Commission CORE 2009

Posted by: Idaho Career Institute

Have you taken the new Core 2009 class?  You many want to brush up on the new changes.  For instance the section regarding the Broker Price Opinions (BPO) and Errors and Omissions Insurance. 

Below are a few examples regarding some of the items you need to watch out for when preparing a BPO.

1.  You must be either a licensed Broker or Associate Broker to perform this function.  You may also charge for your services but the fee you charge must be paid to your designated broker.

2.  You cannot represent yourself as an appraiser only a real estate licensee.

3.  All active real estate agents can prepare market analysis as part of your everyday business.

4.  You must follow the eight (8) requirements in the Idaho Real Estate License Law and Rules July 2009 edition.  You may find these on page 64.

What you need to know regarding your errors and omissions insurance.

1.  Errors and Omissions insurance does not cover against deliberate acts.

2.  Mold issues are excluded from the policies.

3.  Your personal real estate transactions are not covered.

4.  The policy must be in place at the time of a claim.  If a licensee leaves the business or retires you need to consider "tail coverage".  An individual has up to four (4) years to file a claim against a licensee.  If you leave the business or retire and a claim is filed and your E&O policy was cancelled you are not covered by your insurance policy.  You only have 60 days to purchase "tail coverage".

If you have already taken the previous Commission Core 2008 and you have enough credits to renew your license, please consider taking the new Commission Core 2009 to brush up on the laws and any changes which are in effect.  You may check to see if you are in compliance with your continuing education requirements at http://www.idahorealestatecommission.com/.

Short-Sales Do's and Dont's

Posted by: Don Crowell

Did you read the Idaho Statesman’s article on Short Sales? I hope it will help buyer's and sellers to understand the pitfalls of today’s short sale frenzy. I have worked on many short sales from the buyer side and I have found them difficult to do for a couple of reasons. 1) Unrealistic Buyer Expectations 2) An Immediate Need To Occupy and 3) Banker Ignorance.In many instances your buyer will want to offer 20% of the home’s value, not going to work unless your clearing off the bank’s balance sheet worth 60 million. Let your buyer know that they can reasonably expect a 10% to 30% discount depending on the repairs required to a home and the overall condition of the market and subdivision. A home that is a older well established neighborhood with fewer distressed properties is going to hold its value better than the two year old sub with a 50% vacancy rate. Know the risk and buy accordingly. Secondly if your buyer needs an immediate answer on an offer you may want to look elsewhere. Banks are notoriously slow, on tip I heard recently is to have the seller call the bank and threaten legal action if they do not respond to all offers in a timely manner. It worked for an agent at the Century 21 1st place realty office in Boise and the bank took almost $100,000 less on a $400,000 property. Not too bad! Bank ignorance = Bliss and job security right? No banker wants to be the one that pulls the trigger on a $100,000 loss. It seems like the bank’s strategy is to sit and wait, this is not an effective corporate strategy for a problem sinking your business. I had a deal with one bank where we were $500 away on price (not a huge obstacle) but the bank insisted on an earnest money payment of $4500. The seller was getting 10% down from his 401k and didn't have more than $1000 to put down. We would have closed the deal in two weeks and the house was only $150,000. Why did they let the deal go for a ridiculous amount of earnest money?

Will Boise's Housing Market Go UP In 08?

Posted by: Don Crowell

Many of you recently read in the Idaho Statesman about Brighton Homes recent success in 2008 versus 2007. The company is now guaranteeing that anyone that buy's a home this year will qualify for a rebate if Brighton lowers the retail price of its model homes. Is this the signal people have been waiting for? Is now finally the time to get back into real estate? Boise's economy has stayed relatively strong despite the loss of jobs, high fuel prices and an unusually high foreclosure rate. Perhaps this is the turnaround we (Treasure Valley Real Estate Agents) have been waiting for. So now what. Make sure your real estate license is active if you need to finish up you CE's you can do them On-line or in person. If we see a rebound you will want to be proactive rather than reactive.

Why Take Continuing Education

Posted by: Don Crowell

Many people get frustrated with the idea of being required to take Continuing Education to maintain a professional license. Professionals like Nurses, Lawyers, CPA's and Real Estate Agents are all required to take a certain number of Continuing Education Credits (CEU's). Here are the benefits:1) The state agency or accrediting agency that regulates a particular profession ensure minimal standard for every individual holding a designation or license.2) Professionals get training in a timely manner, they have a deadline to complete it by and there is usually a penalty if a professional doesn't complete their CEU's on time. In Idaho, Real Estate professionals are fined $500 if the fail to complete the states educational requirements. Without this many professionals would procrastinate and not finish.3) The public receives better service because professionals are up to date on trend and industry concerns.The biggest issue with CEU's in the past has been availability, cost and geographical location (Good Classes Are Hard To Find Near Arco Idaho).  Idaho Career Institute offers the best variety of continuing education in both a Live Instructor Lead format or Online classes. If you are looking for Law or Medical CEU's or possibly a certificate program try our Ed2Go link.

When Real Estate Rebounds

Posted by: Don Crowell

Many people are looking at today’s market with disbelief and bewilderment. Let’s face it, Real Estate was easy to get into and during the boom it was easy to sell one or two homes a year while working real estate part time. Fulltime agents saw past clients using family members or friends that were inexperienced and in many cases probably negligent in the handling of real estate business. 

A market correction is good for real estate professionals that are committed to the industry and who are not fly by night realtors. A reliable source from ACAR said today that the Ada County Association of Realtors membership is down by 3800. While many of those realtors just took up office space, a few closed 3-5 transactions per year. If they are out of the picture, existing real estate agents have a good chance of picking up at least 2 more deals this year than before. Although I didn't do a quantifiable analysis, it is clear to me that the agents that have been coming to real estate continuing education courses to renew their Idaho Real Estate licenses are doing better overall.Some agents recently made headlines by saying in the Idaho Statesman that our market has hit the bottom. I think they are wrong.  Look at the trends, sales are up in California but prices are way down and Foreclosures are off the charts in almost every major city in California. (DQNEWS). Our market is tied in many ways to what happens in California. So while I think we will see a positive bump in the spring of 09 it won't be until 2010 that we see a sustainable upward trend. So why get into or stay in real estate when everything seems so chaotic? Relax, people are still buying and selling real estate. Secondly, where are people with money putting it? Not in the stock market, and with the way banks are right now people are looking for a safe spot to put their money. Although Real Estate is not risk free it is considerably safer than other investment vehicles. Don't be discouraged, get back to basics and set some goals for yourself. If you are thinking about getting in to real estate you will need to be a self started, goal oriented and committed to serving your clients. Pre-license classes start every month and both day and evening classes are available. Real Estate Pre-license packages are also available for additional savings and added resources. If you need CE credits Click Here.

Real Estate Investment Fundementals

Posted by: Don Crowell

Did you see Thursdays headline in the Idaho Statesman? Meridian homebuilder's bankruptcy. Now your asking yourself how do I capitalize on today's foreclosure market, your hearing great things about SHORT SALES right? Let me tell you, these types of transactions can be much more difficult and time consuming that you realize. Here is the situation, banks and individuals are upside down on many properties. Sellers want out via shortsale becaus it is the only way they can reduce their debt load and monthly cash outflow without filing bancruptcy. Sellers list the house with an agent typically for less than what the owner owes on the property. Many agents are marking them very low so that they will get a flood of offers to take to the bank. Agents and some third party organizations will try to get the bank to write off the loss and take less than is owed on the property. Simple right? What you will find is that banks can take an extreemly long time to make a decision. Because of the $0.00 Down Payment programs the banks have very little room to work and nobody wants to get fired for being the one that signed off on a huge loss. In many instances your buyer will lose interest in the property and withdraw the offer.

Here are a few tips to help you succeed.

1) Read The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller. (Make your money going in, not going out!).

2)  Find the decion maker at the bank and form a relationship

3) Offer to close fast, typically in 2 weeks

4) Don't get caught up in a bidding frenzy, set your criteria and stick to it

5) Remember you work for your client, not the bank!

To learn more register for Idaho Career Institutes Real Estate Investing Courses

Real Estate Investing

Real Estate Investing 2: Financing Your Property

High Mountain Lakes

Posted by: Don Crowell

Near Pine ID

My Profile Picture

Posted by: Don Crowell

My Profile

Posted by: Don Crowell

My Idaho Picture, this is taken at the Big Hole near Stanley ID.

Social Networking for Real Estate

Posted by: Don Crowell

In a down market, its the little things that can give you a competitive advantage. Real Estate agents are usually social people so social marketing should be right up our alley right? Their is a strong possibility that many of the people in real estate today are not social networking and not maximizing their web presence to its fullest potential. I am committed to help you grow your business and I think I can help you gain at least one or two more transactions per year if you just do what I tell you.  It works, it really does!Lets start with FaceBook. Do you have a facebook account? I have found it to be much more useful for information sharing than websites like Myspace. Several real estate agents from the Treasure Valley have profile's that look nice. Companies like Coldwell Banker Tomlison Group and Progressive Realty Corporation  and Century 21 1st Place Realty are represented. What’s in it for me? That’s what all agents want to know. Set up your virtual tour on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZqXsvGbEw4 and then export the video to your Facebook  or Myspace account. Now everyone that is in your social network will see your virtual tour and if you post pictures they will see those too. Just don't forget to follow standard Idaho Real Estate Commission guidelines for advertising. You must have your fair housing logo and office information on all advertising. Don't learn the hard way, the fine is expensive. If you contact me via email I will show you how to do some amazing pay per click advertising that will blow your mind away. One last thing, for those of you looking for a way to maximize your search engine results, you might want to consider this class: Achieving Top Search Engine Placement I guarantee you will like it or ICI will refund your money. Don@idahocareerinstitute.com?