advice: Where you are ignorant, you are volnerable....
- 10/12/08 09:39 AM
A while back, someone that I considered a friend came to me with a business proposition, it sounded like a great thing to do for supplemental income. A lot of people were getting into it at the time, and if you sell the products the potential was there to make some money.
After he showed mehow much he had already made just from signing people up, I went ahead and paid the money and signed up. Soon after I signed up, I started to find out certain truths that I wish I would have known before getting into it, I started to … (3 comments)
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advice: Showcase your home to get it to sell faster, and for more $$$.......
- 10/09/08 08:53 AM
For most buyers, buying a home is an emotional decision first, before they back it up logically. The more I go on listing presentations and talk to sellers, the more I realize that most sellers do not understand the importance of showcasing their home. So here are some of the things that buyers notice when they come into your home, that you should consider doing before you list your home:
1. Spruce up your landscapping, cut the grass, add some fresh mulch, plant some flowers if you have to. Your front yard is the first thing the buyers will see, and it should be a … (1 comments)
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advice: When do you make your money, when you buy it? or when you sell it?......
- 10/06/08 05:42 AM
Many will probably say that a homeowner makes money when her or she sells their real property, but I think that a homeowner makes his/her money when he/she bought the property. Although you receive your sales proceeds when you sell and close on the property, however, it is the choices that you make during the process of purchasing the property that help determine your proceeds when you sell.
Factors like: Location, Style of home, Exterior & Interior features, Condition of the property, Financing type & terms, Negotiated Price & terms of the contract, Amount down, etc., these things help put a homebuyer in a better position to make money when they sell the … (0 comments)
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advice: The value of client follow-up system.....
- 10/04/08 11:01 AM
I can't imagine why some real estate agents, or other real estate professionals fail to keep in contact with their clients after the deal is done. Is it because these people don't understand the value of follow up?, or is it all about the money for these guys?.
One of the agents in my officerecently came up to me and said that he just had another client list the home that he sold them through another company, this was the second time in two months that this has happened to him. I suggested that he call his client and ask them if … (9 comments)
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advice: Are you focused on your destination?
- 09/30/08 02:16 AM
Those of us that use a GPS navigation system know that, you put in the address of where you want to go, and then the system maps out a turn by turn route that will take you to your destination. If you miss a turn, it will recalculate and find an alternative route. If you make the wrong turn where there are no alternative routes, it will tell you to make a U-turn and will continue telling you so until you do, then it will point you back to the right direction, and ultimately get you to your destination.
Many people … (6 comments)
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advice: What is the right way to work short sales?
- 09/24/08 06:37 AM
Many realtors and investors out there know that working short sales can be very challenging and frustrating. When it comes to dealing with a bank, and trying to get them to accept less than what a seller owes them on a property, they can sometimes make it very difficult. It is like someone borrowing money from me, and then call me to try to get me to accept less than the amount that I loaned them. If you are like me, that would not go over too well. So, I don't think these lenders are very happy about accepting less than what … (82 comments)
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advice: What are the pros and cons of a land contract?
- 09/22/08 05:00 PM
A land contract is a type of contract that may allow a purchaser to obtain a property even if he/she does not have good credit, and is not able to obtain financing through a regular lender. Most sellers prefer not to go this route, but this form of contract can work to a seller's advantage, especially if the seller is marketing the property when interest rates are high. Land contract is sometimes called an "installment contract" or a "Contract for deed". Typically, on a land contract, a purchaser normally makes a small downpayment to the seller, and then the purchaser will move into the … (0 comments)
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advice: Be ready when the market turns around.....
- 09/21/08 10:12 AM
I recently posted a blog Why are we quick to blame when things go wrong?, where I shared some thoughts on how to overcome some of the challenges that we face in today's housing market. That blog received several good contributions from other members here on AR, and it also ended up becoming my first featured post.
After reading some of the comments on that post, it became clear to me that, what we do in our business during this slow market will affect our success when the market turns around. Those of us that have started doing more with less, who are now using Guerilla Marketing to increase their business … (7 comments)
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advice: Why are we quick to blame when things go wrong?
- 09/19/08 08:47 PM
When things go wrong, or when things don't go the way you wanted them to go, what is your attitude towards the situation or the people involved?. With the way the housing market is right now, it is easy for one to blame the market for the dip in their business, or when the listings are sitting on the market longer and are not getting many showings, and the income is not coming in like it used to.
On top of all that, you have the sellers that may get frustrated because they can't move forward with their plans because their home … (41 comments)
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advice: Why you should be careful about the contractors you recommend to your clients....
- 09/19/08 01:30 PM
As I did a walk through on a house before listing it, there were a few obvious items that needed to be repaired, the seller asked if I knew a general contractor that would be able to make the repairs. I recommended one who had done some work for another client of mine on a different property. She hired him, and he did a good job on the pre-listing repairs.
About a week and half later we put the home under contract, the buyers had an inspection done, requested some repairs, and my seller client decided to hire the same contractor that did the pre-listing repairs. All … (8 comments)
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advice: Have you ever seen a fenced backyard without a gate?
- 09/17/08 02:22 PM
I am really having a hard time understanding this one. My clients have a contract on a home that had red paint in the dinning when they first saw it, fell in love with it, and wrote the contract. When we went back today for the re-inspection, we saw that the seller has repainted the room back to a neutral color, and also took the stove which was listed on the mls listing. They also installed a fence in the backyard without a gate, I'm not sure how they planned for my clients to take out the trash can that was … (14 comments)
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advice: Start with a strong foundation in your business
- 09/17/08 06:19 AM
When most people finish school to become real estate agents, they take the test, hook up with a broker and get their license. Depending on the company you signed up with, you may get little or no initial training before going out to work with clients. The mentality is, we will learn as we go. Kind of like saying" Ready..Fire..Set". For most consumers, purchasing real estate is the biggest investment they will ever make, do they really deserve to have an agent on their side who is not well prepared to handle the transaction. Before one becomes a doctor, he/she goes … (5 comments)
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advice: Real estate contracts....What is an Option contract?
- 09/16/08 02:26 PM
An option contract is a contract where the seller(also known as the optionor) gives the buyer(aslo known as the optionee) the right to right to purchase the property within a given period of time. The buyer pays an agreed upon sum of money as consideration or deposit, and if the buyer chooses not to perform or not to exercise the option to puchase the property, then the deposit goes to the seller. But, if the buyer decides to follow-through, the deposit will become part of the down payment. An option can also be defined in short as "You buy the right to buy".
… (5 comments)
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advice: What does one do when he/she is a victim of predatory lending?
- 09/15/08 04:12 PM
They say, where one is ignorant, there they are most vulnerable. I have heard of borrowers that were taking advantage of by predatory lenders, but today was my first day meeting one of the victims. These folks bought a home two years ago that is now about to be foreclosed on unless we can get it sold through a short sale.
Two years ago, these folks saw an ad in one of those weekly magazines that said, "buy this home with only $500 and seller will pay all closing costs". After they called the number, they went out, saw and fell in love … (3 comments)
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advice: Real estate finacing......What is Assumable mortgage & Alienation clause?
- 09/11/08 04:32 AM
ALIENATION: This is also known as Due on Sale clause. Many conventional mortgages have this clause, and it keeps the mortgage from being assumed. This means that, if you have this clause on your mortgage and you get rid of your home, the entire balance of your mortgage will be due on sale.
So, check your loan documents to see if your loan is assumable. This could really be helpful when you decide to sell or sell and the current interest rates are higher than the rates on your mortgage because, the buyer will be able to assume all the obligations under the mortgage … (2 comments)
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advice: What are you thankful for?
- 09/11/08 02:05 AM
With every experience, we have a choice as to how we respond to it. For example, if I went on a listing appointment and say I don't get the listing, on the drive back to the office, I can choose to beat my self up mentally about the things that I did wrong or could have done better during the presentation that would have increased my chances of getting the listing, but I would be blinded to the fact that I could choose to focus on the things that I did right and appreciate those things. Appreciating the fact that I … (7 comments)
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advice: How much do you appreciate your spouse?
- 09/09/08 04:36 PM
I have never appreciated what my wife does on a daily bases more than I do now. My wife left three days ago for a ten day trip to Canada, and I was left with the privilege of solely taking care of our three children. It is one thing to get home early a few days a week to help, but it is something totally different to have them all to myself. Between working, picking the kids up from school, cooking dinner, helping them with their homework, doing laundry, getting things ready for the next day, etc. I don't know how she does it.
I am three … (9 comments)
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advice: Harassment phone calls....
- 09/08/08 02:28 PM
One of our local associations sent out another e-mail to the members about someone making sexual harassment phone calls to real estate agents in our area. This type of thing is probably going on around the country, giving the recent attacks on female real estate agents in certain parts of the country.
These maniacs are probably roaming around looking for their next victims, so please be very careful as you go out to meet prospects for showings. Protect yourself, get a pepper spray, get one of those tasers if they are legal, or take some self defense classes. With the shifting market, agents are … (4 comments)
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advice: Don't take your loved ones for granted...
- 09/07/08 04:10 PM
As professionals we work so hard to try to prove to our clients that we are worthy of their business, we spend so much time finding clients, working with clients, getting referrals, and trying to keep the clients that we already have for future business. Although these are vital to the sucess of our business, it is so important that we take time to appreciate our biggest cheerleaders - our family and friends. These people are the ones that are there for us on those days when you find out that a deal you were working on just fell apart and … (5 comments)
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advice: Real estate financing....What is Acceleration clause?
- 09/05/08 02:44 PM
Most mortgages carry what is called an Acceleration clause, which is a section of the mortgage contract that may specify the due date of the payments, and also include the steps the lender will take in order to penalize the borrower for late payments, or if the borrower fails to pay at all. The Lender may also apply a fixed amount if the payment is not paid within a specified time after the due date, and the lender can call the entire balance of the loan due and payable at once when the borrower misses a payment.
With most of these mortgages, a late mortgage payment … (0 comments)
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A while back, someone that I considered a friend came to me with a business proposition, it sounded like a great thing to do for supplemental income. A lot of people were getting into it at the time, and if you sell the products the potential was there to make some money.
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