Real Estate Marketing Principles – My Thoughts

Offering Product not a Property.

In looking at some basic real estate marketing principles, you need to set yourself apart from everyone else. It’s just a fact that there is always a good amount of competition in every market that you will enter. Even when you find that niche market, where there is money to be made others will follow.

The good thing is that doesn’t matter. You can have all the competition I the world, but as long as you set yourself apart and stand out, you can come out on top. Now I know that sounds logical, but there are so many in business that are imitating others. The end result tends to be that they are always a step behind and second best.

In following the group mentality you will become part of the “heard” and no longer stand out. If everyone is rushing in one direction do yourself a favor and do the opposite. As always there are exceptions to the rules, but for the majority of the time this is the best strategy.

Now there is nothing wrong with following a system that is successful and getting results. However you must remember that the more people following a system the less effective it tends to become. This is where you start to create your own real estate marketing principles.

An idea on how to separate your business is to offer a product, not just a property. In real estate investing we offer solutions to retail buyers, landlords, other investors, and/or tenants. The idea behind your marketing strategy is to create a product that provides value, out of the service you bring to the table. As you market your product effectively you will start to separate yourself from the competition.

Things you can include that have little cost to you.

- Market Reports surrounding the area

- Lists of contractors, title agent, mortgage consultants, credit repair and etc.

- For Retail list of shopping, stores, and area restaurants,

- And whatever else you can think up!

Remember the idea is to create a product that provides value and a solution to the problem. When you start to stand out above the rest people will start looking for you. As you become the expert and provide the solutions others are looking for others will start to follow you. As the leader in a market success is inevitable. So go out and create a title for your product and start building a “brand” that people can expect and want from you.

Alex Zokan currently serves as Executive Director of Operations in the Investor Alliance Asset Management Group a division of the HIS Real Estate Network. Alex uses proven strategies to leverage the current economic crisis into high annualized returns with low risk. He also acquires commercial B & C Class buildings and Mobile Home Parks to provide long term passive income for his clients.

 

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Get A Better Selling Price With Good Real Estate Photography

When it comes to selling your home, real estate photography is going to be very important. Since so many people go on the internet to look for a home, they often will compile a list of the homes that they like based on the pictures that they see. Then they will send that list to their realtor, and look at only those houses. If you don’t have the right pictures up, your house will not be seen.

Not only is real estate photography important, but it is also going to be vital to stage your home. This means that you are going to want all of the decor in the room to be neutral, so that it appeals to the different people that are looking at it. You will want to put away things that show you have pets, and take the pictures so that your rooms look spacious and large.

You may have to remove some furniture in your rooms, or buy some pieces to show off all of the different assets that your home has to offer. The more pictures that you can show the potential buyer the more they will want to look at your house. It is important that all of the pictures be very flattering inside the home as well as outside the home.

You want to take the pictures to make your yard look as large as possible, and also during a time of the day when the light is right. You don’t want any dark or dreary pictures, so make sure that the sun is shining. Also get pictures of the front and back of the home so that the buyer can see what the land looks like all the way around the property.

Also make sure that the description is very well written. This means that you include all of the different features that the home has to offer, and any incentives that may intrigue the buyer. What you write about your home has to be interesting enough that it draws their attention, and so they want to go and see it. This is the second most important thing to your pictures.

Real estate photography is going to be very important when you are trying to sell a home, and you want to make sure that they are the best pictures that you can get. The pictures that you take to sell your home are going to be on many different sites, so make sure that you prepared for them, and have them done by a professional if it seems necessary.

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Creating Your Own Real Estate Website: The Pros and Cons of Three Different Options

It’s absolutely essential that every real estate agent have his or her own website today. Many agents, however, struggle to figure out the best way to create and manage one. You can hire a designer and build everything from scratch, you can opt for free blogging software, or you can buy real estate specific software to get the job done. Each option has it’s pros and cons.

To begin with, let’s look at what happens when you hire a designer. The main benefit to this is that you will be able to get the exact, unique design that you are looking for. No one else’s website will look just like yours, meaning that you will be able to stand out among the multitude of real estate websites currently on the web. There are some negative aspects of hiring a designer, though. For one, they are often very expensive up front and require extra payments for any changes or updates. Secondly, you often waste time managing the designer and ensuring that the project turns out as you desire. Many times, the project ends up taking longer and costing more many than originally expected – but by the time you realize this, you are generally too far into the process to turn back. The biggest problem is that end website may not look or work that way you expected it to. Only when you get to actually test the website do you start to realize that you missed an important feature or that it’s difficult for one to understand how to navigate your website.

Another option is to create your website using a blog like Blogger or WordPress. One of the benefits of choosing this option over any other is that it is free, whereas a designer or real estate software will cost you money. These blogs also make it quick and easy to setup and maintain your website, with well outlined options that don’t require intricate knowledge of website coding. On the other hand, a website created with these blogs must use a pre-designed template, meaning that your site will not look unique. These sites also make it tough to support searching and managing properties and are often difficult to integrate with your CRM software.

A third option is to pay for real estate software, also known as CMS software. This kind of software allows you to create a website using professionally designed templates that are created with the needs of real estate agents in mind. That means that they can be easily updated with new properties, are well-integrated with your CRM system, and are made to capture the attention of potential clients. Although other brokers may use the same design template as you, you often have the option to hire a designer to customize your design. This comes at an extra price, though, in addition to the large upfront fee or smaller monthly fee that you will have to pay for this kind of software. Also since you don’t necessarily own the site design, if you ever consider switching to another service providing CMS software, you could end up losing your entire design.

Now that you know the pros and cons of three different methods of setting up and maintaining your own real estate website, it is up for you to decide which method best suits you and your business needs.

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Real Estate Investing Tips That You Should Stick In Your Head

The real estate industry is something very serious because investments that are made in here involve a good amount of money. If you really want to make the best investment for you and your family, then you need to make good use of a couple guidelines that will help you to choose the right property to invest on.

In this article we’re going to tackle different real estate investment tips that you need to stick in your head. The first thing you need to do is to take a good look at the property before you decide to purchase it. Scrutinize it well. This is the most important thing that you should never forget to do. Ask about your site from nearby locals. Examine the site well. Never ever be negligent when you do this. If you’re really serious, you can get a professional to do the inspection for you.

Research is the next thing that you to focus on. This is vital in any form of business as well as before any deal is made. If you try looking at different properties and do a comparison afterwards, you will be able to truly determine which property will work best for you. When you do your research, value is one of the most important things that you need to cover. Research about the costs of properties around yours. Looking at this aspect will help you to determine the true value of your own property if you plan on selling it or its rent cost if you need to rent it. This is considered as the best way for you to measure the market value of your property. The sale price of a certain property is almost the same as those of nearby properties. This is also true for renting costs.

There are different fields in the real estate industry. Specialize in a particular field because this will help you to gain more knowledge about investment properties. Next, you need to be aware of current tax laws, loan payments, real estate loans, cash flow statements, and others. These things are important for you to know of. Study the tax well and calculate your advantage.

If you plan on renting a property, then you need to get good information about its tenants. Know the details about their hometown; where they work; their contact numbers; and other valuable pieces of information. You should also collect security deposits on the property too. Listen to all of their complaints and solve them as soon as possible. This will help you to have a good relationship with them.

Lastly, know that negative cash flow will cause you a lot of frustration. If a certain property is lowering your cash on a daily basis, then this may cause you a lot of stress which will certainly be followed by financial problems. So, you need out crash out issues that are going to have a negative effect on your cash flow and those that will force you to sell your property even before you get enough good benefits from it.

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Tips For Finding Great Real Estate Information Web Sites

There are lots of real estate information websites out there and it’s important that you realize why these sites exist. Of course, some of them, like this one, are online because they want to assist you in buying some real estate. Many local real estate information websites offer the basics – listing information, school information and statistics about the local economy. Others, like this one, add maps, side-by-side property comparisons and even let you save favorites so you can come back later and view your favorite real estate properties.

For some of the larger, national web sites however, helping you find a property is not their real mission. Sure, they have lots of cool data and features, but notice one other thing they have – advertising. Ads for insurance, loans, pest control, you name it. The real estate data they provide is simply a ‘hook’ to get you in so they can present offers to you. Give them your email address and you’ll likely be pounded with offers for all sorts of stuff not even remotely related to buying a home.

The other problem with these types of sites is that the data they provide is presented as accurate, but oftentimes is outdated, estimated, or just plain incorrect. Some of the listings you may view on these sites may not even be for sale any more. A realty agent in your community is a much more reliable source of information about the local real estate market.

The best realty web sites have accurate data that is updated daily, not weekly or even monthly. Good sites have regular data feeds that are updated and accurate – and include all property photos, maps and lots of information about the property -amenities, features, tax districts and more. A hard working local agent who operates a large and useful web site is your best source for local information.

You can trust your local agent to be knowledgeable about the local market, trends in pricing, financing and more. That is the kind of help you just won’t get browsing around on a large anonymous web site that has no interest or focus on your local community. Do a few web searches for your local properties – and see what locally-run sites come up – that is the sign of an aggressive and successful agent who will be a good choice to help you buy or sell your property.

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Six Real Estate Trends to Watch in 2011

When identifying real estate trends, you may find yourself a bit discouraged. The market making a comeback is contingent upon finding a solution to the foreclosure issue, which is keeping prices low and buyer confidence even lower. And according to a report published by Standard & Poor’s, home prices will fall an additional 7 to 10 percent throughout 2011. But there are a few trends to watch in 2011 that brighten everyone’s prospects.

1. McMansions are McOver
One of the biggest real estate trends seen lately has to do with taste and logistics. Not only are empty nest baby boomers leaving behind their high-maintenance properties for urban center lofts and apartments, but the younger generation of home-buyers doesn’t want Mom and Dad’s giant prefab home in the suburbs. They want smaller, vibrant, walk-able neighborhoods with community amenities like local shops and parks. This means larger homes could sit on the market unwanted for a very long time.

2. Home-buyers want longevity
In the past, a couple would buy a “starter home,” and upgrade after a few years of investing equity. Now, a first time home-buyer is planning to stay in their home a minimum of 10 years. The home is a home in the original sense, not just the housing boom “investment” of years past. Repeat buyers are looking for 15 years or more in their next property. This is one of the real estate trends you can expect to see more of in 2011.

3. More Foreclosures Coming
While they slowed down in October thanks to the “robo-signing scandal,” according to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, there will be 2.25 million foreclosures in 2011 — the same as 2010 — and another 2 million in 2012.

4. Rates stay low while lending gets harder to come by
According to the Mortgage Bankers Associates, included in important real estate trends for 2011 is the expected increase of fixed mortgage rates to 5.1 percent by the end of the year. This is due in large part to the Federal Reserve buying $600 billion of Treasuries to keep interest rates low and boost economic growth. As great as that is for a buyer, the recently raised lending standards have made it harder to get financing. While some argue this is holding back the market recovery, others consider it a necessary evil. Over-extended buyers that were given loans exceeding their means by irresponsible lending companies caused much of the housing crisis. Tightening the standards is a logical backlash to this practice and it’s dire consequences.

5. New construction stays low
The effect of the current market’s real estate trends are felt nowhere harsher than in new construction. The combination of unemployment, plus an influx in inexpensive foreclosures and short sale properties means fewer new homes need to be built to accommodate demand. In 2009, only 550,000 new housing units were built, compared to 2.1 million units at the peak of the housing bubble in 2005. Unfortunately this could mean a housing shortage in the near future.

6. Cash is King
Just like last year, investors with the capital available have a major advantage with all the current real estate trends. So many banks are holding so many foreclosed properties that all-cash offers are frequently being accepted over higher offers involving loans. For a traditional homebuyer, this means all offers must be made as attractive as possible, including large down payments and often making an offer close to or above the asking price.

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Creative Real Estate Marketing Ideas

Selling real estate can be challenging at times which is why creativity and effort are essential when implementing real estate marketing ideas. Creativity and effort can help you sell any kind of property. The time a property takes to sell and the price buyers are willing to pay for it are dependent on the marketing strategies implemented for selling the property. In order to be successful, a marketing campaign for selling properties should include the following: maximum exposure of the property, targeting the right audience and using the right means to reach the targeted audience.

Potential buyers need to be aware and informed of a property. This is why the property needs maximum exposure. There are two main ways to ensure that a property receive maximum exposure. Maximum exposure can be achieved through the services of a realtor and the Multiple Listing Service.

When selling a property you want to make sure that if you do not have sufficient knowledge and information to properly market your property that you can rely on someone who is an expert and is well trained and license in this field. A realtor is just the person you need to accomplish this for you. Realtors use a central registry to register properties. This central registry is known as the Multiple Listing Service.

If you have a property to sell, you want to make sure that your property is listed in the Multiple Listing Service to ensure maximum exposure since that the Multiple Listing Service is available in a catalogue format that is distributed, is advertised on the internet/7 therefore being available to anyone with internet access. Information such as the location of your house and the type of house you have can be listed in the Multiple Listing Service.

It is important to target the right audience when advertising your property. Targeted advertising means that your attention should be focused on a specific audience whose needs can be met by your property. For example, if you have a property that is closer to the wilderness area it would be easier for you to market to people whose likes to hike.

These people are more likely to purchase a property closer to the wilderness rather than a tradition family with small children. A traditional family with children would be more concerned with the dangers of the wilderness and would prefer a property in a more reserved area.

Once you have decided who your target audience is, you need to make sure you use the right means to reach them. The internet is the most used and most effective means to reach your target audience.

There are websites specially designed to provide potential buyers with sufficient information regarding your property such as pictures, technical specifications, and even virtual tours of your house can be placed online. Virtual tours allow potential buyers to get an up-front view of your property without actually going to the physical location.

Social network sites and real estate blogs are other effective online real estate marketing ideas.

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