The official newsletter of HUNT Real Estate Corporation
A Message from Peter F. Hunt
April 2015 | Issue 71
ePropertyWatch powered by AgentAchieve
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The Importance of Taking Great Photos page 6
Every year, millions of consumers - including your clients - visit sites like Zillow and Trulia to gather housing information about their property and neighborhood. These sites devote significant marketing dollars to attract consumers and deliver the information they desire about their home. Every time your clients visit these sites, the conversation does not include you. Well, those days are over. Coming in May, HUNT Real Estate introduces a new tool to your marketing arsenal... ePropertyWatch, Powered by AgentAchieve!
TRID is Coming page 8
ePropertyWatch (EPW) is a powerful email marketing system available only to HUNT Real Estate sales professionals. With EPW, you can send your clients an automated monthly email, branded specifically to you, that features high-quality information about their property, including: • CoreLogic’s RealAVMTM home valuation tool, which is used by top banks and appraisers across the U.S. • Constantly refreshed public sale & tax records • Updated mortgage data • Real-time MLS market activity happening in their neighborhood
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A message from Peter F. Hunt Chairman & CEO
About Your Productivity At every opportunity when meeting with any group inside our organization, I make the point that there is really only one reason to exist for our Administration, Support Staff at the Branches and our Core Businesses: To make you more productive. I can’t think of a more “agent-centric” motivation, but that is beside the point. Your success will insure the success of the entire organization. This is why we do everything we do, from our marketing efforts, to the creation of the finest technology infrastructure in the industry, to the design and building of our Branch network, to the development of our innovative systems, to assembling all the fine people working to help keep your deals together at our Core Businesses. There are essentially two ways we can assist in your productivity: 1) By advocating for the use of our systems put in place to make you more efficient and build your real estate expertise; and 2) By assisting in any way we can to help you build your proficiency in our industry in terms of your product knowledge and sales skills. Each week through our regular sales meetings, we provide an educational component to help you build your own expertise. It is one of my goals that you all become known as true ex-
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perts in the market area in which you choose to specialize. Everyone wants to deal with the person or persons who are known for being the expert in any field. No one wants to deal with second best. We will continue to do all we can to position you as the leading expert in our industry within your center of influence and the geography of your choice. Sales skill development has become a lesser priority in this industry as technology becomes more omnipresent and on which we become increasingly dependent. This is why we see such an enormous opportunity to refine our sales skills and set new standards for sales and service performance that will be the envy of the industry. One of the signatures of this organization has been that we are a learning culture—the Training Company in our industry. Our initial training, our advanced training and even our Leadership Development have always represented the cutting edge of real estate product knowledge and selling skills. As we have grown we are obligated to provide the highest level of educational experience to all those associated with our company, in all of our Regions. But, in reality, our physical growth has outpaced the delivery of a consistent, Company-wide education and training system.
Earlier in the month the entire Leadership Team of our Residential Brokerage met in an open forum to discuss our training program. We considered a series of six questions. All comments, suggestions and new ideas were recorded, collated and then distributed to all participants. I have since received even more input that has also been compiled in anticipation of a follow up meeting which will be held the first week of May. Our goal is simple: to align our initial training program with a new agent’s experience in the branch from the first day of our mutual commitment through their in-the-field experience through to a weekly education and training experience in the Branch and beyond through an advanced series of seminars on specific topics that hone our individual expertise.
input from our Leadership Team, from you, our Agents through our Senior Advisors and less formal gatherings, and from leaders in the industry outside of our Company. We are now completing “conference season” (ERA, Cartus, The Realty Alliance, Association meetings, among others) and will use what we are learning to bolster our offerings to you. The point is simple: Your Productivity. Please join me in this continuous pursuit of excellence and expertise. I look forward to your input—please provide it! Through this process, we will distance ourselves from all competitors.
Please look for the product of our work. Until it is finalized—for the moment—I will seek
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ePropertyWatch cont. This is proactive marketing at its best. Rather than your clients going to 3rd party portals like Zillow and Trulia, EPW sends the data they crave directly to their inbox each month - making you the authoritative source for information about their home, and making you much more likely to be the person they call when they are ready to sell. EPW is coming to AgentAchieve in mid-May. To get prepared for the release, you need to do two things… 1. Make sure your contacts are in AgentAchieve EPW requires that you have your clients loaded into AgentAchieve. Make sure you have (at least) their Name, Street Address AND Email Address included in each contact record. For instructions on how to do this, please see the email sent from HUNT Marketing on 4/28/15, which includes a short video tutorial on how to save your contacts. 2. Upgrade to the “Super Agent” website template (if you haven’t done so already) For those of you that don’t have your clients’ emails addresses in your contacts, now is the perfect time to reconnect with them and ask for their email so you can keep them updated on their property’s value and neighborhood market information. How much does ePropertyWatch cost? For a limited time, the first 200 HUNT ERA agents with 300 or more contacts in their AgentAchieve account, will get EPW for FREE for the first year. If you don’t have 300 contacts, you will still be able to get EPW at a cost of just $10/month. If you already have 300 contacts in your AgentAchieve account, let your Broker Consultant know and they will make sure you’re granted a free EPW account. They will just need to verify that all of your contacts have a Name, Street Address and Email Address associated with them - which are all required for EPW to work. This is a lot of information, but let us leave you with this statistic. A recent study showed that the majority of consumers who bought a home forgot who their real estate agent was just 6 months after closing! So while you might think your clients remember you, chances are they don’t unless you’re staying in constant contact with them. EPW not only gets you in front of them automatically every month, but does so with relevant, accurate data about their property that they covet. So go get started putting your contacts into AgentAchieve and attend your office sales meetings for more details about ePropertyWatch!
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Career Development by Bob Scholz, Director of Training Oh What A Beautiful World! HUNT ERA has always believed in “Excellence in Execution.” This goal could be defined as doing things right the first time! If you do things right the first time, it saves you from having to redo it later. This, in and of itself, is a time management best practice. Even though you may strive for excellence in execution, sometimes the challenge is that others with whom you relate in your day to day operations and transactions may not reach for this same objective. It seems like the world sometimes runs on “good enough” and not excellence! “It may not be perfect, but it is good enough,” seems to prevail. This can be frustrating if your desire for excellence in execution is hindered by the activity, or lack thereof, among others involved in the situation. In the book Gung Ho, by Ken Blanchard, he cites the three components of the American Indian saying, “Gung Ho.” The second component in Gung Ho is the “way of the beaver.” The principle is the understanding that we all work toward common goals and that this works if each participant (beaver) performs their function or duty with excellence in execution. If each beaver performs their function, cutting down the trees, floating them to the dam, and using their tails to pack the mud, that keeps the dam from leaking and things run smoothly. The dam allows the stream to fill with water and forms a pond. Why do beavers do this? It’s simple. The entrance to their hutch is under the water of the pond they built, protecting them from predators. If the beavers didn’t show excellence in their execution, the water would not build up and a predator could eat them! If the beavers simply did a “good enough” job, it would result in problems. If only we could surround ourselves with great beavers - people who perform with a sense of excellence in execution, and not simply an attitude of “good enough.” Oh, what a wonderful world it would be! In realty, you sometimes have to pick up the pieces when dealing with a “good enough” personality. You need to be an elite professional who will always strive for excellence in execution. If after doing this you are inhibited by others who do not hold their efforts in the same regard as you, pick up the ball and make sure things are not simply “good enough.” Your customers and clients will appreciate your efforts and you will truly be one of the elite practitioners in your field!
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The Importance of Taking Great Photos by Dan Mirsky, Director of Marketing The most recent NAR Home Buyers & Sellers Survey states that 9 out of 10 people use the internet to search for a home, and they overwhelmingly state that photos are the #1 aspect they value most when searching for a home. If you were a potential buyer, which of these homes would you be more interested in?
House #1
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House #2
Would you believe that these photos are all of the same house?
few best practices to follow when taking your photos:
If you’re in the mood for a good laugh, check out some of these sites dedicated to awful property photos:
Property Photo Tips and Tricks: • Do not take pictures with your smartphone. Use a digital camera. • Do not include a timestamp on your photos.
BadMLSphotos.com Facebook.com/BadMLSPhotos TerribleRealEstateAgentPhotos.com By the way, the last site is so popular that they also have a book on Amazon: Terrible Estate Agent Photos: A Book of the Most Baffling Property Photographs Ever Taken While these are entertaining to look at and share with our friends, what would your client do if their home ended up on one of these sites? Chances are they’d be looking for a new real estate agent. Unfortunately, in my first four months here as Marketing Director, I’ve seen a fair share of HUNT properties that could be featured on these sites. Along with representing your client’s property, the pictures you take are a direct reflection of your expertise and professionalism. You’re doing yourself and your clients a disservice if you’re not taking the time to take great photos. This is why we’ve created a new page in our Brand Standards Guide called Property Photo Guidelines. Starting today, these rules are going into effect with all new HUNT listings.
• If you’ve listed a home in the winter, update photos when the snow melts.
Exterior Photos: • Take landscape (horizontal) photos so they display properly online • Do not include yard signs • Remove clutter - i.e. cars in the driveway, garbage cans, basketball hoops • Stand back from the home, preferably at the curb or across the street. • Do not take photos from your car • Do not take dusk/nighttime photos, unless using a professional photographer
Interior Photos: • Ensure there is ample lighting - preferably natural light • If the home is not staged, tidy up the areas where you’re taking photos (make the bed, clean up the floor, hide dishes, put down the toilet seat, etc.) • Avoid angles where you’re capturing yourself in a mirror
For HUNT-approved professional photographer references, contact: marketing@huntrealestate.com
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We’re not mandating that you have to invest in a professional photographer. For your higher priced listings, it’s absolutely an investment you should make. However, with the lower price point of some properties, we understand that paying for a photographer is not financially sensible. So for those of you that choose to go the DIY route, here are a
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HUNT Mortgage by Linda Mallia, President of HUNT Mortgage TRID is Coming! A new rule takes effect August 1, 2015, that consolidates four existing disclosures required under Truth-in-lending (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement procedures act (RESPA) into two forms: 1. A Loan Estimate must be delivered or placed in the mail no later than the third business day after receiving the consumer's application. 2. A Closing Disclosure must be received by the consumer at least three business days prior to consummation. The Loan Estimate form replaces the Good Faith Estimate and the "early" Truth-in-Lending disclosure. The Loan Estimate form also incorporates new disclosures required by Congress under the Dodd-Frank Act. The Closing Disclosure form replaces the HUD-1 and the Truth-in-Lending disclosure. The Closing Disclosure generally must contain the actual terms and costs of the transaction. The Closing Disclosure form contains additional new disclosures required by the Dodd-Frank Act and a detailed accounting of the settlement transaction. The most significant practical impact will be the requirement that the creditor must give consumers the Closing Disclosure so that they receive it at least three business days before consummation. That effectively means, last minute, rush closings are a thing of the past. We are choosing to see that glass as half full, however, and making plans to be prepared to get all loans to closing on time in a very disciplined fashion. We will, however, have to deal with these constraints and rushes will be out of our control. The new Integrated Disclosures must be provided by a creditor or mortgage broker that receives an application from a consumer on or after August 1, 2015.
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Agent of the Month Buffalo
February
Akron Amherst Buffalo Metropolitan East Aurora Hamburg KenTon Lancaster Lewiston Lockport Orchard Park West Seneca Wheatfield Williamsville-Clarence Williamsville Village
Adam Burg Judy Jack Lewis Robert Blake Kathy Mason Millie Blasz Achytl Gerry Normandin Maureen Prinzbach Anne Smith Dianne Shaw Bill Smith Janice Doktor William Yaple Barbara Baker Bonnie Clement
Rochester Brighton-Pittsford Canandaigua Greece Perinton Webster
Rich Testa Sandi Van Camp Rich Orczyk John Denniston Doug DeMar
Central & Northern NY/Carthage Watertown Camillus Cazenovia Chittenango Clinton DeWitt Liverpool Manlius Oneida Carthage-Watertown Cicero
David Manzano JR Jill Benson Robert Freunscht Barb Owens Meghan Dabulewicz, Sarah Collins, Molly Robins - CNY Key Team Starr-Nicholas Team Judy Winslow Shari Kimball Suzanne Krouse Shane Tibbitts
Capital District Saratoga Springs Loudonville Glens Falls Slingerlands
Deborah Straight Dan Lesage Jen Ball Nina Sher
Arizona Tempe Scottsdale
Christine Hartman Wendy Tinker
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News Around the Regions Buffalo/ Niagara
The Williamsville/Clarence office hosted an amazing fundraiser to benefit our fellow agent Lynne Shiesley who was with HUNT for almost 30 years. The fundraiser was held to offset her medical bills that were incurred during the six months of her illness in which she was unable to work. Sadly, Lynne passed away just a few days before the fundraiser, but her giving, kind spirit was celebrated on March 28th with hundreds of agents, friends and family who all attended the “Spring of Hope” basket raffle at St. John Lutheran Church in Williamsville. The Williamsville/Clarence office would like to thank everyone who was involved. Many offices pitched in to amass amazing baskets, gift certificates, silent auction items, food and drink, and we had a fantastic turn out! The generosity of everyone was amazing. A special thanks to all those in the Williamsville/Clarence office who donated hours of their time coordinating this fundraiser. Through collaborative efforts and the generosity of so many, we were able to raise over $22,000 for Lynne’s family. They pass on their sincere appreciation to everyone who was involved, donated and helped.
Colleen Brunelle helped First Lieutenant Christopher Baun and his wife Laurie find their home. “Colleen is awesome and we are extremely happy with our new home and grateful for all her hard work.” Kevin Hourihan helped with the legal plan.
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Capital
Earlier this month Joe Woutersz and Dave Evans hosted a “happy hour” to recognize an outstanding performance by the Glens Falls agents. Not only did the branch exceed their plan for the month of March and the year, they had the highest producing month ever! Impressively, their exceptional performance continued into April, helping them exceed their April plan just over a week into the month! When asked what has led to their success, Dave Evans said, “This is the culmination of two simple things; The 1st being the existence of an inviting and collaborative culture where agents want to come to the office to work, as well as help each other do better; and the 2nd being a consistent effort by Joe and the GF agents to share this culture with agents in the marketplace, which has led to many experienced agents joining the branch over the past year.”
Central & Northern NY
There are few places that college basketball is bigger than Syracuse NY and there are no bigger months for college basketball than March. To have some fun with “March Madness,” HUNT Mortgage sponsored a couple of competitions. The first was a standard bracket competition, where Jill Keller was the high score winner, and the second was a competition among the local leadership where the winner would receive lunch for their branch. It was close for much of the competition, but in the end Dave Pendergast was the winner and a fine lunch was provided by Tom Ferrara and Connie Bixby. Congratulations to Dave and the Manlius team!
Rochester
The Rochester Region is working hard to grow the HUNT brand by attending career fairs and enticing new agents into the business! We have registered 12 agents through the HUNT Real Estate website CE Shop portal. Dick Baart, Broker Consultant from the Greece branch, met several great candidates at the Career Fair and two have started the licensing course with us. We are very excited about introducing the new talent that will be on-boarding in a few short weeks! As always, our HUNT Agents are our biggest fans! We continue to encourage agents to bring us candidates and help grow the Rochester market. The Recruiting Appreciation Program is an excellent way for HUNT to say “Thank You” and the management team continues to promote the program. Grow Rochester Grow!
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Employee of the Month by Charlie Hunt, General Manager of Rochester Region & Director of Corporate Relations
Each month HUNT Real Estate Corp recognizes an administrative (430/432 Dick Rd) or branch (AA or BC) employee for their outstanding work. This employee is someone who demonstrates a commitment to their role in the company by going above and beyond their regular responsibilities. Any member of the HUNT organization can nominate an employee of the month. If you feel that someone deserves this award, please send an email identifying that person and a brief explanation of how they went above and beyond. Nominations can be sent to Charlie Hunt at charlie.hunt@huntrealestate.com.
Angela DiCarlo is the April employee of the month. Angela was working double duty for 2 months while our associate Joan Zimmel was off on medical leave. Angela was working days, nights and weekends to make sure our relocation homes were up to the relocation companies' standards as well as keeping track of the mountains of paperwork required on each file. Kudos to Angela for keeping a cool head and working diligently to keep us on track on a day to day basis even with the additional responsibilities and obligations. Congratulations Angela!
Welcome to HUNT! We would like to welcome the following newly licensed agents from across the company:
We would also like to welcome the following experienced agents from across the company:
Michael Gospodarski - West Seneca Jamal Norward - Buffalo Metropolitan Jennifer Sendell - Amherst Grace Lewis - Lewiston Nina Hardy - Buffalo Metropolitan Fred Moorhouse - KenTon Farhad Azizi - Amherst Matthew Miller - Lancaster Rebecca Musty - Hamburg Kyle Evans - Wheatfield Michael Sciolo - West Senca Isaiah Lipp - Brighton/Pittsford Kevin Dedes - Webster Nancy Butler - Camillus Mary Ann Wentworth - Camillus Debra Kouba - Cazenovia
Tim Loria - Tempe Anne McVicker - Scottsdale Dana Myatt - Scottsdale Timothy Keane - Williamsville/Clarence Barbara Dodge - Brighton/Pittsford