Back in July of 2005 I was writing a weekly Real Estate column for the local newspaper. The column I wrote that particular week changed my life. In the column that day I had made a rather bold prediction about the Real Estate industry through the year 2011.
You have to remember in July of 2005 the Real Estate was flying high and everyone that read my column that day thought I was either insane or a total crack pot.
This is what I said on that fateful day in July of 2005.
I stated that I sensed a momentum change about to hit the Real Estate industry of epic proportions. I stated that we were about to go into a very deep down cycle that would last at least three years. At this point, it appears that I was right and it may even last a little longer, although personally I think we have reached the bottom.
Before I go into what I had predicted in that fateful column, let me take a moment to tell you why that column changed my life. At the time I had a six office franchise Real Estate operation with 200 Realtors. My business partner never read my columns until he read them in the newspaper. The following Monday morning after reading that particular column, he asks me to join him in his office.
He only had one question. His question was, did I believe what I had written. When I answered yes, he said then we need to make a phone call. The phone call was to a large publicly traded Real Estate company that had made several overtures to us, wanting to buy our company. So we sold the company at the height of the market.
So, back to that fateful column. Not only did I predict that the Real Estate industry would be hit by the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane, but the down market would last at least 3 years, and in addition to the resale market being way down, new construction would become as dead as road kill.
Here it is almost July of 2008 and we all know the condition of the Real Estate industry and we also all know that new construction is definitely as dead as road kill.
Now here is the second part of that bold prediction I made in July of 2005, and I suspect almost everyone will again think when they read this prediction that I’m either insane or a total crack pot.
In 2011 the Real Estate industry will be flying high again and this is why I say that. It all hinges on the fact that new construction is as dead as road kill. Because there is virtually no new construction coming out of the ground, the resale inventory is going to start to disappear.
The reason I say this is because the new construction industry will be hesitant to come out of the ground with any new product until the resale inventory is down to a 3 to 4 month inventory level. Even then the new construction industry doesn’t appear overnight. They have to lay the infrastructure, get permits and then start construction.
From the time the new construction industry decides to get back in the business actively and the time it takes to bring a new product to market is usually two years. In the mean time the investors are appearing in many markets again as I’m writing this column and they are gobbling up all the fire sales, thereby reducing inventory. We won’t even discuss that the country is predicted to grow by an additional 15 million people by 2011.
I’m sure not everyone sees this the way I see it, but if I’m right the Real Estate industry will be flying high again in 2011. Don’t be surprised by the beginning of 2010 you start see periodic articles in certain areas stating that prices are rising due to a shortage of inventory. By 2011 I believe we will be facing a severe inventory shortage in many communities in this country.
As I said in that fateful column in July of 2005 all of this is based on the premise that our countries economy is in a normal cycle.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Technology Vs. Reality
Virtual Real Estate Offices Give Brokers a Supervisory Edge
At the midyear legistrative National Assn. of REALTORS convention in Washington DC this year I was talking with a past NAR President. I asked this past President if he was aware of a law in Tennessee that states if a REALTOR lives 50 miles from a broker, he is not permitted to work for that broker and would need to select a different broker. He not only wasn’t aware of the law but like myself was somewhat surprised that a law like this would exist in today’s world.
I’m sure that this law was enacted to help the broker to provide supervision over the REALTORS working under that brokers license. Thirty years ago, maybe even 20 years ago, that may very well have been the case, but not today.
You have to stop and ask yourself the following question: "If a REALTOR lives 49 miles away and another REALTOR lives 51 miles away, is the state actually saying that the agent that lives two miles further down the road, can’t be supervised by the broker as well as the REALTOR that lives two miles closer? With today’s technology of letting agents fax or scan files and documents, and the ruling that electronic signatures are legal, this just seems to be an antiquated law that has yet to be revisited. The supervision is so much better today with technology, because rather than the REALTOR having to drive 49 miles to deliver the paperwork to his broker, the REALTOR can now have the paperwork to the broker is minutes rather than hours.
So if supervision is the key to this law, wouldn’t you think that the sooner a broker can review the paperwork to make sure everything is copacetic, the better the supervision?I state from experience that having a REALTOR that doesn’t do things right sitting across the desk from me never made that REALTOR start doing things right. The bad REALTOR will always remain a bad REALTOR and the only solution is to rid yourself of the bad REALTOR. Whereas a conscientious REALTOR will always try to do it right, so with technology, a good REALTOR can live a thousand miles away.
Now let’s discuss why this law is very GREEN unfriendly. In today’s world with global warming and the gas crisis, why in the world would a state require a REALTOR to drive to the office every time they have a new contract? Let’s think about this for a moment. A REALTOR lives 49 miles away. With this law they have to drive a round trip of 98 miles, polluting the air, burning fossil fuels and supporting our national debt because of having to buy oil from the Middle East. There is just nothing in this law that makes sense in today’s world
I never thought I would be an outspoken advocate of taking care of our planet, but in just the last month on two different occasions, I had cause to say “ Why are we doing this, it isn’t good for our planet”.
At the midyear legistrative National Assn. of REALTORS convention in Washington DC this year I was talking with a past NAR President. I asked this past President if he was aware of a law in Tennessee that states if a REALTOR lives 50 miles from a broker, he is not permitted to work for that broker and would need to select a different broker. He not only wasn’t aware of the law but like myself was somewhat surprised that a law like this would exist in today’s world.
I’m sure that this law was enacted to help the broker to provide supervision over the REALTORS working under that brokers license. Thirty years ago, maybe even 20 years ago, that may very well have been the case, but not today.
You have to stop and ask yourself the following question: "If a REALTOR lives 49 miles away and another REALTOR lives 51 miles away, is the state actually saying that the agent that lives two miles further down the road, can’t be supervised by the broker as well as the REALTOR that lives two miles closer? With today’s technology of letting agents fax or scan files and documents, and the ruling that electronic signatures are legal, this just seems to be an antiquated law that has yet to be revisited. The supervision is so much better today with technology, because rather than the REALTOR having to drive 49 miles to deliver the paperwork to his broker, the REALTOR can now have the paperwork to the broker is minutes rather than hours.
So if supervision is the key to this law, wouldn’t you think that the sooner a broker can review the paperwork to make sure everything is copacetic, the better the supervision?I state from experience that having a REALTOR that doesn’t do things right sitting across the desk from me never made that REALTOR start doing things right. The bad REALTOR will always remain a bad REALTOR and the only solution is to rid yourself of the bad REALTOR. Whereas a conscientious REALTOR will always try to do it right, so with technology, a good REALTOR can live a thousand miles away.
Now let’s discuss why this law is very GREEN unfriendly. In today’s world with global warming and the gas crisis, why in the world would a state require a REALTOR to drive to the office every time they have a new contract? Let’s think about this for a moment. A REALTOR lives 49 miles away. With this law they have to drive a round trip of 98 miles, polluting the air, burning fossil fuels and supporting our national debt because of having to buy oil from the Middle East. There is just nothing in this law that makes sense in today’s world
I never thought I would be an outspoken advocate of taking care of our planet, but in just the last month on two different occasions, I had cause to say “ Why are we doing this, it isn’t good for our planet”.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Realtor Magazine: Allison James Estates and Homes, A Broker Standout!
Our company has been in business for a short time yet the exposure we are receiving is tremendous. A new company, a new vision.
Click here for Article
Friday, April 18, 2008
BY ACCIDENT, VIRTUALLY GREEN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 18, 2008
BY ACCIDENT, VIRTUALLY GREEN
“When I conceived of the virtual business model for ALLISON JAMES ESATES & HOMES in May of 2007, I knew we had the formula to provide a win-win-win situation for the Broker, Realtor and consumer, but I never dreamed that we would also provide a ‘win’ for the environment as well,” explained James A Crumbaugh III, CEO. “We’re proud to stake the claim that we’re the Fastest-Growing Virtual Real Estate Company in the Country, and now it seems, by becoming a TRUE VIRTUAL Real Estate Company, we have, quite by accident, also become the Greenest Real Estate Company in the Country”
Because ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES has no brick and mortar offices nationwide, their State Broker Affiliates and Realtor Associates work directly out of their home offices, saving on both energy consumption and carbon emissions. “You won’t find our Realtor Associates driving to and from the office two or three times a day, producing pollutants,” Crumbaugh said. Their team members can also work more productively since they don’t have to spend long hours commuting to the brick and mortar environment. “Goodness knows,” Crumbaugh comments, “with gas at an all time high of $3 to $4 a gallon, our Realtor Associates are delighted to keep that money in their pockets.”
Also, with no brick and mortar Real Estate offices to supply with electricity for lights, heat, air-conditioning, electronics, etc., the company’s carbon footprint nationally is substantially minimized, compared to a traditional real estate company.
At ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES, they supply their team members with state-of-the-art custom webpage technology. They’ve also developed energy-efficient procedures in every aspect of their day-to-day operation. In every aspect, they’ve replaced the old “brick and mortar” practices (read “energy consuming”) with high tech, user-friendly equivalents, which are easier on the environment.
Realtor Associates download their required forms through their custom website provided by the company. This saves the Realtor Associate a trip to the local Board of Realtors and once again saves fuel consumption, and the resulting pollutants.
They require their national team members to scan all transaction documents and email them to their corporate offices in Florida, where they securely store the documents electronically for a minimum of five years. “It’s a real plus.” Crumbaugh noted. “All of our members have online access to any of their documents 24/7 from their home offices.” Rather than having thousands upon thousands of transactions documented on paper, they file all of the items electronically, saving a small forest or two in the process.
“Yet,” Crumbaugh explained, “we haven’t lost the personal touch. That’s very important.” The company’s entire recruiting, application, interviewing and activation process is accomplished online (and via teleconference) by their friendly and knowledgeable staff. This means the Realtor Associate doesn’t need to drive to meet the Broker. Also, since the entire hiring process is accomplished virtually, they save thousands of pieces of paper that a typical brick and mortar environment would require.
In addition, thanks to Webinar technology, meetings among team members can be held online and face-to-face, from coast to coast. This saves thousands in travel expenses and fuel consumption, while preserving the many benefits of in-person communication.
“Probably the one thing I’m most proud of,” Crumbaugh noted, “is our growing capability to use electronic signatures.” They recently invested in this cutting-edge technology since the US government ruled that electronic signatures were legally valid and binding in all 50 states. Crumbaugh is currently working with Real Estate Boards and State Commissions to enable all of their required documents to be electronically signed.
There are still a number of Real Estate Boards and State Commissions that are stuck in the past, according to Crumbaugh. They are still requiring a PAPER document with a WET signature to be submitted. ALLISON JAMES ESTATES AND HOMES is leading the industry in a national movement to establish a VIRTUAL business model, where electronic signatures will be accepted in every state of the union. This is another small step in establishing the company as a green–friendly trustee of the environment.
“The senior management of ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES didn’t set out to become a GREEN company,” Crumbaugh said, “but because we have chosen to develop and invest in systems to grow into a major National Virtual Real Estate Company, in the process we are leading the industry in becoming the GREEN REAL ESTATE COMPANY.”
END
Please consider the environment before printing this document!
BY ACCIDENT, VIRTUALLY GREEN
“When I conceived of the virtual business model for ALLISON JAMES ESATES & HOMES in May of 2007, I knew we had the formula to provide a win-win-win situation for the Broker, Realtor and consumer, but I never dreamed that we would also provide a ‘win’ for the environment as well,” explained James A Crumbaugh III, CEO. “We’re proud to stake the claim that we’re the Fastest-Growing Virtual Real Estate Company in the Country, and now it seems, by becoming a TRUE VIRTUAL Real Estate Company, we have, quite by accident, also become the Greenest Real Estate Company in the Country”
Because ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES has no brick and mortar offices nationwide, their State Broker Affiliates and Realtor Associates work directly out of their home offices, saving on both energy consumption and carbon emissions. “You won’t find our Realtor Associates driving to and from the office two or three times a day, producing pollutants,” Crumbaugh said. Their team members can also work more productively since they don’t have to spend long hours commuting to the brick and mortar environment. “Goodness knows,” Crumbaugh comments, “with gas at an all time high of $3 to $4 a gallon, our Realtor Associates are delighted to keep that money in their pockets.”
Also, with no brick and mortar Real Estate offices to supply with electricity for lights, heat, air-conditioning, electronics, etc., the company’s carbon footprint nationally is substantially minimized, compared to a traditional real estate company.
At ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES, they supply their team members with state-of-the-art custom webpage technology. They’ve also developed energy-efficient procedures in every aspect of their day-to-day operation. In every aspect, they’ve replaced the old “brick and mortar” practices (read “energy consuming”) with high tech, user-friendly equivalents, which are easier on the environment.
Realtor Associates download their required forms through their custom website provided by the company. This saves the Realtor Associate a trip to the local Board of Realtors and once again saves fuel consumption, and the resulting pollutants.
They require their national team members to scan all transaction documents and email them to their corporate offices in Florida, where they securely store the documents electronically for a minimum of five years. “It’s a real plus.” Crumbaugh noted. “All of our members have online access to any of their documents 24/7 from their home offices.” Rather than having thousands upon thousands of transactions documented on paper, they file all of the items electronically, saving a small forest or two in the process.
“Yet,” Crumbaugh explained, “we haven’t lost the personal touch. That’s very important.” The company’s entire recruiting, application, interviewing and activation process is accomplished online (and via teleconference) by their friendly and knowledgeable staff. This means the Realtor Associate doesn’t need to drive to meet the Broker. Also, since the entire hiring process is accomplished virtually, they save thousands of pieces of paper that a typical brick and mortar environment would require.
In addition, thanks to Webinar technology, meetings among team members can be held online and face-to-face, from coast to coast. This saves thousands in travel expenses and fuel consumption, while preserving the many benefits of in-person communication.
“Probably the one thing I’m most proud of,” Crumbaugh noted, “is our growing capability to use electronic signatures.” They recently invested in this cutting-edge technology since the US government ruled that electronic signatures were legally valid and binding in all 50 states. Crumbaugh is currently working with Real Estate Boards and State Commissions to enable all of their required documents to be electronically signed.
There are still a number of Real Estate Boards and State Commissions that are stuck in the past, according to Crumbaugh. They are still requiring a PAPER document with a WET signature to be submitted. ALLISON JAMES ESTATES AND HOMES is leading the industry in a national movement to establish a VIRTUAL business model, where electronic signatures will be accepted in every state of the union. This is another small step in establishing the company as a green–friendly trustee of the environment.
“The senior management of ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES didn’t set out to become a GREEN company,” Crumbaugh said, “but because we have chosen to develop and invest in systems to grow into a major National Virtual Real Estate Company, in the process we are leading the industry in becoming the GREEN REAL ESTATE COMPANY.”
END
Please consider the environment before printing this document!
Monday, March 10, 2008
WASHINGTON STATE OPENS March 10th, 2008
ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES, the fastest growing Virtual Real Estate Company in the country, is excited to announce that the Washington State Real Estate firm of MELASTIN REALTY has become part of the ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES family of Realtors.
MELASTIN REALTY located in the city of Vancouver, was founded in 1992 by Randy Bacon. Randy, was introduced to ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES through one of his Realtors. He quickly realized that this was the original vision he held back in 1992 when he first founded MELASTIN REALTY.
It is time that Realtors identify with today’s technology and fast paced environment. The Brick and Mortar real estate office is becoming an obsolete asset, no longer needed for an agent’s success. With the national team of ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES, the consumer, Realtor, and Real Estate Brokers all win.
According to the ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES President Mr. Scott Chamberlin, we are very fortunate to have the quality firm of MELASTIN REALTY join our Real Estate family. Mr. Chamberlin goes on to say that we are currently in negotiations with other firms in the Northeastern States.
ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES expects to be open in at least 20 states by the summer of 2008. We continue to grow at an astonishing pace according to Mr. Chamberlin. In fact we have already out grown our corporate office and will be moving this summer into larger facilities, so that we can continue our recruiting efforts on behalf of our Brokers.
We have decided to move forward in setting up an evening call center, so our recruiters can more efficiently call the western states. We are even looking at the possibility of setting up a Saturday shift. We still have several states available and if a Broker has an interest in joining ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES, they need to contact Mr. Scott Chamberlin at schamberlin@allisonjamesrealtors.com or call him at 1-866-720-0210.
MELASTIN REALTY located in the city of Vancouver, was founded in 1992 by Randy Bacon. Randy, was introduced to ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES through one of his Realtors. He quickly realized that this was the original vision he held back in 1992 when he first founded MELASTIN REALTY.
It is time that Realtors identify with today’s technology and fast paced environment. The Brick and Mortar real estate office is becoming an obsolete asset, no longer needed for an agent’s success. With the national team of ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES, the consumer, Realtor, and Real Estate Brokers all win.
According to the ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES President Mr. Scott Chamberlin, we are very fortunate to have the quality firm of MELASTIN REALTY join our Real Estate family. Mr. Chamberlin goes on to say that we are currently in negotiations with other firms in the Northeastern States.
ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES expects to be open in at least 20 states by the summer of 2008. We continue to grow at an astonishing pace according to Mr. Chamberlin. In fact we have already out grown our corporate office and will be moving this summer into larger facilities, so that we can continue our recruiting efforts on behalf of our Brokers.
We have decided to move forward in setting up an evening call center, so our recruiters can more efficiently call the western states. We are even looking at the possibility of setting up a Saturday shift. We still have several states available and if a Broker has an interest in joining ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES, they need to contact Mr. Scott Chamberlin at schamberlin@allisonjamesrealtors.com or call him at 1-866-720-0210.
Monday, March 3, 2008
From The Presidents Desk March 3rd, 2008
“TECHNOLOGY DELIVERED”
Scott Chamberlin, President
Allison James Estates & Homes
I can vividly recall sitting in a small brokerage in Del Mar, CA in 1984 handwriting addresses on postcards that introduced my real estate services. During, what seemed like thousands of postcards, I thought to myself how wonderful it would be if there was some way I could create a list of clients that I could access without having to hand-write or use a typewriter every time I wanted to market my services.
I then spent the afternoon licking stamps with a 2-inch thick MLS book in my lap researching homes for a buyer that I had solicited the week before.
Then next day I walked into my Broker’s office and he was sitting behind a grey box with a rainbow colored apple on it, with what looked like a bite taken out of it. I asked him what it was and what was he doing, for he was typing on a plastic keyboard and the silence of his actions intrigued me. Where was the constant hum of the typewriter, and the click-click-click?
He explained to me that he was inputting names and addresses on an Apple computer, into a piece of software called “The List Handler”. He then reached over and pulled out of the computer a flat black square card and handed it to me. He said, “Here, this is your list of names and addresses for your future marketing needs. Every address that you had in your rolodex is stored on this disk and can be printed on labels with a simple command”.
My Broker had been in the industry for a number of years, had a engineering degree, and he went on to predict, for he possessed an early understanding of computers and was well read on how the computer industry was evolving, that one day we would be able to capture the technology of computers and that it would revolutionize the business world and certainly the Real Estate Industry.
Well, 23 years later I truly can say that he was the first to show me that truly Technology had been Delivered and would continue to have a major affect on the real estate world. I successfully began using that small 5 ¼ floppy disk drive Apple computer and I have never looked back.
I recently read on the NAR website that in today’s real estate market it is a known fact the 80 +% of all buyers across this country go to the Internet and locate a home that they are interested in potentially buying long before they start looking for a real estate agent. It is a known fact that many, if not most top producers in today’s real estate market are driving business to themselves via the Internet and via their artistically designed web pages. It is a known fact that these top producers rarely even go into a brick and mortar environment on a daily or weekly basis.
The Real Estate Industry continues to embrace and grow with the Internet, although it is not nearly to the capacity that it can and will one day.
Scott Chamberlin, President of Allison James Estates and Homes,
The Fastest Growing Virtual Real Estate Company in the Country
Presents
“Technology Delivered”
"An intriguing insight into the current affect of Virtual Technology in the Real Estate World...and the benefits of working from a home office environment"
Virtual Internet MLS
Tax Benefits
Saving $’s by not having to drive to the office
Helping to save the planet by not driving to the office
Saving trees by not using paper but utilizing a paperless virtual approach to all of your paperwork
Using electronic signatures on all of your documents instead of a wet signature and a paper trail
Storing all of your documents electronically with a user name and password access
Broker training and weekly meetings through teleconferencing and Webcam interaction
Email marketing instead of snail mail expensive fliers, why go door to door anymore when you can reach thousands of potential consumers for listings virtually
Etc.
Scott Chamberlin, President
Allison James Estates & Homes
I can vividly recall sitting in a small brokerage in Del Mar, CA in 1984 handwriting addresses on postcards that introduced my real estate services. During, what seemed like thousands of postcards, I thought to myself how wonderful it would be if there was some way I could create a list of clients that I could access without having to hand-write or use a typewriter every time I wanted to market my services.
I then spent the afternoon licking stamps with a 2-inch thick MLS book in my lap researching homes for a buyer that I had solicited the week before.
Then next day I walked into my Broker’s office and he was sitting behind a grey box with a rainbow colored apple on it, with what looked like a bite taken out of it. I asked him what it was and what was he doing, for he was typing on a plastic keyboard and the silence of his actions intrigued me. Where was the constant hum of the typewriter, and the click-click-click?
He explained to me that he was inputting names and addresses on an Apple computer, into a piece of software called “The List Handler”. He then reached over and pulled out of the computer a flat black square card and handed it to me. He said, “Here, this is your list of names and addresses for your future marketing needs. Every address that you had in your rolodex is stored on this disk and can be printed on labels with a simple command”.
My Broker had been in the industry for a number of years, had a engineering degree, and he went on to predict, for he possessed an early understanding of computers and was well read on how the computer industry was evolving, that one day we would be able to capture the technology of computers and that it would revolutionize the business world and certainly the Real Estate Industry.
Well, 23 years later I truly can say that he was the first to show me that truly Technology had been Delivered and would continue to have a major affect on the real estate world. I successfully began using that small 5 ¼ floppy disk drive Apple computer and I have never looked back.
I recently read on the NAR website that in today’s real estate market it is a known fact the 80 +% of all buyers across this country go to the Internet and locate a home that they are interested in potentially buying long before they start looking for a real estate agent. It is a known fact that many, if not most top producers in today’s real estate market are driving business to themselves via the Internet and via their artistically designed web pages. It is a known fact that these top producers rarely even go into a brick and mortar environment on a daily or weekly basis.
The Real Estate Industry continues to embrace and grow with the Internet, although it is not nearly to the capacity that it can and will one day.
Scott Chamberlin, President of Allison James Estates and Homes,
The Fastest Growing Virtual Real Estate Company in the Country
Presents
“Technology Delivered”
"An intriguing insight into the current affect of Virtual Technology in the Real Estate World...and the benefits of working from a home office environment"
Virtual Internet MLS
Tax Benefits
Saving $’s by not having to drive to the office
Helping to save the planet by not driving to the office
Saving trees by not using paper but utilizing a paperless virtual approach to all of your paperwork
Using electronic signatures on all of your documents instead of a wet signature and a paper trail
Storing all of your documents electronically with a user name and password access
Broker training and weekly meetings through teleconferencing and Webcam interaction
Email marketing instead of snail mail expensive fliers, why go door to door anymore when you can reach thousands of potential consumers for listings virtually
Etc.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
CEO Message Feb. 25th, 2008
Allison James Estate and Homes Opens
For Business in Several New States
Allison James Estates & Homes, a company that is utilizing a national Internet-based business model, continues to add new states to its program. Since opening its first state in California on Oct. 1, 2007, the start-up company has added an additional 10 states to its operations.
“What a wild few months it’s been,” said company President Scott Chamberlin. “Our original goal was to be open in a couple of states by year’s end. But we were able to begin operations in 11 states with eight more under contract and expected to open soon. The growth has been spectacular.”
Considering the fact that they opened Allison James Estates & Homes at the very bottom of the worst real estate market in 30 years, the companies growth has been impressive. The product they offer was obviously needed by the real estate industry, Chamberlin said. “We’re recruiting all day, every day, and as a result we are now in a position to start doing acquisitions.
“With all the closings of Real Estate companies that we have witnessed over the last few months, we have decided to make acquisitions a vital part of our growth plans. There is no reason that an owner that worked for years building his or her real estate company should end up losing everything because of the current market situations.”
Chamberlin said that under Allison James Estates & Homes’ business plan, the company will continue to acquire both brokers and agents as more businesses go under, putting them into a position to offer any Broker a way to continue to generate cash flow for the next three years.
“We’re prepared to look at companies with several thousand Realtors, and companies with as little as 15 Realtors. We hope this message gets out to the Real Estate industry. We understand what these Brokers are facing and we hope to offer them some hope.”
With this explosive growth in the number of states coming on-board, he explained, the company knew they had to go outside the box to create the type of aggressive recruiting program they’d promised the brokers in those states. Their approach is designed around their corporate office doing all the recruiting for the national company.
CEO James Crumbaugh III originally conceived of the idea 20 years ago when he was first recognized as one of the top recruiters in the country. “My belief at that time was if a company ever did all the recruiting nationally, that company would become the largest real estate company in the country in a very short time,” he said.
With the advent of the Internet, the fact that most Realtors conduct business from their own home offices, and all the changes and volatility in the industry, leaders of Crumbaugh said that the timing is ideal to perfect their recruiting efforts nationally.
“We currently are generating 1,800 calls per day with a goal of 3,600 calls a day within the next month. “Real estate professionals immediately see the advantage of keeping 100% of their commission for a flat monthly fee,” Crumbaugh said. “It’s a no-brainer.”
To learn more about what Allison James Estates & Homes has to offer, you can visit their website http://AllisonJames.RealTalk.com contact the company President, Scott Chamberlin at schamberlin@allisonjamesrealtors.com or call 1-866-720-0210.
For Business in Several New States
Allison James Estates & Homes, a company that is utilizing a national Internet-based business model, continues to add new states to its program. Since opening its first state in California on Oct. 1, 2007, the start-up company has added an additional 10 states to its operations.
“What a wild few months it’s been,” said company President Scott Chamberlin. “Our original goal was to be open in a couple of states by year’s end. But we were able to begin operations in 11 states with eight more under contract and expected to open soon. The growth has been spectacular.”
Considering the fact that they opened Allison James Estates & Homes at the very bottom of the worst real estate market in 30 years, the companies growth has been impressive. The product they offer was obviously needed by the real estate industry, Chamberlin said. “We’re recruiting all day, every day, and as a result we are now in a position to start doing acquisitions.
“With all the closings of Real Estate companies that we have witnessed over the last few months, we have decided to make acquisitions a vital part of our growth plans. There is no reason that an owner that worked for years building his or her real estate company should end up losing everything because of the current market situations.”
Chamberlin said that under Allison James Estates & Homes’ business plan, the company will continue to acquire both brokers and agents as more businesses go under, putting them into a position to offer any Broker a way to continue to generate cash flow for the next three years.
“We’re prepared to look at companies with several thousand Realtors, and companies with as little as 15 Realtors. We hope this message gets out to the Real Estate industry. We understand what these Brokers are facing and we hope to offer them some hope.”
With this explosive growth in the number of states coming on-board, he explained, the company knew they had to go outside the box to create the type of aggressive recruiting program they’d promised the brokers in those states. Their approach is designed around their corporate office doing all the recruiting for the national company.
CEO James Crumbaugh III originally conceived of the idea 20 years ago when he was first recognized as one of the top recruiters in the country. “My belief at that time was if a company ever did all the recruiting nationally, that company would become the largest real estate company in the country in a very short time,” he said.
With the advent of the Internet, the fact that most Realtors conduct business from their own home offices, and all the changes and volatility in the industry, leaders of Crumbaugh said that the timing is ideal to perfect their recruiting efforts nationally.
“We currently are generating 1,800 calls per day with a goal of 3,600 calls a day within the next month. “Real estate professionals immediately see the advantage of keeping 100% of their commission for a flat monthly fee,” Crumbaugh said. “It’s a no-brainer.”
To learn more about what Allison James Estates & Homes has to offer, you can visit their website http://AllisonJames.RealTalk.com contact the company President, Scott Chamberlin at schamberlin@allisonjamesrealtors.com or call 1-866-720-0210.
Friday, February 15, 2008
CEO Message Feb. 18th,2008
STATUS REPORT
As of now, our new corporate office has been open for 1 ½ months. It’s been a very busy month with getting a top flight staff hired, equipment purchased and preparing for growth.
We’re fine tuning our telemarketers and by doing so the daily leads were generating are becoming better every day. I know all of you have spent time with Tammy and Linda, and they are working hard for you. What you may not realize, is that Tammy and Linda put in 12 hour days 3 times a week, because they work until 9:00 pm so that they can talk with interested Realtors at the Realtors convenience.
After several months of recruiting, we have found that it is taking a full 90 days from the time we first contact a Realtor to the time that Realtor joins us. As all of you know, the Realtors we’re getting are busy closing out sales and getting their listings in a position to switch over to AJI. I don’t think we’ll lower this time frame. Over the years I have hired thousands of Realtors and it almost always, even in the good times took 90 days.
As we shared with you last week, we are actively looking for acquisitions. The profile we’re looking for is an independent company with 100+ Realtors, with 2-4 offices that are facing the prospect of closing their doors. If you hear about any company in this situation, don’t hesitate to let us know.
We offer a phenomenal package for the commercial Realtor. They can pay just $35 a month and then when they have a sale they will then pay for the full year minus the $35 monthly fee. If they go for a full year without a sale then we will roll it over into the second year with them only paying the $35 but then when they have a closing they would owe for 2 years.
This past week we’ve been working on creating a data base for press releases. We want to do a minimum of 1 press release per state per week. You can help us by getting us the correct email addresses for all the media outlets in your state.
Last week during our conference call we brought up the idea of video conferencing. We got the impression that our Brokers weren’t that enthusiastic with the prospect. I know I have a face made for radio and that’s why I’m hesitant. Please weigh in on this. We don’t want to go through the trouble of creating a system that you won’t use.
Lastly, we want to bring quality and substance to our conference calls. Therefore, I am proposing that we have our manager’s conference call once a month, on the first Monday at 11:00AM EST. Then we would have our sales meeting conference calls every Tuesday at 11:00am EST. We understand how much Realtors hate sales meetings, so we don’t want to have a meeting just to have a meeting. We want to bring value and substance to all our meetings. Please weigh in on this issue as well.
We want to thank each and every one of our Brokers. These beginning days will only make us stronger 3 years from now when the Real Estate industry has made a full recovery. In the mean time we just keep working hard for you every day.
As of now, our new corporate office has been open for 1 ½ months. It’s been a very busy month with getting a top flight staff hired, equipment purchased and preparing for growth.
We’re fine tuning our telemarketers and by doing so the daily leads were generating are becoming better every day. I know all of you have spent time with Tammy and Linda, and they are working hard for you. What you may not realize, is that Tammy and Linda put in 12 hour days 3 times a week, because they work until 9:00 pm so that they can talk with interested Realtors at the Realtors convenience.
After several months of recruiting, we have found that it is taking a full 90 days from the time we first contact a Realtor to the time that Realtor joins us. As all of you know, the Realtors we’re getting are busy closing out sales and getting their listings in a position to switch over to AJI. I don’t think we’ll lower this time frame. Over the years I have hired thousands of Realtors and it almost always, even in the good times took 90 days.
As we shared with you last week, we are actively looking for acquisitions. The profile we’re looking for is an independent company with 100+ Realtors, with 2-4 offices that are facing the prospect of closing their doors. If you hear about any company in this situation, don’t hesitate to let us know.
We offer a phenomenal package for the commercial Realtor. They can pay just $35 a month and then when they have a sale they will then pay for the full year minus the $35 monthly fee. If they go for a full year without a sale then we will roll it over into the second year with them only paying the $35 but then when they have a closing they would owe for 2 years.
This past week we’ve been working on creating a data base for press releases. We want to do a minimum of 1 press release per state per week. You can help us by getting us the correct email addresses for all the media outlets in your state.
Last week during our conference call we brought up the idea of video conferencing. We got the impression that our Brokers weren’t that enthusiastic with the prospect. I know I have a face made for radio and that’s why I’m hesitant. Please weigh in on this. We don’t want to go through the trouble of creating a system that you won’t use.
Lastly, we want to bring quality and substance to our conference calls. Therefore, I am proposing that we have our manager’s conference call once a month, on the first Monday at 11:00AM EST. Then we would have our sales meeting conference calls every Tuesday at 11:00am EST. We understand how much Realtors hate sales meetings, so we don’t want to have a meeting just to have a meeting. We want to bring value and substance to all our meetings. Please weigh in on this issue as well.
We want to thank each and every one of our Brokers. These beginning days will only make us stronger 3 years from now when the Real Estate industry has made a full recovery. In the mean time we just keep working hard for you every day.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
CEO Message Feb. 11th, 2008
TO BE OR NOT TO BE, THAT IS THE QUESTION
How does a company go from being a no-name upstart company, to becoming the Number One Real Estate Company in the country? We have seen it happen in the past. Is the past about to repeat itself?
I remember when I first got my Real Estate license back in the early 1970’s in Northern Michigan. There was this little company that claimed they were going to become the number one company in the country. At the time I thought those ugly baby-poop-colored jackets were horrible. Well, not too many years later, I was working for that company and my Broker begged and pleaded with me to wear one of those baby-poop-yellow jackets, which I just never could. However, that little company did go on to be one of the greatest Real Estate companies ever.
Then towards the end of the 1970’s as I was working in the Real Estate industry in Colorado, I heard of this little upstart company with an outrageous business plan. They wanted the Realtor to pay them to work for them. On top of that, they had this silly balloon as their logo. At the time, I thought to myself, this is the craziest idea yet. But, once again not too many years later, I found myself working for that crazy company with the balloon as their logo, and in fact I was actually proud to wear that balloon pin.
The craziest idea may well become the future of the industry.
Now, let’s look at what seems to be the next craziest idea in the Real Estate industry. A little startup company believes that the days of the Brick and Mortar offices are over and that it’s now realistic to believe you can build a national company by allowing the Realtors to work out of their homes. This crazy little startup company has their logo as well. It’s a crest with two Lions. Seems silly, doesn’t it?
The premise of this new company is this: by giving up the Brick and Mortar offices, they can give the Realtor what the Realtor really wants. More commission. This little startup company has come up with a solution that is the closest thing yet to a true 100% commission that the Realtor keeps. This little startup company has bet the ranch that they can duplicate a Brick and Mortar office via the Internet, complete with video conferencing and teleconferencing.
So, are we going to see the company with the CREST with TWO LIONS logo become the next greatest Real Estate Company in the future? My bet is yes. They have the audacity to move forward with a whole new concept, and its being well received by the Realtors of this country. However, it’s a long road from creating a new idea to fully implementing that idea, and then growing that idea into the Number One Real Estate Company in the country.
Watch this little company over the next few years with the silly CREST and TWO LIONS logo and we’ll all see if they become the next biggest and greatest company in the Real Estate industry.
How does a company go from being a no-name upstart company, to becoming the Number One Real Estate Company in the country? We have seen it happen in the past. Is the past about to repeat itself?
I remember when I first got my Real Estate license back in the early 1970’s in Northern Michigan. There was this little company that claimed they were going to become the number one company in the country. At the time I thought those ugly baby-poop-colored jackets were horrible. Well, not too many years later, I was working for that company and my Broker begged and pleaded with me to wear one of those baby-poop-yellow jackets, which I just never could. However, that little company did go on to be one of the greatest Real Estate companies ever.
Then towards the end of the 1970’s as I was working in the Real Estate industry in Colorado, I heard of this little upstart company with an outrageous business plan. They wanted the Realtor to pay them to work for them. On top of that, they had this silly balloon as their logo. At the time, I thought to myself, this is the craziest idea yet. But, once again not too many years later, I found myself working for that crazy company with the balloon as their logo, and in fact I was actually proud to wear that balloon pin.
The craziest idea may well become the future of the industry.
Now, let’s look at what seems to be the next craziest idea in the Real Estate industry. A little startup company believes that the days of the Brick and Mortar offices are over and that it’s now realistic to believe you can build a national company by allowing the Realtors to work out of their homes. This crazy little startup company has their logo as well. It’s a crest with two Lions. Seems silly, doesn’t it?
The premise of this new company is this: by giving up the Brick and Mortar offices, they can give the Realtor what the Realtor really wants. More commission. This little startup company has come up with a solution that is the closest thing yet to a true 100% commission that the Realtor keeps. This little startup company has bet the ranch that they can duplicate a Brick and Mortar office via the Internet, complete with video conferencing and teleconferencing.
So, are we going to see the company with the CREST with TWO LIONS logo become the next greatest Real Estate Company in the future? My bet is yes. They have the audacity to move forward with a whole new concept, and its being well received by the Realtors of this country. However, it’s a long road from creating a new idea to fully implementing that idea, and then growing that idea into the Number One Real Estate Company in the country.
Watch this little company over the next few years with the silly CREST and TWO LIONS logo and we’ll all see if they become the next biggest and greatest company in the Real Estate industry.
Monday, February 4, 2008
CEO Message - Feb. 4th, 2008
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST MONTH IN THE NEW CORPORATE OFFICE
It’s been only four months since we opened in our first state, California, on October 1, 2007. We are now opened in eight more states - Arizona, Oregon, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, and Tennessee. Several more openings in additional states are right around the corner.
We formally opened the corporate offices on January 2, 2008. It’s been a very busy and productive month recruiting Realtor Associates. First we concentrated on hiring 12 Telemarketers for each of two shifts. The first shift is 9:00 am to 1:00 pm EST. This shift starts calling states on the EST zone and works west as the morning progresses. The second shift starts at 1:00 pm and works until 5:00 pm, focusing on the CST and PST zones.
We are generating on average 1800 calls a day from the call center. Of those 1800 calls, we generate an average of 230 Realtor leads who are interested enough to want more information. We are currently working closely with the Telemarketers to turn these 230 leads into working leads, with the intent of closing 10% a day.
We have several new members of our team. Tammy Archibald has been promoted to Manager of all Telemarketing Closers. Karen Shipman has been promoted to Manager of all recruiting activities. She supervises Tammy Archibald and oversees the Call Center and the Closers.
Chris Fraser has been hired as the IT Department Supervisor, and is working diligently to develop all the systems that an operation of this size requires. We are currently investigating which programs are best for Video Conferencing and Phone conferencing. We hope to have these systems in place shortly.
Another item of interest is our new ability to use electronic signatures. This will streamline our operation in many ways, including giving us the ability to close a Realtor on joining us while we’re Video conferencing with them.
We have also established both Sign Standards and Business Card Standards in the last month. Our CFO, Mr. G. David Powell, will have the systems in place shortly that will handle the tracking and electronic storage of all documents for as many as 20,000 Realtors. We’ve been able to achieve the goals we set, to be ready to handle the growth of ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES.
Our Closers tell us that several of our Broker Affiliates have been excellent at working with them to bring on-board new Realtor Associates. Our goal for this month is to recruit ten Realtor Associates in each of our states. We need all our Broker Affiliates to help in achieving this month’s goal. Don’t hesitate to give Tammy Archibald the contact information of any Realtor in your area who you think would have an interest in joining ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES.
It’s been only four months since we opened in our first state, California, on October 1, 2007. We are now opened in eight more states - Arizona, Oregon, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, and Tennessee. Several more openings in additional states are right around the corner.
We formally opened the corporate offices on January 2, 2008. It’s been a very busy and productive month recruiting Realtor Associates. First we concentrated on hiring 12 Telemarketers for each of two shifts. The first shift is 9:00 am to 1:00 pm EST. This shift starts calling states on the EST zone and works west as the morning progresses. The second shift starts at 1:00 pm and works until 5:00 pm, focusing on the CST and PST zones.
We are generating on average 1800 calls a day from the call center. Of those 1800 calls, we generate an average of 230 Realtor leads who are interested enough to want more information. We are currently working closely with the Telemarketers to turn these 230 leads into working leads, with the intent of closing 10% a day.
We have several new members of our team. Tammy Archibald has been promoted to Manager of all Telemarketing Closers. Karen Shipman has been promoted to Manager of all recruiting activities. She supervises Tammy Archibald and oversees the Call Center and the Closers.
Chris Fraser has been hired as the IT Department Supervisor, and is working diligently to develop all the systems that an operation of this size requires. We are currently investigating which programs are best for Video Conferencing and Phone conferencing. We hope to have these systems in place shortly.
Another item of interest is our new ability to use electronic signatures. This will streamline our operation in many ways, including giving us the ability to close a Realtor on joining us while we’re Video conferencing with them.
We have also established both Sign Standards and Business Card Standards in the last month. Our CFO, Mr. G. David Powell, will have the systems in place shortly that will handle the tracking and electronic storage of all documents for as many as 20,000 Realtors. We’ve been able to achieve the goals we set, to be ready to handle the growth of ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES.
Our Closers tell us that several of our Broker Affiliates have been excellent at working with them to bring on-board new Realtor Associates. Our goal for this month is to recruit ten Realtor Associates in each of our states. We need all our Broker Affiliates to help in achieving this month’s goal. Don’t hesitate to give Tammy Archibald the contact information of any Realtor in your area who you think would have an interest in joining ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Are U Cyber Ready?
IS THE END IN SIGHT FOR THE BRICK & MORTAR COMPANIES?
A year and a half ago at the very height of the real estate boom I sold my six office, 200 Realtor, 2,000 closings per year, $300 million gross sales revenue per year, Real Estate Company. Then, at only 54 years of age, I tried to retire. However, I got extremely bored. And then, when I found myself mopping my garage floor twice a week, I really knew I was in trouble. (I will say, though, it was the cleanest garage you have probably ever seen.)
So, when total boredom set in, I decided I needed to start a business again. And, since Real Estate is the only business I’ve known since I was 19, I decided to open a Real Estate company again. My first obstacle was I had a “non-compete clause” in the entire southern half of Florida as part of the agreement when I sold my Real Estate Company. So how was I going to open an office and not violate my non- compete clause?
I started thinking long and hard about the business and realized that to start another Real Estate company using the old formula was really crazy, since it’s becoming almost impossible for an Owner/Broker to make a profit anymore, let alone in this current slow market of 2007. I spent a lot of time analyzing how the industry had changed from when I got into it 35+ years ago, and we all know there has been meteoric change.
Remember when it was a 50/50 split between the Realtor and the Broker, and the Realtor would spend the entire year trying to sell enough to get up to a 75% split (which he or she would usually reach in December and then on January 1st , it would roll back to a 50/50 split)? Then the industry started changing and the Realtors wanted more, so it became the mantra for Brokers that they needed to retain 35% in order to make a profit. Now even those days are long gone.
When I owned my Brick and Mortar office, I was always upset with the Realtors because they wanted more and more and never even cared if I made a profit. I guess that’s just human nature. However, when I really started to look at the situation from the outside, I realized that it wasn’t just the greed of the Realtor that had brought on these changes. There were several factors involved in this evolution. The Internet is obviously the big one. Realtors no longer count on their Broker to drive the business to them. You can “google” any area in the country, and several Realtor’s websites will come up before the Brokerage website. So the Internet has given the individual Realtors the marketing power they use to rely on their brokerage to provide for them.
IRS changes regarding home offices have also been evolving. I remember back in the early 1980’s, when I tried to take a deduction for a home office, it caused me to get audited by the IRS. The IRS now recognizes the fact that more and more Americans are working out of their homes. This will continue to be the case in the future.
There are several other expenses that the Realtor, not the Broker, now shoulders. Brokers now require Realtors to buy their own signs, postage, cards, and do their own advertising , where in the past, these were the responsibilities of the broker. The Brokers have had to do this in order to make a profit in today’s market.
So where does this leave the old model of Brick & Mortar offices? In my opinion, this model is DOA and hasn’t even realized it yet. For years all my peers have been saying the industry has to change. So the question is this: how is it going to change?
This is how I see it changing. Most Realtors now spend more of their time working out of their homes than going into the office. The old concept of floor time just doesn’t work anymore. Since almost all Realtors have their name and phone number on their signs, calls from buyers no longer go to the office. This issue was always unfair to the listing Realtor anyway. If they worked to get the listing then they should get the calls. So agents currently work out of their homes, they pay for their web sites, they pay for their advertising, they pay for their cards and a host of other expenses. So why should they pay 15% to 40% to their Broker? It’s a heck of a good question that my Broker peers really don’t want to think about.
Since you can now conduct office meetings online, scan and review contracts with a click of a button and, quite honestly, allow the Broker to supervise as well or better than trying to run down Realtors in the hallway of a Brick and Mortar office, why do they need a Brick & Mortar office? I see in the future Realtors paying a small fee to a Broker for placing their license under a Broker’s license and then making their home a “branch office” where municipalities allow it. Where it isn’t allowed, most cities now have “virtual office buildings” where a Realtor can rent space very inexpensively for when they need to meet a client.
There are a percentage of Realtors that need the interaction of an office, but more and more, the productive Realtors avoid the office environment of gossip and donuts. I believe in the very near future we will see a “National Franchise Real Estate Company” based on the concept that I have provided here today.
A year and a half ago at the very height of the real estate boom I sold my six office, 200 Realtor, 2,000 closings per year, $300 million gross sales revenue per year, Real Estate Company. Then, at only 54 years of age, I tried to retire. However, I got extremely bored. And then, when I found myself mopping my garage floor twice a week, I really knew I was in trouble. (I will say, though, it was the cleanest garage you have probably ever seen.)
So, when total boredom set in, I decided I needed to start a business again. And, since Real Estate is the only business I’ve known since I was 19, I decided to open a Real Estate company again. My first obstacle was I had a “non-compete clause” in the entire southern half of Florida as part of the agreement when I sold my Real Estate Company. So how was I going to open an office and not violate my non- compete clause?
I started thinking long and hard about the business and realized that to start another Real Estate company using the old formula was really crazy, since it’s becoming almost impossible for an Owner/Broker to make a profit anymore, let alone in this current slow market of 2007. I spent a lot of time analyzing how the industry had changed from when I got into it 35+ years ago, and we all know there has been meteoric change.
Remember when it was a 50/50 split between the Realtor and the Broker, and the Realtor would spend the entire year trying to sell enough to get up to a 75% split (which he or she would usually reach in December and then on January 1st , it would roll back to a 50/50 split)? Then the industry started changing and the Realtors wanted more, so it became the mantra for Brokers that they needed to retain 35% in order to make a profit. Now even those days are long gone.
When I owned my Brick and Mortar office, I was always upset with the Realtors because they wanted more and more and never even cared if I made a profit. I guess that’s just human nature. However, when I really started to look at the situation from the outside, I realized that it wasn’t just the greed of the Realtor that had brought on these changes. There were several factors involved in this evolution. The Internet is obviously the big one. Realtors no longer count on their Broker to drive the business to them. You can “google” any area in the country, and several Realtor’s websites will come up before the Brokerage website. So the Internet has given the individual Realtors the marketing power they use to rely on their brokerage to provide for them.
IRS changes regarding home offices have also been evolving. I remember back in the early 1980’s, when I tried to take a deduction for a home office, it caused me to get audited by the IRS. The IRS now recognizes the fact that more and more Americans are working out of their homes. This will continue to be the case in the future.
There are several other expenses that the Realtor, not the Broker, now shoulders. Brokers now require Realtors to buy their own signs, postage, cards, and do their own advertising , where in the past, these were the responsibilities of the broker. The Brokers have had to do this in order to make a profit in today’s market.
So where does this leave the old model of Brick & Mortar offices? In my opinion, this model is DOA and hasn’t even realized it yet. For years all my peers have been saying the industry has to change. So the question is this: how is it going to change?
This is how I see it changing. Most Realtors now spend more of their time working out of their homes than going into the office. The old concept of floor time just doesn’t work anymore. Since almost all Realtors have their name and phone number on their signs, calls from buyers no longer go to the office. This issue was always unfair to the listing Realtor anyway. If they worked to get the listing then they should get the calls. So agents currently work out of their homes, they pay for their web sites, they pay for their advertising, they pay for their cards and a host of other expenses. So why should they pay 15% to 40% to their Broker? It’s a heck of a good question that my Broker peers really don’t want to think about.
Since you can now conduct office meetings online, scan and review contracts with a click of a button and, quite honestly, allow the Broker to supervise as well or better than trying to run down Realtors in the hallway of a Brick and Mortar office, why do they need a Brick & Mortar office? I see in the future Realtors paying a small fee to a Broker for placing their license under a Broker’s license and then making their home a “branch office” where municipalities allow it. Where it isn’t allowed, most cities now have “virtual office buildings” where a Realtor can rent space very inexpensively for when they need to meet a client.
There are a percentage of Realtors that need the interaction of an office, but more and more, the productive Realtors avoid the office environment of gossip and donuts. I believe in the very near future we will see a “National Franchise Real Estate Company” based on the concept that I have provided here today.
Monday, January 21, 2008
CEO Message: Monday Janauary 21st, 2008
ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES
MUSIC CAMP
Some of you have inquired about the Music Camp link on our website. This idea of underwriting music education in our nation’s public school system through fundraising events is very near and dear to my heart. My wife, Ginger and I both come from families where music was highly appreciated and valued. Music has also been a cornerstone of our friendship with Scott Chamberlin (President of AJI) and his wife, Liz. Since part of the mission of our company is to give back to the community, it’s only natural that we would want to nurture and strengthen our nation’s love of music. This is the year I’d like to inaugurate our first national Allison James Estates and Homes Music Camp Fundraiser.
This fundraiser will take place annually, during the third weekend of September. Since we know that “timing is everything”, we wanted to capitalize on the optimistic and upbeat spirit in schools, when students are just back from summer vacation, and looking forward to the new year, incorporating interested students, teachers and administrators in the local high schools along with community leaders into our fundraiser efforts.
We encourage our Broker Affiliates and all our Realtor Associates to join us and initiate a fund raiser program in your local area. If we all work together, we can make a huge difference in our local high school music programs, where students can be part of a high quality, reliably funded program.
Our first fundraiser in the State of Florida for the ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES Music Camp will take place in the Port Charlotte area of West Florida. We are working with two of the local Yacht Clubs to find a suitable location.
Our intent is to have an ART AUCTION at one of the local Yacht Clubs. We would then invite the A LIST in the area, i.e. patrons of the arts, local political leaders, community leaders, etc. Our goal is to invite 250 local leaders to a $100-a-plate dinner.
Then after dinner we would open the Art Auction. We believe that we can raise as much as $25,000 dollars after expenses on our very first fundraiser for the ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES MUSIC CAMP.
There are virtually hundred different ideas out there that can generate fantastic fund raisers. We ask all of you to submit your ideas to the corporate office, so that we can send out press releases to help in our multiple efforts. Let’s make this program a real success so we can benefit all our local High School music programs.
MUSIC CAMP
Some of you have inquired about the Music Camp link on our website. This idea of underwriting music education in our nation’s public school system through fundraising events is very near and dear to my heart. My wife, Ginger and I both come from families where music was highly appreciated and valued. Music has also been a cornerstone of our friendship with Scott Chamberlin (President of AJI) and his wife, Liz. Since part of the mission of our company is to give back to the community, it’s only natural that we would want to nurture and strengthen our nation’s love of music. This is the year I’d like to inaugurate our first national Allison James Estates and Homes Music Camp Fundraiser.
This fundraiser will take place annually, during the third weekend of September. Since we know that “timing is everything”, we wanted to capitalize on the optimistic and upbeat spirit in schools, when students are just back from summer vacation, and looking forward to the new year, incorporating interested students, teachers and administrators in the local high schools along with community leaders into our fundraiser efforts.
We encourage our Broker Affiliates and all our Realtor Associates to join us and initiate a fund raiser program in your local area. If we all work together, we can make a huge difference in our local high school music programs, where students can be part of a high quality, reliably funded program.
Our first fundraiser in the State of Florida for the ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES Music Camp will take place in the Port Charlotte area of West Florida. We are working with two of the local Yacht Clubs to find a suitable location.
Our intent is to have an ART AUCTION at one of the local Yacht Clubs. We would then invite the A LIST in the area, i.e. patrons of the arts, local political leaders, community leaders, etc. Our goal is to invite 250 local leaders to a $100-a-plate dinner.
Then after dinner we would open the Art Auction. We believe that we can raise as much as $25,000 dollars after expenses on our very first fundraiser for the ALLISON JAMES ESTATES & HOMES MUSIC CAMP.
There are virtually hundred different ideas out there that can generate fantastic fund raisers. We ask all of you to submit your ideas to the corporate office, so that we can send out press releases to help in our multiple efforts. Let’s make this program a real success so we can benefit all our local High School music programs.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
THE PERFECT STORM
The Perfect Storm! What could I possibly mean when I say that the Real Estate industry is about to enter the perfect storm?
After 35 + years in the Real Estate industry, I’ve watched good markets come and go and bad markets come and go. There are always mitigating factors that cause these markets, both good and bad, to make an abrupt change. Those that have spent a couple of decades in the Real Estate industry will tell you this: when a market changes from bad to good or good to bad it almost always happens very quickly, particularly when a market goes from good to bad. I think everyone reading this article will agree - that is what happened this time as well, when the Real Estate market went south on us.
So what do I mean when I say that the Real Estate industry is about to enter the perfect storm? Let’s look at several factors. The first factor is that a new national election is about to take place with a change of leadership. Markets tend to pause when we are in this faze, waiting to sense what the change will mean. Next, with the possibility of a recession facing the United States, with several states already experiencing a recession, the stock market is going to continue to retreat. When the stock market starts to retreat as it is now, investors almost always start to look at Real Estate, because it’s a tangible item – it’s concrete, something they can fully grasp.
Then, you have to take a look at where the Real Estate industry is at this moment. With the exception of Texas, we have in most states a severe Real Estate issue facing this country. We have declining prices in most areas as well as a huge over-supply of inventory. Yet, we also have some of the most attractive mortgage interest rates available in quite a while, and contrary to popular belief, there is still plenty of mortgage money available for the qualified borrower.
Let’s now take all these issues’s and throw them into a paper bag, give that paper bag a good shaking and then dump it out. What do you have?
It is The Perfect Storm for the Real Estate market. Real Estate prices are at a very attractive level. In fact in some areas, due to an over-correction, the properties are undervalued. Mortgage interest rates are very low and very attractive and we have a huge over-supply of resale inventory. You add all of this together, and for the real estate investor and the natural real estate buyers, the ones who what to move up or move down or move to a new area or whatever the reason is, you have one of the very best times in years to buy property.The year of 2008 is going to go down in the history books as the year that the current Real Estate market makes a U-Turn and starts to stabilize and appreciate again. Everyone keeps saying now is the time to buy. Let me tell you, it’s not only the time to buy, it’s one the very best times to buy we will see for years to come.
After 35 + years in the Real Estate industry, I’ve watched good markets come and go and bad markets come and go. There are always mitigating factors that cause these markets, both good and bad, to make an abrupt change. Those that have spent a couple of decades in the Real Estate industry will tell you this: when a market changes from bad to good or good to bad it almost always happens very quickly, particularly when a market goes from good to bad. I think everyone reading this article will agree - that is what happened this time as well, when the Real Estate market went south on us.
So what do I mean when I say that the Real Estate industry is about to enter the perfect storm? Let’s look at several factors. The first factor is that a new national election is about to take place with a change of leadership. Markets tend to pause when we are in this faze, waiting to sense what the change will mean. Next, with the possibility of a recession facing the United States, with several states already experiencing a recession, the stock market is going to continue to retreat. When the stock market starts to retreat as it is now, investors almost always start to look at Real Estate, because it’s a tangible item – it’s concrete, something they can fully grasp.
Then, you have to take a look at where the Real Estate industry is at this moment. With the exception of Texas, we have in most states a severe Real Estate issue facing this country. We have declining prices in most areas as well as a huge over-supply of inventory. Yet, we also have some of the most attractive mortgage interest rates available in quite a while, and contrary to popular belief, there is still plenty of mortgage money available for the qualified borrower.
Let’s now take all these issues’s and throw them into a paper bag, give that paper bag a good shaking and then dump it out. What do you have?
It is The Perfect Storm for the Real Estate market. Real Estate prices are at a very attractive level. In fact in some areas, due to an over-correction, the properties are undervalued. Mortgage interest rates are very low and very attractive and we have a huge over-supply of resale inventory. You add all of this together, and for the real estate investor and the natural real estate buyers, the ones who what to move up or move down or move to a new area or whatever the reason is, you have one of the very best times in years to buy property.The year of 2008 is going to go down in the history books as the year that the current Real Estate market makes a U-Turn and starts to stabilize and appreciate again. Everyone keeps saying now is the time to buy. Let me tell you, it’s not only the time to buy, it’s one the very best times to buy we will see for years to come.
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