Customer Service? OR Client Partnership? A Real Estate Agent's Ethos

Customer Service? OR Client Partnership? A Real Estate Agent's Ethos

By Zack Rouse,

 Full Service Real Estate Broker in Portland, Oregon

503.381.0552

Customer Service. What does it even mean? 

Does it mean selling a product to a purchaser? Does it mean helping a friend find something they need? Does it mean blasting products out to the public? Does it mean dishing out ice cream from behind health department sanctioned glass windows? What is customer service anyway? 

Well, obviously, the term "Customer Service" can mean many things, and varies wildly depending on the industry you are performing the service in. But for a moment, let's break down the phrase into its components.

First, there's the word Customer. What is a customer in Real Estate? Well, I don't even like the term customer because it incorrectly labels a person who is doing something large. The largest purchase you can make is real estate. And likewise, the largest sale you can make is real estate. There is nothing bigger, except for maybe selling or buying a company or a really, really fast car. 

Then there's the word Service. This implies that I am doing tasks for you, and you are paying me for those tasks. Like shining your shoes, or like feeding you at your table. And those jobs are extremely valuable. There is no doubt. In real estate, there is definitely an element of this kind of service from me as your Realtor to you as my Client. But there's something else in the mix as well. I serve you much in the way an attorney, or a counselor, serves you. You hire me because I am a professional, who has spent years learning the complicated process of a real estate transaction, so that you don't have to! You come to me because I know the answers to the questions that will come up in the process of selling or buying your success. I am trained, licensed, and professional. I sure hope I am! And so, the term service only partially applies to the real estate industry. You're not buying ice cream. You are buying or selling the most expensive item there is: Property. That's a big deal. 

In a real estate transaction, there are many roles. We all play our role in making the transaction happen, and we are all necessary parts of the venture. The Seller is the owner of real property that she/he is converting to capital. That part is obvious. She understands that her investment is important to her livelihood and wants it handled in the most efficacious way possible. 

So, she calls me. I'm the Realtor. I know how to figure out what the investment is worth in the current market. I know how to market it so that a willing and able Buyer appears and makes an acceptable offer. And it's my job to negotiate the highest and best price for her, while balancing with it her best interests, which can be different from the highest possible sale price. And I make sure the paperwork is flawless, so that no one gets bit in the butt on the rear end of the deal. 

Then, there's the title and escrow people. They are an invaluable part of the endeavor, because they make sure the Seller has the legal right to sell the property, they draw up the necessary documents for the title to properly change hands upon closing, and they issue title insurance, which protects the Seller from massive lawsuits and arbitration sessions five years afterward, when it's found that there was an easement from 1897 that the neighbor, who's the grandchild of the person who got it, is claiming rights to in 2015 just to be a jerk. 

On the Buyer's side, there's another major player in the venture: The loan officer. He is the one who makes sure the money is there when it's time to close. And he works his tail off to get the major lending institutions to say GO. His job is to jump through hoops for the Buyer. That's all he does. He is a track star for the lending world. Only the hurdles are on FIRE, and poisonous snakes wrap the hurdles and coat the track. The loan officer is a poet, a track star, and a fireman. He's our hero because without him, there is no borrowing. 

So what is this group of rock stars called? Is it Customer Service? I don't think so. I don't know of many in this industry who phone it in, to use a theatrical term for being absentee. I think this group of Bonos should be called your partners. I would rather call a Seller or Buyer of property a Client. I would also rather call a Buyer or a Seller of real estate my Partner. 

Real Estate is an industry that requires a team to do something for one client. That's different from customer service. That is team building. And when you find your Realtor, who will work with you to buy or sell your next property, you are selecting a team of highly trained professionals to handle the biggest investment there is. And we are all on your side! I gain friends through my business, because these transactions are centered around the building of lives, and that is as personal as it gets. That's not customer service. That's community. 

And that is why I love what I do. Let's get it done, and then let's barbeque!

Zack Rouse
Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon
Summa Real Estate Associates
503.381.0552 c
4506 SE Belmont St., Suite 103
Portland, OR 97215

I ANSWER MY PHONE

3040 SE 90th Place Portland, OR 97266 OPEN HOUSE: Sat May 2 from 11-3

3040 SE 90th Place, Portland Oregon 97266 is For Sale!

$224,950 is the Price

SE Portland is an extremely fast real estate market in spring 2015. Homes are in short supply. Especially homes inside of Hwy 205 for under $250k. This lovely 1920's bungalow is a rare find with much charm and a lot of lovely features. 

This home is technically a 2 bedroom, but has a full footprint basement with laundry and the potential to make the whole basement a two room master suite with master bath, without much ado. In addition, the attic is tall enough to make into living space. The main level has ten foot ceilings, hardwood floors throughout, a beautiful, light and airy kitchen, lots of windows, and a newer formal dining room off the kitchen. 

The lot is more than double sized, giving ample room for gardening, hot tub, croquet, badminton, whatever your summer heart desires. 

The roof is newer, and there is a shed on the property for storage of your gardening tools. 

Positioned on a quiet, accessible street in the middle of it all, the home has easy access to Powell Blvd., Hwy 205, numerous restaurants, grocery stores, retail, Portland Community College's brand new east side campus, East Portland Community Center, Mall 205, and much more. 

I will be holding this home OPEN on Saturday, May 2nd, from 11am to 3pm. 

Please come on by and take a tour! And if you can't make that day, give me a ring anytime for a showing. At this price, it is truly a gem in a town that is out of control!

Zack Rouse
Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon
Summa Real Estate Associates
4506 SE Belmont St., 103
Portland, OR 97215
503.381.0552

I answer my phone. 

First-time Home Buyers - A Theatrical Perspective

Buying a home for the first time can be a scary and overwhelming process. You've never done it before, and your financial security is on the line when you take the plunge into ownership, which also means indebtedness-ship. 

Although your lender is the owner of your debt, you truly are the owner of your home. You decide what color the living room wall is, whether or not to add the half-bath on the main level, granite or quartz in the kitchen, and so forth. And the joy of home ownership comes with the knowledge that you are responsible for that home, and no one else can tell you what to do with it. It is, at its core, the definition of adulthood. You have arrived!

So when the process begins, it's important to balance your natural and warranted excitement with a pragmatic perspective. By that I mean don't have stars in your eyes. It ain't done till it's DONE. 

photo by http://www.clownlink.com/2011/02/commedia-cosmology-masters-lovers-and-servants

My theatre background took me to some wonderful places and I learned under some great teachers. One of the schools I attended for theatre had a very pragmatic perspective on the art form. The school was based in physical theatre (the place where narrative story telling and dance meet). The school is in an old fire station in a small, isolated town on the coast. We were socked in with nothing but the teachers and our fellow students, inoculated by the all-encompassing curriculum! What fun! We studied ancient Commedia, acrobatics, clown, and more, in a traditional Italian style. 

The ethos of this school has a name, that reflects the world-view of the masters of the genre. The assumption is that nothing is ever right. You are always, by nature as a human, at a place of deficit. Your goal is to attain a level of proficiency in the art that is actually unachievable. This way, you will always do your best and work hard. Pretty effective. This attitude is called "Via Negativa", or negative view. After our class presentations, the teachers were obligated to address only the failures of our work. It was understood that the good was in there, but that it was not useful to note any of it. It was only useful to look at what was not working. Class mates cried in fits of frustration because they felt that they were being abused by the teachers. They tried their hardest to please the Teacher, who could not be more disinterested, which in turn made the students try harder. 

Here is the lesson: A developed adult doesn't seek approval from his or her elders. He seeks approval from himself by achieving his personal goals. And buying your first home is just such an achievement. 

Much like the art of theatre, buying a home is extremely complicated and fraught with variables that are unknowable. I have been on stage in front of hundreds of people, engaged in a scene that we have rehearsed fifty times, we have it down COLD. And all of a sudden, a prop that we need to make it to the next scene breaks, or disappears. Or an actor forgets a line that is required for the next major plot point to occur. Or someone doesn't show up on stage on their cue! Where the hell are they???! Backstage trying to get a damned snap to work on their robe. Oops. 

And, as a home buyer, just like in the theatre, you are naked in front of the world. Your financial situation is picked apart with a fine-tooth comb by your lender, and you will be asked to find and submit documents regarding your personal life that you never even knew existed! Your lender has the Via Negativa. She is only looking at what's going to trip you up. You must do the same. Your lender is a neutral teacher who you bounce off in order to gain access to your personal goals. 

Be excited about your new home at two times: When you're looking at houses, seeing the potential in them for your future; and when you move in. Those are the times to celebrate! The rest of the process should be looked at as a zen study of what is not working, and a total repair of those items. 

The assumption that it's not going to work will make you work harder to make it work. And the only real difference between being an actor and being a home-owner is that with the right perspective, you will attain that dream of ownership of property. Actors never reach their goal. It is a lifelong pursuit of something that will never be achieved. 

You can get your house. GET IT.

SE Portland Favorite Business No. 1

Zack Rouse - 503.381.0552

Full Service Real Estate Broker in the State of Oregon

Summa Real Estate Associates

4506 SE Belmont St. Suite 103 

Portland, OR 97215

In the neighborhood of my office are so many wonderful local businesses. I personally love the Richmond and Ladd's Addition neighborhoods of Portland, because of their walkability, tree-lined streets, the quiet of the evenings and the historic significance of the homes - many of which are over a hundred years old and in the Pacific Northwest's grand Crafstman and post-Vic styles. 

The balance of home and commerce (the kind of commerce I'm referring to is small, local business that has a passion for community, quality, and sustainability) in these neighborhoods is healthy. From any one of the local residential streets, it's only a few blocks to either Belmont or Hawthorne streets, where things like the Bagdad Theatre, Hawthorne Fish House, Common Grounds, and the Mt. Tabor Theatre sit, just waiting for a hungry local clientele to come in and enjoy everything from local, organic entertainment to local, organic food and drink. 

One such business, that is a mainstay for my wife and I on the rare date night without kids or sleep, is a small restaurant at 2411 SE Belmont (on the border of the Ladd's and Richmond neighborhoods) that serves excellent food and drink in a perfectly gaudy, warm environment that is unpretentious, inexpensive, and where the service is professionally casual. 

I'm of course talking about the incomparable Wild Abandon, which has been serving the community since 1995 in a small dining room, with some gorgeously atrocious art covering the walls, 60's and 70's colored glass chandeliers which fill the room with dim colored light, and traditional diner booths with fat cushions that suck you into the most comfortable dining experience one can have in the southeast. 

The menu has a delightful mix of comfort and pub dishes poised gracefully next to full-sized dinners, catering to the appropriately wide range of need in the neighborhood. I almost always get the country fried chicken or the chicken fried steak, which are both reasonably priced and well-portioned for the hungry. You can get a cioppino (my wife's favorite), top sirloin, a caesar salad with enough garlic to kill your cold, or a burger and fries. And it's all good.  

The staff is a well-oiled machine. They remember what you asked for, bring it in reasonable time, come around to check on drinks at the right time. They don't upsell dessert or more drinks, but they are confident in their quality and service. You want to stay past 9 or 10 when they close, depending on the day of week, to have drinks and warm conversation. 

The back patio is just wonderful in decent weather, with heaters and vegetation sheltering you from the neighbors, while maintaining a nice urbane feel. Casual, professional, classy.

                                                       This pic is from their website:

Don't stress about the bill. A date night for two with two drinks is no more than $60. If you look at some of the restaurants in town that are of comparable quality and service, they're easily a hundred when said and done. 

Twenty years in the small restaurant business has taught these guys well. They have the system dialed in. They are never in a rush, and you never feel unattended. As far as SE Portland food goes, I don't see a better option than Wild Abandon. 

Last but not least: I have no idea why this is, but we never have to wait for a table. Maybe it's the lack of pretension that keeps their customer base loyal and tight. Part of me loves this about WA, but the other side of me hopes that the next time we waltz in there for a mellow classy dinner, there's a line out the door. I suppose I should be careful what I wish for. 

Zack Rouse

Summa Real Estate Associates

503.381.0552

zack@summapdx.com

Selling Your Home, Not Your House: The Dangers of Overpricing

Over-pricing is an epidemic. I'll just come right out and say it. Here's why. There's a rule of real estate that generally applies to sellers and buyers of houses, that says

"Sellers think their house is worth more than it is, 

and Buyers think every home is too dear."

And they're both right. Notice the use of the words "Home" and "House", which I'll get to later. There is a distinction. 

Negotiations in a real estate transaction can be tough between brokers. But both your Listing Agent and your Buyer's Agent know what that house is worth. That's because they've done the research to find out. And when they're battling it out for you, they both know at about what price the place will eventually end up selling, because it's not magic. It's science. 

However, pricing a house correctly is truly an art. There is a tendency to feel that because you have lived in your home for years, know it inside and out, remember every ounce of labor you put into all the projects that you did on her, that she's worth all of that sweat and toil and love. And you're right to feel attached to all of those memories. Your kids grew up in that house! You made breakfast in that kitchen every morning and you partied on that patio every summer. And no one understands the value of that home to a family more than your agent. She sees her clients grapple with the huge transition of moving, day-in and day-out. 

Another factor is how much money you've put into it. You may not have much room to play with in order to stay in the black, especially if you bought just pre-'08 when the market was at its height of craziness. 

Short of a full renovation, adding a bathroom or more bedrooms to the place, all that art-of-living and investment doesn't translate to market value when it's time to sell. When it is time to sell, your Home becomes a House. That's the deal. You need, as a Seller, to make a switch in your mind when it comes time to move on. In many ways, it's like a divorce. What was no longer is. And now you must be ready to cut the emotional ties that keep you bound to that entity in order to stay sane and to move onto your next adventure. The healthiest way to do this is to change your mind. It's not a home anymore. It's truly, now, just a house. 

The adage, "Home is where the heart is", is really true in this instance. You will have all your memories and family in your new home. When you make this change in your mind, you will have taken the first step toward pricing your house correctly for the market. It's only worth what a willing and able buyer pays for it. And this is not a number you make up in your head. It's a real number come to by your agent who does much research to discover. 

Here's what happens when you over-price your house. Nothing. Even in a really hot market, like Portland Oregon in 2015, in which there is very little inventory and we see bidding wars driving up prices, if we price a home too high, it will likely not move. You may get calls, showings, interest, but no offers. For months. A listing is a lot like produce. As it ages, and the date on the package gets further and further out, it takes on a stigma. Agents start saying, "Why isn't that one moving? There must be structural problems, or the roof must have a hole in it". It is irrelevant if any of these things are true. There is an impression that is created the longer a listing sits on the market with no movement. This makes it, with every passing day, harder to sell. 

The problem cascades, because agents have a trick they pull when writing an offer on an old listing. They say to their selves and their clients, "Well, if it's listed at $299,000, was originally listed at $319k, five months ago, I'll put in an offer for $279,500 and see if they go for it." There's no skin off their nose if you say no. You've been waiting five months for this offer, you may very well take the first thing that's thrown at you. Don't worry, they'll want repairs, too. 

There is a cure for this epidemic of which I speak. It's the art of proper pricing. My mentor when I first started in real estate, Chris Love, of John L. Scott in Portland, advised me well in this. He taught me that pricing is critical. Pull comps (comparable properties) from the past five months or so. Look very carefully at everything that has sold in this time frame, and study a number of factors:

square footage

number of bedrooms/bathrooms

lot size

amenities

updates, if any

location and demography

schools

walkability

Determine the closest comps to the subject property (the home that is going on the market). There may be a couple at varying sale prices that are very close. They may have sold at different times of year by a couple of months, spring v. winter... and locate the most accurate market value possible for this house. 

Once I have determined what the home is likely going to sell for, the art of pricing comes into play. We now know the pitfalls of over-pricing. But what happens if we, under-price the property? 

Here is a couple of things that happen when you under-price. One is, you scare your seller. That's true. It's easy to think that the price is the price. So whatever you say it costs is what it costs. But that's not how it works. Under-pricing by too much can backfire. However, if you have done the above work to determine the actual likely market value of the house, you will not under-price too drastically. Under-pricing by about $5,000-$7,500 is a great way to get buyers clambering. And that is what you want. You want a bidding war! You want buyers writing offers on your place the day it goes on market, with escalation clauses (ask your agent about those); you want to have a choice of highest and best offers. This can have the wonderful effect of allowing your home to sell at above market value. You have created demand by under-pricing your house. I have seen houses sell at $15-20k above asking in this market. That wipes out the agent commission in one fell swoop! 

Don't just take your agent's word for it. As I said, it's an art. You should look at the comps yourself and really take a hard look at all those factors I listed. Compare without bias your property to your neighbors' places. The key factor in this is the psychology that I mentioned earlier in the article. If you can make that switch to looking at your home as just a house that is for sale in an open market, you will be much more even-headed when it comes to making that final determination of list price. 

Your agent is there to work for you. He is of a strategic mind every day. When you steel yourself for the market, too, you create a team that is unstoppable. And you win in the end!

Zack Rouse

Full Service Broker in Portland, OR

Summa Real Estate Associates

4506 SE Belmont St., #103

Portland, OR 97215

503.381.0552

                                     

Staging Your Home For Showings, by Zack Rouse, Full Service Real Estate Broker in Portland, Oregon

Selling your house can be an emotional experience. Why wouldn't it be? Buying it was emotional, wasn't it? Well you can expect some of the very same feelings you had when you secured your home to return to you when it's time to sell.

Sometimes it isn't easy to see anyone other than yourself living in your house. However, the ability to separate yourself from the many wonderful memories you made living there is the lynchpin to your success in getting it sold quickly and efficiently; and will allow you to move onto your next adventure, whatever that may be!

No matter what the reason is for your move, one thing is certain: It's happening. You have made the decision to leave the house you have for a new opportunity that you are hopefully excited about! In order to help your potential buyers to access the exact same emotional feelings of excitement and anticipation that you felt when you first fell in love with it, you have to arrange it in a way that will entice and excite your buyer.

There are a few things that you can do to make your buyers see themselves and their future in the home that gave you such wonderful memories.

One: Remove as much of the day-to-day objects as you can. This is critical. My mentor when I first got into real estate, the heavyweight Michelle Maida, of John L. Scott, had the "rule of three". I wholeheartedly endorse this rule. The rule states that no surface in your house should have more than three objects on it! If you think about that for a moment, you'll likely notice that your counters are severely cluttered for a place that is for sale. Get that stuff out of there! If you have a shed on the property, put your stuff in there and lock it. Make that place empty, save of only the prettiest pieces of furniture in the home. Heirlooms, which could as easily belong to someone else as to you, are fine.

Keep the specific family-oriented pieces out of the mix. You want your buyer to buy their future memories, and they will never be interested in buying your past. That's just the way it is. You wouldn't want their memories either, would you? That old non-working vending machine in the man cave is just collecting dust. Get rid of it. It's not helping you market your house to the people who WANT to buy it. There aren't enough homes for the people looking. If yours is having troubles, look at two factors: PRICE, and APPEARANCE. Those are likely the culprits.

Two: What do the walls look like? Is your now twenty-something daughter's bedroom wall neon pink? It does not cost very much for a couple gallons of neutrally colored paint to cover that up. Neutral colors allow your buyer to put herself in the house, with her objects, in her mind as she's walking through. Specific accents and fixtures that you may love, may be what stops someone who otherwise would jump on your home from writing an offer. It's silly, but something as simple as a gaudy chandelier can keep it from selling. It's just a light! But it can do damage to the likability of your listing. If your tastes are too quirky, admit it and ask a conservative friend for help in getting it fixed up. Not too expensive, but a world of difference.

Three: Furniture should be sparsely placed, the home should be very, very clean. And I mean this. This doesn't mean clean like how it's clean when you live in it. Have it professionally cleaned and keep it this way. It's a museum piece until the money is in your account. Treat your house like a museum gallery full of your art that you made. Your Realtor is the Docent, accompanying discerning art lovers as they peruse the work that you have done. Museums are clean, sparse, and yet inviting. The temperature is perfect at all times, the art is lit properly... 

Which brings me to my next point. Lighting is critical. If you've been rockin' LED's for a couple years and you're used to the whiteness of the light in your home, that's great. But when people think of Home, they think warmth. Change those bulbs out with warm, yellow lights that invite them to consider living in it. Besides, those LED are expensive. Hold onto them for your next place. They last 40 years anyway!


Whatever your reason for moving, you are doing it. Do it right. Get your buyer, trust your Realtor to get you the best possible price for the market, and move on to your next adventure. It's the cleanest way for you to close this chapter in your life. Bring the great memories of your time in this home with you, and set your buyer up for equally great memories in their future.

Once you decide to sell, it becomes a House. It's your buyer's Home. Make that switch in your mind and you will do everything right.

That's my advice.

And call me! I answer my phone. 

Zack Rouse Summa Real Estate Associates, Portland, OR 
503.381.0552 

Real Estate Agents: Ready for the Chord Change? Too Late

This is a philosophical analysis. Real estate is changing. And for those of you who have been in it awhile, you will recognize that the changes are fundamental. In our region, there are 11k agents on the local MLS, and inventory is scarce, because many sellers are still not out of the woods on their pre-'08 mortgages. If they get above water soon, inventory will flood the market, which is exactly what we need to have happen. Volume.

However: Even if the inventory problem gets solved in the next couple of years, the technology issue is unavoidable. The industry is getting more competitive. New marketing platforms appear as quickly as animal species disappear from the earth. Bionic roaches will be doing our listing photos before long.

When your new listing is up for fifteen minutes and there's already an auto-generated video on someone else's website, complete with a cute feminine voice cooing about how sexy it is to have two parking spots so you'll never be short on parking, and all your pics have been filched, the kid on the side bar of that site who pays $150 a month may well be the one to get the call on your listing. Not to mention that the consumer is savvy to sales and marketing ploys. It's all white noise now. It is harder and harder to appear any different from anything or anyone else.

But there's something else fundamental going on, on the infrastructural side of the business. If you pay attention to the national market, you will see that the business model for real estate brokerages has changed its tune. For example, in the Twin Cities, real estate agents are not charged desk fees anymore. This is a five year-old phenomenon there. That's right. They don't pay their brokerages fees. Buyers and Sellers are charged a flat rate for a transaction. Usually it's around $500 per deal. That fee goes to the brokerage. The transaction fee of 4-7% on avg. all goes to the agents working the deals. This is because brokerages understand that agents have a choice about who they work with, and because we are being gouged by our associations, listing services, insurance, you name it and there's a fee for it!, we are going to be much more savvy ourselves about which brokerage is the one we are going to play with.

On these seas, it is harder and harder for the antiquated companies to stay the course and keep using agents as cash machines.

Are you a jazz musician stuck in 4/4? Just as pop music is seeing some 5/4's and at the very least some syncopated 6/8's (Thanks, Sting!), a 7/8 is on the horizon.

So, it's a blessing and a curse for agents. On the one hand, Glengarry Glen Ross is upon us. The sharks are in the water. On the other, it's the onset of a golden age in real estate in which the competition for brokerages is as stiff as it is for us brokers on the ground. And as a result, they have to compete for our business.

There is a new kind of model that has emerged, with a support system built into the infrastructure of the business. This model is set up to charge the brokers very little desk fees with a very small split, so that for each transaction we complete, we keep most of the money we make so we can pay our fees and our marketing bills and our sign costs and insurance and our various technological platforms that are proprietary and required to do business.

All these factors are imminent: Good branding, low split, low cap, decent tech, some support on the transactional side, and residual income in the form of recruitment programs.

We're all moving from F# to A, and the big bands of the industry don't want to take it to the bridge. Even if they have the desire, they missed the change. The music industry went indy, and killed the studio system. This is the same deal.

In the Pacific Northwest, there has been until now a simple choice to make when selecting your brokerage: Infrastructural support, high costs; or DIY it and pay very little. The middle-ground has been found. When you are looking for your office, whether you are brand-new to the industry or have your own office and are looking at it in terms of enticement of new agents to your roster, in my estimation there are not many choices now.

And I promise you that in the next two to five years, the west coast is going to go the way of the mid-west. Desk fees and splits are going to drop across the board, branding is going to get far better, and as an agent you are going to have much more control over your own destiny in the simple choice between agencies. My company may not be the best one forever, or even for very long. But it is without a doubt the most user-friendly model in existence this year, and I suspect for some to come.

Where does your agency stand in this analysis? Because JB already hit it and quit it.