Today's Program - United Brokers Group
Heidi Quigley, CEO and Designated Broker

Heidi was not happy were she was working.  Her philosophies did not line up with that company.  A friend introduced her to a very persistent Jeff Sutherlin who was with Keller-Williams.  After 14 interviews at Keller-Williams she was given the position of Designated Broker. 

Two-and-a-half years ago, during a car ride, they talked about how they would do things differently with their own company.  They both eventually left Keller-Williams and went to work for different companies.  But the seed was planted.

They finally launched their own company in May 2009.  They hired their first agent a month later.  They have 148 agents today.  In this industry, that fast growth is amazing. 

It is one thing to say you have a culture.  It is another thing to live it.  She feels blessed to be working with Jeff because of his integrity.  They actually have a culture agreement that everyone that works for them must sign and stay in alignment with.

They also don't hire people that they don't believe they can help.  It is not about the number of agents.  It is about the character and quality of the agents.  They are modeled to help people that are full-time, producing agents.  People that are on their journey to meet their full potential.

Jeff and Heidi also share the same opinions on how to handle finances.  They pay cash for everything, owing nothing.  They reinvest a lot into the company to keep it growing, dynamic and on the cutting edge.

They also feel strongly about giving back to the community.  They were recently on the news for their efforts to help the displaced animals from the Sierra fires.

Jeff and Heidi own 90% of the company with 2 silent partners. 

They just finished a recruiting video.  It was a lot of fin.  Not many companies out there are doing this.  They invest a lot of money in putting on events and providing tools for other agents to grow.  Their view on competition is that they themselves want to be competitive with their own agents, but not outside competitors.  Because they believe they are a different animal.  They want everyone to do well, but they want to be the best.  It is good for the industry.

They offer great incentives to their agents to perform at their highest level.  United Brokers Group has an amazingly healthy environment.  Their agents meet and share experiences for the benefit of helping each other to be successful.

The market right now is very odd.  In this market, right here we are dying to get listings for decent, inhabitable properties.  Probably 80% of the properties listed on the MLS are not inhabitable because people are stripping them when they move out.  It feels like a buyers market (due to the media) but it is not.  In Chandler we will have a housing shortage in 8 months. 

Real estate is a very emotional experience.  If you buy a home without really understanding what you are getting, it can be very disappointing.  You want to have a great agent.  It is not one size fits all anymore.  The agent needs to be very knowledgeable about your particular transaction. 

Buy a home that you love.  A location that you love.  A neighborhood that you love.  A school that you love.  You can always fix up the house. 

Interest rates are insane.  You can still get a great deal on a custom home on a large lot.  You may pay a little more than what it is listed for but it is still a great value.  You may still need to insure it for a larger value than you paid for it only because it costs that much more to rebuild it.

Trying to turn a neighborhood around is close to impossible.  If people move into a neighborhood that is blighted (vandalism, lawns not cared for), you need rental percentages to stay in balance and for people that move in to invest in the care of their homes.

Say you need to sell your house and you are $100K upside down.  You can go to your bank to see if you can renegotiate.  But you need to have a hardship.  The other option is to sell your house in which case you would be in a short sale situation.  Most of you investors are Fanny Mae or Freddy Mac.  If you have a sub-prime loan you are in a much worse situation because of the balloon payment or the once interest-only payment jumping up.  You will take a significant credit hit (350-400 points).  You are likely looking at 3-4 years to recover from the credit hit.  The banks will likely let your payments go past due a very long time before doing a short sale. 

If you have a short sale you will get a 1099 on which you will need to pay taxes.  But you will be able to have that set aside until November 2012 (assuming its on a primary residence or qualifying property).  It does not matter if it is the original loan or refinance unless the refinance includes a line of credit.

You also have other issues to consider.  One being the deficiency balance.  In Arizona we have a anti-deficiency statute.  But it only applies to certain situations.  Banks are trying to collect on them.  They will put it on your report as a collection.  At that point you may want to hire an attorney.

Foreclosure is the worst outcome.  If you don't have to do any of the above things you are part of an elite group that includes only 25% of households.