Bob Corcoran

There may have been debate over whether homebuyers who wanted to take advantage of the tax credit could use it as a down payment but it is unquestionable that the credit will mean a payout for real estate agents everywhere.

Due to lobbying efforts by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and other groups, lawmakers have extended the homebuyer tax credit to April 30, 2010. And they've sweetened the deal: the law increases the limit for couples to $225,000 in annual income, roughly $55,000 more than the existing law.

Plus, it adds a nice $6,500 carrot for those who've lived in their homes for five of the prior eight years to buy up or buy elsewhere. I believe this will move houses at both the lower and higher ends as well.

This news is a perfect opportunity for Realtors to capitalize on several levels:

1. Stand out from the crowd - Many Realtors take a break near the end of the year. If you choose to keep working, you'll not only stand out from the crowd, you'll be able to get the most out of the extension and improve your bottom line.

2. Enjoy a faster "slow season" - I have little doubt that the typical "slow season" between November and February will be much livelier than in years past because of the tax deduction being extended. It's beginning to sink in with home buyers that this incentive is something they can't afford to ignore. NAR says two million people benefitted from the first go-around of the tax credit.

3. Get busy with past customers - Pull up your database of past customers who've been in their homes for five years and send direct mail (followed up with the all-important phone calls) to them explaining this new $6,500 expansion of the deduction and how you can help them.

4. Continue your online social networking - Remember, typical first-time home buyers are younger and participate in this online social beast that's taken over the way they get their news, communicate with friends and learn about goods and services they're interested in.

5. Become the expert with seminars - Anytime change happens, consumers develop an appetite to learn about those changes. Develop short seminars for first-time buyers and current home owners for five years to position yourself as the authority.

6. Energize your buyer presentation - The name of the game is urgency, so give your buyer presentation more zip by adding a strong sense of urgency to it. Right now I'm giving my clients a buyer's guide and they use it to create their own customized buyer's presentation. It usually lasts between 30 and 45 minutes - just like a listing presentation, but scripted specifically to make buyers realize they need to act and act now to profit from this extension - and it's working great.

7. Unearth additional motivations to buy - Yes, this tax break is an obvious reason to buy now, but don't forget to ask questions to learn other factors that may be motivating them to buy. The more you know about your buyers, and specifically why they want to buy, the better you'll be at meeting their needs.

Now is the time to act because we don't know if Congress will extend the deduction a third time. My guess is no. I believe lawmakers and economists expect natural market forces to take over in the busy season in the spring of 2010 without the incentives.

So get moving. Shoot me an e-mail for more ways to continue to make this extension work for you -- Bob@CorcoranCoaching.com.

As you read this, I am busily packing for National Association of Realtors (NAR) Conference in San Diego. On Friday, November 13, I'll be speaking at 2:30, so please look me up. My topic will focus on Becoming The CEO of your Real Estate Company, a timely topic for anyone on the move in real estate. Once you discover the functions of a Real Estate CEO are and how you can implement these into your existing practice, you will notice your business take off if you put them into play. Becoming a CEO is more a state of mind than a title on your door. It is akin to mastering your destiny, taking charge of your life - plus doing some things differently in how you organize you time and approach your job.

I love going to NAR as speaker, since as a coach, I am on a mission to help agents unleash the power within themselves to be better managers, more confident sales people, and more efficient time planners. More than that, I love meeting fellow travelers on this real estate road. Even if you can't make my talk, please stop by Booth 2809 to get acquainted.

For those of you who have shied away from Facebook and other social media because you don't see the connection between spending time chatting and ringing up sales on the real estate cash register, be forewarned: it may be Facebook that delivers your website traffic, not Google searches. According to a recent article in Copyblogger, Facebook is on the road to becoming a major source of information that may eliminate the need to be concerned with SEO.

Rather that people searching Google to find information, they may ask a question on Facebook and get recommendations of people that their friends or others in the Facebook community have used. In other words, rather than searching for real estate agents in Omaha, someone may ask the Facebook community if anyone knows a good agent there. They are likely to get comments on their wall (and perhaps some private messages) that say "Use Dick Whitman, he sold my home in 2 weeks!" or "Avoid Tom Cruiser, he is a fast talker who didn't do anything for us."

I am not saying you should lessen your efforts to pull up your Google ranking but there is big shift coming as to what's the best way to connect with people. Now is the time to see what Facebook and other social media is all about.

Commitment: I will take the plunge and start learning about social media.

Deadline:______________

Have you seen the Bud Light commercials? They are all along the theme of not too heavy/ not too light, which, of course, the taste that beer is supposed to embody. Realtors should take heed of the message.

Scenario One: Girl breaking up with her boyfriend

Too light: She tries to sugar coat the break, he misses the point

Too heavy: She tells him the news and then pushes him out of her speeding car. He stil doesn't get it and hopes they'll still be Facebook friends

Scenario Two: Man is trying to show off his amazing wonder dog

Too light: The dog barks, after some prodding

Too heavy: The man lets the dog drive a few blocks, with a few lawns fortunately the only casualties

Scenario Three: Woman tries to get waiter's attention in a restaurant

Too light: "Excuse me, when you get a minute," politely uttered

Too heavy: "Excuse me, when you get a minute," woman trips the waiter who flies through a plate glass window

Scenario Four: Woman tries to pin a boutonniere on her husband

Too light: She sticks it trough the buttonhole; it falls out

Too heavy: Woman attaches boutonniere to husband's chest with a nail gun, then offers to fix his zipper. He passes.

Real estate agents have to pay close attention to their client's needs and wants when responding to Internet marketing forms. A lead may sign up to receive information about a listing. We may get a phone number as well as an email address, so we may make a phone call and certainly will put the lead on a drip mail campaign.

Our quick response may impress the lead, but if he says he does not want to buy for six months or he's just looking, we want to find that happy medium between stalking him and ignoring him during that time. If you don't call him for six months, that response is too light. Frequent calls and daily emails would definitely be a response that is too heavy.

If he says "just looking, you don't need to call me," anything more than an occasional call and monthly emails are responses that are too heavy. If he says "DO NOT CALL me, I am on the DO NOT CALL list," we'd better listen as our zeal could get us into trouble.

If's he interested, a whole new set of rules about what's too heavy/what's too light come into play. By listening to the client, we will know how to find the balance.

If you're a New Yorker, there's joy in Mudville, so to speak, as the Yankees win another World Series. If you're a Realtor, you are rejoicing that the home buyer's credit was extended and expanded. Now, even current homeowners have incentives to buy up or buy elsewhere. This should help move housing stock not only at the lower end of the spectrum but higher price ranges as well.

If you follow me, you know that I maintain that good Realtors always find ways to sell houses even without a credit. However, if NAR statistics are correct, 2 million people were helped by the current credit, while the economy has been stimulated to the tune of $22 million. Extending the credit can only continue to help general economic recovery, as well as that in housing.

There is definitely joy in Mudville for Americans on the move and those who'd like to be.