Heidi Marshall

My first Short Sale!

I have to say, as a newer agent, I was trying like heck to avoid the short sales and foreclosures but I think it's because of all the horror stories I've been hearing.

I'm actually the buyers agent on my first deal and have to say that the seller's agent is my HERO! She sends me emails at least once a week and I love that! I forward them to my clients and they are very pleased with the progress.

I've learned a few key points to pass on:

1. Communicate with your fellow agent

2. Watch out for your client

3. Recommend seeking tax, legal, and finance counsel

4. You'll never know it ALL, it changes ALL the time!

My advise: Don't believe all you hear! I don't mind this part of the business and until the economy is PERFECT, we agents will have many of these transactions in our future. Embrace the knowledge that you learn by going through them and don't be afraid to tell the other agent that this is your first or that you haven't done many of these.

I'm sitting in my SFR (Short Sale/Foreclosure Resource) designation class and am learning a ton. Some scary but it's all real situations that we're working with. I highly recommend education, it's the best resource of all!

Have a great day and for those of you in Colorado, drive safely in this lovely spring snow storm we're having!

Heidi

I started in this business with big dreams and a very shallow bank account and decided that if I'm going to make it in this business with very little to put towards marketing myself, I had to be VERY smart and VERY careful.

I sit on a committee with other Rookie's of the Year at my local Realtor board and we all told our horror stories of how much money we spent to get started, I thought I was bad with a total of about $5000, but to hear my fellow "rookie" say he spent over $20,000 just to get started...I thought, I have to do something!!! I have to tell all the other new licencees about the pitfalls of getting into real estate and getting roped into these grand schemes to help them make money...when really it was the companies luring them in to make a sweet dollar for themselves.

I received my license in October of 2008 and not long after, started getting calls from websites, printing companies, title companies, you name it, they were calling. At first I felt valued, but then after a couple coffee meetings and lunches I started to wise up to the fact that, these people didn't truly want to help me and help me get started, I was just an appointment they needed to schedule in order to "make contacts with realtors". This time could have been better spent marketing myself to people who would possibly utilize my services in the future, some of these companies have over 1000 real estate agents they could contact at anytime, my job should have been to make them choose me over any of the 1000! I know that now, but I didn't when I was being "wooed".

Almost anyone can take a test to get their license, but not everyone can survive the economy and the task marketing yourself to people, convincing them that you are the perfect person for the job and that you will run circles around all the other agents out there.

That doesn't take a lot of money,

it takes

heart,

drive,

and a willingness to be defeated every now and then.

It takes

passion, commitment, and the strong desire to succeed.

I'm glad my $5000 was on the low end. I survived, I won an award from my peers, and I have the love and support of my sphere! Now, I want to educate, for free, on what has worked and what hasn't for ME and over the next few weeks. They may be long blogs, they may be short, but they will be here nonetheless.

I hope that my fellow Rookie's to real estate will welcome my advise and know that my intentions are just to look out for those who are starting, and maybe even those who have made the same mistakes. We're all in this crazy business together and we are like one big family. I look forward to your comments and get ready!!!

Here in Denver, the market seems to improving and I'm guessing that many of the builders that were here during the hot times, may creep back into the Denver market as things get better.

So if you are a home buyer and are tempted to visit a sales office, here is just some advise for you.

1. Do you have an Agent? These days, builders are very particular about their marketing efforts, what's working, and what isn't. Builders welcome buyer agents that accompany their clients to their sales offices. If you have an agent that you are speaking with, TELL THE BUILDER YOU ARE WORKING WITH AN AGENT. This is a very important step. It allows your agent to get paid by the builder (which can save you from having to pay them to assist with the transaction) and it will let the builder know that you have a relationship with an agent who has probably researched how the building process works.

2. Understand Standard Features vs. Options: Models are fun, beautiful and UPGRADED to the nines. Builders to this to show ALL the potential of their floor plans. Ask for a "Standard Features" list and have the onsite sales person show you what's included and what's not. They are pros for their product.

3. Stay off the building site: This is a safety issue more than a control issue. Builders are liable for any injuries onsite and plus, if OSHA drives by and sees people wandering around the building without hard hats, the builder could get in trouble, be told to stop construction, and therefore delay your home.

4. Builder Lenders and Incentives: More often than not, builders will offer incentives to use a specific lender. They can be a certain amount off the home or it can be applied towards upgrades, whatever the "incentive", they are able to tie it with the use of a lender. Agents are not able to do this as it goes agains RESPA, but builders have different rules they follow when it comes to this.

5. Special Option Requests: Most models will have built ins or certain items that were installed just to enhance the appearance of the home and are not always available for your individual home. If you request something that is in the model but not on a regular option list, this may be considered a special or custom option. Be prepared for the builder to collect the full amount for this option. The reason for this is if for some reason you cancel and they have installed that item, it adds a cost to the home they need to recoop from the next buyer which isn't always done and the builder takes a loss on that item. They collect the full amount so that they have already made money on that item and it allows them to either pass on that cost to the next buyer or make a little on that item.

6. Construction Meetings: Many builders will offer or require the construction staff to meet with the buyers so they can see how the home is being built and also offer an opportunity to correct anything that may be wrong with framing, electrical, plumbing, etc. Room additions or subtractions can be mistaken and a "frame walk" is the best opportunity for the buyer and builder to get on the same page.

7. Communication: By allowing an agent to participate with the builder, the on site sales staff will usually contact the agent to assist with communication to the buyer. This allows the buyer to stay informed without being overly contacted by the on site staff. Discuss this communication preference with the staff and things will run much smoother.

Another aspect of the communication is to not contact the trades or construction staff directly UNLESS the construction requests you to do so. The reason for this is so there are no miscommunications and the on site staff is in the loop as well. The construction and onsite staff probably meet weekly to go over status' for each home being built so they always need to be on the same page. Especially for homes that are being built with buyer (not an inventory home built just to be there).

8. Take pictures, have fun: Having a home built can be an exciting time so be sure to visit the office and let them know you're going to take pictures. It's helpful to take pictures of electrical and plumbing so if you ever need to make repairs or modifications, you know what things look like behind the walls.

As a former on site salesperson, I gained a lot of experience that I hope to pass on to my clients.

If you are looking for an agent to represent you during the building process, I'd be happy to share my expertise and look forward to helping you with your new home!

Heidi

I love Facebook, I love Twitter, LinkedIn, and on and on my list goes.

But I have to say, I had a bad day with FB today when I was out and about and checked my phone to see that someone had sent me a message about a possible message I had sent them.

Subject matter: NOT to be discussed in the presence of minors.

I was horrified that anyone I was friends with could have possibly been sent some icky adult themed message with my picture next to it like I actually sent it to them. So, I decided to investigate and wanted pass on some information to my fellow Social Networker extraordinaires in the Real Estate Business.

Tip 1:

If you get a Facebook message from a friend you don't usually hear from DON'T OPEN THEIR MESSAGE!! I haven't seen any information on the web about getting or speading a virus just by opening the message, but I'd like to recommend weighing on the side of caution and just DELETE the message all together. Matter of fact, if it's someone you haven't heard from in a while and they are sending you a link, it's probably SPAM of PHISHING.

Recommendation: Delete the message and send them one or write on their wall to see if they really sent you a message about _______ topic? If they didn't, then you know it was your best judgement to not open that message and look, you reconnected!!

Tip 2:

If you get a Facebook message from someone that has a TON of other names attached to it, and has some outrageous subject matter unlike your personality as they know you, probably PHISHING.

Recommendation: REPLY ALL to the message and state the truth in your own words, then REPORT AS SPAM to notify Facebook staff immediately.

Tip 3:

If you see a link that doesn't start with http://www then you may not want to EVER click on that. The one I received started out with something other than that and it just didn't feel right. Gut feeling is usually right on.

Recommendation: If you get those links, avoid them like the plague!!! Go to google and in the search just start typing the first few characters and see what options you get. I don't recommend actually going to the page but usually the description will give an indication of the type of site it is.

Social Networking is an amazing part of our business so we never want to have our reputation tainted by an irritation like these. So always be cautious!

Good luck everyone!

Heidi

After a couple rounds of flu and colds, my business partner, Becky Coet and I managed to wrap up our 2nd annual Erie Commons Food Drive and collected around 600lbs of food for the Erie Food Bank.

Our goal was to beat last year's total of 800lbs but unfortunately, with the downturn in the economy, we weren't able to make it but, once we arrived at the food bank and started sorting out the food with their staff, we realized that quantity doesn't matter as much as quality.

Many residents of the community made special trips to the local stores and purchased items just to contribute to the drive. We were overwhelmed by the amount of thought and heart that our neighbors put into their donations.

Becky and I stayed at the food bank to help the few ladies sort the food we brought in. We had 3 huge areas of bags and it was amazing to see the systems they had in place.

Sort each canned item, then separate them by expiration date...and on and on it went.

It was a real eye opener to see all they had to do just to be able to give to the members of the community who needed their efforts the most. We appreciate them allowing us to give this year.

If you want to learn more about the Erie Food Bank, visit www.eriespark.com . You will find information about their needs and who to contact to donate your time.

We truly enjoyed donating again this year and look forward to making this a yearly tradition in our community.