A Day in the Life of a Gen X Real Estate Professional

I have been inspired by the number of young people pursuing Real Estate as their profession of choice. The stereotypical real estate agent is a 55 year old woman, working part time. Quickly, this stereotype is changing at the hands of Gen X Gen Y professionals, graduating college and choosing Real estate as their first and only career.

I just happen to be one of those young people: smack dab in between Generation X and Generation Y. I chose Real Estate as my profession when I was 26 years old: recently off active duty from the Navy, recently married, and weeks after moving to a town where I knew two people: my new husband and my REALTOR. I have been proud to develop my business as a thriving, stable business over the years and I am excited about where it is heading. I am one that needs to be challenged, and with all these other young people coming into the business, I am finally challenged. I love getting together with them to talk about what we are doing, how we are doing it and how things are evolving. Our industry will have an entirely different feel in less than 5 years.

I firmly believe that the future of real estate exists in a huge generation gap. The movers and the shakers in the industry are usually the ones with the most experience. Quickly, the movers and the shakers in the industry are now the ones with the most innovative ideas. Many of these people are the Gen X, Gen Y agents. They bring to the picture lightning fast communications, innovative perspectives and criteria for rating properties, valuable tools for themselves and their clients, plus, the personal touch that many have been lead away from.

I would love to have an office with a great balance of Baby Boomers as well as Gen X Gen Y. I think we all have a lot we can learn from one another, but I also think this will bring some challenge over the next few years as the "standards" of the industry evolve.

I read an article from Lore Magazine this morning that sparked my interest in this subject today. I have included a link to it and a copy of it below.

Where do you see the industry moving?

From http://www.loremagazine.com/go/?blog_id=101:

Blackberry—check. Texting furiously—check. Mobile office—check. Welcome to the world of the Gen X and Gen Y real estate professional.The young professionals are rarely seen without a Blackberry Smartphone in hand. They have an office, but spend most of their days on the move. Grounded in technology, they communicate with hundreds of other 20- and 30-somethings every day via text messages. They use virtual faxes and the Internet to negotiate contracts. They are the new breed of real estate professionals and they specifically entered real estate with one goal—turning it into a lifetime career.While the average age of Realtor® is 54 and female, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), the young men with Coco, Early & Associates are part of a new trend in an industry that’s seen tremendous change in the past few years. Facebook, MySpace, Linked In, blogs and even Twitter are their information highways. They maintain access to their clients 24-hours a day, 7-days-a-week because that’s how their generation works. One or two young males any realty firm is not noteworthy, but when six young men, with college degrees, recently took on the role of professional sales associates at the Massachusetts-based Coco, Early & Associates real estate firm, people began to notice. “They bring a youthful enthusiasm and technical savvy to our firm,” says Blaise Coco, co-owner. “That mixes perfectly with our more experienced professionals, [who are] wonderful mentors to these younger [sales associates], while these young guys can certainly teach us all about the ways in which their generation communicates and works.”Starting Early“I was attracted to the professional because it’s really self motivating,” explains Vinny Forzese, age 26. “It’s not a 9-to-5 desk job, and I get great satisfaction when I place someone in their new home. Matthew Trudel, age 29, has found that many friends in his age group are searching for their first home. He’s had success in connecting members of his generation to homes because he balances the human touch with the technology. He regularly sends out blanket text messages to 200 or so of his “closest” friends. He uses Facebook to highlight new properties for sale and even blogs. “In college we all texted each other and had Facebook pages. It seems perfectly natural for us to communicate this way,” says Trudel. “It’s not time consuming, I keep my messages brief. What’s most important is keeping up regular contact with your friends. So, when I have a new listing or hear about a great property, I use instant communication and Facebook to get the word out.”Their generation is also very mobile. Friends from college may now live anywhere in the country. Technology has made the whole world feel smaller and these young professionals embrace this technology when it comes to helping a customer relocate. They make the most of the buyer’s time and resources sending out virtual tours across the country and across the world.The Next WaveUnderstanding the X-Y generation makes these young men great assets to their firm. “Our generation does not wait for a [sales associate] to tell them about a neighborhood and they don’t drive by a potential property,” says Doug Early, age 25. “Our generation heads right to Google Earth. They type in the address and get a view of the house, neighborhood and even commuter routes. They use the Internet to look up similar sales and home values. They do a lot of the research that the [sales associates] do. They are informed buyers.”However, warns one young professional, “You can get good information from the Internet,” says Jeff Fragala, age 26, “but not complete information. Pictures and virtual tours often don’t do a property justice. Information online may not be up-to-date and often a potential buyer will have to spend hours on the Web using several sites and still see only a partial list of properties available in their market and price range. We can work with them through the Multiple Listing Service to get them all the listings, the new listings and then provide them with the personal service they need. Buying a home is a big decision and one that comes with stress. I work with people to guide them through the process and advise them on their options along the way.”“I am very focused on my work and take this opportunity seriously,” concludes Angel Boria, age 24. “For me, this a dream career and one that’s rewarding on many levels. It’s very satisfying to know you helped some realize the dream of owning their own home.”

Avoid MRIS Fines: Do's and Don'ts to help you with your Short Sales.

From www.Mris.com:

Compensation:
• Do enter Compensation as a percentage of the gross or net sales amount or enter a dollar amount.
• Do make an unconditional offer of cooperation and compensation.

• Don’t enter a compensation amount or indicate in the remarks that compensation depends or is contingent upon third party approval.

Status:
• Do update listing status to Contingent upon acceptance/ratification of an offer.
• Do update the status of a listing pending third party approval to Contingent Contract.

• Don’t keep a property in ACTIVE status after accepting/ratifying an offer because the seller or any third party requests that the status remain active.

Listings:
• Do enter all property information accurately.
• Do make all status changes and other updates within 48 hours, weekends and holidays excluded.
• Do update Contingency Expiration Dates or Settlement dates when the dates change or have passed.
• Do use the Tax ID Autofill feature when entering listings.

• Don’t try to manipulate Days on Market, using tax and address information.
• Don’t enter two or more active listings for the same property unless the property is both for rent and for sale.

Remarks:
Internet (Public):
• Do include information about the property only.

• Don’t include any of the following information: commissions, showing contacts, agent or broker names, phone or fax numbers, web site or email addresses, virtual tours, alarm codes, lockbox codes or other security measures.
• Don’t include any links, active or animated content, or other comments containing HTML or programming code.

General (Agent) /Farm:
• Do enter information intended for cooperating brokers, such as special showing instructions, contacts or phone numbers, special contract information, special compensation information, properly excluded prospects, virtual tours, broker or agent web sites and email addresses. Foreclosure or Auction listings may reference a third party web site (such as HUD, VA) where contracts must be registered.

• Don’t include any Lockbox codes or other security system information without Seller’s permission.

A copy of the Rules and Regulations as well as other information on MRIS Compliance policies may be found at:
www.mris.com/compliance

But the Bank hasn't approved it yet...

I hear this too many times: agents thinking that a sales contract is ratified until the Bank approves the short sale. Well, let me tell you....that's wrong.

When a purchase contract includes a Short Sale Contingency Addendum, which gives the buyer some options on voiding the contract if deadlines are not met, it doesn't create a situation, when it comes to ratification, any different than if there was a Home Inspection Contingency Addendum, or a Radon Inspection Contingency Addendum. The Short Sale contingency is just a contingency. A tool for one party to use to void the contract if needed.

The contract is ratified when the seller (the people) and the buyer (the people) agree to all the terms of the sales contract AND, because the contract is ratified, the good faith deposit (or Earnest Money Deposit (EMD)) is due.

Want an exception?: you have to include that in the contract. For example, if you do not want the EMD due until the Bank Approves the short sale (otherwise known as Third Party Approval), then you need to write that into the contract and have mutual agreement on this. If you don't want to do the home inspection until the Bank Approves the Short Sale, you have to write that in as well.

Virginia requires Earnest Money to be deposited quickly. My agents are required to turn in their EMD within 24 hours of a contract becoming ratified. Do you have standards like this in your office?

ALSO: MRIS rules require you to update your listing to represent the current status within 48 hours of it changing. I don't care if the bank has not approved the short sale, there is a ratified contract and the status in the MRIS needs to reflect that (CONTRACT, Cntg/No Ko, Cntg/Ko, TEMPOFF, etc). The seller cannot just decide that he wants to leave it "Active" so they get more offers. It's not the seller's decision what the status is in MRIS. Change your listings to reflect their correct status right away.

Here's a Video from Lem Marshall, VAR's Special Counsel, on the subject:

http://www.varealtor.com/portals/0/webcast/ShortSales/index.html