The Scottsdale Real Estate Files

That Bank-Owned Home is a Bargain, But Can You Really Afford It?

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:34:30 -0600

In many respects, the heralded Real Estate bargains to be had in Scottsdale and the greater Phoenix area should come with the disclosures that attend weight-loss product testimonials.

“Joe Homebuyer’s results not typical.”

“Always consult a physician before launching an intensive home search program.”

“Stretch thoroughly and lift with your legs when attempting bank-owned property heist.”

For the purposes of this piece, we are going to focus on the first caveat. Every Valley resident has at least passing knowledge of some fortunate homebuyer who leveraged the current market to score a honey of a bank-owned deal. As big a nobody-turned-celebrity as the 170 pound guy in a Nutrisystem commercial holding up a pair of orca sized slacks as evidence of his former girth, Bob from accounting is the new gold standard for idolatry after securing the housing buy that set the office abuzz. Before following in Bob’s considerable footsteps, however, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. His results may not only prove atypical, but in extreme cases, constitute patently misleading advertising.

The hidden “gotcha” to many bank owned purchases right now are property taxes. While the institution that owns the property should pay off any back taxes as a condition of conveying clear title to the purchaser, many buyers fail to properly account for the bill they will be saddled with for the next couple of years (at a minimum). Unlike other parts of the country, where taxes are based solely upon purchase price, Maricopa County taxes are based upon the assessed value of the property. Many falsely assume that the home they are buying for $350,000 will reflect a tax basis commensurate with that value. As our budget revolves around 2 year property evaluation schedules, odds are very good that your current tax basis will reflect a value closer to the $1.1 million that the home sold for back in 2007.

*Click here for information about Maricopa County property taxes

*Maricopa County residents are entitled to appeal all new evaluations from the county assessor (typically go out in early February), but must do so within 60 days of the date they were mailed. Click to begin the Maricopa County property tax appeal process online.

Another thing to bear in mind is that while the assessed value of the property is likely to decline rather dramatically over the next several evaluation cycles, expect tax rates to rise in contrast. You should see an overall reduction to your bill in the future, but our strapped municipalities aren’t going to let go of all that revenue without a fight. Already firmly entrenched in the red, it is an almost foregone conclusion that the tax rates will be fully maxed out to legally allowable levels to offset as much of the lost potential revenue as possible. Your friendly, cash-strapped local government at work.

Another hidden sniper to these bank-owned bargains are Homeowner Association expenses. While monthly fees are typically disclosed upfront (or easily determined through a few well placed phone calls), former million dollar neighborhoods can be fodder for massive asset preservation and capital improvement fees/impounds. You might well afford the $120 monthly fee, but the bulbous community enhancement fee that is due at the time of purchase could blow an unsuspecting buyer’s budget right out of the water. Given the many amenities that some such high end subdivisions boast, it would also be wise to expect and budget for future special assessments involving their maintenance.

There really are some amazing deals floating around the market right now, just make sure you really can afford them. You are looking for a home you can comfortably maintain over the years, not a fad purchase that will lead to a lifetime of yo-yo budgeting. While you might give your left arm to find the same "bargain" that Bob did, let's see how he's doing one year from now. Is he still the water cooler rock star, or is that turkey neck starting to get a slight case of the gobbles again? If he didn't do his due diligence, those hidden costs will eat up his calorie deficit faster than a three day bender at Sizzler.

You don’t want to end up back in the fat pants.

Start Your Scottsdale AZ Home Search!

Take Three of These Cards and Call Me In the Morning: Pitfalls of the Non-Referral

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:50:04 -0600

Classic risk aversion for the liability-phobic mandates that an agent make no actual referral to an auxiliary service provider in the course of a Real Estate transaction. Need a lender? Here are the names of three professionals. Need a home inspector? Sift through this stack of business cards and let me know who you choose to hire. The very thought of shimmying out on a limb to recommend a capable practitioner sends shivers up the clenched backside of some in our ranks. Cold anticipation of the potential commissionectomy that attends a referral gone bad trumps the tug of responsibility.

No businessman walks around looking for a financial colonic, but the very real potential for having his inner sanctum legally hollowed out exists in each and every transaction he undertakes. As such, it has become customary for many to simply ward off as much exposure as possible by abstaining from any form of guidance that can later be labeled malfeasance or conflict of interest. Heaven knows, if the contractor you recommend for repairs screws the electrical pooch, any rabid attorney worth his salt will gleefully encourage the client to pursue the deep pocketed brokerage (and agent by proxy) as well as the contractor for damages. Why put yourself on the line by recommending a home inspector when the potential for blow-back on a balky A/C unit can put you directly in the cross hairs? For that matter, why even bother to attend the inspection if the due diligence can be misconstrued for interference? Why attend closings if your review of the documents places increased responsibility upon your shoulders for their accuracy?

Because risk deflection is not my job.

My job is to fulfill my fiduciary obligations to my clients to the very best of my ability. That means recommending pros who have proven their worth to me countless times in the past, rather than crossing my fingers and hoping my clients receive competent service. That means attending inspections to physically see any defects, so as to better advise my clients and argue their cases. That means attending the closing to ensure that the settlement statement jives with the negotiated terms of the contract.

Doing the eeny-meeny-miney-mo thing with a referral does not serve the client, and neither does calling in “neutral” to the appointments that demand an ally. Such laissez faire Real Estating is designed only to mitigate the agent‘s risk. While it is understandable, given the litigious nature of our culture, it’s just not how I roll. You need a lender, I give you the name of the best lender I know. You need a home inspector, I give you the name of the most thorough one in the rolodex.

I would argue that recusing oneself from the crucial junctures and decisions of a transaction is not only negligent, but self-defeating. As the surest invitation for catastrophe is to stand aside and watch the transaction happen, the best defense is, and always will be, a good offense. Fixing potential problems, rather than hiding from them, has kept my clients happy, and me out of legal hot water to date. Active involvement serves the interests of all parties.

I wear my big boy pants to work every day. I put them on with the knowledge that certain forces will always be beyond my control. Secure in that understanding, I’d much rather stand behind the repercussions of my actions than my inactions. Standing on the sideline, not attending inspections & closings, carefully avoiding opinions … seems to me that ascribing to the Caspar Milquetoast model of risk avoidance is, ironically, the surest route to the ruin that one would desparately scramble to avoid. Decreasing the standard of care for the client is akin to an RSVP for trouble.

And trouble never sends its regrets.

Need a Referral to a Local Professional? Give me a ring.

Start your Scottsdale Property Search here!

And Out Come the Wolves

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:24:32 -0600

What is it about the rain that brings the mischievous out to play?

Real Estate sales is the type of racket that leads one to bump bellies with all manner of folk. Over my years in the industry to date, you might say I’ve been sheltered. For all of the horror stories that float about a brokerage regarding the customer from hell, or the underhanded agent that shafts a fellow colleague out of a deserved paycheck, the instances in which I have encountered such REALTOR kryptonite have been few and far enough between to defy instant recollection. Challenges and difficulties, to be sure, but no readily recounted tale of woe regarding a true American consumer psycho. Either the good people of Scottsdale, AZ are simply of good stock, or my conscious decision not to hand out business cards at the dog track every Saturday afternoon as a central component of new client acquisition was prescient.

When the downturn in the market that first became evident in 2007 gave way to a full-fledged nosedive, however, a bunch of loose cargo in the back of our plane and overhead storage bins unloosed itself. Ending up in the aisles and on the laps of well-behaved passengers, we find ourselves wading through the cretinous stowaways in attempt to pull the decent home buyers and sellers from the acrid wreckage. Wouldn’t you know those oily ne’er do wells always seem to reach the emergency exits first; whooping it up as they slide to safety wearing a stolen oxygen mask. Don’t worry about granny in seat 46C. She can hold her breath for up to 18 seconds at a stretch.

To answer a few of the more “creative” questions I have fielded recently, I figured I’d simply draft a response to which all such future inquiries may be pointed.

No, I will not help you tie up a property with a straw buyer until such time that you can amass your down payment and/or financing. It’s a fraudulent offer, and one made in bad faith.

No, I will not write offers on 15 short sale properties at once for the same buyer. Short sales are frustrating, but it’s not just a numbers game. I will not grease the wheels to a seller's foreclosure by tying their property up with an offer you have no real intention of seeing to fruition.

No, I will not give you a guestimate on how long you can live in your house rent-free before your mortgagor initiates foreclosure proceedings. There are more than enough homeowners in need of loan modification or short sale assistance. I cannot in good conscience help you game the system and further bog the process down for those in true need of help.

No, I will not help you buy a property as a primary residence if I know that you have no intention of ever occupying it. There will be many dubious, and potentially fraudulent purchases made in the rush for the tax credit, but I won’t be a part of any of them.

No, I won’t secure a tenant for the property upon which you have stopped paying your mortgage. That “free money” that goes in your pocket until the bank forecloses and boots the unsuspecting tenant out carries a steep price.

No, I will not be party to any side agreement pay-out in a Real Estate transaction that does not appear on the settlement statement.

Rationalize such schemes all you like, but a treacherous climate does not excuse treachery. Not only does potential harm fall on specific parties, but on the greater good as well. Don't look to me to make my own biological contribution to the cesspool we’ve been forced to bathe in for many moons now. Moral and ethical constraints aside, for no deal is it worth ruining a hard-earned reputation and future livelihood. This is how I feed my family.

Your shenanigans are not worth my license.

Now, if you would kindly hurry up and slide into the waiting arms of the authorities below, there are good people on this plane who need my help.

Real Estate Poker: Moving All In Against the Chip Leaders

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:25:38 -0600

It’s a daunting task. Settled in around the bargaining table, you see nothing but pros, chips stacked to the ceiling. Looking down at your comparatively meager stack, you’re tired of getting bullied out of hands. Offer after offer you submit, only to fold under the check-raises from predators with pockets the depth of the Mariana Trench sewn into their five thousand dollar suits. You are being methodically ground out of the main event.

Welcome to the Scottsdale Real Estate Market / World Series of Poker that is 2010. The buy-in may be cheaper, but the odds haven’t been longer since 2005. Why’s that, you ask? The players. The allure of the investment windfall has brought all of the serious card sharks back into the mix. Good for the overall health of the market, but not so good for your chances of sauntering into the saloon of your dreams and winning its title on the river with a ten dollar bluff.

The penny ante games haven’t left the Valley, but the table keeps getting more crowded with first-timers, new arrivals, second home buyers and … gulp … professional investors. It’s that last class of gambler that is making things tough on the buyers out there who can scarcely put together a 3.5% down payment. Throwing around cash offers like a rousing round of 52 card pickup, the investor has an annoying habit of taking a negotiation and spinning it upwards. A great property listed at the bargain price $250,000 turns into $267,500 for the lucky bidder in a few frantic blinks of the eye.

When competing with these well-seeded makos, there are several critical mistakes that buyers need to avoid if they are to keep from busting out at the table early.

For starters, stop reading the papers. Despite the blanket generalizations you are inundated with on a daily basis, houses are selling. Especially in the price range you are shopping. In fact, that 250k range is hotter than John Goodman in a polyester hoody in the middle of July. Below is a highly scientific composite breakdown of the various market segments.

>$1,000,000: Harboring enough inventory to choke a disinterested goat for the next two 2 years, this price range is more lifeless than a Jim Jones after party. With few jumbo loan options and even fewer buyers in a hurry to drop this kind of dough in a schizophrenic economy, the greatest larcenies are to be had here at present.

$750,000 - 1,000,000: Mostly dead, ala the pirate Wesley in The Princess Bride. Only the occasional act of a miracle-making Real Estate agent results in a consummated sale. If you can afford to shop this range, "have fun storming the castle!"

$500,000 - 750,000: Patient has a nasty hangover, but not incapable of stumbling through the house for a bottle of Vitamin Water. Given a couple hours and a plate of pancakes, he will return to some semblance of himself. This price range is seeing movement for homes that were worth twice as much a few short years ago, but still in a bit of a fog.

$250,000 - $500,000: Now we’re talking. Especially in the Northern reaches of Scottsdale, homes in this range have their boogie shoes on. Fortunately for all but the homeliest of homes, there are plenty of willing partners out and about on the dance floor. Some are even adept at avoiding toes as they clomp about the market in gimungous platform shoes.

< $250,000: Sold before you have time to jump up and slap your mama.

When you hear the reports and/or anecdotes referring to the “standard” or “average” percentage you can expect to knock off a list price, you need to understand what a ridiculous notion that grotesque simplification proves to be. In the upper reaches of the price scale, you might very well knock 20-25% off a list price due to the lack of competition. In the frenzied segments that most cash-strapped buyers are trolling, however, writing offers at 80-90% of list price will acquaint you quite dearly with the following reaction:

“HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!”

Fending off a throng of potential rivals, you will have to push all in when, after sitting through hand after hand of garbage cards, you finally draw the ace that constitutes a genuine housing value. No point encouraging others to remain in the hand by going in low. As the short stack, your only leverage is to force the issue early and hope you can stop the bidding before it starts. Don’t give the sharks time to congregate and subsequently frenzy. By aggressively moving all of your chips to the center of the table right off the bat, you might just chase some away to pursue easier pickings. Let the deep-pocketed players linger for the turn and it’s all but guaranteed they will ultimately own you and the house you covet.

Price considerations aside, your next best shot to beat out the better financed buyer lies in the terms. Hubris can be a damning thing for the guy with all the bucks, and he often fails to seek the additional information that someone in a weaker position must exploit. Closing date, choice of title company, etc are concerns that Doyle Brunson over there just might expect to force through on the power of his awe-inspiring cash. If your price is relatively competitive, your financed offer still has a shot at beating him out if you can find the terms that are most advantageous to the seller and include them.

As to the homes you chase, knowing which table to sit down at is as important as the poker skills you bring to bear. Bank-owned properties are going to be the most difficult for the novice player to obtain. Financial institutions will sit on your offer for 3-7 business days while additional offers pile up, and they won't give a fig about any terms other than the ones demanded by their associated addenda. It's tempting to sit down at these REO tables, given the big payouts, but it's often a fool's errand for the guy just in town for the weekend with his buddies. You'll have more success if you stick with the slightly less lucrative owner-occupied resales that blunt competition from the pros.

It’s not easy out there, despite all that you’ve heard, so remember to act fast, act decisively and save the gamesmanship for the slots. Everyone wants a deal, but you can’t secure a value without first securing the property. At prices that have rolled back to levels not seen in six to seven years, there’s no need to get greedy. The well-positioned homes have the value already built into the price.

If you want it, and it comps out, don’t talk yourself into spitting in the wind with an offer predicated on faulty logic. The national economy and generic offer-to-list-price-percentage paradigms have nothing to do with this one house and those who would buy it out from under you. Long metaphor short, don’t write a $200,000 offer on a home listed at $250,000 that is worth $300,000. Only adds unneeded time and heartache to your quest.

See house. Evaluate house. Make best offer to purchase house. Buy Paul expensive, celebratory steak dinner.

Easy :)

Search Scottsdale Homes For Sale!

The Real Estate Investor: Bacterium or Probiotic?

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:02:14 -0600

Investor.

The word alone inspires a host of reactions that run the full gamut between antipathy and, well, slightly lesser antipathy, depending on the audience.

Image From the Hubbel Telescope of Investors Invading Local Real Estate Market

As any semi-interested news watcher and industry blog reader can attest, the Real Estate investor is the greatest scourge to befall our fragile ecosystem since polybutylene plumbing. What, with the housing supply lines ill-equipped to handle the artificial demand, our flimsy pipes swell and burst when the pump and dump investment surge strikes a hapless market. Aside from the banks who flooded Wall Street with dubious mortgage backed securities that were chopped and reconstituted in more numerous and indiscernible ways than Joan Rivers' alleged face, the fount of no-money-down investors is the most vocally derided catalyst of the Great Real Estate Bubble of 2005 ©.

Well, guess what? The investor is back … and that’s a good thing.

Hold your rotten tomatoes and easy with the pitchforks, if you will. How can I possibly opine that the reemergence of the buyer subset that sent values through the roof, only to crash them through the basement when they left a valley of foreclosed “investments” in their wake is a good thing? Is the demand any less artificial now than it was when the previous incarnation of ne’er do wells spiked our collective punchbowl?

In a word, yes.

The 2010 investor is not the fly-by-night operator who purchased the nearest home for sale at the conclusion of a four hour seminar on how to get rich in Real Estate investing with no money down. Shoot, who needed money down when you barely needed a pulse and a job to buy a house back then? No, today’s investor, by and large, is showing up at trustee sales and plunking down cash on a barrel. He has the skin in the game that his counterpart of yesteryear did not. He is investing in a very real sense of the word.

In addition to securing an interest in the property with his own bankroll (thus making the prospects of simply walking away from a property that doesn’t return as hoped less palatable), the other crucial dynamic at play is the return of sanity to the overall investment arena. When investors were driving Scottsdale and Phoenix property values into the stratosphere back in 2005, there was little regard to the initial purchase price. Our entire market temporarily forgot that you make your money on the purchase. Buy a property right, and the return will be there when it’s time to sell. In the throes of insanity, investors were climbing over themselves and each other to purchase property, any property, for 50k over whatever ludicrous price was being sought by an apoplectic seller. Investors were betting on the come. Pay whatever now, and the joint will be worth 100k more in two months whether a hammer is ever swung in renovation or not. With the year long fervor, they got away with it … for awhile.

Today’s investor is not settling for just any property he can get his hands on, but is showing up at the courthouse and robbing the bank blind. Paying pennies on the dollar and rehabbing a previously dismantled home, his margin is large enough to bring the distressed apple of his eye to market at a price actually supported by recent sales comps.

The coup de grace? Today's investor fills a need that the banks won't. He is essentially financing the fix-up costs that many banks have abandoned in self-defense. Against a backdrop of tight lending purse strings, consider the difficulty many people have just in coming up with 3.5% or 20% down payments, let alone remodeling capital. With home equity lines all but vanished from the marketplace, that stripped bank-owned home bargain isn’t all that realistic for the buyer who doesn’t have the available cash to put it back together, regardless of how appealing the price tag. When you could tap a line of credit to finance improvements, it wasn’t that big of a deal to throw in some new carpet, counter tops and appliances after closing. Now, you have few options other than reaching into your own pockets. Thus, there is a sizable buyer pool for a move-in ready home. The well heeled investor who assumes the risk and fills that need is not to be derided.

Take the mom & pop homeowners who are unable to price their homes competitively due to high loan balances, mix with the interminable wait of short sales, fold in the distressed condition of much of the bank-owned inventory and bake at four hundred degrees to create a casserole of supreme frustration for many disenchanted home shoppers. A rehabbed home at an affordable price, if not the outright theft that was envisioned at the outset of their house hunt, begins to look more and more appealing to many buyers after getting an up close look at what the reputed bargains actually look like live and in color. In essence, by purchasing a property from an investor, a buyer has found an end-around to financing renovation costs.

If your last nickel is earmarked for your down payment, and you can purchase a renovated home at a fair market value that you can afford, don't begrudge the man his margin. While the stereotype of the lecherous vulture remains, we would be remiss not to acknowledge the good he can, and does, bring to a market like ours.

Investors: they’re not just for nuclear Real Estate holocausts anymore.

Read more of my Scottsdale Real Estate Missives or start your Scottsdale Home Search here!

Can I Be of Assistance to Your Assistant? Not So Much.

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:16:51 -0600

We are all busy. Whether the responsibilities that overwhelm us are professional, personal or, most commonly, a combination of the two, who hasn’t lamented the lack of a clone for accomplishing the myriad tasks that 21st century living heaps upon us? There are certainly days when I’d give my eyeteeth for an hour in the lab with the scientists who cloned Dolly the sheep. Here’s my blood sample, now how soon can I get Paulie 2000 licensed by the Arizona Department of Real Estate?

Sharing the overscheduled and understaffed burden with the rest of society at large, one can’t help but find amusement in the march of technology towards supposed convenience. Why, in no time at all, we’ll eliminate the 6-8 hour period of insufferable downtime that less assertive types passively refer to as “sleep.” Productive little bunnies that we aspire to be, that precious block of REM is better spent chasing cabbage. Against a backdrop of planned obsolescence, it is little wonder that we delegate the menial tasks whenever and wherever we can. Secretaries to answer the phones, grocery delivery service, cardboard cut-outs of our likenesses to attend our kids’ soccer games … we, as a people, are a busy lot.

As the parental doppelganger is not recommended, there are a host of tasks that require eyes-on commitment. Tucked neatly between personal attendance at an anniversary dinner and showing up for your own open heart surgery is viewing property. While many aspiring titans of industry can likely conjure numerous higher and better uses of their time than knocking around houses for two hours on a Wednesday afternoon, this is one of those tasks that really does not translate well to delegation. Enlisting an assistant to go in your stead is not only a mild affront to your chosen REALTOR (putting the value of his/her time on a par with said assistant), but much more significantly, a form of sabotage to your own interests.

Sure, who wouldn’t want someone else to fight through the forest of current inventory with a machete to blaze a clear path to the penultimate home? In theory, the lackey can contend with the clingy vines and pit vipers while you focus on more important matters. Let Indiana Jones return with a map to the treasure, and you can take it from there. Simple.

Not so simple. The problem with joining the adventure late in the game is that you lose the context, the knowledge gleaned along the way. Even if your stunt double has your taste completely wired, and returns with an appropriate assessment of which home(s) is (are) worth your time, you will have missed out on valuable comparison shopping. Stacking up neighborhoods head to head, comparing current values … every advantage gained through the cumbersome experience squandered.

Shopping for a home is a serious endeavor. If you are not ready to commit to the process, you would really be better served to wait until your schedule opens up enough to permit a generous allocation of your time and energy. With the advent of Internet home shopping, consumers have more ability than ever to research from the comforts of their own cramped apartments. Agents, likewise, are better equipped to screen and vet properties before dragging their busy clients out of the office to see the latest hot bank-owned property. Don’t miss the good ones (which still sell quickly, by the way) by adding a 4th layer to a 3 layer cake. Glean what you can from the listings that don’t quite fit so that you are ready to act in a direct, unequivocal manner when you do see the right one.

By committing to the effort now, your hunt will resolve itself sooner. Don’t turn a 3-6 week tour into a 3 year search party by treating it like an adjunct to your day, rather than a primary component. This is your new home we're talking about here, not a pair of relaxed-fit designer jeans.

See you at 3 PM, sharp.

The assistant can patch any urgent calls to your cell while we’re out.

What We Do

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:05:10 -0600

You have something to say, some timely tidbit to impart, but don’t relish the specter of an ensuing dialogue. You’re not interested in the entanglements of conversation, what with the awkward pauses, opinions other than your own and … gulp … small talk. Too much commitment. What you want is a one line fling.

<<Tell them 256k firm>>

A one-way communiqué is a powerful thing. Authoritarian in nature, the modern day smoke signal of the text message is the chain of command envy of parents and military command alike. Raw, unladen directive. Dig it.

<<258K. No home warranty>>

Who needs a tete a tete when a simple tete will do? Time is saved, insubordinance averted and miscommunications only cropping up when you fat finger the occasional key.

<<257KK an homed warranty!>>

This really cuts to the quick as to why agents are necessary middle (wo)men in a transaction. To take (and translate) such directives and finesse a meeting of the minds with someone of antagonistic purpose. While we rightly prattle on about the years of experience and know-how that we bring to the bargaining table, our basic service is to take careful aim and coax out of the other party the terms that our clients shoot from their respective hips.

<<Ill do 257 but earnest money non-ref.>>

Haggling is easy when you don’t have to personally make the proposals. No matter how outlandish a demand or ludicrous a price, the client never has to handle the delicate delivery of said offer. Without the interpersonal drama inherent in a vigorous and ongoing negotiation, the principals are loosed to think only in terms of their own best interests. The precise moment people sit down with their actual counterparts to talk turkey is when many start conceding too much. An odd quirk of we humans is a tendency to sabotage long-term interests in the name of getting along, no matter how fleeting the temporal relationship.

<<hmm … I’ll make ½ the earnest hard after inspect>>

My job is to be friendly with the other agent so that you don’t have to be friends with the other party. Aside from my counsel, the only thing driving your ship is the pursuit of the right property at the best possible terms. Cold, clinical and ruthlessly ambitious in your demands, let me worry about how to peddle it to the other side. Getting what you want without having to directly engage your counterpart in transactional Twister is both a financial and emotional boon. Leading your own troops in battle is noble, but few field generals live to meet their grandchildren. Put your feet up, send in the orders and let your foot soldier bring back the scalp you covet while you bounce that bundle of joy on your good knee. When personalities get out of the way of the terms, positive things tend to happen.

<<Sold!!!>>

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About the author:

Paul Slaybaugh is currently working on installing smartphone technology, capable of receiving and obeying SMS messages, within the cerebral cortices of his children. The prototype has an auto-responder set to "Because I said so" for every articulation of the word "why." Results, thus far, are ... mixed.

Is It Too Late For Another Lame 2010 Motivational Type Post? Here's One Anyway.

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:18:47 -0600

Boxing great "Hurricane" Peter McNeeley once famously warned a recently de-incarcerated Iron Mike Tyson that he was going to “wrap him in a cocoon of horror” during the course of their upcoming bout. McNeeley, renowned knockout victim to a bonafide who’s who list of professional pugilists (as in, “who?”), proceeded to back up the chest-beating by sadly succumbing to an encapsulation of his own within 89 electrifying seconds. For those first 88 seconds, however, the club fighter-turned-circus-attraction floated like a … well … he floated like a Buick and stung like a breeze. And yet, he took his shot. With a limited arsenal, he climbed into the ring with the most feared man of his generation not named Willard Huyck (Don’t believe me? Watch Howard the Duck.), and flailed like the drowning tourist he was.

It is tempting to consider only the likely consequence and not the potential glory when it comes to our own personal and professional aspirations. We foresee the carnage of a half caved-in cranium instead of a hand raised in stunning upset victory. Lest we forget that Buster Douglas was the original Peter McNeeley, sans the stark difference in outcome, anything can happen when we man up and step through the ropes and into the bright lights.

No, David does not always slay Goliath, but each defeat paves the way for ultimate victory. Fortunately, most of us are not tasked with warding off the advances of large humans intent on malice for a living, so the defeats are only painful to our psyches. As we took turns waxing non-nostalgic and eulogizing the recently interred 2009 last month, pardon me for hopping back in line for another turn at the mic. This time, however, I reserve the soliloquy for channeling all of that lingering angst and lament into actionable rededication. No more sitting on the stool, waiting for the corner to throw in the towel. No more hand-wringing over how all of our ails will be resolved, and by whom.

I may have a career year, I may get knocked upside the head. Can't be sure which until the bout ends next December. One thing is certain, however. Somebody or something is getting wrapped up in a cocoon of horror before it's all said and done. Believe that.

2010 … let’s do this thing.

Short Sale Tomfoolery and You

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:13:17 -0600

“Owner recently obtained property and is working towards gaining clear title.”

Is it any surprise that this seemingly innocuous little bit of verbiage, which has started creeping into private Realtor remarks, seldom appears in the public description of a property listing? Flipping properties is not an unusual phenomenon, but the transference of title, insured by an underwritten policy, is part and parcel of virtually every legitimate sale of Real property in the state of Arizona. When a Realtor learns that a seller does not have possession of clear title to the property they are attempting to sell, Circus Circus sized flashing lights and shrieking alarms erupt in said Realtor’s little noggin.

An unfortunate advent of any market, but an unstable one in particular, is the proliferation of the creative types who seek fortune in the margins of chaos before the powers that be fully grasp the nature of the exploitation. Rather than effectively working the market to provide value to the consumer, such professional card counters work the market to merely line their own pockets, often to the detriment of an unwitting public. In their zest to shift into the next great money maker based on the market forces currently at play, the grifter will siphon an usurious profit under the guise of a savior.

In seeking out the desperate demographic of homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure for one reason or another, unscrupulous predators in our midst are not satisfied with simply collecting a fee for helping facilitate a short sale. No, that doesn’t lead to the immediate and egregious wealth that is promised in weekend seminars and from late night gurus. For some, it too closely resembles work.

And what, pray tell, are the insidious schemes I decry? While the various masks worn by disingenuity are too numerous to count, one in particular has really drawn my ire. Certain agents/brokerages who shall remain nameless, if not blameless, have taken to convincing sellers who are behind on their mortgages to deed their properties over to them. Thus, they are effectively the new “owners,” though they do not have clear title due to the mortgage liens on the property (in addition to possible property tax liens, HOA liens, etc), and never intend to take possession of the property. At this point, the home is listed for sale on the MLS. Interestingly enough, even though a quick check of the tax record readily shows that a Trustee’s sale (foreclosure) has been scheduled because the mortgage remains in arrears, nowhere in the listing is the pre-foreclosure or short sale status reflected. Nope, just that one little line at the top of this post.

So from where does the potential profit windfall arise? From the margin the new “owner” can create between the negotiated short sale with the bank and the price attained on the open market from an unsuspecting buyer. One price is represented in the MLS while a far lesser price is negotiated behind the scenes with the bank. To the broker in the middle of the high wire act go the spoils.

Sound like an ingenious way to earn a buck in this market? Wondering where the harm is if the seller is able to unload the problem property and the buyer purchases it for an agreeable price? The issue is two-fold. For starters, the listing agent is playing Russian roulette with the seller’s future financial well-being. Owner of record or not, the seller/client is still responsible for the mortgage(s). What happens if a short sale cannot be negotiated with the bank at a low enough price to create the necessary margin to carve out a profit? Rather than simply, and honorably, working to sell the home for a price agreeable to the bank, the risk of losing the home and one’s credit is increased exponentially when profit is sought by inflating the end price to the relatively shallow buyer pool.

Secondly, on top of the risk to the client, a gross misrepresentation is being made to the ultimate buyer. Not only is the buyer often unaware that they will be paying for inspections and appraisals, giving 30 days notice on their apartments, etc for a property that is less likely to close because of an unrepresented short sale situation, but they would not be too keen to learn that they actually paid well over and above the price that the bank would ultimately accept.

In these sixteen-shades-of-grey transactions, the buyer ends up paying far more than would have been necessary without the third party involvement of the duplicitous agent/broker, while fiduciary obligations to the client are flouted. The duty to fully represent the best interests of the client is one that most agents take seriously. Realtor clichés aside, I seldom encounter the fellow professional who does not. Driving a potential wedge between the goals of your sellers and misrepresenting the full Technicolor picture of the transaction to the buyer falls woefully short of the minimum standard of care to my way of thinking. Full disclosure is paramount to any Real Estate transaction. Falling far short of that requirement, expect to see future litigation from such transactions from the damaged parties involved (even if the damage is only perceived).

Sellers: Don’t walk, run from any would-be knight in shining avarice that demands you deed over your property as a pre-requisite to the service provided. When you do so, you lose the rights to the property while maintaining the responsibilities. If you find yourself behind on payments and in danger of losing your home, locate a short sale specialist and speak with a Real Estate attorney before making any rash and ill-conceived decisions. For the record, I DO NOT specialize in short sales, and this is not a solicitation.

Buyers: In 2010, you cannot take anything represented in a listing as gospel. Even those that are 100% factual may contain intentional omissions that are hazardous to your purchasing health. You need professional guidance from a trusted resource now more than ever. I have become quite adept at isolating potential problem purchases in this topsy-turvy market, and in this capacity I AM soliciting your business.

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto, and that brick road leading towards your salvation may be yellow for a reason. Forget the ruby slippers, and throw on your cross-trainers. You'll need them to get past the flying monkeys.

Start your Scottsdale Home Search today!

Dual Agency and the Thundering Herd of Conventional Wisdom

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:19:18 -0600

The La Brea Tar Pits of what is modern day Los Angeles are renowned for their eternal incarceration of prehistoric life. Think an 18 to life stint in Folsom is a rough hitch? Try fossilizing yourself in natural asphalt for thousands of years following an untimely demise that accompanied no greater sin than stepping out for a bite to eat. Several millenia later, they jackhammer your permanently surprised face out of the earth's candy shell for the sole purpose of humiliating your petrified remains in front of busloads of insolent school kids and German tourists. Many victims were believed to have plummeted into the inky abyss after stopping for a drink from the surface water that obscured the death trap below. Subsequent predators then eagerly followed the trail of easy prey to a sticky fate of their own.

Which brings me to dual agency. To hear most Real Estate professionals describe it, the much maligned practice of dual agency is every bit the equal of those gooey pits as a carnivorous devourer of wayward souls. Why, one would surely toss baby Jessica back down a well teeming with the stuff before subjecting her to the horrors of limited representation. In the nearly forty thousand years that the tar pits have been open for business, one human being is known to have been swallowed amongst the saber-tooth tigers, woolly mammoths, ground sloths and aspiring B-level actors. Meanwhile, dual agency has swallowed countless John & Jane Doe's in only two decades of practice in the metro Phoenix market. In that time, there has arisen a chorus of familiar refrains.

"How can an agent or brokerage adequately represent two parties with competing interests in a single transaction?"

"How can an agent or brokerage remain neutral when I employed him/her to be an advocate?"

"How can my agent possibly bring me the head of Indigo Montoya if he also represents said eleven-fingered abomination who killed my father?"

As attorneys shape our contracts and further mold our practices to mirror their own, the days of the polyester-encased salesman are largely behind us. That is a good thing. There are clear delineations in terms of the roles and responsibilities of the agents involved in the transaction, as opposed to the ambiguity that often existed before the advent of buyer agency. Under the previous doctrine of sub-agency, an agent could show his buyer property over the course of three months, only to morph into a subagent of the seller when negotiations began on a property. A ludicrous setup if there ever was one. Thus, the greater transparency in distinguishing where allegiances lie in a Real Estate transaction has been a positive result. The rise of buyer agency has led to the tandem rise of another apparent conflict of interest in representative terms, however: Dual agency.

Dual agency arises out of transactional occurrences in which the same broker represents both buyer and seller. Sometimes this entails one agent working on behalf of both parties, but more common, especially in large brokerages, are occasions where an agent from Brokerage A brings a buyer to the listing held by another agent from Brokerage A. Even though there are two agents involved in the potential sale, all Real Estate business flows through the company's designated broker. Thus, even though, in practical terms, each side may appear to have the exclusive representation of their chosen agent, the same broker ultimately bears responsibility for both sides of the transaction.

While I agree that a single agent attempting to wear both hats (or neither if he more or less recuses himself as a mediator between parties in the process) in a transaction is generally marginalizing his service, it is inane to argue that all dual agency eventualities are, and should be, avoidable. If a buyer wishes to purchase one of my listings without the involvement of another agent, I will certainly oblige, but my loyalty is unmistakable. I represent the seller exclusively, and the buyer is my customer. When I take on a buyer client, however, it is ludicrous to suggest that I refrain from showing them certain listings simply because a fellow Realty Executive has it up for sale. If a property fits the criteria of my client, I don't care if it is listed by Ming the Merciless. Full disclosure is paramount, but the chest-thumping that often decries all possible manifestations of dual agency is misguided. Would my seller clients really prefer that I refrained from showing my listings to fellow Realty Executives, drastically reducing their potential buyer pool? Would my buyers really prefer I exclude the listings from the top selling brokerage in the state when we begin our hunt? I highly doubt it. Matter of fact, I have yet to encounter the client that has instructed me to do so after an initial discussion of the limitations in representation that can crop up in such circumstances. Finding the house or the buyer is first and foremost. Concerns over representational nuance is secondary.

There can be advantages in addition to the well reported disadvantages with dual agency. Some principals may find the process less adversarial and more expedient when the variable of a competing agent is removed from the equation. It can very well be argued that the dynamic lessens the presence of the "telephone game" syndrome and needless acrimony that can accompany the dueling egos of multiple agents. More to the point, if agents of the same brokerage have a solid working relationship, and work for a reputable organization, there is the added benefit of knowing the transaction will be handled professionally. Limited representation from a pro is of far more benefit than full representation from a schmuck. While representation may be limited for a client, it is equally limited on the other side of the table. The playing field remains level, as it is in cases in which each party has the full, unflinching representation of a brokerage.

Dual agency is one of those topics that causes a fair amount of unease, but it shouldn't be feared by name alone. You should have full and frank discussions with your chosen agent about the possible ramifications of the various forms of agency floating around out there (preferably at the beginning of your relationship, rather than a forced immersion at the time of a contract submission). There are circumstances which may call for it, and as long as all parties understand and agree with the terms, can prove beneficial. Is it ideal? Far from it. Then again, neither is passing up the home of your dreams because it has the misfortune of being listed for sale by your agent's brokerage.

Dual Agency: It's not just for shafting the public anymore!

Near the Year To Be, A Reflection On the Year That Was

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:58:32 -0600

By any measure, 2009 has been an ogre. A lineal Shrek, if you will. We probably all would have given it a miss had we heeded the decree of the Chinese calendar that it was to be the Year of the Killer Tomato. Given the chance to hit reset on the impending culmination of 365 vexing days, however, I would not take it. There are strengthening vitamins and minerals to be had in the juices of the very tomatoes at my feet that have pelted my face and stung my wide eyes.

There have been financial challenges, the likes of which were previously alien to me. With the disjointed gyrations of an industry and market that represent a brand new dance to even the longest tenured vets, I have been forced to the brink of professional incineration for long stretches on end. With seared toes and fingertips, however, I’ve held fast at the threshold to that fiery abyss. My Gen-X core becoming more pliable and durable all the while in paradoxical harmony. A representative for a generation that is accustomed to having, to entitlement, I have learned the pain and honor of struggle. Months on end to produce results that formerly took days or weeks. Deals faltering where they had always stuck. The size of the paychecks for those miraculous transactions that have beaten the odds to reach the closing table dwindling in numerical lockstep with the eroded property values in our midst, even as costs continue to rise.

Bill collectors unconcerned about any of it.

There have been personal challenges. The year began with mortality staring unflinchingly into our faces. Loved ones saddled with dreaded diagnoses and marching orders to treacherous corners of an unconcerned earth. And loss. There has been loss. Both that which was not yet in our grasp and that which had been held in loose, complacent grip. In our sorrow, we have found new strength. Renewed commitment. Stronger bonds that will never permit the tenuous clutches of the immediate moment to intrude upon the existence or color pallet of a promised collective future. Deeper reservoirs of ourselves with which to nourish those who require infinite supply.

With a little less than a month remaining in this stanza, I am eager to turn the page, albeit wholly aware that no classic prose is free of drama. That every resolution requires a conflict. When all is said and done, and the metaphorical book of me is written, it will be this very chapter that stands out in full bas relief. I needed 2009 to become who I am to be, and I wouldn’t give it back for all the rotten tomatoes in Shanghai.

Housing Market Predictions: We've Heard Them All, Except the One That Matters ... Yours!

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:51:29 -0600

Housing will not fully recover until 2012. That is when the glut of backlogged foreclosures is expected to be phased out of the market.

Housing will recover by the end of the year. Now that inventory has contracted to average levels for what constitutes “normal” regional markets in major metropolitan areas where prices have declined as much as 50% in the past three years, and month to month sales have steadily increased over the past six months, demand has realigned with supply to arrest the freefall in values.

The housing recovery began in early 2009. Median price increases in some markets indicate that even while many pundits were openly wondering when the bottom of the market would appear, it was actually several months in the rearview mirror.

Many factors and variables, and just as many divergent opinions to boot. So many, in fact, that you almost have to choose amongst the purported experts to determine whether you fall in the half empty or half full category. Job rates, interest rates, unemployment rates … psychiatric rates, for spending too much time poring over the data and extrapolations will render one in need of a head exam.

Overanalysis 101.

You don’t need flow charts to tell you where things stand at the moment. You won’t need a market report to tell you when things are better.

You’ll know the market has recovered when you no longer dread the trip to the mailbox or evening phone calls.

You’ll know the market has recovered when you can confidently re-enable automatic bill pay from your checking account instead of prioritizing which ones get paid this month by how far past due each is.

You’ll know that the market has recovered when you don’t have to decide whether you or a loved one is really ill enough to warrant the cost of a trip to the doctor.

You’ll know the market has recovered when you no longer have to explain to the kids why you can’t go to the zoo or stop for ice cream today.

You’ll know the market has recovered when sleep comes as readily as worry formerly did.

You can stop looking to someone else to tell you when the market is fully healed as the housing implosion is the root of these greater ails. It’s far easier to take stock of your own life, and those of your friends and family, to see where along its arc the pendulum is currently settled. As the finance/housing sector dragged our economy into the muck, it will again lead us back to dry ground. No need to watch the stars for celestial clues. Just do what no pundit can and watch your own life for improvement. You’ll know housing has recovered when both of your own feet are planted squarely on terra firma.

Most importantly, beware the forecasts that don’t jive with your own internal index. Those who would adamantly assert the rosiest or bleakest prognosis are likely more interested in influencing your behavior than in your well being.

“Buy now before prices shoot back up!”

“Sell now before prices erode further!”

When you stop listening to yourself, you risk placing all of your trust in the megaphones of those who have a vested interest in your fear.

Is the housing market improving? Is now the time to buy? The time to sell? For months, I have been asked to provide the answers to these questions. I have dutifully provided my vague predictions with the obligatory caveat that no one truly knows how a free market will behave from one day to the next. I realize, though, that in supplying answers to those who actually give the market context, that we have all been looking at this thing from the wrong perspective. It makes zero difference where I think the market stands at present, and where it is headed. The very consumers who ask me these questions are the ones who will ultimately provide the truth or fallacy to my various hypotheses. So I turn the tables and ask the consumer, the actual authority, the very same question.

“What is the state of the Real Estate market?”

Feel free to comment here or send me an email with your thoughts. Looking for opinions from consumers and laypersons, not agents or financial wizards (all comments welcome, though). I will post the results in a follow-up piece.

Mr. Homeowner & Mrs. Homebuyer, the floor is now yours.

Bank-Owned Home = Bank-Controlled Transaction? Not On My Watch.

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:22:39 -0600

Without reasonable question, banks are in charge of the current Real Estate market here in Scottsdale and the greater Phoenix area. Patently absurd low pricing of an overwhelming abundance of foreclosure and short sale listings dictates that financial institutions remain the bully of our local pulpit. While we may lament this eventuality, we certainly cannot deny it without yielding hard-earned credibility. Dominance in the marketplace, however, should not be mistaken for carte blanche to operate in a manner independent of obligation.

Consumers, and by the transitive property their chosen agents, put up with a great deal when pursuing a distressed (be it physical or financial) property. Selling institutions call the shots on the choice of title company, manufacture from afar their own addenda that often flies in the face of local custom or … gulp … law. All too aware that these catacombs house the buried Real Estate treasure they seek, buyers eagerly agree to any and all provisions the banks and their lawyers concoct. For the most part, after scrutinizing the often arcane verbiage of said addenda and verifying that an actual, legitimate escrow company has been selected to perform the title work (as opposed to some flunky sister company on the other side of the country in which the seller has a financial stake), we swallow hard on the arrogance and proceed under the bank’s terms. The values on their properties are just too good to be dissuaded by negotiable minutia.

But that’s where it ends.

Perhaps a happenstance created by a bank that has become accustomed to proffering any mandate it wishes upon a transaction, many asset managers at said institutions and the lackeys charged with listing and selling their portfolios seem to have gained the mistaken notion that they can dictate deviations from the written purchase agreement based on the whims of internal policy. Case in point, I am currently embroiled in a transaction that is going along swimmingly aside from the seller’s constant refusal to execute documents that were agreed to and made part of the original purchase contract. I have heard numerous explanations for the contractual breaches, and some of them even make sense. None of them, though, absolve the seller of their contractual obligations.

The learned attorneys who advise their clients (banks) not to sign certain documents would do well to advise their clients to address such matters at the time, if not before, the contract is negotiated. I am not an attorney, but surely they understand that unilateral, after-the-fact contract revision and/or breach is far more likely to result in litigation for their clients than the terms of the documents found to be objectionable for one reason or another.

Then again, perhaps deterrence from future litigation is not in the best financial interest of that crack legal staff.

I call on buyers and their representative agents to stand up for the rights and protections you are afforded by the purchase contracts you execute. Fear of losing the bargain of a lifetime has led too many to cow-tow to the internal policies of the banks on the other side of the country table. Yes, there are certain stipulations you must live with if you wish to purchase a bank controlled property, but at the end of the day, they are just sellers who must abide by the same rules and regulations as everyone else. Assuming you didn't forget to pack heat on your way to a bank-owned gunfight, stick to your guns and do not suffer any shirking of the selling party’s obligations or infringement upon your contractual rights lightly. And make sure you grab the glock, not the air rifle. The pea shooter of polite request will just get your hair touseled and cheeks pinched.

It's big boy time when dealing with a corporate monolith.

Waste my time ... please!

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:03:50 -0500

I have made light of purchasing reticence within this virtual nook. I have assailed the inability of some to clear the hurdle that separates “browsers” from “buyers” in this ethereal cranny. I have most likely made some fearful to ever step into my vehicle as a house hunter, lest they be tormented by the subconscious meter that ticks inexorably closer to the outlying fringe of my patience in their pursuit of a home. The squeal of brakes at every red light reminiscent to the mind's eye of the protestations of a creaky shopping window closing against its will.

The truth of the matter, though, is as much as “career buyer syndrome” can be a frustration to the afflicted and their agents alike, most lamentation from professionals who bemoan the mileage on their vehicles, depleted gas tanks and missed soccer games for the client who is seemingly as likely to buy a nuclear submarine as a house, is misplaced. In actuality, the occassional encounter with such a client is vital to the continuing education of a REALTOR. What is the first thing most new agents are encouraged to do when they join this wild and woolly industry? Go look at houses. As many as possible. Learning the product and the values is a key to becoming the knowledgeable professional one (loudly) proclaims to be.

After a few years in the biz, new clients start coming our way through referrals as well as whatever lead generation techniques we have chosen to employ. Burgeoning careers look to be fast-tracked for success. This is a rather critical juncture. Let’s call it “I’ve made it syndrome.” Focused on the new business that is coming in by the bushel, it is all too convenient to convince oneself that there is no longer time for the menial task of viewing inventory that does not pertain to the immediate needs of current clients.

Agents get soft, lose that eye of the tiger. The hardcore open house and previewing training regimen is traded in for occasional MLS surfing. Next thing you know, Thunderlips and Clubber Lang are taking turns knocking your listless Rocky around the market.

The much maligned time wasting client is not actually a time waster. Certainly, there will always be those with whom we are not compatible. There will be those who are unrealistic in their wants, and are likewise unbending in their desires. We have the luxury of turning down the business we know represents a long walk off a short pier. That caveat notwithstanding, I maintain that the clients who spend six months, a year or … gulp, longer to find the perfect home represent an opportunity. That opportunity is to view inventory. To isolate new subdivisions, new styles of architecture. To leave the confines of the office and see that which we profess to know intimately.

Beats the heck out of sitting in a classroom while we obtain the latest in a long line of academic certifications that mean about as much as my Outstanding Achievement In Reading awards from Cochise Elementary School.

I have a particular client who drives me absolutely bonkers, and she knows it. Because I tell her. We laugh about it over coffee. We have looked off and on for several years this last go round. Of course, she has bought homes from me in the past, so in the interest of full disclosure, her leash is a bit longer than it would be for the average man on the street. The fact is that I have the time to accommodate her whims (no matter how busy we get, there is always an hour to be found somewhere during the course of a given week), and I have become quite the resource for mid-century modern homes in the Phoenix and Scottsdale area as a result. Never a big fan of that particular style of architecture in the past, our tours have brought a new and profound appreciation for this niche, as well as a knowledge base for the “it” builders and subdivisions that best exemplify the local modern community for which I previously had no use.

While we may bellyache from time to time about the instances in which we are the world’s lowest paid chauffeurs, there is always something to be gained in viewing houses. I may not get paid today, but the education may pay me threefold in the future. I have accumulated a fair amount of know-how during my decade in Real Estate, but there are always new stones to turn over and things to learn. Lessons that are only learned out in the field. That means turning off the computer and getting some face time with the real world on a regular basis. Doing the things that make us useful and needed in a landscape of online services and long-distance "experts" who would otherwise marginalize the local professional through instant, if incomplete, data. Information in the absence of context is useless. We provide the context. That is our job security.

So go ahead, my fellow professionals, and allow your precious time to get wasted as you look at 100 homes with the same foot-dragging buyer. Your continued employment in this field might ultimately depend on those lengthy weekend forays.

Of course, if you are looking for million dollar homes with an $80,000 budget because the market is “still declining,” I will gladly give you a referral to a top notch local professional.

Longevity and the Pompous Gloating of the Immediate Moment

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate (Realty Executives) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:40:43 -0500

There was an old microfiche machine at my office when I started in this business. It would be awhile before plat maps went online. The Mr. Coffee next to the old Xerox copier had yet to be replaced by the single-shot vacuum pack machination that would allow agents to select from a variety of roasts. The office itself teemed with Real Estate synergy as the exodus to the home office wouldn't begin in earnest for another five years or so.

Against the backdrop of what is now considered the Neolithic Era of the Real Estate Industry, those pioneers who embraced the radical technological advancements of email and personal websites scoffed at the hopelessly crude tools of the trade still wielded by the Paleolithic holdovers from days gone by. Quick to shovel dirt on the shallow graves these dinosaurs had themselves seemingly dug by ignoring the advancing world around them, the younger set was highly amused by one agent in particular who still used the rickety old typewriter in the work room for personal correspondence.

While derision for the curmudgeon's refusal to keep up with the times was less hostile than affectionate, that lone typewriter signaled, for many, the functional obsolescence of more than merely the machine itself. The sooner we could put that beast of burden out to pasture, the sooner our brokerage would live up to its reputation as industry leader within the Phoenix market. It's a competitive world out there, and you can't rest on yesterday's laurels if you wish to stay relevent, after all. To stay on that cutting edge, you must do some cutting. Though it was never verbalized, the insinuation that both man and machine should succumb gracefully to the scrap heap to make way for the new breed was palpable.

That was just over ten years ago. The typewriter is gone, but the agent remains. Was there a sudden epiphany about the direction of the business and a need to be at the forefront of the technological revolution? Certainly not. We simply dragged the typewriter outside one day after an office vote and beat the thing back into the Stone Age. Left with little alternative, the old guy grudgingly learned how to email and even used the fax machine on occasion. But websites? Search engine optimization? Let the hotshots figure that nonsense out. He would rather sell Real Estate than hop on every new trend.

And he did. One of the most successful agents in our brokerage, he pretty much sticks to managing his own investments at this point. Investments cultivated during the bust years. Remember when everyone was ditching their land holdings in the ‘80s as values tanked and interest rates spiked simultaneously? He held on. Remember the stagflation of the ‘70s? He amassed quite a portfolio amidst those treacherous market forces.

The man simply knows Real Estate.

Dinosaurs get to be dinosaurs in this business for a reason. In an industry that has more attrition than the lineup for Guns ‘N Roses, only those who have the market cornered on business acumen and opportunistic savvy linger long enough to be subjected to the ignominious rebukes and condescension of the next generation. Those of us who would spread our peacock feathers to boast of our rising profiles in comparison to the sagging numbers of our predecessors would be better served to squeeze every last drop of knowledge and advice from their battle-tested minds.

So we are the big dogs today. Big deal. This porch has been occupied by far better agents in years past. Agents that made presentations face to face instead of via email and fax. Agents who actually employed salesmanship and personal skills to seal transactions versus simply heaping reams of readily available data upon their subjects. Agents who can recognize the oncoming booms and busts because they have experienced these cycles many times over. Agents who have thrived in the face of all manner of advancing technologies (for those who would assert otherwise, technology didn't just suddenly appear post 2000). Agents who know what works for their business and what does not. Agents who do not confuse the tools of selling Real Estate with the actual business of selling Real Estate.

Like those ancient machines that once inhabited our offices paved the way for the next generation of technology, so have those who plied their abilities in days of yore been pre-requiste for the current crop of agents. We have gotten to where we are now on the backs of our predecessors. Ironically, some would deign to call the older generation of agents blind to new technology while not recognizing their own limited sight. Such hasty and dismissive judgment renders one blind to the positive attributes that have crafted long, successful careers. Any comet can streak brightly across the sky for a short period of time. The trick is in maintaining a lifespan past the initial fluorescent brilliance.

The more I think about it, the more I find the term "dinosaur" to be quite appropriate. As opposed to those who throw it about with such arrogance and disdain, however, I liken it more to the way many productive old timers will eventually leave the industry. Forget the magic bullet of SEO, blogging or any other marketing flavor of the month; it's going to take nothing short of a meteor strike to kill those careers. Instead of chastising these agents for what they are not, I seek to absorb what they are in vain attempt to distill the core secret to their longevity down to its very essence. I would recommend some of the more vocal online detractors of our industry elders do the same. We should all be so lucky to stick around long enough to earn such scorn.

Funny thing, but about 75% of the agents who mocked that agent ten years ago are nowhere to be found today; knocked off their lofty perches by a brutal market they didn't see coming. Meanwhile, he keeps on keeping on, trying to figure out how to change the ribbon on the office PC. Try not to feel too sorry for him as he outlasts the next wave of revolutionaries with quaint designs on yet another industry coup d'etat.