Real Estate Market

Real estate investing has always been a prime proposition. Numerous buildings are built every month in major cities and highly developed urban areas. Subdivisions from low cost housing to sumptuous villas are escalating. And have you ever thought why there is so much construction? The simple answer is that there is demand to meet because there are plenty of people out there who see real estate as a good venture to make a decent profit. This is one of the biggest reasons why so many people want to become property investors no matter what their career background is.

Like any other business, investing in property needs a strong business mind and an eye for opportunity to be successful. Of course, these skills are not something that can be learned overnight. They demand time and dedication from an amateur who wants to explore his potential in this business with minimal risk.
The very first thing that you need to do is to identify your needs. Where do you want to buy? How much do you want to spend? How much profit do you expect to make from the property?

As a general rule, investment properties are classified in two broad categories; One is residential and the other is commercial. Residential includes condominiums, apartments and houses while commercial real estate properties are used for business purposes. Commercial property can be more profitable than a residential property but at the same time can be more costly.

The most important thing is to consider what is right for you at the given stage of your real estate investing expertise. Once you have decided what is right for you, it is best to consult with a professional, such as a real estate agent. Real estate agents will help you find a property that matches your budget and your desired investment outcome.

It was thought that on average, at least five percent of the population had considered real estate investment in the last year. That is a staggering figure, a very large amount of novices vying for a trade know as flipping, which was once considered the most profitable yet most financially dangerous real estate deal possible. Many realtors will not consider flipping. The reason behind this is because of the risks, the potential loss of cash these businesses can not afford to lose. So if the experts think this, why are so many people, armed with such little knowledge, willing to take the risk? One reason really: the old chestnut, the media. Or to be more precise the television programs that churn out such scenarios every single day. These shows were invented with the aim of showing everyday folk the cheap and cheerful way to renovate a property and sell it on at a profit. Well it all looks so easy, no one gets stressed, they are happy and laughing and low and behold it is all done in a few days. Each house does look great with a vast improvement. Then we see potential buyers walking around the property exhaling with the functionary comments on how wonderful everything looks. Well this is all easy isn’t it, wow, we jump on the bandwagon and make easy cash yes? No. Of those people that were walking around, did any actually buy the place? No, and we don’t know why they never tell us that part. Also, when there are fifty experts working on a property, it shouldn’t take long. But when it is you, the wife and Bert form the pub, it is a different matter entirely.

Okay we know the show is meant to inspire, but they do not really consider the fact that people will emulate and lose a lot of money. The disclaimer at the end after the credits basically states this. After the credits you say? Who watches the credits? Put the damn thing up as a banner across the bottom of the screen during the program…we might notice then.

Property development is very hard work; it takes blood sweat and more than a few tears. Yes it can be financially beneficial but the horror stories exist as well. Never plan anything on the reference of a television show that has been edited and produced to make us see how wonderful everything and everyone is. Consult the experts; your eyes will certainly be opened.

Town Planning is about how we plan for, and make decisions about, the future of our cities, towns and countryside. Over the centuries, a formal way of making these decisions was set up. Your planning authority is responsible for deciding whether a development – anything from an extension on a house to a new shopping centre.

The Town Planning Development Control Group is responsible for the processing of all Planning Applications. You can access information about current and past applications by searching the Planning Application where it is also possible to submit your comments online on current applications. All plans must take account of the sustainable needs of future communities. They must take account of the environment as well as setting out the sorts of development needed to help people live and work in the area.

If you live in a house, you can make certain types of minor changes to your home without needing any for Development Potential or planning permission. These rights are called ” planning services”. It is your responsibility check whether Planning Services is required. Please contact the Development Control Group on 01628 780780. If required, planning permission should be granted before any work begins. For further information see the Permitted Development Webpages.

Many kinds of buildings and structures can be built in your garden or on the land around your house without the need to apply for planning permission. These can include sheds, garages, greenhouses, accommodation for pets and domestic animals, summer houses, swimming pools, ponds, sauna cabins, enclosures (including tennis courts) and many other kinds of structure. Larger structures and enclosures may require permission

More information about planning in your area

The New Housing planning system can look complicated and can put people off commenting on proposals for a new house or getting involved in the planning process.

They are there to help. You can also contact the following:
o Planning Aid – a charity set up by planners to offer free and unbiased advice.
o Professional advice, such as from a qualified planning agent or consultant.
o Your local elected councilor or Member of Parliament.
o The Commissioner for Local Administration if you feel that the local

The planning service encompasses predominantly statutory and non-statutory Town Planning and Building Control services which support the Council’s wider urban regeneration and economic development initiatives, and, at the same time, protect and enhance the Borough’s built and natural environment.

There is a bear in the woods. He has been lurking around for a few years and presents a threat to us. There is an aggressive new competitor in our industry. This competitor seems like an ally to Realtors but is really an adversary. There are a large number of web-based outsiders that are trying to penetrate the real estate marketplace. These outsiders are waging a battle to sign up customers through early stage offers of gift certificates, cash, gift cards or opportunities for free rebates. Multiple agents are also promoted to the consumer with the inducement to receive sales materials such as CMA’s or marketing plans. These companies are luring in consumers with the hook of lower fees or bonuses.

The most sophisticated of all these interlopers is Lending Tree. They have already been engaged in lawsuits with the Cendant Groups and RE/MAX. I have no doubt they will continue to step over the line and others will follow. The only service these companies are providing is being the intermediary between the potential prospect and a group of agents bidding for the business. For this service they want 30% – 40% of the commission!

These companies are working diligently to become significant players in the agent referral business. For example, if a consumer used Lending Tree to help them find an agent they could receive up to a $2,000 gift card at Home Depot based on the price of the home.

The whole industry of these web-based party crashers is to make money at your expense. For you to do all the work you have been doing already but for a 30% – 40% reduction in your fee structure.

There are others like Home Loan, which offers a cash reward of $500, or Master Moving, which offers a reward of .225% of the sales price. The reward would amount to $675 on a home valued a $300,0000. All these companies want a slice of an already thin pie.

A recent study by NAR gives us an indication of why we are experiencing these predators prowling in our industry. For the years 2003 and 2004 only 13% of the consumers returned to their agent they used from a previous purchase. This statistic shows our glaring lack of service after the sale. It shows that we are no better then other sales people who make a sale and never follow up with the client again. Until we change our ways that bear will be out of the woods and in the back yards of our clients. He will be rummaging through the garbage cans trying to find a way to be invited in!

We must drive these bears back to the woods. The only way to do that is to really protect what we have starting now!

As agents, too many of us are relying on the mail and email to forge relationships with our clients after the sale. We are using a pre-packaged CAP program, or Client Appreciation Program, where we give them “items of value” monthly. I don’t want you to misunderstand me here. It’s fine if you do that. There is nothing wrong with regular contact via mail or email.

The problem lies when we get lulled into a secure feeling because we mail them something every month that generates an impression on our client for a total of 30 seconds at best. The clients also knows that you send this same “stuff” our to 500 plus other people as well. The consumer knows that all we did was mail merge a mass letter and mass marketing piece. How special does that make them feel? Sending out mass mail marketing pieces is better than doing nothing, but it falls far short of the exclusive relationship that we are hoping for.

We must realize and value these mass mailings for what they are…support pieces. These pieces’ only value is supporting the personal efforts we should be engaged in. The personal efforts we make toward our clients are the foundation of raising our referrals and our retention of our past clients.

Our personal efforts can be segmented into two key areas, the “relationship building” area and “expert in the industry” area. We need to be building the relationship so they know we care about them. We also must establish ourselves as the industry expert. Our past clients need to feel that having an expert on their side outweighs the giveaways that these companies are enticing them with. If all we have is a relationship they will be tempted to evaluate and even accept these outsiders offers.

To master the relationship-building arena we need to move beyond mail and email. We must intermesh personal intervention, phone-to-phone or face-to-face contacts. Our past clients need to hear from us personally on a regular schedule. We must raise the level of intimacy with our clients by frequency of personal contact and intensity of personal information. Intensity of personal information is the core information about a client. We are going to track this core information on each client. An example would be birthdays, anniversaries, children’s birthdays, children’s activities, and client’s interests. There are more options than one could list in an hour. The question is what do you want to track? What will give you the edge to protect what you already have? The power of this information in a usable format is explosive. A usable format would also set up intimate correspondence based on life events, like sending out birthday and anniversary cards. A usable format would be the ability to search your database based on these categories as well as other specific categories.

Very few agents go do what I will describe now. You have a client that has an interest in golf. You know that because it is core information you track on your client’s interests. You read an article on a golf topic about a new course opening in your greater region. You then photo copy that article with a note for the client saying, “I read this article and really enjoyed it. I thought of you when I read it because I know you love golf. I hope that you and the family are doing well.” You then mail the article to your client. Then place a call in a few days to make sure they got it and you can ask for referrals. If we do this type of relationship building we reduce the exposure to defections of clients. A defection is when someone leaves your database and uses someone else. The use of the CAP system being your only avenue of relationship building is not enough!

We also must position ourselves as the expert in the industry. The reason why fees have been feeling additional pressure downward is the message from these outsiders, the media and others. The message they are sending is, “It doesn’t matter who you select, as agents we are all the same.” Our message needs to be “It matters who you select to represent your interests.” First we have to believe that to our core. Second we have to be able to document that empirically with statistics. We must be able to articulate our average list price to sales price, average days on the market and average listing sold verses listing taken verses the board average or another agent’s average. From these statistics that we call the “Big 3″ we need to show the benefits to the client. The benefits of a higher net dollars in their pocket, lower hassle factor or disruption to their family because of a reduction of days on the market and a higher probability of sale when using us to represent their interests.

We also must regularly update our client to the condition of the marketplace. Again, showing them empirical evidence of inventory of homes based on price range, number of homes sold in each price range, days on market in each price range and the absorption rate. The absorption rate is how many months of inventory we have based on current trends. These statistics affect the value and ultimately the equity position for our clients.

There are endless ways to position you as the expert. We must create a positioning plan and then implement or execute the plan to raise awareness of our expert status.

These outsiders are threats and they present a clear and present danger to our industry. There are strategic and tactical moves we can make in this game to minimize the momentum that is building from these outside forces. The timing to implementation is now. We all need to work together to drive the bears back in the woods.

Real estate companies have been offering potential recruits hefty packages to come on board. Reliable sources are saying that sign on bonuses range from $5000 to $250,000. Yes, that is ¼ of one million dollars, to entice agents to consider their company. They are also offering high, fixed (and unearned splits) for 2-3 years. The same package can also include 30,000 pieces of direct mail, up to $1500/month for assistant payment, building out space, and logo development incorrectly referred to as “branding”. In return for these hefty packages, they are requiring agents to place liens against their personal property and signing 2-3 year contracts stating that the agent will return all of the money should they decide to leave prior to the expiration of their contract. We are also hearing that they are trying to move contracts to 3-5 years to ensure you stay there and they can get past their break even point for revenue. Signing a contract to stay, turns your wonderful “independent contractor” status to “indentured servitude”. This flies in the face of why you probably entered this business. They are not offering these packages because they like you or they think they can grow your business. They are offering these to build instant market share. They just want you to keep doing what you have been doing for years without them.

Companies that lure agents with these incredible packages either don’t have a lot to offer or they don’t believe they have a lot to offer. From a broader perspective, I wouldn’t affiliate with a company that is giving away their equity (and financial stability), through inflated splits, high sign on bonuses, and other big perks. The average agent commission split for financially-healthy real estate company is 65%. The remaining 35% is a gross, not net, number for profit. From the 35% “profit” comes mortgages on the office buildings, technology, insurance, staff, supplies, advertising, marketing, telephones, light, heat, power, maps, yard signs…you get my point. The margins on profit are slim and getting slimmer as the cost of doing business continues to increase. In a “normal market”, if a company is left with a few percentage points of profit, how can they offer these over-inflated packages? This is how: They find other small, yet significant ways to charge their current agent base. Adding these small fees helps them offset the huge losses they are taking on the recruiting front. Once you agree to the package, you then become one of the people that gets thrown into the bucket and gets charged these fees.

Promising that you will make a lot of money and not have to do any hard work is impossible. They lull you into a false sense of security which is serious business for you. It ultimately affects your business and livelihood. Here some things to consider when being courted by a company:

Why would any real estate company feel compelled to offer such packages to get agents to make a transition?

Why would the owner of the company give away the equity in the company to you…equity that has taken years to build? What’s in it for them?

What value, other than the package, do they have for you on a day-to-day basis?

What support do they have in place for you to service your clients? (Remember them?)

What business development coaching do they offer you to help you grow your business?
If they made you promises, are they ALL in writing?

What happens if you get there the first week and don’t like the environment? What happens if you want to leave? Do you owe them the bonus? Do you owe them anything else? Are you now bound for many years?

How do they help you reach your goals?

Is the Manager someone who is going to help you grow your business? What systems do they already have in place?

Have you been allowed to “bond” with the Manager of the office or are you being courted by their corporate people who you will never see again and haven’t sold real estate for decades, if ever.
What other fees have they not disclosed to you that would help them balance out your package?
How fair is it to offer a package to you coming in when the agents that have been there for many years are held to the split schedule, roll backs and agent expenses? The shoe will be on the other foot soon with agents coming in behind you.

What is the office environment like with the unfair system? Do you think it is happy? Do you think it’s a trusting environment? Not likely if unfair and hefty packages are being offered to those coming in. Don’t expect any team support from your fellow agents. They all will know why and how you came on board.

What happens when your contract expires? Do they allow you to renegotiate? Not likely to the extent that you could when you were just a glimmer in their eye. You have now priced yourself out of the market, because no logical-thinking company would continue to give away their company equity. Companies need to balance profit so they can reinvest in their company and stay financially sound. They are counting on your fear of making another transition and hoping you stay well beyond your heavily-bonused contract time, when they can actually make money from you.

Think through any outlandish offer you may get. It may be the latest “gimmick” or “slight of hand” from that company. Recruiting is getting more aggressive and outrageous, but it’s the time to take a step back and make sound, long-term business decisions for your growth. Don’t get “taken” by promise to make a lot of money and build your ego. Your long-term vision should include a solid business plan with the tools, guidance and support of a fair company that values your clients.

Ask a Realtor, and you will get a resounding, “YES!” Watch any news network and you will sink into the doom and gloom forecasting that will have you watching every penny you spend. While you should definitely learn to read your local real estate market, it is more important that you gain an even better understanding of your own finances and long term goals.

It is true that we are currently experiencing a buyer’s market. There are a lot of deals to be had out there, with foreclosures flooding the market and homeowners desperate to unload some of their financial burdens. Prices have fallen, even dramatically in some areas. Merrill Lynch says that home prices will fall 15 percent this year, and possibly another 10 percent in 2009. And with 30 year fixed rates at record lows, why shouldn’t everyone be buying?

It is not only about the economy’s health but rather about your personal wealth. There is a new bottom line in the real estate market: if you have a sizable down payment and a good credit score, you might get a loan. The pendulum has swung. Lenders have written themselves into a tight spot, have lost billions of dollars, and are not willing to take the same risks they did just a few years ago. Once-upon-a-time it seemed like anyone with a pulse got a loan.

Today, you have to prove your worthiness. Lenders will be willing to invest in you if you are willing to invest in yourself. If prices continue to drop, perhaps this is time you should take to bulk up your credit score and bank account.

While you are taking this time to empower yourself, keep an eye on the market. It is much better to buy while there is a down-trend than to wait for values to begin to climb, as they inevitably will. Interest rates will creep up again. This is the time for you to be proactive in a timely fashion. The real winners will be those that prime themselves by preparing beforehand.

Making a career change can be scary as well as exciting. When I found out I could attend real estate school online to help me go for a Kentucky real estate license I decided to go for it. The best way to make a career change is when you already have a job. Being able to work toward a real estate license from home in my spare hours meant I could keep my day job until I passed the state exam and found a job.

While doing some research about obtaining a license I found out that the state requires a background check. To be honest I never realized that before but I was glad to see it. It makes sense that anyone who has the ability to write contract should have to have a background check. I felt that getting my Kentucky real estate license meat that I was starting a very important career. Being able to take the class from home just made it all the more attractive and doable.

The Kentucky real estate commission has a website that provides all of the necessary information regarding getting a license and maintaining a real estate license. The site even gives information regarding people who have a license from another state and want to obtain a license. Usually there is a short test involved and also proof needs to be provided of the license from the other state. It is good to know that many states do offer the option of applying for a reciprocal license, especially if I move someday.

Going for a Kentucky real estate license seems to make sense for me. I am a very good people person and I have been very successful in sales. the real estate market is doing better then a lot of other areas of the country and it has huge growth potential. Getting my license will enable me to make a new career for myself in a field that is interesting and exciting. I want to be excited about going to work in the morning and I think that real estate is a very exciting career choice.

Going to school online will mean that I have to focus and pay attention. Not being in a classroom setting can be a negative if you do not have the ability to focus. I will however save gas and time by taking the class online. Before I know it I will be well on my way to obtaining a Kentucky real estate license. The online program I chose is offered by a very reputable real estate school in the state. I am ready to get started on my new career.

Many real estate agents are suffering financially. Possibly this is you. It is unfortunate but houses are selling much below their value and are staying on the market for months. There are more sellers than buyers and there is no relief to be seen in the very near future.

People are struggling; struggling to pay bills to pay debts. The real estate industry is a tough market to be in right now. Possibly you have been wanting to find a way to get you through.

One of the best solutions is to start a home business. There are many tax advantages and you have the benefit of writing off many of your household expenses at tax time. It is also flexible. Something you can do while still being a real estate agent. Maybe something to tide you over until the economic situation improves or maybe something that permanently creates an income for you. The key is to find the right business. One that is recession proof.

We have chosen to build a recession proof business and are helping others to do the same. When searching for any home business there are some critical evaluating tools you need.
Want to Work from Home? Have you considered These Crucial Evaluating Tools?

So you have decided that you would like to work from home. Maybe you want to stay home with your children, maybe you want money for that extra special something or maybe you want to create financial freedom. Maybe you just need to pay your bills and pay off debt. So you know your reasons why. This is a great start but now what?

It is easy to want to jump into the first thing that comes along. Something may sound good on the surface, so you should jump right in, right? Wrong.

There are several key factors that anyone and everyone should consider when deciding on what business would be right for them. Ensuring you have thoroughly researched the opportunity can save you a lot of money, a lot of time, and more importantly, a lot of heartache. I have heard too many stories of people going broke trying to find the right one. I even know someone who has tried 23 opportunities before finding the right one. Can you imagine?

The first key in researching a business is knowing what features you should be looking for in a company. You will definitely need to know the following:

- Is there an established track record?

You want the company to be at least seven years old – successful home-based business companies experience a surge of growth in their first 3-5 years, but most cannot support the increased capital and organizational needs this growth demands to continue their success. Be wary the person who says “this is a ground floor opportunity” or you need to “catch the wave”.

- Is the company financially sound?

You should be able to get access to this information. Another great way to know if a company is legit, is trustworthy and has integrity is if they will let you see their previous years’ income statistics. If they’re not willing to share what their business people make, do you really think they’re doing that well. And I don’t just mean the top earners, find out what the “little guy” is making.

- Do they have a strong management team and company credentials?

Beware! There are some companies out there who are “touting” scientists behind their products that have received their degree by mail order over the internet. Do your research! What is the history of the management? What awards have they received? What does the Better Business Bureau have to say about them?

- Does this company have unique, consumable products that are guaranteed?

There are companies that have only one product. How many of that one product do you think you have to sell to make any money? If this is a luxury item, you most likely won’t get repeat sales from the same person which creates much more work for you. If it’s a hobby, you are looking at the same thing. The product should be something that a person goes through and needs again fairly soon, preferably monthly. These products should also have a 100% guarantee.

- Does this company require that you keep inventory or ‘front end load’?

This is a very fast way to the poor house. I know lots of folks who have garages full of products. You may think it will be easy to ‘unload’ it but it’s not. Make sure the company does not require you to have stock or inventory.

- Is there a low personal production requirement?

Essentially, this means how much of their product do you need to order to stay in business? If they are asking you to order more than you would use, then you guessed it? Straight to the poor house for you.

- Is there a high customer re-order rate?

Some companies have a re-order rate of only 5%. Does this tell you how hard you will have to work to win customers and keep them? Again, if the company won’t give you this information then they have something to hide!

- Is there low initial investment?

You should be able to get started in any business for $500 or less. In addition, any investment should be guaranteed. Any more than that and the risk sky rockets.

- Is there low attrition?

If more than 10% of the people are leaving every month, what does that tell you?

- Is there breakaways?

No breakaways!!! What that means is that you work really hard and then when you reach a desired level, they have the rest of your team “break away” from you and you start all over. Does that sound like what you are looking for? Know the compensation plan. You should be able to earn an income from each person you offer your product or service to. No breakaways, no balancing sides.

- Does the company have any risk?

Risk is a 4 letter word. It has its place but not in your business. This is your life. There should be no risk. You should only be using products you would use anyway, and there should be a full guarantee on everything. If this is the case, there is no risk!

Alright, so now that you know what is important to look for in the company, what product concept makes the most sense, you ask?

REPEAT Consumables (necessity items) and I can’t stress this enough. This is a 200 billion dollar industry. People must already want or need to buy the products. It is much easier to interest people in something that is better or less expensive than their current brand than it is to get them to buy something new that they hadn’t considered before. The concept of “switching stores” works best because people spend “no new money”, they just switch brands. Durable goods won’t generate residual income because people won’t buy each month.

The products should always be competitively priced (have a low cost per use). No matter how well people like something, they won’t stay customers forever if the product costs more than the store bought equivalent. Since commissions depend on customer purchases, the longer they stay, the more RELIABLE your income. The products must also be unique and exclusive to the company. It is of benefit if there are patented products that have been scientifically developed. The re-order rate should be above 90% and it has to make sense to just be a customer, continuing to buy the products without being a business builder.

Lastly there are a few more things that you may want to consider. Does the company manufacture its own products? Does the business offer a system that you can duplicate for success? Does the organization provide you with free training and support? Do you have to leave your home to build the business? Do you need experience in sales or business to be successful? Can you make enough to replace your income? What are the tax advantages to owning a home-based business?

I know this seems like a lot of work, but the end result will make for a happier, wealthier you. Good luck in your search!

I’ve only ever been to two house auctions. At the second, I ‘won’; I bought the house, well, it’s a unit. Let me tell you how it happened; it was one of the most intense weeks of my life.

I was living overseas and I had to come back to Australia to get some medical tests. I’d be back in Melbourne for one month, and my partner told me it was a good time to buy a house. She had her mind set on this one apartment in Hawthorn. It was to be auctioned on a Saturday, a couple days after I arrived back in this English-speaking realm (In rural Japan, English was rarely spoken and when it was, usually at quite a basic level: Hello, how are you? I’m fine thank you. What’s your favourite colour? Purple.). All of a sudden I found myself listening to an auctioneer rattling off English so fast it was like a machine gun to the head. Why do they have to be such motor mouths?

I got to look at the place for fifteen minutes before I had to make the decision whether or not to spend the next thirty years of my human existence paying it off with my blood, sweat, and tears. After having a bit of a look around the joint I realised I didn’t really like it, but nonetheless my lady is often ‘boss’ and she wanted me to start bidding. It was a hot summer day and people started rolling in like dogs around a freshly slaughtered buffalo carcass. There must have been close to 150 of us standing in front of the red brick complex, not including the owners of other units, vultures and wide-eyed Tawny Frog-Mouths out on their balconies watching the ‘show’.

I stood right in front of the man barking off rules and information about the property. I knew how much money we had, so I had a limit in my head that no matter what I wouldn’t go over. The flat was advertised at $300,000, and bidding was to begin at 280 grand. After the first bid, a woman yelled out 350 thousand! That took the crowd by surprise. However, that was the last we heard of her once-confident voice. I made a couple of small bids afterwards, but two other guys were in an all-out battle that culminated in the yuppie-looking bloke wiping the floor with the tradesman. The ‘tradie’ had looked so calm as he rattled off bids; I thought he must have been one of those wealthy builder types who dress like street bums, but have more money than some developing nations. However, the wealthy yuppie couple wanted this apartment and the man was going to stop at nothing to get it. It sold for $445,000; now that’s just a little higher than the asking price isn’t it? It wasn’t looking good for our dream of owning our own place (not that one really owns anything but a lifelong mortgage-joke!). Was the market truly this overblown?

Before I went out to the auctions on the next Saturday I met up with a friend who gave me some advice/words of wisdom. He’d recently bought a house down in the bay side area of Brighton East, beating out a fellow driving a brand new high-class Mercedes. He said, “Bid like your pockets are empty. Be so confident that people think you’re not going to give up under any condition. Bid strongly and in large denominations right up until you reach your limit. If you look tough, people who are only in it half-heartedly will bail out early.”

That’s exactly what I did. Conditions couldn’t have been better on the day. It was the weekend just before Christmas, so most people were out shopping for presents, not houses. It was raining. Who wants to trudge around looking at houses in the wet? We checked out a few places, but then we found one unit we really liked. Half an hour later we were bidding on it. Out of fifteen or so people only two other guys even opened their mouths, and in the end it was just an Asian man versus myself. I have to admit; he wasn’t looking too sure of himself right from the start.

As each time after lengths of nervous deliberation his bids went up by $500 or a thousand dollars, I quickly shot back with $2,000, $3,000, and $5,000 retorts. Wearing an Indonesian batik shirt, I have a feeling I must have unwittingly expressed the identity of a guy who’s so wealthy he isn’t concerned about what he looks like. To my great surprise, after a short while the other fellow threw in the towel and we had ‘won’ the right to live in the humble abode in which I currently sit as I write this story. I actually got the ‘cave’ for a fair bit less than I was considering I’d have to shell out to be victor. (I won’t tell you how much we paid, but let’s just say it’s going to take a helluvalot of writing to pay this set of walls and roof off!)

The real estate agent said that it was one of the most confident displays of auction bidding that they’d ever witnessed in their whole career. I don’t know if they just wanted to make me feel good, but if not, I have to say that it was one of the best displays of acting that I’ve ever acted out. I’d only ever been to two auctions, but bystanders might’ve thought I was a hungry buyer with a huge wad of cash. However, my confidence must have come from somewhere real…this world is made up of so many illusions and ingenuous images. My only concern is that this house isn’t as inauthentic as the person I portrayed to buy it!

The Department of Justice announced a proposed settlement to the now almost three year old, civil antitrust lawsuit that they filed against the National Association of Realtors.

The Justice Department announced that the “settlement will result in more choices, better services and lower commission rates for consumers.

The Department of Justice challenged the National Association of Realtors polices and related rules that obstruct real estate brokers who use innovative Internet-based tools to offer better services and lower costs to consumers. These policies by the National Association of Realtors prevented consumers from receiving the full benefit of competition. Under the terms of the announced settlement, The National Association of Realtors will repeal its anticompetitive polices and require affiliated Multiple Listing Services to do the same.

On the other hand the National Association of Realtors President Richard F. Gaylord recently announced in Realtor Magazine that the proposes settlement is “a win for consumers and Realtors.” Further stating that the proposed settlement resolves Department of Justice concerns, ensuring a level playing field for brokers operating a virtual office Web site and that the settlement affirms the value of the Multiple Listing Service as a tool of broker-to-broker cooperation.

So who are we to believe, the Department of Justice or The National Association of realtors? Both the Realtors and the Government spent an enormous amount of money on the action. Who is telling the truth and who do you suspect is putting a lot of spin on this one?

Perhaps tomorrow I will examine this a little deeper.