Staff Website Endless REsources.........

TOUR OF COZY CAPE COD: inviting everyone to my broker tour, tues, may 20 from 11:30-2. 1436 Thornwood, Downers Grove. take 55th st to dunham (south) to first street on right (thornwood). lunch served and 2/$10 gas card drawing.

Current data for your next real estate conversation

Birdview sees increase in real estate Web traffic
(LOMBARD, Ill.) – Birdview Technologies is the latest company to release a study suggesting housing markets may be starting to turn positive.
The technology consulting firm says real estate Web sites have had an extraordinary amount of activity over the past several months compared to the dive in traffic last year.
"The sustained upswing we've seen so far this year at the very least signals that buyer interest has returned to the marketplace at levels seen during the boom years. Buyer demand is not necessarily indicative of increased transactions, but it's certainly a necessary ingredient in finding a bottom to the present downturn," said Bedros Bedrosian, President and Co-founder of Birdview.
Birdview’s Real Estate Activity index had dropped to 800 in November, but in April had recovered to just below 1400.

Hello Prudential Agents:
We have scheduled another QSC Training Class for June 19th at the Palos Park location from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. The address to the Palos Park office is 8100 W. 119th Street, Palos Park 60464.

If you have not yet taken this class please make every effort to attend. Please RSVP to nnovak@ppcre.com by June 15th.

Thank you

Quote of the Day - Charles Kettering - "The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress."

Have a picture of a House you want to share? Post an image 'blog'! Just proceed as you would to post a regular blog, but select the link that says 'Image'.

Stay tuned for a video on this process!

THe floor layout for the future Hinsdale office is used in this example.

We are proud to announce that the Do Not Call Utility has be released.
The utility is on the left hand side of the site.
Please feel free to use this addition to our site. Let us know how it is working.
~ST-TWO

I just wanted to let everyone know that Dell has double Realtor discounts on thier website until May 31st.
If you were looking for accessories or anything else, might be worth a look, only problem is that you have to call in to the order desk to see what the discount amount actually is.

1. Go to PREA.Webex.com
A.) Select the recorded sessions
B.) Take the 27 minute “OSA for Sales Professionals: using the OSA tool and presenting its components at listing appointment” training topic.
C.) When you have completed the course, email Szaehler@ppcre.com that you have completed the course. You cannot do step 2 if you have not done the PREA Webex training.

2. To Activate Your OSA Account:
A.) Go To PREA Center Home Page
B.) In the Quick Links Box select On Line Seller Advantage Login
C.) Accept the Terms Of Agreement
D.) Add the following email address to your email account osa@prudentialproperties.com, this is so your Market Report does not end up in your spam/bulk folder.

3. All questions about using the OSA system or problems you are having should be sent to the OSA Manager, Sandy Zaehler, szaehler@ppcre.com. Do not call the AHH Support Hotline. Sandy will address the problems with you and work with the AAH Hotline when necessary. Please be sure to include as much detail as you can about the problem you are encountering in your email.

4. If you are on a Team, please make sure that you attach the listings to only one member of your Team. You can edit the email address on your OSA Account Setting to send the requests to a different member of your Team if you wish.

5. There is “help” in the OSA module called “Learn More” which you can reference at anytime.

Open House on Sunday, May 18, 2008 1-3 pm at 1380 Oak Ridge Court, Willow Springs

Four Bedroom, 3 Full Bath List $395,000

Bright & Cheery, Brick & Cedar Raised Ranch on quiet cul de sac. Sunny living rm w/ fireplace opens to dining rm w/ sliding doors to newer cedar deck overlooking landscaped, fenced yard & patio, kitchen w/ample counter space, master bedroom w/master bath & 2 closets, lower level family rm w/ fireplace, rec. rm, large laundry rm. Many updates, neutrally decorated, a great home for your family at a great price!

www.1380OakRidge.com

Sign up for this course by June 1 and we will reimburse you for the cost of the class from the first deal you pend and close after you complete it!

For any Realtor, offered by the Chicago Association of Realtors.

Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE)
Course Description

Negotiation Approaches, Persuasion Techniques & Psychology of Buying
The Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) Designation Course for Real Estate Professionals is a 2-day seminar focused on negotiation training applied to real estate negotiation situations. The course provides training in professional negotiation. Tom Hayman, President of Negotiation Expertise will cover different approaches, persuasion principles, and the psychology of buying along with role plays, case studies, and group discussion topics.

Students receive a 140 page Student Manual that contains training materials and numerous scripts using the proven persuasion techniques for real estate negotiations. This course will help real estate professionals become skilled negotiators in order to provide a higher standard of service to clients and to better help achieve client goals.

4 Part Negotiation Course

Course Content

How Buyers Buy & Sellers Sell
Building Trust
Identifying Listing/Offer Options for Clients
Persuasion Principles
Power/Emotions/Deadlocks
Stand Area Motivator Model

Why Attend?

98% of Buyers believe negotiation skills are Very Important or Somewhat Important in their real estate agent.*
Buyers give Negotiation Skills the lowest satisfaction rating of all agent skills and qualities*

*According to the NAR 2006 profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

Instructor
Tom Hayman, President, Negotiation Expertise, LLC

Requirements
There are no requirements for this course

Course Formats
Classroom Only- 2 Day Course $149 for C.A.R. members $169 for non-members

Classroom Schedule

Date
July 21 & 22, 2008
Time
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location
C.A.R. Central; 200 S. Michigan Ave. 400

Registration
Register 2 ways:

Online
Register via fax: Print & Fax This Form
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200 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60604
Telephone: 312-803-4900, Fax: 312-803-4905 The “Voice of Real Estate” in Chicago
© 2007 Chicago Association of REALTORS®

Chicago Association of REALTORS� www.Chicagorealtor.com

Just a head's up. I will be participating in a Michigan Ave Open House Tour on Tuesday evening, May 13th from 6pm to 9pm. I will be at the boutique Crane Building located at 888 S Michigan Ave. The entrance to the building is on 9th Street. I will send another reminder next week. Carol Dorsey

Please join me Thursday, May 8th from 11 am - 2 pm for lunch and a look at my listing on 13801 Bristlecone Dr. Plainfield, Il. This is in the Carrillon subdivision, a 55 and older community. We will be serving a light lunch and refreshments. Bring your clients with you and Tricia Brouwers, senior loan officer of 5/3rd Bank will be with me to help with financing and explain the 2% incentive the buyer is offering. Please take the time to stop by tomorrow or send clients with your card to this unit.
*** When you arrive, go to the North Security gate, tell the guard that you are here to visit Sandra Bennett in 13801 Bristlecone. Stay on Carrillon rd and follow it all the way around to Bristlecone Dr. We are on the left side and will have balloons out front. *****
Hope to see you there!
Linda

Get a Grip on Short Sales

A compilation of articles and resources from REALTOR® magazine to help you learn more about this growing, but complicated, niche.

Features:

How to Succeed at Short Sales
To help you gain a better understanding of short sales, we look at some of the most common questions on this topic that you and your customers likely will face today.

What You Need to Know About Short Sales and Loan Forgiveness
Too often, real estate practitioners are unaware of the tax liabilities arising from the cancellation of debt and fail to advise their clients accordingly.

2008 List Issue: 4 Reasons Lenders Want to Work With You on Short Sales
A cottage industry of bankruptcy specialists and other self-described loan mitigators are trawling for clients, but lenders would often prefer to work with real estate professionals.

News Articles:

Lenders Stall Short Sales, Practitioners Say (April 24, 2008)

Why Are Short Sales So Troublesome? (April 18, 2008)

More Banks Consider Short Sales (March 25, 2008)

Short Sales Might Help Curb Housing Slump (March 21, 2008)

Resources REALTOR.org:

Information Central's Field Guide to Short Sales

Subprime Lending: Foreclosures, Short Sales, and Taxes

Issue Summary: Debt Forgiveness

More Links:

IRS.gov: Q&A on Home Foreclosure and Debt Cancellation

From Elaine Pagels, a request to share your knowledge and compassion:

Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues:

I would be very appreciative if you would consider asking professional
friends/contacts to complete our research survey looking at
Professional Benchmarks of Productivity and Perceptions of
Professionals with Evident Disabilities. Respondents can be from "any"
professional field – they simply need to have or have had hiring
responsibility into their company. We've invested a lot in this
effort, and we're close to achieving the respondent numbers that we
need for the professors to extract valid data and meaning from this
research.

Below is some simple language to cut/paste into body of an email along
with the survey link. Thanks so much for your efforts on this. It is
genuinely an organizational undertaking and, if we're able to close
the loop on this research initiative it can make an impact on future
employment and training models to support a more robust and diverse
workforce to include qualified candidates with disabilities.

Pat Maher
nAblement Director
SPR Inc.
233 S. Wacker Drive
Suite 3500
Chicago, IL 60606
Office 312-756-1760 x220
Cell 630-220-8895

Email pmaher@sprinc.com

"Dear :

SPR, through its nAblement division, has commissioned some critical
employer side research in the Midwest investigating Benchmarks of
Productivity and Perceptions of Professionals with Evident
Disabilities. The principal investigators, Fong Chan, PhD, of the
University of Wisconsin at Madison and Dave Strauser, PhD, of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, are well-respected in the
field of rehabilitation psychology and life sciences.

I would greatly appreciate 20 minutes of your time to go to the survey
home page (link below) and complete the survey surrounding this
research. Strict confidentiality as to your name or your
organization's name will be maintained in any publications, reviews,
or critiques that may derive from this effort. By completing this
survey you will be adding valuable insights into the challenges of
improving professional employment opportunities for working-age
candidates with disabilities. The Department of Labor's Office of
Disability Employment Policy and other national policy-advising bodies
have noted the critical need for this type of demand-side research
data.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=BHKcWJ2RrCVmY0MQ6c1CiQ_3d_3d

Thanks much for your support."

No Use Cryin’ Over the Market

Get motivated with these 13 tips from top producers.

Be determined. Watch the trends. Don’t go it alone. These are the back-to-basic strategies that top producers use on a daily basis to maintain their success. .

1. Get help. REALTOR Joe Guli understands that real estate can be a career filled with plateaus. As leader of the Hot Properties Team with Keller Williams Premier Realty in Libertyville, he is continually increasing his staff as business grows and listings multiply.

“You need to understand that you can’t handle over a certain amount of listings on your own,” says Guli, who closed 276 transactions and sold $42 million in volume in 2007. “Knowing when to grow and add on will only help you break through that ceiling and gain more business.” Already with a support staff of nine, Guli and his team are still growing.

“Once we reach levels in our business, we continuously increase our staff to handle it which in turn brings us more business,” says Guli. “For example, when we reached 50 listings we hired one assistant. At 100 listings we hired another assistant. When we got over 100 listings, we hired a marketing director. Right now we are at 178 listings and getting ready to bring on another listing agent and two more buyers agents.”

2. Build a well-rounded team. According to REALTOR Mary Ann Knell, a team approach is necessary to reach a top-producing level, but it helps if your team is knowledgeable in various areas of the business. Knell, a 22-year veteran with Coldwell Banker Devonshire in Peoria, believes that incorporating specific jobs with selling strategies is a great way to develop synergy within the office.

“You never want to work alone,” says Knell. “You can call them what you want—assistants, partners, etcetera—but you need someone working with you from the beginning.”

For new additions to Knell’s team, jobs usually start out as clerical and develop with added responsibility. As a leader, Knell believes that any of her team members can be just as successful as she is if they continue to work at it.

“I feel very strongly that everyone on my team has to know how to work the entire business,” says Knell, who sold $58 million in 202 transactions last year. “We have no buyers agents and everyone in my group has their license. Without understanding the entire business, you can’t do a good job in any one aspect of it.”

3. Stop whining about the market. “Clients today are not waiting a minute before going on to the next agent,” says Guli. “Today it seems like everyone is crying about the market. Persistence breaks down resistance so if you are doing these things each and every day it is impossible not to be successful. Those who don’t succeed spend more time whining about the market than actually doing something about it.”

Guli and his team understand that communication is key if you want to thrive in today’s market. Whether it be incorporating video within e-mails, shaking a hand or creating global virtual tours, he finds the right fit in a balance of basic tasks and the use of innovative technology.

4. Be a trend watcher. For Knell, a former job as a buyer for a department store prepared her for the trend-watching aspect of real estate. “We update our market supply and demand every week,” says Knell. “Whether it is massaging listings, open houses or price changing, we are constantly watching the market and reacting to it with our clients.”

5. Spend upfront to brand yourself early on. Melissa Dowson Vorreyer, broker with Re/Max Professionals in Springfield, jumped into real estate after graduating with a marketing degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Today, she can credit most of her business to the time and money she invested in her marketing plan years ago.

“I invested heavily in branding myself early on,” says Vorreyer, whose $30 million sold in 2007 was almost entirely referral-driven. “I think the extra education really helped me once I got into real estate. You just need to start with a story to tell or a sales record to report and it is much easier to market yourself.”

6. Offer a free service. Vorreyer has taken advantage of the excess inventory of homes and slower pace in today’s market by offering a staging service to each of her clients.

“We are staging every house we list,” says Vorreyer, who recently obtained her Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) designation. “Staged homes are proven to sell quicker and for more money. It’s a free service that we provide to all sellers.”

7. Respect your peers. “Fellow REALTORS are your number one customer,” says Knell, who always makes it a point to thank the other agent in front of both clients at an appointment. “We get our inventory from other agents. We have to acknowledge them professionally for supplying appropriate information to our buyers. It shows us as a partnership and we will more than exceed our goals if we continue to work together.”

8. Be there for your clients. For Mario Greco, keeping in constant contact with past clients is essential to his business. As a broker-associate with Rubloff in Chicago, Greco leaped to top-producer status just months after making the switch from law to real estate in 2002. With $103 million in volume and 248 transactions in 2007 alone, he is no doubt a busy man.

Greco says that top producers can never be too busy to keep in touch with former clients. “I know this industry can be busy, but you have to make time to follow up with past clients,” says Greco. “It’s never too difficult to take a few minutes to ask what is going on in their life or ‘how’s the new kid?’”

With the help of his 15-member team, Greco follows up at least four to six times per year via e-mail to past clients. Recently, he had a client call him for an opinion on the color of the built-ins they were adding to the property Greco had sold them nearly three years ago. “They probably had a whole list of people they could have called for advice, but they called me,” says Greco. “I know that the moment they are ready to sell they will contact me because I have kept in touch with them.”

9. Work with a coach, act like a coach. Knell has worked with a real estate coach for 16 years and encourages those looking to make the leap to top producer to do the same. She says finding a mentor outside your marketplace is the best way to stay enthusiastic and break through that next level of sales. "Even if you are only three months into the job, you will not have to fix bad habits if you start immediately with a strong coach,” says Knell.

She suggests spending some time interviewing coaches and attending seminars with them to see how they look and react before you settle down on one. Says Knell: “Sometimes as a top producer you feel like you are all by yourself. My coach helps me realize that everyone is going through the same thing and allows me to continue with what I do best.”

Having trained with a coach for so many years, Knell now finds herself acting as a coach to her team. “I am their mentor,” says Knell. “I have trained most of them in my systems, customer relations and office styles. I know that any one of them would be very successful on their own and I hope someday that they will do so.”

10. Find your inspiration. For Guli, motivational speaking and self-help have been his source of inspiration. “I have always been intrigued by Anthony Robbins, Tom Hopkins and other self-starters. These people wake up and enjoy every minute of their life,” says Guli. “I eat, sleep and breathe real estate and I absolutely love it. Half the battle is knowing you want to reach that level and the other half is finding the balance and working hard to get there.”

11. Do something different. Greco is currently redesigning his Web site to be more blog-centered and understands the importance of using the Internet and social networking as a means of communicating with clients.

“The new Web site will allow for better search engine optimism,” says Greco. “For example, when someone searches in Google for Bucktown, my name will pop up at the top of the list.”

12. Tirelessly work on goals. “We work totally on goals,” says Knell, whose says her team is in the office every day working on the goals they set up both individually and together. “These include how many people to call, how many listings, how many sales and hours on the phone. Each person within the staff has these goals. They are very attainable and everyone can make their goals if they stay on target.”

13. Work very hard. Greco insists that there is no substitute for hard work and correct pricing in real estate. “You cannot be afraid of 100 hour weeks,” says Greco. “I treat this profession as a full-time job even if I have some free time. Every minute you can be doing something for your business.”

“I probably have anywhere from three to 10 appointments each day, but I also make it a priority to attend all of my kids stuff,” adds Vorreyer, who makes it a daily routine to drop her 7 and 9-year-old children off at school. “The great thing about this job is that I am able to schedule around my family, but still get in a good 60-hour work week.”

By Sarah Murphy, assistant editor

May 2008 Illinois REALTOR magazine

I have a semi new listing of a 4 unit brick apartment building in Summit Il in need of rehab. It went under contract in the first week and I never did get the chance to post it to the blog.

The property is located at 7443 w 64th St Summit Il
3-2 bedroom 1 bath units
1-3 bedroom 1.1 bath unit.
Separately metered Elec, on steam heat.

It does need work, but could be a great income producer
Listed at 184,900 MLS# 06845028

The deal fell and I should have it reactivated later in the week.
Send an email or give me a call if you would like to view.

We still need your help with the Sunshine Kids Golf Outing. There are plenty of positions still to help with. You will be receiving a Save The Date card in your mailbox very soon. If anyone would like extras to send to a client you want to invite please let Vic or Laura know.
The next meeting will be held at the Hinsdale office at 11:30am on Wednesday, May7th - lunch provided. Please come and see what it is all about...Let either Vic or Laura know you are coming so we can have enough lunch for everyone. Thanks

Please join me at my new listing at 1380 Oak Ridge Court, Willow Springs for a Broker's Tour and Lunch from 11am - 1pm. A bright, cheery raised ranch built in 1994 with 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 2 fireplaces and a wonderful large fenced in backyard all this for just $395,000!

Directions: Willow Springs Rd to Archer (east) to Glenwood, south to Vinewood, tight to cul de sac.

Spacious, bright 1800+ square foot condo. 3 bedrooms plus den, 3 baths. There are 2 split master suites with walls that go to the ceiling. Two balconies facing east with great city skyline views. Two garage parking spaces one included in the price of $399,000 and one $25,000
Open Sunday, April 27th from noon to 2pm. Stop by! Carol Dorsey 312-952-8823

Join me at my open house this Sunday, April 27th from 1-3 p.m. at 236 N. Addison in Elmhurst.
It's a fabulous End Unit Town Home with a First Floor Master, Top of the Line Gourmet kitchen, two additional bedrooms with a loft retreat and a two car detached garage....all this one block from downtown Elmhurst!