Oregon 3-26-17

OREGON EDITION

How to Recognize TRUE LUXURY PROPERTIES Developing Your PRICING PHILOSOPHY

WHY DOESN'T TRAINING WORK for You? CREATIVE MEDITATION for the Real Estate Professional

COVER STORY

MARKETA POSPISIL:

PRINCIPAL BROKER IN OR – CRS, GRI, E-PRO, BETTER HOMES & GARDENS REALTY PARTNERS

Darla Marshall is proud to congratulate OREGON EDITION

Marketa Pospisil

on being featured for the state of Oregon in Top Agent Magazine!

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MARKETA POSPISIL Darla Marshall | Geneva Financial LLC CONTENTS writedarla@comcast.net Direct: 503.702.7287 | Fax: 503.200.1040 LONMLS # 228335 | NMLS 19)# 42056 WHY DOESN'T

4) HOW TO RECOGNIZE TRUE LUXURY PROPERTIES 14) DEVELOPING YOUR PRICING PHILOSOPHY

TRAINING WORK FOR YOU?

22) CREATIVE MEDITATION FOR THE REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL

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How to Recognize True Luxury Properties What to Consider Other Than Location When luxury home buyers are looking for a new abode, they are often advised to pay most of their attention to location, location, location. And it’s true that good locations often have better properties, but if you’re only looking at location then you might be forgetting what it is in a luxury property that makes it luxury. You could view a property in a great location, and because you completely ignored any of the other factors that make a property high end, you might find that once you move in, you aren’t as pleased with the actual house itself as you thought you would be. Here are the other things you should look out for when purchasing a luxury home: • Architectural Uniqueness: The simple fact is that good

architecture retains its value. Do your homework on architects and find the ones that have a good track record of designing beautiful, but practical homes. Don’t simply pay attention to how the building looks today. Consider how it will look in a few decades. Keep an eye out for the “bones” of the building, and decide whether they will stand the test of time or not. Things such as a solid foundation, high-grade materials, unusual details, and artistic components are good aspects to consider.

Will the structure hold up well or will it degrade and crumble without constant upkeep? That funky molding may look artistic today, but in ten years will it be considered artistic or just plain weird?

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• Practical Layout: Make sure you have enough room to live

in comfort. As a buyer of luxury property, you probably have quite a busy social schedule. You want to make sure that the layout will lend itself to helping you maintain clear separation between your social areas and private ones. You don’t want guests having to go back into your bedroom to use the bathroom. Look out for places with stairwells, awkward columns, long hallways, and other wastes of space.

• Unobstructed Views and Light: You want to live in

a home that gives you lots of natural light, such as one that is open to the outdoors. That natural light will improve your mood, as well as the resale value. The openness of a space filled with natural light will make you feel more comfortable and happy in your new home. What about the view? Do you see a Do you park, a bridge, a river, or a skyline? Is the see a park, fantastic view out your window protected? a bridge, You’ll need to understand the surrounding air a river, or a rights and zoning allowances of neighboring buildings to understand the possible risks. skyline?

• Windows: Windows are the primary source of losing heat and

cooling. Make sure they are double-paned with good insulation that will protect your home against weather and noise. Unless the windows are already like this, it is unlikely that the condo or co-op board will allow you to install your own.

• Ceiling Height: Consider the cubic footage of the property.

You want to look for high ceilings that increase the openness of a room.

Of course, you don’t want to go too high. Above 14 feet will get you diminished marginal returns.

• Storage: If you’re a woman, you will understand this one. We need

lots of closets and additional storage room to fit all of our clothes, shoes, jackets, hats, purses, etc. However, lucky for you, your potential home’s existing closet square footage will not limit you from putting in more storage space. Custom closet companies can create any kind of storage

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space you desire. You will have to, however, make sure that your new home does have an area that you can turn into this storage space.

• In-Unit Laundry: In-unit laundry has become necessary for

any luxury home or apartment. Do you really want to have to trek down flights of stairs to use the basement laundry? If you still consider it wasted space, you can convert it into more closet space.

• The Gym: Having a fitness area nearby is an amenity that is especially

important, particularly in winter when you don’t feel like walking to the gym a few blocks down.

One thing to consider is the Do you really want of the gym in relation to have to trek down size to the size of the building in flights of stairs? light of common area fees.

• Move-In Ready: I’d advise against buying time-consuming and

frustrating fixer-uppers no matter how much you want to add custom kitchens, finishes, fixtures, and other characteristics. Choose a property that already has all of these amenities taken care of. These properties have already had the same designers you would hire fashion the house at a fraction of the cost you would pay to have them do it after you move in. In this light, it is worthwhile to pay a little extra for the move-in ready home.

• Reputation: Pay attention to the reputation of the building. A

property that has a good reputation tends to retain its value. You can easily find this out online on posts, and established locals are likely to have an opinion.

If you want to buy luxury property that is really worth it’s price, then I would suggest adding these points to your list of things your new home must have.

If you want to get a high quality home that is a true luxury, you’ll want to watch out for these aspects as well as the location. Some properties might claim to be luxury based on their location, but when compared against this list, they don’t make the cut. So, don’t be fooled by imposters, and make sure you find a true high-end property.

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MARKETA POSPISIL:

PRINCIPAL BROKER IN OR – CRS, GRI, E-PRO, BETTER HOMES & GARDENS REALTY PARTNERS Top Agent Magazine

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self, through and through. “I also insert humor. It relaxes people, brings down barriers, builds trust, provides opportunities to educate them about the process and leads to smooth transactions.”

Marketa at first sought a role as a real estate assistant. But in her initial interview, the broker said, “I won’t hire you as an assistant, but I’ll mentor you; you’ve got what it takes to be an agent.”

That mentor, Rex Rickard, pushed her to get her feet wet. “He had me do all the old-school things to prospect for clients. I did things most agents these days don’t enjoy or don’t practice regularly, like door-knocking; cold-calling; hosting open houses; calling for-sale-by-owners and expired listings,” she says. “I’m so glad he did that. It was the only way for me to get traction!” She also decided early on to get as much additional education as possible. Over the years, she has obtained several industry designations.

Certain agents epitomize hard work and determination. Marketa Pospisil, who entered real estate in 1998 as a 23-year-old immigrant, is one such agent. After just two years in the country with no sphere of influence, she worked her way up, ultimately forging through the economic downturn and later reinventing herself. The proof is in the way Marketa provides great client service while simultaneously caring for the other agents she encounters during transactions. “We REALTORS® need to treat each other well to create win-win situations for everyone,” she says. Factor in Marketa’s humor and blunt honesty, and clients or partners have an ally for life. A principal broker and agent with Better Homes and Gardens Realty Partners in the Portland, OR, area, Marketa loves getting to know people. “Every personality is different; I don’t try to mold myself into what I think people might want me to be.” She is her8 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

Those designations – including the coveted Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) held by only 4% of all REALTORS® – are more than just letters after her name. “The CRS is like the PhD of real estate,” says Marketa. “I have in-depth knowledge of advanced practices that help my clients in a position of power.” Her GRI (Graduate, REALTOR® Institute) designation followed additional extensive training in real estate practices such as law, appraisal, taxes and contracts. Ironically, though, Marketa says, “While these designations are great and help me react quickly and accurately to situations, it’s my clients’ ratings of me that really demonstrate what I know!” Those clients know she is not afraid to jump into challenging transactions.

They have recognized her for her initiative. For six years straight, Marketa has received the Five Star Professional Award in Portland Monthly. The award is an honor based completely on customer reviews and Marketa couldn’t be more grateful for it.

That attitude of gratitude – for her clients, the Portland-area market and her professional network – has propelled Marketa to success over the years.

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If not for the support of mentors who believed in her, she believes she would not be where she is right now, earning such trust with clients that 90% of her business comes from referrals. People like Rex, who sadly passed away three years ago, and Eric Post, who owns the office she currently works for, saw promise in Marketa. “I have tremendous respect for Eric. I joke that when I grow up I want to be Eric Post!” Marketa’s gratitude for clients also resonates. She recently heard from a couple whose house she sold 12 years ago. “They’ve moved a lot, but remembered me and called from Japan,” she says. Marketa sold them a waterfront condo for their now-grown son. “It was fantastic to know I left a good impression and they sought me out again.”

Referrals like these have built Marketa’s real estate practice. “My company sends out surveys to everybody I work with and their opinions push Copyright Top Agent Magazine 10

me to be the best I can,” she says. “It keeps me on my toes and I am always surprised to see how many people take the time to write detailed reviews.” Those testimonials paint a picture of a “class act” – a professional, creative, hard-working agent who is driven by integrity and infuses character into all she does. Clients describe her eagerness to go above and beyond. They appreciate the seamless approach she takes to working with buyers and sellers. One seller, for instance, explained how Marketa “made it a pain free experience,” doing “everything she promised and then more.”

With all her experience, knowledge, drive and personality, Marketa delivers results for her listings. “I treat every listing equally, whether it’s $200,000 or $2 million,” she says, describing her printed marketing materials, heavy online and social media presence, professional photography, Top Agent Magazine

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slide shows, and video and drone photography. On each sign, she incorporates various ways of reaching her or learning about the listing, such as businesscard-sized “mini house cards”, glossy flyers and a PermaFlyer with QR code. “Our listings are everywhere, no matter the type or price.”

Although she is beginning to take advantage of her office’s CRM program, face-to-face and natural communication come most naturally to Marketa, whether through client appreciation parties or social media. “I engage with everyone on my personal Facebook page, not a business page.

If someone posts that they need and HVAC guy or have a fundraiser for a good cause, I help them without hesitation.” Marketa’s mission of creating

“Raving Fans” feels complete when people leave comments on her personal page, she’s “the best REALTOR® on the planet” or “awesome in dealing with us crazy buyers.”

Marketa, too, is everywhere. An expert in the TriCounty area, she happily goes wherever her referrals take her. The future holds continued growth for Marketa, who is finalizing plans to roll out an innovative networking business to link community members with necessary services. “I have a great team of partners,” she says, “Nothing builds rapport and repeat business better than surrounding yourself with like-minded, trusted professionals such as a good mortgage broker and escrow officer who support work ethic and customer experience.”

To learn more about Marketa Pospisil, visit RealEstatePuzzle.com, email Info@RealEstatePuzzle.com or call 503.267.1395 www.

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Top Agent Magazine

Darla Marshall is proud to congratulate

Marketa Pospisil

on being featured for the state of Oregon in Top Agent Magazine!

Darla Marshall | Geneva Financial LLC writedarla@comcast.net Direct: 503.702.7287 | Fax: 503.200.1040 LONMLS # 228335 | NMLS # 42056

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Developing Your Pricing Philosophy

By Dirk Zeller

Ask a dozen agents to explain their home pricing philosophy, and you’ll

hear a dozen different approaches. And if the talk reveals frank responses, you’ll also learn that the most common pricing strategy is no strategy at all.

Here’s my advice: Break out of the ranks by establishing and following a specific strategy for arriving at the ideal selling price for each home.

Adopt the philosophy that, in real estate sales, price is king. Price trumps all other factors—including marketing approaches, home condition, market competitiveness, and sales approach. I believe that, in the end, marketing and condition of the property are controlled by the price.

The alternative, advocated by many agents, most sellers, and even some sales trainers, is to emphasize marketing over pricing. Rather than working to set the ideal price, they believe success will come from optimizing the home’s condition and presentation and then marketing it with skill and savvy.

I take the opposite belief, based on years of experience working with sellers who wanted unrealistic prices for their homes and who experienced firsttime sales failures as a result.

Over my sales career, I resurrected and re-listed more than 600 expired listings—nearly 75 a year. Among all those transactions, I never met an owner with an expired listing who thought that an unreasonable price had anything to do with the home’s failure to sell. They all blamed the previous Copyright Top Agent Magazine 14

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agent and that person’s approach to marketing. Each sought some magic marketing strategy to change the reality of the law of supply and demand.

There is a magic strategy: Price the home correctly.

Price is the only factor that can overcome sales obstacles, compensate for a home’s deficiencies, and motivate a purchaser even if the condition of the property and your marketing approach is less than perfect.

Getting the listing at any cost Does this scenario sound familiar? An agent (usually a newer agent) is short on business or maybe even desperate for the chance to stake a sign in someone’s yard. The agent wants a listing at any price – even if the chance Top Agent Magazine

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to seal a deal erodes the likelihood of selling the property. To gain a seller’s nod of approval, the agent makes a flatteringly high pricing recommendation, throwing out a number the client wants to hear and then hoping something good will result from the bad situation.

I can think of few examples, if any, where this philosophy works. Hope isn’t a successful pricing strategy. Worse, the please-the-client mindset is a hard one to abandon. Agents who achieve listings with unrealistic prices find it hard to later counsel their clients honestly.

If you take and price a good listing competitively, it will sell. You can’t keep a good price a secret!

The pitfalls of a “please the buyer” approach are many and significant. By overpricing, you can practically count on a reduction in your productivity, profitability, and salability, and here’s why: It’s impossible to keep your productivity high when your time is spent in conversations with an unsuccessful seller who lacks motivation to take corrective action. The seller’s negativity, concerns, and phone calls will only increase with each week or month the house remains on the market.

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As time goes on, you’ll devote more and more time unsuccessfully trying to create a sale not only for your seller but also for yourself. This will pull you away from activities that are more likely to deliver income. The ensuing frustration will de-motivate you and stunt your ability to secure better appointments that create other income opportunities.

An unsold, overpriced listing negatively impacts your profitability because it costs you time and money to service while it delivers no revenue to your business. And the situation only gets worse the longer the listing languishes on the market. You’ll end up deducting the expenses of this in-limbo listing from the proceeds generated by any revenue-producing deals you manage to close in the meantime, reducing your net profit and business success.

Unsold homes that linger on the market seriously diminish your salability, which is the term that describes your sales success track. Your salability is based on such key statistics as your average ratio of listing price compared to sale price and the average number of days your listings are on the market.

Obviously, these statistics, which prospects rely on when choosing one agent over another, can be crushed by a “get the listings at any cost” philosophy. They’re also harmed by the “start high and reduce later” tactic.

If you take and price a good listing competitively, it will sell. You can’t keep a good price a secret!

Dirk Zeller is an Agent, an Investor, and the President and CEO of Real Estate Champions. Copyright© 2014, Dirk Zeller. All rights reserved.

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Why Doesn’t Training Work for You?

by Carla Cross

Why isn’t your training working for as a ‘performance art’, not a you? Every company says they ‘knowledge pursuit!’ ‘have training.’ Yet, whether you’ve been in business 2 days or 20 years, Big question for you: Think of your you’ve probably felt frustrated that last 3 trainings. What were you doing those hours spent in class—listening in class? Listening to the ‘expert’? to someone at the front (the Or, were you putting to work what ‘expert)—didn’t do you any good. you were learning—while in class, There’s one reason training doesn’t so you could get valuable feedback work—and here’s how to make it before you ‘practiced’ on real work for you, so you don’t waste people—your clients? precious hours in training rooms.

What you need to be doing in class Training doesn’t work because it’s to assure you can do it ‘for real’: not taught right—and the people in the class aren’t doing what needs to • If it’s appropriate, you need to role be done for training to make a play (like answering objections, giving a listing presentation, etc.) difference in their lives.

Here’s what training needs to help • If appropriate, you need to you every time you’re in class: differentiate (like finding mistakes in a purchase and sale agreement).

Training must have action inside class to be effective for you.

• If appropriate, you need to practice the actions in class and then What do I mean? go out and do it with a ‘real person’—the client—and come back I mean we have to look at real estate and tell how it went (practice a Top Agent Magazine

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listing presentation, do it ‘for real’, Real Estate: Performance Art and come back to class and refine it). or Knowledge Pursuit?

None of these things happening in class? Make it work anyway. Take the ‘actionable’ items you learned in class and go do them—for real— within 3 days of going to class (otherwise we only remember 10% of what we heard!). Now you’ve made your own action plan.

Trainers: I just videos showing training work. uTube channel.

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Let’s be honest: Do you know someone in your office who seems to know everything—but doesn’t sell a stick of real estate? Sure.

That’s the problem with treating real estate as a ‘knowledge pursuit’. It has little to do with results. It’s a performance art. How you perform in the field—with real clients— did a series of 5 determines your success. how to make your See them on my Big question for you: Which kind of agent are you? A ‘performance art’ Top Agent Magazine

How you perform in the field—with real clients—determines your success. agent or a ‘knowledge pursuit’ agent? Which is easier to become?

Your Training Should Resemble a Piano Lesson

will ‘do it’ for you 3.Relying on ‘on demand’ video.

Many large franchises are providing video on demand training. Brokers may be relieved that this is going to take training off their plates. I wish.

Unfortunately, video training can provide very limited production results. Why? Because people don’t learn much by watching video. Yes, they learn a little. They observe someone else doing something; they get information. But, they don’t have to take action.

As a long-time pianist and teacher, I know intimately that, if you don’t practice, you can’t play (or you play badly)! Think of effective training like a piano lesson. You practice outside class. You come prepared.

You get tips and modeling from your teacher. Then you practice in class with your ‘coach’ watching and listening. Then, you ‘go out in the field’ and practice. You come back When you’re ready to get results ready to perform for your coach from your training, you’ll be ready to treat your training like the power again. That’s effective training. tool it really can be.

Here are 3 things that don’t work in training (and things for you to avoid): Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is an international 1.Listening for a long period of time and thinking you can do it (you already know that, from your experiences, right?)

2.Thinking most company training Top Agent Magazine

speaker and president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching.

A former national Realtor Educator of the Year, Carla is known as one of the ‘go-to’ experts in her profession. She’s written training and coaching programs for most of the major real estate franchises.

Contact Carla at 425-392-6914 or www.carlacross.com.

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Creative Meditation

for the Real Estate Professional The real estate world can be an industry of intense emotional and psychological pressure. Deadlines, meetings, employee needs, client needs and a hundred other items on which one needs to focus on a daily basis can create an environment that is not only not conducive to mental well-being, but can be outright detrimental.

Learning to quiet the mind has been the focus of meditation for millennia. While those not familiar with the concept of meditation may instinctively think of yoga mats, incense, and chanting when the word “meditation” arises, there are in fact, many forms of meditation that can integrate quite 22

easily into the daily hustle & bustle world of the busy real estate agent.

First, think about when you are alone each day. Here are some possible times to practice mediation during the work day: • When driving to the office in the morning • When driving to a showing or to meet a client • Before your open house begins • After the open house • Driving home in the evening Top Agent Magazine

Repeating a mantra can be very calming, particularly when you are trying to rid yourself of negative, self-defeating thoughts.

These are just five examples of times when you can take advantage of meditation techniques to quiet your mind and, by extension, increase productivity. A calm mind is a more thoughtful, better tuned instrument.

Here are some examples of meditations you can try.

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For when you’re driving, download and listen to any number of audio Guided Meditations available on the internet. YouTube has a generous selection of these, many of which are geared towards success in business.

2 Repeating a mantra can be very calm-

ing, particularly when you are trying to rid yourself of negative, self-defeating thoughts. It doesn’t matter what words you choose, as long as you feel good about your choice. “I am a success” or “I will approach all of my clients with love today” are two examples. Whatever works for you and gets you into the desired mindset.

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3 Something as simple as listening to pleasant music in your car can be considered meditation, provided it brings you to a place of comfort as opposed to one of spiritual discordance.

4 The most important thing, however, is to take time to find gratitude in everything you do. Count your blessings, be grateful the exciting career in real estate you have built for yourself.

Once you’ve mastered some of these techniques at quieting your mind, you can attempt to find some that work even better for you. Walking, plain silence, or even exercise can have meditative qualities and benefits if practiced on a regular basis.

When you’re truly feeling calm, your clients can sense this. And with this comes the feeling that you can be relied upon to stay focused and calm in any unforeseen circumstances. And in the world of real estate, that’s a highly prized commodity.

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