New Selling Real Estate

As real estate professionals it is known that when real estate peaks it is important to make money while the getting is good. Then things decline and a buyers market emerges. Selling real estate in a buyers market is difficult for the seasoned real estate broker and the new real estate brokers seem to not last long and take some hard hits on their personal finances attempting to list new homes and coddle all the shoppers and Looky Lous.

There is no easy way to sell real estate in a buyers market. Sure it helps to list as many distressed sales as possible, but even so this is not a sure bet either.

This is a time when the long-standing and high-referral real estate agents show their light. Those who have been working hard, pleasing their customers will be the ones, which will make out well in a buyers market. Yet consider some of the larger markets in the United States where real estate is on the definite decline and there are 75-90 foreclosures per day, it maybe rather tough on many real estate brokers and agents.

Suffice it to say that it is imperative to be well versed in the fundamentals of real estate sales to survive a down turn in the market in this post bubble real estate market today. Please consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

A recent glance at the Grand Haven, MI real estate classifieds is quite revealing. Homeowners in this resort town, popular for boating, fishing and other outdoor activities, have property to offer in just about every price range.

Home prices start at under $100k and top out at over a million. Lots and properties in foreclosure status can be purchased for under $75,000, even those that are near the water.

Located on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Grand River, the population of Grand Haven at the last census was just over 11 thousand. During the annual Coast Guard Festival, the number of visitors and tourists is ten times that of the population.

A bit of history: originally the area was inhabited by the Ottawa, a Native American tribe who used the Grand River for transportation, trading, fishing and hunting. The first European settlers were French fur traders. A Presbyterian minister named William Ferry is considered the first “permanent” resident.

People working in Grand Rapids, Muskegon and other larger nearby cities often turn to the Grand Haven, MI real estate listings in hopes of “getting away” from the crowds. Grand Haven has a “small town” feel, but is close enough to allow for easy commuting.

Even though the city boasts parks, beaches, campgrounds, charter fishing and even a musical fountain, the tourist trade has not been enough to protect the economy from the affects that are being felt throughout Michigan. As the United States turns from manufacturing products to service and technology industries, many people have been left unemployed.

Most recently, the Eagle-Ottawa Leather Company shut down all of its Grand Haven operations in October of 2006. Originally called the Sheldon Tannery, the company began doing business there in 1838.

Although the economy is suffering now, experts expect a full recovery over the next several years. But, property owners who need to move quickly may take little comfort in this prediction, which may or may not bear out.

The Grand Haven, MI real estate market is a little slower than they may have expected. The majority of the listings have been available for over a month. If you haven’t had any luck selling your property with a real estate agent, it’s time to think outside the box.

One strategy that can help sellers and buyers alike is called a “lease option agreement”. This type of agreement benefits the seller by taking the property off the market for at least a year or two. If the prospective buyer defaults or decides not to buy, the seller keeps the deposit, down payment and whatever moneys have been put aside towards the purchase, plus the mortgage has been paid, keeping the property away from foreclosure status.

Buyers benefit tremendously because they find lease option agreements appealing for several reasons. Number one, a portion of their rent goes toward the eventual purchase. It’s a good feeling to know that “all” of your rent is not going down the drain and that you are building equity in a home.

During the lease period, the prospective buyer can work to improve his credit rating, find the best financing, save for a bigger down payment and basically test drive the home (you don’t have to exercise the option to purchase the home…it’s your choice!) People with problematic credit can often qualify for a lease option, but would find financing a home difficult because of bank financing.

A lease option agreement is a win-win for Grand Haven, MI real estate owners and buyers, as well. If the economy does bounce back, as is expected, the property values will rise again, as well.

Dan Ho is a real estate investor in Michigan. Visit Grand haven MI real estate now to discover how to sell your home on a lease option or to find out how you can buy one, even with bruised credit.

The way I see it, there are are two types of people in this world: those who love corner lots and those who hate them. If you are about to sell your corner lot property, understanding what makes these two groups of people tick is an essential first step that will help you market your home and sell it for the best price.

Down on the Corner

Typically, the those who vow they’d never buy a home on a corner lot always cite lack of privacy as the main drawback to living on the edge of two streets. “Strangers will watch you step out of the tub,” these folks exclaim. And while I always wonder if they’ve ever heard of curtains or landscaping when I hear these things, I recognize the truth in what they say. Corner lot homes naturally have twice the number of people looking up at their windows. The corner lot home is twice as visible and exposed to passersby on two streets. Even worse: if you’re a gardener, there will be twice as many sneaky people picking twice as many flowers from two of your yards. So who wants it?

Turning the Corner

Fortunately for sellers, people who love corner lots abound in this world and this type of property is generally more expensive for good reason. Three of the primary reasons that corner lots come at a premium price are:

They are larger. The benefits of this should be obvious but among them are the fact that your bigger lot will yeild more possibilities for living spaces.

Fewer neighbors. This is ironic, but though you have more street front property with a corner lot and supposedly less privacy, you actually have fewer fences to share with nosy neighbors, fewer backyards looking into yours, and fewer windows facing the back of the lot.

Increased visibility. Yes, I said it. Privacy is overrated and corner lot lovers know this to be a true fact. Think about it: if you operate any kind of home business, a corner lot is the lot you want.

Good For Business

The world of work has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Sparked by technology, the two income family, and the sincere quest to find a better way to manage family life, we’re seeing more home-based businesses, more home-based consultancies and more people who work online from home offices. If the preponderance of cell phones, blackberries and laptops in the coffee shops is any indication, we’re in the process of creating one of the most portable workforces of all time. For many of us, this increased portability isn’t an opportunity to travel so much as it’s a welcome opportunity to finally go home. For the home based business owner, a home on the corner gives them two streets to hang out two shingles, better access for their clients and effortlessly keeps the product or service in the minds of twice as many people.

So if you have a corner lot home to sell, make sure you market it to the corner lot lovers, not the corner lot haters. While this home’s increased visibility might send the latter running for cover, it provides a clear selling point for the former that’s often overlooked.

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Whether you have been in the real estate business for one year or are a seasoned professional in the business for more than twenty years, you will always have a need for new clients to worth with. Referrals are important, but attracting new clients that have not had the opportunity to work with you in the area that you serve can boost your business to unprecedented levels. Here are 7 tips to attract new clients who want to buy or sell real estate.

1. Design a mini-poster. A mini-poster is made using a single sheet of 8 ½ by 11 inch paper. You can use textured or colored paper if you like or stick with the more traditional white or ivory. Using a word processing program you can write down 7 tips for selling a home or 5 mistakes that first time buyers make when purchasing a home. You will be writing to the market of clients that you wish to attract. Be sure to put your contact information on this mini-poster so that people can contact you easily. You also may want to laminate the mini-poster or put it into a clear plastic sheet protector. Make lots of copies because people will keep them for quite a while. Give them out to anyone you talk to and ask others to give them out at their places of business. You will find that mini-posters are like giant business cards that are easy to see.
2. Start a blog. More people than ever are now reading and writing on blogs, or web logs. Many are indistinguishable from traditional web pages. A blog can be started for free and is a great way to communicate to the people you most want to reach. Choose a specific group to begin with, such as the area you farm, or first time homebuyers. Post at least twice a week to get your name and your message out into the blogosphere. Be sure to give your readers lots of useful information. This way they will see you as a resource before you are a vendor.
3. Write short articles. Use your blog posts as a starting point for writing short articles. By extending your posts to 250 or 300 words, using keywords that tell people what you do and where you do it (like vacation home sales in Panama City, Florida) you can use short articles to attract clients from all over the world who are searching for what you have to offer them. Be sure to include your contact information at the end of the article so that prospective clients can quickly send you an email or call you to get more information and make a connection with you.
4. Write short reports. After you have written 5 or 6 short articles combine them into a short report. You can convert them into a PDF file or print them out and put them into a folder with a cover page that tells more about you and your business. These can be given away to new clients or included in a listing presentation. When you write about real estate you position your as an expert in your field and make new clients hungry to find out more about you and to work with you.
5. Make a presentation. Accept every opportunity you are given to speak in front of others. Even if you dislike public speaking you may enjoy sharing information about your business with small groups of people. By speaking for even ten minutes and handing out copies of your mini-poster, you will attract clients that like what you say and how you say it. Be sure to take questions at the end of your talk so that people can get to know you even better.
6. Give teleseminars. Most of us have been using the telephone since we were very young. It is natural for people to want to communicate on a call and teleseminars are a way for you to talk about your specialty area while new clients get to know you better. Choose a topic to speak about, pick a day and time for the call and give out the call in information to everyone you meet. Bridge lines are used for the purpose of teleseminars and they can be obtained for free or at a very low cost. People can even listen in to your call using the internet so that they do not incur long distance charges. The replay of your teleseminar can be made available to those who were unavailable at the original time of the call, or to those who would like to hear the call again through their computer or mp3 player.
7. Put your recordings on audio CD’s. Everyone has access to a CD player, either at home, in their car or at their office. Record your teleseminar on to a CD and put your contact information on the front of the CD. Clients will listen to your CD at some point in the future and contact you when they need your services or to get more information. Think of a CD as a talking business card that will last for years.

By using these tips to attract new clients into your business you will be giving yourself every opportunity to reach people and to be able to address their specific needs. You will be in business for many years and it is important to get your name in front of prospective clients in as many different ways as possible. Using these tips will give you an edge over your competitors and position you as an expert in your specific niche in real estate.

To download your free copy of “Using the Internet to Leverage Your Real Estate Business” visit http://www.NewMediaMarketingforRealEstateProfessionals.com

Every new agent has heard the admonition they absolutely must contact everyone in their circle of influence when they start out. This is certainly good advice because when you are just starting out, you are going to have a tough time getting clients. You will not have past clients to recommend you, signs around town with your name on them, or print ads displaying your listings. All of these methods, and many more, combine to bring a constant stream of clients once you have been in business a number of years.

Because none of these are available to you, you will have to work with what you have got. And what you have got is a vast collection of friends, relatives, and acquaintances you can look to for your first deal. This is your circle of influence (COI).

So, where to begin? One of the first things you will want to do is begin compiling your contact list. The list should include everyone listed above and anyone else you can think of. Do not forget past co-workers, people you went to school with, and casual acquaintances you know from your bank, the grocery store, the dry cleaners, etc. Make sure to note as much information about each of them as you can. You will want their name, address, phone numbers, birthday and anniversary dates, and any other information you want to include.

A standard tool for agents, and one you really cannot do without, is some type of contact manager software. There are many different choices on the market and they range in price from free to several hundred dollars. There are even packages where you pay a subscription fee every month. You may be tempted to try one of the free or low-end packages but you should consider this carefully. A well-known problem with this type of software is the malicious code that often comes with it. This can include spyware, adware, malware, and any number of viruses.

You will be better off if you go with one of the mid-priced packages that allow contact information, expense and other custom reports, letter and flyer management, and can be upgraded in the future. You will want to start using any package you go with as soon as possible.

If you want to start making some money before making another purchase, just use the Mail Merge feature in Microsoft Word. You will be limited to basic name and address information but this can help you address your letters for mailing. Make sure you handwrite the address on the outside of the envelope. This helps separate your letter from the junk mail everyone receives. Your first letter should announce your new broker affiliation, and do not forget to include a few business cards.

Something you should keep in mind whenever you are mailing anything is that you can improve the response immensely if you follow this, or any other, mailing with a personal phone call or visit. In fact, you should make sure you mention your visit in the letter. This gives you the advantage of having your letter remembered and firmly ties its message to you. You will want to mail as many letters as you can follow up on as soon as possible. Direct mail, even to friends, has a notoriously low response rate so make sure you do everything possible to be remembered.

Brokers know you are likely to find your first deal this way and will certainly encourage you to pursue this. The unscrupulous among them will want you to push yourself on these people harder than you might think proper. In fact, many brokers are willing to take on inexperienced agents because so many of them are able to pull their first (and sometimes only) deal out of their COI.

Be careful with your approach. Remember you are in this for the long haul and it will certainly do you no good to make a pest of yourself. Gauge your technique with the response you are getting. If it is generally negative, tone it down a little, but keep in mind, not pushing hard enough can be just as bad. Ultimately, contacting your circle of influence is just one of the many ways you will be prospecting for clients but it just might turn out to be the one that gets your career started in the right direction.

Aldar Nagy is the author of several informational type websites. These include The Real Estate Marketing Blogger, which offers free marketing ideas and daily tips to agents to help you list more sellers, find more buyers, and increase your earnings through better customer service. Real Estate Marketing Blogger can be found at: http://www.realestatemarketingblogger.com

In another article, Gudrun and Tcat were examining natural disasters and rebuilding efforts. In this piece, we want to look at the impact of a recession on new construction sites and the general real estate market.

Okay. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a recession takes a bit of a bite out of everybody, due to the trickle through in economic trade. If you speak with anybody having anything to do with new construction, and that would mean buying or selling as well suppliers and support people, a recession gives them one heck of a headache.

So you may be wondering, how does a recession affect new construction? Well during a recession, fewer people want to either buy or sell. New construction is no surprise, very capital-intensive. Nobody wants to spend that kind of money on new construction only to have it sit there.

Of course, it can be difficult to predict when a recession is coming. So a construction project may have already been under way when the unwelcomed downturn appears, and brings his weight to the market. This can force incentives, such as cash rebates to free up some capital for the construction company.

Now, if you happen to be in the market to buy at that stage and the construction company is feeling the pinch from the unexpected recession, lucky you. You could expect to see cash rebates or free upgrades or extensions, totaling tens of thousands of Dollars.

Yes, of course, this is damaging or even eliminating the anticipated profits for the builder. For just a moment, stop and ask yourself: what would you do, if you had dozens of homes, unsold?

A builder cannot just let the homes sit and wait for the recession to go away. The good news for the buyer is all these free upgrades like double glazing or a floor covering to the house have genuine value. Perhaps even your garden gets shrubs, pavement, and not just a lawn… Many add-ons are negotiable and you have to bring them up in your negotiations. This translates to a better return on investment, when the buyer is selling out later.

Another reason a builder may offer free upgrades worth considerable real money is the fact that developments contain dozens or even hundreds of houses. Creating serious incentive to attract buyers means other prospects will see how quickly the development is filling. This becomes an exceptionally strong selling point to future prospects looking at houses in the same development. Therefore, strong incentives now can give the builder an opportunity to regain some of its losses in the development. They do this by creating desire in the area.

Hey! It’s dark, stuffy and hot inside this little box of electronics. Not only that, we cannot hear you when you talk to us. Send an e-mail to feedback@ButterflyLister.com about what topics you would like to hear about.

Siddique is real estate investor for over 22 years and President of http://www.butterflylister.com Download Free How to sell your Home for Full Price in any market.

Here Is An Ad Writing Method That Will Bring Results

Have you been putting off writing those ads? What if I could show you how easy (and fun!) this task could be?

How to Write Ads That Pull in the Buyers

Yes, of course there are proven words that sell, but aren’t we all getting tired of the same headlines that we see on most every piece of marketing today? You don’t want to publish ads that contain tired, unoriginal text.

Have you also noticed that those types of ads largely go ignored by potential buyers because they look tired and unoriginal? Today’s buyers have become “ad blind”.

Make Your Words Sell

Create winning ads that bring in the buyers by using the right expressions. Cute, cleaver and obscure won’t do the trick. Merely listing the facts about a home for sale is like reading a cereal carton. Your ad needs to appeal to the buyer’s interest and fulfill their needs. A new spin on your marketing is all that is required.

Writing a successful ad begins by thinking like a buyer, not just any buyer, but your buyer- the prospect that will perform on this listing. Look at the listing with new eyes, and see the potential benefits a new homeowner may experience when they purchase this particular listing.

Appealing to the emotions of your buyers is a skill not too many of us are really gifted at. And even fewer find the time to really get it right and do our listings justice.

Write Your Ads Quickly and Easily

After you take the new listing, you leave the presentation full of hope and good feelings. Afterwards, you sit down to write a classified for sale ad for the property. Soon you find yourself get ting up, to get a glass of water, make a call. One day turns into the next. April turns into July. Well, you get the idea, we procrastinate, don’t we? It is not really writer’s block, more it is the fear of spending marketing dollars on an ad that may not get any results.

You Know What To Do, Right?

Realtors just like you are saving valuable time, and money, while becoming heroes to their sellers, by using an ad writing software. The best of these software solutions have simple all-in-one-tools built right in for better than ever ads that get results. Basically, if you can write a simple email, you can create outstanding ads with these programs. Each ad created is new, fresh and unique.

Easily Manage Your Ads Professionally, Yourself

Feel good about your business and experience professional results that will have your phone ringing with potential buyers.. It really is just that easy. Real Estate ad writing software simply turns your boring descriptions into must see specials. Every time.

Cost effective-effective marketing is what is going to close more deals

Advertising is your best promotion. Make it count, attract the type of buyer that can perform and close. Effective ads will increase your closings.

For more information on choosing a real estate ad writing software or why you may need one visit http://www.information-valley.com/real_estate_ad.html

Betty Ziegler is the founder of http://www.Information-Valley.com , the knowledge base for effective and innovative real estate tools.