Southern Nevada Real Estate Resource

It’s official;  Gary Keller, author of best selling book The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and most recently SHIFT will be in Las Vegas on November 11 from 6-9 pm at the Renssaince Hotel to discuss the 12 Tactics described in his book to power through these turbulant time. Cost for the 3 hours of an industry Icon’s time is only $15. For registration or questions call Ernie Gonzales at (702)777-0002.

Although this comes at a time when foreclosures are at a historic high and the ecomony is changing, this bill is introduced to give the economy a swift kick in the pants. Just what the doctor ordered. With the new bill, first time homebuyers are entitled to a hugh tax break and can purchase a home with very little out of pocket. (Depending on situation) More on the Housing Reform Bill HR 3221 go to http://banking.senate.gov/public/_files/HousingandEconomicRecoveryActSummary.pdf If you have any further questions, please contact me at ernie@kw.com or leave a comment here.

Teri Walker and I decided to do an last minute open house for a couple of hours on a bank owned home the other day. The home was vacant in a decent part of town, (nothing to fancy, but very nice and clean neighborhood). Within the first 20 minutes someone walks through the door. Teri did her thing and eventually discovered that the home was not the perfect fit but got a commitment to show others at a later date. By the time we decided to call it quits, (1 hour an 45 minutes later) she walked out of ther with 4 bonafide leads. One even came in with their own letter of approval from a lender.  Goes to show you that lead generation is still alive and well in open houses.

So those of you reading this may want to reconsider all the time you spend at home or in the office hoping something will fall in your lap or waiting for the “market to change”, and get outside in the fresh air generate some leads with open houses. Now is the time for buyers to come out and look, you might as well be the person they are talking to.

If you would like to learn more of how to generate leads and close deals in or shifted market and “Power Through The Shift”, feel free to give me a call for a personal consultation on how to take your business to the next level.

Remember, you want the THRIVE in this market and not just survive.

Ernie Gonzales

702-777-9701

In an attempt to help lenders speed the process of getting real estate-owned properties off their books, the Federal Housing Administration will temporarily lift a 90-day waiting period for property resales financed by FHA-guaranteed loans.The 90-day waiting period — instituted in 2003 to counter predatory lending and house flipping — never applied to properties sold by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or state- and federally chartered financial institutions.

But it can be hard to determine which lenders are exempt from the rule, and many who are exempt prefer to transfer title to REO properties over to property disposition firms that are not exempt, FHA officials say. Because a glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes harms neighborhoods and delays a community’s recovery, FHA will lift the waiting period for one year.

“The action we take today will allow home buyers to purchase these homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes in neighborhoods across the country,” said Federal Housing Commissioner Brian Montgomery in a statement announcing the change.

But because FHA also requires that homes purchased with loans it guarantees to be in “safe, secure and sound” condition, lenders still won’t be able to resell many of the homes they’ve foreclosed on to FHA-eligible buyers until they make the repairs needed to bring them up to FHA standards.

“It’s not going to have as much an impact as one would assume, because most of the properties aren’t going to meet FHA standards,” said Glen Daniels, director of real estate-owned properties for the distressed and foreclosed property listings site, Foreclosure.com.

Daniels — who once managed $243 million in REO properties for Ocwen Financial Corp. — said that if the previous owner of the house was unable to make the mortgage payments, the chances are good that he or she was not keeping up with maintenance.

Lifting the 90-day waiting period does give lenders more incentive to repair REO properties, Daniels said. Under the old standard, lenders that chose to renovate a property would still have to wait 90 days to sell to a buyer using FHA loan guarantee programs.

With FHA loan programs accounting for a growing share of mortgage lending, “I assume a lot more lenders will take that option, to rehabilitate a property, bring it into FHA compliance, and sell to a home buyer” who is eligible for an FHA-backed loan, Daniels said.

According to the Census bureau, there were 129 million housing units in the United States, and 18.6 million were vacant during the first quarter. Those vacancies include 4.1 million rentals, 2.3 million for-sale homes, and 7.5 million “vacant for a variety of other reasons” that include foreclosure.

While Daniels doesn’t see FHA’s new policy having a big impact in the short run, it might help stabilize property values in the long run. That’s because if lenders choose to rehab properties before selling them, they won’t discount their asking price as much.

In justifying its waiver of the 90-day waiting period, FHA said it would reduce the impact foreclosures can have on the value of adjoining and nearby properties.

When FHA announced the 90-day waiting period in May 2003, it said the most egregious examples of predatory lending were often seen on “quick flips,” in which homes sometimes resold within a few days.

The rule, “FR-4615 Prohibition of Property Flipping in HUD’s Single Family Mortgage Insurance Programs,” also requires lenders to obtain a second appraisal on properties resold within 91 and 180 days if the resale price exceeds the previous sale price by 100 percent or more (see letter to lenders).

FHA officials say the threshold was set relatively high to allow legitimate rehabilitation efforts while deterring unscrupulous sellers, lenders and appraisers from defrauding home buyers

But one veteran property rehabber told Inman News that convincing the FHA that a property wasn’t an illegal flip after the 90-day waiting period expired could be “a nightmare.”

“We would take a shell and turn it into a castle,” said Duane LeGate, president of HBN Interactive. “Half of the potential buyers couldn’t qualify for my properties because of the rule. Even when the 90 days expired, you had to show FHA before-and-after pictures, full documentation of all work done to ‘prove’ that the property wasn’t an illegal flip.”

Today, LeGate is focused on building Internet sites like Houses.net, an MLS-based service for pre-foreclosure and distressed properties.

***

What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor. To contact the writer, click the byline at the top of the story.

Copyright 2008 Inman News

All rights reserved. This article may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.

Bruce Hardies class on Servicing Short Sales was such a great success. Thank you to all who attended and I hope you had a good time with Bruce and the rest of the Keller Williams Southwest region Team. If you would like to learn more of the upcoming educational events coming from The Southwest Region, feel free to call me at (702) 777-9701 or keep checking back here at Ernie’s Blog for more info.

Well, taking into account the sweltering heat, numbers of people in line at the pool supply store and the rising gas prices, all signs of summer are here. With summer comes home sales and other changes.

 Typically, Southern Nevada has seen an increase in the number of home sales during the summer months for various reasons; schools out, vacation days and simply because this is a great place to live!!! However, this year may be a little different. Today’s market reflects more inventory and more buyers. If I were to put my money on it, I would guess that this summer our normally slight increase is going to be a major spike!! And that is a great thing. We are going to have buyers from all over the country playing in our backyards, and that is a great opportunity to lead generate. So make your self available if you are an agent, and give us a call if you need a professional to work with. We look forward serving you!!

A Very special presentation is coming to town from national speaker Bruce Hardy. Bruce is a member of the Master Faculty of Keller Williams Realty and Operating Partners in several market centers in North America. Along with his animated teaching style and knowledge he brings to the table, Bruce will educate the audience on the process of serviceing these crazy little escrows we call Short Sales. Cost for this 3hr class is ONLY $29.00 at the First American Title Company Training room at 2230 Corporate Circle #230 in Henderson (just off the 215), on June 5th beginning at 9am. For more information or to register for this event, please call Ernie Gonzales @ 702-419-3410.

Currently we have over 100 foreclosed/bank owned properties listed for sale and it seems there is no end in sight. Some could see this as a good thing while others view it as a great thing. It is no secret that real estate agents in Southern Nevada have struggled for the past couple of years to survive, however here at Keller Williams our agents have learned the skills and techniques to not only shift with the market but also “Power Through This Shift!”  I am very proud to in business with some of the most business minded, caring and successful agents around town. With their combined efforts our office has multiple accounts with various banks and asset managment companies that not only provide inventory to perpective buyers, but also keeps our agents busy with sending and receiveing offers and handleing the lead calls from the hundreds of signs out there on these foreclosed properties. Don’t get me wrong, we still encourage lead generation and of course working with our sellers and buyers not associated with foreclosures. So if you are interested in learning more about foreclosures and what it all entails, give us a call and we would be happy to help. If you are a real estate professional and want to surround yourself with business minded professionals poised for success, you to can give us a call for a private confidential interview with myself. I look forward to hearing from you and have a great weekend!!

At Keller Williams, We Are Encouraged to Think About Our Mission and Purpose in Life. It’s Called Our Big Why, and Here’s Why I Think It Matters

Several years back, on my first day in real estate, I sat down with the team leader of the Keller Williams office here in Annapolis. I signed some papers, had a stack of books and a training schedule handed to me, and then this:

So Ken - tell me about your Big Why.

Sorry? It sounded like she thought I owned a ranch in Montana, The Big Y.

Your Big Why. Why are you here? What’s the one thing that gives meaning and purpose to your life more than any other?

Well, I hadn’t really considered it. And truth be told, I thought the question was a bit lofty for someone who hadn’t even learned to use the office copier yet, let alone sell a single house. But I was new, eager to make my mark, and vaguely recall mumbling something about the opportunity to help people and make a decent living in the process.

Read pages 72 and 73 in there, she said, pointing at one of the books she had just handed me. That will help you figure it out.

Gary Keller, on The Focusing Power of a Big Why

The book in question is one we at Keller Williams refer to as “the red book” - The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, written by our company’s co-founder, Gary Keller.

Sure enough, right there on page 72 was this: “…we’ve discovered that the one thing that all high achievers have in common is they are working for a Big Why. The Big Why is about having a purpose, a mission, or a need, that in turn gives you focus. High achievers always have a Big Why powering their actions.”

I was intrigued, and followed the exercise Gary outlined, writing down everything that motivated me. I was underwhelmed: to my eye, what I had written looked like a ragtag group of Little and Medium Whys. There wasn’t a Big Why in sight. A life of insignificance loomed before me. I had better get digging for a Big Why, and fast, if I wanted to be a high achiever too.

The Power Behind Being the Best You Can Be

I didn’t realize it at the time, but - as Gary went on to explain - there is nothing wrong with a collection of lesser whys: we all have to pay our mortgage or rent, fund retirement accounts, help put our kids through college.

But those - and all of our smaller whys, says Gary - will fall into place naturally if we simply put this one Big Why at the forefront of all others: to be the best we can possibly be. A powerful Big Why like this, he points out, gives foundational support to all of your other whys. It’s like geese flying in formation: the lead goose expends all the energy, while the others draft behind with much less effort.

“Being your best” he goes on to say, “is actually a goal-less pursuit. You can never really reach a point where you can truthfully say, ‘I just can’t grow anymore.’ And what is so exciting about that is this kind of Big Why can create a life that literally explodes with limitless possibility and unlimited growth.”

All Those Big Whys Help Build Stronger Communities

One of the things I love about Keller Williams is the large number of individuals we attract who have a Be the Best You Can Be mentality. That’s not really surprising, given the fact that KW agents have - at their disposal - all of the tools and training necessary for achieving greatness.

All around us in this company we see agents harnessing the power of their Big Whys to strengthen their communities and do good.

Gary Keller himself recently donated $5,000,000 to Baylor University to fund a research center to study the agent/client relationship.

We have agents who have organized drives to provide shoes for needy children in poor countries; agents who’ve purchased and planted trees to re-green urban areas; others who’ve paid surgery bills to help families in their community; and some who have given thousands of dollars to support low-income housing projects. We - The Moss Haedrich Team - support the Fisher House with a $100 donation after every settlement.

How a Big Why Creates Value for Our Clients

We believe that on a daily basis, being the best we can be is the only way to run a successful and competitive real estate business.

It’s the fuel that drives you to deliver the best possible customer service for your clients; to constantly improve your internal systems and marketing skills; to maintain regular and effective communication with your clients and constituency; and to build strong relationships with fellow agents and colleagues in the industry.

When you do these things, we believe you create real value for your clients. And they in turn create value for you, by telling others.

As for myself, I’m still tweaking my Whys, and like those geese, lining them up in proper formation. Unless and until I can come up with something that makes more sense, my Big Why - like Gary’s - will be about being the best I can be: it’s a good fit, even if the downside is that there are always days when you feel as if you might have done better.

But like Gary says, that’s the whole idea.

Thanks for stopping by. All I can say is WOW!!! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be able to tell everyone what I know and it can actually be considered informational!!

Since the advent of the internet, real estate has taken on a whole new life and I personally want to be able to share my knowledge of the real estate world with both consumers and real estate professionals. I feel that there is a ton of information that I can provide and hopefully others will add to it as well so you won’t get board.

I look forward to my audience’s responses and comments.