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Real Estate Best Practices

Coaches, books, classes and seminars aim to capture real estate agents dollars with promises to teach them any number of ways to improve their business. From sales skills to how to close more deals to how to win with expireds (expired listings) and more, everyone has something to teach you.


There's nothing wrong with continuing education, whether it's keeping on top of new laws and regulations or learning how to be more productive. But before you spend an arm and a leg on any of those things, pull up a chair, put on your glasses and peruse the pages in this section of ActiveRain.


It is only here that you can tap into the world's largest online real estate community and actively engage with your peers. Find out what works and what doesn't from those that actually put into practice what others merely teach. Read how-to articles, advice on designations, certifications and continuing education classes. You never know where you will find the inspiration to take your business to the next level. So, pull up a chair and dig in!

Recent blogs on Real Estate Best Practices
By Joyce Marsh, Joyce Marsh Homes
(Joyce Marsh Real Estate LLC)
“You’re responsible for your choices and results   The choices that you make are under your control. You make the choices on what you will do . . . . when you will do it  . . . .  why you do it . . . . and the quality of your effort that you put into what your doing.” Lou Ludwig had a way with words. His voice of reason and wisdom was so inspiring. This particular blog post was one of my favorites and felt it needed to be seen and heard again. You’re Responsible for Your Choices and Results “Personal responsibility begins with ME. That’s why it’s personal.”  Jim Miller, author   As I see it. . . . . . . . You’re responsible for your choices and results   The choices that you make are under your control. You make the choices on what you will do . . . . when you will do it  . . . .  why y...
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By David Ramirez, Tax Representation at its Best
(Tax Relief Services)
Unlocking the Potential of Residential Rental Real Estate: A Guide for InvestorsInvesting in residential rental real estate offers a plethora of benefits that can cater to the savvy investor's desire for a steady income stream, long-term wealth appreciation, and financial security. As a real estate investor, it's crucial to recognize the strategic advantages that residential properties present. In this article, we'll explore the key benefits of owning residential rental properties, providing you with the knowledge to make informed decisions in your investment endeavors.Steady Cash FlowOne of the most attractive benefits of investing in residential rental properties is the stable monthly cash flow they generate. This income is derived from your tenants' rent payments and can often cover ...
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By Debe Maxwell, CRS, The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!
(Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310)
Real Estate Buyer's Agents: The Art of Asking the Right Questions and LISTENINGIn the world of real estate, every interaction and piece of feedback can be a golden nugget of insight. Take, for example, a recent scenario where the showing feedback from an agent was blunt - "Buyer don’t know what she wants!" Grammar aside, this agent’s statement opens up a valuable conversation about the role of a buyer's agent. The retort from my client was spot on: "Client needs an agent that can ask the right questions to help her find what she wants."Feedback Received on an UBER clean property that shows very nicely... Feedback above sent to my client's daughter in a text (who happened to be with her at the time). Just to be clear, I had just received an Offer on the property and was waiting on feedba...
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By Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can!, St. George Utah Area Residential Sales Agent
(Red Rock Real Estate (435) 632-9374)
Nerdin Gardens: Top Producer A-peel Nothing better than plucking oranges off our tree in February and eating one for breakfast. Yum, so delish! Though citrus trees usually thrive in lower elevation locations, we have managed to grow them in Nerdin Gardens. Once spring arrives, we transport the lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit and kumquat trees from an outbuilding to a specific place, where they will thrive during the growing season in direct sunlight. Honey bees pollinate their blooms. The results are amazing as we pull the lemons and limes and use them in dishes and as a garnish in beverages. Our kumquat tree produces twice a year and those orbs of goodness are best popped in the mouth whole, to fully enjoy. We always look forward to the planning and preparation of our gardens as temper...
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By Bob "RealMan" Timm, Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker
(Ward County Notary Services)
PASS THE GREASEWe have all heard the expression that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Sometimes we are the wheel and sometimes it's someone we are dealing with during a Real Estate transaction. Rarely there is no squeaking during a transaction as complex as the purchase or sale of Real Estate but it sure is sweet when the entire transaction goes as smoothly as a well lubricated engine.I can not think of many, if any, coined phrases that are more true than "The squeaky wheel gets the grease". I don't know who originally came up with that phrase but it reminds me of a parable Jesus told in Luke 18:1-8. The Parable of the Persistent1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neith...
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By Alan May, Home is where the hearth is.
(Jameson Sotheby's International Realty)
Yesterday, AT&T experienced a catastrophic crash which took down their entire phone system and those of many of their ancillary companies in major cities nationwide  Other than T-mobile and some Verizon users, most mobile users, nationwide found themselves either without service or with some form of limited service as they woke up.The crash occurred around 4:00 a.m. CST and it took most of the day to get it under control.  Some were able to figure out a work around, by turning off cell-service and switching to wifi calling.  That is, of course, assuming you were within range of some wifi service.  Can you picture more people than normal rushing to their local starbucks?But it created an interesting new first-world problem.  I'm one of those people that uses Apple Carplay for my navigati...
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By Joyce Marsh, Joyce Marsh Homes
(Joyce Marsh Real Estate LLC)
Make It Real |The Art of Genuine Interaction Embracing Authentic Comments in a World of Canned Responses Well here we are, in an age that is pretty much dominated by social media and digital communication. The value of authentic human interaction cannot be overstated In the midst of a flood of automated replies and generic comments, I wonder about the art of real communication.   Real and authentic comments not only foster meaningful connections, but they also enrich our online experiences, and remind us of the power of the genuine human connection that is currently lacking in our predominately digital world.   Here in ActiveRain, there are some people who comment for points, not necessarily connection.  Way too often we see the same comment made on the twenty blogs per day, regardless ...
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By Jeff Stevens, Jeff Stevens, Associate Broker/REALTOR
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New Mexico Properties)
Bad Apples Spoil the Whole Basket It's always interesting to me, now that I've been in the real estate business for more than a decade, how some brokers conduct their business. Most are consummate professionals. Others, not so much.The other day I was walking my dogs around our community, which is gated. I had noticed an open house from a listing down the street and also noticed that the entrance gates into our community were closed. Normally, the listing broker would contact the HOA representative and arrange for the gates to be open during their open house.When I walked past the keypad to the entrance gate of our community, I noticed a note on the keypad. I could not believe my eyes. The broker taped a note to the keypad with the gate code on it! Wow! What was this guy thinking? Was h...
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By Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can!, St. George Utah Area Residential Sales Agent
(Red Rock Real Estate (435) 632-9374)
Incompetence is the true crisis. ~ Albert Einstein Real estate agents must know how representation works, along with the laws that we essentially adhere to, plus fully understand all legal documentation. Otherwise, it is to the detriment of the consumer and potentially, a blemish on the industry. An experienced professional:⇒ Avoids mistakes that could potentially cause a financial loss, future legal problems or impediments in achieving the goals.⇒ Acts on the best interests of the client, nor the other party or putting themselves before all else protects them from hidden agenda's.⇒ Conveys effective, accurate communication, allowing buyers and sellers to make informed decisions throughout the process.  Though everyone started at the beginning, long-time success stories are made from in...
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By Steve Depoe, Taking the stress out of Buying and Selling
(The Rose Realty Team)
If you're thinking of selling your house this spring, now is the perfect time to start getting it ready. With the market gearing up for its busiest time of year, it'll be important to make sure your house shines bright among the competition. Here are some valuable tips you can use to get your house market-ready. Declutter and Organize First impressions matter, and if your house is a mess, that can easily turn off potential buyers. Before listing, take the time to declutter and organize each room. Decluttering is about more than just tidying up – it's about creating a sense of space and openness that allows potential buyers to envision themselves living in your home. According to Moving.com: “Decluttering and organizing your space will go a long way in appealing to potential buyers. . ....
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By J. Philip Faranda, Associate Broker / Office Manager
(Howard Hanna Rand Realty)
Change is here. Soon, if it hasn't already occurred, you'll log onto the MLS and see offers of compensation to buyer agents of $1. Or $0. Or a figure lower than you may be accustomed to. While this makes some agents fearful that they will no longer be able to earn a living, other licensees see opportunity. This is their chance to differentiate themselves from their competition. For years, too many agents' value proposition to the public was that they were "free," or a code word of no extra charge, or nothing out of pocket, or you won't pay extra for the house, or some other useless dog whistle that suggested they didn't add value proportionate to their fee. Those days are coming to an end. The opportunity now is to get real with the buying public, and educate them on the crucial importa...
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By Liz and Bill Spear, Transaction Alliance Cincinnati & Dayton suburbs
(Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com)
This summer will make 20 years since I started in real estate, and while a lot has changed, a lot of the fundamentals haven't.It's a people business.It's a numbers game.And there's absolutely no reason to reinvent the wheel for much of what we do.  That doesn't mean continuous improvement shouldn't stay front and center, but there's also no need to start from scratch when you're in the 1,268th iteration of a certain task.To deal with what I have on my daily plate, I have to effectively use my time, and one of the ways to do that is to standardize some tasks.  That's one of the places blogging can come in handy.Do you have FAQ posts written and ready to reference?  Whether you copy them to an email or just send a link, when I get a home owner asking for their home's photos to be removed ...
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Growing your real estate sales means mastering your “book of business.”  You should have a goal to grow your database each year.   Growing your real estate sales means mastering your “book of business.”  You should have a goal to grow your database each year. In almost every one-on-one session I do with an agent, I bring up this topic. Agents tend to focus on marketing vs. prospecting (as I did as an agent... no judgement here). When I'm sitting with an agent or especially a team leader, I try to postpone that "shiny toy" conversation for a few minutes in favor of talking them through the idea that they're building something... so why don't we look at what they have built so far and what might their 2017 etc goals be? "Oh, so it looks like you have about 156 people in your database? Let...
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By Michael Mahoney, Boston Realtor
(Real Broker, LLC)
Tuesday, Feb. 201 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT  How To Farm Digitally: Geo Farming Mastermind with Ryan Adams and Special Guest Jeremy Knight   A great class on geographic farming.   If you would like to attend, shoot me an email.
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By Michael J. Perry, Lancaster, PA Relo Specialist
(KW Elite )
    When teaching Real Estate Sales I talk about the Four Foundations of your Business. One of these is your Database , which will become your Book of Business. Shockingly 90 % of Realtors will reach Retirement with nothing to sell . The primary reason for this , they’ve never organized their Business using a Database !       Another key point is a new agent needs to be conscious of the need to feed and build their Database on a daily basis. A key number is 2,000.A Database of 2,000 names of cultivated consumers should produce 40 closings per year ( 50 to 1 ratio) . We must be Proactive in accomplishing this crucial goal . Enjoy Jeff’s post on how to  !  Growing your real estate sales means mastering your “book of business.”  You should have a goal to grow your database each year. In al...
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By Keith Kyle, Top Producing Agent
(Vista Sotheby's International)
I'm not sure about your local market, but in my area we have specific days for various neighborhoods for brokers open houses/broker tours to see new listings. When I have a listing I certainly take full advantage and want as many brokers and agents to see the home as possible.  While it's primarily for local realtors, I am more than happy when a potential buyer, or even just a neighbor comes by.  My goal is to sell the house, and the more that see it, the more likely we'll quickly find a buyer.  I recently went to another agent's "broker's open" and this was the sign at the front.  Although I wasn't familiar with the agent, he couldn't have been nicer or more friendly so that wasn't the reason behind the sign.  I'm sure there are various opinions, and reasons for them, but for me at a b...
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By Tammy Lankford,, Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville
(Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668)
In today's world most of time you can scan (even with your phone) and send documents via email with little effort.  But from time to time you talk to someone who says "we can't do that".  Recently a friend who was moving wanted her children's shot records for getting them into school quickly when they moved.  The doctor's office said they had no way to email them to her, upload them to a portal for her to print, they could mail them or fax them.  A quick text to me asking if I had a fax machine, then when I answered yes allowed this mom to have the documents sent to me and I in turn scanned and emailed them to her and she had them in minutes instead of taking time away from packing to drive to pick them up to a doctor's office an hour away.  And she has them in her email so they are in ...
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By Bill Salvatore - East Valley, Realtor - 602-999-0952 / em: golfArizona@cox.net
(Arizona Elite Properties )
The 2024 Spring Market has Sprung Today I want to talk about our spring market, because spring has sprung! There is a very busy market out there. If you look at open house attendance, it is up. If you look at pending numbers, pending numbers are up in most areas. People want to buy. They have been waiting too long to buy. Also, while interest rates are just holding still, people are finding ways to get out of the homes that they haven't wanted to stay in. This past year, 2023, has been a year that I would describe as a Year-in-Limbo. However, this 2024 is already shaping up to be an active year. What I want you to do is to go into your MLS and find out for yourself what is happening in your area. There are three things that I want you to look for: Sales, Days-on-Market, & List-to-Sale ...
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By Denise Lones, CSP, MIRM, CDEI - Real Estate Coaching & Branding
(The Lones Group, Inc.)
The 2024 Spring Market has Sprung Today I want to talk about our spring market, because spring has sprung! There is a very busy market out there. If you look at open house attendance, it is up. If you look at pending numbers, pending numbers are up in most areas. People want to buy. They have been waiting too long to buy. Also, while interest rates are just holding still, people are finding ways to get out of the homes that they haven't wanted to stay in. This past year, 2023, has been a year that I would describe as a Year-in-Limbo. However, this 2024 is already shaping up to be an active year. What I want you to do is to go into your MLS and find out for yourself what is happening in your area. There are three things that I want you to look for: Sales, Days-on-Market, & List-to-Sale ...
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By Roy Kelley
(Retired)
It's up to each one of us to breathe new life into business to remain successful.   Nerdin Gardens: A Moving Story   My grandson was visiting for several weeks and enjoyed playing near the home garden, when all of a sudden he came rushing into the house, breathless, yelling, "Gma...I found a dead cat outside."   Perplexed, I asked, "How do you know it is dead!?" He said, "Because I pissed in its ear and it didn't move."   "You did what?!", I was shocked!   "You know," explained my grandson.   "I bent over and went Pssssst...and it didn't move!"   Tie-in to the real estate industry: It's up to each one of us to breathe new life into business to remain successful. If the market is slow, find ways to get in front of past clients, new buyers and sellers. Create a pipeline, remain Top of Min...
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