Stephen (Steve) Love

I hope our latest blogpost, "Mother's Day, Patient Advocacy...and Real Estate" resonates with you. It's interesting to see how a common theme becomes the foundation of several goals. And it's our hope that this post motivates some of our readers to join us in finding ways to develop and implement much needed patient advocacy.

I feel good about our efforts to educate our clients rather than sell them - in much the way that I feel satisfied that my mother has every advantage in her fight to overcome some daunting medical issues because of my quest to absorb all I can to help her.

As responsibilities for my Mom demanded that I obtain as much information as possible to accurately weigh the advice received from the "experts", the process re-confirmed that our clients required as much information as we could give them in order to properly consider our real estate advice. But what about all the people (older or younger) who need but don't have patient or real estate advocates?

Please relay, comment at the bottom of the blog (via the above link) and/or here, and please re-tweet far and wide.

We have been on hiatus from posting for the last weeks, not because we wanted to be, but because we needed to step back and consider the larger picture. We didn't want to blog for the sake of another blog post. Was real estate's slow recovery really only about the state of the economy? Or was it recognizing that there are overarching issues that affect everything? We consider the following analysis one of our most important blog posts to date.

We are certainly not immune to the vagaries and difficulties of the real estate market - from a business, but particulary personal perspective. Yet we know that there are always opportunities in any scenario. Some people smirk when they learn that our motivation is not selling them real estate, but helping to facilitate their real estate and financial goals (often including lifestyle objectives). You see, we really do understand that people want to be educated and engaged in conversation...not sold. Being consumers first, we empathize with what home buyers and sellers are experiencing. Unlike times past, "selling" is about interacting on a sincerely empathetic level. What is the buyer or seller needing? How can I better understand? How can I add value? We are clearly undergoing a paradigm shift in advertising and marketing. But how do we explain the "new world" to those who adapt slowly? Let's start by putting all of this in perspective. Marketing creates desire and advertising is a call to action.

Have a look at this video

It's interesting to see Windermere's ascendancy to the top of the Coachella Valley brokerages. Afterall, it's only been relatively few years that the company has been in existence in the Palm springs area. You can find the latest comparative sales charts of Palm Springs area Real Estate Brokers here.

While Windermere Real Estate understands the significance of technology and provides its staff with cutting edge tools, it is the individual agent who must fully digest the scope and power of even greater technology and put it to use for his/her buyers and sellers. You'll see in Part 2 of "Real Estate and Social Media (Why An Agent Needs To Be Up To Speed): Parts 1 & 2" how important it is not to to get bogged down in a debate about Realtor professionalism when it's so simple to separate the wheat from the chaff. Connect the dots on the following links and you'll have some of the "proof of concept" and logic we used for this hypothesis:

Raise The Bar - Time For a Change In Real Estate Professionalism?

The New Consumer: Who's Buying Now?

Chicago Pizza Guy Creates Social Media ‘Domino' Effect

So, despite the reaction to posts like "Raise The Bar..." (above), we don't actually believe that there exists a noteworthy amount of unprofessional Realtors. Rather, we believe that there are many who appear to be ineffective because they are still in the dark ages as concerns their approach to marketing. In our next post we'll show you why success is all about visionary thinking and the utilization of new technology in the form of social media. We will segue into how essential social media is to buying and selling of real estate. It's not only the technology, but a grasp of how the game has changed. Indeed how to use the technology. Either one becomes a student and understands and embraces it, or is left behind. "Social Media is not a fad, it's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate".

Our goal is to become the #1 expert in the utilization of social media for Palm Springs area real estate. Whether it's through blogging, life streaming (Posterous) and video (Viddler, Vimeo, You Tube, Meta Cafe), Facebook and Linkedin networking, or micro-blogging through Twitter and its many applications (check out how we are using Listorious and Tweetmeme for example), We'll show you why this is the future of marketing. And don't forget to subscribe to our outside blog (in addition to this Active Rain Blog) and follow us on the various social networking platforms (many of which you can connect with us though retaggr.com) to experience it yourself.

It strikes me as ludicrous to consider current conditions detrimental to the seller, especially if that seller is also a buyer. Needless to say, any financial compromise incurred on a sale will likely be recovered on the buy. Everyone should consider: (1) The inventory of existing homes for sale in the Coachella Valley is the lowest since December 2005 as home sales rose 1.2 percent in September over September 2008, per reporting by the California Desert Association of REALTORS in early November. (2) Interest rates are at a 38 year low, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates (4.81% on a 30 year fixed-rate and 4.32% on 15 year fixed-rate loans). (3) The expanded tax credit goes away on June 30th, 2010. (4) The FHA is considering revising its criteria, which would make qualifying slightly more challenging for some borrowers.

I found Harvey Mackay's column "Negotiating in a Nutshell" very relevant to today's real estate market and have excerpted it below. Whether you're a home buyer or seller, it is a good time to think about how to take advantage of the market conditions before they inevitably change. I've followed Mr. Mackay's advice with some very compelling reasons to react to the opportunities currently available. By most accounts, we are at or near the bottom of the market. If there remains a 5-10% question mark, the solution is to negotiate.

As you'll be reminded by reviewing our statistically laden blogpost of November 14th (http://lovepalmspringshomes.com/?p=725), the Coachella Valley is a particularly strong value and is demonstrating renewed strength. Visit http://www.palmspringsgreathomes.com to find some truly great properties and to search the entire Palm Springs area MLS.

The only way to know that a market has hit rock bottom is when you look back after its rebounded. We are in that rebound now. If you're still not convinced, you will be able to proceed with confidence once you digest the facts and utilize them with these negotiating skills outlined by Mr. Mackay:

1. Never accept any proposal immediately, no matter how good it sounds.
2. Never negotiate with yourself. You'll furnish the other side with ammunition they might never have gotten themselves. Don't raise a bid or lower an offer without first getting a response.

Here are some more rules of the road:

3. Never cut a deal with someone who has to "go back and get the boss' approval." That gives the other side two bites of the apple to your one. They can take any deal you are willing to make and renegotiate it.

4. If you can't say yes, it's no. Just because a deal can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. No one ever went broke saying "no" too often.

5. Just because it may look nonnegotiable, doesn't mean it is. Take that beautifully printed "standard contract" you've just been handed. Many a smart negotiator has been able to name a term and gets away with it by making it appear to be chiseled in granite, when they will deal if their bluff is called.

6. Do your homework before you deal. Learn as much as you can about the other side. Instincts are no match for information.

7. Rehearse. Practice. Get someone to play the other side. Then switch roles. Instincts are no match for preparation.

8. Beware the late dealer. Feigning indifference or casually disregarding timetables is often just a negotiator's way of trying to make you believe he/she doesn't care if you make the deal or not.

9. Be nice, but if you can't be nice, go away and let someone else do the deal. You'll blow it.

10. A deal can always be made when both parties see their own benefit in making it.

11. A dream is a bargain no matter what you pay for it. Set the scene. Tell the tale. Generate excitement. Help the other side visualize the benefits, and they'll sell themselves.

12. Don't discuss your business where it can be overheard by others. Almost as many deals have gone down in elevators as elevators have gone down.

13. Watch the game films. Top players in any game, including negotiating, debrief themselves immediately after every major session. They always keep a book on themselves and the other side.

14. No one is going to show you their hole card. You have to figure out what they really want. Clue: Since the given reason is never the real reason, you can eliminate the given reason.

15. Always let the other side talk first. Their first offer could surprise you and be better than you ever expected. *

For more details about reasons to be motivated to buy and sell homes in this current market, please visit our blogpost "How to Negotiate Palm Springs Real Estate"

By the way, don't forget to check out and also subscribe our Palm Springs Area Social blog and our "Love of the Desert TV" Channel.

*Reprinted with permission from nationally syndicated columnist Harvey Mackay, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller "Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive."

Your clients can wait if they want, but they might be waiting a very long time for the market to offer the value it does today (the last significant recession was 30 years ago). The Palm Springs real estate market has begun its rebound.

It couldn't be easier to keep tabs of everything real estate in the Palm Springs area. Check out the icons beneath my signature below and join us on one or all of the social networking sites Greysha and I utilize.

Best of all, re-post or Share our real estate blog, Palm Springs California Real Estate and our social blog, Most Important Palm Springs Area Real Estate Blog (through Google Friend Connect and/or other sites). Show me that your client subscribed through you and we'll establish a referral relationship. Become a fan of our Facebook Page (Palm Springs California Real Estate: Love of the Desert), which is different than my Facebook profile icon below, and you can use it to register your clients. Of course, you can still just call with a referral!

As you know, there hasn't been a better opportunity to own a home since the recession of 1979. Interest rates remain low and loans are available. Your clients will not believe the eye-popping values available to them, especially compared to where they live. Now's the time for second homes or relocation. Check out the dedicated website links below for some examples. The entire Desert Area MLS can also be searched through our website.

Let us now if you want to include any of our listings on your own website (it's a great way to attract buyers!).

http://1532ebaristoroad.epropertysites.com/

http://18boulderlane.ePropertySites.com

http://138lochlomondroad.ePropertySites.com

http://38oakmontdrive.ePropertySites.com

http://781deerhavencircle.culdesacproperty.com/

Please contact us anytime for whatever assistance we can lend with real estate in the Coachella Valley (including Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio).

Regards,

Stephen C. Love

Windermere Real Estate / Coachella Valley

71-691 Hwy 111

Rancho Mirage, California 92270

Office Phone: 760-770-6801

Office Fax: 760-770-6951

http://www.palmspringsgreathomes.com

We always appreciate your referrals!

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We tell our clients:

If you‘re not in the market for yourself, it‘s certainly a great time to help children or grandchildren to get into a new home. As a straight investment, if not a gift, it makes sense to recognize the appreciation that will likely outstrip the paltry interest rates currently available. We exhort them to consider the ideas we offer in our new blogpost on our business blog, Palm Springs California Real Estate:

Are You Crazy For Not Buying Palm Springs Real Estate Now?

Is Inflation on the Horizon?

Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit Could Expand

Is California Running Out Of Tax Credits?

HUD: Can You Use Tax Credit for Closing Costs and More?

...and then we appeal to them to please contact us for in-depth information on any of the benefits described below. We also suggest that we can help with rentals if they'd like to experience this resort destination before purchasing.

We've also just added a really cool post to our companion (Palm Springs social and recreation) blog, Love of the Desert, for a taste of the Palm Springs lifestyle.

This is really a great time to buy (especially in the Palm Springs area) and we do care and try to ensure that that our clients recognize this opportunity. Please Contact Us for more information and/or discussion.

Regards,

Steve & Greysha Love