The HBH Group Real Estate News

Contrary to most of the fodder that we all hear on the national media, I think we all know that in many markets, now is a GREAT TIME TO BUY REAL ESTATE!  The challenge that we face is the "un-brainwashing" process that we need to follow with the buyers!  I wanted to offer a few techniques that I have recently been using to get buyers to move on making offers.  Here are just a few and I welcome more comments and ideas from others of you:

1. Point out that mortgage rates are still GREAT! - CLICK HERE to read a great article from Time Magazine that can reinforce your position why buyers should not be waiting to purchase.  As rates begin to rise, buyer power is taken away from the buyer.  Any time now rates could start to rise and a 1% rise in interest rates can dwindle your buyers purchase power by as much as 10% or more!
2. If your market is stagnant, then sellers are probably motivated - Deals may be better than in a long time, particularly on homes that have been on the market for a while.
3. Work with more motivated buyers - If you are doing the volume of lead generation that you should this should allow you to choose to work with buyers who do need to make a move now, so if items one and two are not working, move on to another buyer!
4. Make offers for Immediate Response - Gary Keller of Keller Williams and "Millionaire Real Estate Agent" book fame has coined the acronym MOFIR to refer to this process.  Find deals you can offer NOW to make immediate response occur.  Personally I have partnered with loan officers, title companies, insurance agents and the like to put offer packages together that we can promote together to each others spheres.  This works and it gets you exposed to others spheres of influence!
5. Know Creative Financing - Since the melt down in sub prime, we have less options for our buyers in the financing arena.  Make sure you combat this by knowing all the options for your buyers and have all the alliances that you need with loan officers and lenders to have an option for every challenge.  After all, no option for financing, no sale - no sale, no commission!

Please, others chime in with some other buyer options for us!

Buyers make the market move.  Without them, you can have all the listings you want, but there will be no "beans on the table" at home unless we can get the buyers to make offers!

Blessings!
Steve Homer
Broker-Associate
The HBH Group Realty Team
Keller Williams Realty
Round Rock, TX - the 8th fastest growing area in the USA per Entrepreneur Magazine (2008).  We would love to assist your clients and investors with commercial, residential or farm & ranch in this area.  And by the way, if you haven't heard how Keller Williams can be your ticket to retirement from the real estate business, we need to talk!

After hearing my minister's sermon this morning, I realized how much his message mirrors the way we serve others in the real estate business and I decided that I would share this with you as a model for our mission as real estate service professionals.

God brings us into our client's lives at what is often a critical juncture:  a job change, a divorce, a forced relocation, you name it.  We have some rare opportunities to speak the love of Christ to them at times when their are often in turmoil.  So what should our daily mission be to the public at large?  Well how about the following:

1. Consecration - Be in a worship state with our Lord, consecrated to the mission he places before us daily and to fulfill that mission as Jesus would.  I trust that every one of you has a daily quiet time of worship with the Lord to start your day, consecrating yourself for the mission he has for you that day.
2. Conformity - Be more conformed to the image of Christ each day to enable us to compassionately engage those God brings across our path.
3. Commitment - Be committed daily to working with Jesus in ministering to others in all that we do, reflecting His love to them.  In the stressful world of real estate, it is easy to stumble here if we allow ourselves to get in the way of Jesus working through us!
4. Connection - Remember that as we are to be connected to Jesus every day, our business is about connecting with others as well.  Let's care for and have compassion for them every step of the way.
5. Communication - ask God to give us opportunities to share our faith in Jesus with those that come along our path.

Prayer for today:  Jesus help me today to see the God-given talent that you want me to use for you.  I know that you have prepared me uniquely for the work you have placed me in and I ask you to give me the discernment to not only know what talents I am to use for you today, but help me put those into action by your strength.  Help me to connect with those you have for me to work with today and make me more like You every day in all that I do and say.  I ask this in your wonderful, matchless name, Amen. 

Last May i was diagnosed with the onset of Type II Diabetes after being on Zocor and numerous blood pressure and heart regulation meds at 48 years old.  The truth is that my diet was a disaster and I hadn't exercised in I don't know how long.  Add to that the pressures of the real estate business and...  Well you get the idea!  I was a walking heart attack.  I had my blood tested per doctors orders and the results were something to this effect:

HDL: 34
LDL: 270
Triglycerides: Over 400

I went to hear Gary Keller (of Keller Williams and "Millionaire Real Estate Agent" fame) speak that month and he told us that he had been on Statin drugs for many years to reduce cholesterol levels.  The drugs had a nasty side effect for him though and caused the onset of Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS).  Doctors could not find a statin that would not cause RLS so he decided to create his own cholesterol-reducing diet and he had great success with reducing his counts where he could get off of the meds.  I figured I had nothing to lose and emailed him later that day to get a copy of the diet.  I went on it in June coupled with 10,000 steps a day (6 days per week) on an elliptical ski machine (steps must be in the aerobic zone).  I also had a light weight workout three days per week.

When I started this journey I was 315 lbs on a 6'3" body.  45 days later I was 45 lbs lighter!  I am now 70 lbs lighter and I am off the statin and have reduced my other meds by over half (under a dr's supervision of course)!  I have another 30 lbs to be at my ideal weight, but am taking my time now as I feel great and am in no hurry to take the rest off quickly.  Email me if you would like a copy of Gary's diet.  It is easy to follow and mainly involves getting at least 42 grams of WATER-SOLUABLE FIBER in your food everyday.  The fiber natuarlly binds cholesterol and is mostly absent in many of the foods we eat now days.

By the way, as of last fall, my numbers were:

HDL: 27
LDL: 154
Triglycerides: 181

I have posted the before and after photos in this Blog entry.  See the difference?  My energy levels are great now.  My heart stays quite regular (although I still have an occasionally "skippy" day), but overall I have added probably 20 years to my life.  If I can help you with any encouragement, please let me know!  Thanks for reading my story!

Steve Homer
Broker-Associate
The HBH Group Realty Team
Keller Williams Realty
Round Rock, TX - the 8th fastest growing area in the USA per Entrepreneur Magazine (2008).  We would love to assist your clients and investors with commercial, residential or farm & ranch in this area.  And by the way, if you haven't heard how Keller Williams can be your ticket to retirement from the real estate business, we need to talk!

To all:

Don't know about you, but I really think that Gov. Perry's tax reduction package from 2006 has really helped our market in the past year.  Any comments from any other pro's out there?

Thanks in Advance for Your Responses!
Steve Homer
Keller Williams Realty
Round Rock, TX - The 8th fastest growing area in the USA per Entrepreneur Magazine (2008)!

To all my Active Rain Christian Music friends:

If you love great Christian music, this group recently presented concerts at my church here in Round Rock, TX and they so blessed me that I thought I would share their ministry with you.  The name of the group is Testify and they are from West Monroe, LA.  Their music has many different tints and flavors, and you can sample many of their numbers by checking them out on YouTube.com - search for the term testifyfan and you can find several.  One of my favorites is:  The Deeper The Valley which inspires me in my personal and business life.  You can also learn more about where to get their music at Their Website.

I hope this group and their music is a blessing to you and if you have any clients or investors interested in the Austin Texas area, please contact me!

Thanks!
Steve Homer
The HBH Group Real Estate Team
Keller Williams Realty
Round Rock, TX - The 8th fastest growing area in the USA per Entrepreneur Magazine (2008)

On second thought, I think I'll BLOG all day instead -

Hehehe - Made ya look!  I have been on ActiveRain a total of two weeks now and I am getting it really quick.  Best of all I love it!  I have a good amount of experience and knowledge to share, but enjoy so much the interaction with the wisdom of the professionals here.  Could some of you with terrific BLOGS offer me the top five things that made your BLOG really scream?  I want the spend my time here in the most effective and efficient manner possible and I know that with a hot list of items that come from proven success, I will be able to leap ahead quickly!

Thanks in Advance for your Generousity!
Steve Homer
The HBH Group
Keller Williams Realty
Round Rock, TX - The 8th fastest growing area in the USA per Entrepreneur Magazine (2008).  We appreciate your referrals of clients and investors to the Austin area!

To All:

I discovered ACTIVE RAIN just a few weeks ago, but it is having strange effects on me.  Black bags under my eyes, sleepless nights, and a general irritability when I am not typing madly at my computer.  Can anyone tell me if this is temporary or will it just get worse?

Signed,
Sleepless in Round Rock

Having been in real estate investing for over 30 years and in the real estate sales and management business now for 6 years, I have learned a few things.  For one, like any other business, real estate is cyclical in nature and like Texas weather, if you don't like it today, stick around it will change tomorrow!  The entire country has experienced a slump in the RE business over the past year or so (as we all know), however here is the reality - This too shall pass. 

So based on the knowledge that this period of slump will pass, what should the real estate agents who intend to survive this slump be doing right now to shape their businesses for the future.  I pose the following suggestions and welcome comment from others as well:

1. Listing Agents must be firm with pricing strategies - Your sellers will still try and live in the past when the market was climbing.  It is your job to bring them to reality and price your listings where they will sell; your income depends on it and your sellers need to be realistic with you regarding those price points.  If they are unrealistic, move on to the next listing appointment!
2. Learn as much about staging as you can - Times are lean - You need to be as much a one-stop shop for your clients as you can.  Not to say that you desert all your ties to stagers that you have worked with in the past, but as profits get lean, so must expenses and this is one area that many consider a luxury item is paying a stager to provide services to your sellers.
3. Learn and use creative financing techniques - Now is the time to get creative.  You can not afford to be an "order taker" as an agent in the lean times.  You have to be prepared with all sorts of creative ideas to make square pegs fit into round holes!
4. Show up AFTER the contract - Make sure that you drive the transaction beginning to end so that NOTHING gets in the way of the closing.  When you protect your clients closings, they will see your efforts and you will reap huge referral business later.
5. Don't let your Lead Generation Slip!  Gary Keller tells us at Keller Williams that we should all be doing at least 3 hours of lead generation activities every single work day and he is right.  And remember what works - ACTIVE, not passive lead generation.  Make phone calls and contacts and stay in front of people building relationships.  This is a relationship business - never forget that!
6. Move like LIGHTENING on Internet Leads - We live in an instant gratification society - Don't let a competitor out-gratify the client!
7. This is not time to spend money - WATCH your expenses closely and hold every dollar spent accountable.
8. Get clear about your role in the business and stick to it....  FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS - Real estate agents de-focus too easily.  Don't go there!  Set your goals, your calendar activities to meet those goals and stick to it.  Turn off the cell phone if you need to or make your assitant answer it!
9. When you work with buyers, don't allow them to become complacent!  The mortgage rates are still VERY GOOD and none of us know how long that will last, so encourage your buyers to take advantage of the relatively good real estate climate in many markets around the country.  After all, rates are down and so are prices - that makes for a good buyers market if you ask me!

I will discontinue this rant here and ask some other of your old salts to pick up the comments with your best suggestions for survival over the coming months.  I would welcome comments from new agents as well since many of you have had recent training that has dealt with this very subject.

Thanks for your time and continued reading!
Steve Homer
Broker-Associate, Owner
The HBH Group Realty Team - Keller Williams Realty
HBH Property Management
Round Rock, TX
The 8th fastest growing area in the country per Entrepreneur Magazine (2008) 

Hi all:

Was just doing some research on my local markets this morning and the thought occurred to me that I would like to know what the market conditions are like in other areas of the country.  I think we all know that our business forces us to be the local economists of choice for our clients, and I was wondering if any other industry professionals would like to chime in on a discussion of current markets and projected markets.  Perhaps we can use a forum such as this to dispel some of the doom and gloom that the media continues to spout!

Thanks!
Steve