Harrelson, a Myrtle Beach real estate broker, did not close his Century 21 Harrelson Group real property firm and he did not look for another field where he can earn his income. Instead, he just expanded his services in the same field by getting into real estate coaching.

Harrelson's firm is one of the very few real estate agencies that were able to ride the tide of foreclosure. Even when the worst of the housing market caused other property firms to shut down, Harrelson's agents continue to close an average of 40 home sales each year.

The broker has been in the real estate business for over 17 years. In 1991, he purchased a Century 21 franchise and after spending almost ten years under the tutelage of a California real property expert, he believes that now would be the ideal time to teach to others everything he has learned about the business.

According to Harrelson, during the peak of the housing industry, he averaged around 300 sales in one year. This sterling performance is just one reason why he decided to be a guide for brokers agents who are trying to make their way into the confusing world of real estate. So far, Harrelson has started his foray into coaching by working with several top real estate agents in the Myrtle Beach area.

He is also developing several Web sites related to real estate, with one of them aimed at launching his Career Coach services. He states that real property brokers and agents have responsibilities towards their clients to provide them with sound advice and help them get the properties they need under the most reasonable terms. He also emphasizes the need for real estate brokers agents to understand the different situations for each client and guide them towards making a decision that is appropriate for their particular situation.

Real Estate Brokers Agents Expand Their Horizons is a post from: Brokers Blog

More lenders now are also considering and approving short sale proposals, as they found they can cut their mortgage losses if distressed properties are sold before foreclosure. The support of the FHA, VA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other federal agencies to the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program is also prompting lenders to put more attention into short sales as a solution to the foreclosure problem.

Based on data from the National Association of Realtors, nearly 40 percent of the current housing market is comprised by distressed and foreclosed properties, representing a great field of opportunities for real estate agents trained in short sales.

Short sales take a longer time to get completed as there are several parties that need to agree to the short sale proposal. There are also documents that need to be submitted to the lender, such as proof of financial hardship and sales contract. Lenders and mortgage guarantors also have different requirements and different documentation rules, slowing down the process.

Because of these difficulties, agents who have previously completed trainings in distressed sales and who have accumulated experiences in short selling are the ones getting the short sale work from homeowners. One large real estate company which runs a nationwide network recently reported that its agents who have been certified as distressed sales specialists are among the top-performing agents in their areas.

Processing and cash incentives provided under the HAFA initiative are also contributing to the surge in short sales. In addition to the streamlined short sale processing, homeowners are given $3,000 in relocation assistance and servicers are given $1,500 for their processing efforts.

Indeed, the surge in short sales and the support from the HAFA program are great opportunities for real estate agents who specialize in distressed sales.

Opportunities for Real Estate Agents Trained in Short Sales is a post from: Brokers Blog

Not only individual brokers are going into niche real estate markets, but also real estate companies. In Chicago, one real estate brokerage has developed a database that features only listings of homes and condos within walking distance of mass-transit stops. With this focus, the firm also puts its advertisements on commuter trains and on websites that highlight services for commuters and car-free days.

There are also those that focus on serving the real estate needs of senior citizens or first timers who are selling or buying their homes. Brokers and agents with niches become experts in serving their specialized markets and they are the ones looked for by their target clients when their services are needed.

However, according to some realtors, one disadvantage of concentrating on niches is getting confined to just a small portion of the real estate market and losing some opportunities in other niches. But if the niche chosen by a broker or realtor is producing sales, then the decision to specialize is a winning strategy.

One niche popular and profitable for brokers real estate during the housing crisis is distressed and foreclosure sales. Some even specialize further and just focus on either one of the two: short sales or foreclosure sales.

As short sales are among the most difficult to carry out and complete, brokers who have been certified as specialists in distressed properties by reputable real estate schools are being sought by distressed homeowners who want to avoid foreclosure through short sales.

The success of short sales is generally dependent on the lenders, so specialists are needed to prepare the documents and navigate the process. These specialist brokers real estate also know how to guide homeowners who are experiencing among the most painful periods of their lives because they are losing their homes.

Brokers Real Estate Focus on Niche Markets to Compete is a post from: Brokers Blog

According to brokers, statistics have yet to demonstrate it, but the commercial market of Richmond is actually recording increased activities and prices of commercial structures are starting to stabilize. They stated that the signs of recovery are being felt in all types of commercial properties such as retail, industrial and office buildings. They added that comments from people on the street and from various businesses operating in the commercial property industry are mostly positive compared with last year’s mood.

With regards to the retail property sector, vacancy rate in the city has risen to 6.9% in the first quarter of 2010. This is slightly higher than previous year’s first quarter figures of 6.2%. However, most market observers believe that 6.9 is still a pretty good situation to be in. They argued that what the market is experiencing is more a softening in rents rather than actual excessive vacancy rates.

At the office building sector, one prevalent trend that commercial property analysts are seeing is tenants taking advantage of the soft market by moving into better office spaces and paying the same rates they paid for their old headquarters. More prospective office renters are also showing interest on big spaces at the western Henrico area, a place where vacancy rate used to be as high as 25%.

Empty office spaces in the city are mostly created by the failure of two major businesses, market analysts have revealed. The demise of LandAmerica Financial Group and Circuit City Stores Inc. created a lot of vacant office spaces in the area and analysts are predicting that the impact of the loss of these two major businesses will be felt by the city for years.

Meanwhile, commercial real estate brokers also see some reason for optimism in the industrial property market which, according to them, is at least not getting any worse. Most brokers admitted that demand for industrial space is still low, but at the very least, it is not expected to get any lower.

The closing of computer memory chip manufacturer Qimonda in 2009 is being seen as a major contributing factor, not only to the poor condition of the industrial property market, but also to the overall economic condition of Richmond. The former factory of Qimonda has been purchased by Quality Technology Services at a price of $12 million; a figure that is way below the real assessed value of the industrial structure.

The loss of the chip maker resulted in more job losses for the city, contributing further to the economic problems of the area and to the poor performance of the industrial market. Analysts have added that the industrial building sector was also hurt by low inventories from retailers and manufacturers not producing as much as they should.

Although the commercial property market of Richmond is recording poor numbers, commercial real estate brokers believe that the sector is on its way to recovery and improvements will become more evident in the coming months.

Commercial Real Estate Brokers Remain Optimistic About Richmond is a post from: Brokers Blog

New York Real Estate Brokers and Lawyers Indicted is a post from: Brokers Blog

Veteran broker Denny Grimes, co-founder of the event and head of Denny Grimes and Company, told more than 700 realtors, brokers and other real estate professionals who attended the event to be realistic about home prices and to prepare for further price declines and further troubles in the commercial property sector.

Grimes said that the housing market has become obese and that it needs time to correct itself. He added that home prices are still low, but low price levels would increase sales and would cut down housing inventories.

According to Grimes, only 12 Lee County homes priced below $100,000 were listed in 2006. Today, he said, about 2,200 houses priced under $100,000 are being offered for sale in the area.

He also explained that total home sales last year broke the sales record achieved in 2005 and posted a 40-percent increase over total sales in 2008. The increase in number, however, did not translate into a corresponding surge in dollar volume as low home prices put the dollar volume increase at only 16 percent.

Grimes also told the home brokers that he believes the median home sales price has stabilized at around $98,000, which is 18-percent above the $79,900 median price in June 2009. However, recently built houses priced above $300,000 will continue to struggle in the market and owners will be forced to cut their listing prices. He mentioned Estero and Bonita Springs, which are still struggling from a 17-month supply of homes, most of which are priced above $300,000.

Another veteran broker Stan Stouder spoke about trends in the Southwest Florida commercial property sector. He said that high unemployment rates and uncertain capital markets will drive more commercial foreclosures. He added that developers will continue to face financing difficulties, but they will still attract entrepreneurs and investors if they incorporate in their projects the benefits of a busy airport, a sunny climate and the commitment of the county to green technology.

At the end of the session, most home brokers probably echoed the view by real estate appraiser and valuation counselor Anthony Mollica who said that Grimes and Stouder both were right in setting a cautious optimism for the residential and commercial real estate markets in Southwest Florida.

Home Brokers in Southwest Florida Realistic About Prices is a post from: Brokers Blog

In Oregon and Washington, Certified Commercial Investment Members have been cutting down the number of their expensive social events like golf tournaments and hotel lunch programs and relying on lower-cost marketing strategies such as online networking, real estate blogging, classified ads listing and meeting people at events organized by other people.

According to Linda McClellan, head of the Clark County Association of Realtors in Washington State, the struggles of the real estate selling industry are shown in the sharp drops in realtor association membership across the country.

Her 88-year-old association, for instance, has already lost 800 members since 2005, when 2,200 real estate professionals were enthusiastically earnings loads of money from selling and buying properties. This year, McClellan expects about 200 more members to cancel their membership.

CCIM, meanwhile, expects its average of 300 members to drop this year due to continued uncertainties in the residential and commercial property subsectors. Association leaders feel that commercial real estate brokers are being swayed by the rising trend of finally retiring from work or retooling for other jobs or businesses.

To cope with declining membership, associations have been eliminating the perks they previously offered to their members. When holding retreats or other big events, they approach companies for sponsorship.

Linda Fisher, president of the Portland chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, said she has been working harder to solicit sponsorship from companies. During the boom, most companies can easily give $2,000 to be the sole sponsor of an event. These days, Fisher said, the most she can collect from one firm is $500.

According to Anita Rifberg, president of the Southwest Washington-Oregon chapter of CCIM, real estate brokers today need to exert more effort to find networking opportunities in affordable ways. They also need to update themselves continually about changes in the market. Once they fall into complacency, it would be very difficult to get back, reconnect with movers in the business sector and start again.

According to many real estate professionals, it would still benefit commercial real estate brokers to stay as members of professional associations because these groups exercise greater power in business communities, provide networking opportunities, support advantageous legislation and conduct continuing education in the real estate business.

Commercial Real Estate Brokers Make Marketing Schemes Leaner is a post from: Brokers Blog

Analysts, including Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com, believed that more lenders agreed to short sales in 2009 as the Obama administration included short sales in its options for preventing foreclosures.

Out of the more than 2.8 million homeowners that received delinquency or foreclosure notices in 2009, over 871,000 ultimately lost their homes while the rest – about 1.9 million – were able to save their properties either through loan modifications or short sales or by simply paying their arrears and restoring their accounts to current status.

In many cities, short sales are increasingly accounting for a bigger portion of total home sales. In Indianapolis, according to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, as of the first week of January, 8.2 percent of home sales available for sale are properties in short sale.

In the Elk Grove section of the Sacramento area, foreclosure sales fell year-over-year by more than 46 percent in December while short sales shot up by 114 percent.

Recently, several real estate brokers in Chicago completed their training to earn the Certified Distressed Property Expert designation to be able to handle more competently short sales and take advantage of the sharply rising market for short sales.

Brokers who are trained in handling distressed sales know what lenders expect and know how to negotiate with them. Additionally, as short sales oftentimes involve deep emotions on the part of homeowners, brokers are better equipped to understand owners and to walk them through the short sale process.

In New Mexico, broker Deanna Dopslaf, president of counseling service Southwest Foreclosure Alternatives, strived to become one of a few certified default resolution experts in the state because she saw opportunities in specializing in the short sale niche. She admitted that short sales take months to complete and that commissions are uncertain, but she has discovered that she has the ability and compassion to help distressed homeowners.

In another report released by Point2 Technologies, real estate professionals throughout the U.S. said that they are optimistic about the housing sector in 2010. Real estate brokers who participated in the survey said that foreclosures and low appraisals will continue to batter the residential market, but they hope that the market corrections taking place will soon stabilize the real property sector.

Real Estate Brokers Thriving in Short Sales is a post from: Brokers Blog

Therefore having adequate home insurance is important because of the serious problems and inconveniences under insurance may create. Compared to those without insurance, the possessors of an adequate home insurance policy can live with the feeling of security that their homes, as well as its furnishings, and other related buildings are ensured. Generally speaking, home insurance provides coverage against losses caused by natural disasters. Nevertheless, those who live in a high-risk area need to be careful, as for them, losses related to natural disasters may not be covered. The coverage level must be checked individually, as each policy is different from one another!

In comparing several insurance types and products, the most important thing is comparing the coverage level. This is even more important than the price of the policy. For instance, certain home insurance products also have a personal liability component, which can be very useful for instance if our neighbours’ properties are damaged due to some problems in our house, such as fire. In this case an appropriate insurance will pay for the damages suffered by our neighbours.

There are thousands of insurance companies that provide coverage to those who want to protect their properties. Therefore a careful comparison needs to be done between several offers in order to choose the cheapest one that provides the most extensive coverage. It is very useful and one may save time with doing this job with an online comparison tool. This service is free, easy to use, and one may get home insurance quotes in the shortest possible time and from various companies. If people compare these quotes it should be obvious which product offers the best rates.

A good home insurance product should provide comprehensive coverage at the lowest rates possible, and it should cover the following features. First of all, it must cover the home structure. Second it is desirable for home insurance to cover the house owner’s personal belongings as well as his/her liability to others. Finally, it is useful if the contract contains information regarding the situation if the policyholders’ house is damaged in such a way that people have to shift elsewhere until the house is repaired completely. A good policy must ensure to pay the living expenses in similar cases for the policyholder and his/her family during the whole period of the reparations.

So let’s see in practice what kind of details should be provided and selected in order for people to get a free home insurance quote and choose an appropriate policy! The first section usually refers to property and applicant’s details. Regarding property details, applicants have to answer several questions referring to the property type they own. One has to select one answer from the following list: house, terrace, bungalow, flat or other. The next step is a short property description, which is followed by questions concerning the year that the property was built, the roof construction (tile, slate, concrete, felt on timber, asphalt, corrugated iron, timber, thatch, shingle, glass, or other), as well as the external wall construction (brick, stone, concrete, timber, timber frame with plaster panels/ brick walls, prefabricated – (non)combustible, flint, glass, corrugated iron, or other). Similarly, people have to write the number of bedrooms the house has and the number of smoke alarms.

Finally, applicants have to give the answer to these questions:

• Has the property or adjoining property ever shown signs of subsidence, heave, landslip or cracking?
• Has the property ever suffered from flooding or is it within 400 m of water?

The next step is a short security details section, that refers to the burglar alarm system of the property (if it has any), if the house is situated in a Neighbourhood Watch area, if all externally accessible windows are fitted with key operated locks, and if lock is fitted to main external door. The more security feature, the better.

The last section contains some questions referring to personal information, such as occupancy details, ownership status (landlord tenant, mortgaged, or owned outright), as well as the answer to the question if the property is usually occupied during the day and the night.

Although these steps seem to be complex and probably confusing, they are not at all! People only have to write a few short sentences and choose the right answer to some simple questions. Applicants only need like five minutes to get through this process which ends with getting free quotes from different insurance providers. It is remarkable that online comparison tools only deal with reputable companies, so one can be sure the list he/she gets contains only safe offers. And if there seems to be an adequate home insurance product, people can apply immediately by pushing the button next to the corresponding (chosen) insurance quote. So practically, one may compare the different offers, choose an appropriate home insurance and apply for it within a few minutes!

Last but not least, it is worth the effort of purchasing an adequate home insurance policy because this can protect people from the nerve-racking thoughts of their property not being safe! A final advice for future home insurance policyholders is to take their time and read out the insurance contract carefully, do not miss out the small print and the excluding factors in order not to be deceived by hidden information! Remember that concluding an adequate home insurance means safety and security every homeowner should consider getting!

Compare Home Insurance is a post from: Brokers Blog

In Westchester, New York, forming teams of three to five real estate agents operating under another name within a larger real estate brokerage has been gaining ground. An example is the broker team in Rye called Alix Prince Team, which is part of the brokerage Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International.

Prince said she and three other real estate agents work together and then divide whatever commission they get based on each agent’s contribution to the sale and then share part of the commission to their brokerage.

According to Prince, a team is more successful if each member has a particular skill and contributes a significant asset to the team. Her team consists of young agents who are able to produce new listings using their past work experiences and social networks.

In Manhattan, Elaine Clayman, who heads an 8-member team operating under brokerage Brown Harris Stevens, said that clients prefer working with teams because they do not have to worry about a particular real estate agent resigning and leaving transactions uncompleted because there are other home brokers in the team who will take over.

In Larchmont, New York, Tom McGuire and three other real estate agents at Weichert Capital Properties and Estates formed Realtors 4. Unlike other models for teams, they split evenly the commission. They do not have to analyze each agent’s contribution to the sale. Two of them get better listings and the two other agents work better as buyers’ representatives.

The White Plains team of Christine Ricci works within Keller Williams Realty. Her team is comprised by two buyers’ agents, an administrative officer, a part-time coordinator for marketing and a bookkeeper working part-time. Ricci explained that the responsibilities should be clear to avoid the common pitfalls of work teams.

Ralph Roberts, author of the book “Power Teams,” said that one of the problems in teams is handling egos, as some are better than others in producing money. But he reiterated that during these times when the competition is fierce and the market is struggling, agents and brokers need help from their colleagues.

Nevertheless, according to Stephanie Singer, spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors, despite the rise in the number of realtor teams working within larger brokerages, only about 9 percent of NAR home brokers are members of teams.

Home Brokers Team Up and Stand Out from the Crowd is a post from: Brokers Blog