Whatcha Whatcha Want, Louisville Real Estate Edition

Posted on 04/27/2011 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR

So Whatcha WantPosted the other day over on LHB that many (most?) home buyers these days are looking for real estate deals. And, new construction doesn’t fall into that category.

Today, I’ll talk about the other side of that coin.

Sometimes is makes sense for you to buy what you want. I can hear you know, “Really Mr. Bigshot real estate guy?!?”

Hear me out. What if you do pass on picking out that perfect floor plan, walking the lots and selecting the choice piece of land, browsing loads of flooring and other new home options and building your dream home? What do you get instead? Well, you get “almost right” or not quite perfect.

Will you be as satisfied? Most assuredly not.

Will you be financially better off? Probably, but what if you move sooner than you had planned because your Louisville real estate deal got old, quick?

Make sure you take the time to weigh the pros and cons of Louisville new construction with current homes on the market. Sure, only 49 new homes were built in Louisville last year but I bet if you asked those homeowners about their new home, they’d all agree that it was the right choice for them.

If you like someone to talk it over with, I’m happy to help. All you need to do is pay for my coffee.

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Once Again HGTV Hangs Me Out to Dry

Posted on 04/09/2011 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR
Bang for Your Buck into graphics

Curse you BFYB! What do I have to do for you to love me back?!?

Not sure what I have to do here people. I mean, c’mon… I’ve applied on multiple times, never heard back. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Is it just that they have so many emails coming their way that they can’t respond? I’m a fan over here. I promote your shows for cryin’ out loud. Can’t a guy get even a little respect?

So then comes the brutal cut.

I see the following headline: Local Realtor on HGTV ‘Bang for Your Buck’ show. WELL, I KNOW IT’S NOT ME!

Look, I’m happy for LaTonia (actually happy might not be the right word) but when are the good folks at HGTV going to reward my almost non-stop attention that I’m directing their way?

I’d rant some more but I need to send them some more emails…

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We All Need New Customers

Posted on 03/25/2011 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR

Photo of two girls talkingDo you need new customers? Of course you do! So do I… and so does everyone else!

Where do new customers come from? There are only so many avenues. Off the top of my head, here is how new customers come to most professionals.

  • Television
  • Radio
  • Print
  • Billboards/Signage
  • Web Advertising
  • Word of Mouth

Let’s play a game that Sesame Street made famous.

One of these things is not like the other
One of these things is not quite the same
Can you guess which one is not like the other
Can you tell me before I finish the game?

Obviously, the Word of Mouth referral path is different. It’s also the most valuable. Most everyone can agree that referrals are the most desirable way to get new clients. That’s why almost all of my fellow real estate agents puts something like this in their email signatures: “A referral is your greatest compliment!”

So how do you gain more Word of Mouth referrals (besides doing your job quite well)? Networking!

I’m new to the world of networking but I’m learning that the power of networking is also the power to grow my business.

If you have any tips for me, please share and I’ll do my best to return the favor.

Have a great day!

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Louisville Networking Group

Posted on 03/04/2011 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR

Gold Star Referral ClubsWhat do you find when you search for Louisville Networking Group? Well, not as much as I would have hoped.

First up is Metro Louisville Networking. It appears to be a single club that didn’t like BNI. Nothing wrong with that.

Then I find a few additional groups that meet once a month (or even less frequently) and have no “skin in the game” because there’s requirements in cost or attendance. When attendance is optional there’s little opportunity to get to know the members.

Of course, there’s Meetup.com for all types of groups, but not necessarily business focused.

My Favorite Louisville Networking Group

Anyway, I decided to start my own networking group here in Louisville with a company called Gold Star. Because it’s my group, I have the authority to only offer membership to people that I feel will do a great job to my clients. After all, that’s what is most important to me and my real estate business—incredible service.

If you’re interested in learning more about my Louisville networking group, feel free to call me (291-7406) and we can chat over coffee. I’d love to talk with you!

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Golden Post of Real Estate Links

Posted on 02/19/2011 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR
Photo of Golden Coins
A virtual bounty of golden links can be found in the following post about Louisville real estate. Photo credit: Jeremy Schultz

When things get busy, I don’t always remember to post on this site like some of the others. My bad. But to make up for it, here are some real estate posts from Louisville Homes Blog recently:

Lots of great stuff in the works for 2011. Check back when you get the chance. Cheers!

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Could the Foreclosure Be at Their Bottom?

Posted on 01/26/2011 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR

Just wrote a piece over on LHB called Louisville Foreclosures Rise, Improvement on the Horizon. The foreclosure percentage increased over the year before, but the delinquency rate has improved which is a good sign that foreclosures may start to move back down.

Let’s all hope so!

Now… if we can only get the financing market to use more common sense.

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Short Sales Can Make You Lose Your Mind

Posted on 01/18/2011 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR

Photo of a crazy personSurely, you don’t want to lose your mind. I know I don’t. But unfortunately, short sales are a big part of today’s real estate landscape. All you can do is be prepared and then hope for the best!

Just picture yourself in a small boat, out in the ocean, miles from land and no real means of communication. Then add an agitated partner in the boat with you. Also, that partner is looking to you to save them.

That’s what it’s like to be a Louisville Realtor® with a first-time home buyer in a short sale purchase situation. Our contract was accepted back in August. We’re scheduled to close Thursday.

Yes, that’s right… we’re talking 150+ days of waiting, changing, hoping, fixing, waiting some more, one closing rescheduled and here we are.

Will my client get a great deal? Yes.
Did I do everything humanely possible to help him? Yes.
Was it still an ordeal? Oh yeah.

Just so you know, it’s a wild ride. If you’re not an easy-going, go-with-the-flow kind of person, I’d say “steer clear of short sales.” There are better ways to lose your mind, trust me.

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How Will 2011 Be Different?

Posted on 12/27/2010 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR

It looks like there won’t be a major upswing in home buyers/sellers in the upcoming year. At least that’s what the experts are saying. So how can I improve upon this past year? And trust me, there definitely needs to be improvement. I’m still in the Top 20 but more is needed.

  1. TrePryor.com version 3.0: You can never stop improving. In addition to all the new SEO best practices I’ve learned, I want to organize reorganize the overall site structure better for people using the main section, the Best Louisville Neighborhoods and all the related real estate content, like maps, photo databases, etc.

    The biggest thing will be the new and improved IDX. I’m actually interviewing Louisville Web programmers this week to help.
  2. Network Like a Monkey: I don’t know if monkeys network but if they don’t, they should… and me too! I don’t especially enjoy it because it feels forced but a weak market, I need to everything in my power to up my exposure and help those around me to do the same. I do like what’s going on at Insider Louisville.
  3. Increase Marketing: My marketing budget has been minimal because, well… I’ve been taking things cautiously. But I do believe that I need to increase marketing this year in targeted spots. WayFM sponsorship is continuing, along with SoI quarterly’s and monthly emails but am looking at a lead buy that might be positive.
  4. Additional Web Properties: I have a couple of concepts floating around in my head that will be fun to create and useful for cross-linking. More importantly, they should be engaging to my target market. We’ll see…

What are your plans for improving yourself in 2011?

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Giving Away My Commission for the Holidays

Posted on 12/07/2010 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR
Hands holding money
Can you ever have enough money? Don’t be fooled. You’ll always want more.

The Christmas Holiday is, after all, the season of giving. Jesus came to Earth to give Himself up for us.

This year, we’re working hard to teach our kids about looking for people in need, then acting on it by giving them what you can.

So imagine my chagrin when after a recent closing I was told by my Broker that another agent says they deserve my commission. At first, I thought “No way, I did the work, I deserve it!”

Then I started to think about how the negative feelings and stress will put a damper on our Holidays. When a comprise was offered, it was pretty easy to go ahead and give back a portion of my pay even though I still believe it rightfully belonged to me.

That was when I remembered, Luke 6:30.

“Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.”

There will always be more money. How many opportunities do you have to so easily obey your heavenly Father?

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Real Estate Pet Peeve

Posted on 11/22/2010 by Tre Pryor, REALTOR

Ok, it’s pet peeve time. Feel free to chime in with your own. 1st Amendment baby!

So tell me… how many times has the following situation has played out for you.

My Own Real Estate Pet Peeve

You are looking for something on the Internet. You’ve hit the search engines, browsed Web site after Web site, finally locating just what you need then go to click on the Add to Cart/Checkout/Contact Us link or button only to be thwarted. Argh!

I constantly find this in real estate. Far too many agents are either fearful of email spam or are too lazy to deal with them appropriately that a very large number of them refuse to post their email address on their Web site.

Stop and think about this for a second.

The first and foremost action that a Realtor wants from someone visiting their Web site is for that person to contact them. Yet, they either hide that very piece of information on some far-away page or don’t publish it at all! Insanity!

Most Realtors will post their phone numbers because spam of that sort hasn’t grown to gargantuan proportions just yet, but with email many agents simply won’t post it. But what if this visitor doesn’t like calling people on the phone and simply had a quick question that they were happy to send via email?

Listen, no one likes email spam but the alternative, especially in this real estate market, is far, FAR worse.

Make It Easy to Real Estate Leads to Contact You

So to that real estate agent who wonders why your Web site isn’t generating those leads you had been hoping for, here’s a tip.

Contacting you, whether by phone, email, text or post office should be the easiest thing anyone does on your Web site.

It’s not New Years yet, but that might make a great resolution. What do you think?

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