HOW TO FIX AND FLIP THE CORRECT WAY IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA
There are over 50,000 homes in the foreclosure process in Maricopa County located in Arizona. Those are a lot of homes. However, there is plenty of opportunities to fix and flip here in the Great Phoenix area. I receive many calls outside of Arizona by investors wanting to enter into the Phoenix, Arizona market. The Real Estate and Beyond Team has created a one stop shop for real estate investors. We have created a team of local professionals to make things happen at a rapid pace to ensure we do not miss any opportunities. REAL ESTATE AND BEYOND NETWORK
I have specialized in Arizona Trustee Sales because investors want deals. This is a great resource for properties to fix and flip. Everyone thinks it is an easy process. However, I have explained that real estate is a team sport. The Real Estate and Beyond Network is a team for investors who want to make money in Phoenix real estate market. We are the application team here in Phoenix, Arizona. PLEASE REVIEW ARIZONA TRUSTEE SALES SECTION OF REAL ESTATE AND BEYOND NETWORK WEB SITE.This will explain in detail on how to obtain a property from the Arizona Trustee Sale.
The home to the right of us seems like a normal house on the outside. One never knows what you get inside of a trustee sale. It is like Cracker Jacks as a kid. I have seen it all when it comes to homes. So, the outside of this home seem normal to the rest of the ones on the block. The neighbors had no problems with the owner. However, the owners moved out one day before the trustee sale date. Here is what we found inside of this home. Please review the pictures below.
They left the kitchen in total disrepair as you can see from the picture. They had Chex Cereal box left out along with empty liquor bottles, empty dog food bag and Fido's dinner bowl. They took the fridge and stove. Why did they leave the microwave? They were nice people.
They left a house in the living room. Why? Did they have a greenhouse in the living room? Luckily, there was no water damage in this area. Talk about arm chair gardener. Enjoy this picture
Yes, this is a real picture of the home toilet. It is amazing how some people live in their homes. This is not the standard in most Ameican homes. Pictures tell a thousand words but no odors.
This picture shows actual dog do do in the master bedroom. It was all over the place. They did have a door for the dog. It was all over the house. Yes, we need to replace the carpet in the whole house.
I just wanted to share some pictures of homes that have been purchased from the trustee sales. However, I would say the majority of the fix up costs are cosmetic only. The structure of the home itself is strong. Home buyers do not care about the asset once they have hit the foreclosure stage. It is very sad.
Let me share some pictures of a home fixed up correctly to fix and flip to an end buyer.
This home has great curb appeal. First impressions are important to the end buyer. The front door was scrapped and painted to have a fresh look to it.
The home was tiled throughout the entire house including the bedrooms with the same tile. Kitchen is open and fresh with new applicances.
Living room has the open look with the fresh look. A mirror was placed above the fireplace to give it a warm look to it. Again, same tile was used in the entire house to give it a fresh look.
The backyard was cleaned up and properly landscaped to make the outside match the inside.
I just wanted to share real life examples for investors thinking about investing here in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a perfect storm for investors with plenty of inventory, mortgage rates low, home buyer tax incentive, material and labor costs are low, and plenty of end buyers read to purchase a home. Please feel free to visit our web site at www.DeliaTeam.com
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
HOW TO OBTAIN A FHA 203K LOAN WHEN PURCHASING DISTRESSED PROPERTY, BANK OWNED, REO IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Banks continue to foreclose on properties on a daily basis. It has been reported that over 50,000 homes in Maricopa County were in the foreclosure process. Home owners are stripping homes before they leave the home. They are selling the contents of the home on Craigslist. The number one problem in the Phoenix market has been abandoned homes. People come in and strip the home of its contents. So, there is plenty of opportunity for first time home buyers to obtain a great deal while using the FHA 203K loan to have the money to repair the distressed property, bank owned, REO property.
Home buyers are allowed up to $35,000 of repairs into their mortgage for the purchase of the home. This is an awesome deal for Phoenix home buyers. This can also happen on a refinance of a FHA loan to include $35,000 in repairs to a home. This is a great deal when first time home buyers do not have a great deal of money for repairs. This loan program is good for single family residences up to a four-plex unit as a primary purchase. The borrower must by able to prove their income and credit worthiness to obtain such a loan.
Here are some examples of the work that can be performed on a Distressed Property, Bank Owned, REO home in Phoenix, Arizona Maricopa County.
Upgrade or replace A/C unit
Repair or replace flooring, decks, patios or porches in some areas
Painting interior and exterior
Purchase and installing of new appliances
Pool repairs if needed
Connect public utilities such as water, electric or heat
One myth out there that people could not purchase a bank owned property with a broken window along with other minor repairs. Yes, that has some truth to it. However, it can be purchased with a FHA 203K loan as long as those are part of the repairs included to be fixed during the renovation of the home. It is better to be with real estate experts such as the Real Estate and Beyond Team in Phoenix, Arizona. We get the Deal Done with D'Elia.
There is plenty of opportunities for all buyers in this market to obtain a great deal on a home. I would prefer to purchase a bank owned property with the FHA 203k streamline loan to finance the repairs. Then, I can fix the house up to meet my crieria. One tends to be happeier in an environment that they most enjoy. We spend a great deal of time in our our home so we might as well make it comfortable for family and friends.
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
FHA 203K LOAN PROCESS TO PURCHASE DISTRESSED HOME, BANK OWNED, REO HOME IN ARIZONA
There are over 50,000 homes here in Phoenix, Arizona in the foreclosure process. I can guarantee you that these homes will need work before being purchased. Banks are not pumping monies into these properties. They are selling bank owned homes in 'AS-IS" conditions which means buyer will be responsible for all repairs. Wow, that is a lot of responsibility for first time home buyers. Buying their first home can be overwhelming plus repairs can send some of them over the top. However, we have the FHA 203K loan to finance the repairs to the home.
The majority of loan officers do not touch this loan product because it can be very complicated and intimidating to some of them. However, we must follow the money and service the clients. So, the Real Estate and Beyond Team has partnered with The Lending Company to service the FHA 203K loan to service our clients. Let me explain the process of the FHA 203K loan to purchase distressed home, bank owned, reo home in Phoenix, Arizona:
Borrower fills out loan application and supplies loan officer with all necessary document to obtain loan approval
Borrower is approved for the loan
Realtor instructed to put FHA 203K Streamline loan as loan type on the purchase product
General Contractors must be approved by HUD to make repairs to home
List of repairs along with cost is prepared by General Contractor and submitted to loan officer for review
Borrowers can do the work if they show they are licensed and bonded. Borrower will only be reimbursed for materials not labor.
Appraisal ordered to determine value of home after repairs
Loan is funded including repair costs
Only two draws will be conducted for the repair costs. No inspections are needed for work under $15,000. Money must be requested to the bank. We heavily advise to snap pictures and/or video during the process to have a record on hand if ever challenged by the bank.
10% contingency fund was added to the repair costs for emergency purposes. If this portion is not needed, then it goes back to the bank and the loan is reduced to that amount of money-principal reduction.
Job completed and all bills submitted to bank for final payment to General Contractor
Home buyers move into their newly renovated home
The Real Estate and Beyond Team headed by Harry F. D'Elia is ready to assist all homebuyers in purchasing real estate. Please feel free to visit our main web site at www.DeliaTeam.com
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
Each time I teach a webinar class, one of the things we spend a good amount of time covering is how to claim the domain name for your outside blog. When you become a Rainmaker, a custom domain URL is part of your benefit. You do not need to go to godaddy.com and purchase a domain name. So, I decided that I would take a moment tonight and do a brief tutorial on how to claim your domain for your Outside Blog through ActiveRain.
Also, if you were wondering if an outside blog would be a benefit for you, you may want to check out a few great features of the outside blog.
So, if you have not yet become a Rainmaker and started your Outside Blog, try it today! Also, if you would like to learn more on how to optimize ActiveRain & your Outside Blog, see if my Blogging Basics 101 class is right for you!
If you would like to be a part of one of my upcoming Webinars to learn how to use your blog to increase your rankings in search engines as well as writing appealing posts to consumers, click here for more information.
Feel free to subscribe to my blog to keep up to date with my latest posts of tips & tricks to enhance your experience on ActiveRain. If you would like, you can sign up to receive updates via email directly in your inbox.
Also, lets connect on these great social networks:
Make the Call, Set the Plan, Do the Deal$!
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
Raise your hands if you remember always wanting to break the wishbone in the Thanksgiving Day turkey? I always did (and still do!) - it is fun to make "that wish" for dreams! Although I love to wish on the first star at night, or shooting stars and the wishbone - I know I can't always count on good luck.
So, I got a call from a new agent this week. After asking how his first transaction is going, he says, "I wish this veteran listing agent wasn't so demeaning about me being a new agent." To which I replied:
You gotta stand up for yourself!
Wishing you were more confident to handle a person or situations won't happen unless you have a backbone to do something about it! Here are some ways to start:
Talk with confidence - even if you don't feel confident. Believe in yourself and your abilities and you'll be able to stand up for yourself!
Learn the difference between being aggressive and assertive. People respond more positively to an assertive person rather than an aggressive person. In situations where someone is questioning you, your decisions, etc., find positive or constructive solutions to the issues and move forward.
None of us knows everything about everything. You have answers - but you won't always have them all! At those times simply say "I don't know right now - but I can find out and call you right back!"
"What the heck!" Next time you talk yourself out of doing something, or feel like giving up because someone beat you down - say, "What the heck!" and just do it. Trust yourself and your skills!
Don't want to look or sound silly? Jump on board - because none of us do! But don't let that stop you from trying. "It just doesn't matter." You can overcome looking silly - just learn to laugh at yourself!
So I tell the new agent: Who cares if an experienced agent thinks you have no idea what you are doing? The fact is - they were new once too. Keep your confidence levels high and show what you know!
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
When Al & Peggy Cunningham wrote this Featured Post, Is the Real Estate Agent Obsolete but Doesnt Know it Yet (Member's Only), I thought there were some interesting comments and facts shared by Al & Peggy as well as commenters on the blog. I must say that this is not the first I've heard and I've been hearing this rumors since I got into the business over 6 years ago.
The Internet is going to change the world and the Internet is going to take the place of the real estate agents. No buyers would need agents to show them around because the Internet has made the world closer. No sellers would need agents because they could post their homes for sale on the Internet. Everything is going to splash before your very eyes.
Most of my buyers do not buy homes just by looking on the Internet. They would need to see, feel, touch and smell the house before they feel comfortable purchasing it. My clients still need the person who they feel comfortable guiding them through the process whether they are doing it for the first time or the sixth time.
I'm not going to be bold enough to compare our profession with a dentist or a brain surgeon. Many agents try to say, the reason we shouldn't pull our own teeth or remove the tumor in our brain because we lack the knowledge or skillset. Now, that's thinking too highly of ourselves if we put ourselves in that caliber. But the truth is that if you are very good at what you do, you should be professional of your domain. No one - including your brightest and smartest clients should know more about home buying or selling than you do. While these professions require more than just an extensive education, as for me - I view these 2 things keep us (the real estate agents) in business:
Convenience
Have you read my recent post, Should You For Sale By Owner? In this post, I outlined some factors to consider if you want to go down that path. The bottom line is the CONVENIENCE factor. In our everyday life, we have so much to juggle and on top of it, you are trying to add a real estate transaction to the mix. A real estate transaction is NOT rocket science when you have no problems and all grounds covered and nothing go wrong in the transaction. It becomes a very stressful and complicated process, on top of being a costly lesson if not executed properly.
There are many parts to a real estate transaction. Most people stop at price and closing date. Most people don't realize there are lots of contingencies to a basic real estate transaction, built into the contract. If you are not well versed in understanding it, you will be pleasantly surprised that you might have missed several contingencies and have no recourse from the other party because you didn't understand what to watch for. Even if you did, do you want to? Or would you rather spend time and energy thinking about your next destination?
Computers and Internets do not run on emotions to process their decisions for buying. People, on the other hand do.
Voice of Reason
As much as real estate transactions have systems and standard procedures, when we throw "people" and human emotions into the mix, it no longer fit cookie cutter molds. I've been called Voice of Reason by my clients. When emotions are high, we need a 3rd party to pull us back down into reality. Buyers and sellers are very emotional during this process - after all it's their homes you are talking about. The house that made into homes with beautiful and lasting memories in it. Of course, emotions are running on full throttle.
In the end, as much as there are, or there will be memories in the house, it is still a business transaction. The numbers have to work right in fairness for both parties to the transaction. This is where I see the Internet, or Google can't do for people.
Agents could lay out the Do's and the Don'ts of a real estate transaction. Heck, websites could even outline Step 1 to Step 20 to take a real estate transaction from Contract to Closing. It's not that easy because we throw "us" into the mix and that's the problem.
The truth is that we are people. Different people bring different sets of feelings and emotions into the transactions.
If you believe that the Internet will make you extinct, you're right. If you believe that you will rise higher than the occasion, you're right too! As for me - I refuse to be extinct, so I must have a shift in my thinking about my services, my values and my difference I could bring to the real estate transaction.
Super-serving Frisco, Plano, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Little Elm, Prosper, Celina, Richardson, Dallas M-Streets, Dallas White Rock Lake area communities and other surrounding areas.
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
I have been watching the developer presentation from Google about their new wave platform.
Google wave is what they are calling Web 3.0. The "Wave" merges many of the current Web 2.0 applications that many of us use to communicate into one easy to use convenient platform that can both originate communication or view it on top of other existing tools.
From a high level each wave is a communication stream of events... comments, messages, email equivalents, pictures... in the Real Estate World - hopefully contracts at some point.
Traditionally when working on a project (in our realm a contract or a property search or a marketing plan) we traditionally meet exchange words or converse, then we usually type up or write notes or take action on the conversation. With todays systems we then email and instant message or call or text meaningful bits of related information back and forth between us.
The "Google Wave" is essentially that thought stream to the extent it is put into something tangible, like a note, message, photo, contract, etc. The members of a wave can collaboratively add to or edit the messages, documents or conversations.
The really cool thing about Google Wave is that they offer a playback feature, so not only do they group all of these related little mini exchanges or conversations together in a wave, they allow you to manage them and evolve them into something useful. The "playback" feature allows an existing or more importantly a new member of the wave to play back the evolution of the current state of the wave.
So if Barb edits Johns message or note and then Elise sees it and adds something else, then George opens it. They all see the same thing, but they all have the option of playing it back from its origin, step by step, change by change to see how it unfolded to get to its current state.
Its kindof like a living organism with instant replay.
I have included a link to the developer video explaining the features "straight from Googles mouth".
I personally could see how Google Wave could make transaction management and effective communication much more efficient and accurate for Real Estate transactions.
I don't think Google Wave will make Realtors extinct except maybe to the extent that those that choose not to endorse this or other technological advances may get left behind with the similarly dusty clients that only want to do everything the old fashioned way.
I am excited to give it a test drive and my mind is racing with ways it could revolutionize our business and how we interact with clients, inspectors, appraisers, lenders and each other.
So tell me what you think. Are you going to catch the Wave?
Chris
PS. If you want to request to be invited to be included in the Beta release go to this link.
Chris Ormsbee is a Realtor and is a licensed Real Estate Agent in the State of Colorado. He is part of the Montrose Gold Team and works for Century 21 Action Realty in Montrose Colorado. Century 21 Action Realty is located at 1245 E Main St. Montrose, CO 81401 and our phone number is (970) 209-0252.
Chris Ormsbee is NOT a Technical Advisor, Lawyer, Accountant, CPA, Surveyor, Structural Engineer, Financial Advisor, Judge, Jury or a Normal Guy, but he does occassionally sleep at a Holiday Inn Express.
Besides Commenting here, you can Contact Chris Ormsbee (especially if you want to buy or sell real estate):
Chris' Cell Phone is (970) 209-0252
Chris can be friend-ed on Facebook. His user name is Chris Ormsbee
Chris also has other blogs pertaining to Real Estate:
http://IdeasThoughtsWhatevers.blogspot.com/ - a discussion about Internet Marketing Ideas and trial "sales pitches", wild wacky opinionated ideas and politics abound and some content may be oriented to adults - surfers beware!
Make the Call, Set the Plan, Do the Deal$!
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
1 IN 4 AMERICAN HOME OWNERS UNDER WATER WITH VALUE OF THE HOME AND MORTGAGE BALANCE
The American economy continues to take while more people are losing their jobs as national unemployment rate is over ten percent. People are losing confidence in the economy because they are scared of the future. Our current President has an approval rating beow fifty percent according to the polls. What are people to do? The Holiday Season is a time for family and traditions. Many families will be cutting back during this Holiday Season until the economy turns around. The retailers continue entice shoppers with bargains and no payment plans until 2010. Who are they fooling? I read an article where 1 IN 4 AMERICAN HOME OWNERS UNDER WATER WITH VALUE OF THE HOME AND MORTGAGE BALANCE
There are many people after the fact trying to blame someone for this national catastrophe. Who will stand up to accept the blame? Here are your following candidates
This is what the national media wants us to believe. Do they have a part in this problem? However, I believe I have found who to blame. Here is my answer below
This person said it best in the movie, "GREED IS GOOD." Please click to watch the most famous movie clip that portrayed Gordon as the evil Wall Street person who cared nothing about humans and cared only about company earnings.
I refuse to participate in this recession. We all need to have positive attitudes and work together to solve this national problem. Housing got us into this recession and housing will get us out of this recession. I encourage everyone to continue to sell homes so America can get back on track.
Make the Call, Set the Plan, Do the Deal$!
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
ActiveRain awards members points based on participation and their individual involvement within the network and community. While there is a much more complicated and technical explanation of how the point system works, this post is to provide you a general overview of how points are earned and distributed that to ALL ActiveRain members.
ActiveRain points are earned based on a members individual activities and efforts. Points are accumulated over the duration of the Calendar week which "Starts Monday morning at 12:00am Central Time, and Ends Sunday night at 11:59pm Central Time."
The following are some ways you can earn points and move up the "Featured Member" ladder in your Local Area.
200 Points for each Blog Post (Max 10 per Week) (50 Word Minimum Required)
25 Additional Points when Post is added to Channels with a Topic
400 Points for Featured Post on ActiveRain.com (Excludes Posts Featured in ActiveRain Groups)
25 Points For Each Comment (Max 10 Per Day) (Comments on Your Own Posts Excluded)
25 Points for Each Reblogged Post (Max 10 Per Week - These do not Include Your Own Posts)
ActiveRain Profile Points (Building Your AR Profile will Build points)
Received Comments on Blog Posts (No Blog Post to exceed 475 pts.)
100 Points - Logging In To ActiveRain Each Day (This applies 7 days a week)
250 Points When Someone Accepts Your AR Invitation (Must Sign Up under Members Invite Code)
10% of Total Points Earned By New Members Invited By You (IE: Invited Member Earns 1000 pts. - You Earn 100 Pts.)
ActiveRain and Member Approved Contests - Points Will Vary (These show up as Bonus Points in your Point Summary)
Staff Awarded Bonus Points - These are issued by the AR staff (Member Humanitarian, Paying It Forward, Helping Others etc.)
Weekly Point Scenario: The potential of points available per week, per member would be as follows: 1750 for max comments, 2000 for max Blog posts, 700 for logging in daily, 250 for adding to Channels/Topics, and 250 for max ReBlogged posts. The Weekly potential of points would be 4950 (this does not include featured posts, comments received, invitation and percentage points, contests, and staff awarded bonus points.)
Point Disclaimer:The Points System created by the ActiveRain Network was developed and implemented to motivate, inspire, and reward members for their participation and involvement within the community. These points are subject to change at the discretion of the ActiveRain Mgmt. Team, with or without cause, warning, or notice.
"RainMaker" Special - Signup Here and Get New Member Discount RainCamp™ - "Because The Way We Do Business Online Has Changed!"
Make the Call, Set the Plan, Do the Deal$!
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
A good real estate professional has a plan for just about everything. They should have a business plan with goals and mile markers. They should have a prospecting plan, a presentation plan for listings, and above all, they should have a plan to market your property. Welcome to the first in a 7 part series of posts about proper Home Marketing Strategies where I'll be giving a fairly comprehensive overview (Primer, if you will) of the different facets of marketing as it pertains to agents and the marketing of their listings. Let's start by talking about the newest plan that Realtors should have firmly planted in their "plan arsenal," a Social Networking Plan.<!--more-->
This plan should be split into two sections: the personal plan for the agent and the plan for their listings. Today, let's talk about how a good real estate professional uses social networking to help them sell homes...while we're at it, let's tell real estate professional how to create their plans for success.
Social Networking as part of the Digitial Home Exposure Strategy
Remember that the Social Networking Exposure Plan and all that encompases is only part of the overall Digital Home Exposure Strategy which itself is part of an agent's Home Marketing Strategy. Let's look at that real quick. So, we have to keep our "master plans" in mind when concocting our specific plans whether it be a Social Networking Plan or a plan for exposing the property in Print Media. Let's focus on how agents should construct the Social Networking aspect of a Home Marketing Strategy.
Planning a Social Networking Exposure Plan
Your Blog is Home Base
Blogging works. No, it doesn't work for 99% of real estate agents but that's because they don't have a clue what they are doing or why they are doing it. If you don't blog don't sweat it. This entire strategy can be implemented without blogging... it's just a lot more effective if you have a good blog. But a decent template website will work for many of the things you need to be doing with your Digital Home Exposure Strategy. How's it home base?
You can funnel all of your social networking, organic, paid, and referral traffic to your blog, landing and your contact pages
You can send people your blog address and they should be able to contact you through multiple fronts if you have links to all of your networking profiles
Your blog is where you talk about what really matters... you may add snippets in facebook, twitter, linkedin, or somewhere else, but your blog should have all of your "big deal" content
Your blog is your brand... if you don't have your blog branded it can inhibit the real and percieved value of your services by the online community
Branch Out and Seek Ye Business
I'll put out a disclaimer here. Yes, you are networking for business. Yes, you can even solicit people for business from time to time. But what is Social Networking really about? If you don't "get it" then maybe you should do some additional homework and then come back...
You'd take a great leap in understanding if you read the Cluetrain Manifesto.
Get a Twitter account. Then learn how to use and interact on Twitter. A great resource for this is the Twitter for Real Estate Twits E-Book by @Nik_Nik
Definitely get a tweetlister account and use it to promote listings (sparingly please)
Get a Linkedin Account and add your profiles and links to it. Make sure to import your contacts and get started building your contact list.
I could name a dozen others but the law of diminishing returns definitely applies to beloning to too many networks. Go with a few. Go with what your prospects and clients USE. Facebook has over 200,000,000 accounts with half of them logging on to do something everyday. Start there. That's all that's needed to start with. I've got lots of tips and tricks and applications to help you use these tools more efficiently and effectively but you'll have to see the related posts or browse through my site to find them.
Plan your work and Work your plan
Everyone knows social media can be an endless time sink, a black hole of tireless updates, uploads, replies and direct messages. Here's what I suggest to keep your social networking time meaningful and efficient
:
Set aside a SPECIFIC time and SPECIFIC amount of time every day to network socially.
Depending on your goals, 15-30 minutes should cut it
Aim for a certain number of updates, links, pictures, and videos to share and send to friends
Try to make one new meaningful contact each session
Pick up the phone - talk to people using other means
Schedule a face-to-face - coffee, lunch, make it short, fun, and public
When you've accomplished your goals for the day... stop. If you have to share something crazy important right now, do it... in moderation.
TIP: Vary the times of day you network socially. Many people are beginning to use this "time managed" technique of networking and spend too much time talking to just a few core people. That's not networking, that's hanging out with your friends.
What kinds of things are you sharing and talking about?
On Facebook - use a 4:1 ratio of personal updates to professional updates on your profile page. Business pages can obviously be more centered around, well, business.
Talk about what makes you you. Your interests any hobbies, your family, your life.
Share useful information - that could be market data, a new listing that is grossly underpriced, news about a town or neighborhood that you deal with.
Share things that keep people interested in you - share crazy news, ask questions that get people involved
Be genuine - there's not much more obvious that someone going through the motions for business purposes. If you are sharing, helping, and offering insight to those who need it, blessings will be returned upon you in many ways.
So HOW does all this help Sell Listings?
Dividends from Social Networking are inherently difficult to quantify. One thing is for sure. When you are doing it with success, you know it
.
Listings get more showings and views online
The agent gets more calls, more inquiries, more referrals, and more deals
Sales can result directly from the use of social networks
Social Networking helps sell homes by creating more buzz and exposure for the listing online. I don't think it's been measured yet but I would say somewhere it generates around 2-4 times as much exposure for the property than if you did not use social networking as part of your marketing plan. I'd like to point out that the social networking craze is really just the beginning of a shift in the way people meet and interact. If you (or your agent) aren't getting the ball rolling by learning and becoming part of it all, you (they) may never catch up if they try to jump on in a few years time. Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for the next six installments of Home Marketing Strategies. PS - This is an evolving work and may be changed at any time. Comments and suggestions are quite welcome...
Would love your comments on the original article as well at EXITrealestate540.com:
Feel free to listen to my Radio Show to learn more about the phoenix real estate market, new trends, and the latest opportunities. The Real Estate and Beyond Radio Show Airs every Saturday from Noon-2:00pm on Conservative Newstalk KKNT 960am in Phoenix, Arizona. You can listent to past shows, or stream on-line.
Intended to share information, ideas, and tips on buying and selling real estate in Phoenix, Arizona. Written by realtor and radio host, Harry F. D'Elia. This Blog focuses on the creation of wealth through real estate and is involved in teaching others how to conservativley buy and sell real estate to enhance one's current portfolio. Agent's are welcome to follow along and learn from Harry how to successfully meet your clients needs.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
There are over 50,000 homes in the foreclosure process in Maricopa County located in Arizona. Those are a lot of homes. However, there is plenty of opportunities to fix and flip here in the Great Phoenix area. I receive many calls outside of Arizona by investors wanting to enter into the Phoenix, Arizona market. The Real Estate and Beyond Team has created a one stop shop for real estate investors. We have created a team of local professionals to make things happen at a rapid pace to ensure we do not miss any opportunities. 
They left the kitchen in total disrepair as you can see from the picture. They had Chex Cereal box left out along with empty liquor bottles, empty dog food bag and Fido's dinner bowl. They took the fridge and stove. Why did they leave the microwave? They were nice people.
They left a house in the living room. Why? Did they have a greenhouse in the living room? Luckily, there was no water damage in this area. Talk about arm chair gardener. Enjoy this picture
Yes, this is a real picture of the home toilet. It is amazing how some people live in their homes. This is not the standard in most Ameican homes. Pictures tell a thousand words but no odors.
This picture shows actual dog do do in the master bedroom. It was all over the place. They did have a door for the dog. It was all over the house. Yes, we need to replace the carpet in the whole house.
This home has great curb appeal. First impressions are important to the end buyer. The front door was scrapped and painted to have a fresh look to it.
The home was tiled throughout the entire house including the bedrooms with the same tile. Kitchen is open and fresh with new applicances.
Living room has the open look with the fresh look. A mirror was placed above the fireplace to give it a warm look to it. Again, same tile was used in the entire house to give it a fresh look.
The backyard was cleaned up and properly landscaped to make the outside match the inside.
Banks continue to foreclose on properties on a daily basis. It has been reported that over 50,000 homes in Maricopa County were in the foreclosure process. Home owners are stripping homes before they leave the home. They are selling the contents of the home on Craigslist. The number one problem in the Phoenix market has been abandoned homes. People come in and strip the home of its contents. So, there is plenty of opportunity for first time home buyers to obtain a great deal while using the FHA 203K loan to have the money to repair the distressed property, bank owned, REO property. 
Here are some examples of the work that can be performed on a Distressed Property, Bank Owned, REO home in Phoenix, Arizona Maricopa County.
The majority of loan officers do not touch this loan product because it can be very complicated and intimidating to some of them. However, we must follow the money and service the clients. So, the Real Estate and Beyond Team has partnered with The Lending Company to service the FHA 203K loan to service our clients. Let me explain the process of the FHA 203K loan to purchase distressed home, bank owned, reo home in Phoenix, Arizona:
Talk with confidence - even if you don't feel confident. Believe in yourself and your abilities and you'll be able to stand up for yourself!
Have you read my recent post, 
As much as real estate transactions have systems and standard procedures, when we throw "people" and human emotions into the mix, it no longer fit cookie cutter molds. I've been called Voice of Reason by my clients. When emotions are high, we need a 3rd party to pull us back down into reality. Buyers and sellers are very emotional during this process - after all it's their homes you are talking about. The house that made into homes with beautiful and lasting memories in it. Of course, emotions are running on full throttle.
The American economy continues to take while more people are losing their jobs as national unemployment rate is over ten percent. People are losing confidence in the economy because they are scared of the future. Our current President has an approval rating beow fifty percent according to the polls. What are people to do? The Holiday Season is a time for family and traditions. Many families will be cutting back during this Holiday Season until the economy turns around. The retailers continue entice shoppers with bargains and no payment plans until 2010. Who are they fooling? I read an article where 1 IN 4 AMERICAN HOME OWNERS UNDER WATER WITH VALUE OF THE HOME AND MORTGAGE BALANCE
ActiveRain awards members points based on participation and their individual involvement within the network and community. While there is a much more complicated and technical explanation of how the point system works, this post is to provide you a general overview of how points are earned and distributed that to ALL ActiveRain members.
;)
;)
