Not Enough Time To Work On All Your Leads

Not enough time to work on all your leads?  This is nearly every Real Estate professionals dream come true…..to have more leads and you know what to do with.  This is a great problem to have and arguably it’s really not a problem.  It’s a challenge that’s exciting because there’s so much opportunity in it.  However you can easily, once you have an effective marketing strategy, overwhelm yourself.  Each of these leads, more often than not represents a human being that needs a human ‘touch’ to build a bit of a rapport with, to establish trust and as a result these things take time.

However one can only do so much as there’s only so many hours in the day.  At the same time if you don’t work with all of them, you’re certainly leaving money on the table and opportunity to grow your business and further your success.

Enter virtual assistants.  Virtual assistants can be immensely helpful.  The reality is the majority of leads we work with usually start the same.  We get the feel for what the situation is and then from there we get the basic information about the property.  And we learn about what the financial situation is to a degree so we can understand what we are up against.  And then, we begin assessing what we can do with the property, whether we’re going to buy it with cash, whether we renovate it, whether we will rent it, whether it’s a short sale candidate, or perhaps it needs to be listed with a real estate agent, or perhaps some other kind of terms arrangement can be created.  There are so many possibilities.  But the initial research to start framing the direction can almost always be handled by a virtual assistant.  Very few of these things require physically being on the property to get the process going.  As a result, we are able to convert more opportunities because we’re spending less time driving around.  The result is more time working with people developing the relationships that need to be developed to assess the situation best.  Ultimately, we are able to help more people and make more things happen.

Without virtual assistants, things generally take longer but with them, we’re able to get in there and really assess what needs to happen.  This allows us to get to the bottom of the situation with every Seller much, much faster.  Your assistants can go to the tax records and get the basic information. They can talk with the Sellers to fill in the gaps.  They can run comps just using online tools to get the rough feel of valuation.  They can then work with your agent to leverage the MLS whenever it’s necessary to really pinpoint data.  As a result, once you start combining all these things into a systemized process, all of a sudden the idea of working with 40, 50, 100 leads at a time becomes very manageable and not so overwhelming.  It takes a team to pull this off.  So my suggestion today is once you have a marketing campaign that is generating leads successfully, go ahead and build the systems you need in place to get the leads managed and touched as quickly as possible.  In doing so, you’ll find your business likely will go up and your success may start to soar.  And you’ll be able to ultimately do what we all do with real estate and that’s help people.  So not only can we be financially rewarded but we can see the smiles on peoples face when they’re able to have their house taken care of and move on to the more important things in their lives. That last part is truly the most rewarding.  Systemize your business today and leverage virtual assistants wherever you can!

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

SUMMERHILL Atlanta, Georgia

One Of The Best Neighborhoods in Atlanta

Summerhill is a neighborhood directly south of downtown Atlanta.  This unique neighborhood was home to several of Atlanta’s influential civic and business leaders.   You are minutes away from the apex of Atlanta's major highways with quick access to I-20 and I-75/I-85.  If you work in downtown Atlanta, in just 5-10 minutes, you are there already in rush hour!  Wherever you’re going, it’s just right away.

 

Life in Summerhill

Walking Distance to Turner Field

I like this place because it’s near the Turner Field Stadium, one of the best stadiums I have ever seen.  It’s a huge stadium and an Atlanta landmark.  It’s really great to bring a family here to see games and it’s affordable as well.  It’s easy to get here from the highway, the stadium is clean and it’s fun to attend a game.

Walking Distance to Atlanta Zoo

For the kids, you will love this place, aside from the amazing stadium; it’s also near the Atlanta Zoo.  This is a pretty big zoo and rest assured that everyone, regardless of age, will enjoy this. This is because of the panda that is fun to watch, the huge gorilla and all other animals.   Lots of animals are found here.

Summerhill is a beautiful neighborhood in Atlanta town.  What I love here the most is the unique style of the homes.  You can find a new ranch bungalow, 2 storey homes, duplex, and some newly constructed homes.  This community is really different with so many individually designed homes.  There are some larger homes on top of the hill and most of the property has no yard spaces.   It’s crazy!  How they built their home that there’s no yard space!   And I was thinking - not having much yard!  This is really cute and I guess those people passing by are admiring the view of the houses.  Most of the owners of these properties are young professionals. 

It’s great that you have very friendly neighbors.  People are very polite even though you are new to the community.  Even if you are in the middle of the road, they always manage to say “hello”.  Knowing each other is not hard in this friendly community.

Aside from that, this is also one of the largest green spaces in Atlanta –“Clean and Green”.  One advantage is the wide streets.  It’s very important to have that especially for tourists who are passing by or even residents in the community who wants to go in a “rush”.   It is also an advantage for the Summerhill residents so as not to be distracted with traffic cues on the roads.

Grant Park, Phoenix part 1 and II and the Olympic Track are other attractions around Summerhill.  This is one of the best and most overlooked parks in Atlanta.

They also have shops, restaurants, bars, and schools that are just a walk away.  Beautiful and larger homes are all around.  Everything is just inviting and pleasing to the eyes in this great neighborhood.

 

 

How To Grow With Your Real Estate Competition

We can all have the ambition to be the best Real Estate Investor in our state or at least to be a better one but how many of us actually do something to realize our aspirations?

It’s a bit like making New Year’s resolutions, we start out with the very best of intentions and then laziness or apathy takes over.  The same often applies to our real estate and investing business hopes and aspirations, if we succumb to apathy.  It’s easy to think the real estate competition was well established before me and that they are now bigger, better and have sound financial backing.  It’s easy to convince yourself that there’s no point in trying to be as big, as good as or as successful as the competition.

To be more successful in real estate and investing, you must hold on to your ambition and should not allow apathy to creep into your thinking.  Also, you need to keep up with current ideas in real estate and investing.  This comes from education and collaboration with your competition.  There are plenty of conferences that you can attend to learn and network with likeminded investors and realtors.  And by building useful relationships and acquaintances you will be able to find out on how they think and operate their real estate and investing businesses.  It’s good to attend some conferences in person but there are others where you can join in or listen in using teleconferencing.

Work out the total market size within your specialty for the states and counties you do business in and calculate the real estate market share you have compared with each of your competitors.  Then, find out about your competition’s strengths and weaknesses.  And see how to avoid such weaknesses in your own real estate and investing business by doing something different or something extra.  The real estate competition may be very good at finding good leads early, buying low and selling for higher prices than you could.  So, find out how to do that yourself.  It could be that they are just quicker off the mark than you or their customer services are giving more perceived customer satisfaction.

After understanding what your competition is doing right and doing it better than you have been doing, then plan changes in your business to match and exceed the competition.  This could be putting the right personnel in place to contact real estate buyers and sellers or training your admin to be more efficient.   It could be something completely different like moving away from buy to let rental properties to concentrating on selling houses, wholesale.

However you decide to change your business approach and whatever you decide to do differently, you can be better than the rest.  Also, remember not to fight with your competitors because sooner or later they can be your great allies in real estate and investing business.  Instead, work with your competitors and listen carefully to what they say.  In the end, having good and harmonious relationships in real estate and investing business is the way to do it.

<b>Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com </b>

Bidding Games In Real Estate

Bidding is second nature to property investors in real estate.   And there is a process well established for bidding for HUD foreclosures.   How about bidding for a house listed with the main street real estate company?

Bidding is usually the term used when something goes under the hammer at an auction, isn’t it?  In real estate, we can use the term to bid, and bidding to mean offers and counter offers.  And we should question what has brought about a recent increase in this kind of bidding?

Some real estate agents may persuade sellers to list the price low, particularly for houses that previously were unsuccessfully listed with another agent and it did not sell.  This is a selling and marketing strategy for some agents.  A home that was previously on the market for $600,000 may be priced requesting offers around $500,000 and a $2,000,000 luxury home may be re-priced at offers around $1,500,000. Such prices will attract a lot of interest especially when the real estate agent is skilled at marketing.  But wait, this does not necessarily mean that these houses will end up being sold at a knock-down price.  In many cases, when there is a huge interest in a well priced real estate property, several offers may be received and when someone really wants to make sure they win, then they will offer a higher price bid.

It has been suggested that marking prices down to a level that the real estate seller cannot accept is a game intended to attract many interested real estate buyers. Doing this is a crafty way to proceed but it is legal to do this albeit a risky strategy if enough real estate buyers to cause a price hike did not show up to make “expressions of interest” – that’s still an offer in plain English.
At the end of the day, in bidding, the best price usually wins as long as the real estate seller can accept a price. If the best price bid was too low then either the agent did not market aggressively enough to attract interest or the price was still too high.  In this case, the real estate seller must decide to accept a price even lower than it was listed for or try again later, maybe with yet another agent.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - 

Virtual Assistants Use Them Wisely In Your Business

Many of us have heard of the concept of hiring virtual assistants.  In this fast paced business we call real estate, to be effective you’ve can easily have many things going on and many times they are on multiple fronts.  Whether it’s marketing, research, putting contracts together, talking to leads to name a few, it’s a near endless supply of things to do.  However we have a solution and that is virtual assistants.  They can do amazing things to help you out and help streamline your business.   However, before you go running off to Odesk or Craigslist or somebody’s other job sites where you can find such help, it will pay great dividends to think about what is it exactly that you want to do with them? 

How will you leverage their time?  How will you measure if they are effective?  How will you judge that they are fit for your business?  These are all things to consider.  It is all too attractive to see some of these people that we hire and just get very excited hiring them quickly just because the price is low compared to American standards.  Quite honestly even though you’re getting “deal” in terms of pricing, the amount of time and work involved with that deal could easily increase the cost of your assistant very, very quickly.  Thus, it is important to plan.  So I would encourage you to think about these things before you even post the ad.  Ask yourself, what exactly do I want them to do?  Ask yourself, is this a repeatable process that can be documented?  Ask yourself, how will I measure if it is been effective?  This last point about measuring is probably the most important.  Yes, you could sit there and say, well I tried this, spent $100 or $200 and it didn’t work out so I let them go since it wasn’t a fit.  But that’s not really why you hire them in the first place.  You hired them to help make your business run better.  As a result, isn’t it important and worth your time to make sure you have got a measurable process?  We think it is.  In our company we are leveraging more and more assistants.  And we are finding that we are now to the point where if something is not measurable then there has to be an incredibly compelling reason to lift a finger to do it at all.  As a result, we gained better visibility into our business.  We’ve had better results and we are able to make better decisions to be more effective at a much faster rate.  All this is helping to grow our business and truly build a business as opposed to having some additional help just because it’s inexpensive.

Also keep in mind and I’d like you to never forget that when you hire virtual assistants they are not just inexpensive assistants.  They are people with lives with families and they have a lot to care for, wherever they may live.  Please keep this in mind that some of these assistants are working extremely hard for you so you want to be insensitive so make sure you pick the right person for the job.  Don’t let the low dollar entrance point allow you to think they are disposable.  They are not disposable assistants, they are real people that can make or break your business if you leverage them the right way.  They can make your business soar in ways you could not have dreamed and help them tremendously in their way of life at the same time.  It is a true win-win.  It’s an endeavor worth taking as you can learn so much about cultures around the world in the process.  It is truly an evolutionary process to work with virtual assistants.  Cherish the opportunity.  Choose wisely, post wisely when you advertise for them and best of luck to you in growing your business.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

Arbor Bridge

Liveable Community!
 

Arbor Bridge is a "family- oriented community". It is located in East Cobb County, Georgia. A 
very attractive and desirable neighborhood. Recently, I've been there and witnessed how the neighbours treat the new faces in town and have seen how beautiful Arbor Bridge is.

Arbor Bridge has so much more to it than visiting, eating and parks. It's a community that is worth so much more than a couple of days to visit, but that's all I had, I'll recommend a few things to do and how wonderful it is to live in Arbor Bridge.
 

When I passed by the entrance, I took a photo for myself and added it on my photo collections. I just really like the view and the colorful flowers on it. When I walked in I was amazed with the large mature trees line in the streets and the great variety of homes. They have different styles of homes such as Cape Cod, Colonial, Victorian and European Stucco.
 

Most of the houses in their town are usually 4 or more bedrooms, 2-storey, hardwood floors, spacious backyard, and multiple fireplaces and the outside being surrounded by flowers and trees. Many of these homes are filled in by young professional and they are very friendly and smiling faces. And I noticed each house is typically situated on a 1/2 acre lot.
 

Places like this are really good to see, I really love green spaces and those area surrounded by the trees, plants and flowers. It's liveable community! I also loved their amenities that include a junior Olympic pool, baby pool, playground, tennis courts and clubhouse. I've seen a lot of kids with their family in the pool, some do pool workout activities and there are some who are just enjoying the swimming with their friends together. Arbor Bridge is a swim/tennis community.
 

And guess what, this is the best part and my favourite - the parties! Neighborhoods are very active in terms of parties, group activities, community activities, prayer group and more. They participate well every time there's a meeting in the town or any group activities. It's certainly not hard to make bonds with the neighbors. Aside from that, they are also walking distance to top rated schools like Rocky Mt. Elementary, Mabry Middle School and Lassiter High School. It is also close to Sweet Mountain Park, Shaw Park, Harrison Park, Kennesaw State University and more. In just a minute from Arbor Bridge, I've been to Town Center Mall.
 

It's a perfect place for the people who enjoy nightlife, shopping malls, parks, schools and other business shops. And I wish I can just live here for good. It was a memorable visit for me. I just added this one day tour on my travel list for the nicest view in Georgia.
 

Looking for a community? This is really a perfect place to be! You can build your future here! This community is truly an amazing place to visit and fully deserves a longer stay.
 

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com andhttp://atlantabuynow.com

Ansley Parkside

“Spectacular Ansley Parkside”

I love to travel and discover new things, when I get a chance to visit Ansley Parkside, I really had a great time and experience when I was there.  I visit my friend’s house and I was so impressed with the beauty of the community.  Her house is like a dream house to me.  It’s very elegant and great design, modern interiors and spacious living space that opens to expansive decks - ideal for entertaining.  Neighbours are very friendly and very polite.  I had a chance also to tour and walk around the town.

There are different styles of houses which include Colonial, American Federal, Neo-Classical, Italian Renaissance, Queen Anne, and Tudor styles, as well as Prairie School and Craftsmen bungalows we found in here.  There are apartment complexes and condominiums, too.  I also love the amenities; they feature full size, sparkling pool, outdoor fire place and a gas grill – perfect for family or group gatherings.

Trees and flowers in the corner give beauty and add colors in town.  Pretty houses, parks, boutiques and entertainments are just a walk away.  Ansley Parkside is walking distance to Piedmont Park and a wide array of dining, entertainment and nightlife.

Ansley Mall is also within walking distance, I get a chance to go inside and look for food and some souvenirs!  I also met some young professionals in the mall and talked for a couple of minutes.  This community is really perfect for young professionals or students who still have a love affair with Atlanta but need a quiet, more serene neighbourhood.

After an hour of staying in the mall, we go out and visit the Botanical Gardens.  I was amazed by the creative and fantastic garden.   The garden is a wonderful place for both children and adults, featuring a realistic rainforest environment complete with exotic birds, hundreds of tiny tree frogs, and turtles.  This has been one of the beautiful botanical garden I’ve ever been to.  They have well organized and well cared for gardens that makes me entertain.  There were several people when we arrived, mostly group of students, young professionals and families.

Aside from parks and malls, there are more walking distance attractions we found here in Ansley Parkside.  There are coffees like in Amsterdam Café, Red light Café, Starbucks and more.

Above all, Ansley Park can provide everything you want for living.  This is a very peaceful community with elegant houses.  In my one day visit, I really had much fun and great time with my friend.  One day is not enough to make this all happen; however, we explore and do everything in just one day trip.  So come on down to this little oasis and spend some time. So much FUN! FUN! FUN!

So, for the home seekers, travellers, tourists, what are you waiting for!  Visit Ansley and you will see how beautiful and elegant their homes are.  No matter what you’re up to, rest assured that you’ll find some excitement here and better deals.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

Is It Time To Sell Your Investment Property?

It is now well documented that inventories in markets that were rich with investment opportunities just one year ago have been drying up quite a bit. Hedge funds, private equity firms, and institutional backed organizations have been coming in and buying up inventory en masse. As a result, inventory has dried up! The result of all these is simple economics…less supply, higher demand, higher prices. And so we’ve seen some rather inflated inflation of prices in some parts of town. We have seen houses that sold for 50,000 one year ago now selling in the 70000-80000 dollar range. This is quite a jump of appreciation in a short time period. Time will tell how sustainable this all ultimately is but as we know, Wall Street has a way of coming into an idea and exiting just as quickly which can radically change prices. It is entirely possible that we could see a mass of price adjustments again in the future but only time will tell.

In the meantime, since we are in a bit of a bubble, the question is if you bought an investment property in the last 3 or 4 years where you got it at a great price that was nice and inexpensive for cash flow purposes, has there been enough appreciation to make it worth selling? Well, the question goes back to what are your goals? I read an article recently that said somebody sold theirs and they made $10,000. I thought to myself $10,000 versus no cash flow and for me that personally will not fit my goals however it might be a great goal for someone else especially if they have a hundred of them! Then perhaps that goal makes perfect sense as that’s a nice easy way to make quite a bit of money in a hurry. So, one must check their goals to see if in fact it is ultimately time to sell. We think higher prices in better days are still ahead but they are farther down the road based on strengthening and stable markets as opposed to a quick rise bubble which is what we are experiencing right now.

 

So, if you own an investment property and you’ve thought about selling, I would ask you to consider to not abandon your long term goals. Did you buy the property for cash flow for the long term? If so, you may want to stick with your plan as we all know inflation is coming. If you bought with the intent to only hold properties for one, two, three years, then yes, maybe now is a good time to sell and cash in a little bit and move on to bigger and better things. As Robert Kiyosaki said, four green houses, one hotel. It’s not a bad time to do that all if you are looking to grow in that direction!

 

An argument to not sell may be that while cash is king, cash flow is even better. There’s nothing like getting a check every month for very little to no effort when owning cash flowing properties. It is truly one of the best avenues out there for making money and we all know the life blood of a business is its cash flow. We are in a special place where we have the opportunity to pick and choose before the market corrects yet again and I don’t think anyone doubts it will. In the meantime, happy investing, good luck to you and look forward to hear how it turns out.

 

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

ADAIR PARK IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Best in Atlanta

Adair Park is located southwest in downtown Atlanta.  It’s an affordable residential neighbourhood that’s just a walking distance to Marta - Atlanta’s Main Mass Transit System.  This neighbourhood is a hidden treasure and historic district in south western Atlanta.

Great place to live

It’s easy to live in this impressive neighbourhood with its beautiful surroundings and relaxing bungalow-style homes, with landscape gardens, and nice people to talk to.  If you are looking for a "small-town" feel in the city, in Atlanta Georgia, Adair Park is for you.  It has a great sense of community because people look out for each other and the area is just as safe as anywhere else in town.  One reason why people love this place is the wide streets and beautiful trees around the streets.

Fast foods, restaurants, shops are around the corner. For the students, who may be on a limited budget, fast food is not a bad thing.  This town also has 2 unique parks for the kids who love to play games.  Kickball is commonly played by kids and adults alike.  It’s really fun to get together and creates bonds with families and other neighbours as well. 

The best thing about Adair Park, aside from the good people and the housing situation, is the location.  It’s very accessible and just a walking and biking distance to shopping, arts and entertainment areas in downtown Atlanta.  That’s why it is known as a “Neighbourhood in Diversity”.

It’s more fun in Adair Park

Just like in other towns, Adair Park is also celebrating many events every year which makes people creates unity and peace and more bonds together. It’s very important to have unity in the neighbourhood because people can do more together than when they are apart.  And neighbours in town are very active in terms of activities and events.  It’s one way of expressing their selves, having enjoyment and free from stressful works and activities in school for the students.  This event that they’re celebrating monthly as well as yearly is totally different in the activities in schools and in work.  One of the events in Adair Park that happens every October 31st that adds a whole new dimension to the celebration is the “Adair Park Halloween Kids Face Painting”. 

Residents in Adair participated in several neighbourhood cleanups and park renovations yearly.   It is a great way to get some trash off the streets and meet people in the area and do some workout activities outside.  It really helps a lot for most people who don’t have much time for exercising and socializing with neighbours.  In this physical activity, they have much purpose. They end a day by beautifying the neighbourhood, exercising to maintain healthy mind and body and most of all they get the chance to create groups of friends.

Adair Park is certainly a great place to live.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

Why You Need An Emergency Fund For Your Real Estate Business

Even a well run real estate business with a good reputation and with a foresight to weigh up possible risks can still run into unexpected problems and setbacks.
Skilled real estate investors buy houses and resell them so quickly for a return on their investment so that any costs incurred are residual and easily absorbed by the profits.  Flipping houses, whether or not there is any rehab, is associated with wholesaling.   And the principle of connecting sellers to buyer’s works for all kinds of commodities, including houses.  After starting out in real estate business, a few successful transactions can make a tidy sum with enough to live off and reinvest back into your business venture.  However at this point, it is prudent to start to set aside a sum into a fund to cover for unexpected delays and problems.  For example, a house bought at an auction may come with faults that you will be obliged to declare or rectify.  Either way, to sell this real estate property you will either cut back your profit margin by selling cheaply or you may decide that you can make a handsome profit by giving the house a rehab.
To do the real estate rehab, you are going to need cash to buy materials and to pay your certified contractors.  Depending on the extent of the rehab and if this goes beyond a paint job and new counter tops in the kitchen or to replacing rotten woodwork and a new roof then, you need to tie up a pot of money for several weeks or even a few months.
If you are a very lucky person, used to things that are always going exactly your way, then you may think why bother to keep money tied up just in case.  In real estate wholesaling, sooner or later you will need funds for such a project unless you have a cash rich partner willing to stump up the necessary funds at short notice and you would be well advised to make a provision for such occasions.  A sum equivalent to six months operating costs for your real estate business is considered a workable amount to cover for unseen events that could see your business falling over a financial cliff.  You still need to pay wages, overheads for home / office associated with your real estate business, not to mention taxes, insurances and HOA dues.
As well as having the real estate emergency fund to continue paying for bills you already know about, also consider some other reasons that are not as foreseeable:

• Renters unable or unwilling to pay their rent leading to legal costs to have them removed.
• Squatters moving into an empty house leading to legal costs to have them removed
• Partner with cash withdraws or passes away
• Rehab costs shoot up due to unforeseen structural defects
•  Buyer insists on you bearing closing costs and you have no other buyer

There are 101 reasons why you need a real estate emergency fund to fall back on so that your real estate business can not only survive a setback, it can also turn that setback around.  So that you are bigger, stronger, better prepared to flourish and prosper and take whatever unexpected surprises that comes along in your way.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

The American Dream and Real Estate Agents

For most Americans, buying a home is one of the largest financial transactions they will ever undertake.  Their motivation may be a desire to own their own home, to accommodate a job change, or to gain a smaller or larger living area.

In recent years, we have seen a dramatic change in the valuation of residential real estate. While some areas have fared better and some have fared far worse, the average home in metro Atlanta is down approximately 30 percent from its high point five years ago.  You might expect that home buying in general, would have lost some of its luster. And in some areas it most certainly has.  Neighborhoods that commanded a higher dollar five short years ago are run down in some spots and some have become ‘warzones’ as you hear on the streets. In spite of this, a recently released report by the NAR (National Association of Realtors) shares some interesting discoveries:

First time buyers accounted for 39 percent of the total homes bought, only slightly below the historical norm of 40 percent.  Among recent homebuyers, 30 percent stated that their primary reason for their purchase was their desire to own a home.  Real estate agents continue to play a key role in the search for the right house despite the rise of searches for homes starting online rising to 90 percent and above.

Apparently the American dream has not diminished too much but rather slowed a little as the lending institutions have made lending available on much stricter terms.  The reality still remains that a lot of people do not want to be renters even though we have seen articles alluding as such many times in recent years.  People still like the opportunity for their money to count toward something of equitable value and with prices down, they recognize that that is a much stronger opportunity today for when prices rise.

What Buyers may be running into now is that the mad dash to buy a home ‘is on’ in markets where inventory is low. I know one couple who has been looking for a home for nearly a year.  In an attempt to find their ‘perfect’ home, they went from a Buyers market to a Sellers market and now are kicking themselves a little bit as their choices have dropped. The perception of tons of inventory forever has indeed faded.  Yes, finding and reading information about homes for sale is easier now that it has ever been but understanding, interpreting, and applying that information is not so easy.  This is where a good real estate agent comes in.

Today’s home-loan applicant faces multiple pitfalls on the road to a successful closing. Appraisals come in low, inspections seem to beyond silly nit-picky, lenders have stricter terms and want higher visibility into your finances and what used to be a very good credit score is not enough for some lenders.  A good agent can help bridge these gaps. The above mentioned issues are all very common however a good agent can help navigate these waters with confidence to ensure success to the best of their ability.  If you are Selling a house, the same holds true as it is remarkable how many people still believe their home is worth what it was in 2007 which is seldom the case in most of our market.  A good agent can help get the house sold by helping the Seller have realistic expectations to sell today!

With approximately nine out of ten home sales being assisted by a real estate agent in the last year, the role of the real estate agent even with today’s technology is still quite secure. There is specialized knowledge needed that most homeowners simply do not want to take the time to learn.  With time being a precious commodity in today’s high paced world, the time spent with a solid real estate agent is time will spent indeed.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

Generate Real Estate Leads and Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

I recently read an article by Sir Richard Branson advising to use an unlikely mix of people from different backgrounds, placed in unusual but enjoyable situations to get a “think-tank” of unusual and creative ideas that can work. This beats brain storming on Monday morning with a bland backdrop of filing cabinets, clinking of the coffee cups and the refreshments trolley moving around the office.
Some Out of The Box Ideas:

• To close more real estate deals, think creatively, go to the park and join in with the yoga instructor.  As we all know yoga makes the body more flexible and relax even if you are in a stress stricken environment.  Encourage your staff to practice yoga as well.  Yoga can help them feel happier, peaceful and more energetic.
• Travel broadens the mind and it can sharpen your wits to close more deals. Go on a nature trail or climb a mountain or jump onto your speed bike and peddle your way to somewhere and enjoy the journey.  You may also offer free trips to your staff as an incentive for increased productivity.
• Read that motivational book about flipping your way to millions and read all the blogs about housing on LinkedIn or Twitter so that you are fully attuned to current ideas and can follow on with your own plans.
• Hear what employees and clients are saying and react to their needs before issues get blown out of proportion.  Also keep up with social media posts so you always know what people are saying and thinking.
• When calling Sellers have something interesting to talk about.  Make them aware of what’s going on in the Real Estate market these days. Or make them talk in terms of what interest them the most and give some of your insights that will help them realize the importance of why their decision is the right decision.
• When dealing with Buyers and Sellers, make sure that the number works and always a win-win.
• The Power of focus. Your overall performance depends largely on your ability to focus.  Focus is one powerful strategy that every successful businessmen and top performers thrive.  Your 100% focus will help you enjoy more of your time, reduce any stress that you’re experiencing and of course increase your net worth.

Don’t ignore the importance of creative thinking out of the box and do use your imagination to stimulate the gray area even if some may think your means a tad eccentric.  Do not be afraid to exhaust your ideas until you reach a level that is worthwhile.  Remember that any idea can be improved after the initial thoughts. This concept applies to all great products and no one launches into full scale manufacturing without developing a prototype first.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

To Succeed in Investing in Real Estate Don’t Let Dollar Signs Blind Your Vision

Consider this scenario and see how the folks you meet up to do business with perceive you.  If you always have an agenda to resell and flip houses and that’s the extent of your vocabulary, then you are missing out.  People appreciate some personal touch, some rapport and a relationship that’s not just ‘okay, it’s sold, I gotta go, I am done here!’, ‘Thank you, sir or ma’am.’  ‘I don’t have business talking with this guy anymore, I got what I wanted.’  Your goal to succeed is dependent on how you manage to transform your business goal into something more meaningful and ideal.  People do business with people they like and trust is the old saying and it’s true.

It’s about common sense, common decency and identifying common interests that you and a potential client and/or business partner share.  It could be your ambition for your kid’s education, or writing a book.  You can always find something that you both can relate into.  Not everyone is likeable though so, we try to answer the question, ‘why do people like us in the first place?’  People like us when we are honest, genuine and positive.  Before we worry about impressing our potential client, let us be ourselves and say genuine things and make sure that we deliver.  When the client sees your sincerity they will start to open up and that’s when you can further establish the relationship.  The business bond between you two can prosper.

When you establish a lasting relationship, you will care about the risks you take and the business risks your clients take because of your recommendations and advice. The sincere and good advice you give will lead to repeat business that should last for many years to come.  And business will not just stop between you two.  When your client is happy, business can multiply.

Remember, the biggest turn off is greed and the lust to just make money.  This just adds to the aversion people feel towards you if you are perceived that your only goal is the satisfaction of making lots of cash and have no interest in the outcome for your client.  You have to be committed from start to finish.  Do not shy away from commitment.  Do it and don’t make excuses.

To achieve better relationships send e-mails and social networking messages that are not just about availability and prices on deals.  It’s better to share a part of your life. This is not only more satisfying but may genuinely put you in a preferred category when time comes time to talk shop.  People will talk and they will recommend you. You will be seen as an expert in your field.  Remember, a good deed will never be forgotten.

Turn over a new leaf today and start to build lifetime business relationships that really bring about win-win deals.  Whoever says “People do business with people they like and trust”, absolutely hit it right.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

Always Be Marketing

ABM – Always Be Marketing…EVEN in a Sellers Market

We all know this.  Really we do.  In Real Estate, it is truly all about marketing.  Our market right now along with many others in the country is a Seller’s Market in many pockets.  I have already started to hear the conversations in some agent circles about good times ahead.  While that may be true, my first question is always ‘How do you plan to leverage your marketing during these times?’

While the days ahead may indeed be promising for listings, one need only remember what happened a few short years ago to many agents who enjoyed the real estate boom without lifting a finger.  Always be marketing was not on the forefront of many people’s minds.  Always be marketing was ignored.  Always be marketing may never be needed many thought.  The lack of Always be marketing is what caused many of them to now have jobs and be in other career paths.  What goes up must come down.  And Real Estate is different.

Many agents today survived the tough years by marketing.  Nothing has really changed for them and they are as consistent as always.  However many have struggled to hang on.  And now there are several new folks to the trade.  If there is one lesson that should be learned it is this one.  Always be marketing.  It doesn’t matter if you have one closing or 20 scheduled.  Always be marketing.  Always, always, always.

You never know what tomorrow holds.  If indeed good days are ahead and here to stay for some time, always be marketing so you can make the most of the moment for as long as it lasts.

Always.  Good luck!

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com

 

Training Your Real Estate Team Members To Be Effective

It is essentially fact that people are the most important asset in a real estate company or any company for that matter.  So, we place a great deal of time on recruitment and the interview process in order to find the right person with the right attitude.  And our investment of time on finding the right person to fill the position doesn’t just stop after they are brought onboard.  We continue to find ways and means to train them regularly.
Here are ten significant points to consider so that your real estate business can grow.  Keeping a good staff by empowering them to take some ownership within their area goes a long way.  Well trained and qualified staff will also enhance your businesses’ reputation and give you the edge over your competition.
Ten Tips:

• Even before any training commences, select the right person for the job.  Don’t just focus on previous experience in real estate but rather consider the applicants skill sets to fulfill the particular roles requirements.  Train the new person to be proficient and competent within a particular job as focus provides better results.
• Allow some time outs during conference calls.  Follow up with your trainees about what they learned during the call and how this can be applied to their job.  Update them with new found ideas, new apps and other items used in real estate that you have come across that will be useful to their work.
• Consider bringing in a trainer / consultant to the office for on the job training.  You can also send them to webinars to learn new skills in real estate.
• Facilitate team discussions within real estate Buyer and Seller groups so that everyone can say what went well or can be improved.
• If they will work with Sellers, train them on how to handle these individuals to win their business, especially if they have listed their home for six months with no acceptable offer.   Also if they work with the online processes, brainstorm how these methods can always be improved.  Sellers appreciate simplicity once they wrap their head around it.
• Make SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) and document them to break down the elements of working instructions necessary to cover every job and process your real estate business uses.  Regularly review their value and if dynamic processes need to be rewritten.  Do not underestimate this time!
• Reward successes on the job, in particular if employees become qualified with awards of merit.   Reward can be a cash bonus but an award like “Real Estate Sales Rock Star of the Month” trophy can do volumes.  All kinds of recognition, financial or psychological can be appreciated by your reports.
• Use KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to benchmark each employees success criteria.   The number of houses listed and sold per month could be examples of KPI’s.
• Recognize talent and promote high flyers and solid reliable employees.  Plan for succession for all key positions (including your own) and ensure you train the right people for the business to for the long term if you plan for the business to be around for a while.
• Finally, leverage the tracking methods available online for reports, ads or blogs to better understand the need for further improvement.  Stop guessing which one of your advertisements or blogs works and which one does not.  Targeted marketing that is working helps your team in producing an effective way to generate real estate leads seamlessly.

Maintaining good staff in a real estate business is not difficult.  However, it does require work.  Implementation and follow up on simple processes should be done consistently and this will benefit the company in time so that all can reap the rewards repeatedly.

Sell Your Atlanta House Fast for Cash Today! We Buy PRETTY and UGLY Houses! We Pay Cash for Homes and We will Buy Your House Fast! We are Atlanta Real Estate Investors. We look forward to hearing from you today with your Atlanta Real Estate needs! Visit - http://workingwithhouses.com and http://atlantabuynow.com