nest4u.....

This Blog has Moved……

nest4u — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:01:10 +0000

Thanks for reading!

I have moved my blog to www.unconditional.co.nz/nest4u

See you there.

Revival of my blog

nest4u — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:43:02 +0000

So, its been a fair wile since I have updated my blog. Between all the social networking sites time seems to have escaped me.

It has been an interesting few months with a number of sales under my belt and having called quite a few more auctions.

New listings are a little tight at the moment so I have been calling my database and drinking lots of coffee and/or wine with past clients.

I am hopful that there will be a few great properties to list on the horizon!!!

Negotiating and getting people over the line…

nest4u — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:12:17 +0000

One of the best and worst parts of this business is closing a deal – it is the part of the process where it is a tightrope of getting two parties who are magneticlly opposed to each other to come together and agree. This always gets the adrenalin racing and quite often after days of working with two parties the difference can come down to a few hundred dollars and then it becomes a battle of wills to get it together because it is about the parties drawing a line in the sand – the actual money becomes secondary in this situation.

Quite often at this juncture discussions lean towards commission – when I first began in this business I didnt have a very thick skin and I would do just about anything to close the deal, but I learnt the hard way that this does not do any justice to you as an individual and as a professional – if you know you are professional, ethical and work incredibly hard for your vendors you need to believe in yourself and that you deserve to get paid for the service you provide – it is not worth it to “sell your soul”

I have toughened up over the years because my role is to get as much as I can that the market is prepared to pay for the property and I have done this then this needs to be reflected in the result.

The pleasure and the pain! Thats what it all about! Closing a deal is like a legal drug – and theres nothing better!

Networking in this business…

nest4u — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:31:44 +0000

The way the world works it seems to me that the most effective way of doing business is building relationships over time and gaining referrals from people who trust you and are happy to expostulate about why people should be using you.

I have just (re)joined a group called “BNI” – business networking international – this is a way to spread the word and build relationships with people who you may not have normally come in contact with. If you are lucky enough to join one of the groups that is in your area most of the professionals are based in your area too.

I am always constantly looking at new ways to build my networks of professionals. When I first started in this business I came from an education background so had to start building my contacts from the ground up. This is always the challenge, especially if like myself and my partner you are private people and like going to the movies or out to dinner with close friends but dont as a general rule like going to large social gatherings or activities.

If you know of any other ideas or groups that have worked for you feel free to contact me. You can jump on to my website and contact me HERE

Cheers.

Nick.

Keeping to my routines

nest4u — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:20:09 +0000

The moons must be in alignment at the moment because I am in a reflective mood…..

I have realised that routines are very important to me and I am not good at change…

When I made the difficult decision to move from my first office to the role of in house auctioneer at a larger office on the other side of town, making the decision was very traumatic and difficult but after much thought I decided for my career it was a good move. After just over a year in the role I realised that although the office and the team were fantastic, that for selling, the area and me just didnt fit. The process of making the hard decision to move back to this side of town was even more traumatic and although my time at that office was brilliant in terms of building my auctioneering skills, coming back to this side of town was like coming home and the first day I sat down at my new old desk I realised that I had made the right decision finally.

I realised a number of things with these two moves -

1. I like to know my place in the world

2. I like working close to home so I am not stuck in traffic every day

3. I like working in a smaller team where we can laugh and have fun as well as working hard

4. I am a creature of habit and I like to stick to my routines

5. Making money is nice but being happy and getting up in the morning excited about the day ahead is even better

Call me boring, but sometimes you have to realise what “rocks your socks” and listen to your heart.

Ultimately you will be happier for it.

Men and Multi-tasking

nest4u — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:35:24 +0000

This week has been frantic with auctions, viewings, second viewings, dealing with vendors, odd requests, booking advertising, writing advertising, having tantrums about advertising and trying to fit in my fitness regime around my day.

About two years ago the mobile phone specialist successfully talked me in to a “PDA” – one of those gadgets that is a phone, diary, internet, etc and probably make you coffee too. After one week I realised I had made a terrible mistake and my old fashoined diary worked way better – call me old fashioned but it really does work better – write in my appointments, make notes about my “to do’s” and generally keep things in order.

I love this job in that it is always interesting and I dont sit behind my desk all day – its varied, never boring and challenging – the challenge being a bloke – or maybe its just being me – is to make sure I am doing everything I need to be doing while always looking completely in control.

Multi-tasking – an acquired skill!

Calling an auction with the flu…

nest4u — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:40:46 +0000

Last week I was crook as a dog with the flu and I had an auction call on Thursday and a charity auction on Wednesday. On the Sunday night I was so sick I could hardly get out of bed and all I was thinking was…what happens if I cant talk enough to call the auctions…you see, its a bit hard to call in sick as an auctioneer. Luckily my lovely other half cooked me soup, filled my water bottle and generally took care of me!

Anyway, by the time the charity auction rolled around I was still feverish and feeling pretty rough, however, my voice was okay and I jumped in head first as it were. I managed to get through and apart from needing to have a shower and a change and hopefully not giving too many the flu I was okay. The great thing was the organiser was super happy with the evening.

On the Thursday I had a house auction and luckily by then I was okay and on the mend!

Talk about a close call but it made me think – what do I do if I lose my voice?

The moral of the story I suppose is – if youre an auctioneer, don’t get sick!

Door knocking and Cold Sweats

nest4u — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:54:48 +0000

I have been involved in the real estate industry now for just under 5 years and in that time the market has seemed to have had a mind of its own. When I first began, the market was pumping and you could stand on your head and things would sell – this was the time when everyone thought they could sell houses and that it was good money so they flocked to the industry.

Over the last two years with the economy and markets tightening it has cut the real estate industry down which has not been a bad thing and it is really survival of the fittest. I was very fortunate in my first office to have a number of “old hands” to teach me the ropes and remind me that you are only as good as your next list and sell.

What I have also learnt is that being successful in real estate is about consistency and providing superior service to people so they refer you to their friends and re use you when needed.

The one aspect that I have never been comfortable with (like hundreds of us I think) is “cold calling” or “cold doorknocking” – door knocking still gives me the cold sweats – when I arrive at someones doorstep with a smile on my face I am thinking – crazy person will come at me with rabid dog while yelling obscenities about real estate agents – what usually happens though is people are very friendly and at worst, terse.

The best door knocking is when you have just listed a property – generally neighbours love to hear whats happening in the area, so, Ive just listed a pearler in the heart of our patch and I will be doorknocking as many houses as I can because lets face it, its about future business just as much as its about the current business.

The question to ask is – wheres my next dollar coming from?

An Observation of Buyers….

nest4u — Sun, 31 May 2009 03:31:44 +0000

When it comes to buying and selling property personally, I am incredibly conservative - in fact, I have lived in the same property for the last 11 years and love it – so why move?

When I begin to think about purchasing an investment property I am a real estate agents worst nightmare – slow to make decisions, talk to multile agents, thorough in my research of the property, but this is exactly as you should be when looking to purchase.

You must be thorough in your research and due diligence – use the professionals at your disposal to perform all that you require – solicitors to review documents, builders to review the property, mortgage brokers to get your money in order and anyone else you feel would be useful.

It always astounds me how quickly people make decisions on the biggest purchase of their life – they walk in and say, I love it and I want it! When we want to buy a new sofa we look for good deals, search out different types and narrow down the possibilities – people should do the same when buying a property – in fact it is vital that you do it.

On that note, you should begin the research by gathering information so you make informed decision – so why dont you click on this link “HERE” to start by joining my weekly email newsletter (okay, so I had to have some kind of pitch attached to the end)

Happy House Hunting!

Inspirational speakers at conference..my thoughts

nest4u — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:10:41 +0000

Last week Harcourts had its annual conference at Sky City with approximately 800 people in attendance. The conference always consists of some overseas and local speakers, networking opportunities, and the end of year posh awards “do”.

Every year I find it inspirational, motivational and lots of fun. I always find catching up with colleagues from across the country and seeing whats going on across New Zeland is the best part.

Usually, I get something out of most of the speakers, even if it is just a reminder of “doing the basics” and being consistent. At the end of the day, real estate is about people and building positive relationships with those people. It is also about keeping in contact regularly with the community so you are front of mind.

There is one phenomenon of annual conferences that I want to touch on though – it is the realm of the zealous over enthusiastic speaker who is paid a fortune by the company for their presentation and whose sole aim is to come across as slightly insane while imparting the most simple of ideas. There were a couple of speakers at this years conference who definitely fell into this camp and I have to say, not wanting to sound negative, I would have found sipping a cocktail with my colleagues at the bar more inspirational. Its not that he wasnt nice, its just that I didnt connect with him. Mabe in America the culture of the country is such that jumping up in aisles and proclaiming my life is changed is the norm, but here in little old NZ , we tend to be rather more understated and conservative even.

However, in saying that I took screeds of notes and enjoyed the whole conference.