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| Tools to Market Real Estate |
If you need to find more buyers for your listings, you're not alone. Many agents have trouble grabbing the interest of home shoppers, especially online. We'll be discussing 3 tools that can be used to present your listings to more buyers than ever before.
Newsletters Building a list of addresses that are interested in your and in your market can be invaluable to your real estate sales efforts. Lists can be online or offline, but either way they use the same techniques. Online lists are easier and cheaper to build, but offline mailing lists have a more personal feel. The best way to market your list is to send your subscribers valuable content on a regular basis, maybe a newspaper article of a story in your local market. This helps build trust and rapport with your audience. It's also okay to send your list info on your most recent successes, as this will build credibility in your reputation to sell homes. When it comes to marketing your listings, however, newsletters can be even more valuable; remember, your list is comprised of dozens (maybe hundreds) of local residents that could be interested in buying a home, what a perfect audience to market your listings to! As soon as you secure the listing, send your entire list a brochure or link to a virtual tour of the home.
Setting up a Blog The value of using blogs in real estate is invaluable. By setting up a blog through Wordpress, and regularly talking about your local market, you'll begin to build a strong reader base in your local area. Then, as you start to build listings, a quick post on your new home for sale will have hundreds of interested eyeballs specifically from your local market. This is a great way to sell your listings faster and find more clients who may want to sell their homes as well. Blogs can work great to help build your newsletter as well. Many blog owners have a form where users can sign up for their mailing list right from their blog - a great way to cross promote online strategies.
Creating Virtual Tours Finally, surveys have found that over 80% of home buyers search online before anywhere else. As a real estate agent, this is something that you can't overlooked. Buyers have also shown that they are more likely to pay attention to homes with a great online presentation and more pictures than one with less photos and information. Using virtual tours in this market is simply not an option; with competition rising, homes sitting on the market longer and listings coming fewer and farther between - having a strong online presentation for your listings is imperative. Once you have a strong online presence, however, it's important to ensure that your tours are getting noticed. To do this, make sure you link your tour from your blog, your mailing list, all real estate listing sites (Realtor.com, Trulia and others) and promote through social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
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| Real Estate: The Benefits Of Investing In Louisiana Properties |
When people think about Louisiana today, they may remember the devastating destruction of New Orleans and surrounding areas during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And yet surprisingly, many parts of Louisiana are doing quite well these days, weathering the financial storms of the current recession much better than most of the country.
Unemployment rates have stayed low compared with the nation and the oil and gas industries continue to thrive in the Gulf Coast state. Other companies continue to move into Louisiana and invest their resources in the state's growing business sector. Because of all these factors, real estate there continues to be a great investment both for primary residences and rental properties.
Louisiana offer real estate buyers many unique features. For one, it is the only state in the union with a heavy French influence. New Orleans is the best example of this with its French Quarter neighborhood with its distinctly French-style buildings. The New Orleans culture is steeped in Jazz tradition and Cajun spices and gumbos.
Then of course, you have the state capitol of Baton Rouge. This city still has the French influence without the Mardi Gras and other chaos. It is the home of Louisiana State University, making it the major hub for college football in the state. It currently has a population between 300,000 and 400,000 and is doing very well financially with a median home price that continues to rise in the mist of free-falling national prices.
If you are considering buying real estate in Louisiana, you would do well to sit down with a real estate agent and discuss all your concerns and make a list of your priorities. You might decide whether you want to buy in a quiet, rural area or whether you would prefer property in the hustle and bustle of one of the state's major cities like Baton Rouge or New Orleans.
Just be aware that city real estate is typically more valuable and expensive than property outside of city limits. You should let your real estate agent know if it is important to buy within the boundaries of certain school districts or nearby one of Louisiana's many colleges or universities. And of course, if you are looking for a rental property it will be helpful to determine whether you are interested in single family homes, duplexes, several units, or large apartment or condo buildings.
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| Negotiating a short sale with the lender is a difficult process |
From the lender’s perspective, a short sale saves many of the costs associated with the foreclosure process - attorney fee’s, the eviction process, delays from borrower bankruptcy, damage to the property, costs associated with resale, etc. In a short sale scenario, the lender gets the property back faster, so it is able to cut its losses. Your job as the investor is to convince the lender that it will fare better by accepting less money now.
The lender will want some information about the property, the borrower and the deal he has made with you. Specifically, the lender wants to know what the property is worth. The lender will generally hire a local real estate broker or appraiser to evaluate the property (called a broker’s price opinion or “BPO”). You can also submit your own appraisal or comparable sales information. In addition you will want to offer as much specific negative information about the property as possible. Also, include some relevant information about the neighborhood and the local economy if things are bad (copies of newspaper articles with “bad news” may help). A contract’s bid for repair estimates should also be submitted, which, of course, should be the highest bid you can obtain!
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| Avoid foreclosing on your home loan |
As the real estate industry continues to struggle in this country, more and more families are being forced into foreclosure. However, it is important to remember that you have options as there are multiple alternatives to foreclosure.
Mortgage Loan Modification To prevent defaulting on the loan, you may be able to modify your mortgage by either refinancing it, or possibly extending the term of the loan. The goal is to modify your mortgage to payments that you can afford, so that you can stay on your house.
Debt Relief & Consolidation This option is a great first step if you are having other debt problems in addition to those with your mortgage. Debt consolidation allows you to consolidate all of, or most of, your debt into one easy monthly payment. In doing this, you are making it easier to manage your finances and mortgage payments.
Private Money Loans Private money loans are issued by lenders other than a bank and come in the form of ordinary loans as well as foreclosure bailout loans. They can usually secure you up to 65% of the value of your home, but keep in mind this is another debt that you will need to eventually repay.
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| Real estate clubs are often under-funded and not-for-profit |
Having run a real estate club since 1994 with 650 members and having attended 50 or more other clubs around the Country to speak at, I have a few observations and insights. If you want to get the most out of a real estate club, follow these 5 rules...
Rule #1. Get What You Can From Every Speaker
Real estate clubs are often under-funded and not-for-profit. As such, they cannot afford to pay professional speakers a fee to speak, so most speakers who volunteer to do so have something to sell. In many cases, it is a book, tape set, mentoring or boot camp. Some people are "offended" that speakers are selling something, insisting that the speaker reveal everything he knows about a topic in a 90-minute meeting.
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| You Don't Have to Own a Property to Make Money From It |
You've seen the late-night infomercials with self-anointed gurus promising you millions in real estate profits with no money down. The truth is that many of these charlatans never made a dime in real estate, but instead built their fortunes through selling over-priced or useless information to unsophisticated investors suffering from insomnia.
Most of us are smart enough to realize that no real estate "system" is foolproof, and if anything seems too be good to be true, it probably is. However, that doesn't mean that you need excellent credit and a surplus of cash to get started in real estate. Here are some strategies for financially-constrained aspiring investors to begin generating real estate cash flow.
You Don't Have to Own a Property to Make Money From It - Be a Dealer
There are two types of quick-sale real estate investors - retailers and dealers. Retailers buy properties outright and sell them for a quick profit. Their risk is highest, but so is their potential reward. Contrary to the late-night realty televangelists, retailers typically need substantial cash for a down payment, and at least decent credit.
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| Home inspection |
The reason to get a professional New Jersey home inspection by a qualified and trained NJ home inspector is to bring to light the problems that exist with the home you are considering purchasing. The home you are purchasing represents the single largest investment that you will ever make. You need to know what is wrong with the house and what can potentially go wrong before you purchase it.
A properly performed New Jersey home inspection will bring highlight the issues and problems that exist in the home. This is the reason why you are hiring a professional NJ home inspector. The New Jersey home inspector will provide the facts and not base his or her findings on emotions.
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