In a recent blog I shared that I don’t believe we have a serious real estate problem; we have a banking problem. This week has certainly confirmed that.These are turbulent times indeed and nobody has a crystal ball. However…the world’s greatest investor just bought $5B of Goldman Sachs stock – which is why he is the world’s greatest. He was buying when everyone was bailing.

How this whole government bailout program works out is anybody’s guess but I do know this; people keep having babies, folks are living longer and economics is based on supply and demand. As time goes by excess inventory will be picked up, prices will continue to stabilize and the market will find a new normal.

I can’t control the financial markets and neither can you but I can control my attitude and my activities. So keep the head down working hard. As you keep selling the dream and moving folks into homes, not only will you take care of your own income, you’ll be contributing to the greater good. Let’s see what this week brings. And take it one day at a time.

It’s a good life!

Brian

Over the years many of you have heard my buddy Joe Niego talk about not having a spray and pray approach when it comes to the focus of your business and how to generate a lead…and he is so right. That’s why we teach the working by referral system – to help you maintain your focus.

However, in order to get an offer accepted today, the rules have temporarily changed. Helping a buyer has always been a process of elimination. You educate a client in a geographic area and start eliminating homes that they don’t want until they find the one or two they like the best. You then write an offer, negotiate, get it accepted and work on getting it closed.

Today if you write an offer on a short sale or a foreclosure you have approximately a 1 in 4 chance of getting it accepted – even if it’s the best offer. You have a 1 in 3 chance of even getting a response. Many of us are frustrated because this is not how the business is supposed to go. Well folks this is how the business is going today. You need to educate buyers that we’re going to follow the spray and pray approach.

“We’re going to find a home you like, write an offer and there’s a pretty good chance we may not hear back. There’s also a pretty good chance the offer will expire without hearing back so immediately after writing an offer, we’re going to look at more homes. We may have to write offers on five homes to get one accepted.”

This is not how I like to do business and I’m sure it’s not how you like to do business but right now we need to have different expectations and so do our clients. As long as short sales and foreclosures are the first choice of buyers we have to educate them that they going to have to put up with a season of frustration for the opportunity to get one of these deals.

As I told a young buyer the other day; you’re buying this home for $100K less than it sold for a year ago…it will eventually regain it’s value and how long would it take you to save $100K?

So yes we’re going to have to spray a lot of offers into the market but don’t forget to pray. You’ve got to have faith in this market: Faith that things are going to work out; Faith that the market will turn; and faith in the intrinsic value of real estate itself.

I have faith in you.

It’s a good life!

Brian

If you’ve been following the national news recently regarding the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the stock market getting hit and Fannie and Freddie being taken over by the government, these are all the classics signs of the bottom of a market correction.

Right now, we don’t have so much of a real estate problem as we do a banking one. Prices have mostly stabilized across the country and in the short sale and foreclosure market we’re seeing multiple offers. Although I do believe there are a couple more banks in trouble and there’s not yet a full complement of mortgage products to satisfy all the buyers in the market, trust me that will get sorted out. For thousands of years lending money has been one of the most profitable businesses in the world. Banks make money by lending; not by deposits. So they will figure out ways to package loans and get cash into the hands of consumers. I believe this is the final cleansing process and in the next six months we’ll start to come out on the other side of this.

Make sure your clients don’t get caught in the “cudda shudda wudda” of taking advantage of this market. Make sure all your investor clients are fully aware of all the deals that exist and if there’s any way possible, see if you can pick up one of these real estate deals as part of your own investment strategy. We won’t know what the bottom is until after but I believe it’s pretty close. Keep your head down working hard.

It’s a good life!

Brian

On my travels this year, I’ve noticed a lot of people working harder than ever to make the same or even less money. And myself and the staff at Buffini & Company have been doing everything we can to try to encourage, motivate, challenge and train all of our great Members. However there’s one element that you must introduce regularly to your mental diet and that’s a good belly laugh.

Studies have shown its physiological healing qualities, researchers have analyzed its psychological benefits, however it just seems to me that at times like this there’s nothing like putting your head back and allowing yourself to have a good laugh. This was part of the thinking that went into the "Referral Brothers" skit Joe Niego and I did this year at this year's MasterMind. We had just received the first copies of our new book, Work by Referral. Live the Good Life! and we wanted to come up with a creative way not only to gift our audience with the first edition, but also provide some comic relief and allow people to throw their heads back and just enjoy.

So make sure you put yourself in an environment or spend time with someone you know will provide a good laugh. And if you don’t have anything planned for today, check this YouTube clip out and maybe it’ll do the trick.

Keep working, keep trying, and keep laughing.

It’s a good life!

Brian

We had a blast at this year’s MasterMind in San Diego. 4500 of our favorite Members and their families joined us on opening night for a performance and interview with YouTube sensation, Paul Potts. What an inspiration!

On our first full day, I challenged people to live life without limits and rather than reinvent themselves rediscover the core of who they are and who they’re destined to be. We examined the character qualities of immigrants who came to America and made this country so great:

* Ambition

* Faith

* Perspective

* A Sense of Adventure

* Perseverance

* Drive

* Hard work

Just before lunch, Joe Niego and I released the first editions of our new book Work by Referral. Live the Good Life! And we decided that our audience needed their spirits lifted, a special surprise and a good belly laugh. Check this YouTube clip out and see for yourself.

In the afternoon we heard a spectacular presentation by Nido Qubein who is a living embodiment of the rags to riches American story. We finished the night off by discussing how to simplify our lives – reducing the complexities that cause us so much stress.

On the last day of MasterMind, I took the opportunity to reenergize people about taking control of their finances and the ways to do it. Marcus Buckingham enthralled the crowd with his hilarious stories and anecdotes that reminded us all to rely on our strengths.

In the afternoon, we set five-year goals and built a personal accountability letter of what we will achieve by MasterMind 09 – due to arrive to each attendee 90 days before next year’s event.

I finished up Day 2 by challenging the audience to live life without giving into excuses and to being willing to make personal sacrifices. This was embodied by a surprise visit by Patrick Henry Hughes. Born without eyes and the ability to straighten his limbs, he not only inspired us with incredible renditions of America the Beautiful and Believe, but also stole the entire show with hilarious insights coupled with the world’s greatest attitude.

Someone once told me it’s impossible to shine a light to someone else’s path without lighting your own. I do all these things and organize a program like this to renew and recharge our Members – especially at a time of market instability. And yet the one who comes away most rejuvenated and recharged is me. I’m very thankful I get to do this as my work and so appreciative of all of you who attended.

It’s a good life!

Brian