S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

When I was first into investment real estate brokerage (having taken all the numbers courses before CCIM was invented), I would find what I thought was a really good buying opportunity, make a list of my 10 best clients/investors, and present my analysis. The usual response was, “Let me mull it over,” or some such [...]

* Car dealer “take any trade, running or not”
* Lot dealer “property in foreclosure can be used as down payment”
* “No down payment” house buyer comes into the brokerage to see if the TV ads for “No Down” classes are really possible. R.E. salesman Cliff Weaver says, “Not often, but what is possible is to [...]

In 1961 I showed a home to a family at 1:00 p.m.; wrote up a proposal on a paper bag on the hood of my car; presented it that afternoon, got accepted, and opened escrow that day (Sonoma Title Guaranty - Denny Daw.) It closed with title insurance the next afternoon and they moved in [...]

Most regular real estate brokerages use multiple systems to find clients:

A sign on prominent office and on listed properties
Ads in media
Direct mail
House calls
Seminars conducted for the public
Personal contacts thru social clubs
Brochures distributed
Etc.

My personal preference has always been “Find a need and fill it,” (found printed on pink dump trucks by Henry J. Kaiser in the [...]

An S.E.C. guest requested counsel with regard to an aging couple/prospective client, who had a gaggle of properties in a remote town. He wanted help on valuing so as to take a salable listing - a standard MLS broker’s approach.
He really liked the couple, and was stymied on how to proceed and was newly open [...]

Most exchange brokers exclaim loudly that their colleagues haven’t properly “COUNSELED” their client before bringing their package to the market place. When I used to teach brokers how to exchange, I would explain that commissions are “pooled and shared equally” as a norm. There usually was then an extended conversation about one side doing all [...]

Much effort, many dollars, extensive time, and talent gets spent exposing real estate equities to the marketplace(s), that many times are for naught. When an owner wants to change out of his current real estate into a different set of circumstances, the standard “drill” is to put it on the market shelf and struggle to [...]

Capital Gain Going In - 1031 Going Out Later
I counseled with another broker’s client recently about an interesting opportunity. Here are some facts about the deal to consider:

The broker has the clients’ property listed at $975,000.
The property is a 20 acre ridge top with fabulous views, a 3,000 sq. ft. older home and some farming [...]

The 1031 Exchange and the “delayed exchange” are tools that have been available since the founding of the Society of Exchange Counselors. The delayed exchange was not so rigorously defined with respect to the timing of replacement property selection and “must-close time” as it is today. However, Charles Considine (Richard Reno’s CPA from San Diego) [...]

The hue and cry of most real counselors is, “The broker doesn’t have any idea what it takes to make a deal with his client = no counseling!” “How do we get past the broker to interview the signer of the deed?”
If the questionable broker overhears the comment(s), his usual response is, “Make an offer [...]