We all have Honey-Do-Lists ... some of us have a "honey" that produces our list and others (myself included) are "honey-less" and proclaim "I am my best honey" ... 'Keep Dreaming Allen'.  Whichever camp you fall in your remember that the best honey comes from your business.  Now that your summer is over you need to get on that list of "honey-dos" and getting cracking on completing various post Labor Day tasks.

It never fails, ask agents and brokers about the need for a business plan and they all agree that planning is important for "other" people.  I hear comments such as "I don't work well from a plan" or "I can't plan because my day is all about what my clients need" ... so let's clear the air about business planning.  It is NOT a task list of what you need to be doing each hour of every week, it is a plan or the continuous marketing items that you must do routinely to keep your pipeline of prospects full. 

If Location, Location, Location is the mantra of successful real estate than accountability, accountability, accountability must be the mantra of a successful salesperson. In this business, and any business that requires regular activities to create a funnel of opportunities accountability is key.

For many in the industry the end of 2006 and all of 2007 have not been kind.  The forfunate did not succeed just by luck, they had a plan.  That plan maybe informal on the back of a napkin or more formal like CreateAPlan.  Either way the importance of business planning cannot be stressed enough during these tough times.

Today on Inman I read a great article from Marc Davison - here is the thought we should all keep with us during this correction:

Paraphrase - Let's not worry about those that really should not have been in this industry in the first place, or those that got into real estate or mortgage because it was a "get rich quick" scheme. Let us be concerned for those that were oversold the American Dream of homeownership by those that put their own interest above that of their client.

Thanks Marc ...

With the fall season approaching, many of us in the industry are looking to the New Year with a renewed interest in doing better. In the corporate environment, fall has always been about planning and positioning for the next year, but before jumping into authoring your 2006 business plan, ask yourself if you are a goal setter or a planner? They are not the same.

So it is karma or just the same old "What Goes Around, Comes Around"? Some sellers at the height of the market frenzy required buyers to perform some ridiculous things such as signing documents stating that the buyer would continue to feed the squirrels or asking buyers to submit essays as to why they should get the house over some other potential buyer.

Today some sellers cannot give their house away and I have yet to hear of a buyer asking a seller to write an essay as to why they should buy their house!

The general state of the real estate market maybe encapsulated in the following statistic: According to the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo in the first quarter of 2001, 42.3% of homes sold in Los Angeles were available to the median earning household ... in the first quarter of 2007 of 3% of homes sold in the same market were affordable to those earning the median income.

Information is FREE ... and with the Internet anyone can find almost anything about the area they live or are moving to. So as a real estate professional being the gatekeeper of information is not longer a value added proposition.

Knowledge ... you must pay for! Having all this information is useless without the knowledge to act upon it. This is the value proposition that your clients are paying you for. What knowledge do you bring to the table?

www.CertifiedNeighborhoodSpecialist.com

When a homeowner gets a loan that loan is usually bundled together with other loans and sold as a Mortgage Backed Security (known by a more common name CMO Collateralized Mortgage Obligation). So far pretty simple.

Recently I was the guest speaker at the Realty Executives Broker/Owner convention in Seattle. A great change has come from the leadership of this organization that is changing their position in the marketplace.

The outpouring of emotion was great and for a considerable cause - 'Please Mr. Bernacke, reduce the interest rates so people can keep their homes'. However there are two sides to every story and reasons both positive and negative for the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates well enough alone. The opposing side states 'it is not the government's position to bailout investors, but to maintain the economy'.

Pros of a reduction in Interest Rates:

There is an old saying "Manners never go out-of-style!""? On the front page of USA Todays this past week was an article on the language and even threats that some are posting as reviews of video and blog postings.

Had a recent conversation with a friend of mine that is a CFO of a company."? He happens to live in a luxury market and home prices have actually gone up."? Listen to the justification his agent gave for the commission rate she was going to charge.

A recent article, in a paper to remain nameless, discussed the incentives that can "WRAP UP" a sale."? This is the information that is being passed to the consumer about selling"?a home quickly."? The article sites many "real estate professionals" but miss the point completely.

A friend was reviewing a Whitepaper that I am co-authoring regarding the Information Explosion ... the question she posed was rather interesting."? Why does a person need a real estate agent?

How to seperate yourself from the pack and build your reputation as a Neighborhood"?Expert.

"Why would a consumer care about the credentials that an agent has earned"? Here are the reasons (listed in no specific order)

• Commitment to the industry or profession
• Display knowledge beyond peers
• Perceived value
• Increased knowledge and/or strategies
• Ability to learn
• More up-to-date with trends and technology

Not all of these factors are true for all agents that have credentials, but this is the perception. Problem is that agents that have credentials do not do enough to promote the difference. Consider the fact that NAR runs ads "Use a REALTOR" ... Who runs ads that say "Hire A Better Educated REALTOR" Always remember that the consumer knows little about what it takes to get a license.

There is nothing more rude than being stood-up ... I can understand it in the dating world when someone just really it is not into the other person, but in the business world this is a sign."?

Recently released data from NAR shows homes sales slipping but if you read between the lines a connection to consumer confidence and mortgages rates seem to be the only factor that will pull the real estate market out of"?the current case of the slumps."?

There is a possible crater in the economic stability of California."? It could cause a huge crater that may not be able to be filled.

139 out of the Top 500 zip codes with the highest number of foreclosures are in California."? Next highest is Florida with 72 zip codes in the Top 500 in number of foreclosures."? Any coincidence that California and Florida have had the highest run up in housing prices during this past boom and for leading California, some of the highest home prices compared to annual income in the nation.

Learning and education or the lack there of seems to be a top down attitude."? If a Broker/Manager is a "learner and educator" there is a greater potential that the agents in the office are also "learners and educators" too.

The new housing market index slipped to 26.5 a big drop from the 72.0 just a few years ago."? What will this do to your business"?? How will this impact your sellers?

Too many in the industry are forgetting the relationship building part of real estate."? We have all heard the saying "This is a Contact Sport" ... but how many of us make contact?