Welcome to Methuen - RE/MAX Prestige!

The merger of two long-established real estate firms in the Merrimack Valley area has further strengthened the Re/Max organization in that segment of Essex and Middlesex County Real Estate market. The merger involved the acquisition of Re/Max Preferred of Methuen, one of the pioneer RE/MAX offices in New England which has been in business for twenty five years, by Re/Max Prestige with offices in Chelmsford, Dracut, Billerica, Tewksbury, Pelham, Tyngsboro, Groton, and Westford, as well as two offices in Western Massachusetts in Wilbraham and East Longmeadow.

"Given the strength of the Re/Max brand in our area, we're very excited about the prospect of expanding further into the Methuen Market" said Andrew Armata, who along with his partner, Stacey Alcorn, acquired the Methuen office of Re/Max Preferred in November. The Prestige Lawrence office has been merged into the Re/Max office in Methuen and will now host more agents and continue operating under the Re/Max Prestige name.

Armata noted that even with existing offices in eight surrounding towns, the idea of adding a Methuen location was quite attractive. "People like doing business with a real estate firm that has an office in their community, so even though the current business environment is not one that makes it easy to expand, we felt it was an opportunity we should not pass up. It gives us top franchise marketshare in both Methuen and Lawrence as well as additional marketshare in Haverhill, North Andover, and Salem NH, he said.


Armata noted that the Prestige office is also perfectly located because, like his other Merrimack Valley offices it offers great opportunity for further expansion up both the Route 93 and Route 495 Corridors. "The multiple offices throughout MA & NH really offers both our agents and customers a lot of convenience," Armata said.

RE/MAX Prestige now has approximately 200 agents and is the largest RE/MAX office in New England. As well, the firm in total is expected to come in number five in unit sales for all real estate offices in Massachusetts for 2009.

Happy Halloween!

It just wouldn't be Halloween unless someone shows up to work this week in a cape and tights. In the Spirit of Halloween we are once again having our yearly Halloween costume contest. Any agent or staff member that comes to the office in costume either today, tomorrow, or on Halloween will be entered into our contest. We will need a photo of the costume emailed to Andy and I by Sunday morning. We have an independent staff of three judges who will determine the costume contest winners on Monday!

Prizes:
1st Place - $200 Gift Certificate to Merrill - the RE/MAX Approved Supplier
2nd Place - $100 Gift Certificate to Home Depot
3rd Place - $50 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com

Check out this Design Center Video for Some Ghosts of Years Past! http://odc.remax.imprev.net/tmp/70/45070/443529/

We look forward to some hauntingly creative costumes.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Destination Success!

HOP ON OUR BUS!

Mark your calendars!!! The RE/MAX Prestige Sales Rally will be held on October 14th (Tewksbury Holiday Inn) and October 21st (Wilbraham office) from 10am- Noon.

Are you ready to change your life?

Then you need to hop on our Energy Bus! At this month's meeting we will be discussing an unbelievable book called The Energy Bus written by Jon Gordon. There will be tons of AWESOME content at the October rally but for an EXTRA dose of inspiration we encourage you to check out The Energy Bus in advance. CLICK HERE to order your copy. We look forward to seeing you in October!

About the Book:
In the mode of other best selling business fables The Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon, takes readers on an enlightening and inspiring ride that reveals 10 secrets for approaching life and work with the kind of positive, forward thinking that leads to true accomplishment - at work and at home. Everyone faces challenges. And every person,
organization, company and team will have to overcome negativity and adversity to define themselves and create their success. No one goes through life untested and the answer to these tests is positive energy—the kind of positive energy consisting of vision, trust, optimism, enthusiasm, purpose, and spirit that defines great leaders and their teams. Drawing upon his experience and work with thousands of leaders, sales professionals, teams, non-profit organizations, schools, and athletes, Gordon infuses this engaging story with keen insights, actionable strategies and a big dose of positive infectious energy. For managers and team leaders or anyone looking to turn negative energy into positive achievement The Energy Bus provides a powerful roadmap to overcome common life and work obstacles and bring out the best in yourself and your team. When you get on The Energy Bus you’ll enjoy
the ride of your life!

"If you want to fuel your family, your career, your team, and your organization with spirit,read this book. Jon’s energy and advice will leap off the page and help you cultivate positive energy in everything you do—and you will make the world a better place for your having been here. Thanks, Jon, for pumping us up and making sure we get on the right bus."
- Ken Blanchard, Co-author of The One Minute Manager® and Leading at a Higher Level

“Jon Gordon provides a clear roadmap to navigate the negativity and pit falls that too often sabotage individual and team success... ”
- Tom Gegax, founder of Tires Plus and author of The Big Book of Small Business

"The world would be a much better place if we all focused on being positive. Jon is the“Pastor of Positive Energy" and I'm one of his believers."
- Danny Gans, Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year

Tax Credit Coming To an End

With 73 days left until the tax credit expires our agents are working diligently on several fronts to help as many buyers as possible. On the one hand our agents are doing their part to petition Congress to extend the tax credit. On the other hand, they are working feverishly to help buyers find the home of their dreams in the next few weeks. Right now it takes an average buyer approximately 45 days to secure financing on a home. This means that a buyer that wants to take advantage of the tax credit really needs to have a home under agreement in the next two to three weeks. As well, we are advising buyers that now is not the time to buy a distressed property which will require short sale negotiation because there is certainly no guarantee that the short sale will be negotiated in less then 2.5 months. The best we can do is work hard to fufill the needs of every last homebuyer out there while at the same time taking precautions to make sure these transactions close on time so that nobody loses out on the tax credit.

Got SWAT?

Can you believe it's almost September! Summer is over and that means RE/MAX Prestige will be once again hosting our monthly MARKETING S.W.A.T. (Still Without A Taker) TEAM tour to help each other sell listings. How this approach works is that if you have a listing that's been on the market for more than 60 days and you need ideas on how to make it more saleable you can put it on the SWAT list. On Friday, September 4th everyone with a home on the SWAT tour will go on a tour to view the homes. The tour will take place from 9am-12:30. This is not just a caravan! This is a TLC (Troubled Listing Caravan) approach to giving constructive feedback. We have a TLC Tour Analysis sheet that each agent will be required to complete after viewing each home. This is so that the listing agent will have concrete feedback on how to get the house sold. The tour meets at 9:00am at the first house. You will receive the Tour Analysis Sheets for each property on the day of the tour. The tour will be followed by a half hour marketing de-briefing where we can exchange verbal feedback about each listing.

EMAIL ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR PROPERTY INCLUDED ON THE SEPTEMBER TOUR!

THE RULES:
1. To qualify, the property must be recognized as aged. That means it must have been on the market at least 60 days.
2. The tour spots will be filled on a first come, first serve basis.
3. Each agent can only have one property on the tour.
4. If you have a property on the SWAT tour... YOU MUST BE AVAILABLE TO GO INTO EVERY HOME ON THE TOUR.
5. If a property is in an area that is too distant, we reserve the right to not include it in the SWAT tour.

We think this is a great way for us to leverage the expertise within our marketplace.

It's a good life!

Chicago Update

Andy and I are excited to be back from the Broker/Owner conference in Chicago. We are diligently working with our team to put together some good information to share with you all. Much of this will be presented at our upcoming Sales Rallies in September. My favorite piece from the event was the new RE/MAX video entitled DID YOU KNOW? Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/remaxintl then post it to your email signature lines, your Facebook pages, and your websites. It's good information to share with buyers and sellers alike.

In addition to the conference, Andy and I had the great pleasure of attending the RE/MAX International Broker Strategy Task Force which consists of the top 55 RE/MAX brokerages across the country. In our meetings we met with Dave Liniger, Gail Liniger, Margaret Kelly, and other top executives to talk about the state of our market and the challenges our agents face every day. Andy and I are privileged to be part of this elite group and we admire the time and effort that our top management team at RE/MAX has dedicated to making RE/MAX the #1 real estate firm in the country. Attending these meetings has helped us gain insight on how to become better brokers and managers. As well, they have given us the opportunity to share our feedback and industry knowledge in order to help our RE/MAX family grow and prosper around the world.

Obviously the distressed real estate market continues to play an important role in all of our lives. We learned that in the past 12 months, agents with the CDPE designation closed an average of 25 transaction sides, more than double that of the average RE/MAX agent and quadruple that of any real estate agent. For this reason we look forward to watching more of our agents attain this important designation in the coming months. In fact, we have been working with the region to bring Alex Chafrin and the CDPE training program right to Massachusetts at a price discounted for our agents. We will be sending out detailed information on this event in the coming week.

This morning, RE/MAX International sent you a quick recap of this week's conference. Please take a moment to read the story below as I truly feel there is information that will help you with your business plan for the coming year.

Liniger in Chicago: 'Demand Will Come'

By George White, RE/MAX Times Managing Editor

CHICAGO - Demand built on demographics and population – rather than questionable lending policies – will spark the next wave of strong home sales in the U.S., Dave Liniger told nearly 700 Affiliates at the 2009 RE/MAX Summer Conference for Broker/Owners and Managers on Monday.

The confluence of two massive population groups – 80 million Baby Boomers born from 1946-1964 and 74 million Millennials born from 1980-1995 – will fuel a huge increase in transactions from 2012 onward, the RE/MAX International Chairman and Co-Founder said at the conference's Opening General Session. Immigration and minority household trends will add to the upturn, he noted.

As the Millennials, who are 15-29 now, reach their prime homebuying years – the average first-time buyer is 33, though that number appears to be trending downward – the Baby Boomers will be selling and downsizing. The rise in demand will drive the market upward, Liniger said.

"Very good years are coming," he said, adding that RE/MAX International – through technology, training, social media and other initiatives – will help Broker/Owners and Associates connect with these consumers.

Being successful today
For the time being, though, local markets will stay as they are, Liniger said. In fact, unemployment and a second wave of foreclosures in 2010 and 2011 are likely to make things worse before they get better. He urged Broker/Owners to help their Sales Associates close transactions through distressed properties, REOs, first-time homebuyers and investors. His constant theme: Affiliates cannot sit back and wait for a quick turnaround – because it's not coming.

"I'm not negative; I'm realistic," he said. "If you're not realistic, you can't make the adjustments you need to make in order to survive and prosper."

Liniger said RE/MAX leaders have met many times with key lenders and government officials to push for foreclosure solutions and a standardized and streamlined short-sale process.

He also called the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) course the best training he's ever encountered. More than 6,000 RE/MAX Associates have earned the designation, he said, and others should consider it.

"Short sales are the key for the next 18-24 months. Our people must be trained to handle them," he said, noting that true recovery simply isn't possible until the foreclosure problem is solved.

The smartest place to be
RE/MAX continues to be the best network for top agents, Liniger said. Its unmatched technology, brand name awareness, training, market share and advertising provide significant competitive advantages for Broker/Owners and Sales Associates.

Liniger also thanked Affiliates for their enduring support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and children's hospitals, noting that RE/MAX will soon reach the $100 million mark in Children's Miracle Network contributions.

Rousing life lessons
Following Liniger's address, former Notre Dame and NFL star Joe Theismann explained how he has approached life since his football career ended suddenly – his leg was broken on national TV – in 1985. He drew parallels between his adversity and the real estate industry's current struggles.

"We all face obstacles and hurdles; the test is what you do about them," Theismann said. "Real champions don't stay down. They figure out what to do, and then they do it. Why is RE/MAX where it is? Because they reject the idea of failing."

I hope you enjoyed this article and have taken away information that will help improve your business.

Summer Scoop!

RE/MAX Continues to Dominate in TV Advertising
Throughout the month, RE/MAX spots will air during original cable programming such as “Good Eats,” “In Plain Sight,” “Ice Road Truckers,” “Deadliest Catch,” and “Monk.” This is in addition to rebroadcasts of primetime hits like “NCIS” and “CSI: Miami.”

RE/MAX also directly targets the real estate demographic with ads running during “Flip This House,” “Hidden Potential,” “Real Estate Confidential,” “Smart Tips,” and “Sweat Equity.”

Theschedule is available as a download on RE/MAX Mainstreet and this is a great way to demonstrate to sellers the RE/MAX exposure each listing will receive on REMAX.com as a result of our continued strength as a top real estate advertiser.