Yes you read that correctly. Two times per year, one of the largest real estate conferences is held to discuss new technology and innovations to assist real estate professionals in improving their businesses. I have spoken a few times on panels at this conference and have always come away with some incredibly useful information. The exposure to new technology innovators is invaluable. So you can likely appreciate my surprise when I heard that one of the main themes of said conference was a “consumer-centric” approach to real estate. REALLY? I mean REALLY????
Is it being suggested only now in the summer of 2011 that real estate agents put the consumer first? HELLO!!!! Perhaps this is precisely why the consumer thinks we are a bunch of morons who get paid entirely too much money. I’m sitting in my room right now on vacation typing this post because I just find it shocking that “consumer-centric” has just been discovered by the “innovators” of the real estate industry.
NEWSFLASH: I don’t care if you’re selling homes or widgets, you better make sure that EVERYTHING is geared towards making the experience as smooth, efficient and pleasant for the consumer as humanly possible. And if this is surprising to you, perhaps a new profession is in order.
Our very own Kristin Hurd is featured on NY1’s Ask the Expert segment today with the second part of the segment to air Monday. Check it out:
Experts Explain Real Estate Lingo
I find the prospect of staying connected in the world of social media a bit overwhelming at times. For those who know me, I do my best to utilize most of the social media “channels” in both my business and my personal life; the latter of which often makes my wife cringe!
I love facebook and considered myself an early adopter until I saw The Social Network. I use twitter but mostly through links from my facebook, and my other favorite sites like foursquare, my blog and HootSuite. I even recently signed up for a Roost account per the suggestion of my colleague and social media maven Nicole Beauchamp. I’m also a regular “member” of Google+ but must say that I’m not as hyped about it as are my more tech savvy friends and colleagues. Many see it as a real game changer while I just don’t have time to add yet another platform to the mix. I’m trying though!
As a business owner, I am now faced with a dilemna. I can wholeheartedly admit that there is no chance in H-E double toothpicks that I can keep up with it all. Particularly if I want to be a good (and PRESENT) husband and father. So what to do? Do I hire a social media maven to manage that part of the business at which point my posts completely lose my voice and personality…maybe that’s a good thing? LOL! Perhaps scheduling an hour or so per day to blog and surf the social media scene is enough.
I haven’t yet determined the answer but I sincerely have NO CLUE how so many of my colleagues are keeping up with the ever changing face of social media and still making a living. I do know however that in today’s business world, social media/marketing can NOT be ignored!
For now, I will do my very best to utilize services like HootSuite and Roost to stay connected to my sphere of influence. But good grief it is challenging…but FUN!
As brokers, we become so focused on closing the deal that we forget a huge piece of each and every transaction involves real live people. I have been a broker for years. I’m a good broker, but I think a little ‘real life’ experience put my life and work back in perspective.
This year I got the best education of my life and it wasn’t the typical continuing education class required to keep up my license. I sold my apartment in Manhattan and bought a house in Rockland County.
Each and every step I took was a learning experience, from how best to present my beautiful apartment to dealing with condescending brokers who would go mad if I wanted them to personally show me the house they had listed. I’ve closed on both properties, so I think I’m now able to discuss it without going into a rant or bursting into tears. May you learn from my mistakes and from the things I did right.
First, pick the best broker. Why in the world wouldn’t I hire myself to do the job? I happen to think I was the right person for the job, but here was my big problem. Who would I turn to when my client was being unreasonable?
I love myself, but frankly, I could be a real pain in the ass! If you’re going to represent yourself, you better know the business and have a group of business associates that know the business as well as you do that you can trust and turn to, whether you turn to them as the broker or as the seller. Thank goodness I work with a fabulous team at HPG.
Months of staying tidy in a low market being ready to show my apartment on a moment’s notice paid off. My apartment sold and I was ready to move on to the next phase – finding my new home.
The buy phase proved to be even more frustrating! I’ve always loved Rockland County, and after years of living in Upstate Manhattan, I was ready to cross the river to expand my life and my business to embrace both sides of the mighty Hudson. I set about my work to find the perfect place to live. Neighborhood was easy, I was pretty clear on that. I was stunned at the number of brokers who felt I didn’t know where I should live. Well if you’re a broker, why don’t you just go yourself? When I suggested that I would like to be shown the house so they could tell me what they knew about it, I was often offered a grunt and a maybe and then a flurry of question. Why in the world are you buying a house? Aren’t you single?!
Hadn’t they heard of the Fair Housing Act?
I am left to wonder why in the world anyone would hire a broker that would behave so unprofessionally. I think it’s because owners can be bullied, especially when the market is down or slow. Don’t let the stress cloud your judgment.
Brokers are there to provide a service. If you’re not being served, find another broker.
Now I am in the middle of renovations…. Stay tuned!
Posted in A Broker's Job, Dirty Real Estate Tricks, Fun, Market Insight, Tips & Advice
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Tagged buying, continuing education, crying, Fair Housing, Manhattan, real estate, Rockland, selling
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That’s right! I am referring to agents who get personally attached to properties that they are representing for sale. Some readers may remember my post way back in May 2006 regarding my love affair with an Upper West Side penthouse. In that situation, I was selling a property in the same building in which I lived and I wanted the apartment so much for myself that I became blind to the fact that it was overpriced.
The impetus for this post is not quite the same. The personal price reductions to which I’m referring are those required for properties in which an agent is representing a good friend or even family. I have an agent who is currently representing her parent’s co-op for sale. She has had incredible traffic and many have visited the space 2 and even 3 times with no offers. The property is gorgeous and shows beautifully so what is the hurdle? Likely the price. After all price overcomes all obstacles! But a greater obstacle in this instance than the price itself is the agent’s (remember she is also seller’s daughter) unwillingness to reduce the price. Her own father suggested a price reduction to which she responded “I can get you more daddy!” The sale of this apartment is her parent’s retirement nut and she is so personally engrossed in getting them every possible cent with their best interest at hand that she isn’t necessarily working in their best interest.
Now at the urging of another agent in the office, she has tried to step back for a moment and think of how she would be handling this property if the relationship were purely business. And the answer: After all of the traffic through the home and the lack of offers, the price seems to require an adjustment. So be it. And for the record: this is a no-nonsense, very professional agent who’s customers rave about her repeatedly.
The moral to the story…as agents we MUST maintain objectivity and treat each property with the same methodical market analysis to determine where visiting buyer’s are buying and at what price. And remember that if you are trying to sell a property for a friend, family member or just a new customer with whom you have developed a strong personal relationship, you’re not doing anyone a favor by keeping their home listed for a price that isn’t soliciting bids.
Friday, July 08, 2011 | Source: Crain’s
“When Facebook is used properly, it can be a wonderful tool for building a small business,” said Jennefer Witter, founder of The Boreland Group Inc., a public relations firm based in Riverdale in the Bronx.
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Friday, July 08, 2011 | Source: New York Times
UNTIL recently, real estate brokers in New York City rarely shared information about one another’s listings. As a result, buyers had no way of knowing whether their agent was showing them every property available, and sellers wondered whether their homes were getting the exposure necessary to secure the best deal.
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Friday, June 17, 2011 | Source: NY1
Doug Heddings of The Heddings Property Group helps train brokers on how to stay up to date with the latest technology. He says tablets like the iPad are helping to streamline real estate transactions and are allowing brokers and clients to work together more efficiently. All of the apps allow brokers to market properties and themselves in a whole new way.
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Check out our newly released Summer Events Calendar to keep up to date on all of the fun and exciting happenings in the NYC area this summer.
Friday, April 01, 2011 | Source: The Cooperator
And as far as interest rates are concerned, Douglas L. Heddings, president of The Heddings Property Group LLC, a New York real estate firm, believes that inflation will push interest rates higher. For this reason, he says, “Those who are mortgage-rate sensitive should consider buying sooner rather than later.”
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