Rod Moser

Today's real estate market is unlike anything we have seen in more than 20 years. There is a huge inventory of homes on the market, you have choices between short sales, bank owned properties, and desperate sellers. With historically low interest rates to help you qualify for your dream home, I am finding many potential buyers overwhelmed by the choices so here are 3 simple tips to help you. Your dream home could be on the market right now.

Tip #1: Know what you want before you start

One of the quickest ways to become overwhelmed is to start looking at every home on the market. There are far too many to choose from and before you know it, you will find one that is emotionally appealing. You might get caught up in the excitement of the moment and make an offer on a home that you might not have chosen if you had pre-planned what you wanted. If you are a couple you should sit down with your significant other and make a list of 'must have' and 'would like to have' in a home. Combine the lists and come up with your 'best choice' home. Don't look at homes that don't meet your criteria. The Multiple Listing Service websites can get very specific and you can narrow your search saving you wasted time and money looking at homes that won't work for you.

Tip#2: Search the web

Today's real estate market is getting very 'tech' savvy. Almost every home on the market today will have pictures or a video tour on the web. Realtor.com is a fantastic website with features to help you narrow your search. By spending a few minutes each evening you can 'preview' your favorite homes, a convenience which would have been impossible just a few years ago. Use tools like Google maps and mapsexoffenders.com to get a 'bird's eye' view of the neighborhood. You may find the perfect house and find out that it is in a criminal hot spot surrounded by sex offenders.

Tip#3: Find a knowledgeable agent

Some people may be reluctant to hire an agent to help them find a home. With the ability to search homes on the web and narrow your search, you might be tempted to go it alone. I would discourage you from this type of thinking. A knowledgeable agent can help you determine the right offer to make to have the best opportunity at a successful transaction. They can ensure you don't run into the dangerous pitfalls in the paperwork. Transactions are more complicated than ever, making a mistake on an offer to a bank can cost you. They may often know of the best values on the market because they see so many more houses up close and personal. Keep in mind that not all agents are created equal. It may not be in your best interest to hire a 'friend' or a 'family member' who dabbles in real estate. Seek out the best agents in your area. There is a reason they are successful.

With the government halting the purchase of Mortgage Backed Securities, and the inevitable increase in mortgage rates on the horizon, this is a question that many home sellers are beginning to ask.

Well, I put together a simple spread sheet to work out the numbers and here it is:

Rate 4.5% 5.0% 5.5% 6.0%

Loan Amnt 200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000

Term (yrs) 30 30 30 30

Pymnt P&I 1013.37 1073.64 1135.58 1199.10

Difference 0 60.27 122.21 185.73

Loss in Purchase Power 0 11,227.79 21,523.49 30,978.38

In other words, if a person qualifies for a $200,000 mortgage at 4.5% with a payment of $1013.37 and rates increase to 4.5%, that same payment will only get them a $188,772.21 home after the rate increase.

Shockingly, if rates increase from 4.5% to 6%, that same payment will only buy a $169,011.62 home.

Time, in our market, will definitely cost you money. If you haven't hired an agent because you are worried about paying the fee, you may want to consider all of the relevant facts and see what you might lose if it takes you a while to sell.

Returning home again last night at around 8pm after another 13 hour day, while heating up an amazing dinner that my wife had cooked for the family, I asked myself again . . . "How can I balance my family (whom I love dearly), and my work, (that I also love)?

The demands placed on an agent today can be overwhelming at times.

I currently have around 50 listings with 15 of those under contract, I have an additional 14 buyer sides under contract thanks to 2 amazing buyer specialists that work with me.

At home, I have 4 incredible children (ages 10-15), a beautiful and supportive wife, and my in-laws staying with us until their new home is built.

Is there a simple solution to solving the time issue? I find myself working through the weekends even when I try to take some time off. My clients deserve top notch service so I do my best to answer the phone when it rings, but I find that they are having to call me more often than I call them. My agents deserve top notch training so that they can continue to grow in their real estate career, but as the team meetings draw near I find myself 'quickly' putting something together that sometimes isn't my best effort. My family deserves a top notch husband and father, but I miss way too many soccer / lacrosse / baseball games and I heat up dinner more often than I should.

I would love to hear how some successful agents have found balance with their careers and their families.

In every field there are key results areas (sometimes referred to as fundamentals), that if mastered, will lead you to success.

In the field of basketball it would be, for example: Ball Handling, Passing, Shooting, Basketball intelligence (game management), and Teamwork. When mastered you go from average to good to great.

In real estate sales, I believe that these are the key results areas. If we can improve in each of these areas we will see our business boom!

1. Prospecting
2. Building Rapport
3. Needs Analysis
   
4. Needs Solutions (including pricing, staging, and marketing)
5. Handling Objections
6. Closing
7. Servicing (Including weekly updates, scheduling showings, feedback, flyers, etc.)
8. Contract Negotiations
9. Getting Referrals

The challenge that many of us face is that we don't balance our key results areas. We may, for example, spend all of our time looking for new clients but if we don't service the accounts we have we are sabotaging our business. We may be constantly striving to improve the way we market our properties but if we don't continue to prospect we won't have clients to serve.

The key to mastering the field of real estate is by continually improving and touching each of the key results areas.

What a good friend of mine recommended was to give myself a grade (1-10) in each of these areas today. Find out where the weakest link is and improve it. He said that I would only be as good as my weakest key results area. By focusing on improving the areas I was weakest in, I would be improving my entire real estate career.

Well, that makes sense to me so I am going to start. If any of you feel that I am missing anything or have some suggestions in any of these areas, I would love to hear them.

If you would like to send me a personal message you can reach me through my website www.rbmhomes.com

Thanks in advance for sharing your ideas!

Curly, in the movie 'City Slickers' said that the secret of life was "one thing". If you could figure out what that one thing was, you would be happy.

I have read several books by people like Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Gary Keller, and others who have become masters in our field. Years ago Napoleon Hill interviewed the most successful people in the world and wrote 8 books about what these masters knew that helped them become so successful.

After reading the secrets of the masters in our field, one thing continues to come up again and again. It is the underlying secret that lies within the pages of each one of these masters success stories and it just happens to also be in the stories of Napoleon Hill's masters as well.

The secret of success in real estate and in life is.....

Do the most important thing possible at every given moment.

The challenge that everyone faces is knowing what the most important thing is at each given moment. Obviously there are several people who have written books on how to know what the most important thing is to you. My favorites are 'Goals' by Brian Tracy and 'The 7 Habits...' by Steven Covey, and 'Awaken the Giant Within' by Tony Robbins. The key is in identifying your values and setting goals that are consistent with your values.

I have been doing an exercise that Brian Tracy suggests in his book. Writing down your top 10 goals every day for a year without referring to your prior day's list. According to Brian, you will be amazed at how your list might change slightly from day to day until it becomes consistent. These final consistent goals will reflect the things that are most important to you. He also suggests that a majority of these goals will be met. By focusing on them every day they will eventually become a consistent focus in your life, both consciously and subconsciously and you will find ways to acheive your goals because of the attention you pay to them.

By setting goals and striving to reach your goals your life will have a clear direction and a clear focus. This is what will truly make you happy. I am here to tell you that this is the one thing that seperates the great ones from the mediocre. It seperates those individuals who have found true happiness and those who are depressed or just surviving.

If you want to give your business the boost that will put you over the top, that will make you one of the top 10% in your field, that will make you a success in both your career and your personal life, begin to set goals consistent with your beliefs and values.

I'm sure there are stories out there and I would love to have them as comments on the blog. Please share your successes and let's inspire others in our field!