Vancouver Wa Real Estate - Elite Realty NW

Yesterday was the day for our north county property tour. Some call the area rural. Others call it "the sticks." No matter what you call it, it never fails to entertain. Yesterday's tour was no exception.

The image above was proudly displayed at the front corner of one of the homes on tour! When you run across stuff like this, you just have to ask yourself, "Who staged this place?!"

An offer came in on one of our listings and I called the seller to set up a time to review it with them. The first response from the seller struck me as sort of odd,

I sure hope it isn't from Realtor XYZ!" (Name changed for obvious reasons)

"Uh... Why do you ask?" I meekly queried.

"Because he sat and badmouthed our house for over 10 minutes the other day and then he recommended that his clients write a lowball offer. That's why!"

The listing reads, "Surveillance cameras not included in the purchase" and most smart agents would assume that means that they are installed and active. I guess Realtor XYZ isn't that smart and it seems that he sat right under one of the cameras (they have audio surveillance too) and had a very frank discussion with his clients about how he would negotiate an offer.

He talked about how they should ask for new flooring, ask to have the floors in a shop raised, and make a "lowball offer." Then, if the offer was accepted, they would know that the sellers are committed and they could delay the inspection long enough to ask for "everything to be repaired" at the last minute. They were certain that they would have the sellers between a rock and hard place and they would be forced to make any and all repairs.

The plan was so stupid that it was comical and the fact that it was caught on tape was hilarious! Lucky for everyone the offer came from a different agent with another set of buyers.

Home for sale in Hockinson Washington

Are you looking for a beautiful custom Home for sale in Hockinson Wa on acreage but also has a place to store all of your toys?

We have a listing going live next week for this awesome 2600 + sq. foot custom home sitting on 1.1 acres of landscaped garden with a 2304 sqare foot shop. High end finishes throughout.
5 bedroom
2.1 bath
Custom quality
Built in 1998
Private Rd.

Custom homes with shops like this rarely hit the market and when they do, they only last a few days. This is your chance to have a shot at it before anyone knows it is for sale. Call today for more details and a chance to snap it up before it hits the market!

Mark Hall
360 816 9697

Home for sale in Hockinson Wa

So there I was, strolling through Burlington Coach factory, when I ran across this. Priceless!

What kind of parent would ever??? Can you imagine little Sally skipping into her 3rd grade class wearing a pair of these? What would her teacher say?

What next? Stripper poles for toddlers? I must be getting old.

When thinkning about green and sustainable building inVancouver Washington, one naturally gravitates toward eco-roofs. (Uh well, I guess you couldn't Gravitate towards...you know what I mean!)The Green Building Committee of the Lower Columbia alliance for Living Sustainably is hosing a series of workshops on the subject of Green Roofs that runs through September. See below for the schedule and we hope to see you there!

 

365 Tips To Becoming A Successful Realtor®

Tip #96 - Are You Committed?

The days of being a part time real estate agent and making boat loads of money are long gone. You can no longer make a good living by selling an occasional home to a friend or family member. The agents who are thriving in today's market are committed. The new agents getting into the business will have to be even more committed to succeed.

There are two people in my coaching program who started their careers off right. Each of them have only had their licenses for a few weeks and they have both already been out on several listing appointments. They have dedicated themselves to their new careers as realtors.

One has actually "burned the ships" Cortez style and quit her regular job in order to commit to what she needs to do as a realtor. She didn't want to be distracted by an escape route. She doesn't have a rich husband or anyone to pay the bills. She told me that she works better under pressure. That is commitment!

What have they been doing to get these appointments? They have been treating their new career like a regular job. They show up at the office each day and they spend several hours making calls to people who they don't know to talk to them about selling their homes. That takes commitment!

One focuses on expired listings and the other works on FSBO's. The one who works with FSBO's took her first listing last week. How many of you had a listing that wasn't from a relative in the first 3 weeks of having your license?

Ask yourself this, Are you committed to doing what it takes to be successful? Are you willing to burn your ships and do what ever it takes to succeed? If your answer is anything other than an resounding YES, then you might want to consider another career.

John and Sheryl wanted to sell their home and build a new home in the 2009 Clark County Parade of Homes neighborhood, Camellia. The problem was that they needed to seel their existing home in one of the worst real estate markets in history. We sold it for them in just under 4 hours and now they are well on the way to building their dream home. Who do you know who is looking to buy a new home? We can help!

If you enjoyed this post, you can find more like it in the following links:

Emily Just Bought Her First Home - Video Testimonial

Erin Talks About Buying Her First Home - Video Testimonial

Happy First Time Home Buyers - Jon and Shawna - Video Testimonial

Video Testimonial - Ryan - First Time Home Buyer

365 Tips To Becoming A Successful Realtor®

Tip #95 - Get Discovered

Getting discovered can be one of the biggest breaks in your real estate career. It can make the difference between being an "average" realtor and being an exceptional realtor. You can increase your production by three times or more overnight.

The trick is to be discovered by the right people and to be known for the right things. It is nice that your aunt Jane knows that you are a realtor and tells all of her friends at bingo about you. You will probably get a few transactions through that network. Wouldn't it be better to be discovered by the President of HR for that new corporation that is moving into town? How about one of the two bankruptcy trustees in the county?
Sometimes it is luck and sometimes its not.

Talk to all of the lenders you know and tell them what you are doing. Give them tips on new companies coming into town in exchange for leads that are developed from those tips.

Commercial agents are usually aware of big companies coming to town long before the residential guys. Talk to them and get them to refer the residential part of the business to you. Give them a healthy split to get their loyalty. These types of leads are worth it.

There are all kinds of avenues to use in an effort to get discovered. Be inventive with your approach but be sure that it is targeted and sending the right message. Remember, you are trying to be discovered as the best agent in the area, not as a tour guide!

With a little focus, you will be amazed at what this can do for your business.

365 Tips To Becoming A Successful Realtor®

Tip #94 - Answer The Phone!

This should be one of those posts that never needs to be written, but it isn't. If you suffer from telephobia, then you should probably choose a new profession. Like it or not, as a Realtor, you will be spending a huge amount of time on the telephone.

There are two times when answering your phone is critical.

1 - Whenever potential clients are calling. I pick up new clients all the time who start the conversation by telling me that I am the first agent who actually answered the phone. I always ask them how many agents they had tried to call and I am not surprised anymore to hear numbers like 5 or 6! I picked up 3 prospective clients on the day after Thanksgiving last year and helped 2 of them buy new homes before the end of the year. I sure am glad that I answered the phones that day!

2 - When other agents are calling on your listing. Generally speaking, your business phone is ringing because there is some kind of business on the other end. Realtors don't like to waste time by calling other realtors to chat. If they are calling, it is because they are trying to do business with you. Answering the phone is the best way to get that deal. I am amazed at how many agents don't answer their phones and don't return calls within 24, 48, or even 72 hours! Really?  Unless the home is something really special, I have moved my clients on to something else.

365 Tips To Becoming A Successful Realtor®

Tip #93 - Live or Die with Customer Service

The office phone rang about 10 days ago and the voice on the other end had an interesting story to tell,

"We have been working with another Realtor in the area for a little over a month but she just wasn't there for us. She acts like we are always bothering her and the only reason she fits us into her schedule is for the commission. We really don't trust her. We just fired her. A friend of ours highly reccommended you and Janice"

New agents need to take this to heart and experienced agents need to look deep into themselves and ask, "Could this story be about me?"

ActiveRain is loaded with Buyers are Liars stories. Maybe they left you because they were getting a bad vibe. Maybe they were smelling commission breath. Who knows?

The only way to avoid this is to focus all of your efforts on your client's interests. If you truly put their interests before your own, then you will naturally provide the customer service that will keep them as lifelong clients and encourage them to refer you to their friends and family.

BTW, the $700,000 offer that we wrote for our new clients was accepted yesterday and we are now on our way to creating a legendary customer service story.