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| Selling Smart: How to Make Home Ownership Stick |
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I can remember when I first began my career in sales. Like many an inexperienced sales person, I could only focus on closing the deal—or—making the sale. While that is the bottom line and all-important to income and livelihood; with experience I learned that making that sale stick paid off in the very long term.
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| How to Avoid Foreclosure |
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HUD has created this Q & A which can be shared with your clients to help them avoid foreclosure:
The guidance below (and in the "How to Avoid Foreclosure” pamphlet) is applicable to homeowners with FHA Insured loans. While a good deal of this information may apply to all homeowners in danger of losing their homes, not all of the foreclosure avoidance tools mentioned may be available to you if you have a VA or conventional loan. Additionally, HUD/FHA does not have any Loss Mitigation oversight over VA or conventional loans. Please contact your lender or a housing counseling agency.
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| Second Foreclosure-prevention Bill Introduced In Senate |
HOPE Act Would Fund Outreach Programs, Revolving Loans
Foreclosure-prevention legislation introduced Monday by the chairman of the Senate Banking Securities and Insurance Subcommittee would beef up funding for HUD-approved financial counseling agencies and help states establish their own programs.
The Homeownership Protection and Enhancement Act of 2007, or HOPE Act, would also provide nearly $300 million for revolving loan funds that states could use to subsidize loans for families facing foreclosure.
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| Take Your Career to the Next Level with an Interactive Marketing Plan |
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To get to the top of the heap, today’s real estate agents can’t just be good salespeople. They must also be expert marketers.
The best agents in the field already know this fact. According to NAR, Realtors® in the highest sales bracket spend 26 percent of their yearly income on marketing. Marketing
efforts can come in the form of print promotion, outdoor advertising or Website
development.
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| Foreclosure Numbers Continue to Rise According to Information Provided by the Greater Houston Partnership, Economic Research |
Foreclosures and economic indicators seem to paint a picture of good news-bad news, as we see the possible effects of some questionable real estate transactions.
The opening months of this year have brought a growing recognition that aggressive sub-prime lending in recent years has contributed to the sharp rise in foreclosures, as growing numbers of households encounter difficulty meeting their mortgage obligations when the initially low rates are reset. Such problems have brought about a tightening in lending standards that shrinks the pool of households qualified to take out new mortgages--a key factor in the anticipated slowing in housing starts and in MLS closings.
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| Houston Realtors® Receive National Consumer Rating Award |
Rita Armstrong, Coldwell Banker Pennington-Chen, Platinum
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Eight Honored for Exceptional Service
In today’s marketplace, consumer ratings are high praise, and that praise is measured and quantified in nearly every industry, including real estate. Consumers rate books, hotels, products, trips and now, real estate professionals. The organization known for creating the ultimate real estate industry rating system is Quality Service Certification (QSC). The QSC service awards are the only awards in the real estate industry based on independently validated, measurable service results.
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| HOUSTON REAL ESTATE SALES BOUNCE BACK |
Market Regains Stability After Brief Decline In March
Single-family home sales in April rose compared to April of last year, reversing the first decline in more than three years. Prices last month also continued to show strength, as both the average and median sales prices increased in line with trends seen during the last few years. Perhaps signaling statistical validation of experts’ suggestions that tighter subprime lending standards will have a negative impact on home sales, the primary price range of homes showing sales weakness has been those homes priced at $140,000 or less, according to statistics released by the Houston Association of REALTORS®. At the same time, homes in the $400,000-plus range have seen tremendous strength in sales.
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| How The Subprime Scandal Will Affect Your Bottom Line |
Can brokers reverse the damage done?
Turmoil in the subprime mortgage market, what some call a correction or natural adjustment, has cast an air of caution over the lending industry.
Gone are the go-go days of excessively "layering risks,” a practice that has contributed to recent spikes in defaults and foreclosures. Today, tighter credit standards are increasingly becoming the norm at a time when falling home prices, a glut of properties, and higher mortgage interest rates have already combined to dampen home sales. The confluence points to a dip in the revenue streams of mortgage lenders, including realty affiliates.
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| Quality Certified |
Rating Realtors®
From books on Amazon to sellers on eBay, Web-savvy consumers have become ratings happy. And why shouldn’t they be? What better way to make an informed purchase than to read reviews from like-minded consumers? The review frenzy is not limited to goods, either. More and more consumers are looking for positive reviews to bolster their belief that they’re hiring the best architect, plumber, or (ahem) real estate practitioner.
With this in mind, the California, Virginia, and Houston associations of Realtors® are promoting rigorous customer satisfaction programs for their members—programs that not only train and certify Realtors®, but also survey the Realtors®’ customers and post the feedback online. More than 1,500 CAR members and nearly 500 HAR members have completed the training.
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| Sold! Realtors® Raise the Gavel on Home Sales by Auctions |
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Auctions are often associated with cars, furniture and jewelry. In recent years, however, real estate auctions have gained popularity as a way for sellers to sell their homes quickly. That was the message delivered by Realtor® Valerie Gehringer, Keller Williams Realty, Winchester, Va., at a forum held at the National Association of Realtors® 2007 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.
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| Still Selling Strong After 50+ Years |
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Carl Taylor
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Don’t even think about using an excuse like your cell phone battery’s gone dead or a storm interrupted your Internet connection. For an old pro like Carl Taylor, it doesn’t seem that long ago that he hadn’t even heard of such things.
Taylor is a young 78 year old and has been selling commercial real estate for more than 50 years in the Houston area. How’s he doing? In 2006, he was Coldwell Banker United, Realtors’® number one commercial agent in the Houston area.
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| Who makes the MLS rules? |
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To borrow a phrase, the MLS rules are for the members, by the members.
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| Helpful Tip for Realtors® |
Just because a lender says your client can qualify for a certain amount doesn’t mean that they should max out that amount. Many times, clients look forward with optimism, as they should, but overestimate their earnings potential or underestimate homeownership expenses. Help your clients by making sure they know the mortgage payment is just one part of buying a home. There are also property taxes, homeowners insurance, maintenance costs, higher utility bills, etc. that should be factored in. Having clients who buy within their means, also means that you will have happier, more financially secure clients who will come back to you when they want to move to their next home because you were looking out for them.
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| 2007 TREPAC Investors |
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**All Investments as of May 10, 2007.**
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| HAR Large Brokers Gather In Support of TREPAC |
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On May 7, Virginia Cook spoke to a group of large brokers at Tony’s restaurant about the importance of being involved in HAR’s political process. Pictured here are TREPAC Golden R Investor George Stephens, special guest and TREPAC Golden R Investor Virginia Cook, HAR Vice Chair and 2007 TREPAC Chair Vicki Fullerton and HAR’s newest Golden R TREPAC Investor John Daugherty. George and John accepted Virginia’s challenge to get involved, and both invested $5,000 that day.
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In pursuit of our combined goal with the MetroTex Association of Realtors® to raise $1 million for TREPAC, HAR invited Virginia Cook of Virginia Cook Realtors® in Dallas to speak to a small group of the large Houston area brokers on the importance of being involved not only in TREPAC but also in your local association.
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| Former HAR Chair DeLora Wilkinson Honored Among "Three Graces of FACE" |
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Honorees Claire Lewis, Garlaine Kelly, and 1986 HAR Chair Delora Wilkinson were recognized for their quality of life vision that resulted in economic development for Northwest Harris County.
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A decade ago, three ladies approved the establishment of a Texas non-profit educational organization, Cypress Creek Foundation for the Arts and Community Enrichment or FACE. The charter request was signed by the following officers: DeLora Wilkinson, Director and President; Garlaine Kelly, Director and Secretary/Treasurer; and Clara Lewis, Director. The threesome came together as founders of what has become one of the most successful organizations in Northwest Houston.
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| Homebuyers’ Tastes For Technology And The Outdoors Are New Trends In Building |
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Homebuyers are demanding more from new houses than ever before. Today, the home is an oasis for the family to escape the pressures of the outside world. Homes are gateways to the great outdoors. They are technology centers. They are workplaces. They are movie theaters, restaurants and entertaining venues.
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| Good News, Brokers Are Turning The Corner on Classified Ads |
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Sometimes good news comes wrapped in bad news. Such was the case last week when three major U.S. newspaper publishers announced weaker first quarter revenues, due to great part to lower classified advertising conditions caused by the down turn in the residential real estate market. Overall, classified revenue at Tribune fell nearly 14 percent; at New York Times it slid 11.6 percent; while Gannett saw a drop of 3 percent. Classified revenue from real estate was down 15 percent at Tribune, 13.3 percent at New York Times and 1.5 percent at Gannett.
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| Define Leadership. Now Redefine It In Terms Of You. |
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It occurred to me that most people who write about leadership are no longer leaders.
Easy for them to espouse their Monday morning philosophy—harder for the leaders under fire to take "former leader" direction. I just read an article in a business magazine written by a well-known "former leader." I was horrified. One of the "key" points was that "clarity is the antidote of anxiety"; therefore "clarity" is the main concern of the effective leader. What a bunch of baloney.
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| NOW CASTING! |
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TLC, the network that brought you Trading Spaces and While You Were Out, is now producing 13 fresh new episodes of its breakout home design hit, Moving UP. We are looking for people who are moving between June and August of 2007.
Each episode follows three families as they move into their new houses, while struggling to leave their old homes behind. We will watch as they each spend the next few months remodeling, decorating and transforming their new spaces into their own. Moving UP is ultimately about the choices we make to turn a house into a home. After a few months, we will bring the former owners back to see what they make of the new changes.
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| Prudential Gary Greene, Realtor® honored for volunteer service |
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Lane Pearson
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Pearson named to Fort Bend County Women’s Center new Volunteer Hall of Fame
Though she works full-time as a Realtor® for Prudential Gary Greene, Lane Pearson devotes countless hours every year to volunteering with the Fort Bend County Women’s Center. Last month, the center recognized her contributions and inducted her into its Volunteer Hall of Fame.
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| Networking For Profit |
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How many times do your hear someone say "I can’t meet you for lunch because I’m too busy. I can’t meet you for breakfast or a glass of wine after work because I am so swamped. I can’t serve on your committee because I am so overloaded and don’t have the time.” It has been my experience that the busier people are, the more productive and profitable they are.
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| Get the Jump on Japanese Customs |
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More real estate business is being done with Japan than ever before! Here are some things you may not have known about Japanese customs:
The Hand Shake This is a Western custom, however, the Japanese have become accustomed to this tradition and often shake hands to promote good relations. You should not judge the kind of hand shake a Japanese person returns nor should you be too aggressive or excited shaking the hand of a Japanese person.
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| Y. Frank Jungman |
Y. Frank Jungman, University of Texas BBA ’48, University of Texas LLB ’50, passed away at age 77 on Apr. 30, 2006 in Houston. While at UT, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha and Phi Alpha Delta. During the Korean War, he was appointed a 1st Lt. in the USAF Reserve Judge Advocate General, volunteered for active duty, was assigned to Wichita AFB, KS, being 2nd Wing Base Staff Advocate, retiring as Captain. Frank married Marilyn Skipwith, ’50, in 1952.
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| Houston Area Realtors® Look for Solution to Bandit Sign Issues |
RE: State Laws re. Bandit Signs
"It was moved and seconded to submit a request to the TAR Leadership Team to form a task force that will examine a more Realtor-friendly and therefore consumer-friendly alternative to enforcement and/or lack of enforcement of Texas statutes by various local jurisdictions that prohibit the placement of "bandit signs” on public right-of-ways.
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