Blogging Workshop and Consumer Centric ~Upcoming classes

New Hampshire REALTORS are you stuck in rut?

Having a hard time connecting to today’s connected consumers?  Want to Blog but don’t know how?

If you answered Yes to any of these Questions then you Need to sign up for these two classes.

December 1^st 2008- from 9-12:30

Consumer Centric Market (3 NH ce credits)

Do you know how to connect with today’s consumer? Gen X and Y-The Connected Generation and the Baby Boomers.

Web 2.0 and creating relevancy all equal success!

$35.00

Location: Granite State South Board of REALTORS

Windham NH

December 8 th 2008- from 9-1

Blogging 101 (NO ce credits)

Are you ready to create your own blog? This is a hand on work shop and all participants will leave with a live blog!

Class is limited and there is a pre-workshop assignment

Pre-registration & payment required $ 55.00

Class will be held at the Granite State South Board of REALTORS

Windham NH

Contact  Jay and Monika to register @ 603-548-7685

REALTOR convention

Jay and I will be attending the National Association of REALTORS annual convention in Orlando this week.

I’m pretty excited as I’ll be able to meet a lot of those REALTOR ” mavericks” …those early adapters of social networking and realty blogging. Many of them I know well but have never met face to face. You see they’ve been living in my computer for 2 years!

This years convention will have many web 2.0 type sessions available. We’ll be attending the Cyber Professionals networking sessions and many traditional real estate seminars as well. It should be a very busy convention and I expect to learn a lot while there.

Consumer Centric … sold out! Thank you!

April 23, 2008 OR May 7, 2008

$35.00 per person includes 3 hour NH CE credit but most importantly this class will show you WHAT you need to do to stay competitive in this changing real estate environment!

Consumer Centric covers not only the Generations but particularly the needs of Gen X and Y who will be our 1^st time home buyer for the next 20 years. Learn how to market to them as well as to the connected Baby Boomers.

We’ll cover Blogging and why you should be doing it, real estate social networking sites and managing your web presence.

This class will give you an overview of what you’ll need to know to participate responsibly in a Web 2.0 Connected environment.

Have you heard of The Real Estate Paradigm shift? Technology has transformed real estate as we have known it. Today both new and experienced agents alike need to understand the dynamics of the online community or become irrelevant in the home buying or selling process.

Class size is limited so please e-mail me or call Jay at 603-548-7685 to reserve your seat. Be sure to let us know which date you’ll be attending!

Class time 9-12:15

Registration 8:30 to 9:00

Location: 213 Stage Road Junction

Unit # 5 (end unit- lower level)

Hampstead NH

Coming soon Blogging 101 and Blogging 102 (no ce credits) space will be limited to 20 students as this is a hands on creating a blog work shop. We’ll travel…just need a location with internet.

What is a Social Network?

I saw this on Midori Millers Blog and thought it really demonstrated the concept well.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc&rel=1]

REALTOR Ethics Workshop

This has been a busy week training wise for me. I was hired to conduct the Vermont Association of REALTORS Ethics workshop held this past Tuesday.

It was a 6 hour training session geared to those REALTORS who serve on the Grievance and the Professional Standards committee and board of directors. It is required training so most of the attendees “had” to be there. A forced group of participants is always a challenge. My goal was to make them want to be there and do it quickly. I think I succeed!

The morning included an interactive cycle two Quadrennial Ethics class and the afternoon focused on the enforcement process. The time flew by and the verbal feedback was all excellent. I had people tell me that they didn’t expect to enjoy the class…thought it would the same ole same ole and how surprised they were that it was so good and that they learned so much.

When they take the time to wait in line simply to say thank you at the end of the program…you know you reached them.

It ended up being a great day and to top it off they asked me to come back in February to do it again.

Monika McGillicuddy,REALTOR

Serving Southern New Hampshire and Rockingham County

Monika McGillicuddy Real Estate Training

http://monikamcgillicuddy.com/wordpress/

Prudential Verani Realty

Hampstead NH Real Estate

603-548-7728

FEMA Maps On-Line

This is pretty neat.

Check out the FEMA Maps online. You can zoom in and check out an area all for free.

FEMA Maps On-Line and  Maps Service Center 

 

What is Designated Agency?

On Wednesday Oct 17, the board of Directors of the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS will meet to vote on recommended proposed legislation which would allow NH REALTORS to act as Designated Agents or Facilitators.

Read my previous post for complete details Designated Agency and facilitation in NH.

Read also a draft copy of the legislation here draft-agency-legislation-9-12-07.pdf

NHAR’s Legal committee chair Mary Beth Rudolph describes what the NH version of Designated Agency would actually look like in the field.

Read more

NHAR New Agent Training Program

The New Hampshire Association of REALTORS QuickStart Program is geared towards newer agents but would be a great refresher for even the most seasoned agents. Interested in learning some of the latest web 2.0 marketing techniques as well as those tried and true methods. Real Estate 2007 is a real estate year like many have never seen before and you’ll need to take advantage of all the tips available to thrive or simply survive in this market. Besides…guess who is teaching it??? Me…

QuickStart: Last Chance for 2007

The final 2007 session of QuickStart is scheduled for Oct. 23-24 and Nov. 1-2 at the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® office in Concord. Sign up now to reserve your space, as the program will not be offered again until March 2008.

Read more

Offer in hand…why wait?

This is a cautionary tale for all Real Estate agents and home sellers. Sadly, this is a true story one that I think we can all learn from. This took place this past August. After every thing that happened the seller in this story never ended up selling his house and now it is off the market.
I’ve reprinted that article below as written in August of 2007.

Is a Bird in the Hand better than Two in the Bush? The answer is yes!

Times have changed, the market is no longer a Sellers market. I know you all know that, have heard it on the news, read the articles in the papers…all the doom and gloom but even so many sellers are acting as if it is still a sellers market. As if willing it will make it so! So are many real estate agents! I’m all for being optimistic and positive but I’m also realistic.

And REALISTIC is where you need to be and you need me to be… if I were your agent.

I know it hurts, you bought your home, cherished it and now it’s time to sell and the American Dream of making big bucks quickly by selling your home is NOT going to happen for you.

What that means for you as a home owner is simply that it will be harder to sell your home and you’ll realize less of a profit. But… you still can sell it!!!
You need to adjust your mind set. You need to act fast when an offer is received. Dragging out a presentation or a decision on an a valid offer in hopes another offer will materialize creates anxiety and stress not only for you but for the buyers. Two years ago the buyers would have waited it out…hoping that you would decide in their favor. They had no choice but to wait.

Today Buyers do have choices and that is the BIG difference! They don’t have to wait for you.

Sellers run a big risk by delaying…the longer a seller puts off making a decision the further away the buyer becomes emotionally from the home.

That emotional distance can be a killer…while the seller is deciding or waiting for an other offer the buyers with an offer in hand are starting to look at other homes. Just in case they can’t get the home they put the offer in on…buyers have choices today.

Daily more homes come on the market…more choices for buyers..as inventory increases the chance of competing properties being listed at a lower price than your home increases.

A bird in hand is better than two in the bush. Recently to be fair a seller put off having an offer presented to them, simply to give another set of buyers time to also make an offer.

That seller felt in control…maybe it took longer to get an offer but suddenly they had not only one offer in but an other coming in. So they waited and waited. They felt in control…maybe even had dreams of a bidding war.

By the time they decided to stop waiting for the second offer to materialize they lost the first buyer! Prior to the presentation they withdrew their offer and pursued another home.
Those sellers went from one solid offer in hand and another in the wings to NOTHING. You see the second offer never materialized! The cost of being fair and delaying in making a decision cost the seller. Both buyers??? They found other homes that suit them just fine.

My advice:

Price your home aggressively, there are lots of homes out there. July and August are traditionally great months to sell as many buyers want to be settled in their new home in time for school to start. Look around and see which home in your price range is your stiffest competition and price your home lower. Get a list of competing properties from your agent and drive by them. If you were buying which one would you look at first? Yours or your competition?

Make sure your home shines both inside and out! Curb appeal is crucial.

Check out the photos of your home that are on line and in MLS. Do they represent your home correctly? Does your agent have a virtual tour posted?

Make sure your home SMELLS nice as well as LOOKS nice, walk in your home the same way a buyer will…what do you see when you enter your home? Be honest with yourself. Would you buy your home all over again at the price your asking?

When you do get an offer in…a valid offer in writing and with a deposit check…act on it. Think seriously and consult with your REALTOR before making a counter offer. Re-analyze the market…maybe your CMA is a few months old. The market changes rapidly and you must have current data to make a good decision. And lastly home selling and buying is an emotional business…you need to try and put your emotions aside and think clearly.

Hire a REALTOR, one that you trust and work well with…work together…and the end result will be worth it. TEAM=Together everyone achieves more.

Read also:

Don’t stigmatize your home by over pricing!

I don’t trust you

http://www.monikamcgillicuddytrainer.com

NH Real Estate Blog

We cover all of your NH Real Estate Training needs!

ABR* SRES* Agency* Ethics* New Agent Skill Building* Professional Guidelines* Negotiations* Mediation

CMA Tips

Preparing a proper market analysis is more crucial than ever. Not only do we need to worry about over pricing but under pricing as well. No one wants a home to just sit on the market and become stale or become stigmatized. All the more reason to clearly understand the guidelines behind pricing. Underpricing a home without the sellers informed consent just so it won’t sit on the market is a violation of Article 1 of the REALTOR Code of Ethics. Make sure your client clearly understands where the market is at and where their home should be priced at.

How did you come up with that price…anyway?

When preparing a Comparative Market Analysis, CMA, recently I was trying to determine a good listing price. It’s not an easy job!

I had to put more weight on the “on markets” than the “sold” comps.

Traditionally real estate agents are taught to put more weight on the “solds” when trying to establish a property value.

After all, the “solds” tell us an important story. They tell us what a property actually sold for!

Not the pie in sky hopes that the listed price usually indicates but what a buyer actually paid. Very important data for sure. And in the old days that piece of data was the most important piece.

Not anymore…

When agents prepares a CMA they usually select homes that are comparable to the subject and they rate the homes they selected.

A typical rating system is much like this;

1. Equal (=)

2. Inferior (-)

3. Superior (+)
If there are comparable homes on the market that are priced at 399,900 (-), 389,900 (+) and 384,900 (+) and they have been on the market 129, 95 and 80 days respectively.
Would it make sense to price your home higher or the same as ones that have not sold especially if they are superior or equal to your home? If you were a buyer and looked at nearly identical homes in a similar neighborhood and setting…which would you buy?

Now understand that the average sold prices indicate a value of 409,000 to 419,000…but nothing has sold in the last 4-6 months. The sold data is very old in terms of market movement.

It is very important to make sure your agent has analyzed the whole market. The Days on Market are very important.

If the average days on market “DOM” is 118 days…should a seller be panicking 60 days out without an offer? Depends on the seller and their needs.

Some questions to consider…How quick do you need to move? What is more important money or time?

Do you really need to sell? If not perhaps it would be better to wait the market out and list your home at another time.

Here in lies the dilemma.

Do you test the waters, list on the high end, play catch up and run the risk of stigmatizing your property?

Do you list below your best competition and hope your home sells first?

Do you list at a fair market price and do everything possible to make your home shine?

Only you can answer those questions. Make sure the agent you are working with understands the market and is realistic…you don’t need an unrealistic overly optimistic agent. You need sound market advice and an honest experienced REALTOR.

Pricing to sell is a must in New Hampshire.

Read everything you can, there are a lot of good New Hampshire real estate blogs full of excellent information available. Education and a good agent is the key to market success.

Read also:

A Fatal Mistake

Pass Me the Money Honey!

Multiple Offers -A Bird in the hand

Don’t stigmatize your home by over pricing!

I don’t trust you

http://www.monikamcgillicuddytrainer.com

New Hamshire Real Estate Blog

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