am one of your firends on FB (if they dont already know)….I noticed that you were asking about the list price of your neighbors home…I can look that up for you right now….while I do that….would you like for me to do a free CMA on your home….(Yes)…Ok, great…by the way…how soon would you like to put your home on the market?” The point is….call them…..and engage!
Listen, I know that for many of you all of this social networking stuff sounds as appealing as fingernails on a chalk board. Please don’t be intimidated by what you don’t yet understand. I promised you this stuff is WAAAAY easier…and in many cases actually a lot of fun to use. Here is a great FREE video on how you can get started using social networks. Go here now to watch the Free Agent Tech Secrets video.
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Pending Home Sales INCREASE!
What to make of the increase in home sales?
Obviously, buyers…specifically lower end buyers…are buying. What are the buying? REOs and Short Sales. In other words, they are buying the homes they see and being the best overall values.
Will this trend continue? What do you think…read this article from Money.CNN.com and share your comments…
Is the housing meltdown ending?
Pending home sales rose in March for the second consecutive month and are up year over year. The Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors showed a 3.2% gain to 84.6 from February, when it was 82. The index stands 1.6% higher than a year ago.
The consensus forecast of industry experts polled by Briefing.com had predicted no increase in the index.
It may still take a while before the market gains enough momentum to firmly state that the downturn has been reversed, according to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. And, the upturn may have been boosted by the first-time homebuyers tax credit, a temporary measure that will lapse in December.
“We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around,” said Yun. “This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a down payment.”
The index is understood to be a forward indicator of home sales trends since it measures contracts signed, not completed sales. The up-tick may indicate that home prices have fallen low enough for buyers to get off the fence.
Feeling for the bottomYun is not calling a bottom yet, however, because the index is still at a relatively low level. Instead, he’s looking toward the summer selling season to determine what direction the market will take. Plus, he would like the number of homes on the market to drop to a more normal level of six to seven months of supply.
Realtors, learn how to easily list and sell short sales. Watch the FREE Agent Short Sale Secrets video and download the FREE Agent Short Sale Secrets Book NOW.
“If inventory goes down – it’s at just under 10 months now – to below eight months, that would mean we’re on the way to a sustainable recovery,” Yun said.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that trend may be happening. Realtors and other industry insiders are seeing rising open house attendance and multiple bids on some particularly desirable properties. Plus, pricing has become sharper, according to Sherry Chris, the CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
“Overpricing seems to be ending,” she said. “Properties are coming onto the market and selling quickly.”
And buyers are feeling a little more urgency, she added. In many markets, buyers have not felt any pressure to make an offer. “They said to themselves, ‘I don’t have to act immediately. It will still be on the market two weeks from now,’” she said.
Today, buyers are more likely to bid because they perceive the market as at or near its bottom. An April Gallup Poll reported that 71% of Americans thought it was a good time to buy a house.
They don’t, however, believe there will be price increases soon; three of four buyers think prices will stabilize or even decline in their areas over the next 12 months, according to Gallup.
Pat Newport, a real estate analyst for IHS Global Insight, is putting less emphasis on pending home sales than he once did for his housing market analyses. There has been a disconnect lately, he said, between the number of properties going into contract (pending home sales) and the number that actually close (existing home sales).
He speculates that this is because buyers are making offers and signing contracts but, because of financing problems, many deals are falling through.
Regional differencesThe South saw the largest gain of any region, with pending home sales jumping 8.5%. Pending sales are 7.7% higher there compared with a year ago.
The Midwest gained 3.9% from February and 1.7% year-over-year. Northeast sales fell 5.7% and are off 24.1% compared with March 2008. The West dropped 1% for the month but are up 8.2% year-over-year.
Low home prices continued to help to drive sales, although NAR’s affordability index actually fell 2.3% from February, when it hit a historic high. This index is based on family income, home prices and mortgage rates.
“Compared to a year ago, the typical family can pay much less in mortgage costs for the same home, or buy a better home without necessarily increasing their monthly payment,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, in a prepared statement. “For buyers who’ve been on the sidelines and have good jobs, the market has never looked more favorable.
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