Archive for February, 2008
The 10 Second Rule
· CommentsThought About Safety Lately?
I’ve seen a number of articles about safety and real estate agents. I think it’s a good idea to revisit the issue of safety from time to time. It’s easy to stop thinking about it in between news stories about REALTORS® who have been injured or killed “on the job”.
I came across some safety information from NAR that includes some interesting ways to keep yourself safe. One that I particularly like is the idea of setting up a code that 
everyone in your office knows. Using colors is an often quoted idea. Let’s say that you need someone to call 911 at your location – you call your office and ask them to find the red folder on your desk. Red is the code word for needing immediate assistance.
And, yes, all these things can be considered just common sense. If you have a way to ask someone to call 911, then obviously, you should also have a way to keep the office updated on where you are, or have a way to weave the address where you’re located into the conversation.
Safety Sounds Simple, But. . .
It sounds simple, but have you ever tried it? Practiced what you’d say and how you’d say it? If not, do you think the most effective time to try it out is when you’re alone in an empty house with someone you think is about to harm you? I don’t think so.
So, to me, the key is not just knowing what to do, but also being comfortable doing it. If I had a code like that, I’d want to be confident that I could make that telephone call without tipping off the person I was afraid of. I think that would take some practice. It needs to be so automatic that you can do it even when you’re panic-stricken!
The 10 Second Rule
The other tip I really like relates to the 10 Second Rule. This is the first time I’ve seen that on a list of safety tips. It’s another thing that is so simple, but would take some discipline to do consistently.
The idea is that when you’re on the road, whether alone or with clients, you take 10 seconds when you arrive at a location to look around. Well, not 10 seconds all at once, but the article identifies 5 times when spending 2 seconds to become aware of your surroundings could make a big difference.
That idea really makes sense to me because I’ve always been amazed at people who are surprised by an attacker when you know they should have had some idea that trouble was brewing. But, when you’re late for an appointment, that 10 seconds might seem like too long a delay unless you really focus on your own safety
You can visit Realtor.org to see the complete safety review and you can even take a quiz. The quiz is pretty simplistic, but I didn’t get them all right – do you think you would?
To all of you who are celebrating a birthday this Friday. . .
Happy Birthday!
And, this year, you get to celebrate on the actual anniversary of your birth!
If you are a leap year baby, like the other 199,000 people born on February 29, you could be either 40 or 10. I’d pick 10 myself.
For the rest of us, guess it just means that we’re a day older than we should be. So, if you are 40 and you’re not a leap year baby, on your birthday I guess you’re actually 40 years and 13 days old?
Of course, there are other ways to fool yourself about your age. I like the one that says that someone who is 40 is actually 30-10. That’s if they decided to stop having birthdays after 30. If they stop at 21, then they’d be 21-19.
Too bad they couldn’t figure out how to divide up the year without needing to include a silly fix like adding a day every four years.
Maybe I’ll work on that in my spare time.
This is the fourth in a series – see all the posts
Unless You’ve Been Living Under a Rock. . .
. . .you’re aware that the use of the Internet by home buyers has been steadily rising. According to NAR’s 2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, in 2003, 71% of buyers reported using the Internet. In 2007, that percentage is up to 84%.
The message bears repeating. If you’re a real estate professional without an effective Internet presence, you’re falling farther and farther behind. Not only are you handicapped in your ability to reach your prospective clients, but you’re also going to be hindered in your ability to effectively marketing listings – and your prospects know that.
The First Step Buyers Take
When asked what was the first thing that a buyer did to look for a home, their responses included:
- Looked online: 32%
- Contacted an agent: 20%
- Looked online for information about the buying process: 12%
- Looked in newspapers, magazines or home buying guides: 5%
Lessons learned? It’s interesting that 12% of buyers looked online for information on the buying process. If you’re looking for new original content for your website, how about a real down-to-earth buying guide?
I’m not referring to all those slick “10 Mistakes to Avoid” articles. If they really want information about the home buying process, it would be a great opportunity to write an introduction that explains an overview of the process in English, in a way that makes the visitor feel your concern for their welfare. (Remember, on the buying side, you want warm and fuzzy.)
Then, you could include an offer for a more detailed Home Buying Guide, which would give you the opportunity to obtain contact information and to start creating a relationship with that site visitor.
Educate Your Sellers
The information about how Buyers operate also provide some statistics that could be very helpful in educating your clients who are selling their home. I know that it is often frustrating for agents when their clients insist on using promotional methods that aren’t going to help sell their home.
Newspaper-type advertising is the thing I hear mentioned most often that fits into the “not useful but the client insists” category. Maybe some of the statistics will help if you find yourself in that position with a client.
First, you’ll notice in the statistics above, only 5% of buyers started their search by looking at newspapers. Then, there were these results:
|
Users Rated |
||
|
Used Frequently |
Very or Somewhat |
|
|
or Occasionally |
Useful |
|
| Internet |
84% |
99% |
| Newspaper Ads |
51% |
52% |
| Home Book |
31% |
34% |
Those statistics indicate that of the 84% of buyers who used the Internet, 99% of them found it to be a useful resource. The print media didn’t fare as well. Of the 51% of people who look in newspaper ads, only roughly half of them find the ads a useful tool. And, home books garnered even less enthusiasm. Only 31% of buyers even used them, and of those, only 34% found them to be useful.
Try including those types of statistics the next time you describe your marketing plans – and, let me know if it helps!
Help Protect Your Clients from Foreclosure
· Comments
Subprime lending, predatory lenders, foreclosures, short sales – there’s a lot of concern about all of those issues. And, naturally, as much education as you can provide to your prospects and clients, the better off they’ll be.
NAR has a brochure available called Learn How to Avoid Foreclosure and Keep Your Home. The brochure was produced jointly by NAR, the Center for Responsible Lending, and NeighborWorks®, and it covers topics such as the types of loans that tend to get homeowners into trouble, and the steps their lenders may be willing to take to assist them in avoiding foreclosure.
Here’s another opportunity to position yourself as an expert, and to provide a professional handout to get people’s attention. People who may be susceptible to predatory lenders or who want to avoid foreclosure will be likely to keep this type of a handout – and remember the person who gave it to them.
The member cost is $20 for a pack of 50. For 40 cents a person, it might be an excellent investment. The brochure could also be a useful resource to help you quickly write a page on your website, or a post on your blog, to address the same issues.
Whimsical Wednesday: Hello Joey
· CommentsAs you may know, I lost my cat companion of over 20 years late last year. For a period of time, I was undecided about whether I wanted another pet or not. Or, whether I should get a dog or a cat.
That indecision was resolved as I found myself cruising the local Humane Society website and ended up spending more time on the cat pages. And, then I found myself always coming back to the photo of one 4 month old kitten. So, I decided to go meet him.
I don’t know if it’s the same everywhere, but here, the Humane Society is composed of a group of volunteer “Foster Parents”. The volunteers cruise the local Animal Shelter and scoop up as many animals as they can. The cats and dogs then live with the foster family until they are adopted.
One meeting was all it took. The kitten was pretty laid-back, friendly and curious. Of course. He had been found in a parking lot, so he’d probably been on the street for a while, and was pretty skinny. His attitude and the way he moved reminded me of one of the characters on Friends, and so he was named Joey.
Now, the house is back to feeling normal again – with the sound of little cat feet padding around the place. It’s been a lot of fun having him around. He’s got a lot of energy being young, of course. But, he’s also the most intelligent cat I’ve known. I’ve taught him to fetch his favorite toy, a wire with a few suede tails tied on one end. It also seems funny to me that he sleeps on his back with his legs in the air, or sometimes with his back legs crossed. He looks like he’s sitting in a recliner.
He always uses the litter box, and in fact finds it disgusting when the box is cleaned out. As I’m trying to remove the solid waste, he’s working just as hard trying to get it all covered up again the way he’d left it!
So, if you’re looking for a pet, try the local humane society. I think an animal whose life was a bit messy at the start can sometimes end up making one of the best companions.
