The HVA Blog

Here's A Must-Attend Session At Convention . . . And For Numerous Reasons

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:45:00 CST

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Virginia Beach Meets "Ugly Scott"

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:45:00 CST

Sarasota, Florida is the home of "Ugly Greg" and now Virginia Beach is the home of "Ugly Scott."

Franchisee Scott Jelinek, JIG Holdings, has added his name to his career apparel and calls himself, "Ugly Scott."

"Scott is going UGLY all the way," reported his FSM Holly Puig. She said he even has flags for his car, which will soon be wrapped. "I asked him if he would wear UG socks," she continued.

"It is refreshing to coach someone with such enthusiasm," Holly added. "Scott is a goal setter and my prediction is that he will be 'top' something at the 2009 convention."

The Art Of Holding On

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:30:00 CST

For those who are old enough to remember, or who know history, there were economic downturns in 1974 (yes, of course there were earlier downturns, but I don't want to date myself too severely), 1982, 1988 and 1998 . . . and during those downturns banks quit lending to investors and they approved only homebuyers with down payments . . . and eventually the lessons learned in those downturns were forgotten, or faded, and the lending requirements were loosened and the real estate market climbed uphill once again. . . . And, of course, you do know that history repeats itself, right?

It's a matter of holding on!

When you're holding on, you don't use each opportunity to play the game to score a touchdown. Instead, you use each opportunity to gain some yards. Just a few yards on each play keeps you in the game! Eventually, you score! But then you do it again, methodically working toward the score, but never taking huge risks. It's called working the fundamentals. It's neither an attractive nor entertaining way to win games, but it does keep you playing the games.

Unfortunately, in stressful times, it's not easy to stick with the fundamentals. You know, dig leading, talking to bankers, talking to real estate agents, talking to other investors, working the system (not just any system, by the way) . . . . it's laborious, even boring, and only the most disciplined investors can achieve it. That's why so many investors are falling out of the game. Of course, many of them never had a system to work, and in many cases, their systems only worked in less stressful times.

We're fortunate at HomeVestors. We have a system that works in different markets--though it still has to be worked. We've honed the fundamentals. We have expert advisers who provide support. We have resources. We have a network of professionals, many of whom are playing the game a game at a time, not looking for the touchdown, but looking to gain yardage a few yards at a time. We know these professionals will hold on and survive and when the market changes again, as we know it will, these are the investors who will prosper.

I don't know when the market will change, but I know it's worth holding on!

News From The Field: Am I Supposed To Be In North Carolina?

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:15:00 CST

It's very interesting watching our DAs at work as they cultivate associate franchises. I already feel the competitiveness -- and am enjoying it!

Generally, if 20 people tell you they are coming to a development seminar, we'll get 10 people to show up. Been that way for about a year now that I've been doing development seminars on a regular basis. There have been some exceptions -- we had more than 30 show up in Los Angeles a week ago, and anticipated only 15 to 20. But that was LA.

The best turnout so far, however, was in Tulsa last week when DA J. Roche had 22 people signed up and 19 actually showed for his seminar! That's amazing. And it's exciting. Stuart Miller, who also attended the seminar, said that J. "dazzled them" and of the 19 he's got at least three who are looking to become AFs.

While we just sold our third AF, we've yet to get our first sale through a DA--corporate sold the first three. I'm curious to see which DA will deliver the first AF. Conventional wisdom says it will be St. Louis . . . but a DA elsewhere in Missouri, and another dynamo DA in Virginia, are also close to delivering deals. Meanwhile, Stuart is coaching them on sales and making terrific progress.

. . . When I left the house this morning for the airport, I told my wife I was headed for Virginia. What a surprise when the plane landed and the flight attendant said: Welcome to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina! I knew I had to be on the right plane because Stuart was on it, too, and we were headed to the same hotel for the same meetings. I've got the travel gig down so well now that I just show up at the gate and get on the plane--I don't pay attention to where it's going.

It was good to arrive in Raleigh since I was expected to speak to 100+ people at the local REIA. The first guy to come up to me said that he has an "unlimited amount of investment money" and needs to talk to us . . . the second guy who came up to me said that his hard money company wants to loan money to our franchisees . . . several people said they will join us tomorrow morning for our development seminar to discuss franchise opportunities . . . and a dozen folks raised their hands and said they plan to join us at Day on the Hill in April 2009. I think we'll add franchises locally and maybe we've found a source or two for more money--hard to say at this point, but I was impressed tonight with the quality of people at the meeting. And the number of people! For all the negative talk about investing in real estate, what were 100+ people doing out at a REIA meeting on a Tuesday night? Obviously many came to hear about HomeVestors!

DA Program Seeks Franchisees Who Can Work The System Successfully

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:30:00 CST

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Yet Another Franchisee You'll Want To Meet At Convention

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:45:00 CST

Good news is all the more appreciated in challenging times . . . and for franchisees, it's all the more valuable when you can use it to generate more revenues and profits!

So I appreciated--and you will value--the message I received from Norfolk, VA franchisee David Bickford, who wrote:

"Again we have had another successful week. It's amazing how much hiring the right buyer can make the world go round! We go to every buy call and continue to ask for referrals, or (for) other houses that a client might wish to sell. This has proven to give 2 out of the last five houses we purchased this week. We are poised to start off ’09 in a dominating spot.Now with Chris going to buy calls, as well as myself, I have more time to follow the Gerber method of running a Business, and work on it, not in it. However I still feel it is important to also work in the business as well. I think a good boss should know how to do every persons position, but should mainly focus on his own.Anyway we have had another successful week, mostly due to Chris and some helpful tips from our FSM Holly (Puig)."

Thank you, David! See you in Las Vegas.

Want To Know What's Priceless?

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:30:00 CST

"Cash combined with courage in a time of crisis is priceless" -- Warren Buffett

Sent to me by Atlanta franchisee Todd Reid, who is sharing that quote with his potential investors!

Also from Warren Buffett:

"When the tide goes out we can see who's been swimming naked."

Shared by U.S. Congressman Barney Frank at a recent breakfast sponsored by HomeVestors.

Who Are These Kids?

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:45:00 CST

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What's God Whispering In Your Ear?

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:00:00 CST

"Ahhh, it's never that bad," said the shoe shine man when I sat down in his chair at the airport and sighed.

"You're right," I said, "I'm sorry. It's great to be alive, isn't it?"

"I'd rather be dead," he said.

And he wasn't kidding.

"I've got diabetes, and my legs hurt, and the bottom of my feet are so sore I can hardly stand here, but the good Lord isn't ready to do me any favors yet."

Suddenly, I realized how great of a day it truly was for me, but I felt bad about stopping to get a shine.

"I'm one of eleven kids," he continued to tell me as he cleaned my shoes. "I'm the only one with diabetes. My father died last year at 92 and he was healthy most of his life. My mother is 89 and she gets around better than I do. Doesn't seem fair, but it's all in God's plan. I'm not complaining, I just take each day as a blessing."

Now my red/green mind started churning. Why am I hearing this story? What's the message for me?First thought: Ah, he tells this story to every customer just to get a better tip. Shame on me! Second thought:Hetells the story to make his customers feel better--few will be worse off than he seems to be. Or, he tells the story because God is whispering in his ear and telling him what his customers need to hear. That's more like it!

He knew what I needed to hear. Yea, I was carrying the weight of the world for a while that morning, but with my newly shined shoes, I stepped off that shoe shine bench with a little more bounce and an eagerness to get on the next flight and get back to solving the problems at HomeVestors.

Challenging Times Come With Their Own Blessings

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:00:00 CST

Stuart Miller

O. Stuart Miller paid HomeVestors and its franchisees a tremendous compliment 9 months ago. You may recall that Stuart was a franchise systems manager (FSM), and had come to HomeVestors with a background of excellent training from other franchisors and the Michael Gerber company. Perfect preparation for helping our franchisees.

But then one day, after talking about it every day with his franchisee clients at HomeVestors, Stuart decided he, too, wanted to buy and sell real estate. And so he resigned from his FSM post to become a full-time investor, hoping to eventually become a HomeVestors franchisee. Now that's a compliment!

At the time, while I didn't want to lose Stuart, I said that if a good employee is going to leave us, at least he's leaving us for the right reason. He's going to practice what he's been preaching. And hopefully he'll put all the pieces together and he'll join us as a franchisee.

Well, as the life of a real estate investor played out in Stuart's family, things changed during the last 9 months and he came to visit me a few weeks ago. "I've been getting my teeth knocked in," he said, but still managing to smile. Even armed with all the knowledge and information of an FSM, he didn't expect his new career to be easy, and market conditions made it even more challenging. I acknowledged that I don't know any investors today who haven't taken a kick or two in the teeth.

In spite of the market difficulties, Stuart was still buying and selling, and he had had some successes. He loved the business every bit as much as he had anticipated, and he had no intentions of giving it up. Looking into his eyes, I could still see a twinkle of hope that one day, when he grows up, he'll become a HomeVestors franchisee.

But now Stuart was ready to return to the corporate fold and he visited me in hopes that his timing might be right. Indeed it was! I had been hoping to find a "seasoned" pro who couldhelp us cultivate our expanding development agent network. Stuart had sold franchises for another franchisor. He had coached and trained business owners as an employee of Gerber. With his newly acquired experience as an investor, he was perfectly suited to help our DAs recruit, sell and train associate franchises.

Every franchisor looks for opportunities to bring experienced talent to the team, and so I was pleased that we could bring back Stuart."I'm even better prepared now than the first time to meet the demands of Team HVA," he told me.

Which just goes to show that challenging times come with their own blessings. Not everything is horrible about the current market!

I'm excited for Team HVA!

Sewage Pot Part II Results In Profit And Goodwill

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:15:00 CST

"After a lot of back and forth, we did get the deal done," Boston franchiseeFran Yerardi wrote to me about the deal featured in yesterday's blog article."We bought and then resold the house on the very same day for a very good profit and a whole lot of goodwill."

Originally, Fran had offered the seller $300,000 for a land-locked property that would retail for $425,000 as is or $550,000 after repairs. Only the seller neglected to tell Fran that the backyard sewage pot wasn't connected to the city sewer! And the sewage pot wouldn't pass city inspection. Owners of the land-locked property hadthe right to pass and repass over the neighbor's land, using his driveway, but the neighbor was none too happy about that, and no one had the right to dig up the neighbor's driveway and run sewage pipes!

Boston franchisee Fran Yerardi agreed to pay $300,000 for this house, knowing that it would retail for $425,000. He quickly sold it to an investor for $375,000. Until he found out the backyard septic tank wasn't connected to the city sewer!

Presented with the problem, Fran went to work to solve it. But first I should tell you that Fran is very well connected in his marketplace--don't miss the lesson to be learned from that. Get to know the influential people in your market! As the former owner of a popular Italian restaurant, and the former chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, everyone who matters (i.e. cops, lawyers, judges, aldermen, etc.) knows Fran. You'll see what I mean in a moment.

"I got the city to agree 'in the interest of the public’s health' that they would legally require (if need be) the neighbor to allow the installation of a sewer line across his land," Fran told me. "However, I think I can get the neighbor to allow us to install the sewer without getting all legalized. It turns out his grandson is a local attorney (from Kliman Law, you met him at the Barney Frank breakfast) and we do a lot of closings with them. With that family connection (along with a brand new driveway) we should be able to get it done in a friendly manner."

Fran went back to the seller of the property, told them what they already knew and just hadn't disclosed to him, and shaved $22,500 off the price. "We than sold the house later that day to an investor for $375,000 cash. We put $25,000 in an escrow account to cover the installation of the sewer line and repair of driveway.When it’s all said and done, we made $72,500 today, and if I can get the sewer work done for what I think I can (20K) we will make an additional $2,500. . . .

"The home seller gets out of an ugly situation. . . .The neighbor will get a new driveway (his grandson a few more closings). . . .The investor is thrilled with us and his new purchase, so much so that he has offered to become a source of private money for me (as long as he gets first crack at all our houses--he’s filthy rich, doesn’t trust the stock market and wants deals on real estate)."

Not a bad day for a HomeVestors franchisee!

And that's not even the end of the story.

Fran called his newly impressed investor to tell him about a short sale that a bank had just approved for Fran. "The house is worth $165,000 as is or $200,000 retail, but I needed to close in four days or the homeowner would be foreclosed on. My investor wasn't interested in the house as a rental for himself, it's too far from his home, but true to his word he offered me $100,000 to buy it. We'll close on it and quickly sell it for a $65,000 profit."

In closing, Fran said, "That’s how it’s been lately. One minute we're up, then something happens and we get knocked down. Then we have to claw our way back up again.I am realizing that when our backs are against the wall, and the pressure's on, that’s when our team performs better. We adapt and overcome.It’s been one hell of a roller coaster ride."

And there are many other HomeVestors franchisees on that same roller coaster, "enjoying" the ride.

It Was A Great Day In Boston, Until They Opened The Sewage Pot!

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:00:00 CST

"If the business were easy, everyone would be doing it," Boston franchisee Fran Yerardisaid moments after getting some bad news about a house that he had hoped to turn into a $75,000 profit. We had just left the house where contractors informed Fran that the backyard septic tank wasn't connected to the city's sewage line, and therefore it wouldn't pass inspection--a little detail that the seller neglected to divulge until a couple of days before the closing, where Fran planned to wholesale the property to an investor and make that handsome profit.

Boston franchisee Fran Yerardi (left) gets the bad news from his contractor: The septic tank is full and it won't pass the city's inspection. Fran knew this wasn't going to be an easy deal!

Suddenly, on this brisk, rainy New England October morn, things weren't looking so good.But you wouldn't have known it talking to Fran, who was now driving me to the airport.

"I'll spend the afternoon working it out," he said. "There are no easy deals any more, they all come with their own complexities, and you just accept that or you shouldn't be in this business. At least I've got a potential $75,000 profit to work with. I can probably run that sewage line out to the street for $20,000, including going under the neighbor's shared driveway, although dealing with the neighbor will be a problem because he doesn't like people living in that house. Or maybe I can get the seller to take less money, or I'll work with the buyer--let him deal with the neighbor. I don't know, but I'll work on it."

That's one of the things I admire about Fran and franchisees like him. They seem to relish challenges.

"Would it be easier to do something else?" I baited Fran. He used to own and operate an Italian restaurant and I was half hoping he might say, "Yea, let's head over to my Italian kitchen and I'll give you lunch before you go back to Dallas." But I was headed to Phoenix, not Dallas, and Fran had left the Italian kitchen in a previous life.

Fran took the bait and spit it out: "Sure," he said, "there are easier things to do. . . . But I don't want to!"

That's a sign of a franchisee's passion. Fran could go back to running a restaurant--"I miss the daily cash I used to have from that business," he told me--but he doesn't want to. "Besides," he said, "buying and selling houses isn't as bad as what other people are up against. Whether you like him or not, who'd want the pressures that Barney Frank is feeling these days? (Earlier in the morning we had sponsored a breakfast for Congressman Frank). You gotta know he's got the pressure of the world on his shoulders and he's out there getting it done every day. My job is easy compared to his."

What we learn from Fran--and gutsy goal-oriented, success driven franchisees like him--is that no one should do this business, the HomeVestors business, unless they really want to. The moment you lose your passion for the business it's probably over, unless you get it back quickly.

And if you don't get it back quickly, don't worry. Because that's when you will decide that there's something else that's easier to do. My advice, for what it's worth, go do it. Life is short, my friends. Do what makes you happy.

Meanwhile, Fran's happy, though he's working through the complexities of his deals.

Tomorrow I'll tell you the conclusion of the sewage pot story. It's a dandy! You tell me what business is as exciting as this business?

God Bless Our Veterans

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:30:00 CST

It's Veteran's Day . . . and God bless our veterans!

While I was in LA last weekend, I met with a small group of veterans that have an interest in becoming franchisees. Years ago, one of my clients, Don Dwyer, founder of The Dwyer Group of franchise companies, organized the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative (VetFran) for the purpose of helping veterans become franchisees. VetFran companies, including HomeVestors, provide discounts to veterans who invest in a franchise. There are now more than 300 VetFran companies and more than 1,000 veterans have become franchisees through the program.

Several times a year--at 3 major and several regional franchise expos--I volunteer to teach Franchising 101 for Veterans. I provide a basic education about franchising, and explain how veterans can take advantage of the VetFran program. It's my way of helping veterans, and at the same time respecting the memory of my now deceased client and friend, Don Dwyer.

As we continue to welcome veterans into our society at large, I'm proud that franchisors have created a program that meaningfully rewards veterans by helping them acquire businesses that can truly change their lives. To date, 13 veterans have joined HomeVestors with the help of VetFran.

Hats off to all of our HomeVestors franchisee veterans, whether or not you took advantage of VetFran.

The Future For Lobbying For Real Estate Investors. . .And How You Can Play A Role

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:30:00 CST

With 250 local chapters and 40,000 members, the National Real Estate Investors Association (NREIA) is perfectly positioned to organize a massive and effective lobbying machine for the real estate investor industry. And it's now underway.

Back in 2003, HVA founder Ken D'Angelo expressed concern about future legislation that would negatively impact the investor community. Always ahead of his times, Ken had the notion that public opinion, coupled with the selfish and greedy behavior of some investors, would cause state and federal legislators to further regulate the industry, thus making it more difficult for reputable investors, such as HomeVestors franchisees, to conduct business. At the time, Ken shared his views with franchisees, as well as HVA's outside legal team, with the director of NREIA, Rebecca McLean, and with HVA's Board of Directors.

Ken believed, rightly so, that real estate investors needed to fund a lobbying machine that would educate legislators, educate the public, educate media, and promote sensible legislation, while protecting the industry from knee-jerk legislation, at both the state and federal levels. At the time, Ken had hoped NREIA would step up to organize this lobbying machine--it already had the members, and it represented the industry's concerns--but NREIA's organizers were not prepared to make that commitment. NREIA was providing some grassroots lobbying education through local chapters, but there was no organized effort underway to nationalize a lobbying machine.

That's when Ken turned to his legal advisors, who at the time included a former U.S. congressman who encouraged him to fund the National Association of Responsible Home Rebuilders and Investors (NARHRI). HomeVestors of America, Inc., which at the time had barely turned a profit, did indeed step up with seed money to launch NARHRI, which was introduced in January 2004 at the HVA annual convention.

While HVA's Board of Directors--I was already a member at that time--shared Ken's view that we needed an organized lobbying campaign with federal and state legs, we were concerned that HVA would get stuck underwriting the campaign beyond the start-up phase. Ken believed that franchisees and other investors would recognize the importance of lobbying and would provide the funding, through dues and fundraising programs. It would be up to NARHRI's Board of Directors (which included two representatives from HVA) to generate funding beyond the start-up phase, and it would be up to NARHRI to reach beyond HVA's member network and recruit real estate investors that would support the lobbying machine long-term. Ken also did not want NARHRI to be perceived as HomeVestors' lobbying machine--its membership had to represent the investor community at large, and would therefore need to include a majority of members that were not HVA franchisees. Even so, Ken hoped every HVA franchisee would join NARHRI.

As is usually the case in any business start-up, things didn't go as planned. Ken died within a year of NARHRI's launch. Many, but not all, HomeVestors franchisees joined NARHRI. HVA devoted huge chunks of time and resources to promote NARHRI at conventions, meetings and training events,encouraging and even pleading with franchisees to join the cause.Some independent investors also joined NARHRI, and some contributed large sums of money. In NARHRI's second year of operation, HVA did not provide additional cash resources, but we did underwrite the services of a public relations agency to promote NARHRI's efforts. By the third year, at NARHRI's request, and in spite of objections by some of our leadership who desired more accountability than NARHRI's board provided, and a specific plan of action, HVA contributed additional money. Obviously we supported NARHRI while we hoped that our franchise network, and the independent investors, would do so, too. And that may still occur, although HVA does not plan to contribute additional funds to NARHRI.

Meanwhile, in June 2005, Dallas franchisee Cal Wilkins, a member of the NARHRI board, and I were invited to speak to NREIA's leadership conference to promote interest in NARHRI, but differences of opinion, politics and egos prevented any meaningful relationship from ever developing between the two groups. Months later, in 2006, Rebecca McLain, and members of NREIA's board, visited me in Dallas to discuss the organization's interests in working with HomeVestors.

At that time, even though NREIA was focused on local, grassroots education, I suggested that NREIA organize a Day on the Hill event to bring investors to Washington, DC and facilitate meetings with members of Congress (a suggestion that I had earlier presented to NARHRI, but without any interest). I believed, based on my experience with the International Franchise Association (which now has a powerful lobbying machine supported by thousands of franchisors and franchisees), that we could draw in the investors by giving them a role to play in lobbying--once they got involved, their financial contributions would follow. Expecting them to provide money with no real experience of why they were doing so wasn't working. Many of them would not get involved until legislation threatened their businesses, but that was no way to get ahead of knee-jerk legislation. We needed to involve the investors not only in the states, but in Washington, DC, too! In fact, if we get investors involved federally, showing them what can be accomplished and how to do it, they are more likely to return to their states and local communities as activists, well informed and prepared to take action.

Not everyone agreed with me, but NREIA did organize Day on the Hill in 2008 with sponsorship by HVA. As that annual event continues, I expect it will draw 1,000-plus investors to Capitol Hill, where our industry's interests will be articulated to influential members of Congress and where investors will learn how to lobby and how to work alongside professional lobbyists. Now just imagine what you can accomplish when you have 1,000 competitive investors in the same room, all focused on legislation and the need for funds to achieve their objectives. I'll tell you what we will do, we will raise large amounts of money for our lobbying machine at both federal and state levels!

In the last several weeks, I've been involved in meetings with members of NREIA, including board president, Elmer Diaz, who is leading the charge to create alliances and raise money to strengthen our industry's lobbying efforts. NREIA is reaching out to the National Apartment Association, the National Association of Realtors (talk about a powerful lobbying machine!), and, of course, to HomeVestors of America, the only nationally organized network of professional real estate investors, to structure a lobbying effort that will have impact at the state and federal levels. NREIA is involving professional lobbyists, including Management and Government Resources, Inc., and Lobby Works, LLC, to provide education and help implement lobbying strategies. Plus, NREIA is changing its membership structure so that a percentage of dues revenues collected locally will be earmarked for lobbying.

With this new plan of action, and with 250 local chapters and 40,000 members, NREIA can organize and begin to fund the lobbying machine that this industry desperately needs. You can help by joining your local REIA! We always urge our franchisees to get involved in their local and state REIA chapters. If you're not already involved, go to NREIA's Web site,find your local chapter and join today. When you join, tell them about your interest in lobbying and encourage the chapter's members to organize a trip to Washington, DC to participate in Day on the Hill 2009.

I'll keep you posted on further developments about NREIA's lobbying plans, and HomeVestors' involvement in those plans . . . be assured there will be opportunities for you to get involved at both state and federal levels. And for those who don't want to get involved, but just want to contribute money, you'll have that opportunity, too!

Here's Someone Else You'll Want To Talk To At This Year's Convention

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:15:00 CST

Phoenix franchisee Tim Risley.

He joined us this morning in LA where we are hosting a seminar for prospective franchisees. Since we don't yet have an LA-based franchise, we asked Tim to come to the seminar and talk to the prospects.

After breakfast this morning, Tim told me, "I have no debt. I own nine rent houses.I can retire if I want to. And I owe it all to HomeVestors."

Fortunately, Tim doesn't want to retire. He said, "We have fun every day. My dad and I love the business. I borrowed $140,000 from him to get started and I paid back every cent. Things went so well he retired early and joined me in the business, and we love it."

The Risleys are one of HomeVestors' greatest success stories.

"And we're no different than anyone else," Tim continued. "We're not doing anything that other franchisees can't do, too."

Find out what he's doing when you see him in Las Vegas!

Here's Someone You'll Want To Talk To At The HVA Annual Convention

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:00:00 CST

Veteran Milwaukee franchisee Scott Lurie sent me an email with some very exciting news:

I just had my best month EVER as an HVA franchise.

4 wholesales.

1. 50k profit

2. 35k profit

3. 30k profit

4. 27k profit

That is for OCTOBER! Oh, and got 4 buy contracts!

See you at convention! I got the entire office crew coming, including my new buyer who is a ROCKSTAR!

Congratulations, Scott!

Franchisees: Here's a young man who has accomplished many of his goals as a HomeVestors franchisee. He understands the business. He's in a challenged market, like most of you. At convention, make it a point to find out what he's doing, how he's thinking, where he's taking his business . . . that one conversation could change your business in 2009.

Barney Said: Dems Will Pump Up The Rental Market

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:30:00 CST

It's Sunday and I'm in Los Angeles and while it's only 7 a.m. I've been up for a couple of hours because I hosted the Real Estate Investors Hourwith Mike Blatney at 6 a.m. PCT (you listen, don't you? Every Sunday, 8 a.m. CST on WBAP, or stream it live at HomeVestors.com). I always tell myself that I'll go back to bed after a morning like this, but I never do. It gives me time to review my notes from the past several weeks of travels and events, and catch up with blogging.

First, though, we interviewed a CEO from Sterling Bank on the radio show this morning--Dennis Van Fossen is Mike Blatney's personal investment banker--and if you're among the many who think the credit market has dried up and investors can't get loans to buy houses, then it's a shame you didn't hear Dennis this morning, cause he says his lending shingle is still hanging at Sterling Bank. He even gave his personal phone number for listeners to contact him because Sterling wants to loan money to investors who are buying rental properties! Okay, so you're not in Dallas or even a resident of The Great State, what good is Dennis going to do you? Nothing more than giving you the notion, at least, that there's a Dennis or two or three in your own market and all you've got to do is seek him out. You can listen to this interview in your own time, by the way, because all of our radio shows are archived at HomeVestors.com.

While the radio show is on my mind--I'll get to Barney in a moment--kudos to the Dallas-Fort Worth HomeVestors Ad Council for organizing a free seminar, How To Take Advantage Of The Current Investment Market, set for Nov. 12 at HVA headquarters. We've used the radio show to help build an audience for that seminar, which will bring local investors and our franchisees together to do some future transactions. The current investment market is producing new investors and it's important to capitalize on that opportunity. Get your Ad Council to sponsor a similar program!

Now, about Barney Frank, U.S. congressman from Massachusetts. You'll recall (from earlier blogs) that franchisee Fran Yerardy in Boston, along with other franchisees in his Ad Council (again, kudos to another Ad Council!), sponsored--with HVA's help--a breakfast for Barney in his hometown. Hundreds of local politicians, businessmen and women, bankers, opinion-makers, lawyers, etc., attended that breakfast--I can't emphasize enough the importance of sponsoring events like this!--and everyone learned about HomeVestors--our banner hung behind the podium, front and center--and it was without doubt one of the most important events of our political agenda this year.

In earlier blog articles I already reported about Barney's comments at the breakfast, what I told him and what he said in response, but I think I missed two important notes--I write notes in lots of places and sometimes, in spite of my green personality, I'm not as well organized as I want to be, and some notes get overlooked, as did these.

Barney said that if the Democrats win the election, Americans can expect fewer foreclosures because he said they, the Democrats, will negotiate with Freddie and Fannie, the mortgage makers, to bring down loan amounts for homeowners and keep more people in their homes . . . AND he said, the Democrats will provide more rental housing. "Republicans killed most of the programs and now that we're back we'll provide more programs--we've got to pump up the rental market," he told us.

Was it campaign rhetoric or did he mean it?

I think he meant it, but that doesn't mean he'll deliver on the promises. Of course, the election is only a few days old and it's too soon to expect to see results. Right now a lame duck Congress is going to talk about a stimulus package and a lame duck president, who likely wants to protect his legacy, may want to cooperate with the other party, but even the auto industry appears to be in line ahead of the credit industry for getting relief and until they--whoever they are--get the banks lending again, for autos, for houses, for whatever makes sense, we're going to continue slugging through this economy and market.

But hey, the election is over, thank God, and winter is upon us, so everything will slow down through the holidays and through the political honeymoon, and relief will likely arrive right about the time the daffodils pop up from their winter's sleep. Spring time can't come too soon!

So now I still have a couple of hours before the franchise expo opens. . .HomeVestors is exhibiting for the first time in California and interest has been consistently steady the last two days. Tomorrow we're sponsoring a mid-day free seminar for the candidates who want to learn more about both our full-service and associate franchise opportunities--don't know if we'll have a sale for California before our convention--less than 23 days away!--but we'll be close. Lots of interest here and lots of opportunity.

Barney, we'll be watching you!

Pretend That I'm A Pigeon Delivering This Message To You!

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:15:00 CST

Would business be easier or better without technology? Cause technology adds a lot of pressure--it requires our action and attention. It demands that we become more responsible. That adds stress!

How did we ever survive--and just imagine, not so many years ago we didn't even have fax machines--without email and Web sites?We had to use telephones and telegrams back in the old days, and when it was a really detailed and important communication, we had to use the U.S. Post Awful. Thank God someone invented the fax machine, and then Al Gore discovered the Internet and gave us email and Web pages and Google!

And now look at the mess we're in!

It was actually somewhat easier communicating important messages to 200+ franchisees via a written letter delivered by a mail carrier. For one thing, franchisees were more likely to read that letter--they're not as likely to read an email. Plus, emails can be easily overlooked or lost or delivered to the wrong mailbox or caught in spam. You can't be sure that your message was communicated when you send an email--which is one of the reasons why email marketers send the same email message multiple times to the same people!

So then you add a Web site to the mix thinking you're really improving your communications now! You put up a bulletin board. You add static pages like PDFs. You include a blog and a newsletter--all intended for communicating important, timely messages to your constituents.

But of course that means the constituents--franchisees in our case--actually have to turn on a computer, type in a URL, and click into the pages where you have posted your important and timely communications, and then they've got to read your messages. And neither man nor woman was created to read messages online! Many franchisees would say: It was a whole lot easier and better for me when the mail carrier brought me my messages typed in sharp black letters on clean white paper. . .now I've got to take the responsibility for finding my messages, plus I've got to read them in a format that's foreign to my eyes. Too much effort!

That thinking and those actions have changed our lives. Not necessarily for the better. And not necessary for everyone. There are still franchisees--I am convinced--who do not look at email and never visit the HomeVestors franchisee Web site--of course, those franchisees will never see this message.

I am convinced of this because of what I hear franchisees say. Almost every day. Recently I read the Franchise Advisory Council regional reports, where Ad Council Presidents get together in a region and discuss pertinent issues for our company. Quite often these reports include comments by franchisees who obviously have not read their emails, and have not visited our Web site pages. And these are Ad Council Presidents and members of the FAC! They say things that begin with "Corporate needs to do . . ." and all the while "corporate" has already done it! It was in The Vestor's Voice, it was in my blog, it was on the bulletin board, it was promoted through ad messages on the Web site, it was covered by a Webinar, etc. etc. etc.

On the one hand, technology forces us to use more of technology and use it more often. Unless we're going to send a letter via the post office, or overnight mail, we need to use multiple forms of technology to communicate. And as a franchisor we're willing to do that, even though some franchisees will then complain: Quit sending me the same message over and over!

Every year about this time we hear from a franchisee who is desperate to find a room, at a discounted rate, for our convention, and even though the room block has expired and even though we have promoted the room block for months and months, the franchisee expects, even demands (he's entitled, you know), that we come to his rescue. Or the franchisee now wants to register, but he's shocked by the late registration fee--when he could have registered months ago for a much smaller amount of money. Just a couple of weeks ago, a franchisee wrote to me and said, "I've not seen anything about this year's convention." I promise you he wrote that! News about our convention is posted a year or more in advance--we posted the 2009 convention information several months ago! And this franchisee expects me to believe he's not seen anything about the 2008 convention? Well, maybe so. Because to see these messages, a franchisee has to check in, and while that's a chore, it's also a responsibility.

Of course, it doesn't do any good to debate this issue or throw it in the face of the franchisees: Get over your entitlement issues, take responsibility and stay informed for the sake of your business! . . . but with all the issues we face, with all the stress, with all the critical points we must address daily, it does leave you scratching your head at times wondering if we weren't better off when all we had was the pigeon.

The Winners--In Sports, In Business, In Life--Are Agents Of Change. Are You One?

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:45:00 CST

I grew up in an era and a city where parents, relatives, teachers, priests, nuns (for sure the nuns), townsfolk, cops, newspaper editors, business owners, school crossing guards, even elderly grandparents, demanded that we take responsibility for our actions. If we were to succeed, if we were to win and get ahead, if we were to achieve happy, contented lives, we had to be responsible for our actions. That's the first step in becoming an Agent of Change.

It seems that was ages and ages ago, but I'm not that old. Even so, this is a difficult topic to write about, especially in the age of entitlement. No one really wants to hear it, and fewer people will abide by it. It's one of the reasons for the deterioration of our society. . . . I know--don't expect to run for public office with a message like that. And I don't plan to, but I'd still like to see our society develop Agents of Change. I'd like to see the members of our society understand what that means and why it's valuable.

There are glimpses of it today. In fact, out of the Greatest City in the World (aka Philadelphia) comes a story about Temple University's head football coach. Now most people probably don't follow Temple football, but those who do know that the Temple Owls generally have a losing season. Not much enthusiasm in the Greatest City in the World for Temple football.

But Temple has recruited a new head coach and he's determined to turn around the program. And he's doing it by turning his players into Agents of Change. That's reason enough for a parent to send his son to Temple!

Recently, the Owls lost a football game that they really had won, but the referee didn't see the ball cross the goal line. Temple had scored a touchdown, but the ref missed it. There was no opportunity for a review of the play and Temple went down, once again, in defeat.

In the locker room after the game, logic easily would have led the coach to blame the ref for the loss. However, the coach knew there was a larger problem. On the play before the touchdown, his players had missed a block which would have resulted in an undisputed score. The coach never mentioned the errant ref--he laid the fault for the loss squarely on the shoulders of his players.

"Unless they take responsibility," he said, "they will never become agents of change."

You gotta love that. Of course, you'd expect it from Rocky's home town, wouldn't you? But I didn't grow up there. I grew up in the heartland, which doesn't really exist today in the United States. It's all about entitlement now, no matter where you live--and there's more of that coming our way!

DA Number Climbs To 8; Hoping For 4 More By Convention

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:30:00 CST

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