Vancouver Wa Real Estate - Elite Realty NW

Last night I attended a Green Drinks networking event in our area. I have been attending their events since they first the group started almost 3 years ago. They are always fun events and I always make great contacts with them.

An interesting conversation came up about the success of the group and possible reasons why. Here are a few topics that were discussed:

The events are free. There is no charge to belong to the Green Drinks group and the events are free.

The Green Drinks group is designed to bring like minds together. Many people in the conversation agreed that the problem with Pay To Play networking groups like Le Tip and I Take The Lead is that they are groups whose only common thread is that the members want more business. There is no "Big Picture." In those groups everyone is focused on themselves.

Passion and unselfish leadership. The two girls who lead the Green Drinks group are Laura and Terra. Both of them lead from a position of passion. They each have salary type jobs that really don't benefit from a traditional "networking" group and they don't get paid to lead the group. Because of this fact, they come from a place of contribution. Their focus has always been on the green living message and the members of the group. Their leadership has really set the tone for the entire group.

Are you looking for a group to join or thinking about starting your own? You would be wise to consider these issues as you go forward. Networking can be very beneficial to your business or it can be an expensive waste of time. Choosing the right group can help you save valuable resources and experience better success.

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactionss, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington

What's That On Your Butt?

Realtors seem to be a creative bunch and always seem to be looking for the new trend in marketing. There are businesses whose sole survive existence is to sell real estate agents silly promotional giveaways.

How about your car? Do you have it plastered with silly signs yet. How about a full wrap? There are a few agents who have gone a little overboard with the car advertising in our area. One Realtor flies flags on his car and has business card holders glued to the side windows soliciting his business to anyone who happens by in a parking lot. When I asked him about the success of his creative approach he told me that it has been great for starting conversations at gas stations.

The jury is still out on one Realtor's advertising message on the coasters at a local bar. There were two ads on the coaster. One side was his real estate ad the other side held an ad for a bail bond company!

One of my favorite forms of advertising has to be butt adverts. Not a new idea as the beach volleyball players have been advertising their favorites bars since the 70's but it certainly is reaching new levels. There are two male agents in our office who have the back pockets of their trousers embroidered with "Let's Talk Real Estate." They probably don't get as much attention as the girls of beach volleyball!

Share some creative ideas that you have seen or used lately. Any crazy successes. Feel free to post pictures if you have them.

Beach photo -http://www.flickr.com/people/14107082@N0)

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactionss, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington

365 Tips To Becoming A Successful Realtor®

Tip #103 - Build a Team

I just finished the Keller William Recruit Select class last week and my head is spinning with new ideas. The premise behind the class is that the only way that you can reach the highest levels of mega agent performance is to leverage your self with a team. Here are the three top tips that I walked away with (If you want more, you will need to take the class!)

1. Only allow top producers to be part of your team. The key to any high performing team is to only have the best people. You have heard the saying, "One bad apple can ruin the whole basket?" The rule applies here.

2. Always be looking for new talent. D.R. Whitson, our instructor for the class, says, "Recruit always in all ways." You never know what is going to happen with a member. You will need to have back ups for those times when you lose someone.

3. The time to start is now. When asked about the right time to start a team in relation to sales volume, D.R. responded, "Which comes first? The chicken or..?"

Best of luck in building a top performing team in 2011!

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactionss, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington 365 Tips to Becoming a Successful Realtor

Pricing Strategy - How to avoid the dreaded price reduction phone call!

Most of you know how I feel about overpriced listings and I believe that good Realtors should have a pricing strategy drawn up before taking any listing. Our current market is unpredictable and an unintentionally overpriced listing can cost a seller tens of thousands of dollars.

We have been using this strategy for years with great success. We write up a price reduction schedule and have it signed at the same time we are taking the listing. We walk our client through the time line and price schedule so that they can see what is happening and, more importantly, why. This helps our clients sell their homes more quickly and ultimately get more money for it.

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactionss, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area. Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington

This is a fact filled post from Jason Channell in Michigan. You will never look at a home address in the same way again!

Thank you Jason for a great post!

Short Sales Vancouver WA - Using Your Seller as a Gatekeeper

A pet peeve for many short sale listing experts is when we have a home that is pre approved at a certain price with the bank and a buyer submits an offer that is below that approved price. It doesn't really matter how the listing is priced. It could be approved right at market value or $30,000 below, the offer still comes in low.

The frustration is that the process of negotiating with the bank starts from the beginning again. What could have been a 2 week approval period turns into a new negotiation process that might last for months. The chances of a successful close becomes exponentially more difficult!

What is the listing agent to do? 

COUNTER!

Don't forget that the seller is still a primary party to the transaction, not the bank! The bank only "approves" the deal and agrees to release the lien. The seller has complete control over which offers get submitted to the bank and the seller has the ability to counter any offer.

When a listing agent has a home pre approved at a very attractive price but the offers all come in low (It IS a buyer's market, you know!), instruct the seller to write a counter offer at the bank approved price and terms.

We have been very successful with this tactic and it has helped to clear out the bottom fishers and allow serious buyers to take advantage of great deals.

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactionss, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington

Vancouver Washington Real Estate - Photo Journal - Aren't Macro Lenses Fun?

I think we should ask for an extension on our inspection contingency. We may want to bring in a pest and dry rot specialist!
Photo Journal - Vancouver Washington Real Estate is a side project for me. Real Estate can be a bit tedious and I will occasionally post interesting pictures of the non real estate world as I see it. I am not sure where this will take me but I know that it will be a fun ride.

Follow this link to see the rest of Photo Journal - Vancouver Washington Real Estate

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactionss, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington Photo Journal - Vancouver Washington Real Estate

 Short Sales Vancouver WA - Successful Buyer Tactics

Any agent (Listing or Buyer's) will gladly tell you that closing short sales can be a long and treacherous road. Sellers are by default in the deal for the long haul but buyers usually bail on the process before they are in sight of the brass ring. Frustrated and confused, the buyers often decide to pass on buying a home all together.

It doesn't have to be that way! Here are a few tips to help buyers realize their home ownership dream via a short sale.

1. Agents make all the difference in the world! There is a huge level of expertise that goes into getting a short dale deal closed. The successful buyer's agents have paid their dues and have learned the secrets to finding the best deals and getting them closed.

I could stop right here and smart buyers could find experienced agents to get what they want but I will share a few tips that the successful agents are using to help their clients get great deals on short sales in Vancouver WA.

2. Only write offers on listings that are represented by experienced short sale listing agents. This may seem to be the same as my first tip but there is a huge difference. Listing agents who have closed multiple short sales know how to negotiate and know how to get the banks to accept offers. They don't waste time by listing at ridiculously low prices and hoping the buyer will accept the bank's counter offer. They have a pricing strategy that they use to leverage the bank into accepting a reasonable offer. A good buyer's agent will know who the best short sale listing agents are in the area.

3. Look for pre approved short sales. A pre approved short sale is one where the bank has already indicated what price and terms they will accept to sell the home. This is a huge advantage and can cut the closing time from several months to just a few weeks.

4. Don't waste your time on homes that are obviously listed at silly prices that will never be approved. There are agents out there who list short sales at prices that the banks will never accept. If the price on a home looks too good to be true, then it is too good to be true! Banks aren't stupid. There are great deals out there but you aren't going to be buying a mansion in a $600,000 neighborhood for $200k.

5. Don't waste your time writing back up offers! (Unless they fall into tip #6!)

6. This is a tip that most Realtors don't know. I am almost afraid to write it in this post. For the buyer's agent who is willing to go the extra mile for their client, you can dig for deals that are mostly negotiated with the banks and the first place buyer is on shaky ground. I do this by looking for short sales that are severely under priced in the listing and already have an offer. Chances are very good that the buyer did not write a full price offer and the chances are even better that the bank will counter at a higher price. More than 90% of short sale buyers walk away from a counter offer. If you time your back up offer so that you are in place when the counter comes from the bank, you have a very good chance of slipping into first position and picking up a great deal. On homes that are severely under priced, don't be afraid to write an offer above the asking price with your agent's consultation.

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactionss, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington

Vancouver Washington Real Estate - Photo Journal - 3 Faces of Genius

This is me having fun with my cell phone and images fom the internet. I think the glasses play a large part in the success of the man. What do you think?

Photo Journal - Vancouver Washington Real Estate is a side project for me. Real Estate can be a bit tedious and I will occasionally post interesting pictures of the non real estate world as I see it. I am not sure where this will take me but I know that it will be a fun ride.

Follow this link to see the rest of Photo Journal - Vancouver Washington Real Estate

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactions, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington  Photo Journal - Vancouver Washington Real Estate

Homes For Sale Vancouver WA - 3517 SE 182nd Ave, Vancouver WA 98683

This home is by far the best priced listing in Hiddenbrook and it is priced to sell quickly! Not a short sale or bank owned. Lowest priced home in this upscale gated community. Beautiful 3 bd/2.5 bath home on a large corner lot across from park. Home is in excellent condition and move-in ready. Walking distance from schools. Home Warranty included. Must see! Call for your private showing today! The seller is prepared to close quickly. Don't miss out on this awesome deal!

Check out the video tour!

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Homes for sale Vancouver WA

When you choose Elite Realty NW to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate transactions, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying and selling Homes is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area. Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here. Homes for sale Vancouver Washington