DISCLAIMER, REAL ESTATE ADVICE GIVEN IN THIS BLOG IS SENSITIVE TO MARKETING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY ROSS KAY. BUYER'S ADVICE IS SENSITVE TO BUYING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY ROSS KAY. ROSS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DECISIONS MADE USING THESE POSTINGS WITHOUT HIS DIRECT INVOLVMENT AS A SELLER'S REALTOR OR BUYER'S REALTOR EXCLUSIVELY. THIS INFORMATION IS SUPPLIED FOR GENERAL READING ONLY AND ROSS KAY CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR DECISIONS MADE BASED ON REVIEWING ANY OF THESE POSTINGS.
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June 11th, 2009, Deliberate Practice!
Coaching has been part of my life for the last 22 years. I am a 3rd generation coach. My grandfather was a respected community youth baseball coach and my father was a successful real estate mentor to dozens of realtors. I am a combination of both coaching youth sports for over 10 years and real estate for over 20. It has been a constant debate for 3 generations on how you could identify the people who would go on to greatness in either a sport or a business.
Personally, I don't know how many times I felt some player or some realtor was "a Natural", someone who I expected great things from in the years to come. In the end it was often the ones who I thought never possessed the "Natural" ability that became the exceptional ones while the one's I had earlier identified faded away. Why did this happen.
Over the last 4 years I have researched this as a hobby (I love coaching) and had gradually came to agree with a concept know as "Deliberate Practice" or "Deep Practice" (google it). Watching youth sports and the competitve business of real estate the parallels for success were easily seen. In my earlier post I mentioned the new book, "The Talent Code" and it's final verification of Deliberate Practice.
Success in any given field is determined by one fact. That is Practice. It's really no wonder that realtors become their most successful after 10 years in the business. It's simply because of the nature of our business to succeed you must follow certain methods of any selling system. 10 years to learn the vast skills a realtor must possess to be an expert in our field. Why do so few of us become these experts.
Well we now know that it is because very few people have the motivation to practice the skills neccessary for success for that 10 year period. The effort involved in those 10 years, the lack of early income, the constant need to refine and discover what works for our personality type and marketplace is overwhelming for most of us. On top of that the select few in our business who commit to really offering our clients the complete package is rare.
When any new realtor now comes to me and asks what do I have to do to be successful in this business I will have an answer that most will not like. The answer will be the same one my youth players will here and wish they didn't. Most will choose not to believe it either. I know the truth.
Success in anything is built on practicing your skill for 10,000 hours in a way that ensures you are learning the neccessary skills that will be easily repeatable in competition. For athletes that comes in a game and for Realtors that comes at the listing or offer table. What motivates you? Is it enough to motivate you to complete 10,000 hours of practice?
It's that simple, which means it's that hard. There is no such thing as easy success! Just ask the little boy who started practicing golf at 3 how long it took Tiger Woods to put in his 10,000 hours.
Regards Ross
Old Post, Let me ask you a question?
I just came in from my daily morning drive through of some of Burlington's busiest neighbourhoods. This is how I keep in touch with the market and watch for new homes that have come to market. This morning I drove through one of our newest neighbourhoods and was struck by the For Sale Signs I noticed.
I wondered what were people thinking when they listed some of these homes? What kinds of questions were or were not going through their heads? I know this happens across the country as my fellow realors email me on an ongoing basis as we discuss real estate ideas and issues. So I thought a list of my own questions might be worth listing.
What would I ask if I was listing my own home for sale?
1) How much should I ask? Is it too high or too low?
2) What real estate agent should I choose? Does it really matter if they are a local agent or not? Does it matter if they are actively working the neighbourhood? Are they up to date on how to market homes in this neighbourhood?
3) Do I even need a real estate agent? Will I save or lose by using an agent? What does an agent do anyway?
4) Should I replace the carpet with hardwood or will it be a waste of money?
5) How do I know if the agent I choose can negotiate me the best terms with an offer? What if they make a mistake and I get sued?
6) Does the real estate company the agent works at really make a difference?
7) etc., etc.
Based on me answering the above questions in a professional and accurate manner, obviously most home sellers don't ask these questions. I saw signs from realtors located 20 plus miles away, realtors from firms who I have never seen in our market before, realtors who don't advertise locally, realtors who specialize in new home sales not resale, even 3 different private for sale companies. Clearly the average home seller does not ask the above questions!
Why? I just called a past client who had bought and sold many homes in many different ways before he met me. I asked him Why? This was his answer...
"Ross, by the time you want to put your home on the market you just want to do it. Most often if you know someone you call them first. When I was tight for money I tried the private for sale route myself ( in hindsight I lost over $20,000 that time). As I sold more homes I got smart. I searched out a local expert, with tons of experience, who had solid control of local marketing avenues. Do you want to know how I really found you....? Google....! Then I read your site top to bottom.
As I have said a hundred times why couldn't I have found someone like you in Mississauga!"
Clearly I must get the message out to more home sellers. I must offer more info on this site and get my web address into more sellers browser windows.
I promise to do it.
Ross
Old Post, Trust and Experience
Recently we ran an online survey to find out what home buyers were in search of when selecting a realtor. This is something that had haunted me for years as I always look at the market and clients through the eyes of a real estate professional. My opinions are often clouded by the experience I have gained over the years and thus they reflect what is the "actual" status of the business instead of the "precieved" status of the business.
The survey was an eye opener for me as it turned out home buyers had a clear opinion on realtors and it was clearly based on perception over reality. The survey showed that the most valued attribute a realtor can possess is Trustworthiness and Experience in that order. Over and over again survey respondents said that Trust was what they wanted to have before selecting a realtor. The key way of defining trustworthiness seemed to come from the experience level the realtor possessed. Here again the difficulty was in finding real experience level versus the grandiose claims often sited by realtors.
So, the question to me was how do people precieve me. Do they see me as trustworthy? Do they see me as experienced ? Without "bragging" how can you get your trustworthiness seen and your experience acknowledged. My marketing folks, knowing me personally, turned to my personal life for a solution. "Ross how many kids to you know in this city? How many parents bring their kids to you, drop them off and come back 2 hours later without a care in the world? Don't you feel that shows others you can be trusted? After all it's kids in today's world being left with you over and over again."
They took this idea and combined it with me being a 3rd generation realtor (all in one city) and the fact I had sold many, many homes. They came up with the Coach K tag and the 1000 kids coached 1000 homes sold idea.
My suggestion for any realtor looking to attract new clients is to show potential clients you can be trusted. How? Testimonials and Facts that can be backed up if challenged are the two best ways. It is an increasingly competitive business realtors are in. The net creates opportunities and challenges for both business and client alike. I would highly recommend you offer a survey on your business from time to time in order to gain some "precieved" facts about you and your business.
Remember Selling Real Estate is a Responsibility and not a Job!
Regards
Ross.
Old Post, HARD WORK AND PAYING A PRICE!
Over the last 4 hours, I have read 2 different coaching articles that were emailed to me by my mentor group. The co-incidence in timing was interesting as I was just discussing this topic from a different angle, that of the business environment.
One story was about a young man (19) who had undergone brain surgery and the next story was about how we are changing the principles in sport for our children to make things "safer" for them. In both stories the result of Hard Work versus taking the easy or safe path was discussed. In both cases, initially the safer and easier route was the one chosen but an outside influence caused the Harder and less Safe route to be the final one that was taken.
In both cases the success at the end of Harder route was overwhelming and in both cases was claimed to have been worth the price. Selling Real Estate or running any business is almost always defined by a level of success that inevitably was because someone "paid the price" and had to work "harder" than their competitors. What are the lessons that can be taken from these stories.
1) No success comes without Hard Work.
2) If you want something you will pay a price one way or another to get it.
3) If you don't want anything you will pay a price for that decison also.
4) What's wrong with working harder? What's wrong with "paying a price"?
In my business daily I am bombarded with quicker, easier and less costly ways of supposedly making my own success possible. We all know they don't work or everyone would be doing it.
I think I had better remind my kids of this fact as well.
Have a great weekend. Buy a Home!
Ross
Old Post.,
Question Posted Online: "My bank says we qualify for a mortgage of $320,000. My husband thinks we should max out our purchase price and get the largest home we can. I wonder if this is the right way to look at things. This will be our 2nd home. What is your advice on how much home to buy?"
Well, in my business I have different advice to almost everyone. If I get to know the people then the advice is easy to give. If I don't quite know them fully it makes it more difficult. So here is the questioning I use to find out what approach best suits the couple.
1) I know what the bank says but what do you think?
2) Do you want to have a more expensive home and are you willing to sacrifice (ie holidays, new car, other investments) to have it? Answer carefully.
3) What extras will you gain by spending more?
4) How much more are we talking in monthly payment?
5) Which of the 2 of you has the most concern and what would make them happy?
Honestly, once the answers to these questions are forwarded the client almost always answers the mortgage question for themselves. I believe the final say comes down to "what makes you happy." Life is too short. Make your decison, go with it and remember with real estate if you make a mistake you can always fix it.
Regards
Ross
Old Post
A copy of the contract: Here is a tip I was reminded of last night at an offer presentation. When you first sign a listing agreement or buyer's contract, why not get a copy of the offer you will be seeing when it comes time to buy or sell. Get it read it over and even have your lawyer look at it so the night of the offer you don't have to worry about all the fine print.
Look the reality of buying and selling real estate is that you make decisions relatively quickly once you have found the right house. This quick action is needed or you may lose the home. Many people want to read through the documents before signing as they have not seen them in a long time, if ever. Pre-Screening an offer eliminates this concern and allows all parties to focus on the bigger picture which is Price and Closing.
Like I said get a copy, look it over, and have your lawyer scan the clauses your realtor is using or may use. It will be a weight off your shoulders when the offer finally does come in.
Ross
Old Post.,
Well it was a great weekend for real estate. Good weather and busy open houses.
INTERESTING RATES should be what the press is leading with instead of Interest Rate cuts. Why? Have you calculated the $1000's of dollars the average home owner saved last week with the latest cuts. I had one client save over $12,000 on their 3 year mortgage costs before they even moved into their new home. Careful planning and watching and I suspect another $12,000 is sure to come in the next couple of months. This means my clients equity gain could be over $24,000 in the next 3 years which means a the home would have had to increase by 2.5% a year to recover this savings.
And this is a guaranteed even if prices do not increase. Why home ownership is so important and why mortgage financing is so important has never been more relevant than today. I love selling homes! Slow market, busy market, upward prices and down. All markets create opportunities to buyers that with careful consideration means personal net worth gains.
Since I am a believer in having a mortgage as a way of building wealth that also means having clients continue to buy bigger or more homes. The world's wealth is built on real estate. Don't wait take advantage of the opportunities this market is giving you. If you are worried or wondering what your options are just click contact in the upper menu bar.
As you can tell I enjoy sharing real estate information and my 20 year experience can only make your decisions in real estate that much more secure.
Regards
Ross
Old Post.,
Question posted online: Ross, I was told by a neighbour that the kitchen renovation I am planning does not make sense if I am planning on selling. I thought that this was a good move. Can you give me any thoughts on this?
Sure, Kitchen renos can be great choices to increase value but...(in all honesty just invite me over and show me what you are planning, I don't bite) you have to be careful. Everyone knows my favourite saying is "a dollar is a dollar" when it comes to buying and selling. The key is being sure you are not throwing your dollar away.
Before I would give full advice I would need to see your home, it's condition, the type of reno you are doing and what it will cost. Most renos for sale should be focused on improving the looks of the kitchen and not on wholesale changes. I had one client remove a wall to create an "open concept" but the buyer went right back in and put the wall back up. Countertops and paint and flooring are key areas that if in poor repair should almost always be changed. Not super upgraded but similar to other homes in your area, especially homes that are currently for sale.
The 2nd easiest tip (having me over is the 1st tip) would be to look over mls.ca in your neighbourhood and see what the neighbours have done. Bring your kitchen up to or just above their level of finish and you should be ok. Remember if it is a couple buying the home in most cases (hey Janet will tell you I am the furtherst from a chauvinist you will find) the woman makes the real decision on what home to buy. Women love kitchens with way men prefer garages.
Just ask me to come over. Ross
Old Post.,
Well, well another drop in the interest rate this week. .5% off means lower rates to come. This should do wonders for those buying or refinancing. Hey you just saved another $500/year on a $100,000 mortgage. Let's see times 5 years and that savings is $2500.00. That can put a new roof on the house, new driveway, new garage door, etc., etc.,....
What won't be so commonly seen is the effect it will have on home buyers today and in the months to come. Clearly the American effect is hovering over those in Canada making decisons but it appears they are under estimating the strength of our great country. Come on who would not choose this country if they had the chane to live any where. A stable 3 party government system with a burgeoning 4th party keeping everyone mindful. Tax supported universal Health Care for all that even Michael Moore envies (note I didn't say free). Over abundant natural resources for our limited population. A country of people who are basically non-racist, non-chauvinist and supportive of all faiths.
I think 20 years from now there is only one country in the world to envy.
Buy real estate folks. In most cases it still cannot be replaced for the price it is selling for today. Pay off the mortgage and keep buying a bigger and bigger home so you can retire on this tax free investment.
Like I said....A one of a kind country.
Ross
April 23rd., 2008,
A SELLERS POST TODAY:
Well what a great day both in weather and web traffic. The last couple of days of web traffic have been strong, about double a week ago. I guess the market has heated up with the weather.
This year's market hit almost one and a half months later than what we have seen over the last few years but for those of us who have been around since the late 80's and 90's we are simply returning to a traditional Burlington market. Expect the market to be strong until mid to late June and then expect a quiet summer. This was the trend for my first 13 years in the business.
What will be increasingly important is proper pricing (that doesn't mean giving it away), excellent showability and innovative marketing. Just this week I brought out 2 new home marketing solutions for my own sellers.
April 22nd., 2008,
Welcome to the first post of our new OPEN read weblog. We have been blogging for the last year but it has been a login only read. With the number of questions being posted to the website Ross decided to open the blog up to the public and put a menu link on the top bar. Enjoy Ross' posts.
