The Hazards of Working with D.I.Y’rs

by neil kearney | May 20, 2009 | Uncategorized

I have been showing a lot of property lately.  This is great, I love to do it and it is at the heart of my job.  There are however some side effects which throw up a bit of a speed bump as far as personal productivity goes.

Before I go forward, I’d like to take a few steps back into history.  In the old days, new listings were couriered on a weekly basis by taxi to each of the offices.  At that point, all the agents knew of the new inventory and there was a rush (of sorts) to get their hot buyers into the hot new listings.  In those days the information cycle was much slower and Realtor’s had a choke hold on the information that would make Hulk Hogan proud.

Today we have transparency.  When new listings come out the whole world knows about them within 15 minutes.  Emails are automatically sent to interested buyers who instantly begin comparing list price to a proprietary “market” price spit out by an inaccurate algorithm.  An algorithim which has one thing in common with the buyer, it hasn’t seen the house either.  The blind leading the blind.

Back to my main story.  When I set showings for buyers I need to find, sort, route, schedule and then call each listing office for approval.  This last step has changed a bit lately.  First the good, many offices, mine included, have outsourced the setting of showings to Centralized Showing Service (CSS).  All CSS does is set showings, and they do so for 12 hours a day.  As more companies use CSS, we who set showings have to make fewer calls to fewer companies.  Yea!

Now the bad, there is a trend out there called limited service listings.  Basically this means that an agent is hired by a seller to do no more than put their listing in the MLS.  I have many problems with this, but will stick to the topic at hand.   When I call to set a showing on one of these limited service listings I have to call the seller directly to get approval.  Let’s just say that this process doesn’t usually go as smooth as a call to CSS.

The other speed bump to my productivity when showing property, are the flood of feedback emails and calls I receive.  They start coming in the minute I set the showing and continue to be sent daily until I have time to respond.  I don’t mind doing it but it isn’t my top priority when I have buyers in from out of town.  When I am showing 20 or more listings over a weekend, I can find over 40 requests waiting for me on Monday.  On a limited service listing I get a call from the owner of the home looking for feedback on their house.  I have learned to keep these interactions brief because without the buffer of a competent agent, any constructive comment I make is taken as a personal insult.  Yikes, I’m only trying to tell the truth.

I have also found that many of the homes in the limited service genre are over priced.  Obviously they are looking to save a buck but many are not getting the advice from an agent which is so desparetely needed.  In the end, going with a professional Realtor who knows their area and market will net a seller more money.

The Story of Stuff

by neil kearney | May 13, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 comment

I was recently made aware of this video about the manufacture and consumption patterns in modern society.  It makes a very strong statement about the damaging effects of today’s throw-away society.  I have embedded the video below but found a higher quality version along with good companion materials at its home website, www.storyofstuff.com

The video has been criticized for advocating completely against capitalistic principles, but I don’t think that is the goal of the video.  It raises some very valid points and if we can all do a little, it will go a long way.  One point I thought was astounding, was that 99% of all goods and materials manufactured are thrown away within 6 months of purchase.  The video last approximately 20 minutes.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-9153550196656656736&hl=en&fs=true

What Kind of Boat do You Drive?

by neil kearney | May 12, 2009 | Uncategorized

Look around, a fundamental shift is taking place.  People everywhere are re-thinking their lifestyle.  Some by choice and some by fire.  Foreclosure, bankruptcy, unemployment – these words scream change for those involved.  I think a mindset which lies beyond overarching consumption is taking hold.  Millions of families are realizing that it is not the stuff that makes you happy, it is having a purpose, stability, love and time.  This shift is painful but I hope it is one that will make our country as a whole more viable and prosperous in the decades to come.  Here is an analogy of our current situation.

Imagine that each of our personal financial situations is represented by a boat that we drive.  Some boats are big, some are fast, some are small, some are slow, some people are so bad off they don’t even have a boat and are just treading water to stay alive.  Now imagine that all of these boats are floating down a wide river.  The river represents the economy.

Every once in awhile, water levels begin to rise and all the boats begin to move more quickly.  After plodding along for so many years people start to get excited in the fast and deep water.  During this time people begin to get a taste for better boats and either trade up to a bigger, faster model or if they can’t afford a new boat, they do everything they can to quickly make their current boat look good.  Everyone starts to fill their boats with gadgets of all kinds and they justify all of the changes by thinking about their change in luck.  Many boaters start making plans based upon the water always being high and flowing easily.  Everything goes well and they have fun keeping up with their neighbors.

After a time, the water recedes and the boats slow down to normal level.  As the water level decreases many boats who only know how to navigate the edges of the river begin to hit a few rocks.  But since they love their boat and all that is in it, they adjust and make it work.  Not quite as much fun, but life is certainly better than it was before.  Right?

That is until the river begins to dry up.  The strong current which is left in the middle of the valley can only hold a small percentage of boats, most of the boats begin to navigate the shallow water, many boats begin to hit rocks.  Some of the boats are new boats and were built only for speed in deep water.  These boats start breaking up almost immediately.  Other boats are more resilient and throw an anchor and wait for higher water.  No fun at all.  Many people end up worse off than before the flood.

A fairly simple analogy, but I think there are a few lessons that everyone can stand to learn from it:

1. Don’t make plans for the future based upon the high water lasting forever.
2. Build a boat for strength and stability, not for speed and flash.
3. The more the water recedes, the easier it is to realize that the stuff in the boat doesn’t matter.
4. The water will rise again.  (and don’t forget it will fall again)