Mother & Daughter Blog: July 2007

 Look at this HUGH, Lovely, Charming, greatly located home.

Great buy!

Features:  Bedrooms: 5        Bathrooms: 3   Year Built: 2004   Footage: 3305     Lot Size: 7841        Garage Size: 3-car

School District: Manteca Unified

Contact Information: Rosemary or D'Adrea 866-750-8282     Broker: Evolve Realty Group     MLS #: 70080620

Keep it simple or is it?

OK this is my brain storming time, sitting here thinking of 3 simple things (that works) I can do to get more listings????

1.        Post card mailing?  Yes I can do a "just Listed" postcard of the property that I just listed.  Send out 100 cards to the close by neighbors... but what if... there is no one within that area that is either interested in selling or is interested in my postcard!

2.        Cold Calling?  Naw - next.  I have to get over my fear of calling and getting hung up on! Plus check the DNC list, etc.

3.        Emailing my sphere of influence?  Well the last time I tried that, no hits.

Can you help me out.  I am having a mental block on what to do to get listings.... I welcome your suggestions.  

Please let your 3 simple things you do to get listings. Help me get out of this rut of ideas.

Sad News for the 49ers.  As I have proclaimed I am a die hard 49er and I wish to take this time to express my saddness of the dealth of the "father" of the 49ers - Bill Walsh.  He was 75 years old and I for one will always remember how he built the great team with Steve Debird, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Kena Turner, Steve Young, Dwight Clark, Roger Craig and so many more.  I am sure these guys will have some sad and happy memory days ahead remembering what Bill taught them. 

I guess I feel in love with the 9ers when I was married to one of the team members (well at least for the camp - he did not make the team his name: Keith Hall) but it was as though he was on the team back when Cedric Hardman, Willie Harper, Tim Anderson, Delwin Williams and many more that I had the privillage of meeting. I remember going to the Rocklin camp and watching them workout.

I hope that Jerry Rice will be entered into the Hall of Fame and I hope that he will find someone else to present him since Bill is gone.  Gone but not forgotten. 

Class of 1993 - Coach 
(San Jose State, San Mateo Junior College)
1979-1988 San Francisco 49ers

William Ernest Walsh. . .Led 49ers to three Super Bowl wins (XVI, XIX, XXIII) in 10 years. . .Overall record: 102-63-1. . . Got first head coaching job at age 47. . .Led 49ers to first-ever NFL title in just three years. . . Won six NFC Western division titles, three NFC championships. . .NFL Coach of Year, 1981; NFC Coach of Year, 1984. . .Widely recognized as passing offense expert with keen ability to evaluate talent. . . Born November 30, 1931, in Los Angeles, California. . .Died July 30, 2007, at age of 75.

To Bill's family, you have my simpathy and prayers. 

How do you get your referrals?

As we all know a great part of our success is when people refer us to others that need our services.  Referrals are an excellent way of feedback on the type of service that you provide. 

Some of the ways that I know to get referrals:

1. From your friends, family, co-workers, past clients (in the industry we call it our sphere of influence)
2. Your website
3. Do we distribute a monthly newsletter? Newsletter can however gosome way towards boosting referrals  - make it something of real value and people might see themselves as doing their friends a favor by passit it along.
4. From a business card, post card or letter that they received from you
5. Giving a batch of your business cards to your friends to pass out
6. Posting your flyer on a bulletin board in a heavy traffic area
7. Your real estate sign, banners, etc.
8. Newspaper ads or other forms of advertising
9. General conversation with someone that you impressed in a few minutes
10. Your sales history
11. Not just what you know but who you know that counts!
12. Blog, Blog, Blog!

And what do you do when you run out of referrals?  How do you get more business?  Where do you start?

Call of action:   Add to the list - Share what you do to get referrals

Please share with us how you get referrals, what do you do most when you run low on business and need more referrals or buisness?

Sharing is caring!

Have you ever noticed signs in offices that you visit?  Your doctor, dentist, attorney, day care, grocery store, business plans or marketing plans, etc.

What have you thought about the signs you read as the company's motto or mission statement?  Do you agree that having a slogan and displaying it is a good thing or has it just not helped or impressed you at all?

Do you have a slogan or sign?  Or have you thought about a slogan that best says what you and your business is all about? Do you advertise your slogan in your marketing plan? And does it lead to happier clients, loyal clients, more referrals and more business for you?

My daughter and I work together as a mother and daughter team. One of the first things we did was to figure out what we were all about, and we came up with our slogan, motto and motivator for a sincere way to run our business:

                     "We take the extra steps to ensure our clients receive the utmost care"

What does this mean to us?  That we put our clients first, above any other (perhaps more profitable) motives.

Please share your slogan, motto or your thought of what your business is all about.

Here is a start up list of questions that sellers should ask about their sale.  I always tell my clients there will be alot of different set of papers that will need their review, their signature, and they need to know what to look for prior to closing.  It is OK and requested that they review and ask questions if it is not clear to them.

It is not just listing the home and letting the realtor take care of everything.  The seller has a responsibility to know what is going on with the sale and what paperwork means what.  What to look for and what questions to ask. 

Although my practice is to be at the closing with my sellers, I still want them to up on what to look for and what questions to ask.  Afterall, this is a major move in their lives and they should feel that they have a good understanding and agreement on what they are doing.

Here are just some of the questions that should be asked by the sellers:

• Is the Sale Price and payoff information correct on your closing documents? If questions, check with your agent and your documents. Was there a credit to be given, is it documented on the HUD?
• Is payoff document being prepared for your old loan? Is the payoff amount correct?
• If there was a Realtor involved in the sale, is that fee correct? Were there negotiations for the fee and does the paperwork match the HUD?
• Are the title and closing costs as you understood them to be? Check your numbers, ask questions if they do not match what you were told.
• Is the closing agent, transfer tax, or title insurance fees correct? Is there an attorney involved?  Make sure the numbers match what you were told they would be.
• Is your property being sold "as is" or is the property is tip-top shape?  Did you correctly make any disclosures as required by your state or federal law.  I f you are selling the property as is - did you disclosure as required?
• Have you agreed to perform any repairs or other work before or after closing? If yes, what is your deadline? Can you make the deadline?
• Have you removed all your personal property items?  Make sure you remove all your personal items before you turn over the keys,  to void disputes with the buyers.
• Do you know what day you must vacate the property? Is it the day of closing? Check your purchase agreement and also Escrow Instructions on your docs.
• Have you left the property in the condition you promised you would?   Did you move the items from the backyard, the boat or old cars?  Double check to be sure all your commitments are complete prior to closing and / or your move out.
• Is any money being held back in escrow on your behalf? If so, how and when will it be released?

Rosemary Brooks

I am not working for or advertising vistaprint--- I'm sharing something that is FREE. I received an email that these items are FREE (plus shipping) and I wanted to share the information with you.  I am not getting any kind of cut or discounts from Vistaprint.  They do offer an affilliate program however, I have not signed up for that and I am not interested in doing so.  You don't get much better than FREE, so what kind of discount would I need? 

Please check this offer out and if it is something that you can use or you can turn someone else on to -  Just do it!  If you already have a service that does the same or better, please share it with us. 

Remember FREE does not mean cheapskate its is just FREE and that makes the world go round a little easier. I just could not keep this information to myself.  FREE is as good as it gets and I love FREE so I figured I'd share with my friends that like FREE too.  All you have to pay for is the shipping and you can go from 2-day delivery to the slow boat to your home delivery.  These are good quality products that will or can help you with your business.  Please pass it on.

This is an email that I received today from Vistaprint.  These specials will last until July 20th.  You cannot get any better than free.  http://www.vistaprint.com/

Good opportunity to get those business card flyers (listings on the back of business cards), hand out business cards (premium quality), get you some return address labels for your mailings, postcards good quality for mailings, small stamps (SOLD, FILE, your name and address or whatever....).  Just to name a few of the things you can get for FREE to help you in your business.

They also have a FREE 30-day trial website that is one the least expensive thereafter.  Hope there is something here that can help you in your business for cheap.

MY DISCLAIMER: 

Do you use Vistaprint or do you know of other services that are similar or better?  If yes, please share them.  Sharing is caring. Thank you for your comments.

FYI........ the Proposed HUD Rule Comment Period is Extended

Due to significant interest, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has extended the public comment period on the proposed rule entitled ‘Standards for Mortgagor's Investment in Mortgaged Property' until August 10, 2007.

If the proposed rule is implemented as currently written, homebuyers using mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would be prohibited from accepting down payment gifts that are indirectly funded by the home seller. This would impact your business by eliminating all privately funded down payment assistance programs.

Nehemiah is thankful to Representative Maxine Waters (CA), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, and Representative Gary Miller (CA) for formally requesting this extension and to the entire Subcommittee for providing a forum that allowed interested parties to address the key concerns associated with elimination of private down payment assistance.

The extended comment period ensures that Congress will have the necessary time to properly review the role down payment assistance programs play in providing access to homeownership for tens of thousands of low and moderate income borrowers each year. Down payment assistance has been responsible for creating more than 500,000 low and moderate income homeowners since 1997 and we agree that further Congressional review and public comment is necessary before disbanding the programs that have helped so many families achieve the American dream of homeownership.

Nehemiah is equally thankful to you, our valued industry partners, for your continued support. You can count on Nehemiah to keep you up-to-date on any new developments regarding the proposed HUD ruling.

Stay Up-To-Date

Visit our website http://www.getdownpayment.com/updates/updaterequests.cfm and register to receive future email updates as they become available.

Alternative to Foreclosure - Important Notice (sent to owner in pre-foreclosure)

There are alternatives to foreclosure, but you must take immediate action.

The letter below was sent to the owners by another department of their lenders.  It appears that they are really trying to help owners out first before they foreclose.  Is this going to be the new practice to attempt to help the owners in pre-foreclosure  from the lenders in their effort to help the owners out a little? I sure hope so and I hope other lenders are going to pick up on this practice.

One of my clients received this notice and I wanted to share it with you because it just might be seen alot more coming from lenders to owners.

The letter read:

Your lender is very interested in discussing options that may help you avoid foreclosure, BUT YOU MUST TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION AND CALL TODAY.  Your lender may require certain financial information and may require access to the property to determine the property's value prior to qualifiying you for these programs.

If you would like information regarding the options available, please contact _________________________ at _____________ so we can put you in touch with your lender's Loss Mitigation Department.

If you would like to obtain an exact figure as to the amounts needed to cure the default or pay the loan in full, foreward your request for reinstatement figures and/or payoff quotes to: (name of company here) 

You may wish to consult a credit-counseling agency to assist you.  The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can provide you with the name and address of the local HUD approved counseling agency by calling their toll-free hotline at 800-569-4287.

Notwithstanidn the fact that your property is in foreclosure, you may offer your property for sale provided the sale is concluded prior to the conclusion of the foreclosure.  Be sure to notify _________________ or your lender in the event your property is listed or under contract for sale or the foreclosure mat take place notwithstanding your expected sale.

This notice is sent for the purpose of collecting a debt.  this firm is attempting to collect a debt on behalf of the holder and owner of te note.  Any information obtained by or provided to this firm or the creditor will be used for that purpose.

In other words, time is of the essence!

My clients signed an authorization letter for me to contact the lender for them.  Once the lender faxes me their requirements, financial forms and payoff information etc., then I will go back to my client and hand him the information and let them make the best decision for their family and situation.  I do appreciate this letter to the owners because it shows that not all lenders are out to just foreclose - they are offering options to the owners.

Have you seen or heard of any other lender sending a letter out like this and what is your opinion?

Disclosure! Disclosure! Disclosure!

Q & A: 

What is the Seller required to disclose in an "As Is" contract?

State laws vary and an "as is" clause may not limit the responsibilities of the Seller to disclose certain defects of the property to the Buyer. Many states require Sellers to disclose any known problems with the house, including structural, mechanical and legal, in a form referred to as a "Real Estate Disclosure Transfer Statement" which includes a disclosure relating to lead paint, if the home was built prior to 1978.

Additional disclosure documents could include a smoke detector statement of compliance, a statement regarding state responsibility areas for property located in rural areas, special studies showing zones of geological hazards, such as earthquakes and landslides,  reporting of ordnance location hazards such as old military training facilities, if known, environmental hazard disclosures for chemical or asbestos, radon gas, or similar hazardous substances, special flood hazard area and FEMA responsibility locations, and energy conservation retrofit and thermal insulation disclosure.

This is really important with all the short sales going on.  Most short sales are "as is" and there is usually something wrong with the property because the owners are in hardship situation and cannot afford to do proper maintenance to the property. Those that are "handyman" inclined are in a sense of depression over the situation and just don't have the energy to fix the house up that they know they are going to have move out of soon.  If the agent is aware, and alert to the condition of the property it can be a good tool for negotiation with the lender for a short payoff sale.  Documentation is essential.  Disclosure is a must. If you know it, disclose it!

Don't forget to use the form ADDENDUM "AS IS" SALE

Do you have any "AS IS" real estate war stories to share?