Club Chaos Agents - All Things Hollish, Wacked, and Jacked

First, I must proclaim that I am NOT an Attorney and in no way am I attempting to give legal advice.

 My question is, "how SAFE is it to owner finance in Texas?"  

I received a call from a friend yesterday and she was asking me about the potential of OWNER FINANCING her Texas home. She explained that a couple had viewed it and said their credit was not up to par and would the Seller consider holding the note. This answer was a no-brainer. It was a big fat "NO".  Their home is still mortgaged which caused the obvious problem.  ARMS LENGTH MORTGAGES ARE ILLEGAL IN TEXAS. In fact, if you go into a contract stating you will finance the home for them and you consider it a sale, it is my understanding that your note holder will call your note due and payable immediately!!!  If you've sold the house they want their money!

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! HOUSE FLIPPERS BECOMING A DYING BREED...

As Realtors, and Mortgage Pros and all of us that are involved with this business it seems we have to pay attention to LAWS OUTSIDE OF OUR PROFESSION to stay on top of things. Yes, yes, we all know this but with the changes being made every day it's tough to keep up.

 Are you familiar with the 2010 "SAFE ACT" IN TEXAS HOUSE BILL 10?
“Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act”)

I was not familiar and came across it quite by accident. What an eye opener it is.

The bill states that, Under the current code, owner-financiers must have a Residential Mortgage Loan Originator license from the Texas Savings and Mortgage Lending Department.

Once upon a time we were allowed up to 5 transactions a year...kind of like flipping cars. This restriction is just unimaginable!  It seems to me that if the sales took place at a legal Title Company with legal paperwork, the government shouldn't be able to tell us what we can or cannot sell!!!!!! Come on now! They are now saying not even ONE owner finance per year with a few exceptions.

EXCEPTIONS:

If you own the home free and clear and it is your homestead.

If you sell to a family member.

Or, use a Third Party Mortgage Originator...there goes the profit!

AND IF YOU DO IT ANYWAY ARE THERE REPERCUSSIONS?

Oh my, YES. If you are caught doing it anyway you are subject to a $25,000 fine, you may owe damages to the Buyer and well, isn't this all bad enough?

So, FLIPPERS BEWARE!

 

                                                                                                          
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Brooks Prime Properties, LLC
Waterfront Real Estate Specialists
936-295-0005
Lake Conroe Real Estate, Lake Livingston Real Estate
Your Waterfront Realtor®  Deb Brooks 

 

www.brooksprimeproperties.com

www.lakeconroeprime.com

 Some photos attributed to FreeFoto.com                                             

 

Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston Video Advice!

 

If you don't mind, I'd love to hear some input and perspective from you. I have a number of decisions on my mind with our company, and I would welcome any helpful advice/direction. Please note that I said "helpful". :) I'm editing this opening paragraph now that I've finished writing the rest of the post and I realize that some of the stuff I wrote below seems a little disjointed. Hang in there if you can.

Here's the thing: I've been selling homes full-time in Austin for 15 years as of this month. I started my own brokerage just over 7 years ago. We've had some very good years (thankfully, 2011 was one of them) and a couple of very lean years, too. As we begin another year, my business partner and I are evaluating things to try to determine the best direction for ourselves and our company. I find myself going back and forth between two extremes: big-time company growth vs. streamlining, saving money, and focusing on my own sales.

We're paying way too much for office space, so we're likely moving down the hall to a smaller, much less expensive space. Most of our agents work from home, so it seems silly to pay for a large space with lots of barely-used desks. This downsize in physical office space will save us $1700/month, so that's a no-brainer. We will be moving.

I could use some of the savings for additional marketing/branding, I suppose. Again, I'd have to think about the most effective use of these dollars. I've used just about every type of print and internet marketing technique over the years, and it seems that the internet is the only one that makes much sense, outside of handwritten notes (not a joke). Again, I welcome your input.

We have a nice system in place for the leads from our website, and a relatively substantial number of new prospective buyers sign up every day. I would love to increase our conversion rate for these leads, since I worked so hard to get the traffic in the first place. It seems that this would probably entail more accountability, and a different system, although I have no idea how much this might cost to design and implement. I could focus on SEO, but since we're getting ample traffic, perhaps the site needs a re-design to maximize its effectiveness? Here's our primary website: http://www.austintexashomes.com

I DO offer something that seems to be in short supply based on my conversations with agents: I care. I genuinely care about the people who work for us, and I am available pretty much any time to answer questions or provide advice. I've never been involved in a lawsuit or mediation of any kind, because we really try to head off problems before they grow into full-fledged legal issues. I value honesty and integrity, which might be a hindrance to substantial growth, although I'd like to think otherwise. Maybe I'm not cut-throat enough, and I'm okay with that.

There's no easy way to say this next part, so I guess I'll just be blunt. I promise it's not sour grapes, just an observation. I have seen other local companies grow to 50 agents and beyond with seemingly less to offer, other than possibly bravado and aggressiveness on the part of the managing broker/owner. I don't begrudge them their success, and I'm sure I could learn something from their recruiting efforts. Having interviewed a few agents who went to work elsewhere, only to be disillusioned, I just can't bring myself to over-promise to agents. Yes, we have leads. No, I can't tell you how many to expect, nor do I want agents who are dependent on me or the company to produce all or most of their business.

I haven't instituted minimum production standards for our agents, partly because it struck me as disingenous, since I wouldn't have been given a chance with my original mentor/broker if these were in place, but I think I was a great addition to his team for 8 years. It reminds me of the classified ads I used to see for Dell Computers that required a college degree and 2-4 years of experience, when the CEO was a college dropout. That being said, I don't think I want very many brand-new agents, partly because of the time commitment involved in training. What are your thoughts on minimum standards for sales production?

I've managed up to 20 agents in the past, and I think I could handle a lot more (40-50+), under the right circumstances. Namely, if I weren't so dependent on my own sales to provide the vast majority of my income, and if the agents were at least somewhat self-sufficient. I recognize that this sounds obvious.

I guess the bottom line is that I am torn between building an actual business that can provide income for me on its own vs. continuing to grow my personal sales. I am now 41 years old. I don't think I want to drive people around showing houses (even if they're nice houses) when I am 60 or 70.

I need a plan.

Feel free to chime in below with ideas. I'm all ears.

Thanks for reading!

Photo credit:Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr.com Creative Commons license

It seems as though I hear more and more these days about the notion of "influence", both from sites like Klout and from various industry lists (Most Influential, etc.). My intent with this post is not to discount or disavow any such influence, but to provide some food for thought.

There are plenty of people I can point to throughout the course of my life who have served as good influences on me and my character. Of course, I also had a few that were...less than helpful. 

When it comes to my own personal influence, there aren't that many areas that concern me. Here's a sample:

Am I influencing my wife and kids in a positive way? As a father of four, there are few things more important than the mental and physical well-being of my children. I love them all dearly, and I am fascinated to watch them grow and develop into really interesting people. I teach them about our faith, our love for one another, and how to relate to the world at large. I am incredibly thankful that I've been blessed with a wife who does a stellar job as my partner in this regard. I tell each of them that I love them...daily (yes, even my teenage son). I want them to know that I am always available to talk, and my love is unconditional. 

Am I influencing my friends to trust me? I sure hope so. I like to think of myself as a very loyal friend, although I'm certainly not perfect. The people that I see on a regular basis are important to me, and I care about how they view me.

Am I influencing my clients to remain loyal, and to send their friends and family to me? Without this particular influence, I wouldn't make a living selling homes. I've been doing this for 15 years now, and 2011 was my best income year since 2006. Why is that? Well, part of the reason is that I focused on my clients and on providing the best possible service that I could muster for them. This has always been important to me, but I was more intentional about it this year.

Am I influencing the world? This is a tough question. I've seen examples of small actions that have long-lasting effects. Like the "butterfly effect" or the tried-and-trite ripples in a pond, we often don't really know what kind of impact we have on the lives of those around us. I've also had more obvious influence on three of my friends who credit me with saving their lives. Since I can't leave that last sentence hanging with no explanation, I will say that I talked two of them out of suicide (one on multiple occasions). The other told me that he was inspired by my 2010 weight loss and changed his lifestyle dramatically.

The bottom line is this: All I can do is try to be obedient to God and attempt to provide a good example for my friends and my family. THAT is the influence that matters to me.

Thanks for reading!

Photo credit: raspberreh via Flickr.com

Home is where the heart is...

As Professionals we have the drill down now don't we? We question, we qualify, we place, but are we actually doing the best for our clients? Are we finding out where their hearts are?

Couples, singles, families, all have their specifications of their perfect "living ideals".

Maybe you have a woman that works full time and her only relax time is in the den?

Maybe you have a full time home maker that spends 40% of her time in the kitchen or maybe her idea is to make the perfect home for her husband?

Do you ask the right questions? Yes, I'm sure you ask questions....that's a given. But, are you "breaking the ice enough to find out the true motivation" of your buyer?

Sometimes, the best of sales is to just listen to your buyers. Just listen. They may not tell you specifically just what you are needing to know. BUT, if you truly listen, you can learn more than meets the ear! Listen to the comments made and the dynamics of their relationship to find what they are looking for.

They may not even know yet what their ideal home is.

If you listen, you could be the one to give them that discovery.

Now, that's doing your job!

Do it.

 

                                                                                                          
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Brooks Prime Properties, LLC
Waterfront Real Estate Specialists
936-295-0005
Lake Conroe Real Estate, Lake Livingston Real Estate
Your Waterfront Realtor®  Deb Brooks 

 

www.brooksprimeproperties.com

www.lakeconroeprime.com

 Some photos attributed to FreeFoto.com                                             

 

Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston Video Advice!

 

It is a daily guarantee. Nothing we do, nothing we know, and no one we know will remain the same. Philosophy is one of deep thought, "educational concepts" that haunt each of us even if we never had formal education. Whether you realize it or not, it will haunt you.

EXAMINE ALL POSSIBILITIES

Change. What does it mean?
As humans it means we have yet another mountain to climb. We have yet another problem to solve. We have yet another heart to heal and yet another dilemma to dissolve. We can do it. We were placed upon this earth to absorb, then rationalize and to then react. Our inclinations are to revert to primal thinking. This would mean thinking of one's self first and foremost. 

But, as civilized man, we are much more progressive than that. We, as civilized and educated man, instead of primal reactions, act and react with "thought and reasoning". It is not unreasonable. Change is necessary for each and every one of us to survive. Remember the old saying, "if you do the same thing over and over again, you will receive the same results...and that is the definition of "crazy"?"

My advice. Accept change and go with the flow. Accept the change within your personal life and your professional life. This might mean to re-evaluate a "no-no" for you from the past. Possibly see the good in the possibilities and accept the change. In Real Estate we are changing each and every day. We use to put our foot down and say, "no way are you advertising my listing!!!" My question to you is...."were you thinking of yourself or your client? So many things are changing daily that we must adapt or accept our demise. Aren't we here to sell and co-operate in the sales for our clients? Isn't this our Fiduciary responsibility?"

Loosen up. Half (50%) a commission is a whole lot better than (100%) of nothing! Do what you need to do to advertise and share your listings. It's only fair for your clients! Love your clients and sell their properties.

Like I said. "Loosen up."

 

                                                                                                          
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Brooks Prime Properties, LLC
Waterfront Real Estate Specialists
936-295-0005
Lake Conroe Real Estate, Lake Livingston Real Estate
Your Waterfront Realtor®  Deb Brooks 

 

www.brooksprimeproperties.com

www.lakeconroeprime.com

 Some photos attributed to FreeFoto.com                                             

 

Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston Video Advice!

 

Thinking back a few years ago I remember the attitude of..."It's my listing...don't touch it!"  I had progressed into the new millennium like a comet hitting earth for an old fart like me. It all seems to me to be a normal understandable thing to do! Zillow, Realtor.com and so many others scrape our listings anyway. Why not allow a competitor to show your listing on their web sites?

Why not?

Our standard rules are to show the listing company and simply place your name and contact information for the showings and "BUYER'S REPRESENTATIVE". We should all have the simple "DO IT RIGHT AND HAVE AT IT!" attitude. It is our Fiduciary responsibility to do everything we can to represent the seller when we take a listing. Placing that very listing on other sites is also a responsibility to give the listing as much exposure as possible!

Get over the "it's mine" phobia.

How nice would it be to be able to say to your potential client, "don't worry, with us you get everyone! I will take good care of you and make sure everyone has the opportunity to sell your property!"

If you were selling your home isn't that what you would want?

 

                                                                                                          
**********************************************************************************

 

Brooks Prime Properties, LLC
Waterfront Real Estate Specialists
936-295-0005
Lake Conroe Real Estate, Lake Livingston Real Estate
Your Waterfront Realtor®  Deb Brooks 

 

www.brooksprimeproperties.com

www.lakeconroeprime.com

 Some photos attributed to FreeFoto.com                                             

 

Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston Video Advice!