Outpacing the Market

Congratulations to our team here at CB Leesburg as we continue to outpace the local market. In reviewing October YTD sales versus 2008, we are up 27%. What makes this growth exciting is when we compare it to the competition. In comparison, a sampling of 9 other local, well established competitors in our market place showed YTD improvement of 2%. In addition, 5 of these competitors were actually down from the prior year.

It was also nice to see that not only were we exceeding the competition on a year over year basis, but head to head in the current marketplace as well. For many of the like size offices (similar headcount on the sales force) our production was 60% higher.

Again, congratulations to our team here at CB Leesburg for pacing the market. I'm looking forward to a strong finish to the year and the opportunity to help even more clients achieve home ownership. -Brian

Coaching - The Story of Me

Yesterday at CB Leesburg we had one of the best working sessions we've ever had. Top Producing agent, Patrick "Red" McCabe lead the first in a series of coaching sessions titled, "The Story of Me."

The session proved to be very inspiring and motivational, while focusing on our core values and competencies as Realtors. Three simple questions provided over an hour of active and insightful dialogue among the group.

It was just this simple . . .

Why are you here?
What is the story you hold about yourself?
What is my goal?

What a great session and special thanks to Patrick for leading the event. As a former corporate all star and CEO, Patrick's leadership skills really surfaced in this event. It was evident as there was considerable buzz around the office afterward.

I think we're on to something good here and I'm already looking forward to next month's session. -Brian

Certified Distressed Property Experts

LOCAL REALTORS EARN PRESTIGIOUS DESIGNATION TO HELP
HOMEOWNERS IN DANGER OF FORECLOSURE

Leslie Wilson and Shannon Lauterstein of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Leesburg earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area is ravaged by “distressed” homes in the foreclosure process.

Short sales allow the cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With declining property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are less costly than foreclosures.

“This training has been invaluable as we work with sellers and lenders on complicated short sales,” say Leslie and Shannon. “It is very rewarding to be able to help sellers save their homes from foreclosure.”

In Loudoun County, hundreds of homes are in danger of foreclosing. It is happening in all price ranges even high-priced homes. A short sale is a much better alternative to foreclosure, which virtually destroys the credit rating.

If you know of a family that is in danger of losing their home, contact Leslie Wilson 703-727-7861 or Shannon Lauterstein 703-869-6488.

2nd Annual CB Leesburg Office BBQ

On Friday, August 21st we held the 2nd Annual CB Leesburg Office BBQ at Brian's house. Last year we faced our typical late summer Northern Virginia heat and sun. This year we had the beach tent up for an entirely different reason, to keep the grill dry.

The evening started off warm and sunny, but quickly turned to wind and rain. However, the inclement weather didn't slow the party down at all. The portable beach tent kept the grill dry and the big men helped keep the wind from blowing the shelter away.

This is one of my favorite office events each year. It is a chance to step back from real estate and enjoy some great food, drinks, and company. Part of the reason this event is among my favorite is it reminds us that our office is more like a family than a place of work. Sure that is a cliche' thrown around frequently, but it is one you can't fake.

My wife April knows how passionate I am about creating/fostering an environment where individuals prosper through the success of the group. After the last guests had left for the evening, April made several comments about witnessing sincere and caring interaction among the group. Glad to see it is working.

Oh yes, one last thing, thank you to April for being such a gracious hostess. -Brian

5th Annual CB Cares Golf Classic

Strong Summer

Back from vacation this past week and the current week is almost over. It has been a great week here at CB Leesburg.

Highlights include some great educational events. Early in the week Rusty Markland of Superior Termite conducted a very eye opening workshop on wood destroying insects. Thanks to Rusty, our team has a much better understanding of the risks and pitfalls than most agents in the business. Yesterday, our very own Stacy McKone with Mid Atlantic Title lead a great continuing education class focused on "The Settlement Process." In the current real estate market it's very important to stay on top of the speed bumps we encounter getting properties to closing. Also, free CE credits and pizza don't hurt either. Thanks Stacy and thanks Mid-Atlantic.

Our team at CB Leesburg continues to grow as well, as we welcome local realtor and Gleedsville Art Gallery owner, Larry Thomas to our team. It's always exciting bringing talented individuals into our organization.

Lastly, while the news papers and even some of our local competitors are finally expressing some positive thoughts about the RE market, I'm happy to say that our tune has stayed the same for almost a half a year now. Things are looking good! For the 5th straight month, we have either filled our run out out of room on the sales board in our office. Congratulations CB Leesburg on continuing to lead the market and outperform the competition.

Fannie Mae Short Sale Policy and Appeal Process

The following is some good information that was shared with me that I thought I'd pass along:

Fannie Mae Confirms Short Sales Commissions Policy and Establishes Appeals Process

In discussions between NAR and Fannie Mae, Fannie Mae has reconfirmed its short sale commission policy and established a process for REALTORS® to follow if issues arise. On February 24, 2009, Fannie Mae sent Announcement 09-03 to its servicers instructing them not to negotiate commissions on short sales below the amount negotiated by the listing agent, unless the commission exceeds 6 percent. The Announcement reminded servicers that third party approvals (i.e., private mortgage insurers) may be required and can affect commissions. In response to concerns raised by NAR that some servicers of Fannie Mae loans are unaware of this policy or believe it is not binding, Fannie Mae has established a process for NAR members when short sale commission issues arise.

Step 1: Determine whether the loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae. Only the holder of the loan is allowed to do this, so do so in the presence of your client or after obtaining their written permission. Visit www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup, or If you don't have convenient internet access, call: 1-800-7FANNIE (8am to 9pm Eastern Time)

Step 2: If the servicer is unaware of or disagrees with the policy, provide a copy of Announcement 09-03 to the servicer and negotiate an appropriate commission based on the listing agreement (up to 6 percent).

Step 3: Contact Fannie Mae if the dispute is not resolved directly with the servicer. Be prepared to provide the property address, name of owner, and Fannie Mae loan number (if available):

Call: 1-800-7FANNIE (8am to 9pm Eastern Time),
or Email: Resource_center@FannieMae.com.
Fannie Mae Announcement 09-03 (2/24/09)

Summer is Here

It's funny, while thoughts this time of year are clearly focused on sunshine, family, swimming, the beach, and probably 50 other things that trump real estate sales, CB Leesburg is quietly doing some good things.

I'm excited that our sales activity continues to outpace the market, as well as some of our key local competitors. Homes are selling quickly, with multiple contracts, and often above list price. We have seen some terrific activity in the past 4 months. Each month we have either filled or run out of room on our sales activity board. Talk about a fun problem to have.

In addition we have added some terrific new talent to our team. Our newest members have been a good mix of experienced local agents as well as some new comers that bring a wealth of experience in different arenas. We're also in the process of adding some Coldwell Banker agents from other areas of the country that have recently relocated to Loudoun County. Great to see the brand recognition throughout the US.

Time to go prepare for this morning's meeting. Happy Summer! -Brian

REO Buyer Warning

While I usually prefer to blog about good stuff, like how we ran out of room on our sales board again (which we did for the 3rd straight month). However, this time around I wanted to share a word of warning that I just heard this morning and can have significant impact to a buyer's bottom line.

The latest curve some banks are throwing us is that they are saying financing charges are not considered "closing costs" so they won't pay them even if they agreed to cover the total closing cost.

In one case they agreed to pay $9000 in closing costs but approved only $3500 of the cost as "real closing costs". It was up to the purchaser to come up with the difference of $5500 two days before settlement.

The BOTTOM LINE: Read the bank addendum very carefully to see if they limit what they call "closing costs".

We had one instance where the addendum said they would pay them and two pages later saying they won't.

As a buyer broker it is your responsibility to know what your purchaser is signing so don't assume they all say the same thing. -Brian

Market Leaders

If you've turned on the TV or surfed the internet lately, articles are finally being written about the recovering real estate market. Well no kidding, we began to see the first signs back in February (but we all know the media wants to let the news season a good 3 to 4 months before announcing anything positive or uplifiting).

Numbers have been great in our office as of late, lots of sales, a good mix of business sources, a balance of agents contributing to the overall team success. The past two months alone, we have run out of room on our sales boards.

While it would be nice, I know we are not some anomaly in the market place thriving while everyone else is struggling. But the question is, how do we compare to the marketplace? This past week I ran some numbers on CB Leesburg and 10 other local competitors in our marketplace to see how we were looking. Well how did we do? The short answer is that I have had a big smile all week.

Out of respect for other local organizations, I won't name names on this blog, but if you'd like the specific stats, give me a call or shoot me an email and I'd be happy to share.

Here are some of the highlights:

-The local competitor whose claim to fame is market share is down 27% in units sold through May for both their Sterling and Leesburg offices.
-CB Leesburg is one of only two offices to show an improvement each and every month YTD over last year.
-We are one of three to show triple digit improvement YTD vs. 2008.
-There were 6 local offices in the analysis that posted less than 10% improvement during this same time frame, 3 of which had declines.
-CB Leesburg's 106% improvement YTD was more than double the market average of 49%.
-We are one of only two offices in this analysis with less than 50 agents and more than 50 sales transactions YTD.

Here is to continued recovery in the market and outpacing the competition. -Brian