 look that mug...GUILTY!! Aye carumba! This sneaky snake used religion to lure his Spanish radio listeners into mortgage schemes that totaled over $2M. As a San Francisco pastor & former real estate agent, he offered to help embattled homeowners but in reality put his name on their title or refinanced their house and cashed out! Disgusting! As Maude would say, God'll get you for that! Add Comment It seems everyone is on some "real estate team" now. Some are effective, meaning there is clear division of labor and works like well oiled machine. But more often than not, I find teams to be just disorganized. I have to communicate the same conversation 5 times to 5 different people. Many are inexperienced new agents who need to join a team to do any business. Too many hands in the pot leads to no accountability. But then again, if I were them and I had to split my earnings 5 ways, I probably wouldn't be very motivated either...I'm just sayin'!  What would you think if you did a deal with another agent, and at the end of the transaction, they gave a closing gift to YOUR client? I'm not talking dinky rubber keychain with their contact info. I'm talking a sweet jaw dropping present. Is it merely in the spirit of celebration? A kind gesture of congratulations? Or... is it poaching your client?! Back-handed try to steal them? What would you think/do?!  Amanda Seyfried & her real estate broker boyfriend Justin Huchel just broke up after 1 month of dating! This isn't the first time Amanda has had bad luck with a real estate professional. Her prior beau was NY real estate exec Andrew Joblon who split after 4 months. Anyone else had trouble dating someone in real estate? Take it from me, it's tough. Income is up and down. Weekends and evenings are devoted to clients. The market is crap now. Sometimes I just wanna flip burgers! We all can't be married to Bravo TV's Mauricio Umansky! (Kyle Richards, if you are listening, give us advice how you dealt with dating a realtor!)
 My NYC friend Rebecca just snapped this hilarious pic for me. I just can't stop giggling!
What do you guys think of agents who do this? Egomaniacs? Or savvy marketers?  My friend David Winans from TexasMLS just launched a new site called My Agent Story, where us agents share all the wackiest, craziest hilarious stories we encounter on a daily basis. Trust me, we see some weird stuff out there, and it is Cray-cray! If you are a realtor who has got a story to share, please submit! We all need a dose of laughter in this hard economy. My tale is about wearing bullet proof vest to show property in the ghetto. Enjoy! My latest column for AGBeat is bound to raise a few eyebrows in the realtor community. Do you want your agent to inform you they are a victim of foreclosure? An industry secret It’s considered hush hush, but many agents have lost their homes to foreclosure. This housing mess has affected everyone. Admit it or not, that includes us real estate agents. Realtors were not immune. Some of us speculated just as much as the banks and some of us got swept up in the dizzying ascent of the market. And frankly, some of us lost our shirts. For those agents who have personally gone through foreclosure, do you tell clients, or do you sweep it under the rug? An agent’s own REO experience can be a blemish. People think “Wait, you’re supposed to be the real estate expert. How could this happen to you? Shouldn’t you know better? And if you couldn’t save your own house, what makes you think you can save my house?” Painful, albeit valid, questions. Would you hire an electrician whose own sub-panel gets burnt to a crisp? A plumber whose own pipes explode? When we position ourselves as the authority on real estate, there is a certain expectation from consumers that we know what we are talking about. Our own real estate failings can discredit us. The flip side of the coin On the other hand, is it better to tell clients that you know first hand what they are going through? As prevalent as it is, foreclosure is still shameful and a seller may take solace that you can relate. A strong rapport helps, especially in distressed sales. Sometimes emotional support is more important to a client. Also having gone through the process yourself, you know the pitfalls to avoid. Sharing your past mistakes can help them navigate the rocky road ahead. Do you think agents who have lost property in a foreclosure or a short sale ought to disclose this to clients? Are they more or less qualified to assist owners facing repossession?  This may ruffle some feathers in realtor circles, but hey, that's never stopped me before! How many times have you heard an agent proclaim to much fanfare that they are an Area Specialist? When I hear that, I can't help but roll my eyes. Read why in my latest column for Agent Genius Local expertise is good, right? There is something to be said about local knowledge, but honestly folks, isn’t the term “Area Specialist” just a marketing angle for some agents? These self-anointed neighborhood experts brand themselves out the wazoo to their farm. To drum up business, they talk up how they know this zip code like the back of their hand, how they know every nook & cranny within a five block radius, how they are the go-to agent for all the locals, blah blah blah. They live, breath & reproduce in that neighborhood! OK, I get it. For some agents, that is their hook, which is fine and dandy. Everyone’s got their schtick. But, how many times have you seen a self-dubbed “Area Specialist” get riled up for you taking a listing in “their” farm? They get possessive about anyone stepping onto “their” turf. (Excuse me, I don’t see your name on street sign!) And yet despite their PR about the importance of working with an Area Specialist, they’ll snap up a listing across town without batting an eyelash. It just comes off to me as a sales gimmick, a mere marketing ploy. Because if they practiced what they preached, then they wouldn’t take that listing outside their area. You can’t have it both ways, folks! The inherent problem Ergo, that’s the inherent problem with labeling yourself an “Area Specialist.” You convince a buyer to work with you because you know the area the best. But what if their search ends up in a neighborhood clear across town? Your cred is shot. Based on your logic, they should no longer work with you. Are you really going to give up the last six months of work you put in? Doubt it. On the listing side, I don’t know a single Area Specialist who’d turn down a million dollar property because it is outside their geographic bubble (all of a sudden they aren’t an “Area Specialist,” they’re a “Luxury Specialist”). My point is that agents who flagrantly label themselves as Area Specialists run the danger of painting themselves into a corner. They end up looking like hypocrites the second they do business outside their area. Am I wrong? If you can stomach anymore, my other articles for Agent Genius can be found here. Enjoy!  LogoTV viewer writes to Hermanity: QUESTION: The house we're buying has chimney damage. My agent says we should focus on our loan instead? Is that right? ANSWER: Yikes, your agent just wants to sweep the chimney under the rug & focus on his commission! Watch my video for the 3 steps you need to take ASAP! Remember guys, you are the client. Your agent is supposed to always have your back & protect your best interests. A great realtors does what is right for you, not for their wallet! Have you come across any agents who were looking out for themselves more than you? Vent here! |
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