November 2015

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS –

As a business owner himself, Greg Raymer, host of the

Bowling Green Advice Givers® Podcast, had an interest in meeting other

smart business owners and fascinating entrepreneurs.

When he started to reach out to these people, he realized others needed to hear their

stories, too. –

These were experts in their respective fields

who had discovered unique ways to impact the lives of

their customers, clients, and patients.

–So he asked, “Why not

share these stories? Why not interview these people? Create a podcast? Why not

create a site where they could be posted and listened to?”

–With that, the concept

for Bowling Green Advice Givers® was born.

+ EXTRASThe Podcast on iTunes

MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER

Bowling Green Advice Givers®: The Magazine ©2015 is published monthly by Raymer Real Estate Services, LLC, 3577 Cemetery Rd., Bowling Green, KY 42103. All rights reserved. Photocopying, reproduction, or quotation strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Unsolicited material cannot be acknowledged or returned.

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I want to welcome you to our in-augural issue of the Bowling Green Advice Givers magazine. Our hope is that this magazine gives you an informative, interesting mix of articles featuring advice on differ-ent topics from local experts in the Bowling Green area. In addition, we may also throw in an occasion-al thought-provoking real estate article and/or a couple of brief ar-ticles summarizing different places locally for you to consider visiting.

I’ve always been a curious type who likes to ask questions and I try to engage in that bit of wisdom that was passed down to me: “God gave you two ears and one mouth, which means you should listen twice as much as you should talk.” As I do our weekly podcast inter-views, I meet interesting people with stories to tell. My goal is to try to ask the right kind of ques-tions, then get out of the way and let them tell their story.

As these podcasts have progressed, I started to think about a different platform to use to get the stories these folks told out to the part of

the public who likes their informa-tion in a more traditional manner. Statistics show that about half of podcast listeners in the U.S. are between the ages of 12-34, while the average age of newspaper and magazine readers is 49 years old.

I hate to admit it, but I am in the latter category. My family can catch me more times than not in the early mornings or evenings in my favorite chair next to our fireplace reading the newspaper or whatever else I can get my hands on.

So, with that in mind, we hope you enjoy our magazine and encourage you to provide us with important feedback about what you like or don’t like at the email address be-low, or you can call me directly at (270) 784-SOLD (7653).

If you know of someone – local en-trepreneur, community leader, or small business owner – who would benefit from the exposure our podcast and magazine provides, have them contact us at: PodcastRequest.com

- Greg Raymer

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Featured Advice Giver – Tony Walker

Greg: Everybody knows with life insurance you take out a policy on somebody you have a financial interest in, whether it’s a spouse or a business part-ner, and if they die, you get a payout based on your coverage. Let’s touch on the different types of life insurance.

Tony: There’s the Universal Life, Variable Life, Index Variable Life, Whole Life, and Dividend Participating Whole Life. Actually for me, it’s not as popular out there, but I like what it is called Dividend Participat-ing Whole Life. I have four policies because I want the cash value and the death benefit and I know how to use that pretty well.

For instance, I borrowed against my policy recently. I bought a house, turned around and set up a mortgage with my son to buy it from me and he had no closing cost or anything. In the long run, I want to make good money on that policy. Plus, when I die, my wife gets the loan paid off plus a bunch of tax-free cold hard cash so it’s kind of hard to beat that. That’s what I like. But that takes a little bit of strategizing. You’ve got to know how to use those policies properly.

Greg: Cash value?

Tony: Cash value, whole life, yeah.

Greg: You also have term policies. Those are the cheaper ones but no cash value.

Tony: Yeah, no cash value and they have their place, but what I like to say is that the term policy really is for a particular season of life. Some people buy it when their kids are young and maybe you say you have a business partnership or you’ve got a loan that in 15 years is going to be paid off but you’ve got to remember it’s like rent-ing. If you don’t die within that term, you are losing the money plus the opportunity costs. People say they’re

Do You Want to Get Mailbox Money?Does your company not have its own pension plan? Then create your own and never outlive the mailbox money coming your way. Financial adviser Tony Walker explains.

fine with that, but I say you’ve got to remember that life insurance is the only type of insurance where, if you keep it long enough, you will collect your money.

So in a sense if you buy term and you drop it, the in-surance company beats you at your own game because they don’t want to pay the death benefit. Whereas my whole life, I’m guaranteed to get back all my money plus interest tax-free. It’s guaranteed because I know I’m going to die. Other insurance can’t guarantee that. With car insurance, you’re never guaranteed you’ll have a wreck or you’re never guaranteed your home will burn down so all of these insurance premiums really are kind of eating your lunch unless you have to use them.

Greg: That’s a great distinction you draw between those two. And as far as annuities, just tell us briefly what the different types of those are.

Tony: You have Fixed, Fixed Interest, Fixed Index, Variable, and Immediate Annuities. Annuities we work with generally are for people 40 and over. What I like to tell people is that an annuity is really a retirement

Tony Walker of Tony Walker Financial

Continued on page 4

Featured Advice Giver – Tony Walker

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plan vehicle so it’s really not meant for a 40-year-old to go out and invest in an annuity and in five years he or she is going to cash it in. That’s not a good move.

So it’s for people who want their money locked in and want to know what they’re going to have. Many peo-ple are worried that Social Security is not going to be enough and they don’t have pensions any more like their grandparents did. Yet they still want to make sure they have “X amount” of money for the rest of their life. Can I guarantee that with annuities? The answer is yes. It is the only product that can do that.

Greg: That’s an important consideration because you hardly see any companies nowadays that have pen-sion plans. They use 401(k)s and that’s something where you can create your own pension, correct?

Tony: There you go. Perfect analogy. Yeah, you can create your own perfect pension plan.

Greg: Another product I noted is long-term care. Give us a brief description of that.

Tony: Long-term care covers you if you are in a nurs-ing home. We offer that but we really don’t push it much. One reason I offer it Greg is because I throw it out there just to cover myself so people know we discussed it. But with the traditional long-term care, you’ll pay a lot of money in and if you don’t go in a nursing home, it’s gone. It is getting so expensive that a lot of people just can’t afford it quite frankly.

Greg: If somebody were considering long-term care, would you tell them to start considering it by age 55?

Tony: That’s about the right age to seriously think about it. Me personally, I don’t have long-term care. I have long-term disability because, if I can’t work, I need replacement income. But I haven’t really person-ally considered long-term care.

Since I’ve got so much individual life insurance, I don’t think I will never buy long-term care. I have told my wife that if I go into a nursing home, we’ll have to bleed through all our money. Let’s say that was to happen. But

Continued from page 3 then on my deathbed, you’re going to get this huge tax-free check that replaces all that anyways. I think I would rather put that extra money in the life insurance and that way we are guaranteed to get something back no matter what. So I think that logic makes more sense to me. So personally for me, I probably would never buy it.

Greg: I understand that. You touched on something that people need to keep in mind: proceeds you re-ceive from the life insurance payout are tax-free.

Tony: Correct.

Greg: How do you qualify and pick your companies?

Tony: I always try to use companies that are at least A- or better. I try to look at their bond portfolios. When you’re dealing with insurance companies, their assets, their surplus, I have done this a long time so I try to see what are the financials of the company, what is the direction? What is their management like? You are still never 100% guaranteed with any of these companies because a lot of them change hands over the years, so you just do the best you can to do your due diligence.

The writing services I use are the ones that are really pok-ing around. I am not at the insurance company looking at their books personally, I am just hoping that they are on the up and up and the writing services have all of the suitable information to make the appropriate writing.

Greg: We touched on earlier the type of clients you take. What would you say is the age range of your clients? Mostly 30 and above?

Tony: The people we are looking at are really thinking about retirement and that really kicks in with people in their 50s. I have this concept with the ball that I call the three halves of life, which doesn’t make sense. But when you think about a ballgame, a basketball game does have three halves. You have the first half, halftime, and the second half.

So what I tell people is that when you are approaching halftime, which is in your mid-50s, you better go back in the locker room and think about things. Once you come out of the locker room for the second half (re-tirement), there are no do overs.

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Featured Advice Giver – John Hishmeh

4 Little Known Ways to Buy a House With Zero DownWant to buy a house with zero down? Mortgage broker John Hishmeh of Prime Lending tells you how.Greg: I know we have four sources of loans that people can consider for buy-ing a house with zero down payment. The first one is a VA loan. Can you explain for someone who doesn’t know much about loans what the VA covers and who is eligible?

John: Sure. VA loans, as you know, are great programs. They are just a fantas-tic way to support those folks that have made some sacrifices for our country.

Greg: Those are funded by the government, correct?

John: That’s right. They are backed by the government, so if not the best, it is one of the best programs that we can offer as a secondary market loan.

Right off the bat, one of the greatest things that every-body wants to take advantage of is 100% financing. Basically you don’t have to worry about that down pay-ment like you will the other loans. The thing that you need to be concerned with though is closing costs and prepaid taxes and insurance because those are going to be required to be set up; your escrow account, and paying the closing in advance so that your lender will feel comfortable that they will be taken care of the first year and when the first payment is due.

Greg: Tell me about but the requirements for a VA loan. Do you have to be an active or retired veteran?

John: Active or retired. Most of the folks that come to us have completed their service. VA does charge an up-front fee, which is 2.15% on the first time use for a VA loan. You pay that upfront fee and basically it replaces

John Hishmeh of Prime Lending

Continued on page 6

your obligation for monthly mortgage insurance, which ultimately makes your monthly payment less. That’s the great thing about the VA loan. You’ve got your principal and interest portion of your payment, you’ve got your taxes and your insurance to be escrowed, a portion of your payment, and that’s going to be it. You don’t have to worry about monthly mortgage insurance. So you find a lot of folks prequalifying because of that lower payment.

Greg: Is there a higher closing cost with a VA loan?

John: No, they are pretty much the same as every other loan. You’ve got your underwriting fee, you’re going to have to pay for an appraisal, and there may be a processing fee or a document prep fee. You’ve got your title lenders insurance, your title examination, your closing fee with a local attorney you choose to work with, but those are your basic kind of fees and they are pretty much standard across the board. Some programs are little bit higher but the VA is not. VA is pretty much standard.

Greg: Moving on to option two. The first one was VA, number two would be the USDA RHS loan, which a lot of people refer to as the rural housing loan.

John: Yeah, USDA Rural Housing Loan is a fantastic loan program. It’s not limited to our veterans. It is open to pretty much anybody that lives in a rural area. We do have parts of Warren County that qualify for rural housing, but here in town in populated areas you won’t

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Featured Advice Giver – John Hishmeh

Continued from page 5

qualify. If you get outside into the county you will find eligible areas here in Warren County. Pretty much all of the surrounding counties qualify for Warren County.

Greg: Is the purpose of this loan by the government to build up rural areas that need more people buying and building houses in those areas?

John: That’s exactly right. The one thing that we find with rural housing that sometimes will catch us is there is a household income limit for rural housing.

Greg: What is the limit?

John: Well, it depends on how many folks are living in the house. But if you’ve got up to four people living in the house, that annual income limit is $74,750 accord-ing to the rural housing website. If you are over four people living in the house, we could take that limit up to $98,650.

Now rural housing, like VA, has an upfront fee. It is 2% of your purchase price and then you have a monthly mortgage insurance fee that is the annual rate of 0.5%.

Greg: So we’ve got VA loan, the rural housing loan, and number three is the Kentucky Housing Corpo-ration loan with the DAP. Tell me what DAP is.

John: Down payment assistance.

Greg: Tell me more about the DAP.

John: Let’s just say that you are doing an FHA loan and you need 3.5% down payment and you’ve got to come up with some of your closing costs and you don’t have it, what are you going to do? Well Kentucky Housing will allow us to borrow up to $6,000 on a second mortgage to help you cover that 3.5% down payment, and if you wanted to use it towards closing costs and prepaid, you can do that as well. You get set up on a second mort-gage that is an entirely separate payment from your first mortgage. It is set up typically on a 10-year note. That means your monthly obligations are a little bit higher but you’ve got your first mortgage that you’ve got to pay on and you’ve got your second mortgage to pay on but it helps folks out. It is better than nothing.

Greg: What is the income limit on this loan?

John: The income limit on this is different than rural housing and this is important to note. The only income that’s evaluated on this loan program is the income that’s put on the loan application. So if you’ve got a couple buying a house and we are only putting the husband on the loan, then we only have to look at his income, we don’t have to look at both of their incomes together. That limit for Warren County is $100,100 and for most of the surrounding counties outside of War-ren County that income limit is $94,500.

Greg: So the first three options were VA loan, rural housing loan, and the Kentucky Housing with the down payment assistance. What’s the fourth option?

John: National Homebuyers Fund – Platinum Grant Program. We’ve got a lot of people cashing in on this one. As far as I know, Prime Lending is the only one offering this in the state of Kentucky. This is a grant program. What does that mean? It’s free money that you don’t have to pay back. Basically if you need help with a down payment or you need help with your closing costs, you can get different percentages available to you if you qualify and the thing is once you make your first mort-gage payments, that money that’s given to you is forgiv-en, it’s gone, you don’t have to worry about it again.

Greg: What’s the limit and how does it determine how much you can qualify for on free money?

John: On an FHA, we can get you up to 5% grant mon-ey. On conventional and rural housing, we can get you up to 3% grant money. Basically to qualify is another income limit. You’ve got to pay attention to the income limit and this too is unlike rural housing. We only look at the applicant’s income. Now if you’re doing a grant program with rural housing, we will look at rural housing income with household income but if you are doing grant program with FHA or conventional, we only look at the applicant’s income.

Greg: So to recap this, we’ve got the four loan pro-grams: the VA loan, the USDA Rural Housing Loan, the Kentucky Housing Corporation with the down payment assistance program, and the National Homebuyers Fund – Platinum Grant program, which is available only at Prime Lending.

Local Happenings in Bowling Green

By Greg RaymerI can’t think of anything worse than

needing a ride and not having a reliable option. Okay, I can think of worse things, but lack of a good ride is near the top of the list.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s almost impossible to call a cab in Bowl-ing Green. I’m very fortunate to have a working car, but at times I know people might be more comfortable having someone else drive to an event or party they’re attending. Friends I know who have attempted to call a cab a few times here said their experience was anything but ideal.

First, you have to get them to answer, which is problematic in itself because most of the time you’re just left with a ringing phone and no one to answer. My friend said one night he was convinced the cab service recognized his phone number and wasn’t answering just because they knew it was him. However, if you do get an answer then it takes an absurdly long time to arrive, almost to the point that you’re going to miss whatever plans you’ve made.

I’m not trying to talk bad about the cab service in Bowling Green, but when there are a number of college students who are without a car or trying to make it home from the bar, lengthy service becomes problem-atic. Think about it, if you’re a young college student and at the bar, you’re not going to wait an hour after close just for a cab. Eventually, you’ll catch a ride from a friend, or even worse, decide to drive while under the influence. Obviously not everyone would choose to do this, but waiting for a long time is frustrating.

However, recently Uber arrived in Bowling Green and I couldn’t be more ecstatic. Finally, a quick and reliable transportation option that is long overdue.

You may be wondering, what’s Uber? Well, it’s a company that connects to a smartphone app where you are linked to background-checked drivers. Yes, it’s similar to calling a cab, but Uber has cheaper fares and the drivers drive their own cars, set their own

schedules, choose who they pick up, and have the ability to keep 80% of what the customers pay.

To request a ride, first download the Uber app and enter the requested information. Once your account is set up, simply open your Uber app, set the pick-up location, and tap request. Once your ride is confirmed, you’ll see the name and picture of your driver, the ve-

hicle make and model, and their license plate number. Another cool factor is that while you’re on your trip, you can share your estimated arrival time with friends to let them know you’re on your way and around what time to be expecting you.

The base fare is $2, and users are charged 20 cents per minute and $1.50 per mile. The minimum fare is $5. Uber users can set up an account that links to a credit card, so cash doesn’t have to be used in the transaction. There is also an option to split your fare, in case there are multiple people in the car. After cus-tomers complete their ride, Uber emails them a receipt with details about their ride. You will also have the option to rate your ride, which I highly recommend to keep the service at the top of their game.

Currently, the only Uber service offered in Bowling Green is uberX. However, this is Uber’s standard and least expensive service.

Drivers must be at least 21 years old, pass a back-ground check, and have an eligible car.

Bowling Green is the third largest city in Kentucky, with a large portion being college students who either don’t have a car or want to prevent themselves from drinking and driving. Personally, I’m excited about the arrival of Uber because it is a great way to keep the streets safe and keep those who are drinking off the road.

Not to mention, Louisville and Lexington have already jumped on the Uber trend. This just goes to show that Bowling Green is a growing community and we are making accommodations to keep it booming.

The Arrival of Uber in Bowling GreenNeed a ride in Bowling Green but all your friends are busy? Skip calling a cab and request an Uber.

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Local Happenings in Bowling Green

Winemakers in the Bowling Green AreaBY GREG RAYMER

I understand that when you think of Kentucky, bour-bon comes to mind. However, Kentucky has played an im-portant role in the history of wine in the United States. Did you know that Kentucky was home to the first commercial vineyard in the country? Or that Kentucky wineries once produced more than 50 percent of the United States’ grape harvest and wine yield?

After finding out this information, I decided to make a list of vineyards close by the area that I will be checking out, and hope that you will, too.1. CROCKER FARM WINERY

Crocker Farm Winery is located just outside of Franklin, Kentucky, which is a short drive from Bowl-ing Green. The business is owned by Dan and Roni Crocker, and was the first bonded winery to open in South Central Kentucky since prohibition. The winery operates on a two-acre vineyard, with the bulk of the vines being over a decade old.

The Crockers have a unique approach with their winemaking, taking the old world style. Instead of pumping the wine, they use gravity flow to move it, a process that improves the quality with each new year.

Since 2012, when Franklin finally broke free from being a dry county, the Crocker’s started selling their wines at the Franklin Farmers Market and the SKY Farmers Market in Bowling Green. Their wines in-clude: Reliance White 2010 and 2011, Cabernet Franc 2010, Cabernet Franc 2011, Cabernet, Franc Rose 2012, Concord Dry, and Reid’s Franklin Favorite.2. REID’S LIVERY WINERY

Another winery that is just up the road is Reid’s Livery Winery, located in Alvaton, Kentucky.

The business opened in the spring of 2009 when the owner, Rex Reid, had the vision of creating Alva-ton’s finest small farm winery. Although he dreamed of opening the first winery in Alvaton, he feared that if he didn’t establish his own wine bar then his business wouldn’t be successful. That’s when he created Reid’s

Livery Winery.The wines are completely

made on the farm. The estate wines are grown, picked, and made into wine right on sight. Their wine list includes: Black Raspberry, Healthy Harvest, Blue Moon of Kentucky 2012, Triple Crown Blackberry, Nor-ton, Hilltop Vineyard Blend, Franklin Favorite 2011, Silver

Streak, Chardonel 2011, French Hybrid, Peachy Keen 2012, Cranberry Pleasure 2012, Strawberry Patch 2010, and Alvaton Apple 2011.

You can purchase Rex’s wines at Bowling Green Community Farmers Market, Barren River Beverages, I-65 Liquors, and Winter Market Saturdays.3. CAVE HILL VINEYARD

Cave Hill is not as close as the previous two but still not too far away. The vineyard is located in Eu-bank, Kentucky, and worth the short drive.

This is a family owned vineyard that has been culti-vating 1,400 grapevines since 2005. They have made it their prime goal to make wines that are full bodied and sometimes have a touch of sweet.

They grow several varieties of grapes that include: Cabernet, Sauvignon, Chardonel, Chambourcin, Tra-minette, Cynthiana Norton, and Cayuga White.4. FRENCH FORT VINEYARD

French Fort Vineyard is located on a beautiful estate, which makes this location enjoyable for anyone who appreciates the Kentucky countryside.

French Fort strives to provide and preserve the perfect balance of Old World, French traditional World, and North American countryside traits in order to give their wines a unique taste. Their French origin and spirit of American culture has allowed the busi-ness to create a truly remarkable and artistic technique when dealing with their handcrafted wines.

The vineyard takes great pride in their vines, call-ing them the lifeblood of their wine.

I’m aware that you can buy wine from anywhere, but for me it tastes a little better knowing that it was created on the same Kentucky soil that I reside on.

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Explore Entrepreneurs Networking Group:www.BowlingGreenENG.com

Philanthropy. Business. Growth.

“If you were to come to my office, you would find an abundance of resources: books, courses, manuals, etc. I am who I am today because of the things I’ve read, the mentors I’ve chosen, and the people I have come in contact with. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:

Those who don’t support you in your growth, your vision, or your mission to make a difference in the world, they will always be a poison to you. Meanwhile, those who do support you will act as the catalyst to get and give everything you want in life.”

- Greg Raymer

Co-Founder, Entrepreneurs Networking Group™Bowling Green Chapter

Entrepreneurs are SUPERHEROES.

Social SUPERHEROES.

Profit-Driven For The Right Reason.

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NEWS DIGESTAgents want to point the finger at you when your house doesn’t sell.Here’s why they’re wrong.

BY GREG RAYMERReal estate giant ActiveRain asked 1,000

real estate agents to rate the top three mistakes made by home sellers.

• 77% said overpriced home• 34% said showing availability• 32% said cluttered space

The other results include: 21% unwilling to negotiate, 20% won’t make repairs, and 28% said unpleasant odors (presumably pet odors). In other words, according to the 1,000 real estate agents asked: It’s all your fault.

“You” being the home seller. The client.My question is, if agents know these are

the mistakes that home sellers make, why do they not step in and instruct clients on ways to avoid these mistakes? And second, if they re-fuse, why does the agent accept that homeown-er as a client? I mean, isn’t the whole purpose of retaining a real estate agent to make use of his or her experience and expertise? Why would any agent work with someone who ignores their best advice?

I was watching an episode of Botched the other day on the E! Network, a TV series about two plastic sur-geons, Dr. Terry Dubrow and Dr. Paul Nassif, who fix the cosmetic surgery blunders of other plastic surgeons.

To start, each new prospective patient undergoes a rigorous consultation. This is where the investigative work is done. After the consultation, if the two surgeons don’t agree that they can help the patient, or, if they get the impression that the patient isn’t going to follow their strict instructions when it comes to recovery and post-op procedures, they refuse acceptance of that patient as a client.

Here is something I have learned about those at the top of their respective field. The true professional values his reputation more than anything else – more than money or fame, or any kind of award or peer recognition.

If the Botched plastic surgeons accepted a client they knew was going to be worse off because they couldn’t help them or because they refused to follow post-op instructions, does that reflect poorly on the doctor or the patient? Of course, it tarnishes the reputation of the cosmetic surgeon. After all, he is the authority and supposed voice of reason.

And when asked, “Who did your surgery?” What is the patient is going to say? “Dr. Terry Dubrow and Dr. Paul Nassif.” You got it. That’s exactly what they’re going to say.

This is why I refuse to accept just any homeowner as a client. I don’t do listing presentations or give sales

Infographic courtesy of www.ActiveRain.com/Seller-Mistakes

11

pitches because I am not in the convincing business. My business is “getting clients the best result.” This means there is a checklist of agreements we must come to. First on that list, we must agree to work as a team. So many agents and homeowners work in opposition.

But beyond that, unwillingness to address any of those items above is no different than a defiant patient refusing to follow important post-op instructions. As an agent, why would I ever accept a “patient” who is determined to sabotage the success of their “proce-dure” (i.e. home sale)? I don’t want that “botched” out-come on my record any more than Dr. Dubrow or Dr. Nassif wants it on theirs. Besides, there are solutions to each one of those “mistakes.”

For starters, by replacing the inferior price-driven approach most agents utilize when pricing a client’s home with the more sophisticated value-driven ap-proach, the sales price of a home can quite easily be increased by as much as $30,000.

I say that confidently because value dictates price, and there are at least a dozen different ways, depending on the “starting position” of the property, to manipu-late a home’s value to elevate price. I learned this from studying Warren Buffett’s proven investment philos-ophy. Turns out, Buffett’s brilliance applies to pretty much every aspect of selling real estate.

Second, if a homeowner won’t make time to show their home to a prospective buyer, I would fire that cli-ent, and let’s face it, they deserve a substandard result.

And, for the record, this is not a “mistake.” It can be explained as something much simpler: The homeown-er is not serious about achieving the best outcome. Any agent who cares about his or her reputation wouldn’t work with that kind of homeowner.

Third, a process known as scientific-staging is the solution to that “cluttered space” mistake. And because scientific-staging is quite different than traditional staging, which typically amounts to no more than the rearranging of furniture, the return on investment tends to be much higher.

At this point, if a prospective client hesitates or indicates an unwillingness to execute these first items, then we sit down and I run them through the invest-ment numbers. I ask, “How many times would you like

to exchange $X for $10X?”I have found the reason most home sellers are

unwilling to do certain things is because they don’t understand how it is going to make them more money. Once they understand by looking at the case studies, almost always we are off to the races.

If my unique approach didn’t deliver clients a bet-ter result, you can bet clients wouldn’t refer my services to their friends or family members. The fact that they do, though, justifies why I refuse to budge from the methodology I have worked hard to perfect.

The real secret, though, this is something I talk about in Chapter 8 of my book, The Warren Buffett Approach To Sell Real Estate: A practical guide to protect yourself from Real Estate Greed & bank an extra $30,000 by taking a Value-Driven Approach. That secret is getting an accurate and comprehensive Real Estate Diagnosis before ever thinking about putting your home on the market. I know this sounds like common sense. But rarely is it done.

How can you do surgery and get the best result if there’s no diagnostic consultation to investigate the best course of action? You can’t.

This is why so many homeowners end up with botched home sales. It is also the reason why so many real estate agents, like those surveyed in ActiveRain study, blame clients for the “mistakes” they make. Sorry, but if you’re the professional – and the agent is supposed to be – then any substandard outcome is that agent’s fault. Not the homeowners. The agent should own up to it.

Further, no rule states that any real estate agent must accept every client. On Botched, Dr. Dubrow and Dr. Nassif turn away just as many, if not more, patients than they actually accept.

If a homeowner indicates an unwillingness to do what is necessary to obtain the best result, the agent shouldn’t work with that client.

The professional will always accept responsibility because the client should be adhering to the profes-sional’s tested and proven approach. And, if the profes-sional doesn’t have a tested and proven approach, then you must ask, “Is this person really a professional?”

NEWS DIGEST