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WESTWORDS MARCH 2021

I AM

I AM KATHY HAMES I AM PROFESSIONAL I AM KNOWLEDGEABLE I AM HELPFUL I AM FRIENDLY I AM CREATIVE I AM WEST USA

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING Kathy was referred to us by our loan officer and she is terrific at her job! Very upfront, knowledgeable and down to earth! She always maintained an open line of communication and kept my husband and I updated throughout the entire process. I would most certainly recommend her to family and friends! I was in the market to purchase a home and was really looking to buy by the end of the year. I put my information online and Kathy reached out to me the following day. Unlike other REALTORS® she only she is what we were looking for in a home. Kathy negotiated our closing and got us what we wanted. Kathy helped us purchase our home a lot sooner than what we thought we were ready for. Kathy is awesome at what she does. There is no better agent than Kathy Hames! Not only did she get us a great deal on our dream home, but she also made the experience quick and easy. She helped us every step of the way, finding a safe area, showing us around, connecting us with the right professionals to close on our house in 3 weeks! As a busy physician, Kathy was the perfect REALTOR® for me. She accommodate my restrictive schedule without fail. I really appreciated how quickly Kathy learned my style and that she would do a thorough investigation before we ever saw the property. Saved us a tremendous amount of time that Kathy came prepared and on time to every showing. She was polite, graceful, and a joy to go house hunting with. She’s so fun you’ll miss hanging out with her at the end of the day. I feel blessed to have met her and cannot say enough about her abilities. Kathy Hames will go above and beyond to prioritize what is important to you - even if it feels impossible, she will figure out how to get it done. That is who she is. Kathy is the most proficient REALTOR® I’ve ever worked with. Not only do I recommend her to my family and coworkers, but I will always hire her for all my real estate needs. This may sounds like an ad but it’s really just a wonderfully satisfied customer raving about an amazing human and business woman. Thank you Kathy Hames!

BROKER BLOG WITH BOB STEPHENS REFERRALS - A POTENTIAL GOLD MINE FOR ADDITIONAL INCOME The following comments highlight some of the key issues that I believe should be considered when structuring an effective referral system between West USA Realty residential and commercial/ business brokers/property management professionals. You had sent out an email requesting that I provide some suggestions on how to work together

same? NO. Each will often have specific areas of expertise. Very seldom does “one size fit all”!

REFERRAL FEE STRUCTURE There is no standard fee for referrals and any fee will have to be agreed upon between the agents and put into a written form that is submitted to your West USA Broker. Unique Commercial, Business and IDENTIFYING THE CLIENT NEED AND Property Management Considerations REQUIREMENT Experienced Commercial, Business Broker Typically, the first real estate contact that and Property Management Professionals a company or business representative are expected to have a working has is with a residential agent, who then knowledge of a wide range of subjects develops a working relationship during as well as to provide information and the process of purchasing or selling a guidance to clients (i.e., where clients can home for that client. Too often, no other go for specific services--CPA’s, Lawyers, real estate service or potential assistance Environmental, specialized Lenders (SBA, is offered to the residential client. etc.) and more). IRS Code Section 1031 Tax Deferred At an appropriate time, ask about the Exchange, Capitalization (CAP) Rate, Cash client’s personal, company or business on Cash Return, Environmental (Phase I, II, goals! Do other managers, employees & III) U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones, Economic or friends need a home? Is the company Development Incentives, Green Building expanding or reducing? Do they need, Incentives, Employee Training Incentives more or less space? Would they like to or Grants, Tax Exempt Financing, Zoning own a building instead of leasing? Do they have any interest in owning or selling Issues, Financial Controls and Fiduciary Responsibilities, Business Valuation, their own business? Would they like to Uniform Commercial Code (UCC1) filing purchase a franchise? Do they need any property management assistance? OPPORTUNITY ZONES One of the most significant investment West USA Realty has an excellent opportunities that the IRS has approved in reputation for its Commercial Division, recent years—President Trump’s 2017 Tax Business Brokerage Operations, and Cuts and Jobs Act, authorized the creation Property Management services. The and use of Opportunity Zones. All real first step in building the potential for estate professionals who are in any way referral income is to get to know the non-residential West USA agents. There is involved with investment real estate need to know about Opportunity Zones and nothing better than doing business with how they work. people you know, like and trust! ARE Commercial, Business Broker and Property Management Specialists all the

For example, much of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is

in an Opportunity Zone including Pima Center in North Scottsdale. During the past few years, I (Joel Gunning) have worked on and closed escrow on qualified Opportunity Zone sales in the Pima Center that were quite significant in size. FOLLOW UP—FOLLOW UP—FOLLOW UP (Is the referral being acted upon?) Properly serving your client should be your first consideration. Begin to build your Additional Income Gold Mine by referring your commercial, business brokerage and property management leads to someone you know, like and trust at West USA Realty. It is important to note that the West USA non-residential agents have an equal responsibility to ask his/her clients if they would like any residential services and then refer that client to a qualified West USA residential agent. Please call Joel at 602-695-8000 or email joel.gunning@azcpinc.com with any questions or comments. You may know Commercial agents in your office and if not, the corporate office has a list complete with pictures of the agents. Please follow up with every home you sell and do not leave any business “on the table” and serve your client well, regarding real estate to include commercial requirements they may have. This is an article written by Joel back in 2013 that I found and it is just as true today. I hope to have agents of today at West USA, read this and perhaps generate more business, that many have never even thought of. He has added OPPORTUNITY ZONES to this article for today—thanks JOEL GUNNING!

QUESTIONS, CONTACT: Managing Broker, Bob Stephens - 602-942-4200

NEW AGENTS BLUEPRINT

FOR SUCCESS WISE AGENT

As a new real estate agent, it can be challenging to navigate the new industry. With so much going on, it’s difficult to know where to begin. Finding clients right off the bat might be your first go-to, but there are many other tasks that you should get taken care of before going after new leads. Here are a few tips to get your new business rolling! According to HubSpot, 95% of the leading real estate agents use a customer relationship management platform. A CRM can help you keep your database organized as it grows and automates your business with emails and other marketing strategies. A CRM can also give you tips on how to grow your business and generate leads and can also help you find other programs to help you along the way. Social media can be a very reliable tool when searching for new clients in the real estate industry. Networking online can make you more accessible to potential clients, and customers will often use the first REALTOR® they talk with, even if it is just a conversation through Instagram. Focus on providing content to followers even if they aren’t interested in purchasing or selling a home right now. Consider educational posts to teach your followers about the real estate industry. That way, when they are ready to buy, they feel confident in their knowledge and think of you first for their real estate agent. Join a brokerage that offers training for their agents and has a welcoming environment for new agents. Being able to continue learning and having mentors will help you a lot throughout your career. Often, new agents make the mistake of choosing their brokerage solely off of commission split even though there are many other aspects you should be aware of.

Maintaining current relationships and cultivating new ones are vital to your real estate lifeline. Communication is key to keeping these relationships alive. Answering calls quickly, responding to emails promptly, and staying in touch with potential leads are all ways to keep your business lifeline strong. Create a plan, and don’t rush things. Take the time to understand your client base and plan out your daily tasks. Setting goals will give you a leg up over your competitors and help you stay on track with what you need to be getting done outside of generating leads. The start of your real estate profession will make or break the rest of your career, so make sure you start on the right foot! For more helpful tips, watch Wise Agent’s webinar with Shelley Zavitz, author of “Your First 365 Days in Real Estate,” where they discuss everything you need to know as a new agent. Taking a step back and seeing everything you need to be doing as a new real estate agent can be intimidating and even overwhelming, but breaking it down and taking things day by day will save you the stress and anxiety. Focus on getting your business organized first so when the clients start coming in; you aren’t struggling to keep everything straight. Being a new agent can be challenging but save future you some time and effort by getting everything settled now!

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UNDERSTANDING MARKET STATS PT. 2 WITH TODD MENARD

In last month's edition, we discussed how to read the Market Stats Graphic. As previously stated, the Markets Stats Graphic is designed for the high "D" and "I." Simultaneously, the Market Comparison Spreadsheet was created for the analytic or High "C." In this issue, I will explain the key points of the Market Comparison Spreadsheet. THE MARKET COMPARISON SPREADSHEET The single most benefit of this spreadsheet is that it provides the current and previous week periods and the last two months and their corresponding months a year prior. This gives you the instant ability to show the market movement and direction of that specific field by comparing it to the previous period or that same time frame a year prior. The consumer will perceive that you are knowledgeable about the industry and how these numbers affect the industry. If you tune into the Tuesday Webinar each week, I explain these for you, so you have ammunition to discuss with your sphere. Let's take a look at the layout of the sheet. LAYOUT The sheet shows the week over week comparison, including a percentage change, as well as month over month, and the same period last year views which allow you to immediately identify if a range of data has changed weekly, monthly, or annually, based on the same data set over a different period. It is this layout that specifically enables you to be an expert when comparing these periods. The numbers are aggregated and tabulated weekly before the webinar. This ensures the numbers are accurate and timely. PERCENT OF THE TOTAL INVENTORY (%TTL) This shows what percentage of the total category (Active/Pending/Closed) represented by NonDistressed, Short Sales, Lender Owned, and HUD properties. This allows us to identify problem markets before they arrive. Say, in an example, the distressed property inventory began to increase, we would see the 'trend' happening early. This makes you more of a market expert than only a practitioner.

WEEK OVER WEEK COMPARISON (W/W%) Weekly is a widespread collection method, and most of the time is not an accurate picture of the current market; instead, it is how the market ebbs and flows. This helps understand monthly cycles and allows the ability to forecast whether the month-end numbers will be ahead or behind the previous reporting cycle, whether weekly, monthly, or annually. It will enable you to predict where the market is heading before the process before the results happen. This is insightful. MONTH OVER MONTH COMPARISON (MO/MO AND Y/Y%) Unlike the previous fields, these numbers are the 'results' of the specified period. I provide two sets of data. The first is the most recent month-end data along-side the same month last year. They were followed by the previous month's end data alongside and the same month the previous year. The percentages help to quickly identify whether the numbers are better or worse than the last period. When explaining these fields, it is best to review which items have the most significant percentage change. Then determine if this is good or bad for that set of data and how it may affect the other data, your seller or buyer objectives, and your performance. This illuminates the areas of concern for that reporting period and its effects on your client's needs, as well as your real estate business. YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON This comparison clarifies whether the current month over month data is better or worse than last year's month over month (same period) data. If last year's cycle produced worse numbers, and this year was better as a comparison, then we are doing better this year than last. This comparison helps forecast the projected year-end numbers for the current year and whether past personal production keeps up or lagging the industry. An example: If your production is 10% better than your last year's production, and the industry numbers are 15% ahead of last year, then

your production is 5% behind where it should be. The question you would ask yourself is, what am I doing differently that is affecting my performance. However, if your production was 20% better than last year, your production is 5% 'better' than the industry. The next question would be, what have you done differently to achieve better numbers? RED AND GREEN INDICATORS The spreadsheet includes two sets of colored ticker bars. The green indicates a positive trend, while the red indicates a negative direction. The bars to the spreadsheet's left side identify whether that data is useful (green) for a stable housing industry or bad (red). The narrower bars in the middle of the spreadsheet establishes how that data set is trending. Red indicates the data is trending negatively, while the green identifies a positive effect on the housing market. SHARING The purpose of a comparison sheet allows you to see multiple sets of numbers side by side, identifying the changes to the market as illuminated by the colored indicators, the percentages, or the raw data. The Market Statistics and Market Data Comparison Spreadsheets are created to share with your sphere of influence using any media desired. Post these regularly on your social media and website. The goal is to develop the ability to know what the numbers should be in a balanced real estate housing market and then identify for yourself how changes in these fields will impact your business and your clients. During the Tuesday Webinar, we discuss the market statistics using these spreadsheets so that you will have commentary on the changes and effects of the statistics on the market. I invite you to listen in on Tuesdays at 10am. Register at www.westusawebinar.com

JANUARY MARKET STATS

MEET YOUR 2021

COMMITTEE

DONNA LEEDS

CARRIE LYNN MASON

BRENDA FOUTS

Ahwatukee

Executive Director

Surprise

KRISTIN HARGRAVE

BROCK O’NEAL

MIA ROMAIN

Snowflake

Chandler

North Phoenix

KATHY HAMES

LISA LANHAM

DEBORAH KANE

Goodyear

Arrowhead

M O N DAY

T U E S DAY

W E D N E S DAY

Prostart Training Session 3 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

Prostart Training Session 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

West USA Weekly Webinar 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar

Broker Roundtable with Kyle Fouts 10:00am - 11:30am / Zoom

West USA Agent Orientation 10:30am - 12:00pm / Webinar

Creating Real Estate Wealth w/ Michael Douville 10:00am - 10:30am / Webinar

Don’t Do Dat w/Broker Bob Stephens 2:00pm - 2:30pm / Webinar

West USA Weekly Webinar 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar

Don’t Do Dat w/Broker Bob Stephens 2:00pm - 2:30pm / Webinar

03 FREE REMOTE CE CLASS High Fiduciary Representation 3Hrs Fair Housing Law 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

MARCH 2021

T H U R S DAY

F R I DAY

Facebook Basics for Real Estate Professionals w/Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:30am / Webinar

Company Wide Training 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

West USA Agent Insurance Webinar 3:00pm - 4:00pm / Zoom

Company Wide Office Meeting 10:00am - 11:30am / Zoom Creating Real Estate Wealth w/ Michael Douville 10:00am - 10:30am / Webinar

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Mastering the Residential Purchase Contract 3Hrs Contract Law 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

ARMLS Training CMA’s in Flexmls 10:00am - 11:00am / Webinar

Dominate Your Local Farm with Local Facebook Groups w/Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:00am / Webinar Commercial Real Estate Lending Presentation 1:00pm - 2:00pm / Zoom

West USA Weekly Webinar 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar

Don’t Do Dat w/Broker Bob Stephens 2:00pm - 2:30pm / Webinar

Prostart Training Session 1 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

West USA Weekly Webinar 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar Don’t Do Dat w/Broker Bob Stephens 2:00pm - 2:30pm / Webinar

Broker Roundtable 10:00am - 11:30am / Zoom

Creating Real Estate Wealth w/ Michael Douville 10:00am - 10:30am / Webinar

Prostart Training Session 1 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

Creating Real Estate Wealth w/ Michael Douville 10:00am - 10:30am / Webinar

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Disclosure and the Law 3Hrs Disclosure Law 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Secrets to Unprecedented Growth and Referrals 3Hrs Legal Issues 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

Facebook LIVE Virtual Home Tours w/ Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:00am / Webinar

Go West USA Marketing Spotlight w/ Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

Prostart Training Session 1 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom Broker Roundtable with Dean Becker 10:00am - 11:30am / Zoom

Prostart Training Session 2 9:00am - 4:00pm / Zoom

West USA Weekly Webinar 9:00am - 10:00am / Webinar

Creating Real Estate Wealth w/ Michael Douville 10:00am - 10:30am / Webinar

Don’t Do Dat w/Broker Bob Stephens 2:00pm - 2:30pm / Webinar

• CE- Continuing Education Renewal Training • Luxury Division Event

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS The NAR Code and the AZ Law 3Hrs RE Legal Issues 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

• Commercial Division Event • Office Meetings