Buyers are in a very difficult negotiation environment today as with nearly every offer they write they will be competing with multiple offers.

Recently one of my own agents used a unique strategy to help her clients win in a multiple offer situation. In this case they knew this particular house was probably going to appraise at a certain value but because of competing offers it might go higher than that.

Their unique strategy was to go a little bit above list price in their offer (about the level they thought the house could reasonably appraise). But then they decided to do something else. They wrote in the offer that they would give the seller a closing cost credit.

Yes, they agreed to pay $5,000 of the seller's closing costs. By doing this, the seller would net more dollars, which is no different than if somebody had bid up the price, but now they eliminated the appraisal danger.

The strategy worked! Her clients won the bid because of this unique negotiation tactic!

Are you...

What do you think are the top 10 trends for kitchens coming into the new year?

Top 10 Design Trends for Kitchens

(According to Instagram)

• Granite countertops (46,619 posts)
• Pantry cabinets (29,429)
• Quartz countertops (23,652)
• Kitchen islands (23,436)
• Eco-friendly (5,785)
• Brass faucets (4,608)
• Copper hardware (3,698)
• Mosaic Splashback tiles (3,041)
• Induction countertop (650)
• Farmhouse sinks (141)

How can you use this information? Try creating an engagement post that pits two of these elements against each other... as in "Which do you prefer Granite Countertops or Quartz Countertops?". Of course you should include a photo of both options.

By using an engagement question you will find that your audience will be much more likely to stop scrolling and actually comment or like your content. This is crucial as the more engagement a post receives the more likely it is for the algorithm to place this content in front of even more people. Also when someone...

During this podcast we are interviewing Brian Charlesworth Founder and CEO of Sisu.co an incredible platform for measuring daily performance for Agents, Teams, and Brokerages.

Listen as we discuss the latest trends in the industry, what it really means to have accountability built into your real estate career, and how successful agents are modeling fortune 500 companies by tracking highly specific daily actions.

During this episode we dive deep into these key topics:

• How to be a great leader in real estate
• Why accountability is the key to performance
• Breaking goals down to daily activities
• How to gain freedom by limiting choice

One question sellers often ask is this- "Should I improve my home or sell it?"

That's a interesting question because sometimes sellers will say, "I think I'm going to wait until I put the garage door on, or the garage door opener in, or the new dishwasher in, or I'm going to put a new roof on and repaint the house."

Usually we would say that's great because we want the house to be parade-ready and priced right but this is not a normal market. This is a frenzy market. We are seeing 71% of listings sell in the first 30 days for 99-100% of list price. Which creates a dilemma, sellers who invest dollars back into their home may not necessarily get 100% of that money back.

For example, fixing a garage door is the number one item that you could do to a home to increase its salability. But even today, you're still not going to get 100% of that money back as an investment. Sellers on average are getting about 85% of their investment returned. A deck edition is the second most important...

Do you know anybody who owns a vacation rental or a property in a place where people come to vacation frequently? There's some good news around vacation rentals and second home sales right now. Studies are showing that vacation rentals have seen a 44% gain in sales from last year.

For those of you who live in these areas, whether there are vacation rental possibilities or vacation home ownership possibilities, make a point of reaching out and farming those communities and pointing out the good news.

You could say, "A new study just came out showing that there's been a 44% increase in sales and in the market for vacation homes and 2nd Homes. Crazy question would you consider selling your home for the right price? If so, I'd love to have a conversation with you about how we can get you a premium price in this market. Give me a call, text, or direct message today."

That simple message could be a social media post, an email, a text, or a phone call. Remember, we can access those phone...

Do you feel confident when you talk to a buyer or seller for the first time? Do you feel like you own the conversation? If you don't feel that way, then the reason might be that you don't have competence.

When you come into a room, you want to be the smartest person in the room when it comes to your profession. Unless you've hit that standard you are never going to be at your highest level. Here is one easy way to gain competence that will help you feel more confident when you're having conversations with buyers and sellers.

Know your numbers. Every MLS has a monthly report which will give you the monthly stats to compare each month and year over year statistics. Look at the numbers for pending sales. Where are they in your market? How many properties sold last month in your market? How about new listings? How long does it take the average home to sell? What is the months of supply in your market? How do these numbers compare to the previous month and the previous year?

Write the...

It's likely that you know someone who has had a business close this year. We're seeing this across the country; about 8,000 businesses have already closed in 2020 . With Covid-19 and to online shopping - small business are suffering. Shockingly - 61% of retail purchases this year were done on a mobile device and that number is likely to grow in the coming months.

So what can you do to help people in your database who own a business that are struggling right now? First it's important to understand that we are all small business owners. We are all in this together. When a local business closes - it hurts the owners sure, but it also hurts the suppliers, the building owners, the employees, vendors, and countless other people who rely on small businesses in the community.

Four Ways You Can Help:

1) Endorse them on social media. 

"I'm going to feature a local business every single week on my social media throughout this COVID crisis. I want to make sure that we're supporting...

A recent study that shows about 6% of people are taking advantage of eviction moratorium laws. In other words, they're not paying their rent and they're just staying in place. In those cases where the tenant is unable or unwilling to make their rental payment, it can become a burden on the people that own these investment properties.

Why? Because they have to continue to make their own mortgage payments.

As a real estate professional we should reach out to investors as a resource. How? Try using the "Lock In Your Upside" script:

"My name is (your name) with (your company name). I am calling about an investment property at (address of units) did I reach (owner name). Great! Quick question - how did you do with rent collection last month? You know, the biggest challenge that I'm hearing from rental owners in the market when I'm talking to them is that they're having a challenge with the eviction moratorium. The reason for my call is that we have still...