Master real estate finance.

Rather than counting on MLS information, which is no longer ours exclusively, or your people skills, pick a speciality, master it and let the world know. Finance is an area that can make a tremendous difference in your marketing.

As Howard Brinton says, “we need to spend time improving how we work with buyers and sellers instead of just spending all our time working with buyers and sellers”.

With finance skills, your abilities have reached the apex necessary when you move beyond the numbers involved. These numbers include the ratios, down payment, credit scores, and even the likely length of the amortization schedule. The numbers simply form the basis of an interrelated set of concepts providing you with an excellent snapshot of your client’s financial strength.

You have arrived at a respectable development of your financial abilities when you comprehend the relationships between cash on hand, monthly income and expenses, and long-term debt. These are used to determine your buyer's strength and comfort levels.

Recently, in a class I taught, I asked the agents how they felt when they were on floor time and a call came in from someone checking out homes on the Internet.

"Can you tell me about some homes I found on the Internet?"

A middle-aged agent said in a quiet voice that when this happens to her, she feels scared. She is scared, she said, that the caller knows more about technology and the Internet than she does.

But she has a skill that she can use to win the most tech-savvy buyer over - her abilities with real estate finance. So when she gets a call from an Internet buyer, she responds in one of the following ways:

"I’d be glad to help you. I’d also be interested in finding out what you felt about the different Web sites ... which sites were best."

"I specialize more in helping buyers with their finances. With my help, my buyers are picking the right lender, loan, and getting the best deal possible from mortgage companies."

"I can show you any home you want to see, but getting you in the best position to purchase the home of your choice is most important now. Did you know the mortgage is more important than the price you pay for a home?"

Master the numbers. Let people know how you can use real estate finance to help them meet their needs.

Published: October 16, 2002

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Mike Merin, CRB, CRS, ITI is the author of ATTACK THE MARKET! Specialize in Negotiating, Finance, Pricing or Technology which details how an agent can guarantee his or her success by learning and marketing skills that consumers value today. With graduate degrees from Columbia University, Mike was a negotiator for the U.S. Government in Washington, Moscow, and the capitals of our most significant trading partners. Beginning in 1985, he purchased with partners his first of several investment properties. He left the international arena to support his wife’s career and joined Prudential Fox & Roach REALTORS® as a successful agent in the Philadelphia area. An award-winning author, you can read or purchase Mike’s publications at www.mikemerin.com.