Express Offers is a platform offered exclusively by eXp Realty for eXp Realty agents. This proprietary system is a marketplace of cash investors who we can go to with properties looking for cash offers. It’s a great way to get leverage with FSBOs and give our sellers the option of a cash offer with a quick close or a traditional sale. During the pandemic, Express Offers was still actively in business and buying properties across the U.S. We should be in all 50 states by the end of the year and internationally after that. “We should be in all 50 states by the end of 2021.” Right now, I’m telling you about this because I think it gives eXp Realty an edge over other companies and I’m looking for cash investors who want to invest in Iowa properties. If you or anyone you know buys at least 25 properties each year in the U.S., I’d love to show them our platform. If you have any other questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Today on “Hustle With Holly,” I’m joined by special guest Sandi Lynn from That Broker Girl to talk about some of the exciting things that happened at EXPCON 2020, eXp’s multi-day virtual event for networking and collaboration. Though there were some technical issues with the live stream on eXp World where the event was hosted, they recorded over 17,000 attendees from 35 different countries. That’s over half of all eXp agents, which is amazing! One highlight of the event was an appearance by Robert Herjavec of the famed “Shark Tank” TV show. If you missed it, you can still catch it on YouTube by clicking here to watch a playlist of breakout sessions and conversations had at the convention. Watch the video above to hear our recap of the event and some of our key takeaways. As always, if you have any questions about upcoming events or virtual seminars to help you improve your real estate business, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to have a conversation with you. These figures are not a guarantee, representation or projection of earnings or profits you can or should expect. They also do not include expenses incurred by Agents in operating their businesses. eXp Realty makes no guarantee of financial success. Success with eXp Realty results only from successful sales efforts, which require hard work, diligence, skill, persistence, competence, and leadership. Your success will depend upon how well you exercise these qualities.
As the broker of eXp Realty in Iowa, I’ve seen plenty of agents switch over from other brokerages. If you’re considering switching brokerages, one important factor you’ll need to consider is timing. It seems that some people worry too much about timing while others don’t worry enough about it. The agents that seem to have the most success try to plan their timing a little bit, but they don’t stress too much about it. I would say that giving yourself one to two weeks of lead time is ideal, and I think the best time of year to transfer is right around the holidays when the market isn’t quite as busy. You can launch your announcement of joining a new brokerage at the beginning of the year, which could be great for you. “The best time of year to switch brokerages is the holidays.” The agents that struggle with this transition are the ones who don’t prepare. You always want to make sure you talk to the broker in charge, plan a little bit, know what the paperwork looks like, figure out how your pending files are going to be processed, etc., beforehand. If you have any questions for me about switching brokerages or the real estate business in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
The eXp University Expand Mentor program was developed for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, every state has some sort of entity, usually a real estate commission, that oversees all of its brokers and wants to ensure that all new licensees are getting the one-on-one attention they need to succeed while staying compliant with the respective real estate laws. The Expand Mentor program helps with just that; when you come to eXp Realty, you’ll be partnered with somebody in your local area MLS (it may or may not be someone you already know) who will be donating their time to help you become better at the craft. This program is a commitment that costs an extra 20% of your commission for the first three transactions of your real estate career. Of course, you’ll get immense value for this temporary 60-40 split, including a one-on-one relationship with someone who’s been in the industry for quite some time and is producing at a high level. Among countless other things, your eXp mentor will be able to explain your local board forms. Typically, the person who signs up to be a mentor has the heart of a teacher, and will be personally invested in your success. “Typically, the person who signs up to be a mentor has the heart of a teacher, and will be personally invested in your success.” This mentor will only be receiving 10% of your commission, so it’s not as if they’re making millions of dollars off of you; they’re doing this out of the goodness of their heart. There is a list of items that they’re supposed to go over with you, and you’ll receive this list when you enroll. Additionally, there’s an online component, with 10 modules for you to complete that cover everything from business planning to time management. You’ll be expected to meet weekly with your mentor and go over a weekly report card of sorts until you complete those first three transactions, after which you’ll be able to graduate from the program. That said, you have to go to your mentor with any additional questions or what have you—they won’t be checking in on you or chasing you down. If they don’t hear from you outside of your regular meetings, they’ll assume you’re feeling confident and comfortable. Also, eXp created a fast-start series consisting of 14 classes that any new agent can join in on live or explore later in the eXp library; this is a great supplement for those 10 Expand Mentor program modules. Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding of eXp culture and how we prepare you for success. As always, reach out to me via phone or email if you have questions on this program or anything else related to standard eXp practice. I’m more than happy to help!
Today I’m sharing a Zoom call I had with Dan Chandler of Rice Insurance, which is one of the companies that have an agreement with the Iowa Real Estate Commission to provide all real estate licensees and brokers with errors and omissions insurance. If you’re like me, you know that we need to have this coverage, but you’re not really sure exactly what it covers or how to use it. I ask Dan a ton of questions to help us all get a better understanding of how this required coverage benefits us. Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to skip to topics that interest you most: 1:50 — A brief, by-the-book summary of E&O insurance 3:42 — Introducing Dan and learning more about Rice Insurance 5:30 — The strict definition of ‘claim’ in your policy, and real estate commission complaints 8:25 — How claims affect your license renewal and policy costs, and the reality of lawsuits 12:50 — Demystifying the ‘residential personal interest coverage endorsement’ 16:03 — Home inspections and E&O 20:14 — The bad practice of representing the buyer when you’re the seller 23:34 — Getting ERP if your real estate license is inactive I hope my chat with Dan gave you the information you need to make informed decisions regarding your errors and omission insurance. As always, if you have further questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly by phone or email. I’d love to help you!
Here are the six apps every agent should have in 2020: 1. Zillow Premier Agent. This app is a great way to track leads, whether you pay Zillow for them or not. You can also use this app to update your Zillow profile, request reviews from past clients, and manage your all-around Zillow image. Whether you love or hate Zillow, this is an important app to have. 2. Dropbox. This isn’t necessarily the safest way to store files, and you certainly don’t want to keep clients’ private information on this app, but I absolutely love it regardless. I have Dropbox on my phone, iPad, both laptops, and desktop computer. It lets me drag and drop files and access, sign, and save them from my phone. 3. Zoom. Zoom has always been an important app in the real estate industry, but it’s become practically essential in 2020. Whether you’re hosting a Zoom meeting or attending someone else’s, it’s good to have this app on your phone and be prepared. It’s also a great way to host buyer and seller consultations without having to meet in person. “Every agent absolutely must have these six apps in 2020.” 4. IntroLend. This is an app eXp agents can use to kickstart a deal before going home shopping with their buyer. Once you get a prospect, you enter their information into it, hit the “fast start” button, and it starts pre-qualifying your buyer. After that, they can choose which bank to use. You can also attach your favorite lender(s). 5. Forewarn (or any background-checking app). Forewarn can investigate any prospects before you connect IRL, but it’s also a great way to get a cursory idea of who you’re dealing with, especially if that person isn’t a personal referral. Lots of MLS organizations and Realtor boards provide this app as a service to their members. Just remember in order to stay compliant with fair housing laws and ensure that you are not violating them make sure if this is part of your process it becomes part of your process for everyone. They do track who you search for, so if you’re ever investigated this information could be used to show you are or are not compliant with fair housing laws. 6. Savvy House Hunting. This is my favorite new app of 2020, as it’s been a total game-changer. It helps you set up a private portal for your clients where you can take them on virtual walk-throughs of homes (with the listing agent’s permission). If they need to narrow down their selection, or are purchasing sight-unseen, this app is a great way to keep everything organized and secure. If you have questions about these apps or there’s anything else I can assist you with, leave a comment below or give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Welcome back to another episode of “Hustle With Holly.” Today I’ve got some great tips specifically for eXp Realty agents. I’ll go over all of the go-to apps that you need to have downloaded to make your life easier and your business more successful. Here’s an outline of the video, with timestamps so that you can skip around to the section(s) that interest you most: 0:24- The eXp Realty platforms that you should have on your phone 2:34- Why you need to bookmark Okta.com 3:41- How IntroLend helps you stay in touch with your lenders 4:40- Why I fell in love with HomeKeeper and how it makes your clients’ lives easier 5:55- Why I strongly suggest all eXp agents opt-in to Ringcentral when they start 7:02- The strong potential of the ShowMeNow app 8:05- Wrapping things up If you have any questions for me about eXp Realty, any of the apps that I mentioned in today’s video, or something else related to the real estate business, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I’m here to be a resource for you, and I look forward to hearing from you!
There are many necessary things to take into consideration when going on a listing appointment. I’m sharing three tips to dazzle sellers during your listing presentation: 1. Be prepared. Have a professional presentation; whether you print this out on high-quality paper or make it digital, you need to show sellers what you’ll do differently to get their home sold. Demonstrate this through providing examples of your previous listings, pictures, virtual tours, advertising, postcards, etc. Show them everything you do for your sellers. 2. Know the area. Make sure you’ve run the numbers on the area and neighborhood that morning so you can provide specific data about how many houses are on the market in their area and price range, and explain how this data is used to decide the value of their property. Position yourself as their neighborhood expert. “Show sellers what you’ll do differently to get their home sold.” 3. Set the groundwork. When you get to the appointment, walk around the house alone and take a look at it. When you sit down with the sellers, tell them you have three key questions: Do they absolutely have to sell their home? Do they want to list their house at a price that will help it sell? Do they want to list the home with you? If they say they do want to list with you, the next thing to discuss is price. If they say they still want to interview other real estate agents, that’s when you show them your presentation. Good luck with your listing presentations! Please reach out via phone or email if you have any questions about these tips or real estate in general. I would love to help you.
Here’s my recent conversation with superstar agent John Ruckman. Today I’m sharing a Zoom call that I had recently with eXp Realty agent John Ruckman, a specialist in Broker Price Opinion (BPO) and Real Estate Owned (REO) properties. We talked about these two types of properties, how he got started working them, and much more. Here’s an outline of our conversation with timestamps so that you can skip around to the section(s) that interest you most: 0:45- What are short sales? 2:45- John discusses his journey in real estate, and how he got into BPOs and REOs 4:35- A secret you should know about BPOs 7:03- John’s 90-day action plan for agents who want to get into BPOs 10:33- A look at the different platforms John uses to find these types of properties 14:00- John talks about his platform, Mission2Mindset.com, which includes his free 90-day action plan among other free resources 16:33- Wrapping things up If you have questions for me about what we discussed or anything else related to the real estate business, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email today. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
I recently spoke with an agent who is writing a third offer for a buyer. They’d written offers on two other homes they loved, but they sadly missed out. They have typical financing and our market’s inventory has been low, so buyers are having to compete for all types of properties. With that in mind, here a few tips that will help your offer stand out from your competition: 1. Escalation clauses. An escalation clause is simply verbiage in your offer that states your client will offer a certain amount more than a competitor up to a cap amount. For example, your escalation clause could say you’re willing to pay $1,000 more than the next competitor’s offer, with a cap of $10,000 over the list price. 2. Cash offers. Cash offers are often the strongest because they usually have a quicker close. However, the reality is that, for the seller, all offers end up being cash in the end. 3. Conventional loans. These loans give buyers more purchasing power; they have fewer restrictions than FHA, VA, and USDA loans. 4. Get pre-qualified and pre-approved. If your buyers are fully pre-approved, they’re already in a great position to make an offer. 5. Shorten the inspection period. You could waive it all together, though I don’t recommend that. Another option is to shorten it to three or four days. Find out when your buyer’s preferred home inspector can get in the home so you know how much that period can be shortened. 6. Make your earnest money non-refundable. This will show the seller that you’re willing to put money on the line to have your bid accepted; if things don’t work out, the seller will get to keep that money as a sort of consolation prize. 7. Offer to pay for the seller’s closing costs. If you can afford to take this on, this would be a great way to craft an aggressive offer that will catch the seller’s attention. If you have any questions or end up using these tips, feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you.
Every time you reach out to someone, whether through a text, phone call, or email, you want to give more than you receive; you should be offering information that has real value. Here are some tips on how to go about doing that: 1. Provide information on their market. Have homes in their neighborhood sold recently? What’s the estimated value of their home? Be personal, and make sure you’re able to provide them with something applicable to their situation. 2. Connect with vendors and provide a vendor list to your clients. Reach out to one of your trusted vendors, and ask them if they’d be interested in doing an interview that will provide information to your clients. See if it’s possible to arrange a special offer for your clients through that vendor— maybe it’s half-off on a service they provide. Work together with that vendor to come up with a creative offer of some kind. That way, your clients are provided with value and the vendor generates business—a win-win. “Pie giveaways are a great way to win people over.” 3. Invest in tools or equipment clients may need, and offer to loan them out. Air machines and pressure washers are examples of tools that the average homeowner only uses once in a blue moon. Having such equipment on standby and offering it to your clients is a great way to show that you truly do anticipate the needs of your clients. Moving trucks are another great resource you could offer. 4. Start hosting events. There’s truly no limit to the kinds of events you could create, but sometimes you’ll be inspired by the success of someone else’s event and adapt it to fit your own business. For example, pie giveaways are a great way to win people over. You can hand deliver pies, or invite people to stop by your office for a quick pie pick-up. Will you offer 30 pies or 300 pies? Either way, you could partner with your lender so you can split costs and also invite twice as many people. Barbecues and movie nights are also awesome examples. Hopefully, this list has left you inspired and in a productive, creative mode! As always, if you need anything at all, or have some real estate-related questions that need to be answered, reach out to me via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you!
In today’s show, I’m interviewing eXp Realty Iowa agent Brent Sexton, who’s what I would call an expert on Facebook, Instagram, and social media advertising. He’s here to answer agents’ questions about Facebook advertising, internet leads, and much more. As our world only becomes more entrenched in social media and technology, it just makes sense that we as agents should hop on board. By following Brent’s tips, you can learn how to grow your business by becoming more in tune with the digital world. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m here to help!
Brad from Surprise, Arizona, recently reached out and asked us, “I have my real estate license; what do I do now?” Once you have passed your exams and received your license, there are three simple things you can do to get started: 1. Make a list of everyone you know and put them into your CRM. Your brokerage probably provides one like Commissions, Inc., Liondesk, etc. The best CRM is the one that you know how to use. Some agents use notecards and others just use Outlook, so don’t let not having much money hold you back. Once you have things set up, reach out to them on Facebook or LinkedIn to see if they or someone they know is interested in buying or selling a home. You’ll also want to send out an email announcing that you have your license, which brokerage you’ve joined, and why. Send snail mail to those people who you have addresses for. Even if they’re not in the area, they might know someone who is and will pass your name along. This is a great way to get your name out there and increase your referral business. Make sure that your contact information for your database is up to date. Give everyone on your contact list a call, confirm their email, see how long they’ve been in their home, find out whether or not they want market updates, and ask general questions about their real estate goals. “Reconnecting with your clients is a great way to get your name out there.” 2. Get a copy of the listing packet and buyer packet that your brokerage wants you to use. Read through these documents and highlight anything you don’t understand. Ask your broker, mentor, etc., about anything you have highlighted. 3. Reach out to other agents within your company who are busy. Ask them if you can help in any way with setting up open houses, nurturing leads, and getting more referrals. These are the three most cost-effective, smartest ways to get started in your real estate career. If you have any questions for me about what else you can do now to ensure future success in the real estate industry, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.
I’ve been hearing from a ton of new agents who have already been licensed in another state or passed their national exam, but are having trouble getting licensed in Iowa. So I created my own study guide if you’re in a similar position. I ask the questions I think you should know in order to pass the Iowa portion of the exam. I went back through all my notes and while I don’t know exactly what’s on the exam, I do know the most important things you need to know. Follow this link to get your copy! We launched in Iowa in March of 2018 and by December 12 agents had sold 85 total homes. In 2019, our 66 active agents have sold 505 homes. Click here to subscribe to our e-mail newsletter.
Despite all of the uncertainty and fear around the COVID-19 pandemic, I truly believe now is still a really great time to get into real estate. Of course, it does depend on what state you’re in; here in Iowa, we’re not subject to a stay-at-home order and real estate has been deemed an essential service. This environment presents a solid opportunity to dig into education, get your CE done, and work on your sphere of influence. Given the state of disarray that the world is in, there’s never been a better time to simply reach out to people and make a human connection. For those serious about carving out a career in this industry, I recommend taking this time to lay the strong foundation you’ll need to grow your business in the long run. In any market, there are always those who absolutely need to buy and need to sell. “In any market, there are always those who absolutely need to buy and need to sell.” What we’re observing in other countries that are now on the other side of the coronavirus peak is a really quick real estate market bounce back. Some people forced to become work-at-home warriors realized they had nowhere in their homes to be alone and productive, so they’re eyeing properties with more space. Others have been using this time to fix up their houses for the market, addressing repairs that have been on the backburner for years. After we put this health crisis behind us, I’m really expecting that activity in the market will be plentiful. Depending on what brokerage you join, there are also other avenues of generating income—as is the case with eXp Realty. So, if you’re in real estate school currently or are thinking about taking classes, I would recommend jumping in with both feet. What are you waiting for? If you have any questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.