Lisa's Blog

Idaho Deal Posted

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:20:56 -0500

Idaho Retreat investment property deal posted!

Please visit us at http://www.lockboxdeals.com/ for more great deals and to post your free listings!

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Peaceful Retreat
unlocked 10 Times
Posted By: S. Gleason - view profile $650,000
3 votes
Location: Buhl, Id
Located on 1.2 acres,this property brings privacy, solitude and peacefulness. 3600 sq ft 3 bed, 3.5 ... More >>
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If you enjoy our free service, please visit our sponsor:

For information about sponsoring our service, email lisam@lockboxdeals.com
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Upload your free listings at http://www.lockboxdeals.com/!

Renewable Energy; Grants Available; Free Listings

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:20:02 -0500

Renewable Energy Fair
Midwest Renewable Energy Association's 19th Annual Energy Fair

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association's Energy Fair is June 20-22 in Custer, Wisconsin, which is located near Steven's Point. This is the premier educational event on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living. Information about the MREA and the Energy fair can be found at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001d_p0tl7_baa7lE2mIs1C44gYoe9AuCy_8np1EHiQmwYHLRESNM6Y-2-389nmqcjb_9soXhszsCV_HQE8v6tMBy7RHcityp4kAWi81LwEGwuIVhDKKDQzng==.

If you are interested in carpooling to this event, please post a message on the MIC's bulletin board (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001d_p0tl7_baYg4JV7hqv4topxOgb91O9LswshDatdziMAkMNWAurAz3wLvN-9Sfjg8OElxYULRBADpPTnIaEThlqYv9UjlwFjOOzAjbRi8XoW9_9gArlx0sr8i-ceBXAjXs8-uOM5Ym3JouzDwzMYfA==). Check the bulletin board often to find riders or a ride.

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Find Grants for Real Estate Development!

Grants are available now from the United States government for developing low-income housing, veteran's housing, and community redevelopment. Find out how to find them and how to apply with this concise, easy-to-use guide. Order Simply: Grant Writing now and find funding today!

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FREE Listings

Upload your free listings at www.lockboxdeals.com - the best deals in real estate!
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LockBoxDeals has active blog

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:51:26 -0500

Don't forget to post your free listings to www.lockboxdeals.com. And now there is an added benefit - new listings are posted to www.lockboxdeals-blog.com and sent to our subscribers!

There has never been a better time to take advantage of this free resource for Realtors.

Investors can always find the best deals in real estate at www.lockboxdeals.com.

How are prices in your area?

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:08:21 -0600

I just posted a new article on my blog at www.lockboxdeals-blog.com about bottoming out of prices. A new survey by the NAR shows some areas on the upswing and some lower than last year. Give us a shout out about your area, and if it is a great time for investors, post those free listings at www.lockboxdeals.com.

Thanks

Lisa

Gifts for Customers

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 20:47:34 -0500

The holidays are closer than I like to think, and if you haven't ordered your personalized gifts by now, it is probably too late.

But don't despair. Mark Nash of http://www.1001realestatetips.com/ recently sent out a great email discussing a focus-group he did a couple of years ago asking his clients what kinds of holiday gifts they most appreciated. The overwhelming answer was something that didn't scream It's From Me! Your Realtor!

That year, he sent out Starbuck's gift cards, and it was a big hit. I can attest to that fact - a customer of mine once sent me a gift card, and every time I used it, of course I remembered who had sent it to me. It didn't have to have her name on it or mention her business.

What are some of your favorite gifts, for either holidays or closings? Some of Mark's other suggestions included items of local interest, such as restaurant guides or local magazines. That's a great idea for someone who is relocating. I happen to be a vegetarian, and every year I receive a food basket from a customer who I know makes special effort to send me non-meat products in my basket. Other than that being a case of the thought really making a difference, I don't know if food items are a good idea. Depending on your locale and budget, cards by a local artist, a plant in a planter that can be reused, or coffee mugs are good ideas.

And don't forget, if you are on a budget, check out affiliate programs. http://www.linkshare.com/ and http://www.commissionjunction.com/ have some programs that offer their affiliates special discounts - this can make a difference when sending presents to your entire client roster. If you aren't a participating affiliate, I always try to offer coupons and discounts for the programs I participate in when choosing sponsors for my weekly Top Ten Deals in Real Estate newsletter (you can sign up at http://www.lockboxdeals.com/), but in the interest of full disclosure, I'll get a percentage for anyone who clicks through from one of my ads. Is there a type of gift you'd most prefer to receive a discount for? Let me know and I can pass one along.

Although it is easier to send out uniform presents, Realtors have a great opportunity to really get to know their clients tastes, so individual, custom gifts might be appropriate for your closest customers.

Least favorite items seem to be calendars and refrigerator magnets with the company name on it. I do receive several school year calendars from Realtors and always keep one, but only one, usually whichever arrives first.

Anyone else want to share your ideas?

Lisa

If you would like to receive all of my posts by email, sign up for my blog at www.lockboxdeals-blog.com.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:00:25 -0500

Hi Active Rainers

I just started a blog - outside of Active Rain - and love blogging. Check it out if you get a minute at www.lockboxdeals-blog.com.

I even entered a blog carnival (www.blogcarnival.com) - "A carnival for smarter real estate investing" - and won a feature article on boozwatt.com.

I am curious how many of you blog regularly? Looking at the Inman Wiki (www.inman.com) blog list, there seem to be a lot of real estate bloggers out there. Does it increase your contacts? Improve your reputation? Bring additional revenue through other sources (ads, products, etc.)?

I hope to create a niche blog that discusses the use of technology in real estate marketing. If you would like to receive regular notices of my posts, please sign up. And I'll be glad to provide link exchanges, just let me know.

I'm so excited about blogging that I've decided to offer a new service for Realtors, to design your first blog! You can find all the details at my - what else - blog about it, http://letmebuildyourfirstblog.blogspot.com.

Not to take anything away from Active Rain; I love the community here, and it is definitely great for networking. But one more free marketing piece can't hurt.

Let me know what you think!

Thanks

Lisa

Please visit/comment on my newly optimized site

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:47:29 -0500

Hi, please visit my newly optimized site at http://www.lockboxdeals.com/. The site has been redesigned to bring more traffic for your listings. As always, Realtors may list properties for free.

Especially, please help me fill the pages that need listings - Oregon, Arizona, Horse properties, and Waterfront properties - and all Canada listings.

We'll be sending our first Top Ten Deals with the new design on Thursday, so don't miss out!

Thanks

Lisa, http://www.lockboxdeals.com/

Please visit/comment on my newly optimized site

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:45:57 -0500

Hi, please visit my newly optimized site at http://www.lockboxdeals.com/. The site has been redesigned to bring more traffic for your listings. As always, Realtors may list properties for free.

Especially, please help me fill the pages that need listings - Oregon, Arizona, Horse properties, and Waterfront properties.

We'll be sending our first Top Ten Deals with the new design on Thursday, so don't miss out!

Thanks

Lisa, http://www.lockboxdeals.com/

Visit my newly optimized site!

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:45:10 -0500

Hi, please visit my newly optimized site at www.lockboxdeals.com. The site has been redesigned to bring more traffic for your listings. As always, Realtors may list properties for free.

Especially, please help me fill the pages that need listings - Oregon, Arizona, Horse properties, and Waterfront properties.

We'll be sending our first Top Ten Deals with the new design on Thursday, so don't miss out!

Thanks

Lisa, www.lockboxdeals.com

Chris Garrett's offer for guest blog posts

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:31:55 -0500

If you are interested in reaching an intelligent, tech-savvy, young new market of potential future customers - and what Realtor wouldn't be? - try out Chris Garrett's new promotion for guests posts to his blog:

"I'm on a mission to increase my Technorati rank. For a while my "authority" has hovered around the 900 mark, I think I can do better. My solution will also benefit you so read on

"What I propose to do is offer you, my lovely readers, a free guest post. To get a guest post you need to let me know that you want one and to be eligible you only need to meet one requirement and that is your blog must be confirmed to be indexed by Technorati. You can link to me with a post or if you are sure any links from your blog will show up write a comment saying why you should get one of the guest posts. That's it

"As well as the guest post itself you will get a link from this blog. Some great content and a link, all for free! Win-win. Seem fair?

I've been subscribing to his blog (check out Chrisg.com) for a few months now, and in addition to a great free ebook for signing up, I always find something of relevance to my real estate internet marketing endeavors in the daily emails. His posts are loaded with useful sites, tips for using new technologies, and strategies for increasing your internet presence.

While not specifically related to real estate, any business operating on the internet can benefit from his information. His guest post offer will give you a tremendous opportunity to reach out to a new market and increase your own internet presence. Also, if you haven't established yourself on Technorati, now is the perfect time to do so!

How important is SEO for an agent's site?

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:01:48 -0500

I have a Realtor friend who is developing his first site, and he is struggling to balance creativity, usefulness, and SEO features.

I recently read on another blog that for agents, perhaps sacrificing SEO in order to give customers what they want up front - access to listing searches - is more important, as it will bring customers back again and again. We all know that sites that feature great search categories but very little text are difficult to optimize, but sites that feature tons of keyword rich text might be confusing to customers who just want to see listings. Where is the balance between getting repeat customers and finding new customers? Is it more important to optimize to attract new customers and then let good old fashioned great service keep them coming back?

Of course, for my site www.lockboxdeals.com, since it is a listing service and supported by ads, SEO is one of the most important (and expensive!) priorities I face everyday, so perhaps my opinion is a bit....skewed!

What do you all think? Does it depend on area of the country - for instance, is SEO more important in major metropolitan areas that have international clients? Does the type of brokerage make a difference - independent versus aligned with a Coldwell or other larger firm? Does a creative site bring more visitors than a site that is functional but similar to a lot of others?

Using Amazon reviews to increase your expert status

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:07:41 -0500

If you are reading this, then I am sure that you know how important it is for anyone involved in real estate to have a substantial presence on the internet.

One useful - and free - resource to increase your reach is to write reviews on Amazon.com. By reviewing books on real estate, you can find new customers, prove your knowledge of your subject area, and increase your internet ranking.

You can also create a profile and reference your own website in your signature line, offering you another source of traffic for your site.

Selling houses on eBay?

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:35:46 -0500

I had a new property uploaded to my listing site, www.lockboxdeals.com, for $4,990. That's right, under $5,000 for a home. Not the downpayment price, the total sales price. When I followed the link, it led me to eBay!

There are many houses listed on eBay for auction, some with no reserve and bids starting at $1, some as classified advertisements that list a more traditional price. Has anyone ever tried this method for selling a house in a hard to sell area?

I've tried to follow through on a couple of the listings to see if the final sales price was comparable to a regular listing. There are also many ways to improve the ending sales price (Buy it now price, setting a reserve). There are also investment deals available. One foreclosure looks like it will sell for close to the Buy It Now price, but the property for $4,990 is still at that price with only 13 hours to go!

Send me your Canada listings - Free!

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:08:10 -0500

Hi all

An Activerainer requested that I open up my site, www.lockboxdeals.com, to Canadian listings. I announced that change a while ago, but still no listings from north of the border!

You can list up to ten properties, free! Just create a Realtor profile, upload your listings, and you could get voted into our Top Ten Deals weekly email. We reach over 1 million Realtors and investors every week!

We are an ad-supported site, and strive to be Realtor friendly, so drop on by. If you have any questions, let me know at lisam@lockboxdeals.com.

Thanks!

Lisa

Have you googled....you?

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:11:43 -0500

In real estate, perhaps more than in other professions, image is important. Realtors recognize the importance of a professional appearance and demeanor in person, but how about your online image?

One tip that I picked up and regularly follow is to Google your own name periodically. With the abundance of posting and social networking sites now, you may find unflattering or even untruthful comments about you on sites of importance in the industry. When a potential client searches you on the internet, these comments could make the difference between winning a new client - and commission - or losing.

If you find untruthful comments, you can ask the administrator of the site or forum to have these comments removed. Or at least you can post your own dispute of the comment. On my site, www.lockboxdeals.com, Realtors are notified when someone posts a new comment on your listing, and I have a Terms of Use policy that allows me to edit or remove comments depending on content.

I also periodically Google my company name, which not only gives me an idea of what people are saying but also of how many folks are talking!

By the way, when I checked my name, Lisa Merritt, another real estate Lisa Merritt, an agent, turned up in Colorado. If you are reading, Hello from Miami!

Hello, Canada!

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:45:57 -0500

When I first posted information about our Realtor-friendly, investor-targeted listing site http://www.lockboxdeals.com/ on Active Rain, an anonymous member asked if we would open it up to Canadian listings.

So I hope you are reading, because we have done just that! Realtors from the US AND Canada can now post listings for free on our site. We target investors, and in addition to the standard location/price search features, we have unique searches for Value, Financing, Spectacular, Unique, and Green properties.

In addition to your listings, feel free to upload articles to educate our visitors about the great real estate market in Canada. The research I conducted indicates that the Canadian real estate market is still going strong with no slow down, so it could be an excellent investment for our visitors.

As Koosha Hashemi writes on http://ezinearticles.com/?Vancouver-BC-Canada-Housing-Market-and-Real-Estate---Still-Viable&id=610139

"In the February 20,2007 Budget and Fiscal Plan for 2007/08-2009/10 which was released by the Ministry of Finance , the outlook for the BC economy in general and the Real Estate Market in particular, is exceptionally bright.

"The second item to consider is the influx of immigration that is expected to flood into British Columbia the years leading up to the BC Olympic Games (2010). The Council projected that "total net migration" to British Columbia would continue to rise to unprecedented levels. In 2007 alone, projections averaged from a "low of 35,423 people to a high of 55,000 people". The general expectation is that this trend will continue in to increase in the coming years with the anticipation that 'total net migration to average about 47,000 people in 2008, rising to over 50,000 through the 2009 to 2011 period.'"

At http://www.lockboxdeals.com/, we provide free publicity for all of our listings, including sending out our Top Ten Deals in real estate to our entire list of Realtors and Investors every week.

Newbie got meme'd!

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:16:29 -0500

Thanks Jeff Belonger for making me feel welcome and part of the group!

I am greatly enjoying being a part of the Active Rain network, and I've already gotten some great comments for my site from commenters to my posts.

Here goes, five things about me:

1 - Go Yellow Jackets! I'm a proud Electrical Engineer from Georgia Tech, class of 1988, with that rare minor in French. Seeking to take advantage of that great language skill I moved from my hometown of Atlanta, GA to....

2 - Miami, Florida, where of course everyone speaks Spanish! I have managed to pick up conversational Spanish, and although I've moved around in Miami-Dade County, I'm still here after almost 20 years. After a career at FPL (the power company), I got my Florida Professional Engineer's license and left to...

3 - start Pegasus Consulting Group, Inc. in 1996. What started as an EE firm morphed into technical writing then into grant writing, and I published the eBook, Simply: Grant Writing, sold for a while on Amazon.com and still sold through http://www.pegasuswriter.com/. Then, as a complement to my hobby of real estate investing, I got my...

4 - Mortgage Broker license and started http://www.lockboxdeals.com/, a realtor-friendly listing site targeted towards other investors. We launched in May, 2007 and are currently in the throes of an SEO push. Check the site ofte as we are redesigning and adding features often. This week, we added the capability for realtors to add multiple pictures.

5 - That wraps my career to date. I also have two daughters (4 and a half and eighteen months), a wonderful partner, several pets, two godchildren, sit on the Board of Casa Valentina (an affordable housing provider for girls who age out of foster care), and I'm a rabid fan of Battlestar Galactica. That about covers it - If I get meme'd again, I'd have to make stuff up for the next post!

Three more people to meme? I meme at random Sheryl Delorme, Kevin Tomlinson, and Kim Daugherty.

New school year a goldmine for Realtors!

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:46:40 -0500

I admit, before kids and before real estate, I never even looked at a school calendar. The only time I ever even considered the school year was if I got stuck in a school zone traffic jam. But now that my oldest is starting pre-school, I can't believe that the start date is coming up so soon. Our school starts August 14, others in our area are starting August 21.

So for Realtors, it is definitely time to feature those properties that are languishing in the real estate MLS listings that happen to be in good school zones. Three or four weeks may not leave much time for closing, but with more and more sellers considering alternative terms - lease to own, owner financing, etc. - property buyers still have time to relocate to a better school zone before the coming new school year.

There are many ways to reach prospective clients who happen to be parents of school-aged children. One tactic, perhaps try targeting homeowners in a lesser school district with an offer from a motivated seller. Even someone who hasn't considered moving might not realize that such alternatives are possible. Parents of young children who have been paying for private pre-school might be happy to learn that a great, free, public school is available in a nearby neighborhood, and that it is possible to make the move before the new school year. Or try something a little more unconventional. Many parenting blogs have real estate or homes forums - and it is free to post or comment. Here are some to try:
http://www.families.com/
http://www.joyunexpected.com/
http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/

And if you want all blogging moms and their audiences to find you, try becoming an advertiser on the BlogHer network. That way, your ad will reach an audience of moms as well as all of their visitors for a reasonable amount of money. If you regularly feature properties in great school zones, or if you can position yourself as an expert on information for families in the area, you could gain a whole new source of clients. One site in their network is the really hip and horribly funny parenting site, http://www.dooce.com/. And I mean horribly as in both horribly offensive and horribly true. This site gets lots of traffic from parents and could be a good source of clients for the upcoming and future school years.

When I had kids, I signed up for UPromise at Publix (and the Publix baby club), and for coupons at Enfamil, and they always remember my children's birthdays and send monthly coupons, so perhaps a blog or ad on those types of sites or even in their direct mail would be timely for families looking at moving before the new school year starts. Any site that advertises school supplies is a great opportunity for reaching families. And be sure to work with your local relocation resources - companies that are relocating employees into the area.

Here's to a successful new school (and business) year!

Lisa Merritt, President
Pegasus Consulting Group, Inc.
http://www.lockboxdeals.com/
Realtors post listings for free on LockBoxDeals.com.
See your listing in our Top Ten Deals weekly email.

New school year right around the corner!

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:07:03 -0500

I admit, before kids and before real estate, I never even looked at a school calendar. The only time I ever even considered the school year was if I got stuck in a school zone traffic jam.

But now that my oldest is starting pre school, I can't believe that the start date is coming up so soon. Our school starts August 14, others in our area are starting August 21.

So for Realtors, it is definetely time to feature those properties that are languishing in the listings that happen to be in good school zones. It may not leave much time for closing, but with more and more sellers considering alternative terms - lease to own, owner financing, etc. - buyers still have time to relocate to a better school zone before the coming year.

One tactic, perhaps try targeting homeowners in a lesser school district with an offer from a motivated seller. Or try something a little more unconventional. Many parenting blogs have real estate or homes forums - and it is free to post or comment. I signed up for UPromise at Publix (and the Publix baby club), and for coupons at Enfamil, and they always remember my children's birthdays and send monthly coupons, so perhaps a blog or ad on those types of sites would be timely for families looking at moving before school starts. And be sure to work with your local relocation resources - companies that are relocating employees.

Here's to a successful new school (and business) year!

Lisa Merritt, President
Pegasus Consulting Group, Inc.
www.lockboxdeals.com
Realtors post listings for free on LockBoxDeals.com.
See your listing in our Top Ten Deals weekly email.

Free listings! No Catch! Really!

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:53:37 -0500

When I tell Realtors that they can post ten deals on my site, www.lockboxdeals.com, for free, they almost always ask me, "What's the catch?"

There isn't any catch! Unlike other pay-to-list sites, our site is ad-supported, so Realtors can list their properties for free! We ask that deals fall into one of our unique search categories - Value, Financing, Spectacular, Unique, or Green (our newest category!). Visit our articles - and submit articles! - section for additional information.

And don't forget to vote for your own listings - even refer your clients to vote. If your listing makes it into our Top Ten Deals of the week, your listing will be featured in our weekly newsletter that goes out nationwide to Realtors and investors and is featured on newsgroups and on my MySpace blog. No charge for the newsletter either!

So visit today - www.lockboxdeals.com.

Realtor Friendly Listing Service

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:17:29 -0500

I've read a lot in the blogosphere lately about internet real estate listing services that are not, to put it delicately, Realtor friendly. Some seek to cut out the agent entirely. I've even seen the comment at Bloodhound that some may do for Realtors what Expedia did to travel agents.

I want to assure the Active Rain community that our site, www.lockboxdeals.com, is entirely built around the Realtor! Create a free account, post your ten best deals for free, and receive free publicity for your listings. You even get the added benefit of additional inbound links to your site! Participate in searching and voting, receive comments and questions on each listing.

Our search categories are uniquely targeted to investors, allowing them to search for exactly the type of property they want. And we added the new category that I mentioned in a previous post - Green! So if you have an eco-friendly property, we'd love to promote it!

Our site is new, but someday (hopefully someday soon!) we expect to support it through ad sales, so there will never be a cost to the Realtor for listing.

New Top Ten Deals in Real Estate

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:07:08 -0500

This week's Top Ten Deals in Real Estate is available at www.lockboxdeals.com! Sort by Votes to see our top ten of the week. Be sure to sign up for a free account and automatically receive the Top Ten Deals every week! Post your listings for free, and receive free publicity for your listings if you make the top ten.

Optimize your listings for iPhone

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:52:39 -0500

I read an interesting article about expectations that a significant number of people will conduct real estate searches from their new iPhones. For those agents who depend on their websites for new clients - that should be everyone by now, right? - it will be important to make sure your sites are compatible with Safari, the web browser used by Apple on the iPhone.

When I called my web designer to make sure he tests out our listing service, www.lockboxdeals.com, on Safari, he further informed me that it is important to make sure that you like how your site and listings look on the small screens of iPhones and other mobile electronics that have internet capability.

So I'd like to hear back from Realtors. My site gives Realtors quite a lot of space to post a picture, text, price, address, etc. What is the most important feature to be displayed on the screen of an iPhone?

Thanks for your input!

Lisa

New Search Options are the Future of Real Estate Listings

Lisa Merritt (LockBoxDeals) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:30:29 -0500

As a real estate investor, I grew tired of paging endlessly through MLS listings, by zip code, to try to find one property that might be a good investment. With gas prices rising higher and higher, driving around neighborhoods started eating into renovation budgets. Although I tried, I could not find a better way.

That's when I decided to create a better way, for myself and other investors. What began as my own personal mission to increase my real estate holdings grew into www.lockboxdeals.com.

LockBoxDeals offers investors and realtors benefits to jumpstart sales and investments in this sluggish market. Rather than list every available property, we ask our realtors to list only their ten best deals. Deals fall into one of four categories - Value (below market value); Financing (owner financing or other financing options); Spectacular (Malibu compound? Outer Banks ocean front estate?); and Unique (entire motel in St. Petersburg among others). We also have an exciting fifth category to be added by the end of July. Investors may search by the type of deal that interests them most, as well as the usual location searches.

Why did I decide to create a nationwide listing service of investment properties, against the conventional wisdom of staying local? I realized that even though I live in South Florida, I've held great investment property outside of the area, from a rental property in Atlanta, Georgia to a parcel of land in North Carolina, so why not seek properties outside of my area? The richest real estate investors buy properties wherever the deals are.

The nationwide nature of the site led me to realize that I needed more information, from neighbors, parents, landlords, renters and other people living in the areas where potential properties were located. LockBoxDeals completely integrates social networking into the site. Investors and realtors can post messages on each listing, and they can create complete profiles and submit articles to let others know about their expertise.

The final unique feature of www.lockboxdeals.com is our weekly Top Ten Deals in Real Estate. Members can vote on the best deals each week - giving realtors relevant feedback about the types of properties and geographic areas investors are seeking. Then every week, we email our entire list of realtors and investors the best deals in the country. Why spend hours searching when you can let the deals come to you?

All features of the site are free to use. Realtors can list their properties for free, members can vote, post comments, search, all for free. And the Top Ten Deals is free to subscribers!

Visit us now at www.lockboxdeals.com, and please let me know what you think!