Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Rent-To-Own- A Great Lead Generator for Traditional Brokerage!
During the webinar, the host asked the presenters what percentage of their company’s revenues came from lease options. The other presenter quickly answered, “100%.” I thought about it and said “15-20%”; afterwards, I felt like a fraud. Why was I asked to participate as a “lease option expert” when 80-85% of my company’s revenues derived from elsewhere?
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: It’s All About the Narrative: The Key to Maximizing Your Rent-To-Own Client’s Value
“I can’t sell this couple on anyone. If their financial history was made into a movie, it would be in the “Horror” section. Well, the “Drama” section would fit, too. And with eight kids, it could probably be get into the “Adult Content” section as well… (Charlotte Realtor bemoaning the plight of their rent-to-own client with less than stellar credentials)
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Why Don’t Big Real Estate Firms Embrace Rent-To-Own?
So, I thought about it. These people running these firms must be really smart (I’m not being facetious at all); they’ve made a lot of money for a long time. Why are they so anti-rent-to-own? Why are they scaring their agents with stories of disaster and endless risk? Smart people don’t make strategic business decisions on a whim. So why are they so overtly steering away their agents from rent-to-own (lease option) transactions?
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Drive + Drink = Lease + Option?
“Lease options might be the worst idea ever. Who would ever be a party to one? I tried one once and it was a complete disaster! I mean, I’m not a lawyer- there’s just so much that can go wrong; I don’t have firsthand knowledge of this mind you, but I’ve heard lots and lots of stories.” (Traditional Realtor)
“Combine two innocuous substances and “Walla!” A homemade bomb.” (Al Qaeda training manual quoting a MacGyver episode)
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: “Abe’s” Commercial Lease Negotiation Strategy Unveiled…
“I will get the lowest price per square foot for my new office lease.” (Charlotte Business Owner)
“I will not drop my initial offer for price per square foot for the new lease. It’s not worth it and I really don’t like this guy anyway.” (Charlotte Commercial Landlord)
“I will maximize this commission.” (Charlotte Commercial Real Estate Agent)
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: “Terms” of Endearment- The Key to Selling Real Estate Buyers
If you were offered both of these jobs, which one would you take?
Job #1: $80K annually
Job #2: $30K annually
Duh, the $80K one.
Now let’s look at the job descriptions:
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Former BOA CEO Ken Lewis Teaches Real Estate Investing
Ken Lewis is the man. You might have read and heard things in the news during the past year saying he is not the man, but they were all wrong. He’s got an unbelievable instinct for investing creatively. And he’s got the guts to execute.
If you live in Charlotte, you must heart Big Ken; it’s required. He built the entire town, kept the headquarters here as he grew Bank of America (BOA), and made sure his bank was actively involved in the community.
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: “Cash for Clunkers” Predicts a Cloudy 2010 Housing Market
“Can’t Believe You Still Have a Job” Award of 2009: Obama’s “Cash for Clunkers” sales forecasting team. As they projected a total 7-week program amount of $1B, they ran out of money before the first week was out and had to go begging Congress for $2B more.
If “prognosticatin’” is your game, and you’re off by that much, you probably need to find a new job- you just ain’t that good at it.
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Is Rent-To-Own a Scam? Wait- Who’s Laughing?
“If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.” (Matt Damon in Rounders)
Back in 2006 when life was good and real estate sales were plentiful, I got a call from a friend of mine from New York City.
Learn MoreCharlotte Property Management Weekly: Innovate Quickly or Die! In Real Estate?
“Financial Crisis
Stalled too many customers
CEO no more”
(Haiku twitter message posted by just fired CEO of Sun Microsystems, Jonathan Schwartz, 2/4/10)