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WESTWORDS OCTOBER 2021

I AM

I AM MARK NEAL I AM HONEST I AM PERSONABLE I AM MOTIVATED I AM CAREFUL I AM COACHABLE I AM WEST USA

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING After renting for 9 years, we were finally able to buy a home. BUT we had to downsize, had to stay in the east valley and work within a very strict price range. We both had dealings with unprofessional REALTORS® in the past so we were very wary. We found Mark on Zillow and were immediately impressed by his responsiveness and calm demeanor. Mark was EXTREMELY patient with our discovery process, helping us to prioritize what was most important to us in a home. Mark's expertise facilitated the purchase, guided us through the mortgage process and made it so easy. Mark offered referrals of contractors to help us personalize our new home, every one of them has been a wonderful resource. Mark's support and kindness was invaluable in this very scary, nerve wracking experience of shopping for and buying a home. We adore our new home. We love Mark and would highly recommend him to anyone in the market for a new home. I want to start off by saying I have never had a good real estate agent experience until I met Mark. So much so that I swore off REALTORS®, and completed the last 3 transactions before my time with Mark, on my own. I have seen and experienced many shady and inept reps, but Mark proved this skeptic wrong. Mark is by far the best real estate agent I have worked with in all my 25+ years of buying and selling real estate. He is prompt, courteous, extremely hard working

(even so much as getting in and helping to physically prep the house for sale), knowledgeable, and a great negotiator. I not only sold my last house through Mark, but I also bought my new one because he did such a fantastic job. And both needed a LOT of assistance, as they were NOT easy transactions! No one else would have done even half the job that he did. Mark does not shy away from work on either side of a transaction, and he truly has a heart that desires to help you find your ideal home when buying. Extremely hard to come by in a REALTOR®! I HIGHLY recommend Mark Neal for your next sale and purchase! Being from out of state, and long-distance buyers, we needed a real estate agent to be our eyes and ears; one that we could trust to be thorough and honest. We hit the jackpot with Mark Neal - we probably would not have finalized a deal on the property we found without his expertise. He went far above and beyond meeting our needs; including making multiple trips to the property on our behalf, taking additional photos/videos, confirming property details, recommending other professional services to move the process along, and generally getting us from point A to Z as efficiently and smoothly as we could have imagined. Mark made our home buying an all-around A+ experience.

BROKER BLOG WITH DEAN BECKER 2ND APPRAISAL VALUE A buyer and seller agree to terms in a real estate purchase contract, where the buyer is going to get a loan for the property. One of the conditions of the loan is that the property appraise for at least the purchase price. An appraisal is done on the property and the value came in at the purchase price. Buyer and seller are proceeding towards Close of Escrow, when the underwriter flagged the appraisal and ordered a review of terms. The value of the property during this review was lowered to below the purchase price and the buyer was notified of such. The buyer then elected to cancel the contract per the appraisal contingency Section 2L of the purchase contract within 5 days of the notification on the Unfulfilled Loan Contingency form. If the buyer failed to cancel within five (5) days, then the buyer must proceed with the Contract. Section 2l of the contract reads: “Buyer has five (5) days after notice of the appraised value to cancel this contract and receive a refund of the Earnest Money or the appraisal contingency shall be waived.” This new notice of value has precedence due to the fact the 1st appraisal was not acceptable to the lender and this newly updated lower value disapproved by the buyer allows them to cancel much to the seller’s objections. Buyers and sellers should review Prequalification Forms and Loan Status Updates (LSU) and have discussion with the lender to know what additional requirements may be needed prior to Close of Escrow and the effect they have on the transaction.

QUESTIONS, CONTACT: Managing Broker, Dean Becker 602-942-4200

WHY REAL ESTATE AGENTS

USE DRIP CAMPAIGNS BY WISE AGENT Most Real Estate Agents know the importance and effectiveness of drip campaigns. Using this marketing tool to stay in front of your existing contacts and future leads is crucial and relative to growing your business.

emails refer to the email addresses in your subscriber/contact list that didn't receive your message. With drip campaigns, you don't have to worry about that. For the real estate industry, bounce rates are less than 1%. With such a low bounce rate, you know that your content is getting through to your leads. A With email users opening their account(s) more than ten times per day, it would be foolish not to take advantage of this helpful tip for keeping your bounce rate low is to clean up your email list 1-2 times a year. marketing strategy. Drip campaigns give you the option to schedule various content pieces for your contacts and future leads over some time. In the world of real estate, it is imperative to stay in front of your prospects' eyes regularly. And utilizing drip campaigns is an easy and essential way of doing that.

As you can tell, the use of drip campaigns is highly effective in various ways. Taking advantage of this marketing technique will help you and your business grow more than you ever thought possible.

SO HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?

SO WHY DO REAL ESTATE AGENTS USE DRIP CAMPAIGNS? With Wise Agent, you no longer have to stress about HIGHER OPEN, CLICK-THROUGH, AND RESPONSE RATES On average, email users are receiving over 120+ emails per day. That is a lot of information for someone to digest daily. So how do you stand out? Personalizing your drip campaigns and tailoring them to the recipients' needs must be your primary focus. Especially with lead nurturing emails because the response rate is significantly higher. Creating helpful content within your campaign is a significant part of leveraging them to open and respond to your email. As a result, drip campaigns have an 80% higher open rate than single send emails, and the click-through rates are three times higher. INCREASED SALES Using this marketing automation tool with your business will inevitably make you more money in the long run. Companies that run successful drip campaigns generate 80% more sales at a third of the cost. Consistently staying in communication with your leads can be difficult, and that's why drip campaigns are so important and influential. They will save you time and put more money in your pockets. Drip campaigns can generate 50% more sales-ready leads through the continuous communication it offers. LOWER BOUNCE RATES With the number of emails being sent and received each day, it is no secret that plenty of them are getting bounced. Bounced

remembering to send emails for your custom drip campaigns, and our system will do it for you. With the unique features that Wise Agent offers, you can now save time, energy, and money to contact your leads. It's essential to always keep in touch with past clients and new leads alike, but your communication can differ depending on the recipient. Within Wise Agent, you can create a variety of automated content for your drip campaigns. Most drip campaigns are focused on email-only content. With our software, you can build emails, newsletters, landing pages, video messages, and even automated text messages within your campaigns. These unique features will allow you to stay in touch with leads more meaningful and diversely. Not only can you customize your drip campaigns the way you want, but Wise Agent also allows the ability to share your campaigns with brokers, other agents, inside and outside team members, along with separate accounts as well. Contact our support team 24/7 at (480) 836-0345 or visit our website for more information about setting up your drip campaign.

DEVELOP YOUR HOT HUNDRED!

BY MARGE LINDSAY

There are many activities for us to engage in that will help us achieve our monetary goals.  Some of the activities we might participate in could include developing our various spheres of influence, work For Sale By Owners, Expired Listings, Open Houses, and Geographic Farming. At one of our national real estate conventions I heard a gentleman from the New England area who presented a suggestion that he called his “Hot Hundred.” He said what he wanted to do was find 100 people to go to work for him that he didn’t have to pay! He wanted 100 employees for free.  He gathered names and contact information for most everyone he knew.  He had neighborhood directories, church directories, Christmas card lists, contact information for people involved in social groups or organizations and other spheres of influence.  Once he had the information, he realized he had hundreds, if not thousands of names.  Now he needed to decide which 100 he wanted to work for him.  He developed a job description to help him select his employees. After lots of thought he decided that when looking at each name he wanted to identify:

He said his criteria for selecting people was identifying individuals who were socially active and influential, so he chose to tell them that.  He said each of the people he called were either very flattered and thanked him, or occasionally would say – “yeah, okay, what do you want?” They would chuckle but he would then continue by asking for the referrals.  In this approach he just “offered them a job”.  If they said yes, they would refer him they just accepted his job offer. He thanked them and said he would send them his business card.  If they couldn’t take the job it was usually because they had a friend or relative in the real estate business that they were already referring to.  Occasionally he found that the person he called had also gone into the real estate business.  In that case they just declined his job offer! He said many of his peers skipped this step and just did constant mailings.  The drawback to doing that is that the person you are mailing to doesn’t know what their job is – and as a result they didn’t get referrals. As he got acceptances, he would write their names and contact information down.  Then he’d go back to selecting more people to contact and repeat this process as he worked towards getting his 100 employees.

1. People who were socially active and influential. People Don shared that he would always send a handwritten thank you who knew people. note to each person he called.  This was not an email because 2. Individuals he had good rapport with. By that, he said if he wanted to enclose his business card whether they accepted he were to see them in person, would they be able to say, his job offer or not. For those who accepted his job offer he also “Hi Don, how are you doing?” If the answer was yes, that placed them on his contact list.  He would send them his monthly would qualify. The question he asked himself was - if I newsletter to be sure to keep him in their thoughts.  This also called them, or wrote to them, would they know who I am? meant that they would hear from him at least twelve (12) times in the following year. 3. Last – would they accept the job? Keeping this job description in mind he would then go through the various lists to find his employees.  As he identified someone, he thought would be great, he wrote down their name and phone number.  When he had 5 or 6 names, he would take a break, get a cup of coffee, then call them.  His script was, “Hi Sue. This is Don. I was sitting here writing out a list of the most socially active and influential people I know, and your name was at the top of my list. Sue, what I’d like to know is when you meet someone who has a real estate need or question, would you refer them to me?”

The Hot Hundred prospecting system becomes easy once you have established it because your follow-up can be your monthly newsletters. The personal touch with your phone calls make all the difference in the world. They will enjoy hearing from you and talking with you. Keep in mind, that if you aren’t constantly prospecting you won’t have business in your pipeline. I hope you try to set this up & have as much success as Don did!

HOW TO OUTSMART THE “PRESENT ALL OFFERS ON TUESDAY”

LISTING AGENT AND WIN MORE DEALS! WITH TODD MENARD

How can your buyers win when the listing agent controls when they present the offers? Or do they? Have your buyers been losing out on homes due to the multiple offers and bidding wars? Are you certain your offers are being presented? What if you could win more deals by holding the listing agents accountable to their duties required by law? What if there was a way to write a contract that prevents multiple offer situations? What if you could get confirmation that your offer was presented? That’s what this article is about… First things first. The “REALTOR Remarks” section of an MLS listing is not a requirement to present an offer, it’s more of a sellers wish. The listing agent establishes what the seller would like to have happen, or maybe what the listing agent would like to have happen and discloses that in the remarks section. To establish my point, if the MLS listing indicates “washer and dryer convey”, and you fail to include them in the personal property section, do they? Of course not. If the MLS listing says, “Buyer to waive SPDS”, and you submit the offer without the wording “buyer waives SPDS”, is the seller responsible to provide it? Of course. So, if the MLS listing says “listing agent to present all offers on Tuesday” do you have to make the time in the Terms of Acceptance Tuesday Night? Of course not. These would not be in the best interest of your client, and according to AAC R4-28-1101 your primary duty is always to your client’s best interest. These terms are NOT in your client’s best interest, are they? Is the listing agent aware that the law requires them to “expeditiously perform all acts required of a real estate license. The licensee shall not delay performance, either intentionally or through neglect” (AAC R4-28-1101,C). Neglect is ignorance of the law or failing to abide, Intentionally is by strategy or by design. The duty of a listing agent is to present all offers such that should the seller desire to accept the offer the seller can sign the contract, and the listing agent can deliver the signed contract to the buyer’s agent prior to the expiration of the time identified in the Terms of Acceptance Section of the AAR Residential Purchase Contract. The language in the contract establishes that failure to deliver an accepted contract prior to the expiration renders the offer “Withdrawn”, even if signed and accepted prior to this date. The strategy of “presenting all offers on Tuesday” is with the intention that there might be multiple offers received creating a possible bidding war, thus positioning the seller to “get more money than the list price”. Of course, this does not always occur even with this strategy. To have properly advised the seller that failure to present and or accept an offer which has a time within the terms of acceptance that will expire prior to the Tuesday strategy would, even if the offer was the best offer, probably result in the loss of that buyer, and possibly the best and highest offer presented. The listing agent/broker would negligently accept significant liability and probable legal issues for failing to ‘expeditiously perform’ should any complainant make a governing agency aware of such behavior. How do you know whether your offer was truly presented to

the seller? In 2020 the NAR Code of Ethics Article 1, Standard of Practice 1-7 was modified. This modification now allows a buyer’s agent when requested by their client, to contact their designated broker and request confirmation from the listing offices designated broker “DB”. The buyer’s agent is never to contact the DB of another firm without contacting their own DB first. The buyer’s agent’s DB will contact the listing DB and this person will request confirmation by their listing agent. Then the process reverses and the Buyer’s DB will be provided with written confirmation from the Seller’s DB. This is the process to confirm whether your offer was presented, strategically delayed, or rejected. Scenario – It’s Saturday and your buyer finds a home and you write their offer. The MLS suggests the seller or listing agent prefers to hold all offers to Tuesday. In the time for acceptance section of the purchase contract you write expires Saturday at 9pm. You ensure you have all the documents completed by your buyer (AAR Prequal Form, etc) required per the terms of the contract. I recommend sending over R4-28-1101,C highlighted along with the documents. Then Monday if the offer was not accepted follow up with your broker to ensure whether the offer was presented. You still have until Tuesday to modify the Time in the Terms of Acceptance to remain engaged in the multiple offer scenario by resubmitting the offer for consideration. However, if the offer was accepted on Saturday… you were the sole offer being presented and you got the deal!!! This strategy allows you to play both aspects and still remain in consideration. The next time you write an offer, counsel your buyer with this information. Allow them to understand the terms of engagement relating to the presentation of offers and contract acceptance requirements. Don’t allow them to be afraid of losing out, this is what the listing agent wants. The fear of losing. Todd C. Menard, COO West USA Realty, Inc.

SEPTEMBER MARKET STATS

PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY &

SECURITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY KEITH FLYNN Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat have become digital billboards for internet users. People love sharing their personal views and news about what’s going on in their lives.

BE SELECTIVE WITH THE AUDIENCE There are a few ways that you can limit your audience on social media networks. First, you can take advantage of using direct messages to select contacts rather than updating a status or post for all your followers to see. If you don’t want to use direct messaging, Facebook provides a different option.

But stop and think for a moment. This information — some of which is very personal — is going up on the internet. Outside of your trusted circle of friends and relatives, who else is viewing what you post? Spambots, Facebook allows you to choose the audience for your vindictive acquaintances, and even cybercriminals could posts and updates. To begin: take an interest, too. Lately, the discussion on privacy 1. Start creating a post. rights and social media sites has been the subject of the 2. To limit your audience, tap the audience selector broader public and political debate. button under your name. The default says Friends, but it might also say Public or other options. With this in mind, we’ve provided some tips to help you 3. Select More and then, Specific friends. This allows protect your privacy and leave a smaller digital footprint. you to choose who will see your update. The rest of your friends on Facebook will not see your post on HIDE ACTIVITY STATUS their News Feed. On many social apps, your friends can see if you’re active, offline, or the last time you were online. In DON’T GIVE AWAY HISTORIC DETAILS ABOUT YOURSELF addition, many social apps allow you to disable your activity status if you don’t want your status to be seen Social media sites are littered with seemingly innocuous little quizzes, games, and surveys urging people to by all your friends. reminisce about specific topics, such as “What was your Instagram, for example, has added a new feature that first job,” or “What was your first car?” The problem with allows your activity status to be seen by people you follow or send direct messages to. People can now see participating in these informal surveys is that in doing so, when you were last active, if you read their message, or you may be inadvertently giving away the answers to “secret questions” that can be used to unlock access to a if you’re typing a response back. To turn this off: 1. Tap the Profile tab, which is located in the bottom host of your online identities and accounts. right and looks like a portrait silhouette 2. Hit the menu button Android: iOS: 3. Scroll to the middle of the page, turn off Activity Status

These tips will help make your social media accounts more private, but by no means are the only ways to protect your privacy. If you’re still concerned about your privacy online, check out this guide for protecting your online identity.

M O N DAY

T U E S DAY

W E D N E S DAY

OCTOBER 2021

T H U R S DAY

F R I DAY

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

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

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

Broker Round Table w/ Susan Herber 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Secrets to Unprecedented Growth & Referrals, 3Hrs Agency Law 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

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

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

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

Prospecting Through CoStar 10:00am - 10:30am / Zoom

Transaction Desk & Authentisign Class 10:00am - 11:30am @ Corporate Office

19 Data Privacy, Cyber Crime, Cyber Security, & Real Estate Professional, 3Hrs Disclosure CE Credit - 9:00am - 12:00pm @ Mesa Office **FREE REMOTE CE CLASS** The NAR Code & the AZ Law (Triannual) 3Hrs RE Legal Issues - 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

Maximizing Your Social Media Presence w/ Instagram Reels w/ Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:30am / Zoom

ARMLS Training - Adding a Listing 1:00pm - 2:00pm / Webinar

Ahwatukee Office Meeting 10:30am - 11:30am @ Ahwatukee Office

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

Chandler Office Meeting 10:00am - 11:30am @ Chandler Office

Let’s Talk About Biz - Open Discussion to Create & Motivate Your Real Estate Business 2:00pm - 3:00pm @ Arrowhead Bullpen

West USA Surprise Happy Hour 4:30pm - 6:30pm @ Tailgaters & IL Primo

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

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

Real World Appraisal II 3Hrs Legal Issues 9:00am - 12:00pm @ Mesa Office Surprise Office Meeting Potluck & Halloween Costume Contest 10:00am - 12:00pm @ Surprise Office

• CE- Continuing Education Renewal Training • Luxury Division Event

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Agency & Industry Related Issues 3Hrs Agency Law 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

Broker Round Table w/ Susan Herber 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

Vision Board Workshop 4:30pm - 6:00pm @Ahwatukee Branch Bullpen

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

Norsdale Pub Club 4:00pm - 6:30pm @ Sandbar Mexican Grill

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

FREE LIVE CE CLASS Mastering the AAR Listing Contract, 3Hrs Contract Law, 10:00am - 1:00pm @ Chandler Real Estate Business Training Center

Kierland Office Meeting 10:00am - 11:00am @ Kierland Training Room

Maximize Your Social Media Presence w/ Facebook Business Pages w/ Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

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

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

07 Arrowhead Office Meeting 10:00am - 11:00am @ Arrowhead Bullpen

FREE REMOTE CE CLASS Duties to Clients & Customers 3Hrs Commissioner Standards 9:00am - 12:00pm / Zoom

For the Love of Lending 10:00am - 11:00am @ TBD

Smartphone Real Estate Photography w/ Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:30am / Zoom

28 Maximizing Your Personal & Real Estate Brand w/ Keith Flynn 10:00am - 11:00am / Zoom

29 Mesa Office Meeting 10:00am - 11:30am @ Mesa Office

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

• Commercial Division Event • Office Meetings