Jim Randel has been writing about real estate and business for twenty-five years.

An attorney by education and graduate of Columbia University and Law School, Randel has made his living as a real-estate entrepreneur – buying and selling single-family houses, apartment buildings, land, retail centers, factories, distribution facilities and office buildings.

His first book, The Real Estate Game, was written in 1986.  This book led to guest lectures at Harvard and NYU Business Schools and to numerous radio, television and public appearances around the United States.  In 1988 Randel went back to his activities as a real estate buyer and seller.

Randel wrote his next book, Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur (McGraw-Hill) in 2006.  This book has received rave reviews from readers and industry professionals, and has reached #1 ranking on several Amazon categories, including Real Estate Sales where it has been ranked #1 for about one year.

Randel believes that any author owes his reader tremendous respect.  That an author needs to do the heavy lifting, reading and studying a topic in depth, and then synthesizing and summarizing for the reader the salient points – preferably told in an entertaining fashion.

His third book, THE SKINNY ON THE HOUSING CRISIS: What Every Homeowner and Homebuyer NEEDS TO KNOW!!!  is nothing less than an entirely new genre that Randel and his ten-person team have created – with the reader in mind.  It is the first of another half dozen such books now in production – the goal being to cover important and current topics in that manner which is most likely to be understood, absorbed and appreciated by the reader.

WILL AIR SEPTEMBER 4th at 6:30 pm on CHANNEL 77 (GREENWICH TO WESTPORT) and SEPTEMBER 12th at 4:30 pm CHANNEL 77 (FAIRFIELD TO WOODBRIDGE)

Richard Maybruck - Producer & Host

Ann Meyerson - Moderator

Jim Bremm - Moderator

Beverly Walsh
Vice President, Sales and Sales Manager
William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage, and Insurance
47 Riverside Avenue
Westport, CT 06880

Office: 203 227-4343
Direct: 203 682-4341

Beverly.walsh@raveis.com

www.raveis.com

Beverly began her real estate career in 1992 in the same William Raveis office which she now manages. That first year she was named Rookie of the Year. While in a sales position she served on the Company’s Agent Advisory Council as well as Exceptional Properties Manager. She placed in the top 5% in sales volume nationwide. During the year 2000, Beverly moved from sales into management of the Westport Office and was subsequently promoted to Vice President, Sales. During her tenure as manager, the office has seen substantial growth in market share. It ranks as the #1 office in market share in sales volume and sales units for the towns of Westport and Weston. Within the company, the office holds the #2 spot in sales volume and profitability out of 55 offices within the Company.

“I had the privilege to be asked to lead a very talented team when I stepped into the job. My management philosophy has been to support the agents unconditionally, hire the best talent in the local marketplace, and provide the team with the leadership and cooperative working environment they need to excel at their jobs. The Company tools, including its national recognized website “raveis.com”, are the foundation for the growth of the office.” Beverly acknowledges. Since the inception of “manager of the year” awards at the company four years ago, Beverly has won the award three times. In 2007, she was also the recipient of the Entrepreneur’s Award, which is the highest award given to management within the Company.

Prior to real estate, Beverly developed, owned and operated “The American Country Collection of Bed & Breakfast & Country Inns”, a privately held company based in upstate New York which provided multi-faceted marketing, services, and lobbying for small lodging establishments. She served on the Board of Directors of the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association, which was, at that time, the largest trade association in the state of New York.

Beverly resides in Fairfield with her husband, Michael and together they have two grown children.

• Overall single family home average of sales in Fairfield County for the month of June ’08 compared to June “07 were down about 35%. In June ’07 there were 426 closings compared to 277 closings in June ‘08*

• Inflation is increasing. The cure of choice is to raise interest rates. However, the Fed may be in a bit of a conundrum since the big banks that support our economy need the liquidly that lower rates provide.

• “The sky is not falling. Keep in mind that the economy is cyclical and it will turn around. Interest rates will eventually tighten. Those who need to buy in Fairfield County should do so now while interest rates remain low and prices could be very reasonable.

* Statistics from the CMLS

Bottom fishing (making a very low offer) really doesn’t work. If a seller is so desperate to sell, they would have reduced the price of their home a few times already. With buyer representation, your agent can do a comparative market analysis for you to determine the value of the home you are interested in, so that you can make a reasonable offer. Because listing agents represent only the seller, they cannot do a buyer analysis for you except, if they get the seller’s permission, they can show you the comps they used in pricing the house.

Many sellers in Fairfield County are complaining to their agents that their home is not selling because their home is not sufficiently marketed either through print advertising or on the internet. The truth is, it is not advertising on the internet or in print that sells a home. It is the price that sells a home. If your property is not priced correctly than no matter how much marketing there is, the house won’t sell until it is priced correctly.

Unfortunately, many sellers see their home as an extension of themselves and a lower price would mean that they feel diminished in some way. Forget narcissism. It has nothing to do with your worth as a person. A home is just like any commodity. It is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and nothing more. Sadly, some agents will try to “buy a listing” by telling their potential client that their home is worth more than it is worth, appealing to a homeowners sense of what they feel their home is worth. The agent that gives me the highest price is the one who will get my listing. Big Mistake!! My advice is to obtain several price opinions from different agents and make them explain in detail how they came to their price.

If you don’t have to sell, don’t. Keeping a house on the market at a non-competitive price will only hurt the home’s sale prospects by letting the listing become stale. It also keeps the supply of homes high which will have a depressing effect on the market. It’s only a matter of supply and demand.