LET'S CLEAN THIS MESS UP

If a Platinum (multiple referral source) member of your Book of Business called you and said, "Over the years, every time you called me and said 'I need your help,' I referred people to you, and I was glad to do it. Now I need your help. My Aunt Edna has to sell her house, but she can't afford to, because she owes more than it's worth, and she doesn't know what to do. Can you help my dear old Aunt Edna?" What would you do?

Or if they said, "My Aunt Edna is behind on her mortgage payments and she's afraid she's going to lose her home. She doesn't know what to do. Can you help my dear old Aunt Edna?" What do you do?

If you've been WIckmanized, you help Aunt Edna, and you can because you've built expertise, and a team of trusted specialists, to handle distressed properties. They are a fact of life and will be until this mess is cleaned up and the market returns to normal.

And when will that be? And who's going to clean up the mess?

Is the government going to clean up the mess? Some members of our government are well meaning, but really, do you expect them to do much more than work on getting reelected or justifying their budget? The government just isn't equipped to solve this problem. They need our help.

Do you expect the lenders to clean up the mess? Well, don't. It's not their job. They make money, they're not philanthropists. And Goldman Sachs won't clean it up. Nor will the Appraisers, or the Title companies, or Microsoft or Warren Buffett or anyone else who makes money off real estate.

Seems like everyone is waiting for someone else to clean up the mess. How's that working out so far?

Let me paraphrase a famous saying. if it is to be, it is up to us. We have to clean up the mess. But, how?

First, we (all of us in real estate) have to begin cooperating again, like we used to, in the best interests of our clients and the industry. Floyd's blogs about reducing the drama after the deal spell out exactly how to restore the cooperative nature of "co-op" brokerage. (blog.floydwickman.com)

But let me take you back to Aunt Edna and your referral-based Book of Business. Because here is the absolute truth, the 500 lb. gorilla in the room, the acres of diamonds... Aunt Edna has to sell but is upside down, and she doesn't know what to do. Or Aunt Edna is behind on her payments and doesn't know what to do to prevent foreclosure. Aunt Edna is embarrassed about her situation, maybe even desperate.

Every single person in your Book of Business knows someone in one of those two boats. Let's start there. And let's start today. Call everyone in your Book of Business, these people who make our business possible, these people we care about and who care about us, and ask:

"Who do you know who wants to sell, but can't because they owe more than they can sell it for, and they don't know what to do?"

"Who do you know who is behind on their mortgage payments, and they're afraid of losing their home, but they don't know what to do?"

That's how we get out in front of this problem and solve it. One client at a time. One transaction at a time. Starting today. Pro-actively.

There are a couple hundred thousand of us who've been Wickmanized. We believe in the 'Get By Giving' philosophy. If we all started in on solving this today, imagine how much quicker the clean up would go than waiting for someone else to step in.

Love,
Mike

P.S. If you don't have a short sale system in place, and don't know what to do, Floyd put together a complete how-to package with two experts, Bob Daniel and Sham Reddy, who have closed over 800 short sales between them. (www.floydwickman.com)