Translator's Blog

Brokers from Russia seeking properties in the USA for their buyers

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:03:05 -0500

I keep getting inquiries from Russian brokers whose clients from Russia are interested to purchase properties in the USA, mostly in Florida and California so far.

Everybody wants to sell of course, but a problem arises when Russian brokers ask to share a commission with them, usually 50/50.

As I'm helping with communication, I know that this issue is important and often prevents the future cooperation at this point as many US agents say that they can't share their commission with an unlicensed person. Period. Some say on the other hand that they can pay if this person is licensed in another US state, some say - licensed in another country. But Russia has no licensing system by law....

So, where's the solution?

I took the labor to read through Florida Statutes Chapter 475 Part 1 Real Estate Brokers, Sales Associates and Schools. It says in # 475.25(1)(h):

"... however, a licensed broker of this state may pay a referral fee or share a
real estate brokerage commission with a broker licensed or *registered under
the laws of a foreign state* so long as the foreign broker does not violate
any law of this state."

*registered under the laws of a foreign state* implies that it can be any type of business registration in any foreign country?

Feel free to contact me privately if you are interested in foreign buyers for your properties and know how legally pay commission or referral fee to foreign brokers sending you these buyers. I'll put you in touch.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Alternate Airport - second home abroad

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:04:38 -0500

The Russian business newspaper kommersant.ru is the first and maybe the only so far Russian daily paper with a UK edition now. It reports that London has become a second home for so many Russians. What is happening on the market of Russian buyers now?

"The image of a wealthy Russian client has changed a lot from the point of view of London real estate agencies.

"At the beginning of the Russian boom realtors kind of laughed behind the back of Russian buyers. In 2004 - 2006 Russians were buying properties in London at any price asked, sometimes a million or two pounds more than the market price. Realtors always made up some 15 to 20% higher pricing especially for them. It was not only because of the lack of market and language knowledge. Inferiority complex of the first wave of Russian noveau riches made them prove their financial strength by purchasing the most expensive properties in the most prestige areas or historical castles.

"Their behaviour and property demand differed a lot from other foreign buyers and Brits. As a rule, Russians refused to purchase properties that were highly sought after, but in need of some repairs. They wanted it all shiny no matter what.

"This specific trend had been explained by their inability and unwillingness to hire local staff for restoration or repairs. Also they were pushed away by the low ceilings of most modern British homes, that's why mansions were preferred.

"Now there are changes - Russian buyers negotiate the price, order to conduct their own market research and use mortgages if possible.

"Russian expansion to London real estate market was impressive. In the year 2006 Russians bought 240 priced over GBP 1,000,000 homes in London. There are 9 Russians among the 50 wealthiest people in Great Britain. The beginning of Russian boom in London has been created by Abramovich and Berezovsky back in 2003.

"Roman Abramovich bought a house in Eton Square for GBP 28,000,000, penthouse in Kensington for GBP 36,000,000 and vacation home in Western Sussex for GBP 23,000,000. Boris Berezovsky bought a home in Chelsea for GBP 10,000,000 and in Wentworth Estate in Surrey for GBP 20,000,000. Oleg Deripaska, the youngest Russian billionaire, followed with the purchase of a Belgravia home for GBP 25,000,000; Leonid Blavatnik, the oil mogul - a home in Kensington, GBP 41,000,000; Vladimir Chernukhin, finance industry - the former Midland Bank HQ building, GBP 72,000,000.

"The last purchase of this calibre was in July 2008 - a 90-room home Witanhurst in Highgate for GBP 50,000,000. This is the largest private home in London except for the Buckingham Palace. Although the agency that closed the deal keeps it confidential, the Daily Mail newspaper revealed the purchaser's name - it's the Moscow Mayor's wife Elena Baturina.

"Now, Grace Margolis of the real estate agency Savills with a long experience of working with Russian clients in London, comments on the recent situation.

"Q. Do you have any statistics of real estate purchasing by Russian clients?

"A. It's hard to do as we have to maintain confidentiality and have no right to disclose prices and names of purchasers. To tell you the truth, the media get such information somehow anyway. Another reason is that Russian buyers often purchase real estate in the name of an offshore company and it's impossible to know whom the company belongs. Most of the time the money to close a deal is wired not from Moscow.

"Q. There is a rumour that Russians are leaving London real estate market, is that true?

"A. No, I wouldn't say so. It's a fact though that the super-expensive homes are really not in such high demand any more. We can understand that as Bloomberg reported recently that the 25 richest Russians lost more than $230 billion during the financial crisis... Nevertheless, our agency has many Russian clients to work with right now. But what they want is different.

"It's not the luxury that oligarchs bought in the past, but medium priced homes in the range of GBP 1 to 3 million. In most cases it's not a home to live in, but to invest in and rent away. They also require commercial properties such as multiunit residential and office buildings. We have many buyers for these types of properties from Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland and Baltic countries.

"If they want to move money out of their countries, they prefer real estate investing instead of dealing with banks that can go bankrupt. And one more thing to mention in this respect - no Russian owners sell their London properties in spite of their financial losses during the crisis."

Hope this knowledge of Russian buyers' changed preferences will help you with targeting your marketing.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

The INFOREAL exhibition has been acknowledged by market professionals

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:01:20 -0500

From prian.ru:

"The INFOREAL Overseas Property Exhibition has been held on May, 16-17 in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. The "Prian.ru - International Property" portal reporters have visited the event and gathered testimonials from the participants, while the trail was still hot.

"According to Rita Semak, a representative of the Diligente Properties company (Portugal), the exhibition has attracted Russian overseas property buyers to a market which is comparatively new to them - to Portuguese real estate market.

"Mr. Blaine Ellingson, a broker from the Beach Front Mann Realty (Florida, USA) has said that the event "has surpassed his wildest expectations".

"Mr. Alexey Smirnov, CEO, Adriatic Stroinvest d.o.o (Serbia and Montenegro), has expressed the opinion that the INFOREAL will help Russian property buyers acquire more information regarding the property markets of these two countries.

"The Overseas Property Exhibition has been organized as a part of the INFOREAL International Real Estate Forum, which has been held in Saint-Petersburg on May, 14-17. The event has been jointly organized by the Group of Companies "Bulletin of Real Estate" and the "Prian.ru - International Property" portal."

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Google Alert

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:38:14 -0500

I posted on AR just about an hour ago and now received a message from Google - the post has been picked up!

That's the power of AR and Google!

If you want to know online news about yourself and also who and where published anything on any topics you are interested in, sign up for Google Web Alert http://www.google.com/alerts - it's free and useful.

With the proper choice of keywords you can also receive alerts where and when somebody copied your own material online...

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

How to be the First on Google - continued

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:47:35 -0500

About two months ago I started the new Russian website http://floridainvestor.ucoz.ru to help real estate buyers from Russia invest in Florida. I submitted it to 4 major Russian search engines a month ago.

The major Russian search engine Yandex.ru placed it as #3 on the first page for the target search keywords "Investing in Florida real estate" (in Russian of course)! It's fantastic for a new site!

Same did a smaller engine Mail.ru, it's #3 there

Google.ru placed it as #7, still on the first page...

Rambler.ru hasn't listed it yet...

As usual with all my sites, I applied just basic optimization rules, this time in Russian, and it appears to work in Russian Internet exactly the same way as in English!

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Russian real estate agency looking for a home in Orange county, California

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:38:40 -0500

A realtor from Russia contacted me for help. He has a buyer in Russia who wants to purchase a home in Orange county, California. Safe neighborhood, ocean view, up to $1,200,000.

The Russian realtor wants to split your commission 50:50.

Please contact me if you are able and willing to do so.

I'll help with communication. Thank you

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Russian Realtors and International Standards

Tue, 26 May 2009 10:57:17 -0500

There is a good news in Russian real estate business: the Foreign Real Estate Committee has been created in the St. Petersburg Association of Realtors to make the market of international properties in Russia more transparent and civilized.

Michael Kelim, the President of the Committee, explains in his interview with bn.ru, the Real Estate Bulletin:

"The need for such a committee is especially high nowadays as Russian public demand for properties abroad is soaring as never before. In the time of the financial crisis people in Russia don't trust bank deposits, stocks and funds. They are searching for more stable investment means, and foreign real estate at recent low prices is very attractive as such. It's a great opportunity to purchase a vacation home at the sea shore or a condo in a prestige area abroad for the money that can only buy a small apartment at the outskirts of St. Petersburg. There are all kind of real estate investment opportunities abroad where the market allows to spend several million dollars for some investors and at the same time something like 20 000 dollars for others.

"On the other hand, realtors from many countries show more and more interest in buyers from Russia. Russians are very often cash buyers as they are not used to invest in financial instruments, and it makes them very attractive clients in real estate transactions today.

"This way international real estate is the cross point of interests for Russian investors, foreign property sellers and Russian realtors as consultants in such transactions. Also, international real estate has become a hot issue for specialized real estate media as well as general popular editions and news websites. Of course, exhibition and advertising companies are very interested, too. So, the topic of international real estate is very hot in Russia now.

"The market of international real estate is developing fast, but chaotic in Russia. International real estate transactions require top qualification specialists who know various countries and their markets and have good connections with local realtors in those countries. Not all real estate companies in St. Petersburg that offer international services, are really professional. There are cases of deception, too. To lower the risks for Russian investors in foreign real estate and to defend honest realtors, this Foreign Real Estate Committee has been created.

"The Committee will implement the system measures to make this market more civilized and transparent.

"What exactly is on the agenda?

-There will be clear standards for Russian realtors working with international properties developed and they will be mandatory for members of the St. Petersburg Association of Realtors

-Public at large will be better informed about the market of international properties and the existing opportunities

-Realtors education system will be developed. Now there is no course taught anywhere in Russia on how to work with international properties while in other countries it was a common thing long ago. We will bring foreign experts to teach such courses.

"Moscow was the first Russian city where international properties for sale were offered to Russians through local and foreign real estate agencies and where first foreign real estate shows gained popularity. Now St. Petersburg public has the same demand and interest in international properties and shows as in Moscow.

"The average potential Russian buyer of real estate abroad is rather disoriented now. All kinds of various real estate agencies offer their help with choosing properties and closing procedures abroad. There are departments of large well known Russian companies, Russian branches of foreign companies and also lots of small agencies among them.

"The buyers need some criteria whom to choose and trust with purchasing properties abroad. Membership in our professional association is the best guarantee of high quality services."

P.S. The list of members of the St. Petersburg Association of Realtors is annotated in English, you can find it at http://www.english-and-russian.com/russian-realtors.html

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Realtors use new visa types to open doors for foreign buyers

Fri, 15 May 2009 16:23:56 -0500

News from Florida Association of Realtors http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/N4-051509.cfm :

"WASHINGTON - May 15, 2009 - Citizens of other countries represent an important segment of the U.S. home buying market, and now new special visa categories that allow foreign nationals to gain U.S. residency can help facilitate that process. By using these visa categories correctly, Realtors® will be able to help many more buyers from overseas purchase property in the U.S.

"Toward this end, Realtors from across the country met Thursday with experts in immigration issues and international economics during the joint International and Resort and Second Home Real Estate Forums at NAR's Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

"We know that business of real estate today is truly borderless, and the National Association of Realtors has recommended steps toward facilitating and streamlining international real estate transactions for some time," says NAR President Charles McMillan. "Knowing how to properly apply immigration rules can help Realtors add value to international property transactions, benefiting both domestic sellers and international buyers."

"International real estate purchases in the U.S. continue to be a significant share of business for many Realtors, according to the 2008 NAR Profile of International Home Buying Activity. Of the Realtors surveyed for the profile, 26 percent served international clients in the past year and about half of those clients purchased a home.

"Recent research conducted by the Harris Research Group for NAR reveals that 7.1 percent of potential overseas buyers surveyed would definitely or possibly consider a retirement location in the U.S. This equates to a market in excess of one million potential buyers, according to real estate economist and author John Tuccillo, who spoke to the forum.

"Stephen H. Davis, a leading immigration attorney, explained how various U.S. visa programs, including the E-2, EB-5 and L-1 visas, help foreigners purchase homes in the U.S.

"These different visa programs will help attract individual investors from other countries," Davis says. "One long-term visa program helps investors attain a conditional lawful permanent residence status by investing $500,000 in a limited partnership at various government-maintained regional centers. Another program involves an investment of $l million to create 10 new full-time positions for U.S. workers."

"There are also visas for people who manage various types of enterprises and businesses in the U.S., including rental properties, condominiums and franchises; people in the export and import business; and foreign executives who manage U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies. All can facilitate international investment in U.S. real estate. Realtors can help their international clients buy second homes, vacation or future retirement homes by knowing how to use the appropriate special visa categories.

"NAR research shows the increasingly international nature of real estate markets and how foreign buyers are responding to opportunities to acquire homes in this country," says Davis. "After all, a piece of America is worth its weight in gold, and buyers from overseas recognize this. Understanding how the visa categories work can be a useful tool for Realtors in unlocking this important new market segment."

© 2009 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS "

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Are Realtors Trusted in Russia?

Thu, 14 May 2009 10:40:29 -0500

As a realtor's profession is still in its infancy in Russia, I've been looking for information to answer the question - what would an average consumer in Russia do if she/he wants to sell or buy a real estate property? Would they employ a realtor's help or would they do it on their own?

I've just came across the results of a recent phone poll conducted in Moscow by the Internet magazine Metrinfo.ru. The respondents were all of working age, the sample size was representative by age and gender for a big city.

The first question was exactly the one: "What would you do if you have to sell or buy a piece of real estate?"

Here are the answers:

63% would go to a real estate agency
15.7% would do it on their own
7.4% would ask a friend for advice
4.6% would use other methods
2.8% would employ a private real estate consultant
6.5% don't know

The second poll question was quite straight-forward: "Do you trust realtors?"

52.8% yes
30.6% no
16.6% don't know

Those who don't trust realtors or don't know whether to trust them, were asked for their reasons. Here's the breakdown of answers:

35.3% don't trust anybody at all
29.4% no comments as they didn't use realtors' services themselves
11.8% only trust realtors they know in person
9.8% have friends who suffered some damage from bad realtors
7.8% did it on their own in the past and were happy with the result
5.9% other

So, while in the USA the ratio "using a realtor vs. doing by owner" is approximately 80/20 (it's by memory, please correct me if it's not the exact number), in Russia it's approximately 60/40 so far. Well, it's a huge growth in comparison with some 15 years ago when real estate agencies just started to open their doors in Russia, and at the same time it's a long way to go for realtors in building trust with Russian public.

I know you would be more interested specifically in Russians buying properties abroad while this poll is general, but anyway these results can be applied to your marketing strategy in selling international real estate to Russian buyers.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

How to be the First on Google - continued

Wed, 13 May 2009 14:52:34 -0500

Here is a cute site that measures your Google PageRank for free: http://www.seobench.com/pr-overlay/

Fast and easy - enter your URL, click 'submit' and you see how your site is measured by Google, with a break down for all pages and also for the sites you have linked to from your site.

For example:

-various Google services rank from 9 to 7 (out of the maximum of 10, the highest rank)

-American Translators Association ranks 7

-ActiveRain ranks 6

And your site? Have fun and find out

Then work on improving your Google Page Rank if needed.

Willing to learn more about Google Page Rank? Here's where to start http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_page_rank

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Free Newsletter - Selling to Russians News - for real estate professionals from around the world

Sat, 09 May 2009 10:34:37 -0500

It's free to subscribe at http://www.english-and-russian.com/free-newsletter.html

The free newsletter Selling to Russians News keeps real estate professionals from around the world well informed on the latest trends in the market of Russian Buyers of international real estate.

As a subscriber you will know what countries Russian Buyers of international real estate are interested in, what international real estate shows happened in Russia and what was the attendance of Russian Buyers, what's new in marketing tools for real estate professionals to reach the market of Russian Buyers of properties abroad, etc.

Most of the material provided comes from analytics from Russia and other countries that are selling real estate to Russian Buyers successfully. Russian articles are all translated into English of course.

Feel free to read the back issues of the Free Newsletter Selling to Russians News before subscribing if you wish.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Stats from Moscow International Investment Show

Fri, 08 May 2009 11:56:47 -0500

The recent Moscow International Investment Show (organized by aigroup as usual) on March 13th and 14th, attracted 160 participants from 32 countries of the world and more that 6,000 visitors.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

How to be the First on Google - continued

Tue, 05 May 2009 08:51:04 -0500

Google is fast! and good to me ;-)

Just a week ago I published online a new page about Russian realtors certified in St. Petersburg http://www.english-and-russian.com/russian-realtors.html at my site http://www.english-and-russian.com

In 2 days my service submitted it to all search engines. In 5 days (it's today) Google spidered it and placed on the first page (!) in results for the search term "Russian realtors" - so great for a brand new page! (Other search engines haven't spidered it yet...)

I never experienced it before - it always took some time to get to the first page on Google (link building, etc.) and for some pages of mine it hasn't happened yet anyway ;-(

What did I do this time? Nothing special - just followed the basic SEO rules... as always... but by the time when the Google spider arrived at my new page there were at least 2 links to it already in place - from a press release website and AR too - maybe it helped?

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Russian real estate agency is looking for Florida properties for their clients

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:10:35 -0500

I received a request from a real estate agency in Russia: they are looking for completed homes/townhomes in the price range up to $300,000 in Florida.

Usually they put together a small group (up to 10 buyers) from Russia and organize a home buying trip for the group.

Most of them are cash buyers, but some possibilities of financing are also interesting for them if any are available for foreigners in Florida.

Feel free to contact me with your suggestions (with a link to pics online please)

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Russian Realtors certified in St. Petersburg, Russia to co-broke in marketing and selling properties from ANY country to Russian buyers

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:15:33 -0500

Russian Realtors

certified in St. Petersburg, Russia to co-broke in marketing and selling properties from ANY country to Russian buyers

How to choose a Realtor/Co-Broker in Russia?

There are no Realtor licensing bodies in Russia, no laws that require Russian Realtors to be licensed, and no specific laws to regulate Russian Realtors' activities and commissions.

How should you evaluate a particular Russian Realtor in terms of their qualification, reliability and ethic? That's a tough question to answer lacking legal regulations and requirements.

Luckily, a solution to this problem can be found, as there are several associations of Realtors in Russia that are concerned about this situation and perform VOLUNTARY CERTIFICATION of their members.

Russian Realtors certified by St. Petersburg Association of Realtors

St. Petersburg Association of Realtors (ARSP) is one of the most important among Russian real estate associations.

St. Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia and the third largest in Europe after Moscow and London. St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia in the past. Many analytics notice that its market of real estate buyers expresses the fast growing interest in foreign properties now as more and more foreign real estate shows expand to St. Petersburg from Moscow and public attendance of the shows has been steadily increasing.

ARSP started as the association of 12 Realtors in St. Petersburg in 1993, now there are more than 90 corporate members and more than 1700 certified real estate agents.

The goal and purpose of ARSP are standardization of the real estate industry in Russia based on the best experiences and achievements of world's Realtors associations.

ARSP accepted the Code of Professional Ethics that regulates its members' real estate related activities in the absence of specific real estate laws and Realtors' licensing system in Russia.

ARSP performs certification of its members since 1994. So, sticking with the ARSP members, the Realtors who have imposed high ethic standards upon themselves, you can't go wrong choosing a real estate partner in Russia to co-broke.

Certified Realtors selling foreign properties to Russians in St. Petersburg

There is a list of corporate members (approximately 90 now) on the ARSP website. There are 14 who have various foreign countries listings for sale on their websites, among the members now.

The ARSP site and members' websites are all in Russian as they are aimed at buyers in Russia, but those Russian Realtors who deal with properties from various foreign countries usually speak some English or have an English - speaking staff.

Any of the Realtors on the List might become your potential partners in selling your properties to Russian buyers.

Realtor's fees and commissions are not regulated in Russia; a common practice is to get half of your commission in case of a foreign sale, but it's all negotiable.

Realtor agreements are usually non-exclusive in Russia, so you can work with several partners at the same time if you wish.

Each ARSP Realtor's information on the List of 14 contains a company's name transliterated into English, short description, website, foreign listings URL (for you to have an idea about their online marketing possibilities) and contact information.

It's a common practice among Russian real estate Realtors to ask website visitors to fill out a request form for any type of foreign properties the visitors want to buy, but can't find on the site at this time, so their websites might be generating a demand for properties they don't represent now - so, feel free to offer your listings even if you don't see your country on a Realtor's recent list.

How can I help you in establishing partnership with Russian Realtors in St. Petersburg?

Please go to for details http://www.english-and-russian.com/russian-realtors.html

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Top ten countries that Russian Buyers are interested to purchase properties in

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:49:48 -0500

The most popular Russian real estate portal of foreign properties for sale for Russian buyers publishes statistics of countries that Russian visitors of the portal search for monthly.

Here's the March 2009 stats from Prian.ru (based on 800,000+ inquiries):

The top ten countries that Russian Buyers are interested to purchase properties in (rounded to 0.5%):

1. Bulgaria - 19%
2. USA - 8%
3. Spain -7.5%
4. Germany - 7%
5. Finland - 5.5%
6. Italy - 5%
7. France - 4%
8. Czech Republic - 3.5%
9. Montenegro - 3%
10. Egypt - 2.5%

Prian.ru comments that the interest for the USA properties has been steadily increasing among Russian buyers of foreign real estate for more than 6 months now. The demand is higher than the supply as US realtors are not active enough selling to Russians.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Updated edition of e-book "Selling to Russians" is available for Realtors free of charge

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 10:22:07 -0500

The updated edition of e-book "Selling to Russians" is available for Realtors free of charge at

http://www.english-and-russian.com/selling-to-russians.html

Here's the Table of Content:

1. How to increase sales in the slow real estate market

2. How to present your foreign properties to Russian Buyers

2.1. Website in Russian Internet

2.1.1. Who will be able to sell Condo-Hotels to Russian Buyers?

2.1.2. Who will be able to sell Florida properties to Russian Buyers?

2.1.3. Who will be able to sell the USA properties to Russian Buyers?

2.1.4. Who will be able to sell Panama properties to Russian Buyers?

2.2. Top 10 Russian Real Estate Portals for listing international properties from ANY country

2.3. Russian Real Estate Brokers certified in Moscow, Russia to co-broke in marketing and selling properties from ANY country to Russian Buyers

2.4. Major Foreign Real Estate Exhibitions in Russia

2.5. Print advertising of foreign properties in Russia

3. Overcoming language barriers

3.1. Free online translation

3.2. Choose the right translation provider for your needs

4. Selling to Russians: 10 tips for real estate agents

5. In the Media: Russians buy real estate in foreign countries

6. Russian Buyer's Profile

7. About the Author, contact and ordering information

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Selling to Russians - just updated free e-book for real estate agents

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:28:56 -0500

Updated!

Selling to Russians

Selling to Russians is the way to increase sales in the slow real estate market

Go fishing where the fish is: sell properties to Russian Buyers with cash to invest

"Gov. Charlie Crist pitches

Florida real estate to Russians"

---St. Petersburg Times

"From Russia With Cash -

Oligarchs Buy Homes in Chic U.S. Enclaves"

---The Wall Street Journal

How to increase sales in the slow real estate market

The unsold inventory of homes and condos in the US is huge and will take several years to unload even when the real estate market recovers. The Buyer's market will be here for quite awhile. The e-book "Selling to Russians" is for those who are willing to have more sales NOW instead of passively waiting for better times to come.

In the Buyer's market the most important task is to bring more Buyers to your listings. Where do you get Buyers while you've done everything possible to promote your listings and yet - locals don't buy? The answer is - look where Buyers are, and Russia is one of these promising places.

Even at these slow times Russians have the money and willingness to invest in real estate abroad. And they do buy a lot; resort areas and big cities all over the world are very popular among Russian Buyers and also properties with some growth potential as investment.

Some analysts say that Russians pull funds away from the stock market to invest more in foreign real estate now. Middle-class Russians see investment in real estate abroad as a future security for their retirement as there is still no reliable pension system in Russia if any at all. Russians used to have savings in foreign currencies (US Dollar and Euro), so most of the time they are cash buyers, no financing problem with them.

From The New York Times, April 2009:

Real Estate Agents Look Across Borders for Buyers

"With the property market in turmoil, especially in the United States, real estate agents around the country are increasing their efforts to woo the Russian oligarchs and other international buyers who have been making news with splashy top-dollar purchases.

''They are the most aggressive buyers in the market right now,'' said Kevin McBride, an agent with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International in Atlanta. In international hubs like Atlanta, overseas clients now account for anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of sales, industry experts say.

"The dollar has gotten stronger and that makes the investment appeal that much weaker,'' said Melissa Cohn, president of Manhattan Mortgage Company. That is not good news in Manhattan, where international buyers typically buy a third or more of the apartments in new buildings, local experts say.

"But international buyers continue to play an important role in the local market. For the W New York Downtown, a 56-story project under development in Manhattan, 74 percent of the initial sales have been to foreign buyers, a project spokesman said.

"In Miami, which has been particularly hard hit by the market slowdown, as many as 50 percent of sales in some neighborhoods are to overseas clients, despite the credit crunch and strengthening dollar, said Teresa Kinney, chief executive of the Greater Realtor Association of Miami and the Beaches. The organization was host to a contingent of 150 international agents, including 103 from Russia, who toured properties and networked with Miami agents. And in the past year group members have traveled to events in Paris, Madrid and Moscow to forge alliances.

''It's our biggest source for new business in Miami,'' Ms. Kinney said.

"Around the country, industry executives are organizing similar initiatives.

"In Hawaii, Dano Sayles of Coldwell Banker Island Properties is expanding his participation in international groups and attending conferences around the world to make new contacts.

"As global markets slow, agents say different types of international buyers have been emerging. In many markets, ''vultures'' are going after depressed and foreclosed properties, sensing that the bottom is near. Others are looking at luxury real estate as a safe investment, more than simply a second home.

''People are buying in the U.S. not necessarily because they think it's cheap. They're buying because they see it as a safe haven for their money. Many of those buyers aren't affected by credit problems -- they're paying in cash, agents say."

Marketing foreign real estate to Russian Buyers has some specifics that we'll discuss in the FREE e-book "Selling to Russians". You'll find advice on the following:

1. How to present your foreign properties to Russian Buyers

Website in Russian Internet
Russian Real Estate Portals
Co-Brokers in Russia
Real Estate Shows in Russia
Print advertising in Russian Media

2. How to overcome language barriers

3. How to consider cultural differences

Ask for your free copy by email at http://www.english-and-russian.com/selling-to-russians.html

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Top 10 Russian Real Estate PORTALS - the updated list

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:54:15 -0500

Updated!

Top 10 Russian Real Estate PORTALS

where buyers from Russia search for ANY country in the world
and
agents/owners from ANY country post property listings

There are many international real estate portals in English on the Internet, but if you want to sell your properties in ANY country of the world to Russian buyers, you have to list your foreign properties on Russian real estate portals in Russian Internet.

The List of Top 10 Russian real estate portals, annotated in English, for agents and owners from ANY country who are interested in finding Russian buyers for their properties all over the world, has been updated.

All of the Portals appear on the first page of search engines when Russian people search in Russian Internet for real estate properties abroad.

Some of the Portals have the information for foreign advertisers in English.

A few offer free listings in Russian and/or in English to anybody.

Some Russian Portals include listings translation into Russian in their service, some use automatic translation (those translations are of low quality), most leave it up to you.

For each Portal there is a short description with countries represented, traffic, English capabilities, how it works, free or paid, etc.; the URLs of home page, registration / "add listing" page, advertising price lists; contact information - anything needed to use the best Portals for your real estate sales.

More details at http://www.english-and-russian.com/russian-real-estate-portals.html

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

How to be the First on Google - continued

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:57:48 -0500

There is some dark side of being the first on Google - your articles are being stolen all the time!

Very popular with Internet thieves is A. Riggs' interview with me "Selling to Russians"

http://www.globaledge.co.uk/news/selling-to-russians-10-tips-for-real-es-25422

and also my article "Russian Buyers of international real estate: who, what, where?"

http://www.english-and-russian.com/russian-buyers.html

I set up Google Alerts for several relevant keywords - and I'm amused almost every week to find my own words that "belong" to a real estate broker in Cyprus, a freelancer in Russia, a consultant in the USA, etc.

On one side, it's good to be popular as it brings traffic, on the other side - it's annoying to see these dishonest people and of course - they steal part of my traffic...

Usually I email them or site admins with a request to put the stolen material down or quote the source, but it's too much work and time to follow up...

Do you have a better advice what to do with Internet thieves?

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Russian Buyers of international real estate: who, what, where? (just updated stats)

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:57:51 -0500

Updated!
(scroll to P.S. below)

Russian Buyers of international real estate: who, what, where?

Russian analytical portal Real Estate Indicators irn.ru has made an attempt to create a profile of Russian Buyers of properties abroad in November 2008. Here is the scoop:

"Headlines speak for themselves: From Russia -With Cash, says Wall Street Journal; Russians Snap up Australian Luxury, BBC continues. You're Not Imagining That Russian Buying Spree, New York Observer agrees.

"Wealthy Russians burst into international real estate market and buy expensive properties all over the world.

"The economy slowing down has just made Russians to be even more interested in real estate investing. Overseas Property Professional Magazine states in one of the latest articles that in 2008 Russian Trading System Index (the total of all Russian stocks) has dropped 75% and that makes Russian stocks the cheapest among developing countries.

"The Russian stock market can't be called reliable. Low oil prices are damaging to the business activity indexes in spite of the strong government support. A. Konovalov, the editor-in-chief of the leading Russian foreign real estate portal Prian.ru, comments on this situation saying that in these troubled times people think of a more reliable way of investing their money - in real estate, for example.

"Investing in domestic real estate in Russia is not only costly, but it's risky as well. Analytics believe that real estate prices in the major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg are as high as never before, and in some segments there are already more sellers than buyers. Instability of the national stock market along with the fear of falling domestic real estate prices turned wealthy Russians to look for a safe harbor for their investments abroad. A. Konovalov expects that in the future the interest in foreign real estate will only grow in Russia.

Russian investors - who are they?

"It's no wonder that real estate agencies are trying to win this new segment of Russian Buyers. The market players are eager to know - who these newly made wealthy Russians are and what kind of properties they are interested in. To tell the truth, this market is hard to classify.

A. Konovalov says that wealthy Russians are mostly interested in high quality properties in London, Cote d'-Azur, Paris, Toscana and New York. Middle class Russians are looking for affordable condos and homes up to EUR 100,000 in Eastern and Central Europe and Near East. As Mr. Konovalov explains, even an average retired person who has rather limited resources can afford to buy a property abroad if he sells his Russian home or condo.

What do they buy?

"A. Konovalov noticed that over the last five years the number of Russian owners of foreign homes or condos has been growing. Russians buy properties abroad for various reasons.

According to the research conducted by Prian.ru, 20% buy in foreign resort areas for vacationing with families. The next 20% are searching for countries to retire to. The whopping 27.5% expressed their willingness to immigrate to the country where they buy real estate. Just 5.4% of the respondents consider owning foreign properties as a symbol of their high social and business status. The rest are buying as investment or for business purposes. Some consider renting the property out, others are hoping for the equity gain while selling later.

As A. Konovalov further reports, Russians mostly buy homes and land. They are less interested in commercial real estate.

The editor-in-chief of Prian.ru states that the number of inquiries from the portal visitors, Russian Buyers of properties abroad, increased by 15% in October 2008. It became 580,000 in comparison with 500,000 in September.

Where do they buy?

"Russians are mostly interested in European real estate as Europe is closer. The number of those who want to buy in more remote places as Egypt or Thailand is relatively small. But their number might increase in connection with lower credit ratings of some Eastern European countries. Prian.ru publishes the top 10 countries that the visitors, Russian Buyers of foreign real estate, search for, here they are:

1. Bulgaria - 14.53%
2. Germany - 8.02%
3. Finland - 7.87%
4. Spain - 7.85%
5. USA - 5.19%
6. France - 4.78%
7. Czech Republic - 4.61%
8. Italy - 4.33%
9. Egypt - 3.17%
10. Turkey - 3.00%

"There are also Montenegro and Greece in the top 15 countries searched. There is a strong interest in Thailand growing. Cyprus seems to be in less demand, it should be seasonal.

"The growing activity of Russian Buyers in the international real estate market is a part of a huge new trend, no doubt about it. The growing prosperity of the country creates new millionaires and billionaires. It develops in Russia, India and China nowadays. The number and diversity of Russian Buyers of foreign real estate will be growing as no barriers can stop people fascinated with wealth."

I've translated this article by A. Bocharov, published by irn.ru in November 2008, from Russian to English.

P.S. Here's the February 2009 update of some stats from Prian.ru:

The number of inquiries from the portal visitors, Russian Buyers of foreign properties, increased to 800,000 monthly.

The top ten countries that Russian Buyers are interested to purchase properties in (rounded to 0.5%):

1. Bulgaria - 20%
2. Spain - 8%
3. Finnland -7%
4. USA - 6.5%
5. Germany - 6.5%
6. Italy - 4.5%
7. Czech Republic - 4%
8. France - 3.5%
9. Egypt - 2.5%
10. Montenegro - 2.5%

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Your Property Website in Russian Internet

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:34:38 -0500

Your Property Website in Russian Internet

Starting your property website in Russian Internet is an inexpensive and fast way to get your foreign property in front of the eyes of Russian Buyers and real estate Brokers/Agents.

Here is an example of a property website in Russian Internet that we've created for a New-York Tribeca Loft to promote it to Russian Buyers and Brokers in Russia: http://tribecaloft.ucoz.ru/

There are 5 pages that you can reach through the site menu on the left:

home page describing the property
second page describing the area
third page with two photo albums for the interior and exterior of the property
guest book
email form

There are 5 links to any outside websites of choice that you can reach through the menu on the right. If you are a real estate Broker/Agent, these links will bring visitors to your other properties as well.

Unlimited number of the property photos.

This website in Russian Internet has been built of templates on a Russian server that use proper Russian encoding, so Russian language characters will never be distorted in any way for viewers in Russia.

Translation of the property and area description from English into Russian, and also the back and forth correspondence with Russian Buyers, has been provided.

Your home or condo for sale can be up and running on its own website in Russian Internet in a matter of days.

The service package for your property website in Russian Internet includes:

website set-up
content translation
maintenance for 6 months
correspondence translation for 6 months
submitting to major Russian search engines

Do not miss your chance to show your property to Russian Buyers - they are interested in foreign real estate and willing to buy. Most of them are cash buyers, no financing problem. Inquire now.

http://www.english-and-russian.com/property-website-in-russian.html

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Russian Internet facts - just updated

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:46:53 -0500

Updated!

Russian Internet

Having been asked recently "Is there Internet in Russia?", I'd like to put together this basic info on RuNet = Russian Internet.

The Russian language is the sixth most widely spoken language in the world, following Mandarin, English, Hindi/Urdu, Arabic and Spanish. It is also one of the United Nations' six main languages. (Reuters Press Agency)
Runet to be populated by 40 million users, or 28 percent of the population. Russian sites do $3 billion in annual transactions. (Russian Internet Forum 2008)
Russia ranks 6th to 7th in the number of domain names ( .ru) in the world, having reached one million in September 2007, and two million at the beginning of 2009. The first .ru website in Russian was registered 15 years ago.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has already approved domain registration in Cyrillic .rf (Russian Federation). The detailed procedure should be ready in 2009, and it'll be the first non-Latin domain on the Internet. (Russia Today)
Russian-language online advertising is expected to grow by about 50% each year - reaching $1 billion by the end of the decade. (Russia Today)
In February 2008, 47.4% of all searches in Russia were conducted on Yandex.ru , followed by Russian Google (31.2%), Rambler.ru (9.7%), Mail.ru (7%), Russian Yahoo! (1.3%), AOL (1.1%), and Microsoft (0.6%), says a new study of Russian Internet usage. (comScore.com)
Russia was the second largest Internet market in Europe in 2008. (comScore.com)
Top online advertisers comprised the following industries:
1) Mobile communications - Beeline, Megafon, MTS (MTSC)
2) Automotive - Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM), Peugeot, Volvo
3) Mobile phones - Nokia (NOK)
4) Consumer goods - Wrigley (WWY), Procter & Gamble (PG)
5) Technology - Intel (INTC), IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT)
6) Telecommunications - Comstar
7) Retail - Eldorado, M-Video, Evroset, Technosila
8) Financial services - Citibank (C), Maxwell (MXWL)

So, if you are willing to promote your real estate, goods or services in Russian Internet, you'll be in this great company.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have about your possible presence in this rapidly growing media - Russian Internet http://www.english-and-russian.com/russian-internet.html

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Major Foreign Real Estate Exhibitions in Russia - the free list just updated

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:14:16 -0500

Updated!

Major Foreign Real Estate Exhibitions in Russia

To participate in a real estate exhibition in Russia is the best way to meet buyers for your properties and establish personal connections with potential business partners.

It's also the most expensive way of getting to the market of Russian buyers for foreign real estate - the costs of flights, hotels, visas plus exhibition fees and translation / interpreting sum up.

The most important foreign real estate exhibitions in Russia take place several times a year in Moscow, the capital, and St. Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia. There are some other big Russian cities starting the same activities.

To choose the best real estate exhibition in Russia for your foreign properties, you should compare such parameters as the visitor's profile and anticipated number of visitors, among others like timing and pricing.

Keep in mind that some events are fully booked well in advance, so start your application process early.

The annotated updated List of seven largest foreign real estate exhibitions in Russia has been created in the order they appear on the first page in Russian Internet when a potential Russian buyer for a foreign property would search for such an exhibit to visit. Of course, the organizers involve other marketing efforts to get visitors to their exhibitions too.

All of the websites have an English version for exhibitors' convenience.

Feel free to ask for your FREE copy of The List of Major Foreign Real Estate Exhibitions in Russia at my website: http://www.english-and-russian.com/real-estate-exhibitions-russia.html

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals

Certified Moscow Real Estate Brokers

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:58:39 -0500

Updated!

Russian Real Estate Brokers

certified in Moscow, Russia to co-broke in marketing and selling properties from ANY country to Russian buyers

How to choose a Realtor/Co-Broker in Russia?

There are no Realtor licensing bodies in Russia, no laws that require Realtors to be licensed, and no specific laws to regulate their activities and commissions.

How should you evaluate a particular Russian Realtor in terms of their qualification, reliability and ethic? That's a tough question to answer lacking legal regulations and requirements.

Moscow Association - Guild of Realtors (MA) is one of the most important among Russian real estate associations.

MA accepted the Code of Ethics and Standard of Practices that regulate its members' real estate related activities in the absence of specific real estate laws and Realtors' licensing system in Russia.

MA performs certification of its members since 2002. So, sticking with the MA members, the Realtors who have imposed high ethic standards upon themselves, you can't go wrong choosing a real estate partner in Russia to co-broke.

I have just updated the annotated List of Certified Moscow Brokers willing to co-broke with you in marketing and selling foreign properties from ANY country to Russian buyers.

Please visit http://www.english-and-russian.com/russian-real-estate-brokers.html for details.

To your business success,

Olga Kellen, the Author of Selling to Russians, free e-book for real estate professionals