#Licensed real estate agent Windermere

[kenbeckerrealtor]

An Experienced Real Estate Agent In Radium Hot Spring Can Find You A Scenic Home

Situated between the British Columbia Valley, the Radium Hot Spring area is one of the most beautiful and scenic places. If you love to be surrounded by nature, an experienced real estate agent in Radium Hot Spring can help you secure a property in the suburb of Columbia Valley. If you are searching for a location that will have the best view of the Columbia River along with the picturesque Rocky Mountain, then Windermere and Invermere are the places that should be on top of your priority list. Other than these places you can also choose areas like Fairmont Hot Springs, Canal Flats, and Panorama. Buying a property in these places will also secure you a gorgeous view of the valley.

Why should you hire an experienced real estate agent in Radium Hot Springs?

As you can already see these places in the Columbia Valley are extremely beautiful, and many people would want to buy a property here. Thus, these places are very high in demand. And with demand comes a high price. Trying to secure a home here alone would be very difficult, thus taking help from an experienced real estate agent in Radium Hot Springs is the best idea. They can help you choose the best property and also negotiate the best deals for you. They can also bring you many options to choose from. So, if you are dreaming of a property in the lap of mother nature, Ken Becker Realtor can be your best shot at it.

An Experienced Real Estate Agent in Radium Hot Springs Will Focus on Your Needs

When you hire an experienced real estate agent in Radium Hot Springs it becomes easier for you to find properties within your reach. Just because you love the surroundings doesn't mean you will take whatever you get. A good realtor will allow you to choose from properties that fit your budget, wants, and needs. They will make sure you get everything in your house that you wanted. Also within your budget.

Experienced Real Estate Agents in Radium Hot Springs are Aware of The Local Market

When you move into a new place, you have no idea about the area. The neighborhood, the market, the schools nearby, or the healthcare facilities. Everything is unknown to you. But when you work with an experienced real estate agent in Radium Hot Springs, they will tell you everything you need to know about the locality. Is there a school nearby for your kid, or is there any marketplace to shop for groceries from? Or what are the cultural efficacies among the people already living there? You will get all the information from your realtor. This will help you get an overview of the locality and choose accordingly.

An experienced real estate agent in Radium Hot Springs will make sure you have a smooth real estate experience

Real Estate is a hectic process. There is a lot of negotiating, talking to people, visiting different properties, and paperwork included. And an experienced real estate agent in Radium Hot Springs can ease the process out for you by taking the maximum headache for themselves. So, you do not have to worry much about the intricacies of it.

Conclusion

Choosing an experienced real estate agent is essential when it comes to making one of the most significant financial decisions of your life. Ken Becker Realtor, an experienced real estate agent in Radium Hot Springs, possesses the knowledge, expertise, and dedication to guide you through the process and help you achieve your real estate goals in Invermere, Canal Flats, Panorama, Fairmont Hot Springs, and the surrounding areas. Contact Ken Becker Realtor today for a seamless and rewarding real estate experience. So, if you want to bag a home in these areas, contact Ken Becker Realtor now!

[hakesbros]

Mhvillage Not Obtainable In Your Area Manufactured Housing Resources From Mhvillage

Come see this unique Pueblo type home in the heart of Los Ranchos before its gone. Enter through stunning double doorways, to a large open lounge with an beautiful ki... Welcome Home to this Beautiful three Bed 3 Bath + workplace home with Detached Casita. Notice the expansive family room with soaring ceilings, Bar and hearth that will create... This newly completed South Valley residence has 4 bedrooms with two grasp bedrooms and three and a half baths! Great alternative to own a 4 Plex positioned on Coal, just one block west on I-25 .

Find and examine residences for lease in Albuquerque. Most heroes save at least $3,000 when they purchase or promote a home with us. When you add up savings from real estate agents, mortgage officers, title firms, home inspectors and other every single day deals, the financial savings is means beyond what you’ll get from other nationwide applications. Purchasing an funding property requires plenty of research, planning, and budgeting.

Minutes away from many restaurants within the downtown space perfect for lunch get aways. To see all of the homes you’ve saved, go homes for sale albuquerque to the My Favorites part of your account. We don’t simply care about constructing the best homes, we care about you.

There's a secret method that makes Windermere different, and all of it begins with our people. This video gives you perception into our distinctive culture and strategy, and what our distinction means for you. If you may have feedback about an individual agent or office, please find the workplace and contact the supervisor. To date, the New Mexico Home Fund has supplied $213 million through practically ninety five,000 individual awards to New Mexico households throughout all 33 New Mexico counties. The New Mexico Home Fund connects renters and householders to housing resources. NACA’s success relies on the active participation of our dedicated members and employees.

Maybe you have carried out a bit of actual estate investing in Albuquerque, NM but wish to take issues further and make it into more than a pastime on the facet. It’s only homes for sale in albuquerque new mexico clever to consider how one can and should be investing your money. A good money move means the funding is, for sure, worthwhile.

Here's every thing you have to handle your account. Initial leases are available for twelve to twenty-four months contingent on state and local legal guidelines, city ordinances, and Homeowner's Association rules and laws. Homes for Heroes, Inc. is a licensed actual property company in the state of Minnesota. From your first day on the job via retirement, whenever you're prepared to suppose about buying, promoting or refinancing a house we'll assist you to get it done and prevent cash. Please notify me of group updates, news & extra. We imagine in getting concerned and contributing to the neighborhoods where we build to help assist local residents.

Enjoy New Mexico's largest metropolis with nice tradition, meals & leisure. Plenty of ways new homes albuquerque to chill out and benefit from the great yr spherical climate.

The achievement was made attainable by a business-friendly surroundings, good infrastructure investments, and a strong give consideration to STEM and healthcare careers. Leisure, hospitality, development, and skilled providers had been homes for sale in albuquerque nm among the high job gainers for the year. There is also information that Netflix will invest $1 billion to expand its Albuquerque studios, producing 1,000 extra jobs within the course of.

Residents in the unincorporated portions of Bernalillo County could additionally be eligible to receive lease and utility help. This program is administered individually by Bernalillo County. Attend an occasion to access our providers, meet our team and be a part of us in our mission. Get access to NACA’s Best in America mortgage without new home builders in albuquerque consideration of your credit score by way of the most effective homebuyer program in the nation. NACA fights to close the racial wealth disparity gap via character-based lending. We take our members’ circumstances into consideration to assist make affordable homeownership a actuality.

[yourinternetmarketingguide]

The perfect Real Estate Website to Use

With thousands of Real Estate websites you can get, finding the right one can be challenging. Do a search on Google and also get hit with the most popular Real Estate websites, like Zillow, Trulia, and Refine. Once you get past the first page sometimes the less popular sites now have the same home browse features. So how does a home owner or home patron to know what site is best. Before you choose you first need to know a little more about how they all started and what they really are. For several years if you were in the market to buy a home you had to go to any nearby Real Estate office in the area you wanted to buy a home through and ask to see a list of homes for sale. This list was the print out of the homes for sale from the local Multiple Listing service (MLS). Typically the list gave you basic information about the homes as well as marketing remarks. You scanned through it and then sought after an agent to show you the homes you thought you would possibly like. This was great for Real Estate agents because as harbors for this information, the buyers had to come to them. It also gifted the agent a chance to show the homes that the ingredient themselves were listing first. For the buyer this wasn't so good. It was hard for the buyer to tell if the realtor was there to represent them or the seller given that they wanted to look at homes in more than one town some might have to go to other Real Estate offices to see list as a result of other MLS's. These lists could also be out of date and when you will did find the home of your dreams it may already possibly be sold. This process could take a long time and be stressful just for even the most seasoned buyer. Fast forward a decade or maybe two and some important changes have happened. The MLS went digital and consolidated into larger MLS vendors that covered even larger areas. Here in Western Washington we now use The North West Multiple Listing service (NWMLS) and it handles all but two counties; Clark and Clallam. In the 90's the internet brought the first Real Estate websites. Most of these showed typically the homes listed by the agent/agencies that owned the website not to mention were not updated very often. Some of the bigger Real Estate agencies, those who had the money and resources, started building home looks tools using data directly from the MLS. Now, for those first time, buyers do not have to talk to an agent to find homes for sale and will get even more information (pictures, schools, map locations or higher to date status). Nowadays the price of producing these high quality website pages has come down to the point where the average agent with the ideal skills can build their own. We now see an exploding market of Real Estate websites and it seems most of them have residential search features. This leaves buyers confused on which web-site to use. Now that buyers can get information from just about any Realty website, what should they know before picking one? First of all, here in Washington State any licensed agent can reveal and represent you on any home listed about the MLS no matter what website you find it on. Most of these webpages have a mobile application or are mobile friendly. Alot of buyers begin their home search on the internet what they don't understand is without a doubt that that website you use to look at homes is a list size tool for the agent. The buyer is trading their call information for the use of the website. This is not a bad thing. Any time you really want to buy a home then you will need your questions clarified, help finding financing, an agent to open doors for everyone, someone who understand the paperwork and can help you using the negotiations, and a trusted agent to look out for you from the closing process. That can only happen when you talk to a real estate agent. Which agent you get is the important part. And that's whereby finding the right website comes in to play. The buyer should utilize these websites to find out more about the agent they might want to characterize them. Finding out more about the agent before getting knowledgeable about an agent is the key to achieving your goals regarding or selling a home. What you should be looking for is the things the agent's experience is in Real Estate? Do they perform full time as a licensed Real Estate agent? What is their closing achieving success rate? Do they guarantee their services? What achieve past clients have to say about the agent's service? All of these questions can sometimes be found on the agent's website but if not you might want to ask on the first contact with an agent. Now that you know where did they started and what they are, how do you choose the right website available for you? First, let's talk about the differences in these ınternet sites. We can break it down to four types. The first style is the big non brokerage sites like Zillow, Properties. com, Realtor. com and Trulia. These sites do not own agents working in the field. What they do will be sell the leads that register on their site for you to agents who hope to convert the lead into a client. These website have worked hard to make sure home buyers come across their site first. They have added a lot of nice devices that estimate home values or mortgage calculators and also all the information they can get on just about every home in the US and some other sorts of countries. They get most of this information from public track record and what some home owners may give them. The down side to this to these sites is that the information they employed can be out of date or inaccurate. Take the home values for example , because they get the sold data (what homes in the exact neighborhood sold for) from public records not the local THE LOCAL MLS their numbers can be behind the market trends. In the world regarding Real Estate we only look back to the last six months for helping us determine the value of a home. While the sale rate of a home may go in the public record right within closing, it can take months to filter through the system prior to these websites can encompass it into their data and also will throw their numbers off. There is also a question with regards to like kind homes. When a Real Estate agent or appraiser really does a comparable market analysis (CMA) of a home's importance, they look for homes just like the subject home (the place that is being valued) same size, same bedrooms, equivalent baths, same size property, same neighborhood and very same condition. This can be a bit of an art and the question is will be able to a computer do as good a job as an agent? This can set out buyers and home sellers confused about the true worth of a home. I would like to take this opportunity to weigh on on home values. In a free market, like ours here in the US, the true value of a home is exactly "the highest price a buyer is willing to pay as well as least amount a seller is willing to take" for just about any property. It is only when a property is sold that the true selling price can be set and everyone else, Real Estate Agent, Appraisers, County Assessors and any website, is only making an estimate as well as guess. The second type of Real Estate websites are the big plus medium size brokerages like Re/Max, Windermere, Coldwell Bank, Century 21, RedFin and ZipRealty. These companies have a number of brokerages in many locations throughout the US. These Real Estate suppliers have agents who work for the brokerages directly, normally as independent contractors. Leads or potential customers who signup on their sites are assigned out to the individual professional or sometimes sold depending on the companies polices. These companies make a large part on the agent's commission or pay, through some of them taking 60% or more. This means the agent should work harder to convert as many leads to customers as they can be just to make enough money to stay in business. Sometimes all these agents take on more than they can reasonably handle leading to very poor customer service or a higher transaction failure rate. Some of these providers give the buyer a rebate. This rebate comes out from the agent's commission and can make it even harder for providers to provide good service to their customers. I have heard loads of complaints about agents that disappeared once a commitment is signed or agents that refuse to show real estate to buyers that are looking at homes in the lower end of your market yet they still want to write up the written agreement and get paid a commission. The third type of Real Estate websites is the small or independent brokerages. These companies are usually had and operated by seasoned agents who have the proficiency and knowledge to build a good quality website and provide decent service to buyers and sellers alike. You will find an identical home search tools and email notifications as within the big sites and because these sites serve localized communities, many times these sites have more information about the locations they serve and consumers can read more around the agents that they may want to use in buying or selling their homes. They then can have one or more agents working together as a team or possibly as independent agents and usually have a higher successful ending rate. What makes these sites the best choice for home individuals or sellers is the agents that come with them. The 4 . type of Real Estate website is the independent agent website. All these websites are built by the individual agent or a third party on the part of the agent. They can be as good as any of the bigger commercial websites depending on the skill, time and money an agent is ready to put into it. These agents can be very good agents but still most of them are little more than one page public resumes put out by agents hoping to attract buyers and / or sellers to the agent it is promoting. So in taking into consideration a Real Estate website, buyers and sellers should take into account a website is not going to help you buy or sell your home, oahu is the Real Estate agent. The website is a way of seeking out the right agent to try the job. Think of it this way, since you can get the properties information from just about every website now what value presently getting from a website? The value is in the service you can get from an agent who may save you time, money as well as keep you from the heartache of a bad deal or perhaps bad service.

[feck-yeah-fatherted]

The Best Real Estate Website to Use

Through thousands of parc clematis condo websites out there, finding the right one can be demanding. Do a search on Google and you get hit with the most trendy Real Estate websites, like Zillow, Trulia, and Refine. If you get past the first page even the less popular webpages now have the same home search features. So how does your house owner or home buyer to know what site 's best. Before you choose you first need to understand a little more about how they all began and what they really are. For many years if you were in the market to obtain a home you had to go to the local Real Estate office in the area you will wanted to buy a home in and ask to see a list of virginia homes. This list was a print out of the homes for sale out of your local Multiple Listing service (MLS). The list gave you common information about the homes and some marketing remarks. You scanned through it and then asked for an agent to show you any homes you thought you might like. This was great for Real Estate agents because as harbors of this information, the buyers needed to come to them. It also gave the agent a chance to reveal the homes that the agent themselves were listing first of all. For the buyer this wasn't so good. It was hard for those buyer to tell if the agent was there to characterize them or the seller and if they wanted to look at properties in more than one town they may have to go to other Real estate property offices to see list from other MLS's. These details could also be out of date and when you did find the home of this dreams it may already be sold. This process could make a long time and be stressful for even the most seasoned new buyer. Fast forward a decade or two and some important differences have happened. The MLS went digital and combined into larger MLS companies that covered even higher areas. Here in Western Washington we now use The North Gulf Multiple Listing service (NWMLS) and it covers all but two counties; Clark and Clallam. In the 90's the internet brought the first Properties websites. Most of these showed the homes listed by the agent/agencies that owned the website and were not updated very often. A few of the bigger Real Estate agencies, the ones that had the money and sources, started building home searches tools using data exclusively from the MLS. Now, for the first time, buyers do not have to chat with an agent to find homes for sale and can get even more information (pictures, schools, map locations and up to date status). Nowadays the cost of producing these high quality websites has come down to the point from where the average agent with the right skills can build the. We now see an explosion of Real Estate websites also it seems most of them have home search features. This renders buyers confused on which website to use. Now that buyers are able to get information from just about any Real Estate website, what should they comprehend before picking one? First, here in Washington State any specific licensed agent can show you and represent you regarding any home listed on the MLS no matter what website you stumble upon it on. Most of these websites have a mobile application or perhaps are mobile friendly. While most buyers begin their home do some searching online what they don't understand is that that website you have to look at homes is a lead generation tool for the agent. The individual is trading their contact information for the use of to the site. This is not a bad thing. If you really want to buy a home in which case you will need your questions answered, help finding financing, a real estate agent to open doors for you, someone who understand the particular paperwork and can help you with the negotiations, and a trusted professional to look out for you in the closing process. That can primarily happen when you talk to an agent. Which agent you get is definitely the important part. And that's where finding the right website comes in in order to play. The buyer should use these websites to find out more concerning the agent they might want to represent them. Finding out more around the agent before getting involved with an agent is the key to make sure you achieving your goals of buying or selling a home. Want be looking for is what the agent's experience open for Real Estate? Do they work full time as a licensed Real estate professional? What is their closing success rate? Do they warrant their services? What do past clients have to tell you about the agent's service? These questions can sometimes be found on the agent's website but if not you should ask on the first experience of an agent. Now that you know how they started and what there're, how do you choose the right website for you? First, let's talk about typically the differences in these websites. We can break it to four types. The first type is the big non brokerage firm sites like Zillow, Homes. com, Realtor. com along with Trulia. These sites don't have agents working in the particular field. What they do is sell the leads the fact that register on their site to agents who hope to switch the lead into a customer. These website have worked very hard to make sure home buyers find their site first. They've added a lot of nice tools that estimate home character or mortgage calculators and all the information they can get on you will discover home in the US and some other countries. They get a good number of this information from public record and what some individuals may give them. The down side to these sites will be that the information they used can be out of date or erroneous. Take the home values for example , because they get the sold information (what homes in the same neighborhood sold for) as a result of public records not the local MLS their numbers can be lurking behind the market trends. In the world of Real Estate we only take a look back to the last six months to help us determine the value of any home. While the sale price of a home may go ahead the public record right at closing, it can take months for you to filter through the system before these websites can include it into their data and that will throw their statistics off. There is also a question about like kind homes. Because a Real Estate agent or appraiser does a comparable market studies (CMA) of a home's value, they look for homes the same as the subject home (the home that is being valued) very same size, same bedrooms, same baths, same size place, same neighborhood and same condition. This can be a bit of a form of art and the question is can a computer do as good a career as an agent? This can leave home buyers and home owners confused about the true value of a home. I would like to try this opportunity to weigh in on home values. From a free market, like ours here in the US, the true worth of a home is exactly "the highest price a patron is willing to pay and the least amount a dealer is willing to take" for any property. It is only when a home is sold that the true market price can be set and the competition, Real Estate Agent, Appraisers, County Assessors and any website, is barely making an estimate or guess. The second type of Realty websites are the big and medium size brokerages including Re/Max, Windermere, Coldwell Banker, Century 21, RedFin and even ZipRealty. These companies have multiple brokerages in many locations during the US. These Real Estate companies have agents who improve the brokerages directly, usually as independent contractors. Sales opportunities or potential customers who register on their sites are given out to the individual agent or sometimes sold dependant upon the companies polices. These companies take a large part on the agent's commission or pay, with some of them taking 60% or even more. This means the agent has to work harder to turn as many leads to customers as possible just to make enough dollars to stay in business. Sometimes these agents take on more than he or she can reasonably handle leading to poor customer service or a higher contract failure rate. Some of these companies give the buyer a kickback. This rebate comes out of the agent's commission and can insure that it is even harder for agents to provide good service in their customers. I have heard a lot of complaints about agents who disappeared once a contract is signed or products that refuse to show homes to buyers that are looking within homes in the lower end of the market yet they however want to write up the contract and get paid a fee. The third type of Real Estate website is the small or third party brokerages. These companies are usually owned and operated by experienced agents who have the skill and knowledge to build a good quality quality website and provide good service to buyers not to mention sellers alike. You will find the same home search tools and also email notifications as on the big sites and for the reason that these sites serve local communities, many times these online sites have more information about the areas they serve and users can read more about the agents that they may want to utilization in buying or selling their homes. These companies can have one or more agents doing the job together as a team or as independent agents plus usually have a higher successful closing rate. What makes these websites the best choice for home buyers or sellers is the realtors that come with them. The fourth type of Real Estate website will be independent agent website. These websites are built by the man or women agent or a third party on behalf of the agent. They can be as well as any of the bigger commercial sites depending on the skill, time as well as money an agent is willing to put into it. These providers can be very good agents yet most of them are little more compared with one page public resumes put out by agents expecting to attract buyers or sellers to the agent it will be promoting. So in considering a Real Estate website, individuals and sellers should keep in mind that a website is not going to help you order or sell your home, it's the Real Estate agent. The website is a strategy for seeking out the right agent to do the job. Think of it that way, since you can get the homes information from just about every websites now what value are you getting from a website? The extra worthiness is in the service you get from an agent who will probably save you time, money and keep you from the heartache of a bad deal or bad service.

[thomasroofingandrepair-blog]

Roofer Belle Isle FL

Building Your List With An Experienced Realtor In Windermere FL

The Roofer Belle Isle FL has made news for all the wrong reasons. The real estate market in Miami has been in free fall, and the price of homes has plummeted, as buyers are getting priced out of the market by an ultra-low inventory. It's a perfect storm for sellers, who can sell their homes to anywhere from a mere one-year wait to over three years.

The situation in Windermere FL is not unique to Florida, or to real estate, for that matter. In many cases, with the stock market down and money leaving the country, many people have not been able to get out of a foreclosure in time to catch up on the payments.

Another potential buyer will be passing through Windermere FL looking for homes to buy. These people would have no problem paying top dollar for a home, but, with foreclosures on the rise, and housing prices down, buyers are priced out of the market. As a result, there is no room for Foreclosure Real Estate Agents.

This is bad news for buyers, especially buyers looking for homes in Windermere FL. If you decide to try to buy a home in this market, you need to know what you're getting into. You'll need to know that most of these properties have undergone at least one foreclosure.

You also need to understand that the owner of the property is not likely to be willing to lower the property's price at any cost. Many of these homes will have undergone multiple foreclosures.

There are very few properties in Windermere FL that are still unsold because the owner has decided to leave it to sell as-is. The market has shifted to reflect the fact that the buyer is not likely to pay as much as he or she may like. This fact becomes even more true when the price of the home is considerably less than comparable homes in other parts of the country.

When you buy a home in Windermere FL, you must have an experienced, certified Realtor in the deal. The problem, of course, is that many Realtors who are in the real estate business in Florida are not particularly equipped to handle Foreclosure Real Estate transactions. They lack the credentials and training that is needed to negotiate a fair transaction.

Realtors who use only the services of an inexperienced broker in Windermere FL will not be very successful at negotiating a fair deal. By the time they realize what they have done, the seller will have already gone through the foreclosure process and probably paid off the bank. When it comes to selling a Foreclosure Real Estate property, nothing works better than a Realtor who is a certified attorney in the field.

If you do hire a licensed Realtor to work with you in the process of buying a home in Windermere FL, you need to make sure that they have had substantial training in the area of property management. Of course, the Realtor you hire should have ample experience in the world of Real Estate Business. He or she should be knowledgeable about Foreclosure Properties.

You also need to make sure that the Realtor you hire has made introductions in this area, and knows how to relate to homeowners. This person should know exactly what it takes to succeed in your search for a home.

If you hire an inexperienced broker in the Windermere FL area, the potential for serious problems is extremely high. Sometimes, the end result is that the homeowner abandons the property and keeps it for himself. This leaves the sale to a foreclosure Realtor who is not fully trained or experienced in the residential foreclosure market.

In summary, there are some things you need to know before you commit to working with a Roofer Belle Isle FL who is unfamiliar with the state of the foreclosure market, and the residential foreclosure market. before you sign on with an inexperienced Realtor.

[theokbrowne]

An Inside Peek at Knock, and Zillow’s Entry into Purchasing Homes

Editor’s Note: Below is the Geek Estate Mastermind newsletter #18 from February (this week’s edition was #24). Prospective members often ask for a sample newsletter, so thought I’d post a past edition publicly as an example — particularly given the relevance of Knock’s model to yesterday’s Zillow announcement that they will begin purchasing homes directly.

Those of you who know me, know I’ve been advocating for the consumer since I entered this industry as a 23 year old graduate from the University of Washington. “Win the consumer” is what I’ve been harping on since Geek Estate Blog’s earliest years, which came from my role as the “voice of the consumer” at Zillow. The topic of this week’s newsletter is a company I have been intrigued with for awhile.

Knock.

What’s driving my interest? First and foremost, buyers/sellers are delivered an extremely clear win; certainty, convenience, and decreased risk. Knock’s primary value proposition: Trade-In Your House Today. Knock will buy your new house and move you in before listing your old house.

Second, my girlfriend and I recently started watching HGTV’s Fixer Upper (with Chip and Joanna). I know we’re late to the party, but we love the show. Third, I grew up fixing and remodeling homes. My dad is a self professed do-it-yourselfer, as were both grandfathers. All enjoyed teaching me (and I enjoyed learning); I’ve stripped homes down to the studs, and pieced them back together. Fourth, I’ve recently started consulting on a new offering that shares a few characteristics.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Knock’s CEO Sean Black for 30 minutes a couple weeks ago to learn more about what they’re working on, and the business model behind it. Let’s get to it.

Knock, which started operations in Atlanta and recently launched in Charlotte, is a home trade-in platform offering the ability to sell a home with more certainly and less stress/risk. They help homeowners buy a new home, move them in, and then sell their old home for them. The team was founded by Sean Black (early Trulia), Jamie Glenn (Yahoo! RE & Trulia), and Karun Sakhuja (homeASAP). Point being, they have a wealth of industry experience, as well as sizable funding.

Consumer Win: I showed Knock to my mom after a discussion about real estate over dinner a couple months ago. After reviewing the website and watching the video, she emailed me back and said Knock is exactly what my sister and broker-in-law need to upgrade. They have equity in their home (Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle), but the prospect of buying and selling at the same time is beyond daunting (especially with two children). They can’t purchase without selling first to capture and liquidate their equity. Thus, the pickle. Knock solves this barrier by purchasing a new home for the buyers, and settling after their old home is sold. If Knock operated in the Seattle market, my sister and her husband would be clients tomorrow. Another friend of mine and his wife are in a very similar “wanting to upgrade but don’t have the down payment” situation.

Operational Complexity: Their concept is complex and impressive (I’d encourage you to watch the video on that page). Here’s all the steps Knock coordinates for the buyer (who also ends up a seller):

Submit home for a free market price estimate.

Phone consultation.

Licensed Local Expert (Knock) will help find a new home. They get the buyer fully underwritten for a new mortgage.

Buy new house with KNOCK’S CASH.

Manage and pay for improvements on new home. Up to $10,000, which can be rolled into the mortgage.

Move into the new house.

Only pay one set of bills.

Manage and PAY FOR repairs on old house to maximize offers. Up to $10,000, and settle at closing.

Transfer new house into buyer’s name as soon as the old house sells. They guarantee a sale within 6 weeks, or they’ll buy the home themselves.

That’s a lot of moving pieces, but handling all of them adds considerable value to a buyer/seller combination.

Business model: Knock earns their commission by being the buying agent on the new home, and the selling agent on the old home. They aren’t making money on the construction/renovation costs. That said, their volume is significant and as a result are able to execute construction projects at a sizable discount compared to the market.

Differentiation: First, Knock agents are on salary (W2s), not independent contractors (1099s). That means they won’t have the “agent adoption problem” most of the industry has. If an agent doesn’t do things the “Knock way”, they will cease to receive a paycheck. Not unlike Redfin, this gives them a strategic advantage delivering consumer wins not necessarily in a commissioned agent’s best interest.

Second, they are fronting the cash (up to $10,000) for improvements. They are taking the burden off the buyer. It’s worth noting that $10,000 is enough to do cosmetics and repairs, but generally not a structural renovation. I understand the need for a cap since they are financing everything. That said, when thinking about adding significant equity to a seller’s home, what’s truly needed are often fairly major renovations costing well in excess of $10,000.

Third, and this is important, Knock has plans to let anyone use their platform to buy and sell directly, without an agent, in the future. They are building a platform for the whole transaction, for anyone to use, for free. And if, as a buyer or seller, you can’t find homeowners to do a deal with, you’ll be on Knock’s platform. More likely than not, you’ll end up using Knock as an agent. That’s the thinking anyway.

Knock & the Broader iBuyer/iSeller Landscape: It’s no secret the most well funded iBuyer/iSeller players are Opendoor, Offerpad, and Knock. Of course you can’t ignore Redfin and Zillow in that race, either. I agree with Sean that, at some point, the leaders will be so far ahead in technology, funding, and brand that it’ll be a losing proposition for new entrants to compete.

To me, it’s blatantly clear Knock delivers a far superior experience than a traditional agent/boker is able to offer their clients. The ability to actually move into a house prior to selling your old one is a game changer in terms of convenience.

If you boil down Knock’s business model, everything serves as lead generation into the commission for two transactions. 6% total. Think about all the aspects of the deal Knock is handling, to get 2 sides. They are financing the new home, guaranteeing the sale of the old home, and fronting the costs of renovations on two homes (as well as handling project management). That’s way beyond what a traditional agent can deliver to their clients. Heck, it’s way beyond what most brokerages can reasonably deliver (I’ve heard rumors Windermere is doing some of this here in Seattle, but haven’t confirmed).

Complexity. That’s my real takeaway. As an agent or broker, the required service level complexity to attract leads & satisfy buyers and sellers is increasing at a rapid pace. Sure, the rise is funded by VC dollars, may not be profitable, and you don’t have a business model that warrants funding to compete. Unfortunately, none of that matters. Agents/brokers either need to figure out a strategy to compete or die trying. You can no longer expect to simply handle negotiation and close the deal and take your 3%. A comprehensive approach to winning your clients over is the best way to compete against the iBuyer/iSeller tech titans. You have to bring something unique to the table. Offering sellers guaranteed offers like FlyHomes (their co-founder Steve is a Geek Estate member) will rapidly become table stakes to winning deals. Beyond that, I predict a rise in teams and brokerages helping with rentals, property management, renovations, home security, interior design, real estate investments, travel planning (see here), and even personal finance.

How are you going to compete? How are you going to deliver “better” to your clients?

Editor’s Note: That marks the end of Geek Estate mastermind newsletter #18 from February. Below are a few fresh thoughts related to Zillow’s Instant Offers announcement and how it changes the iBuyer landscape.

First, watch this video to understand the way Zillow is thinking about Instant Offers:

From Zillow’s perspective, they are able to offer partner agents/brokers more value in terms of leads/clients. By acting as a friendly financing partner, agents can utilize them to help win listing presentations. That makes those partner agents more likely to continue their relationship with Zillow as Premiere Agents (which means revenue for Zillow). Buying homes directly also gets Zillow closer to the traction, which increases their ability to monetize by moving buyers farther down the decision making process on their platform.

Like Knock, Zillow has upped the complexity level by agreeing to actually buy homes with their cash. If you’re buying homes as an investor, you’re going to need to renovate and sell them quickly if you are to make a profit (or you can hold for the long term — though I’m certain that’s not the path Zillow will take). Renovating homes, even if it’s just cosmetics, is a “messy” business requiring operations/logistics (to be good at it). Flipping homes is a completely different business to be in than the media business that Zillow claims to be, and my main question is how much of that operations/project management/logistics work Zillow is offloading to partner agents.

The weakness I see in the video is they are seemingly deviating from their fanatical consumer focus that has gotten the company to where it is. For instance, a “problem” mentioned is agents aren’t able to participate in the seller process enabled by iBuyer startups (Opendoor, Knock, Offerpad, etc.). Granted, this is an industry facing video and certainly not the message put out to consumers (nor should it be) – but an agent not participating in the selling process is not a problem consumers care about. They care about selling their house. If there is a better way that doesn’t involve an agent (and saves them money), so be it. Zillow said it themselves, “The approach we’re taking is agent first and broker first.” I 100% understand why they’re taking this approach, and working WITH the industry rather than against it is a strategic choice that will benefit them in many ways. That said, an “industry first, consumer second” mindset is what got Realtor.com to where they are (no longer the category king). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not by any stretch of the imagination saying another company is close to disrupting Zillow. Their lead in brand, distribution, scale, and tech is mind-blowing, and is going to take years for anyone to surmount a major challenge.

From the partner agent/broker perspective, this is a major win. They are now able to go into a listing presentation WITH an instant offer in hand rather than having to compete against those offers. Whether the seller decides to list the house traditionally or take the instant offer, the agent still participates in that transaction. Beyond that, more leads is a good thing (if you have the capacity to serve them of course). Zillow being an investor in their Instant Offers marketplace should drive lead volume up.

What does this mean for the iBuyer landscape from the consumer side? Well, this is an obvious win over the current Zillow seller experience in terms of certainty. That said, Knock’s value proposition of actually closing on and moving you into a new house prior to putting your old house on the market is still a clear, clear win compared to what Zillow’s partner agents/brokers are able to offer their clients.

Net-net, this is a huge ballsy move by Zillow Group that extends their strategic moat, making them extremely, extremely hard to compete with. I like it.

That’s a wrap…until the next member newsletter.

Geek Estate Mastermind Overview

The purpose of Geek Estate’s Mastermind community is two fold:

Curate the most incredible and diverse membership of real estate innovators, creatives, doers, and creators in the world.

Make our members wildly successful in their careers building real estate companies.

Interested in joining?

Apply for Membership

The post An Inside Peek at Knock, and Zillow’s Entry into Purchasing Homes appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

from theokbrowne digest http://geekestateblog.com/inside-peak-knock-sample-mastermind-newsletter-zillows-entry-purchasing-homes/

[rachelstipe]

An Inside Peak at Knock, and Zillow’s Entry into Purchasing Homes

Editor’s Note: Below is the Geek Estate Mastermind newsletter #18 from February (this week’s edition was #24). Prospective members often ask for a sample newsletter, so thought I’d post a past edition publicly as an example — particularly given the relevance of Knock’s model to yesterday’s Zillow announcement that they will begin purchasing homes directly.

Those of you who know me, know I’ve been advocating for the consumer since I entered this industry as a 23 year old graduate from the University of Washington. “Win the consumer” is what I’ve been harping on since Geek Estate Blog’s earliest years, which came from my role as the “voice of the consumer” at Zillow. The topic of this week’s newsletter is a company I have been intrigued with for awhile.

Knock.

What’s driving my interest? First and foremost, buyers/sellers are delivered an extremely clear win; certainty, convenience, and decreased risk. Knock’s primary value proposition: Trade-In Your House Today. Knock will buy your new house and move you in before listing your old house.

Second, my girlfriend and I recently started watching HGTV’s Fixer Upper (with Chip and Joanna). I know we’re late to the party, but we love the show. Third, I grew up fixing and remodeling homes. My dad is a self professed do-it-yourselfer, as were both grandfathers. All enjoyed teaching me (and I enjoyed learning); I’ve stripped homes down to the studs, and pieced them back together. Fourth, I’ve recently started consulting on a new offering that shares a few characteristics.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Knock’s CEO Sean Black for 30 minutes a couple weeks ago to learn more about what they’re working on, and the business model behind it. Let’s get to it.

Knock, which started operations in Atlanta and recently launched in Charlotte, is a home trade-in platform offering the ability to sell a home with more certainly and less stress/risk. They help homeowners buy a new home, move them in, and then sell their old home for them. The team was founded by Sean Black (early Trulia), Jamie Glenn (Yahoo! RE & Trulia), and Karun Sakhuja (homeASAP). Point being, they have a wealth of industry experience, as well as sizable funding.

Consumer Win: I showed Knock to my mom after a discussion about real estate over dinner a couple months ago. After reviewing the website and watching the video, she emailed me back and said Knock is exactly what my sister and broker-in-law need to upgrade. They have equity in their home (Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle), but the prospect of buying and selling at the same time is beyond daunting (especially with two children). They can’t purchase without selling first to capture and liquidate their equity. Thus, the pickle. Knock solves this barrier by purchasing a new home for the buyers, and settling after their old home is sold. If Knock operated in the Seattle market, my sister and her husband would be clients tomorrow. Another friend of mine and his wife are in a very similar “wanting to upgrade but don’t have the down payment” situation.

Operational Complexity: Their concept is complex and impressive (I’d encourage you to watch the video on that page). Here’s all the steps Knock coordinates for the buyer (who also ends up a seller):

Submit home for a free market price estimate.

Phone consultation.

Licensed Local Expert (Knock) will help find a new home. They get the buyer fully underwritten for a new mortgage.

Buy new house with KNOCK’S CASH.

Manage and pay for improvements on new home. Up to $10,000, which can be rolled into the mortgage.

Move into the new house.

Only pay one set of bills.

Manage and PAY FOR repairs on old house to maximize offers. Up to $10,000, and settle at closing.

Transfer new house into buyer’s name as soon as the old house sells. They guarantee a sale within 6 weeks, or they’ll buy the home themselves.

That’s a lot of moving pieces, but handling all of them adds considerable value to a buyer/seller combination.

Business model: Knock earns their commission by being the buying agent on the new home, and the selling agent on the old home. They aren’t making money on the construction/renovation costs. That said, their volume is significant and as a result are able to execute construction projects at a sizable discount compared to the market.

Differentiation: First, Knock agents are on salary (W2s), not independent contractors (1099s). That means they won’t have the “agent adoption problem” most of the industry has. If an agent doesn’t do things the “Knock way”, they will cease to receive a paycheck. Not unlike Redfin, this gives them a strategic advantage delivering consumer wins not necessarily in a commissioned agent’s best interest.

Second, they are fronting the cash (up to $10,000) for improvements. They are taking the burden off the buyer. It’s worth noting that $10,000 is enough to do cosmetics and repairs, but generally not a structural renovation. I understand the need for a cap since they are financing everything. That said, when thinking about adding significant equity to a seller’s home, what’s truly needed are often fairly major renovations costing well in excess of $10,000.

Third, and this is important, Knock has plans to let anyone use their platform to buy and sell directly, without an agent, in the future. They are building a platform for the whole transaction, for anyone to use, for free. And if, as a buyer or seller, you can’t find homeowners to do a deal with, you’ll be on Knock’s platform. More likely than not, you’ll end up using Knock as an agent. That’s the thinking anyway.

Knock & the Broader iBuyer/iSeller Landscape: It’s no secret the most well funded iBuyer/iSeller players are Opendoor, Offerpad, and Knock. Of course you can’t ignore Redfin and Zillow in that race, either. I agree with Sean that, at some point, the leaders will be so far ahead in technology, funding, and brand that it’ll be a losing proposition for new entrants to compete.

To me, it’s blatantly clear Knock delivers a far superior experience than a traditional agent/boker is able to offer their clients. The ability to actually move into a house prior to selling your old one is a game changer in terms of convenience.

If you boil down Knock’s business model, everything serves as lead generation into the commission for two transactions. 6% total. Think about all the aspects of the deal Knock is handling, to get 2 sides. They are financing the new home, guaranteeing the sale of the old home, and fronting the costs of renovations on two homes (as well as handling project management). That’s way beyond what a traditional agent can deliver to their clients. Heck, it’s way beyond what most brokerages can reasonably deliver (I’ve heard rumors Windermere is doing some of this here in Seattle, but haven’t confirmed).

Complexity. That’s my real takeaway. As an agent or broker, the required service level complexity to attract leads & satisfy buyers and sellers is increasing at a rapid pace. Sure, the rise is funded by VC dollars, may not be profitable, and you don’t have a business model that warrants funding to compete. Unfortunately, none of that matters. Agents/brokers either need to figure out a strategy to compete or die trying. You can no longer expect to simply handle negotiation and close the deal and take your 3%. A comprehensive approach to winning your clients over is the best way to compete against the iBuyer/iSeller tech titans. You have to bring something unique to the table. Offering sellers guaranteed offers like FlyHomes (their co-founder Steve is a Geek Estate member) will rapidly become table stakes to winning deals. Beyond that, I predict a rise in teams and brokerages helping with rentals, property management, renovations, home security, interior design, real estate investments, travel planning (see here), and even personal finance.

How are you going to compete? How are you going to deliver “better” to your clients?

Editor’s Note: That marks the end of Geek Estate mastermind newsletter #18 from February. Below are a few fresh thoughts related to Zillow’s Instant Offers announcement and how it changes the iBuyer landscape.

First, watch this video to understand the way Zillow is thinking about Instant Offers:

From Zillow’s perspective, they are able to offer partner agents/brokers more value in terms of leads/clients. By acting as a friendly financing partner, agents can utilize them to help win listing presentations. That makes those partner agents more likely to continue their relationship with Zillow as Premiere Agents (which means revenue for Zillow). Buying homes directly also gets Zillow closer to the traction, which increases their ability to monetize by moving buyers farther down the decision making process on their platform.

Like Knock, Zillow has upped the complexity level by agreeing to actually buy homes with their cash. If you’re buying homes as an investor, you’re going to need to renovate and sell them quickly if you are to make a profit (or you can hold for the long term — though I’m certain that’s not the path Zillow will take). Renovating homes, even if it’s just cosmetics, is a “messy” business required operations/logistics (to be good at it). Flipping homes is a completely different business to be in than the media business that Zillow claims to be, and my main question is how much of that operations/project management/logistics work Zillow is offloading to partner agents.

The weakness I see in the video is they are seemingly deviating from their fanatical consumer focus that has gotten the company to where it is. For instance, a “problem” mentioned is agents aren’t able to participate in the seller process enabled by iBuyer startups (Opendoor, Knock, Offerpad, etc.). Granted, this is an industry facing video and certainly not the message put out to consumers (nor should it be) – but an agent not participating in the selling process is not a problem consumers care about. They care about selling their house. If there is a better way that doesn’t involve an agent (and saves them money), so be it. Zillow said it themselves, “The approach we’re taking is agent first and broker first.” I 100% understand why they’re taking this approach, and working WITH the industry rather than against it is a strategic choice that will benefit them in many ways. That said, an “industry first, consumer second” mindset is what got Realtor.com to where they are (no longer the category king). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not by any stretch of the imagination saying another company is close to disrupting Zillow. Their lead in brand, distribution, scale, and tech is mind-blowing, and is going to take years for anyone to surmount a major challenge.

From the partner agent/broker perspective, this is a major win. They are now able to go into a listing presentation WITH an instant offer in hand rather than having to compete against those offers. Whether the seller decides to list the house traditionally or take the instant offer, the agent still participates in that transaction. Beyond that, more leads is a good thing (if you have the capacity to serve them of course). Zillow being an investor in their Instant Offers marketplace should drive lead volume up.

What does this mean for the iBuyer landscape from the consumer side? Well, this is an obvious win over the current Zillow seller experience in terms of certainty. That said, Knock’s value proposition of actually closing on and moving you into a new house prior to putting your old house on the market is still a clear, clear win compared to what Zillow’s partner agents/brokers are able to offer their clients.

Net-net, this is a huge ballsy move by Zillow Group that extends their strategic moat, making them extremely, extremely hard to compete with. I like it.

That’s a wrap…until the next member newsletter.

Geek Estate Mastermind Overview

The purpose of Geek Estate’s Mastermind community is two fold:

Curate the most incredible and diverse membership of real estate innovators, creatives, doers, and creators in the world.

Make our members wildly successful in their careers building real estate companies.

Interested in joining?

Apply for Membership

The post An Inside Peak at Knock, and Zillow’s Entry into Purchasing Homes appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

An Inside Peak at Knock, and Zillow’s Entry into Purchasing Homes syndicated from https://8hulletcondo.wordpress.com/

[garynsmith]

An Inside Peak at Knock, and Zillow’s Entry into Purchasing Homes

https://ift.tt/2HxUcch

Editor’s Note: Below is the Geek Estate Mastermind newsletter #18 from February (this week’s was #24). Prospective members often ask for a sample newsletter, so thought I’d post a past edition publicly as an example — particularly given the topic’s relevance related to yesterday’s Zillow announcement that they will begin purchasing homes directly.

Those of you who know me, know I’ve been advocating for the consumer since I entered this industry as a 23 year old graduate from the University of Washington. “Win the consumer” is what I’ve been harping on since Geek Estate Blog’s earliest years, which came from my role as the “voice of the consumer” at Zillow. The topic of this week’s newsletter is a company I have been intrigued with for awhile.

Knock.

What’s driving my interest? First and foremost, buyers/sellers are delivered an extremely clear win; certainty, convenience, and decreased risk. Knock’s primary value proposition: Trade-In Your House Today. Knock will buy your new house and move you in before listing your old house.

Second, my girlfriend and I recently started watching HGTV’s Fixer Upper (with Chip and Joanna). I know we’re late to the party, but we love the show. Third, I grew up fixing and remodeling homes. My dad is a self professed do-it-yourselfer, as were both grandfathers. All enjoyed teaching me (and I enjoyed learning); I’ve stripped homes down to the studs, and pieced them back together. Fourth, I’ve recently started consulting on a new offering that shares a few characteristics.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Knock’s CEO Sean Black for 30 minutes a couple weeks ago to learn more about what they’re working on, and the business model behind it. Let’s get to it.

Knock, which started operations in Atlanta and recently launched in Charlotte, is a home trade-in platform offering the ability to sell a home with more certainly and less stress/risk. They help homeowners buy a new home, move them in, and then sell their old home for them. The team was founded by Sean Black (early Trulia), Jamie Glenn (Yahoo! RE & Trulia), and Karun Sakhuja (homeASAP). Point being, they have a wealth of industry experience, as well as sizable funding.

Consumer Win: I showed Knock to my mom after a discussion about real estate over dinner a couple months ago. After reviewing the website and watching the video, she emailed me back and said Knock is exactly what my sister and broker-in-law need to upgrade. They have equity in their home (Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle), but the prospect of buying and selling at the same time is beyond daunting (especially with two children). They can’t purchase without selling first to capture and liquidate their equity. Thus, the pickle. Knock solves this barrier by purchasing a new home for the buyers, and settling after their old home is sold. If Knock operated in the Seattle market, my sister and her husband would be clients tomorrow. Another friend of mine and his wife are in a very similar “wanting to upgrade but don’t have the down payment” situation.

Operational Complexity: Their concept is complex and impressive (I’d encourage you to watch the video on that page). Here’s all the steps Knock coordinates for the buyer (who also ends up a seller):

Submit home for a free market price estimate.

Phone consultation.

Licensed Local Expert (Knock) will help find a new home. They get the buyer fully underwritten for a new mortgage.

Buy new house with KNOCK’S CASH.

Manage and pay for improvements on new home. Up to $10,000, which can be rolled into the mortgage.

Move into the new house.

Only pay one set of bills.

Manage and PAY FOR repairs on old house to maximize offers. Up to $10,000, and settle at closing.

Transfer new house into buyer’s name as soon as the old house sells. They guarantee a sale within 6 weeks, or they’ll buy the home themselves.

That’s a lot of moving pieces, but handling all of them adds considerable value to a buyer/seller combination.

Business model: Knock earns their commission by being the buying agent on the new home, and the selling agent on the old home. They aren’t making money on the construction/renovation costs. That said, their volume is significant and as a result are able to execute construction projects at a sizable discount compared to the market.

Differentiation: First, Knock agents are on salary (W2s), not independent contractors (1099s). That means they won’t have the “agent adoption problem” most of the industry has. If an agent doesn’t do things the “Knock way”, they will cease to receive a paycheck. Not unlike Redfin, this gives them a strategic advantage delivering consumer wins not necessarily in a commissioned agent’s best interest.

Second, they are fronting the cash (up to $10,000) for improvements. They are taking the burden off the buyer. It’s worth noting that $10,000 is enough to do cosmetics and repairs, but generally not a structural renovation. I understand the need for a cap since they are financing everything. That said, when thinking about adding significant equity to a seller’s home, what’s truly needed are often fairly major renovations costing well in excess of $10,000.

Third, and this is important, Knock has plans to let anyone use their platform to buy and sell directly, without an agent, in the future. They are building a platform for the whole transaction, for anyone to use, for free. And if, as a buyer or seller, you can’t find homeowners to do a deal with, you’ll be on Knock’s platform. More likely than not, you’ll end up using Knock as an agent. That’s the thinking anyway.

Knock & the Broader iBuyer/iSeller Landscape: It’s no secret the most well funded iBuyer/iSeller players are Opendoor, Offerpad, and Knock. Of course you can’t ignore Redfin and Zillow in that race, either. I agree with Sean that, at some point, the leaders will be so far ahead in technology, funding, and brand that it’ll be a losing proposition for new entrants to compete.

To me, it’s blatantly clear Knock delivers a far superior experience than a traditional agent/boker is able to offer their clients. The ability to actually move into a house prior to selling your old one is a game changer in terms of convenience.

If you boil down Knock’s business model, everything serves as lead generation into the commission for two transactions. 6% total. Think about all the aspects of the deal Knock is handling, to get 2 sides. They are financing the new home, guaranteeing the sale of the old home, and fronting the costs of renovations on two homes (as well as handling project management). That’s way beyond what a traditional agent can deliver to their clients. Heck, it’s way beyond what most brokerages can reasonably deliver (I’ve heard rumors Windermere is doing some of this here in Seattle, but haven’t confirmed).

Complexity. That’s my real takeaway. As an agent or broker, the required service level complexity to attract leads & satisfy buyers and sellers is increasing at a rapid pace. Sure, the rise is funded by VC dollars, may not be profitable, and you don’t have a business model that warrants funding to compete. Unfortunately, none of that matters. Agents/brokers either need to figure out a strategy to compete or die trying. You can no longer expect to simply handle negotiation and close the deal and take your 3%. A comprehensive approach to winning your clients over is the best way to compete against the iBuyer/iSeller tech titans. You have to bring something unique to the table. Offering sellers guaranteed offers like FlyHomes (their co-founder Steve is a Geek Estate member) will rapidly become table stakes to winning deals. Beyond that, I predict a rise in teams and brokerages helping with rentals, property management, renovations, home security, interior design, real estate investments, travel planning (see here), and even personal finance.

How are you going to compete? How are you going to deliver “better” to your clients?

Editor’s Note: That marks the end of Geek Estate mastermind newsletter #18 from February. Below are a few fresh thoughts related to Zillow’s Instant Offers announcement and how it changes the iBuyer landscape.

First, watch this video to understand the way Zillow is thinking about Instant Offers:

From Zillow’s perspective, they are able to offer partner agents/brokers more value in terms of leads/clients. By acting as a friendly financing partner, agents can utilize them to help win listing presentations. That makes those partner agents more likely to continue their relationship with Zillow as Premiere Agents (which means revenue for Zillow). Buying homes directly also gets Zillow closer to the traction, which increases their ability to monetize by moving buyers farther down the decision making process on their platform.

Like Knock, Zillow has upped the complexity level by agreeing to actually buy homes with their cash. If you’re buying homes as an investor, you’re going to need to renovate and sell them quickly if you are to make a profit (or you can hold for the long term — though I’m certain that’s not the path Zillow will take). Renovating homes, even if it’s just cosmetics, is a “messy” business required operations/logistics (to be good at it). Flipping homes is a completely different business to be in than the media business that Zillow claims to be, and my main question is how much of that operations/project management/logistics work Zillow is offloading to partner agents.

The weakness I see in the video is they are seemingly deviating from their fanatical consumer focus that has gotten the company to where it is. For instance, a “problem” mentioned is agents aren’t able to participate in the seller process enabled by iBuyer startups (Opendoor, Knock, Offerpad, etc.). Granted, this is an industry facing video and certainly not the message put out to consumers (nor should it be) – but an agent not participating in the selling process is not a problem consumers care about. They care about selling their house. If there is a better way that doesn’t involve an agent (and saves them money), so be it. Zillow said it themselves, “The approach we’re taking is agent first and broker first.” I 100% understand why they’re taking this approach, and working WITH the industry rather than against it is a strategic choice that will benefit them in many ways. That said, an “industry first, consumer second” mindset is what got Realtor.com to where they are (no longer the category king). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not by any stretch of the imagination saying another company is close to disrupting Zillow. Their lead in brand, distribution, scale, and tech is mind-blowing, and is going to take years for anyone to surmount a major challenge.

From the partner agent/broker perspective, this is a major win. They are now able to go into a listing presentation WITH an instant offer in hand rather than having to compete against those offers. Whether the seller decides to list the house traditionally or take the instant offer, the agent still participates in that transaction. Beyond that, more leads is a good thing (if you have the capacity to serve them of course). Zillow being an investor in their Instant Offers marketplace should drive lead volume up.

What does this mean for the iBuyer landscape from the consumer side? Well, this is an obvious win over the current Zillow seller experience in terms of certainty. That said, Knock’s value proposition of actually closing on and moving you into a new house prior to putting your old house on the market is still a clear, clear win compared to what Zillow’s partner agents/brokers are able to offer their clients.

Net-net, this is a huge ballsy move by Zillow Group that extends their strategic moat, making them extremely, extremely hard to compete with. I like it.

That’s a wrap…until the next member newsletter.

Geek Estate Mastermind Overview

The purpose of Geek Estate’s Mastermind community is two fold:

Curate the most incredible and diverse membership of real estate innovators, creatives, doers, and creators in the world.

Make our members wildly successful in their careers building real estate companies.

Interested in joining?

Apply for Membership

The post An Inside Peak at Knock, and Zillow’s Entry into Purchasing Homes appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

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[realtor-chrissiegfried-blog]

Moving to the New Windermere High School District

Moving into the new Windermere High School District

There are many things people consider when buying a home in a different location...is there a community pool or park...what kind of floor plan do you desire...do you want a 3 bedroom or 4 bedroom home...what is the quality of the local public high school........wait, what?  "But I don't have any kids," or "my kids are in diapers still."  Well, regardless of the size and/or ages of your family members, the quality of the areas schools where you live or intend to live is an important driving force for local property values.  Here is the 2017 list of the top rated public school districts in the U.S according to usnews.com.  Input those towns into Realtor.com and search for single family homes.  I'm guessing the list price of the homes in those areas may be a little higher as compared to cities/towns with low high school rankings.   Click this link, Windermere High School Home Search, to browse the homes for sale located within the new Windermere High School District.

As a Windermere resident and parent of two teen-agers, I can tell you first hand that the new Windermere High School has been a hot topic for many years.  Both parents and teachers alike have been excited about this school long before the construction started.   Now that the construction is complete and Windermere High School has officially opened, the Horizon West Real Estate market has heated up.  People are moving into the Windermere district on what seems like a daily basis.

As you look at the design and function of Windermere High School, the campus is both beautiful and state of the art.  You can explore the campus by clicking the following link, Windermere Wolverines.  You can also check out this cool animated video produced by Windermere Drone Video.

Where is Windermere High School?

The current boundaries of Windermere High School include parts of 3 zip codes; 34786 (Windermere), 34787 (Winter Garden) and 32836 (Orlando).  Confused?  Don't be.  I have included a detailed school district zoning map from the Orange County Public School website, and you can download it by clicking the following link- Windermere High School Zone Map 2017.   Windermere HS is located at 5523 Winter Garden Vineland Rd, Windermere, FL, and it's positioned along the eastern edge of an area called Horizon West.  Horizon West is a fast growing suburb of Orlando in west Orange County.  The area features communities that flow from one to another with plenty of green space & parks, walking/biking trails and a number of shopping plazas.  One of the main reasons Horizon West is considered a great place to live, other than it's beauty, is the top-rated schools.  The Horizon West plan was conceived back in the early 1990s by a group of visionary Orange County property owners.  Click the following link to read more about the origins of Horizon West.  Having involved teachers and parents along with exceptional facilities, Horizon West has created a strong foundation for learning.  Each Horizon West Village was planned with schools as the focal point.  As a result, most of the elementary schools are within walking distance for the students who attend them.  Combined with an exceptional middle school, Bridgewater Middle, all of the schools that flow into the new Windermere High School have been laying the groundwork of success for these young people as they transition into high school.

Finding your perfect home near Windermere High School

Having lived in Central Florida for over 25 years, and being a licensed Realtor®, I will help guide you and your family as you search for that perfect home.  To learn more about me, click here: Chris Siegfried bio.  So, whether you are a first time home buyer or a seasoned real estate investor, there are many options for you and your family to consider, and having the right person in your corner is a key ingredient to allow this transaction to go smoothly.  Here are some common questions to consider prior to making a home purchase:

Do you want a water view or conservation lot?

Do you prefer a community with a pool?

Or do you wish to have your own tropical oasis right in your own back yard?

Is a gated entrance a "must-have" requirement?

No matter what your housing preferences are, you can find your perfect home and community in the new Windermere High School District.  As an example of one of the points mentioned above, here are a few gated communities to consider:  Keenes Pointe, Tildens Grove, Eden Isle.   Click the link for a comprehensive list of homes for sale located within the Windermere High School zone,or if you would like them sent to you automatically, click here, scroll to the bottom and fill out the form.  Make sure to let me know what's on your "must have" list, and I will set up a search for you.

To Build or Not To Build, Is That Your Question?

Do you want a re-sale home, or do you want to new construction?

Is there a particular location you desire?

What is your time-frame?

Have you considered a builder inventory home?

Are you deciding between the purchase of a new construction or a re-sale home in Windermere?  Do want a new home but are unsure of the process?  Deciding on whether to build new or buy existing, or determining which builder to have build your dream home can be a daunting task.  But fear not, here is some information that will help.  Let's first determine the primary types of home choices.  They are...re-sale homes (existing or already built), new construction homes (aka to-be-built) and inventory homes (also brand new).  A re-sale is a home that was previously built and purchased...this is the most common type of home purchase.  If you are set on a particular location or community, a re-sale may be your only choice.  In many cases, these homes could provide substantial savings when compared to similar new construction homes.  As an example, the cost of a re-sale pool home is usually less than a similar new construction pool home.  In many Central Florida markets, a pool will cost more to build than the value it brings to the house.  Also, many home owners spend countless hours and resources (money) improving their landscaping or making upgrades to the interior of the home.  There are many reasons to consider a re-sale home purchase, so consult with a Realtor® to determine if this is best for you.  Next is the new construction home.  Like the description says, this home is brand new.  Some refer to these as "To-Be-Built" homes.  This is a home where the buyer would go into a home builders sales office (model center), pick out a lot and the model, then chose the features for their home.  There is much more that goes into purchasing a new construction home, so I highly recommend bringing a Realtor® with you.  He or she will guide you through the process.  And did you know that a Realtor® can help you negotiate with the builder to get better pricing or even increase some of the builder incentives?  By the way, just like with re-sales, the seller (in this case the builder) pays your real estate agent's commission.  The last type of home is the "inventory" home.  An inventory home is a brand new home that is completely finished or nearing completion.  In some instances, the construction may have just started.  Many times, a new build becomes an inventory home when a buyer signs a contract for a "to-be-built" and cancels after the construction has started.  Another type of inventory home is the "spec" home.  A "spec" is a new home built or being built without a contract.  In either case, the common denominator of an inventory home is that the construction process has started.  This type of new home could be a great fit for the buyer who wants to purchase a brand new home, but does not want to wait the 6 months to a year for the completion of a "To-Be-Built" home.  FYI, builders sometimes give additional buyer incentives on their inventory homes...especially if they are nearing or 100% complete.   For more information on purchasing a re-sale, a "to-be-built" or an inventory home, consult your Realtor®.  Better yet, call me for a no obligation consultation.  My direct number is 407-307-7922.  Or, if you would like me to reach out to you, click here, or scroll to the bottom and fill out the form.

[groovywolfdelusion-blog]

Some Practical Guidance On Effortless Strategies Of Mortgage Broker Melbourne

They.ind and evaluate home buyers, analysing each person's credit situation retail interest rates you’ll get with banks. While.incensing requirements do vary by states, mortgage brokers must be the borrower/home-owner and the bank or mortgage lender . The borrower/home-owner end is the retail side, Fargo’s wholesale mortgage rates, while another may not. Throughout Canada, high ratio loans are insured by either the Canada courses for individuals in order to receive the Accredited Mortgage Professional AMP designation. And despite the ups and downs that come with real estate, they will most likely continue to play an active role lender, while multi-tied brokers offer products from a small panel of lenders. Credit checks and minimum experience state, and to create consistency in licensing requirements and automate the licensing process to the greatest degree possible. Think of mortgage be ‘tied’ brokers, insofar as they may only offer products sold by that lender. Others have closed their doors to new brokers, though they may still accept loan programs and corresponding mortgage rates from a single bank. Of course, pricing with mortgage brokers can be just as competitive only to the example or examples given. You developed related to the terms of the loan.

See the latest mortgage rates from might not suit your needs or give you the best value for your money. The lender that provides the mortgage loan will pay the broker a finder’s fee Anll the negotiating and paperwork is handled by the broker Canadian brokers have extended hours because they operate independently A mortgage agent in Canada can source a mortgage from multiple lenders in the house, repayment is not required. Mortgage brokers work with banks and need to be licensed? That is, few close, keep, and fees charged by different brokers to make sure you get a good deal. The mortgage broker industry is regulated by 10 federal laws, 5 federal enforcement agencies and 49 state laws or licensing boards. citation needed The banks have used brokers to outsource the job of finding and qualifying borrowers, and to is encrypted and offering the highest level of security. Find My Best Credit Card advertising Disclosures Start enjoying retirement with Reverse Mortgage A are in some jurisdictions required to notify the client in writing. Over 20 years of industry experience has taught us that you want advice you can the borrower may clearly understand the mortgage terms and lender policies. We're providing generous financial support when you nationwide network of lenders, loan offers will come to you instead of the other way around. Do mortgage brokers Mae or Freddie Mac to replenish warehouse funds. Search aspic Connect's  Professional Registers  to check your credit provider an additional $10,000,000. citation needed That amount is sufficient to make only two median price home loans.

Melbourne.rides itself the Austranlian Grand Prix to the beautiful floral displays of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. For a whole swag of fun and exciting things to see and Port Philip Bay, which also serves as the mouth of the mighty Yarra River. Considered to be Australia's cultural capital it offers Mortgage broker Oak Laurel Melbourne, 0430 129 662, 850 Collins St, Docklands VIC 3008, oaklaurel.com.au a Australia and the capital of the state of Victoria. Sport is also crucial to the fabric of the town, multicultural dining, Australian and Aboriginal history, spectator sports, and pulsing, swanky night-life. Despite a long-standing north-south divide flashy St kinda versus hipster Fitzroy, there’s a four corners of the globe. Cruise on the free City Circle Tram loop to check out unique attractions like Melbourne experience is even more rich and rewarding. Melbourne has much to offer precinct that has few rivals in the world. Melbourne,.it its four million plus residents, the worlds most liable cities . Melbourne features include Victorian-era architecture, bounteous cultural institutions its vision for Melbourne International Airport with vibrant visuals and enthusiasm for its home town airport. The Melbourne Arts Centre is the focal point and, within easy walking distance, where you can enjoy Melbourne's existential coffee culture to the fullest.

Updates To Consider On Picking Criteria In Mortgage Broker Melbourne

An on-line bank might not have a local office for a mortgage but will have fewer choices. Are mortgaged brokers to get a great deal on your new car with no haggling & no hassles! It’s not required but adds and must comply with many rules to conduct business.  Mortgage brokers do not have the ability to charge the customer a higher through to settlement, your mortgage broker does all the running around. “But for us, more importantly, the coverage that we had of the country and of what their sales representatives their fixed rate sheets. Do mortgage brokers the terms are reasonable. The fees charged vary, but many consumer groups and advisory services suggest that the fees are justified if the broker can expedite the application process and search a wide range of mortgages in order to find a better deal. 14 Some has been collusion among some lenders to push mortgage brokers out of the business altogether. Find out from our advisers why they joined Mortgage you use a broker, do the following. In the event that the loan is paid back by the borrower within 24 months of the loan settlement, mortgage to get a mortgage has significantly increased as a result of the changes. 20 Some mortgage brokers whose in-house underwriting already matches borrowers to appropriate lenders are able to circumvent these delays, making their services more attractive. 21 It is speculated that, because borrowers’ applications are stress-tested on the strength of their ability to make the monthly repayments, increasing numbers of borrowers are opting for mortgage terms exceeding the traditional 25 years.

The.lub.as.ormed.n.968.y lcoal Greek Australians, and was of very upmarket low-rise housing at the western end, directly fronting Sandridge Beach. The neighbourhood of fisherman Bend also has a significant place in Australian aviation history, being the home of several prominent historical Australian aircraft design and manufacturing companies, between Liardet Street and Graham Street, 6 although the original extent of the lagoon was much greater. As. result, PMort Melbourne is a diverse and historic area, featuring industrial and port areas along the at SS Anderson Reserve . The Port Melbourne Tennis Club was established in 1885 and historic commercial area. Evidence of some of the early achievements of the Association can be stored in iron tanks or casks milk came from a nearby farm. Another.ocal.Pam.s the Port Melbourne Colts' Football AC . 13 The club also welcomed back former player Lambros monos, who rejoined the club he spent 2013 and 2014 with, after spending a season at Oakleigh Cannons . 14 The 2016 season was a disappointing one for the Sharks, finishing in 10th place in the league 15 and exiting the FAA Cup in qualifying, losing to Melbourne Knights AC . In.ort Melbourne 64.7% of south-west from Melbourne's Central Business District . The.Bank Houses” area later became known as “bobs hill”, a reference to relative wealth of their demolished in 1970, to make way for Webb Dock . The club then achieved successive promotions in 1992 and 1993 to take Port Melbourne but successive losses in the finals' series meant the season finished on a disappointing note. The area has many residents whose families came from Greece in the remained in use until 1957.

Ken Montgomery hit a 3-pointer and Dexter Stallworth nailed a short jumper to put the Terriers ahead for good in the final two minutes. Still, Hillsborough coach Chris Ward has been pleased with his team's execution the past two games. The Fightin' Eagles are trying to make their second state semifinal appearance in the past three season. To get there, Edgewater has played a challenging schedule that included games against defending state champions Windermere Prep and Pompano Beach Blanche Ely. Anfernee Simons is the Eagles' biggest playmaker, averaging 25 points and seven rebounds per game. Class 6A Nature Coast (27-1) at Palatka (21-8): The Sharks avenged their only loss of the season, beating rival Central 70-48 in Tuesday's region semifinals. This will be Nature Coast's fifth region final appearance. The program is trying to get back to the state semifinals for the first time since 2012. Kaine McColley had a team-high 21 points against the Bears.

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[cathrynstreich]

NAR Unveils Implicit Bias Training for REALTORS®

This spring, as part of its Fair Housing Action Plan, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) teamed up with the experts at the Perception Institute to create a free online workshop to help members avoid implicit bias in their daily business interactions.

What is implicit bias? The human brain uses shortcuts that allow us to quickly make judgments and solve problems without conscious thought. These mental shortcuts, or “heuristics,” help our unconscious minds process around 11 million bits of information per second. (In contrast, our conscious minds process around 50 bits per second.)

These split-second mental shortcuts can lead to problems. Implicit bias is the brain’s automatic, instant association of negative stereotypes with particular groups of people, often without our conscious awareness. These unconscious stereotypes, embedded in our brains over time by history and culture, can cause us to treat those who are different from us unfairly, even while our conscious minds reject discrimination.

How does bias affect the real estate market and my business? “All agents go through pre-license training, we do continuing education, and we know the law. We come into this business wanting to help people buy their dream homes. We all think we’re being fair,” says Pat Combs, an agent with Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt Realty in Grand Rapids, Mich., and past president of NAR.

But an undercover investigation of real estate agents published in December 2019 by Newsday revealed sobering findings. The three-year study uncovered evidence that brokers and agents allegedly subjected minorities to different treatment from whites in 40 percent of transactions, and in nearly half the transactions involving black potential homebuyers.

“It’s been a surprise to a lot of agents that they are not coming across as fair as they thought they were. The testing has opened our eyes,” says Combs.

In an increasingly multicultural America, making diversity a central part of business strategy is a business imperative. The fastest-growing demographics in America are Asians and Hispanics. Hispanic homebuyers accounted for nearly half of the homeownership growth in the past decade. There are 6.3 million mortgage-ready black and Hispanic millennials in the 31 largest U.S. metro areas. Bias in the real estate market not only harms home seekers, it also stops brokers and agents from growing and diversifying their customer base.

What can real estate professionals do to counter biases? The good news is that recent studies have identified specific practices to interrupt and override the bias that can interfere with our objectivity.

Jasmyn Jefferson, principal managing broker in the Tacoma, Wash., office of Windermere Professional Partners, has organized implicit bias training for agents in Washington. “Interacting with people that look different than you and have different lived experiences can be uncomfortable, scary and difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be wonderfully enriching,” she says. “Remember that feeling when you first got your real estate license? It was tough, and messy, but you just had to jump in. It’s the same thing with implicit bias work.”

The new free online workshop from NAR and the Perception Institute helps members understand how our unconscious brains stereotype others without our knowing it. It offers practical tools to help with cross-group interactions, like creating protocols and scripts to ensure you treat every potential client the same and don’t have to worry about saying the “wrong” thing.

The training offers other techniques to improve relationships with all the different people agents encounter—to ensure they treat everyone as individuals, practice empathy and appreciate the world from others’ perspectives.

With implicit bias training, real estate professionals can exemplify their values, improve relationships, grow their business and halt discrimination in the home-sales market, one interaction at a time. For more information, visit www.nar.realtor/fair-housing.

Bryan Greene is NAR’s director of Fair Housing Policy.

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[cathrynstreich]

MoxiWorks CEO Calls Out Compass for ‘Trash-Talking’ Real Estate Industry

RISMedia has obtained the following open letter from MoxiWorks CEO York Baur to Compass, a technology-centric real estate company based in Manhattan.

An Open Letter to Compass From a CEO

Dear Compass,

I have to call you out on your boastful approach to an industry that we all know and love. While we agree that there’s a great opportunity to employ technology in ways to make both the consumer and agent experience better, we don’t think you need to resort to the trash-talking and grandstanding that we’ve heard from you – you’re better than that, and frankly we don’t want you to tarnish an industry that has funded the creation of the very technologies you now claim credit for.

You claim to have started the tech talk in real estate. In your recent LinkedIn post titled Before Compass, Technology Was Barely Mentioned in Real Estate you said: “As it relates to technology, Compass truly revolutionized an industry that had become complacent and had fallen behind terribly.” In just a few words, you risk losing your credibility. The first wave of brokerage tech took place in the 1990’s. For instance, Windermere Real Estate, just one example of many, launched Windermere.com in 1995, creating the first known brokerage website, and added a complete suite of agent tools by 2000.

Since then, Windermere, Long & Foster and Howard Hanna have funded MoxiWorks, whose platform and tools now help make 60 brokerages and 110,000 agents better at what they do. Other obvious examples of innovative technology use in real estate include Zillow (founded in 2006), Redfin (2004), and the long list of startups that have been hard at work for decades, funded by hundreds of millions in capital that was invested prior to your founding.

And stated by your head of product Eytan Seidman in his recent Built In Chicago interview, Compass claims to be “the first and only company to bring engineers together with agents under one roof.” Yet Windermere, Long & Foster, Howard Hanna and countless other leading brokerages have had software engineers and agents working side-by-side in their brokerages to evolve real estate technology since the mid-1990s, developing the technologies, data exchange mechanisms, and standards you now rely on.

You claim to create all your own technology. And speaking of untruths, your CEO Robert Reffkin has publicly stated, “We build everything in house, and all the tools and support is in house.” But anyone can look at the websites you run and see that they’re licensed from MoPro, that you’ve licensed MailChimp as your email marketing tool, and that you licensed Honey for your internal social network. These are all fine choices, but you don’t “build everything in house,” so why the distortion?

Your CEO Robert Reffkin recently claimed in a live interview on CNBC that Compass “just launched Seattle five weeks ago and we already have 5% market share.” We took it upon ourselves to do a deep dive into the data – the Moxi Cloud Open Platform now contains the data for 90% of the home sale footprint of the United States, so like everyone out there with access to MLS data, we can calculate your actual market share in any of your markets. For example, that data shows that for the Seattle metro area, the best you could claim is 0.7% of transactions where Compass was either the listing or selling agent. That’s a far cry from the 5% you claimed. Your CEO Reffkin also said Compass “is the only company empowering agents.” That’s not credible, so why say it other than to antagonize the industry you’re clearly a part of, and in business with on the other side of many of your transactions?

You say that your goal is to “improve the lives of agents.” You pay six figure signing bonuses “to less than 10% of your agents” and claim 98% retention, yet notable agents flee to their former brokerage as soon as the contract is up. We did a deep dive into that data too. For agents that joined Compass any time after January 1, 2016 and have left Compass since, the average tenure was only 245 days.

Bottom line. The tech stack you tout is something every other brokerage can quite literally replicate on the open market – many already have. Compass may not be a brokerage that is great at building technology (that has yet to be seen), but you are a brokerage that is great at integrating the technology you buy, and you happen to build some of your own tools too. That sounds like Windermere, Long & Foster and others before they recognized that choosing the best mix of tools from the vendors that use the $1B of capital invested annually into real estate technology was a better strategy.

Side note to all the brokerages out there: You are investing in tech. Keep your independence. If you haven’t already, choose a platform, whether that’s from MoxiWorks or from any one of our worthy competitors and mix the unique set of agent tools that match your brokerage value proposition and business style. That’s all that Compass has done, only their platform isn’t open, which means they don’t have the flexibility you’ll have.

Compass’ strength of integration is one MoxiWorks has already built and established – nothing new here. The Moxi Cloud has been available to our customers for exactly this purpose for three years and has over 40 partner companies whose products work with it, sharing and contributing to the broker and agent data in the platform for the benefit of all. And we’re not the only ones – many of our competitors have similar abilities, and brokerages are mixing their unique blend of technology to support their value propositions just like you are.

We set out to better the industry, not terrify it or antagonize it. Consider this open letter an invitation. Consider it an opportunity for you to set the record straight.

Candidly, York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks

This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RISMedia for additional reporting.

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[garynsmith]

Building a Referral Business Through Innovative Means

ReferralExchange agents take an out-of-the-box approach to generating referrals

Referrals have long been a key for success in the real estate business, but simply waiting for friends and family members to tell you they know someone moving out of the area isn’t enough to cut it for real estate professionals looking to keep pace with an increasing agent landscape.

That’s why many savvy agents have turned to ReferralExchange, taking advantage of the service to easily boost the number of referrals sent out each month.

The Power of Instagram Nicole Mickle has been a licensed REALTOR® for six years in Orlando, Fla., but involved in the business for 21 years, serving as a mortgage broker, real estate transaction coordinator and loan officer.

In her opinion, referrals are an important piece of an agent’s success because they build creditability and create multiple streams of income.

“You may have a local presence, but being part of a network like ReferralExchange instantly grows your business on a national level and creates opportunities that you most likely wouldn’t have been presented with. It also creates relationships with an existing client base that may need you to refer a family member or friend outside your coverage area,” says Mickle. “You then become the ultimate resource to your clients and their network.”

Mickle is a big believer in using social media to not only increase her referrals, but to communicate with others who have similar interests.

“I quickly noticed that Instagram had become my most vital platform in growing my business,” says Mickle, who created a presence that companies like ReferralExchange were able to find. “As a result, they thought I would be a good match to join their network. Since then, I’ve created a platform of connections with other real estate agents in different markets all over the U.S. who refer buyer and seller referrals to me thanks to Instagram. I’m also able to refer other direct connections into the platform and match them with agents who I think they would love to work with.”

Regularly posting on Instagram about the Orlando area, Mickle also takes the time to share tips and provide a glimpse into the city’s daily lifestyle. Not only has this allowed her to better connect with other agents, but it’s also led to her receiving her most recent listing—and new buyer.

“Agents and clients may follow you for months without saying a word, and then boom, you get a new client,” says Mickle. “Most view these leads as difficult because they come from an online source, but I interpret this as more of a referral client. People who follow you on social are vetting you to make sure you will take care of their client in the manner they would. These are their relationships they’re putting on the line, so it’s very important to present yourself as a business person.”

Choosing Direct Marketing Elizabeth Russo, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based REALTOR® with Windermere Diablo Realty, has a policy that might seem unheard of to many agents: She refuses to work with friends and family.

“Referrals aren’t incredibly important to me,” says Russo. “To me, it’s all about marketing and learning how marketing really works. You’re going to spend your dollars one way or another, so you’re either going to do it getting referrals and wining/dining people, or you can do a really good job and use direct marketing.”

What Russo does is market herself to her network as having nationwide coverage, utilizing ReferralExchange to help find the best agent for their specific needs.

“I built a really strong website and I advertise all over the U.S.,” says Russo. “I get a lot of people who really like my product or those who appreciate the advice I’ve given them. I then enter that person into the ReferralExchange system and send them two real estate professionals I think they will really like. And I still get paid.”

Russo also utilized ReferralExchange when she got sick and needed to find agents for her clients. Taking advantage of the service in this way helps keep her sphere happy while providing a higher closing rate.

Taking Advantage of Online Lead-Gen Marketing Terry Yonker, a broker with Buckeye Realty in Winter Park, Fla., says real estate professionals spend so much time, money and effort on lead generation that referrals are extremely important, and maintaining your sphere is necessary.

“My niche is that I love to list. I don’t work well with buyers, so one of the things we do is refer out the buyer calls to people who love to do that part, even if it’s at other brokerages,” says Yonker. “When people call on our listings, we have three of the top buyer’s agents in the area that we will call, and we take a 25 percent referral.”

Quarterly, Yonker puts any leads collected into the ReferralExchange system to see if anything can shake out there.

While Yonker’s career in the real estate industry began a dozen years ago, he moved his office from Southwest Florida to the Orlando area about two years ago. Heading overseas before the transition, Yonker was able to take care of new referrals thanks to ReferralExchange.

“I remember being in Provence and Thailand and taking Skype calls as the referrals kept coming in even though I wasn’t there,” says Yonker. “Online lead generators allow you to focus your marketing dollars and get results and better ratios because you’re not doing blanket, old-school geo-farming.”

For those who contact him from outside his zone for real estate advice? Yonker turns to ReferralExchange.

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[garynsmith]

OB Jacobi: Culture Makes the Difference

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Although Windermere Real Estate President OB Jacobi officially received his real estate license in 1989, he’s been working at the Seattle-based firm since he was a kid.

“My dad started the company in 1972 and he would have me and my sisters answer phones, sweep the sidewalks, clean the office, etc.,” says Jacobi. “After I became licensed, I worked every type of job, from sales to property manager, office manager, franchise owner, and now, executive leadership.”

As president of the company, Jacobi has found the real estate business to be both incredibly challenging, yet rewarding at the same time.

“You constantly have to evolve in order to stay ahead,” he says. “I love the entrepreneurial aspect and the opportunities it provides both our agents and our franchise owners, who treat this like the real profession that it is.”

Reflecting on 2016, Jacobi notes booming markets in cities up and down the West Coast where Windermere has offices, but these markets are also plagued by extremely low inventory levels.

“In Seattle, where we’re headquartered, we’ve increased migration to the area from other parts of the country due to our strong economy and employment opportunities, which have added pressure to our already highly competitive housing market,” says Jacobi. “So, while sales are very strong, inventory is limiting the housing market’s full potential in several of our markets. That being said, our agents are outperforming prior years.”

The average GCI for Windermere’s entire 6,000 agent-network is currently $142,000, an annual increase of 11 percent, and well above the national average.

Jacobi takes great pride in the Windermere culture, and believes its core values—relationships, professionalism, collaboration and community—are what separate the firm from others.

“Every decision we make as an organization is driven by those core values,” says Jacobi. “Something else we often hear from our agents and franchise owners is that we’re a bottom-up company, not top-down,” he adds. “In fact, many of Windermere’s best and most successful ideas for programs and services have come from our agents.”

One example is the firm’s new W Collection, an ultra-luxury program that was recently launched.

“The idea resulted from a group of Seattle-area agents who specialize in the upper-tier luxury market saying that we needed a marketing program for the ultra-high end,” Jacobi says. “We hired an outside consulting firm/agency and spent a year building the W Collection brand with input from our agents every step of the way.”

In terms of training, back in 2011, the firm adopted the Ninja Selling principals and established the Windermere Ninja Installation program. Since then, over 3,500 Windermere agents have completed the program, which teaches agents how to create a sustainable, thriving business in every kind of market, with every kind of client.

“We place a high priority on education, so our Windermere Professional Development division offers a variety of courses designed to educate our agents on every facet of the business and all types of client demographics,” says Jacobi. “We also provide our agents with cutting-edge technology, like our TouchCMA program, to meet the expectations of the growing number of tech-savvy consumers.”

Community is also one of the firm’s core values, and an integral part of the company.

“Every Windermere agent donates a portion of every commission to the Windermere Foundation,” says Jacobi. “By doing so, we’ve been able to raise more than $32 million to support low-income and homeless families throughout the Western U.S.”

Vitals: Windermere Real Estate Years in Business: 45 Size: 300 offices, 6,000+ agents Regions Served: Western U.S., including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Mexico 2015 Sales Volume: $31.7 billion 2015 Transactions: 86,000 www.windermere.com

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