Real estate agents who want to be successful in this business can’t hide in their shell or be a “wilting lily” - at least not in Silicon Valley.  Being able to get out there and find new clients with whom to work, encourage offers on listings, and negotiate well for buyers and sellers all require a level of assertiveness.  We may need to work outside of our comfort zone if the situation requires it.

But sometimes real estate sales people can go too far and venture into aggression instead of assertiveness.  The words “pushy” and “salesperson” almost seem to go together at times, don’t they?  (Personally, I hate buying cars because I loathe being on the other end of what feels like pushy sales tactics.)

A few years back, someone I met at an open house said that he didn’t need to like his agent because the agent wasn’t someone he’d want for a friend – it was someone who would push through what needed to be pushed and he didn’t need to be likable.  I found that a really interesting idea, but fundamentally, I disagree with the guy’s premise that successful Realtors basically have to be jerks.  It just isn’t true; in fact, the opposite is the case.

The most successful real estate agents share a few recognizable traits, at least most of the time.  I will list them off as I see them – not every top Realtor will possess all of these habits, skills or traits, but as a group, they emerge as a commonality found among most of them.

Top Silicon Valley real estate agents share these traits (at least most of the time):

1. Prospect or market themselves continuously to attract new business (they cannot simply work on today’s business or tomorrow they will be unemployed).
2. Have systems in place for how to work with buyers, sellers, sales in contract, prospects who are long term, follow up etc. Good systems are crucial.
3. Work well with other agents and consumers – they play fair, communicate well, respond in a timely manner.  They are usually well liked by their colleagues. (This helps you to sell or buy a home – agents want to work with others they can trust to work well and fairly.)
4. Know the contracts and forms and use them appropriately. They explain the contract to their clients so that expectations are in line.  Surprises are bad most of the time and can be avoided if everyone understands exactly what they are agreeing to.  And the contracts we use are clear: if it’s not in writing and agreed to by all parties, it is not a part of the transaction. (more…)

Yesterday I held an open house at my condo listing in Santa Clara.  Three different buyers told me that they wanted to write an offer but didn’t have their own agent. (What a big mistake!  Would you go into court without a lawyer?) Some of them thought that perhaps the listing agent could write up their offer – hopefully causing the price to fall.  One home buyer, though, wanted to write the offer without the help of any real estate agent at all.  Her thought was that the price would sell for less since only one agent was involved.  Wrong again.

The idea that these buyers have in common is that the buyer’s agent’s commission is somehow up for grabs.  But that’s not how it works.  We have 2 sets of contracts in our area, the CAR and the PRDS, but have a look at what the CAR offer says about broker compensation (found on page 8). Please pay attention to paragraph D below:

Who will get compensated at close of escrow?  Not just anyone, and not just any real estate sales person or licensee. The broker must be a participant of either the local MLS or a reciprocal MLS, or there must be a separate contract signed that provides that the buyer’s agent will get the commission.

So a real estate licensee who’s not a member of the MLS is probably out of luck.

Why is that?

The multiple listing looks to consumers to be just a big database of homes for sale.  That’s what is on the surface, however it misses the point. The reason the multiple listing service  exists is found in paragraph D above: fundamentally, the MLS is a broker-to-broker offer of compensation if the cooperating agent or broker brings a buyer to the table and it results in a successful sale.

Not a member of the MLS? This offer is not for you.

The workaround, of course, is that there is a form that smart agents can use if they are dabbling in sales outside of their own MLS area, or if they are not members of the local or cooperating MLS.  But the listing agent does not have to agree to it – does not have to agree to pay non-members of the MLS.

What if there is no other agent involved in the Silicon Valley real estate transaction?

The commission amount is set between seller and broker (agent) when the listing papers are signed.  The commission agreement sets for the possibility that another agent will be involved from another brokerage, and if that happens, there will be compensation shared.  If not, the listing agent gets the full commission.

The commission is not up for grabs.

Likeability is a subjective term.  Who’s likeable? How important is it? Most of all, how relevant is your Realtor or agent’s likeability to your home buying or selling success in Silicon Valley?

At times I’ve been shocked at what I’ve heard from consumers and industry insiders alike:

“You don’t need your clients to like you.  You need them to respect you.” (As if these were diametrically opposed.) – a real estate trainer & coach

“I didn’t want to hire someone I’d like or who’d be my best friend. I wanted to hire a tough negotiator.” (Again, seeing these as juxtaposed.) – a real estate home seller

Why do some people think that being a good negotiator means that you have to be rough around the edges, a difficult person with whom to get along?  Strong negotiating doesn’t mean being a jerk, or even being aloof.

In many cases, it’s the exact opposite.

Many of the top agents in the San Jose, Los Gatos and Saratoga markets are indeed quite gracious and pleasant.  They are smart and they are driven.  Most are genuinely nice people, while a few have learned that good manners is part of good business.  Yes, there are a few successful ones who don’t match this description – but they are the exception, not the rule.   And in truth, their lack of likeability is inhibiting at least some of their success. If you hire one of them, it may impact yours, too.

An arrogant, rude and nasty agent may find that his or her colleagues are less excited to show his/her listings.  Or that they will be less enthusiastic if he/she brings an offer in on one of theirs.  Conversely, if that agent is well liked (and, of course, well respected) by the real estate community, it’s far more likely that agents will want to have him or her on the other side of a transaction. (more…)

Those of us who sell real estate for a living know that consumers want to hear back from us as soon as possible when they call or email (or text, in some cases).  What’s a realistic turnaround time for the response?

If not with clients or otherwise tied up, many Realtors (yours truly included) will pick up the phone when called during business hours. (Some won’t. Some do time blocking and return calls at set times, such as between 11am and noon and 4 and 5pm. Those who time block in this way will often put a message on their voice mail explaining when they will call back. Hopefully, that works for the caller!)    In general, Realtors and real estate sales people will not take calls or return phone calls while they are with other clients unless there is a really crucial event happening – and if that’s the case, they’ll let the folks they’re with know about it upfront.  Depending on how long the appointment is, then, the return call could be an hour or two or, in the extreme, at the very end of the day (if with relocating clients and doing a crash course in the area that goes 8 hours – it can happen, but is exhausting for all).

Once in awhile, a voice mail or text simply won’t be delivered by the wireless carrier in a timely manner. This is extremely embarassing and upsetting to everyone impacted by it.  So please keep in mind that it’s always possible that your message simply wasn’t delivered.

If something big is going on, check in ahead of time with your Realtor

If there is some momentous event or report looming, talk to your buyer’s or seller’s agent ahead of time to learn his or her schedule and availability.  This is key for reducing everyone’s stress!

Agents do sometimes take time off, too. Communicate with yours to know when he or she is off, and do your best to respect that time. Real estate licensees who get too burned out are less effective in the long run. (more…)

Home sellers in Silicon Valley today worry about things they never had to worry about10 years ago, many of which they have little control over.  Like what? Much of it has to do with online or web marketing via websites, blogs, web portals and social media sites.   Here are a few:

• County records on properties are now public and available online almost everywhere, including permit records, info on the structure and lot size, etc.  If the public or county records are incorrect, buyers still use them – so wrong info on home size, bedrooms, baths etc. can hurt market value, as can incomplete or missing permit files online with the city, town or county.
• If the Google street view of the property happened on a bad day (say, the neighbors were having some sort of RV get together and the street was jammed with trucks and motorhomes or the yard happened to be in disarray), it can kill viewings.  Buyers and agents may skip that house all together if the “street view” makes it look bad.
• Some websites that display the information on listed homes permit consumers to blog or comment about the home.  Consumer comments online  can be devastating if the remarks aren’t good!
• If homes need good “social media exposure” to sell for top dollar, how can home owners know what constitutes good social media marketing – especially if I’m not on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or any of those popular sites? (Do I need to be on every site?)
• Syndicated errors: If a home’s marketing is incorrect on the MLS but corrected later, will all of the sites it was syndicated to get the correction, or will the info stay wrong and cause us harm in marketing the house or condo? (more…)

Each year, Inman News sponsors a “people’s choice” voting for the most influential person in real estate.  Inman nominates 100 strong candidates but voters may also write in someone not listed.  This week, I was very deeply honored to have been included on such a prestigious list of real estate leaders nationwide, and I’d be thrilled if you would consider voting for me.

Where to vote:  follow this link and the fields for entering your desired winner’s name and info will be about 20% of the way down (midway through the article and just after a large ad) – deadline is Dec 1, 2011:

http://www.inman.com/news/2011/11/2/2011-peoples-choice-real-estates-most-influential

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What’s your home buying style?  Impulsive? Cautious? Analytic?  Deep bargain hunter?

A few times in my real estate career, I’ve worked with Silicon Valley home buyers who were so anxious to purchase a home that I was concerned that their impulsivity might be a cause for buyer’s remorse later.  When that happens, I try to slow them down a little – I’ll suggest “let’s look at least a few homes” if it happens that they want to buy the very first home they saw. Part of my fiduciary duty is to look out for my clients’ best interests, and sometimes that means putting the brakes on just a little (or telling them what they don’t want to hear).

More commonly, it’s the other extreme that I see in our very well educated, extremely analytic population: paralysis by analysis or an overabundance of caution. (Sometimes it’s overabundance of bargain hunting.)

The vast majority of successful Silicon Valley home buyers are somewhere in between: they set up their priorities and goals (“I want to buy in the next 4 months at this price with this location or school and this type of property and size of home”). The clearer they are on their goals, wants and needs, the easier it is to help them get it – as long as they have realistic expections. That is key!

Once – only once – I sold a Los Gatos house in which the husband purchased without the wife’s physically seeing it.  This is rare!  They had moved so many times that he understood precisely what mattered to her, and if the house met that list, he was good to go. (more…)