Beam ME Up Scotty !

What causes us to resist change? For several years now I have constantly preached the benefits of Scanning documents and sending them out by email. The legibility factor his huge. Specifically when you look at issues of clarity as it relates to the Old Mighty Fax.

How long have scanners been around? This not new technology and certainly the price point is so low it is almost as if they are paying you to take them. Yet day in and day out the use of the Fax machine as the primary sender of documents remains.

I have heard of some people who have said they would like to fax but cannot find a program that doesn’t cost a fortune. Most of your common software applications have a scan and or acquire feature today. As well as most if not all of the scanners have programs built in or have software included.

Several years ago I bought a simple little software program from downloads . com called Scanout. This utility allows you to scan in black and white color and a few other methods. You can use it with your flat bed scanner or document feeder. It then creates a PDF file and allows you to save where ever you like. The program only cost $29 or so and still performs excellent today.

Not only that but my computer crashed once and I emailed the folks at Scanout and they sent me a new version with no charge, this was after I already had owned it for almost 2 years.

So what is causing you to resist this change? Are you pleased with working with illegible documents? Your Clients certainly deserve a legible copy of what they are signing. I know that in Oregon the Real Estate Agency would like to see it as well.

Are you ready to ’ Boldly Go ‘….. or are you a ‘ Just the Fax Ma’m ‘ type of person.

Be sure to Boldy go to My Portland_Real_Estate_Web_Site for lots of local information.

Uncle Roy

We all have one. I have one you have one your best friend has one. The fact is that all of us, each and every one of us has or has had one. That is unless you were born under a rock or you are so anti-social that everyone hates you. But that most likely is not you is it? Because you have one too.

What is it that we all have ? A favorite relative or friend. My favorite relative passed away some 20 years or so ago. But to this day My Great Uncle Roy remains strong in my mind.

My great uncle Roy had seen it all. Growing up as a farm boy in North Dakota he had made his way out to the Pacific NW in rural Washington State some 20 minutes or so by car from Portland. Roy had seen the Spanish American war where he had commanded Cannon Fire. He had taught school in a one room school house and was the only college educated person in our entire family for generations.

During the Great depression Uncle Roy would load up the Truck with Milk from his cows and drive out to Gresham Oregon a suburb of Portland and trade Milk for Strawberries. Closer into town he would trade Strawberries and milk for fresh vegetables. By the time he made his way to the farmers market in downtown Portland he would have a variety of items to sell and or barter with before making his way back home.

My uncle Roy lived alone on his 45 acres having lost his only true love early in life and never married again. The little one story loggers shack where my Uncle Roy lived was filled with memorabilia. Newspaper articles and old photo’s adorned the walls as much for there insulation as they were for the memories they held.

My Great Uncles home was also the gathering place for our families 4th of July picnic and family reunion. It was a time for us all to gather and catch up on where we were all at. It was also a great time as a small child to sit back and listen to all of the great stories that my Uncle would tell. It was like magic. Better than a picture show.

My Great Uncle was all so a very practical man. He always had a way with words and could reduce it right down to its essence in a few short words. I Am sure you as well have a favorite friend or relative, Don’t You ?

I am sure there memories bring a smile to your face just as they do to mine when I think about MY GREAT UNCLE ROY .

Working to Keep Your Seller Happy ?

Are you keeping your Seller Happy or do you keep your Seller Happy? Are you doing the things that today’s Seller’s have come to expect? Do you wimp out and provide services to Seller’s that you know do not produce results, yet you do them anyhow because your trapped by the old cliche ” You have to Keep Your Seller’s Happy ! ”

Keeping your Seller Happy is of course what we all want to do. Yet too often we substitute sound business practices with expensive activities that do not produce results under the guise that we are keeping our Seller’s Happy. With only so much money available to be spent especially in today’s market, working Smart is imperative.

There is only one activity that will keep any Seller happy and that is a Sale. Yet there is not a day that goes by that I don’t read or hear those awful words ” You have to keep your Seller Happy “. Mean while each and every year we spend untold hundreds if not thousands of dollars on seminars, books and the like, hoping to find new ways to advertise and promote our properties. Yet when push comes to shove many of us immediately cave in to the old mantra of Keeping Our Seller Happy.

The one thing that we are taught early on in our business as professional real estate sales people and Broker’s is to promote our selves as professionals. After all we do have a license by the State to conduct real estate activity. And don’t we all participate in continuing education as required by the Real Estate Agency in order to maintain that License. Yet we often allow ourselves to be manipulated by those who would employ us for our expertise and knowledge into working passive marketing techniques that we know will produce little or no results.

I ask you. How much respect would you have for your Doctor or your Attorney if they allowed you to dictate to them how they should conduct their business while representing you?

It is time for us all to stand up, create and execute a plan for marketing our homes with conviction. For we are the professionals and it is time we started acting like it!

Real_Estate_Broker_Herb_Hamilton’s_Portland_Or._MLS_&_Buyer’s_Web_Site  Let Your next Home find you!

” A Real Estate Transaction With Herb is one You will Profit from “

Buyer’s Agent Breaks out the Whip!

Even somewhat stranger, most of us have received similar training in fact many of us have received the training from the same source. Yet we all seem to develop our own styles.

This last week was an extremely busy week for me. I had a couple of closings and have been busy working with a couple of new Buyer’s moving to Downtown Portland.

But this is not about my busy schedule as a Buyer’s Agent or as a Seller’s Agent. It is about Real Estate Agent’s and their different styles while working with Buyer’s.

It was during this busy showing schedule last week that I and my Client’s witnessed another agent working with her Buyer’s. In fact we bumped into them on more than one occasion. Obviously we were working the same price range and the same area in downtown Portland.

What was strikingly different to my clients and I was our different approach as to how we worked. The other Agent chose to shuffle her people through the home quickly without giving any time for take in the room or for any questions. All the while constantly chattering about her life, past buyer’s experiences and features of the home that she loved but did not seem concerned if they seen them or not.

Now I am kind of OLD SCHOOL when it comes to showing residential real estate. I prefer to let my client’s discover the home on their own as we walk through it together, carefully making sure that they do not miss any features that were on their hot list. I am always quite prepared to answer any questions that come up, as I have previewed most of the homes prior to showing.

It was obvious to all of us that this agent had not previewed any of the homes. It was also obvious that the Buyer’s, specifically the husband was beginning to grow tired of her Sheep Herding style of showing property as well as her stories of past conquests. In fact during a brief absence while the agent was trying to get the garage door open. We heard the two buyer’s having a quick discussion. The husband wanted to call off the showings while his wife was trying to convince him to hang on as they may see something they liked. After all she remarked, they could always call someone else to write an offer. They quickly agreed sharing a quick smile between themselves just as the Sheep Herder reappeared continuing with her constant diatribe.

We did not run into the couple again but they were the subject of many a conversation there after as we speculated about what might transpire with their search for a home compared with our search.

What about you? Do you drive your herd to Market with a Whip? Or do you allow them to Graze.

Buyer’s_Let_Your_Next_Home_Find_You with this handy MLS search covering properties for sale in Portland Oregon.

Looking for that special Home? Don’t know if you want to take the plunge and involve an agent?  The Pickle then is the perfect place for you! Just hit the Search Button at the top of the page and you are on your way.

If you see something exciting then ” Call Herb and Start Packing”

Doom Gloom or Boom

What Kind of Real Estate Market are we in ? Say it loud this is a NORMAL MARKET!

If you can’t here the screams for help, perhaps it’s because of all the complaining you’ve been doing. The Real Estate Market that we are experiencing is a natural part of Business.

• It is NOT NATURAL for Real Estate prices to escalate yearly in double digits.
• It is also NOT NATURAL for Seller’s and Agent’s to price properties at $25,000 TO $50,000 or more above market value.

If this was the kind of market you had been experiencing or even worse if this was the only kind of market you knew, I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU!

For you do not have a clue what the Real Estate Market is Like. So what is the Job of a Real Estate Agent then? And for that matter the Job of a Buyer or a Seller in a Normal Market?

It is a Business that requires the Agent to have and use :

• Education
• Negotiation skills
• Psychological skills
• Social skills
• Marketing skills
• Tenacity
• Perseverance
• Dedication
• And the list goes on and on

Buyer’s and Seller’s Must also possess skills :

• Social Skills
• Perseverance
• Tollerance
• Understanding
• Patience
• Trust
• Enthusiasm

 

So then just what is Real Estate? It is almost easier to define what Real Estate IS NOT!

Contrary to the last few years popular belief.

It is not a Real Estate Agent or Broker’s Job to :

• Tell Seller’s what they must sell there home for
• Tell Buyer’s what they must pay for a home

It is our Job to bring Motivated Buyer’s and Seller’s together where market conditions will determine the value of the asset.

***********

If you are not the busiest Agent you have ever been right now, it is because you do not know what it takes to be a Great Agent! For a Great Agent is Busy marketing, Prospecting, Showing and writing Contracts!

Being busy is not all about showing properties to the 40 or so people who drove by your new listing. That kind of thinking was developed in the recent hay days of the market. It is also the kind of thinking and mind set that will have you out of business before you even know it. I would venture to guess that there are allot of you this very moment who are out of the business, YOU JUST DON”T KNOW IT!

Some years ago a Real Estate Agent friend of mine was working in a small community that had lost most of it’s Jobs. People were terrified and I thought it must be a terrible market to be in.

                                    NO JOBS = NO MONEY= NO SALES

Without a job and money how would any one buy a Home I wondered. My friend pointed out : ” That my Friend is Defeatist Thinking! “ This is a time for opportunity he said. The Market will not stay like this forever. Those Agent’s that are sitting on their posterior proclaiming DOOM and GLOOM are my biggest asset. While Buyer’s who dont recognize what a great time it is to buy and Seller’s who feel they can over price thier homes are my biggest liabilty.

If you want to be successful and turn Buyer’s and Seller’s dreams into reality then it is time to get back to the basics . It is not about dressing up in the fanciest clothes or driving the Biggest Car. It is the fundamentals of Real Estate Sales.

Do you WANT TO BE NUMBER ONE ?   Do you WANT TO BE A SUCCESS ?

Then go to work. If you do not have the Skills then develop them. Or better yet just sit back and let the rest of us fly on by.

Are you looking to purchase some of the greatest real estate in the WORLD? Do you want to be notified of new properties coming on the Market in and instant. Stay ahead of the Competition. Get the Best Buys First.

Investor’s_Web_Site_for_Portland_Ore._Real_Estate  Investor’s are not the only one who can benefit from technology. Let_Your_Next_Home_Find_You  search here for you downtown Portland Oregon Home. This Fabulous web site will search for your next home 24/7 and alert you within minutes! www.househuntportland.com

For more Portland Oregon and Downtown information please come to www.portlandrealproperty.com

Of course you can always Search right here on The_Pickle using this fabulous IDX Search tool for Portland Oregon.

All Presented to you by your RE/MAX Broker Herb Hamilton of RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors serving the greater Portland Metro area.

Buyer’s Agency and Seller’s Agency practiced here.

” A Real Estate Expierience with Herb is One YOU Will Profit From “

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Top Ten Signs it may be time to Buy a Portland Home

10. Entering and exiting bedrooms is done by crawling over the bed.

 9. The closest thing you have to a Master Bath is the Cats litter box.

 8. Family gatherings of more than 5 people have to be held on the Patio.

 7. Your outdoor recliner can not be extended to a full recline.

 6. Your friends would rather meet at the Bus Station than at your house.

 5. The Children bump their heads while climbing into their bunk beads at night.

 4. Your tired of walking the 6 blocks home from your parking spot.

 3. You owe less money on your current home than you do on your old car.

 2. Interest rates remain the lowest they have been in decades.

 1. Realtors(r) are buying everything they can.

Home Loan Challenge

What is the single greatest challenge to the Portland Oregon economy? Is it Jobs ? Is it Money for lenders as the national news would report? Or is it apathy and falsehoods?

Yesterday I was sitting down for a little rest and relaxation at a favorite hang out and heard someone in the background with a rather boisterous voice exclaiming to any and all who would listen to just how poor she thought the economy is.

On and on she went describing one debacle after another about others tales of doom and gloom. Not stopping long enough to give names or credibility to the short stories she weaved. Building into a crescendo as more and more interest grew from the surrounding group she blurted ” and if your thinking about getting a home loan you can forget about that ! “ ” There are no home loans available that is unless you have a credit score in the high 700′s and you have at least 25% down.”

It was right there I had enough and rose up and said ” That is just not true”suddenly the room became quiet and the attention swung to see me standing there confronting this purveyor of negativity. ” What she exclaimed? “

“None of the things you say are true”, I said. There  are abundant home loan products available. ” As a real estate Broker working in this state now for over 20 years I am finding no problem at all finding home loans for virtually anyone who wants one.”

Just at that time a fellow who had been sitting close to me also stood up and said. ” I agree completely!” He went on to say ” I am a car salesman and have to combat this every day.” He told us of a common story that happens in his business day in and day out. That of Buyers out looking and finding incredible deals yet reluctant to buy. When quarried their response is that they heard that there were no loans available. ” It is just not true he said ” ” I have multiple financing options available and the rates have never been better”

All in all this is a great time to buy! If your looking for that next car or Your Next Home now is the time. Or you can always wait for prices to start to climb. Then you can sit back and say ” Gee I should have bought when the market was down “

Let_your_next_Portland_home_find_you  stop by or sign up direct at www.househuntportland.com  you will be amazed.

The Self Fulfilling Prophecy

How many times has it been said and must it be said before you get it? Perception is reality!

This is the greatest time in years to make money. Not on the backs of others despair but in real opportunities awaiting around every corner.

Many of the ideas being floated today in green technology, environmental concerns, energy conservation, cost cutting measures for homes and businesses. The list goes on and on. Anywhere you here a voice of concern there is an opportunity.

Building a new business around concerns opens the way for additional opportunities. What new opportunities you ask? Let me tell you about my friend and Client Mac.

Mac was laid off from a construction site. Like many others in times of prosperity it is easy to overlook your budget. The cost overruns by the builder were putting him out of business. My friend Mac saw an opportunity where others seen despair and or financial disaster.

Mac found that most of the forms used as curbing for concrete foundations were being provided by a few large companies. No matter who you called the prices were similar ( expensive ) and the condition of these forms were often in disrepair. Not only that but there was very little flexibility to the forms. Standard sizes only were available requiring the builder to modify or create odd sizes for custom floor plans. Pretty much take it or leave it was the attitude of the forms companies.

Mac set out to build his own sets of forms. He made them out of a heavier material so as to add longevity. Several options for size were made available for flexibility sake. Finally Mac bought several flat bed trailers needing a little attention from a transport company upgrading there fleet of trailers. The rest was pretty easy. Contact the builders and deliver a better product at a better price.

The story doesn’t stop here though. Mac also discovered that the employees working for him had needs. It seemed as if every time Mac turned around one of his delivery drivers was unable to make it that day due to a sick child or something similar at home requiring someone do the babysitting. Most of Mac’s employees wives had jobs that were dependent upon them being there as they were easily replaced. What to do?

So Mac put together a small local magazine devoted to child care and day care services. A free advertisement magazine for the local baby sitter and for professional services as well. Advertisers flocked to this publication to advertise there wares. Before you know it Mac’s little helpful magazine turned into a full time enterprise. Macs employees had an easy time finding those baby sitters for there children when mom was away at work and Mac had another source of income and employees who were at work instead of at home.

Point is folks we can all play the blame game and do nothing. Or we can choose to stand up and take control of our own futures. Which path will you choose?

Tweet_Tweet  A Twitter here or there.

Let_Your_Next_Home_find_YOU_!

Real Estate Investor’s Web Site for Portland Oregon

Typically this would mean that I would be viewing some 10 to 35 houses before noon. By 12:00 Am or 1:00 PM I was back in front of the computer checking once again the hot sheet to see what had come on the market since I had been gone. Out the door again for more previews and maybe even once again before the end of the day. Finaly I would power down the computer about 9:00 PM or so in the evening only to start the whole thing over again the very next day.

Yet as hard as I seemed to work there always seemed to be a few houses that somehow slipped between the cracks. Now don’t get me wrong this is not a Rant. This is a demonstration of the power of Technology and my Real_Estate_Investor’s_Web_Site.  At first it was a little slow going getting people signed up. Part of the problem was that I was so busy doing business the old way I really had no time to promote the new way.

That was until one morning while I was out looking at the properties I had taken off of the Hot Sheet, when the Phone rang. Paul, one of my long term buyers had just looked at the email that had been sent to him by my automated web site. After I had gone out on the street looking at all of the hot sheet properties a new property had hit the market. Paul wanted to know more about it. He gave me the address and all of the details. I drove on over and went straight into the vacant house. I called him back immediately. Within 2 hours of his initial call we had presented and had acceptance of his offer on a fabulous Victorian home. The following day the Listing agent told me that within 2 hours of our offer being accepted he received another 10 offers 4 of them for more than full price.

Here is what made the difference. www.househuntportland.com for home buyers and www.portlandflips.com for Investors. Now here are the features.

There are 2 types of searches performed.

1) The Daily email search is sent once a day at 5:30 AM. Search criteria in the Daily search is by Price range in $ 1,000 increments and by area. The area can be as large as the entire Portland Metropolitan area including suburbs and surrounding towns or as small as a neighborhood area of only a few blocks.

2) The second search type is the Saved search. Not only can you choose area and price but a myriad of other search features almost as extensive as is available to Realtors. After your original search criteria is entered you will immediately be sent an email with all of the properties currently on the market matching your criteria. The web site will them monitor the RMLS 24/7 looking for matching properties to be entered. Those matches will then be sent to you within 20 minutes.

Sign up is Free and the success stories are building with 3 people in the last couple of months able to purchase prior to the other agents even knowing the property was listed. You can be on top of the market as well. Sign up today for HOUSE_HUNT or Portland_Flips and let the next success story be YOURS!

Or Visit my other web site www.portlandrealproperty.com  where you will find that 

” A real estate transaction with Herb is one you will Profit from”

Be Sure to Follow_Herb_on_Twitter

Are_YOU_in_a_Pickle ???

A Real Estate Investor’s Family Lets Him Down

I was looking to take a break when my Cell phone rang. I looked down and saw that California Prefix attached to the number. You know how we Oregonians Love the California Buyer’s? Sam was all excited. He had seen a listing I had advertised on Craig’s list and wanted to know more about it. Unfortunately for Sam, like most homes that are well priced I had taken an offer the previous evening. This one was now sale pending.

Sam and I hit it off on the phone. He was intent on buying investment properties in Portland. The followind day he flew to Portland we met and began looking for properties. We really hit it off well but did not see any properties that first day that met his needs. Sam went home the following day. In the meantime I set him up on my Home Buyers search Tool at House_Hunt_Portland a web site developed for proactive Buyers.

The following day I was looking at a group of Fixers that I had pulled from the Multiple Listing Service ( RMLS ) and a few For Sale by Owners ( FSBO”S) when the phone rang. It was Sam and he was all excited about a fixer home that my web site House Hunt had just sent him. I drove over to the Vacant home and took some pictures and a short video. shortly thereafter I had Sam back on the phone.

Sam decided to make the offer right then and there. So I did a conference call with the Listing agent, and the Seller. We hammered out the details over the phone and within minutes Sam had bought his first home in Portland.

The home Sam purchased was a modest fixer upper. Sam decided to enlist the help of his brother-n-law Toby do some work on the first house and to eventually help manage his properties. Toby was a little bit of a slacker but he was family. Sam would often talk to both Toby and myself about the progress. I made the best of the situation preferring to converse with Sam by phone while all the time keeping Toby in the Loop.

Over the Next few months Sam , Toby and I found 3 other homes which Sam purchased as rental properties. Toby’s work on the original home was going very slow while the other cosmetic fixers were still waiting to be started. Finally Sam called from southern Cal. and asked if I could go over to the house and check it out for him. I did and when I arrived I found no one there and still a significant amount of work yet to be started. Sam was upset. It seems as if none of his relatives, Toby included would tell him what the condition of the home was or when would it be finished . Toby just kept asking for more money. I walked through the project describing and photographing the condition. I could tell Sam was Smoking Hot.

Over the next few weeks Sam flew to Portlandon 3 sepearate occasions and it seemed as though things were starting to smooth out. Sam however fell ill after his last trip and I was left to communicate with Toby and Sam’s wife Nella ( Toby’s Sister ).

We were only a week from closing on Two more homes when Toby and Nella asked to have a meeting with me. When I arrived at Toby’s home they began to summarize the Sales that we had done so farand the business that they hoped to do in the future. I thought the momentum was going well and it appeared they were starting to come into their own.

I felt that this was a great basis for our future work together until Toby said ” So we need you to kick us some money back after closing or  however you want to do it “ I wasn’t totally sure if I understood what they had just asked as I was still all caught up in the euphoria of the previous conversation. I asked them to repeat what they had just said.

No doubt about it. Now that Sam was sick they had decided to build themselves a little nest egg , off of my earnings. I quickly nipped it in the Bud and notified them that it was illegal. ” We dont meen on these current transactions they said but certainly on any future deals. “ I reiterated that it was illegal, and did not bring up the subject again.

Some 3 weeks later I got a call from Sam he sounded very weak and wanted to know how things were going. He informed me that it was probably going to be a rather lengthy recovery from his illness but he wanted to keep rolling ahead with more purchases. I could tell he was still really sick. I did not want to upset him by telling him of Toby and Nella’s previous plan. I decided to handle that on my own if it came up again.

It came up all right. This time they had a list of Agent’s ( according to them ) that had no problem with the kick-backs. Tey were adamant about it and were not interested in bargaining further. I asked them if that was their final decision and they said that it was. I thanked them for there past business and turned around and left.

It was about 5 months later that I received a call from Nella. Sam had passed on and Toby had taken a couple of the houses from her by manipulating her into signing the deeds over to him while she was trying to nurse Sam back to health. Apparantly Toby had left her only the properties that needed a lot of work and would be a challenge to sell. I asked her what if anything I could do for her. She wanted me to put the remaining homes on the market. I told her I would prepare a market analysis and email it to her later that evening.

Bright and early the next morning Nella called me and said that she had reviewed the paperwork and all looked fine except the Commission.  She wanted me to either reduce the commission or kick-back a percentage after the sale concluded. I told her in as polite as voice as I could that I am a professional and I could not participate and wished her well.

The last I heard Toby had manipulated the remaining 2 homes from her and had them tied up in some sort of investors scam.

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