Verbal Communication; A Lost Art

A friend of mine was expressing her exhasperation over the lack of employment opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her intention was to become an event planner with a major hotel chain, but after looking for several months, she was making little headway.

At this point, I feel obligated to inform you that my friend is 29, and I am 56. You will understand my reason for divulging this shortly.

I asked my friend how she was going about getting her name out to those who mattered. She immediately began to rattle off the numerous online job and social network sites that she utilized. I asked her how many times she had met, face-to-face, with a potential employer, other than during an interview.

"I never have", she said.

I then suggested that she dress professionally, go to hotels in San Francisco, ask for the sales and catering manager, and personally hand her resume to each one.

Her response?

She laughed, and said that it was no longer done that way; that her generation utilizes the latest technology to secure employment.

Thus, the previous admission of the age gap! I am graciously giving all you real estate agents who agree with my friend an excuse to blow off what I'm about to tell you. Blame your lack of success on something other than the fact that you're too lazy and embarrassed to get out and build actual, personal, relationships. Claim that I'm an old fart, whose out of touch if it makes you feel better.

The fact is; our business is now, and forever, about personal relationships, and the slow building of professional bonds. What we accomplish down the road will always be directly related to the way we communicate with our peers today.

One evening, while waiting for a client, I noticed a man, and a woman who I assumed to be his agent, standing in the driveway of a listing. They were in the middle of a heated discussion, and were quite animated. After a short time, the agent jumped in her car, and sped away. The man, seeing me, started across the street toward my car.

He asked me, point blank, what I would suggest my client offer on that particular listing. I asked if the person who had driven away was his agent, to which he replied that she was. Handing him my card, I assured him that I would lend my opinion, but not while he was working with another agent.

A couple of weeks later we met at my office. He had dropped his realtor, and wanted my advise. I told him that I would be glad to help, but I explained the difficulties of the market, and stated that it was possible his previous agent had worked hard on his behalf, and was simply handcuffed by the market restraints. I asked him what it was that he wanted but felt his previous agent had failed to do.

He leaned forward and said, "I asked her to personally call the listing agents when we submitted an offer. She never did."

I was shocked! That's it? All he wants is a little personal touch added to each offer? Wow...how easy is that?

The poor guy was an FHA buyer who had spent the previous eight months looking at properties, submitting offers, and receiving rejections. During that time his agent had never once contacted the listing agent to discuss his offers. Not once!

On our first weekend out we found a fixer that met his requirements. We wrote an offer, and submitted that evening. The next morning I contacted the agent, and spend about 15 minutes discussing my client, and simply chewin' the fat with another realtor. To be honest, I realized then that I could have done a much better job of communicating with fellow agents, prior to this deal. I felt embarrassed. The conversation ended with the listing agent saying that she would go look for my clients offer, and would review it.

The following Monday my client received a counter on his offer, entered escrow, and closed on the home. Last we spoke, he was absolutely thrilled.

It doesn't always happen this way. Sometimes you can talk until you're blue in the face, but a cash deal is always going to trump an FHA offer. What you can do is improve your odds; building relationships that will allow you to jump to the top of the list because the listing agent knows you and respects the way you handle business. Emails will never replace the subtle qualities of the human voice, a good laugh, or the warmth of a friendly handshake.

The Sales Flow

Over the past three years I've come to realize that all successful transactions have a certain flow. There's a rhythm to the entire process; a natural movement through the various stages of each deal. It's as if you can sense immediately that this is the offer that's going to be accepted. This is the house that the buyer's are meant to have.

It all starts with the client, and their acceptance of the advise you give. If they're willing to listen, and truly have the desire and patience to see the process through, they will inevitably be successful. I can think back through the list of transactions that I've closed, and in each and every one the buyer was determined, smart, and informed. They had strong opinions but were open to suggestions, and remained flexible when my advice clashed with their beliefs.

I've moved on from a few clients, which is difficult. Just as you can sense a good relationship, you can also feel a poor one. Sometimes your suggestions just go against the grain of the client. Sometimes personalities simply don't mesh. Sometimes there's just this feeling that the timing, or flow, is off; like a bad marriage that starts out great, then slowly falls apart.

There is a certain level of commitment that a client should expect from their agent. Conversely, without a similar commitment from the client, the agent will find themselves wasting a lot of time and energy. I try to keep things simple by sticking to three basic rules:

• Every new client must sit down for a one-on-one introductory meeting.
• No houses are shown until the customer produces a pre-qualification letter.
• I will not randomly send listings unless client commits to working with me.

If I can get that basic level of commitment, I know I'm off to a great start!

The Short Sale Carousel

What am I missing? What is the thought process behind it all? What could possibly be the benefit, in a market where property values continue to decline, for a lender to reject a fair market offer on a short sale listing, and instead, choose foreclosure? I'm at a loss!

I have been negotiating deals, in one industry or another, for 30 years. I feel that I understand human nature, and can generally anticipate the next move, but I oftentimes find myself baffled by the short sale negotiation (or lack thereof). It leads me to believe that there's another game afoot; a sub-plot to the storyline. There has to be some hidden financial incentive for these financial institutions to avoid short selling, and embrace foreclosure, but for the life of me I can't see it.

I just spent the past eight months negotiating with Bank of America. We had a strong offer of $320k, which somehow took 6 months for the "investor" to approve. Six months...really? When the appraisal came back at $295k, the buyer submitted an addendum to correct the price, and again we waited. Yesterday, two months having past, I received an acceptance at $295k, with the caviat that the buyer agree to a $34k, no interest, promissory note, to be paid over 15 years "...to offset the losses" of the investor. Are you fucking kidding me? That's the best you could come up with after 8 months. Let me get this straight! You want the buyer to overpay by $34k on a house that has dropped 8% in value during the negotiation?

That's what I mean; they must know that the counter will be rejected (I'm not even sure that it's legal). That tells me that the entire process is a sham; that they decided on foreclosure long ago. But why? Explain it to me please!

Back At It

Wow...crazy! It's been a year since my last post. July 25th to be exact. Doesn't really matter since I really don't have any followers.

This last year has been a challenge, but hey, I'm still here. Had to make some very tough choices between selling real estate fulltime, or eating. I am still fully committed, but I found some part time work that has really helped me make it through. I would be lying, however, if I told you that it didn't affect my real estate business. It definately did!

In sales we call it "filling your pipeline"; or, building up your client base again. That's where I'm at. My pipeline went dry as I scrambled to survive, and now I'm like a "green pea", starting fresh. I'll get it back, and my energy and focus is definately there.

I'm very excited!!