Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Exciting Spring 2009 Events!
As we enter the spring selling season, I thought we should set some informal brainstorming meetings that allow our team to get together, share ideas and position ourselves for success. If you’re reading this blog post and you’re not part of the Realty Corp team, please know that everyone is always welcome to all of our events. Our Company strives to be open, dynamic and inclusive and everyone’s input is valuable.
Before outlining our upcoming brainstorming sessions, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some thoughts with about our improved $495 listing program. Our new $495 website is e commerce enabled so credit cards can be accepted on line. Our $495 program is vastly superior to other so-called discounted listing services, here’s why: We provide a virtual tour – so the listing displays well on line. Obviously, this feature is critical! What’s the point of relying exclusively on internet marketing if the home does not display well online? In addition, our $495 service allows clients to switch gears later – by adding services, going to a full service model or even doing an auction! Finally, our listings offer our professional assistance with market analysis, assistance with offers and we make it easy for agents to show our listings! Our corporate office staff and our alliance with Centralized Showings mean that real estate agents can book appointments efficiently. We track feedback and inform our clients. Bottom Line: This $495 listing should continue to allow us to gain market share and get our team paid since it’s a fee for service and not transactional compensation.
I am pleased to invite everyone to the following optional meetings. As you know, we do not require floor time and do not believe in regularly scheduled meetings. However, the following optional brainstorming sessions allow our team to come together, share ideas and formulate action plans.
· Mon Avie Networking and Tasting – 6 PM on Monday, March 23rd. My terrific friend Jen Watts introduced me to this terrific and healthy drink – that also has a business opportunity associated with it! So please stop by the corporate offices of Realty Corporation of America around 6 PM on Monday March 23rd, network with colleagues and new friends and see what the excitement is about!
· Auction Brainstorming – Tuesday, April 7th @ 11:00am & Thursday, May 14th @ 11:00am – Our auction business allows real estate agents to get paid quickly and gets properties sold in a fast and efficient way. Please join us as we review past successes and brainstorm on how to continue to get new business.
· Mortgage Strategy Session – Wednesday, April 22nd @ 3:00pm & Thursday, May 21st @ 3:00pm – The mortgage business is undergoing significant changes and TLG is well positioned in today’s market. If you are in the mortgage business, please visit www.tlg.bz and check out the events calendar and join an upcoming conference call. In addition, please bring your ideas and suggestions and join us on these dates.
· Real Estate Overview including Marketing Ideas and Working with Buyers and Sellers – Tuesday, April 14th @ 5:00pm & Tuesday, June 9th @ 5:00pm. We have recently added several features to help our real estate agents become more successful. We have a new company store on our new ‘dot net’ site and have created several new videos – including a Bluestone video and a video about personal property auctions. In addition, we are developing an agent website that Realty Corp team members can buy inexpensively and promote themselves while incorporating some of the Realty Corp web features such as $495 listings and property searching.
· Finally, assure sign that summer is around the corner is the fact that the company has purchased 100 tickets to an upcoming Indians game. Join us on Sunday, June 14th @ 1:05pm – As we sit in the bleachers and watch the Tribe defeat the Cincinnati Reds. Please RSVP to Sarah Brewer for tickets at sarah@realtycorpofamerica.com.
Once again, thanks for taking time to review this memo! We are looking forward to seeing you soon!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Real Estate Auctions: Rapidly Growing and Sometimes Misunderstood in Northeastern, Ohio!
While selling personal property and real estate at auction is widely accepted in many communities throughout Ohio, Real Estate and personal property auctions have been less prevalent in the Greater Cleveland area until recently. Since 2007, when Realty Corporation of America's Auction Services became licensed, our company has gained significant knowledge and learned a great deal about how to successfully introduce the auction method of selling Real Estate and personal property while educating members of the public about auctions. In this article, we will share some of our ideas and insights.
Overview
At recent auctions conducted by Realty Corporation of America, the vast majority of buyers and bidders had never been to an auction before. Therefore, most members of the audience were unfamiliar with key terms such as buyers premium, reserve auction, chattels, ticket runners, clerks, cashiers and the Auction Recovery Fund. We believe that it is a duty of licensees as well as a good business practice to make sure that bidders are comfortable with all aspects of the auction format. Since auctioneers generally represent the seller, it is in the sellers interests to make sure that bidders are comfortable buying at auctions. In our experience, if a buyer is not comfortable with the auction format or has not has sufficient opportunity to preview real estate being auctioned, sellers tend to receive lower proceeds. Therefore, while many auctioneers don't recommend on-going open houses before the date of a real estate auction, our company has found that making a property available for inspection puts buyers at ease. We even commission a comprehensive property information report on each home we are selling to improve disclosure and give buyers full and complete information. We believe that buyers are more confident that they know what they are buying and, in the case of distressed real estate, they have a better understanding of the cost of renovations. In addition to the foregoing, many different business models are being attempted as auctions are more widely accepted in greater Cleveland. Some firms charge a larger buyers premium and do not charge seller commissions. At our company, we employ a unique sliding scale commission structure. We provide the seller our best estimate of a range of outcomes and charge a lower fee if the selling price it at the lower end of the range. This technique has allowed us to convince sellers that we are genuinely working in their interest to maximize their dollars received. Realty Corp has made it a point to convince sellers that the auction method of selling real estate coupled with an aggressive marketing campaign delivers fair market value for real estate. While many auctioneers prefer to conduct absolute real estate auctions, challenging market conditions and reductions in real estate valuations mean that many sellers are simply unable to contract for an absolute real estate auction.
Auction Day Announcements
Explaining the terms of the auction and providing a narrative of the property's highlights is critically important. At Realty Corp. we have at least two licensed auctioneers at each real estate auction. One auctioneer provides an example of the bidding process to familiarize the audience with bid calling process and to create excitement for the auction while the other calls the auction. It is vitally important that buyers understand how to bid and are comfortable with the auction rules and format. Prior to the bidding process, auction assistants circulate among the bidders to answer questions and later encourage participation and relay bids to the auctioneer. During the auction, the value of the property is reinforced as potential bidders compete to purchase the property
We encourage buyers to be pre-qualified for a mortgage prior to the auction. By offering mortgage services to those who are interested, we encourage additional bidders or facilitate more aggressive bidding than may otherwise occur.
Following the sale of the property, auction company personnel immediately meet the winning bidder to sign the purchase contract, property and agency disclosures, collect the down payment, and arrange for the closing, typically within 30 days.
Challenges
The Auction Method of selling Real Estate is more successful when important issues are addressed in advance. Specifically:
- Communities with point of sales laws require a property inspection prior to title transfer. We strongly suggest making sure sellers order required inspections in advance of the auction.
- Given the current Real Estate Market, we suggest that sellers provide loan payoff information up front so reserves can be established if the property cannot be conducted as an absolute auction. Many sellers are unsure of exactly how much they owe on their property, many loans have pre-payment penalties and some sellers have other mortgages or other obligation that are tied to their property. The savvy auctioneer has a full title examination conducted prior to the auction to avoid trouble later.
- Finally, we suggest that sellers and the auction team be clear about the marketing campaign being conducted. Realty Corporation of America identifies all marketing initiatives (newspaper advertisements, direct mail, signage, open houses, media advertising, etc.) as part of our proposal so that the client has reasonable expectations about what promotional campaigning they can expect.
In closing, Auctions are gaining in popularity in greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. We expect continued growth and welcome suggestions from our colleagues in the Auction Business as we promote the auction method of selling Real Estate and personal property.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Realty Corp's Alliance with the Bluestone Community!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Real Estate Auctions: Rapidly Growing and Sometimes Misunderstood in Northeastern Ohio!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Fun but Mediocre Events -- Everyone is Welcome!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Happy New Year Everyone! Exciting Updates for 2009
As you know, we’ve seen a significant drop in interest rates in the last few months. Traditionally, the Federal Reserve uses reduction in interest rates to spark economic activity. Under current circumstances, with the financial system under such pressure, lower interest rates have multiple benefits to our Country. Obviously, low rates encourages mortgage refinancing – an important way to increase consumer’s disposable income AND get funds back into the banking system. While credit standards remain very tight and “stated” income loans are virtually impossible to get at the moment, we are seeing the early signs of a substantial pick up in the mortgage business. Our mortgage affiliate, Transcontinental Lending Group, has seen a significant increase in mortgage applications. With many properties worth much less than they were just a few years ago, appraisal and valuation issues have been a serious impediment to getting deals finalized. And while credit issues have held up or killed many deals, the number of inquiries has significantly increased. Given the fact that over two thirds of our competition has disappeared, we believe the near term future will see more deals getting done – and our hard working team getting paid – at a much higher level of frequency than we’ve seen in several years.
The real estate market appears to have settled down to a “new normal” of low activity and many sellers who are simply unable to sell. The properties that are selling are in excellent condition or priced in an extremely reasonable fashion. The market is largely “REO driven” and is characterized by decreased valuations and continued “work off” of excess inventory. While more foreclosures are coming, the worst news is now factored into real estate pricing. Our Auction Services Division (www.realtycorpauctions.com) has seen a steady increase in inquiries as more and more sellers decide to get what they can for a property and simply move on. An auction that is marketed well (with numerous open houses, radio and TV advertising, e mail campaigns and other invigorated promotion) brings true market value for real estate. If market value is defined as what a willing buyer will pay in an open bidding process, then auctions deliver current value – as long as the marketing “cast a wide net” and has alerted potential buyers that the property was being auctioned. In any event, Realty Corp has seen some (but not all) lenders work with us on short sales, we’ve seen asset managers increasingly price our bank listings reasonably and we’ve seen cash rich investors selectively venturing back into the market. Bottom Line: 2009 is likely to see the last of the price declines in the real estate market for a while. Unfortunately, we may see several years of “flat” valuations and tough market conditions until underlying economic activity picks up. However, real estate is cyclical and – at some point – excess supply is worked off and demand returns to more normal levels. An increase in bank lending would certainly help, as we’ve gone from subprime lenders literally throwing money at borrowers to today’s environment – where many hard working and qualified individuals cannot access the mortgage market.
Finally, I wanted to mention that changes in technology have continued to impact the real estate brokerage business. Several examples come to mind: First, print advertising has been almost completely useless as a mechanism for driving buyer calls to real estate agents. Second, social networking and creating “spheres” are vital ways for real estate agents and loan officers to network and attract clients. Third, the continued decreases in the costs of technology mean that the big guys simply do not have any intrinsic advantage over smaller or younger real estate companies. Realty Corp is able to offer every single service that any large broker can – at a much lower cost. So technology and the ability to pack our web site full of timely information and real time data have allowed us to create value for clients and compete effectively. Simply stated, I don’t think we could have built our business ten or twenty years ago when the larger players in the business dominated the market and tightly controlled information. Technology has leveled the playing field and lowered costs for consumers and upstarts. I expect these trends to continue and to accelerate. Bottom Line: a relentless focus on lowering costs, adding value for clients and providing more innovative and cost effective solutions for clients is vital for success.
As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome. Our company is the mirror opposite of the big Mega Brokers and the franchised real estate firms. We started the Company in the basement of my house with two credit cards and big dreams! We have always prided ourselves on diversity, innovative services, an entreprenurial culture and an open sharing of ideas and a spirited interaction with clients, consumers and members of our industry. So let us know what’s on your mind, let us know how we can improve our Company and let us know if we can be of service to you.
On behalf of the most talented and hardest working team in the real estate business, I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to read my Blog! I am looking forward to hearing your comments!
Tony Viola
President
Realty Corporation of America
Tony@realtycorpofamerica.com
(216) 214-4665
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Investor Overview
Property valuations in the Greater Cleveland area have declined significantly – in some cases, houses are selling for 70-80% less than their peak in 2005-06. In addition, virtually no mortgage money is available to borrowers. Meanwhile, foreclosures are turning former home owners into renters and the rental market overall is improving. However, the challenging economy is also creating financial pressure on tenants.
Rental properties are operationally intense and require hands-on management and exceptional leasing services. In addition, while many properties on the market do not require substantial renovation, we must offer a competitive advantage, reasonable pricing to our tenants and attractive amenities to make sure our properties are fully occupied. Based on our initial discussions, we are inclined to recommend that we engage in “straight rental” and not offer clients lease options at this time. Such is the case because the mortgage market makes financing renters very difficult, sale prices may be very depressed at this time and our objective is to generate maximum rental income with the least amount of capital allocated. However, this idea is open for discussion and we would like to hear your thoughts.
Additional Factors for Your Consideration
Realty Corporation of America has existing real estate capabilities in place that can be utilized to manage and market rental properties. These capabilities include the following:
1) A construction services team that we have available to service our bank asset management clients and our auction services business. The key members of this team include John Caputo, Rod Whittington and Ryan Towne.
2) Our sales team is willing to assist leasing properties for a flat fee.
3) The Realty Corporation of America website can be utilized to promote rental property.
4) We could go to market under the name Realty Corporation of America because we already have an established brand name.
5) Realty Corporation of America has the ability to give “first look” at properties coming onto the market because of our REO business and our Auction Division.
6) Realty Corporation of America would make extremely low cash offers to buy properties and can easily track market times of homes and follow up with low offers on an on going basis to make sure the prices we pay for properties are as low as possible.
7) Because we are a real estate broker, we can easily list properties for sale and have some advantage in terms of an exit strategy.
Bottom line: With no overhead, we could start a rental business.
Property Acquisition Candidates
For discussion purposes only, we are pleased to provide you with several samples of the profiles of properties we may consider acquiring. Of course, we would not pay the ask prices for any property. Kindly consider the following:
2-family – 948 Royal in Cleveland, Ohio 44110
This property in the Collinwood community appears to have been renovated recently and requires modest repair. Key features include:
2 bedroom 1 bath each unit
2,012 sq ft
No garage
Asking Price: $14,900
Estimate Rental Income: $500-$600 each unit
3-family – 1646 Coventry in Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
This 3 family home near the Cleveland Heights/ East Cleveland boarder sold for nearly $200,000 2 years ago and appears to have been upgraded recently. Cleveland Heights has a point of sale, often with escrow requirements that must be addressed prior to close. Key features include:
3 bedroom 1 bath first 2 units, 3rd unit 1 bedroom 1 bath
3,298 sq ft
2 car detached garage
Asking Price: $29,900
Estimate Rental Income: $800 each 2 units - $400 3rd unit
The following three single family homes are likely to command higher rent that two family properties and are described as follows:
Single family – 4906 E 88th in Garfield Heights, Ohio 44125
3 bedroom 1 bath
1,664 sq ft
No garage
Asking Price: $14,500
Estimate Rental Income: $900-$1000
Single Family – 832 Lecona in Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44121
3 bedroom 1 and ½ bath
1,562 sq ft
1 car detached garage
Asking Price: $14,900
Estimate Rental Income: $800-$900
Single Family – 3327 Euclid Heights in Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
Large Brick Center Hall Colonial
4 bedroom 1 and ½ half bath
2,554 sq ft
3 car detached garage
Asking Price: $35,000
Estimate Rental Income: $1000-$1200