Plainfield, NJ

[Note: To follow is an excerpt of a radio show interview conducted by Peter L. Mosca, host of Income Property Investment Talk dot com, with Michael Anderson, CCIM, founder and co-owner of RealSource who is filling in for Nate Hanks who is the co-owner at RealSource; Bob Turner, Owner, Southern Properties, LLC, and Mindy Williams, President, RentandRetain.com, will explore proven practical ways to hold on to your valuable customer base, win repeat business and maximize assets. To listen to the show archive or download an MP3, go to www.IncomePropertyInvestmentTalk.com/102809.]

Mosca: Customer retention provides the competitive advantage necessary to survive in any market. There is no doubt that with the weakened economy it has shifted concerns from staffing and acquiring new customers to client retention. Is there a way to know for sure that customers and clients are satisfied?
Williams: The main way you can tell if your customers are satisfied or not is if they are staying and then the second one is if they are referring their friends. I come from the property management aspect of this so if your referrals continue to be strong that means you are doing a good job. If you are losing people right and left something is happening in the office, something is happening on site that you need to change and alter. It can be done but it needs to be done quickly.

Mosca: Bob, is it as simple as meeting with them and asking them?

Turner: You've got to do a lot more than that. You've got to be so knowledgeable in their business that you could actually be in their shoes every day and do their job, otherwise you are missing out on what needs to be done with your clients and customers or partner. Be involved in their business, know how to run it for them and be in front of them most of the time.

Mosca: Mike, from your perspective working with real estate entrepreneurial investors, how do you know for sure that they are satisfied?

Anderson: We have to be in their head all of the time and in these difficult economic times when you've lost so much value in a lot of the investments over the last 18 to 24 months, you really have to sit down and think about where they're coming from and turn their economic situation around. The only way to do that is spend a lot of time with them and understand their immediate needs and concerns and let them know what you're doing to sure up the ship.

Mosca: Can you talk to us a little bit about the relationships that you have with builders and others in the new home sale arena?

Turner: On a regular basis I am out in front of the builders knowing where the markets are going to be, where they need to be, where they buy their lots, what product they need to sell, what product they need to build, and what price it needs; you've got to spend a lot of time. You literally are managing and running their business for them. What we do in my company is we tell the builder you go build the houses and we will take care of everything else. That's what we have to do. We have to be smart enough to run their business day in, day out, know when they are doing stuff right and where they are doing stuff wrong and have the ability to tell them. We listen to the market.

Mosca: Mike, as co-owner of RealSource, you work with real estate entrepreneurial investors providing them with institutional level products and services. Is that something that you focus on in terms of keeping clients? Is market and location strategy a big part of that?

Anderson: It really is Peter. As you know, this is probably the very best time if you are an entrepreneurial investor or institutional investor to be buying in this market because all of the values are so deeply reset. The key to advising a client right now is that just because everything is relatively inexpensive compared to where it was a few years ago doesn't necessarily mean it's a great buy. You have to really advise them as to which markets are likely to recover and drive the values to those assets up. In the process you really have to know which markets are likely to recover first and that's the process that you want to make your client aware of in these kinds of market conditions.

Mosca: Mindy, as president of Rentandretain.com, is market something that should be a part of the property manager's perspective when they are working with clients or perspective clients?
Williams: No matter where you are coming from you have to feel confident selling especially what product you have. Depending on where you are in the country, if everyone around you is bombing, you need to figure out a way to not bomb or to do it differently from everyone else. I am more from a marketing perspective so Mike and Bob are great at finding places, building them and where to invest. My job would then be to get in there and to find more customers, more residents and then figure out a way to keep them longer.

Mosca: With companies losing about 10% of their base each year it seems that retention should be something that we all focus on right now, especially in today's market?
Williams: Absolutely. We've done tons of studies in property management and on average it costs about seven times more to find a new resident than it does to keep your current one. It's seven times more expensive to find a new resident and our turnover is just huge. Industry wide it is anywhere, actually 2 years ago it was anywhere in the 68 - 78% range so we are losing two-thirds of our customers each year. Now I am sure it is a little bit higher. We are in a tight situation where if your competitor is offering a special, our customers can up and move and if you are looking at $800 or $1000 a month, you are losing a significant amount of money each year if you can't hold onto some of your customers.

Turner: We have to be very creative on how we are going to turn product over, how we are going to keep building and building some inventory to even have an opportunity to make money. What we had to do a year and a half to two years ago as the market started heading down severely, we had to figure out how they were going to get rid of the inventory they had, if they could even make money on it. We structured trade deals where we took houses in on trade just like a used car. If you owned a house or you would come to us or you'd buy our house, we'd buy yours and then we would turn around and have to get rid of two houses to make one work. We got rid of the new one, put the person in it, then we took the existing house as we call it and we did lease purchases, we did leases to make sure you stop the blood flow for the builders so they could continue in business. Then you figure out how to go make money. We had so many different ways that we had to really think through where are you at, where are you headed, and how are we going to get there? We had to buy time as we keep saying in the business, now we are buying time till this market changes. We've been taking trades for a year and a half to two years. A lot of builders are just now starting to do it and we've had to be very, very creative.

Mosca: Builders across the country right now must be saying, "we need Bob Turner in my neck of the woods."

Turner: That's where customer retention comes in. There is one basis that I have used for many years in my business and it's real simple book called "Raving Fans." It's a simple read, but you will read it two or three times before it really hits home with you and you start thinking about how do I do it right for the customer. That's what all of our business models are about, how do we take care of the customer. The customer may be the builder, it may be the buyer, it may be the tenant, whoever it may be, you've still got customer service the right way to do it with whoever that customer may be. All of my business is based around referrals. I don't do any advertising for customers whatsoever. I don't spend a nickel on it.

Williams: The one thing I stress in a lot of my seminars is that if you are the boss your customer very well may be your property manager or your onsite manager or your leasing consultant, whoever is running the operation for you. That may be your customer and you need to make sure you treat that person right because it filters down from there.
Mosca: I am guessing that anything you can possibly do to get to know your individual customers and clients that has to be crucial?

Anderson: Absolutely Peter. What I find that works best is a program we call "client meet and greets." We rent a room in a hotel, hospitality suite, provide a meal and then engage our customers, our investment clients at about 20 to 30 of them at a time and get to know where their concerns are and let them know that we are aware of their concerns. I think that's really important, especially in troubling times. I think that your customer wants to know that you are aware of their problems, that you are paying attention and that you are not hiding under a rock. From there, you give them your strategies moving forward. Here is what we are doing to protect your investments today, here is what the market looks like, and don't paint it in rosy colors. These people are experiencing it first hand. They need to know that you are aware just how bad it is and explain it just exactly the way that you see it. It is not a sales call. It is a customer understanding meeting or relationship that you are trying to establish. Then from there, talk about where the opportunities are. Not only what are we doing to protect your current investment and assets, what are we trying to do to provide solutions to some of your concerns, but also where the opportunities are for the future. For us it is the best of times. If you are a real estate investor, this is your market. This is where you make your money but it just really is a matter of getting with your customer base. Be involved with investors and help them understand the opportunity in front of them and then how to take advantage of it.
Mosca: I'm wondering if consumer electronic technologies, sustainability and energy efficiency are ways that builders are separating themselves or creating a niche in these markets?

Turner: They are but not as much here. Our energy costs are pretty marginal, they are economical and we build pretty energy efficient houses. The Memphis climate is not severely cold and not too severely hot. We keep moving. We don't ever stop and wait. We are steadily moving to get to that next market. That's where we are having to change and reinvent and become that niche builder that we have a product here that everybody wants.

Williams: No matter which niche market is your target market, being green is cool. I know a lot of the Gen Yers out there are especially looking for socially responsible apartment communities or are working with companies who can do that. I think there are several ways you can do that. First of all if you work for a property management company you might want to look at water conservation and energy conservation. Those are the two of the easiest things you can do if you have an existing product already. In fact, one manager in Dallas walked around her pool; it was a bigger apartment community. I think she had 350 units. She walked around the pool one summer afternoon and found 17 dripping faucets just from residents sitting by the pool. Get in all of the apartments, check the air filters, make sure they are clean, make sure your HVAC units are working effectively, and that's one way that we are going to do our part so save the environment and to save some energy. You can start a recycling program, program the thermostats in apartments is a big deal. There are all kinds of community projects you can get together to help clean up the town and be more socially responsible. Even if you aren't building a new product, you can look within your existing product to see how you can make it more green.

Anderson: Over the twenty years that we have been in business, we have probably reinvented ourselves half a dozen times based on not only what the market was telling us, but also what the client was telling us. Up until this recent downturn in the economy, we were tenant in common sponsors. We were investing clients' tax deferred proceeds from sales into larger income properties, primarily multi-family properties. When the capital markets went away there was no liquidity, there was no selling going on so our business went on to take advantage of this economic downturn and take advantage of some of the distressed properties that are hitting the market. We had to sit down and reinvent ourselves in the distressed market business, which oddly enough we started in the late ‘80s and this is the exact same market we started in. We have come full circle in 20 years but one of the things that we've learned is that the client will never lead you astray. If you listen to them and you pay attention to what they see, what they need, where they want to go, where they see the opportunity, and position yourself to help in that process, you can never go wrong.

Mosca: What are your golden nuggets for today?

Anderson: The most successful things that we have ever done in customer retention especially in the investment area is listened. In particular, we've listened closely to our critics. We've established advisory boards from our clients that we have paid to come in and criticize us and tear us apart. Don't underestimate social media. We have a number of groups that are discussion groups that we helped form and that we participate in that are designed to help us look for ways to improve. The most important things are listening and transparency.

Williams: People remember how you make them feel so if you are a salesperson, if you are a manager, if you are a boss, when that person leaves your office or leave the encounter with you, did they feel good about it? If you think about your favorite teacher growing up in school, you are probably going to tell me some of the characteristics or the personality aspects of that teacher that you liked. People remember how you make them feel. Concentrate more on the interaction rather than a cheesy sales pitch or trying to get the person to sign a renewal.

Turner: I think there are a lot of people that are looking for that deal out there and there are lots of deals and Cash is King right now. If you have equity and money and you need to be buying property, you need to look at land. Land is the greatest investment. It hedges you against inflation. There are income producing farms, timberland, a lot of other things that are out there that people are overlooking. They want to go buy a house that is a real house but the real market is a little tough right now and maybe it's not their best investment but land I can tell you from my portfolio, my land and farm operations have gone up in value double-digits over the last three years. The big purchasers now, if you go and look, the big purchasers now are trying to buy every income producing farm, operating farm that they can when it comes on the market.

Paul Stillwaggon, For All Your Real Estate Needs Contact New Jersey Estates Real Estate Group E-mail: njestates@gmail.com Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net 908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)

NJ Estates Real Estate Group Weichert Realtors 908-561-5492 55 Stirling Road, Watchung, N.J. 07069

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We live in information overload. There are more distractions coming at you from all directions, and at all times, than at any other time in the history of humanity. This is a message that is more important for you right now than ever before. Unplug your life! Here's how:

First things first, you need a daily quiet time. Let me explain. Once of the richest men in the world at the time of his death in 1942 was George Andre of Nyon, Switzerland. He was a grain merchant that had started from humble beginnings as a small grocery store owner and became one of the world's largest grain traders. He lived in an opulent chalet in the Swiss Alps and his daily routine included locking himself into a room, sitting in a chair with his cup of coffee and staring out the window at the mountains for exactly 1 hour. Everyday, just after breakfast, he did this, for 60 years. When asked what on earth he was doing, he simply said, "You wouldn't understand." Finally, a very inquisitive young man persisted and George revealed what he was doing. He said, "I talk to God."

I read a book on creativity a number of years back and the main strategy for unleashing creativity was this, "Stare out the window in silence for at least 30 minutes a day." So I guess that Mr. Andre was onto something, huh.

Try it. It just may change your life.

Besides quiet time, let's talk about technology and how to unplug that. Now, I don't mean throw away your PDA, cancel your Facebook and Twitter accounts, and stop checking emails. Instead, what I mean by "Unplug Your Life" is to control the flow of distractions and information that is coming at you constantly. Here are some tips on how to do that:

Control Your TV: I don't watch TV news. I had a mentor once tell me that I needed to fill my mind with the good, the powerful and the positive and the news fed the negative. In the 5 o'clock network news world, the phrase they use is, "If it bleeds, it leads." Meaning, the more gruesome the story, the more likely it will headline the 30 minute segment. He said that if I wanted to stay up to date on current events, to read the newspaper because I could read the headline and then choose whether to read the article.

Nowadays, you can use online publications, but the principle is the same, control the news that comes into your brain by choosing which stories to read. Further, pick one time per day, per week, per month, whatever, to review the most important news stories. It really doesn't matter, because any really important story you'll hear about anyway. Someone in your sphere of influence will say the phrase, "Did you hear..." and follow it up with some horribly tragic story of some small child in Northwest Indiana, blah, ba, blah, blah, blah.

I also don't watch TV. I record the shows I want to watch and then watch them when I feel like it (usually at night when my newborn won't fall asleep.) Again I control what is coming into my brain.

Control Your Email: This is the biggest killer of them all, email. First, you need to set aside specific times when you check and respond to emails. Once a week, Once a day, Twice a Day at the most. Based on my schedule, I check emails at 11AM and 4PM. Second, program your email so that only the best stuff gets through to you. Here's how it happens. Your surfing the web, you run into a squeeze page that asks for an email, you type in your email, and then you start getting emails from that company. If the emails provide great value, then let them flow. But if what they are sending you is garbage, send those to a junk folder. You can always set a time once a month to check the junk folder for anything interesting. I use Outlook and every email automatically goes into a different folder and then I'll review everything in a folder once a day, once every two days, etc, depending on the folder.

Control Your Social Media: With Facebook and Twitter dominating communication, this can be a massive distraction. Much like email, set specific times to check these. Once per week, once per day, whatever. Personally, I check Facebook and Twitter once a week, sometimes less. Now, I'll contribute pictures, comments, videos and the like at random times from my cell phone, but I don't actually log into either accounts but maybe once a week.

Control Your Texting: Although I have texting capabilities, I rarely use it with anyone but my very close family and friends. Once someone knows you are a "texter", it can be impossible to stop the onslaught of distractions. The same as everything else we have already talked about, check texts at specific times of the day. For me, it's 11AM and 4PM.

The Cell Phone Exception: Thus far, you have seen a very predictable pattern, control, control, control. I'm going to throw you a curve ball here...the cell phone. I have experienced some of my greatest opportunities because I have picked up my phone. I am going to encourage you to pick up your phone. Now, to avoid annoying callers, make sure your cell phone shows the name of every caller. That way, you can screen those who are not worthy to take up that moment of your time. If they leave a message, you can always call them back. I don't know exactly why picking up the cell phone is so important, but experience has taught me to pick up my phone.

What does this have to do with real estate investing and short sales? Everything. The #1 reason why people fail, as studied by Tony Robbins organization, is people get "caught up." They get so caught up focusing on all the minors of life, they run out of time to focus on the majors. Hopefully this will help you focus on the majors so you too can live the life you have always imagined.

Paul Stillwaggon, For All Your Real Estate Needs Contact New Jersey Estates Real Estate Group E-mail: njestates@gmail.com Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net 908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)

NJ Estates Real Estate Group Weichert Realtors 908-561-5492 55 Stirling Road, Watchung, N.J. 07069

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Take time and do your homework. If you are rushed you won't be able to properly assess the marketplace to ensure that the needs of your business are met when you're signing a lease. If you have a lease renewal coming up, give yourself lots of time to renegotiate. Then if you can't come to agreeable terms or decide it's time to move to a different space, you have plenty of time to get everything in order for the transition.

Business leases are not like dwelling rentals. Business leases are totally different from personal dwelling rentals. In a personal dwelling rental, costs are usually restricted to a set monthly price plus specified expenses such as heat and water. The landlord could take responsibility for repair expenses. With business leases, there may be many other costs above the base lease price that will be charged back to the tenants. Outside of your written lease agreement, there is nothing like the protection offered to people renting home space. Before negotiating a lease, take time to understand what costs - above the basic lease costs - the landlord will charge you over the year. Know what actions you can legally take under certain situations, such as the late payment of rent.

Negotiate. Landlords and Realtors will expect you to negotiate, but would love for you to take the first deal that they offer. Doing anything less than negotiating will likely mean that you pay more, or that critical clauses to protect your best interests are left out of the lease agreement. In the negotiation process it helps to be prepared and don't appear too eager. Put your pride aside and be ready to negotiate the best possible lease. Start low, ask for extras such as free rent, and ask for more than you hope to get. If your first offer is accepted, you didn't start low enough!

If this is your first time, practice. Talk to different landlords, ask lots of questions, inquire about different incentives, and try to get a feel for the process of negotiating a lease. This process will help you understand the market, and will help you get ready to enter into actual negotiations once you have an understanding of what's available, what you need, and what you can ask for during negotiations.

Get expert feedback. As you move through the negotiation process, consult someone with the expertise (like a lawyer or accountant) who can act in your best interests. An expert should be able to help you include clauses that will benefit your business, tell you what to ask for during negotiations, and protect you from signing a lease agreement that could cost you money and problems in the long run. They will help you answer questions such as: does the deal look like it could cause your business to incur any unexpected costs? Are operating costs shared based on the percentage of space you take up in the overall building, or are they based on the number of tenants in the building, even if there are expenses incurred for vacant units? Does the deal allow you to reduce the cost of your rental rate if you renegotiate after the lease expires? Do you have first right to lease your space on a long term basis if you currently have a month-to-month lease? There are many questions to ask; an expert can anticipate the questions and ensure that you are protected from making costly mistakes.

Understand rental rates. Square footage rental rates won't likely reflect the true price of leasing and rates are not always as they appear. Some may be artificially high with several free months of rent offered to drive down the actual price paid over the duration of the lease, a situation that benefits landlords who want to maintain the value of their properties. Others may increase at set times and in set increments over duration of the lease. In some cases, you may think you're paying a set amount per square foot, but when the effective square footage is examined you may find that you're paying for space that doesn't really exist, based on the square footage calculations used by the landlord. As well, the landlord will likely add additional charges on top of the base rent (often quoted as cost per square foot). This could include operating costs (beware of any costs that are inflated with capital improvements) and marketing costs.

Understand space. You'll need to know how the landlord has calculated the unit space. Is it based on the actual square footage? Does it include space that doesn't actually exist? Is it accurate? When you are looking for a certain unit size, start your search by looking at smaller spaces in the building. It's often more desirable to the lessor to lease smaller spaces; by starting with a smaller space, and then inquiring about a larger space, the landlord may offer incentives to entice you to take the bigger space.

Location, location, location. It's an old saying, but for many retail businesses this factor can make - or break, the business. Choose the best location you can, taking into account as many factors as possible. Who are the other tenants? If a brand-name tenant is a big draw, are you sure they're staying? What is the traffic to the space like - and what are the demographics of that traffic? Is there adequate parking? Easy access? Will you be butting heads with a competitor? Think of all the factors that are important to your business, and then look for the property that will offer the best "return on location".

Be prepared to walk. No matter how emotionally you may be tied to a potential deal, if you aren't ready to walk away from the table you won't be able to negotiate the best deal for your business. Being able to walk away from a deal is empowering. It gives you the ability to control the final outcome. And to ensure that you get the best possible deal for your business.

Put it in writing. When you're ready to sign, make sure that all verbal agreements and promises are included in the written agreement. No matter what promises are made, if they are not included in the body of the lease, they will likely be excluded by a clause in the lease that says something like: "this is the entire agreement". Whether you've negotiated for several months of free rent, you've made arrangements for future lease negotiations, or you've agreed on other terms, if it's not in the agreement you could face difficulties later on. By putting everything in the written agreement you may avoid unnecessary problems and time and money loss later on.

Paul Stillwaggon, For All Your Real Estate Needs Contact New Jersey Estates Real Estate Group E-mail: njestates@gmail.com Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net 908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)

NJ Estates Real Estate Group Weichert Realtors 908-561-5492 55 Stirling Road, Watchung, N.J. 07069

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Several states have sponsored laboratory and field studies looking at the feasibility of using RAS in HMA pavement. States such as Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, Minnesota and Texas have performed laboratory studies. Many other laboratory studies may be found on the Technical Reports and Articles pages. Field studies also have been conducted in which portions of highways or trailways have been paved with asphalt containing recycled shingles and have been monitored over time. Pennsylvania , North Carolina and Minnesota have conducted such trials.

Benefits shown from these studies include:

Increased stiffness of the asphalt Decreased cracking No effect on moisture sensitivity Decreased susceptibility to rutting Decreased optimum content of virgin asphalt cement. Because of the benefits shown by using RAS in HMA pavement, several states allow a certain percentage of RAS to be used in HMA pavements. Florida up to 5% manufacturer's scrap Georgia up to 5% manufacturer's scrap Indiana up to 5% manufacturer's scrap Maryland up to 5% manufacturer's scrap Michigan up to 5% manufacturer's scrap New Jersey up to 5% manufacturer's scrap North Carolina up to 5% manufacturer's scrap Ohio "certain percentage of recycled material" Pennsylvania up to 5% manufacturer's scrap Several states have established dedicated offices to increasing the use and applications of recycled materials in highway projects.

Click on your state to find out what they are doing in the area of shingle recycling

Paul Stillwaggon, For All Your Real Estate Needs Contact New Jersey Estates Real Estate Group E-mail: njestates@gmail.com Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net 908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)

NJ Estates Real Estate Group Weichert Realtors 908-561-5492 55 Stirling Road, Watchung, N.J. 07069

Equal Housing Opportunity

Current Listings Info
Luxury New Homes
Custom Build A New Home
Land & Building Lots
New Jersey Estates
All New Jersey Homes
Real Estate Listings Blogs
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The Plainfield Public Library will conduct a photograh contest reception and awards presentation on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 1 P.M. in the Anne Louise Davis Gallery. The event will also inlcude the exhibit opening, which will feature entries from both professionals and amateurs. The entries total some 80 photographs some of which ahve been submitted by local elementary school students. The event which is made possible through the support of The Friends of the Plainfield Public Library, serves as a conduit for collecting photographs of life in the Queen City. For more in formation, contact the library at 908-757-111 ext. 136.