You can buck the trend and become an exception to the 5% rule.According to the Social Security Administration, if you take any 100 people at the start of their working careers and follow them until they reach retirement, only one will be financially healthy. Four will be financially secure, five will continue working because they have to, 36 will b…

The final five uncomfortable realities of working as a Realtor.Today I’m finishing my three-part series on the realities of being a Realtor. Let’s pick up where we left off: This is not an easy job. In fact, it will probably be the most challenging job you’ve ever had. There’s a lot of emotional stress because the stakes are so large. In some indus…

Four more uncomfortable realities of the real estate industry.Today I’m back with part two of my three-part series on the realities of being a Realtor. Here are the next four things to keep in mind: You will not automatically get access to free leads. Large real estate teams often have a serious investment in lead generation baked into their organi…

Who you surround yourself with has a huge impact on your success.As you try to scale up in our businesses, the idea of who you’re surrounding yourself with becomes incredibly important. You tend to become the average of the five people you most commonly surround yourself with. Now that we’ve reached the new year, ask yourself who you’re surrounding…

Don’t let yourself get entitled; the world doesn’t owe you anything.Today I’m here to tell you that the world don’t owe you jack. Regardless of your performance, the world doesn’t owe you anything. Your family doesn’t owe you; your boss doesn’t owe you. No one owes you!When we get into this mindset of entitlement, we’re taking a big step back. We’r…

The rhythm method and how it can help you meet your goals this year.Today I want to talk to you about the rhythm method. Let’s start by talking about how success is sequential, not simultaneous. It comes from habits that are built up over time until the goal is achieved.Since it’s Q1 of the new year, now’s the time to focus on your habits and your …

We’re halfway through the first quarter? How are you doing on your goals?Are you on course with your goals? We’re about halfway through the first quarter, so it’s time to check how things are going. If the quarter ended today, would you be hitting your target? What changes do you need to make to ensure that you reach your objective? Do you need to …

You can snowball small habits into big ones to lead to success.James Clear wrote the best-selling book “Atomic Habits,” where he outlines the importance of how habits shape our success. He suggests that even the smallest habits can snowball into bigger ones that will ultimately lead to your goals being achieved. The concept of snowballing habits is…

Today I talk about taking risks and not getting swamped by analysis. Last week, we talked about the word commitment, what it means, and how it shows up in our daily lives. This got me thinking about the phrase “paralysis by analysis.” We want the most information we can get to make the best decision and reach the best outcome. While it’s nice to ha…

Here are 10 ways you can succeed in real estate without raw talent.If your real estate career isn’t going how you planned, it’s easy to chalk things up to a lack of talent. However, every great agent knows that the most important ingredient in a successful career is hard work, not raw talent. That’s why we want to give you 10 ways to succeed withou…

Here are a few things to consider the next time you say you’re committed.Today we want to talk about a word that will send shivers down some of your spines: commitment. You’ve probably heard someone say they’re committed to something only to not live up to the expectations. We see this all the time across the real estate world in classrooms and eve…

You should always try to be learning-based in everything you do.We’re right in the middle of our “Six Personal Perspectives” series. We believe that these six practices are the key to our success. This week we’re on No. 4, so without further ado:Be learning-based.A learning-based individual is someone who has decided to constantly try and acquire k…

Here’s how you can improve yourself to having a purposeful mindset.Today in the third installment of our “Six Personal Perspectives” series, we’re discussing moving from “E” to “P” — moving from an entrepreneurial to a purposeful perspective. We all have habits and behaviors that come naturally to us, things that we’re naturally good at that don’t …

I discuss the 80/20 rule and how we can apply it to real estate.For part two of our Six Personal perspectives, we’ll talk through the 80/20 rule. Last time, we went through self-mastery. If you missed it, you can access it here.The 80/20 principle was developed by Vilfredo Pareto back in the 1800s. What it states is that 20% of our efforts will lea…

To attain self-mastery, use the KASH acronym.Today’s video marks the beginning of a six-part series called “Six Personal Perspectives,” a curriculum developed by Gary Keller that was designed around self-development. The first of the six personal perspectives is self-mastery. Let’s dive in!Self-mastery starts with a process called KASH, which stand…

An example of how our team leverages showing agents to grow the business.On our team, one of the most foundational ways we encourage our agents to leverage their business is through the utilization of a showing agent. A showing agent is someone who works directly with a buyer agent to help open doors and show clients properties that the buyer agent…

Skills pay the bills in every industry, and real estate is no different.When I was listening to a podcast this week, a phrase stopped me in my tracks. “Skills pay the bills.” That hit me as a team leader who is coaching many agents on my team and outside of my team. Our coaching always comes back to skills like lead generating, time blocking, the l…

The final three things new agents can do to grow their business.We’re back for the final episode of our series on the 10 steps new agents should be doing to grow their business. Today we’ll be talking about calling expired listings, for sale by owners (FSBOs), and direct action.We encourage everybody to call the recently expired listings since ther…

Here’s my latest episode on actions you can take to grow your business. Today I’m bringing you episode four of our series on the 10 actions every new agent should take. As always, these tips are aimed at new agents, but I think even experienced agents could learn a lot from them. In this episode, I’ll be going over tips seven and eight. The seventh…

Here are the steps that every new real estate agent should take.Welcome to episode three of my series where I go over 10 steps every agent should take to build their business. This series is meant for newer agents, but they’re still great tips that every agent should be following. Today, I’m going to start with step five: Join a networking group. G…

The steps every new agent should take to help grow their business.Today, we’ll be discussing the next steps every new agent should be taking to build their business.1. Document your journey. In this world of social media, I think just about everybody has Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook. Whatever social media that you’re on, document your journey a…

It’s time to put you in business as an agent. Whether you’re a brand-new agent or thinking about entering the real estate profession, there are 10 steps you need to take to get into production and fulfill the reasons you may have (or had) for becoming an agent in the first place. Here are the first two steps:1. Build a database. The most popular re…

Today we’re giving you our last couple of tips on winning with buyers in this market.If you have an issue or you think the appraisal is going to be an issue, work with your lender to get that appraisal ordered right upfront. The lender that we use and recommend can get those appraisals sent out within the first couple of days of being under contrac…

I’m back with even more tips to help buyers win in today’s market. Last time, I discussed nine tips to help your buyers win in today’s crazy market. Today I’m back to continue that discussion with two more tips for success:1. Increase the earnest money deposit. In this market, I propose that you increase your earnest deposit to be in line with your…

Here are two strategies that will help if you need to both buy and sell. In the current real estate market, buyers are having a tough time, especially if they also have a home to sell. Today I’m sharing two strategies that can help if you need to both buy and sell.If you’re in a situation where you need to sell one property and buy another, you can…

A great tip to help your buyers in this market is shortening the contingencies in their offers. First and foremost, before you even come up with dates to write in the offer, call the listing agent. Find out what’s most important to that seller as far as those dates go. They may be looking for a long leaseback, for example. Knowledge is currency in …

These strategies can help your buyers win in our market. In my last video, I talked about a few different ways you can help buyers win in today’s market. The key strategies I discussed primarily involved contingencies, but there are a few things I didn’t cover that I’d like to add today. “Sellers love buyers who show initiative.”First, you should o…

Here are two more financing tips to help your buyers win. In previous videos, I’ve shared buyer tips on how to interact with lenders, but today I’ll share two more tidbits specifically about financing with the goal of helping your homebuyers find success in this crazy market.First, if you want to give your buyers the best chance of winning, get a f…

Here are a few additional tips to help your homebuyer clients win. The last few weeks, we’ve been talking about how to win for your buyers in this environment by pulling your lenders into the picture. Today we’re going to talk about two important pieces of advice you need to win in this competitive market:1. Have your buyers write a letter to the s…

Here’s a quick tip to help you present offers in a more personal way. I get asked about how to present offers all the time. Since I deal with both buyers and sellers, the most common way I see offers presented is through an email with an attached offer and no narrative. Instead of simply sending over a digital version of the offer, I recommend taki…

Today I explain my third tip to win as a buyer in today’s market. I’m back with another tip to help buyers win. Today we’re going to be talking about the pre-approval letter itself. There are many different types from many different organizations out there but I have to ask, do you have the golden ticket? You’re probably asking, what is the golden …

Here’s a tip to help you get a win for your buyers: Call the listing agent. Today is the first segment in my new series about how to win with buyers. This week I hosted an open house for a listing, and we received 15 to 20 offers. However, out of all those offers, I only heard from two of those agents. If you’re working with buyers, you need to rea…

Shift happens, so how do we win in this shifting market? Shift Happens! Many of us are pivoting our ways of doing business to appropriately navigate the new market of the moment. Suddenly, inventory levels have swung, and buyer and seller reluctance is higher than in recent years. How do we win in this shifting market? Starting April 13th, we will …

Joshua Stern による

Joshua Stern による

Joshua Stern による

Joshua Stern による

Joshua Stern による

We’re back with another update on the Wasatch Front real estate market. In the third quarter of 2019, we saw a significant jump in sales. Year to date, we’re up 2.1% with over 37,700 homes sold so far in 2019.The average price for all home types is over $383,000. At the same time last year, our average price was just over $354,000. That’s an 8.2% y…

Most home sellers are also homebuyers. Because of this, the inevitable dilemma of which transaction to complete first comes up. Buying first is ideal because it allows you to take your time and there are much fewer hoops to jump through. Most people can’t afford two mortgages at once, however, so selling first is a reality for many. In either case,…

Home sellers and their agents want their properties to remain show-ready at all times while they’re on the market; but ensuring that this is the case can be a chore—especially if said sellers have already moved out.Whose job is it to pick up the newspaper, shovel the driveway, and keep the grass trimmed?Unfortunately, it usually isn’t feasible for …

What do 2019’s second-quarter statistics say about the Wasatch Front market? Home sales are up 4% compared to last year, with over 13,000 single-family homes, townhomes, and condos being sold. Year to date, sales are down 2.5% with nearly 24,000 total homes being sold. The good news is, the average sale price for all home types has risen to $375,00…

Someone once asked Abraham Lincoln what he would do if he had eight hours to chop down a tree. His response? “I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax.”For the last tactic of our “Shift” series, we’ll talk about bulletproofing the transaction. When it comes to real estate, being forewarned means being forearmed. We must educate our clients and tell buy…

In a shifting market, you need to get creative in order to help buyers buy and sellers sell. With that in mind, there are three areas of creative financing you need to be aware of: Creative things sellers can do. These can include seller contributions, seller-funded permanent or temporary buydowns, owner financing, contract for deed, seller second …

We’re back with Part 8 of our 12-part Shift series, and this time we’ll be talking about how to utilize staging during a market shift. Presentation matters. This is true in both real estate and in life. To illustrate this, think back to the last time you went out for a nice meal. If you spend $50 on a single plate of food, you undoubtedly expect th…

Buying and selling real estate can be complicated and there are a lot of opportunities along the way for transactions to fall apart. Here are the primary reasons that real estate deals fall apart based on our experience:1. Pre-contract deal-killers. The first stage of a transaction occurs before an offer is even made. On the side of the seller, a f…

A market shift forces agents to rethink almost everything that they do. One crucial area that you may have to reassess is your internet strategy, which sits at the crossroads of expense management and lead generation. Here’s the catch: Generating quality leads from the internet is difficult at the best of times. In a shift, it can be downright daun…

Today we’re going to discuss six ways to get your home ready for sale this spring:1. Let natural light in. Open up your blinds, windows, and let that natural sunlight in.2. Renovate what’s outdated. If your kitchen or bathroom is stuck in the 1980s, it’s time to freshen it up a bit to get top dollar for your home. Updated faucets, towel racks, and …

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” -Viktor Frankl, from “Man’s Search for Meaning” When the market turns, it’s time to roll up your sleeves, and for everyone around you to do the same. Cutting expenses and finding your margin, as we discussed in our last video, doesn’t necessarily mean slashin…

A question about the viability of purchasing a starter home in today’s market was recently posed to us, and it boils down to this: Should you invest now in a starter home or would it be more prudent to wait and save for your forever home?Let’s first make sure we’re talking about the same thing—among economists, the prevailing definition of a starte…