An Open Letter To My Fellow Realtors

Fellow Realtors. . You better listen
Is time to take a stand
I’m not talking about taxes on our commissions or Supra Key malfunctions.
What I’m talking about is the way the media is attacking our live hood.
We depend in our commissions to pay our own mortgages but yet we seem to be the target for a major negative propaganda that is emanating form the news media everyday They seem to be creating a frenzy by reporting that homeowners are losing equity each month that passes by with no end on sight.
Foreclosures
Short Sales
ARMS (getting tired)
Living In The Streets
Bankruptcies

We have the moral and ethical responsibility to counter attack with facts that are ignored conveniently for impact purposes.
Property values have increased an average of 6% each year since WWII. That does not mean every year, but that steady increase has made several people millionaires over the past few years. Have you heard of Donald Trump?. Real estate is a long term hold, and while it is true that a high risk buyer can make money by short term ownership by flipping properties . . the real money is made by paying off a mortgage over time, either as an investment or allowing someone else making the payment by renting from you.
This should be our message to the public everyday. If NAR would take a leadership role to combat this negativity that is handicapping our position , they should provide all million plus paying members with the tools and weapons to combat this media attack. Imagine the power of all us to dispel myths and hysteria among the public.

For now, we can start with you and our fellow Realtors in our office.

These are the points that you need to remember.

Many people with good cash positions are buying real estate today, and mortgage money is readily available for those that are qualified. Remember 9/11 and the stock market a few days after that? Instead of pulling your money and keeping it safe in the bank or under your mattress. . , that was the time to buy Google, Apple, EBay and several other stocks that gained several hundreds of percent in value since then.
Everyone shared the same panic as the media is currently portraying. Completely ignoring the solid financial position of thousands of companies that are thriving now.

Please someone lend me a million dollars today and I would spend it buying 20 houses.

We are losing equity in our homes. . Run!!!

Any loss of equity is imaginary unless an owner must sell now! We need to remind them that that equity loan from 2 years ago that help them pay their visa bill and the big plasma TV hanging in their living rooms now WAS EQUITY EARNED. . .and if they have to sell now crying because there is no equity left. . It is because THEY ALREADY SPEND IT TWO YEARS AGO!
Can you spell A-M-N-E-S-I-A?

While the present value of a house may fluctuate over time of ownership, it only matters at the time of sale. Remember based on 60 years of history, most real estate will recover any losses in time if you wait long enough.

Consider also that real estate values are very local. In our own office in Frederick, we have agents approaching selling $20 million and we have agents that have not sold a thing this year. It’s all in your own perception, YOUR WORLD IS YOUR REAL ESTATE , you control it and you are responsible to preach as a professional the true about the market today. Don’t let the gloom and doom you maybe feeling coming from the news media affect the way you do business . Just be optimistic and be a leader to your database of clients announcing that REAL ESTATE IS OK. We must fight the negativity and we must start now with our own clients and customers. We are going into a normal market. .. .

N-O-R-M-A-L and the SKY is not falling!

One last thing.
The fact is that real property is a market subject to victories, falls and big losses. Any other market has the same characteristics. If you speculate and gamble, you will get the same results whether you are buying real estate or pork bellies. If you do your due diligent for yourself and your clients advising them properly . . .then. . . you will receive steady returns by positioning yourself to win no matter what.
What about all these foreclosures?
The foreclosures are fences to keep our market in a straight path. The corrections of our market . Without them, we could be selling condos for five million dollars right here in Montgomery Village.
We have to have them. . . To keep us in check.
Because markets go up and down. .


Fernando Herboso
www.ReallyNiceHomes.com
Where we speak the same language of your (well paid )Hispanic Referrals.. .