The Art of Real Estate

Well after 28 years in the forestry business, I changed careers. When my brother found out I was transitioning into the real estate business, he said “Boy are you in for a surprise”  Boy was he right!  My job went from managing people and resources to a position of marketing, contract negotiations and brokering deals. There are some similarities in these task, they are negotiating and people skills. I must say I came into the career quite unaware and in some ways unprepared. It has been 8 years of learning on the job. This is a people business and I believe the career breaks down into 2 categories:

1) People Skills – Let’s start with a definition -   understanding ourselves and moderating our responses, talking effectively and empathizing accurately, building relationships of trust, respect and productive interactions. Generally people want to be treated fairly and feel like they are important. In many instances we are working with a buyer and a seller so both have to be treated with respect while keeping the goal in focus…consummation of the real estate transaction. I really believe in the Golden Rule, treat others like I would like to be treated. It works every time!

 2) The Art of Negotiating – Negotiating is defines as  a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests of two people/parties involved in negotiation process. Negotiation is a process where each party involved in negotiating tries to gain an advantage for themselves by the end of the process. Negotiation is intended to aim at compromise.  

5 Things That Will Help You Negotiate Better

1. Listen - Listening is a fairly underrated skill in today’s world. It’s so easy to assume what others are saying OR  finish what others are saying for them. Listening entails making sure what you’ve heard is actually correct.

2. Seek An Outcome That Satisfies All Parties - How many times are you so focused on getting what you want in a negotiation, you don’t even think about the other person? Some times referred to as “Win-Win”, look for commonalities. A win-win outcome really is the best way to approach negotiations. When you can share a common interest or find a common ground with another person, they'll have a harder time being confrontational with you. Show real interest in the property they have for sell.

3. Broaden The Scope - Sometimes when we're in negotiation we get so centered on the one thing—we forget there might be other possibilities. For instance, if the seller won’t reduce the price, they might consider paying some of the closing cost or perhaps pay for the survey. Don’t get backed into a corner. Recognize that people often ask for more than they expect to get!

4. The Person With The Most Information Usually Wins - This is a particularly important negotiation tactic for sales people. Ask your prospect  questions about their motivation to buy or sell.  Learn what is important to them as well as their needs and wants. Plain and simple, be an expert in your market. I am a ‘Land Broker’ and I keep detailed sales data in the counties I work. Taking a listing that is 30% over the market is a waste of time and besides, if an uninformed buyer comes along, it will not appraise and the deal will fall apart anyway.

5. Maintain Your Walk Away Power – As a seller or real estate broker it is better to walk away from a sale rather than make too large a concession or discount your services. I recently had the opportunity to list a large tract of land. The owner offered ½ the normal commission and I walked away. Later I was able to negotiate a fair commission. 

Well in simple terms to be successful as a realtor (or most anything in life), 3 things will go a long way:

•        Be honest with people
•       Treat others like you like to be treated
•       Work hard, that means going the extra mile, returning phone calls, be early to meetings

If you will do these things, YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL

For Information on Buying or Selling  LAND,  Call G. Kent Morris, RF, ALC

at (706) 457-0090

Tools for the Land Broker Professional

I was getting ready to leave this morning to preview a small tract of land in Harris County, GA. I was gathering up some gear and decided this would be a fun and helpful blog post and for those considering the career, it might give you some insight. Probably one of the most important skills needed is map reading. Most property I list and sale is owned by an absentee landowner. The owner may live out of state and many times they are not familiar with the property so you are on you own! This means not only do you have to find the property, but you might have to locate some property lines and corners.

Aerial Photograph

It is always a good idea to have an aerial photograph and a survey plat. Many times the property may join a field, timber stand, fence or some other feature that will help you identify a property line. These are probably visible on an aerial photo or satellite image.

Survey Plat

A survey plat will show the bearing and distance from one property corner to the next. With a compass and hip-chain, many times you can locate the next corner. I LOVE a hip-chain. The hip-chain feeds out a thin, high tensile strength string. The instrument reads out the distance in feet and is accurate to about 2%. I have found hundreds of corners with this method.

Compass

Hip-Chain

A compass simply allows to determine the bearing as indicated on a survey plat. For instance you might have to go  N 13  37’  28” W from one corner to the next. You simply dial in that bearing and walk the property line going in that direction (or bearing).

A GPS is a vital tool as well. The GPS can be used for two task: Navigate to a corner or feature using the Latitude - Longitude coordinates OR taking a waypoint in the field to locate a corner or feature on a map or aerial!

Garmin 60 GPS

Example of a map I constructed using a GPS waypoint

taking in the field.

I also used several mapping and navigation software programs that allow me to drive through a property and track my progress. These maps/programs allow you look for property lines as you approach the boundary. Great tool for showing property!

Topo Map with GPS location services!

Satellite Image with tract boundaries and location services!

Last but not least... the land professional is often driving a 4 X 4 truck and many have a small all terrain vehicle when there is only a path or trail. I have an old Honda 4 wheeler that has saved many a foot step on a large tract of land. You might not need this off road assistance when looking at 20 acres, but it sure comes in handy when looking at 200 acres and larger.

For information on buying or selling land, contact G. Kent Morris, ALC, RF  @ 706.457.0090

I OWN PROPERTY ALONG A CREEK… What does Erosion and Accretion mean?

I am glad you asked. In many cases the creek is actually the property line and as you know creek can move over time. There are two processes that affect creek movement. Let’s define both:

Erosion: Erosion is the general name for the processes that break down rocks (weathering) and the processes that carry away the breakdown products (transportation). The physical processes of erosion are called corrasion or mechanical erosion; the chemical processes are called corrosion or chemical erosion. But most examples of erosion include some of both corrasion and corrosion.The agents of erosion are gravity, ice, water (eluvian erosion) and wind (eolian erosion). In the case of your land… the creek can eat into the bank and decrease that amount of land that you own!

Accretion: Slow addition to land caused by the deposit of water-borne sediments. An increase of land along the shores of a body of water, as by alluvial deposit. In the case of your land, the deposit on the inside of a bend of the creek or river is building up over time and increasing the amount of land that you own.

WHY IS THIS OF INTEREST?  If your property as along a body of water such as a creek or river, you can either lose or gain property i.e. if the centerline of the creek is your property line and the creeks moves, your property line can move as well !!

For Information on Buying or Selling Land contact G. Kent Morris, ALC, RF at      (706) 457-0090

I Am Buying LAND, What Do I Need To Know About Zoning!

I can not cover every county so I have decided to pick one county to illustrate the nuances related to zoning issues. These can be very important if you are buying rural, undeveloped land. For instance, you might buy a tract of land for recreational purposes with the intent to subdivide the property later on. As an example, let’s look at Meriwether County, Georgia. Regulation and Ordinances are monitored and enforced through the department of Planning and Zoning. There are several zoning classifications in the county:

R-1 (Residential) – minimum of 1 acre, requires public water

RD (Residential) – minimum of 2 acres, must have 200 feet of frontage

LDR(Low Density Residential)- minimum of 5 acres, must have 200 feet of frontage

RR(Rural Residential)- minimum of 10 acres, must have 275 feet of frontage

A-1 (Agricultural)- minimum 25 acres, must have 350 feet of frontage

As you can see, there are requirements related to minimum tract size and amount of road frontage needed for each classification. If you bought 30 acres that was zoned ‘agriculture’ for the purpose of splitting into 2 tracts, you could run into zoning issues because there is a 25 acre minimum.  Most counties allow you apply for a zoning variance. These take time and can cost a few dollars.

If the county is very populated and has large cities, the zoning issues become a lot more cumbersome and restrictive. For instances, Troup County which contains Lagrange has more restrictions than Meriwether County. Troup County zoning regulations have 11 different  zoning classifications for residents. They even have requirements related to minimum square footage.

The take away point, go into the transaction with your eyes wide open and be sure and use a Realtor who is knowledgeable about land use issues and zoning!

For Information on Buying or Selling Land contact G. Kent Morris, ALC, RF at      (706) 457-0090

What is GIS (Geographic Information System)?

A geographic information system is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data. GIS systems are used by mining companies, timber companies, state and county officials, land use planners and the list goes on and on. The system has become a very integral part of study of geography and geography majors exit school with a detailed working knowledge of these systems.

   What are they used for?  In simplest terms it a data base containing information and data that is tied to a spatial dimension. For example, there might me a timber cruise associated with a specific stand of trees. Another example would be an estimate of the tons of coal related to a mineral ownership.

   How I use them?  I use MyTopo.com. I have the entire topographic layer for the state of Georgia and Alabama. I have a subscription to access aerial photography for these two states. If I draw a tract boundary in, when I toggle to another background layer, all my features are there. These features include waypoints, tracks, labels etc. I can use my Garmin GPS and walk around a stand of trees or a property boundary and import that GPS shapefile. As you can see there are many applications.

   A GIS system is made up of layers. The type and kind of layers depend on the end-user purpose. The type of layers I am most familiar with would be: streets, topographic maps, aerial photography, forest type maps etc. There are many systems out there, they range in price from free to thousands of dollars.

   Your Realtor should have access to these type tools. You might be evaluating a tract that has several different type of trees. It would be helpful if you knew how many acres in each stand. You might need to know the acres in a pecan orchard, row crops, size of a lake, size of the watershed. You can readily see there are many applications.

For Information on Buying or Selling Land contact G. Kent Morris, ALC, RF at      (706) 457-0090