Category Archives: Marketing / Communication

Care and Feeding of the “Ten”—Making Sure You Contact the Really Important People in Your Practice No Less Frequently than Once a Week

Customer Service, Marketing / Communication, ,

In a way, I am torn. I have totally “bought in” to social media, and I do not miss a day when I do not log in to Active Rain. I must admit that my ActiveRain experience would be truthfully designated as one for  “fun and profit”,  because I have only been on ActiveRain since last March, and I have developed a lot of friendships on the blogging site, quite unexpectedly,  I might add. I tweet once in a while and sort of keep up on Facebook and Linked-In, but not as much as I probably should. As one person aptly put it at the recent New York Rain Camp, which I attended, “There are only a certain number of hours in the day when I am awake!!!!!”

Having said all the above, I remain a traditional guy, with traditional values. My connections with the real estate industry in Massachusetts for the past forty years has taught me one thing. There are approximately TEN people in your professional life who make a difference to you, and you need to be in touch with them on a frequent basis, no less frequently than weekly, in my circumstances. These are the people who send you referrals; these are the people who are your “raving fans”. These are the people you cannot miss “connecting with” at least once a week.

My procedure for the TEN is quite simple. Every Monday morning I write their names down on a sheet of yellow legal paper. I look at my Outlook schedule and put in a contact with each of the TENsome time that week. I usually vary the approach. Sometimes it is an email just saying “hi–anything doing?”. Other times it is a call to their cell phone. Once in a while it is a handwritten note. I try to throw in impromptu visits “because I happened to be in the neighborhood” which, at times, is a small exaggeration since my intention was to drive “to then neighborhood”.

Anything to get into communication with these important people. Why, you ask? Because once the dialogue begins, good things almost always start flowing from it. “Gee, do you do that work?” “Oh, you know this person.” “Can you introduce me to Susie Jones? I really have been dying to meet her”. All of these “openings” can lead to “closings” and closings is what makes my world go around.

Like me, you will find that the membership in the TENis a shifting constituency. People who used to be sources of ideas and business are no longer as enthusiastic. Domestic problems and health issues can distract people. They may be losing interest. You can stay their friend, but they gradually shift out of the TEN. Compiling the list, and then reshuffling it from time time time, is a worthwhile exercise. If you are a record keeper like me, you will be amazed at how view these people are the twenty percent of your client who produce eighty per cent of your business. Treat them with the deference that such standing deserves.

Real Estate Attorneys at Open Houses–Some Uncommon Opportunities to Shine

Customer Service, Marketing / Communication,

I am not trying to imitate that I have no life outside of my profession. I have a beautiful and talented wife, four devoted children and three interesting grandchildren. On the other hand, when a favorite loan originator of mine asks me to sit with him or her at an open house for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon in the winter time, I rarely refuse.

The open houses generally run no more than two or three hours. Sometimes they are not very well-attended. But, even when just two or three couples show up, I enjoy the arena. First of all, they do not expect an attorney to be in attendance. Most of the couples are young, and they have not yet established a relationship with an attorney. That is something for their parents, not them.

They ask me questions; I try to answer. We interact. I have some cards on the kitchen counter which have my name, cell phone number and email address. They are oversize cards which are gridded. I purchase them through Levenger’s. They are perfect for open houses because the people who come can use them to sketch floor plans. Their “floor plans” have my name and vital information on them. What could be better?

If I had not become an attorney, I would have been a teacher. I like to explain. I like to interact with people and see what makes them tick. My open house experience gives me this chance. More than that, I am doing a favor for, and keeping company with, a consistent source of business introductions. It all ends when the robins show up, and I can put a golf ball in the air. In the meantime, my Sunday open houses mean a lot to me, and I hope I can continue them for many winters to come.

Let the other side win a few points–You will be amazed how well transactions move along when both sides feel good about the deal

Marketing / Communication, Uncategorized, ,

I went to a good law school where I was challenged every day to develop new and innovative ideas. In effect, I was told that what I did needed to be special, because I was “so well trained”. Over forty years into a career as a Massachusetts real estate attorney have demonstrated to me that the wisdom of this approach is fleeting. I am much better off being thorough and competent, rather than being the “best and brightest” who always gets the better of the deal.

What I am trying to say is that a real estate transaction is like trying to catch a fish. Until the fish is in the boat,no one wins, not the fisherman; not the person steering the boat; not the people waiting on shore for their seafood dinner. In real estate, you really have nothing until you have a signed purchase agreement at a reasonable price with a deposit. Oh sure, you can hold out for a better price and show how tough you are, but the danger is that you obtained such a good price, there was no way the property appraisal would match the purchase price, so you are back to square one.

It has been my experience that real estate transaction come in waves. There is the initial negotiation which leads to a sales agreement. Each side wants an agreement that demonstrates that they did not “get taken”. As we approach the closing, ancillary issues come up. Can we move the closing date slightly? Would you be interesting in including the refrigerator? Can we close at my attorney’s office because it is “kid friendly” and I have three young children.

If the initial negotiation went smoothly, and the parties more or less got along (through their representatives), the rest of the transaction will usually continue to be amicable. The purchase will close, and that is how all of us will get paid. You will be surprised how many “yes” answers you will get when the initial dealings went well.

I tell all of my clients I do not want the phrase “He wrote the perfect purchase and sale agreement” on my headstone. I would rather be known as a person who was a “deal-maker”, who knew his craft and practiced it in such a way that people were comfortable using him. I am sure each of you feel the same way as approach Ground Hog Day and yearn for the joys of the spring market.

The Title Abstract as a “Family Tree” for the Home your Client is Buying–Help your clients learn the “Rest of the Story”

Marketing / Communication, title,

In Massachusetts, where I practice real estate law, the closing agent (almost always an attorney) requests a title abstract, which provides an at least 50 year history of the property in question. The Abstract, among other things, will show a “chain of title” which indicates dates and purchase price paid for the various prior deeds. Since the goal of the abstract is to establish that there are currently no “encumbrances” on the property, all mortgages and other consensual liens will be checked out, as well as bankruptcies and foreclosures. I like the process to knitting a sweater. If there is one dropped stitch (i.e problem in closing out all prior encumbrances) the abstract falls apart, and that issue needs to be dealt with.

Parenthetically, in this day and age, the “dropped stitch” is generally a missing mortgage discharge, where a prior mortgage has been paid off, but the proper evidence of same has not been recorded, so that the “record title” still shows the mortgage as being outstanding. Depending on the circumstances, a missing discharge may delay, or even more importantly,  prevent, a pending sale transaction. Having a ready ability to “play over” this imperfection is one of the most important reasons why I always suggest my clients obtain an Owner’s Policy of Title Insurance. With that document in hand, the Title Insurance Company will generally assume the burden of providing the missing discharge, post closing, and the transaction can be completed.

Setting aside the legal aspects of the Title Abstract, I have another “marketing” suggestion for you Buyer’s Agents who want to highlight the unique aspects of the service you are rendering to your Buyer. Request the actual Title Abstract from the title agent furnishing title certification.  This little puppy is crammed with useful information that your Buyer will enjoy researching. It will show who owned the property and for how long. It will show Probates and deaths of owners. It will show how much the property sold for in 1968, and the price fluctuations throughout the period  of the Abstract. It may also show divorces and other instruments and agreements affecting the property.

In this age of Google, your Buyer will have a field day looking up the prior owners, and determining whether any of them are famous,or at least noteworthy. From the 50 year Abstract, your Buyer can make a Registry or Town Hall visit and find a way to trace the house’s longer than 50 year history set forth in the Abstract. I have found that local Registry officials are more than happy to direct constituents to the old document books either on site or in an off-site archive. Lots of cocktail conversation, and more, is sitting right there in the Registry.

For my important clients, I have done this work, myself, and presented my clients with a house “family tree” at the closing. It is just one of the little things I try to do to differentiate myself from other Massachusetts conveyancers doing, essentially, the same work I am doing. This might be an interesting “add-on” for you Buyer’s Agents, as well

Fixed fee Billing for Purchase Transactions and Sale Transactions–I have found this the only way to provide effective representation to my Massachusetts clients

Customer Service, Marketing / Communication

I am a Massachusetts real estate attorney with over 40years of experience in the field of titles and conveyancing. If I don’t know how to do a residential real estate transaction by now, it it pretty obvious that I will never know. I am not saying I know every nuance of every kind of a transaction: I am saying my years of experience  have pretty much shown me what to expect in terms of time and expertise in any matter I am asked to get involved in.

That being said, I now take the position, in all residential real estate transactions, of providing my client with the option of a fixed fee for representation. I take a look at the scope of the deal, determine what amount of time I reasonably would expect to spend on the matter, and tell the client what the fixed fee will be. I ask for one-half of the fee as a retainer; the remainder of the fee can be paid at the closing table, by the Buyer or the Seller.

Once the fixed fee is agreed upon, there are no more discussions about billing. I keep my end of the bargain, in all instances. Sometimes (not often) I overestimate the time I need to spend on the matter, and the fixed fee presents a small windfall for me. It is more often the case, however, that I spend more time on the matter than anticipated. That has not proved to be a major matter of concern, and I  never,ever to mention that fact to my client. From my point of view, it is business risk I have assumed, and it generally has nothing to do with the client.

The results of this fixed fee approachhave been gratifying. I have clients who communicate, who ask questions. They do not call all the time. A few are somewhat pesty. You have the same problems as realtors or mortgage originators. The best effect,for me, is that my clients are unafraid to contact me. They are not worried about that Boogeyman, the time meter. They know that they have an all-inclusive fee, and they have to right to understand what they are signing and committing to.

I do fully 85% of my business through referrals. Satisfied clients tell their friends and family that I was easy to work with. They will use me to prepare their estate plans, or set up an LLC or corporation for them. They have learned to trust me. I have become convinced that my fixed fee approach to residential transactions has been a great part of the reason i have been able to expand my practice.

How to get an offer accepted? Use a Realtor!

closing, Marketing / Communication

This is an extremely sensible approach to REO practice. I do a lot of REO work for Lenders, and I would like all my sales agents to have this material.

How to get an offer accepted? Use a Realtor!

Many buyers are asking on various internet portals how to get an offer accepted.  My answer is easy, use a Realtor. The multiple offer phenomenons have returned in certain markets. Where is that? The areas are in the Short sale and Bank-owned property. This market is smoking.

 I have buyers who have submitted at least 15 offers. Forget low balls, think full price and above asking price. Then why is my offer still not accepted? Buyers ask these questions. How is it that the lower priced offer got accepted? The answer is they had cash, you have FHA. Many private remarks to agents state NO FHA. As discouraging it is you still have to keep going. Now the great news comes CONGRATS, your offer has been accepted, six, seven, eight months later still no Closing. Why is that? It is called SHORT SALE!.

This process is tedious and lengthy. Do you have to patience for this? 

I just closed on a Bank Owned Property, after four different attempts. Why did it take this long? The buyer had all cash, we needed to learn, that automatic low balls do not get acceptance. We were in multiple offers all four times. We missed out four times. Then as luck would have it, the first buyer did not perform. Said they had all cash, truth be told they were exaggerations. Then the second buyer did not perform either. So you would think we automatically came in. No, we had to give best and final to compete with three other buyers. So an All Cash nine day escrow with virtually no contingencies and a million dollar got us a property.

 No what did it take to get the offer accepted? The answer is a good strategy, good financial status and a strong stomach to take on a fixer with virtually no contingencies and a Realtor that guided the buyer through these turbulent negotiations. So we had a happy ending on the REO.

 We are still waiting on the Short Sale, patience is a virtue. We are being virtuous.If you are a consumer  who is considering buying  or selling  a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 (USA) or email me at homes@endrebarath.com  or visit one of my websites at http://www.endrebarath.com  Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of My commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations.  

Bridge as Life–Using Play of the Hand Techniques to Improve Your Negotiating

Customer Service, Marketing / Communication

My dad and mom taught me to play Bridge when I was a teenager. We had an instant game anytime we wanted with my older sister as the fourth. I play a lot of Bridge in college (probably too much, now that I think about it) and then have resumed playing as an adult with a regular group at my golf club. I have even played in a few duplicate tournaments from time to time.

Like all other card games, there is a certain element of luck involved in a Bridge game. Not so much in Tournament Bridge, but in the informal games that most of us play. That being said, I truly believe that there is also an important element of skill in the play of a Bridge hand. There are certain techniques that the declarer utilizes that demonstrate mastery of the game and almost always put the skillful player ahead of the others. It occurred to me that some of these techniques may be usable in real estate negotiations so I am chronicling them here.

•1.       The Endgame.  A clever declarer can make his or her contract if he puts the player to his left in a position where whatever he leads, the declarer wins. Picture the declare sitting South holding Ace-Jack of a suit, and his opponent sitting West holding King-Ten. If the declarer at the end of the game, can lose a trick to West when there are but two cards remaining, whatever of the two cards West leads (King or Ten), South will win both tricks. I would compare this situation to dealings with a stubborn seller, or listing agent. If you can get that person to be maneuvered into a situation where he or she is suggesting a solution to a problem, you have an advantage. You are never “bidding against yourself.” You always have a reference point to return to if things get heated. You remind the person what he or she once suggested. A lot of times, I like to embellish upon getting the other side into an “endgame” position by not responding in a telephone conversation after the person is finished. This makes the other side uncomfortable and starting to explain, and even modify, their position. That silence has helped me win many important advantages.

•2.       The Finesse. If you have Ace- Queen of a suit in your hand, and you think that the person sitting East sitting has the King, you can play a small card from the Dummy, and if East doesn’t play the King, the declarer plays the Queen from South and, in general, neutralizes the King so that it never wins a trick. This compares to a situation where you know that one of the parties to the transaction (maybe the husband or wife Seller) is very negative about the deal. You need to find a way to neutralize that person, by convincing the person you are dealing with directly (either listing agent or attorney) that this negative person can “kill this deal”. In effect you are using the old “finesse” technique to move the person to the sidelines where he or she cannot continue to be a problem.

•3.       The Squeeze. At the end of a bridge hand, a declarer with a bunch of winning cards can succeed by playing all of these winning cards to force the opponents to guess what to discard and what to hang on to. The result of the “squeeze” is to promote small cards into winners, if the opponents have not kept accurate track of the cards played. In real estate, the “squeeze” is available when we sense desperation on the other side. The skill involved here is to spend time to determine what your client or customer really wants, or needs, and then to make a longer list of demands, which eventually funnels into getting the important concessions your client really needs. You start out with a laundry list, and end  up with just the few essential items. The other side has been “squeezed” but gathers some comfort in the knowledge that they said “no” to a few requests.

If it sounds like I treat real estate negotiations as a game perhaps that is a correct observation. With the help of other real estate professionals on my team, I want to get the best possible result for my client. To me, that is what the game is all about.

Year End Real Estate Tax Adjustments–A Great Marketing Opportunity to Reconnect With Your Buyer Customer

Marketing / Communication

In Massachusetts, where I have practiced real estate law since 1968, the fiscal year for local real estate taxes begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. Almost all cities and towns collect taxes on a quarterly basis, although there are still a few semi-annual holdouts. In any event, to the best of my knowledge, all cities and towns use an estimated tax for the first six months of the fiscal year, with the actual bill for Jul1 through June 30 being sent out in late December or early January.

Since this seems to be a consistent pattern through Massachusetts (and perhaps in other jurisdictions, as well), there is an opportunity for all of us to revisit those of our clients and customers who bought in the July 1 through December 31 period and re-calculate the correct tax adjustment for them. If the recalculation amounts to only a fe dollars, there is no need to contact the Seller for payment. If hundreds of dollars are involved, like in the instance I am currently working on, where a 2 Unit Condominium was formally taxed as a single family dwelling, and has been upgraded because of a zoning change, the exercise can prove profitable for the Buyer.

It would seem only natural that your Buyer will be eternally grateful to you for pointing this out to him, her or them. Many times at closing, I hear Realtors tell their customers that they will keep in touch. Here is a contact that may put dollars in your customer’s pocket. I know of one Realtor who sends his client a copy of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement for the transaction and encourages the customer to compare the tax adjustment with the “real” tax bill.

As an aside, with real estate prices falling in some sections of the country, it is possible that real estate taxes may have gone down. If this is the case, this adjustment may favor the Seller, and perhaps, the listing agent will want to bring the fact that money is owed to the Seller’s attention.

Julie & Julia–An Excellent Film; An Excellent Example of the Power of Blogging

Marketing / Communication, Uncategorized

It was a Sunday night. The football game was one-sided. My wife talked me in to renting the movie “Julie & Julia”. This film turned out to be well worth the two hours I spent watching it, and a monument to the power of blogging on a consistent basis.

For those of you who have not seen the film, I will only touch on plot details. Suffice it to say, that this is a film about two extremely powerful women, whose careers advance, not in spite of their husbands’ support, but in large part, because of the supportive relationship of the respective marriages. All very 21st century “feel good”, but masterfully done.

One of the protagonists, Julie, sets out to write a blog a day. In her case, her posts concerns recipes and how they turned out and what feelings they engendered within her. One of the thrusts of the movie was that her blogging was as much for herself, as her audience, and that started to hit home for me, and, probably for most of you.

I have realized that I write posts to educate and entertain others, but also to make myself feel good. I am a full-time practicing attorney. While my “story” might interest some, it is probably not interesting, or unique, enough to be the subject of a novel or a biography. In other words, I would have little hope of being “published” even if I quit practicing real estate law in Massachusetts and wrote fiction, or non-fiction, every day.

On the other hand, I can write a blog post for Realtor’s Resource (my blog) or ActiveRain (our blog) any time I want to, and it will be read by a few people. Some will comment; most will not. It doesn’t really make that much difference. I am “in print” and I am saying something that I want to say to people who may be interested. That is enough for me.

Let the Camera be Your Friend–Use Your Digital Camera to Enhance Your Professional Image

closing, Marketing / Communication, ,

It has not always been this way. When I started practicing law in Massachusetts in 1968, single reflex cameras were heavy and required a host of accessories to insure proper lighting, focus and the like. The modern digital camera has none of this complexity, or bulk, and I have found my camera useful in marketing myself as an “in-tune” professional. The plethora of self-taken photographs on ActiveRain is ample evidence of the fact that most of us know how to “point and shoot” which is really all that is required to produce an acceptable photo that can be useful in the following types of situations:

     1. Photographs at the closing. Generally, everyone is smiling once the papers are signed and the keys delivered. I bring my camera to every purchase transaction. I try to get pictures of the Buyers with the Buyer’s Agent. I later email them to both parties. It is something that a savvy realtor can use to his or her advantage, and I have provided it. Here we are at one of the most important days of our lives, and our realtor helped make it possible.

     2. Photographs during the home inspection. The potential buyer have a lot on their minds. They will NOT be taking pictures. If you are their realtor, you can assist them with pictures. If a situation comes up regarding repairs or substandard conditions, you have a contemporaneous photograph of the problem. It may help you work out a solution with the other realtor or the Seller. And, of course, there is always the problem of “what is included” with the home. A photograph at the time of inspection will be great evidence of what was shown to the Buyer.

     3. Photographs when the Buyer moves in. If you are the type of realtor who participates in this event, why not take some photographs when the Buyers are crossing the front door, or flopping on the living room rug, after a rigorous day of moving? These shots will be cherished somewhere down the road, and you will be person providing the memories.

I have just touched the surface here. I am sure each of you can devlop other scenarios where a photgraph can be helpful. I am alwasy interested in new ideas and thoughts. Share them with me when you comment,