“Excuses or Actions?”

We had another housing report come in that really wasn’t all that surprising, refinances are down, purchase applications are up, listed inventory fell another 22% from just six months ago. I am sure this isn’t a surprise to those in the field, but it sure seems like the main stream media is constantly surprised by the strength of the housing markets across the country?

The feedback I am getting from my clients is that they are very engaged in this market and that production numbers for them are considerably higher than this time last year. The number of transactions in contract and preapprovals out looking are significantly ahead of this time last year at the same time they are reporting the number of Realtors® complaining about inventory and multiple offer situations are increasing.

We have talked about this a great deal. When the market gets tight, the better people do better! More of the deals getting done are getting done by a smaller group of professionals. The example I think applies the best comes from the Denver market. In my opinion, there isn’t a tighter market in the country than the one in Denver! Yet, deals are coming together quickly when everyone is prepared! Yes, there are multiple offers on most properties, but for those people who have been well prepared; they are getting their offers accepted much more frequently.

So let’s take a look at a few of the reasons that the better people are closing a lion’s share of the deals:

• Buyers have taken the time to be fully qualified for their loan needs by a trusted local professional!
• Buyers are making competitive offers with quick closing dates!
• Buyers are writing personal letters to the sellers detailing why they want to own their house and make it their new home.
• Buyers agents have educated their buyers as to the real cost of property and what the market is.
• Buyers are looking for better situations than they currently have, not a perfect house!
• Selling agents know who the better lenders are and who they trust when it comes to a transaction timeline.
• Selling agents know that the cost of what their sellers are buying can be going up faster than what they are selling, and financing costs rising could easily consume a few thousand dollars they are waiting on.
• Selling agents are working their neighborhoods sharing with people in high demand areas the value of selling and moving on to their “Forever Home” to help generate new listings.

So instead of letting everyone around you just complain about inventory and multiple offer situations, share strategies that are working everyday across the country to acquire new properties for sale, generate better more qualified buyers; and put together real deals that will close quickly!

Some people are happy to sit and complain about how bad the market is! Just like those who complained about all the “short sales” or “foreclosures” just a few years ago. The media also warned about the next housing bubble because there was a giant number of bank owned homes that created this gigantic “shadow inventory” that was going to crush the housing market and start another “bubble”. Well news flash!!! If the banks had any kind of inventory at all, they would be on the market and SOLD by now!

You alone control the way you act and react in this market! You define the experience you provide and identify the people you want to surround yourself with to provide the best possible customer experience. You control if you complain about the situation you find yourself in; or take the actions necessary to establish yourself as the professional that gets the deals done! So you make the choice, complain about the market, or be the one who makes the market!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

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“The Best Succeed”

The best succeed when times are challenging because they engage the situation and work toward a solution. OOPS! I used that four-letter word again, “WORK!” It’s true; the best succeed because they are willing to do the very things those that don’t succeed are not willing to do. Plain and simple, if you want a result, you have to do the work!

We are looking around the country and hearing from most markets that there is a challenge with inventory. One client of mine just told me that their borrower was told by their agent, that it might take a year or longer to find them a home! Can you imagine? What a great way to present the case for home ownership than to tell someone that it may take a year for them to find a home?

Let’s be clear, in some markets, there is certainly a lack of listed inventory. That said there is no shortage of homes, just a shortage of homeowners who don’t know that it’s time for them to sell and move on! Nobody has made the case and given them their “WHY”! Nobody has shared with them the value on moving to their next home. Yes, not everyone is currently living in the home they say is the home they plan on staying forever! So why not help them get there?

We all know home prices aren’t going down. Neither are interest rates. It makes perfect sense to make the move now! Not only because it saves money, but what do you think the market is going to look like at the height of the spring and summer markets?

It is time for lenders and their Realtor® referral partners to sit down and run the numbers. Look at the demand, the neighborhoods, current and past prices, and make the case for action! Remember, the best succeed because leaders lead! Take out your copy of the “Forever Home Strategy®” and review it carefully. Be sure you are clear to all the moving pieces and the timing of these actions and activities. Make use of your social media platform by using video to share your actions in specific neighborhoods! Create involvement and value by being consistent with the information and your actions!

Two hours once a week working directly in the field talking with the people who would benefit from making a change! Forty or fifty contacts a week for four to six weeks could very well make the difference between complaining about tight inventory, and closing a few transactions! After all, would you rather be sitting down complaining about the market, or would you like to be doing some work and closing some deals?

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

The “Forever Home Strategy®” is part of the IMT Coaching Program and Power Partnerships® at www.rlppnow.com  $59 a month can change your business for the better!

Introducing Power Partnerships®!

The CFPB has made it very clear that it will be taking action against Realtors® and lenders that violate RESPA. While many on the lending side of the issue have been aware of the CFPB focus, the real estate market has been shaken by the fact that companies and individuals who violate the law are likely targets of interest by the CFPB.

The Realtor®/Lender relationship is one of the most fundamental pieces of purchase transactions. Many lenders have worked almost exclusively with Realtors® to generate their mortgage opportunities. Given how powerful and productive those relationships can be, some have gone beyond the rules governing those relationships, and those people are now coming into sharp focus of the CFPB. The CFPB has shown that it isn’t just worried about those who are giving the money against the rules, but those accepting the money are also open to investigation and penalties! Clearly those people involved really need to look at their business and be sure they are compliant!

There is so much that can be done within the scope of the rules that can generate opportunities and create value, that it is hard for me to see why anyone would risk their livelihood by not engaging in the strategies that are compliant? You can’t just buy your way into a relationship any longer! You have to establish and maintain relationships based on mutual benefit, mutual action and activities, and the willingness to work with those who see the value to the consumer by providing an exceptional experience! Besides, why does everyone need to be in everyone else’s pockets; why not just make and keep your own money?

Terri Murphy and I have created Power Partnerships® based on our years of experience working with the best Realtors® and loan originators in the country. We have spent a great deal of time refining the tools and the strategies that help provide significant listing and buyer interest. After all, purchase business requires someone to sell, and another willing to buy. Putting them together and providing a hassle free transaction is what the consumer wants, and what we should demand of ourselves.

Power Partnerships® is the only online training academy available produced by coaches, each with over 30 years of experience, who work in the arena every day. More importantly, the systems and strategies we bring to you are the very systems and strategies our own clients use on a daily basis! This system also provides the user with access to either coach by email if they have a specific challenge or question.

If you want more from your current relationships, if you are looking to identify and attract the best people in your market; if you want a compliant system that shares the actual step by step actions, activities, and schedules you will need to succeed, you need to take a look at Power Partnerships® and see if $59 a month can change your life? Realtors® and lenders are a natural combination. Here is the platform where both can come together and work toward finding new opportunities and converting those opportunities into closings!

So go to www.RLPPNOW.com and take a look around. See if what we are doing here is of interest to you and your team. We can offer discounts for multiple subscribers, and you may qualify to have Terri and I come to your town and present the program to your team and your referral partners!

The time has come to take the Realtor®/Lender relationship to the next level. See how we can help you make that move!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com or visit us online at http://imtcoaching.com

“You don’t have to walk on water”

I was speaking with a client a few days ago who is really beginning to see significant results from his activity. He has been very focused on his plan and his activities, but has been more cautious and reserved in his own accomplishments. I see this a good deal as people progress in their performance. It’s almost a “fear” that the success will fade away and they will have to rebuild again. Some people are so paralyzed with the fear of success going away, they never reach their potential or even may prevent the very success they desire!

As with most people in our business, you either adapt and progress; or continue doing what you have done, achieving the same result. If the results you are getting aren’t what you desire, then you have to change the actions and activities you are executing. But in many cases, as the results start to happen, people fail to make the changes needed to keep the progress moving. Now this is fine if you have reached the level of performance you desire. If the results you are getting are exactly what you want and are taking the time you are happy investing, then you have reached your goals and be content to keep doing what you are doing.

To me, the challenge is that there are a series of stages of performance. At each stage, it is important to make choices as to what you continue to do, what you delegate to others, and what will you now do to move forward? That is the critical piece of the performance puzzle, making the changes needed to move forward. It’s the theory, what got you here, won’t get you there! For this loan officer, he was reaching the ten units a month stage of his performance. He has made great strides in attracting opportunities and identifying and securing new and stronger relationships. His reluctance has been, to assess his relationships to see which ones are productive and which are just consumers of time and energy. It’s hard to start thinking about eliminating poor relationships, but as my good friend Darryl Davis taught me, “You don’t water weeds!”

What I shared with my client is the thought that you don’t have to try and walk on water; you can just take the bridge! In other words, you don’t have to be a miracle worker, you just have to have a clear and consistent process that provides for a great customer experience without making promises you know can’t be delivered 100% of the time. In fact, your business can’t be all about miracles, it has to be about consistency that can be delivered time after time. Create an exceptional experience for those you work with and your business will go on forever, even outlasting your desire to keep working it! You see, unrealistic expectations set the stage for failure! Trying to please everyone only leads to pleasing no one!

So learn to build your business based on an exceptional process delivered consistently, that provides value to all of those you are connected to, and your business will thrive. So in keeping with the thought about not having to walk on water, use the bridge; the result is exactly the same, you get to the other side! Since walking on water is a miracle, and miracles are not consistent, don’t even try! Just take the bridge! If a bridge doesn’t exist, then build one!

As I have said for many years, and coached my clients time after time;

• Define the process
• Schedule the work
• Execute the plan
• Make needed adjustments
• 100% of the truth 100% of the time
• Earn referrals by providing an exceptional experience
• And above all else, consistency is currency!

When you have a great plan, a good schedule, make proper adjustments, and over deliver on the set expectations, your business will grow to any size you desire!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com or visit us online at http://imtcoaching.com