Well the State of Florida does it again..and all you minimum wage earners should be jumping for joy because starting Friday…minimum wage jumps to $7.25.
That’s a whopping 4 cents..thats right 4 whole cents..so if you multiply 4 x4o hours =$1.60 extra a week…
What are you going to do with all your extra money?
Brother can you spare a dime? Apparently Not! You’d think by raising minimum wage..they would do more than just a few cents. Do you think it’s easy living on $7.25 an hour?
Bartering has been around as long as humans have existed..if you really want something or need something and do not have the funds, why not trade your services or products!
Here are some online sources for bartering:
When I think of bartering..not only will you get what you want but there is room for opportunity, possible income and word of mouth marketing!
Today I spoke with a potential seller..an interesting conversation and quite typical. Meaning two parties who want to sell a piece of property..but they do not agree on many things.
Now this property was not a high end property..in fact… the value is in the land…the problem with this property more than likely it would end up expired..it would be difficult to finance…and also to insure.
The property was rented and owned free and clear. Imagine to my surprise it was not a short sale but a property I didn’t think I could sell! 
Usually I ask a few questions…and then call back…I need to look at numbers..I need to look at all the numbers in the entire MLS. I also need to be brutally honest with myself...so I can report back to the potential seller.
These days price reductions = Lost Property Value…price it right from the get go otherwise you lose the window!
Next I ask myself a few questions…Can I sell this property? and is it worth my time? Will the seller cooperate and is it sometimes better to wait meaning the seller should continue to rent it out rather than attempt to liquidate if they expect x amount of dollars?
Sometime waiting can cost them more..I present the facts…all of them..from placing it on the market now vs. waiting…guess what NO GUARANTEES!
With selling…with property value… and with closing!
I also think about the inventory on the market…do they have a shot?
When I call back…I sounded negative…but in truth all I did was tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth..I am brutally honest!
No I didn’t think I could sell the property for what they wanted to sell it for…heck there was a property that was on the market for 988 days.
It wasn’t worth my time if the seller wouldn’t offer seller financing..more than likely we might get a contract…but without a cash buyer…it would never make it closing.
While they were in the ball park of their pricing..it would not be enough. Especially since there were 264 other properties competing…yes all active the difference was most of the 264 properties were single family homes…yes they had a mobile home on a piece of land.
As I ended the conversation..I had to tell it like it was…I am more than happy to take a look at the property on Monday…please talk to your family and consider holding a mortgage if not..you might have to find another agent.
Before I hung up the phone..I explained…that anyone can list a property….and you want to sell right and not just list it? Of course! Well I am in the business of selling and if I don’t think I can take it to closing…I’m not the person for you!
I apologized for sounding so negative. Being brutally honest in real estate can save everyone time, money and energy!
Funny thing I explained I was not available over the weekend to look at the property..their final words, Can I call you sometime this weekend to just let you know what my family says?
If I took every listing that every seller offered I would have a huge inventory and not very many closings.
I won’t hesitate to be brutally honest and if the shoe were on the other foot…I would expect the same!
Contributing Writer: Midori Miller is a Real Estate Trainer and writes and trains Real Estate Training and assists sellers in short sale situations. Midori is a Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker , License # BK645709 at CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty and a member of the Daytona Area Association of REALTORS.
When a transaction goes bad and I get involved, the trainer seems to come out in me! As a trainer I do pick apart a dead deal to see where we have gone wrong.
REALTOR Logo-Midori Miller-Daytona Beach Florida
In most cases agents simply need to get back to basics to help prevent dead deals. In most cases they were never transactions to begin with.
Certain steps were missed, yes let me say that again, “Certain steps were missed and in most cases the dead deals were never transactions to begin with”.
To me the most important step when dealing with the consumer is screening of leads.
It’s too many times I can be in any real estate office in any given time and I overhear (ok, I listen) a conversation with a Realtor and a potential customer.
The value of each lead that calls the office….don’t they get it! If you are going to just give information rather than screen that lead. Don’t Answer the Phone!
It’s better to lose them today rather than 6 months down the road wasting your time, money and expertise on someone who is unable to buy or sell today or ever for that matter.
Doesn’t matter if you are face to face or over the phone, the bottom line….listen to the consumer…you’ll know if they are a true buyer or seller...if you listen..you will learn.
Listen to their words
Most sales people spend most of the conversation selling their services rather than determining whether they are dealing with a potential customer.
Most agents lose the customer because they spoke at the customer rather than asking questions and really listening to the customer’s needs.
By listening they will give you hints on whether they have the ABILITY to buy or sell real estate.
Probe
When you probe you learn. When you probe you have to listen. The more questions you ask the more open the prospect becomes. The more open the prospect becomes easier it becomes to be a little more open yourself. The more open your questions become the more likely the truth will be revealed.
How long should you screen a lead? As long as it takes…I would rather spend an hour or two on the phone in advance than spend 6 months in my car to find out they were not buyers.
You may find it odd that I am writing about the Federal Reserve but then again maybe not. You see I receive many emails each and every day with questions about a wide variety of business topic. And today the topic…
The Federal Reserve
First of all the history of the Federal Reserve is really interesting, as a matter of fact reading the history alone gave me a better understanding of what they do! According to Wikipedia the federal reserves primary function was to prevent Bank Panic! What do you think? Are they doing a good job?
There is also a educational site in regards to the Federal Reserve with Free resources such as brochures, newsletters and more. You can watch the video “The Federal Reserve Today.”
I think the most valuable information that I came across today was the Federal Reserve Consumer Help Site. As a consumer you can file a complaint against a bank for the following reasons:
They also investigate complaints related to federal consumer protection laws. Such as:
Hope you find this information interesting and useful!
