2011.. THE START OF THE "SALESMAN" DECADE!!

There is a saying "If you need to earn more.. "Make more Sales." This is more true now than in any previous times.

With rising unemployment and inflation, double dip housing recessions, bankruptcies and foreclosures throughout the United States, there maybe no better time than to take control of your own financial destiny. As a Real Estate and Insurance Agent, I see many of my clients and customers call my office to reduce insurance coverage limits or sell homes that they no longer can afford. Many lost their jobs, while others experience reduced salaries. Browsing the Internet (As I Often Do), Our US Government are having a harder time whether we should increase taxes or cut government programs. There is also talk of increasing our National Debt Limits. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has told Congress that without an increase in the $14.3 trillion debt limit by Aug. 2, 2011 the government will be forced into its first-ever default, with potentially catastrophic results for the economy.

So, What to do now? How did we got here? How do we solve our National "Debt" Problem? How did the US became from the #1 creditor in the world 30 years ago, to the #1 Debtor to a tune of roughly 14.3 trillion dollars. Lets not talk about medicare, medicaid, social security, and Government bailout banks and Too-Big-Too-Fail Corporations, than we would be in debt by over 100 Trillion Dollars!!! Guess what, I have already a hard time figuring out what 100 millions would look like, imagine 100 Trillion?

At this point, I don't believe any of our elected official can solve this problem other than Taxing more Americans and borrowing more unfunded money (hence raising the debt limits) and passing the payment along to future generation. Not our US President, Senators, Congress, and other elected officials can solve this problem at this point. So, if our elected officials will be more of a financial burden than a solution to most hard-working Americans to keep our government from providing services, we have only ourselves to find the solution to this ever growing personal and national debt crisis. So what is the solution? Let's take a look at some obvious answers:

GET A JOB!

The rise of unemployment means securing a Job is a priority. However, as the US goes through its post Great Recession dilemma, A job is never a guarantee. A job can definitely bridge the financial gap but may not cover all living expenses. Furthermore, government "needs" such as taxes, inflation, social security, 401k and medicare takes a bite of your earned income before you see one red cent. What's left? Not as much as you were promised to make.

GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

I've often wondered about this. I see so many people going back to colleges to earn a bachelors or online degree due to a lack of employment in the job market. While I personally believe that going back to school is ok, I do worry about a few things on this. One, many students graduating are facing a tough time finding employment. Two, many Retro-Schoolers (those going back to school) usually ask for government assistance for school loans. After graduation, Retro-Schoolers face a still challenged job market with a newly minted student loan. Not everyone falls in this category for sure, but for those who do, this scenario is a definite bummer. But I do believe in anything you do, you must take risk to succeed. So, going back to school may or maybe not a good move, but at least you learn from whatever result it may be.

BECOME A SALESMAN!

Sales are everywhere. If you look at the current offering at craigslist.org and monster.com for a job, you will find many offerings on a sales career. Why is this? The short and sweet answer to this is

"Employers are looking for better results for their bottom line."

As long as the US economy continue to show lack of stability, employers are being more result-oriented when deciding to keep a person employed. The truth of the matter is,

"The more you show you can bring money to the table, the more likely an employer will keep you."

Employers are no longer looking for someone to fill a position, they are now looking for the "BEST" person to fill any position. As you know, whether you work for a big corporation or a small local business, everything is generated by sales. Other than being a Doctor, Engineer, or a Specialty Career, many will need some form of sales skills to get a job or be considered in any important career positions. The new motto of employers on this tough economy now stands,

"Ask Not What The Company Can Do For You, But What You Can Do For The Company."

BE AN ENTREPRENEUR

This maybe the hardest option of all. Being an Entrepreneur takes reasonable time, training, experience, guts, and skill to pull off. It takes years and years of practice, while no such financial guarantee is ever promised. However, without Entrepreneur-minded individuals, we may not have the financial backbone of what this country represent; Small Business. Small Business Entrepreneurs provide jobs, careers, salaries, and hourly pay for most of our job seekers.

So, Why is 2011 The Start of the "Salesman" Decade? Answer is "Opportunities."
Increasing job market uncertainties, high employer debts, and high national unemployment provides great Opportunities for gut wrenching, salesman. The opportunities are there for great salesman to prove to employing companies that they are the right man or woman for the job. The value of bringing positive revenue to the company is what all companies are looking for.



Ultimately, If we decide to change, re-educate, learn sales, and become Entrepreneurs, we may have a shot at turning things around for the sake of our country and our future generations. Ultimately, it may be up to us to take care of ourselves, grow our own business, and provide financial opportunities for others.  This I believe is why "2011 IS THE START OF THE SALESMAN DECADE."

Erwin Sigua
Author, Entrepreneur, Salesman 

Where Is Residential Real Estate Headed In 2012 in Nevada?

                                        

As the year 2011 keeps chugging along, there are definite signs out there that the Real Estate market are slowly picking up steam. National news has been indicating the last few weeks that Real Estate sales have been increasing but home values (generally) have been falling.  There are a few markets that this is not the case such as San Diego, San Francisco, South Dakota, and even some part of Florida where home values have steadied or slowly increasing.

Nevada, the state I currently reside in, are still seeing the grunt of the post recession Real Estate Bubble.  The State still leads in the number of Foreclosure filing for the month of April.  Due to the high volume of Bank owned homes and shadow inventories, prices are still remarkably low compared to any other times in recent history.  The fact that it takes more money to build a new construction home than to pick one up currently for sale is crazy. So, if anyone out there looking to buy a home, there could be no other better time than NOW!

So, where is the Real Estate Market in Nevada headed in 2012?  Will the price go down, or go up? Is this the best time to be investing in Real Estate?  Are the opportunities still there to succeed in becoming a Real Estate agent? 

These are the questions I frequently hear being a Real Estate Broker here in Reno, Nevada.  Many people are very curious on what opportunities the Real Estate market offers.  Well, here are my short list of answers I usually give to those who ask.

1. Where is the Real Estate Market in Nevada headed in 2012?
Answer:  Hard to predict. 

The one certainty of the current Real Estate market is that it is very uncertain.  About a year ago, I saw a huge spike of short sale homes entering the market relative to homes being offered as foreclosure.  Now, I see as much foreclosure homes as short sale homes entering the market in Reno, NV.  I do expect that more foreclosure homes will enter the market within the next 12 months. home selling will be faster next year than this year due to the shorter transaction time to close foreclosure homes compared with short sale homes.  I believe more Real Estate Investors will enter the market in hope of grabbing great deals.  Buyers will see lower priced homes by 2012 (compared to this year), and more sellers will default on their home loan payments for a variety of reason (i.e. Strategic Default, loss of job, Divorce, etc). 

2.  Will the price go down or up in 2012? 
Answer: Price will still go down in 2012.

The after affect of the Great Recession is massive.  I believe that the great recession is actually a modern day Great Depression.  Just like the Great Depression of the late 20's and 30's, our Great Recession is a generational occurrence.  Millions of home foreclosures, Billions of lost home values, and Trillions of lost paper assets (wall street) due to bank bailouts, could cause an extended delay of home prices inching back up in Nevada.  However, one thing is for certain; what comes down must come back up.  So expect home prices to go up, just not right away.

3. Is this the best time to be investing in Real Estate?
Answer:  Depends on what you mean on the word "Invest." 

For speculators (home equity watchers)  and flippers, probably not.  For Cash Flow investors, more likely "Yes."  Prices are so low in Nevada that in renters are actually starting to pay more in rent than do homeowners pay in mortgages for the same house.  Cash Flow Investors are receiving rent money much higher than the the mortgage they pay on the loan.  When the price was sky rocketing in 2004-2007, more speculators and flippers were entering the market. Cash flow investors were out during those times.  Now, its the other way around.

4. Are the opportunities still there to succeed in becoming a Real Estate agent? 
Answer: Yes! 

With the rising REO (Real Estate Owned) foreclosure homes entering the market, the price of homes being so low, and the down payment assistance that the government gives to the housing market, this is definitely a great time to be in Real Estate.  What I have learned being in Real Estate for over a decade, the Real Estate Market is a "Market."  Opportunities are out there if you search hard enough.

What Now??

Patience.  Residential Real Estate in Nevada are currently going through a very massive change of  event. Renters are becoming buyers, Sellers are becoming renters, and Investors are becoming landlords. The Real Estate world we have known back 5 years ago no longer exist. A new world has been created through all of this.

However, Residential Real Estate of 2012 do have one certainty; that it is definitely very uncertain.

Erwin Sigua, Broker/Owner Entrepreneur Real Estate 2011
Author, Trainer, Real Estate Sales coach