Posts tagged: real estate

When, a homeowner, decides, it is time, for him, to sell his existing home, it may be, for any number, of possible reasons! Some are obvious, such as financial challenges, job relocation, changing personal needs, priorities, etc, while, other motivations, may be, more – personal, etc! Regardless, however, in my, over 15 years, as a Real Estate Licensed Salesperson, in the State of New York, I have learned, and strongly, believe, a primary, initial decision, which, often, has significant impacts, is the initial, listing price, when the house, originally, is, put – on – the – market, to sell. Basically, there are 5 basic strategies, for pricing, your home, for – sale. With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, what these are, and, why, it matters.

1. High – end of range: Especially, in these times, where, we see, a combination of limited, available inventory, near – record – low mortgage interest rates, and a sellers – market, many homeowners, seem, to prefer, pricing their houses, at the higher end, of the range! In, some cases, this strategy, achieves its objectives, but, often, risks, houses, which don’t end – up, selling, Using this strategy, should, only, be considered, when the seller, is willing to take some risks (hoping for greater rewards), and isn’t under, time – pressure!

2. Middle, of the range: In most cases, the smartest approach, is, to price a house, in the middle of the range, suggested, by preparing, a professionally, designed/ created, Competitive Market Analysis (usually, referred to, as a, CMA). This, usually, creates, a strong – demand, by, qualified, potential buyers!

3. Lower third of range: There may be, several reasons, for this approach, to listing price! Usually, it creates, a significant demand, from qualified buyers, and, helping, to sell the house, for the best – price, in the shortest – period, with a minimum of hassle!

4. Pricing above the high point: During certain, real estate markets, such as the one, we have witnessed, for several months, currently, we often, witness, listing prices, set, above the higher – end, of the indicated range! When, prices, are rising, quickly, this may help getting more money, for one’s house, but, since most buyers, use a mortgage loan, to help finance/ pay – for, the home, doing this, risks, home appraisals, which don’t, perhaps, justify, the size of the desired loan!

5. Below lowest point: Setting an initial, listing price, below, market – levels, may be indicated, under certain circumstances/ conditions. This approach may be effective, when a seller wishes for a speedier sale, and, believes, creating, a so – called, bidding – war, may, make sense! It may also be a good approach, for marketing houses, with some, unusual circumstances, needs, goals, and priorities!

Whichever strategy/ approach, used, it is important to realize, there is a significant different, between, listing, and selling, prices! Will you be an educated, informed, smarter home – seller?

Getting your first listing can be one of the biggest hurdles in the real estate sales business. There are many ways to get listings, but let’s just cover some of the fastest and easiest ways. I’ll assume that you will like to keep your marketing budget low for your first listing.

I always go back to this, but start by asking your family, your friends, co-workers, ex schoolmates, Facebook friends, and anyone else that knows you. Ask them of all the people they know, who would they say is most likely to be the next person that would think about selling their house. Get them thinking about it. Even if the person they tell you about is not ready to sell yet, you now have a good potential listing lead. You can follow up with them every couple of weeks, and even set up a buyer profile for them on the MLS to keep your name in front of them.

Another way to find motivated sellers is by looking for “for sale by owner” properties, and also by following up with expired listings from the MLS. Again, I am assuming your marketing budget is very low, so let’s go ahead and use an effective yet uncomfortable technique. You can do the same with expired listings. Go directly to the house, bring your marketing material, and knock on the door. What you will say is going to differ between these two types of potential clients, so let’s go through both sales scripts now.

FSBO sales script.

“Hello FSBO person, my name is _______, and I’m a Realtor at _____________. I just wanted to stop by and ask if you plan to use a Realtor to help you buy your next house after you sell this one? (Let them respond). The nice thing about using a Realtor as a buyer’s agent is that you do not have to pay a commission, that is paid by the seller. Can I get a little information about what you will be looking for so I can keep an eye out for you? I can even set up a profile for you on the MLS that will email you listings so you get a feel for what is out there, and of course these services are all free for you.”

Note: Don’t ask to list their house when you first meet them. Most FSBO’s think they will sell it themselves, then get tired of trying. If you are the agent that has been in contact with them during this time, then you have a great chance of being the one that lists their house.

Expired listing sales script.
(Use this the same day the listing expired on the MLS)

Hello homeowner, my name is _________. I’m a Realtor with _____________. I was just stopping by as a courtesy to let you know your home is no longer listed for sale on the MLS. Your listing expired today. (let them respond). Are you still planning to sell your home? (response) Why do you think your home didn’t sell? (Response) (If they are planning on relisting with their current agent, don’t waste any more time. If it is looking promising try to go straight in to a listing appointment, or at least try to set an appointment for the same day or at least within 24 hours.)

Note: Going directly to the persons house is time consuming, but more effective than mailings or phone calls. As your marketing budget grows, your time will become more valuable and you will not want to spend so much time going to all of these houses. Use these techniques effectively and you should be able to bring in some new listings within a week or two. It is a lot of hard work, and you will need to put in a lot of time, but this is a great way to get started spending almost no money.

Although, some believe, holding an Open House, is key to the sale of a house, in reality, it is, just, one, component, in an overall marketing/ selling plan and system. While, nearly every real estate agent conducts these events, the value of them, often, substantially differs, dependent upon, how they are used, and conducted. With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 5 extremely important, key steps, to make them, as successful, as they might be. Unless/ until, these are done, effectively, and efficiently, there is the risk, they are wasted, in terms of time, money, effort, energy, and potential results.

1. Marketing/ promoting: The best results come from, determining the best approach/ way, to market and promote them. Which advertising media, might make the most sense, for this particular property? Why do you believe so? How will you achieve, the most, bang – for – the – buck? Start by identifying, the niche, if any, this house and property, fits, best, in, and, then, investigate the best options, to attract, the right, qualified, potential buyers. While everyone wants a big crowd, to be attracted to their Open House, unless/ until, it is, predominantly, real buyers, rather than house – hunters, you will probably not achieve the most desirable objective!

2. Greeting/ welcoming: You only get one chance, to make a first impression. This adage, is true, for, both, the house/ property, itself, in terms of curb appeal, staging, eliminating odors/ clutter, and other negatives. It is also true, of the agent conducting it, and how he greets, and meets, people, at the door, whether they feel welcome, and appreciated, and, directs them, forward.

3. Sign – in: You won’t be able to follow – through, effectively, until/ unless, you get, as much information, as possible, about everyone who attends. While I prefer to get them to, sign – in, via a digital tablet, at least, it’s very important to. at least, get them to do it manually. How can you follow – up, if you don’t have this? When you use a digital program/ application, you can stream – line the process, by automatically, transmitting follow – up, emails, immediately.

4. Show/ Questions and Answers: How well you show the house, often, depends on, how comfortably, you welcome and encourage questions, with genuine empathy, and the thoroughness of your answers/ responses!

5. Follow – up: A real estate agent should consider an Open House, both, as marketing for the subject house, as well as, for you, as an agent. Will you stand – out from the crowd, by being proactive, etc? Use the opportunity to, both, follow – up, for selling this property, as well as making appointments, to show other houses, to those, who aren’t that interested in this one.

Open – houses require much care, attention, time, effort, and expenditures. Doesn’t it make sense, to get them, to get, the most, bang – for – the – buck?

Farming an apartment complex in search of buyers can be very profitable if you choose the right complex and market yourself properly. For many, renting an apartment is only a short term solution until they are able to buy a house of their own and you can position yourself to be the agent who helps them out of the rental market and into that first real home.

Many agents do not like to farm these areas and the ones who do seem to only make a half-hearted effort and then move on to others things. Both of these views can be proven wrong if you work the right complex. The first thing you will need to do is select the right one, and here are some of the criteria you will need to consider when making your selection.

The size of the complex? You will want a place that is big enough to produce enough buyers to make your effort worthwhile, but not so big that you are unable to manage it. A complex with between three hundred to five hundred units fits these criteria nicely.

Is the rent here at the mid-range to higher end of the local rental market? The answer to this question should be a yes. People that rent at the bottom end of the market are less likely to be able to afford to buy a house of their own, and, as their financial situation improves, they are more likely to move up to a better rental before moving into a house or condo.

Is there a playground or a pool? Look for signs of families living there since a growing family might be the most likely of all renters to need a house of their own. Oftentimes, these people are either currently looking for a house, saving up for their down payment, or, at least, planning to buy at some point in the future.

Is the complex in an area of single-family homes? Many people rent in an area that is conveniently located to the places they spend the most time such as their job, school, family, and friends. For them, staying in the same area might be seen as a plus.

Can you walk it? The importance of this question is determined by how you intend to market to your new farm. For example, if you intend to only use the U.S. Post Office to deliver your marketing materials, the question holds little importance. If, however, you intend to hand deliver some of your materials, you need to make sure there is free access to the buildings. Give some thought to this last idea. If you intend to send out two postcard type mailings a month, you could cut your postage costs in half by mailing one of them and hand delivering a door hanger for the second. This last has the advantage that you might meet and get to know some of the residents who will probably be happy to fill you in on what they think about living there.

You might feel there is other information to consider, but this list will get you started on choosing the right apartment complex to find potential buyers in need of a real estate agent. Remember, for any farming effort to pay off, you need to be consistent in your message and long-term in your effort, otherwise, you will be wasting your money and your time. If you are willing to do it right though, the rewards can be incredible.

I am going to sell my property without an agent. This refrain is being heard more and more these days as the Internet and real estate market evolves beyond the realtor-based transaction.

FSBO is an acronym meaning for sale by owner. The advantages of selling as a FSBO are numerous. With real estate commissions of six percent, you are looking at immediately saving tens of thousands of dollars in commissions. If for some reason this does not entice you, keep in mind you can use the savings to undercut the prices of similar homes in your area. This will move your house quickly off the market and let you get on with your life.

The key to selling your property is to be prepared. First, you need to find out the value of the property by looking at comparables in your area or trying an online valuation service. Once you have the value in mind, you need to determine whether this is acceptable. You also need to determine what you are really willing to accept as a sales price once haggling is completed. Always make sure you know your bottom line and stick to it.

The next step is list the property online on a FSBO site. Over 70 percent of homebuyers now find their properties online as the realize there is no need to endlessly drive around looking at homes that they may or may not be interested in. By going online, they can see what each home offers and then visit the appropriate property.

Given the use of the Internet by buyers, it is vital that you spend the time to upload pictures with your listings. You are only going to generate interest if the buyers can actually see the property. Every site allows you to upload digital photos and you should do so. Take care to show as much of the property as possible so that you can generate leads that are truly interested in buying.

Sellers wonder if they are correct to think they can sell their property without a realtor. With the Internet revolution, it is easy to do so and save tons of money on commissions.

Investing in real estate scares some people. Understanding just what will happen when you invest, and even how to do it, can leave most people bewildered. This article’s been assembled to supply you with the some easy, but effective tips on entering the exciting field of real estate investing.

Remember that real estate investing is all about the numbers. When you’re buying a home to live in, you may get emotional about the place, but there’s no room for that in investing. You need to keep your eye on the data and make your decisions with your head, not your heart.

Do not be afraid to spend money on marketing. It is easy to just focus on the numbers and get fixated on how much marketing is costing you. However, it is important to think of the marketing as an investment in and of itself. If done the right way, it will only benefit you in the end.

Keep an accountant on speed dial. You can be aware of tax laws and current taxation; however, there are many variables to keep in mind. A good accountant, that understands and keeps abreast of tax laws, can be an invaluable asset. Your success with investing can be made or broken by your approach to taxes.

When negotiating, you should limit the amount of talking you do. You will be surprised at how often someone will do all the work for you just by letting them speak. Also, because you are listening, you will catch the right moment to strike for the price you seek.

As you look for investment properties, seek those that are likely to grow in value. Purchasing anything near water or close to other businesses will be beneficial to you later on. Think about the big picture and the chances its value will increase.

Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement. Choosing a property to invest in should be a business decision, not an emotional one. It can be easy to get attached to a house or really fall in love with a location. Try to always look at things objectively. Shop around for the best deal without getting attached to one of the first few places you look at.

Find a contractor to work with that you can get along with. There’s no reason to get someone to help you with fixing up the real estate you invest in if you don’t like how they operate. You can save yourself a lot of frustration if you just find someone that you know will work well with you.

Stay away from deals that are too good to be true, especially with investors that you cannot trust or do not have a good reputation. It is important to stick with those who have a good reputation because getting ripped off in this business can cost you a lot of money.

Build your real estate investment buyers list with online ads. For example, you could use social media, online ad sites such as CraigsList and/or the local newspaper to draw attention to the properties you have on offer. Be sure to retain contact information for every person who shows and interest so you will have a well-rounded contact list as you accrue new properties.

Know the value of your time. You may enjoy renovating properties, but is the time you’re spending on it time well spent? Consider if you could better spend your time by searching for the next opportunity. If you are able to outsource certain jobs, then you should do so. It’s worth freeing up your time for the more important aspects of your business.

Don’t buy property in a bad neighbourhood. Pay close attention to where a property you are interested in is located. Make sure you are very thorough when looking at the area. Homes in bad neighbourhoods are often low-priced. The property could be at risk for being vandalized and may be hard to sell.

If you are thinking about purchasing rental properties, consider hiring a property manager who can help you screen qualified tenants. Because rental payments are likely to be the source of your mortgage payment, your tenants need to be reliable. Otherwise, you may end up losing money.

Before you buy investment property in a neighbourhood, find out if the city has anything planned for the areas surrounding this neighbourhood. For example, you would not want to buy in an area if the city proposed to turn an area into a landfill. If there are positive improvements on the horizon, this may be a good investment.

Don’t let a real estate investment deplete your emergency reserve or cash fund. When you invest in real estate, you’ll often not be able to access the money for a while. Don’t let this situation destroy your ability to live from one day to the next.

Know what you should be looking for in a property based on current trends in the market. For example, if you’re going to rent out the properties you buy, then it’s best to have units that are for single people, which is a current trend. Another example is to ensure any home you buy has three or more bedrooms because it will be easier for you to sell or rent to families.

As you see, there is a lot of information to learn regarding real estate investments. This article has provided you with the proper foundation concerning real estate investing. So, remember what you have learned, keep learning and get into real estate investing today.

As more and more investors come back into the market, they will be bidding on properties against more seasoned investors. This bidding, especially on new REOs (bank-owned properties) can get fierce. Once an investor understands the strategies of Ghost Offers, he will be able to use them to his advantage just like the pros.

The term ghost offers likely was originated by a disgruntled realtor who was aggravated with local investors who would make offers on properties, get a contract on them and then not close when the time came. Often, these investors would cancel the contract under their inspection period clause.

For the investor, this was good strategy because he took no market risk to re-sell the property nor did he have to come up with the money to close. He was then never exposed to any market risk. This is a powerful investing strategy but for realtors, it is kryptonite to Superman. Somewhere in the day-to-day heat of battle, a real estate broker probably said that investors are like ghosts when it comes to closing on properties – sometimes you can see them, other times you can’t.

In our area, a loose-knit group of wholesalers use what I call ghost offers to the ultimate advantage. It should always be remembered, that actually purchasing a property is the last thing a wholesaler wants to do. He would much rather put the property under contract and sell it to an end-buyer who will actually bring money to the closing to buy it. The investor then makes the “spread” or profit on the deal.

This can be done in a number of ways, the two most popular ways are using an assignment of the wholesaler’s contract to the end-buyer and secondly, by transferring the beneficial interest of a land trust to the actual buyer of the property. Actually there are 17 ways to do real estate transactions with little or no money necessary from the investor.

The local wholesalers have taken the ghost offers to a new level that is similar to what happens at courthouse auctions. When an REO property is first offered for sale the group throws in 6 to 8 different offers that essentially surround the asking price of the property. By the rejected offers, the group can tell what price the property will likely go under contract.

Since they have no intention of purchasing the property, their offers can be outright foolish. An outright foolish offer is usually higher than the initial listing price. The listing agent gets fooled into thinking there is tremendous interest in the property. If one of the group gets the property under contract, the entire group markets it to their email list and sometimes they sell it.

However, if the investor who got the contract is not in their group, this “outsider” got it by bidding against ghost offers and winds up grossly overpaying for the property. This technique has been used by major players in the foreclosure auction arena since public auctions started hundreds of years ago.

In summary, if you hear the term ghost offer, consider the source because it is bad news for realtors and worse news for inexperienced investors who are trying to get newly listed REOs. The individuals who fall victim to this tactic the most are rehabbers who tend to overpay for properties because they believe they can create equity in the property by fixing it up. This is true to a point of diminishing return where the maximum price they can get is handicapped by conventional lenders and appraisals done by pooled appraisers.

Have you ever wondered why are there so many real estate agents out there who are busy making transactions on how to sell and buy your house? Well, you got to be extra careful when choosing the right real estate agent of yours. Agents can be deceiving but you can make your own choices as there are a lot of options to choose from and the decision lies in the palm of your hand. Searching for best agent can be a little bit easier and even a little too difficult but if you will bear these helpful tips in mind then surely you will be in a right path towards selling and buying a home successfully.

First thing you should know is why are you searching for the best real estate agent? Is this a good move for me? Definitely, the answer would be yes since home and selling needs to have a good sales agent that could maximize marketing and achieving good results in the end.

Know your Realtors! As they say, Realtors are real estate agents but not all real estate agents are Realtors. This is due to the fact that agents should follow the Code of Ethics and meet some certain educational criteria and right experience in the field of an expert and valid Realtor. Hire a true and professional real estate agent so that you won’t regret in the end.

Ask some ideas from your friends about how you are going to get the right person to work with and deal with process. Considering some referrals is a good way to search for the best agent of yours and don’t hesitate to ask about the background and status of the referred real estate agent.

Browse some real estate ads via all forms of media. You can scan through the net or whatever forms of advertisement where you can find good real estate agents with excellent expertise in the field of business. These agents are good persons to work with. In fact, Internet is a good information tool to grab those professional agents and take time to surf the net on how to get these agents instantly.

Skilled agent can be grabbed in some Open Houses. Attending such events would open your mind and will give you ideas on how these agents can be the best option to work with in the future. Try to observe their skills on how they promote the materials needed for marketing the house. They can be good sales speakers in terms of introducing house features and the like. Take a quick view on how these agents know the quickest way to sell your house and finding some quicker home buyers in the market rather than making volumes for sale signs.

Match those persons for your needs and don’t be in a rush to hire an agent without investigating their backgrounds. Always remember that a quality and reliable agent is the one you can trust in any ways and where you can benefit a lot from them.

Anyone engaged in real estate investing – whether as a broker listing and marketing or real estate investor buying and selling – already know what importance that a rental property’s cash flow plays in any investment decision.

Often referred to as the “bottom line” that investors really pay for when they make their investment, cash flow alone has been known to make or break rental property deals by its favorable abundance (immediate or potential) or by the lack thereof.

Those less acquainted with investment real estate on the other hand aren’t expected to have had that experience, so it seemed like a good idea to help them understand the basic cash flow process. Namely, the necessary financial data to derive it, and the formulations required to compute it.

We’ll start with the basic concept of cash flow first and then walk you through the steps commonly used to make the computation. And for the record, we’ll be speaking primarily about cash flow before taxes.

What It Means

Cash flow is all of the cash inflows less all of the cash outflows generated by a rental income property during a given period of time. The money a landlord collects from rents is the inflow, and the money a landlord spends to keep the property in service is the outflow. The difference between these two amounts is our cash flow.

CASH INFLOW

1. Gross Scheduled Income

This is the total amount of rental income that the property would generate were it totally occupied and contained no vacant units. In cases where there are vacant units, you would apply either a market rent or perhaps one of the property’s established rents. Just bear in mind that you’re computing the rental property’s gross “scheduled” (or potential) income so be sure that this amount reflects 100% occupancy.

2. Vacancy and Credit Loss

This is where we adjust for losses due to unoccupied space or nonpayment of rent by the tenants. Typically shown as a percentage of the gross scheduled income, it may be what the actual vacancy rate is at the time of your real estate analysis or perhaps an average percentage of what the property has encountered over the past several years. To be on the safe side, though, always include some percentage for vacancy even when there are none at the time you’re evaluating the property.

3. Other Income

This is rent the landlord might be collecting in addition to the dwelling units such as a coin-operated laundry facility, storage units, or garages.

4. Gross Operating Income

Unlike the potential income illustrated above, this represents the actual amount that the landlord can expect to collect.

Gross Scheduled Income less Vacancy and Credit Loss plus Other Income equals Gross Operating Income.

CASH OUTFLOW

1. Operating Expenses

These are the expenses incurred to maintain and keep an investment property operational and in service. In other words, these are the costs that are necessary to keep the revenue stream flowing.

This would include costs such as real estate property taxes, insurance, water/sewer, trash, electric, maintenance and repair, landscaping, property management, pest control, snow removal, legal fees and so forth.

Operating expenses do not include federal or state income taxes, mortgage payments, depreciation or capital improvements (e.g., a new roof or siding). These only become a factor when the owner’s tax liability is taken into account and you want to compute cash flow after taxes.

2. Debt Service

As it sounds, this is the amount paid to service the debt (i.e., the mortgage payment). In this case, it includes the entire amount of a mortgage payment even though the interest portion is deductible.

FORMULATION

Gross Scheduled Income

less Vacancy and Credit Loss

plus Other income

equals Gross Operating Income

less Operating Expenses

less Debt Service

equals Cash Flow

Rule of Thumb

When doing a real estate analysis on any rental income property, don’t be tempted to over-inflate the numbers simply because you like the property, or to under-inflate the numbers because you don’t. Use realistic numbers to make your forecast and let the bottom line speak for itself. It’s the only proven way you can make prudent real estate investment decisions.

Here’s to your real estate investing success.

With increases in interest rates, it is starting to hit the mortgage business. Fewer are looking for refinancing and real estate sales are slowing. This means it’s time to up your marketing game, as there are fewer takers. With this in mind let’s talk a little about your online marketing and your advertising.

Your new assignment is to reach more people to garner the same number of sales. To do this you need to start talking to potential customers as if they are sitting with you over a cup of coffee. You know the questions that the lenders will ask, and by now you know the questions your future customers will ask.

So with this in mind let’s look at a sample that you can customize for a website, brochure, mailer, or for email or social media.

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Home Mortgages

Do you want to own your own home? Do you want to buy a bigger home? Are you home shopping now but need pre-loan approval to stay in the running as you make an offer on your dream home? We want to take the stress out of qualifying for a home mortgage – no surprises, add-on fees. Always working hard for you every step of the way – and advising you of everything upfront.

Our company has 30-years of experience in the mortgage business. We don’t work for a bank. We don’t work for a direct lender. We work for “YOU” and we are on your side to win! We are able to get you wholesale pricing by shopping many sources, and with lower overhead costs and the efficiency that comes with experience, you pay lower fees.

We can get you the best rate, and have the track record to prove it. If the deal doesn’t get done, we don’t get paid, so we work extremely hard to get you the mortgage you need and is appropriate for your real estate purchase.

Depending on your situation, we have a number of potential options – we will help you choose the best strategy for you. Much will depend on how much you are looking to borrow and verification of your current financial situation:

1. Credit Score

2. Current Income

3. Outstanding Debt

4. Personal Funds (Savings)

We can help you with government -guaranteed loans such as FHA, USDA/RHA (rural home loan), or VA Loans. You will have the choices of a Fixed Rate Mortgage of 15 or 30 years, or an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). If you need a Jumbo or Super Jumbo real estate loan we can do those too.

If you are trying to buy a home but will not close on the sale of your current home in time, we can help get you with a Bridge Loan to close that time gap. Remember: we work for you. We are on your side to fulfill your needs, desires and real estate dreams – within reason of course. All we ask is for a chance to earn your business.

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Now it’s your turn to take this sample and re-arrange it in a way that fits the dynamics of your business and then, you can hit the road with some new marketing to make up for the temporary slow-down in the mortgage industry. Think on this.