Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor: May 2007

Excellent Entry Level Investment Opportunity!

Two-Family home just listed for $174,900. 

First floor unit has 2 bedroom and has been occupied by the same family for many years.  Rent is currently $520 month to month.

Second floor was originally the same layout as the first but one of the bedrooms was divided to create a 3-bedroom unit.  The monthly rent is set at $650.

Conveinent locations just off the East Main Street Extension Exit of Route 17.  Drive by and if you like what you see arrange a private showing.  24 hours minimum notice required.

List Price :  $174,900

2 - Family:   1803 s.f.

Lot :  0.13 Acre - 40'-6" x 132'

Property Taxes :  $2020

Only 4% of Real Estate Agents start out in this business. Here is some insight into my other profession.  As I recall I took a liking to "drafting" as part of an exploratory course back in grade school and listed it as my occupational plan in the 8^th grade yearbook.

In high school I wound up with a part-time drafting job. The company had no engineering staff and the owner wanted me to specify whatever equipment I needed to work with Ink on Mylar. That was my first realization that teachers become outdated, my instructor suggested a Ruling Pen.

My full-time employment as a Draftsman started in the Civil Engineering field. Most of my work was making plans ( maps ) for the installation of sewer systems. Not real exciting so after a few years I switched into the Mechanical Field where I would work on product design and machinery.

After about 10 years a cutting edge computer came along that revolutionized the industry when used with CAD software and dropped the six figure cost of implementing a system down to about 20k.   By 1987 I struck out on my own forming a company to train draftsman in the use of AutoCAD. The business evolved into more of a consulting practice as the software and computers became more powerful. Some of the custom programming I did back then to automatically generate drawings for local companies is still in use today.

Over the years I have done all types of drawings from Mapping to Modeling. Some of the products are small enough to hold in you hand while other inventions involved massive machines to transport material weighing much more than a human can handle.

The once thriving industry has also started to withered during my years.  Connecticut has slipped from second to third as the state employing the highest concentration in this field.  With increasingly high taxes and utility cost most manufacturing companies decide to move instead of expanding here. 

The losing trend for US jobs is evident in many professions. First the shift of manufacturing went overseas and now it is increasingly noticeable in technical support.

Recently I was tagged to write a MeMe and one of the comments said "What I want to know is what was your first career"  Instead of going into a detailed answer I thought it would make a great on-going subject for many people and decided to start a group.

Below are a few highlight from a NAR report released May 10, 2007 containing information about 2007 NAR Member Profiles.

• 40-hour work weeks. The typical member is 51 years old, works 40 hours per week and has been in the business for seven years.

• Sales volume dips. In 2006, typical residential sales members sold one of their own listings and five of someone else's, .......volume was $1.9 million.

• Not the first career. Only 4 percent of members report real estate is their first career.

Since 96% of us did something else prior to a real estate career there must be plenty of stories.... When you are in the mood to reflect on the past add stories to this GROUP.  Feel free to share more than once, it could be your first job, corporate career or other business ventures.

This is not just for REALTORS®. I know people in the Mortgage & Home Inspection business that had other careers so join in.

The MEME tag works quite well.  I suggest tagging the stories MOC for My Other Career.  Posting can be public or members only. you may even pick up some new clients based on your old career.

My run yesterday must have been a little slow because I got Tagged three times.  I first hit came while I was out running from Thesa Chambers, next George Souto gave me a poke and since I wasn't moving fast enough the fitness queen Suzanne Sands gave me a jab.

1 - I grew up in West Haven as a poor boy, just never realized it until after high school graduation.

2 - During childhood we stayed close to home, never ate at restaurants or traveled by plane or train.  My first introduction to Chinese Food & Tacos happened after I was married, as did my first flight or train to the city.

3 - Speaking of married it has been many years.  We married as kids and have three boys, 28, 26 & 15.  The youngest I jokingly refer to as my wife's mid-life crisis & attempt for a girl.  The perception of mid-life changes, guess it was the trauma of turning 30.

4 - I was born HOT... not ladies man hot but Hot Headed and Hot Blooded.  Age has mellowed me but a little piece of the Angry Young Man will always exist.

5 - It may not be evident here but I am a man of few words. I shy away from public attention and have never been outgoing.  Part of my logic selecting real estate as my second career was to challenge myself.

My three victims are Sandi Bauman,  Beth Bastian & Vicki Hibbert

Yesterday Broker Maggie dropped a few cents in the comment section of my blog and it reminded me how quickly pennies can add up to Big Bucks. 

The POWER of the PENNY.  I ran into this illustration several years ago at some seminar.  Cannot recall what product they were peddling and never offered up the hundreds of dollars to purchase their program but the penny illustration was very fascinating.

I don't recall all the hype but is was something like this.  If I offered you 1 million dollars today or 1 penny with my 30 day program that teaches you how to double your money everyday for a month which would you take.

Pretty simple, huh?  Day 1 you have a penny, Day 2 it is two cent,  Day 3 it becomes  4 cents. The cash just keeps on doubling for 30 days, after 10 days you have $5.12

Would you take the Penny and double it everyday for a month or the Million Dollars?

The real estate market is flooded with new agents.  According to a report released by the National Associations of Realtors a few days ago 23.2% of the members have joined within the last two years.  This rapid influx of new agents has contributed to declining incomes for Realtors over several years.

As agents most of us have heard comments after a closing about the Big Bucks we earn. From a consumers viewpoint they see the sales price of a home and assume the agent is walking away with a hefty commission check. Many do not understand how quickly that big check gets broken into small pieces. 

Here is an explanation to illustrate how that stack of cash is disbursed. Starting with the full 100% commission check it gets chopped in half with a portion going to the buyer's and seller's agency.

Back in the office we submit the check to the broker for processing and within a few days we received our cut. Most agents start at a 50% split and this gradually increases as production goes higher.  According to NAR ( National Association of Realtors ) the median earnings for sales agents in 2006 was $47,700.

Not exactly the Big Bucks! Furthermore most are self-employed small business owners. That means plenty of expenses need to be paid before indulging ourselves with food & drink. 

Without going into great detail we have about $1500 worth of fixed expenses to maintain our licence, mls access and a few other basics.  In addition to that we have variable expenses for advertising, postage, web sites and so on that typically runs between 10-15% of gross earnings.

From past statistics I estimate the majority of agents that survive in this business do about a dozen transactions a year.  Since we are self-employed we also have to pay double social security, provide our own medical insurance and save for retirement.  Although the Real Estate Business has the potential for huge incomes the reality is most agents are earning a middle class living.

Real Estate is a great business, but it is not easy money.  Anyone considering a career should be prepared to spend some cash up front and reinvest most earnings during the early years to grow their buinsess. 

OPEN HOUSE -  Sunday May 20th, 2007 between 1-3 pm. 

The Location :  383 Brushy Plain Road - Branford, Connecticut 06405 

The Description:   Nestled amongst hundreds of acres located in the north western hills of the Connecticut shoreline town of Branford sits a 3000 SF Contemporary Colonial that awaits its next owner. This is a very rare and unique opportunity to live within nature's paradise that was created over millions of years and is protected for the future. Although you have the peaceful seclusion of this sanctuary it offers convenience for commuters. When your workday ends and ready to play there are an abundance of activities steps from this home. This property borders Pisgah Brook and the supply pond areas of the watershed offering plenty of hiking & fishing.  More Information.

The Financials:  Asking price of $949,500

The Directions:  Exit 54 off of I-95 and travel 2 miles north on Brushy Plain Road.  From I-91 you can take Exit 8 onto Route 80 and turn right on Totoket Road to Brushy Plains. Click Here for a map.

If for any reason you are unable to attend on Sunday and you would like to arrange a private showing You can contact Dan Cummings at 203-672-2455. or email Dan@CummingsTeam.com

Well, Flat Matt is off to his next destination.  He should arrive in North Carolina early next week.  His Connecticut adventures started out on Thursday with a little shopping, running, pizza & beer. Friday he was off to the Peabody Museum at Yale to visit the Trilobites and he spent the day Saturday working around the yard.

Sunday came and it was Race Day in North Haven.  We took a quick ride by the North Haven Green and then off to our run.

Later that day we had to finish our yard work.  As I worked moving the brush pile Flat Matt wanted to play with guns to prepare for future adventures in the wild west.  Matt.... Be careful or you'll shoot your eye out!  Our next trip was to visit North Branford, click here for a real estate show.

Next Matt is heading into Guilford for some needed repairs.                             

We got disrupted with work for the next couple of days and the mornings remained foggy and only cleared to a haze...  But Matt wanted to see all five of my primary towns so we stopped by the Wharf in Madison and swung into  Branford which offers some good sites to see, there are Houses on Islands and we saw two or three.

Flat Matt has been here for a week and day so it is finally time that he goes on his way.  I packed up his bag with a few extra eyes and because we are guys it was a quick goodbye....

We decided to take a few days off and putter around the yard after the long winter and an extremely wet spring.  Our first project was to remove some large trees growing a little to close to the house.  After downing a few and trimming the brush we both needed a break, cannot spend the whole day off working.  

Flat Matt wandered around the yard taking time to smell the roses, well the roses have not bloomed so dandelions were close enough.  Next he checked out the bird feeder, swung on the tire and played some lacrosse.  He became overheated with all the exertion and went to dunk his feet in the river. 

Opps.... The little woman arrived home and does not seem impressed with all the work we did.  Guess we have to get back to that brush pile and cut up those logs.  Gee Matt... Look how easy the bark peels off,  Mother's Day is coming,  Do you think she would like a new floor lamp made from this old tree?  

Flat Matt's week in Connecticut is nearing the end. Since his Arrival we have done a little running and found an abundance of Trilobites but have not really seen the landscape of my towns.  Our next mission is to introduce Flat Matt to my territory before he leaves on Friday to visit janeAnne in North Carolina.

My anniverary is coming up in a few months and I found the perfect romantic gift....  How does A Romantic Paris Vacation sound.....?

Well, I decided to start planning... Went to Google Maps and clicked to get directions.

Typed in our starting point "New Haven" and destination "Paris"

Walllaaaa.... I will print out the directions, place them in the card and as soon as she has a couple free months and is ready for step number 12 we are off..... Hope she appreciates the thought and preparation involved in a gift of this magnitude....