Don’t Be Too Choosy When It Comes To Your Business!

If you are in the real estate industry, then I bet you have had a sudden influx of business right? With the rates nearing historic lows and the housing market turning homes over almost as fast as they were back in 2001-2004 right before the BUBBLE burst...Yes I used the B word, so with a promising market showing house prices on the rise and interest rates being low, we are going to be set for the foreseeable future according to economists. How are you handling what clients to take on or not to? Do you feel you can be choosy now?

 

With those questions in mind, it is the choices your business makes now that will keep you busy going into the future if we have another BUBBLE effect. By choices, I am referring to how you plan to help everyone that you can because you can instead of thinking that you have plenty of other business and start to turn people away. What if those are the people who really need help? If you don't help them, is that how you want your company to be remembered? Here at Lawyers Signature Settlements we take on every type of settlement that we can handle because we know that if we do a good job for someone now, they will remember us in the future when it comes to choosing which settlement company to go to.

 

A really good example of this is the short sale process. We do not turn away short sales because we are very good at handling them, advocating for the client with the lenders and we know the process of how to get the best outcome. In our area there have been some legal matters that could scare other companies away from doing them, but NOT US.

 

I give that example because no matter the market, you should not be too choosy as to who you work with because you never know what is just around the corner. This holds true no matter what type of business you are in and it is really just a part of our ethical and moral approach to business here at Lawyers Signature Settlements.

Do you agree that you shouldn’t be too choosy or do you have other ideas you would like to share? I would love to hear them!

 

By Lisa Whidden

Marketing Representative
Lawyers Signature Settlements, LLC

lisa@signaturesettlements.com

What can a title report show?

Before you can go to settlement you have to have a title report done which will reveal loans on the property (including loans that were paid off but have not had a release recorded), law suits, liens or judgments that can attach to the property, any Rights of Way, Easements, or Covenants that can affect a property, and who owns the property (ex. you may think you do but some heir from 50 years ago legally owns a percentage because the title to the land was never deeded properly).

There can be some pretty amazing things that an abstractor can find. For instance here are a couple from my husband, Brad Whidden, who has been an abstractor for almost 15 years.

Brad says, “In the 1800's in Frederick there is a deed where they declared a farmer insane and took away his farm and deeded it to someone else. Why? Because someone walked by his barn and saw him [doing the dirty] with one of his pigs. They described it in detail on the deed.”

Another one Brad mentioned is, “A few years ago this [lady] in Montgomery County got a few people on board who owned property and tried to declare that due to the failures of George Bush and the government these properties were no longer part of the United States but they were now their own separate country and were therefore not subject to the US Dollar. They actually recorded deeds saying this. Then they stopped paying the taxes and mortgages on it. Needless to say, that did not pan out for them.”

As you can see, there could be some crazy things jump out of the woodwork when you have a title run on the property you or your clients plan to purchase! In the end though, that’s why you need to have the title report run and even better that’s why you buy title insurance! Also, choose a settlement company, such as Lawyers Signature Settlements, that can provide you with the best service to clear up these types of issues before you go to the settlement table.

I would love to hear your comments on this one folks! What kind of crazy title issues have you seen?

By Lisa Whidden
Marketing Representative
Lawyers Signature Settlements, LLC

Do you trust your employees?

This question may be simple or complex depending on how well you really know your employees. These days, I hope you are taking the time to choose wisely. There are many factors that go into this and in the Real Estate market, you can’t be too careful! As a settlement company, we have to uphold the highest standards in choosing trustworthy people because we are handling the money in the transaction. We are trusted by our clients and we take that very seriously.

I attended a best practices presentation earlier this week by the MLTA that really put this into perspective and made me start thinking more about how this is affecting our industry. They had so much great information on the subject. Did you know that it is often times the most trusted employee that ends up steeling from their employers?

According to Statistic Brain, $50,000,000,000 is stolen annually from U.S. businesses by employees. How can you make better decisions to hire more trustworthy people? Let’s take a look at some ways.

Do background checks. In an economy at the height of Short Sales, Foreclosures and Bankruptcies, you never really know what the true financial situation is for your employees. If they have collection companies hounding them every day and they owe more money than they have, it can be tempting for them to look at other ways of generating it. Make background checks part of your hiring checklist!

Dig deeper than references. One recent recommendation I heard from a seminar at Keller Williams which I thought was great was to ask each reference for a reference to go deeper down the line. If someone seems absolutely squeaky clean, they might be too good to be true. Another great way to dig deeper is to check out their social networking profiles.

Do they fit into your culture? When you meet someone for the first time, it will be hard to tell if they will fit in. Do more than one interview and make sure that your other employees meet them and then get their input. This is another area where scanning through their social media will help you!

By Lisa Whidden

lisa@signaturesettlements.com
Marketing Representative
Lawyers Signature Settlements, LLC

Who Is On Your Team?

We held a Brokers Open this week in Potomac that was very successful! The reason it was successful is because of our team. We have aligned ourselves, as a company, with other companies who are complementary to ours which adds value for clients or other companies we would like to market to.

When choosing a team, you should have two goals in mind so let’s go ahead and take a look at them to see how you can create the team you want.
 
The level of Service you provide. When thinking about how you can provide value added service, you should think about the companies who offer services that will create the best outcome for your clients. An example of this is how we have aligned ourselves with a home staging company, Limelight Staged Homes, to come in and stage a home for the broker’s opens that we hold for real estate agents. This company makes sure that the home looks great before the open begins.

This is a two way street. I also think about how I can add value for agents. Teaming up with agents to hold these opens adds value for them because they have someone to plan the event and make it look great. In return, we get some market recognition for our company. The agents that we team up with also get my marketing and graphic design background, which comes in as a great help in creating marketing materials for each open!

Your company’s reputation. I truly believe that you should surround yourself with the people that make you feel great and positive! Never compromise your morals or integrity just to get sales because in the end you will sell yourself and your company short. Your clients will remember who you are affiliated with and if they have a bad reputation, unfortunately, that will pour over to your company.

With that said, make sure you know what reputation you want for your company! At Lawyers Signature Settlements, we know that we want to be respected, offer great service, have fun and be positive. When looking for the right relationships with other companies, we are sure to keep this in mind. We aren’t going to put our morals and integrity at stake and we would not want to be associated with a company that would.

This quote from Emerson sums it up:

“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

We have been very fortunate to have the right relationships come our way to build our team and we will continue our mission to provide great service in a positive way! What are your thoughts on creating a great team? I would love to hear your thoughts!

By

Lisa Whidden
Marketing Representative
Lawyers Signature Settlements, LLC

lisa@signaturesettlements.com

Networking is about building relationships!

Many people think that if they simply attend networking functions enough times then business will come their way by default because people will remember them if they see them all the time. That really isn't the case when you have so many people at some networking events and in many cases most of your competition is there too! How can you make sure to be remembered? Let's look at 3 things you can do.

Give gifts with thoughtfulness. Let people know that you are a wonderful, good natured, trustworthy person. Outside of the networking events, spend one-on-one time with people and make office visits. When you do this, bring some thoughtful goodies. I have seen companies try to impress people by throwing high dollar gifts at them or catering an event but it really doesn't pay off because no personal time was spent by the company to get to know each person. Here's an example: I recently started taking breakfast to some offices of agents that we would love to work with because they themselves have great reputations in the real estate industry. Instead of dropping off some carbs and high tailing it out of there, I made sure to take healthy choices to them because I care about their well-being. I also spent time to meet other people in the office so that the next time they see me, I will be a familiar face!

Think about what you can do for others, not about what they can do for you! If you take the time to listen to people and find out what their needs are, you may be able to help them in some way. Don't focus on getting business when you first meet someone at a networking event. Instead think about how you can help them with their business if you feel they would be compatible with you and your business. You should set up a meeting with them to find out their needs and learn about them as a person and their business. If you are able to help them in some way now, maybe later they will want to help you!

Don't trash talk. Be positive! Here is one of the best quotes of all time that I try my hardest to live up to everyday:

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

We are all human so cut yourselves a little break when it comes to this as long as there is no major harm to anyone else! The reason why I point this out and that it is so important is that the more positivity you can emulate, the more people are infected by it and they will remember you for your upbeat, can do attitude!

These are just 3 ways for better networking among many. Let me know your ideas here! I would love to hear them.

by
Lisa Whidden
Marketing Representative
Lawyers Signature Settlements
301-695-1235
lisa@signaturesettlements.com