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Posts Tagged: Real Estate Negotiation Institute

How the Brain Learns and the Impact on Training

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Human beings are generally always learning something, and the more engaged they are in the process, the more useful the new information will be. The neurons in the brain love to learn, and they can be compared to muscles in the body that love to exercise.

Neurons become stimulated while learning just as muscles stretch and flex and expand while exercising. But neurons can also get fatigued just like muscles. The fatigue happens more quickly when the same patterns of information are repeated again and again, similar to muscles becoming fatigued throughout a set of the same exercise repetitions.

When new concepts are covered in varying ways, however, the brain has a remarkable capacity to interconnect the information and learn at a deeper rate. Again, this is similar to working muscles throughout a series of different stations – the muscles may feel tired, but they will keep on working if you vary the exercise.

At the Real Estate Negotiation Institute, we understand how much more effective learning negotiation techniques and negotiation skills can be when concepts are presented in a variety of formats. All of our courses offer a range of interactions with the instructor, with peers, with materials, in large groups, in small groups, and individually. Listening, reading, role playing, discussions, and examples all work together at the RENI to provide a complete learning experience that leaves the student with a complete command of the subject.

HAR Produces First MCNE Graduates in the Country

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Thirty Texas agents have completed a new training program at Houston Association of Realtors® (HAR) that raises the bar for professional representation in real estate. During May of 2011, 29 HAR members (and one commuting Dallas agent) became the first agents in the country to complete the Master Certified Negotiation Expert (MCNE®) designation program.

The MCNE training program is a negotiation training program unlike any other in the real estate industry. The six classes train real estate professionals in negotiation skills similar to those used in corporate America and taught at the finest schools in the country. Importantly, the training includes application of proven negotiation techniques in real estate negotiation situations that help improve client results. “Our goal is to raise the bar in professional representation of buyers and sellers in the real estate industry,” says Tom Hayman, CEO, and Co-Founder (along with John Wenner) of the Real Estate Negotiation Institute.

Agents who earn the MCNE designation definitely have a marketing advantage. One MCNE graduate completed her best year ever by closing 18 transactions during the 3+ months of her MCNE courses (including two transactions done completely by email!).

Clients hire real estate agents to help achieve the best results possible in the sale or purchase of property. While no agent can guarantee specific results for a buyer or seller, MCNE agents can prove they are the best trained real estate professionals in the one skill that influences the final outcome the most – negotiation! “Negotiation skills are fundamental to success in real estate and the MCNE designation shows clients that you have invested significant time and effort to acquire higher level skills for their benefit,” says Hayman.

Initial comments from MCNE graduates show the success and excitement of having achieved this milestone:

“The negotiation classes have helped me tremendously with my business. The referrals I am receiving from clients are proof they were very satisfied and impressed with my negotiation skills. I recommend your classes to many of my fellow agents and friends.” Joan Collins

“The … MCNE training [also applies to my] duties as a Mediation officer to Harris County small claims courts through the Dispute Resolution Center! I have already pulled from this information so many times that I have lost count!” Mary Lou Green

“Sellers recognize that they need a good negotiator to get things done. Once I explain the ‘plan’ that we have for helping to achieve their goals, they realize the benefit of having an MCNE representing them.” Vicki Looney.

“A woman called me from Seattle as they will be moving here next summer. She was especially impressed with my MCNE because she is a negotiator with Microsoft and was glad she could work with someone who understood negotiations! I took great pride in being able to tell her that I was one of the first in the Houston area to get the CNE® designation and in the first 30 in the nation to achieve the MCNE.” Vickey Wachtel

The six courses required for the MCNE designation are:

- Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE®) designation course (2-days)

- Advanced Negotiation Techniques for Listing Agents (1-day)

- Advanced Negotiation Techniques for Buyer’s Agents (1-day)

- Mastering Email Negotiations in Real Estate (1-day)

- Cultural Factors in Real Estate Negotiations (3 hours)

- Negotiating Across Generations in Real Estate (3 hours)

Announcing the CSSN Course Available Online

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

With the housing market still feeling the ravages of the economic crisis, the Certified Short Sale Negotiator (CSSN) course has become one of the most popular courses offered at the Real Estate Negotiation Institute (RENI). Now the RENI, in conjunction with Asset Plan USA, is making this popular course available online.

The information presented in the online CSSN course was developed by a team of experts with decades of experience, and is backed by the full reputation of the RENI – a premier negotiation resource for the real estate industry. CSSN is now one of the most practical short sale negotiation training courses on the market.

Short sales are expected to remain a dominant force in the real estate industry for the next three to five years. As a real estate professional, short sale negotiation is a fact of professional life. The online CSSN course helps you navigate this complicated transaction, and equips you with the best and most relevant skills needed to close short sales successfully.

Begin your online training for a Certified Short Sale Negotiator designation immediately and be ready to succeed in this volatile housing market for years to come.

John Wenner Featured in Today’s Buyer’s Rep Magazine

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

John Wenner, ABR, CRS, GREEN, GRI, SFR, and co-founder of the Real Estate Negotiation Institute, was recently featured in the February 2011 issue of Today’s Buyer’s Rep magazine. In the detailed article, Wenner offers tips for successful negotiation for buyer’s representatives.

Negotiating Short Sales

Monday, April 4th, 2011

Question: If a short sale takes place and there is a second mortgage on the home can both balances be negotiated away so that the homeowner has no further debt? In other words: House has primary mortgage of $500,000. Second mortgage of $50,000 but house sells in short sale for $450,000. Can the remaining $50,000 on the primary plus the $50,000 on the 2nd mortgage be negotiated away so that no debt follows or accrues to the seller? And can should that be done up front when entering the short sale process?

Answer: Yes, all liens have to be satisfied for the property to close, thus both lienholders agree. Depending on the state and anti-deficiency laws, this can be somewhat or very difficult. This negotiation is part of the normal short sale process and depends heavily on the buyer’s offer and total deficiency for the lienholders. It also depends on the seller’s financial situation. Some banks are insisting that the remaining deficiency be settled by a promissory note or cash at closing from the seller. Many banks don’t want to give up the right to go after the seller for any deficiency, so the language of the settlement is critical. Generally, the first lienholder is the foreclosing, and thus controlling entity, and would thus determine how much money goes to the second lienholder. Typically it is a very small amount, $3,000 – $5,000, and typically the second will agree since their BATNA (in foreclosure) is not very good. However, some junior lienholders can be very difficult and can force foreclosure by refusing reasonable settlement terms. Usually you can’t negotiate this settlement up front, since the most critical piece of information (the amount of Buyer’s offer, and how the funds are divided) is missing.

Why You Should Earn Your MCNE Designation

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Negotiation is a business skill as well as a life skill. It is a complex skill involving multiple sub-skills and the use of various techniques, tactics, and approaches depending on the situation at hand. It is now taught at virtually every major business and/or law school in the country. Programs and courses vary in length (and cost) from a one-day topical course (e.g. “Dealing with Difficult People”) to full degree programs (e.g. U. of Notre Dame, Creighton). Net, it is a skill that requires ongoing training and practice to increase competency, which leads to better results.

In the corporate world, those tasked with handling important negotiations typically attend multiple negotiation training sessions over an extended period of time to gain expertise. When I worked at Procter & Gamble, I attended various negotiation training sessions at different companies and universities to broaden my knowledge. The combination of those sessions resulted in a more thorough knowledge of negotiation and led to significantly better results for my company. At the Real Estate Negotiation Institute, we have developed a real estate specific series of courses that will equip real estate professionals with advanced negotiation knowledge to better protect clients while helping them to achieve better results. As managing brokers well know, this will also help agents and brokers achieve better results (e.g. higher profit, greater retention, better recruiting).

Our 2-day CNE course is, we believe, an excellent start to understanding negotiation skills and applying them to real estate negotiation situations. Our two advanced courses (one for listing agents and one for buyer’s agents) introduce new concepts and tools not taught in the CNE course while expanding on some of the areas introduced in the CNE® course. For example, we introduce the concepts of ZOPA (Zone of Possible Agreement) and Anchoring along with new Offer / Counter Offer Worksheets to help buyers and sellers develop more credible and defensible negotiation positions. We also greatly expand on the concept of Power in a negotiation and discuss 11 sources of Power and how to use them judiciously in a negotiation. Our “Mastering Email Negotiations in Real Estate” course is designed to address the most difficult way to negotiate – in writing – and how to manage the increased hostility inherent in this negotiation medium. In addition, our shorter (3 hours) classes on “Negotiating Across Generations in Real Estate” and “Cultural Factors in Real Estate Negotiations” are designed to round out our program for real estate professionals in two areas that can often make or break negotiations if not properly addressed.

New to all of our courses in the MCNE program is our “ACCE” Negotiation Methodology that supplements the CNE Model. The ACCE Negotiation Methodology provides a simple yet powerful process for negotiation that can be used in any negotiation situation. Additionally, we are now incorporating more “accelerated learning” techniques into our training. These techniques – such as group discussions, case studies, skill practice, and “teach backs” – help increase comprehension and retention of the material being taught.

Our MCNE program is designed to take negotiation skills in the real estate industry to a new level. As with the CNE course, the real estate professionals who continue to advance their negotiation skills will be able to out-perform other agents in the important areas of gaining more clients, achieving better results for clients, and achieving better results for themselves.

Tom Hayman
CEO and Co-Founder of the Real Estate Negotiation Institute