My adventures in business of late have caused me to believe that, contrary to popular opinion, many entrepreneurs and companies are inspired to do what they do out of a passion for their customers.

I'm also aware that the feeling is not always, or even often, mutual. In a recent survey, only 20 percent of Americans said they trusted real estate agents as a profession.

But here's the good news, for buyers, sellers and agents: though people seem to distrust agents as a group,nearly 90 percent of buyers and sellers liked their individual real estate agent enough to say that they would work with them again! 

Your relationship with your real estate agent should ideally be a very intimate one. First off, they represent your interests on the most financially and otherwise impactful transaction most of us will ever undertake.

But in a best case scenario, they can and will also learn your personal hopes and dreams, your very personal financial information, your family’s private way of living and lifestyle needs and even often your interpersonal relationship dynamics so they can fold all these considerations into their work to help you secure the right home at a price and on terms that work for you for the very long term.

For this to happen as holistically as is ideal, you need a relationship of deep trust with your agent: trust that they’ll keep your confidences and trust in making your decisions in part based on their advice and expertise. Plus, with house hunts stretching out for longer and longer, you’ll be spending a ton of your off-work hours with this person. So ideally, you'll work with an agent you love spending time with!  

So, let’s cover a few key steps for finding an agent that you trust, respect and ultimately love.

1.  Get referrals to agents whose clients love them. We live in a digital era, and there are all sorts of ways you can harness the power of technology to manage your real estate matters. But when it comes to the relationship issue of finding an agent you'll love, your best resources aren't technological: they're human.

Ask the people you know - friends, family, colleagues, the people at church or temple or soccer - what local agent did they work with when they bought or sold their home?  Then dig a little deeper - were they buying or selling?  When did they do their deal, and what was their experience like? Did they like their agent?  Were they trustworthy? 

And most importantly: did they love their agent enough that they would work with them again?  If yes - what was so lovable?

There's no reason you have to do this completely low-tech, though. Post your agent referral request on Facebook, if you don't mind letting your world know that you might be in the market - or peruse agents listed on Trulia and click on their profiles to see whether any of your Facebook friends have already written a recommendation or review of their services. (Note: this feature is relatively new, so it's not usually a bad sign if an agent has no Facebook recommendations on their Trulia profile - but it's a great thing if they have good ones.) If you're moving to an area where you don't know anyone, or no one you know has an agent they give rave reviews, look to the recommendations feature on Trulia and to communities like Yelp! and Angie's List and see what agents people there are raving about.

2.  Scope out how they engage online. Once you have a short list of agents whose past and current clients love them, spend some time scouting out their online and social media presences:
Check out their Facebook pages, websites and blogs to see whether and how they provide educational or neighborhood resources in a style that resonates with you.  

See if they are active in discussions or answering buyer and seller questions in online communities like Trulia Voices. If they are, that by itself should win points, as agents are very busy, so taking the time to engage with consumers on these sorts of channels shows an above-and-beyond commitment to their professional practice. 

Beyond whether or not they are active, look at how they are engaging with buyers and sellers like you online. Do they answer the questions being asked, with clarity?  Do they appear to offer insight on local market dynamics or practices that are standard in the areas you'll be house hunting or selling?  This may give you some insight into how these agents will interact with you or handle your questions, if you decide to work with them.

3.  Look for a comparable and compatible agent. If you've read this blog much at all, you know that I frequently encourage buyers and sellers to pay attention to what we call the "comps" - recent sales of similar homes in the area around the property they're looking to buy or sell. When you're in the market for a real estate agent, though, consider looking at the agents and their backgrounds through a similar lens.  

Look for agents who have strong experience and can, ideally, provide references to past or current clients in comparable situations to yours.  If you're looking to sell your home via a short sale, look for agents and references with that background. If you want to buy an REO, discuss with your prospective agents whether they have had experience representing buyers on foreclosure listings.   The more similar the references' situations were to yours, the more easily you'll be able to trust that your agent has your own situation covered. 

Beyond the comparability of their past experiences to your own upcoming transaction, compatibility is also key.  When it comes to compatibility, don't take shortcuts like assuming you need an agent whose demographics are just like yours - that's a surefire way to miss out on some agents who might take your best interests very seriously. I've seen young agents work well with retirees, and 30-something newlyweds buying their first homes instantly, deeply trust the experience of their Baby Boomer agent.  

Finding an agent with whom you are compatible is more an issue of communication styles and logistics. There's not necessarily a right or wrong way for an agent to communicate with clients, so long as it's honest, prompt, clear and competent, but it is important that you work with an agent who communicates in ways that work with you. If the agent is vocal about not liking to text or email much, but those are tools you tend to use all the time, proceed with caution. And vice versa - if you get quick responses to your calls, texts or emails at the "dating" stage, that portends well for the future of the relationship.

4.  Tease out their track record. Particularly if you're looking for an agent to sell your home, it's critical to get at their track record of success.  This should not take much detective work - you can just flat out ask the prospective agent. In fact, many agents will proactively offer you this information when they come to a listing appointment with you. 

Just in case, when you make appointments, ask the agents to come to the meeting with information about things like:

• the percentage of their listings from the last year that have sold
• the average number of days one of their listings stays on market before it sells (DOM)
• addresses, list prices and sales prices of listings they've recently sold, and
• if you suspect your home might sell for less than you owe on it, the details of the most recent short sale transactions they've brokered.

Buyers, Sellers and Agents: What other questions should savvy agent-interviewers ask? Please share in the comments.

5.  Connect and listen. The next step is the most basic and possibly the most important: sit down with prospective agents at their office, your home or a coffee shop and spend an hour getting to know them. Beforehand, make a list of your questions, your values, your priorities and generally the vision of your life you're trying to create by virtue of doing this transaction.

Spend some of the hour going through those things, but don't forget to spend some time just getting to know the agent on an interpersonal level and listening to what they have to say. Then listen to your gut. Based on the totality of the information you now have, is this someone you want to spend hours and hours with?  Is this agent someone you feel you can trust?

Don't discount your gut-level instincts on this score. Yes, buying or selling a home is a business transaction, and it's critical to have someone with the competence and expertise to get your deal done.  But it's also a very personal matter, and one which will require you to make a series of tough decisions over an extended period of time, based at least in part on the advice of the agent you choose.

On some levels, finding an agent you love poses a chicken-and-egg conundrum.  If you trust them up front, you'll be more likely to follow their advice, which (if their advice is sound) positions you for the sort of successful outcome that will make you love them even more!  If you don't have that trust up front, it's more likely that you'll blow their advice off when it comes to the hard things like dropping your home's list price or increasing your offer price - things that seriously impact the success of your transaction, your satisfaction with the property and your overall financial situation for years and years to come.  

These steps will help you stack the decks in your favor of starting out the transaction and the relationship with as much trust as you can.
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A recent study in Applied Financial Economics explores the relationship between how beautiful an agent is and how quickly he/she sells a property and for what price.

Thankfully, the econ blog Big Think broke down the hellishly scholastic-sounding "Broker beauty and boon: a study of physical attractiveness and its effect on real estate brokers’ income and productivity” into comprehensible language, and turns out the research contains a few interesting quasi-facts.

Of course, the points below are either believable or guffaw-able, depending on, say, personal experience, price point, and geographic market. Have an opinion of your own? Leave it in the comments. Here goes:

1: Male agents (representing both buyer and seller) tend to rep houses with lower prices.

2: Beautiful agents tend to yield higher closing prices.

3: Good news for those trying to sell your home: "the effect on house prices of having an attractive listing agent is about twice as large as that of an attractive selling agent."

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When Jeannie Douthitt quit her tech job at IBM, she had no clue what she was doing.

All she knew was she needed a change, and after divorcing her husband and sending her son off to college, she saw no reason to stay in Chicago. 

Dallas seemed like as good a place as any to make a new start, so she decided to purchase a home there. But Douthitt found the homebuying process was anything but simple—especially for a woman on her own. 

"I went from place to place, and the owners would bluntly ask if I could afford it," Douthitt said. "I didn't know where to start with the process, and wasn't sure if I could. But I felt like I was being treated unfairly." 

After talking with friends who shared similar experiences, Douthitt realized she'd struck a nerve.

Though today's single women represent a whopping 20 percent of home buyers—out-purchasing single white men who account for only 12 percent—many remain in the dark about the nuts and bolts of the homebuying process. They're unsure of their credit standing, baffled by mortgages and have a hard time finding a realtor they trust. 

Realizing many single women felt entitled to the American Dream but didn't know how to pursue it, Douthitt decided to launch her own business.  Enlisting the help of two other single women—a mortgage broker and title expert—together they called themselves the Swap Team and opened up shop in Dallas. They later changed the name to Smart Women Buy Homes to make web searching easier, and began hosting webinars and seminars around town to educate women on the homebuying process. 

"Women like information and don't want to feel out of control," said Douthitt, whose business is booming now that the market has opened up. "They want to feel like they're being helped." 

We asked Douthitt to share her top tips for single women buying homes today: 

Talk to family and friends. If you're unsure about buying a home, vent your concerns to a supportive group of family and friends, said Douthitt. Since these are the people who know you best, they can help you decide the best course of action. "A couple has each other to talk to, but often single women have no one." 

Avoid debt at all costs. Don't bite off more mortgage than you can chew, warned Douthitt, who's seen too many women fall into the trap of hitting their pre-approval limit. "You don't want to be house poor. You want to own this home and be able to do what you want. With interest rates as low as they are, women can buy what they want—and pay less." 

Know your credit rating. Mortgage lenders have become stricter than ever post-recession, said Douthitt, so you'll need your credit to be in tip-top shape if you're hoping to get approved. Check out these tips to get your credit on track. 

Ask lots of questions. "Never be afraid to ask questions," said Douthitt, who says women's fear of looking dumb can impact their finances if they aren't armed with the right information. "You should ask questions until you understand the concept. Forget about feeling intimidated." 

Make a wish list. "You've got to be realistic about what you can and can't afford in a home," Douthitt said, before adding that women should be willing to compromise to stick to their budget. 

Know your broker and agent. Women want to have a relationship with their real estate agent and mortgage broker, not a transaction, Douthitt explained. "Often, buying a home is all about the transaction, but this is a major purchase that you need to reflect on," she says. For most women, this is intuitive, but it's important to get a sense of who you're working with, from their experience to how they make you feel before taking the plunge. 

Get pre-approved. First-time homebuyers are notorious for overlooking this all-important step, which determines how much mortgage you can afford, said Douthitt. There's no point in setting your sights on a McMansion if you can't even lock in the mortgage. And don't worry about it affecting your credit score. "If it's all done within the same time, it'll be fine," Douthitt said. 

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Way back in 2005, I posted a graph of "the Real Estate Agent Boom". I saw the following article, and decided to update the graph of the number of real estate licensees in California.

Eric Wolff at the NC Times writes: Real estate agents bailing out, except in Southwest Riverside County

Real estate agents are getting out of the profession in California ---- except in Southwest Riverside County, according to the California Department of Real Estate and the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors.

A housing crunch left real estate agents faced with selling houses for less than what homeowners owed in mortgages, working with lenders suddenly terrified to give out loans, and otherwise battling headwinds that dramatically reduced their sales.

For many agents, especially those attracted by a housing boom that made the profession seem like easy money, that meant it was time to leave. But in Southwest Riverside County, a few people decided a slow market was just the time to jump in.

Here is a long term graph of the number of real estate licensees in California. The number of agents peaked at the end of 2007 (housing activity peaked in 2005, and prices in 2006).

The number of salesperson's licenses is off 29% from the peak, and has fallen to 2004 levels. But brokers' licenses are only off 7% and has only fallen to early 2007 levels. Even if activity and prices have bottomed, the number of agents will probably continue to decline.

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For homeowners, selling is hard enough in today's market given the lack of interested and qualified borrowers.

To make matters worse, many sellers continue to make mistakes that could cost them a promising deal or even deny them any offer at all.

Avoiding the following mistakes can help keep you from shooting your home sale in the foot.

Here are nine potential seller mistakes and how to avoid them:

Mistake No. 1: Skipping the home prep. Buyers want to see a house as flawless and depersonalized as possible, so sellers need to take care of every repair, declutter their home and add some curb appeal.

Video: Staging your home before you sell

"Buyers want to know their stuff will fit in the home with room to spare, so if you shove everything into the garage or into one closet and it's overflowing, they will be turned off," says Angelica Delboy, a Realtor with Re/Max Gateway in Lorton, Va.

Lee Lamont, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas, says sellers need to keep their home "pitch-perfect" with landscaping trimmed, dishes done and beds made every day.

"It takes 60 seconds for buyers to form an opinion about a house and everything else after that becomes positive or negative reinforcement of that opinion," says Lamont.

Mistake No. 2: Overpricing your house. Delboy says sellers need to price a home according to its condition and the local market and realize it must appraise at the sales price.

Read: Sellers: You've got to be realistic

"Home improvements don't always necessarily get actual dollars in return, so sellers need to be realistic and understand that the value of their property is based on the local market," says Susan Paul, broker/owner of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate/Move Time Realty in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Mistake No. 3: Dishonesty about home flaws. While the laws about disclosure vary, Lamont says sellers derail their deals when they don't tell anyone about something they know is wrong with their house.

"When the home inspector finds it, the buyers start to wonder what else the sellers are hiding," says Lamont.

Read: Want to sell? Get a prelisting home inspection

Mistake No. 4: Allowing unqualified buyers to see your home. In these days of tightened credit, a preapproval should always be a prerequisite for a home showing to make sure buyers are shopping in the right price range.

Mistake No. 5: Limiting house showings. "Never turn a prospective buyer with an agent away or let them know you are unhappy, because that will influence how the buyers think of your home," says Delboy.

Sellers need to realize that even if it's inconvenient, buyers must be allowed to see the home on evenings and weekends. Sellers should always leave the home during a showing because buyers will shorten their visit or be less comfortable opening closets if the owners are around.

Mistake No. 6: Personalizing price negotiations. Paul says sellers should look at the sale as a business transaction when negotiating. Sellers often assume the highest price is the one they should accept, or they may become insulted and walk away from a low offer. But sellers need to be realistic about the current market in their area.

"It's important to look at the whole package for an offer and not just price, because you never want to choose a buyer who may ultimately be unable to finalize the deal," says Delboy.

Mistake No. 7: Arguing over minor post-inspection requests. "The biggest mistake sellers make is to get angry over requests made after an inspection," says Lamont. "Sellers should never get emotional and they should be willing to concede that their home isn't perfect. They can negotiate, but they need to have supporting evidence if they choose to reject responsibility."

Delboy says that not fixing items as required by the contract could delay or derail a settlement and could end up costing sellers far more than the repair bill because of extra days of paying interest or having to put their home on the market again.

Mistake No. 8: Not providing post-offer documents quickly. If you live in a homeowners association or a condo, you must provide association documents within a certain time period or the buyers can break the contract.

"Make sure you are always reachable and responsive to your Realtor even after an offer is accepted, because you may need to sign papers or answer questions from the buyer's attorney," says Paul.

Delboy says some associations will require a presettlement inspection and require the seller to fix any items that haven't been approved by the association before the closing.

Mistake No. 9: Not prepping for an appraisal. Once you have an offer, you may be tempted to relax your housekeeping standards a bit. Delboy says that is a mistake.

"When the appraiser arrives, you need to make sure your home reflects the same condition as the day it went under contract," Delboy says.

Read: How to challenge that low appraisal

Your Realtor should be present at the appraisal and provide written information about comparable properties that support the sales price. Appraisals that come in lower than the sales price create friction between buyers and sellers and open the door to new negotiations.

Long story short, hiring a professional Realtor, taking care of your property and staying calm in the face of chaos are three of the best ways sellers can avoid a derailed sale.

Now check out some TINY homes that cost $60K and could save you just as much > 

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Even though national mortgage rates have reached historic lows, prospective buyers should be as cautious as ever before locking in a loan for their dream home.

That advice goes double for women, as they've been found to have a clear disadvantage compared to male homebuyers, according to a study published in the Journal of Finance and Economics. 

"Never purchase anything, let alone a house, if you don't know everything there is to know," Rick Allen, founder of MortgageMarvel.com, told Business Insider. "Approach buying a home, no matter if it is $50,000 or a million dollars, like you would approach hiring employees." 

Be picky about your realtor. As Allen notes, not all real estate agents are created equally or well-versed in the same specialties. "Whether you are looking to buy a rental property, short sale, standard sale, foreclosure or a single-family unit to call home," you should be sure you've picked the right person for the job, he says.

Think about a mortgage broker. If you're carrying a less-than-stellar credit history, you might be better off eschewing realtors in favor of a mortgage broker, according to Jane Hodges, author of Rent vs. Own. "If you don’t have the perfect set of criteria, you’re going to have layers and layers and layers of fees and higher expenses, which will cut in to how much you can borrow," she says. "A lot of people start with tire-kicking with Realtors, going to open houses. That’s okay, but what can happen when you’re led by aesthetics is that you’ll finance by any means possible.

Ask for references. Friends and coworkers can be just as helpful in finding the perfect realtor, but you shouldn't stop there. "Conduct interviews for each agent to make sure they can accommodate what you are looking for," Allen says. There are three crucial factors that should weigh your decision: their qualifications, how comfortable you are with them, and if you can trust them to get the job done.

Think outside the bank. "Don't feel pressured to use the bank you've been with for ten years," Allen says. "You can enter your information to a confidential site like Mortagemarvel.com and get an accurate rate." You can also punch in your zip code and financial information into these sites for a mortgage estimate: Zillow (www.zillow.com); Trulia (www.trulia.com); Realtor.com (www.realtor.com); and Bankrate (http://www.bankrate.com). Run the numbers on at least three different sites, just as you'd do to find the right credit card. 

Get pre-approved. This involves quite a bit of paper work (you'll need to gather pay stubs, investments, tax returns, drivers license, social security number and all bank statements from the past two months). You'll turn all those documents over to your mortgage broker or bank, according to Zillow, which will crunch the numbers and pre-approve you for a loan based on your overall financial health. GoBankingRates.com developed a simple cheat sheet to figure out your monthly mortgage payments once you've secured a loan. 

Inspect your home inspector. Per Allen, "Get references for a home inspector, interview them and check their former work." A real estate agent can refer you to a qualified home inspector, but you can check the American Society of Home Inspectors website for options as well. Money Talks News's Brandon Ballenger makes a good case for inspecting foreclosed homes: "If you’re looking at a foreclosure or short sale, this is doubly important because if the owners couldn’t afford to keep the house, they probably couldn’t afford to maintain it properly." 

The bottom line before locking in your mortgage rate is to tread the waters carefully but quickly.

"Taking the proper steps will allow you to make an immediate decision and lock in your dream home," Allen says. "Waiting will result in a loss and a prolonged process." 

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Veteran real estate agent Adelaide Polsinelli revealed, in a racy post in The Observer yesterday morning, the lengths real estate agents will go to for an exclusive listing—and sex and bribes topped the charts.

Polsinelli called out a female agent (who remanded nameless) who would lure sellers to a house in the Hamptons for what she claimed would be a party. When no one else showed, the agent would bribe the seller for listing with sex.

"Don't look so shocked," Polsinelli wrote. "There are brokers in our industry who trade sexual favors for listings."

Outside of bedroom favors, Polsinelli said agents had their mothers help trick other brokers, used fancy dinners to grab client lists of other brokers, and generally schemed and plotted just to get their hands on a listing.

Read the entire piece at The Observer.

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The real estate market has never fully recovered since the economy collapsed in 2008, and after four years real estate agents are still pulling out all of their tricks to try and sell a property.

We've noticed the past year, agents are going to extreme measures to try and market their homes. We're not sure how successful they were, but the tactics definitely are good for a laugh.

Real estate agents in Canada are enticing clients with booze. Prospective buyers of two homes that were recently on the market were told they got to keep $1,000 worth of beer in the fridge if they signed the dotted line.

Business Insider

New York city broker Michael Meier hosts sexy photo shoots at his top-listed properties, saying it gives prospective homeowners a taste of the lifestyle they could lead. Sex sells, doesn't it?

Business Insider

The Corcoran Group produced a video to the tune of $50,000 to market a $9 million New York City penthouse.

via Curbed

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We've already explored some common missteps that sellers and buyers (and their brokers) make. Now, here are some universal mistakes that everyone makes; in other words, here's what no one should be doing.

1. Don't underestimate the opposition—or assume they think like you do

Bankers and lawyers negotiate very differently than artists and writers, notes Deanna Kory of Corcoran. Find out everything possible about whom you’re dealing with—not only their personality and profession and background, but how they think.

“Understand where they’re coming from, their experience on the market, why they’re priced where they are,” says Kory.  

Having this information not only makes it easier to plan your strategy, but also to interpret statements like, “There’s a lot of interest in this apartment.”

“Often they are just bluffing and they don’t want to lie. It depends whom you’re talking to,” says Kory. “If they’re a lawyer, they may be talking factually—they may have a lot of interest but no offers.  With a marketer, it may be a different story.”

2. Don't be a jerk

Being nice will generally get you a lot further in negotiations than being a jerk, according to several brokers we spoke with.

“There’s a lot of value in being nice because residential transactions are more emotional,” says Wei Min Tan of Rutenberg Realty. “The seller has pride and ego and so does the buyer.”

Being heavyhanded or bullying is the worst thing you or your broker can do when presenting an offer, they say.

“Let’s say the seller wants $2.5m and the buyer offers $2.3 million,” says Tan. “A nice broker would say ‘This is an all cash deal, my buyer is a very nice person and can close in two weeks which will benefit your seller who is in the process of moving to California.’  A not-nice broker would play hardball and say, ‘I know your seller is moving to California.  My buyer is offering cash and no one else will. Do you want your property to sit here? Do we have a deal or what?'” 

Deadlines are also usually considered a hostile move and should be avoided, says Deanna Kory.

3. Don't forget to negotiate key terms besides the price

Closing attorney Cheryl Dresner says buyers and sellers sometimes think they have a deal when in fact they haven’t fleshed out some important elements.

“Most buyers think the deal is contingent on financing, and most sellers hope it’s not,” says Dresner. “Or the buyer paying top dollar thinks they’re getting all the chandeliers and fixtures in a gorgeous apartment, and then the seller says he’s taking everything including the doorknobs.”

Another big forget-me-not is the closing costs.

"Typically there are mistakes on all sorts of assumptions like who is paying transfer taxes, who pays the flip tax in a co-op,” says closing attorney Sandor Krauss, noting that the responsibility for flip taxes in co-ops and non-new-development transfer taxes in condos generally falls on the seller, but not everyone realizes that.

4. Don't blow small things into deal breakers

With real estate so expensive in New York, it’s easy to feel like you’re being gouged no matter which side of the table you’re sitting on.

“A lot of times buyers and sellers will argue tooth and nail over things that aren’t really that important, and sometimes it blows deals,” says Krauss.  “When you’re buying an $800,000 apartment, should you really be that concerned over spending an extra few hundred dollars on the a/c that the seller wants to take?”

5. Don't push ahead when you’re butting heads

At some point in many deals, buyers and sellers “start splitting hairs and no one is winning,” says Holly Sose of City Connections. “You get into a little bit of a stalemate and everyone wants an answer now and the emails are flying.”

At that point, she says, take a 24 to 48 hour break from communication.

“Give everyone a chance to disconnect and reset and take their egos out of it,” she says. A pause can also introduce some healthy anxiety, “like if you’re dating someone and they suddenly stop talking to you.”

6. Don't take it personally

Probably the biggest mistake buyers, sellers  and their brokers make is getting their egos involved and taking things personally.  (See “Don’t be a jerk,” above.) Do your best to relax, detach, and keep your eye on the big picture. It’s not about you.

Ultimately, it’s just business.

Related:

Top negotiating mistakes of sellers and their brokers

Top negotiating mistakes of buyers and their brokers

A NYC real estate lawyer reveals the 14 biggest surprises for first-time buyers (sponsored)

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As the housing market shows signs of recovery, homebuyers are flocking to snap up deals on bargain properties across the country. 

That means running into competition is par for the course––and the weakest bids will not survive. 

"If you are serious about buying, it becomes a bit of a part time job," says Zillow.com real estate expert Brendon DeSimone. "This is your home and your only investment." 

We asked DeSimone to clue consumers into how they can make their bids stand out.

Don't wait for the open house

DeSimone is quick to advise clients to see as many houses as possible on weekends––whether or not they're invited.

"With the Internet, information moves so quickly. [Sellers] could do a private showing Wednesday [days before a scheduled open house]" he says. "If it looks good online, go see it."

Check email hourly for listing updates from your broker

"If you're a serious buyer, you make it a priority in your life and you're going to get email alerts from your broker every other hour," he says.

"Be in touch with your agent and know about new properties as they hit the market."

Don't be intimidated by higher bidders

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To capitalize on the market of newly wealthy Chinese buyers looking to invest in the United States real estate market, brokers are beginning to learn Mandarin to interact with clients, The New York Times' Alexei Barrionuevo reports.

It started around 2008, when the New York market became stagnant and companies such as Sotheby’s International Realty turned their focus to Asia, sending brokers there to seek out buyers.

The U.S. is an attractive market for Chinese buyers who are looking for ways to preserve their wealth and see properties in New York and Los Angeles as safe bets.

In New York, Chinese buyers have been snatching up properties in the $3 million to $6 million price point at the Time Warner Center, 15 Central Park West, and the still-under-construction One57 building.

DON'T MISS: Some Real Estate Agents Will Go To Crazy Extremes To Sell A House >

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It may seem logical that if you price your home low, it will sell quickly. Some real estate agents believe everyone should price low.

The truth is, there are a lot of things to consider when pricing a home. And it helps sellers and buyers to understand clearly the factors that typically influence the asking and the actual selling price.

It’s not an exact science

There’s no exact science to pricing a home to sell. When working with a potential seller, the best an agent can do is provide them with a “range” of value. The range is based on timing, the competition and the most recent comparable sales (or “comps”).

2 similar homes, 2 different prices

Unlike the local grocery store or big-box retailer, which set product prices based on such factors as inventory and past sales of the same product, every seller and every home is unique. In most cases, the seller has only one home to sell. Ultimately, the seller, who may or may not be as experienced as their agent or an active buyer in their local market, sets the selling price. So you could have two similar homes on the same block, yet there’s a 10 percent price difference between them.

In Daly City, CA, not long ago, two single-family homes of similar designs and layout, and in a prime neighborhood, went on the market around the same time. Separately, the sellers’ agents suggested that the value range of their homes was between $425,000 and $450,000. At that time, the market was strong, and inventory was low.

Seller A chose to list his home at $489,000, hoping a buyer would negotiate him down to a figure in the high end of the range. Seller B listed her home at $425,000, wanting a quick sale. She received multiple offers and sold her home quickly — at the top end of the range. Six weeks later, Seller A’s property was sitting on the market … no offers.

The herd mentality

Why such different outcomes for essentially the same house? Answer: The herd mentality.

Buyers tend to flock to where other buyers are hovering. If three people seem serious about a property, then it must be a good value, location or both. Other potential buyers will likely become interested, too. In fact, the home will seem so desirable, or such a good value, to them that they’ll compete for it, ultimately paying the top of the value range — or higher.

On the other hand, if they go to the open house of the overpriced home and don’t see anyone there, they’ll think there’s something missing — or wrong. They don’t want to be the only one at the party. They move on to another property or make a low offer, because they appear to be the only interested party.

Advice for sellers

The example of Seller B, who priced low and yet got top dollar, may seem to suggest that pricing low is indeed the way to go. But not so fast.

For one thing, it’s not a good idea to market your home at a price you aren’t willing to take. And in slower markets, it may make more sense to price at the higher end of the range so you don’t leave money on the table. Is your home on a busy street, in a bad school district? Probably not worth the risk to price it low.

The point is, every seller and situation is different. You can’t simply assume that in a strong market, if you price your home low, you’ll receive multiple offers and it will sell for more than what you asked. The important thing is to work with an experienced local agent and to understand that, ultimately, the market will take the sale price where it needs to go.

Advice for buyers

If you’ve been in the market awhile, you likely have a good feel for values. If a price seems high, but there are still tons of people circling around, don’t be afraid to go in with a full-price offer or even under asking. There have been hundreds of examples where it seems like there were going to be multiple offers. Then, on the “offer day” (the day the listing agent sets to review all offers), the seller gets zero bids. Or one offer comes in at the list price.

Look at overpriced homes that aren’t getting any action. Some homes have languished on the market for six months with no offers. Then the seller makes a major price reduction and receives four offers, and the place ends up selling for more than the original list price. You want to be the one who makes an offer before the reduction.

Ultimately, look at the comps, talk to your agent, trust your gut and go in with your strongest, cleanest offer.

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It happens all the time. Sue hears that a friend of a friend, Bob, is looking to buy a place. Turns out, Sue is looking to sell her home. Or a guest in someone’s one-of-a-kind home tells the owners they’d love to buy the property, should the homeowners ever decide to sell.

And so begins the discussion between the would-be buyer and seller of a home that’s not even on the real estate market. How do they do the transaction? What steps are involved? What are the risks?

There are pros and cons for both parties and major considerations before either signs on the bottom line. But too often, these sellers and buyers get ahead of themselves and don’t think through the logistics and details. Here are seven questions to ask yourself about selling or buying a home that’s off the market.

Are both parties serious?

Buyers and sellers like the idea of making a deal off the market. But when it comes down to it, are both parties really on the same page? Has the buyer been in the market for a while? Are they truly ready to buy? Is the seller really ready to sell? Are their numbers in the same range, or is one way off?

Often, an unrealistic seller will throw out a number that’s way higher than what the market supports. They do this because they’re either uninformed or they feel they should get more because they’re risking selling off the market. On the opposite side, an uneducated buyer will throw out a lowball offer if they haven’t been in the game long enough to know the value.

How to decide on price?

Both parties have a serious commitment and are ready to do a deal. Great; now they need to agree on how to make it work.

Among other things, a price needs to be established. If they’re in the same price range but can’t agree on a number, there are a few options. One would be to have two independent appraisers come out and do formal appraisals of the property. The buyer and the seller can average the two. However, many argue that the appraised value (the number the appraiser comes up with) is always lower than the market value (the amount an able and willing buyer/seller would pay on the open market). In this case, a real estate agent may be called in; more on that in a minute.

Are there savings on the real estate commission?

Many sellers see the opportunity to sell off the market as a chance to save the agent’s standard 6 percent commission. But this can be short-sighted. First, both parties often bring a real estate agent into the transaction at some point. Second, the buyer might want the 6 percent commission deducted from the purchase price, but the seller doesn’t see it that way. For example, the seller might want $500,000. The buyer offers $470,000 ($500,000 minus the 6 percent commission). If they split the difference and the home sells for $485,000, they both win.

What ultimately happens is that the market decides the purchase price. If inventory is low and the buyer wants to make the deal work, they may pass the savings on to the seller. Or if it’s a slow market and there’s too much inventory, the seller may pass on the savings to the buyer. Many times, however, the seller and buyer agree on a number in the middle of the 6 percent, so each party benefits.

What are the risks?

The buyer and seller will likely have that little voice inside saying, “What would this sell for if it were on the market?” Buyers may wonder if they’re paying too much, while sellers might worry they could get more money on the open market. This is the risk both parties take in an off-market deal. Both the buyer and seller need to feel comfortable before they sign the contract. This is why a real estate agent is often consulted.

What is the role of the real estate agent?

With so much at stake financially and emotionally, most buyers and sellers ultimately don’t want to go it totally alone. The fear or uncertainty will outweigh any potential savings. An active buyer may have been working closely with an agent for months. A serious seller could be on the verge of signing a listing agreement. One or both may want the feedback or advice of their agents on price.

Some real estate agents will provide an opinion of value for a nominal fee or for free. Another good option is to ask the agent, in addition to providing the opinion of value, to take on the back-end parts of the deal at a discounted rate. In this case the agent might be responsible for inspections, disclosure review, title search and the contract, but not any marketing, open houses or showings. How this is negotiated is up to both parties. And be aware that some agents won’t feel it’s appropriate to reduce their fee at all.

Should you hire an attorney or escrow company?

There are some situations in which the buyer has a specific home they want to buy and a fair price is obvious to both parties. Maybe there is a one-of-a-kind home they’ve been eyeing in their neighborhood for years, and they know the value because they live nearby. Or the buyer may find a home on Zillow with a “Make Me Move” price in line with their budget. If the prices are right for both parties, and there aren’t any complications in the disclosures or inspections, they may hire an attorney or an escrow company to facilitate the deal for a flat or hourly rate.

How to cover all the bases?

If you decide not to go the formal listing and sales route, be sure to cover your bases and protect yourself legally and financially. Always go with your gut. If something doesn’t seem right or you’re uncertain, bring in the professionals. Going it alone may have its upsides, but the downsides could outweigh them in a heartbeat. Don’t be afraid to ask your real estate agent for advice. A good agent will recognize that, while a full commission would be great, two potential future referrals may be worth the time and effort.

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The Usual Diagnosis

Most people would start a post on this topic by describing how people are overwhelmed with the amount of information available on learning how to flip houses.

Making heads or tails of where to start is a challenge in and of itself. Each time you think you’ve cracked the code, you realize that you’ve just discovered 20 more questions that need to be answered.

I will agree that “analysis paralysis” is one of the biggest road blocks for new investors, but I want to take a different approach here and talk about people that break through the fog and finally find a way to get started…only to end up quitting after putting in a lot of hard work.

The reason so many fail after taking some action is because they don’t fully understand that this is all just a numbers game. No, I mean REALLY BELIEVE that . . . this is a just a numbers game.

Great! You’ve Made It. Now The Hard Part.

Ok. Let’s assume you’ve figured out where to start. Incidentally, you’re probably looking for some good deals. You’ve determined that this is the best way to making progress. Every successful real estate investment starts with a great deal.

You’re contacting Realtors and marketing directly to motivated sellers and sending yellow letters to owners of vacant houses in order to find that coveted first deal. You can just taste it. Images from “Flip Men” and “Flip This House” of dilapidated, trash heaps of property are dancing in your head. The pile of money at the end of the rainbow is not far from those dancing images either. Your motivation to get that deal is at its peak.

You’ve done your homework. You know how a short sale works, or at least you know of it. You know that there is a possibility to wholesale your first deal ‘As-Is’ and make a quick couple grand. You’re privy to the knowledge that rehabbing is where the money is at and that you can really make the big bucks doing that. Oh, but lease options and owner financing are fantastic for long term investment and building to financial freedom. Rentals are perfect for tax reasons, so we like those too. Oh man, what about buying ‘subject to’? We could do that also. The possibilities are endless! (I even feel myself reverting back to the analysis paralysis just writing this.)

Stop the presses! You’ve got a lead from a real estate agent. This must be promising as it’s a REO (Real Estate Owned by the bank). According to the agent, it just needs paint and carpet and it was just listed. The price is a ridiculous (the agent’s word, but I gets it’s true from either perspective) $70,000 and, “it should sell for over $80,000 fixed up,” the agent informs you. Hmmmmm. I don’t know about you, but the hamsters in my head are working overtime. I really want to make this work so that I can continue to get deals from this agent. Boy is this dangerous.

How Can I Turn This Into A Deal?

Well, according to the 70% rule that we all know so well, the purchase price should be 70% of the after repair value of house, minus repairs. So, 70% of $80,000 is $56,000. Darn, this probably won’t work for a wholesale or rehab as the numbers just don’t work even before figuring in the repair costs. From what we’ve read, banks won’t typically take more than about 10% off the list price when a listing is new.

You might start thinking through all of those strategies that we mentioned earlier. Surely one of those will work for this situation. Maybe so, but I’d venture to say not likely!.

We simply may not know enough about the approach that could work as a remote possibility to try and do this as a first deal. Signing it up and trying to put together something that is beyond our ability is a great way to grow, but an even better way to fail. We’ve got to be cautious here. There’s a lot at stake.

Your approach is not clearly defined.

The problem here is that a lot of newer investors don’t have their approach clearly defined. Their exit strategy has not been limited to one or two strategies that fits their situation best. Doing a deal to just do a deal can quickly result in disaster.

But, if we know what type of deal we are looking for, our temptation to do that very, very marginal deal presented by the agent will not entice us to purchase the property. We can quickly dismiss it and begin to work at finding another opportunity. A profitable opportunity.

Looking for this first profitable opportunity can be very frustrating in the beginning. For most investors, the first deal takes the longest to find by far. The second one usually takes less than half the time to find than the first one and often can only be a couple of weeks later. The third, fourth, fifth, etc. are soon to follow. Even so, trying to attain that first one has caused so much frustration and lost faith that most people just throw their arms up and decide to go back to their old, comfortable (or not so comfortable) life.

Other People Just Got Lucky – I tried, but it didn’t work.

The bigger problem is that you just don’t have enough opportunities coming to your attention.

Make your own luck.

Commit to being persistent and continue your marketing. Let the snowball effect of your marketing reach take hold. Often, the result of marketing is not realized until months down the road as all that you do to get your marketing message and name out there start to build and grow.

You’ve probably heard many times before that this really is just a numbers game. But do you really focus on this while planning and working towards your goal? Do you keep your head up knowing that it just takes one great deal to make up for months worth of hard work and persistence? That not giving up can allow you to drastically change your life, if not for the deal, for the habit it creates?

Proof Of This Numbers Game – Reason To Stick With It

For 34 weeks, I documented everything I did to market to motivated sellers and discussed every single lead that came in along with the numbers. The results were 495 leads resulting in 11 deals. There were stretches of a lot of leads that were all duds, but I didn’t give up. Things built up and just kept going. So many people have told me how the project has really driven the point home that just sending out 50 letters and only getting 1 call does not mean what you are doing isn’t working — this really is just a numbers game and if I can do it, so can you. Give it a chance to work.

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For real estate agents looking to earn the coveted title of "best-selling" in their market, the strategies they should use are very different depending on where they work.

In some cities, it only takes a couple of dozen listings in the luxury market to earn the title of No. 1 (in terms of portfolio value), whereas in other places it takes hundreds of listings to compete for the top spot, according to The Wall Street Journal's Robbie Whelan.

How do brokers work their way to the top?

Whelan shared a few strategies they use:

• Luxury agents shroud most of their clients in a cloak of privacy. They wine and dine their clients to convince them that they are the best agent for the job.

• Agents in mid-size markets aggressively hit the online marketing world, and don't even necessarily attend every showing of a house because of the high volume of listings they have.

• Luxury agents generally take a 5 percent commission.

• Mid-size agents pursue families who are relocating, whereas luxury agents pursue clients looking for trophy properties. 

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Oren Alexander celebrated his 25th birthday by breaking the record for the most expensive home sold in Miami, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Indian Creek mansion sold for a cool $47 million. 

Alexander's accolades don't stop there. He's been named to Forbes' 30-under-30 most successful real estate agents list, was ranked No. 1 company wide for GCI Month of August, and was the top selling agent for Prudential Douglas Elliman in August 2009.

Alexander is apart of a growing trend of younger agents trying to break into the real estate scene. While Alexander might be a star of the younger generation, the median age of a real estate agents is still 56 years old, according to The WSJ.

Coming from a real estate family, Alexander learned the ropes of the luxury market from his parents at the age of 18, before heading off to the University of Colorado.

Alexander told The WSJ:

"Quite frankly, I'm addicted to my job—the hours, the lifestyle. I love that I get to hang out with wealthiest people in the world and it's considered work. Plus, being a broker is entrepreneurial—and entrepreneurship is dominating right now."

Currently, Alexander is marketing more than $175 million in property — including a $95 million mansion in Alpine, N.J.

To help market his luxury properties, Alexander takes to Twitter, tweeting photos of new properties going up around the city, or when news breaks in the industry. He has more than 4,800 followers.

The Real Deal dubbed Alexander "The Party Boy," spotting him at hot-spots such as Mister H or the Mulberry Project. He and his twin brother, Alon, were also named two of NYC’s hottest bachelors by Gotham Magazine in 2011.

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Trevor Abrahmsohn has sold houses to everyone from Ringo Starr to Saudi princes. Now he is preparing for the biggest deal of his life. Christopher Middleton takes a trip down Billionaire’s Row to learn the secrets of selling to the super-rich.

Many an estate agent has the odd anecdote about a sneaky gazumping or conveyancing dispute. Few have stories as jaw-dropping as Trevor Abrahmsohn’s tale of two buyers who couldn’t meet in the middle.

“A developer was selling two apartments for £20 million, but he and the buyer could not agree on the exact price,” Trevor explains.

“The buyer had a plane to catch, and was in a hurry. So I asked them to spin a coin for a million pounds. They spun. The developer lost, but the deal went through.”

Hardly your average property deal, but then Trevor is not your average estate agent.

For 38 years, he has been selling homes in Bishops Avenue. In this well-groomed neck of the north London woods, houses are the size of supertankers, and pillared like a parliament building.

His first sale was for £2 million, back in the Seventies, but his newest property, Heath Hall, is on the market for £100 million. The news that Britain is emerging from economic downturn is old hat here. At no point in the last four years have the winds of recession blown down this particular Billionaire’s Row.

“This area has always been a honeypot to which the rich bees fly,” says Trevor, as we pass by yet another “For Sale” sign bearing his company’s name (Glentree International). “Every time over the past four decades that a country has undergone a political upheaval, or gets a sudden influx of petrodollars, yet more bees have flown here.”

The swarming effect began in the Sixties, when wealthy Greeks fled to Britain following the military takeover in their country. Next, the OPEC oil price rise brought a tide of the newly wealthy. Then Middle Eastern potentates, followed by well-to-do Iranians escaping the Ayatollah Khomenei regime, were joined by prosperous Nigerian oil barons, Russian oligarchs and, more recently, freshly minted Chinese billionaires.

And the chances are that when buying their bespoke Bishops Avenue mansion, they took their business to Trevor Abrahmsohn. In the course of his career, he has sold 129 houses in Bishops Avenue and 119 in next-door Winnington Road, some of them three or four times. His list of clients includes everyone from steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal to Polly Peck executive Asil Nadir, as well as the royal families of Brunei and Saudi Arabia, and any number of high-profile foreign politicians. In 2008 he sold a £50 million mansion to the president of Kazakhstan. Not to mention high-profile Britons, such as Ringo Starr, Joan Collins and Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone.

“We sell 98 per cent of the properties that come on the market in Bishops Avenue,” says Trevor, as he pilots his tiny Smart car in between the muddy-wheeled construction lorries that trundle up and down the road. Buyers regularly demolish the house they have bought and build a new one in its place.

“Buyers are drawn to the road by a mixture of things. Living here is a statement of wealth. Second, there aren’t many world-class cities where you can buy a house with up to seven acres of grounds.

“In some cases, we have sold to two or three generations of the same family.”

It is thanks to this continuity that Trevor has such a rich fund of stories regarding the road’s past and present occupants.

“That’s Byron House, where the industrialist Rolf Schild lived. You might remember, he and his family were kidnapped in 1980 by Sardinian bandits who mistakenly thought they were Rothschilds.

“Those four houses over there all belong to the Brunei royal family. The properties look similar, but one of them is actually an indoor badminton court.”

“That house used to belong to the deputy prime minister of Oman, who, unfortunately, was assassinated. Behind those gates is where the singer Gracie Fields used to live.”

And what about the £100 million property itself?

“Heath Hall was built in 1910 for William Lyle, of the Tate and Lyle sugar family,” Trevor explains. “It was bought by the Bank of China, who used it to house 50 of their employees. Then it was bought from them by a man called Andreas Panayiotou, who spent seven years restoring it.

“There are 14 en-suite bedrooms, a home cinema and an indoor swimming pool. The whole building is in the Arts and Crafts style. Hence the asking price.”

Of which Trevor’s firm can expect to take three per cent in commission fees, once a sale is agreed. But it isn’t just a question of putting an advertisement in the local paper and waiting for offers to flood in.

“I help work out what’s the best use for the site, how to go about getting planning permission, how creditworthy the potential buyers are and how serious they are about buying,” he explains. “On top of which, 50 per cent of the houses we sell in this area are on the 'grey’ market. This means the owners prefer to sell privately.”

Crucial to any sale, then, is Trevor’s Rolodex, containing the contact details of, as he puts it, “huge numbers of the richest people in the world”. Although he himself rarely stirs from Hampstead, he has agents overseas who, within two hours, can get word out to the wealthy about a Bishops Avenue house going on the market.

Sometimes, though, it pays not to tap up the tycoons direct, but to approach their chauffeur or housekeeper.

“I have done a lot of deals through talking to drivers,” says Trevor. “Most drivers are with their boss, or principal, on and off duty. So they get an objective impression of how the man is thinking. By contrast, many of the principal’s immediate entourage and personal assistants tend to be more sycophantic.”

Which is why Trevor presents himself not as a toadie, but as a straight talker. He hasn’t forgotten how he started in the business, renting a one-roomed upstairs bedsit seven days at a time, and winning clients by what he did, rather than how big he talked.

To this end, he still dresses more like a bank clerk than a big shot, as well as driving the smallest possible car into which he can cram both himself and his Jackanory-sized property brochures. “I charge prospective buyers £2,000 per brochure. I want it to sting. I need to know they’re serious,” says Trevor.

But without being pushy, it is still important not to be a pushover.

“Many of the people I deal with are self-assured, opinionated, hugely wealthy and stubborn,” he observes. “Vendors who ask more than the market value simply because they can. They don’t care one bit if that is an unreasonable price, or above the going rate.

“Often my task is to get two parties to agree to a sale when they don’t have to. It’s not as if they’re moving the family permanently to London and need to buy a place before the school term starts.”

This means understanding human nature is as important to Trevor as knowledge of the property market. “I need to find ways to dig people out of the holes they have dug for themselves, and enable them to do so without losing face. I have to come up with a solution but at the same time make sure that the person feels it’s his solution, and that the price agreed is his price.

“Sometimes, it’s like trying to hold peace talks between warring factions. One side is camped in one room, the other side is camped in another, and you’re having to shuttle between them. It’s a matter of getting the purchaser to take one step towards the vendor, then getting the vendor to reciprocate by taking a step nearer the purchaser. Until eventually they meet halfway.”

Whenever possible, Trevor insists that the deal is sealed not with a hastily scribbled signature, but with a face-to-face handshake and verbal promise.

“I like to make the two parties perform a little ceremony. I ask the vendor to look the purchaser in the eye and agree to stick to this agreement, even if offered more money. And I get the purchaser to look the vendor in the eye and promise they will stick to the deal, even if they are offered a cheaper house.

“The purpose of that ceremony is to hold the deal together during a cooling-off period that could last for weeks or months. I aim to bind them morally, as well as contractually.

“I am fully aware that if either of them gets a 10 per cent better offer in the meantime, then all that careful stitching will come apart at the seams. That’s just the way it is. After 38 years in this business, I am nothing if not a realist.”

Perhaps so. The obsession with location, the struggle to reach a price and the fear of being gazumped: these are all fears that most house-hunters will sympathise with. The sums involved on Bishop’s Avenue, however, are a long way from what most of us would recognise as reality. Still, it’s always interesting to take a peek over the 10ft fences, and see how the 0.0001 per cent live.

Glentree International (020 8458 7311; glentree.co.uk )

How to get the best out of estate agents, whether you’re in the £100,000 or £100 million price bracket

SELLERS

Say no to sole

Don’t sign up with just one agent, even if they will take less commission. Having two agents is better, because it creates competition and keeps both firms keen.

Be deaf to temptation

When estate agents are tendering for your business, don’t automatically go with the one who gives your house the highest valuation. They may just be after your business, and will advise you to drop the price once you’re on their books.

Say no to a “yes” person

Don’t hire an agent who always agrees with you. You need someone who can see the situation from the buyer’s point of view, who presents the transaction not as a war, but as a co-operative venture.

Don’t be blinded by science

Don’t be won over by the glossy adverts and brochures the agents produce to promote your property. The most important thing for an estate agent to do is to get lots of people to come and see your house.

Keep your cards close to your chest

Never let the estate agent know the lowest price you will accept. They may just aim for that, because it is less work.

BUYERS

Is it really an up-and-coming area?

Ask the vendors’ agents for factual evidence to back up their claim, e.g. tower blocks being demolished, regeneration schemes being launched, Waitrose branch opening soon.

Put your fingers in your ears

So you don’t hear the vendors’ agents make that teeth-sucking noise when you put in an offer they think is too low. They do it automatically, and besides, it is up to the actual owners of the property to decide, not them.

Ask the unaskable

Take a deep breath, and put this question to the estate agent: “Is there anything I ought to know about this property?” Watch carefully for any shifty reaction.

Go low, but give reasons

Explain to the estate agent why you are offering less than the asking price, e.g. the damp patch on the wall, the hideous bathroom suite, the asking rate in that street, plus prices recently fetched. That way, they may argue your case with their client.

Say no to Friday

Don’t be bullied by the vendors’ agent into completing on a Friday. If the money transfer goes wrong, you will have a long, miserable and possibly homeless weekend to get through before you can sort it out.

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It's not unusual for people to find love at work. But apparently real estate agents have it the easiest. 

Because most real estate agents jobs are contract positions, most firms have no strict rules against dating clients or co-workers, according to The Real Deal.

City Connections CEO David Schlamm, who met his wife, Jill, when she called his office in 1990 looking for a rental apartment, told The Real Deal:

“Being a real estate agent is a great way to meet your significant other. ... I tell the brokers here never to mix business and pleasure. And if you are going to go on a date, to do it after business has been completed."

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Of all the Purposeful Plans I’ve engineered and executed, a significant chunk were with folks who’d come to me with a pretty nice portfolio.

They’d done well, many enviably so. Or did they? Remember when we were kids and argued about who made the best ‘burger? When you added in homemade, the debates would get intense.

Then it happened. You had your first really good steak. It was cooked perfectly. For a month you couldn’t make yourself think of hamburgers, cuz all your mind could picture was another plate-sized steak with your name on it.

Right up ’til that day, you didn’t know steaks were even on your menu. I vaguely remember wondering why it took so long for Mom ‘n Dad to let me in on the secret.

The last 10 years or so I’ve done who knows how many after-the-fact analyses in order to learn what I’d of done differently if they’d called me sooner, rather than later. One of my clients called ‘em post transaction autopsies. The modifications I suggested often would’ve  produced far better results.

In most instances the investor has been easily able to perceive, in hindsight, that the changes woulda been reasonably doable. Sometimes it’s merely utilizing different techniques to get to the same Point B. Much of the time, however, it’s real value is in demonstrating to the investor their options menu had pages of which they were unaware. This opens up a new world to the typical investor, even when they’re very experienced.

BawldGuy Axiom: It’s not the answers to the questions we have that hinder us from ultimate real estate investment success. It’s almost always the answers to the questions we never knew to ask.

If you’re unaware of the existence of three different investment strategies, their benefits aren’t available to ya. Duh. That’s not the whole story though, not by a long shot. It’s one thing to learn three previously unknown strategies. It’s quite another to discover their power when combined synergistically. At the restaurant how would you feel if you’d been ordering from the same list of various ‘burgers for years, only to learn there were two other rooms where folks were ordering from a far more robust — and productive — menu?

Long term real estate investors have pages on their currently available menus they’ve never seen, cuz they’ve never been told they exist. We can’t execute a strategy(s) about which we know nothing. I know, Captain Obvious rides again. But on a serious note, this is how do-it-yourselfers apparently do so amazingly well, then arrive at retirement having followed a Plan that generated less than half the income reasonably possible. What makes it even more galling to some is that many of the strategies were known to them. They just didn’t have the expertise or experience to use them at the proper time, or in concert with appropriate additional strategies. Truth is, most of ‘em never find out what could have been.

The real life difference.

I can tell you now, and with complete confidence that there are investors out there, maybe you included, who possess twice the capital/equity as the other guy, but to no avail. Due to the other guy’s thicker menu — and his ability to ‘order’ from it — he’ll hit retirement with as much income as you, very possibly more. A LOT more. The investor with the biggest menu and most options wins. It’s as simple as that. Outside of blind luck, which most of us have seen or experienced, the menu/options factor is the key to predicting your ultimate retirement income — or lack thereof, as Grandma used to say.

The difference can literally be six figures annually. Most investors simply don’t know what’s on their menu cuz they’ve never been able to see all the missing pages. Ordering that juicy, perfectly prepared filet mignon off your two page menu is literally impossible if it’s located on page three. How many years are ya gonna be building what will end up being a hamburger retirement, when steak had been on your menu from Day 1? Don’t build your retirement based on an incomplete menu. ‘Burgers are a nice change of pace, but I wouldn’t want a steady diet of ‘em at retirement.

The power contained in the capacity to utilize all the options on all the pages on your own menu is there for you to harness.

DON'T MISS: 6 Features Every Home Buyer Should Have On Her Wish List >

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Buying a home for the first time can be overwhelming. While it may be tempting to avoid realtor fees and handle things on your own, having a professional by your side can make the process go more smoothly and provide valuable insight into what's likely one of the biggest purchases of your life.

"Don't try to buy a house with out working with a realtor. Okay, that's it," real estate expert and host of NBC's "Extra's Mansions & Millionaires!" writes in his book Before You Buy! The Homebuyer's Handbook to Today's Market.

Corbett breaks down 12 reasons it pays to hire a realtor. He writes:

• Access to every home that's on the market via MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and all other sources, including ones that may not be listed publicly.

• Inside track to the deals before they event hit the market.

• The ability to combine your Dream House Checklist with your price range.

• Knowledge of recent comps (comparables) — what similar properties have sold recently and for how much.

• Knowledge of neighborhoods.

• Ability to negotiate with the sellers on your behalf.

• The inside scoop from the sellers' agents.

• Expertise to negotiate and close the deal.

• Experience to manage the legalities of foreclosures or other distressed properties. 

• Muscle to get a deal through the escrow or "under contract" period.

• A litany of referrals for inspectors, mortgage brokers, and even tradesman for renovations. 

• Objective professional advice when you have your buyer's remorse meltdown.

DON'T MISS: Some Real Estate Agents Will Go To Crazy Extremes To Sell A House

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