Becky Brand

Recently Yanni Raz wrote an interesting post titled: Is Now a Good Time to Become a Realtor? It was a thought provoking post as you will see if you read the comments. For those of you who are wondering just how agents who started this year are fairing, I thought I would share about a couple of flourishing new agents.

Kim Farnsworth started her Shorewest training on January 2^nd 2009. So far this year she has closed 6 units equaling almost $1.3 million in volume. She has taken 4 listings and is on track for several more closings this year. Great start in this market!

Kim said, “I have no doubt that Shorewest is the place to be as a real estate agent! Not only were the 2 week training and 6 week coaching programs second to none but the support continues past your initial weeks. At my request I meet with both of my Sales Director’s weekly, once as part of a mentor group and once on an individual basis. The mentor group helps me sharpen my sales skills through role playing and brainstorming and the individual meeting helps me develop market and industry knowledge. I plan on more than doubling my units for next year and I know that with Shorewest’s help, I will do it.”

Mike Anderson, who attended our new agent training in August, has had tremendous success so far this year! He has closed one transaction already, has taken 3 listings and has 4 more closings scheduled in the next 60 days. Here is what Mike has to say about his decision to affiliate with the Shorewest Realtors Lake Country Office.

“What attracted me to Shorewest was that it was the only residential broker that I interviewed that recognized that being a market expert to better inform and advise clients would be the way into the future of real estate. So confident in their market knowledge that turning down over priced listings with unmotivated sellers wouldn't make them blink.

I meet three times a week with an aggressive sales team to keep each other on track by continued role playing, brain storming, and discussing and advising each other on the way forward with our business. The team is led the Office Sales Director, Dan Ludwig and the ability to have direct contact with senior leadership can only help even the most successful professionals stay on course.

Coming from a real estate and business background, I naturally bring many strengths to the business, however for every great strength there is a weakness and I feel that the Management team and senior veterans are doing an incredible job of eliminating possible weaknesses through constant support and unsurpassed dedication to those that they lead.”

I am immensely proud of the effort put forth by both of these agents and happy for the families they have served. Neither of them were handed the business, they both worked extremely hard for it. If you live in Southeastern Wisconsin and you are interested in finding out more about the culture that fostered these successes, please contact me – I would love to answer your questions!

Awhile back Brian Block wrote a great post A Guaranteed Way to Lose $54,528 When You Sell Your Home. What Brian showed in that post is how overpricing your home will cost you money and guarantees that you will get less than if you had priced it competitively from the start. The post contains a great analysis of why this happens and I won’t try to improve upon it here. I will, however, provide you with the latest data from the Lake Country area located in Waukesha County in Wisconsin.

Here is an example for the $300,000 - $400,000 price range from 1.1.09 - 6.30.09. Homes that took over 60 days to sell did average a price of $3,812 more than homes that sold in less than 60 days ($349,918 vs. $346,106.) However, it took them on average 185 days longer to sell their home (219 days vs. 34 days.) Most sellers would agree that the cost of waiting an extra 6 months more than outweighed the extra $3,812 they received at the closing table.

Note that these statistics take into account the original list price of the property. Here's an example:

Let's say a property was listed three times right in a row:

1. Listed for 6 months with an original list price of $400,000
2. Listed for 6 more months with a list price of $360,000
3. Listed for 2 months before selling with a list price of $340,000 and a sold price of $330,000.
   

Often times the MLS will only show that home as having 60 days on the market and a list to sale price ratio of 97%. The actual days on market was over 420 and the list to sale price ratio was 82.5%.

If you are thinking of selling your home, it's imperative that you seriously consider what overpricing your home and testing the market can do to your eventual selling price. Make sure that you understand where the numbers are coming from that your agent is providing to you.

If your home falls into a different price range, feel free to contact me and I will provide the statistics to you for that price range.

I am looking for properties that may fit the criteria for a ready and willing cash buyer. This buyer desires at least 100 acres for personal use. The property must include a water feature such as lake frontage, ponds and/or a stream and must have a mixture of woods and grassland on it. There may or may not be a residence on the property. Price is not a limiting criteria. If you have a property you feel might qualify for this buyer's consideration please contact me at bbrand@shorewest.com. All inquiries will be kept confidential.

Sunday, August 23^rd is the date for the Love for Life Benefit at Roosevelt Park in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. There is no charge to attend, many parts of the event are free with donations being accepted and all proceeds from this event will benefit the Beccee Smith- Kujawa family. Beccee is the mom of two young girls fighting stage three lung cancer.

This event will include performances by the Eddie Butts, Rhythm Kings and Love Monkeys Bands. It will also include a beer and wine tent, food from great local vendors, silent auctions, drawings and more! Kids’ activities will include magicians, children’s Idol contest, arts and crafts, face painting, and bounce houses. No matter what your interests, everyone is bound to have a great time.

Beccee is a professional singer, a non-smoker and a community volunteer. Her vast network of friends have come together to support her family. Visit Beccee’s website to learn more about Beccee and the Love for Life Benefit.

Shorewest Realtors hosted its Second Annual Rummage for Charity last Friday, June 5^th and raised over $1000 for the Oconomowoc Food Pantry! This is double what was raised in 2008 and we wish to thank all Lake Country residents who donated or purchased items. The agents of the Lake Country office continued their great tradition of service this past month through the following volunteer activities:

• Did a spring yard clean up for an elderly couple through Interfaith
• Provided meals for a family new to the area whose mom has breast cancer
• Encouraged financial literary at Kettle Moraine H.S. during Laser 101
• Helped build an accessible playground, Imagination Station and
• Donated food to the Oconomowoc Food Pantry.

Shorewest Realtors' agents believe in being a part of the communities in which they live and work. We're proud to support our communities in these and other ways. Feel free to contact me at bbrand@shorewest.com if you have a volunteer opportunity.