About Southampton's The Hamptons

"LET'S MAKE A PLAN!!"...."I Want To List Your House---But Only If You Really Want To Sell It!...A BOLD, Fresh and new approach is needed now in this market--So let's make a Fresh Start with your home!"

This is what I like to say to the seller who is wavering about listing a property with me. I say: "Let's make a plan" because this is the way to get focused on the real need to sell or NOT to sell for the homeowner. It also lets the owner know that you have a lot of bold, fresh, new ideas to get their home sold and get the the very best price.

This marketplace is humming again--Southampton, Bridgehampton and East Hampton New York are all having a resurgence! Your market may be seeing the same kind of revival---so now is the time for BOLD, FRESH, NEW IDEAS!

AGENTS NEED A BOLD, FRESH APPROACH IN ORDER TO SUCCEED!

The whole concept of building a "New" reputation and putting yourself out there as the agent with the "Fresh" new ideas is the way to capture the attention of someone who wants to list their home--so why not try to give the image of creative, BOLD and fresh thinking when you make your pitch for a new listing?

If you lay out a plan together you get the benefit of knowing the "ins" and "outs" of what the seller has on his/her mind. You can establish a price at this time and you can make sure the price is what YOU want it at, based upon your research of recently sold properties. If the plan opens up a conversation of the timing wanted or needed to get the house sold, then you will have the advantage of knowing how to proceed.

If the timing is such the the owner does not really care if they sell the house quickly or not then you can make your agreement reflect that--in fact I recommend that you take a longer time period for the agreement if they are not in a hurry.

A really good plan should include the following:

1. The Right Price--based upon the sold comps in the area. (Not always what the owner wants to hear!)
2. Timing-- a good plan will include a start date for the listing and a target "sold" date so that the owner knows the facts and how they apply to his/her life. I like to give two target dates; one reflects the optimal time period based on other sales in the area, properly priced homes and staged properties (a Fresh approach!). The other target date for a sale would reflect extra time if the price is not on the mark...and if the suggestions for staging are not followed. This is very informative to the seller--let's them understand the time-differential between a fresh, new listing and one that is not quite up to the expectations of the buying public.
3. Strategy--This will let the owner know of just how you plan on getting the house sold. It will include your plans for marketing the property; it will include a detailed advertising plan as well. I use a story format--telling them the story of how I will market their home I use this method and it can be very informative to the seller.
4. 10 Point Action Plan--This is the summation of all the details, a crucial piece to the whole process of listing a property; it gives a point by point plan of action so that you leave nothing up in the air or in question for the seller....I take each step from the meeting with the owner, to the signing of the agreement and disclosures, to the creating video and fliers, post cards and even a website for the listing. bullet points are necessary here. I have even had the seller tell me that they can understand exactly what the process will be when they hire me. It helps me to keep on track with the things I want to accomplish as well!--..Never had an unhappy seller yet!!!

In this market, where sales are starting to increase and inventories can begin to look old and dated, we all need to take a FRESH Approach in order to peak the interest of buyers and sellers.

A FRESH, NEW approach is needed now--Let us all know if you have any "NEW" ideas for taking listings and marketing them!

THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH IS NOT Forgotten...Especially, By One Local Blue Blood Family Member!

Many members of the families of the survivors of THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH, are looking forward to the release by PBS of the Home video version of the television documentary film, "The Tragedy Of Bataan" by writer/producer Jan Thompson. The series was created by Thompson after she engaged Alec Baldwin, a well known actor and a local Hamptons resident, to narrate the film. In a historic twist to the epic story, the home version of the film will be presented to local high school and Junior high school students by Patricia Birks, the daughter of one of the survivors of the Death March, over the next few months.

THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH was a tragedy of epic proportions with 76,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war forcibly transferred, on foot, by the Imperial Japanese Army to the Bataan Peninsula. Even as the American and Filipino troops repelled the Japanese for several months, they were forced to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula to wait for supplies and reinforcements. But the Japanese had cut off all routes to the Philippines, preventing a rescue by United States Military and the troops were forced to surrender on April 4, 1942. View the trailer here: http://www.tragedyofbataan.com

A HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE

Among those who surrendered was William Rogers Birks, a direct descendant of the earliest Southampton settler, Thomas Rogers.

Patricia Birks father, William Rogers Birks, was a prisoner of war in The Bataan Death March, and appears on the "Wall Of Heroes" photo gallery in the film.

Patti Birks is a fellow real estate professional who works in the Prudential Douglas Elliman Westhampton Office. Her enthusiasm about the soon to be released 30 minute television documentary, is understandable given her connections to the Death March and her memory of her father's story of that event.

Patti Birks is a blue blood descendant of Thomas Rogers who signed the Mayflower Compact and his son William Rogers from Stratford-Upon-Avon England who came to Southampton in 1640.

Patti was born on October 13, 1950 on Navy Day, after her father Chief Naval Officer William Rogers Birks survived the Bataan Death March in the Philippines and 3 1/2 years in a Japanese POW camp.

The Rogers Memorial Library, Rogers Beach and Rogers Mansion Southampton Historical Society are named after this founding family.

I spoke to Patti this morning and she told me how excited she is to have the opportunity to share what she knows from the local perspective of the Bataan Death March survivor stories. Her father left her with a lengthy story to tell about this tragic event and his forced surrender, along with many of those who survived the desperate march.

As a young and passionate soldier, he found himself in the tangle of prisoners that were being marched to the very end of the Bataan Peninsula, where they found hunger, disease, cruel treatment and murder awaiting them.

Patti is more than anxious to get copies of the soon to be released film, with Alec Baldwin narrating it. She will be presenting the documentary film to the local schools in Westhampton and Sag Harbor, New York. On her agenda for next year is the Westhampton Rotary Club and a possible presentation to Scotland Yard in London.

Patti's email contact is birksworks@optonline.net if anyone would like to connect with her to ask her questions and to possibly plan a presentation of the film to a school or other historic public forum.

Please note: Photographs are from the "Bataan Death March Images" website.

STRESS GOT YOU DOWN???...The STRESS FACTOR In Real Estate Getting To You Too?

As real estate professionals, we are up against almost insurmountable challenges everyday. We deal with people where they live! We have a responsibility that not many other professions have to fulfill: The Home is the place where emotional, financial and survival mechanisms are rooted. Not one other thing that an individual owns or manages is anything like the Home. Families laugh there, cry there, play there and raise children there--memories are in the walls and the floors in layers.

These STRESS FACTORS are embedded in our profession and need to be recognized by each of us in order to become a polished and ethical professional.

I find the stress from real estate is one of the most overwhelming of all the other stresses in my life--most other situations I handle with no effort, it seems. But the stress from real estate is rather subtle in it's impact on my system.

• My back is a place where stress ends up. I just found a great chiropractor--helped me get rid of a constant pain in my neck and back.
• Headaches come and go with the amount of stress I am having from my work...never had headaches before real estate!
• Anger management is necessary in real estate--either learn how to manage it yourself or get help to manage it! I have fortunately found ways to get over my anger very quickly....and move on.
• I find myself feeling resentful of the way some other agents behave...or the way a seller just talked to me. Resentment does nothing to improve your attitude--in fact it can kill you!

I wanted to share with you all the idea that one of the things that we are not trained in, is how to handle the stresses from our work. Our initial training and our Continuing-ed classes never mention the STRESS FACTOR. As a result, we are in a profession that loses so many new agents in the first year of their RE career that it is a common thing to see agents leave their desk and not even say they are leaving!!!

THINGS I DO TO LESSEN THE STRESS FACTOR:

• Deep breathing after an encounter and before a reaction
• Relaxation techniques, i.e. meditation, self hypnosis
• A mantra that is in front of me at my desk or on my refridgerator: "I am a worthy, honest person; I deserve to be treated properly; I am a happy, successful, and thoughtful person"....well, you get the point! Make up your own positive reinforcement.....

Established agents have ususally dealt with the stress that is built into our profession but many just push it down, try to ignore it. They may not even realize the deep influence this kind of stress can have on them and they go forward, working with other buyers and sellers without realizing they are bringing that anger, resentement and pain along with them into a new business relationship. Many become ill, never realizing that years of subjecting thier minds and bodies to this STRESS FACTOR is taking it's toll.

All professions have their stressors; all business comes with a substantial share of stress--None deal with the kind of stress that comes with a seller who is about to lose his/her home; no other profession has the multiplicity of emotions and conflicting feelings of a person who is letting go of such a personal possession as their home!

Want a better way to BECOME A LOCAL EXPERT??? Over the past few years I have shared with all of you here on AR what my thinking is about being or becoming a LOCAL EXPERT.

As we appear to be moving tentatively out of the depths of the Great Real Estate Recession, there are questions we need to ask our buyers and sellers. As real estate professionals. we know what is REALLY going on. We can pull this information together, USE IT FOR OUR "NEW" MARKETING and FARMING EFFORTS and we can even put it out there for our buyers and sellers too! We can actually be in a better position to serve the public in a more efficient manner.

We can, and should be, the guiding light when working with new buyers toward home ownership and giving sellers the confidence needed to list their homes and to NOT over-price them.

As an example: How many of the recent transactions in your area have been new construction? This is a very important statistic that will help you in guiding anyone who has money to spend on a new home.

Or if you know that new construction is moving at a quick pace and at higher price points---why not let your buyers know that too? Why not then target your "farming" to the new construction market, and let that part of the industry know you are THE go to person, informed and prepared to handle the large numbers of "New" home buyers in your marketing area.

This applies to other segments of the market as well; for instance, do you know about an area or part of your marketing community that is a place that young buyers prefer to purchase a home? The school could be a draw for their children; the playgrounds and parks could be another one. If you become knowledgeable about all the details that the average agent does not know, that will qualify you as a local expert!

There are still many pathways to home ownership!

Since ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL, there is a critical need to get the right information out there to our individual markets. In most markets, for instance, the mid-priced end has been hit harder than any other segment of real estate

CREATING A PROFILE of your current buyers/sellers

1. Are your "new" buyers the same sellers who sold at the height of the market?

2. Are they first time buyers?

3. How many are "all cash" buyers?

4. How many are going for financing?..and what % are they financing?

5. Is new construction getting top dollar in your area?

6. How many of your total sales fall under the "New Construction" category?

7. Is there a "desperate" seller syndrome?--buyers looking for the seller who HAS to sell?

8. Is the seller "getting it" when it comes to properly pricing their home?

9. Are sellers in your area now convinced that the worst is over and as a result, not listening to low bids?

10. What is the discount now on prices from the height of the market in '07?

11. Do you foresee further declines in prices in your area as we go into the crucial Fall market?

12. Since most markets have had significant price adjustments, do you feel like your market has reached the bottom?

When you look at the valuable information available to your buyers and sellers by evaluating the sales that have taken place in the last 6 months, there is tremendous value there! Then if you pull them together, compile them into a concise "handbook" or flyer which you can then hand to your customers and clients, The rewards for getting to the bottom of these questions could be priceless!!!

WHAT BETTER WAY IS THERE TO PROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR INDIVIDUAL MARKET, AND BECOME A LOCAL EXPERT???

What Do you Have To Lose???...How About Everything?

What do you do if you can't handle a situation, a shaky deal that is about to go South? a buyer who wants a house but does not step up to the plate? A deal that is contingent on financing and is about to be rejected? What do you do?

Since we are in a very different real estate market today, it is critical that we ask for help from those who may know how to handle something that we are having difficulty with. We don't know where our next buyer or seller is coming from---so ask for help if you need it!

I have talked to a few newer agents who think they have a handle on a situation and the next thing you hear is "I lost my deal because....."

In one case I was very up set because I told the agent that if she needed my help, I was there for her; I would be able to help her get the buyer to the table if she would let me.

Now I just heard that her deal fell apart and she is no where to be found...I called her and have not heard back so I don't even know if there is a way the deal could be revived!

Why is it so difficult to ask for help, anyway???

I don't have any qualms about going to my manager who has handled many more deals than I have! If he can help in any way, I will ask him. I also have good friends who have been agents for many more years than me and I do the same thing if I need help.

A FEW THINGS THAT "HELP" CAN CHANGE THE OUTCOME:

• A different agent has different lawyers, inspectors, mortgage professionals that they use; ask for a list of 3 of each.
• Get help from an agent who knows what things have sold for in a particular area in the distant past.
• Ask for help if you know the buyer is just frightened--or ask if the other agent has ever had an experience as you have with a new buyer.
• Zoning issues can be overcome if you ask for help from someone who has had a lot of experience dealing with local officials and zoning boards.
• Ask for help if the seller suddenly decides they want another, higher offer than yours--there may be crucial data that you don't know about that will encourage their acceptance instead of waiting for a higher offer.
• Ask for help if your buyer suddenly changes his/her mind--there may be some other listing available that you don't know about that will fit the bill better.

There are over 15 agents in my office who are new to the business---perfect for those who are "in training"...this is the kind of market to begin in real estate because you have no where to go but up if you put major effort into the business. There are only 7 long time agents who have gone through other downturns, but none as deep as this one.

This is the kind of market where we all have to pull together--There is nothing to lose if you ask for help, even if you are a long term agent with years of experience!!!

What do you have to lose???....How about everything? ...ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT!