Real Estate Zealot

The Perfect Storm in Real Estate

3 ways to win in real estate... Buy now! Sell now! Invest Now!  Interest rates are at all-time lows, there is no better time to get into the market! 

Metro Broker Virginia Clair can help you navigate the real estate process. Call her at Urban Mountain Associates at 303-229-2450 or get more information online at www.VirginiaClair.com.

Interviewer: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV. Today in the studio I have Virginia Clair with Urban Mountain Associates. Welcome Virginia.

Virginia Clair: Thanks, Kari.

Interviewer: So what makes you different from other realtors?

Virginia Clair: Well, let me tell you - it's really the breath and depth of my experience, I've been licensed for over 21 years now and that was after a very successful career as a diamond broker, so I've been brokering for a while. And my early experience was quite diverse. I started at a time when we were working through the savings and loan fiasco, so a lot of my projects were fairly varied in that I did a shopping center in Colorado Springs, a ranch in Larkspur, I actually had a golf course in La Veta, Colorado as well as several executive homes that were a result of that whole fiasco.

So my business now is really in and around residential as well as short sales. I have a tendency to really want to be available to people in their time of need, especially when it does come to properties that are a little bit complicated and need a little extra help.

Interviewer: Wonderful. Now you're very involved in the real estate community, correct?

Virginia Clair: I am.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about that.

Virginia Clair: Well I happen to be the current president of the local chapter of the Mile High Women's Council of Realtors and incoming president for the state. And this is an organization that's part of the National Association of Realtors, so we're very much in tune with consumer issues and lobbying and making sure that our members are empowered in their leadership and their education.

Interviewer: What advice can you offer to buyers and sellers and investors?

Virginia Clair: Buy now, sell now. It's a perfect storm.

Interviewer: Really!

Virginia Clair: Yeah. The interest rates are low, historically low. Our inventory is short, so for sellers that have been sitting wondering whether they should make a move or not, now is the time.

Interviewer: That's great to hear. Where can people learn more about you?

Virginia Clair: Give me a call directly at (303) 229-2450 or on my website which is www.VirginiaClair.com.

Interviewer: Great, Virginia. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and talk to me today.

Virginia Clair: It was my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Interviewer: Again that was Virginia Clair with Urban Mountain Associates. Thank you for watching Metro Brokers TV.

Find the Right Investment Property and Tenant

A Denver native and second-generation real estate broker, Kyle Surplus with Liberty Associates can help you find that perfect family home or investment property. Call Kyle at 303-909-2323 or visit KyleSurplusRealty.com.

Interviewer: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV, today in our studio we have Kyle Surplus with Liberty Associates, welcome Kyle.

Kyle Surplus: Thank you Kari, its a pleasure to be here.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about your background?

Kyle Surplus: Absolutely, well Kari, I'm a second-generation realtor so you could say real estates in my blood. I've grown up here in Colorado from like growing just for over 45 years literally going to school from kindergarten through college, so you know growing up here you could say I've got a real good knowledge of Denver and the surrounding areas, I have come from a professionals, most of my adult life I've been in professional sales background, so it was the perfect training ground and segue into real estate, working large financial technical transactions has really prepared me to help my clients in buying and selling of real estate.

Interviewer: What would you say is your area of expertise?

Kyle Surplus: Well Kari helping clients from literally Castle Rock to Fort Collins and everything between, some of the areas that I specialize in are South Aurora, Centennial, Parker, Highlands Ranch and Castle Rock.

Interviewer: Wonderful, now you also manage rental properties as well, is that correct?

Kyle Surplus: Correct, I manage my own investment properties and from all stages, from acquiring, kind of understanding the best neighborhoods, you know which ones are appreciating where well get the highest rents, all the way through to marketing for tenants, qualifying them and retaining good solid tenants, so I think it brings real solid knowledge to my clients to be able to have that real world experience in you know quite honestly managing rental properties, there's really no substitute for experience and I can provide that to my clients.

Interviewer: Thats wonderful, how would you say the real estate market is currently?

Kyle Surplus: Great question, I would say its hot, quite honestly there's three factors that have contributed to that. About a year ago in March of 2012, inventory across Denver in the metropolitan areas shrank by 52%.

Interviewer: Wow.

Kyle Surplus: So that instantly created a supply and demand issue, you couple that with historically low interest rates a couple of months ago they were the lowest on record, as well as a lot of you know this economy has really been hard on in Colorado families you know as well and I think a lot of people are staying in their houses and fixing them up, so you dont have a lot of new inventory coming up, so its really creating a sellers market which is fantastic for sellers and challenging for buyers, so in my opinion its a ideal time to be represented by a seasoned and experienced realtor.

Interviewer: Wonderful, so how can clients reach you?

Kyle Surplus: Well I encourage them to go to my website, kylesurplusrealty.com and learn a little bit more about me, I also have some neat search engines on that where they can put in some criteria, kind of look into some neighborhoods theyve been thinking about, find out the value of their home all that you know on their time and you know utilize those tools at their discretion and then if they need to contact me, they can email me directly from my website as well as call me on my cell phone which in 303-909-2323.

Interviewer: Wonderful, well Kyle thank you so much for taking the time out on your day to come talk to me today.

Kyle Surplus: Well thank you very much for having me.

Interviewer: For more real estate related videos please go to metrobrokerstv.com.

Get Moving on Your New Home Search

If you are looking to buy, sell or invest in a property anywhere around Denver or Aurora, then Metro Brokers, Action Jackson Realty is the right real estate company for you. Call Regina Jackson at 720-327-9050 or go online to ActionJacksonRealty.com.

Interviewer: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV, today in the studio we have Regina Jackson with Action Jackson Realty, welcome Regina.

Regina Jackson: Thank you for having me.

Interviewer: So tell me what brought you to real estate?

Regina Jackson: You know I actually went to work for a friend who was a broker at a another company, not Metro Brokers, as a broker assistant, because at the time she didnt have any, nothing was electronic, she didnt have a database, she didnt have a website, she didnt have anything, so coming out of a telecommunications company I went to help her do that.

Interviewer: Wonderful, so what is it about your experience that you think makes you different?

Regina Jackson: Well I think I have worked in lots of different areas, I came out of Corporate America as an executive, I have owned, started a non-profit and then we went to a for-profit and I come from a military background which you know we packed up and moved every 18 to 24 months, so I really get moving.

Interviewer: You know moving.

Regina Jackson: I know moving.

Interviewer: What would you say are your areas of expertise?

Regina Jackson: Well I try and focus in the Denver city and county and parts of Aurora and I really work with residential buyers and sellers and some investors, I can do some investment real estate.

Interviewer: Great, do you have any special credentials?

Regina Jackson: I'm an e-PRO certified and I'm a Certified Negotiation Expert and one of the things that I did in my corporate life is I managed a 600 person union shop so I've got negotiation down to a fine art.

Interviewer: Great, now are you involved in any organizations or activities in the metro area?

Regina Jackson: I have been very involved in non-profits, community non-profits for years; currently I'm on the board of Community Shares of Colorado. I think I'm going to be going on the Board of Metro Brokers and I've served on lots of boards over the years.

Interviewer: Great, great. So how can clients reach you?

Regina Jackson: They can reach me on my website, www.actionjacksonrealty.com or they can call me at 720-327-9050.

Interviewer: Great Regina, thank you so much for joining me today.

Regina Jackson: Thank you for having me.

Interviewer: For more real estate related videos please go to metrobrokerstv.com.

Let me Show You How to Invest in Real Estate

Metro Broker Matt Bryant has the experience to help you invest in real estate to save money for college or retirement. You can reach him at720-934-0455 or online at BryantandCompany.com.

Interviewer: Today in our studio we have Matt Bryant with Bryant and Company, welcome Matt.

Matt Bryant: Kari thank you very much for having me.

Interviewer: So tell me a little bit about your background?

Matt Bryant: I began my real estate career in 2002 with Coldwell Banker it was a great company to learn the ropes of selling and buying real estate. Then in the summer of 2007, I decided to start my own brokerage, Bryant and Company. My purpose for doing that is I wanted to branch out into other areas of expertise.

Interviewer: Great so what would you say is your area of expertise?

Matt Bryant: Over the last couple of years, actually over the last 7 years, I've begun analyzing and buying small rental properties to rent out to grow my own real estate portfolio, I've met a lot of clients looking to do the same thing and I've been able in after closing to help these clients actually find renters for those properties. So I guess that is my expertise, I'm able to really find good strong tenants for these properties.

Interviewer: So how is the market right now for investors?

Matt Bryant: The market is incredible. I mean the interest rates are very low. There are a lot of good properties out there. Good clean properties and the prices are relatively low.

Interviewer: So what do you see as the future for investments?

Matt Bryant: I think investing in real estate is always going to be a strong way to save for your kid's college education, retirement and stuff like that. I do believe that holding investment properties for 30 years is a great avenue to achieve those goals, so to answer the question, it's going to be a very good market in Denver, and people want to move to Denver.

Me, personally, I manage and control 12 rental properties and my strength has become is having the ability to really be attentive to these tenants and that has turned into a network of tenants and I'm able to find good, responsible tenants. The X factor has always been, yeah, owning these properties is going to be great, but will I be able to find somebody that's going to pay the rent, I'm able to really kind of not guarantee it but I can find very good tenants and my network actually helps me find other tenants. Recently I just had a very good tenant whose sister is moving here from Seattle. They called me and I was able to find a property for them that I actually happened to have control of. So we didn't have to worry about whether I have one tenant move out because I have another tenant moving in. That's how it grows..

Interviewer: That's great. Now what do you do in your spare time?

Matt Bryant: The thing that I really truly enjoy doing is I volunteer with kids. I was fortunate long time ago to play baseball professionally. When I finished my career there, I came back and I was actually able to teach kids how to play baseball and I volunteer in little league and the high school ranks. It actually has really helped my business quite a bit because the kids' parents have actually become mentors for me. They began investing in real estate and they were able to teach me. They kind of showed me the ropes on how to do that.

Interviewer: Wonderful, so how can clients reach you?

Matt Bryant: You can reach me on my cell phone; I always have my cell phone with me its 720-934-0455 or my website BryantandCompany.com.

Interviewer: Great Matt thank you so much for joining us today.

Matt Bryant: Thank you I really appreciate it.

Interviewer: For more real estate related videos join us at MetroBrokersTV.com.

Award Winning Real Estate Service

Metro Brokers, El Greco & Associates is a full service, award-winning real estate company that offers expert help in buying or selling a home or condo. Call Dennis Greco at 303-888-4848 or go online to ElGrecoandAssociates.com.

Interviewer: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV, today in our studio we have Dennis Greco with El Greco and Associates, welcome Dennis.

Dennis Greco: Thank you Kari it is an honor to be here.

Interviewer: Thank you, so tell us a little bit about your background?

Dennis Greco: Well, I'm from Massachusetts and upstate New York. I came out in 1975 to attend the University of Denver where I earned my BSBA degree and I fell in love with Colorado. I have a passion for skiing, hiking, camping, tennis and as a result of that I ended up being a 15 year volunteer at the National Sports Center For The Disabled. And I ski with clients too, so I'm really excited about that.

Interviewer: That's great what are your qualifications within real estate?

Dennis Greco: Well I'm a broker and I own my own company through Metro Brokers, El Greco and Associates. I am a Certified Residential Specialist, as well as, having the Graduate Realtor Institute designation. I'm really honored to say that I've been awarded the five star satisfaction award through the Denver 5280 Magazine.

Interviewer: Wow congratulations.

Dennis Greco: Thank you, and that's for exceptional overall service and quality of work that I've had with my clients as well as real estate experts in the field.

Interviewer: And you work with both buyers and sellers?

Dennis Greco: Yes, I work residential primarily, resale homes, condos as well as single family investment homes, new and short sales as well as foreclosures.

Interviewer: So what would you say really sets you apart from other realtors?

Dennis Greco: Well basically I would say the five star award for one thing but I put a lot of effort in and I'm honest. I put a lot of integrity and hard work and attention to details.

Interviewer: Wonderful, how can customers reach you?

Dennis Greco: Basically by email or my cell number, 303-888-4848. Email dennisgreco1@gmail.com or visit us online at ElGrecoandAssociates.com.

Interviewer: Wonderful, Dennis it was so nice talking with you today thank you for joining us.

Dennis Greco: Thank you Kari it's a pleasure.

Interviewer: So for more real estate related videos please join us at MetroBrokersTV.com.

Honest to a Fault to Sell it Quickly

An experienced real estate professional offers the knowledge necessary to get the job done. Call Greg Howard with Metro Real Estate Group to help you buy or sell property in Colorado Springs and South metro Denver. He's always available by cell phone at 719-445-9515.

Interviewer: Thanks for joining us with Metro Brokers TV; I'm here with Greg Howard with Metro Real Estate Group. Greg thanks for joining us today.

Greg Howard: Nice to meet you.

Interviewer: So tell us a little about what an experienced agent, like yourself, does for their clients?

Greg Howard: Let's talk about the sellers at first. One of the things that we need to do is number one we need to get a listing with them to make sure that they are happy with what we are going to provide.

Then we need to start looking at all their documentation- "What does the buyer want?" Ultimately when a buyer comes and wants to make an offer on the property. We might look at surveys; we want to make sure that survey matches the property. We would look at appraisals to make sure everything is, zoning, to the taxes. We've gotten in several situations where we've actually received offers, actually made offers on property where the zoning didn't match, so therefore the appraisal didn't match and it was a long lengthy process.

Some of the other things that we want to do is may be talk about pre-inspections, maybe a pre-appraisal so that they have higher expectations and they see the worth of the property, so we can make a realistic price.

Interviewer: Definitely, well what would you say are some of the other things that you do upfront to make sure that, that things go well, go smoothly?

Greg Howard: We have the tough conversations. And the tough conversation is what it takes to sell a house- it's the right price. The aesthetic value of the property and being able to communicate to them that their $500,000 house expectation may be only $450,000... and that the wallpaper is pretty ugly and the colors don't match and the brass fixtures aren't really what a buyer is looking for.

So those conversations have to take place, as well as, when you're setting the price you need to give them a very clear idea of how price can affect the bottom-line. For instance if you're asking $110,000 for a $100,000 home, you're probably not going to get it, not in the beginning anyway. And if you do get it, it's going to be after a reduction to $105,000 and then it's going to be a reduction to $100,000 and then at that point somebody is going to say, it's been three and a half months on the market, they are desperate, let's offer $95,000. Whereas, if they'd started at $100,000 in the beginning or somewhere in that neighborhood, they are more likely to cut the time down and increase their bottom-line.

The other thing is, is when they are making the price adjustment. Let's say they do on a $110,000 for their home, why do they want that and is there a way for us to get to that, that may be the time when we have to bring in a stager to have a tough conversation to say, I know the carpet is only 25 years old, but it needs to be replaced, and for a $1500 maybe we can get a return of $2500. It may be that eventually get you up to the $110,000 range. So the tough conversations are about price and the aesthetic value of the home.

Interviewer: So do you think those are the most difficult things to communicate to a seller?

Greg Howard: Absolutely, I mean there are not many agents- I need to be careful of saying that... Let's just say that it's a very hard conversation for an agent to have when somebody says my house is worth $150,000 and you're looking at it and you know deep inside that it's only worth a $125,000 and you can't commit to the conversation that says... it's really not. It's not in their best interest for you to hold back.

If I have a fault it's going to be the honesty. I'm honest to a fault on being able to get these things done, if we go six months on a listing because I wasn't able to come to the table and tell them the truth, they are going to be frustrated, they are going to be mad, they are not going to refer me, and then the next agent has a huge foot up because they are going to come in and they would have already heard the story at least once, now it's the second time, and they'll make the adjustments and sell the house...and they won't be happy with me.

Interviewer: Now you work with buyers too right?

Greg Howard: I do, buyers are a whole different ball game. You basically have to protect the buyer and you need to make sure that the documentation that they have is worthy and the key for them is protecting them at all costs, I want to see their (pre-approved) loan docs, I want to make sure that the loan is the same, you can get a 3.5% loan, with one guy and a 3.5% loan with another guy- but they are not the same loan. They might be... but they are not and there's ways to evaluate that. Look at appraisals and things like that to make sure they are in the right area, and school districts, just listen to them.

Interviewer: So, Greg how can customers reach you?

Greg Howard: I'm on my cell all the time- it's 719-445-9515. My website is GregHowardRealtor.com. I sell homes both in Colorado Springs and the south side of the Denver metro area.

Interviewer: Thank you so much for joining us today, for more real estate related videos please join us online at Metro Brokers TV.

The Best Property Management in Denver

Ron Herdt of Cityscape Real Estate is an expert at property management and home sales. Call Ron at 303-288-2400 or go online to CityscapeDenver.com.

Interviewer: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV, I'm here with Ron Herdt, with Cityscape Real Estate. Ron thanks for joining us today.

Ron Herdt: Thank you.

Interviewer: So, how many years have you been in the real estate business?

Ron Herdt: Forty, forty years or so...

Interviewer: Forty years great, what would you say is your primary focus on residential property management, so tell us a little bit about that?

Ron Herdt: Well we, I've been doing property management now for ten years with my company Cityscape Real Estate, and we do sales, but we also do property management, and I built my company with agents that like to do both sales and property management.

Interviewer: Great so your agents are able to do?

Ron Herdt: They do both.

Interviewer: Either side, wonderful, does an agent have to work for your company, or can they be independent?

Ron Herdt: Well, I own the Metro Broker office, so an agent can come on board with my company, Cityscape Real Estate, or come on board with his or her own company and work in that same building.

Interviewer: Okay.

Ron Herdt: That's what Metro Brokers is famous for, is that different little companies can band together under one roof.

Interviewer: And what's the benefit of that?

Ron Herdt: The benefit, in Metro Brokers, is you get a bigger than life identity, by being a Metro Broker, my company is a company of eight, but looks big, because we are a Metro Broker Company.

Interviewer: Okay, good. Who would you say is your target market?

Ron Herdt: Well, we have two kinds of property management accounts; we have dedicated investors who buy their properties for investment purpose. And then we have Ma, and Pa, whose house won't sell, and we get a lot of that, people that can't leave it vacant any longer, sometimes we get owners who leave the country or the state for jobs, but they want to come back to their home later, so we manage it in their interim.

Interviewer: So, those that don't know a lot about property management, tell me what is property management all about?

Ron Herdt: Well we market properties for the people. We collect the rents and we do the maintenance. We have online payments to the owners and online payments from the tenants. The owners get a notification email and they can go onto the web and see their statements. So we've gone green- we don't print any statements, we don't print any checks, everything is done electronically.

Interviewer: Wonderful, and what organizations are you involved in?

Ron Herdt: We are members of NARPM, it's the National Association of Residential Property Managers,. It's a very, very good organization I highly recommend it to anyone who does residential property management.

Interviewer: Wonderful, how can customers reach you?

Ron Herdt: They can reach us by phone, by web, our website is CityscapeDenver.com, and the phone number is 303-288-2400.

Interviewer: Great and we will put those up on the screen as well.

Ron Herdt: Very good, thank you.

Interviewer: Ron, thank you so much for joining us today.

Ron Herdt: Thank you.

Interviewer: And for more real estate related videos, please join us online at Metro Brokers TV.

Helping Seniors with the Next Milestone

Jacquie Taylor has the experience to help seniors decide what the next step will be. Call Jacquie Taylor at 303-909-2590 or visit her online at Jacquie Taylor.

Interviewer: Welcome to Metro Brokers TV, I'm here with Jacquie Taylor, with Taylor & Associates, so Jacquie tell us a little bit about your areas of expertise?

Jacquie Taylor: My specific areas of expertise include dealing with seniors, and those seniors who are active, seniors who want to move on to their next milestone in their life.

Interviewer: Do you feel that you have a certain area of expertise within the home buying or home selling that you focus on?

Jacquie Taylor: I focus on basically the seniors who are thinking about downsizing, and those seniors that are basically trying to either stay in place, or moving into other facilities. Things that are going to help them and will be easier for them to handle. That also includes all the different things that they need, such as, medical and physical needs, transportation needs, things like that. Just areas that they can actually start to really enjoy in a much more experienced way; of which they all seem to have had a great deal of experience in.

Interviewer: Wonderful. So, what things do you think impact seniors most these days?

Jacquie Taylor: Okay I would say, seniors are greatly impacted by medical and financial needs, and also their family needs, and those things really encompass quite a bit of need to, involve a family in a lot of their expertise, since the seniors are really very interested in making sure that their families are part of the program.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about what is happening in the market right now?

Jacquie Taylor: Okay the market right now, is really going through some very interesting changes, and has been over the last few years. The Shiller Index has been the one that's indicated that since, about a year ago, that would be about December of 2011, that it's only going up about 1.2 %, however in Denver which is the area that I work the most in, basically we are noticing since December of 2011, that basically that they've gone up 16.8 % in a one year period of time.

Interviewer: Great.

Jacquie Taylor: So it's really exciting for the market place.

Interviewer: Now you mentioned that you work a lot in Denver, are there other areas that you also focus on?

Jacquie Taylor: Oh, yes, yeah I focus on the areas that are Arapahoe County, Centennial, Parker and basically Littleton and those types of areas in the South Metro part of Denver.

Interviewer: And how can customers go about reaching you?

Jacquie Taylor: Okay, and if they would like to reach me, it's the easiest, it's my cell phone, and that phone number is 303-909-2590, I also have a website, and I do try to keep it updated quite often, and that website is www.JacquieTaylor.com, and also sometimes it's even best to just use an email address, and my email address is JacquieTaylor1@comcast.net.

Interviewer: Great and we will put those up on the screen as well.

Jacquie Taylor: Okay great.

Interviewer: Jacquie thank you so much for joining us today.

Jacquie Taylor: Absolutely and thank you Kari for having me.

Interviewer: And for more real estate related videos, please join us online at Metro Brokers TV.

Retire Early with No Worries!

Planning ahead for retirement or looking to invest in the real estate market? Talk to a Certified Real Estate Wealth Agent and see how they can help you invest wisely and get more profit from real estate.

If you would like to be able to retire sooner and not worry if you have enough money, learn more at HowToRetireHappy.com.

Interviewer: Thank you for joining us at BrokerIPTV. I am here today with Mark Eibner and Jeff Sibel, CFP- a Certified Financial Planner. So, tell me a little bit about what makes your real estate financial planning practice so different?

Jeff Sibel: Well, I'm a real estate based financial planner, so I show people how to retire early with less money invested and essentially no financial planner out there does that. So that's what makes me special.

Interviewer: Great.

Mark Eibner: Yeah, I am a real estate broker, I've been practicing for 27 years and I have always been intrigued by the financial service or financial planning part of real estate and how it can be; it can really bring an integral part in peoples' lives, you can be a big part of their lives.

Interviewer: Oh, so tell me what is a Certified Real Estate Wealth Agent?

Jeff Sibel: A Certified Real Estate Wealth Agent is a real estate agent that basically helps their clients accomplish their goals by using a financial planner, in every step of their lives. So it could be buying or selling their first home, buying and selling investment property or buying and selling real estate inside their IRA or 401K.

Interviewer: So Mark, how does this apply to real estate brokers and what makes them so successful?

Mark Eibner: Well I think that being a certified real estate wealth agent can bring a lot to the table for a real estate broker. First of all, it is going to allow the broker to be involved in, let's just say a multi-transactional lifestyle over the course of the consumer. Most agents today are just used to really kind of sell them a house, sell a condo, and you wait five to seven more years before you do anything else.

A lot of our agents are actually working with certified financial planners such as Jeff and helping people look at the fact that their IRAs or 401Ks or Roth's- any of these products out there can actually hold real estate inside them as far as the financial tool. Real estate has a lot of very good potential; some of the best potential out there has been used by kings and queens for thousands of years as far as real retirement.

Interviewer: Now Jeff I heard Mark say earlier that only about 2% of all Americans over the age of 65 actually retire financially independent, can you tell me about that?

Jeff Sibel: Yeah, it's tragic, most people they don't even know they are investing the wrong way, they don't have clearly defined investment goals and essentially, they just think they will be able to retire someday.

So the first problem is, they can never save their way to retirement. The second problem is they live off their assets from the assets that they have saved up to be able to retire and unfortunately most cases they live too long and outlive their money.

So real estate is different, when you buy real estate you buy enough real estate that will provide the income you need and then you live off that income. Whereas, traditional investors unfortunately live off the principal of their investments and that's the tragedy.

Interviewer: So Mark, what can wealth agents do that really has an impact on people's lives?

Mark Eibner: Well kind of playing off those numbers that you mentioned there with Jeff.

We've got a trademark model that we are working with 75, 65, 23, 2. So if you look at those numbers 75% of the people today over the age of 65 in America today right now basically are dependent on government charity, family or church to survive until death. Another 23% are going to have to be greeters at Wal-Mart. So 23% of the richest nation on the earth would have to work from now from 65 till death or disability.

Only 2% if you don't count any type of government assistance are actually financially viable, financially free- they actually wake up with a mailbox check. And sadly that minimum number to even get in that window is about $45,000 a year. So a lot of people have got to ask themselves, based on what you are making right now for an income of $45,000 that's sort of the bottom threshold of that wealthy 2%.

So when we are working with agents out there, I think the biggest thing is for somebody to just retire with that number, $50,000 a year, let's say in income; it amounts at least in Denver, Colorado to about $700,000 worth of real estate. So $700,000 worth of real estate in a family's retirement portfolio is somewhere around $20,000 to $25,000 in commissions.

Interviewer: So, what allows Certified Real Estate Wealth Agents to earn so much more than the national average?

Jeff Sibel: Well, I think what we have done is incorporated some of the tactics and techniques that financial planners have used throughout the years. As far as really looking at the whole holistic part of the consumer; helping people save, helping people invest, and really taking a look at what's available to them on the outside world. Most people, another statistic is the average American spends less than two hours in their life time on their financial plan. Two hours.

Interviewer: Wow!

Mark Eibner: Yeah most people just go to work to get a 401K, some guy comes in, gives him an employee thing- here take this, buy some mutual funds- that's the extent of their financial planning, pretty sad.

Interviewer: It is...

Jeff Sibel: It's tragic.

Interviewer: So Jeff, I understand you're published author, tell me a little about that?

Jeff Sibel: Yes, well thank you, I have basically three publications that can be found on my website. It's the 15 Minute Retirement Planning Guide, The 21 Worst Retirement Planning Mistakes and Mark and I go over that with people everyday just avoiding one of those mistakes can change peoples' lives. And then I also have The Real Estate Retirement IRA Planning Guide and that's for people to understand how to buy real estate inside their IRAs, 401Ks and pension plans. It's pretty good stuff.

Interviewer: Definitely.

Mark Eibner: Yeah and I love The 15 Minute Retirement Plan, it's a great piece. We do drop-bys with clients all the time and that's the main piece we use to have people look at. "Wow, what can we do with real estate?" "What am I doing now with my existing financial products?" etcetera. So really, in a half hour appointment, it opens up the door to many other financial options for that real estate broker and the family.

Jeff Sibel: See and what I do is with that 15 Minute Retirement Plan, what Mark is saying is, they dial in on the fact that they will not be able to retire; they will be poorer than 98%- if they don't change what they need to do. So if they change what they do that's when things change for their lives, and for their children's lives and they can leave a legacy.

Interviewer: Great, Jeff I heard off camera that you are speaking at the 2012 Colorado Association of Realtors?

Jeff Sibel: Yeah I am very proud of that. I'm going to be able to pay it forward to thousands of realtors to be able to understand how to retire happy and how to show their clients how to retire happy. So it's pretty exciting, very exciting.

Interviewer: Definitely, so Jeff where do we get on to get more information on this?

Jeff Sibel: Yes, all you have to do to go is go to HowToRetireHappy.com- that's HowToRetireHappy.com- and essentially they can get the three books and then sign up for more information.

Interviewer: Wonderful, thank you for joining us on BrokerIPTV. For more real estate related videos, please feel free to go online to Broker IPTV.

Hire the Right Agent for Your Needs

"Find an agent you feel confident in." says Greg Howard of Metro Real Estate Group. Greg can help buyers, sellers and investors take advantage of the opportunities available in this housing market. He has the experience you need.

Call Greg at 719-445-9515.

Interviewer: Hi I'm Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV. Today we have in the studio with us Greg Howard, with Metro Real Estate Group, Greg thanks so much for coming in today.

Greg Howard: Thanks for having me.

Interviewer: We are talking about how we can help sellers and buyers take advantage of the market right now, what's your input on something like that?

Greg Howard: Well we have two topics, we have the seller, and we have the buyer; the problem that people have right now with selling their house is that they are worried about what they can and they can't get for their home.

For buyers, there's a lot of good opportunities out there, even with a slight shift up.

So, as far as the seller goes, we need to talk to them, they need to find an agent that they feel comfortable with, they need to ask the right questions, they need to find out whether their goal that they have is actually attainable. If it happens to be a property that is slightly upside down, they need to get a hold of an agent that can kind of counsel them in the right direction, so that they can either short sale it, they can get as much money for it as they possibly can, stage it, there's a lot of tricks to the trade, and the first thing that you have to do is find an agent that can teach you those tricks. Number two, you got to have an agent that you feel confident is giving you the real information.

Interviewer: Is it the best time to sell right now?

Greg Howard: It very well could be, it depends on what your goal is, and if you have to sell, you need to get hold of an agent that's going to tell you how to do it to get the most for your money.

If you want to move up, right now it's really a pretty good opportunity- but, once again, you have to have an agent that can get the most money out of your property, and then help you when you take that money and sink it into another property. There are a lot of houses out there that are selling under value, and there are reasons for that. They will either be houses that are put on the market at too high a price, and then the seller gets desperate and has to reduce their price to get it sold. So there's a lot of opportunity out there, so if you want to sell now, and buy at a really great value, you can do that right now.

Interviewer: What about the market for buyers?

Greg Howard: I wouldn't say it's good as it was 12 months ago, but it's still an excellent market for buyers. The key that people have to be aware of, here in 2012 is, anything under the $250,000 mark you need to find the home, and you need to pull the trigger, because there is going to be multiple offers. Those houses are flying off the market! I would say probably in my last five transactions we have had multiple offers, and this is as a buyer going in, so you need to let them know that when they find it they need to be ready to make a decision.

Interviewer: Any particular area that's hotter than others?

Greg Howard: Gosh, I'm in Colorado Springs, and I also deal with the South end of Denver, it's not necessarily an area, it's a price range, the way the lending is going right now and in my opinion they are giving away money, at 3% for a 30 year fixed, it's the house (value) anywhere from $250,000 and down- that's the hot area. The nicer the neighborhood, the more established the neighborhood, those even go a little bit quicker, but it's primarily the price right now that seems to be driving it.

Interviewer: Is the market any different for investors?

Greg Howard: Yes, it is, I mean investors can still find a lot of really good deals out there, I think it's a little harder because we got a lot of buyers out there looking and they're competing with investors currently. An investor has to be a little more savvy. We've got some systems in place at our office where we can actually find properties before they hit the MLS. Maybe we can find them for you and we'll work out a situation where we can help you buy them on the courthouse steps.

Interviewer: Well Greg this has been great information, thank you so much, and how can buyers or sellers get a hold of you?

Greg Howard: Website, GregHowardRealtor.com, and you can also find me on the Metro Brokers Online website under Greg Howard. Phone number is, 719-445-9515, and I do deal with properties in the South Denver areas as well as Colorado Springs.

Interviewer: Great, Greg thank you so much for coming in today.

Greg Howard: It's been a pleasure, thank you.

Interviewer: Absolutely, and for more real estate related videos like this one, be sure to tune in online to Metro Brokers TV.