Simple precautions for the cautious agent

Real estate isn't exactly as entertainingly hazardous a profession like ice road trucking, but it does have its share of incidents like every other seemingly mundane job. This tragic article shows that even in our day in age, incidents happen that bely the apparently riskless nature of our work. Let's face it, active realtors will probably meet with more strangers in unsecure locations than an undercover cop. At Century 21 Adobe, we always keep a priority on our agents' safety so we've discussed the dangers and necessary precautions in our office meeting, but we can't limit our concern to just our employees. Here are some simple precautions you can take to ensure that your real estate success isn't hindered by any unfortunate occurences.

1) Communication: Keep your cell phone on you and adequately charged at all times. Make sure you check in with your office prior to an open house and that someone or several someones know where you're supposed to be. Tell neighbors in the area of your open house so they may also be a passive lookout for your safety. Smart realtors will also take this as an opportunity to market themselves to new prospects.

2) Reconnaissance: Before letting strangers enter a home, go in first yourself to make sure all windows and doors are properly closed and, especially in vacant houses, it hasn't been taken up by squatters, as a surprising number of agents in our office have complained about. If these pests looking for a free roof are present, do not attempt to reason with or remove them yourself, but rather call the local authorities. Like the bear in its den, squatters can be rather vicious if they are approached in their makeshift habitat, especially if startled from sleep.

3) Secure the Area: Make sure to call the current owners to prepare for the visit by hiding away all cash, valuables, weapons, and prescription drugs. One of our agents has an experience of over $25,000 worth of diamond jewelry being stolen from an open house while it was vulnerably lying out on a counter. Also make sure to close and lock all windows and doors at the conclusion of the open house.

4) Personal Precautions: Taking a hint from Jason Bourne, allow clients to walk in front of you at all times and never leave yourself cornered in a room without an escape route. If two groups arrive at the same time, make one wait outside while you show around the other. Having people wandering around is when mischief is most likely to happen. If you feel the necessity, carry pepper spray on your person as an additional defense.

With these simple steps, you can ensure your personal safety, leaving you to focus on your sellilng success.

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Office meeting brings good news to both realtors and prospective customers

Our weekly office meeting brought some more good tidings to a time when agents and homeowners have long grown accustomed to holding market reports in one hand and either a stress ball or a strong drink in the other.

California, who, along with Florida were the first to plunge down the drop, were also the first to come back, with home sales increased over 20% statewide and 14.8% in Ventura County in June. Aided by federal tax credits and the Obama plan, real estate's recovery exceeded economists' expectations in the most sudden increase in sales since December 2000, the start of the doomed bubble's inflation. Inventory falls as home buyers and all other sectors of the economy regain their confidence, making right now the best time to buy. Century 21 Adobe owner Michael Schaller comments, "Real estate led us into this mess and it's leading us out."

Visit our website to learn more about capitalizing on the rising market.

Renting: the back door to a dream home

Even with home prices at all-time lows, home renting remains for many families an easy solution to live beyond their otherwise means. However, home renting should not bear the stigma of being for those too poor to afford ownership. In fact, there are many factors that can affect the choice and make it simply a smarter financial choice to rent rather than buy a home.

Many rent vs. buy calculators floating around can help in this decision such as this particularly comprehensive and simple one: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/2007_BUYRENT_GRAPHIC.html.

Renting is the significant other side of the real estate coin that's all too often ignored. Visit our website at http://www.century21adobe.com/AdobeRentals to browse our complete and informative list of our rentals. Even if you don't find what you're looking for with our company, check out our links to other rentals in your area.

The light at the end of the long, dim real estate tunnel

Since the 2006 sent the real estate industry as the lead car down this ludicrous roller coaster drop, pulling the rest of the market frantically behind it, realtors have been waiting, screaming, with their arms raised, for this ride to hit the bottom. Most predictions in the beginning of 2009 promised a pick-up in the second half.

Well, the second half is finally here and as promised, things are picking up. For the first time this month, the whole nation has seen in increase in the real estate market. Finally, both prices and sales are starting to rise back up. Furthermore, federal interest rates, drastically lowered to stimulate the economy, have not yet been raised, making this the perfect time to buy a house. Even as the national market recovers slowly, locally, Conejo Valley's real estate market has been on the rise with continual growth since February. With less job losses, less foreclosures and a nationwide, market-wide recovery, we can finally spring to life again, knowing the economy is finally sprung from its coma.

Why some of us are still in business!

Years ago when I bought a Century 21 franchise they sent us off to school to learn how to run a business. One of the first concepts that all of us were taught is about having enough company dollars at the end of the month to keep the doors open. Now that is one heck of a concept! A quarter of a century later some folks still don’t get it.

The reason I bring this up is that another local discount broker just shut down. Also, two of the major headlines grabbing discount brokers have filed for bankruptcy in the last year, while another one has “changed their business model,” and others have faded away. It turns out that some business models for selling real estate only work when there is a huge volume of sales. As one of my former mentors said, “Volume cures a multitude of sins.”

There has also been an exodus of agents out of the business, kinda like rats leaving a sinking ship. Except that the ship is not sinking! We did have way too many new agents in the business who did not know how to do a market analysis on a home or qualify a buyer. Many of them started in the business during the overheated market and had no reserves or way to stick it out during a down market. Goodbye, please do not let the door hit you in the backside on the way out!

That leaves a lot of us who have been in a slower market before. This is not the same market that we have ever seen before due to the huge number of foreclosed and short sale properties on the market and a drop in values that is not expected to fully recover for several years.

This means that proper pricing, staging and marketing of homes is paramount again. In the overheated market of 2004-2006 most any idiot could put a property on the market and it would sell. Many of them did. That no longer works.

Good news, we have much better tools for exposing properties to buyers than we did the last time we were in a slower market during the 90’s. The internet explosion has created new opportunities for marketing homes. We now have web sites, blogs, virtual tours, automated searches and email capacity that we never had before. All of this allows us to do a better job marketing properties and keeping in touch with our clients. That is the goal, to be high tech so we can also be high touch.

All of the technology costs money as does all of the advertising we do. My Grandmother used to tell me “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” Turns out she was right! When there is several months’ worth of unsold inventory on the market in the valley it takes an average of three to four months to sell a well priced property with good marketing. With this many homes on the market, overpriced homes do not sell.

With a continuing shift in the market you will see more real estate agents and companies go out of the business. The ones who do survive will be the strong. Companies and agents who give good service and value to their clients will still be around when the dust settles. I plan to be around for a while longer.

Michael Schaller

Century 21 Adobe Realty

Century 21 Adobe Is Now Hiring

The real estate industry's infamous slump has now passed over Southern California and the Conejo Valley area and we have reported consistent and consecutive growth since the beginning of 2009. Our office is now blessed with the problem of dealing with more business than our current very capable staff can handle.

We are looking for determined, serious, career-minded individuals, with high standards who are willing to be trained and work hard. New recruits will be overjoyed to join the proud ranks of over 140,000 professionals who take pride in what they do and specialize in providing a variety of superior real estate services to local communities around the world.

Century 21 Adobe has an established standard of excellence for training successful agents through its own real estate school which prepares you for not only a lucrative career in real estate but also an empowered and trained outlook in any area. Working in real estate allows you a level of independence and being your own boss that is very rare in today's ant colony corporations. You pick your own hours, work for your own unlimited income, and provide a valuable service to your community.

Prospective employees, please call or email Hector G Diaz at (805)624-4739 and at hector@century21.com. or take a look at our real estate school on our website.

Getting Your California Real Estate Salesperson License On The Cheap.

It takes 135 hours to complete three courses in order for you to take the state exam.

The courses required are:

 

Real Estate Principles, and

Real Estate Practice, and

One course from the following list:

Real Estate Appraisal 

Property Management

Real Estate Finance

Real Estate Economics

Legal Aspects of Real Estate

Real Estate Office Administration

General Accounting

Business Law

Escrows

Mortgage Loan Brokering and Lending

Computer Applications in Real Estate

Common Interest Developments .

If you took a college course in any one of the topics above you can use your college level diploma, certificate or transcript to get credit!

 

The online school package I recommend costs $189 plus tax and shipping. You can also pay $89 dollars per class if you want to do the classes individually.

    

You can sign up to take the state exam once you complete the required courses. 

The California Department of Real Estate requires a check or money order to the Department of Real Estate for $145 to pay for finger printing ($120) and the test ($25). 

Register to schedule your exam date for $25 dollars. Then you will have to pay the finger print fee at the testing location. Once you pass the State Exam you must pay for the finger printing at your test location (so bring your check book or a money order for $120 dollars). 

To sign up for the school register here or .

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Once you complete the courses print this form and send a check for $25 dollars with your certificates of completion to:

Department of Real Estate

P.O. Box 187001,

Sacremento, CA

95818-7001