Joe Blackton

Believe it or not but in Northern Virginia this is an all too common question I am asked. We write offer after offer on $300K homes and all prices below to get beat out by one of multiple offers from multiple agents. I advise my clients by expressing to them it's all about the strength of our offer in addition to what you are willing to pay. Many buyers out there think that there is still a possibility to low ball their offer. Sorry to say folks but those days are gone.

Short of writing a cash offer it takes a bit of finesse by way of a well executed strategy. Anything, from simply CALLING the listing agent and building rapport to sending flowers or a goody basket to the current home owners, you NEED and edge! With foreclosures it's a bit different because banks tend to lean towards the best and highest in most cases, although there is always an exception now and again. In regards to Short Sales and Standard Sales you need to work a bit of magic. I could sit here and blog about what to do and what not to do but the actions you take are different for EVERY transaction.

I recently had a listing and within a 4 day timeline I received 7 offers and NOT 1 agent called me. Now being fair I asked that the agents would email me the offers and I can understand more than most with the new way of communication (emails text, social networking, etc) but when it comes to the best interest of your client calling the listing agent shouldn't be an option rather it should be protocol. Granted a cash offer took the contract for my property but I think we as agents are getting so frustrated of writing multiple offers with each client over the span of numerous months we are just losing touch with reality and our duties. I good contract/offer has many factors involved in taking the contract all the way to settlement and the agent is an extremely vital component.

In closing I think we need to take a step back and realize who we are working for. Getting paid is a GREAT day each and every time your company cuts you a check but at the end of the day you are helping your client(s) make one of the biggest decisions of their life. Do you think calling the listing agent is in your client(s) best interest? Its imperative no questions asked.

I wanted to buy a house, did I miss the boat?

This seems to be a questions I am getting quite often these days. The answer is a bit tricky but if I were to sum it up with one word I would say "no". You're most likley thinking that the reason I'm telling you this is because I'm a Realtor but in fact that couldn't be further from the truth and let me tell you why.

Example #1: Mid last week interest rates inflated to over an entire point higher than they had been all year. What was odd is that the interest rates would fluctuate just slightly week by week up and down and within one day they sky rocketed and by the end of the week they were back down. FED would not allow for the banks to inflate the rates just yet so this means that lending money is still ridiculously low in order to stimulate the economy and the

Example #2: We as Realtors have not seen another hold placed on Foreclosures once instilled by the government. The banks that had taken the federal bailout money were required to help current home owners in needs of assistance with their inflating mortgages. The result was a hold on any home on the brink of foreclosure in order for the banks to have adequate time to make these changes to the borrowers loans. From the words of our REO department "we should see an solid influx of inventory very soon".

In closing, to all your buyers out there that are stressed and tired of seeing home after home that sells in a matter of days or has multiple offers in a matter of hours of the homes going on the market, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Myself, I have eight quailified buyers and have yet to find them homes with a vigorous search early mornings to late evenings needless to say I am ready for June!

April showers bring May flowers. This phrase could only be described as a paradox.

paradox n. A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true.

As April drags on and the rain keeps falling day after day in Northern Virginia it brings a sense of discouragement to most. What I have done to counter balance these dreary days is to turn my whole thought process upside down.

After a lengthy meeting with my mentor, he offered me some sound advise. He said to snap out of any rut you need to turn you world inside out. In other words do the complete opposite of what your day typically entails. Now as a Realtor we all know that we never have a cookie cutter day but there are with out a doubt changes that we all can make.

I started off by changing my gym schedule from the evenings or mid day work outs to early morning. Surprisingly enough that started me off on the right foot. Now getting out of bed two hours earlier was a different story. I then moved my prospecting from the evenings to the mornings and so forth and so on. This really did help with pulling my back to the top of my game.

I thrive off of nice weather and it makes me that much more productive but when there are some things we cannot change it then lies on your shoulders to change what you CAN. I see agents duck out of the office on a beautiful day all the time to enjoy the fun in the sun but I am just the opposite. Beautiful days put everybody in a great moods and this is the ideal time to capture new clients.

In closing, there is so much truth to the mind set of a Realtor and how we operate. I can tell you this, though inspiration is a mind set and there are numerous things that arise on a daily basis that can drain out batteries, if we simply train our mind to see the positives we will hit the door running.

inspiration n. Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity.

Seriously....where is our inventory? I have buyer after buyer and I have nothing to sell them if they're trying to move fast. I know many of you will comment and tell me I'm crazy and that there is plenty, but I am in Northern Virginia and the only properties left are short sales. Now I am all for a short sale but I have buyers that need to move within a certain time line and a 3-6 month turn around time is killing their schedule and budget.

Foreclosures are selling in a matter or hours not weeks. I recently ratified two of my foreclosure listings by receiving eight offers on one and six on the other in the matter of 48 hours of them posting on the MLS. So, If you have a foreclosure or have any soon to be listed on the market, get ready for multiple offers and bidding wars. In many ways it feels like the good old days and that's never a bad thing.

I'm looking forward to the hold being released on the foreclosures and getting back to submitting offers and ratifying in a reasonable time. I think we can all agree we need listings to sell to all of our eager buyers.

Well, the beginning of this year has proven to be a VERY busy one. From Open Houses all the way to the settlement table, I am seeing a mass improvement in Buyer activity. I have more buyers now than I know what to do with and they are ALL motivated.

It's odd because everywhere you turn today in our industry there seems to be negativity everywhere. I am here to say "STOP!" Sitting back and chewing the fat in Real Estate is a thing of the past.

My girlfriend was walking her dog just the other day and she bumped into her neighborhood Realtor. Now, you would think as a NEIGHBORHOOD realtor she would have a few words of encouragement for her past and current clients but that could not be further from the truth. It seems as though every time somebody passes this Realtor by and strikes up conversation she is expressing to them she doesn't know where to go or what to do. I don't know about you but if my Realtor had no faith in my community I'm afraid I would be looking for another Realtor. That's where we come in, the Realtors on the front lines taking grenades to accomplish a goal. Now I am not trying to point the finger, I understand we all have our days in the mud but this being most Realtors way of thinking is NOT helping anybody.

I have been teetering with the idea of beginning to market to this neighborhood just on the simple fact that people want some positive encouragement and it NEEDS to start somewhere. We play a HUGE role in our client's life, "WE HELP THEM FIND A HOME". A home to raise their children, a home to create memories, a home that shows themselves just how hard they've worked, a home to grow old in. We SELL the GREATEST thing there is to sell in this world if you ask me, WE SELL OUR CLIENTS A FUTURE. Enough with the negativity take a step back and open your eyes. We all have a pretty good GIG...