Gary Woltal - Assoc. Broker REALTOR® SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

There is a class of buyer called the analytical that can pose a challenge for many real estate agents. Think of the Professor on Gilligan's Island. The intellectual. Typical professions include Engineer, CPA, Pilot, Scientist, and Architect.

Their dominant need in evaluating homes is MORE information. This can be a trap for them and you, the professional serving them. When is information ENOUGH information? Ask lots of closed ended questions specifying a TIME to stop with more information, a TIME to make a decision, and get them to agree to it. Early on they will be non-committal but they are not really adversarial, but still gathering information for analysis. They are not bad people, just thorough in their due diligence.

Oftentimes they will purchase hybrid homes that are combinations of all the amenties they have seen or if heading toward new construction, build custom.

What you want to avoid is house hunting ad infinitum, making a hobby out of house shopping that nobody these days has money or time for, and on their part not making a decision and going into "analysis paralysis."

So,

Do You Know What Distressed Property Owners Need?

We are talking pre-foreclosure, heading toward a short sale, heading toward a possible REAL foreclosure. Knocking that credit rating down 200 points possibly for 7-10 years.

Well if you said how about a bunch of money, or some other kind of quick fix, you are not looking into the hearts of people as a real estate professional.

We would all like to have magic wands to cure people's ills from however they got into this MESS. And do not deny it is a mess and a stressed filled time of people's lives. Divorces occur because of financial woes. And don't be snooty thinking your time in this arena couldn't take place at the drop of a hat, as there but for the grace of God go I. Look at the reasons people get "distressed" and even YOU Mr. or Ms. Snooty could be there.

• Job loss
• Business Failure
• Payment increase or mortgage adjustment
• Divorce or death of spouse
• Illness
• Relocation
• Reduced income
• Mortgage fraud
• Predatory lending

Assisting a homeowner in these tough times we can look at these options for them:

• Refinance
• Sell and bring cash to closing
• Lender workout
• Short sale (selling for LESS than the loan balance)
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure
• Foreclosure
• Do nothing and walk away

In the most desperate of times a homeowner can file personal bankruptcy and try to move on with life and not jump off buildings. BUT, back to the question. WHAT IS IT THE DISTRESSED PROPERTY OWNER NEEDS FROM US, the professionals in this industry? You may find the answer hard to swallow, looking at the "perceived EVIL banks and lenders."

But from all of us, they need COMPASSION.

If they are truly trying to bail their lives out, drowning in a sea of financial troubles, isn't it the very least we can do is talk to them with compassion and understanding? Yes, this is business. But John and Mary Doe are people. We are talking REAL LIVES here. I encourage you to put a photo of the family taped to the short sale file package. A REMINDER to everyone that touches this situation that REAL LIVES are involved here and are being impacted. COMPASSION goes a long way in life!!!

Henry Ford noticed in the early days of building his company that his salesman were not good at talking with families. He developed a method YOU can use as real estate agents to uncover buyer's needs.

Use the

F - O - R - D

method to learn about your buyer's needs in that initial counseling session at your office or wherever you meet like the local Starbucks. This also is a guideline as a general conversation starter.

F - Family. Talk about folks' families, the make-up of it and their needs for housing for that family. Typical items here you might uncover are one or two story, the needs for schools for the kids, do they want a pool for the family, and what about lot size, small for low maintenance or maybe large for the big dog.

O - Occupation. With housing a key consideration is how far do people live from where they work. Directionally do they want to live east, north, south or west of where they work. What is the maximum commute distance of the decisionmaker or breadwinner here? Is the house to be between the two people's occupations if two work? What are the minimum dollar level of homes they want to purchase, and that will allow you to zero in tighter on a sector of the city.

R- Recreation. What do the family members like to do for fun? Swimming, golf, lake, museums, etc.

D - Dreams. Have them close their eyes and imagine their ideal house. Farm? Porch? Gameroom, house with trees and fields.

These four items not only are small talk but NARROW the type a house a buyer wants and where it is located. Plus you build up great rapport meeting new people.

From all accounts from what I heard if you think getting spam in your email box is bad, or unwanted phone calls at home, think about Identity Theft. We need to

Knock Out The Nightmare Of Identity Theft.

It is a nightmare, because someone poses as YOU with social security number and credit card information in hand or BLANK CHECKS with your name on it and wreaks havoc on your financial life. Some safeguards to protect yourself from this beast:

• Burn or shred any financial papers, mail or credit reports that contain personal information. Never recycle that paper.
• Get on the phone and call 1-888-5OPT-OUT and request that credit card companies stop sending pre-approved credit card applications. Ask your existing credit card companies to stop sending you "convenience checks."
• Have a shredder that can also destroy CDs, credit cards and staples. Shred often to dispose of confidential information about YOU.
• Delete any email or files after you have used it for your purposes that mentions your credit report or other personal financial information
• Hang up on any telemarketers that ask for personal financial information. Beware of "phishing" emails from banks or lenders requesting passwords
• LIMIT the number of credit cards you have, both business and personal. When you can, use a credit card instead of a debit card with its maximum $50 liability.
• Review your paper and online bank statements looking for any discrepancies.
• If you are so inclined, look into Identity Theft insurance companies like LifeLock, TrustedID or others. There were 11 million crime victims in this area in 2009 so it is not insignificant
• If you are the head of YOUR business, review your security policies and make them very strong with regard to the consumer's sensitive private information (credit card numbers, social security number, financial and personal information)

Head off the beast to not be screaming in your life...