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Great Myths of the Real Estate Business |
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John Good will show you how to use the latest and best marketing techniques to buy or sell your home. He has years of experience helping people just like you to become their own For Sale By Owner agent.
I. Introduction to the World of Real Estate
My name is John Good.
I am an ex-real estate broker. I was a licensed Real estate broker in Washington for many years. I was very good at my profession and won many awards. I took all the training I could and took very good care of my clients. I had a very good reputation wit all of my clients and I am very proud of the service that I provided to them. I wish this was true for all real estate agents.
Many of the other agents that I dealt with were had no business being in real estate. I saw agents who cared nothing about the people that they were supposed to be helping. I saw bad attitudes from unprofessional agents who were incompetent. I saw documents that were incomplete. I saw contracts that could not be understood, even by the agent who wrote them. And I saw conditions and stipulations to contracts that were never met.
Years of seeing these things on a regular
basis made me wonder about the credibility
of the real estate world.
I started looking much more critically at
the real estate profession. I learned that
you don't need a real estate agency to sell your house.
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes sell too.
I saw that in most cases, an “average Joe”
could be just as effective in selling their
own home without the help of a real estate
agent and save thousands of dollars in
commissions while doing it. That is when I
decided to help people do just that.
The “average Joe’s” of the world really can't
afford to pay thousands of dollars in commissions
especially if the agent isn't doing their job. Some
homeowners owe a big mortgage that must be
paid off after the sale. Others may need money
to send their children to college, save for
retirement, or simply to support their family.
I saw many transactions where the sellers
walked away with nothing because any
money left over after the sale had to be
paid to the real estate agent for commission.
The more I examined the real estate business
from a homeowner's point of view, the less I liked
what I saw.
I grew disgusted with the business and closed
my offices. I walked away from the real estate
world and I wrote this report. I wanted the
“average Joe” to know how some agents in
the real estate business really operate. I
wanted them to be prepared for what they may
encounter when they sell or buy real estate
Read this report. Learn how to save hundreds or
even thousands of dollars. Learn how to market
your home effectively for sale without the help
of a real estate agent. Believe me, you will never
look at Real Estate the same way again.
II. Requirements to become a Real Estate Agent
Anyone who wants to become a real estate agent/
broker must pass a state licensing exam. Most people
know this. What you may not know is how easy
it really is to pass this exam. First of all, this exam takes
usually about 4 hours. Most states only require
a 70% score to pass this exam. That's a 30% loophole
of information that your agent won't know about the
real estate transaction that he handles for you.
Most states do require a taking a study course
prior to taking the exam.
These courses consist of 90 hours of
study time. 90 hours to learn everything
about the real estate profession.
And remember, they only have to retain 70% of
this knowledge to pass the exam and receive their
license.
That's a pretty small amount of knowledge required for
an agent who's going to profit a large percentage
from the sale of your house. Especially considering
that most real estate agents work very little and
some make as much per year as doctors, who spend
10 years or more studying for their careers.
What I learned in Real Estate Law was that a
real estate agent can not in any way, shape,
or form give any legal advice or
prepare any legal documents. Legal documents
must be prepared by attorneys.
Real estate agents simply fill in the
blanks on pre-printed forms, such as asking
price, names, dates, square footage, address of the
property, financing terms, etc.
Then they simply fill in an “X” in the appropriate
box for items such as whether the home includes
washer/dryer, whether or not it has a pool, whether
the water heater is gas or electric, etc.
If there is a condition of the home that is not
covered in these pre-printed forms, the agent must
write up a conditions clause to include it. Writing
up clauses is the same as drafting a legal document
and we've already acknowledged that anything
legal must be done by an attorney. However, I have
seen numerous agents draft legal documents on an
ongoing basis. What does that tell you about the
legalities of the Real Estate business?
There is a manual on Real Estate Finances that must
be studied prior to taking the exam. However, most
calculations and equations involved in a real estate
transaction will always be handled by the lending
company, for example a bank or mortgage firm, or
by a Title company.
III. The Truth About Training - What Agents Really Learn
Real Estate Agent training involves two basic things, ”objection handling
techniques” and ”closing techniques.”
“Objection handling” is a script or dialog that
is memorized by the agent using facial expressions
to keep a prospective buyer or seller from raising
questions about something that they don't like or
may not agree with.
For example, if a potential buyer says “The carpet
in this room is badly stained.” The agent might say
“You know hard wood floors would look
great in here”, and then they start talking about
carpet, flooring, wallpaper, etc., and make the
buyer completely forget about their original
concern - the stained carpet.
The buyer has just been manipulated by a
trained agent. The response was a deliberate
effort to distract them, and make them think
about something else.
A "closing technique" is used to get a
a prospective buyer to sign that contract right now.
Saying things such as “Now this home won't
be on the market for long”, or “I do have 2 other
couples ready to make an offer”, are closing
techniques used to make you sign a contract
immediately.
There is a technique for every conceivable thing
that a buyer or seller may say that could
possibly stop an agent from getting
that coveted signature on a contract or listing.
Most involve a little bit of acting as well
as dialog. Agents are trained to show emotion or ”smooth
talk” their clients into doing what the agent wants them
to do.
Real Estate training sessions are a very lucrative business.
Some agents pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars
to learn how to manipulate you into signing their
contracts. They are trained to do whatever is
necessary to close that deal.
IV. You Can Become Qualified to Sell
Your Own Home
I want to emphasize the
fact that even trained real estate professionals
can not possibly know as much about your home
as you do. Buyers purchasing decisions are
based on emotion - not logic.
After they make their emotional decision
they use logic to justify it. I have seen it
happen hundreds of times.
A well trained real estate agent could “talk” you
into buying a home completely out of your price
range, just by telling you, for instance, how much
your children would love that 30 foot swimming
pool. When in fact, you could buy a much less
expensive house and install a pool yourself, saving
you thousands of dollars. However, you would
justify to yourself that it's worth the extra 10 or 20
thousand extra because your children will have a lot
of fun in that particular pool.
On the other side of this fact is the advantage it will
have when you sell your home.
No agent could possibly know all the little
things that make your house a home.
Make sure that you let prospective buyers
know about the “little” things make your house
special.
You know about your home. You know all about
what makes it special. You are more qualified to
sell your home than a real estate agent could
possibly be.
V. The Truth About Multiple Listing Services
Multiple Listing Services are used to market
a great number of homes. Homes for sale
are listed and agents can search for the “perfect”
home for their clients. If you use a real estate
agent, you will sign an agreement to pay that
agent if and when your home sells. Agents and
brokers also sign an agreement to share commissions
with the agent who finds a buyer for your home, usually
using the MLS. You do not, however, need
a real estate agent to list your home on an MLS.
It is estimated that somewhere between 12% to
35% of all homes are sold without being listed
in the MLS. This is a great tool for getting your
listing to be seen by thousands of people, but you
don't have to use it if you market your home right.
I can show you how to market your home without
the help of an agent or an MLS.
Being listed in the MLS does not necessarily
guarantee that your home will be sold.
What I learned from owning 2 real estate
agencies is that buyers look at the homes
that they are attracted to in some way. They
do not necessarily only look at homes listed
in the MLS .
I've also learned that if you price your home
right, properly clean and prepare it for sale,
and do some effective advertising, you can
sell your home without the help of a real
estate agent and save thousands of dollars
in commissions. I have personally taught
many sellers exactly how to do just that.
In my first “FSBO tips” course, I listed
very effective techniques for selling your
property that you can do yourself. I teach you
how to do things the proper way to make
the sale of your home successful.
Keep in mind that you may have to invest
time and money in your property to make
it suitable and ready for the sale. The old
saying, “it takes money to make money”
certainly rings true in the real estate world.
If you feel that it is worth your time and the
thousands of dollars in commissions to use
an agent, then by all means, do so. However,
if thousands of dollars is a lot of money to you,
and you would like to keep that money in your
pocket, then keep reading and let me show you
how to effectively market and sell your own
property and you can pocket the 6% to 10%
commission that you would pay to a real estate
agent.
VI. The Secret of Advertising
Many sellers think of real estate agents as
the only way to successfully sell a home.
As if hiring an agent will result in an
automatic guarantee of selling your
home in record time.
A real estate agent will do advertising
for you, but it will benefit the real estate
agency by running the ad more than it
will you. The truth is that the ads are
more to draw attention to the real estate
agency than to your home.
Most companies run home ads on a
rotation basis so that all homes
listed by that office are supposed to be
featured at some point. The truth is that
the agencies top selling agents tend to have
their listings advertised more than the other
agents.
Look through your local paper at the real
estate ads. They don't claim to have the
best clients, the cleanest houses, the best
views, or the best value.
They usually say , We're number one , We're
the best, We just won the (blah, blah) award,
We have the best advertising, we have the most
agents, and so on.
We, We, We, We. Patting themselves
on the back.
Who are these ads promoting? The clients
(who are actually paying for them) or their agency?
Think about it.
VII. Does Name Recognition Sell Homes?
Agents very commonly imply to sellers that
because of who they are and what agency
they're with that more buyers will look at
their homes. When in truth, buyers don't
really care about a huge sign with a
recognizable name or face.. They care about
buying their dream home.
You have probably noticed homes for sale
with signs of real estate agencies in the yard.
The smiling face and name of the agent is
prominently displayed everywhere the house
is promoted. One major franchise actually uses
metal full body photographs of the agent to
display in the yards of their listings. This makes
me wonder what they're actually promoting,
your property, or themselves.
Real estate has got to be the only profession
where someone you hire to perform a service
for you, in exchange for thousands of dollars
in commission, actually advertises themselves
by putting a photo of themselves on your lawn.
Could you imagine your attorney or accountant
doing that?
The real question is, do these signs work?
Do potential buyers actually run home and
call about your home just because they saw
someone's picture on your lawn? Doubtful.
If a buyer is interested in a home in your
neighborhood, and if they see your home
for sale, with or without an agent's picture,
they will undoubtedly call about the house.
They will call because they are interested in
the house, not because they are interested in
the agent.
So “Name Recognition” actually has little
to no bearing on whether a potential buyer
will want to see your home. Signs with
an agents pretty face on them will in
no way motivate a potential buyer to purchase
your home.
That does not mean that a real estate sign
is not an effective tool to motivate buyers
to call. Signs can be very effective, if used
right.
In my “Real Estate Secrets” course, I explain
in detail how you can use signs for advertisement
to your advantage.
Real estate company signs can actually work
against you! Consumers get literally thousands of
advertising messages a day. We hear them
on the radio and television. We see them
in our mailboxes and even our emails.
The result of this constant barrage is that
our mind shuts down to advertising, due to
saturation and overload.
We all drive by signs every day and just
don't see them. So do homebuyers. It's an
endless sea of real estate signs.
Unless it happens to be in a neighborhood or
area that they are specifically interested
in, buyers may not even see a real estate
agency sign on a conscious level. much less
respond to it.
The fact is that you can do nearly
everything to promote your home that a real
estate agency can do.
You can create an effective sign that will
actually describe to the buyer why they will
love living in your home. You can create
flyers to show off your home
You can advertise your home worldwide on the
Internet with gorgeous photos for a very
small monthly fee or even free in some cases.
You can run short, inexpensive classified
ads in the newspaper that will bring just
as much attention as huge real estate agency ads.
You'll see how to easily and inexpensively
do all of these things and more (including
example ad copy and dialogs) in my "Real
Estate Secrets" course.
Agents love to promise that they will
promote your listing with all kinds of fancy
marketing techniques (flyers, web sites,
etc.)
With the right information, you CAN sell
buy or sell your own home. You just
need a starting point. I can give you that
starting point, and I can help you through
to the signing of the closing. If you follow my step
by step plan, I Guarantee that you can be successful.
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