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who retreated are no longer in the business, while the ones who collected themselves and adapted to the change became part of the solution. They're (1) repairing consumer con- fidence in the housing market; (2) cementing strategic relationships with lenders and other stakeholders; (3) successfully transforming their strained businesses; and, most impor- tant, (4) they're helping distressed families move on with dignity. "The storm parable, which is nicely articulated by Rory Vaden, author of Take the Stairs, is about how cows and buffaloes on the plains respond differently when bad weather comes through," Henderson says. "Buffaloes head toward it, and cows try to run away. I'm a buffalo, and so are many of the agents still standing today." around," says Scislow, a broker with RE/MAX Results in Apple Valley, Minnesota. "I learned the process, and then I made it a priority to edu- cate consumers and other agents around me." "Phase one was about education all the way It's an Evolution Scislow's team became the "Short Sale Avengers" and began conducting consumer seminars on avoiding foreclosure. The Twin Cities TV-viewing audience also saw Scislow on a self-produced local cable TV show, Real Estate Today, that aired twice a day for about eight months. Scislow's short sales pipeline filled up; he's closed well over 100 to date. Phase two centered on earning referrals unload for next to nothing," says Kadaf, the broker/owner of RE/MAX Leading Edge in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. "REOs are more mainstream now, and they're harder and harder to distinguish from traditionally listed properties in the MLS." The changed perception of REOs mirrors the more positive attitude toward short sales that both Scislow and Henderson have seen in their markets. "There's a lot less stress today for me and for my clients," Henderson says. "There's less fear because there's a stronger sense of coop- eration and resolution among all parties." from other agents, in-state and beyond, who didn't want to process short sales themselves. It was a win-win situation; Scislow is more than happy to pay referral fees to agents who don't want to handle short sales. He's also more than happy to refer his clients to ancillary professionals, including a legal firm with extensive short sales experience. "I've found there's more credibility using a third-party representative to assist in legal ne- gotiations than someone on my team," Scislow says. "I focus on my specialty, and lean into the expertise of other professionals—it's in the best interest of my clients." Scislow is currently in phase three. "Short Jeff Scislow with RE/MAX Results in Apple Valley, Minnesota Strategy Matters In the boom times, too many agents got fat and happy. Some who entered the business were simply order takers; the clients came to them. They never learned how to fill their business pipeline. Most of those agents didn't make it through the market shift; others returned to the fundamentals, treating real estate sales and mar- keting as a business. Strategy mattered again. Minnesota agent Jeff Scislow's new strategy sales are well managed in my market, which means now I'm devoting more time to fully re-engaging with my client database," says Scislow, who's coming up for air for the first time since he began working with distressed sellers three years ago. "If there's anything I've learned through this whole experience, it's that my business has to constantly evolve, just like the market does." New Perceptions Business evolution is something Joe Kadaf was to create a foundation for his business that would endure any market conditions. An extremely successful listing agent for 20 years, Scislow emerged as a buffalo when demand and property values declined in his Minneapolis-St. Paul market. He realized that market-proofing his business meant being willing—and, more important, being able—to help sellers in all situ- ations. He earned distressed property creden- tials in 2009 and shifted his efforts toward short sales. His business has transformed in phases. 86 is also familiar with, but on the REO side. In 2005, he noticed a downward trend in the Detroit commercial real estate market, where he predominantly brokered retail transactions. Foreclosures were climbing, and Kadaf reached out to banks, offering his listing services. For seven years now, REOs have made up 100 percent of his business—not a shocking statis- tic considering metro Detroit was among the hardest-hit areas in the country. Kadaf is proud to have helped dissolve the stigma of REO properties among buyers in his market. "When we started, we had to change buyers' impressions that REOs were just vacant, run-down homes that banks would Joe Kadaf of RE/MAX Leading Edge in Dearborn Heights, Michigan Clouds Are Parting In many ways, changing perceptions and overcoming fear were the biggest hurdles of the past five years. Just as consumers and profes- sionals were, by and large, caught off guard by the magnitude of the recession, so were banks and lenders. Many of them—big and small— had never managed the volume of distressed properties that surged onto the market. The more sure-footed that lenders, agents, and consumers feel, the more quickly they move through the inventory and toward recovery. "It comes with experience," Scislow says. Encouraging Trends Positive sales numbers reflect the chang- "All of us are better educated and better pre- pared to pursue solutions now." ing public mindset. The RE/MAX National Housing Report shows home sales rose for 13 straight months through July, data from Freddie Mac indicates the industry's shadow inventory is shrinking. And vacant properties are being snatched up by both owner-occupant buyers and investors.

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