Jeremy Brandt

Being an Entrepreneur

Jeremy Brandt — 2009-05-20T22:08:40-05:00

This is a great video put together by a fellow company in Entrepreneurs' Organization that does a fantastic job of telling the story of why we do what we do.

Plus, it's not a bad bit of 'viral marketing. Enjoy.

15 minutes of fame and online reputation management

Jeremy Brandt — 2009-03-17T11:41:47-05:00

One of the interesting things about the Internet, is that you never know where and when your name is going to pop up. As every little bit of information gets cross referenced, indexed and categorized, your name (or company name) can end up in interesting places and contexts.

Take for example the Jeremy Brandt IMDB page.

If you are concerned (or just interested) in your online reputation Google Alerts is an invaluable resource.

Enter your name, your company name, your competitors names, or your industry - and Google will send you an email any time they show up anywhere on the Internet. Amazing.

Real Estate News - Who can you trust?

Jeremy Brandt — 2009-03-16T11:56:06-05:00

Recently I did an interview with a magazine devoted to residential real estate investing on the topic "Who can you trust in real estate news?

I highlighted my appearance on Larry King Live, where a supposed "real estate expert" made incorrect comments regarding the taxation of forgiven debt during a short sale. Unfortunately, my interview segment had completed and I was unable to correct the error before the end of the show.

Once the show was over, I called the producers but there wasn't much they could do at that point. Hundreds of thousands of home owners got bad information from a reputable source!

Another problem we've seen recently is the "pay-for-play" system that many magazines and web sites are using. Most people expect a trade magazine or web site to provide industry information and trends based on expertise. The issue arises with magazines force advertising in exchange for "news" coverage. I've heard this many times in so many words: "We'll do a cover story on your company if you buy $10,000 worth of ads from us".

This creates a situation where the content is not driven by the industry, but by who is willing to buy advertising. This isn't illegal, but is disingenuous. Most readers would put much less weight on the articles and stories in a publication if they knew they were simply bought with ad dollars. In the music industry this is called "payola" and IS illegal.

The lesson is: Always question everything you hear or read in the media!

Extreme Makeover Foreclosures - Why a free house isn't good

Jeremy Brandt — 2009-03-06T13:34:06-06:00

It's basic human psychology that if something is free, we tend to value it much less. Take for example the rash of foreclosures on homes from the show "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition".

Most of the people who participate in the show receive a brand new, high-end home that is mortgage free.

The problem is, many of the people who should be grateful for the opportunity to get back on their feet and own their home free and clear - instead act as though they've won the lottery and immediately take out a home equity loan to get at the cash in the property.

Just a few of the Extreme Home Makeover foreclosure cases are in Atlanta ('08), Atlanta ('09), Idaho, Michigan, and Oregon.

This is a prime example of why "Foreclosure Bailouts" don't work. When people get "bailed out" they rarely value the help they've been given and tend to make the same mistakes over and over. Case in point are the statistics on the re-default rates for loan modifications. In a study by the Office of Thrift Supervision, over 55% of modified loans were back in default after 6 months.

If the government artificially props up housing prices by repricing loans and allowing "cram downs" they will just prolong the problem and we'll still be dealing with unstable home prices 3 years from now.

FOX News interview on the Housing Bailout

Jeremy Brandt — 2009-02-18T12:33:18-06:00

Yesterday I was on FOX News again with Neil Cavuto talking about the housing bailout and some of the unintended consequences of it.

You can watch the interview here or here, it is only a few minutes long.

How Entrepreneurs Beat Insomnia and get ROI from rest

Jeremy Brandt — 2008-08-27T11:18:51-05:00

The title is a little cheesy, but CNNMoney recently interviewed 8 entrepreneurs on how they cope with insomnia and ensure a good nights sleep.

My tips included writing everything down before you go to bed and doing something "mindless (watch TV, read a novel) that helps your brain wind down and disengage. As an entrepreneur and business owner it is easy to let your mind go wild thinking of all the things that must be accomplished the next day, most of which nothing can be done about right now

Getting good sleep is critical to operating at your peak and being creative. There are some great suggestions in this article and its a quick read. Here is the link to the full story.

Larry King, Foreclosures and Short Sale Taxation

Jeremy Brandt — 2008-07-31T20:24:59-05:00

Wednesday I had the great opportunity to be interviewed by Larry King on his show about foreclosures, short sales and the housing mess.

A lot of people have contacted me regarding the final segment in the show. Two supposed "real estate experts" both made a huge error.

They stated that after a short sale, the home seller will be required to pay taxes on any debt forgiveness.

This is totally false.

While a bank will 1099 a home seller for any debt forgiveness on the loan, there are provisions in the tax code so the home seller does not have to declare this as taxable income.

Unfortunately, I was not on the final segment to make the correction and it stood as fact. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to go back on Larry's show and correct the record!

House Swapping - Valuable Service or Waste of Time?

Jeremy Brandt — 2008-06-04T11:36:15-05:00

I recently spoke with SmartMoney magazine about all the home swapping web sites that have come out of nowhere over the past 6 months.

These sites have received an incredible amount of publicity on national TV, in newspapers and throughout the web. The pitch is this - if you can't sell your house, why not trade with someone else in another market that also can't sell their home. The stars align and you can trade homes without having to worry about selling on the open market.

No question these sites are making easy money. One claims over 40,000 listings at $20 a pop ($800,000 in revenue in less than a year). Most of these sites also sell your information to real estate agents, mortgage brokers, foreclosure "rescue" companies and the like creating another lucrative revenue stream.

The question is: Is anyone actually swapping houses?

By my estimates, much less than 1% of people who contact these sites ever "swap houses" with someone else.

None of the home swapping companies will release how many houses are actually swapped - and with good reason. If swappers knew that they had almost no chance of a successful transaction, they wouldn't pay the $20 or more to one of these companies.

Just thinking through the logistics of what has to happen for a swap to be successful makes it clear that very few (if any) transactions are completing.

If your home will not sell on the open market (listing with a real estate agent), and a discount property buyer won't purchase it, the likelihood of finding someone that is in a market you want to move to, and has a house you would like, and is in your price range, that also wants to move to your market, and likes your house, and your house is in their price range - is minuscule at best. If you ever do find a match, the real work of getting financed and the logistics of closing begins.

Distressed home sellers have a number of viable options in this market, swapping houses is not one of them.