Kenneth Fisher

How should a new buyer client / potential buyer client be handled? Its interesting to witness how different agents operate. I'll paint the scenario. An out of town agent sends me a referral. The buyer is planning to be in town next weekend. The first thing I do when I get the lead is to contact the buyer, introduce myself, find out more about what they are looking for, what their time frame is, whether they have property to sell, if they have met with a lender, and how familiar they are with the home buying process. If they have not spoken with a lender in my area I will provide them with a couple of recommendations. Then, I'll give them the address of our website and let them know how they can browse the entire mls using their own search criteria. I can offer some helpfull tips about the area if they are not familiar. We'll set an appointment to meet at my office for our first meeting.

When we meet at my office, and after a little small talk, I like to get down to the consultation. The first thing I cover is the "Working With Real Estate Brochure", which is required by law to be covered at first substantial contact in NC. This brochure helps to explain agency relationships and the roles and responsibilities of each party. It helps the buyer understand that the sellers agent is working for the seller and I, as the buyers agent, will be working in the buyer's best interest. This leads me into the Buyer Agency Agreement. I want the buyers to be assured that I do not want to pressure them into a long term agreement with me if they are not comfortable. I want to make sure that they feel I am the best person to get the job done for them, and thats exactly what I tell them. I show them the buyer agency agreement and point out the key terms for them. I explain how it allows me to work in their best interests and also helps me to be assured that I am not wasting my time. If we are going to look at property, I'll get the agreement for the day, or for the property we look at together. I want to give the buyers a chance to get to know me and to be sure they like me and I like them. At the end of our first time together, I'll ask if they are comfortable with me representing them. Of course, they say "yes".

After we talk about the legal mumbo jumbo, I like to talk about the process, particulalry if they are first time buyers. I explain to the buyer that I will be helping them find the right property for them, then we will prepare an offer, which will be negotiated until an agreement is reached. Then the due dilligence period begins, where we conduct our inspections, officially apply for the loan, and take the actions to verify that they are, in fact, making a good buy. I explain how the home inspection and repair request negotiations work and how any number of events can take place that could cause trouble if not properly addressed. I explain the timetable for events to take place and how the closing takes place.

Then, once the buyer is properly educated on what is about to take place, we start to talk in detail about the buyers specific needs, likes, dislikes, etc. I listen to their needs and try to fully understand what they want. If the buyer has selected property, we'll analyze it and determine if it is worth taking a look at. At the office we can access the mls inventory and we can start to search for property that we may want to go see. I try to limit the number of homes seen in one vist to about 5. I have found that after that, they start to run together and the buyer has trouble remembering one verses another. Also, by limiting the number of homes seen on one visit, it helps us to take a more objective look at the homes and eliminating the ones that won't work. This saves the buyer time by helping them to select the best homes in the beginning.

The moral of the story is that, in order to successfully guide buyers, it is important to take the time to properly educate the buyer first, and not to jump in the car and "go see some houses". The ability to help a buyer maintian a steady pace and an objective focus are skills that successful buyers agents have mastered. Our clients don;t want us to take them on a wild goose chase any more than we want to take them on one.

For referrrals in the Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, NC area please keep me in mind.

Disclaimer; both surfing and real estate are very dynamic and have many factors. Both are difficult to be good at. Reading this article should enlighten you to the similarities and help you put things into persective. It will not make you good at either. To do so requires a concsious pursuit of knowledge, and practice.

As any surfer knows, one of the most important factors in the sport is position. First of all, every beach does not break the same. There may be great waves at one spot and nothing to ride at all a few miles down. The same is true in the real estate market. Depending on market conditions and other economic devlopments in certain areas, there may be a ripe market for deals in some places, but not others, even in the same town. One segment may be hot, while another is cold. Smart consumers and investors have to know where the opportunities are and why they are there.

There are many ripe market segments in Southeastern North Carolina. Almost every type of buyer can find good deals and opportunity. There are great homes available for the primary resident. Investors can buy rental houses that cash flow, however the financing for these are a little more difficult, but sometimes creativity can help make that work. Also, there are some great neighborhoods going through revitilization, providing perfect flip houses. Southeastern North Carolina is somewhat of a resort market, so it is very attractive for people to relocate. We have lots of room for growth of our local industry, which is good. We have beaches, and we have waves (most of the time).

Back to position; once a surfer is in the water, he/she has to be in the right spot in relation to where the wave is breaking in order to catch it. The bottom of the ocean has sandbars, which cause the wave to break in certain places. Plus, depending on the tide, waves break closer or farther from the shore. Carefully studying the patterns of the ocean helps a surfer know which are the right places to be.

Players in the real estate market need to be very concerned with their own positions. This includes the amount of money they have to apply, the time they can put into the deal, the relationships with people involved, life situations affecting the deal, and experience levels. Knowing this position helps determine which moves should be made. If a buyer doesn't have a lot of time, experience, or good relationships with contractors, it's probably not a good idea to get into a flipper. If a family is looking to move but has a home to sell first, putting a new house under contract does not put them in a good position. People get burned because they fail to put themselves in the right position to prosper. Others master this skill, and they are very successful.

Just like surfing, real estate is an art and a science. The science involves studying the patterns, and factors that cause effects. For surfing, its learning what storm systems coming from which directions, with which winds, cause which places to produce a great ridable wave, at what tide levels. With real estate, its knowing when to buy and when to sell, what development in the area is helping improve the area, how are rates contribuing to the market, what are the housing trends, what makes a good deal.

A master of the art of surfing would instinctively paddle and sit in the perfect spot, go for the wave and stand up at the perfect time, make beautiful lines and symetrical turns in the water, pull off stylish tricks when the opportunities present themselves. Most importantly, the act of surfing brings him/her joy. It helps him/her wash away troubles, provides solitude and allows for clear thinking, and emotional expression. To a master surfer, a wave is a canvas. After a good session, the master emerges from the water refreshed and ready to face the challenges life presents.

A master of the art of real estate is constantly learning how to play by the new rules as things change. He/she knows when conditions are right to buy or sell, understands how to spot deals in his/her segment niche, and knows how to structure deals that are profitable. He/she talks to talk and walks the walk. He/she nurtures relationships with the people who help facilitate transactions (because it truely is a team sport). The master is readily available to take advantage of opportunity, and has a great lifestyle which is supported by his/her mastery of real estate.

Go surf!!! Play the real estate game in Southeastern North Carolina

I've renamed my blog, "The Real Estate Wave Rider" for a couple of reasons. One I love surfing and I think there are many lessons to be learned from it that can be applied to real life. The real estate market is very dynamic, and there is success to be had in any market, as long as you understand it, practice, and have the right tools and skills. Another reason I chose the name is that we, as individuals, cannot control what the market does, we just have to react to it and I like to metaphor that to riding the wave we call the real estate market. I'm going to teach the real estate community about surfing. More comments to come

The 25th Annual North Carolina Holiday Flotilla is being held this weekend at Wrightsville Beach. A tree lighting ceremony will be held Friday, 11-28, in front of WB Town Hall starting at 5:45pm. There will be a visit with Santa, Miss NC will be there, as well as Toys for Tots. Saturday, 11-29, the Festival in the Park will be going on from 10-4. This will consist of about 80 booths, entertainment, NHHS star Trot Nixon will be signing autographs. Prudential Burroughs and Chapin is a Sponsor and will be holding down the Coke booth. The main event is the Flotilla Boat Parade, where boats are decorated with Christmas lights and paraded through the ICWW and the sound to be judged. Sunday at 11:30, the wiiner will be announced at the Blockade Runner. This event will begin with fireworks at 6pm. For more information lof onto www.ncHolidayFlotilla.org The Flotilla is one of many festivals that our area is proud to be home to. Lots of fun.

Are we at the bottom of the market? We could be, or we could be in for a long, hard uphill battle. Well let's be optimistic, but prepare for the worst, which doesn' mean closing the doors. Being in the real estate business is like riding a roller coaster. Although the market is nowhere near as volitile as the stock market, the attitude of a broker can be. I learned from my father when I was a kid "Attitude is 90% of the battle". It is so difficult to tell what the market is doing, which makes it difficult to keep a positive attitude.. One day is great because a couple of deals look like they are going to work out. The next day sucks because everything seems to be going to the drain. Keeping a level head and continuing to move forward, giving it our best, is much easier when we understand what the consumer is thinking. There are people out there who can and will buy. There are people out there who need to sell and will. The key is to understand why people are making these decisions, and how we can add value.

Everyone who purchased real estate over the past few years learned a good lesson, if they didn;t already know it. It's not just a pie in the sky, no brainer, investment decision. Regardless of whether its a primary residence, vacation home, or income producing investment purchase, there has to be value in the purchase. Each of these segments of residential real estate has a different value measure, relatively.

For the primary residence, its highly emotional. It's about the neighborhood schools, the neighborhood feel, the colors in the house, the design of the house, and the lifestyle that goes with the house. Of course, the price has to be in line with those values. There are many options out there. Most of the offers on these are lower than sellers like to see, because most of the buyers don't have to buy, and they know that alot of the sellers do. So sellers, if you don't need to sell, and you don't want to, or can't price the home competitively, take it off the market. Otherwise, fix everything, clean the house, don't let that buyer see anything wrong, stage the house. hopefully the mortgage messes can be worked out. The buyer wants to feel good vibes about living there. They want under valued property, and they want to look at a lot of them. It's the brokers job to help them save time by filtering the inventory.

Vacation homes are also emotional, but there is a combination of other factors too. Convenience, maintenance level, income potential, ammenities, prestige of the area, how much fun would it be to..., etc. These are luxuries and many people are having to forgoe luxuries around the world right now. It's a great time to go find a vacation home if you are financially able. Buyers want to be sure they are buying value, and the value of these things is very difficult to pin-point, so offers are generally low. Just expect it. However, if the property really has something special, to someone, the price can be commanded. Our office is at Wrightsville Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches on the east coast. We see this first hand. Not long ago, we turned down a listing for an ocean front house that had expired because the price was too high. It would make no sense to buy, when there were much less expensive, similar ocean front homes on the market. A few months later, this ocean front house was sold for the high asking price to a neighbor. It was to be torn down and replaced with a pool for the 2nd row house being built behind it. Thats a near 3 million dollar pool. Go figure?

Investment properties, to me, are the engines of the market and will be a major contributor to the recovery and growth of our economy. Investors buy them because they want a secure place to put their money, that will produce cash flow each month. Repeat, investors purchase them because they produce cash flow each month. The days of buying something with a negative cash flow and banking on the short term appreciation are over. Sure, appreciation is a great benefit of real estate. For investment property, its a side benefit. I laugh when I see properties on the market that say "investors, investors, great deal", but in reality, they are not good deals at all because they will cost money every month to own, unless the investor puts down more than 20%. Investors who are able to buy right now are the ones who know the rules. They made good purchases during the boom, or no purchase. Now they are looking to make deals with people who are ready to be reasonable about things. It's all about the numbers.

Anyway, real estate in general is a good buy. It serves many functions and has made many, many people wealthy. Consumer behavior is such a fascinating phenomina to study, and its so relevant. Understanding value, and why peolpe see value in things is crucial to being sucessful in any business. Regarless of what the market does, people will buy and people will sell. It's a matter of finding the value to them. It's happening today. If you know what consumers are thinking, and why they make the decisions they do, its much easier to keep a positive attitude when the media is pumping out the gloom and doom.