Why am I a great real estate agent? MARKETING

How many times have you heard this one? I am a great marketer. I know how to use Craig's List and my listings are posted on 16 sites.

I am still unclear as to what it means. Is the agent saying they are good because they invest the most money on ads for the house (electronic or hard-copy). Is it because they have a pretty website? How about that their business cards have a picture on it, and of them, not the house? Maybe its because they hire a professional photographer to take staged pictures of the house? Now that would be something and may even add value.

The point of this posting is to share a different perspective of what makes a great real estate agent; PROFESSIONALISM.

There is no question that a real estate agent who is willing to go the extra mile and perform due diligence about the existing deed, survey, marketability of title, current COs & Certificates of Compliance, coupled with the physical condition of the home by way of analyzing a home inspection coupled with many ancillary inspections is a great real estate agent. They add value. Instead of blanket marketing, they can perform targeted marketed. Instead of finding a buyer, they can find a qualified buyer. Instead of sending a binder / memorandum of agreement /terms sheet to an attorney with a sales price and vague financing terms, they can send the actual terms of the deal with specific time frames and expectations of the parties, which have been negotiated and laid out after each party receiving informed consent.

What makes a great real estate agent is NOT an open house. It is NOT an add in the newspaper. Certainly its NOT their business cards.

Don't get me wrong, all of these things are very important. Yet, they should be standard, not extraordinary.

What makes a great real estate agent is learning to be the best real estate professional and as a professional continuing to become more educated throughout a career about land use and mortgage law, construction, contracts, and negotiation skills.

What makes a great real estate agent is self-respect and demanding to know about every ancillary profession to your job.

After all, its your commission on the line. Isn't it?

Here is to the Real Estate Professionals who help to define an industry.

NOFO Rock & Folk Fest 2011

Lieb at Law, P.C. is a proud sponsor of the fabulous event NOFO to take place on the North Fork of Long Island on 7/30 and 7/31/2011 at Peconic Bay Winery.


Not only will there be local wine and beer as well as top musical performances in a vinyard's park setting, but you as a friend of Lieb at Law can use our coupon code to get 20% off of tickets. 


And don't forget, this amazing event is benefiting the non-profit East End Arts Counsel. 


To purchase tickets - go to www.noforockandfolkfest.com 
*Bring the Family - Kids 12 and under are free


DISCOUNT CODE: RealEstateSchool2011

NY Courts Enforce Fed Modification Program

In one of the most important decisions of the year, the Appellate Division recognized the Making Home Affordable Handbook as binding on lenders (servicers) and precluded a foreclosure until its rules were followed.

The newest version of the Handbook can be found by clicking here.

To review the decision, click here.

While the decision was very narrow in that it only discussed how the lender participates in the program and must evaluate the borrower under the program prior to selling the house at foreclosure, the decision should be interpreted as a sounding horn to all foreclosure defense attorneys to study every word in the Handbook. Now, if a lender (servicer) makes a crazy decision, outside of the rules prescribed by the Federal Government, a borrower's attorney should attack that decision in the NY Courts.

East Hampton Library is Getting Bigger

The East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals was overturned as erroneous, arbitrary and irrational in denying a variance to increase the size of the library. The Supreme Court found that the library was an educational institution entitled to the same deferential treatment in zoning accorded to schools and religious institutions.

The takeaway is that Zoning Boards generally have a hard time restricting a public good. That is why it is always advisable to combine a public good with a zoning application when entering a municipality. Talk in terms that matter to the people who live there. Better schools, more parks, cleaner beaches as a result of the application. Sometimes you just can't do this, but to deny a library's goal of improving was too much for the Court in this matter.

Foreclosures - MERS hit with Fatal Blow

In a well anticipated decision the Appellate Division, Second Department (regulates all of Long Island) has saved many many homes as of June 7, 2011, a date that will be remembered in the real estate world for years to come.

The Court clearly stated as follows:

Issue:

"The issue presented on this appeal is whether a party has standing to commence a foreclosure action when that party's assignor - in this case, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (hereinafter MERS)-was listed in the underlying mortgage instruments as a nominee and mortgagee for the purpose of recording, but was never the actual holder or assignee of the underlying notes."

Holding:

"We answer this question in the negative."

To read the entire decision, click here.

If one was to look back on the decision in In Re Agard where the Federal Bankruptcy Court held that splitting the note and mortgage was fatal or back to MERS v. Romaine where the dissent questioned the entire mortgage recording system invented by MERS, this decision was a long time coming.

The fact is this - Don't usurp the role of government and than ask government to help a misstep in your practices. MERS needs to play by the same rules as everyone else.

Interestingly, the Court notated that "MERS purportedly holds approximately 60 million mortgage loans" & makes this decision in the face of that.

If you are being foreclosed or know someone who is, you now have a lot more rights to potential keep your home for a long time. This will force many modifications!!!