Sell Your House Fast For Top Dollar - Marketing Tips to Find Home Buyers

If you have already done the necessary work of getting your house ready to sell, you now have the most important job which is getting as many people as possible inside the home. This means MARKETING, MARKETING and more MARKETING (effective marketing that is...)
One of the biggest mistakes I have made in the past and constantly see Sellers make is believing they are saving money by cutting corners and costs on marketing. I agree that you do not want to spend more than you have to, but at the same time you do not want your house to become an expired or stale listing while values continue to decline and holding costs go up. The latter can be much more expensive.

Do You Want The Good News Or Bad News?
Good News: You do not have to drain your savings to offer the right incentives
Bad News: These costs do affect your net equity (actual profit that you walk away with from the sale) and if you try to avoid them, you will probably pay them later and lose valuable time

The Bottom Line:
If you want to sell your home to a qualified buyer for a good price in a slow market, you don't want to gamble, you want to make sure you get the job DONE...
Side Secret...This may sound odd but if you can afford to, always pay MORE and do not pay LESS when it comes to marketing!

What Type Of Real Estate Investor To Be

Before you ever begin real estate investing, you will have to choose who your character will be while working in this business. You may make this choice consciously or unconsciously. You must choose how you will represent yourself to the general public and more importantly to your sellers, tenants and buyers (not including money or JV partners). The two main choices you have are to represent yourself as a medium to large scale investing business or a single local real estate investor working for yourself and your family.

Let us now take a look at a few of the advantages and disadvantages to being viewed as either.

Higher Authority: Whether negotiating the purchase price of a property you are buying or selling, refusing to waive a tenant's late fee, or not sure of an answer to a particular real estate question it is always comforting to be able to refer any problems to a higher authority.

As a new investor there were times that it felt great to say, "Yes, this is my property. Would you like to rent it? Then you must go through me." That was admittedly a bit of a power trip and also a feather in my cap. I soon realized that when you place yourself at the top of the pyramid you place a burden on your shoulders and also must be responsible for quick decisions on the fly.

I realized that with my baby face and boyish good looks (at the time) I was not being taken seriously by sellers, buyers or tenants. Whether you know your stuff or not, the general public puts a lot of stock into the old adage "with age comes wisdom."

Likewise, if you are newer to real estate investing or simply do not know the answer to a particular real estate question it is not because you are dumb or that you are not seriously interested in the property for sale, it is simply because you have not been taught the answer yet. I have seen firsthand the worried look in a seller's eyes when I, representing myself as sole investor, have said, "I do not know the answer." Conversely, if you associate yourself with a larger company it is very easy to shrug this question off with a quick call to the boss, committee or partner for the answer.

Making Money on Commercial Real Estate

It doesn't matter if you have been in the real estate investing business for 2 months or 20 years. We all know that we make the money in real estate when we buy, especially a commercial income-producing property. Though the buying process is one of the most important components of investing, many entrepreneurs don't have a clue how to determine the true value of an income-producing property or its potential. Here are some simple tips to help you build more confidence in taking action.

Leave Your Emotions at Home
Many investors find a beautiful property where the seller promises the world of returns. Because of this beautiful property they "fall in love" with, they end up paying more than the true property value. The real pain begins when the property does not perform the way it was promised in that pretty picture, and the deficit begins to hurt the cash flow. Investing in commercial real estate is like investing in a business. You find the true value in the income it generates versus the costs associated with running and growing it. Don't fall in love with the property; fall in love with the numbers.

Let the Seller Prove It to You
How did you arrive at that price? Don't just take the seller's word for their opinion of the property value; ask them to prove it to you. You need to evaluate the property numbers to determine the true value, so begin by asking the seller or seller's representative to provide you with all of the supporting evidence that proves the value of the property (financial statements, tax returns, bank statements, rent rolls, etc.).

Cost Effective Conveyancing

Although it sounds easy enough, cost effective Conveyancing may be harder to find than you think. On first inspection, if you type in Conveyancing on a search engine, you'll get lots of adverts telling you that you can take on a Conveyancing service for as little as £99, but just what are you getting for your money?

Conveyancing services are key to the level of success you wish to achieve in your move. The process of preparing complex legal documentation regarding house sales is not to be underestimated and your Conveyancing service will aid you during the exchange of contracts and that sought after completion of your required new property. A good Conveyancing service will help your transactions go smoothly and without the renowned stress that is commonly associated with moving home but taking short cuts in this area can add to your natural anxieties by actually putting your move at risk.

Budget services offer low cost packages with a promised speed of delivery but that speed can mean cutting corners when it comes to the necessary paperwork required by law. It varies greatly dependant on personal circumstance, property type, financial and legal reasons but the Conveyancing process in general, takes about 10-12 weeks and although that can feel frustrating to us as we are keen to start anew, there is a just reason for this timescale due to all the necessary steps including documentation, agreements and official hurdles that need to be adhered to. Anyone that pledges that they can halve this duration invariably isn't dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's. Whilst many of the 'team members' you might encounter through budget services are call centre operatives with no experience or formal qualifications in Conveyancing, you may also find that your initial low quote and timeframe starts to snowball as hidden charges and 'extras', that should normally come as a part of the Conveyancing service, add to your bill.

The Importance Of Real Estate Blogs And Forums

While realtor websites have made show-casing of new properties easier for the builders and the Realtors alike, it has simplified communications between buyers and sellers to such an extent that sharing information, opinions, commendations and complaints etc has become commonplace.

As the clients reflect, share opinions, and discuss various related topics online, this activity redefines the existing relationships and makes them more reality-based and practical. Realtor websites and agent websites quickly latch on to these forums and see the positive side as it helps them send out regular market newsletters faster than before. Builders see a way to be more innovative in designing residential and office properties, inviting opinions, Realtors and Agents see a way to sell or buy in a reality-based atmosphere, clients see a way to have more say in certain property laws and regulations, making them more friendly than before.

The realtor websites and the agents' websites soon undergo modifications to include online forum discussions and blogging. This gives them a tremendous advantage to address the members online. In addition, with the current advances in technology, blogs can be downloaded onto mobile phones, replies and opinions can be voiced wherever one is, and offers a platform to also sway opinions.

Investing in Industrial Properties: Office Service, Multi-Tenant, and Large Manufacturing

Knowing the basic differences in investing in industrial properties such as office service, multi-tenant and/or large manufacturing properties in the basis for making sound investment choices.

Office Service Properties

Investing in office service properties is generally a profitable enterprise. A typical office service would be a plumbing company. The standard office service building is probably about 50,000 square feet with 15,000 of that space used for the showroom to display commodes, bathtubs, and faucets. However, they also have a huge inventory in the back, which is where most of their business is conducted.

Freestanding, Multi-Tenant, and Large Manufacturing Properties

When investing in industrial properties such as freestanding, multi-tenant, and/or large manufacturing properties, remember that freestanding buildings are usually larger and mostly single-tenant. In fact, the single tenant is often the owner in this kind of property. You can group freestanding, large manufacturing, and even multi-tenant buildings all in the same category in the initial stages. However, experienced commercial property investors and realtors would advise beginner investors to stay away from this type of property. It's more of a specialty-type property, meaning that you must really understand the industry and the business.

Finding A Good Commercial Property Management Company

If you are going to enter the commercial property market you need to find yourself a good commercial property management company to work with. It does not matter whether you already have commercial property that you want to sell or you want to rent it out using a commercial property management company will save you a lot of hassle and money in the long run. The same applies if you want to buy commercial property whether you want to rent it out or use it for your own business.

Take the time to research the companies who work in the area you are interested in investing in. There are good and bad property management companies out there, so you need to do your research before committing to using one of them. A good place to start your search is by asking friends or colleagues that are already in the market who they use. If they have already found a good property management company consider using them yourself, at least in the first instance. On-line forums can be another place to get a feel for which companies offer a good service and which are mediocre at best. If you attend property auctions chat with other commercial property buyers to see who they use and what they think of the service they receive.

Visit the websites of those companies you are interested in using and read through the testimonials on there. Bear in mind they are not going to put any comments on their own site that are not complementary, but you will get a feel for what others feel are the strengths of the company from the testimonials that are posted. Bear in mind the fact that you need to be able to communicate effectively with your property management company. They need to be easily available both on-line and via the phone and must respond quickly to your needs.

What Can My Professional Real Estate Assistant Be Doing?

Real Estate can be a complicated yet rewarding business to be a part of. No two REALTORS® are the same, nor are their businesses. So why would we expect our assistants to be one size fits all and step into your business knowing exactly what you want, expect and like? Take time right at the start to create a list of end results you expect to see. Be clear, and communicate your preferences and expectations. Start with your business goals for the year then chunk them down into months and weeks and days. Let your assistant partake in the process so that they feel they are a part of the reward as well as the effort.

The tasks your assistant can achieve are bound by the hours in the day. Create realistic expectations of what is important and needs to be attended to. Just like every seller and buyer will have different expectations of how you work with them and how you will deliver your commitment, so will you in your business with your assistant. There are great software programs to keep everyone focused and on task such as Basecamp. No matter how experienced your assistant is, the first month will be a learning curve for both of you. Communication and patience will be the key to creating a solid foundation you can both build on.

Have consistent office meetings and ask questions like "What is working and what is not?" or "What are the goals and top priorities for the week?" Your real estate assistant will only deliver the fruits you cultivate. Challenging them, communicating goals, and empowering them to take initiative are just some ways to stimulate their participation in growing together. Support your team member to think outside the box.

How to Develop A Total Marketing Plan for a Real Estate Agency

Real agencies can achieve their greatest potential for new business when their website is established as the primary lead capture model for the real estate business. Every external print and internet-based marketing initiative should lead to the site, and the site should be developed with strong keyword-rich content, titles, descriptions, tags, and inbound links so it can be found on search engines. These actions are critical to launching a new website (or revamping an existing one), and should be measured frequently (use Google Analytics - its free and highly relevant) and content should be revised on an ongoing basis. It is also important that your webmaster create a sitemap and submits it to Google.
Other ongoing initiatives include social media such as Facebook, Twitter, ActiveRain, RealTown, Trulia, Zillow, craigsList, YouTube, Flickr, and Linked In. Also important in social media are a blog with feed to the site, content-rich articles, and local directories (such as Google Places, Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, etc.) and global directories (such as dmoz, yellowpages.com, wcities, hotfrog, joeant, yahoo, Google, etc.)
The social media component adds value to the real estate business only if it takes on the persona of "neighborhood expert." Instead of sending the message that "here's my listing", the agency becomes an advocate for the area about things to do, events, and local happenings. Then throw in a listing here and there, especially price reductions because then people see you for your "value added" features. The primary social media outlet is Facebook. However you can easily set up some automatic feeds so that Facebook sends feeds to Twitter, YouTube sends feeds to Facebook and the website, and the blogs and articles are fed to the website and Facebook. Once the initial set up is realized, the feeds do the "viral work" for you. Blogs and articles will add to the organic search component.
Complementing the real estate business in an ongoing manner for social media requires a key communication checkpoint person within the agency - someone who can lead the effort by posting local events, neighborhood news, price reductions, new listings, new agents, top sellers, e-mail addresses captured at the agency, local chamber website, local Realtor board website, and other local interest news.

Investment Real Estate at Mid-Year

The first half of 2011 has seen significant capital allocated to real estate, but the market remains a "tale of two cities." The absolute right product continues to attract a great deal of interest, but if an asset is "slightly off," there is no action for it. That trend spans all four primary property types - retail, office, industrial, and multi-family.
Indeed, there continues to be a lack of that "absolute right product" coming to the market in almost every category. In retail, for example, few grocery-anchored shopping centers are coming to the market in our region. Those properties that do are, in some instances, commanding capitalization rates below six. One trend we are seeing are owners cleaning their portfolios of non-grocery anchored secondary product.
In the office market, class A buildings with long-term credit leases in solid locations are fetching big numbers, with cap rates generally between seven and eight, and in some cases even sub-seven. For value-add opportunities, the lack of activity of a year or two ago has given way to a trend where improving fundamentals are leading some people to look out on the risk curve. We have a major assignment in Stamford for an empty, 560,000-square-foot, class A building, a substantial value-add play that is attracting a lot of interest.
To date, in New Jersey, our group has done approximately $500 million of office sales so far this year, and the overall marketplace has seen more than $1 billion in total office sales in the state.
The industrial sector, meanwhile, has been very active. Much of that activity is in anticipation of the expansion of the Panama Canal, the raising of the Bayonne Bridge, and the fact that New Jersey is very much a port-oriented industrial state. On the fundamental side, the market is finally seeing the excess space in the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 7A and 8A submarkets, at heavily discounted rental rates, being absorbed. By the end of the year, the industrial sector is projected to be stabilized to the extent that the market may be seeing new speculative development in the second half of 2012.
There is a substantial amount of capital chasing industrial in New Jersey. One surprise has been deal execution that is 10-15% higher in value than we anticipated, driven both by the surplus of money and the anticipation of market correction. Our group has done more than $250 million in this product to date this year, with cap rate execution overall in the six- to 7.5-range and one transaction in particular with a sub-six cap rate.

Commercial Real Estate - Sales Success on Step at a Time

In commercial real estate agency, we tend to look at the end result of the sale or the lease with perhaps too much focus. There is a lot of work to be done as real estate agents before we get to the end result. The more effective we are with the stages leading through the sale, the easier the end result is to achieve.

To create more opportunity for yourself as a real estate agent, it is best to consider and refine at your actions one step at a time. Thinking and planning each step is a good way to go.

The real estate business is really quite simple. It does however require total dedication to the separate stages of the process in order to become the market leader. Consider these stages:

1. A prospecting model that you use every day to generate new business opportunity with qualified prospects.
2. Meeting lots of local people who could potentially have an interest in commercial real estate in selling, renting, occupying or owning.
3. A presentation process that hits the mark every time with the people that you have qualified in and around the local area. Include facts about the local market and its prices, results, competition, time on market, and property solutions available.
4. A listing model that identifies the right target market that the marketing campaign can be built around with great effect. If you do not know your target market you cannot sell or lease the property in a timely way.

The Benefits of Buying New Tract Homes Vs Pre-Owned Homes

Unfortunately, one of the inherent problems of buying pre-owned homes is not knowing exactly what you're buying. No matter how good the inspector was that you hired to inspect the home before you bought it as an investment, the chances of a costly defect is always an ominous occurrence waiting to happen. However, when completing the purchase of a new tract home, even though the home may have a defect or two, the defect is correctable most of the time, if not all the time. This is accomplished through the built-in home warranty that comes with a home upon its purchase. More often than not, national, regional, and local builders have some type of warranty that covers even the smallest of defects, such as cracked tile, masonry work, squeaky floor boards, and caulking issues, or major issues, such as pipe leaks, roof problems, foundation cracks, and other structural issues. Structural issues may include a ten-year warranty to cover costs related to the defect. Generally, warranties are defined as standard and structural, as most major homebuilders provide these warranties, such as KB Homes, Centex, and Pulte Homes.

And yet, despite the coverage that most warranties will provide for a pre-owned or resell home, such as the warranty you can buy for $350 to $450 from Fidelity or Old Republic, nothing beats the comfort of acquiring a new home that has that bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage and still has that new car smell to it. Other negatives of pre-owned homes include the following: mold issues, termite infestation, hard to detect structural damage, and cracked foundation or slabs. It would be very rare for the latter issues to arise in a brand new tract home. These are only a few of the problems that may occur with pre-owned homes since there may be many more.

How to Create Fantastic Real Estate Flyers

As a Agent, Investor or a Homeowner that's looking to sell your home or investment property, you need superior marketing material. What marketing materials do you use? Do you outsource your marketing? Is it time consuming and Costly? If you answered these questions with a YES or would like to take more control of your marketing campaigns to maximize your profit? Well, for myself as a Real Estate Wholesaler, I'm always looking for new and innovative ways to marketing my properties especially if it's economical and I can have creative control over my marketing tools. For the past couple of years I've been using free software like Word, Publisher, Gimp and others to create flyers, email newsletters and updates. It was average but it worked.

This method worked but I wanted my properties and ads to stand above novice or even experience investors. I wanted something new, so one day doing a basic search on the internet I came across Turn-Key Flyers (Professional Real Estate Templates) which is PDF base templates that allow you to have professionally designed PDF Flyers for marketing. Real Estate flyers are the cornerstone to any complete marketing campaign to promote, advertise, and sell properties. Colorful flyers add integrity to your marketing efforts and business. Creating your own Real Estate flyer with Turn-Key will help you to display the advantages and benefits of your primary residents or investment properties in a visual manner.

Property Flip - How to Do Wonders With A Small Budget!

Do you think it's possible to rehab a property flip with a small budget? The answer is "Yes." It's extremely possible as long as you understand how to get the most bangs for your buck.
The most important thing when it comes to a property flip is you need to know who your buyers are. Understanding your buyers will allow you to focus on key factors a new homeowner might find appealing.
Let me explain...
There are three major parts of a property flip you should always focus on with great detail. They are the kitchen, the bathroom, and the master bedroom.
The kitchen, bathroom, and master bedroom are the three main areas the homeowners will be spending most of their time in and if it doesn't stand out, you can bet you'll have a much harder time doing a property flip.
If you're considering a property flip on a small budget, why not focus on these three area's of the house.
Here are a few tips that will save you a ton of money and yield you a great return on your property flip.
Kitchen: always look at the big picture. Ask yourself this question? Could I keep the existing cabinets by simply adding a fresh new coat of paint. If your existing cabinets show sign of decay or damaged beyond repair then go to your local hardware store and buy the already made cabinets. The cost per cabinets is cheap and they look awesome once installed.
I know you've probably watched a dozen or so flip shows on T.V. and they spend upwards of $30,000 to $40,000 in property rehab. This is not necessary. Save what you can save as long as it's not outdated or damaged beyond repair.
Use granite tiles for your counter tops instead of purchasing a whole slab, it's cheaper and it still looks great.

What Should an Office Lease Include?

Leasing an office space is a convenient approach to starting a business with a low start-up cost. Though it helps shorten the route to becoming successful in the business world, there are a few important things to learn to make the most out of a lease.

Unlike renting a house, leasing commercial real estate property is a bit more technical and involves terms and agreements that can be confusing for a first time tenant. Without understanding the common terms and agreement, it could wind up costing more on the tenant's part. To avoid such a scenario, here are some of the common elements involved in a commercial lease to learn.

• Rent Escalation- The rent payment is bound to increase over the lifetime of the lease. Most people use the Consumer Price Index or CPI as the basis for the additional cost. Such an increase is relatively acceptable; commercial property that does not apply such a practice is pretty rare. To protect the tenant's interest, it is advisable to negotiate with the landlord to withhold the CPI rent increase for at least 2 years at the beginning of the rental contract. Then, as much as possible, negotiate to put a cap on each year's increase or better yet, negotiate for a predetermined fixed increase.
• Tenant Improvements- When leasing an office space, any renter will eventually require improvements of the office space. Be certain that the contract terms and agreement includes a clause that would allow tenants to make such improvements and alterations as needed. When such a clause is included, it may also come with an additional clause that would require the renter to restore any alteration or improvements done to the property to its original condition at the end of the lease term. A possible exception to that clause would be the addition of an alternative clause that requires approval by the owner of any such changes; that scenario usually allows any approved changes to remain at the conclusion of the lease term.

Is Cash Flow Important? When Should You Throw In The Towel?

Is cash flow important? It is, this is what makes a difference in your life on a month to month basis. But just to be clear it's not the only important thing. I'm not in real estate only for the cash flow but for another very important reason.

Why I continue to focus on real estate especially Rent to Own homes is the feeling of helping a family that deserves the help. To me, this is the real reward. You can feel it in their handshake, their hugs and the occasional small droplets of joyful tears when you hand them the keys to their new home. It's a pay if forward feeling.

As much as I love going out searching for properties, my real passion is helping as many people as I can into home ownership. There's another side as well. I also enjoy helping the beginning investor trying to purchase their first investment property, or the veteran real estate guru working on their ninth home. It's a good.... no, great feeling at the end of the day when I lay down to say, we helped another family.

Is it always smooth sailing.... not a chance. There are bumps in the road from time to time but like anything in life that's worth attaining, you have to work hard at it.

Could you call it a win if you couldn't lose?

Could you call a touchdown a touchdown by running the length of the football field with no opponents?