Ray Carman – Auctioneer

First let me say I hope you have all had a great Memorial Day weekend! It usually is a good time for Grilling out and being with friends and family. I do hope you took a moment to remember why we have such a holiday and thus thanked someone who made this day what it is.

On the Real Estate front, I have been reading alot of news lately about global real estate, as well as, local news. This has brought me to a question:

What is more important, and relevant to you the reader, Local or Global? and Why?

Recently (in the past 12 months), two nationally branded real estate companies have closed the doors on high traffic count offices due to the slower market. Sales have slowed down and agents had a hard time paying their office and state fees. Thus, no more highly visible office. In its place stands only an empty office (or in these cases, older homes converted to an office.)

The question this drives home, is how viable and necessary are these high visibility office to a successful career in Real Estate. Are the fees associated with a nation brand company worth their weight when things are running tight?  What is the real value of a national brand if the doors are closed when things go awry. And what is the value of an office where traffic counts are high if people are no longer choosing the casual drop in as their way of buying and selling real estate.

It appears all the chatter of online business is coming true, and those who refuse to embrace that fact are losing out in times such as this. On the other hand, those who are grabbing hold of these facts are not only making it through, but thriving!

So as you enter this realm of Real Estate, do your homework and be prepared to have an existence online, coupled with great personal relationships in your local area. In our world today, it is not national branding in high traffic count areas in your town that matter, but rather, branding in high traffic count Web 2.0 sites that will be the difference between thriving and simply trying to survive!

In the Real Estate world, sometimes things can get rather “hairy.” And like a sink drain with too much “hair”, things can quickly get “clogged up!”

I am currently in one of these “clogged” situations. We have a house set to close, but the underwriter has asked that the appraiser do a couple of things on his end to clear the file. I am the seller, and the buyer has paid up through the weekend in their apartment, thus things are rolling for a smooth transition, until now.

Apparently the Appraiser has now been “swamped” with many extra appraisers and is not “able” to turn things around for us. SO now, the pipeline is clogged up and things are not looking good for the buyers to be in by the time they need to be out! So now a smooth ride has now hit a dead stop, like traffic on I-40.

In the course of a Real Estate transaction, you can almost guarantee that some sort of “clog” is going to develop. That is one great reason to know you have a professional working for you to clear the path! This situation will more than likely resolve itself in a timely fashion, but only as quick as the “clog” wants to move! (Sometimes they can be rather stubborn!) So, before you go packing your boxes, or getting the moving truck, be sure that your Realtor has had the time to remove all the clogs in your transactions pipeline!

I stumbled across this post today and thought it was well worth the read. As I have driven myself to know things that are ahead, I have learned those things from the past are still VERY relevant.

Remember snail mail? You know, where you actually write or type something and place it in an envelope, lick it, stamp it, and stick it out for the postmaster to deliver. In our brave world of technology, we often forget that many of those who have money to buy or land/houses to sell, are people without a computer in their home. I know for a fact that many of my most promising clients will never read this post because they do not have access to the internet.

How about that old fashion thing of face to face talking. You remember how we use to pull up a chair and just talk it over for awhile. With our cell phones, emails, and texting, some people seem to be left out of the conversation. Once again, these are the same people who have the where-with-all to survive times when things are difficult. These are also the people who have been doing this since I was in diapers and they have learned a thing or two on how to make it when things get tough.

Anybody remember the old timey referral system? When someone who you had worked for, or a friend from church passed along your name to someone else for business. Instant credibility! In our brave new world of “social networking”, sometimes we get caught up in the whirlwind of letting as MANY people we can know we are here and available to assist them in their transaction, but we forget our neighbors and people whom we live around on a daily  basis!

Believe it or not, these old systems are still as vital to your business as the cell phone with internet access, the laptop with all its accessories, or all the social networking or blogging we can do. So while you are out making your mark in the Web 2.0 world, don’t forget those folks who have been there and done this since we were just thoughts on someones mind. They have the knowledge and resources (contacts) that just might be the difference between you making it in this business, or working behind someones counter taking orders!