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

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

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

A Profile Photo In Your Facebook Shouts Out Loud

Social Media, the toy that now seems to connect us all globally.  Facebook in particular is simply huge.  Hard to imagine only a few short years ago, it was the product of collegiate fun.  Now that fun has become the connection point of global colleagues and to promote ourselves and our businesses.   How times have changed!

Facebook is one medium that has captured 1.06 billion users at last count.  It is said there are 100 billion photos on Facebook and the number is growing every day.  You would think that anyone who signed up with Facebook would be willing to share even one single photo to represent their identity and put a face in their profile.  And most people do!  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.  However it seems more and more these days I get ‘Friend’ requests from people without a profile picture.  While some are spam for sure, some are legit.  Let us examine why people should have a photo in their FB profile if they are truly considering using it for if nothing else, social networking!

• Recognition – when I google someone’s name or search it up on Facebook  there are instances that the profile names are the same and the only thing that can prove that it’s he or she is through his or her profile photo.  However if there is no photo, I am in limbo looking for some more names that he or she might have been using.  Recognizing a person in an instant through profile photos is a great help especially if your time is limited.
• Confidence – A face really is worth a lot.  It shows you’re humanity.  (you are human, yes?)   Face value cannot be understated.  Like a smiling photo can show a friendly personality.  Of course, we can’t just rely upon a person by face value but without a face it grows a seed of doubt as to the legitimacy of who is friending you.  There is no shortage of account that has no profile picture where the account is no longer valid.  Coincidental?  Hard to know for sure.
• Networking – as business people, one of our goals in using FB is to connect to other people in businesses like ours.  This is one of many ways to network, extend a hand, share our services and possibly work out a deal together.  We have done more than one deal off of Facebook now so the credibility it gives can be huge.  Seeing you in photo and not just reading an invitation to connect is more than helpful for me to decide that yes, it is worth to network with you.
• Popularity – FB users are into popular personalities.  Many people like to connect with people who have a lot of friends in their respective fields.  In real estate, I would like to be connected with agents whom I worked with in the past, my mentor, colleagues and several more.  When I look for them I tend to look for them by trying to find them by their name.

So a photo is not just a photo, it’s more than that.  It is an identity that can make or break your social media status.   Privacy is important no doubt and that can never be understated however hiding our identity completely can have its setbacks.   In business, a single photo is all what you need to encourage people of your legitimacy.   It shouts out loud and says, yes, you and your business may be trustworthy.  I am genuine and people like it when people can be real with each other!

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

Be Consistent To Attract Your Preferred Buyers

Housing wholesalers need to plan best the ways to keep business coming; houses don’t flip themselves and potential clients don’t just stop you in the street or at the burger bar.  You have to proactively farm and fish to generate or harvest your new business opportunities.
Consistency is a must as you build and grow your business. And all effort needs to be measured because until you have tried something new for a period of time and in a consistent manner, you can’t decide if it works or not.  You cannot measure effectiveness if you have not done it consistently.  When consistency is practiced, it maintains your message and establishes your reputation.  Just make sure it is a good one.  :-)
What Buyers to sell to?  Cash!  I have learned to never assume that every wholesaler knows that cash Buyers is what they want.  I am amazed at how many try to sell to finance Buyers (and rarely succeeding).  Selling to finance buyers is not usually our first choices since they have all these other requirements.  If you work as a rehabber, this can be worth the wait since you are dealing with larger projects in many cases.  If you are a wholesaler, you want the cash Buyers.  Speed and simplicity is king in your line of work.
Choose Clients That You Prefer
First of all, we will work with anyone who is credible.  However let’s talk reality here…some people are easier to work with than others.  It will help you to analyze and make categories for the Buyers you already sold to so that you can target the kind of buyers that you can however as a wholesaler, you want simple and easy every chance you can get.  Some categories may be as follows:

• First time buyers wanting their own home (for the rehabbers)
• Brokers with Buyers (could be wholesale or rehab deals)
• Other Investors including Flippers
• Wholesalers
• Tire Kickers (and other investors who may not be so serious)

With tire kickers, some are truly legitimate and sometimes a simple conversation to help them out can be very helpful to you to create a win-win.  Some simply want a quick buck from the latest infomercial.  I tend to avoid the latter but you can make your decision accordingly.

Put Some Thought and Effort into Advertising
Attract the right buyers by appealing to their core values.  As mentioned in my previous blog: To Succeed in Investing in Real Estate Don’t Let Dollar Signs Blind Your Vision,  people will buy from people who they like and trust.

• Newsletters are fun!  They are interesting, appealing and even useful and don’t lose your sense of humor.  It’s good to joke around too.  Newsletters also serve as a reminder that our company exists and that we are consistently in the market.  We can position our company as a real estate expert.
• Mail blasts can be fruitful but don’t start spamming.  Only send these to subscribers or to people interested enough to leave their contact details on our website or request to be added to our mailings.  Mail blast can be a very effective tool to get our new listing quick enough to generate interested buyer.
• Check out the MLS for investors who can be identified on the Multiple Listing Services as buyers and sellers of property who are part of an LLC or Trusts. Sometimes these can be very valuable contacts.
• Foreign investors.  While this is a bit of a mindset shift for many of us, there is great opportunity here.  Some are doing this because they know the potential of investing in the USA and others who may want to invest as a stepping stone to get a US citizenship.  Understand their needs and the relationship can be mutually beneficial.

Remember, consistency will eventually payoff.  Planning makes perfect and it is a habit.  If you plan your business goals and target the clients you want to attract, then you can be very successful in 2013 and beyond.

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 Most Critical Number in Real Estate is…

The Most Critical Number in Real Estate is…

Although profit is the most important thing to most businesses including Real Estate, but we need to determine what’s the most important single number or measurement that leads to making a profit or even more profit.
In real estate, numbers and statistics are vitally important not only to measure business KPI’s (key performance indicator) but also to convince clients, Buyers/Sellers about facts in order to lead them to make sensible decisions.
For example, when a Seller has an over inflated idea about the value of his/her property then comps for the same area and for similar houses can show selling prices over the previous 12 months, selling prices and number of houses sold at that price. And also the number of houses unsold and the average prices of those unsold ones.
Numbers are very important in real estate and some examples that come to mind are as follows:

• Its current homes on the market in past 12 months vs. previous 12 months.
• Current days on the market in the past 12 months vs. previous 12 months
• Number of homes sold in the past 12 months vs. previous 12 months
• Average sold days on the market in the past 12 months vs. previous 12 months
• The current average sold price in the past 12 months vs. the previous 12 months
• A pricing strategy guide according to the available inventory 0-2 months inventory Price with the market to 10% above the market 3-4 mos. inventory price aggressively with the market 5-6 mos. inventory price with the market to 5% below market 7-12 mos. inventory price 10% below market 12-+ mos. inventory price 10% below market
• 55% expire or are withdrawn
• Market absorption Analysis can be applied to tell if a Seller’s home can be sold quickly and for more money

Homes that sell less than 90 days will generally sell at a lower listed price than homes in the market for more than 90 days. This is a useful tool to apply to explain a recommended selling price which will vary according to the sellers’ time frame ie. if the seller is in no hurry and can wait 6 months or needs to move urgently to take up a job relocation.
We should all recognize that there are several strategies of selling houses and distinction in their specialization and the type of Buyers or Sellers that we are targeting. The one commonality however is making a profit and your approach to this depends on what kind of business you are in.
For the Realtor, profit is link to the number of houses sold and in turn to sell the houses you have to get listings. To get the listings you need to get appointments to see the Seller to evaluate their home for condition specifications, and features. It will be necessary to make a presentation to the Seller using statistics to show the housing market for the area and to demonstrate an agent’s track record successfully selling similar houses in the neighborhood. Once, seller has been won over it is necessary at this point to lead the Seller to a sensible conclusion about asking price that fits in with their timeframe and the market. And at this point ask them to sign the listing. However, no agent will convert 100% of his appointments into listings, a good number is somewhere in between 40-50% So if you set a budget to sell 100 houses per year, you gonna need more than 200 appointments or 4 appointments per week to achieve this.
Therefore, the key number of importance to Real Estate Agent is how many Sellers’ appointments they achieve weekly and annually:

Formula



From these statistics based on the amount of profit that you want to make you’ve got to decide how many appointments u need to get every week/every year to achieve the number of homes that you’re going to sell to make the amount of profit that set as your target or budget.

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