Category: Lessons Learned

From Ice Skating to Lifesaving: A Sister’s Impact on My Life From Ice Skating to Lifesaving: A Sister’s Impact on My Life
Family · Lessons Learned · life and experience

From Ice Skating to Lifesaving: A Sister’s Impact on My Life

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By Dennis Rath

As I write this on the eve of Thanksgiving 2024, I find myself thinking about the significance of this holiday that is dedicated to gratitude, family, friends, and cherished memories.  This year is different for me and my family.  It’s the first Thanksgiving without my sister, Traci.  Her absence reminds me of how short life can be.

Being the youngest, Traci was my closest sibling, she was six years older than me, and thanks to my parents we shared many memories.  One of the oldest was when she “taught” me to ice skate at Winterhurst.  Her unique teaching method was to simply ignore me.  Despite her strong objections, my parents made her take me with her every weekend to the rink.  Every trip was the same; First, she would tie my skates so tightly they numbed my feet, then she would tell me to avoid her and her friends.  At the break, she would buy me popcorn and a pop, and re-tie my skates.  Years later, whenever I would remind her about her teaching methods, she’d retort, “Look at what a great teacher I was, you turned out to be a fantastic skater!”

I cannot post about Traci without telling you how she saved my life.  When I got sick with Guillain-Barré Syndrome she was sent again by my mother to check in on me.  When she arrived, she realized that something was seriously wrong.  She insisted that we go back to the ER.  I explained that I had been there 2 times already, but she insisted.   When they were going to send me home again without a real diagnosis, she raised holy hell, reaching out to our family doctor, who showed up and took charge of my case.

 He later admitted in all of his years he only had one other case of GBS, and that one did not make it.  So since 1994, I’ve had to put up with her constant reminders of how she saved my life.  Any time she needed a favor it always started with, “Den, remember when I saved your life…”  I never thought I would say this, but I will miss those calls.    I am not sure if it’s my age or the loss of my sister, but it’s a stark reminder that time marches on, as does life, but something is different.  Traci was a lot like our mom.  At her funeral, many of her high school and college friends told me that Traci was always the ‘cruise director’ organizing lunches, parties, and trips just like my mom.  Her passing makes me realize how many family events have gone on to the family history books.  The way my family was, is not recognizable today and it bothers me that my children will not know my family like I did.  A few years ago, my sister Mame was going through some old clothes and found a T-shirt that Traci had printed for the Rath Family Strawberry Festival.  That’s correct.  My family celebrated strawberries, which is odd seeing none of us are strawberry farmers.  Strawberry season was just an excuse to have a party.  I don’t know why, maybe it was because my parents, aunts, & uncles were all part of the greatest generation and lost so many friends in World War II, but any reason to have a get-together was a good reason.  We had a reunion/party the day after Traci’s wedding, that’s correct, my mom threw a party, on the day after a party before all of my relatives flew off home.  This was not a continuation of the reception where we partied through the night. Everyone went to bed, got up, and was at the house by 2 pm the next afternoon.  Next thing you know, our house was overflowing with people, we had to borrow chairs from the neighbors just so everyone had a place to sit.   This was not just my mom, my dad also had this socializing gene.  According to my uncle Jack, when my dad found out that Jack was going to be passing through Guam during World War II, he decided to throw him a 21st birthday party.  According to Uncle Jack, it was one hell of a party.  The funny thing is I don’t think it was even close to his birthday.  This gene was passed on to all of my siblings.  The basement of my family home on Harley was the site of many parties for my older brothers.  One of the most talked about parties was my brother Tom’s annual Christmas Eve bash.  It was ’71 or ’72 and The West Tech marching band showed up.   What makes this funnier, is that no one in my family went to school at West Tech.    Introducing my wife Jen to my family was a lot of fun.  During one of our first Christmases together, we headed to my parents’ house for dinner.  After dinner, my mom announced that we were having a family sing-along, handing out song lyrics as my sister Mame got out her guitar.  There we were, sitting in the family room singing Christmas carols.  Jen sat there, wide-eyed, repeatedly glancing at my brother-in-law Don, who simply nodded as if to say, “Yup, they do this.”    

Our family is close-knit, filled with sing-alongs and house parties, but also the occasional argument just like any other family.  However, our parents always reminded us that you only get one family, instilling the importance of unity.  Even after their passing, we remain a tight bunch, often gathering for lunches, and always capturing the moment with a group photo, thanks to Traci.

I remind my kids that some friends they make in primary and high school may stick around for years.  It takes effort, and everyone is busy, but how long does it take to send a Christmas card or make a quick call to say hello?  Over my career, I’ve seen many families drift apart after the parents pass away, often due to being “too busy” or minor disagreements, only reuniting at funerals and weddings.

My sister Traci’s death was out of the blue.  She came home from work and was sitting in her chair talking with her husband about the day, slumped in her chair mid-sentence and was gone.  As we approach this season of gratitude, I encourage you to reach out to family or old friends and check in on someone who might be all alone.  Life’s unpredictability makes these connections all the more precious

Thank you for being part of my extended family. Your support and trust mean the world to me.  I hope that Santa is good to you!

Thank You!                                                     

Dennis Rath

Does Teamwork Really Make The Dream Work?
Lessons Learned · Maximize Your Profit · Real Estate Sales · Sellers · Selling a home

Does Teamwork Really Make The Dream Work?

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Dennis Rath

Home Sellers Newsletter

I was reading an article about the people in California that lived in the area that was devastated last year by the wildfires. I was surprised to hear that many were in the process of rebuilding in the exact same area. The article stated some of the homes would not contain fire-resistant materials. After reading that my first thought was, “That’s insane! Why would they do that?!” Well, it turns out that the building codes are still a little week when it comes to what building material has to be used. Since the insurance companies don’t have to spend the money, they don’t, which leaves the extra cost up to the homeowner.  Sitting here in the western suburbs of Cleveland, far away from the entire situation, it’s easy to assume that the people are crazy for rebuilding without using the best fire resistant material in an area that has burned twice; once last year and 53 years ago. Any rational person can assume that odds are great it will burn again.

The people are not crazy, they are just being human. The thing that changed my mind was an interview with a fireman whose home was lost while he was out fighting the fire. He said he was rebuilding because this was his family’s home, this is what he knows, the neighbors are his friends and his daughter goes to school here. I can relate to his need to get back some sort of normalcy, that’s human nature and maybe he is too close to the situation to see the danger of it. Maybe he thinks he will move before the next fire hits, who knows? I know this is human nature because I heard this line many times before. I heard almost this exact thing when I was in school in the 1970’s and 80’s when people were being let go from the steel mills and automakers, being a little longer in the tooth, I can remember them on the nightly news saying, “Now what do I do? Working here is all I know.”

I also know firsthand about the need to get back some normalcy after being devastated I felt that way during and after the Great Recession. I was financially wiped out, I had lost it all. With blinders on to everything that had changed, I set out going right down the same path. My goal was to get back some sort of financial normalcy in a hurry for me and my family, unaware of what was going on.

Luckily for me, I took the job at the hospital for health insurance. Although I did not feel lucky at the time, the job was clearly a blessing. I worked second shift cleaning operating rooms, and I was alone most of the time. Being alone allowed me some time to think and get some distance from my problems. During this time I began to clearly see that everything had changed; lending was very tight, the inventory of good homes was low, and because of the glut of foreclosures, the pricing was artificially low.

It was at this time the industry really started to change; Realtor.com and a little company called Zillow.com were getting legs. Before this a real estate broker performed a personal service, but with the arrival of technology came the Agent Team and the once personal service was now being handled more like an assembly line. With the growth of teams came the depersonalizing of service. Clients were no longer people with a name and a story, they were now just a lead; a phone number and an email in a database. Teams began to hire “inside sales agents” and set up big calling centers, here locally and in the offshore places like the Philippines. The only job of the ISA is to make hundreds of calls every day with the goal of finding actionable leads to hand off to the team’s leaders. You may recall a story on the news about a homeowner that received an estimated 75 to 100 calls in just a 12-hour period, that would be the inside sales agents on a robo-dialer.

It was during that time I witnessed a lot of behavior that was nothing short of disgusting. The market was full of short sales, that is people selling for less than they owed on a home, it was common for the bank to short the commission at the last minute, to make up the difference. Because it took months of work to get a deal closed, it became commonplace to charge the buyer a short sale fee, however, some of the mega brokers and teams in the area started charging the seller a fee as well as the buyer. The seller would pay it because a short sale on a credit report is way better than a foreclosure. How they slept at night charging an upfront fee to an already desperate seller who is losing a home is unconscionable to me. The Mega brokers and teams justified it by saying it went to overhead.  

 I don’t remember the exact day I made the decision to go in the opposite direction, but seeing the behavior of my peers did not sit well with the lesson that my mom and dad taught me when I was a kid; Treat Others As You Would Want To Be Treated. When I went through the “Great Recession” soon after my partner Jim died, Parkview Federal called the company’s loans and I was forced to sell all of our properties short. So I know firsthand the desperation that those sellers felt. Back when this was going on about 60% of my entire business were short sales. One day a very close friend/peer asked me if I was charging my sellers an extra fee?  When I told him no, he told me that I was leaving a lot of money on the table. I said that’s the seller’s money, not mine! That conversation really opened my eyes. It seems as though we went from an industry that was client-centric to broker focused in a matter of just a few months.

Having the forced time away from the business that working in the hospital gave me, I had a chance to disconnect from my point of view. I identified the behavior and the direction the industry was going. The agents and the brokers looked like one of those TV documentaries of life on the African Plains, where one of the gazelles sees a lion and they all begin to just run staying together in a pack. I am lucky because had I not had my point of view, I may have been in the pack myself. I think the entire industry was running to and fro looking for financial normalcy. The brokers and teams have very large overheads and when you take away financial security, that causes a sort of desperation. The job at the hospital also kept me from going to work on a team. Back then I was being heavily recruited by a large team, on paper the opportunity looked very attractive and I almost made the jump. I was going to make the call on Monday, but that weekend was my weekend to work at the hospital. All evening on Saturday and Sunday as I cleaned the ORs I kept turning the idea over in my head. My gut was telling not to do it. What did not sit right with me was on that team I would just basically go on appointments and prospect “Leads”.  I was not going to be involved in any other aspects of the transactions, even for my own past clients. At that point, I had been in real estate for 12 years and I had a large number of them. I did not want them, or their referrals being passed around from teammate to teammate like a hot potato.

The team model is a very lucrative way to run a business as far as the broker or the team leaders are concerned, but I think that model could hurt a client. Here is a prime example of why I think this way; Let’s say the seller wants to counter a buyer $10,000.00 for the purchase. The average commission is 6%, so for our example it’s $600.00. The $600.00 is first split with the company, now they have about $420.00, then next it’s split with the team leader, after they subtract expenses the agent ends up with between $150.00 and $210.00.  If the offer falls apart the agent makes nothing. You have to remember that the average agent sells about 8 homes a year. With the team model, the client is being passed around from person to person,  removing the personal liability of any one agent and opening up a very good possibility of hurting the client financially, because the agents on the team are only looking out for their own wallets.

Every team will try selling you by saying no one agent can do all that needs to be done. That’s true, but no agent has ever done it all, we have always had help from title companies, lenders, and home inspectors. I like that if one of my client’s needs anything, before, during, or after the sale of their home, they only have to make one call – to me! I remind agents all of the time; Sellers only sell one home, if they lose equity because of the fault of the agent, it’s gone, and gone forever. Just this week realtor relayed to me how frustrating it was doing any deals with a particular team in the area because every time he calls, he talks to a different person and no one has any idea what is going on with the transaction. Everyone seems to think someone else has a handle on the situation, but in reality, no one does.  The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. How that is a client based model?

Like I said about the hospital, I did not like the job, but it did give me the distance to see clearly. I don’t blame all of the mega brokers and teams; they do have a lot of overhead, and keeping them afloat and staffed costs real money. I would bet it’s a fortune just to keep the lights on.  When you talk to a teammate, it’s almost as if they have a false sense of security just being part of the pack.  The whole industry seems to be teaming up, and I am reminded of something Earl Nightingale said years ago; “Look at what the majority of people are doing, and do the exact opposite, and you’ll probably never go wrong for as long as you live.”

See you next month

Dennis

Past Clients Reviews from Zillow.com and Facebook.com

When I needed to move my mother in with me but my home wasn’t large enough, of course Dennis was the ONLY realtor I considered. He listed and sold both our homes while looking for a new purchase. He sold mom’s rental property for well over list price on day one…. and my house within the first week for asking price. And that was no small feat considering the neighborhood.

Of course, Dennis did everything in his power to get us into our perfect home and we couldn’t be happier.

Dennis was my realtor on two other occasions over the years and I would absolutely recommend him to all my friends and family.

Dennis made selling my boyfriend’s house quick and painless. Literally quick! And sold it for way beyond our asking price! There’s NO ONE else I would go to when it comes time to selling my home and buying a new one.

Dennis is the man for the job if you are buying or selling property!!! I have used Dennis 4 times in the last 10 years. Twice buying and selling a house. And two purchases of commercial property. This is tricky business and Dennis is the man with the answers and creative ideas. He also has financing ideas you may not have thought of. Dennis is my miracle man and would not want to be without him to navigate the local market. Dennis will get you the best deal possible no matter if you are a buyer or a seller. I plan on purchasing more property in the future and Dennis will definitely be there with me. Dennis is there for you from start to finish. Goes above and beyond your expectations…….He has done this for me……and I know he will for you. Dennis is the man for the job!!! CALL HIM…….YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!

Education · Lessons Learned · life and experience · Maximize Your Profit · Maximize Your Profit · Real Estate Sales · Selling a home

Maximize Your Profit When Selling Your Home By Avoiding a Fundamental Mistake!

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I was just out to breakfast today with my wife Jen, at Gina’s. (the best place in Fairview Park to eat breakfast) I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation at the table next to us, they said that they were going to wait until spring to sell their house. This made me pause.

That is such a big mistake and I thought you should know why, in case you’re thinking of doing this yourself.

If you wait until springtime to sell your home, and by springtime, I mean April, May, or June, you’re going to be putting your home on the market at a bad time. Typically spring time will have a lot of homes you will need to compete against as well as new construction. When buyers have a lot to choose from they can become anxious and hesitant.

The best way to look at this situation is like supply and demand. Think about housing just like anything else: it’s an asset. In supply and demand, if there are more assets available, the price is going to be less. If there are few assets available, the prices go up. Adding your house to a market already saturated with homes on the “supply” side will only make it harder to sell. The best thing to do is to market your home with less competition on the market.

Our market in the Cleveland area is driven by first time home buyers. They buy a house when they are ready to buy a house. That’s just how it works. They do not normally wait for spring.” They save their money and get at it as soon as they can. Last year in the first few months buyers were willing to get into a bidding war because inventory’s were low, as inventory’s grew they were more likely to just move on to the next one.  

So, do them and you a favor and stop waiting until Spring!

We cover all of these things in my book, so if you’d like a copy of it, feel free to send me an email or comment down below. I’d be happy to get it out to you!

Have a great day and I hope you enjoy the weather! It’s hasn’t been too bad lately, at least for January in Cleveland.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Education · Lessons Learned · life and experience · Maximize Your Profit · Real Estate Sales · Selling a home

The Best Time to List Your House? TODAY!

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The Best Time to List Your House? TODAY! | MyKCM

You may have heard that the housing market is softening. There is no doubt that buyer traffic has decreased. There are fewer purchasers in the market than there were last month and at this time last year. What you may not have heard, however, is that there is still a severe shortage of listing inventory in many regions of the country.

In a recent interview discussing the housing market, First American’s Chief Economist Mark Fleming put it simply:

“The biggest challenge is really the availability of supply.”

When we look at available inventory numbers released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), we see that the actual number of homes for sale has decreased in each of the last five months.

The Best Time to List Your House? TODAY! | MyKCM

What does this mean to you as a seller?

The best time to sell is when there is less competition. That guarantees you a better price and fewer hassles in the transaction.

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling your house this year, the best time to put it on the market might be right now. Let’s get together to evaluate the demand for your house in our market!

Education · Lessons Learned · Maximize Your Profit · Real Estate Sales · Selling a home

Don’t Just Hire Any Real Estate Broker (Even if They Are Your Family)

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I’ve seen it time and time again. People want to list their house for sale. They see a yard sign in a neighborhood and call that agent up, ready to list their house- all without doing any research!

Instead of looking up their options and familiarizing themselves with the process, they decide to just dive headfirst into selling their home. Not doing any research and hiring the first real estate broker you see is not something I recommend.

In fact, I recently had a client who had a bad experience with trying to sell his house before he came to me. He listed his house with a relative of his, his sister-in-law, because he was expected to. He didn’t even consider any other real estate brokers.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the situation. Being a part of a family myself, I know how families can be and how awkward Christmas could get. But, there is one thing he could have done that could have made his situation better: research.

You Have to Do Your Research

Research can help you in numerous ways when choosing a real estate broker to list your house. First, it helps you understand what you are getting into. Second, it helps you develop some expectations of your real estate broker and the process. Lastly, it helps you make decisions that are best for you.

This is a Business Decision on Your Part

You’re handing over $10-20,000 of your equity when choosing a real estate broker. That’s more than some people make in a year! If you were spending this kind of money on a car or another large purchase, you wouldn’t go into it without doing research on what you’re buying. The same goes for your real estate broker. Do your research and form some expectations before sitting down with your broker. You don’t want to just give into someone else’s expectations with money on the line.

The same goes even if your real estate broker is a relative. Do some research before you sit down with them by interviewing a few other brokers. Then, talk to your relative and ask them questions. Make sure to tell them exactly what you want up front. Even if you hire your relative to sell your house, doing your research will put everyone on an even keel.

You Don’t Have to Hire Them Because They Are Your Relative

My parents were very generous, but they never said, “Hey, here’s $15,000 just for being our sixth kid!” The same goes for hiring a relative to sell your house. Let your relative know you understand the situation and that you have certain expectations that you are going to hold them to.

If you do this and go into it with your eyes wide open, you’ll have more luck than my client who hired his sister-in-law!

Do you have a question? Let me know! Leave it in the comments or send me a message. I’d be happy to answer it!

Education · Lessons Learned · Real Estate Sales · Selling a home

Have your home Pre-inspected before selling

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Have your home Pre-inspected before selling

Having your home pre-inspected is one of the most important things you can do in the selling process and is something I highly recommend to all of my clients. It can save you time, money, and worry. Just take it from one of my previous clients.

My client decided to list their home without doing a pre-inspection. Once a buyer came up and had an inspection done, there was a small punch list of items that needed repairing. There were things like reverse polarity on some plugs, GFCI that didn’t work in the bathroom, and it was noted that the hot water tank was getting towards the end of its life expectancy. The list of repairs didn’t seem so bad so, no big deal, right?

Wrong. The buyer ending up coming back and wanted $5,000 from the seller just for the hot water tank. The back and forth and negotiating that took place after this could have all been avoided all together if the seller had done a pre-inspection.

Save Your Time

Just like my client, you could just list your house for sale and let the buyer do the home inspection when they come along, but then you run the risk of small repairs turning into large ones as the contractor has to substantiate his fees and more. Not only will you pay more, but it will take longer to finish the sale. Wouldn’t you rather knock it out before things get too far along?

We have also found that of all the houses that have been pre-inspected, 60% of buyers aren’t even doing their own inspection. They take your inspection, review it, and see that the repairs are made without even hiring their own contractor. Isn’t it worth the investment of a pre-inspection if that means the deal will move forward even quicker?

Save More Money

When you have your home pre-inspected by a reputable company, it will cost you anywhere from $350-450, depending on the size of your house. If we’re selling your home for $250,000, that’s small potatoes. When you put the inspection in the buyer’s hands, you have no control over who does the inspection. And if they choose a company that isn’t reputable, you could be overcharged or even told to repair things that don’t even need fixing.

Save Yourself the Hassle

In the end, having your home pre-inspected before you sell it will provide you with a peace of mind. You won’t have to worry about any large repairs coming out of nowhere or other costly problems. By having your home pre-inspected, you will know exactly what to expect and will be able to move forward with the deal sooner rather than later.

Trust me. Doing a pre-inspection of your home before you list it for sale is the best thing you could do. If you have any questions, leave it in the comments or send me a message. I’d be happy to answer them!

Education · Lessons Learned · Real Estate Sales · Selling a home

When is the best time to sell your home?

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When is the best time to sell your home?

Selling your home is a big step. It’s important, so you want to get it right the first time around without any mistakes or regrets. And most of the time, that feeling comes with a lot of questions.

I get questions every day. And I love questions! I like to help where I can. But, there is one question I seem to get every day and I wanted to address it in case others who hadn’t reached out to me were wondering the same thing.

The number one question I get every day is this: when is the best time to sell your home?

The Answer is: Any Time.

Yes! You heard me right! The best time to sell your home is when you and your house are ready. You don’t want to list your house before it’s ready just because you think the timing will attract more buyers. That could cost you in the long run.

I know many people think that there are less buyers in certain seasons, especially during a cold and snowy winter, but that’s simply not true. Actually, houses look their best during the holidays if they’re all dressed up and have decorations out. If you are ready to sell your house around Christmas and love to decorate, take advantage of it and list!

Buyers Buy in Every Season

Buyers are ready to buy when they have the money and financing ready to go and that timing is different for everyone. A buyer isn’t going to get everything together and then say, “I’ll wait until spring when it’s not so cold and snowy to buy a house.” There are serious buyers in every season.

The only time of year that can be slow is in the dead of winter when there’s 24 inches of snow on the ground. But, that only lasts as long as it takes to get the roads plowed. In fact, it’s the week before Christmas right now. It’s 38 degrees outside, but the sun is out, the streets are clean and dry, and we’re having plenty of showings this week. Serious buyers still find a way to get out and look at a house if they are ready to buy.

Accommodate the Season or Weather

One thing to keep in mind when selling with snow on the ground, or in any wet weather, is the potential for wet boots tracking in water and mud throughout the house. To avoid this, keep a mat available for guests to wipe or take off their shoes or boots and keep your home looking tidy. If you’re ready for any season or weather, you’re ready to sell your home.

I hope that clears some things up for you! I understand that deciding to sell your home is tough. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments or through a message. I’d be happy to answer them!

Best of luck!

Get out of the tub before you go down the drain.”
Lessons Learned · life and experience

Get out of the tub before you go down the drain.”

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Picture this. Bath time was over. I was tired and my back was killing me. Anyone who has kids or been around kids knows it’s hard as hell to get them into the tub on bath night, and at two years old it’s real hard. What you might not know is, it’s almost as hard to get them out of the bath when it’s over. So being a newer dad, I said the words, “Get out of the tub before you go down the drain.” Not my finest moment as a dad. My wife was so mad at me because if you thought it was hard to get my daughter to take a bath before I said that, just imagine what it was like now that I added a chance of going down the drain.

I have a lot of moments like that, and after it’s over I think about my dad now. My father had the patience of Job and I, as a new dad, did not. As an example of his patience, once I wrecked my father’s car. I came around a corner going too fast. The car slipped on the ice in the intersection and I hit a car stopped at a red light. I came home, went up to wake him up around 2 a.m., and told him what happened, and then he asked three questions:

(Dad) Are you all right?

(Me) Yes, I am fine

(Dad) Was anyone else hurt?

(Me)  No.

(Dad) Where is  the car now?

(Me) Parked in the drive.

(Dad) Okay, hit the rack. We will look at it in the morning!

Now my older siblings tell me our dad would have had a much different response had they done the same thing. I sure am lucky to be the youngest of six children! I realize now my parents had a lot of experience raising kids long before I came along. With experience and time they learned to change and adapt, or it could be my older siblings wore them out and I was such a good child I did not need the extra discipline. It seems if those are the keys to life, time and experience, you can’t buy either one.

Why is it that some people don’t see that, I wonder? I have been in the real estate business over 22 years, and today is nothing like it was when I got into it. At the risk of sounding like an old man, back when I started in real estate, we had just received our first fax machine. It had rolls of paper, and the question on everyone’s mind was, would a faxed signature be considered legal on a contract? Only 11.65% of households in the USA had modem-equipped computers back then. (Don’t know what a modem is, ask your parents or grandparents or look it up in the encyclopedia).  Needless to say, we had no Zillow or Realtor.com back in that day. Some real estate offices were still receiving listings in books delivered every few weeks. You wanted to buy a home, you came into an office and received a list of homes; the agent pre-qualified you for a mortgage, and more times than not, escorted you to the bank to be qualified for a loan.

Now fast forward to today. Never mind a faxed signature, we don’t even use paper contracts. I meet with some clients who know more than some agents when it comes to buying and selling real estate. Today it’s odd to run into a buyer who has not already been pre-approved. Today’s sellers and buyers are asking me about information about a home that just came on the market 20 minutes ago.

Back when I started, you wore a suit to an appointment, and if you didn’t you were considered un-professional; today if you are wearing a suit you put people off and you are considered some kind of salesman from Glengarry Glen Ross.

Back then the brokers held all of the information on the homes for sale and then getting financed. Today it is a totally different business.  Now clients have greater access to the actual marketplace, allowing them to make decisions based on their ability to analyze their entire market area. The monopoly of brokers and agents to control market access should have led to real change, right? Wrong, even with all of the changes, I still see and hear of real estate agents doing business like 1994. They go to a listing appointment armed with their “sales presentation” and try to get the customer’s signature on the listing agreement. They over promise and under deliver, talk about market stats, their company, and their sales. It’s all about the agent. They use ridiculous gimmicks like “A Buy-Back Guarantee program” or “Your Home Sold Guaranteed… or We Buy It” Some agents think it’s 1994 and you are stupid.

What they need to do is help you to make good decisions on how to maximize the home’s value while avoiding fundamental mistakes.

Now when I talk with other agents in the industry, they look at me like I am out of my mind. I had one guy tell me, “The real estate industry has not changed and it never will!” Can you believe that? I don’t know about him or the others in my industry, but my experience has changed me as a dad and broker.

The truth is, this business is broken. A no sale–no fee is only the tip of the iceberg. Imagine for a moment how different this picture would look if the real estate industry dropped the commission-driven 1990s sales culture and worked on a consultancy-based model. More like how any other professional service provider would operate, where the fees are based on the actual work and outgoing costs involved for serving each individual client, rather than a large % of your equity.

When you are ready to sell, call me and I will show you what 22 years of experience has taught me, and if you don’t think my approach is best you are free to hire the gimmick-pitching salesman and give away a % of your equity. It’s your money.

Get out of the tub before you go down the drain.”
Lessons Learned · life and experience

Get out of the tub before you go down the drain.”

dennisjrathLeave a comment

Picture this. Bath time was over. I was tired and my back was killing me. Anyone who has kids or been around kids knows it’s hard as hell to get them into the tub on bath night, and at two years old it’s real hard. What you might not know is, it’s almost as hard to get them out of the bath when it’s over. So being a newer dad, I said the words, “Get out of the tub before you go down the drain.” Not my finest moment as a dad. My wife was so mad at me because if you thought it was hard to get my daughter to take a bath before I said that, just imagine what it was like now that I added a chance of going down the drain.

I have a lot of moments like that, and after it’s over I think about my dad now. My father had the patience of Job and I, as a new dad, did not. As an example of his patience, once I wrecked my father’s car. I came around a corner going too fast. The car slipped on the ice in the intersection and I hit a car stopped at a red light. I came home, went up to wake him up around 2 a.m., and told him what happened, and then he asked three questions:

(Dad) Are you all right?

(Me) Yes, I am fine

(Dad) Was anyone else hurt?

(Me)  No.

(Dad) Where is  the car now?

(Me) Parked in the drive.

(Dad) Okay, hit the rack. We will look at it in the morning!

Now my older siblings tell me our dad would have had a much different response had they done the same thing. I sure am lucky to be the youngest of six children! I realize now my parents had a lot of experience raising kids long before I came along. With experience and time they learned to change and adapt, or it could be my older siblings wore them out and I was such a good child I did not need the extra discipline. It seems if those are the keys to life, time and experience, you can’t buy either one.

Why is it that some people don’t see that, I wonder? I have been in the real estate business over 22 years, and today is nothing like it was when I got into it. At the risk of sounding like an old man, back when I started in real estate, we had just received our first fax machine. It had rolls of paper, and the question on everyone’s mind was, would a faxed signature be considered legal on a contract? Only 11.65% of households in the USA had modem-equipped computers back then. (Don’t know what a modem is, ask your parents or grandparents or look it up in the encyclopedia).  Needless to say, we had no Zillow or Realtor.com back in that day. Some real estate offices were still receiving listings in books delivered every few weeks. You wanted to buy a home, you came into an office and received a list of homes; the agent pre-qualified you for a mortgage, and more times than not, escorted you to the bank to be qualified for a loan.

Now fast forward to today. Never mind a faxed signature, we don’t even use paper contracts. I meet with some clients who know more than some agents when it comes to buying and selling real estate. Today it’s odd to run into a buyer who has not already been pre-approved. Today’s sellers and buyers are asking me about information about a home that just came on the market 20 minutes ago.

Back when I started, you wore a suit to an appointment, and if you didn’t you were considered un-professional; today if you are wearing a suit you put people off and you are considered some kind of salesman from Glengarry Glen Ross.

Back then the brokers held all of the information on the homes for sale and then getting financed. Today it is a totally different business.  Now clients have greater access to the actual marketplace, allowing them to make decisions based on their ability to analyze their entire market area. The monopoly of brokers and agents to control market access should have led to real change, right? Wrong, even with all of the changes, I still see and hear of real estate agents doing business like 1994. They go to a listing appointment armed with their “sales presentation” and try to get the customer’s signature on the listing agreement. They over promise and under deliver, talk about market stats, their company, and their sales. It’s all about the agent. They use ridiculous gimmicks like “A Buy-Back Guarantee program” or “Your Home Sold Guaranteed… or We Buy It” Some agents think it’s 1994 and you are stupid.

What they need to do is help you to make good decisions on how to maximize the home’s value while avoiding fundamental mistakes.

Now when I talk with other agents in the industry, they look at me like I am out of my mind. I had one guy tell me, “The real estate industry has not changed and it never will!” Can you believe that? I don’t know about him or the others in my industry, but my experience has changed me as a dad and broker.

The truth is, this business is broken. A no sale–no fee is only the tip of the iceberg. Imagine for a moment how different this picture would look if the real estate industry dropped the commission-driven 1990s sales culture and worked on a consultancy-based model. More like how any other professional service provider would operate, where the fees are based on the actual work and outgoing costs involved for serving each individual client, rather than a large % of your equity.

When you are ready to sell, call me and I will show you what 22 years of experience has taught me, and if you don’t think my approach is best you are free to hire the gimmick-pitching salesman and give away a % of your equity. It’s your money.