What I Learned In School. . .
April 23, 2007 | 11 Comments
Today is Monday. If you remember, my last post was a week ago. I told you then about beginning my journey through the gauntlet that is the CCIM education program. At that time, I was quite optimistic about being able to give you updates as to my progress through CI-101, the first class in the gauntlet. Prior to starting the class, I received a call from the BawldGuy, the only other blogger I know who went through the classes. He gave me some great advice, and was good enough to write a post about his experience on the BloodhoundBlog.
When Jeff noticed that I had not written a post all week, something he warned me would happen, he took the time to poke a little fun at me. To be quite honest with you, when I talked to Jeff before taking the class, I had no idea what “death on a cracker” meant when he used it to describe my probable condition during the class. By the end of class on Tuesday afternoon, however, I knew all to well what it means to be “death on a cracker.” Before I explain, I want to say for the record that every single piece of advice and experience that Jeff shared with me about the class was RIGHT ON THE MONEY. Even though he went through the CCIM gauntlet in 1980, everything he said was completely relevant to me today.
Continuing education is part of the career of every real estate licensee. Every state requires some form of continuing education. The reality is that much of this education is not even remotely difficult. It is far more difficult to find time to take the classes that it is to actually pass the classes. That will NEVER be said of the CCIM courses. The CCIM designation is perhaps the most difficult designation to achieve in the entire real estate profession. CCIM designees are few and far between, and they are not slouches by any stretch of the imagination. They are some of the top leaders in commercial real estate and investing.
As Jeff mentioned in his post, my class had two instructors. They claim this is done as a way of keeping the class from getting bored by hearing one voice all the time. The reality is that this is done to keep the instructors fresh. They get tired, too. My instructors were Byron Smith and Ryan Lorey. They were both incredible teachers, and nice guys, too. Both of them have experience and knowledge so vast that you can’t help but learn something just sitting in the room with them. From 8:30am to 5:30pm for 4 days they did their absolute best to share that knowledge and experience with the class in an attempt to train us to be more professional real estate consultants, and smarter real estate investors.
The best way to sum up the CI-101 class is to use the words of Ryan Lorey. The very first thing he said to the class when we began on 8:30am on Monday morning was, “for the next week, you are going to feel like you are trying to drink water from a fire hose.” He was exactly right. The amount of learning that occurs in the four days of class is completely astounding. On Monday, I could barely use the financial calculator I bought for the class. By the end of the test on Friday, I was able to work through real-life case studies of complex commercial real estate investments. Would I call myself an expert? Certainly not. But I can definitely say that I am a much more informed agent today than I was I week ago. I can can understand and explain important concepts that were completely foreign to me a week ago. It is truly an amazing thing.
The purpose of this post is not to share war stories about the class. Perhaps I will use some of them for later posts. I am sure some of the lessons I learned are going to be subjects of future posts. The purpose of this post is to share the most important thing that I learned after going through the class– anything worth doing is worth doing right; and anything worth doing right is going to be hard.
CI-101 was far and away the most difficult real estate class I have ever taken. Heck, I had a few college classes that weren’t that hard. As difficult and arduous as it was, however, I can’t wait to take CI-102. And as a bonus, “death on a cracker” is now part of my vocabulary.
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, commercial real estate, real estate education, CCIM [/tags]
The Zebra Goes to Washington
April 16, 2007 | 2 Comments
I am in Washington, DC this week. I will be taking my first in a series of education classes through the CCIM institute. It should prove to be very interesting. I talked to the BawldGuy about what to expect, since he went through the classes a while back. He was very helpful and gave me some good advice, which is exactly what I expected. I told him that I would try to keep at least a daily blog of what I am learning in the class, at least the stuff that I think readers might find interesting. He told me to forget it; once I am finished with the daily classes, I should be pretty wiped out.
Is this real estate education, or boot camp? Hmmm, I guess I will find out on Monday morning. . .
[tags] real estate, realtor, real estate education, CCIM [/tags]
ZebraTalk Debut a Success
April 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Well, the wraps came off ZebraTalk yesterday at 7pm. I thought everything went quite well for the debut episode. I found the format to work quite well, and the experience has helped spawn new ideas for future shows. Of course, I always welcome input and suggestions from Zebra readers, so if you can think of anything you would like me to cover, or ways I can cover it, just let me know.
If you would like to listen to the debut episode and my take on non-verbal communication in real estate, you can use the link in the sidebar, or download the whole show at the ZebraTalk homepage, and then listen at your leisure.
Enjoy, and get ready for future episodes loaded with great content!
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, virginia, talk show, blogtalkradio.com, ZebraTalk [/tags]
Hoos vs. Hokies Rivalry Spills Into Real Estate?
April 12, 2007 | 2 Comments
We were contacted today by a very nice man who had apparently seen an article from CNN/Money about the best places to retire young in America. He is interested in the Charlottesville area because it placed 2nd on the list. That is yet another feather in the Charlottesville area cap.
What I found interesting about the list is that while Charlottesville (home of the Hoos) placed #2, Blacksburg (home of the Hokies) placed #4. As if the rivalry between UVA and Virginia Tech isn’t strong enough, now they can go head-to-head on the real estate rankings. As a disinterested Blue Hen, I can’t wait to see what develops. . .
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, best places to retire, blacksburg, hoos, hokies [/tags]
Are People Willing to Accept the Realities of the Current Market?
April 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment
It’s about that time again. . .time for the first-quarter real estate sales statistics for the Charlottesville Area. What I found didn’t surprise me, but I wonder if people will take it to heart. . . more on that in a bit; but for right now, here is the raw data:
March 2007
March 2006
Breakdown
I found the March statistics to be interesting. Interesting because they are so varied when you compare them to March of 2006. While the overall numbers may have been down, I don’t think you can call it a decisive shortfall by any stretch. Albemarle and Fluvanna remained virtually unchanged from March ‘06. Charlottesville and Greene were the biggest losers (down 27% and 29% respectively), while Nelson actually saw a 25% increase. The overall result was a 9% decrease in the number of closed transactions from March 2006– not all that bad. On the flip side, the average DOM (Days on Market) is still much higher than last year. The Charlottesville area average DOM jumped almost a full month compared to March of last year. This seems to suggest that the market is settling down a bit, not really moving much up or down, but it will take a few more months to see if that holds true.
First Quarter 2007
First Quarter 2006
Breakdown
The comparison between the first quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2006 is interesting because the two periods parallel each other. In a way, the two quarters are the same, but different. They are the same in that the total number of sales by area for March of each year is very close to, or a little bit above, the per-month sales average for the quarter. In looking back over other years, this is very typical, since March usually signals the beginning of the prime selling season.
The differences in the two quarters are in the DOM and the median sales price. As expected, DOM for 1Q07 was up a just more than a full month compared to 1Q06. With the volume of homes on the market as high as it is, this should not come as a surprise to anyone. The other major change is the median home price. The Charlottesville area 1Q07 median is down 8% compared to 1Q06. The biggest losers of the bunch are Albemarle and Nelson counties; the median in those counties is down 13% and 24% respectively, over the first quarter. The City of Charlottesville was down a little less, about 9%, while Fluvanna and Greene saw slight increases in the median.
Where does this leave us? I think that the best analogy here is an automotive one. When you are on the interstate rolling right along at 80mph or so, life is good. Then, you get off the interstate and travel on a road that is 55 mph. For the first few miles, everything seems to be going in slow-motion. You may even get a little anxious over your lack of rapid progress. In reality, you are traveling the speed limit, but it just feels slow.
That is how I would describe our current real estate market. It just feels slow. The reality of the situation is that homes are selling, and the bottom has not fallen out with regard to prices (as some may have predicted). The fact is that the market we are currently experiencing is the market that is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Inventory will remain high, DOM will probably remain in the 2-3 month range, and prices aren’t going to appreciate at a 15% per year rate anymore. The point is, that’s ok.
What needs to happen is that people need to adjust to our new 55-mph market. If people will simply prepare for the current market, rather than for a market that is long gone, everyone will have a much easier time. The first few miles are behind us, it is time to settle-in and drive.
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, virginia, albemarle, fluvanna, greene, nelson, real estate statistics, housing statistics [/tags]
ZebraTalk Goes Live on Thursday
April 11, 2007 | 2 Comments
Perhaps you remember that I planned to launch a talk show on BlogTalkRadio.com. If you didn’t remember, that’s okay, now you know. Thursday, April 12th 7:00pm EST is the debut of the show. I plan to use the first half-hour episode as sort of an intro-type show.
Besides being an introduction to the format, I plan use the time to talk about non-verbal communication and how it can affect the sale of a house. Being a referee, non-verbal communication is one of the most important aspects of my avocation. When it comes to real estate, there is plenty of non-verbal communication that goes on all the time and can have a major effect on the sale of a house.
I hope that you will listen in. You can do so by visiting my BlogTalkRadio.com host page. If you are really adventurous, you can even call-into the show with questions and comments. All of the details are on the host page.
[tags] real estate, realtor, charlottesville, virginia, blogtalkradio, real estate talk show, zebratalk [/tags]
Have Some Fun, and Help a Worthy Cause
April 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Last Friday, I had the unique opportunity to combine two of my favorite things, BMW and charity. I participated in the BMW Ultimate Drive for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. What happens is this: BMW sends a fleet of its vehicles all over the country and lets people drive them. For each mile driven, BMW donates a dollar to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. So basically, people like me get to head down to the local BMW and play with The Ultimate Driving Machine (or two or three) for the day, and every mile we drive means more money being put toward a great cause, i.e. breast cancer research. Sounds like a win-win to me.
My wife, mother-in-law, and I went and took a spin in the new BMW hard-top convertible. Granted, it was 50 degrees in the sun, but we didn’t care, the top was coming down. We had a blast, and Susan G. Komen for the cure received some much needed funds.
Next year, hopefully the weather will cooperate. We would have driven more, but the temperature wasn’t exactly ideal for waiting outside for the cars to return. If it had been, you can bet that I would have been behind the wheel of a sweet 650i convertible and the luxurious 750Li. Hey, it isn’t every day that a dealer is going to toss you the keys to a $80,000 vehicle with 350 horses under the hood and say, “Take it out for a 20-mile spin, please.”
The event was great, and it isn’t just for BMW owners, either. Anyone can register or just walk-up and drive. All you have to do is find the nearest location for the Ultimate Drive, show up, and have some fun. The BEST part of the whole day is that you can have all the fun you want and be comforted by the fact that the more fun you have, the more you are doing to benefit a VERY worthy cause.
If the BMW Ultimate Drive is coming anywhere near you, make sure to participate. I can guarantee that you’ll be happy you did; and when you get back to the dealership after your first (or second or third) drive, the smile on your face will be partially the result the Ultimate Driving Machine, and partially from knowing you have helped such an important cause.
[tags] BMW, Ultimate Drive, Susan G. Komen, [/tags]
Let it snow?!
April 7, 2007 | 2 Comments
If April showers bring may flowers, what do April snows bring?
When I woke up this morning and looked out of my bedroom window, I was greeted by a winter-wonderland scene. I don’t know how often it has snowed in April in the Charlottesville area, but I can’t remember this ever happening. The unseasonable cold is one thing, but snow? I would have never guessed. . .
Public Real Estate Seminar Hosted by Yours Truly
April 6, 2007 | 2 Comments
We are hosting a public real estate seminar this Saturday, April 7th from 3-5 PM at our listing at 10 Tallwood Trail in Lake Monticello. Speaking at the event will be John Handloser of Pillar to Post Home Inspections, Loan Officer Al Parks, and the builders/architects of 10 Tallwood Trail, Jared and Susannah Metzger.
John will be speaking about what to expect from a new home, what you can do to help maintain a home, and the life cycles of the components of a home. Al Parks will share with everyone the financing options that are available for new construction, as well as new loan programs that are available to buyers. The Metzgers will be sharing what is involved in the design and building process of a new home. Everyone will be available to answer questions.
No RSVP is necessary, just show up. If you don’t live at Lake Monticello, and need access, just send me an email at daniel@strongteamrealtors.com, or pick up a copy of the latest Real Estate Weekly or Fluvanna Review. You can bring the ad to Lake Monticello’s main gate to gain entrance.
It promises to be a very informative afternoon, and all are welcome!
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Disclaimer
My name is Daniel Rothamel. I am a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the National Association of REALTORS. As such, I adhere to a strict code of ethics and all laws with regard to equal housing, which is reflected in the content of this blog. My broker is Strong Team REALTORS, 86 Joshua Lane, Palmyra, VA 22963; (434) 589-5800. My VA Real Estate License number is 0225 077325. All of the opinions in this blog are mine, unless otherwise noted.
