Nars Center For Realtor® Development

One of the most important things that can help your inspections go smoother is to have a good relationship with your home inspectors. This not only benefits you as the REALTOR® but also benefits your client. An excellent REALTOR® and an excellent inspector is a fabulous combination to help create a better experience for buyers. Today’s guest, Scott Frederick, joins Monica on the show to talk about how we can foster better relationships between REALTORS® and inspectors, including what to look for in an inspector and communication skills.   The U.S. is about 50-50 between states that require home inspectors to have a license and those that don’t. Inspectors should be a member of ASHI or NACHI, especially in states that do not require a license. ASHI is the American Society of Home Inspectors, and InterNACHI is the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. ASHI tends to be more credible, simply because of the guidelines and requirements it takes to become certified. When looking for a home inspecto

For clients who are in some phase of the divorce process, the house is often the largest asset in the case. As REALTORS® in these cases, you can help your client navigate through the real estate aspects of doing what’s best for the family and the property. Laurel discusses her work as a court-appointed real estate expert and shares helpful tips for divorce cases that are also great tips for regular listings.   It’s important to note that the court has jurisdiction over most things in a divorce case. The first thing that needs to be established is whether the court has made any specific orders regarding the house and the client; the client would be whichever person is on the title. The orders can indicate anything from the list price to certain terms defined. The house often comes into play with other aspects of the case as well.   The title company usually disperses the proceeds, but as the REALTOR®, you want to make sure the title company gets a copy of an order that dictates how these should be dispersed.  

Today’s episode explores modern marketing: how we create and share content, who we share it with, and how it’s made available to the public. This episode is a recording of the panel Monica hosted at the 2018 REALTOR® Conference and Expo. Guests TJ Pierce, Mor Zucker, Jamie Slough, and Dave Caskey speak about how they have utilized their social media marketing in their businesses. No matter where you are in your business, there will be a takeaway for you to apply to your work.   Content can be anything that you want to share, from photos to a blog, to videos; there is something for everyone. Multi-platform marketing uses the content you created and distributes it across several social media platforms. For example, content from this podcast appears on Instagram and a blog, and a video is uploaded to YouTube. Monica talks about some ways you can create content from your listings, and on which platforms you might want to share it. Sharing across several different platforms will allow you to connect with several d

All real estate begins with the land. Today’s episode features two guests who are experts in land sales. Jeramy Stephens (Arkansas) & Justin Osborne (Colorado) are both members of the REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI) and join Monica on the show today to talk about how land sales differ from residential sales. They discuss the different types of land and the certification that’s available for land agents, as well as some of the important things to note about land sales in the East and the West.   Jeramy Stephens has been in land and real estate for many, many years. He is currently the president of REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI). RLI is part of the NAR family and provides expertise, camaraderie, and resources for real estate professionals. It also offers the Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) designation.   There are several different types of land: agricultural land, timberland, recreational land, and transitional land. The RLI promotes education to understand different land uses and purposes for these types

Today’s episode is the final installment of a three-part series that highlights some of the NAR member benefits. RPR® helps REALTORS® provide and analyze data for your clients when they request it. Today’s guest, Veronica McManus, is the director of industry relations with RPR®. In this episode, she and Monica discuss some of the benefits of this program for REALTORS® and their clients, as well the many reports available in the system and how to engage with them.   Veronica is in her 7th year with RPR®, and she works with MLSs and associations to encourage their engagement and usage of RPR®. She and her team are the connection between RPR®  and the REALTORS® that use it. Realtors Property Resource® is a parcel-centric property database that contains over one hundred million property records from over 300 data sources on commercial, industrial, residential, and land parcels across the country.   RPR® originated when the NAR noticed that clients were coming to their REALTORS® with this data already. They housed

Today’s episode is the second part of a three-part series that highlights some of the major NAR programs being offered. The Commitment to Excellence (C2EX) program explores professionalism and its application to professional life. Monica and Hagan talk about some key points of professionalism, as well as breaking down the way the assessments work. All of this is so we can improve excellence in our own lives as well as in the industry!   The Commitment to Excellence program came from a strategic planning aim to look at what the REALTORS® of the future would look like. Professionalism needed to increase across the association across the country, to continue to keep the industry strong. C2EX is the initiative that gives members a voluntary pathway to the highest level of professionalism in ten key areas of the business. There have been 19,000 members that have signed up so far.   The program was designed for REALTORS® at any skill level to come in and learn key points from the ten areas. When you first take an a

Now that you’re in the real estate game, what’s your plan for your money? What are your plans for retirement? In today’s episode, in an interview-style episode, Monica and her guest, Kasey Stewart, talk about defining financial wellness, how to achieve it, and what resources can help you manage your money for the future.   In 2017, NAR’s president wanted to help REALTORS® prepare for retirement. In a career where they get paid commission checks, planning can be hard for REALTORS®. The Center for REALTOR® Financial Wellness covers several different areas of investment. You can also set goals for yourself and explore the resource library.   Kasey shares some statistics about their members. 43% are not preparing for retirement and 42% are not prepared for a financial emergency.   What does financial wellness mean? For Monica, it means she is in a place where she doesn’t have anxiety about her finances. This includes having reserves, having some idea of retirement, and flexibility and finances to tend to personal

Great customer service is one of the key ways we can set ourselves apart from other people in the industry. Everybody wants (and expects) a great customer service experience. Pete Blank joins Monica on the show today to talk about his customer service background working for Disney. They share ideas about customer service through a discussion of the seven guest service guidelines Disney uses, and fit them into the real estate industry. Now that so much is available online to consumers, customer service in real estate has become that much more important. The face-to-face connection is something clients value and the way we present ourselves and our product contributes to the customer experience. This is similar to the idea at Disney that employees are always in “the show.” For real estate, this would involve staging, materials, etc. At Disney, they teach that the relationship between you and the customer has to be number one. Pete discusses a little bit about these guidelines and relates them to the real estate

First-time homebuyers are a niche market among all buyers. They all have in common that they have never bought a house before, so the processes involved are new to them. So much of the journey in working with first-time buyers is about educating them and asking better questions to understand where they are and what they need to move forward. In today’s episode, Monica and her guest, Rich Sands, discuss many ways that we as agents can help our clients who are first-time homebuyers. Working with buyers and sellers are two different ends of the same spectrum. Having systems are true for working with both; you need effectiveness and efficiency. Thirty-three to 39 percent of buyers are first-time homebuyers. Some challenges that first-time homebuyers face in today’s market is that mortgages are harder to get and prices have gone up. The main thing that makes first-time buyers unique is that they have never done this before. As an agent, you have to have an educator mindset. For many first-time homebuyers, you have

No matter what the stage of your business, you can always get started using video in your business. There are several ways to consider using video in your business: to film an intro, open houses, to go live on Facebook, or connect with local businesses. Monica’s guest, Jeremias “JMan” Maneiro, joins her on the show to discuss these different ways to use video in your business, as well as what equipment to use. All of these discussion points can help you improve and strengthen your connections with your clients. As we’ve entered into 2019, it is a time of video. It is a great way to build rapport with your clients and get to know them before an initial meeting. Community video is a great place to start. You can share things about restaurants, amenities, accessibility; you want to make the communities where you live and sell appealing to others. Another way to do community videos is to interview business owners and share it with the people. This not only helps you but also helps promote the business itself; it’

In today’s episode, Monica and Marion Napoleon talk about helping buyers with new construction — a topic that is important to both of them. The population in America is growing and demographics are changing.There are more single family homes as people are marrying later and divorces at all age levels create a need for more separate housing. Another factor is that people are living in more multi-generational housing situations. This together has created a general need for more housing. They explain some aspects of the process, how you can provide value as a real estate agent, and some tips for custom builds. Hopefully, this episode will help you understand why they love helping buyers with new construction, and why you should, too!    Buyers tend to like new construction because it gives them options. They are not worried about multiple offers and perhaps, most importantly, they are able to customize their homes however their budgets will allow. A lot of agents shy away from new construction, but it can be gre

There have been some very significant changes made to the tax codes that are effective this year, 2018. In this episode Monica is joined by Dale Carlton, Jr., who has worked in real estate since the mid 1990s and has been an attorney since 2001, about how the new tax laws affect: real estate professionals, their businesses, and their clients. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 provides the opportunity for people who made the same money in 2018 that they made in 2017 to see a reduction in the amount of tax they will have to pay. Currently, we all pay according to marginal tax rates — everyone falls in a tax bracket. Each of these tax brackets is going to be reduced. There will be some differences in deductions, and there is also something called qualified business income deduction — a deduction on profits. The first thing to note is that the marginal tax rates have been lowered, and overall the amount of tax you pay on your taxable income will be a few percentage points less. Dale talks about some of the implic

It’s easy to forget, in the real estate industry, that communication between people is as important as it’s ever been before — especially with the rise of technology. This is an issue in business and among people, in general. One of the most popular forms of communication these days is through our phones, though very few people actually use it as a phone. As a REALTOR®, it’s important to be aware of which forms of communication our clients are using so we can use their preferred method. This is also true for communicating with other REALTORS®. In this episode, Monica and Chris talk about different types of communication, as well as different attitudes to use while communicating. Remember that we have to be professional 24/7 when it comes to communicating via technology. Just because we’re not speaking with someone face to face, it doesn’t mean our tone can’t be interpreted or perceived as rude. This is something to be aware of as you’re communicating with your clients and other people in the business. Early i

Monica first came across Dan while she researching mortgage reports. He actually started two separate ventures — first, was The Mortgage Reports, and second, he recently moved into a broader personal finance field with his project Growella. This project extends beyond mortgage and real estate, although that’s where Dan’s passion lies. In today’s episode, Monica and Dan discuss relationships and communications with lenders and details about some of the products, as well as suggestions on how to keep in touch with clients. There are many people who want to buy a home but don’t think it’s possible because they’re not getting access to the information that lets them know how possible it really is. It really means a lot for people to own their own home, and it is a privilege here. For the next generation of home buyers, many of their opinions about finances were shaped by the negative attitude in the economy in the previous decade. One of the things Dan strives to do with his team is to empower people to let them

In the last installment of the summer series on technology, Monica talks with our guest, Sam Powell, about the virtual office. Since beginning her real estate venture, Sam has been working towards being 100% paperless and 100% virtual. In this episode, she talks with Monica about the equipment she uses, the programs and applications she uses, tips for being successful and mobile, and also a little bit about her marketing and branding strategy. If you’re looking to go virtual or paperless, this is an episode you won’t want to miss! One of the main things to be mindful of if you’re wanting to step into the mobile/virtual office experience, it’s important to have good battery management. Charge everything every night so you can grab and go when you need to. In addition to the hardware she needs for her work, she completes the virtual office by also bringing her marketing with her. She has branded stickers and labels that fit her devices as well as branded shirts, so when she is out working in the community she i

Today’s guests have noticed a discrepancy in what REALTORS® are doing in person, versus their presence online. There hasn’t been a strong emphasis on online marketing. Mor Zucker and Jamie Slough from Denver bring their outside knowledge and background into their real estate business, specifically by using social media to bring them business and keep them top-of-mind with their clients. Social media is at the forefront of their business and they adapt the other aspects of their business to that as well. One of the important aspects of how they use social media is in their intention — they post when it makes sense and try to be authentic in their posts. If you’re wanting to make social media part of your routine, it may be helpful to use a page manager so you don’t get distracted by the social media apps. You can also create a business page for your Facebook, and you can do this by going to business.facebook.com. The material on this avenue is all based on making it a business account rather than a personal pa

Today’s episode is the first in a three-part series on technology; this episode focuses on social media and how we use can use it in our real estate business. So many people engage with social media every day — we and our clients are all in. Today’s guest is Marki Lemons Ryhal and she joins Monica today to talk about the vast ways that we as REALTORS® can use social media to help ourselves and our clients. There are free and paid ways to use social media. Marki is teaching REALTORS® all over the country how to improve social media presence and make social media work better for them. Many real estate agents are having success on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Facebook is good to reach a large number of people because about two-thirds of internet users have Facebook, regardless of age. Instagram is popular because we are a visual society, and we can get information quickly and succinctly on Instagram. Marki also uses LinkedIn, but this is more useful for those in commercial real estate. As a commercial agen

Continuing last month’s episode and conversation about the Senior Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®) Designation topics, today’s guest joins Monica to talk about the legal side of things. Barbara will discuss estate planning, probate, trusts, and what you can do as a real estate professional. This episode is full of great information and advice, and it’s important to remember that as real estate agents, we may need to recommend an Elder Care professional to our clients in order to best serve them. Topics discussed offer a great place to start and some ideas to share with our clients, but ultimately people like Barbara will be able to give our clients the best information. Barbara works at a firm that specializes in Elder Law — the primary focus is helping older people (or the families that care for older people) navigate the healthcare system, estate planning, asset protection, and post-mortem issues. Many people immediately turn to real estate when things change in their life; REALTORS® get called in when somet

Real estate is for people of all ages. As we age, sometimes our lifestyle and living situations need to change. Today’s guest, Bobbi Decker, joins Monica on the show today to talk about the Seniors Real Estate Specialist Designation® (SRES®) and what kinds of things you will learn in the class when you get the designation. As we work with our mature clients, it’s not about the transaction — it’s about helping them with their next lifestyle. Bobbi, who has now been in real estate for 35 years, got started working with mature clients when some of her first clients came back to her looking for new solutions as they began to age. For many of her clients, she’s been part of their story as she’s helped them with their lifestyle changes. One of the things that are important to her is to help make sure that as her clients age, they don’t get ripped off and lose what they’ve spent a lifetime building. As a REALTOR® working with mature adults, you’ll likely encounter some from the GI generation, the silent generation,

As the world keeps growing, global business and international real estate are becoming more common and more popular. Mark Makoto Kitabayashi lives in Washington State and teaches the certification class for Certified International Property Specialists. He joins Monica on the show today to talk about aspects of the global real estate market, and how REALTORS® can help clients involved in these transactions. Monica and Mark talk about how to develop rapport with foreign clients, what things to focus on, cultural differences, as well as some of the technical aspects of completing these kinds of transactions. Today’s episode is a wealth of knowledge — you won’t want to miss out! Mark is a first-generation immigrant; his parents came here from Japan when he was twelve years old. He went to school in Los Angeles, and before he got involved in real estate, he was doing international corporate travel and international import/export. He’s been doing real estate for about 17 years, and actually got into international r