Kerry Veach

The National Association of Realtors has a new specialty for real estate agents. RE/MAX International has also jumped on the band wagon and has the new Green Specialist. NAR say that 70% buyers of new home buyer’s want to buy a Green designated home. What is going Green? Builders are building new construction that is extremely energy efficient. I have one builder that just finished a solid concrete home, foam insulated roof, energy efficient appliances and he will guarantee a buyer that power bills will not be over $600 per year. That breaks down to $50 month. Homebuyers: you can rest assured that your Green Specialist knows which green features can help you save money, safeguard your health and lesson your carbon footprint. Being Green is not just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do. When I build my next home I will defiantly go Green.

When I teach my prospecting class I use gardening as a metaphor.  It takes a lot of hard work to grow a productive and rewarding garden.  First you have to plan out your location or pick your target market.  You will need a few good tool’s. Next till your soil.  One of the most important step’s in growing a beautiful garden is tilling your soil.  Pick your target market by doing research up front.  How many home’s do I need to sell to make my income goal?  How many client’s do I have to prospect? How many row’s do I plant? Plant your seed’s.  This is what I would call prospecting.  How many post cards, just sold, just listed, newsletters, how many open house’s will I sit to grow my business to the size I feel the most comfortable with.  Now add some active rain and fertilizer and you have the start of a great farm. Here come the weeds!  This is where the hard work begins.  You have to stay consistent.  Weed out your competition by being the best in your target market or farm area.  Out perform, out grow, and promote yourself as the specialist in your field.  Growing a rewarding garden is an incredible feeling.  It is a lot of hard work but don’t give up. You will reap the rewards of a great harvest.

7th Special Forces Group has broke ground for there base of the future.  Just south of Crestview, Florida on the USAF Eglin Reservation. Special Forces including Green Berets will have there first new state of art base built in 67 years.  This 600,000 sq ft campus will be on 500 acres located on Hwy 85 directly across from Duke Field.  Crestview, Niceville, and Ft Walton Beach are all growing with new subdivisions, commercial and new military support company’s coming in. Last week Eglin AFB broke ground for the new Joint Strike Fighter Division and by 2010 the new F-35 Fighter will call Eglin home.  Base Commander at Eglin tells us to expect from 12,000-20,000 over the next few years to move into our community.  The Emerald Coast is one the finest places in the World to live and raise a family.  If you are looking for a great vacation spot check out www.SouthernResorts.com  Life Is A Beach!!!

I teach a real estate class on “How to Write Your Business Plan”.  Real estate agents don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.  With only a few days until the New Year it is now time to set your goals and write your 2009 business plan.  If you would like a copy of the one I teach e-mail me or go to my web-site www.joingosouthern.com/newsite  and I will make sure you get a copy. Surviving this market has a lot of agents and Broker’s freaked out.  It has been a tuff year in a lot of markets.  The full time, professional agents that take this job serious will survive and prosper next year.  I love to fish and there is a saying “its time to either cut bait or fish”.  How will you prospect?  How many leads do you need to work?  Where will you prospect? How many Open Houses? Write your plan, set your budget and stick to it.  It works.  I hope this motivates you and next year is your best year ever.  Merry Christmas

Eglin AFB is the largest AFB in the United States.  The Eglin Reservation has over 288,000 acres that they use for a bombing range, Special Opps trainning, and Ranger training.  With the BRAC realignment Eglin is getting a new division in from Fort Bragg.  They have just cleared off a few hundred acres to start building the new base. We are planning to have near 12,000 new troops by 2010.  They are also getting the new F-35 at Eglin Field. Crestview is the closest town to the new base and there is very affordable housing and plenty off it.  My office has a new subdivision going in called Freedom Walk designed just for our Military.  Homes are being built  with GREEN Construction and will priced in the $180,000 range.  www.destinrealestateinfo.net

Semper Paratus- always ready for your referrals.

One of the South’s most celebrated festivals. The mullet is a fish that inhabits our local waters.  Mullet are a vegeritian fish, they think they can fly always jumping and they are the only fish that have a gizzard like a chicken.  Local fisherman catch them with cast net’s.  Fresh fried they are delicious.  The seafood festival starts on Oct 17-19. More than 40,000 hungry mullet fans will consume up to 10 tons of this humble fish this weekend.  There will be all types of food including seafood, international, Cajun, good old country cooking and my favorite boiled peanuts.  The festival caters to families with great shopping, hand crafts, youngsters entertainment, clowns, Army Ranger reptile exhibit and Big name entertainment. Headliners this year are Sara Evans, Rodney Atkins, and Jason Aldean.  Over the last few years I have seen Rick Springfield, Dixie Chicks, Billy Rae Cirus, Kenny Rogers, Travis Tritt, Lone Star, and Rascal Flats. Niceville (nice village) is a small town with a big heart.  It is located just 5 miles north of Destin, FL. Home the World’s most beautiful beach’s, Fort Walton Beach, Eglin AFB, Hurburt AFB and Crestview.  Get away this weekend and have some fun www.southernresorts.com Semper Paratus- I am always ready for your referrals

What is the difference between agents who are selling, having their best year, closing 20-30 deals per month and other agents who have not even closed two this year? Listings. Have you ever heard the phrase “If you don’t list, you don’t last?” 

How to Survive this Market! Set some goals and stick to them.  Learn something new one hour every day you work.  Technology in real estate has doubled just this year.  Agents that jumped on board during the Gold Rush got little to no training.  Those agents did not even learn the basics of how to return calls or to turn calls into client’s.  NAR is predicting another 30% drop out of agents this year.  This is a good thing for all of us who take our jobs seriously.  The number of transactions per agent are so diluted that Brokers will start dropping next. Agents don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.

Write Your Business Plan! Did you know that less then 10% of real estate agents have a written business plan? In today’s market, you have to know how many transactions it will take to accomplish your income goal and then work the numbers backwards.  How many contacts will it take? Prospecting 3-4 hours everyday. If you need a good business plan e-mail me and I will send you mine.

Training!  Take classes; knowledge in this market is power. RE/MAX has on-line training that you can watch on any computer 365 days a year 24/7.  It’s an incredible tool. Boards, Banks, and Attorneys are all giving classes. National Conventions are also a great place to hear speakers and I always learn something new just from shopping with all the Real Estate Vendors.  I will admit that in my 20 years as a REALTOR(r) that this year has been overwhelming with all the short sales, forclosures, social networking and learning how to blog.

Listing tools! First you need to have a dynamic listing presentation. Think of it as your resume and you are applying for a job. Show them your experience, community involvement, and your qualifications and designations.  Your marketing plan should include your website and positioning. If 85% of all buyers are coming from the web, then you have to show your seller where you market their listing. Here are a few to start with: Realtor.com, REMAX.com, Trulia, and Zillow.  These are all free.  I then give them 25 questions to ask when interviewing a REALTOR(r) and my 25 answers. This can knock out any competition. The finale page should be 4-6 testmonals from your clients.

Work the Numbers! First, your sphere of influence should include at least 100 that will only refer to your business.  Build your own Business Partner book who you send referrals. Join social networking groups like LinkedIn, facebook, and RisMedia. Start working expireds and FSBO.  You have to plant a lot of seeds to reap a new harvest. List baby, List!