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Ode to My Office Manager

June 29, 2011 By Jay Thompson

My lovely wife, who also happens to be my best friend and business partner, has been vacationing with our daughter for the last week in upstate New York. I am flipping crazy about the woman, and I miss her terribly (and my daughter too of course). As many readers know, Francy is also the Office Manager for our real estate brokerage. Yes, yours truly has been running the entire operation alone for the last week.

We’re still solvent. I don’t *think* I’ve done anything that will get us sued. None of the agents have revolted or left the brokerage (though a couple are patiently waiting on checks).

What I have realized in the last week is just how hard my wife works. And how much she knows. And how vital she is to the success of our brokerage. And how much I need her ”“ not just professionally, but personally. I’ve moped around the house like a kid with a lost puppy. I feel like I’m missing an appendage. I need my wife.

In honor of her return home in roughly 22 hours, I composed this:

And now you know why I don’t write poetry. Though technically that mess above meets the qualifications of being a Horatian Ode in a ABAB rhyme scheme, clearly Horace would not be amused nor impressed.

Neither would my undergraduate Advanced Writing professor. Sorry Dr. Marks”¦

This “Ode” however, is impressive. Listen to this rendition of the Ode to Joy segment of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. It makes me smile, much like my wife and daughter do”¦

Thompson’s Realty Welcomes Cathie VanWert

June 4, 2011 By Jay Thompson

We are pleased to announce the latest addition to the Thompson’s Realty brokerage, Cathie VanWert!

Cathie has joined us as a buyer’s agent for the East Valley Team, where she will help the existing EVT’ers, Dean and Kristin, manage their expanding empire.

Cathie comes to us from Century 21 Arizona Foothills. Licensed for eight months, Cathie brings with her knowledge not only in real estate, but also from living in the East Valley for twenty years, a degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University, life as a kindergarten teacher and office manager for a local start-up company and all the trials and tribulations of being a mom to two beautiful young boys, Sammy and Thomas.

She loves to spend time in the outdoors ”“ hiking, water and snow skiing with winter jackets like the ones available at the Altitude Blog (she grew up in Flagstaff), and camping. Real camping, like with a tent. For reviews on other camping equipment like power inverters, budget tents and more, check out the unbiased testing performed by Techie Camper. And a fire. Sadly, her origin in upstate New York has made her a Yankees fan. We’ll work on that.

Friends and family mean a lot to Cathie. Her mom lives less than a mile away, and she likes that. She is not a big TV watcher, but she is a DWTS fan (Dancing with the Stars for you non-reality TV people) and is trying to convince her high school sweetheart husband to take dance lessons. Don’t do it Rob!

Cathie uses her love for coffee to fuel up while reading business and self-improvement books.

You might find Cathie at two favorite local coffee places, Liberty Market and Coffee Rush, fueling up and reading business and self-improvement books. (You should try Bergies Coffee Roast House sometime Cathie. It’s set back off Gilbert Road just north of Joe’s Real BBQ.) She’s quickly found that combing her love of business with her passion for helping and teaching people is a natural fit for real estate.

You’ll like her. Guaranteed.

Welcome to the brokerage Cathie!

Thompson’s Realty Welcomes Dan Rodgers!

May 25, 2011 By Jay Thompson

Back in November, we welcomed Bekka Rodgers into our growing brokerage family. Today we have the pleasure of welcoming Dan Rodgers.

Yes, Dan is Bekka’s husband, and he is a freshly minted real estate licensee. He’ll be under the wing of Jason Geroux, our property manager extraordinaire who will be mentoring Dan (and Bekka, though she’s already stepped up to the plate and is knocking it out of the park. Dan will too.)

That’s Dan to your right, holding the precious Emma (who is maturing rapidly, pushing 16 months now). They have another one on the way too!

Here’s more on Dan in his own words:

Basic facts: I was raised in Tempe and Chandler AZ. I have six sisters and one poor brother, and I’m 42 at the moment. I play piano (or I used to!). Can’t say I’m terribly athletic, but I do like a good game of marbles.

I don’t know if I ever would have even considered a career in real estate if it hadn’t been for my lovely wife of almost 3 years, Rebbecca. She blazed the trail for me. I am so fortunate to have had a preview of what is really involved in being a Realtor. The decision to step in and help out was easy. I am really looking forward to being able to actually DO real estate, rather than just helplessly watch. I currently teach GED & ESL classes part time (yes, I speak Spanish) for Maricopa County’s Frank X Gordon Learning Centers in Mesa and Phoenix.

Since I’ve grown accustomed to the finer things in life, such as eating and paying our mortgage (OK, I just got out of Real Estate school, it’s a deed of trust), I am super-motivated to make this work. I’ve been on the sidelines long enough, and have heard enough at school, to know that Jay & Francy totally rock! We are so fortunate to be working for the most awesome brokerage in town! Woooo-hooo!

Of note, we did not solicit the praise, but we’ll take it. 😉

Dan’s got “the right stuff” to be successful in this business, and we are 100% confident that he will be successful, and more. He’s a good man, with great support, and an incredibly positive attitude.

And we’re thrilled to have him! Hang on Dan, it’s going to be a wild ride!!

Photo Credit: I’m assuming Bekka Rodgers. I lifted it off her Facebook profile. With permission of course!

An Open Letter to Phoenix Realty Executives Agents

May 1, 2011 By Jay Thompson

As you are well aware, the local (and national) news this week has been filled with stories about some recent trouble at Realty Executives Phoenix. Lockouts at offices, a lawsuit by an office building owner, and Friday’s announcement that Realty Executives will be filing a Chapter 11 reorganization.

Many of the articles are filled with comments bashing Realty Executives and their agents (and real estate agents in general). This is not terribly surprising given much of the general public’s less-than-stellar opinion of our industry. Even less surprising is the vast majority of those negative comments are left by people who don’t have the fortitude to put their name on what they have to say. Shocking, I know. If anyone gets disheartened reading the drivel these anonymous commenters post, just consider the source. They aren’t worth the time it takes to read their expletive and poor grammar filled blather.

I can guarantee you that none of those naysayers have ever worked with the Realty Executive agents that I know. I am fortunate to call several Realty Executive agents my friend, and rest assured they are all outstanding real estate agents and more importantly, world-class people. In all the cross-transactions agents in our brokerage have done, not once, not one time, have there been issues when a Realty Execs agent was on the other side. I can only wish that was true for every brokerage we’ve dealt with.

The biggest travesty in the Realty Executives news though isn’t the asinine comments left behind in these articles. No, the biggest travesty is the real estate brokerages out there that are using this news in their recruiting efforts. I know of no less than four brokerages that have left comments and sent out recruiting material highlighting the problems at Realty Executives and groveling for agents to come work for them.

In my opinion, that’s reprehensible behavior. Those choosing this tactic might want to consider our friend Karma. Sometimes she’s a bitch and will come back to bite you. The real estate market in Phoenix hasn’t been all that great the past few years, and Realty Executives certainly isn’t the first brokerage to face difficulty, and they won’t be the last. Piling on and using this recent news to recruit more agents to your brokerage is a classless act. Try telling people what you have to offer, how your brokerage can help them, what you do for your agents and their clients – not kicking someone when they are down and taking advantage of their agent’s fears and concerns.

In short, grow up and play nice. We’re all in this together. Now isn’t the time to take advantage of a fellow brokers difficulty. What we should all be doing is offering to help, not adding to the river of crap already flowing at full force in the mainstream media.

If you are a Phoenix Realty Executives agent, hang in there. And don’t be dismayed by what you read online and in print. There are people out there pulling for you. Keep your chin up and continue to service your clients. They picked YOU to represent them, not your brokerage. You can still do that. And you will.

Peace.

Zip Realty to Close 11 Brokerage Offices. Reorients to emphasize personalized service. Huh.

January 11, 2011 By Jay Thompson

Late yesterday, Zip Realty announced they were shutting down 11 real estate offices across the country, including their Tucson brokerage.

For those not familiar with Zip Realty, they were founded in 1999 and have grown rapidly. They are usually considered a “discount” or “rebate” brokerage ”“ according to their website’s buyers page they offer to rebate the buyer “up to 20% of the commission” they are paid by a seller. The ZipRealty.com website is consistently listed among the highest trafficked real estate web sites.

I’m not about to enter into a discourse on the differences, or viability, of the “full service” real estate brokerage versus the “discount brokerage”. I’ve said many times that I’m glad there are different brokerage models out there. Competition is good, different models are good. Good for real estate buyers and sellers, and good for real estate agents and brokers.

I was immediately struck however, by a statement in the press release announcing these office closures:

Zip’s restructuring plan includes: “Reorienting the Company’s marketing approach, initially in select markets, to emphasize personalized service, outstanding technology and experienced local agents that together connect consumers to great real estate transactions”

Sounds like Business 101 fundamentals to me.

The Thompson’s Realty “tag line” is “The Power of Technology with a Personal Touch”. While I’m sure this sounds hokey and clichÃ© to many, there was actually a lot of thought that went into that tag line. Technology (at least as “technology” is generally defined in the real estate vertical) is important. It’s allows for increased efficiency and lower costs. We try to utilize technology to help our agents better serve their clients. We use technology to “empower the consumer” (oh dear God, I sound like a Dilbert cartoon) so that they can learn more, and help us help them.

But without a “personal touch”, all the tech tools on the planet won’t help the real estate buyer and seller get what they are looking for ”“ a closed transaction that minimizes their pain while simultaneously maximizing their gain.

Real estate is, and always will be, a very personal experience. Yeah yeah, there have been people claiming for years that the real estate agent is headed down the same path toward extinction as travel agents, brick and mortar book stores and other disintermediated (cutting out the middle-man) industries.

I don’t buy it. I wrote my first article on disintermediation in 2006. In that article I said:

Shopping for a book, or buying an airline ticket is not the same as finding a home and closing a sales transaction.

That article also linked to articles from some pretty well-regarded people proclaiming that the end was here for real estate as we know it.

That was over four years ago.

So they were wrong.

At least for now.

Sure, things could change. But I just don’t see real estate agents ever becoming completely disintermediated. I’ll say it again, buying a home that costs tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars is simply not the same as buying a book or plane ticket online. And it will never be the same.

So, what’s the point?

Zip Realty, a huge real estate brokerage with some assumedly bright people behind it, lost $5.1 million dollars in the third quarter of 2010 (according to Inman News ”“ and that article will slip behind a stupid pay wall later tonight).

So they are going to reduce their field sales support workforce by roughly 35%, reduce the corporate sales support and administrative staff by 25%, convert employees to independent contractors and close company owned and operated brokerage offices in eleven markets.

PLUS they are going to “emphasize personalized service, outstanding technology and experienced local agents”.

In short, they are going to get back to fundamental business practices ”“ that being reduce overhead expenses and provide superior service ”“ that numerous small independent brokerages all over the country have been doing since Day 1.

Or at least that’s what they should be doing.

I say good on Zip Realty for finally waking up and restructuring and making organizational and philosophical changes to their business model. I wish them success. Maybe (hopefully) some of the other real estate brokerages that continue to apply maddening and often incomprehensible business practices will take heed and learn something from Zip.

I’m not holding my breath though. But I am holding out hope. At least until the day finally comes when I just can’t take slamming my head into the wall one more time.

Ode to My Office Manager

Thompson’s Realty Welcomes Cathie VanWert

Thompson’s Realty Welcomes Dan Rodgers!

An Open Letter to Phoenix Realty Executives Agents

Zip Realty to Close 11 Brokerage Offices. Reorients to emphasize personalized service. Huh.

So, what’s the point?

Who is The Phoenix Real Estate Guy?

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