There’s been so much talk about real estate agent teams recently. Are they good for the real estate industry? Are they bad for the broker? Regardless of the answer, real estate agent teams are popping up all over the map–from small towns to giant cities. Big or small, real estate agent teams (mini-powerhouses is what I like to call them) are changing the the way real estate practitioners work with buyers and sellers, vendors, members of the media, and more.

With those thoughts as the backdrop for today’s post, next week I’ll be in New York for RISMedia’s 19th Annual Leadership Conference, where I’ll be joined by dozens of other real estate industry professionals as we explore best practices in building and maintaining a high functioning real estate agent team. This year’s event, which takes place at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, promises to be another memorable RISMedia-coordinated event.

My session–a panel discussion I’ll be facilitating titled The ABCs of Forming a Winning Agent Team–will teach Leadership Conference attendees the basic steps toward forming their own agent team. Joining me, as Panelists, are a number of successful Realtors who already know the in’s and out’s of running a successful real estate agent team, including:

• John Bendall, Team Leader, The Bendall Group
• Bryan Felder, Realtor, The Virginia Realty Group
• Faye Rispoli, Broker Associate, RE/MAX Premier
• Howard Witz, Associate Broker, Fillmore Real Estate

If you’re interested in learning more about the Conference, which takes place from September 3rd and 4th, visit the Leadership Conference homepage.

Today and tomorrow I’ll be in Colorado with my assistant and co-author, Lois Maljak, attending the 3rd Annual RISMedia CEO Exchange. This year’s Exchange–which is once again being hosted by RE/MAX founder Dave Liniger at his privately owned and managed Sanctuary Golf Course and Clubhouse, in Sedalia, CO–is an invitation-only event that draws the top 100 real estate brokers in the U.S.

If you run a real estate brokerage–like all of the people attending the CEO Exchange–you have to provide consistent and professional training, a strong and appropriately supportive company culture, along with a positive work environment for the agents, specialists and support staff who work for your organization. If you don’t, especially in today’s economy, your agents could flounder!

As a part of this year’s CEO Exchange agenda, I’ve been asked to serve on a panel discussion titled “Are You a Good Manager? Managing Your Agents and Agent Teams.” My fellow panelists and I are charged with sharing best practices and tip, tricks, strategies, and even warnings so other top brokers can learn from our successes and mistakes.

Joining on today’s panel:

• Brian Allan, Broker/Owner, Windermere Cronin & Caplan Realty Group
• Chad Ochsner, Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Alliance
• Steve Rodgers, President & CEO, Prudential California Realty

Our panel is being moderated by Bob Blount, CEO of RE/MAX Allegiance. Bob’s operation includes 1,150 real estate agents working in 35 offices in Virginia and Maryland.

Since attendance at this week’s event is by invitation-only, it’s unlikely anyone stumbling across this blog post would be able to sit in my session. That being the case, I strongly recommend to anyone starting or managing a real estate agent team, that you pick up a copy of my latest book, “Power Teams: The Complete Guide to Building and Managing a Winning Real Estate Agent Team,” which I co-authored with RISMedia’s President & CEO, John Featherston.

As I mentioned I would be back on the first of February, I am now in Pasadena, California, speaking at ARELLO’s (Association of Real Estate License Law Officials’) MidYear Meeting. David Marsh, ARELLO’s Law and Policy Consultant, and I are here presenting “Protecting Mortgage Consumers: The Latest on Real Estate Fraud and Legislation.”

If you’re unfamiliar with ARELLO, the organization founded in 1930 to facilitate the exchange of information and cooperation among regulators and policy makers in the area of real property. Today, the organization has grown in stature and in recognition by growing its membership, attaining financial stability, and formulating and adopting uniform policies and standards in the fields of education, administration and enforcement. From everything I have seen thus far, it is clear to me that the association’s membership is sincerely committed to the effective administration and enforcement of the license laws and of the importance of regulation in a healthy marketplace.

David will lead off our presentation by providing conference attendees with an update on current and pending state and federal laws, while I’ll be sharing information about the latest trends in real estate and mortgage fraud. For more information about the conference or its attendees, visit the ARELLO website.

If you live in or around the Phoenix, Arizona, area and are interested in learning more about safely investing in foreclosures or about how to defend against foreclosure, consider stopping by the Phoenix Convention Center this Saturday where Lois Maljak and I will be presenting the following workshops:

TOPIC: Foreclosure Self-Defense: The Short Sale and Other Proven Strategies for Surviving a Homeownership Crisis
When: Saturday, February 23, 2008
What Time: 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Where: Phoenix Convention Center

When most people fall behind on their mortgage payments or receive a notice of default or foreclosure, they panic and waste precious time trying to hide the problem. They mistakenly believe they have only two options – pay up or face eviction. Lois Maljak and I, co-authors of Foreclosure Self-Defense For Dummies, know better. In this informative workshop, we reveal over a dozen strategies for keeping your home or selling it and cashing out the equity, including:

• Negotiate a short sale by convincing the lender to accept less than the balance due on your mortgage.
• Ask a third-party to negotiate the short sale on your behalf – if the bank refuses to work with you.
• File for bankruptcy…or at least let the bank know you are considering that option so you gain leverage in the negotiating process.
• Negotiate a mortgage modification, essentially rewriting the mortgage with a more affordable interest rate and terms.
• Sell your home, so you don’t lose your home and your equity.

In this workshop, you discover the truth about foreclosures that the banks don’t want you to know–they need to resolve the problem as much as you do, and sometimes more than you do. Everything is negotiable, including how much you owe them!

TOPIC: Safely Investing in Foreclosures
When: Saturday, February 23, 2008
What Time: 2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Where: Phoenix Convention Center

Safe foreclosure investing is like safe flying–the only completely safe way to invest in real estate is to not do it. However, you can employ several strategies to make investing in foreclosures safe. In this intense 45-minute workshop, I reveal field-tested strategies for maximizing your profit potential and minimizing your risks, including the following:

• Adjusting your profit estimates for different markets
• Bidding on first mortgages or at least buying the first if you buy the second
• Underestimating profits while overestimating expenses
• Thoroughly researching a property to avoid surprises
• Starting with a single property and working your way up
• Setting a bid limit before you even think of bidding

In this workshop, I guide you safely around the most common and costly pitfalls, so you avoid the mistakes that often eliminate the less careful investors.

For more information, visit the 2008 Arizona Real Estate and Mortgage Expo website.

I am pleased to announce that I have been offered an opportunity to speak at the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) Midyear Meeting, which is being held April 24-26, 2008, in Pasadena, California. If you’re unfamiliar with ARELLO and the important role this organization plays in the real estate industry, here’s some background:

ARELLO was founded in 1930 to facilitate the exchange of information and cooperation among regulators and policy makers in the area of real property. Today, the organization has grown in stature and in recognition by growing its membership, attaining financial stability, and formulating and adopting uniform policies and standards in the fields of education, administration and enforcement. The association’s membership is deeply committed to the effective administration and enforcement of the license laws and of the importance of regulation in a healthy marketplace.

As you can imagine, fraud is a topic of high interest to ARELLO members, and I have been asked to address the group on current trends in real estate and mortgage fraud, what to look for when attempting to determine if fraud is present in a transaction, and emerging trends in real estate and mortgage fraud forensics.

If you would like to learn more about ARELLO or the 2008 Midyear Meeting, visit the ARELLO website or the Midyear Meeting page today.

Back in early-September, I wrote about RISMedia’s 2007 Leadership Conference, a high-level networking and education event for the nation’s top Real Estate leaders, held each year for the last 18 years in the heart of New York City. In addition to attending many sessions, I moderated two panel discussions related to best practices in building and managing Real Estate Agent Teams. One of those sessions, “From A to Z–How Do I Form and Lead a Championship Agent Team?,” was covered for RISMedia by John Voket. John’s article, “Finding the Right Agent Team Formula,” is now available on RISMedia.com.

Check it out for yourself: “Finding the Right Agent Team Formula.”

I am in Las Vegas today meeting with 51 of the top Real Estate agent team leaders from across the country. Bill Barrett, a former Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) instructor and a top national speaker, is hosting this annual retreat to promote the sharing of ideas among Real Estate industry leaders.

From 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon, we are engaged in a high-energy strategy swap meet designed to raise everyone’s game to a new level. Barrett requested that every attendee bring 51 copies of either a three-ring binder or CDs or DVDs of everything they have done this year to list and sell over 100 homes. These materials include prospecting strategies, listing presentations, sales scripts, marketing materials, customer service techniques, follow-up strategies, new technologies, time-management tips, and anything else that has been used to boost sales and productivity.

This is such a great opportunity be each attendee exchanges their materials and then commences in a back-and-forth discussion that provides all of us with the opportunity to present our best system. Barrett has let everyone know that this is not a time to plug vendors, and he has discouraged us from bringing any brochures from any of the vendors we use. He stressed that the retreat is an opportunity to share and gather ideas, systems, tips, and techniques that can boost sales and revenue over the coming years.

The list of participants reads like the Who’s Who of the Real Estate Industry:

• Greg Anderson
• Bill Barrett
• Alexis Bolin
• Martin Bouma
• Barbara J. Brady
• Joseph Brazen
• Duncan Brown
• Ron Cadieux
• Ron Campbell
• Stephen Christie
• David Crockett
• Melinda Estridge
• Michelle Genovesi
• Galand Haas
• Mary Harker
• Phil Herman
• Pei Lin Huang
• Ken J. Jansen
• Jim Johnston
• Anna King
• Brad Korb
• Brad Korn
• Sheryl Knowles
• Colleen Lawler
• Rob Levy
• Sid Lezamiz
• Nate Martinez
• Leslie McDonnell
• Janice Miller
• Sam Miller
• Stanley Mills
• Chip Neumann
• Jim Nussbaum
• Mike Parker
• Janet Parsons
• Zac Pasmanick
• Carol Pease
• John Pinto
• Brenda Rawls
• John Riggins
• (yours truly) Ralph R. Roberts
• Cathy Russell
• Marsha Sell
• Alan Shafran
• Eleanor Sheets
• Jean Shine
• Orly Steinberg
• Fraida Varah
• Pat Wattam
• Phyllis Wolborsky

Selected secrets, tips, techniques, and strategies from the gathering will be shared here on my blog later this week (probably on Wednesday, November 14).

To follow-up on a post I wrote on July 16 of this year, I am in New York City today and tomorrow to moderate a couple of panels at RISMedia’s 18th Annual Leadership Conference. If you are in town for the conference, please stop by and say hello (both of my sessions take place tomorrow, September 6):

Session Title: From A to Z-How Do I Form and Lead a Championship Agent Team?
Date: Thursday, September 6, 2007
Time: 9:00 - 10:15 AM
Track: Recruitment and Training Track

Description: An agent team can consist of a partnership that is as simple as an agent and his or her assistant, or something the size of a baseball team. In this session, industry experts will introduce you to various ways you can structure a team and lead it to achieve whatever goals the team sets for itself.

Moderator: Ralph Roberts, Broker/Owner, Ralph Roberts Realty

Panelists

• Brandon Fairbanks, Realtor/Associate, Montecino & Associates Real Estate
• Domenic Manchesi, Team Leader, Prudential Towne Centre Realty
• Chip Neumann , Partner, Neumann Real Estate
• Marylyn Schwartz, President, Teamweavers

Session Title: A New Opportunity? How Brokers Can Succeed with Agent Teams
Date: Thursday, September 6, 2007
Time: 1:30 - 2:45 PM
Track: Business Development

Description: Oftentimes, brokers are too busy doing business to build a thriving business. In this session, learn about the power of the agent team approach and how it can help you boost sales and profits while having more time and energy to devote to what really matters—family, friends, and community.

Moderator: Ralph Roberts, Broker/Owner, Ralph Roberts Realty

Panelists:

• Bryan Felder, Realtor, The Virginia Realty Group
• Dottie Herman, President & CEO, Prudential Douglas Elliman
• Wayne Turner, Broker, Wayne Turner Real Estate Company
• Julie Vanderblue, President, The Higgins Group

This year’s conference takes place at The Roosevelt Hotel, a prominent landmark situated on Madison Avenue and 45th Street in midtown Manhattan.

As anyone who follows me knows, real estate and mortgage fraud is on the rise! Despite increased attention to fraud prevention, statistics for 2006 show a 44 percent increase in mortgage fraud suspicious activities reports over 2005. The changing real estate market has resulted in a plethora of new fraud schemes and new twists on old techniques.

The Mortgage Fraud Blog is a leading site for mortgage fraud news and information, and its editor, Rachel Dollar–who is my co-author on “Protect Yourself from Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud”–is one of the people at the forefront in the fight against fraud. The Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference is focused on guiding lenders, mortgage brokers and other Real Estate-related industry participants in identifying and preventing fraud and recovering losses when lenders are victimized. Led by industry experts such as Rachel and myself and top-notch attorneys, the conference will begin a new dialogue and provide participants with tools to use in their daily efforts.

At the Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference you will:

• Learn to develop and effectively present evidence to management, attorneys and law enforcement.
• Watch prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys argue common fraud issues and learn
• Hear about options for recovery of fraud losses and find out what types of recovery actions are most successful
• Discover effective arguments on both sides of the repurchase issue

After attending the Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference you will:

• Know what the new schemes are and how they operate
• Understand what industry experts and law enforcement believe are the next vulnerable areas that fraudsters will target
• Be able to identify your organizational objectives and structure policies and procedures to meet them
• Know how and why appraisers commit fraud and how to protect your company
• Understand the industry and legislative initiatives being developed to combat fraud

For more information about the Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference or to reserve your spot at the, visit the Conference Registration page.

To help kick off RISMedia’s 2nd Annual CEO Exchange (July 23 & 24 at the Sanctuary Golf Course and Clubhouse in Salida, Colorado), I will be providing each attendee a complimentary copy of my latest book, Protect Yourself from Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud: Preserving the American Dream of Homeownership, co-authored with Rachel Dollar, a legal expert in the mortgage lending industry.

If you’re unfamiliar with the CEO Exchange, it’s an exclusive gathering of over 100 top brokers and Real Estate industry leaders for the purpose of discussing the most pressing issues facing the residential real estate industry today, and as Rachel and I point out in the new book, the most pressing issue is the proliferation of fraud in the Real Estate and lending industries. Real estate and mortgage fraud are a cancer that is eating away at the very foundation of the American Dream of homeownership.

According to the FBI, Real Estate fraud is one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in the U.S. From 2003 to 2004, reports of mortgage fraud jumped 146%, and another 28% from 2004 to 2005. Reported dollar losses from mortgage fraud increased 90% from 2003 to 2004 and 136% from 2004 to 2005. Currently, lenders report over $1 billion in losses annually from mortgage fraud, and this accounts for only about a third of the losses actually suffered (only a third of the industry is subject to mandatory reporting requirements).

Industry leaders have long known about this growing problem, but con artists are able to adapt as quickly as new legislation is passed. In my experience, the best defense is education–teaching Real Estate professionals as well as consumers exactly what constitutes fraud, how to spot the signs of fraud, how to stop it, and how to get the word out about con artists and their accomplices.

I view the CEO Exchange as the perfect opportunity to further the crusade against Real Estate and mortgage fraud. By getting our book into the hands of industry leaderswe can take advantage of the trickle-down effect. Once industry insiders and thought leaders read the book, they will sound the alarm, and the rest of the industry will begin to take the threat more seriously. By becoming educated and joining forces, we can defeat the con artists and preserve the health of the Real Estate.

Protect Yourself from Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud: Preserving the American Dream of Homeownership provides real-world examples illustrating exactly how real estate and mortgage fraud are committed, pointing out the common signs of each scam, and providing tips on how professionals and consumers can protect themselves from becoming unwilling victims or unwitting accomplices. Topics covered in the book include:

• Defining real estate and mortgage fraud.
• Demonstrating the catastrophic effects of fraud on individual homeowners; the real estate industry; and local, state, and national economies.
• Differentiating between fraud for profit and fraud for housing.
• Identifying common schemes and schemers, including asset rental, air loans, chunking, double sales, straw buyers, nominees, and faulty appraisals.
• Spotting the warning signs of a fraudulent real estate deal.
• Proven tips and tricks for avoiding fraud and steering clear of gray areas in your real estate transactions.
• Practical advice for real estate agents, appraisers, mortgage brokers, investors, title companies, lawyers, and homeowners.
• Reporting fraud: One person can shut down a shady deal. Why you need to be that person and what you should do when you suspect fraud.
• Guidance on what to do if a con artist has victimized you or a relative, friend, or acquaintance.
• Advice on what to do if you or a loved one has knowingly or unwittingly been involved in a fraudulent deal.

This is just the beginning of a revolution in the real estate and lending industries to take back control from the con artists and other opportunists who are committed to milking the industry dry for their own benefit.