Wednesday, December 30, 2015

ONLY 48 HOURS LEFT

On Friday, January 1st, I will be turning off the FREE PDF DOWNLOAD of "The Dirty, Ugly Truth About Buying and Selling Real Estate in America".  Members of the public as well as the real estate industry have an opportunity to dig inside a real estate transaction and see how consumers are getting screwed out of $100,000,000 in New Jersey and almost $5,000,000,000 nationally.

www.thedirtyuglytruth.com

#thedirtyuglytruth

#the dirty ugly truth

Thursday, October 1, 2015

THE TRUTH IS HERE!!

I'm pleased to announce that my expose' of the real estate industry is now in print.  This book rips the cover off a very agent oriented and anti consumer industry and  divulges secrets that they don't want you to know.     Be informed!   

thedirtyuglytruth.com

Buyer, Seller or those associated with the industry NEED this book.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

AGENTS & BROKERS: Take a sneak peak of the Dirty Ugly Truth

My book cracking open the real estate industry is in second draft editing and will be out late fall.  The book is written in 3 parts -- Sellers -- Buyers -- Agents and Brokers.  I will be happy to send the first draft of the Agent and Broker section to anyone who requests it by email with your business card information.  By doing so you agree that it is for your use only and is not to be shared in any way.

I believe that about 50% of people in this industry for 10 years do not have a full understanding of it.  Find out if you do.

Send your request to:  www.Dan@DanDesmond.com


Tuesday, May 5, 2015

A Personal Message for Parents Sending A Child Off To College

What an incredibly happy time for any parent. You've already gone through the process of applying and visiting colleges and selecting THE ONE that suits your financial needs and the educational needs of your student.

Having gone through this three times I'd just like to share some observations and experiences.

I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that when the graduating class walks out of the ceremony it is very unlikely that they will all be together again. It would be like throwing a crossword puzzle in the air and expecting it to come down all together. They will all go their own ways to college, the service, jobs, etc. Point this out to your senior so they can spend some happy times with their friends and maybe some who they like but don't engage with daily.

Now for you and your family the same is true. Once your child leaves for school your family will never be quite the same. Sure, your student will be home for many happy occasions but he or she will no longer be the young person you had so much influence over. Even after the first semester they will have matured and become somewhat more independent. Just before they leave take a family vacation and insist everyone attend. It doesn't matter if it's a week or a day...be together as a family. And don't forget to take pictures and videos.

Now here's they part you won't like. Life is life, and life has tragedies. No one whats to think of losing their child but it can and will happen to someone. A college or technical school is a huge investment and one that may cause loans to be carried long after THAT graduation. I urge you to take out a term life insurance for the amount and time it takes to pay off the loans. A $200,000 10 year level term plan for an 18 year old non smoker will have an annual outlay of about 3 or 4 tanks of gas. Please do it.

Enjoy your summer together and the exciting years to follow.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

LET ME BUY YOU DINNER AND SHOW YOU HOW TO SAVE THOUSANDS



Daniel J. (Dan) Desmond, Broker of Help-U-Sell Bay Beach Realty presents:

Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Home in Ocean County in 2015.


Thursday, March 26, 6:30 pm - Captains Inn at the end of Lacey Road in Forked River



This informative event will not be your typical 'buy with me – sell with me' real estate seminar. We will give you valuable information that will help you put more money into your pocket when you sell.

We will be dissecting the real estate business, taking the gloves off and sharing secrets that the industry does not want you to know, including:

·         How to marketing in an electronic world.
·         The ONLY two things that cause a house to sell.
·         The roles that listing brokers and selling brokers play in the process.
·         The unfairness of the common commission system.
·         How your commissions are split among up to 8 persons.
·         How real estate 'Teams' are costing you money.
·         How brokers waste your money to justify bloated fees.
·         How to save money selling your home
.   Why you can't count on your legislators or the NJ Real Estate Commission to protect you.  YOU MUST PROTECT YOURSELF AND WE WILL SHOW YOU WHY AND HOW!!

Complimentary full dinner will be served if pre-registered. (2 per household).

Register at  www.DanDesmond.com  starting March 16th.  Scroll to the Seminar button.

Thursday, March 26, 6:30 pm - Captains Inn at the end of Lacey Road in Forked River

*While this seminar is for the public real estate brokers and staff are invited to attend on a space available basis for $25 per person. All others are free.  


Thursday, February 12, 2015

Who's Eating My Cupcakes?

Real estate agents can be a gullible lot.  Last week a major franchise held their annual meeting in Orlando and that's great--  all companies do that.  Now at this meeting the company proclaimed that it is the biggest in the country "by agent count".  Heh? What?  Is that how companies measure success  -  by agent count!   I know, I know - this company has a plan where they pay recruiting bonuses but that's a story for another day.

Here's today's story.  Real estate agents have "Herd Mentality".  Wherever the herd is heading they'll go along and even encourage their friends to join them.  But what I don't think they realize is that there are only a certain number of buyers and sellers in the market at any given time.  So brokers have their agents all pumped up about the company and tell them to bring their friends in to complete against them.  Duh!  Really!  Let's look an example:

Today is Sweet Little Margie's birthday and her mom sent her to school with enough cupcakes for her whole class to celebrate including the teacher.  But when it came time for the cupcakes the teacher went across the hall and invited another class to join them.  Now Sweet Little Margie and her friends realize there are not enough cupcakes for everyone so they'll have to take less.  And they're not happy!  Even though they're just kids they know they just got screwed!  It makes me wonder why agents feel happy in an office of 20, 40, 75 and more when they're competing against each other!!

Happy recruits head out to brand themselves with cards, ads and more to the delight of their brokers who know that the majority of them won't be around in a year.  But they may have sold a house or two so the broker won and, since regulations in most states require ads to have the brokers logo and contact information on them, the washouts spent the year building the company brand.  That's agent oriented real estate for you!

Here at Help-U-Sell things are different.  We're consumer oriented offering the same programs as other brokers but at a savings to the consumer by keeping our administrative costs low and a system that has worked  since 1976.  And our agents do well because they have no marketing expenses and much less competition because we don't pack the house.

It doesn't take a genius to know that if there are fewer people at the table there is more for those who are.
But don't ask Little Margie.  She's not that Sweet right now -- she's pissed!  Why aren't you?

Contact me or any Help-U-Sell office and we can tell you more about our expanded opportunity, how to spend more time with your family and more -- but that's just icing on the cake.







 

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

TO STAGE OR NOT TO STAGE??

Should I stage my home?  I hear that question every month and my answer is "Yes, stage your home but don't over do it.    When you think of it, vacuuming the rugs and putting toys away are basic staging.  Getting rid of clutter and packing away items that you won't be using until after the move is also staging.  And so is painting, especially rooms with non traditional colors.  Those are all tasks that sellers can do themselves at little to no cost.

Model homes are beautifully staged  with lots of "extras" but have a professional sales staff to sell the upgrades.  Resale homes that are vacant are candidates for some sprucing up so they won't appear cold. And if time is not on your side professional staging MAY help the home sell faster but not necessarily bring a higher price.


But what about hiring a professional staging company for a whole redecorating?  Now this is grey area and only worth while if you are sure the money spent can be recouped.  Remember that you won't be taking the "staged" items with you and most importantly the buyers mortgage company will order an appraisal and the appraiser will give little or no value to those items.

What it comes down to is making the home most appealing but at market price.  Plan your move wisely.