I have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about lead generation.  What is the best way to get people to notice you?  How do you convince them that you are a valuable leader in your profession?  That is the million dollar question isn't it?  No matter what business you are in we are all faced with 2 big problems:  1) Needing more quality leads and 2) Needing more money!  What if there was a system that allowed you to seperate yourself from others and become a valuable leader?  Or what if you already are a valuable leader but would like more training?  Let's face it, no matter how much you know, there is always more to learn right? 

    Add on top of all of that the fact that you need good systems in place and it may make your head spin!  Well, rather than becoming stressed out just over me mentioning those subjects, I suggest you view the link below and begin to learn how to get leads to find you!  Forget cold calling and knocking on doors!  Wouldn't it be nice to just have the phone ring with quality leads?  Better yet, wouldn't it be nice to automatically know where those leads came from?  You can do all of that and more with the systems I use!  So, enough talk already, here is the link:

http://www.sevenfiguremastermindteam.com/RianMuleback/39836

As always, thank you for reading this and I look forward to you input!

Rian Muleback

As I was sitting at home the other day, I was thinking about our current real estate market.  Of course, it seems all I do is thinking about real estate.  Anyway, I came up with a great idea to help improve the value of your home and all it requires you to do is one simple thing.  TURN OFF YOUR TV!!!!  Think about it, all of the negativity that the media sends out about the current market is really depressing.  Yes, things are bad for some people and the market isn't as hot as it once was but this is not the end of the world.  I was talking with a fellow agent in my office and she was telling me how she had read an arcticle in the paper about 5 different families that had lost their homes.  They were big articles that went into great detail.  On the same page, there was one success story.  It was about a family who was able to save their home, but it was a small article.  Are you understanding what I am trying to say here?  The media spends more time on negative stories than positive stories because negativity sells.  It is as simple as that.  Think about this, we all watch buildings burn or cars get into wrecks, watch cops on TV for hours or the worlds worst drivers, but would we spend the same amount of time watching people doing random acts of kindness?  I guess to me it all makes sense and I see the number constantly.  Things aren't that bad for us in Oregon and we should be happy about that.  If you want to know exactly what is going on in your area, contact me today and I will let you know.  Enjoy your day.

Rian

  As we have all heard or read, the dollar has not been doing so well as of late.  But wait, there are signs of things turning around for the dollar.  On Friday, the dollar bounced back against the Euro after hitting a record low against it on Thursday.  The dollar has also bounced back against the Yen.  So how do we know for sure that things will turn around?  We won't until they do obviously.  It is the same thing as people saying they are waiting for the bottom of the market to buy. You never know it is the bottom of the market until it has passed, it is that simple.  You can buy know and get a great interest rate or you can wait and pay top dollar for that home that you have always wanted.  According to the RMLS report for March, home appreciation is up in all areas it reported on in Oregon except for 2.  If you would like to know the exact number for your area, contact me today and I can go over the numbers with you.  Enjoy your day.

Rian

   I am wondering if the rest of you get tired of reading, or hearing, all of the negativity in the news?  Sure, the economy could be better, but it's not like we need to go jump off of a bridge either.  All I seem to hear is how bad the housing market is and how home prices are dropping like a rock.  I find that funny because people are still calling my office, still stopping by and the agents I work with are selling lots of homes.  But we never hear that do we?  No. It is always the negative we hear and see in the media.  Let's face it, the end of the world stories are what get the most attention.  

   Most consumers believe what they hear in the media.  If we aren't an expert on a topic or at least know a little about it, we believe what we hear and read.  However, we have to remember that a Realtor knows a lot more about what is going on in the housing market than a news reporter.  So what is the best way to get the real story?  Call or email a Realtor.  If you just want to ask some questions and you are hesitant to call because you believe you will be sold something, tell them you just need some questions answered.  If someone calls or emails me just wanting information, I am not going to bug them until they buy something from me, that is just not good business.  Bottom line, don't let the media scare you and don't use them as your only source of information.  Call a professional and get some answers.  Enjoy your day.

Rian

   What is the number one thing needed to get your home sold?  Money.  It is that simple. Now I am sure that you already knew this but it is worth pointing out for a few reasons.  How many home flyers and advertisements do you see that tell you all about the home.  Square footage, price, how many bedrooms, bathroom and all the goodies.  However, most of them fail to mention the most important thing, money.  They mention the price of the home but no options on how to get a loan for it.  Perhaps some mention a payment and an interest rate but little else.  So what is my great idea?  Well, first off it is not my idea.  It was thought up by someone a lot smarter than me.      

   Ok, so let's look at the numbers.  Let's say you are trying to sell your home for $250,000 and it has been on the market awhile so a price reduction is suggested.  You and your Realtor decide on a $10,000 price reduction and take the necessary steps.  But you don't want to wait.  You want your home sold and you need it sold right away.  Instead of dropping the price you could do something more attractive.  You can offer to buy down the interest rate for the buyer.  Typically it will cost you 1% of the loan amount to buy down a quarter percent of the interest rate.  So, if a buyer wanted to buy your $250,000 home and you wanted to buy down their interest rate by 1% it would cost you $10,000 dollars.  That means someone who can only afford a $225,000 loan amount or a $1500 month payment can now afford your $250,000 home.  Instead of getting an offer for $225,000 and losing $25,000 you only have to give up $10,000 or the same amount of your price reduction you were going to do.  Make sense?  If not feel free to contact me today so that I may better educate you on this subject.  Enjoy your evening.

Rian

   As I do daily, I came across an article on the housing market.  It went on to describe what some lawmakers are offering as part of the solution to the problem.  I am sure that all of you have your own point of view and it may be different from that of a Realtor.  I don't think it matters what your point of view is but rather that we all do what we can to help not make the problem worse.  Rather than try and explain the whole article to you, I have provided a link for you to read the article in its entirety.

  http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1727461,00.html?xid=feed-rss-netzero

Enjoy your evening.

Rian

   I recently read some information on the pricing of homes and the effect that it has on the market conditions.  Think about this for a second.  Let's say you want to sell your home and you think it is worth $300,000.  I come to you with all of the data and show you why your home is only worth $289,000.  For whatever reason you don't believe me and end up listing your house for $300,000 with another company.  So what have you just done?  You and the Realtor you have chosen to work with have just put an overpriced home on the market.  By doing so, this adds more inventory to the homes already on the market thus flooding the market.  Now buyers have to sort through more homes and with the help of an agent, decide which homes are really priced correctly.  When a Realtor takes an over priced listing, you can see the effect is has on the market.  If this practice was not done, there would be far fewer homes on the market thus reducing the time it takes for correctly priced homes to sell.  Now, would this simple practice make everything perfect?  Of course not, but it is one simple step than can be taken to make things better instead of worse.  If a Realtor shows you data and it makes sense, then you should probably list for what they suggest.  If you don't understand how they came up with the number then ask more questions!!  I hope this information helps.  Enjoy your day!!

Rian 

I get asked from time to time, when will the market get better?  While I do not know the exact date, I can tell you this.  One way to forecast the future is to look at past trends.  What the real estate market has done in the past is a good indicator of what it may do in the future.  Makes sense right?  No one person knows when things will turn around.  Plus, things aren't that bad everywhere.  If you look at Portland, Oregon you will see that it was number 9 on the top ten hottest markets in the US.  Surprised?  Most likely you are.  Recently I had ask what I did for a living, when I told them they replied, "Things must be tough for you, the market is horrible."  I ask them how they knew the market was bad and they said because they had heard it was bad.  When I asked from who, they replied from the news.  I just laughed and asked them the following question, "Isn't it funny how people will believe what a news reporter says and not an individual who is a professional in the field?"  How true is that statement though.  I think people are more worried about being sold that they don't listen to what is really being said.  The wall has been put up and their mind has already been made before I ever ask a question.  While I do not know when it will end I do know that I will be here to see the market change time and time again.  Enjoy your day.

Rian

  If you have read my blog or know me personally, you will know that I am huge on education.  I always try to make sure my clients know more about real estate after they have done a transaction with me.  I want them to understand what is going on every step of the way.  Why?  The more they know, the better decisions they can make.  More importantly though, hopefully they will walk away with a bit of financial knowledge as well.  Now while all of this sounds good, not of it will happen if the client does not wish to be educated.  Sounds crazy right?  Who wouldn't want to further their education no matter what the subject was about.  Well, recently I have realized that people would rather believe what is told to them on the TV over what is being told to them by a Realtor that works in the field everyday.  Interesting.  Why ,in a market where things are constantly changing, would you just believe what you hear on the TV and not trust a professional who is in the industry?  Too many people, I believe, think that a Realtor is just trying to sell them something.  While some Realtors may do this sort of thing, I do not.  In my opinion, I am a resource, teacher and friend to my clients.  I am not here to make you buy or sell anything, the choice is always yours.  The more I educated my clients, the more I learn.  Why would anyone not want to do business this way?   Enjoy your day.

Rian

I saw a statement on the web this morning that made me a wee bit angry.  It read, Existing Home Sales Hits 9yr. Low. This statement is an eye catcher for sure and I wonder if it was just used to get attention.  If you look at that statement, you will find very little fact in it.  First off, which 9 years are being compared and secondly, what part of the world are they talking about?  Most likely the US, but what if they are talking about a part of the country that is having different circumstances than the rest of the US.  In fact, what if you found out that the statement was referring to New Orleans, Louisiana?  You probably wouldn't think twice as you know the just got hit with a major hurricane in the past 2 years.  So here lies the problem with these reports from various outlets.  They are too vague and are used to just sell paper, get you to watch their newscast or go to their website.  They are general statements played on the emotions of all of us.  I just hope that when someone needs information about real estate that they seek out a professional in the field and ask them questions rather than rely on a report that gives general information.  As a Realtor I pride myself in the education of my clients. They know that they can come to me at anytime with questions and I will do my best to get the answer.  I hope the next time you have questions about real estate that you seek out a professional in the industry and don't just read the newspaper, the web or watch the TV.  Enjoy your day.

Rian