Oct. 1, 2006 Edition

Are You Making A Fashion Statement?

Hot accessory leads to business growth By Gregg Stengel Dawn Yuter, DGA Properties, Philadelphia, models the must-have accessory for HVA franchisees. Big kudos to Dawn Yuter, DGA Properties, one of several new Philadelphia, PA franchisees. Proudly wearing the HomeVestors "I Love Ugly Houses" button that she received during the September session of Success System Training in Dallas, Dawn quickly became a walking advertisement for her HomeVestors franchise. While boarding her return flight to Philadelphia, Dawn had draped her sweater over her arm, with her attached "I Love Ugly Houses" button in full view. A man stopped her in the aisle and said "You must work for HomeVestors." According to Dawn, the man was employed by a Web-based competitor. "I didn't really get a chance to talk with him much, but then when we got back to Philly, our driver saw the button and asked us about it," said Dawn. "As it turns out, he has an inherited house with a deadbeat tenant and wants to unload the property. We are now in the process of working with him on the sale of his house." And the story doesn't end there for Dawn. She recently wore her favorite accessory to the grocery store, where a cashier spied the yellow pin. "After explaining to him what it was, the cashier said his parents were about to have his grandmother move to an elder care home and they need to sell her home," explained Dawn. "I gave him a card to follow up about the house. A little communication goes a long way." Wearing HomeVestors shirts, caps, and buttons means you care enough to proudly support UG and HomeVestors! You have to wear clothes -- why not make them work for you? For Dawn and DGA Properties, it's a winning strategy! . . .Gregg Stengel is marketing publications manager for HomeVestors. He may be reached at 972-761-0046, ext. 189.

E-Newsletter Provides Insight To Investors

Have your investors signed up yet? By Gregg Stengel Gregg Stengel Twice a month, HomeVestors provides valuable insight to the world of real estate investing through the Investor e-Newsletter - Profiting From Real Estate Investments. The Investor e-Newsletter, written by Real Estate author Marcie Geffner, has valuable information regarding all facets of investing in real estate. The Investor e-Newsletter recently received this feedback from a California-based investor: "I own a 40-unit apartment in Atlanta. I just got back to my home in San Francisco, California, last night, from six days in Atlanta. While there, I met several HomeVestors franchise owners, and looked at their property listings as well. I will be buying some more houses in the Atlanta area, and I am also interested in the opportunity to be a franchisee myself as soon as you open up this (San Francisco) market. "But, just this very second, I am emailing back and forth with a property management company and prospective new hire, on the very topic of this month's newsletter, 'finding a good manager' for my 40-unit. "Thank you for your informative, straightforward advice, and no nonsense approach for owners and investors. I read this letter every month." - Carl Recent Investor e-Newsletter issues addressed: Holding The Line On Remodeling Costs - A look at how savvy investors know how to update a house without spending more than budgeted. Freebies On The Web - Everything from trees to getting email addresses for referrals were covered. How To Hire A Property Manager - Owning rental property can be an overwhelming experience -- here's what a property manager should handle. All back issues of the Investor e-Newsletter are available on the HomeVestors Web site at http://www.homevestors.com/inthenews/newsletter.php. Encourage your investors to sign up for this valuable, free information! . . .Gregg Stengel is marketing publications manager for HomeVestors. He may be reached at 972-761-0046, ext. 189.

Things We Don't Want You To Miss

Practical knowledge and ideas for your business Teleseminar For Buyers HVA continues its teleseminar series on Friday, Oct. 20 at 9 a.m.CST. This call is specifically for Buyers, though all are welcome to listen in. The call will last approximately an hour. The topic is "Buyer Strategies at Work – Best Practices of HomeVestors' Top Buyers." Ken Channell and David Hicks will interview some of the most successful buyers in the HomeVestors franchise network and ask them what they do to buy more houses. . . . Send suggestions for teleseminar topics to Laura Collins, training publications coordinator. Four Strengths Personality Profile Update The Four Strengths Personality Profile has been updated with a few small changes to make scoring the profile easier. The new version was sent via e-mail to the entire franchise network on Sept. 20. Download it here, or from the "Forms and Documents" section of the Franchise Operations page of HomeVestors.com. . . The updated Four Strengths Personality Profile is a Word document for a specific reason. Please enter your office fax # into the blank provided and save this version to use at your office. The Corporate office frequently receives profiles directly from applicants for positions at franchise offices, and we want to correct this trend. Applicants for positions at your office should send their profiles to YOU, and then when you have narrowed down the applicants, you may e-mail profiles for Ken Channell's analysis if you wish (see the bottom of the cover page, under FRANCHISE OFFICE USE ONLY). Please keep in mind the new no-faxing policy when sending in your results. . . . Contact Training Publications Coordinator Laura Collins with questions. Words of Wisdom Good advice for those whose goal it is to buy and sell houses, and a lot of 'em! From marketing guru Dan Kennedy: "When someone asks me to do something, attend a meeting, talk with somebody, read something, whatever, I silently ask myself: 'Is this going to move me measurably closer to a goal?' If not, I do my best to say no." Does advertising work? "If you don't think advertising works, consider the millions of people who now think yogurt tastes good." - Bob Orben

20% Market Share: Why & How?

Measuring the percentage of houses we buy in any market By Ken Channell Ken Channell In the 1970s in the real estate brokerage business, it was discovered that an agent with 20% or more market share in a neighborhood or subdivision had a tremendous advantage. That agent could get more listings in that neighborhood and gain momentum to reach 30% to 35% market share. While I was employed by ERA, we began measuring market share in the early 1980s. We called the program ERA Market Link and we measured market share of listings and sales at the market level. We downloaded transactions from MLS and targeted the top real estate companies and agents in each market to focus on increasing our market share. We learned then that real estate is "a numbers game and a people business" and that what we measure tends to increase. When I came to HomeVestors in 1998, we did not measure market share of discounted house sales. But that changed in 2003 when it was obvious that we needed to track our performance against some market share criteria. At that time, HVA Founder Ken D'Angelo said that in his experience, 5% of all houses in Dallas sold at a discount. The challenge was how to document that percentage. The National Association of Realtors publishes a number for Existing Homes Sales on a monthly basis. In 2005, that number ranged from 4% up to 10% of all existing houses that sell each year. Using 7% as an average for 2003, we multiplied the number of Single Family Detached houses in each MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) by 7% to determine the number of single family house sales. Then, we multiplied that number by 5% for the number of houses sold at a discount. Using that formula, HVA had ten markets in 2003 that hit 15% or better market share. Houston led the way with 22.2% followed by Columbia, SC, St Louis and Fort Worth at 17%+. Brevard County, FL, Dallas-Ft Worth, Jacksonville, FL, Tucson and Minneapolis all achieved 15%+ in 2003. However, those numbers were based on buy contracts written and were inflated over today's numbers, which are based on buy closings. After first presenting these numbers, there were some challenges to the method since the 5% statistic was based on Ken's intuition. Based on that challenge, we hired a research analyst to help us document discounted sales in a total of nine markets. We selected the zip code where we bought the most houses in each market and identified the number of houses that sold in each of the zip codes as well as the average price per square foot. We then used a factor of 70% of that value to identify a house as being sold at a discount. Using that method we discovered that 25.2% of all the houses sold were sold at a discount in those zip codes. Our franchisees in those areas averaged buying 17% of those houses. This research convinced us that 5% is a very conservative estimate of the number of houses available at discount in a market. Of course, the number of houses that can be bought at a discount will vary by zip code. HVA has tracked market share every year since 2003 and in 2005 established market share as a method of identifying the number of franchises we should grant in any market. The new page in the Franchise Owners section of HomeVestors.com, "Benchmark Database - Market Share - Rankings In Order,"shows the current market share for each active HVA market. The goal, as you probably know, is 20% penetration in each market. Currently, we have four markets based on closed buys that exceed 20% market share, five between 15% and 20% and another 14 that have surpassed 10%. When all of the current markets reach 20% market share the HVA franchise network will buy almost 20,000 houses a year. Ultimately, 20% market share nationally could result in 50,000 closings annually. The Research and Development Department continues to identify ways to refine the market share methodology. However, HVA knows that the current methodology is not only valid, but it's a valuable tool for measuring market performance. 20% market share is a significant goal for HomeVestors, and one that will make our brand an unreachable target for our competitors. This brings us back to Team HVA. The best way to achieve 20% market share (or better) is to work with all franchisees in your market. One of the strategic advantages of Team HVA is our ability to work as a team. Get together, establish goals for each franchise in the Ad Council, and develop action plans that will help each franchise achieve the goals. Working together is the one advantage that when fully leveraged will produce the most results for every franchisee. . . . Vice President of Team Development Ken Channell leads most of the training offered to HomeVestors franchisees.

FAC Election Results

Four regions and Junior Markets elect new representatives HVA's Franchise Advisory Council will welcome five new members at its next meeting prior to the Annual Convention in late November. Even-numbered regions, and one Junior Market seat, were up for election. The FAC, including its various committees, is instrumental in helping HVA's Leadership Team shape the future of HVA. "We are grateful for our FAC, which is usually a thankless job for our franchisees," said HVA President & CEO John Hayes. "Building a HomeVestors business is difficult enough without volunteering to attend meetings and grappling with the growing pains that we encounter as a franchise network. However, we need franchisees involved in advising us as we move forward, and I can't say 'Thank you' often enough to our FAC members." Region 2, including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, elected Mark Mattlage of Cal Mat Properties in Ft. Worth in a two-franchisee race; in a three-franchisee race, Region 6 (Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin), elected Alan Washer, Value Properties, Chicago; and in Region 10, Tim Risley, Front Door Properties, won in another three-franchisee race. Mike Brendel, BMW Properties, Denton, TX, ran uncontested for a Junior Market seat and J. Barry Watts, Springfield Property Management, ran uncontested in Region 4 (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa). Congratulations to these franchisees. The HVA franchise network appreciates their willingness to serve on the FAC. Thanks, too, to those franchisees who ran for election but did not win this round of voting.   The five franchisees will serve on the FAC through the end of 2008. FAC members are elected for two year terms. Details about the FAC, including bylaws and minutes, are posted on the FAC page of HomeVestors.com. The five new members join Todd Reid, Nosara, Atlanta representing Region 1; Scott Welton, STW Holdings, Charlotte, Region 3; Kim Drake, Motor City Home Buyters, Detroit, Region 5; Doug Everhart, Onehousetwohouseredhousebluehouse, Pittsburgh, Region 7; and Charles Rutland, PRG Realty, Macon, GA, Junior Markets. Retiring this year from the FAC are John Holman, Aspen Funding, Atlanta; Cal Wilkins, The Real Advantage, Dallas; Jim Youngblood, TRED, Houston; Brownie Lott, Lott's Alamo City Properties, San Antonio; and Bob St. Pierre, Xtreme Properties, Safety Harbor, FL.  . . . Want to get involved with the FAC? All franchisees in good standing are eligible to participate in FAC committees. Please contact your FAC representative if you'd like to get involved. All of the FAC committees need members! Committee information is listed under FAC at HomeVestors.com.