Mitch 's Blog

Well it's been an interesting few years to say the least.  We have been extremely busy at Tropical Realty in Brevard County Florida.  Over the past few months our sales have doubled and it's very obvious to us that we finally have hit bottom.  Most people don't realize that we actually started our decline about 6 months ahead of most of the country.  With that said, it makes sense that we would hit bottom first.

So how do I know we are at the bottom?  It's pretty easy to see.  Our inventory is down from 8,000 at the peak to 4900 right now...almost half.  On top of that, just about every home that is priced correctly is selling within 30-60 days and the best properties have multiple offers on them. 

It's pretty funny actually what happens.  We work hard to educate our buyer by supplying them with stats.  For instance, homes right now are selling at 91.8% on the list price on average with the lower homes selling at over 95% of the list price.  Of course our customers don't believe us.  I can understand that with all the national media saying that Florida is in so much trouble.  However, once they lose a house or two to other buyers they start paying attention.  An Agent of mine said it well. She said that everyone is paying attention to the national media, but Real Estate is a local commodity.  She is so right. 

If you are seriously thinking about buying that retirement home or vacation home or even your first home so you can take advantage of the $8,000 credit currently available, then this is probably the time to get your best deal.  Actually it was two months ago, but right now our prices are stable and with interest rates at or around 5%, I can't think of a better time. 

And if you are looking for condos, there are some great deals.  A few years ago you couldn't touch an Oceanfront condo for under $500k.  Now we have some that are at $300k and some less.  There was a one bedroom one bath last week, on the Ocean, for $89k.  As you can guess, this was gone within a day or so....it's also not the norm!

At Tropical Realty, most of our customers come from out of state.  Last year we were the number 1 Brokerage in Buyer Transactions than any other office in the county (out of 500 offices).  We are very proud of this as it shows that hundreds of customers have put their trust in us to help with their relocation to Brevard County.  If you would like to look at homes, you can click here to start. 

We are always here to help.  If you would like to talk to an Agent, call 321-259-9115.  Our phones are answered by real people every day, 7 days a week. 

It's Friday, the beginning of a long weekend of sun (maybe not for us in Brevard County Florida this weekend) and time to get together with our friends and families to eat hamburgers (or veggie burgers) and hot dogs.  This is probably my most favorite holiday of the year.  It's certainly the most emotional holiday for me. 

While we are here enjoying our families, the smell of hot coals and the beauty of a late spring day in America, we have thousands of our children fighting our battles oversees.  I think that it's so important on this weekend to recognize these kids and what they have done for all of us throughout the generations.  Every day these sons, daughters, fathers and mothers put their lives on the line to ensure that we maintain our lifestyle and freedoms that we sometimes take for granted. 

Since the beginning of this great country, we have had soldiers spilling their blood so we can enjoy the moments in our lives.  Sometimes we do take our freedom for granted.  We shouldn't.  Especially in todays climate where every day someone wants to take away another piece of our freedom.  I for one will never take this freedom for granted.  I wake up each day and drive to work to have fun selling real estate, meeting new people, training my Agents and training my members of The eHomes Realty Network.  I love what I do and I love that I am free to do it. 

Today, like every Friday since we went to Iraq, I am wearing my red shirt and my American flag on my collar.  I had heard somewhere back in 2003 that this is what we should do to show support for our troops.  So, every Friday I wear my red.  In fact, today, I actually was half way to work when I realized it was Friday and I didn't have my red shirt on.  I turned around and drove back home to put my shirt on.  I feel better now!  I figure if those kids can risk their lives every day, then I can show my support on Fridays by wearing my red shirt!

After I changed and was back on my half hour ride to the office I heard a beautiful rendition of God Bless America.  I know this might sound wimpy, but it caused tears to roll down my cheek.  In fact, as I'm writing this I'm getting misty.  I have been thinking lately of all that has and is going wrong in our country.  I usually don't let negativity get into my life, I'm much stronger than that.  But lately it's been hard to watch our politicians ruin our country.  It amazes me every day when I hear the garbage that comes out of the Washington Elites mouths.  So this morning, when I heard this song, it really hit home.  I love our country and everything that we stand for.  I love that fact that when any country in the world is in trouble we do our best to help.  I love when there is a natural disaster we are the first ones to offer aid and money to those affected areas.  I love that when I walk down the street I don't have to look over my shoulder and wonder who is spying or following me.  I love that I am free to teach my kids to be free and to go after their goals and dreams.  I love that they can still do that. 

So as I said prior, please thank a soldier or a veteran for their service.  Thank them for doing their part in keeping American safe and free.  Thank then for doing the dirty work of fighting our wars so most Americans don't have to fight.  Be sure my heart and mind will be on all our kids oversees fighting right now.  Please join me in saying a prayer and well wishes to all our service men and women.

Have a great free weekend and God Bless America

Hi Everyone!

Next Thursday, April 30th at 2pm The eHomes Realty Network will be holding a two part webinar series on Short Sales.  In this market it's vital to understand the ins and outs of short sales.   We have an expert on short sales, Chris Badger of Strategic Loss Mitigation, handling this webinar to help answer all your short sale questions.

To attend this free webinar, go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/511191650

If you have any questions in the meantime, don't hesitate to ask!

Hi Everyone!

It's been a little while since I've written.  I've been extremely busy putting together new training programs for The eHomes Realty Network. Of course when I can, I like to open some of my webinars up to the public.  This webinar on Time Management is so important, that I knew once I learned how powerful it was, that I would have to share it with everyone. 

Have you been running around with your head cut off?  Have you wondered how you could possibly get everything done you need to do?  Have you been so busy that you are not accomplishing anything? If you are a busy Realtor, then you need to be at this webinar.  Time Management is the killer of most Agents and business people.  If you can't mangage your time, you can't expect to win this Real Estate game.  It's all about being prepared each day to accomplish your most important 6 things to do.  In this webinar, I'm going to teach you how!

The question you should ask yourself is, how much business do I lose each year because I didn't take an extra 5-10 minutes per day to prepare my day?  My guess is you lost a lot of business.  I know my Agents probably lost an average of 10 sales each last year.  I can attribute that mostly to poor time management.

If you are interested in increasing your business, then this webinar is a MUST! 

To register, go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/211903365

As always, I look forward to helping you.  Have a great day!

I sent this to my staff and my members of The eHomes Realty Network yesterday morning an I had such a response from all of them, I figured I would share it with you.

As most of you know, I read a lot of books these days.  That's a
pretty amazing thing because I have major reading disabilities.  In
fact, if you don't know, I flunked out of college after my first
semester and was 326th out of 328th of my high school class.  I had a
96 IQ and was told that I should learn a trade because that was what
someone with an IQ that far below the average of 110 would be able to
accomplish.  Good thing I didn't listen!

Stay Positive - An exerpt from The No Complaining Rule

It's easy to be positive when everything in life is going great.  The
hard part is staying positive when you get kocked down and kicked
around.  The fact is, no one goes through life untested.  If you study
history, sports and business, you will find that every great leader
and team had to overcome adversity and challenges to define themselves
and their success.  With so many people telling us we can't do it, we
have to be positive and believe we can.  We have to have faith and
trust in a bigger plan for us and our team.  The concept of the
"overnight success" is a myth.  Life is a test, and a deciding factor
of whether we pass or fail is the answer to the following question:
"Are you going to stay positive in the face of your doubts, fears, and
challenges?"  Staying positive is not about putting on a fake smile or
believing you can do it all yourself.  Rather it's about being
optimistic and living with hope and having faith.  The measure of our
success will not be determined by how we act during the great times in
our life but rather by how we think and respond to the challenges of
our most difficult moments.

The media, your co-workers, and your customers can tell you how bad
the market is and how difficult it must be to be in the Real Estate
business these days.  The reality still states that it's the best time
we have had to buy a home in the past 10 years and it's a great time
for you, the Realtor, to exploit the opportunities verse dwell on the
negatives.  Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, are you going
to be one of the thousands of Realtors that fail this year because of
their attitudes and negativities, or are you going going to be one of
the 10% who decide to take control of their lives, their customers and
their business and have a rocking 2009?  The choice is yours!

So let's talk about where you are now and where you want to be. Hopefully you have been reading what I teach and have written a business plan for your future. I'm a huge fan of writing down your vision for your future. If you come into my office, you will see right above my file holders on my wall three different visions. I have three companies, Tropical Realty of Suntree, The eHomes Realty Network and 100MPH Marketing Software and Systems.  All of these have their own vision and their own plan. You see, I'm always into growing and that is always in my plan. I hate to be stationary in my business world.

So how do you go about growing? Well if you are following our 100MPH Marketing system it really becomes very easy. Once you have been able to master the system, you have learned that with just 1 or 2 leads per day, you can be successful in this business. Once you have a successful system, you might be ready to start a team.  Since we know that it only takes 1 or 2 leads per day, then generating 10 leads per day with your marketing efforts, will mean you need 4 or 5 Agents to work these leads. I highly recommend that you limit lead flow to no more than 2 leads per day. Of course if once in a while they receive 3 or 4, the world won't collapse. However, to receive your best lead conversion rate, keep it a lean mean fighting machine.

Starting a team can be very scary, especially if you haven't run a business before. The key is to do it correctly right from the beginning. That's where I come in. As part of your membership, The eHomes Realty Network offers you the consulting you need to help build your team for no additional charges other than your normal monthly dues. One of the hardest parts of starting a team is hiring the right Agents. In this market you will find lots of Agents who are looking for a system like ours. Let's face it, most Agents receive no training from their Brokers or franchises. Even if they do get training, it doesn't always work and it doesn't have anything to do with what we do with our Internet Lead Capture and Conversion systems. I'm a big believer in finding Agents that have been in the business for about 6 months but have yet to find success. They are usually hungry and willing to do whatever it takes to be successful. Those are my favorite Agents. I love helping these Agents go from no business to success very quickly!

How do you know if you are ready to start a team? Well in my opinion if you are selling enough homes that you can't sell anymore, have an abundance of leads and have the desire, work ethic and funds available to build a team...then go for it! Once you start building your team, it would be smart to make your first hire an assistant. This person will help you grow your team and be your right hand person. A good assistant is invaluable.  I believe they should always be licensed so they can help you do everything needed in Real Estate to help you be successful. 

Before you start your team I think it's important to read eMyth by Michael Gerber. If you are planning on running your own business (a team is your own business) then it's important that you start correctly and set up your business correctly. Michael Gerbers book is exceptional!

So are you ready to grow?  Are you read to start your team?  The only person who can answer this is you.  However, if you are motivated to be all you can be...then maybe it's just time for you to put the pedal to the metal and go for it!

So I had a cool thing happen yesterday.  Because of our Internet programs, we receive a ton of calls on most days.  Every once in a while a customer will call my phone number to chat.  I don't really sell homes anymore since I am the broker and won't compete with my Agents plus The eHomes Realty Network sure takes a lot of time from me these days!

So I got this call from a guy from Atlanta.  He told me that he found my website and was going to be down this weekend to look for a home.  He has to buy something shortly.  We talked for a bit about his needs and then he mentioned he had been down here this past weekend looking at homes.  I immediately asked him if he had a Realtor show him homes and he said yes.  I said, "did you like the Realtor who showed you the 15 homes this past weekend?"  He said yes.  I then told him that as much as I would like to help him, he needs to call the other Realtor and work with her if he is happy with her.

He paused for a moment...long enough for me to ask if he was still there.  He then proceeded to say that he has bought a bunch of homes in his lifetime and this was his first experience with an honest Realtor.  I was amazed.  Of course it is against our Code of Ethics to steal a customer from another Realtor.  This is on Ethic that almost every Realtor could care less about.  After he said that to me, I told him that I don't and won't do anything to jeopradize my integrity and telling him to go to the Realtor who helped him this past weekend was the right thing to do.  He thanked me for being so honest and said he will call the other Agent and make sure she knows that I told him he had to use her. 

So think about that.  I only did the right thing.  I only did what we are supposed to do.  This guy was amazed at my honesty which is  just how I do things. All my Agents know that if they did anything remotely against my morals and ethics they are gone immediately.  But to me, this is a sad state of our business.  I'm sure most of you would have done the same thing....wouldn't you have?

In the end, I ended that phone call with a great sense of pride for both myself for being the person I know I am and more importantly for this guy to realize that there are some great people out there that have honesty, ethics and integrity before the mighty dollar.  I just wish all my fellow Realtors would follow the same ethics that I use and I instill in my Agents. 

I just thought I would share this experience because it was pretty awesome!

Hey Everyone!  Thanks for everyone who has registered for tomorrow's webinar at 2pm est.  I'm looking forward to helping many of you with your marketing and going through my 10 ways to get started in Real Estate.  Even if you are a seasoned verteran, you can learn by a few of these tips on kick starting your business.  Just the FSBO training alone is worth the visit! 

If anyone else is interested in being there, go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/922961505

I look forward to seeing you there tomorrow!

I was thinking about this when I woke up this morning.  I spend most of my day training Agents.  The eHomes Realty Network is housed in the same office as my Tropical Realty Brokerage.  On any typical morning I have an Agent or two in my office asking me questions about marketing or how to deal with a customer about this issue or that issue.  Then, usually by 10am I receive a phone call from a potential member who is looking for advice on why his website isn't getting any leads.  After that is a website evaluation, several emails or phone calls to members, and more Agents coming through my door asking more questions and needing more help.

After spending my morning dealing with issues and helping Agents, whether my Agents, members or potential members, I look forward to more of the same in the afternoon.  I guess you get good at this stuff when all you do, 24/7 is help others with their stuff.  I'll let you in on a little secret.  I love it!  There is nothing more gratifying to me to see someone who listens to what I teach, become successful. 

So where am I going with this?  I really don't know, I just felt like writing this morning before I got ready to go to my office meeting and then....you guessed it, hold a training session for my staff.  You can never get enough training in my opinion.  For any of us, including myself, to think we know it all is to give up on growing.  I learn something almost daily from the people I train. 

I don't profess to know everything about everything.  I'm really good at what I do know, but I defininetly lack in some areas such as obtaining listings.  I have always had a ton of listings as an Agent, but they always just came to me.  It's hard to teach an Agent to go out into the community and care about your neighbors and ask for nothing in return.  That was how I got listings.  I just became part of the community and was known as someone you could count on to get a check for the softball or cheerleading team or some time for your career day or what have you.  In the end, to me, this was the best way to get listings and customers. More importantly, I felt like I was contributing to the community.  What I did during those times was much more important than me selling a home. 

What I don't understand is why Agents don't want to get better.  Let me restate that, they might WANT to get better, yet they do nothing to better themselves.  I see Agents and Brokers spending their days online blogging on Realtor sites and I wonder why they are doing that and not out doing something that will generate business. I think a lot of people get a jolt out of blogging and getting a response...I have to admit, I like that too!  My guess though, is if they actually put as  much time into building their business as they do running around blogging to other Agents, they would become more successful.  A great example of this is when I open a webinar up to non members.  Out of the hundreds of people that read my blog and see I'm doing a webinar for free, usually less than 5 actually sign up for the webinar.  Isn't that weird to you?  It is to me.  Here I am sharing some information that has made my brokerage and myself successful yet only 5 out of 200 people actually register.  Is that crazy?  I think so. 

So is training over rated?  No.  Are you doing everything you need to do to be better?  Probably not. Is that going to change?  I don't know, that's up to you.

I am holding a webinar tomorrow, wednesday at 2pm on 10 things you can do to get started in Real Estate.  It's actually 10 things you can do today to build your business that are not the Internet.  I don't have the URL on me, but if you are interested just look at one of my last blogs.  I know I offered it up on here before and I think 3 or 4 people took me up on my offer.  Luckily most of my members know the value of my webinars so I'm not spending my webinar talking to myself! :) 

I posted a blog a little while ago about finding creative means of obtaining seller leads.  Basically I'm interested in seeing if anyone was willing to share how they found sellers.  I had plenty of people read the blog, but no response.  I have to believe someone out there has a good way of getting listings.  Any help would be appreciated!