About Oklahoma County, OK

Testimonial from Vince Parker

02-09-12

Darren Webb: Real Estate Agent in Edmond, OK

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Office: (405) 348-9322

Darren and his crew have been absolutely fabulous to work with ... extremely professional, extremely thorough. We always felt when dealing with Team Webb, it was dealing with family.

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"I Don't Take Referrals!" - Good or Bad?

02-09-12

Ryan Hukill - Edmond Realtor®

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Office: (405) 259-6565

Secondary: (405) 348-4422

I just read Peggy Chirico's post "I Don't Take Referrals!" and I must say, I'm amazed at how quickly many of the commenters there have jumped on an agent who chose not to accept a referral, calling him names without knowing his circumstances, all while claiming "I never turn down a referral!"

Is it possible that the agent in question has a business plan that he's committed to, that works for him, that doesn't include paying out referral fees?

Maybe he's got enough business that he's happy, and he's not interested in growing anymore?

I can tell you that personally I do take referrals, but I'm choosy. I only take the ones that actually stand to compensate me for my time and experience. I will not take referrals that end up draining my resources (time & money). I've had agents call me to refer an $80,000 listing, expecting a 40% referral fee. If I were to take such a referral, I'd spend more money to market that property than I would gross after the referral, broker split, and taxes. That's not even taking into account the time I'd have invested in getting it sold.

In the time I would've spent on that resource-drainer, I would instead work my client base and generat 2-3 other full-commission transactions.

I also recently had a local agent try to refer me a referral, if that makes any sense. By the time all was said and done, I would've ended up paying 2 referral fees, totaling 50% of the commission. Again, not worth my time.

Many facctors have to be considered when deciding whether or not to accept a referral; referral fee, sales price, how needy the client is, current market conditions, your hourly rate, etc.

When I was a new agent, without much already going on, I was much more willing to take on referrals, and when the market slows, I become more open to them as well. But when the market's cruising along well, and I have a pipeline full of full-commission clients, why would I take time away from them to make less working with someone else?

Any agent who's not taking these things into account, but instead just jumping up and yelling "YES" when they're asked if they'd like a referral, may need to re-think their business plan. Not ALL business is profitable business.

Many times, the referring agent may be well-intentioned, but actually harm the client by restricting the receiving agent with hefty referral fees. Personally, if it comes down to it, I'd rather not receive a fee and know that my client is getting a top-notch experience, than to take a referral fee and know that the receiving agent may not put forth as much effort, due to a minimized commission.

So, what say you? Are all referrals to be taken?

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Team Webb Recommends The Boulevard Steakhouse!

02-06-12

Darren Webb

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Office: (405) 348-9322

Team Webb recommends The Boulevard Steak House - A PRIME Place for Steak & Large Martini's!!

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Edmond Economic Preview is positive, as commercial building permits break records

02-02-12

Darren Webb

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Office: (405) 348-9322

Puxatony Phil may be forecasting 6 more weeks of winter, but there’s Sunshine forecast for Edmond’s Economy in 2012!!!

Edmond’s economic situation for 2012 is positive, city leaders learned Tuesday during the annual Edmond Economic Preview. New commercial building permits broke records in 2011.

Taken directly from NewsOK.com

BY DIANA BALDWIN

Published: February 1, 2012

EDMOND — The dollar amount of new commercial building permits in 2011 was higher than any other year in the history of Edmond, city leaders learned Tuesday at the 2012 Edmond Economic Preview.

Article Gallery: Edmond Economic Preview is positive, as commercial building permits break records

The record set in 2010 was beat last year by $36 million, said Janet Yowell, Edmond Economic Development Authority executive director.

New commercial building permits grew by 55.98 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year.

The 26 permits totaled more than $102 million. The city also issued another 13 permits for more than $2.2 million in additions and alterations to existing businesses.

“That is incredible,” Yowell said. “2011 was very positive for Edmond.”

Eleven new restaurants opened last year — not counting yogurt places, Yowell said. Ten of the restaurants opened in existing buildings.

Private investors spent $1.7 million in downtown to renovate buildings for new businesses.

The center of new construction in Edmond is along Interstate 35, where medical facilities, offices and commercial business are planned.

Edmond issued $55.5 million in permits for 212,000 square feet of new medical facilities. In additions and renovations, there was another $5.6 million.

OU Medical Center Edmond at Second Street and Bryant Avenue was issued a $3.6 million permit during the construction of its birthing center. Integris Health Edmond, north of 15th Street and I-35, had just less than $2 million in additions to its medical office building.

Mercy Health System is building an $88 million medical complex and wellness center at 15th Street and I-35. The building is on a 27-acre site on the southwest corner of the intersection.

I-35 and 15th Street will be the home of the Fox Lake Plaza retail and office project, and more retail, office building and hotel plans are under way for I-35 and Covell Road.

A March groundbreaking is expected at I-35 and Covell for a Francis Tuttle Technology Center site. The training and business development center will be built in the Cross Timbers Office Park on the northeast corner of the intersection.

The first building at Fox Lake Plaza is a 30,000-square-foot mixed-use building, with about 200,000 square feet available for future projects.

“The exciting thing that is happening is the city is working with the developer to build a trailhead that would go under Interstate 35 and all the way out to Arcadia Lake,” Yowell said. “So, for bicycle enthusiasts and joggers, that is a great amenity. The developer thinks it is also.”

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OKC's Report Card on Economic Security

02-01-12

Ryan Hukill - Edmond Realtor®

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Office: (405) 259-6565

Secondary: (405) 348-4422

OKC is #1 in economic strength Report card time's always a little unnerving isn't it? Will I be at the top, the bottom, or somewhere around average? What grade do you think our great city would earn? Better question; would you be at all surprised to find out that Oklahoma City got an A+ and ranked first out of the Top 100 Metros? I know I'm not surprised, but somehow, some folks still seem to miss just how great we have it here. According to MetroTrends.org,

Metropolitan Oklahoma City’s diverse economy – including government, universities, energy, and high-tech firms -- has held up well in the Great Recession. It didn’t fall victim to the housing boom and bust (2000 to 2007), so rents and house prices today are remarkably affordable and few homeowners are facing foreclosure. And the region scores high on lots of “top ten” lists -- most affordable (Forbes), most recession-proof (Forbes), and best to start a small business (Fortune Small Business).

Click through to see the entire ranking of the Top 100 Metros.

**Originally posted on ShowMeOKC.com, where you’ll find out more about Oklahoma City, Edmond, Moore, and beyond.

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