The Big August 17, 2024 Changes Are Only Two Weeks Away—Are You Prepared?
Feeling overwhelmed by all the advice about how to handle commissions starting August 17, 2024? Confused about what to say to your buyers and sellers? Adjusting to the coming changes only requires a few simple tweaks in your
language, transferring your listing agreement skills to your buyer agreements, plus moving to what I’m calling a “multiple offer mindset,” an approach every competent agent already understands how to use.
It’s incredibly frustrating to see so-called industry experts giving advice that keeps agents trapped in the old model where buyer’s agents are still thinking about being compensated by the seller. Specific examples include websites that display listing commissions to buyers’ agents through the seller/listing agent, advice focused on “seller offers of compensation,” or use of forms that offer “concessions.”
Tweak your language and reset your mindset
I recently had a conversation with Katherine Lappe, the founder and CEO of Direct Offer as well as the owner of WorldWideInvestments.com, a member-based service that has over 6,000 members and that currently lists about 150,000 properties that range from single family, multi-family, probate, For-Sale-by-Owner, commercial, aimed specifically at the investment market.
Lappe pointed out that buyers’ agents working in the auction, commercial, industrial, and investment markets all manage to get paid without commission sharing through a Multiple Listing Service.
Lappe’s remarks made me entirely rethink how agents need to work with their buyers and sellers going forward. Realtors need to make some simple language changes, such as shifting away from using words like “compensation” and “commission” to using “fee” whenever possible, and we need to adopt a “multiple offer mindset.” This simple approach can help both agents and brokers avoid issues with the DOJ as well as with plaintiffs’ attorneys itching to file even more lawsuits.
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Where to Find Lots of Great Ideas for Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube Posts Ideas at No Charge
Would you like some great topics to post on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or your blog?
If you’re like most agents, you probably haven’t cleaned out the Sent Box of your email for quite some time. Well, that’s great news and here’s why. One of the best sources for posts are the questions that you normally answer for your clients in an email.
Each time a client asks you a question, make a point of emailing the answer to the client and then posting the written information on your blog, your Facebook business page, and/or Instagram.
Next, use that information to make a video you can post on YouTube as well as Facebook, Instagram Reels, or any other social media or video sites you use.
Now go back to your sent box. If you have ever answered questions for your clients via email, you already have a treasure trove of blog posts already written that are just waiting to be posted online or turned into a video. Just cut and paste and you’re ready to go!
How to Get More People to Read Your Social Media Posts
Would you like more people to read your social media or blog posts? Mashable.com has some interesting insights into this challenge. After researching this issue, they outlined the three most popular social media posts that get the most attention from readers.
- “How to” posts
For realtors, this could be “how to” buy your first home or get a good deal on a mortgage. It could also include staging tips, “how to” videos for preparing your home for summer or winter, or “how to” make your favorite summer dessert. - Funny posts
People love to laugh. There’s a reason cat videos and videos of people doing stupid things are so popular. Share something crazy that happened on a showing, funny local signs, of if you have a funny video you made, that works too. - Recommendation lists
For example, “The top ten places to save money in your town,” or “Five things you should know to keep your utility bills low this summer.”
Even if you don’t use social media much, these ideas can work well in a digital newsletter or even a postcard mailing program.
An Extraordinary Example of an Abundance Mindset
Over the last five years, Byron and I have been doing an extensive amount of cruising at destinations all over the world. We especially enjoy the “repositioning” cruises where Viking moves their ships from one part of the world to another hitting multiple stops along the way.
One of my favorite days was spent in Cape Verde, an archipelago 100 miles off the coast of Senegal in Africa. We saw one room houses all over the island, with no running water and often no electricity. They only get about one inch of rain every 2-3 years. They have 
to collect the dew in the morning for drinking water although there are some natural springs on the volcanic island. Even though the people live with these challenging conditions, they have an abundance mindset. Our guide summed it up like this:
“When I have one room house, I really have two rooms. One to live in during the day and a second to sleep in at night. When things get hard, we just dance and dance our problems away.”
At RealEstateWealthForWomen.com our goal is to help you build your cash flow and wealth through real estate investing, achieve financial freedom, and live your best possible life. A great place to start is with an abundance mindset with gratitude for what you already have.
Our First Press Review on Real Estate Wealth for Woman
I’m excited to share our first press review of RealEstateWealthForWomen.com by Deputy Editor Christy Murdock of Inman News. Here it is:
Inman contributor Bernice Ross’ new ‘Real Estate Wealth for Women’ site offers an abundance of resources and interviews with experts to help women make smarter financial decisions
After checking groceries to pay her way through college, 20-something-year-old Bernice Ross put together “every dime [she] had” to fund a 20 percent down payment on her first condo.
“The woman who’d shown me some condos wore raggedy jeans and had ‘Million Dollar Club’ on her card. I thought, ‘If she can sell a million dollars in real estate, maybe I can sell one or two homes over the course of the summer.’”
Thus began Ross’s odyssey through real estate, first as an agent selling homes herself and, over time, as a trainer and author — not to mention a long-time Inman contributor.
Now, Ross is bringing her “if you build it, they will come” philosophy — and her passion for working with women — to a new endeavor: a website that’s seeking to help women become homeowners first, then, eventually, wealth builders.
On her site, Real Estate Wealth for Women, Ross shares hours of video interviews and written resources on everything from buying a first home to saving for retirement. The site offers both a public-facing free tier and a paid subscription version.
Ross said that one of her biggest passions has been helping women, both as clients and real estate professionals. She organizes the annual Awesome Females in Real Estate conference and writes about women’s issues in much of her content.
In part, the impetus for creating a content platform geared toward connecting women with the investment potential of real estate comes from Ross’s real-life experience in seeing friends and neighbors struggling financially.
“I live in a 55-plus community, and they raise the dues here from time to time,” she said.
“I watch women’s money being eroded away by inflation. I see their 401(k)s wiped out in the stock market. I want to provide a different route out of the financial challenges women face.”
According to Ross, the foundational purpose of the website is to help more women become homeowners. That homebuying material is free and includes resources on buying versus renting, mortgages and down payment assistance programs.
The paid part of the site offers extensive resources for both current and prospective real estate investors, an audience Ross has worked with throughout her career.
“When I got into the business in my 20s, my first clients many of my clients were investors.” she said. “Then the market went south and you couldn’t get financing. I really cut my teeth on the investment business, then later began working with luxury real estate.”
Part of Ross’ focus on real estate investment comes from her experience with the stock market. “My brother and I had money wiped out in the dotcom crash, so I want to show Realtors and consumers how they can use real estate to fund their kids’ school, to create money for retirement and to leave a legacy for their children.”
How this website is different
Although there are already real estate investment resources available online, the educational component and the woman’s perspective are powerful differentiators for Ross.
“When I look at what’s out there for women, there are a lot of male investors out there and almost everybody is pushing a product. The education side is who I am. From the time I was 5 years old, I wanted to be a teacher.”
The premium membership tier, geared toward investors, costs $20 per month or $200 annually and offers access to both investment-oriented content and a “community of like-minded investors.”
Ross sees the premium membership as an ideal training resource for both individuals and investment groups. Her goal is to provide education, not to promote specific investments.
“That’s between you, your CPA, and your legal counsel,” she said.
Topics range from syndication to types of investments, banking on real estate for retirement, house hacking, and creating intergenerational wealth along with content that’s specifically geared toward real estate professionals.
With a goal to introduce experts who are “incredible resources” and make their work accessible to a broader audience, Ross’ website offers a comprehensive resource for real estate professionals, their clients and anyone who wants to make smarter decisions about money and real estate.