Random Meaningless Jibberish

Blogging has now become a passion. I had thought about blogging for some time. I guess that it was a little over 2 years ago when someone mentioned that I should write a Blog. After all for someone who had been in Real Estate for almost 19 years and who has been consistently on top even from year 1 probably has a lot to say they conjectured.

Well it turns out that I do indeed have a lot to say. Of course that does not always mean that everyone wants to hear it. However I do have had a pretty good following and it is a craft that I am constantly working on.

The Writers of Posts that I admire and follow the most seem to garner a lot of comments. I do not follow anyone because of their popularity. For me to follow, you must earn it by creating well written posts. The format Content and links although very important elements, are not necessarily the driving force that causes me to follow you.

I don’t even think that it would be possible for me to verbalize what I really like. So I will fall back on Old Faithful, ” I know it when I see it ” I also know What I Don’t Like when I see that. And that brings me to the Point of this Post.

                       Why do you Blog ? What do you hope to Gain?

When first starting out, and while you are still trying to find your voice. You will occasionally hit it on the mark. Sometimes you may even get recognized by those who have been writing for much longer than you. Encouraged you may quickly delve right back into it writing several more posts with little or no attention paid to them. This is the time period of discovery of your voice or writing style.

As you begin to gain momentum you may be blessed with a following of other members who frequently read and encourage and comment on your efforts. As I have watched my own growth through this procession I frequently re-read and edit past efforts that are not up to my new found standards.

I am an avid reader and tend to read and comment on as many posts as I can daily. I am surprised by the number of people who do not write posts following the same game plan as I do. In fact they are not even playing the same game as I am.

They are playing a totally different game. When this happens my first reaction is to ask Why? Am I doing it wrong? Do they know something that I do not know? It wouldn’t surprise me, happens all the time. What is it, what is the game that they are playing you ask?

Well I am glad you asked. Many of those who have taken to sitting at the key board are prolific writers. Fact of the matter is, I wonder how they have time to do any real estate business at all. Writing sometimes as many as 4 to 6 posts a day.  

Writing more that one post a day that contributes to the better good of all garnering several comments is really a daunting task. I have come to notice a familiar theme with some authors. Many do not receive any comments. Post after post after post. Day after day after day. Week after week after week, and still zero comments.

So am I a schmuck for trying to write posts filled with meaningful content ( heavy on the trying part ). At the end of the day is there just as much value in Posts with no comments vs posts with comments?

What is your take on the Subject?    Meaningful or Meaningless?

Technology Allows my Buyer’s To beat the Odds.

Back in April of 2007 I made an effort to be as mobile as practical to both benefit me and my Clients. Up until that point I had a pretty good system working. I am an active Real Estate Broker affiliated with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors. The Company is located in a suburb of Portland Oregon and I tend to work primarily in the inner city. I am whats known as an Out-Of-Office Agent. That is I do not physically maintain an office space at my office.

It was not just a cost savings decision that caused me to be and out-of-office agent. It was because I did not see the value of having an Office space that I would have to commute to all the while burning up valuable time which I could put to better use than being stuck behind the wheel in traffic.

But like I said I had a pretty good system working. I would generally get up in the morning, Run the Hot sheet, print out the matches and hit the streets running. If I saw a house that matched my clients needs I would call them and show the property. Should they like it well enough to write an offer, I would jot down the information let them go off and talk about it over coffee while I went to my home office and created all of the paperwork on an On-line forms program.

Within an Hour I would be back in front of the Client with the paperwork in hand. After 20-30 minutes or so I would have gained all the signatures and made my way back to my home office to Scan and email the offer to the Listing Agent. Like I said, I had a pretty good system working or so I thought.

That was until the market started to get crazy. Suddenly it seemed as if ( thanks to my new Web_Site  a prospecting dynamo ) I had more clients that ever before. Now I am the kind of agent that likes to give all my clients personal attention and top notch service. This running around thing was starting to impede my abilities to perform.

Hence as alluded too in my post Deal_Or_No_Deal where I talk about my purchase of a new  Toshiba  Laptop Computer and my hope for its future benefits and then subsequently in the post The_New_Laptop_Pays_Off  I tell the story of my ability on virtually my first weekend out to Pay for the system. It was on that Post that Ardell   asks in her comment ” How did you print the offer? “  To Which I responded ” Ardell : The answer to that is in a future Post. Thanks for stepping in out of the RAIN. “

This was that Future Post. The Printer that I bought is an HP_460  portable Ink Jet color Printer. I had looked hard at the Cannon IP90 but was just more familiar with HP. The HP 460 has a larger Ink capacity as well. On top of it I also had purchased a Portable Scanner called NeatReceipts_Scanalizer  Which not only allows me to scan on the fly but also has a spiffy organizer tool allowing you to define different folders for your scans including those for the Tax Man when you want to scan those ever so important receipts. Printer was less than $250 and Scanner was less than $200. Thank you Staples  for now I am truly Mobile.

Looking back is fun. I still have the laptop, printer and scanner and have used it time and time again.

Now most of my clients call me after my_Buyer’s_Web_Site emails them with a listing match ( often times only minutes after the listing hit the MLS). I can meet them at the property and if need be we can write it up on the spot. Print it out, Scan it and send the offer to the Listing Agent in Minutes. There by beating all of the competition by miles using my proven system. By the way Congratulations is in order for John ( you know who you are ). John just closed on his new home using my system catching all of the competition flat footed for this truly wonderful custom built home in Portland Oregon.

      Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

                  Home Buyers and Investors Buy A Home or Buy an Investment in Portland Oregon

                              ” A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from “

www.portlandrealproperty.com   A Web Site full of local Portland Oregon real estate searches for homes and local Portland School and City information.

http://www.househuntportland.com/  A Web Site for the home buyer of Portland Oregon Real Estate. Receive updated real estate listings daily or hourly 24/7. Sent by email on a street map with a Photo a Description and an Address.

http://www.portlandflips.com/ An Investors Web Site. Spend your time analyzing the results that will be sped your way within minutes of becoming active in the local RMLS. If your an Investor and You Want Potland Oregon Real Estate Investment Properties then this is your site.

The Tree Lined Streets of Portland Oregons Laurelhurst Park

Portland Oregon sometimes called Bridge Town due to all of the bridges that cross the Willamette River separating East Portland from West Portland. Nestled between Mt._Tabor  and the Willamette River on the East side is Beautiful Laurelhurst Park and Neighborhood.

Laurelhurst is one of Portland’s premier neighborhoods with elegant homes on beautiful tree lined streets and was once home to many of Portland’s Early day Lumber Barron’s.

 Welcome to Laurelhurst Park Portland OR.

Prestigeous East Bound Gates of Laurelhurst Park

More Walking paths in Laurelhurst Park

Laurelhurst Homes are a tribute to the beauty and grace of Laurelhurst Neighborhood

 Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

                  Home Buyers and Investors Buy A Home or Buy an Investment in Portland Oregon !

                              ” A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from “

www.portlandrealproperty.com   A Web Site full of local Portland Oregon real estate searches for homes and local Portland School and City information.

http://www.househuntportland.com/  A Web Site for the home buyer of Portland Oregon Real Estate. Receive updated real estate listings daily or hourly 24/7. Sent by email on a street map with a Photo a Description and an Address.

http://www.portlandflips.com/ An Investors Web Site. Spend your time analyzing the results that will be sped your way within minutes of becoming active in the local RMLS.If your an Investor and You Want Portland Oregon Real Estate Investment Properties then this is your site

Failure What do YOU Mean Failure!

You thought about it long and hard then one day you took the Plunge. You took the schooling, did all the tests, and then finaly Bam! You got your Real Estate License.

As you look around surveying the other agents, ever notice how some people it seems are just naturals. They come out of the gate swinging and never look back. Then there are some people who make up that group or the 80% failure rate in the first 2 years. Oops! Did no one ever tell you that? Yikes sorry about that, but it’s true.

In fact I would be willing to bet that if you take into consideration all of the people who attempt to get there licence but never go through with it the failure rate is probably up around 95%. So how can we keep you out of it?

Probably the greatest thing that any one can do is to sit down and write out a business plan and goal. This also works well for the agent who is not happy with their production, or is doing okay but just wants to take it up another notch.

But before you can start to do the business plan there is something more important than that. Something that is so key to this entire problem that if you don’t get this you really have no chance at success. What is it?

It is simply understanding what this business is. What are the primary elements and how must they be implemented.

• First and Foremost Real Estate is a People business. It is built on the relationships that we establish through the Sale, Purchase, Rental or Lease of Real Property. We are not only Real Estate Sales People, rather we are relationship developing people whose product is Real Property.

When First licensed I have seen this played out over and over again. The new agent comes into the office asking how do they get to work with the buyers. There are as many different policies as there are different answers to this question. I submit to you though what I would consider to be the best approach for not only the company but also the agents longevity.

• NO AGENT should be allowed to work with any Buyer until they have a listing for sale. Unless you work for a company that only represents Buyers. Most of us do not. The reasoning behind this is that the office telephone rings because of listings. We do not live in a Country where the listings are a secret. Buyer’s do not have to call up and ask if we know of any house’s for sale. They can see them by the signs in front of them.
• By allowing an agent to share in the incoming telephone calls without themselves contributing any thing to make the phone ring, it is a slap in the face to those who have worked so hard. Now if an agent is to busy to work the leads and chooses to refer or higher an agent as a buyers agent then that is a different matter.
• By Forcing the No Buyers till you have a Listing rule, you create more product. Agents understand what the true nature of the business is like and every one wins.

I have worked pretty much the same way for most of my career. I have always tried to be the Agent that I would want to work with.

No high pressure sales techniques. You call we discuss. If we can’t do business we will part friends.

    Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

                              ” A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from “

Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

10 Top Winning Stratagies of Top Producers

Ever wonder how The Top Producers stay on Top? We all struggle from time to time but one thing that Keeps Top Producers on Top is a consistent strategy. Although from Agent to Agent techniques very, you will find at the very heart of each and every Top Producer these core group of simple strategies that YOU can apply.

www.portlandrealproperty.com Portland Oregon information.

www.househuntportland.com Let your next home find you.

                                  Top Producers Ten Techniques to Greatness

1. Attitude: Attitude is key to having a successful day. Routine will help establish a great day. A good breakfast, Positive affirmations, A daily planner filled with scheduled activities and events, A mirror to reflect in while on the telephone. A positive attitude it will help you excel. A negative one will tear you down. Avoid meetings and conversations with negative people. Work only with People you Like.
2. Transaction Goals : Sit down and create a goal for number of transactions you would like to do for the year. Break it down by month and week and day. Create a plan on how to achieve your goals. What is your success ratio of each technique you hope to employ. Example : If it takes you 5 open house to get three Buyer leads resulting in 1 contract, then you know what your success ratio is. Plan it and it will happen.
3. Prospecting Goals : The mark of a great prospector is one that can show you in his day planner a flow sheet designed to meet the transaction goals. Every method of prospecting should be flow charted and worked into a day planner. A Time Management Plan is essential. Plan it and it will work.
4. Know your Market : There are many neighborhoods in my market area if you were to give me the street cross streets and describe the property I could tell you what color the house is. I could also recite how many times it had been on the market over the last 10 or so years. I know exactly what each home should sell for and why. Take time to go back through your neighborhoods from time to time and dump out what you used to know yesterday. Agents fail when the start thinking about what homes used to sell for instead of knowing what they will sell for.
5. Ask for the Business : All the prospecting in the world wont pay off at all if you cant ask for the business. Look for new ways to ask for business. Give everyone in the world a business card. Don’t be afraid to give them one every day. If they say I already have one, smile and ask them to pass it on. Prospect regularly for referral business. Put a not in your bills that you send out each month, people look at them you know. Write down a list of 10 new opportunities for referral business each month and act on it.
6. Communicate the Results : Communicate the results of your activities to virtually everyone. Listings, Buyers, Sellers, Referral partners, Lenders, Title Companies, Spere of influence, virtually everyone. You will be surprised how many people that know you would love to live vicariously through your achievements. How many people do you know that have said ” I used to know him when… ” Allow people to support and champion your achievements.
7. Hire an Assistant : Each and every state has there own rules for assistants. Follow them and quit complaining about the dollars. An assistant worth there salt should double or triple at minimum what they cost you. What should an assistant Do? Your Job is to be in front of Buyer’s and Seller’s all day long. The Assistants job is everything else.
8. Education : Devote time to educating your self. Be it Continuing education classes, Cd’s or tapes of other top producers, books, Blogging and commenting, Peer Group meetings or Conventions and trade shows.
9. Exercise : A Physical and mental exercises strategy should hold a prominent position in your daily planner. Good mental and Physical conditioning will keep you tuned and ready. A sloppy body or mental attitude can present a poor impression to a new client.
10. You Get by Giving : Give of your time and money. Give back to the community. Get involved with charities of your liking. Get behind a cause. It will enrich you in many more ways than money could ever hope to.

So you Think you are Prepared Are You?

How Prepared are You as a Real Estate Agent? Do you carry with you the necessary tools do you your job? You never know in this business when the need may arise and an opportunity may be lost. I will give you an example.

On a damp Tuesday Morning a group of us were looking at all the new vacant land properties just outside of the city limits offered by a local Real Estate Brokerage. Most of the parcels were fairly small and easy to get to.

As we made our way up the single car road towards the 1/2 acre of ground the caravan came to a sudden stop. Being the 5th or so car back it took me a while to make my way up the rain soaked slippery cart path.

When I got to where the first car had stopped the group had formed and were looking across a small land bridge at the head of a small gully. On the other side stood the listing agent. Hurry up he was calling out to the stragglers still making there way up the slippery road.

Okay Okay he called out as the drizzle began to pick up a little steam. Now as a true Oregonian we would’t call that a Rain. We might call it a Driven Mist, as it began to pelt down on us while while huddled together listening to the agent regale the attributes of the listing.

The crowd was indeed getting restless and seemed as if they wanted to bolt but did not want to offend the agent. I called out and asked to him, What is the Price? He quickly answered back beaming from ear to ear. And the term’s I asked what are they? Still beaming he quickly satisfied my questions and asked in a booming voice ” Do you have some one for this ?”

To which I answered Holding up the Earnest money contract that I had extricated from the inner pocket of my Blazer ” Yes! Here is the Offer! How soon can you present? It is full price cash with a 10 day closing! ” The crowd assembled was in the murmur state and only the owner of the Real Estate office who was present made the following comment.

Dang , Herb !  I was going to do that but did not have an offer sheet with me. I thought I would have enough time to do it when we got back to the office. Good for you. He went on to say ” Folks that is what being prepared is all about “.

Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

So THIS is The Internet Hummph!

Have you had Enough? Fed Up , sick and tired, is your back against the wall? If this Internet thing is so great then why can’t I find anything. I mean come on…. Sure Google tells me for the search term real estate there are over 260,000,000 pages to choose from. Page one has only 10 results.

Well that’s not to bad. So if the page I am looking for is # 257,000,000 it will only take me 16,062,500 minutes to find it. So what if I do not have the time to look for the next 31.7 years to look for this page? You probably might need a few more search terms.

But even if you were to have the perfect search terms it is still a needle in the haystack search. I don’t know about you, but those are just to long of odds.

What if……?

Come check this out.  Out of_State_Homes . Here you will be presented with a variety of homes in various Cities and States and Price Ranges. No obligation required just Homes, Homes and more Homes.

If your looking for a Portland Oregon Home be sure to check out all the MLS Listings right here at The_Pickle where you can search for homes on a neighborhood map and see the results as quick as the push of a button.

If you want to be more proactive about your Real Estate Home buying search effort then by all means you should sign up for the free email service to Find_Your_Home in_Portland  Oregon just follow the link to House Hunt Portland. This is like a dream come true for todays home buyer. The service will deliver results to you 24/7 within 20 minutes of the property hitting the market if you choose so. No agent can even come close to providing you srvice as fast as this automated service can.

Home buyer after home buyer who have recently signed up for this service are beating all of the competition to the best listings. What Does IT Cost? Nothing, Zero, Nada. I only ask that if you use the service that you intend to use my broker services as well to help you purchase.

                                                                      So are you ready ?                 I am!      

No high pressure sales techniques. You call we discuss. If we can’t do business we will part friends.

    Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

                              ” A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from “

Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

Do YOU Reward Poor Service

How many of us growing up in the USA have been taught that we can do anything we want. “ Apply yourself and you can do anything. ” Not only did I hear this from my family but I also have heard it repeated over and over again for most of my life. It is one of the true Battle Cries given to our youth as a message designed to inspire greatness with the hope that our children will continue the legacy of our forefathers to be the stewards of the greatest nation on earth.

Two days ago while having coffee at My_favorite_coffee_shop_University_Park_Coffee  in North Portland, I witnessed an Older Lady discussing with the teller the appropriate amount for a Tip. After the Lady left, the Teller and I had a good laugh as I shared with her a story about Gratuity_and_Poor_Service.  The young lady working behind the Coffee Bar agreed with me and my story completely.

This morning when I walked into University Park Coffee for my morning wake up call the young lady was waiting. She told me that yesterday evening a group of friends and her had gone out for dinner and drinks. They were taken aback by the poor service that they received. In fact she made a point at telling me just how poorly they were treated for what appeared to be no reason at all. Before they left she mentioned my story to her friends. They all had a good laugh and left deciding that the poor service they received deserved no tip.

On the subject of Good Service and Gratuity in any service oriented industry, good service has its own rewards. They can come in the form of tips or even advancement in position or new jobs.

In Real Estate a bi-product of Good Service is the recommendation ( a referral ) from our clients to others. These are the highest forms of compliments that we can receive. Like wise if we perform badly we are likely not to hear from our past clients at all. And sometimes we wish we would not hear from them if they were terribly offended.

The Reward for  Poor Service does nothing to further the cause of this great nation. In deed the reward for poor service be it a tip or a referral does great harm. The reward for poor service is a validation to those providing the poor service that we accept there minimum standards as good enough. If we continue to reward minimum standards a downward spiral effect will eventually erode the great work that our ancestors started, that work that once said you were getting the best because it is MADE IN THE USA , be it a product or service.

Rewarding Poor Service degrades us all and is a slap in the face to those providing excellent service be they Wait staff or Real Estate Agents.

Interact Vs React

As I look back on the evolution of Technology I see a definite pattern. A pattern that I am not all that sure is a welcome one. Let me explain.

In 1988 as I began my Real Estate career in Oregonthe Personal computer was in its infancy . Most of us had small computers. In my small town the Commodore 64 was king. Back then the main function of the home computer was games. Software written for business was around but was pretty crude and any really good program was too large for the average consumer to use on their small memory computer. For these were the days before cell phones.

Innovation was the key for most of us. In those first months I was not able to afford much as I was just learning the ropes. My broker had given me a booklet of amortization tables and I had a hand held calculator which I believe cost a grand total of $5.95.

I remember being somewhat embarrassed about the whole situation each and every time a client would ask ” What would the house payment be on something like that ? “ So I started to make a game out of it. I would hand over the amortization book and the calculator to the couple i was working with and I would then give them the numbers. It was kind of fun and kept everyone occupied as we made our way to the next house.

A few months went by and I sprung for the HP12c. This is the Bankers financial real estate calculator. I still have and use mine today. However because it can do it all and the entry of the numbers and buttons to push are complicated there really is no interaction or participation with your Buyer’s or Sellers.

In the Old days I filled out an offer sheet ( back then it was just One sheet ) with the aid of my Buyer’s. I used to love to use what was known as the Order Blank Close. I would Slide a copy of the listing over in front of the Lady and I would ask verbal questions of the Guy.

Something like this : 

• Q for Guy : Could you write down on this paper you and your wife’s full names.
• Q for Lady: What is the address of the house?
• Q for Guy : What type of Loan did you say you would be getting?
• Q for Lady : What is the listed price of the home?

For each question that I asked of them I would write down there answers. That is in essence the Order Blank Close. The last thing you have to do is ask for signatures. Again much like the Calculator game it keeps all involved and focused on the task.

Today however with my laptop and on-line forms I generally ask questions and fill the forms out in advance sometimes emailing the entire thing to my client without personally sitting down together at the table. Although this technique I usually reserve for my long term professional clients who buy multiple properties from me yearly. Still even when sitting at the same table with first time buyers the amount of interaction is limited by the use of technology.

The pattern as you can see that has emerged is that there is a certain amount of disconnect with the client because of technology. I am not suggesting going back to the old ways. I am just suggesting that we should be aware of the disconnect and learn to replace it. Other wise we may eventually find so much of a disconnect that there would be no reason to connect at all.

Update : Part 2  Face_To_Face_Vs_Technology_Partners_or_Adversary’s 

Interested in How Technology can find you your next Home? Come to House_Hunt_Portland and let your next home find you!

Be sure to stop by www.portlandrealproperty.com for general Portland Oregon information. You will find Portland Public School information as well as area Golf courses. The Site is full of information.

Portland Oregon Buyer’s Market or Sellers Market

Last week during a showing a group of a charming Victorian home in Portland Oregon the Buyer asked me ” Do you think the Seller would be willing to take less?  ” Now I have answered this question thousands of times over the last 20+ years usually with a simple answer like” I don’t make decisions for the Seller’s, perhaps we should put it in writing and see what they have to say? ”.

However because of the tone in the Buyer’s voice, a tone that gave me the impression he thought that he deserved a reduction in price, I asked ” What causes you to ask that “? His straight up answer was “ Because it’s a Buyer’s Market Right? ”.

In Portland Oregon over the last year we have had a decrease in market prices and an increase in inventory. The only problem with his question was that this home had been on the market for less than 12 hours and it had real estate agents and thier Buyers crawling all over it. I recognized many of the agents and could see in their eyes the excitement. This truly was an amazing property and very very agressively priced.  A victorian such as this will get multiple offers.

The question asked earlier in the day by me Buyer started me to thinking about the differences in a Buyer’s Market and a Seller’s Market. I have touched on this subject once before on my Portland_Flips_Business_Blog  .

So what are the elements? Well certainly over the last several years as the market has continued to expand, one would have to conclude that was a Seller’s Market. Prices were constantly going up, speculation was often the name of the game and Seller’s were reaping relatively quick rewards for their properties.

So then to be a Buyer’s Market the opposite must be true? One of falling sales prices, rising inventories and strong competition to make your property the most attractive with little or no profits at all for the Seller’s perhaps even selling at a loss as it has been in many parts of the country for the last couple of years or so. 

In this type of market you would conclude that Buyer’s following sound business principles of Buy Low and Sell High would then be in a Feeding Frenzy. Especially in areas that have been notoriously expensive to purchase. While interest rates are relatively low and prices are down you would think that all of the people who had hoped to purchase and were unable to during the Seller’s Market would be all over this Buyer’s Market. The pent up demand for those who have wanted to buy and had been priced out certainly would propel the amount of sales in a Buyer’s Market well past any number done in a Seller’s Market.

That however is not the case. In fact it has not been the case at all in the last 20 years. I have watched as markets went through there normal cycles of highs and lows.The reality is that Buyer’s tend to make more purchase’s in a Seller’s Market often times competing for the same homes while driving up the prices even further.

So what about this Buyer’s Market then? Well if Buyer’s don’t or won’t take advantage of the conditions then by it’s own default there can be no Buyer’s Market.

Do you Agree or Disagree? For me I think there is no such thing as a Buyer’s Market or for that matter a Seller’s Market. There is Just a Real Estate Market.

Let_Your_Next_Home_Find_You  Automated search for Portland Oregon Real Estate using Your Criteria.

Investor’s_Real_Estate_Search_Engine  Take advantage of this a true Real Estate Investors dream tool.

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