Posts in category: Uncategorized

I’ve had my fair share of screw-ups and betrayals.

Jeez, I make it sound like a Shakespeare play; but truth be told, people will always be hesitant to hand over their cash. And if they think they can get away without paying you, they’ll be sure to try it (unless they’re moral people).

When I first started copywriting, I offered my services for free. This is just one of the many options open to copywriters looking to make a name for themselves. I saw it as a great opportunity to get in with the bigger names in Internet Marketing and get myself on the radars of some of the top guys and girls in the business.

I worked my way up, starting with little-known IM’ers, with small-time info products. I got some great results. from 0 to 5% in a weekend; 10% conversion rates on sales letters in the real-estate niche, 42% and 70% converting sales letters and more. It was GOOD.

But it wasn’t all gravy. There were problems. The few times I made an agreement with some prospects about some form of reimbursement or reward for high-performance copy went unanswered.

I’ve been ignored, blocked, argued with, and more.

I even had one businesswoman ask me for some copy (on the recommendation from a close business friend of mine), with a small fee agreement of $100 (this was awhile ago now – I realise that’s a menial fee now). She paid me $50 up front (a 50% upfront fee), and after having received the copy from me, proceeded to run off into the sunset, without so much as a look of remorse or guilt. 50 bucks; I work my ass off for someone, and they run off for 50 dollars?

Wow.

It’s pretty unbelievable, I know. Granted, I’m younger than most copywriters. I was naive at the beginning, and you learn a lot from making mistakes. And boy, have I learned this lesson.

Now, you’re going to get screwed over at some point in your career – there’s no two ways about that, no matter how many safeguards you use. I still get shafted from time to time, simply because I have too much faith in people. I’m a trusting guy, and I let people get away with murder.

But after having been screwed over again recently, I’ve decided to become a bit more ruthless with my client choice. And along with that, I’ve got some lessons for you from my experience:

1.) Don’t work for someone unless they’re willing to pay you SOMETHING upfront. It shows a commitment by the client if they’re willing to put some money on the line; if they don’t, they’re not sure they’re going to make money from the product (meaning you won’t get paid). If they’re willing to risk a bit of cash on a product, it shows a solid faith in their business and product(s).

2.) Set up a clear agreement with the client. Make sure both parties are clear on what the project is, and what’s been agreed. The last thing you want is a client who suddenly needs another landing page doing (and expects you to work for no extra money). It protects you primarily, but it also protects your client.

3.) If you can, fill out and sign a contract. Bob Bly provides a great template in his book “Copywriter’s Toolkit” along with other materials. A contract enforces a legally-binding agreement between both parties. And if your client suddenly up and disappears with your work, you can use the contract to get paid what you deserve.

Note: You may need to have some finances for this, since it may cost you some money to go to court and such.

4.) Keep possession of all property rights until the full payment has been made. What this means is, everything you write is instantly your property. No one has rights to copy your work unless you have explicitly given them permission to do so.

Only hand over rights to your copy once you’ve been fully paid. You could include this in the contract if you decide to write one up to keep things simple. At the very least, you can threaten troublesome clients with a copyright notice and have them take down your copy until they pay you.

There are other safeguards, but these are my first port of call. Protect yourself, and bear in mind the risks of being a freelancer. Another obvious tip is to choose clients who seem like they’d be loyal and trustworthy clients. Sure, there’s still a risk of them being douchebags and ripping you off, but if you start with judging them by character, and then enforce the safeguards I’ve suggested, you’ll minimise the risk of you not getting your fee.

So go get paid.

What’s next for real estate?

For most people, real estate remains a critical part of personal net worth. Despite the stock market’s recovery, the average net worth of an American family is down about 25% because of tumbles in real estate values and investment assets.

Overview of Market Trends – Focus on Boston

While still suffering because of continued turmoil in the anchor employment areas of Financial Services, Insurance, Real Estate (FIRE), there have been signs of stability in and near major metropolitan areas like Boston. Although the employment picture remains bleak, the Boston metropolitan statistical area (MSA) showed the strongest gains in property values during 2009 according to a recently released report by Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.

Even with the strong gains helped along by the federal government’s first time home buyer credit and continued low mortgage interest rates, there remain nearly 25% of homes that are “upside down” on their outstanding mortgages.

High unemployment persists as companies continue to announce layoffs or delay hiring. And given the expected wave of creative mortgage products like Alt-A loans, interest-only loans and “pick-a-payment” adjustable rate mortgages resetting to higher rates putting pressure on homeowners who are unable to refinance because of lack of jobs or lack of value, there will likely be an increase in the number of foreclosures.

According to research reported by HousingPredictor.com, the major metropolitan areas in the US will likely not see a boom in real estate until after 2020. With more than 7 million people unemployed and another 20 million listed as underemployed, it may be 2017 or 2020 when these workers are absorbed. And real estate sales depend on those who have jobs.

Real estate booms have typically run in seven to 10 year cycles with some outside trigger precipitating a crisis that popped the bubble. The current situation is unlikely to be different.

Implications for Investors

Apartment vacancy rates are expected to rise through 2010 to about 7% to 10%. The continued collapse in confidence about jobs hampers household formation as individuals may delay marriage or move back in with parents or relatives or double up with friends.

As foreclosures rise, there will likely be greater demand for replacement housing so vacancy rates may fall. And as workers try to keep their options open to accommodate moving for job opportunities, demand for rentals will likely increase as well. The caveat is that there will also likely be a range of supply options that will put pressure on rents. And as a result of continued poor economic conditions, landlords can expect that credit quality of tenants will erode.

Apartments will have to compete with an increasing supply of single-family homes. Currently, the single-family homes available for rent has ballooned to nearly 10% compared to the long-term average of 4.5%. And a change of policy by mortgage servicer Fannie Mae will allow renters living in homes or apartments where the landlords have been foreclosed on to no longer be evicted. This will likely mean that largest landlord of single-family rentals in the US will be a quasi-governmental entity.

The volume of sales in the multi-family market is way off and likely to continue. Potential buyers continue to wait for prices to stabilize. There will continue to be an upward shift in cap rates by 1% to 2% approaching the cap rates of 2002 (8.2%) which will directly contribute to downward pressure on prices in the range of another 10% to 20%.

And given the more stringent underwriting criteria like higher down payment requirements, the number of investors capable of acquiring a property will likely be limited. But there will be opportunities for those investors with the capital and credit to buy when prices stabilize.

Residential property management in West Chester, PA involves serving two different rental communities.

The first community includes students who attend West Chester University. As certain geographic areas of West Chester do not allow student rentals, it is very important that you make sure what part of town your investment property is located. Student housing is very time consuming for property managers and requires extra man hours to serve their needs. For example, with student housing we get calls to change light bulbs, remove snow or ice, clean rooms and many other requests that we typically do not get from non-student tenants. As an investor you want to make sure that you have a property management company in West Chester, PA lined up to handle these issues or be prepared to handle them yourself.

Also, with student housing you will get a lot of turnover and most students stay one year and move out. So be sure to plan high tenant turnover when considering investing here.

The second community in West Chester, PA is non-students. This may include individuals that live in this very popular community or in some cases people that work at West Chester University. These types of tenants tend to be more mature and easier to manage the properties in which they reside. Additionally, they tend to pay rent on time and do not need nearly as mush maintenance or attention. As an investor this may be the better option, but these types of investment properties tend to cost more per unit.

The good news is non-students may live in your investment property for many years and reduce your vacant time.

West Chester, PA is a very popular community with lots of shops and restaurants in the downtown section. West Chester, PA is also the home of QVC, one of the largest employers in the area.

This town continues to be a very hot market for both sales and rentals. The average sales price for home as of November 2018 is $414,100. The average sales price is up 3.4% over the last year. The rental market is also seeing nice price appreciation. The average rental is $2,242 per month and is up 1.5% over the last month. This compares to the average rental in Philadelphia of $1,581 and nationally of $1,449. Given the strong popularity and strong employment in the area I would suggest this a great place for real estate investors to look for investment properties and above average returns.

The majority of those who successfully sell their own property are the property owners who live in highly populated metropolitan market areas where property sales are more common. In a buyer’s market or in rural areas it is much harder for properties that are for sale by owner (FSBO) to successfully sell.

A buyer’s market is when there are more home sellers than there are people to buy homes. This creates a situation where the home buyers are exposed to a large range of property to choose from making it a more competitive market for the sellers. Homeowner’s should opt for the FSBO option only where the local economy is doing well and it is a seller’s market.

To be considered a seller’s market there needs to be more buyers then properties for sale. In a seller’s market the buyers are left with fewer properties available to them. This often creates a situation where the sellers are much more selective on the buyer and also get a higher selling price for their property.

There are other economic issues that play a role in the real estate such as home mortgage interest rates, local employment, and consumer confidence. Unfortunately we can’t control the economy and some are forced to sell their homes or buy homes in times that are unfavorable financially to them.

There are a few things people who succeed at selling their homes do to increase their odd of winning at FSBO. They need to be able to have the financial support that it takes to keep their property exposed to those who are purchasing homes for the entire period it takes to sale a home. This advertising period is at least 90 days and includes personal signage, advertising, repair costs of the home, and professional legal advice. You also should have a little bit of spare money to back you up financially if there are any marketing mistakes.

You should also have basic business knowledge about important marketing, personal selling, as well as enough technical information on real estate principals and practices. This will prevent you from making informed decisions that can cost you a lot of money and stress.

Anyone who wants to list the property FSBO must be disciplined with marketing goals and objectives with set time frames for the process and finalization of those goals and objections. You need to be able to be very organized and able to pay close attention to details.

There are a lot of stressful moments when selling something as expensive as your own home so you need to be able to keep a business perspective on all decisions. When selling you own home always avoid guesswork and replace it with concrete analysis. Making informed decisions is much less stressful then guessing.

If you want to sale you own home successfully you need to be a wise negotiator and be able to effectively deal with the different personalities in your potential home buyers. Be ready to and well equipped to sell your home and plan to use a lot of time devoted to selling your home.

You may wish to contact Joe and Colleen Lane, Realtors® for more info on real estate, especially in the areas of Pasco Wa Real Estate, Richland Wa Real Estate, and surrounding Southeastern Washington Communities.

FSBO sellers will reject you. Remember, they would prefer not to use your services. But if you maintain a steady, professional relationship, offering help and staying in contact for four to five weeks, you will usually be able to win an interview. From there, a listing follows.

Increase your odds of success by taking these two precautions:

1. Limit the number of FSBOs you cultivate. Focus only on the best clients.

2. Avoid prospects with low motivation or unrealistically high price expectations. These sellers are usually the most toxic, and too often, they will try to take their frustrations out on you.

FSBOs fundamentally turn into a game of lead follow-up. You need to personally and regularly contact your FSBO leads to discover their motivation and qualifications, book a face-to-face meeting, disqualify prospects as necessary, provide regular service and communication, and schedule a presentation appointment. Then you need to repeat the service and communication steps several times weekly until the listing is in hand.

To make personal contact, begin by asking the FSBO seller if you can come by and see the home. You can ask them in a few different ways. You can explain that you want to keep abreast of the regional housing inventory; you can say that you are working with buyers who may be interested; you can present yourself as a potential investor; when you can, you can use the “reverse-no” technique. Following are sample scripts for each approach.

Script for keeping up with the inventory:

“Mr. Seller, your home is located in my core area of sales. Because it is, I would like to come by and preview your home. Would there be a time on __________ or __________ to do that this week?”

Script for working with the prospective buyer:

“Ms. Seller, I understand you are selling your home on your own. Let me ask you this: are you cooperating with real estate agents? What I mean is, if a real estate agent brought you a qualified buyer at an agreeable price to you, would you be willing to pay a partial commission?

We are working with a few buyers for your area that we have not been able to place yet. May I come by on __________ or __________ later this week to see your home?”

When you use the above approach, understand that you are not interested in reducing your commission. What you’re really trying to do is achieve a face-to-face appointment to collect more information on their sellers’ motivation in order to determine the probability of securing a listing in the future.

Script for a potential investor:

“Mr. Seller, your home is located in a solid area for real estate investment. I was wondering if I could come by to see your home as a principle for possible purchase and to see if it is a property that would meet my investment needs. Would __________ or __________ be better for you?”

In using the above approach, realize that the key phrase is investment needs. You will rarely find a FSBO that will meet your investment needs. My personal investment need is a home that can be acquired at a 70% discount below fair market value. Most FSBOs are trying to sell their home at 110% of fair market value. This technique does get you in the door to see the home and talk with them.

Script for a reverse-no:

“Ms. Seller, would you be offended if I came by to take a quick look at your home?”

The reverse-no technique can be used with any script. It capitalizes on the normal reflexive human reaction of “no” in order to achieve a positive response. It opens the door to you to then set an appointment.

FSBO Survey Script

Hi, this is __________ from __________. I am looking for the owner of the home for sale.

Your home is in my core area. I am doing a quick survey of the FSBOs in this area. May I take a few minutes to ask you some questions?

The ad in the paper said that you had _____ bedrooms and _____ bathrooms.

1. Do you have a two level or one level home?
2. Are all the bedrooms on the same floor?
3. Are they good sized rooms?
4. How is the condition of the kitchen?
5. Are the bathrooms in good condition?
6. Can you describe your yard for me?
7. Is there anything else you feel I should know?
8. It sounds like you have a great home; how long have you lived there?
9. Why are you selling at this time?
10. Where are you hoping to move to now?
11. What is your time frame to get there?
12. How did you happen to select that area to move to?
13. How did you determine your initial asking price for the home?
14. What techniques are you using for exposure and marketing of your home?
15. Are you aware that over 86% of the buyers for properties begin on the internet now?
16. If there was a clear advantage for you in using me to market and expose your home, and it cost you very little, would you consider it?
17. Let’s simplify. Set a time to get together for fifteen to twenty minutes, so I can see your home and understand your objectives. I have time available __________, or would __________ be better for you?

Building relationships

FSBO relationships are built over time. By introducing yourself to the owners the first weekend their FSBO is announced, before the masses start calling on Monday, you create a good connection. By sending them tools, educational materials, free reports, and forms, you become an ally. By taking a personal interest in them and their situation, you create a solid connection that, in many cases, pays off when the owners decide to go with an agent they know and trust – preferably you.

Over the course of building a relationship with the owners, you’ll be able to get them to understand that, in every real estate transaction, a commission is paid. In the end, FSBO sellers don’t “save” the commission. Rather, they try to earn the commission by doing an agent’s job. In doing so, they spend their money and time to perform, as best they can, the duties of an agent. Those duties include exposing the home through marketing, presenting the home to buyers, building a sense of buyer urgency in order to prompt an offer, scheduling home inspections, handling qualification checks with the lender, supervising repairs, and facilitating the closing.

Not only is a lot of work involved in earning the real estate commission but FSBO owners unwittingly let buyers basically steal the commission through under-priced offers. The people who shop FSBOs don’t do it for their health. They want to secure a low price and a high initial equity position. In the process, they set out to “earn” the commission, and often do.

By building a relationship over time, you will demonstrate your value to the FSBO seller. Remember at all times, whether you’re working with FSBOS or expireds, your goal is simply to be one of the two, three, or four agents that the owner will interview when the time comes. You just want the opportunity to compete and make your presentation.