Bonnie has sold real estate in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area of Minnesota for 15 years. Real estate combines her attraction to old houses and fixing them with her love for people and the diversity they bring to her life. Like snipping away at a paper snowflake, Bonnie sees each real estate transaction as a unique process created by the people and circumstances involved.
Bonnie Erickson Thank goodness I'm not the only one quaking in my boots at all of the "expert" advice being thrown around. I, too, am very cautious to approach this new market and its intellectual challenges as a learner.
Barry Cunningham stated, "REO's and short sales are not for the "johnny-come-lately's who think that it's an easy niche of the business. It's not. You need capital, marketing prowess and a keen sense of business accumen & structure." I couldn't agree more. There are several REO specialists in our market that have a "machine" established. They were there in the early '90's when I entered the business and have hired staff like crazy to keep up with the explosion in homes to sell. Most of them are more professional and well organized than the majority of agents. I admire the business acumen required to have a full time maintenance crew, clean out crews, 24 hour emergency call person, winterizing crew, offer processing system, administrative staff for the paperwork, deep pockets to pre-pay all of the above stated crews ($$$ are reimbursed sometimes months later), and the guts to tell an asset manager that it matters not what the broker price opinion is, the house is NOT WORTH THAT MUCH because of the condition/location/decorating/season, etc. All this for a measly 2.5% of $50,000 or less? The condition of an individual house is not the listing agent's fault. It is a function of the contract with a lender. If the lender defines that certain maintenance items be ignored (i.e., removal of debris), then that is what happens. If a listing agent has a business relationship with a lender, they get the bad houses with the good ones. That is the nature of the business, not a function of the agent's laziness. Judging the agent's expertise by where only a couple of their signs are is not seeing the whole picture. Bonnie Erickson
I just saw the Alzheimer's commercial with the lost keys in the frig. Are you now writing ad copy as well? Or were they the inspiration for your post? ;-D Bonnie Erickson The Realty Matrix, St. Paul, Minnesota www.RealEstateSnippets.com
