I knew there must be a better way. There is too much technology and crowd collaboration to be the only person that wanted a better way to bid and beat the system. Now I have found it!  Here is a Video.

While I can’t reexplain everything I learned in one post, I can give you the highlights.

1) Databases of previous bids. There are sites like www.biddingtraveler.com and others that will show you what other people have bid and won. Also these sites will show you which are “secret” hotels.

2) “Re-bids” (that is the lingo) for Priceline Hotels. Normally Priceline only lets you bid once per 24 hours, unless you change something in your bid. For example changing the dates, star rating or location within the city. I finally found a trick that lets you rebid in $5-10 increments, sometimes 10-20 times. The way you do it is you pick the area you

want and the star rating. When you lose you then pick an area with no hotels with that star rating. That lets you rebid since you added a zone (with no risk of getting a place in that new zone).  And rinse and repeat. And if you travel with somebody else, you can rebid several time again with their account. Read more about rebidding here. And you can get $20 added to your bid if you have an Entertainment Card.

3) Bonus: While I don’t use Priceline for flights, I wish I did. I just found out that you can rebid an unlimited amount of times (like $1 increments) by changing your search like: DCA > Houston to: Alexandria Va > Houston. Priceline will recommend DCA… yet it still counts as a new search. So you just keep changing the city name endlessly until the price hits their secret reserve. Result… MONEY in your pocket!

Is this illegal? (disclaimer, I am not a lawyer… yet) Nope. Priceline acknowledges these techniques but says that currently only a tiny fraction of their users use this. I call that a green light for people willing to make the extra effort.

So how does this relate to buying homes? The point is:

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW.

I’m sure millions of people think they can just head over to Kayak.com or Hotels.com and get “50% off” on hotels, when in fact they are paying within $5 what other people are paying. You probably didn’t know that there was a better way on Priceline to secure a $135/night for a 5 star that retails for $500+ and is “discounted” for $330 on Hotels.com (true example of my winning bid). And sure it isn’t for everyone, but for many people it can be extremely useful.

Just like real estate. I hear people say all the time “Well I just used the agent at the open house. Heck I knew what I wanted to pay so why not just get it done.” Why not? (as I pull out my hair (see photo of me)). Not only are you either using:

1) the listing agent whose sole responsibility is to their selling client (ie a stupid move in my opinion) or

2) the listing agent’s friend or newbie agent that has nothing better to do than sit in an open house waiting for a sucker (aka you). Most open houses are done NOT for selling the house, but for finding new buyers that don’t know any better (aka, didn’t read this blog).

Why not have an agent that advocates for you? They are called “Buyer agents.” (which is technically paid for by the seller, but we won’t get into that part now). While it might sound risky to eventually signing an Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement (#1 on google for that phrase by the way, in case you want to be impressed by SEO), it can actually HELP you get a lower net. Also working with an agent that has done several dozen deals before…. maybe just maybe they know a thing or two. It isn’t just a big Madoff Ponzi Scheme. Stuff you don’t even know to ask. Stuff that will make the transaction go more smoothly and help you get a lower net. While many of your think rebating (see blog posts on Rebates, our motto is “I used to Rebate, but then I got good) is the best way to do that, I think the super educated see beyond that.

And for those that think “Well I have done it before, I’m too smart for using a buyer’s agent”… you must think I’m an Idiot.

Why? Well many reasons, but for one, I hired a buyer agent when I bought my house on Lake Barcroft. Negotiations 101 says you shouldn’t negotiate for yourself. But that is for another blog post, so make sure to subscribe in the upper right corner of this blog.

If you learned anything here, you will learn a TON by taking some time and reading more posts on this blog. Use the right side to find the category that interests you the most. And don’t miss the older stuff too.

Never too busy for your business and referrals (proof I’m not too busy for you [Video]).

Frank LLosa J.D.

Broker FranklyRealty.com

Owner FranklyMLS.com

A wise agent once said to me (I guess I could just cut out that part and others would think that I AM the “wise agent” but that doesn’t seem right), that if you really only want it for “information,” then great… do it AFTER closing.

There are too many loopholes in these contracts and I’ve been burned too many times with that clause. Why not just put in the contract your true intentions. Is if buyer worried about a home falling off the cliff, then put in the contract that you will waive the first $1,000 or $%,000 of issues.

Watch the video for more on this topic.

Agents, catch my weekly videos over on Inman News.

By Frank LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com

(Ps. I’m still not too busy for you, so email me. I just cut down on the blogging to work on a house my wife bought. Also she is pregnant.)

Sheep photo by skitzitilby, cliff photo by SimplyAlex. Please report typos.

Well I’ll explain it for you.

Sidenote: I gotta new gig. I’m weekly news correspondent for Inman News. Most of the videos will be agent focused, so I didn’t want to bore my blog readers, which are mainly home buyers and sellers. But this video transcends.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Upcoming Post: I Just Bought a House, and NO I didn’t get a Good Deal.

Make sure to subscribe via email to my not too frequent posts.

#1 Video by Frank Borges LL0SA
Broker FranklyRealty.com
Owner FranklyMLS.com
More Inman videos at www.Youtube.com/FranklyNews

I “lost” both categories. I really wasn’t too bumbed. I was thrilled to be a finalist and I love the winner’s blog phoenixrealestateguy.com.

But then the overall “Innovator of the Year” award was announced. This category did not disclose the finalist and previously did not include finalists from the other categories.

“Drum Roll” (no really they said that)… Shit! I won. I know it ain’t th e Oscars but it felt like it for a moment. Wow, they really like me.

So, I ran up. Didn’t say a word. Was in shock. Thinking “Do I say something witty or innovative?” Nah.

(side-note: Being so “innovative” and “green” oriented I refused the registration gift bag and 20 page glossy schedule and I stuck with the online schedule to save trees. Anyhow, the online schedule slatted the awards for 11am. The print version apparently said 9:15. For once in my life, I was very early.)

I even temporarily changed one of my cards to “I’m kinda a big-ger deal.”

But the ego bubble settled once out in the hall when a tourist saw the cute trophy and was like “What is an IN MON?” And my wife saw the first video (without the panning audience photo) of me accepting the award and thought only 20 people were in attendance (vs. 1500). Watch the video…

Click here to view the embedded video.

(Thanks Ray from VideosByAddress.com for the impromptu video.)

And then I sent out an “anybody wanna do a lunch” on twitter and got no reply. So, that helped bring me back down.

Anyhow, for the acceptance speech I never did…

Thank you Inman News (see article) for checking out my little ole company and really understanding what we do differently, or shall I say “innovatively.” I’d also like to thank my agent Lindsay for saying “why don’t you write all this stuff you tell us and share it with everybody”, blogger Ardell in Seattle for some early on motivation and inspiration, Ben Martin from VAR, and my georgeous wife for dealing with my 3am posts.

Make sure you subscribe to upcoming posts. I have about 6 more posts that I wrote while on a 38 hour flight to Africa with my wife. In the meantime here is a random Wheel Estate Cam on location in Africa with elephants.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Written by Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com

PS. I’m on the ballot for the NVAR’s 2010 Board of Directors. Voting is for NVAR Realtors only and through Oct 8th 2009. Please  Vote today (or tell your NVAR Realtor to vote) and spread the word in your Realtor office. For more details hit up www.ChooseFrank.org

pss. Now it is even easier to subscribe to this blog. Just add a small comment below and check the box to get emailed future posts. Spam free.

Everywhere you turn (even CNN.com) you read about the $8,000 1st time homebuyer tax credit and how you need to “Buy Now” (anybody remember that NAR ad from 2006?). Gotta hurry up before the Dec 1st Expiration!

(Sidenote: that expiration means you need to CLOSE by then. If you are looking for a short sale gamble, and you want the credit, you better get it under contract NOW. And everyone else, don’t be an idiot and schedule your closing on the 1st. At least close a week early. There will be a backlog, and hiccups, and you might miss your tax credit.)

So Warren Buffet says whenever you see a herd running in one direction, you are supposed to walk the other way.

Well there IS a stampede in Virginia trying to buy homes in time for the Obama tax credit. People LOVE tax credits. Kinda like people love to “SAVE” by going FSBO, when it will likely actually NET them less.

Has anybody stopped to wonder whether this mad dash might be temporarily INFLATING prices beyond the credit that it offers? And the day after the credit expires, might there be stall? Winters are bad enough, maybe the worst winter recorded?

Buyers:

If you are buying under the $100,000 price point, sure that $8k credit will likely be better to take now.

If you are buying from $400k-$700k, you have to ask yourself, “Once the flood of buyers evaporates, won’t that send prices down?” Maybe.

Am I saying “DO NOT BUY?” No, but I am also saying, don’t be silly and getting into some crazy bidding war or overpay for a place to get in under the wire.

Kinda like the Cash For Clunkers campaign. How many “Deals” do you think the dealers were really giving in that last week when their phones were ringing off the hook? They probably jacked prices up. And sometimes that $5,000 credit was in place of a $3,000 valued car. So the net saving was only $2,000! And on a $20,000 car, I bet a month after the tax credit, (after inventory catches up) you can get that $20k car for well under $18k.

Sellers:

Don’t get too greedy! You also want to sell into this flurry. Ask for too much and watch the dead Winter-time come (unless Congress extends it, which they might).

Normally I am not an advocate of Market Timing. But for those that like to try and play the game, I just wanted to give you some food for thought.

Also please attach comments with links to any other blogs that might question the value of rushing in to get the tax credit (I didn’t see any, they were all “buy now”).

And stay tuned for a flurry of new posts. I had an 18 hour trip to Africa (see Wheel Estate Cam Below) to write a ton.

Written by Frank Borges LL0SA Broker FranklyRealty.com

New: Inman 2009 Innovator of the Year (more on this later)

Random Wheel Estate Cam video from Africa:

Please report all typos!
Photo Credits:Tax photo by Aimeesblog, Clunker by ThreadedThoughts, Warren by Tedizen