Re: Motivated? - Posted by Valerie
Posted by Valerie on December 09, 1998 at 12:32:30:
Just a comment, the Real Estate Commission also “polices” us real estate agents as well to be sure we don’t misrepresent anything and mislead consumers. Believe it or not, the Real Estate Commission is not there to protect the agents they were established to protect CONSUMERS!
Re: Motivated? - Posted by Rob FL
Posted by Rob FL on December 04, 1998 at 18:42:59:
Always put in your advertising for callers to “Leave a message at 555-5555”. That lets them know up front that they will have to leave a message.
If you are doing the wrong thing… - Posted by John Katitus
Posted by John Katitus on December 05, 1998 at 03:11:01:
or even grey, be paranoid.
If you are not, be confident.
If you say the wrong thing, don’t worry about it. Unless you’re in California, where it appears the First Amendment has been repealed.
Re: Bad, bad, bad… - Posted by Bill Gatten
Posted by Bill Gatten on December 04, 1998 at 20:25:33:
Sorry, but I strongly agree with Jim. Lette’s phone response did imply that she was acting in a “broker” capacity by referring to having “buyers” and dealing with “sellers,” and even alluding to someone paying a [the] commission (“our buyers”). That’s brokering pure and simple, and here in Calif. it’s six months in jail, and a $10,000 fine.
If Lette doesn’t have a bona fide option on that property she should not be suggesting that she’s seeking out or talking to buyers. If she is calling to acquire a lease option, then she should refer to herself only, as the buyer.
JPiper’s advice to her was among the best I have ever seen. Most folks would charge $500 for a seminar to teach that kind of selling skills.
Try to understand the reason behind Jim’s curt and direct response. To those of us who have been in this business for a few decades, and who have seen all the dumb things people do to get themselves in trouble, we want to scream out loudly when some well meaning person proffers what is the exact opposite of correct advice. Make no mistake about it? selling real estate without a license will be picked up immediately when some Realtor calls on that ad and hears what Lette said. And don?t think for a minute that Realtors won?t throw a crick in their dialing finger, speed dialing the Department of Real Estate.
Regards,
Bill
Ridiculous… - Posted by JPiper
Posted by JPiper on December 04, 1998 at 17:34:11:
Collecting a commission for the sale of real estate is illegal unless you are licensed. Assisting people in selling their homes without a license is illegal. Collecting a commission from a buyer without a license is illegal.
At the risk of spreading “negativity” I would suggest that not breaking the law is not overly cautious or paranoid. Do you really care what percentage of people get caught?? Either learn to do this business correctly, or don’t do it at all.
Your post is completely ridiculous.
JPiper
Ending it when two are trained - Posted by John Behle
Posted by John Behle on December 07, 1998 at 12:13:43:
He who names a number first loses.
When I get someone else trying to do the loop scenario with questions - or vaguarities - it usually works to LOW BALL them. Someone inexperienced (or lesser experienced) then reacts and comes back with a number. Sometimes you have to break the loop. “Questions like I don’t know, what do you think is fair?” - lead to some fabulous results.
I was talking to a note seller one day. My second question is always “What do you want for the note?” It was a $10,000 note and I had already determined I would pay $7500 for it. Their answer was “well, someone else was going to give me $6,000 for it and they backed out. It’s at the title company ready to close.”
Re: Endless Looping - Posted by Rob FL
Posted by Rob FL on December 04, 1998 at 18:34:37:
This may be an old joke, but here goes.
Who had the longest conversation in the history of the world?
An Amway distributor and a Jehovah’s Witness.
Re: Soapymac’s Guaranteed Sales Tip… - Posted by Bud Branstetter
Posted by Bud Branstetter on December 04, 1998 at 11:05:24:
Again it is advantageous when you can call them back rather than just as your setting down for supper.
If they ask how much is the house, you respond, “What price house were you looking for” Or "Houses in this neignborhood range from $a to $z. Even “It will be in the high $90’s depending on how much down you think can commit to your next home.”
What you want to do when you are selling is find out how much cash down they have and whether they think they can qualify for a new loan. Even if they are renting now.(they don’t have to get rid of their house first) You do all this by asking them questions. You want to find out if they have driven by the house. If I have a single house I put the address on the recording and tell them to drive by. If they are then interested to call back and leave me their number.
Re: Bad, bad, bad… - Posted by JOHNMAN
Posted by JOHNMAN on December 04, 1998 at 20:51:09:
Your right Bill. I’m not disputing that collecting a commission without a license is illegal. That isn’t my point. I just responded to Eduardo’s comment on the call sounded like a set-up. From reading that comment it sounded like paranoia to me. JPiper’s advice is fantastic. I believe we all need to be cautious in what we (newbies and experts) do, just try not to cross that line that leads to paranoia.
Thanks for all the advice.
Johnman.
Re: Ridiculous…I THINK NOT!!! - Posted by JOHNMAN
Posted by JOHNMAN on December 04, 1998 at 19:37:18:
You might want to read your comment again and Lette’s too. She wasn’t doing anything illegal. She doesn’t intend to collect a commission. Showing your concern is one thing but assuming that she is probably being tested by some “real estate police commitee” is RIDICULOUS". Anyone who would knowingly collect a commission without a license will get caught. I guess you have been tested before!
Too bad you got offended! It wasn’t my intent to offend you! You just assumed too much!! The person she talked to was just probably a cautious seller and didn’t want to pay a commission! Have you thought about that??
“what do you think is fair?” - Posted by Matt B
Posted by Matt B on December 08, 1998 at 11:01:15:
This is slightly unrelated to real estate, but exactly related to that particular sales question. When repairing a friend’s computer this weekend, He asked me how much he owed me. He has paid me about $20 in the past to work on his computer. This time, however, I had spent 2 days fixing up the mess that someone else had done to his computer. I thought I might want to ask for $40 for my efforts. Then I remembered good old Kirby sales training and that whoever named the price first loses. When the other person states a price, you at least have some way of negotiating if it is out of your range. When you state a price that is lower than what someone was willing to pay, what are the chances that they will argue you up to want they were prepared to pay?
SO I ANSWERED THIS QUESTION WITH A QUESTION! I said “What do you think is fair?” He said, “Does $100 sound OK?”
Re: Ha Ha Ha - I love it! - Posted by SRH (CA)
Posted by SRH (CA) on December 05, 1998 at 04:25:36:
It’s not as old of a joke as you might think…I’ve never heard it. Thanks for the chuckle.
Re: Soapymac’s Guaranteed Sales Tip… - Posted by Bob Eberle
Posted by Bob Eberle on December 04, 1998 at 15:33:52:
Hey Bud, We have a “24 Hour Hot Line” (voice mail system) set up for all of our properties. Person sees an ad or a sign and calls the number with an extension. They hear a 3 minute recording that tells them all about the house. What the price is, what payments will be (if they qualify for the loan), etc… They are also told that if they would like to be prequalified to call us and we’ll do this for them. When they call most of them have now been “trained” to want to be qualified before seeing the house. We do get some that insist on seeing the house first (as Realtors in my area do this all the time) and we just respond that we are investors not Realtors and it is our company policy to do it this way. If we didn’t and ran out and showed houses to everyone that calls we wouldn’t be able to return the calls. This works great for weeding out the tire kickers, and non motivated. When they call they are serious. On the buying end we use an answering service with a script (yes it’s LeGrands)to answer all calls on the “I Buy Houses” Ads. Wouldn’t do it any other way. When the person calls they get a live person, who can’t answer their questions, they can only take information. As Jim Piper said who cares about the hang ups, they weren’t motivated in the first place.
Re: Bad, bad, bad… - Posted by Bill Gatten
Posted by Bill Gatten on December 07, 1998 at 19:30:57:
John[man],
Thanks for the note. No offense intended. Its just that many years ago, the Calif. DRE got word that my wife was selling RE without a license, as we were assisting others in Equity Sharing for a fee. What she was actually doing, was purchasing options on the properties, then advertising for buyers to whom she would sell the option, and for whom we would prepare the E.S. documents for the option-sale fee.
At the time, she went through a [minor] mess, until they saw what she were doing. And then all was well (she has since obtained a RE license–easier that way).
However, at about the same time, there was a guy in town trying to emulate her sucess, by runing a ad that said, “$10,000 Moves You in With No Credit Qualifying.” The guy was clearly acting as an unlicensed broker, in that he had no options on the properties, and was openly negotiating prices and terms; and was taking listings, showing and selling… they eventually caught up to him and fined him and gave him a suspended jail sentence (We weren’t the rat-finks… honest!)
Regards,
Bill
Still Ridiculous… - Posted by JPiper
Posted by JPiper on December 04, 1998 at 20:45:23:
Here are 3 separate quotes from Lette?s post and my comments on each:
From the statutes and regulations in my state, here is a quote verbatim from the law regarding activities that require a real estate license? ?Assists or directs in the procuring of prospects, calculated to result in the sale, exchange, leasing or rental of real estate?. My guess is that other states have similar verbiage.
Here?s another quote from the statute in my state? ?A ?real estate broker? is any person?.who, for another, and for compensation?.does, or attempts to do, any or all of the following: (3) Negotiates or offers or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, rental or leasing of real estate;? Again, my guess would be that other states have similar verbiage.
Perhaps you and Lette are confused here, but it certainly would appear that Lette intends to collect a commission based on her statement.
Now here is a quote from your original post?. ?Granted there are people that check-up on others that engage in collecting a commission without a license but what are the chances of that happening? What percentage? It’s OK to be cautious but don’t be paranoid. This will create negativity. Not good!!?
This advice that you have given is terrible in my opinion. You seem to be saying that there is a small percentage chance that one would get caught if they violated the real estate licensing act. You evidently view concern over violation of the licensing act as ?paranoid?. You go on to create the impression that expressing a concern over Lette?s comments and apparent violations create a negative atmosphere, an atmosphere that you don?t view as good.
I would also point out to you that in your original post you were disagreeing with Eduardo as to his comments and advice. Eduardo, if I remember correctly, was a long-time real estate broker who has now dropped his license, and if memory serves, has been in this business for 25 years or so. I would gather that Eduardo may have something to offer in the way of knowledge regarding possible violations of the real estate licensing laws.
On the other hand, what you have to offer is an opinion, which appears to be based on your somewhat faulty judgment and a wish that everything should be positive. My suggestion to you would be to restrain yourself the next time to wish to offer an opinion on something that you know nothing about.
JPiper
Re: Soapymac’s Guaranteed Sales Tip… - Posted by Rob FL
Posted by Rob FL on December 04, 1998 at 18:39:51:
I use a similar technique on my rentals/rent to owns. My voice mail gives size, numbers $, and directions to the house. It always seems like most people want all that basic info upfront anyway and it saves me time from talking to people who don’t fit with the house. It also allows people to drive by the house and then call me back. This way I can eliminate 75% or so of the people who aren’t interested. A great time-saver.
Straight to the point - Posted by John Behle
Posted by John Behle on December 04, 1998 at 23:59:07:
Our state laws state almost the exact same wording. While we don’t know enough to ascertain that the call was a setup - IT DOES HAPPEN. The real estate division constantly examines all the ads in the paper.
Their primary purpose is to catch licensees in “Blind advertising” and other infractions, yet their authority extends beyond that of licensees. Just as you can practice law without a license and be penalized the same is true in real estate.
They do call on ads and actually do set people up at times - this is no paranoia, just plain hard fact. They also check for discrimination with agents and property managers and violations land sales practices and securities laws.
Even the comment of informing agents and brokers is also correct. In most or all states there is a monthly publication that goes to brokers. A large focus of the publication contains disciplinary actions relating to licensing laws or fraud.
Just because someone hasn’t experienced an area doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The practice of flipping properties can be done totally legally, yet the real estate division considers it a gray area. Caution shouldn’t be overlooked. When you start talking commissions - it is over the line.
As a broker/agent for over 20 years and a continuing education instructor in our state on aspects of real estate law I know the real estate division and the licensing laws pretty well.
Re: Still Ridiculous…DON’T THINK SO - Posted by JOHNMAN
Posted by JOHNMAN on December 04, 1998 at 21:18:21:
Wow!!! This is getting out of hand. It seems like you are getting offended. You are obviously missing MY POINT. I only disagreed with Eduardo on the possibility of the call being a set-up. How does he know that it is? It could be a seller that is very cautious. Isn’t that a possibility??? Have you thought about that? I wasn’t intending to give here any advice on what to do. You experts can do that. Faulty judgement??? I beg to differ!
Lette is a newbie like myself. She probably made an honest mistake. It does sound like she was trying to collect a commission but was that her real intention? If it was then she is asking for trouble but if not then SHE MADE AN HONEST MISTAKE AND THAT’S HOW I PERCEIVED IT. You and the others have made a lot of excellent points. But you just took this one step further than it should and misinterpreted what I wrote in response to Eduardo’s “set-up” assumption. Paranoia, not cautious! read it again. That is my suggestion to you!
Here are your words:
“You seem to be saying that there is a small percentage chance that one would get caught if they violated the real estate licensing act. You evidently view concern over violation of the licensing act as ?paranoid?. You go on to create the impression that expressing a concern over Lette?s comments and apparent violations create a negative atmosphere, an atmosphere that you don?t view as good.”
Well, that is you impression of what I said. Wrong! I wasn’t saying that concern over a violation is paranoia which leads to negativity. Paranoia leads to negativity. Concern is good. Thinking the call was probably a “set-up” IN MY EYES, OPINION is paranoia.
One last note, never think just because somone makes a comment and you don’t understand it denotes that that person doesn’t know anything about the subject matter. That person may not be the expert but doesn’t claim to know it all.
Thanks for all the feedback. Very interesting!!!
Followup for Rob and Bob… - Posted by Soapymac
Posted by Soapymac on December 04, 1998 at 21:23:34:
I saw in your posts “voicemail” and “Voice Mail System.”
Would you be kind enough to tell me the names of the programs you are using?
Soapymac
Blind Ad OK??? - Posted by Jen (NE)
Posted by Jen (NE) on December 07, 1998 at 21:59:04:
On your comment about ‘blind advertising’. Is it wrong as a newbie to put in an add such as:
RENT TO OWN
Nice 3 bedroom home
All Terms Negotiable
555-1111
…if you wanted to determine demand for lease/options and start a database of what people are looking to buy even though you do not actually have a house to L/O. (You simply told them the house was gone or that you have several properties - which are not true) --But then you take that information and go out looking for sellers willing to L/O knowing what your buyers want. Is this OK?
Thanks for all your help