FSBO vs Realtor - The Truth Will Set You Free

31 March 2007

FSBOs are your friend. When you consider (depending upon the source) that about 70% of FSBOs are eventually sold by Realtors, there is a massive market out there. Can they be YOUR market?

One simple tool - one idea: You can help a FSBO with a CMA to help them price their home (per local real estate laws and guidelines) and in turn possibly become their Buyer's agent - they're moving somewhere.

We took this concept a little further.

We recently did an eight-show radio (WTDY) series of FSBO episodes that incorporated other industry pros (realtor, mortgage, attorney, HOW, title, whatever) instructing FSBO owners on how to sell their homes. We were sincere and focused and offered all the advice and marketing techniques at the disposal of our impromptu "team." Did we hurt ourselves in this market?

We doubt it. Ignorance can indeed be bliss - we painted a very real picture of pitfalls, responsibilities, costs, and obligations, yet we still encouraged. But people are people and each will respond differently to the info. Some might do it, some might be overwhelmed and call right for help away, and some might ignore us - but no one made any enemies by offering the help and opening a dialogue.

Consider yourself - how many self-help books do you read and how many do you REALLY follow?! Information itself use useless without implementation. FSBO sellers are no different.

We can embrace the FSBO and build relationships or we can consider them lost forever. Since 70% sell through somebody, that somebody could be you. Even if all the free info changes that to 60% or 50%, that's still a big fat opportunity.

If you send an email I'll point you to the audio archives (podcasts). Or catch a link on our home page. Or go to the player in the right-hand margin.

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley

Home Ownership - Is It Really Only About Money?

30 March 2007

Monday, March 12th, the Wall Street Journal carried an article entitled "Why Your Home Isn't the Investment You Think It Is." In this article WSJ reporter David Crook focuses only on the financial aspects of owning a home, and not very positively at that. He quotes a large investment firm - competitors with the real estate market - touting investments over home ownership. Here are our comments:

Skewed for a purpose. The article was skewed for a purpose. Someone should tell Mr. Crook about a certain family we're currently working with that made their decision to buy because of their landlord's insensitivity. As is always the case, people vote with their feet - and these folks have voted to leave.

"Randy and Cathy N". were debating all the "tangibles" of home ownership - they'd owned before - with an emphasis on finances just like Mr. Crook. Though they had sufficient income, they had pretty much decided to put up with inconveniences of renting for an additional year in order to address some debt that were trying to eliminate. Cathy wanted a home for her family, but wanted a solid marriage more, so she backed off her efforts to force the issue, even when she knew they had to re-sign their lease for an additional year and would be stuck in their energy-eating duplex apartment once again.

The first to crack was Randy, a computer programmer who works out of his home for his second job - programming contract work. The family had often walked around in heavy coats this past winter - their first in the place - to save money on heating costs wasted through insufficiently insulated walls and attic. The fact that wind would drive snow drifts around the cracks of the front door - far from having been "plumb" in a couple decades - a foot or more into the living room could be ignored as it occurred infrequently. But when it became too cold to type, Randy jumped on the home ownership bandwagon. Can't type, then no money from the second job. No money, then what are they doing there?!?.

It was then that Cathy began to waiver. She had previously agreed with her husband, and so now was looking for reasons to stay put. So she called her landlady and tried to voice her concerns about the ludicrous heating bills, the front door, and certain exterior maintenance issues. She was actually laughed at when she told the landlady how cold they were - laughed at. Ignoring that - but keeping score - Cathy decided to pursue the maintenance question, and was brusquely met with am emphatic "no" there as well - too much money had been spent on that place already. "If you want cheaper utilities, you'd have to buy a new place," was the taunt, as if the N's would never be able to do THAT! So much for detente.

Then Cathy volunteered they were looking at a possible move; one which might not be accomplished by the time the lease was due for renewal. The landlady consented, in a demeaning way, that they could have one extra month to vacate because she thought she might be able to trust them. Just as the whole conversation, this statement was meant to diminish the lives of the Renters as insignificant and to establish all power over quality of life with the Landlady.

Within 15 minutes the N's were back on the phone with me, asking if the mortgage numbers we'd discussed would really work (they would). Within two hours their Realtor® (a Keller-Williams Agent, no less) was there writing an offer on a home the N's had visited earlier, a place where the power bills were a third of theirs now (great agent service got those numbers) - and the home wasn't much newer- it was just not a rental, either.

What Mr. Crook doesn't address - and the narrative above does - is that people buy homes to acquire level of life-control, to get a sense of autonomy, and for increased self-esteem. too. Even if his horribly skewed investment numbers and homeownership cost calculations were correct, people will not live like Third World citizens to achieve an obscure future. The Here and Now has significance as well.

Home ownership never used to be about investments, profit, and appreciation - these are recent perspectives. How many GIs returning from World War II, progenitors of the Baby Boomers, actually calculated how much home equity they'd have in 30 years? Was a home about money, or was it about things more important; like life and love and family?

All the tired old cliches about home ownership and dreams are real. Investment firms might be all about creating wealth, that is true. But Realtors® (and mortgage lenders, of course) are about creating lives.

And, as it almost always happens, the lives of most homeowners are filled with wealth of all kinds.

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley (Reprinted from our ActiveRain blog: http://activerain.com/blogs/ranchexit)

KIVA Talk-A-Thon Called a Screaming Success

20 March 2007 - First Day of Spring

KIVATHON called a screaming success! TalkShoe (http://www.talkshoe.com) - our premiere podcasting relationship (and the place where you can find our archived radio shows) - staged a 24-hour KIVATHON from March 18th thru March 19th, Noon to Noon. The Your Home-Your Money radio Mortgage Guys - Bill and Art - hosted one of the hours and had a blast. The interactive podcast talkathon - the first of its kind - raised money and awareness for http://www.kiva.org/, the world leader in online microlending.

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You can go to http://www.kiva.org/ to see how it all works.

Microlending consists of giving small loans to (very) small businesses and entrepeneurs in developing nations, ones where the economy and regular banking do not allow the "little guy" to make it. The loans range from $250 to $1300 and will be paid back in 6 to 18 months. At KIVA.org the lender - you or me - invests in $25 increments and we choose the individuals, who are pre-screened, WE want to sponsor. (Don't have $25 right now? TalkShoe can handle smaller investments at their website - Look for the KIVA banner.)

It's fun and rewarding to see a business grow from nothing, especially in areas where women are little more than property and bank interest rates can be as high as 1000% (and you though YOUR interest rate was high!) Each lender gets a "home page" and the people you sponsor - along with their other lenders - are interlinked throughout. There are bargraphs depicting fundraising efforts and reporting the amount of money paid back as a percentage. That's right - lenders get PAID BACK - it IS a loan, you remember. We can then take our money out (we don't get interest) or reinvest in another business. Simple

You can also subscribe to our KIVA blog at http://activerain.com/groups/KIVA and stay in the loop.

Bill and I have our lender page at http://www.kiva.org/lender/YHYM, where you will see our two (so far) entrepreneurs at work. As of the writing of this blog, both Asia (Bulgaria) and Dilorom (Tajikistan) are now fully funded and working their businesses. Booyah!

This is an incredibly worthwhile venture. We urge you to get involved - or to find someone or something you want to help learn and grow and make a better life. Thanks for all you do.

Best wishes.

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley