Steven Wright~Home Real Estate~720-989-5283

This post will be short and to the point. I converted my first Market Leader lead to an actual buyer and it is a good one. For those of you who are looking to generate activity via the Internet, you can't go wrong with Market Leader. I know it seems pricey, but think of it this way. You will probably make it all up with your first deal you get through them. Nothing is guaranteed, but the activity definitely does not hurt your cause.

Click on the button and at least give them a chance to explain it to you fully. Any one of using it will tell you the truth about them, because we don't work for them. They are a top notch organization with a ton of resources and did I mention that the technology is fantastic.

I cannot say enough good things about them and the services they provide. They make it really easy to follow up with potential clients.

Steven Wright

Hope all of you are experiencing the start of a great weekend. My weekend should be fine, mostly because I am working with a serious buyer who is motivated to buy the right property. It is taking a little longer than I would like, because this person has limited her area to a few city blocks and that makes it a little more challenging. Any way, on to my story.

I work with a number of Real Estate investors and for those of you that work with investors, and depending on their experience level it can be a interesting experience. Investors who are green require a significant amount of education with respect to "flipping houses" and at this point in my career I wont work with them unless the pay me an up front fee of 1800 dollars. I do this for 1 reason alone, I need to make sure that they are serious and don't waste my time. When a person has skin in the game then they respect your time more. I also charge that amount because of the amount of education and time that I have to give them. Even with all of their Real Estate clubs and books, they still require a significant amount of hand holding through the process. One of the biggest pitfalls for them is "greed". They watched too many of the "Flip Your House" programs and now they think they are going to score 80 thousand dollars profit on their first deal.

I have 1 investor in particular who has a bad habit of attempting to waste my time. He owns several properties that he bought on his own and now he wants to work with a Realtor. I have found that the experienced investors use us till we are tired of working with them or find the property that they want and then end up using a Realtor that they know personally. In order to avoid this, I make them sign a buyers agency for the one specific property that I show them and know they have an interest of making an offer on. If they think that I won't take them to court over them trying to remove me out of the picture, they are sadly mistaken. I have a lawyer who is ready and able, it also helps that I come from a family of lawyers.

So my investor (who will remain anonymous) finally agreed to the buyers agency, so I submit the offer. Unfortunately he throws this at me, he wants me to rebate half of my commission before he will go through with the deal. My initial internal response was anger, that this guy would be so underhanded. Then I thought about it for a bit and I responded this way. I knew that his profession was that of a general contractor/handyman, so I asked him if he would be willing to do some work for me on my house. Naturally he was obliged, then I asked him what his hourly rate was and what he would charge me for this specific task, so he quoted me a price. I then asked him to take half of his asking price for the services he provided. He adamantly refused, so I asked him why? He said because that is what he charged. This is the same response I gave to him, "That is what I charge, I get my full commission for services rendered".

I know longer work with this investor because he does not value my time or services. I have demonstrated to him that I am knowledgable and a genuine concern for his business. I also did what I could to present him properties that met his investing guidelines. I will not work with people that I do not trust, in the end they will do something to get me frustrated or in trouble.

Have any of you had a similar experience? What is your general thought on how I handled this scenario? What would have done differently? I would be glad to hear your venting about a similar experience or feedback.

All the best,

Steven Wright

Lesson 4:

A turkey was chatting with a bull.

'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.'

'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. It's full of nutrients.'

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bull Crap might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.


Lesson 5:

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.

The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.

Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story:
(1) Not everyone who craps on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of crap is your friend.
(3) And when you're in deep crap, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

THUS ENDS THE 5-MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE.

Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower, just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?'

'It was Bob, the next door neighbor,' she replies.

'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.


Lesson 2:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.'

'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.' Poof! She's gone.

'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas, and the love of my life..'

Poof! He's gone.

'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager.

The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.


Lesson 3:

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.

A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him,

'Can I also sit like youand do nothing?'

The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.'

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested.

All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

I have a question for all Active Rainers. Do you generally feel optimistic about the future or are you concerned? If you are optimistic or pessimistic why do you feel this way? In 1 month we have experienced at 2300 point drop in the stock market. Not sure how many of you have investments of some sort, I don't recommend you looking at your statements for a few years, if you know what I mean.

So here is the question, for those that voted for President Obama. Are any of you feeling a bit of buyers remorse? I know that the President is not solely to blame for the ailing economy, but I haven't heard the Hope coming from him or his cabinet members in the last month. Why is it that when he or one of his cabinet members start to speak the market tanks? Can you honestly blame that on former President Bush? I am just curious, when will this economy be President Obama's economy? When it is doing good only?

With respect to Real Estate, how many of you are finding that your buyers are having a easy time getting qualified for financing for a house? Has that been a really pleasant experience for you as of late? The banks have a trillion plus of our money and it doesn't seem to have made a difference. Why is that the case? After it was announced that the stimulus package passed, the market dropped close to 600 points. How can something that is suppose to be so encouraging, be so devastating to the stock market?

I hope that I came across as genuinely asking some serious questions? That is my goal here. I would like to have a dialogue amonst us Realtors to see what the general consensus is. Is the Obama administration heading in the right or wrong direction. Just respond with one or the other, right or wrong if you have a chance.

I wish you all great success, no matter which party you belong to.

All the best,

Steven Wright