Photo by Gamze Bozkaya via Unsplash

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E-mails and texts often are the lifeblood of a real estate licensee’s business. Nearly nine of every 10 U.S. residents use the Internet, according to January 2017 statistics from the Pew Research Center. Seventy-seven percent of the population relies on a smartphone to reach the web, it added.

That means a large number of clients and prospects probably e-mail or text their agents, regularly or frequently, for buying or selling status updates and other relevant communications.

Responding to a constant flood of e-mail and texts ranks among complaints most frequently heard from busily working licensees. How can they pursue new property transactions and feed deals through the marketing pipeline, they ask, when they’re pressured just to stay abreast of their current message load?

Taking Time Off From E-Mail And Texts

Some cutting edge companies outside real estate recognize the problem.

Three years ago Daimler AG, the German-based manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, gave its employees the ability to automatically delete all incoming e-mail while they were on vacation. The company called it a “Mail On Holiday” program.

A year later, in 2015, newspaper USA Today reported on seven companies – General Electric, Grant Thornton, GrubHub, Netflix, LinkedIn, Virgin Group and HubSpot – that offered some or all of their employees unlimited paid vacation time. Getting the work done, and not measuring the time needed to do it, was all that mattered, employers said. During vacation absences, apparently someone else minded the e-mail traffic.

How Do You Cope?

It’s different with Pennsylvania licensees, of course. The state considers each as an independent contractor, not a brokerage employee. Consequently, no holiday is available unless licensees give one to themselves, and it’s unlikely many – if any! – agents are willing to see a deal slip through their fingers by letting e-mail go unopened.

What successes have you had in managing e-mails and texts? Do you have a strategy to automate e-mail or text responses, and if so, what? Do you set limits or times on accepting or responding to digital communications? When? Use the form below to tell us and other Polley readers how you cope with the “crush of communications.”

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Homes that were built after the 1980s have experienced an increase in leaking stucco systems that can cause deterioration of the building envelope, resulting in a potential reduction in property value and increased health risks from possible organic growth inside the home. Understanding why this happened; what are the signs, symptoms and clues; what the testing process is about; and how to interpret a stucco report are the primary topics of this course.

It intends to review basic inspection concepts, as well as more complex issues that apply to understanding how stucco systems function, and the inspection process.

Understanding Septic Systems, Mold Testing and Evaluations

In Pennsylvania, more than 40 percent of homes are located in a rural area with no access to public sewers. Current on-lot waste water systems are getting older, and inspection of these systems is key to the sale of a home. Newer technologies have come into play during the past 10 years, and these will be reviewed also.

This course reviews basic inspection concepts in addition to the more complex issues that apply to understanding how septic systems function and the inspection process, as wells as mold testing and evaluations. In short, the course attempts to cover everything a real estate professional needs to know about septic systems and mold testing and results. These environmental issues play an increasingly larger role in real estate sales.

Course State Approval: Continuing education for Pennsylvania real estate broker and salesperson license renewal.

This is a one-day, 7-hour, live classroom course consisting of two state-approved topics. No post-course exam is given. It is approved by, and meets 7 hours of continuing education requirements set by, the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission. It can be combined with other courses to fulfill all 14 hours of continuing education required by the Commission for a real estate salesperson’s or broker’s biennial license renewal during the 2014-2016 cycle that ends at midnight on May 31, 2016.

Price: $75

Student Material: This course may be accompanied by in-class materials distributed by Polley Associates.

Related:

• PA Continuing Education: What’s That Course About?
• PA Continuing Education: Live Course Attendance
• PA Continuing Education: License Renewal And Reactivation
• PA Continuing Education: License Renewal Online
• PA Continuing Education: First-Timer Requirements
• PA Continuing Education: Re-Activate A License In Escrow

Find Courses For:

• Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons and Brokers CE
• Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons’ First-Timer CE
• CE For Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate Practitioners

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Old-school real estate marketing is lame, so ‘90s, and so ineffective … but there’s an alternative! Gain a working knowledge of social marketing tools and tactics in Polley’s “Real Estate Marketing Reboot” course.

Want to succeed in new and emerging real estate markets? Then you must be where consumers are, and reach them in ways they want and need.

Polley Associates’ course, “Real Estate Marketing Reboot,” was created by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council. During the first part of its day, learners evaluate marketing strategies and analyze buyer profiles

In the remainder, the course helps agents understand and maximize their marketing use of social and interactive media like Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, texting, blogs, e-mail, and consumer forums. It inspires novel approaches that help you create a “personal brand” for your real estate practice, and encourages you to look everywhere for differentiating marketing opportunities that grab consumers’ attention

Course State Approval: Continuing education for Pennsylvania real estate broker and salesperson license renewal.

This is a one-day, 7-hour, live classroom course. No post-course exam is given (except when used for designation; see below). It is approved by, and meets 7 hours of continuing education requirements set by, the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission. It can be combined with other courses to fulfill all 14 hours of continuing education required by the Commission for a real estate salesperson’s or broker’s biennial license renewal during the 2014-2016 cycle that ends at midnight on May 31, 2016.

Designation Approval: Accredited Buyer Representation

This also is approved by the Real Estate Buyer Agents Council® (REBAC®) division of the National Association of REALTORS® as an elective to accompany its Accredited Buyer Representative® designation course. If used for designation purposes, passing an exam is required.

Price: $95

Student Material: This course may be accompanied by in-class materials distributed by Polley Associates.

Related:

• PA Continuing Education: What’s That Course About?
• PA Continuing Education: Live Course Attendance
• PA Continuing Education: License Renewal And Reactivation
• PA Continuing Education: License Renewal Online
• PA Continuing Education: First-Timer Requirements
• PA Continuing Education: Re-Activate A License In Escrow

Find Courses For:

• Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons and Brokers CE
• Pennsylvania Real Estate Salespersons’ First-Timer CE
• CE For Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate Practitioners

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And, possibly most important, will you as a sales or broker licensee rank in that winning crowd, or another?

No one we know has those answers. There are, however, plenty of experts who are willing to speculate on what 2015 holds for the industry. Collectively, much of what they predict is good. Here at Polley Associates, we recommend four short reads we think you’ll enjoy and from which you might benefit.

Two are somewhat regional in nature; they address real estate markets in Washington DC and inland California. Two others are broader in topic and less geographically specific. All offer tips and suggestions that have can easily apply to real estate salesmanship in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The reading list:

• “Will 2015 Be Better Or Worse For Real Estate?,” published Dec. 29 in Forbes;
• “Five real estate trends to watch in 2015,” published Dec. 30 by The Washington Post;
• “REAL ESTATE: Predictions for 2015,” published Dec. 28 by the Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside CA; and
• “5 Trends That Changed the Face of Real Estate in 2014,” published Dec. 27 by Money. We paid particular attention to its section on “What Millenials Want.”

Polley Associates wishes you the most prosperous New Year possible, and we thank you for your trust, confidence and business with us during 2014.

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Technology has its place. It can help “create a seamless home buying, home selling, and lending process,” Daniels wrote.

Bud real estate licensees also “must realize there are people on the other side of the technology” who “expect and deserve a great experience” in the purchase or sale of a property. And a great experience, she contends, demands “a personal touch and feel.”

Daniels describes how a flurry of automation mutates the process into something a tad too robotic. She worked with one lending partner whose back-office technological overdrive left clients with unanswered questions, poorly explained documents, and few accompanying instructions.

“From first touch to closing and beyond,” Daniels concludes, the client experience must be personalized and “about more than just getting the job done.”

Read Kathleen Daniels’ blog article, titled “When Too Much Automation Depersonalizes The Process” and published Monday at Active Rain, here.

Photo from Google Images

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Doherty and Boston area Instagram marketing coach Sue B. Zimmerman collaborated last month (June 2, 2014) on an article about why and how real estate agents should use Instagram – the popular photo-sharing social media site – to establish themselves as “go-to experts” in almost any target market. They particularly emphasize creating a “hashtag strategy” of keywords for prospects and clients to follow.

The pair also finds value in geotagging and referring to other influential leaders as ways to enhance social media reach.

Find Zimmerman’s blog article, and Doherty’s embedded video, here.

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Little else says “close” like dollar bills on the barrelhead. Most sellers will gravitate toward an all-cash deal because they won’t have to wait out financing approval, or risk more time on market if financing falls though.

Don’t let your buyers be discouraged, Massachusetts real estate veteran Bill Gassett says. In a blog article published Tuesday (May 27, 2014), he suggests six different ways to counter, and maybe beat outright, an all-cash offer.

Read “How to Beat a Cash Real Estate Offer For The Perfect House,” written by Bill Gassett for Maximum Exposure Real Estate, here.

Photo from Maximum Exposure Real Estate

The post Little Beats An All-Cash Deal, But Try These Tips appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

Agents rarely need to spend money to entice these clients back to be represented by them in the future, but they do need to create an environment that encourages clients to make referrals. RIS Media today (May 20, 2014) published an article authored by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council, titled “Ten Rules of Referrals,” that covers the topic well. Read it here:

“Ten Rules of Referrals”

Polley Associates is Pennsylvania’s oldest and largest “approved provider” school for real estate career professionals. It also meets the needs of licensees in New Jersey, New York and Delaware.

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