VanEd Newslog

The Confident Rookie Series: Secret #1 - Know your Systems

How comfy are you with your systems? Specifically, your MLS and your contract software? For me, if I'm not proficient with my tools of my trade, it's easy for me to shy away from using them. Well, in OUR trade, shying away from using the MLS or your contract software is pretty much fatal to your chances of bringing in a paycheck. KWIM?

After two years away from the trenches, I re-activated my real estate license. The RE/MAX office I joined had a new fancy-schmantzy contract software program I'd never used before. Well, the heavens smiled on me and I got a buyer off my blog literally the first day back. We went out looking at houses and they found one they liked and wanted to make an offer on it.

YIPES! I had no idea how to even fire up the program, much less navigate through it, so... get this... I put them off with some stupid excuse until two days later so I could get a crash course on the software. But even with the crash course, I was a bit of a basket-case writing up the offer, from a technology perspective.

For a new agent, I imagine this would be doubly or triply unnerving! At least I'd actually gone through a purchase contract with a buyer a couple hundred times, so I wasn't nervous about that... but the actual technology of it just about shut me down.

So, the first step is admitting you have a problem. When you run an MLS search for a buyer, do you trust your results? When you're looking for comparables to price a home for a prospective seller, are you sure you found them all? No? Then practice practice practice. And get some training, either from the local MLS provider/board or from another agent in the office. Do 5 practice CMAs* on 5 office listings. Do a CMA on your own house. Search for homes Just Like Yours and go preview them.

If you use contract software (as opposed to handwriting your contracts), GET SOME TRAINING. These systems are not intuitive and you'll be a basket-case like I was if you're sitting down with a buyer to write an offer and can't figure out how to print it out. Or how to auto-populate the fields from contract to contract. These programs are typically pretty powerful and can do a lot of things for you... LEARN THEM.

Yeah, yeah, I know that Learning your Systems isn't nearly as sexy as learning how to prospect, but unless you're a master fake-it-til-you-make-it-er, those prospects you bring in won't be worth much to you without a decent knowledge of your systems.

Next time: Secret Two - Practice with Your Printer (more important than you might think!) 

Take a look at  "Confidence Builders for Rookie Real Estate Agents" (free online) 

 

 

 



Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored five books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

Finance Friday: Rates are not as low as advertised

The September bond market rally brought the yield on the 10 year treasury note to 1.72% and the average thirty year fixed rate mortgage to under 4.0%. Mainstream media flooded the airways with the news that mortgage rates hit a historic low of 3.94%. Unfortunately, just as these low rates were hitting the news,this bond market rally ended abruptly on October 5th as the Eurozone collapse was averted. By the end of the week, the yield on the 10 year treasury had increased to 2.07% and mortgage rates were back above 4.0%. On Tuesday, after the markets were closed for Columbus day, the yield had climbed to 2.14%, breaking support at the 2.10% level.  Today the 10 year treasury yield is up to 2.25%, which is over a one-half percent increase in less than two weeks and mortgage rates are approaching 4.25%.

This is a frustrating time for both Realtors and mortgage lenders because their customers are hearing the news about low rates, but are finding they are not available. Although the rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage with no points is still below 4.25%, most customers are expecting their rate to begin with a "3".

The bond market should find support at the 2.30% range, so it is unlikely that mortgage rates will increase much more before the end of the year. However, it is also unlikely we will see rates back in the three's unless we have another financial calamity.

Guest Author Randy Kelly is a Mortgage Banker and Finance Author with Peoples Mortgage. You can reach him online anytime by clicking here.

VanEd is offering the new Ethics of Technology: Etiquette for the Age of Engage course online now! Learn more at VanEd.com/Etiquette 

VanEd Presents: UAD Regulations for URAR Appraisal Reports--a short review

As you may know as of September 1st, 2011, appraisers are required to make some significant changes in the way they prepare the URAR appraisal report. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and the VA are going to require all appraisal reports be transmitted electronically in a standardized format.

NOW ONLINE: VanEd's UAD Regulations for URAR Appraisal Reports--a short review course written by Henry Harrison, MAI, covering all the relevant changes and information on completing reports under the new guidelines. This line-by-line guide is $39.

CLICK HERE to select your state and enroll--select Appraiser CE and scroll down to the UAD course.

The course is entirely online, and you can login and out over as much time as you need to review the material. Step-by-step instructions on the changes and the relevant sections in the report are all displayed within the course. Students can print any sections for review offline as well.

If you have any questions, please email us at info@vaned.com. We're here to help!

& please note: NO CE credit is associated with this review currently.

Colorado Real Estate Broker Continuing Education Audit Information is now available

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The Colorado Real Estate Commission randomly selected a number of licensees to be part of a Real Estate Broker continuing education audit. Selected licensees must demonstrate compliance for the three-year period from July 1, 2008 through September 30, 2011.

What do you need to do?

You can find all of the information on the recent Colorado Real Estate Commission Education Audit on our site.

http://www.VanEd.com/Audit

You can also look up the list of license numbers that are currently being audited using this link.

License numbers selected for CE audit

If you have questions about the audit, you can always contact us. We’re happy to help! VanEd has you covered when audit time rolls around. If you are looking for your registration records or copies of your course completion certificates for this period, visit us online at www.VanEd.com/Audit to verify the steps required to complete this audit.

Connect with us on our Social Sites, Email us questions at info@vaned.com or use the button below to contact us via live chat.

 

                                             

The most successful people in real estate use VanEd.

Don't miss the Valuation Expo November 7-9, 2011 in Las Vegas, NV #appraisal

LEARN, NETWORK, PROSPER!

2011 brings the 12th Valuation Expo to Las Vegas, back by popular demand, November 7-9, 2011 at the Luxor Hotel, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd, South.

The 2011 ValExpo Conference is approved in many states for 14 hours of CE credit. No boring continuing education here—only relevant, enlightening CE for those who desire professional growth.

The opening session will be comprised of policy updates from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Housing Administration and the Veteran's Administration. These are the policy makers who have an amazing depth of experience and clarity of vision. In fact, the entire lineup of speakers at this years event will broaden your understanding of current and future markets as well as regulatory matters.

Don’t miss out!  Collateral Valuation is finally getting the focus it deserves. You cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and not be a part of the single most important annual event for valuation professionals! And this year brings about a new look and feel to make your expo experience even more enjoyable.

(Vaned offers CE for CO and MI, but they have many states approved through Appraisal Buzz)

For more information or to register online visit http://www.valuationexpo.com/.

 

The Confident Rookie Series ~ By Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn

I had held a 3-hour workshop in Denver called "The Confident Rookie - Ten Secrets to Looking as if You've Done this Before!" Fun time, good crowd.

Due to the popularity of the workshop (Ed Note: and subsequent webinars, books and courses she has written) the Powers that Be here at VanEd asked me to run a series on these Ten Secrets for their audience of pre-licensees, new agents and those who train them.

A little disclaimer... despite the title of the series; I'm not going to tell rookies how to trick their clients or prospects into believing that they're competent real estate agents, capable of handling someones real estate needs, so that they'll allow the rookie to practice on them and learn what he's doing. Nope. What I am going to cover is how to BE a competent real estate agent who IS capable of handling someone's real estate needs, so that the rookie will have the confidence to sell himself to prospects and yes, get the experience he needs.

But I will never, ever ever advise anyone to "Fake it til you Make it" as a business philosophy. Will it happen? Oh yeah, it'll happen every day, this year, next year and for years after that. I've been selling real estate for 12 years now and I still have to bluff my way through situations on a regular basis. But that's actually one of the topics covered - HOW to do that, without jeopardizing your credibility or your license.

Here are the Ten Secrets I'll be covering in the series over the next 10 weeks: 

1. Know Your Systems
2. Practice with Your Printer (sounds silly, I know)
3. Preview, Preview, Preview
4. Drive Your Route Ahead of Time
5. Cheerfully Waste Your Time
6. Find Your Handyman
7. Let Your Seller Prospect Do Most of the Talking
8. Get Comfy with Your Commission
9. Admit that You're New
10. What to say when you don't know the answer

Stay tuned...



Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored five books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

Finance Friday: Mortgage Industry problems are a sum of the individual parts: In focus: The PSA

In a speech given October 4^th, Federal Reserve Member Sarah Raskin noted that house prices have fallen by nearly one-third since their peak in 2006 and that nationwide homeowners’ equity has declined by more than half (a loss of more than $7 Trillion). She noted that currently an estimated 3 million families are underwater on their mortgages and thus unable to refinance at today’s historically low interest rates.

Since the Great Depression the nation’s mortgage finance system has developed into an extensive set of industry players all creating contracts that govern their relationships within the process. One contract (focused on by Member Raskin in her speech) was the PSA, or pooling and servicing agreement. This agreement specifies how a mortgage will be serviced and how the money that is generated from the servicing will be distributed to the various investors.

The question of how the agreements between all the parties in the lending process hold up to legal and practical challenges has been extensively covered. The PSA agreement itself has been studied by private and Federal officials to determine how it holds up during times of market stress. The failures of these agreements can be found by studying the provisions of the PSA agreement.

The typical PSA accounts for how a servicer will be paid if a mortgage is to be foreclosed on but does not have incentives built in for loan modifications. This means that the loan servicer has little or no incentive to provide any assistance to borrowers but does incentivize the foreclosure on the same mortgage.

Another factor concerning officials is that as originators and securitizers continued to complete transactions they were also able to retain little or no economic stake in the performance of the loan after the sale. As a result of this the incentive to strengthen underwriting standards was low, while lower standards meant that the volume of securitizations could continue to increase.

As the mortgage bubble hit its peak the median combined loan-to-value ration on subprime mortgages rose from 90 percent in 2003 to 100 percent in 2005. This means that more than one half of all subprime borrowers put no money down when purchasing a property.

In her speech Federal Reserve Member Raskin urged attorneys to contribute to the effort to rebuild the framework of the mortgage servicing and securitization process. This effort is being taken on in multiple arenas, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is working to revise securitization disclosures and the American Securitization Forum (ASF) which creative Project RESTART, an initiative to create industry standards for representations and warranties that cover all market participants.

VanEd Presents: The Ethics of Technology: Etiquette for the Age of Engage

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The Ethics of Technology: Etiquette for the Age of Engage is now available online! VanEd is proud to be the home to the REALTOR® Ethics courses, and the Ethics of Technology course has been designed to meet those requirements. 

New and emerging technology, the advent of social media and the use of services and applications changes how we perform our daily tasks in business but does not take away our responsibility to the industry or the consumers we serve to act in an ethical manner.

In this course we will look at emerging technology and discuss how Ethics plays a role in our interaction with others online just as it does “in real life”.

During this course students will be introduced to how ethics and technology intersect in a variety of online formats. Students will also be introduced to various ethical concepts, including:

• identifying the role ethics plays in our business practices 
• the process of enforcing the Code of Ethics 
• proper application of the Standards of Practice 
• overcoming obstacles in real estate communication in a variety of formats

Don't let outdated strategies or ideas plague your business plan in the new real estate economy. Log on today to learn this timely and valuable information and to prepare yourself for future success.    >>> Click Here for more information!

To learn more about the REALTOR® Code of Ethics family of courses offered by VanEd, visit us online at http://www.vaned.com.  

Self-Promotion for Real Estate Agents: "What's the best way to get my name out there?"

I hear this question a lot. Agents, particularly newer ones, ask it wanting to know how they can best spread the word that they're open for business.

Usually, they're looking for advice on the best places to advertise - should they take out an ad in the newspaper? Issue a press release? Buy a promotional panel on the side of a bus or a magnet for their car? Or maybe they've been offered a great "opportunity" to include their personal brochure in a neighborhood mailer or door-hanging promotion. One guy wanted to know if he should pony up $1000 to advertise on a banner at his health club.

I always ask the same question of these hopeful agents. "What do you expect to accomplish with your investment?"

They always answer: "I want to get my name out there."

Um... Out WHERE? Out there in the universe of people who don't know you, don't care about you and wouldn't dream of remembering your name, much less calling you for real estate service? Seriously?

Would YOU call a total stranger whose face you saw plastered on the side of a bus or smiling out at you from your shopping cart? Would you run screaming for the phone to hire someone who hung a HIRE ME brochure on your door? Do you really care that so-and-so just joined such-and-such firm and is now happily accepting referrals?

Of course not. And even on the off-chance that someone might respond to this sort of thing, the chances are far too slim for someone on a limited budget to risk the expense.

My point is that "getting your name out there" is a concept promoted primarily by the industries who have something to gain by helping you "get your name out there." And they prey on the "young" (i.e. the rookies) and the desperate.

If you're wondering how to "get your name out there," you probably don't have the budget to do it effectively. And that's okay! Getting Your Name Out There is overrated anyway. Focus your efforts (and marketing dollars) closer to home, literally and figuratively. Before you spend a dime on self-promotion-to-strangers, make darn sure everyone you know knows you sell real estate (without pestering them for referrals, of course). Every day, go forth and smile - that is - go out into your world with the sole intention of making others' days brighter.

Don't worry about competing with the heavier-hitters in your market; there's no need. Real estate business comes in one client at a time. When you run into someone who has a real estate need, all you have to worry about is being the Best (Wo)Man for the Job, which has nothing to do with advertising or marketing or branding... it has everything to do with knowing your stuff - and knowing you know your stuff.

THAT's the best way to get your name out there!



Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored five books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

Colorado Association of REALTORS® Annual Conference & Expo

This week the 2011 CAR State Convention is being held in Denver. The event includes a new-look inauguration that was held last night and a Marketplace of expo booths. You can find the schedule of events and classes online at http://carstateconvention.com.

There is even a mobile app available for this years event. The Convention app lets you do everything you can do on this website. The web app is available at http://m.carstateconvention.zerista.com (or carstateconvention.com should take you there too on your smartphone).

This years event promises to be one of the biggest and best in recent memory. VanEd will be there so make sure to stop by and say hello. You could win a free course!

Can't make it to the conference? Don't worry - organizers have dedicated the twitter hashtag #carconvention for this years event and you can follow along to all the happenings using the twitter search box below.