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home buyer services in central virginia: Improve Yourself! - 12/10/07 09:45 AM
This time of year is a good time for real estate agents to do some self reflection.
At this time of year I always look at myself and ask myself the following questions...
What can I do to make myself a better Central Virginia real estate agent?What areas of my game are the weakest?Last year when I asked myself those questions, the answer was Home Inspections. I felt like whenever the home inspection took place, I knew less than anyone present. All I could say was, "uh huh" or "duh", and I could not contribute anything to the conversation.
So what did I do … (2 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Keep In Touch with Your Clients - It Will Pay Off!! - 10/30/07 03:38 PM
Keeping in touch with all of my potential home buyers and home sellers in Central Virginia is one of the main ways I build my business. Sounds so simple, but so many real estate agents get so busy with what they are doing they neglect their prospect database.
The strongest prospects in my database are those that have dealt with me in the past. Those are the ones that I take care of, and I give them the special treatment. They are the ones that trust me.
In another lifetime I started and built my own CPA firm. I sold that business several … (2 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Corporate Partnerships Can Be Very Important For Real Estate Agents - 10/29/07 03:01 PM
One of the keys to success as a Realtor, can be corporate partnerships. I am currently working on some of these in the Central Virginia area now.
By building relationships with human resources directors in the corporate arena, a Realtor can generate relocation business for new employees that they are bringing into the area, or new housing for their existing employees. In one of the new initiatives to the Central Virginia area that I am currently a part of (Home From Work), I build those relationships by offering home buying seminars and bringing vendors together to offer one complete package to an … (3 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Recordkeeping: A Pain in the Neck or a Lifesaver Around the Neck? - 10/29/07 11:54 AM
I cannot stress enough the benefits of keeping records as a Central Virginia real estate agent. Even though the office keeps records of the paperwork, I always keep a copy of everything that comes thru my hands: pictures of the home, contracts, addendums, disclosures, everything!
But what about the space and paperwork in your file drawers and keeping up with it all, you ask? Get a scanner! I scan everything that I do not already have an electronic copy of. If something is faxed to me, I have an electronic copy thru my fax to email service, but if not, I scan … (4 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: How Do You Find Your Way Around Town? - 10/29/07 11:50 AM
One of the most useful tools that I have come to depend on regularly while conducting showings to home buyers and sellers in Central Virginia is my Global Positioning System (GPS).
I now wonder how I ever got along without my Garmin Streetpilot. Prior to purchasing "Bessie" as I call her, I was riding around with the map book open and MapQuest directions printed out, trying to read while I drove. Sometimes, I even had to follow clients from house to house for showings, as I had no idea where the next house was. How embarrassing is that?
Bessie now tells me where … (6 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: A Detailed and Organized Final-Walk Thru Can Save Money for Buyers!! - 10/28/07 08:04 PM
As close as possible to the point of closing on the purchase of a new home, the buyer and their agent should do a final walk-through of the property. This is a basic check of the property to make sure that the property is currently in the same state that it was when the buyer wrote the offer. No newly broken windows, missing light fixtures, or disappearing stoves.
When I do a final walk-through with my home buyers in Central Virginia, I do my best to make it a JV version of a home inspection. I have a Final Walk-Through Checklist that … (2 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Email Newsletters for Prospects - 10/22/07 12:24 PM
One of the easiest ways I keep in touch with my Central Virginia real estate prospects is an email newsletter.
Early in my real estate career, I determined that the best way for me to be successful in my new career was to find a way to keep in touch with my prospects on a regular and systematic basis. After checking into many different options, I finally settled on a few, one important one being an email newsletter. This is a very inexpensive way to reach a lot of prospects. The best email newsletter that I have found is the one generated … (6 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Real Estate Transaction Management in Central Virginia - 10/20/07 10:58 AM
In the past, I have found a transaction management system to be extremely helpful to guide my clients from the pre-contract stage to the closing. I have been using an internet based system whenever my clients buy or sell real estate in Central Virginia, and they absolutely rave about it! The one that I use is called RELAY.
RELAY is an inexpensive subscription that allows the real estate agent to set up the transaction and all parties involved with that particular transaction in the internet based account. After setting up all of the parties in the transaction, the real estate agent can … (0 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Title Searches and Title Insurance in Central Virginia - 10/20/07 08:25 AM
Whether buying or selling real estate in the Central Virginia area, a basic knowledge of title searches and title insurance can be very helpful.
In Central Virginia Real Estate transactions, it is the seller's responsibility to provide a clean title to the property to the buyer. In most cases, the seller will basically need to show that he or she is the rightful owner of the property having the right to sell the property, and no one else has any right to the property. This is done through a title search by the buyer's attorney. The record of the title … (0 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Loan Applications in Central Virginia - WATCH the Fine Print! - 10/13/07 07:01 PM
When acting as a buyer's agent in Central Virginia, I find it very important to ensure that my buyer follows their obligations under the contract TO THE LETTER. With some recent changes in the purchase agreement for real estate in Richmond, this has become even more imperative. The loan application process is one of the important ways that a buyer can run into problems if not fulfilling his obligations.
If my buyer's contract is contingent upon financing, then my buyer has a certain number of days from the date the contract is ratified (signed by all parties) in which to apply for his … (1 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Always Use a Buyer Representation Agreement! - 09/24/07 11:55 AM
Here is another great reason to include a Buyer's Representation Agreement in your arsenal of Home Buyer Services.
Have you ever had an unethical client?
Here's the story...
I consider myself a patient person, but there is a point. To date, I have not had much luck with working with investors, and at times it is because I have found only one so far that I trust, and we have not found the right home for him to purchase.
This investor that I have been working with for a while calls me up and wants me to run numbers on a few fixer upper properties … (7 comments)
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home buyer services in central virginia: Home From Work - 09/20/07 02:12 PM
There is an absolutely TERRIFIC new initiative being put forth by the National Association of Realtors. It is called Home From Work, and it is a employer benefit to be offered to employees to assist employees with obtaining homes. For the employer, it can help them with recruitment, retention, and recognition in the area, as well as build relationships with their employees and help to reduce commuting. For the employee, it helps them to overcome the obstacles to home ownership.
The BIG bonus for the employer is that it can be FREE! Why would any employer NOT want to do this for … (4 comments)
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Dale Campbell's Real Estate Blog on all things real estate in the Central Virginia Area.
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