Randall's View

I've moved

2011-01-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

I'm always trying to do things better, and make the best use of the technology available to me, so I've decided to move this blog over to a new platform. You can now find me at http://randallbrennan.com/. I hope you'll join me there.

It is now "soon"

2011-01-14T14:32:00.002-07:00

For the past couple of years, my website has had a big ol’ “Gone Fishing” sign hanging on it. When I let my license go inactive, I would have just closed it down all together except that the domain hosts were also taking care of my email servers, and I just didn’t want to figure that out, too. So I just left it there, awaiting the day I would come back and dust the place off, getting it ready for another go-round.

So here I am. When last I looked at the old site, there was not much more than a cryptic message that “big changes were coming soon.” Well, “soon” has arrived (finally), and I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of days sprucing up the place. I know a serious internet marketer would be appalled that I am using a template site, but I have reasons, so I’m sticking with it. Flash site or not, it was a conscious decision to stay where I am – for now.

In honor of basically restarting my career, I’ve thrown a new template on the site. In general, I like the layout and appearance, but I can’t help but wonder what the developer was thinking with the little fairy bubble that floats around. Another case of "just because we can doesn’t mean we should." Unfortunately, I can’t make it go away. It’s part of the code that I don’t have access to. I know, I know, that’s “proof positive” that I shouldn’t be using a template site, but I look at it as an annoyance rather than a deal-breaker. I like the look of the rest, so far; we’ll just pretend it’s the spirit of the website, OK?

I’ve also been adding a few things that folks might find useful and/or interesting. My new company, Equity Colorado, provides me with a newsletter service. Once a month, a new edition is put out, and I will be uploading them to the site, ready for anyone who desires to download and enjoy. I’ve added a few back editions, also, and I’ll be adding more as time goes by and I find a few free minutes. If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you’ll know when the new editions are ready.

A really big addition to the site will be the financing calculators. I’ll be adding those as I go. Each one is worthy of a blog post, so I’ll be doing a series on them, too. These calculators are a handy way to help with the decision process when buying and selling real estate. Some will mainly be of interest to buyers, some to sellers, and some to buyers and sellers both. There will eventually be some just for analyzing real estate as an investment. I’ll let you know when new ones are added.

Go take a look at the “new” site. It’s still a work in progress, and always will be. It’s just one of the resources I have available for your use. Definitely let me know if you want to see something else added, and I’ll look for way to get it there.

The best performance improvement is the transition from the nonworking state to the working state. ~J. Osterhout

You gotta know what you own

2011-01-11T08:48:00.001-07:00

photo by Kevin Rosseel

By now, you have no doubt heard about the two foreclosures that were overturned by the court in Massachusetts last week. There has been a lot of talk about what this means for the foreclosure system. The opinions floating around are all over the board, from “nothing will happen,” to “foreclosures are rendered illegal.” As is almost always the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

To find the truth, it is helpful to figure out exactly what happened, and to do that, we need to fully understand how real estate financing works.

The vast majority of real estate purchases in this country are paid for with borrowed money. In common terms, we use a mortgage, but that is really a simplification of what’s actually going on. Really, financing real estate purchases involves a two step process involving a note and a mortgage or deed of trust.

The note is a contract between the borrower and the lender. It spells out the terms under which one person gets to use the other’s money. The note is very specific about who is borrowing the money, what it is to be used for, how long the loan is for, and how much it is going to cost the borrower. This is the I-O-U.

Of course, in a real estate purchase, the amount of the loan is pretty substantial. It is not something that the average borrower can come up with at a moment’s notice, and is also large enough that the lender will not usually willingly take on all the risk of something going wrong and the borrower stops making payments during the life of the loan. In other words, the lender wants to make sure that if the borrower does indeed stop making the payments as agreed in the note, there is some recourse. That’s where the second part of the financing process comes in.

The deed of trust – or mortgage, depending on your state – is the part of the process the borrower uses to give the lender some piece of mind. With a mortgage, the lender is given the right to force the sale of the property in order to recover the amount that was lent out if the borrower does not meet the terms of the note.

Here’s where it starts to get a little complicated. The note, while considered a liability to the borrower is an asset to the lender. Assets can be sold, and a whole industry has been set up around the buying and selling of these notes. This is called the secondary mortgage market. It is quite common that loans are not made until it is known who will be buying it, and the loan is sold practically before the signatures are dry. By selling the loan, the lender has a more cash to lend out again, and the process starts over.

What we’re interested in here, though, is where the original note went, and what went with it. The note was sold, but was the mortgage? In some states, yes. In Massachusetts, no.

In Massachusetts, a mortgage is sold separately from the note, but, obviously, usually at the same time and to the same company as the note. In the cases that were just overturned by the Massachusetts high court, that is not what happened, although the banks that owned the notes thought it did. There is a requirement in Massachusetts that states that a mortgage buyer must be identified when a mortgage is sold, or there is no sale for that mortgage. That didn’t happen here, so, in these cases, the note was sold, but the mortgage was not.

Now remember, the mortgage is what gives the lender the right to force the sale of the property. If the lender does not own that right, it cannot foreclose when the loan is not repaid. Technically, the owner of the mortgage can foreclose, but if it doesn’t own the note, why would it bother? The foreclosure process is expensive and time-consuming.

So what’s going to happen? Are hundreds of foreclosures going to be overturned? That remains to be seen, but this is a clear demonstration of why title insurance is a requirement in a real estate transaction. That, however, is a conversation for another day. What I can say, though, is that lenders will be stepping up their efforts to making sure that all the details are taken care of during the foreclosure process, even if it means slowing the process down to make sure it is done.

The foreclosures are not going to stop, though. That, I can guarantee.

Creditors have better memories than debtors. -- Proverb

The situation is changing

2011-01-04T14:48:00.002-07:00

Not too long ago, we were in the middle of long, upward-trending market. Real estate values were appreciating steadily and sometimes substantially. Then, suddenly, the situation changed. BAM! The bottom fell out, or the bubble burst, or whatever. Use the analogy of your choice, but virtually overnight we went from a strong sellers’ market past a strong buyers’ market and right into recession where folks couldn’t buy homes no matter how badly they needed or wanted to do so.

That’s where we’ve been for the past couple of years, although we’ve been slowly but surely working our way out. The real estate business is different, but it’s still IN business. New rules are being figured out and experimented with. The credit rules are being eased again and new loan products are being created, allowing more and more folks to buy homes with loans that make sense. Banks and mortgage servicers are figuring out the fine line between dripping foreclosed inventory into the market fast enough to clear the backlog, and flooding the market so much that the nascent recovery is inundated.

Slowly but surely, we are crawling our way out of the depths of the market.

In just the past few days, there have been a few interesting pieces of news slip across my computer screen. First, interest rates are continuing to rise. It is possible that we have seen the bottom, and are moving past it. Second, the number of transactions has increased over last year. Finally, although many (most?) predictors are showing continuing price decreases into 2012, at least one model is showing that some parts of the country might actually see some price increases by the end of 2011.

I’ve already written about the importance of rising interest rates as a factor in determining the true cost of real estate. With rising rates, buyers have a lot of incentive to buy NOW. The more buyers buy, the smaller the inventory, which leads to upward pressure on prices. Add in the potential of rising prices, and the urge to buy now gets stronger still.

Factor all these pieces of information into the equation, and it really does look like we might be able to see a recovery coming ‘round.

When journeying down the long dark road, we must continue on and never give up faith we'll one day reach our destination - no matter how ugly that road appears before the naked eye. – Reed Murphy

The best gift

2010-12-30T23:15:00.001-07:00

The holiday season is quickly drawing to a close, and I hope yours has been full of peace, joy, and all the good things you were hoping it would be. I hope you were able to give and receive the gifts you wanted, and that meant something special to you. I especially hope that you were able to give some thought to one of the best gifts you will ever be able to give yourself and your family: your own home.

A home is a place of your own where you can raise your family, share with friends and feel safe and secure. Other benefits for homeowners include better physical health, higher lifetime income, higher student test scores, and lower teen delinquency.

Reduced prices and low interest rates have placed housing affordability at its highest but rates have started inching up in the past few weeks which will directly result in higher payments.

Credit, debt ratios and income are the limiting factors that could be keeping you from taking advantage of these opportunities. Isn't it time you found out where you stand to buy a home?

The benefits of talking with a qualified mortgage officer and pre-approval are without question. It saves time, money and removes the uncertainty of not knowing. The direct benefits include:

•Amount the buyer can borrow - as interest rates rise, the amount decreases

•Looking at the "right" homes - price, size, amenities, location

•Find the best loan - interest rate is tied to credit score; do you qualify for the best rate?

•Uncover credit issues early - time to cure possible problems; 90% of credit reports have errors

•Bargaining power - helps negotiate price, terms and timing

•Close quicker - verifications have been made; takes less time to close

Call me for a recommendation and a list of what you need to share with a loan officer. It may be the best gift you give your family.

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons. ~Ruth Ann Schabacker

Buy low, sell high . . . and lose

2010-12-17T00:27:00.000-07:00

We all know the drill, don’t we, that the key to success with financial investments is to “buy low and sell high”? So, since the majority of the predictions floating around right now are that real estate prices are going to continue to drop for another 12 to 18 months, we should wait that long before we buy any real estate. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

Well, not necessarily, and especially with real estate.

The important thing to keep in mind here is that there is the difference between “price” and “cost.” For an investment like real estate, which is usually leveraged with a mortgage, you need to be more concerned with the cost than the price. This is such an important concept that lenders are required to disclose the total cost to the buyer – as accurately as possible – and give the buyer the opportunity to back out of the deal. If it turns out that the estimated cost was not accurate enough, lenders are now required to recalculate it and disclose it again.

So what is the difference between price and cost? Simply put, the price of the house is only part of the cost. Over and above the price, you have to pay for a lot of other stuff. In real estate, most of the “other stuff” is interest on the loan that was taken out to pay for the house. There are other pieces and parts included in “cost,” but the interest on the loan is the most important part.

The thing about interest is that little changes in the rate can have dramatic effects on the true cost of the house. Let’s imagine you’re buying a new home, and the 30-year loan will be for $350,000. If the interest rate is 4.5%, the principal and interest payment will be $1,773.40. If the interest rate increases only half a percentage point to 5%, the payment will be $1,878.88. An increase of only half a percentage point will cost you over $100 every month for the next 30 years.

Now here’s the thing: interest rates are rising now.

As of today, average 30-year mortgage rates are over two-tenths of a point higher than they were last week. In other words, if you closed that $350,000 loan today at the average rate (4.83%), your payments would be $1,842.68, or $46.33 higher than if you closed at last week’s rate (4.61%, with a payment of $1,796.35).

But what about the falling price of the house? Won’t it offset the increase in interest? Only if the decrease in value is substantial. To expand on that last example, the price of the home would have to fall to about $341,200 to offset that rate increase of half a point. In other words, the price would have to fall more than 2.5% in the same week to come out even with the increase in the interest rate.

Real estate values are not falling that fast, and are not expected to in the coming months. Most predictions I’ve seen are in the range of 5 – 10 % spread over the next 12 months or so, but the falling prices are not nearly as important as the rising interest rates.

If you are in the market for a new home, it is time to make a decision. Choose wisely.

The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. -- Michael Porter

The good news is building

2010-12-13T15:23:00.001-07:00

It’s been about two years since the bottom fell out of the economy. Since then, the good economic news has come in dribs and drabs, and has generally been lost in the torrent of bad news. Slowly but surely, however, the good news is building in its frequency and magnitude. The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) recently released the updated Pending Home Sales Index, and it is some of the best news we’ve seen lately.

The index has been on an upward trend since hitting the bottom last June, and the October index was 10.4% higher than the September figure. That’s a lot of positive change in just one month. That is good news, indeed, even if the index is still quite a bit lower than it was in October 2009 (which was artificially inflated by the tax credit).

This index is a leading indicator of the state of the economy, and is based on the number of homes that are under contract, but not yet closed. It is pretty closely related to the number of actual closings two months later. It is expected that the index will continue to climb into 2011. According to Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for NAR, “the housing market clearly is in a recovery phase. . ."

Good news is also coming in from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) that a couple of other leading indicators – the Multifamily Production Index (MPI) and the Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI) are both strengthening. The MPI, which measures multifamily housing starts, is stronger than it has been since 2007. The MVI, is showing decreasing vacancies in multifamily housing. These indices show an increasing pressure on housing.

Fannie Mae and NAR are both expecting an increase in real estate sales through the end of 2011. Even so, because of the current and expected inventory of foreclosed properties, home prices will probably not be increasing for another 12 to 18 months.

It appears we are at the bottom of the market now. If you intend to buy when the cost of housing is lowest, now is the time to do it.

In another post, I’ll talk about why it makes sense to buy now, even though the prices might not have completely bottomed out. It has to do with price versus cost. . . stayed tuned.

We cannot make good news out of bad practice. – Edward R. Murrow

Rebuilding

2010-12-09T14:10:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity yesterday to watch a video of a presentation that had been given last month in New Orleans at the annual convention of the National Association of Realtors. The subject was the current state of the real estate business, and where it’s going from here. In a nutshell, right now we are in the depths of the valley of despair. The market is in a shambles, and it’s not going to get any better until we – real estate brokers – actively get to work to rebuild it. There is a lot of sense in what the speaker said, and I’ll talk more about his speech in another post.

What he said, though, resonated strongly with me. While I would not say that my career is in the depths of the valley of despair, it is definitely at a low point. It is time to rebuild, which has been somewhat of a theme around here lately.

Of course, building with a plan always makes more sense than just throwing a bunch of stuff together and waiting to see what will survive. The first step in making a plan, is determining what you are really trying to accomplish, and then comparing it to where you are now. For me, the end is still the same as it has always been: I want to be a trusted advisor and consultant rather than a salesman. To that end, I will be working toward strengthening my ability to analyze the financial aspects of real estate transactions to help create situations that make sense for my clients.

A lot has changed in the financing of real estate in the last couple of years, and the effects have been profound. Some folks, in fact, are convinced that real estate is a poor investment now. I don’t think it is; it never has been. The key is finding the way that makes most sense to you. In the next few years, that way is probably going to look very different than it has looked for the last few years. I’ll be talking more in depth about some of these changes in future posts.

The road to success is always under construction. -- Lily Tomlin

Changing directions

2010-12-07T18:33:00.001-07:00

I had started this post talking about the paperwork that I needed to complete in order to get my license reactivated and transferred to the new company, but before that little essay was polished, the transfer came through. Frankly, it gave me pause more than I realized it would. Suddenly, the name of the company I was working for was not my own. It’s been a long time since that was the case.

Those who know me well know that I am, to put it lightly, of the entrepreneurial sort. I like calling my own shots. Those who don’t, shall we say, respect me so much, say I have a problem with authority. Long story short, I don’t really like being told what to do, or how to do it. I would much prefer to make my own way in the world, making my own mistakes along the way and learning from them. I have always liked the freedom of being my own boss. Now, with this new arrangement, there is technically a new boss above me. Why would I do this?

In a word, efficiency.

Trust me, my new broker and I had a conversation about how independent I could be. It’s important to me to be able to deal with my clients as if I owned the business, because really I do.

Part of owning a business, of course, is making it run. There is only so much that one person can do before the time or money is depleted. The harder one works to make the business run, the less time there is to get the clients to work with. It’s a vicious cycle. Doing all the jobs is almost a guarantee that none of them will be completed well.

That can be very frustrating, when one has a clear vision of the business he hopes to build. The destination is always on the other side of a canyon, and the bridge is always under repair. That’s why I was so excited to come across this new firm, Equity Colorado. Their vision of what a real estate brokerage should look like meshes closely with mine, and what’s important is that they have already built it. All that was left for me was to join them, and let them take over all the back-office stuff that was consuming me. Now, I can focus on working with clients, which is what I should be doing. This new arrangement is like finding a brand-new bridge over the canyon, allowing me to get where I want to go with my real estate business.

Yes, it means that my name will no longer be “on the door,” but it means that now I can point my focus where it rightfully belongs. Sometimes, we just need to go a different route to get where we are going.

The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn. -- David Russell

The key is starting

2010-11-29T21:33:00.002-07:00

The strength of habits fascinates me. Two years ago, when I was starting on my blog, I easily settled into a routine of producing blog posts every few days. I looked at the world through blog-posting glasses, constantly editing my experiences into what I hoped would be meaningful posts. Even after my Great Shutdown, I maintained folders on my desktop and in my email client for stashing away blog post ideas.

Now that I am back “at it,” and working hard to rebuild my business, the blog posts are starting to reappear. I glanced through the idea folders today and found not much to work with there. Some of the ideas are so cryptic that I can’t even remember what they are. Others are just woefully out of date. No worries, though. Everyday new ideas come to me.

I have found that putting my fingers to the keyboard is the best way to sort out my thoughts. How I wish I had had a computer when I was a student! Often, by the time I am done writing, the whole point of the post is something that had never even crossed my mind when first I sat down to compose. I try very hard to make sure my thoughts and ideas flow one into another, all coming to a neat and reasonable conclusion. Sometimes, that means reworking a post for a long time before it makes any sense, or builds to any sort of point.

The key, though, is simply starting and staying focused on one thing at a time. The end will eventually present itself. I find it works that way with blogging as well as all the other routine tasks that I need to handle throughout the day and week. I have a lot of ideas on how to develop my business, but I need to explore each one individually. By perfecting each one – if that’s even possible – before I jump into the next, I’m hoping I can build a collection of logical, potentially overlapping systems that basically run themselves.

This blog is one of those ideas I’m developing. Another is my facebook business page. I have created it, and it is now running the way I want it to, albeit not the way I thought it would when I first started. I’ll be “launching” it in the next few days, hoping I can get enough people to “like” it so that I can get a “real” name for it, rather than the long, incomprehensible list of characters and numbers it has now. If you’d like to take a glance at it, you can find it at http://on.fb.me/ht2Cek. If you are just geeky enough, you can also use this QR code. Feel free to post any comments, and – dare I ask? – click the little “like” button.

So there it is, the beginning of my business development plan – up and running!

Once begun is half done. -- Plato

Social media, its magic, and how I use it

2010-11-23T01:36:00.001-07:00

It often strikes me how different the business environment is today than it was when I graduated from college. The summer after I received my degree, the first personal computers were sold. They changed everything, of course, and continue to do so. With every change, there come growing pains. While the computers made it easier to handle routine administration, they also had an isolating effect on people. Where we used to find out what was going on in the neighborhood by talking to the neighbors, we got used to not knowing what was going on at all, because we were spending more and more time on the computer. We were becoming slaves to our tools.

Humans, however, have a basic need to connect with each other, and there has been a steady progression in cyberspace toward achieving that. In the last couple of years, there has been a virtual explosion in the growth of websites designed to keep us in touch with each other. That, of course, presents its own challenges. Where should I "be" out there so that I can find my friends and be found? As in any industry, players come and go. Some dominate and others struggle to hold on. After a few years, each seems to develop its own niche, however large or small it might be. As these "social media" sites take hold, the traditional website gets pushed more and more to the sidelines. It is no longer enough to simply have an online calling card and document repository; we need to be able to connect with our friends and clients in real time, and across multiple platforms.

Lately, I have been in several discussions about how, when, and why to use the various sites out there. It's going to be different for everyone out there, but I'm finding facebook, twitter, this blog and my website to be the most helpful. I'm also establishing a presence on linked-in, but that is coming a little more slowly. Through the magic that is the internet, all of these are linked together.

My website was my first entry into the internet experience. I've had it for years. It is a good place to store information that clients or potential clients can help themselves to. I was always looking for a way to make the website more interactive, so I added an instant-messaging feature long before real-time interaction became the norm on the internet. As it stands right now, the site needs some revamping; it has been mostly ignored while my license was inactive. Keep checking back and see the improvements as they are made. As in the past, it will be mostly used for storing documents and reports and providing a way for users to search the active listings in the Denver area.

Facebook, because it is "right now" is where I will be maintaining on-going interaction with friends and clients. I maintain a profile, which is mostly used for the "personal" side of my life, and also a business page. By doing this, I don't have to intrude on personal relationships by constantly dropping business information into the conversation. You can see what is happening on my business page by checking out the status box in the right hand column of this blog. Feel free to "like" the page and get updates right into your own facebook newsfeed. If you'd like, you can also send a friend request to my profile.

There seems to be a lot of resistance to twitter. Many people don't feel comfortable using it, feeling that they are required to share every little mundane fact about their existence, which they are loathe to do. Others consider it to be an arena for the self-absorbed. I have found that the value of twitter is in people, both those I follow, and those who follow me. The folks I follow are sometimes sources of insight or inspiration, and are sometimes like unpaid research assistants scurrying about the internet and popping in now and again with interesting tidbits that I would never have time to find myself. When something really interesting or appropriate turns up, I can retweet it to those who follow me. Similar to facebook, I have a "personal" twitter account and a "business" account. (Right now, just about everything is in the personal account, and I am just starting to build up the business account, but that is the direction I am going. There's never enough time.) If I retweet to my business account, my facebook business page and my linked-in profile are automatically updated. See? Magic!

If you go check out the status updates on my facebook business page, you can see that I am having some difficulty getting these blog posts to show up automatically. Sometimes the magic is a bit spotty. There is always something to be made better and more efficient, or to just plain figure out, and it unfortunately takes time to get everything right and going in the proper direction. As in any worthwhile endeavor, though, there is no time to lose.

The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, "In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!" -- John F. Kennedy

No surprises

2010-11-18T00:13:00.000-07:00

I've been in and around real estate for a long time -- well over 30 years -- starting with a weekend fill-in job answering telephones and setting showings at the local brokerage just up the street and around the corner from where I grew up. In all those years, I've sat through countless hours of training classes and seminars. Sometimes it feels like it all blends together into some amorphous thing I hope can be called "expertise." The one lesson that stands out above all the others, though, can be summed up in two words: no surprises.

That was the crux of the training I received from my manager at the savings and loan when I started doing mortgage loans. It applies to all facets of the real estate transaction. Simply put, it means that the closing table is not the place for any surprises . . . from anyone. It is everyone's job to make sure that every requirement has been met and every contingency has been removed. Closings should be a very simple -- if somewhat tedious -- affair. Everyone coming into the closing room should be absolutely certain of the eventual outcome. No surprises.

The basis for a "no surprises" closing, of course, is the basis of the entire transaction: the contract, which spells out every term and requirement that must be met before the title to the property changes hands. In Colorado, contracts to buy and sell real estate are required to be in writing. Because there are so many items that must be agreed to by the buyer and seller, that just makes sense.

In some parts of the country, real estate contracts must be prepared by attorneys. In other states, individual boards and associations draft their own "standard" contract that the brokers complete. In Colorado, our real estate commission, part of the state government, approves the standard contract that brokers must use unless specific circumstances exist.

Over time, of course, these standard contracts are modified to reflect changing standards of practice and methods of operation. These changes really struck me as I was completing more of my required continuing education. Thirty years ago, for example, meth labs were not part of the contract. Now, sellers are required to disclose information about the production, use, or storage of methamphetamines on the property. Change happens, but the direction we are moving is perhaps the greatest surprise of all.

Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable. -- Jane Austen

Getting back to work

2010-11-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

To say that it's been a while since I last posted would be a bit of an understatement. So, do I apologize? Do I go into a lengthy explanation? No. Sometimes, life gets in the way of itself, and that's just the way it is. Does it mean that all the things I said so long ago no longer apply? Again, no; those words still apply. In their deferment, they might even have more import now. If you really want to know all about the last two years, let me know. Maybe we can go get a beer or two while I fill you in.

So where am I now? The same as before, only two years later. My license is currently inactive, and I am working on completing the requirements for reactivating it. While that is going on, I am developing several strategies to help build up my business. This blog is one; my facebook business page is another. My website needs to be updated and slightly restructured. There are so many things to do, and so many opportunities, that sometimes I literally cannot sit still.

One thing that is firm is that when I do get back to work, I will be "hanging my license" with another brokerage, instead of remaining completely independent. I am an entrepreneurial sort, and the appeal of running my own show is substantial. When I found a company that is aligned very closely with what I am trying to do, and would end up costing me less in the process, I couldn't say no. Gone will be the back-office headaches, which will allow me to spend more time with clients. So, I will very soon be associated with Equity Colorado. I think this will be a winning situation for all of us.

Fear itself

2008-12-16T10:29:00.001-07:00

The news we’ve been hearing lately has been frightening. On a recent Friday morning, I heard that the unemployment statistics were predicted to show that over 360,000 jobs had been lost in November. That number was huge, but paled in comparison to the actual, staggering figure of 533,000. Over half a million jobs lost in a single month is difficult to comprehend. Is this the worst it’s ever been? No. Will it get worse from here? Probably.

Will it ever get better? Definitely.

Remember President Roosevelt’s admonition that “we have nothing to fear but fear itself”? Those are words to live by, which is small comfort if your job is one that has been lost lately. I wish I could tell you when it’s going to get better, but I can’t. I can only tell it will get better, and the important thing now is to take care of yourself, while keeping an eye on the future.

Getting back to myself

2008-12-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

After twelve years as a real estate broker, I have (finally) decided it is time to become the kind of agent I wanted to be when the state first granted me permission to sell real estate. As long as I have held my license, I have bought into the prevailing wisdom that in order to succeed, an agent needs to focus on securing listings. There is a certain amount of truth in that, but not everyone finds truth – or success – in the same way. In my case, I find the greatest sense of purpose by helping folks get into their homes. Working with buyers, especially first-time buyers, is gratifying in ways I cannot begin to describe.

I have been in this business in some capacity or other since I was in high school, and that was a long time ago. Since I have been licensed, every broker I worked for, and every training session I attended, stressed how important it is to build up a listing inventory. As my career progressed, that is the tack I took. Over the years, the market changed, and REO (foreclosure) properties became a bigger and bigger part of my business. At some point, I became focused entirely working with REO sellers.

As I became successful selling REO properties, my dissatisfaction with my career grew proportionately. I began to think that, after all these years, I was getting burned out on the whole real estate thing. Finally, a light went off, and I realized that the way my business was operating was at odds with my own goals and desires. Instead of helping people get into homes, I was deeply involved in taking those homes away.

With that realization, came the realization that I needed to quit what I was doing.

Over the last several months, I have been closing down my REO operations. I feel as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I now look forward to going to work again. In many ways, I am starting over. I need to brush up on all the loan programs, and reestablish relationships with the affiliated services, but I am excited again, and ready to do it.

This is possibly the worst time of year, in the worst year in decades, to make such a drastic decision, but I can think of no better decision that could have been made. You can feel it when you’ve made the “right” decision, and that is exactly how I feel now.

The next few months are going to be rough, and I couldn’t be happier.