VanEd - Real Estate School News

Hurricane Harvey: How you can help with disaster relief and recovery

As the reports of unprecedented rain and historic flooding unfolding in Texas from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, you might be wondering what you can do to help like we are.  We have found a number of good articles and resources, and we wanted to share those here, including information from Vox.

We have also included information on the REALTORS® Relief Foundation, which has one goal: help families who have endured an unimaginable loss. This information is on the bottom of this article.

Please keep an eye out for ways to help, and keep those affected in your thoughts.  With students, instructors, friends, and colleagues in the affected areas, we will be doing the same.

 

American Red Cross: Usually the first group of people we think of when giving after a disaster. They are providing shelters for those displaced by Harvey, and it has thousands of volunteers on the ground in the state. You can give here. 

All Hands: This non-profit recommended by disasterologist Samantha Montano has staff on the ground in Texas, and is in contact with emergency management officials about assisting in the response and recovery. You can give here. 

Global Giving: A charity crowdfunding site that is attempting to raise $2 million to be used exclusively for local relief and recovery efforts. You can give here. 

Americares: The non-profit focused on medicine and health is seeking to provide emergency medical supplies and other basic resources to first responders and others in Texas. You can give here.

Portlight: A disaster response group dedicated specifically to people with disabilities. It is seeking to help affected people with evacuation and finding shelter, any medical equipment needs they might have, and more. You can learn more about its efforts here.

Locally: If you're looking for a local charity to support in the wake of Hurricane Harvey please consider Houston Food Bank, Food Bank of Corpus Christi, Houston Humane Society, or San Antonio Humane Society. These highly-rated organizations are located in the most-affected areas and are providing support to individuals and animals. 

REALTORS® Relief Foundation: The REALTORS Relief Foundation distributes 100% of all funds collected to disaster relief causes. The funds are distributed on an "as-needed" basis by the Foundation's Directors. The REALTORS® Relief Foundation is currently coordinating efforts for relief in the gulf coast cities and in the greater Houston, Texas, area due to unprecedented flooding left by Hurricane Harvey. The RRF welcomes contributions—not only in times of disaster but at any time throughout the year—and 100% of all funds collected go to disaster relief causes.  You can learn more and give here.

The Go-Giver Real Estate Agent

Ed Note: At the end of each year we here at VanEd determine which of the hundreds of previous posts have impact beyond any one year or any one issue. We select these posts to Rewind, republish and reflect upon. They touch on the concept of generosity and the unwavering spirit our authors, partners, affiliates, students, staff and most of all our families and friends. We share these posts as a reminder of how the most successful people in the industry reach out every day, and hope they give you ideas on how to implement the concepts into your practice in the coming year. 

One day in mid-2010, three different people suggested I read The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that, but on this particular day, I heard it three times. 

I took it as a sign, fired up the Kindle and forked over the $18.99 for immediate upload to my digital reader. Since I was traveling, I was able to dive right in to find out what all the fuss was about.

Wow.

If you haven’t read The Go-Giver, or the sequel, Go-Givers Sell More…well, do! But in case you haven’t yet had the pleasure, the basic premise of the Go-Giver philosophy is that, in order to be successful in a sales career (or any career, really, or truthfully, in life itself!), you’ll be far better off putting other people’s needs, wants and desires ahead of your own. Not just because it’s the polite thing to do (that good ol’ Golden Rule and all), but because it’s simply a smart way to live and love. And yes, succeed.

The authors, Mr. Mann and Mr. Burg, focus primarily on salespeople perhaps because traditional sales training and wisdom teaches its practitioners just the opposite—what one might call a Go-TAKER philosophy. That it’s all about the salesperson—her wants, needs and desires—and how she can best convince her target/prospect/victim that he wants what she, the salesperson, wants him to want!

But Misters Mann and Burg turn that paradigm on its head. They insist (brilliantly and persuasively) that when you make your approach all about the other person, when you truly and sincerely put their needs, wants and desires above your own, you’re pretty darned likely to come out ahead. Not ahead of the other person, mind you, but ahead of where you’d be if you’d made it all about you.

Here’s the thing. When you are self-employed, you are dependent on the good will, trust and support of other people who inhabit the planet with you. You can’t be a successful entrepreneur all by yourself; you need customers, who are in all likelihood going to be human beings. ;-].

Therefore, it only makes sense that you’d want to behave in ways that will make those other human beings like and trust you—which is best accomplished, not with aggressive sales pitches, but by treating them the way they want to be treated.

In other words, “It’s not about you, it’s about them.”

So, how can we apply Go-Giver principles to a real estate business?

We’re can create a message and delivery of that message that will be welcomed by others… instead of assaulting others with sales pitches they’d rather not be assaulted by.

We can take the time to prove ourselves deserving of a new buyer’s commitment… instead of pressuring them to agree to an exclusive arrangement before they’re ready.

We can provide a clear, coherent and persuasive explanation of our commission structure to sellers… instead of defensively rebuffing their reasonable requests to justify our fees.

We can approach For Sale By Owners with a sincere desire to help… instead of insulting their intelligence with an arsenal of intimidating material intended to make them feel stupid.

We can inspire our friends to refer to us because we’re the best real estate agents they know… instead of repeatedly pestering them for business and referrals.

We can inspire open house visitors to want us to have their contact information… instead of tricking them into providing it.

We can help our buyers decide if now is the right time, for them, to buy a home… instead of looking for ways to push them off the fence…

Treating others the way you’d like to be treated IS a viable business strategy, and the Go-Giver books demonstrate that philosophy beautifully. Seriously, it’s good stuff. Career-changing stuff. Which makes it life-changing stuff...

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.

Boo! Don't get scared off the VINE by the ZOMBIES in our favorite stories from October!

Happy Halloween Everybody!

This month our team spent time helping new affiliates, volunteering on two state exam reviews, performing with children in penguin suits, attending conferences and updating 3 programs (including more than 20 courses!).  Feels like there were a full 31 days in this month. We also had our first zombie sighting in months. So there's that.

And during all of that there was still news and information being presented. Here, in absolutely no particular order, are our favorite items.

 

ARELLO Names Bruce Wooley Investigator of the Year

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) is pleased to announce former TREC Chief Investigator, Bruce Wooley has been named 2016 Investigator of the Year by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials. Click here to read the full story.

 

Zombies overrun home of sales rep Chris DeLuca

REMOnline posted how there will be a gory zombie doctor’s office, a graveyard with ghosts and zombies, a human meat market, a living dead daycare, a torture chamber and a giant jumping spider all taking over the home of the Sutton Group Heritage sales rep.  The event is for a good cause so if you're in the Ontario area we suggest you go.  

As for us - Thank you for the heads up - we will NOT be attending. #Zombies

 

Real Estate Groups Concerned About APB 'Green' Guidance

The Real Estate Roundtable announced Sept. 9 that it led a real estate industry comment letter to the Appraisal Practices Board stating concerns about its first draft of the “voluntary” guideline Valuation of Green and High Performance Property: Commercial, Multifamily and Institutional Properties.

In its letter, the coalition noted several “significant” concerns about the draft.  You can read more online by clicking here.

 

New EcoBroker® Course Launched

From our perspective, one of the most exciting new Continuing Education courses to come along in a while is the new EcoBroker: Trends in Sustainability update course. This new course covers current issues including Solar leases and financial concerns regarding today's Sustainable homes. The course also discusses key risk reduction issues using what EcoBroker® fondly calls the Liability Reduction Paradigm.

Learn more about this new course by clicking here.

 

Vine. Donzo.

With Twitter announcing that Vine is going the way of the Model A Ford, we wanted to make sure first that all our vines would be saved. Then we saw that "The company insists that they will be working alongside creators to make sure that all questions are answered and that the discontinuation is done “the right way” (if such a thing exists). In the meantime, Vine will be sharing updates and information via their Twitter account."

                                                                                #DeadOnTheVine

We actually thought that was a pretty good hashtag.

 

Fun Facts about the World Series

In Game 4 of the world series Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians became only the third player from a visiting team to hit a 3-run home run at Wrigley Field in Chicago, home of the Cubs. Can you guess the other two?

Jimmie Foxx and Babe Ruth.   Pretty good club to join Jason - congratulations.   

 

Tour the Haunted Ghost Town That Could Be All Yours (If You Dare)

Zillow Porchlight posted on how you could have an abandoned school, general store, and homes all to yourself ... except for the ghosts.  It seems that you'll have to share those. "Along with the sprawling acreage and historic buildings, Johnsonville’s buyers will also be inheriting some ghosts — or at least the stories that people have about them."

As for us, the stories are fine. Not sure about the ghosts, but hey, it's Halloween, right? 

 

Global Real Estate Summit

The Institute of Real Estate Management has already posted a video about next Octobers IREM Global Real Estate Summit. 

Collaborate - Innovate - Differentiate is the theme for the Summit which is planned for October 10th, 2017 in Chicago.

 

 

Registration opens Spring 2017 - click here for more information. (Ignore the blatant pitch to send the author to Chicago next Fall)

 

 

 

Think we missed a story that we should have included? Let us know. Email us stories at [email protected] and we'll make sure to consider them!

AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon in Colorado this week!

This annual event engages communities and volunteers in weeklong blitz build. 

Every year, AmeriCorps members and alumni from across the country travel to select cities to help local Habitat for Humanity organizations meet the need for decent and affordable housing in their communities, while celebrating the impact made through Habitat's partnership with AmeriCorps.

Habitat's 2016 AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon is being hosted over the course of two separate weeks, in three states. From May 22-28 the blitz took place in North Carolina and South Carolina. 

This week! June 5-11

More than 100 members will build or repair a total number of 11 houses in partnership with three Habitat organizations in Colorado:

• Habitat for Humanity of St. Vrain Valley (Longmont, CO)
• Flatirons Habitat for Humanity (Boulder, CO)
• Berthound Habitat for Humanity (Berthound, CO)

Please visit these resources for more information:

• Habitat AmeriCorps Facebook group
• Habitat AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon Facebook group

 

 

Veterans Day ~ Thank You Veterans and Active Duty personnel

Van Education Center is proud to support our troops, both those who have served our Nation in the past and those who are on Active duty. And to honor their service, VanEd will continue to offer special discounts on real estate licensing courses and appraisal licensing courses to active and retired military personnel and their spouses. Discounts of 10% off the full program price are available online and students will be able to register with the discount directly on the VanEd web site. 

For those interested in learning more about the required coursework for real estate, mortgage or appraisal courses, visit the VanEd web links below. Veteran discounts are available directly on the enrollment page. VanEd also continues to offer a 5 day Free Trial to all enrolling students. Have questions? Send us an eMail! We're here to help! 

 

>>> Real Estate Licensing

>>> Appraisal Licensing

>>> Mortgage Broker Licensing

Colorado Gives Day Begins at Midnight!

Colorado Gives Day – an annual statewide initiative to celebrate and promote philanthropy through online giving – is just hours away, but you can beat the rush and schedule your donations tonight!

Donors may choose their favorite nonprofits and set up their Colorado Gives Day gifts now through ColoradoGives.org, the year-round, online giving website featuring more than 1,500 charities and the official website for Colorado Gives Day. The scheduled donations will process on December 9th during Colorado Gives Day.

Community First Foundation and FirstBank have partnered to present Colorado Gives Day since 2010. Colorado Gives Day unites Coloradans in a common goal to strengthen the state’s nonprofits and educates communities on the benefits of online giving by making fundraising simple for nonprofits and easy for donors.

Colorado Gives Day is one of the most successful events of its kind in the nation. Now in its fifth year, the initiative has distributed $58.1 million to Colorado nonprofits ($8.7 million in 2010, $12.8 million in 2011, $15.7 million in 2012 and $20.9 million in 2013).

For the first time, Colorado Gives Day features a $1 Million Incentive Fund, one of the largest gives-day incentive funds in the country. The fund was created by Community First Foundation and FirstBank to motivate donors to give on Dec. 9.  Every nonprofit receiving a donation on Colorado Gives Day receives a portion of the incentive fund, which increases the value of every dollar donated. For example, if a nonprofit organization receives 10 percent of the total donations made on Colorado Gives Day, that same nonprofit receives 10 percent of the $1 Million Incentive Fund.

About ColoradoGives.org
ColoradoGives.org is a year-round, online giving website featuring nearly more than1,500 Colorado nonprofit organizations. Made possible by Community First Foundation since 2007, ColoradoGives.org encourages charitable giving by providing comprehensive, objective and up-to-date information about Colorado nonprofits and an easy way to support them online.

Please join us in Supporting Colorado Gives Day!  Visit https://www.coloradogives.org/ to learn more.

Life Lessons: How to Teach Your Kids about Safety and Strangers

Life Lessons: How to Teach Your Kids about Safety and Strangers

Strangers are everywhere. Most strangers that your children meet will be nice people, but a few may not be. Parents can protect their children by teaching them how to recognize suspicious behavior and what to do when that happens. 

Begin by Defining "Stranger"
Start by teaching young children what a stranger is: a stranger is anyone that your family doesn't know well. It's important to teach them that not all "bad strangers" look scary or scruffy. A bad stranger could be the woman at the park, the man in a business suit or the grandpa at the grocery store. You must teach children that you cannot tell if a stranger is nice or not nice by looking at them. They must be careful around all strangers.

But not all strangers are bad. Children need to be able to recognize strangers they can go to for help. Point these helpful strangers out to your kids, including police officers, firefighters, teachers, principals and librarians. It's also important for children to always go to a public place for help, such as a fire station, a grocery store, a library, or a school. Be sure to point these places out to your children. 

"No, Go, Yell, Tell"
Next, teach your children what behaviors to be suspicious of and what to do if they run into strangers who act suspicious. In any situation where a child may feel threatened, he should follow "No, Go, Yell, Tell." In a dangerous situation, your child should say NO, run away, yell as loud as he can and tell a trusted adult what happened right away. The following are situations that a child should be suspicious of and tell an adult about.

• Someone asks her to disobey her parents or do something without permission
• Someone asks him to keep a secret
• A stranger asks her for help
• A stranger asks the child to go somewhere with him
• Someone asks the child to do anything that makes the child uncomfortable

The following situations should be discussed with your children. What would they do? Be sure to walk them through the correct things to do and why the situations are dangerous.

• A nice-looking stranger approaches your child in the park and asks for help finding his lost dog.
• A woman who lives in your neighborhood-but who your child has never spoken to-invites your child into her house for a snack.
• Someone offers your child a ride home.
• An adult that your child knows says or does something that makes them feel bad or uncomfortable.
• While your child is on her way home from a friend's house, a car pulls over and asks her for directions.

Here are some additional things that you can do to keep your kids safe:

• Be sure you know where they are at all times and who they are with. Have a phone number where you can reach them.
• Be sure your kids know all your phone numbers and where you are. If your child cannot remember your phone numbers, write them on a card and have them carry the card with them at all times.
• Teach your children that they cannot go anywhere without your permission and make them do periodic check-ins.

Teaching your kids what to do in any situation is the key to keeping them away from situations that can turn out badly. So, teach your children what a stranger is, who they can trust, and what to do in suspicious situations.

Guest author Andrew Wooten was the President of Safety Awareness Firearms Education (S.A.F.E.), and had been in the safety and security industry for more than twenty-six years. He was a recognized expert in safety and security and speaks to thousands of professionals every year. In February of 2013 Andrew passed away during a continuing education event.

To raise money for the programs and causes that Andrew worked to create, his Community Safety Foundation is auctioning off his motorcycle. Only 500 tickets will be sold for this raffle, so please get your ticket today! You can find out more online at http://www.thecommunitysafety.org/motorcyle-raffle.html.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in 2012. Have a Wonderful New Year!

“The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.” -- John Foster Dulles, former Secretary of State

 

On behalf of the entire VanEd team, we want to wish you and yours happiness and success in the coming year. And as we prepare for years end, we want you to know that we truly appreciate your business. Thank you for your continued support.

Over the past few years the real estate industry has faced incredible challenges. We have seen new laws, new rules and enhanced regulation affect and change the landscape of real estate. This has affected not only real estate licensees but also appraisers and mortgage brokers. And it has affected education as well. But as we reflect upon this past year we realize that while the issues we face are difficult, we do not have the same problems that we had last year. And that, in and of itself, is a sign of progress.

Last year we wrote to you and let you know that looking ahead we saw great opportunity, and in 2012 we embraced that with our students and affiliates as we continued to encourage them to be successful. We believe that even more challenges are in store for the real estate industry in the coming year but that the industry is now poised to handle those challenges and create overall growth and individual success among those involved. We are working behind the scenes to help our students and affiliates take advantage of these new opportunities.

So thank you for calling us, visiting our website, subscribing to our Newslog and becoming a fan on social media.  We greatly appreciate you being our customer and we look forward to being your resource far into the future.

Our entire team is dedicated to serving the best interests of our students, so if you have any questions or ideas for how we might better serve you, feel free to contact us.  Today, and for almost 15 years now, we are here to help.

Here's to your success and peace in the coming year. May you find, and leave, Joy wherever you go.

Sincerely,

                    

C. Vann Hilty, CRS, CDEI                            Burton Lee, MAI, CDEI

Have questions or comments?  Let us know with an email at [email protected]  

The most successful people in Real Estate use VanEd.  See what they say by clicking here.

Today is Colorado Gives Day!

About Colorado Gives Day
Colorado Gives Day is an initiative to increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving. Presented once again by Community First Foundation and FirstBank, Colorado Gives Day will take place during a 24-hour period on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. Donations will be accepted through the website GivingFirst.org, with a goal to inspire and unite Coloradans in supporting local nonprofits. Colorado Gives Day media partners include 9NEWS, Comcast, Entravision Communications, Clear Channel, Colorado Public Television (CPT 12, Channel 12), Rocky Mountain PBS, and 5280 Magazine.

CARHOF

The Colorado Association of REALTORS® Housing Opportunity Foundation (CARHOF) is taking part in Colorado Gives Day. CARHOF promotes safe, decent and affordable housing in Colorado by providing grants to nonprofit and public housing agencies that serve low to moderate income households.

CARHOF donates the interest collected on earnest money deposits in real estate transactions from real estate and title companies that voluntarily set up interest-bearing CARHOF accounts.
Click here for a list of participants

In 2011, CARHOF donated more than $106,000 to support affordable housing in Colorado.
Click here for a list of grant recipients

Grillo Center

Our own Founder, C. Vann Hilty, is the Chairperson for the Grillo Health Information & Resource Center in Boulder, Colorado. You can learn more about Grillo online using the link below. Mr. Hilty will be taking part in hosting a fund raising event today for the Grillo Center and you are invited!

http://healthquestionresearch.com/you-are-invited/

To see a full list of participating charities and sponsors visit http://givingfirst.org.

What we're reading: Our favorite items from this past week include foreclosures, ray guns, card tricks, and philanthropy

Quote: Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.-Robert Frost, American Poet

 

The past week has been full of news from the world of real estate and finance, sure, but we found some of our staff caught up reading articles and posts on topics ranging from marketing to science fiction. Here are some of the items we found the most interesting from this past week.

 

Fannie Mae is preparing to open a pilot project that is designed to sell foreclosed properties to investors in hopes that the investors will turn them into rental properties. http://on.wsj.com/yEzBvB 

 

Not to be out done, Freddie Mac made moves to adopt a new way of valuing foreclosed properties. With any luck this one turns out to be a good step.  http://bit.ly/zOV7vF

 

 

Teller (yes, of Penn & Teller) Reveals His Secrets and discussed seven steps to.... well.... manipulating us! (18 months to create one trick! Amazing!) http://bit.ly/ymk0ew

 

How do we hush rowdy library patrons? We currently use the tried and true "shhhhh" method, but we all want a new Japanese SpeechJammer Ray Gun!  http://bit.ly/wN2b4B Yep. #shhh

 

In case you missed it, the Bowling To Teachers Grant Classroom Supply program is running at participating Kids Bowl Free centers.  Last week they delivered information to about 60 schools in Madison, WI to let teachers know about the program.  We'd love for you to let your kids teachers know about it too.  Tell them to visit www.BowlingToTeachers.com for all of the details.  

These folks are going to be giving away 80 - $250 Grants each month starting in March and ending in July.  That's 400 grants in total. We wanted to make certain to pass this information along in hopes that teachers around the country get a chance to participate!

 

 

 

The most successful people in real estate choose VanEd. To learn more about the family of courses offered by VanEd, visit us online at http://www.vaned.com.