A Realtor has just talked to you and said, "I have a buyer for your property and I can sell it now; perhaps for more money than the price your current real estate agent has it listed for." Have you heard this or a version of this? Or, "I have a buyer for your property and I can sell it now; for Big Bucks (with an incredibly high figure named) perhaps for more money than that."
In the fiercely competitive real estate business, it is a too common practice for one real estate agent to entice a seller to re-list their property with the new Realtor. It is also against the Realtors regulatory requirements in several ways.
If the Realtor will break the rules in his own professional organization where he has been and will be for years perhaps... how honest and ethical will he be with YOU a one time relationship? Frequently, the wording used to entice is vague and the idea insinuated rather than spoken plainly - but the intent is clear. Realtor B suggests or insinuates to the seller "Get rid of Realtor A and list your property with ME as I have several buyers who will buy your property right away." As a seller you want to sell your property and for more money, right? BUT, Do you want a liar to represent you?
This practice of enticing a seller to change listing agents is more common in some places than in other places. There is another version of this which occurs when the seller communicates with several Realtors to decide which Realtor to list his property for sale with. One of those Realtors being interviewed or spoken to by the seller may offer to list the property as much as double or triple the market value in some market places. In others it may be only 2% or 5% more than the others are suggesting. Usually, with more unique properties, at least one Realtor will offer to list the property at 20-40% above market value, in order to get the business. Those are the same Realtors who, knowing the value of billboards, have signs all over the place that are erected to stay for a while. Those same Realtors may have no signs on their properly priced properties as a rule; so that they can sell those properties without splitting the commission with another Realtor in a co-brokerage arrangement. If you hear this type of language or see this type of operations from a Realtor; realize you have just connected to one of the 2% or less who are not fit to deal with and move on to another; don't let your own greed cost you dearly.
A property should be listed very close to market value or better yet, at market value. There IS such as thing as market value and that value can be found by a competent appraiser to within less than 2% and by a competent Realtor too in most cases - but not as an appraisal, as an opinion of value. Market value can also be shown with an honest comparative market analysis, done by a Realtor.
Nearly all buyers are intimately aware of market values for the type, location and price range of property they seek and buyers want property that is below market value not above it. Or at least they want a better property at market value. In other words most buyers are expert at the price range and location they have decided on and they will just ignore properties that are overpriced.
It is not only the Realtor who is isolated from factuality. Frequently the seller pushes the listing agent to put the property on the market far above the market value; in fact that is the case about 70-90% of the time, if a property is overvalued. An honest Realtor will advise the seller of the real value of his property and suggest that he list the property for sale, within 10-15% of the market value.
For a slower sale the property can be listed at or above market value. For a quicker sale, which saves monthly mortgage payments if the seller still makes payments, listing the property at or even a tiny little below market may be what the seller needs. It is the Realtors job to advise the seller honestly and then to abide by the sellers decision.
Now back to those who encourage sellers to change Realtors so that the buyers they have will buy the property. They are liars. If they really had a buyer, other than themselves, they would sell that property to the buyer right now and not dare wait to get the property relisted and risk losing the buyer as timing is everything. IF they did really have a buyer they would sell the property to that buyer now and co-broke with the sellers current Realtor. And if they say they can get more money than your current Realtor has it listed for or more than market value - then if they were not misleading, they would go ahead and sell it now for the lesser amount and be a champion to their buyer -- wouldn't they?
THINK ABOUT IT!
Copyright 2000-2005 by www.JodyHudson.com
Jody Hudson has been a Realtor for 35 years across America and in Delaware.
Source for this article is: http://www.kate-jody.com/essays/whatdidyousay.html
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Why Do Realtors Advertise Your Home in Print,on the Radio, on Television, etc.?
Why Do Realtors Advertise Your Home in Print,on the Radio, on Television, etc.?
Realtors represent a huge part of the national advertising expenditure each year in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Every seller would like to see their home in a large, impressive ad. The seller wants the Realtor to run the ads large and constantly until the home is sold. Realtors on the other hand know, if they keep good records, that few buyers purchase as a result of any print ad. The advertising is done to find a person, any person, who is seeking to purchase some sort of property at some price. A prospective purchaser may call on a large, expensive, waterfront home and end up buying a small cottage in the country.
Prospective purchasers sometimes come to our area and pick up some, or even all, of the local papers and sales periodicals of all sorts. At last count I found 29 different newspapers, magazines and real estate sales sheets that promote real estate in our local and surrounding areas. As a buyer is going through the several hundred real estate ads, that buyer then decides on perhaps a dozen to call about. That buyer is only calling to find out which property to eliminate from his list of possible purchases. Most of the time the prospective purchaser will eliminate all of the properties he calls on or all but one or two. For this reason the expensive ads bring in very few calls and far fewer appointments to show properties. Add to this the fact that sellers who want too much money, want the most advertising.
Here is a little inside trivia for you: the average cost per phone call from print advertising is well over $5,000 per call in our area. More than 80% of those calls will not give a phone number or contact data. And most of those calls are not qualified, ready, willing, or able to buy the property they call on. Shocking isn't it? I kept the records for two years for a 55 person office recently and the cost of print advertising to get ONE purchaser as a direct result of the ad was over $100,000... perhaps well over that because we only had two in two years so that is not a big base to support an average upon.
The average percentages for this area are that for every four thousand dollars in advertising expense, of any kind, a Real Estate agent can expect 1 to 5 calls, if the ad is well presented and if the property is priced right, and advertised with full particulars and it's in one of the most popular areas.
As a general rule for each 10 calls received the Real Estate agent will set 1 to 3 appointments - seldom is that appointment set for the property that was called on. And then the very best agents will be able to convert 20% of the appointments into sales. So let's see how this works out in a budgetary sense. The most effective ads on the most popular properties which are priced the most attractively; can result in twenty thousand dollars in ads obtaining perhaps 20 calls, resulting hopefully in 5 appointments and five appointments to get one sale. What a dream this business would be it that were always and predictably true. Most ads, no matter how big, beautiful and attractive get no calls, therefore no appointments and no sales. And, if you remember your math, zeros don't average well. :)
So why do Realtors spend so much money on advertising. The most important reason is that sellers demand to see their property in the paper - hopefully in a large ad and in every paper until it's sold. In fact it is well known that the more overpriced the property is, the more the seller wants it advertised and the less calls are obtained. The Realtor wants to advertise only the most attractive properties that are the most attractively priced. However, we all know that the bigger the ads and the more advertising that a Realtor does - the more the sellers like it and the more they want to be affiliated with the most well advertised Realtor. Thus the Realtor gets more listings, not more sales!
Most properties are sold because of the MLS and a response from one of the other Realtors, or from a Web Site, OR in more rare cases, the real estate agent calls, writes or speaks to someone about the property that is for sale to someone that the real estate agent has been working with, often a customer the Realtor has been working with for weeks, months or even years.
Real estate agents spend most of their time and energy repeatedly getting back to prospective customers, contacting those who have already looked at properties and found nothing they like - to tell them of a new property and contacting other Realtors to alert them or remind them of a property for sale. We also send out thousands of postcards, letters, and e-mails. The more successful agents may have as many as a dozen people behind the scenes just sending out communications, of various sorts and constantly following up, with the intention of keeping the one senior partner, the visable selling partner busy with appointments.
Each ad, letter, postcard, call, e-mail or personal contact can be called a "Presentation Impression". It takes several thousand "presentation impressions" as we call them for each appointment and tens of thousands of these presentation impressions per sale.
One of my close friends sold her own house. It took her about a year, holding an open house almost every day, advertising it frequently in the various papers and presenting her home one way or another to perhaps three thousand people in the process. She is quite a good salesperson, her home was very attractive, very well located and finally sold as the market came up PAST the price she was asking for the home.
She found out after she sold it that there had been such unusual appreciation for homes like hers in her neighborhood that she actually sold her home about 15% too cheap after all that time and work and expense. She LOST over $30,000 in sales price in order to save $4,000 in commissions. Although she loved meeting all those people and showing them through her home; she would have saved over a year's mortgage payments and gotten about 15% more for her home if she had listed it with a local Realtor.
She probably won't use a Realtor the next time either; she loves selling her own home - it's like one long house party for her, in my opinion. More power to her! I suspect that with the signs, ads, and those she met at the open house every day - she may have set a new record for the most number of presentation impressions for one house sale. But, then she had no other home she could sell to those who came ready to buy a home and didn't fit her home. From listening carefully to her talk about her advertising, she spent about 8% of the total she got for the home in newspaper ads, more than the commission would have been. We won't count her time, she loved showing her home to all those thousands of people!!! She didn't use a realtor, saved about $4,000 and it cost her at least $50,000 to save the $4,000.
Realtors advertise to find sellers more than buyers, when they use conventional means of print, radio, TV, etc.
There is a new game in town however. Web marketing. Advertising on the Internet with a PROPERLY DONE, Real Estate web site is the most effective way to find buyers we have ever had. Realtors, for that reason, are the second highest user of the Internet.
The most effective real estate web sites have lots of pictures, lots of information and are the most user-friendly to the Internet visitor. Although it is very expensive to have an effective web site - most of that expense is in hours rather than money. Only about 2% of the real estate web sites are effective - actually it looks to be like less than 1% of all the real estate sites that work for the Realtor... according to my observations and experience.
Few Realtors spend the time and money to give the buyers what they want. We hope we are giving our prospective sellers and purchasers what they want to see in every way. We get 2 to 10 emails and about 20 calls a day about our properties and many of them result in appointments to see the exact property they have reviewed on our site. Because we have all the data, maps so they can drive by and numerous pictures of the inside.
If YOU can figure any way that we can be more helpful and better for our prospective purchasers please take a look at the rest of our web site and check it out thoroughly. Write me and let me know if there is something you feel we can do better to help you make a property selection or feel more ready to purchase.
We wish you all the best, and thanks for taking the time to read this.
Copyright 2000-2005 by www.JodyHudson.com
Jody Hudson has been a Realtor for 30 years across America and in Delaware
Realtors represent a huge part of the national advertising expenditure each year in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Every seller would like to see their home in a large, impressive ad. The seller wants the Realtor to run the ads large and constantly until the home is sold. Realtors on the other hand know, if they keep good records, that few buyers purchase as a result of any print ad. The advertising is done to find a person, any person, who is seeking to purchase some sort of property at some price. A prospective purchaser may call on a large, expensive, waterfront home and end up buying a small cottage in the country.
Prospective purchasers sometimes come to our area and pick up some, or even all, of the local papers and sales periodicals of all sorts. At last count I found 29 different newspapers, magazines and real estate sales sheets that promote real estate in our local and surrounding areas. As a buyer is going through the several hundred real estate ads, that buyer then decides on perhaps a dozen to call about. That buyer is only calling to find out which property to eliminate from his list of possible purchases. Most of the time the prospective purchaser will eliminate all of the properties he calls on or all but one or two. For this reason the expensive ads bring in very few calls and far fewer appointments to show properties. Add to this the fact that sellers who want too much money, want the most advertising.
Here is a little inside trivia for you: the average cost per phone call from print advertising is well over $5,000 per call in our area. More than 80% of those calls will not give a phone number or contact data. And most of those calls are not qualified, ready, willing, or able to buy the property they call on. Shocking isn't it? I kept the records for two years for a 55 person office recently and the cost of print advertising to get ONE purchaser as a direct result of the ad was over $100,000... perhaps well over that because we only had two in two years so that is not a big base to support an average upon.
The average percentages for this area are that for every four thousand dollars in advertising expense, of any kind, a Real Estate agent can expect 1 to 5 calls, if the ad is well presented and if the property is priced right, and advertised with full particulars and it's in one of the most popular areas.
As a general rule for each 10 calls received the Real Estate agent will set 1 to 3 appointments - seldom is that appointment set for the property that was called on. And then the very best agents will be able to convert 20% of the appointments into sales. So let's see how this works out in a budgetary sense. The most effective ads on the most popular properties which are priced the most attractively; can result in twenty thousand dollars in ads obtaining perhaps 20 calls, resulting hopefully in 5 appointments and five appointments to get one sale. What a dream this business would be it that were always and predictably true. Most ads, no matter how big, beautiful and attractive get no calls, therefore no appointments and no sales. And, if you remember your math, zeros don't average well. :)
So why do Realtors spend so much money on advertising. The most important reason is that sellers demand to see their property in the paper - hopefully in a large ad and in every paper until it's sold. In fact it is well known that the more overpriced the property is, the more the seller wants it advertised and the less calls are obtained. The Realtor wants to advertise only the most attractive properties that are the most attractively priced. However, we all know that the bigger the ads and the more advertising that a Realtor does - the more the sellers like it and the more they want to be affiliated with the most well advertised Realtor. Thus the Realtor gets more listings, not more sales!
Most properties are sold because of the MLS and a response from one of the other Realtors, or from a Web Site, OR in more rare cases, the real estate agent calls, writes or speaks to someone about the property that is for sale to someone that the real estate agent has been working with, often a customer the Realtor has been working with for weeks, months or even years.
Real estate agents spend most of their time and energy repeatedly getting back to prospective customers, contacting those who have already looked at properties and found nothing they like - to tell them of a new property and contacting other Realtors to alert them or remind them of a property for sale. We also send out thousands of postcards, letters, and e-mails. The more successful agents may have as many as a dozen people behind the scenes just sending out communications, of various sorts and constantly following up, with the intention of keeping the one senior partner, the visable selling partner busy with appointments.
Each ad, letter, postcard, call, e-mail or personal contact can be called a "Presentation Impression". It takes several thousand "presentation impressions" as we call them for each appointment and tens of thousands of these presentation impressions per sale.
One of my close friends sold her own house. It took her about a year, holding an open house almost every day, advertising it frequently in the various papers and presenting her home one way or another to perhaps three thousand people in the process. She is quite a good salesperson, her home was very attractive, very well located and finally sold as the market came up PAST the price she was asking for the home.
She found out after she sold it that there had been such unusual appreciation for homes like hers in her neighborhood that she actually sold her home about 15% too cheap after all that time and work and expense. She LOST over $30,000 in sales price in order to save $4,000 in commissions. Although she loved meeting all those people and showing them through her home; she would have saved over a year's mortgage payments and gotten about 15% more for her home if she had listed it with a local Realtor.
She probably won't use a Realtor the next time either; she loves selling her own home - it's like one long house party for her, in my opinion. More power to her! I suspect that with the signs, ads, and those she met at the open house every day - she may have set a new record for the most number of presentation impressions for one house sale. But, then she had no other home she could sell to those who came ready to buy a home and didn't fit her home. From listening carefully to her talk about her advertising, she spent about 8% of the total she got for the home in newspaper ads, more than the commission would have been. We won't count her time, she loved showing her home to all those thousands of people!!! She didn't use a realtor, saved about $4,000 and it cost her at least $50,000 to save the $4,000.
Realtors advertise to find sellers more than buyers, when they use conventional means of print, radio, TV, etc.
There is a new game in town however. Web marketing. Advertising on the Internet with a PROPERLY DONE, Real Estate web site is the most effective way to find buyers we have ever had. Realtors, for that reason, are the second highest user of the Internet.
The most effective real estate web sites have lots of pictures, lots of information and are the most user-friendly to the Internet visitor. Although it is very expensive to have an effective web site - most of that expense is in hours rather than money. Only about 2% of the real estate web sites are effective - actually it looks to be like less than 1% of all the real estate sites that work for the Realtor... according to my observations and experience.
Few Realtors spend the time and money to give the buyers what they want. We hope we are giving our prospective sellers and purchasers what they want to see in every way. We get 2 to 10 emails and about 20 calls a day about our properties and many of them result in appointments to see the exact property they have reviewed on our site. Because we have all the data, maps so they can drive by and numerous pictures of the inside.
If YOU can figure any way that we can be more helpful and better for our prospective purchasers please take a look at the rest of our web site and check it out thoroughly. Write me and let me know if there is something you feel we can do better to help you make a property selection or feel more ready to purchase.
We wish you all the best, and thanks for taking the time to read this.
Copyright 2000-2005 by www.JodyHudson.com
Jody Hudson has been a Realtor for 30 years across America and in Delaware
Saturday, October 10, 2009
How Much Home Can You Afford In Todays Market?
If you haven't figured your credit worthiness and borrowing power lately, you might be surprised at how much home you can afford to buy in today's market! Mortgage Lenders are very optimistic about the future of the real estate market and as a result they are willing to loan more on properties than you might expect! And, lenders are making loans at rates not seen since the late 1960s.
We,as your Realtor, will be most willing to align you with one of our favored lenders for a private and complete analysis of your borrowing power. There are many different mortgage programs available to you -- some that you may not have heard of or even imagined before. Now is a great time to take a look at what's available to you! Every day we help buyers find and finance their next dream home. We can help you, too -- if you call us.
Here's what we'll do for you:
Step 1: We can show you how or connect you to the right lender, to get you pre-qualified or even get you a signed loan commitment for an exact maximum amount with exact terms and conditions -- and THEN you can search for the land or home of your choice with full knowledge of your ability to purchase it in today's challengingly fast moving market.
Properties here have been selling FAST, if they are priced at the market; seldom more than a few weeks. There are some exceptions; where the home is an unusual color, the lot an unusual shape or the floor plan too eccentric for most buyers or the seller has priced the property too high and is waiting for the market to catch up. These can be exceptional buys.
Some locations are not as hot and properties sell more slowly -- but there are VERY FEW to choose from.
Your ability to purchase and own the property you want will be greatly enhanced after a phone consultation with a lender. You will get the answers from your lender, usually in a few minutes or hours. If you are looking for an older property or a "fixer-upper" the lender will usually tell you that they can make arrangements to finance the restoration and remodeling costs too! For those with strong credit, there are even loans for up to 103% of the purchase price, allowing you to get a home with nothing down and finance the settlement costs too.
Step 2: We will meet with you and discuss with you a selection of properties that are within your ability to purchase. Many will not suit your needs perhaps; but we can mutually learn from that first meeting and tailor a few meaningful appointments and showings that will better utilize your time and ours. It is difficult to make an informed and logical choice when too many properties are seen at one time -- especially when most or even all of them could have been eliminated due to unsuitability for you and your family.
Step 3: At this point or preferably earlier, to give you the best service; you will be advised to sign an agreement with us so that we may represent YOU in your purchasing decision. Otherwise by law we must represent only the seller; that is the way the law is written and we must obey or lose our license to do business. All of our buying clients sign Buyer's Agent agreements! We can also work as dual agents for you as a buyer when the property for sale is our listing. Either agreement allows us to represent YOU too and not only the seller. You should take advantage of the Buyer's Agent agreement.
Step 4: Kate and I can then usually preview the properties that look the most interesting to you. After we inspect them, we can better guide you as to whether certain properties are more or less suited to you. In some cases we can even advise you to NOT purchase a specific property when we are representing you instead of the seller. We can also go to a specific property for you and take more pictures with our digital camera and then send them to you via e-mail to give you more insight and help you better determine your interest (or not) in coming to see the property yourself. We prefer to work by email. We do not take calls during appointments and email allows us to work, keep a record of all our communications, as we are working with many people and some of them for weeks, months or even years before they purchase. Email is by far our prefered method of communication other than our appointments with you. At times we will need a back and forth two way phone conversation, sometimes on speaker phone with both of us or others so that all can be involved in the discussion; but we still follow that up with an email of notes on the discussion.
Step 5: This is the exciting part! After these first steps we will go with you (and your spouse or other decision making family members) to see those few properties that are affordable and suitable for you. AND since you now know exactly what you can afford -- you can then write a purchase offer or agreement at this point without any surprise or any difficult financing problem! In this fast paced market, not writing an offer or full price contract within hours or days of seeing the property will often eliminate your opportunity to purchase and meanwhile prices are going up by the DAY as each seller wants to get quite a bit more than the last one... wouldn't you?
In this market some sellers will not even sell a property to someone who is not already qualified to purchase their property with proven cash, a loan commitment or some other suitable financing capability.
Step 6: At this point you can return to your normal life with only a few more short and easy responsibilities between your agreement to purchase (once the seller has also agreed) and your final ownership of the property. It is usually only four to six weeks from the time of a fully agreed upon and finalized agreement to purchase and your ownership of your new property -- on land the final settlement can be two weeks or less!!! You will need to make some choices regarding inspections and evaluations by professionals during this time. We can usually handle all but a few details of these recommended actions.
Step 7: Enjoy your new property! And, remember as your Realtor, we are available to you after you own your property, if you need some additional professionals to help you enhance your purchase, improve the property, make repairs, remodel, paint, find a lawn service, etc.
We know folks who have proven reliable and if we give their contact data to you we want you to let us know if they don't serve you well! If they don't we have some additional clout in that we can stop referring them and we are locals who they know will spread the word if they don't properly care for our clients. Once you have done business with us -- we consider you family!
We are available for you; just call us or write us. Meanwhile you may want to recommend others to come to our Web site here as we add articles from time to time. Or just send it to anyone who may benefit from it as you wish. All we ask is that you send our web site address as well when you send them the article so that they will have the source; that will give us the copyright protection we ask for.
Copyright 2001-2005 www.JodyHudson.com
Jody Hudson is a Realtor with 35 years experience in the business nationally and in Delaware.
Article source: http://www.kate-jody.com/essays/afford.html
We,as your Realtor, will be most willing to align you with one of our favored lenders for a private and complete analysis of your borrowing power. There are many different mortgage programs available to you -- some that you may not have heard of or even imagined before. Now is a great time to take a look at what's available to you! Every day we help buyers find and finance their next dream home. We can help you, too -- if you call us.
Here's what we'll do for you:
Step 1: We can show you how or connect you to the right lender, to get you pre-qualified or even get you a signed loan commitment for an exact maximum amount with exact terms and conditions -- and THEN you can search for the land or home of your choice with full knowledge of your ability to purchase it in today's challengingly fast moving market.
Properties here have been selling FAST, if they are priced at the market; seldom more than a few weeks. There are some exceptions; where the home is an unusual color, the lot an unusual shape or the floor plan too eccentric for most buyers or the seller has priced the property too high and is waiting for the market to catch up. These can be exceptional buys.
Some locations are not as hot and properties sell more slowly -- but there are VERY FEW to choose from.
Your ability to purchase and own the property you want will be greatly enhanced after a phone consultation with a lender. You will get the answers from your lender, usually in a few minutes or hours. If you are looking for an older property or a "fixer-upper" the lender will usually tell you that they can make arrangements to finance the restoration and remodeling costs too! For those with strong credit, there are even loans for up to 103% of the purchase price, allowing you to get a home with nothing down and finance the settlement costs too.
Step 2: We will meet with you and discuss with you a selection of properties that are within your ability to purchase. Many will not suit your needs perhaps; but we can mutually learn from that first meeting and tailor a few meaningful appointments and showings that will better utilize your time and ours. It is difficult to make an informed and logical choice when too many properties are seen at one time -- especially when most or even all of them could have been eliminated due to unsuitability for you and your family.
Step 3: At this point or preferably earlier, to give you the best service; you will be advised to sign an agreement with us so that we may represent YOU in your purchasing decision. Otherwise by law we must represent only the seller; that is the way the law is written and we must obey or lose our license to do business. All of our buying clients sign Buyer's Agent agreements! We can also work as dual agents for you as a buyer when the property for sale is our listing. Either agreement allows us to represent YOU too and not only the seller. You should take advantage of the Buyer's Agent agreement.
Step 4: Kate and I can then usually preview the properties that look the most interesting to you. After we inspect them, we can better guide you as to whether certain properties are more or less suited to you. In some cases we can even advise you to NOT purchase a specific property when we are representing you instead of the seller. We can also go to a specific property for you and take more pictures with our digital camera and then send them to you via e-mail to give you more insight and help you better determine your interest (or not) in coming to see the property yourself. We prefer to work by email. We do not take calls during appointments and email allows us to work, keep a record of all our communications, as we are working with many people and some of them for weeks, months or even years before they purchase. Email is by far our prefered method of communication other than our appointments with you. At times we will need a back and forth two way phone conversation, sometimes on speaker phone with both of us or others so that all can be involved in the discussion; but we still follow that up with an email of notes on the discussion.
Step 5: This is the exciting part! After these first steps we will go with you (and your spouse or other decision making family members) to see those few properties that are affordable and suitable for you. AND since you now know exactly what you can afford -- you can then write a purchase offer or agreement at this point without any surprise or any difficult financing problem! In this fast paced market, not writing an offer or full price contract within hours or days of seeing the property will often eliminate your opportunity to purchase and meanwhile prices are going up by the DAY as each seller wants to get quite a bit more than the last one... wouldn't you?
In this market some sellers will not even sell a property to someone who is not already qualified to purchase their property with proven cash, a loan commitment or some other suitable financing capability.
Step 6: At this point you can return to your normal life with only a few more short and easy responsibilities between your agreement to purchase (once the seller has also agreed) and your final ownership of the property. It is usually only four to six weeks from the time of a fully agreed upon and finalized agreement to purchase and your ownership of your new property -- on land the final settlement can be two weeks or less!!! You will need to make some choices regarding inspections and evaluations by professionals during this time. We can usually handle all but a few details of these recommended actions.
Step 7: Enjoy your new property! And, remember as your Realtor, we are available to you after you own your property, if you need some additional professionals to help you enhance your purchase, improve the property, make repairs, remodel, paint, find a lawn service, etc.
We know folks who have proven reliable and if we give their contact data to you we want you to let us know if they don't serve you well! If they don't we have some additional clout in that we can stop referring them and we are locals who they know will spread the word if they don't properly care for our clients. Once you have done business with us -- we consider you family!
We are available for you; just call us or write us. Meanwhile you may want to recommend others to come to our Web site here as we add articles from time to time. Or just send it to anyone who may benefit from it as you wish. All we ask is that you send our web site address as well when you send them the article so that they will have the source; that will give us the copyright protection we ask for.
Copyright 2001-2005 www.JodyHudson.com
Jody Hudson is a Realtor with 35 years experience in the business nationally and in Delaware.
Article source: http://www.kate-jody.com/essays/afford.html
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Regarding Real Estate On Leased Land
1.Why are there so many properties on leased land?
There are several situations here. Business and commercial land is often leased all over the world. In New York City, Tokyo, and other larger, older cities; land owners often lease the land that is underneath those skyscrapers and in some cases even the park land is leased to the city by the land owners.
In Lewes, all of the land east of the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, what is known as Lewes Beach; is leased land. The land leases there are usually owned by the Town of Lewes and are usually for 99 years and renewable. Some of the properties on Lewes Beach, however, are leased for shorter terms by the town, but as a rule all of these are automatically renewable. When you buy a property on Lewes Beach you pay a fee to get the leased land re-assigned to you. That fee for a Bay Front Property, on the Delaware Bay; can be well over a half million dollars, depending on the size of the lot; and the value of the home and improvements is added to the lease assignment value. In other words, even though it is leased land on Lewes Beach; the price is commensurate with purchasing the land. This land has always been leased land as prescribed by England, during our American Colonial Period and that ownership style remains.
In Rehoboth and Dewey Beach areas, is the Rehoboth By The Sea area, a large number of the lots are owned by the family owned Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company. The current treasurer of Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company is Jack Redefer; 302-227-4277. Land is leased to the tenant-owners for shorter periods of years; some leases have as little as 20 years left on the lease. These leases may or may not be renewed and the land value if the resident is allowed to purchase it later, could be significant. As a result these properties on leased land go for much less money that the lots that are owned. Some of the lots have been purchased from the Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company in the past and are owned by the residents - most have not been purchased. Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company will not likely renew some of the leases, some they may, it is up to them. On the lots that they do not renew the leases for - the residents are required to remove the improvements and leave the land in it's original level and unimproved condition at the end of the lease. The good news is that you can save as much as half a million dollars when you purchase a home on some of these lots. The bad news of course is that you may have to remove the home and vacate the lot in a couple of decades or so.
Long Neck and other areas where there are trailers, manufactured homes, single wides, or double wides also are comprised of mostly leased land. There is some leased land along Rt. One, where trailer parks now, at times, contain larger and more conventional homes as well. These land-lease communities are far less expensive to purchase. The appreciation in value is small or nonexistent - or in some cases the value of a property purchased on these leased-land communities can depreciate to far less than the purchase price. There is also a monthly or annual lease fee to pay for the use of the land.
2.Why would anyone purchase a mobile home or manufactured home on leased land?
There are many, Realtors included, who wonder why in the world anyone would ever purchase a so called mobile home on leased land. Actually many of the folks who live in the leased land communities are well to do, even wealthy in some cases, many are Realtors themselves.
Safety and security is one reason. Many of the folks in land lease communities, which some might call trailer parks, are retired or part time residents. There are many who prefer the security services which are only available in the manufactured home communities. Most of these communities have community centers, neighborhood watches, security patrols, and alert neighbors who keep a far better eye on the community than the police force can in a town or city.
Low maintenance is another reason people, in fact most people, live in land lease communities. The lots are usually quite small and often the park owner maintains each of the lots. When the individual does need to maintain their individual lot the grass cutting expense is minimal. The fee for cutting the grass, edging and trimming can be as little as $8 each time, as the grass cutter can often take care of a lot in less than ten minutes and if he has several lots in the same community he can do 5 or 6 lots per hour with a push mower and a weed whacker. Some folks do fabulous landscaping jobs on their land-lease community lots. In fact some communities have annual or seasonal competitions for the best kept, most beautiful, or most improved yard. Many of these lots are only 50 feet by 100 feet, sometimes less - so a lot of beautification can be done with limited expense compared to the far larger lots that one must have in a non leased community.
3.Are homes on leased land a good investment?
Very seldom are homes on leased land a good financial investment. There are exceptions. The homes on the leased land on Lewes Beach are just as good as financial investments as the homes on what is called in-fee or deeded land in Lewes town proper. In fact, since the Lewes Beach is more desirable to more people - the prices are higher and the percentage of appreciation on Lewes Beach is, over the long term, better than those in Lewes proper. The town of Lewes, other than the beach, is more of a Williamsburg flavor in architecture, ambiance and character. Lewes Beach on the other hand is less traditional in it's architectural character. The town of Lewes is very much a walking and shopping town with shops, boutiques, and little stores along Market Street, Second Street and Pilottown Road, especially. The beach has very little commercial activity and is far more a beachy bedroom community where the focus is of course the beach, the canal and the bay.
Homes, manufactured homes or stick-built homes on the other land lease communities are not often a good financial investment. However they may be the best investment in lifestyle. Many folks have other real estate, other investments, and do not need to have the home they own in a land-lease community appreciate in value. And, the homes in the land lease communities are a small fraction of the purchase price that they would be if the land were deeded, in-fee.
For instance, a waterfront home on the Rehoboth Bay in Rehoboth Bay Mobile Home Community; now known simply as Rehoboth Bay Community; may cost as little as $115,000, for a beautiful, double wide, full time, modern home. The land rent would then be from $400 a month on a lagoon to $500, up to $750 a month or more on the largest and best bay front lots. Compared to a home on deeded land the same size that is a savings of over a million dollars!!! So, as an investment in lifestyle it is phenomenal and astute buyers seldom allow these homes to sit on the market.
Other areas, for instance the Angola Area are, have resale homes from $10,000 for a small fixer-upper on a small lot leased at $270 a month to brand new homes on much larger lots, large homes, for $70,000 to $90,000 on lots that rent for usually less than $300 per month. One double size corner lot rents for $400 a month and could have a many bedroom home with decks, porches, garage and still room left over. Angola Beach Estates and Angola Beach and Angola Estates are well established communities with pools, security, substantial community management and lots more. They have community centers, boat docks, launching ramps, boat storage areas, and a list of amenities not available in many other communities.
What a range of values: resales from $10,000 to $80,000 and new homes from $40,000 to $80,000 or $90,000 for a real show stopping extravaganza. Now you know why people are so willing to buy and live in land lease communities!!! You get a wonderful lifestyle for far less than you can purchase anything even remotely similar where you don't lease or rent the land.
Copyright 2002-2005 by www.JodyHudson.com
Mr Jody Hudson is a realtor living in southern Delaware with 35 years dealing with real estate on leased lands!
Source for this article is: http://www.kate-jody.com/essays/faqleasedland.html
There are several situations here. Business and commercial land is often leased all over the world. In New York City, Tokyo, and other larger, older cities; land owners often lease the land that is underneath those skyscrapers and in some cases even the park land is leased to the city by the land owners.
In Lewes, all of the land east of the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, what is known as Lewes Beach; is leased land. The land leases there are usually owned by the Town of Lewes and are usually for 99 years and renewable. Some of the properties on Lewes Beach, however, are leased for shorter terms by the town, but as a rule all of these are automatically renewable. When you buy a property on Lewes Beach you pay a fee to get the leased land re-assigned to you. That fee for a Bay Front Property, on the Delaware Bay; can be well over a half million dollars, depending on the size of the lot; and the value of the home and improvements is added to the lease assignment value. In other words, even though it is leased land on Lewes Beach; the price is commensurate with purchasing the land. This land has always been leased land as prescribed by England, during our American Colonial Period and that ownership style remains.
In Rehoboth and Dewey Beach areas, is the Rehoboth By The Sea area, a large number of the lots are owned by the family owned Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company. The current treasurer of Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company is Jack Redefer; 302-227-4277. Land is leased to the tenant-owners for shorter periods of years; some leases have as little as 20 years left on the lease. These leases may or may not be renewed and the land value if the resident is allowed to purchase it later, could be significant. As a result these properties on leased land go for much less money that the lots that are owned. Some of the lots have been purchased from the Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company in the past and are owned by the residents - most have not been purchased. Rehoboth By The Sea Realty Company will not likely renew some of the leases, some they may, it is up to them. On the lots that they do not renew the leases for - the residents are required to remove the improvements and leave the land in it's original level and unimproved condition at the end of the lease. The good news is that you can save as much as half a million dollars when you purchase a home on some of these lots. The bad news of course is that you may have to remove the home and vacate the lot in a couple of decades or so.
Long Neck and other areas where there are trailers, manufactured homes, single wides, or double wides also are comprised of mostly leased land. There is some leased land along Rt. One, where trailer parks now, at times, contain larger and more conventional homes as well. These land-lease communities are far less expensive to purchase. The appreciation in value is small or nonexistent - or in some cases the value of a property purchased on these leased-land communities can depreciate to far less than the purchase price. There is also a monthly or annual lease fee to pay for the use of the land.
2.Why would anyone purchase a mobile home or manufactured home on leased land?
There are many, Realtors included, who wonder why in the world anyone would ever purchase a so called mobile home on leased land. Actually many of the folks who live in the leased land communities are well to do, even wealthy in some cases, many are Realtors themselves.
Safety and security is one reason. Many of the folks in land lease communities, which some might call trailer parks, are retired or part time residents. There are many who prefer the security services which are only available in the manufactured home communities. Most of these communities have community centers, neighborhood watches, security patrols, and alert neighbors who keep a far better eye on the community than the police force can in a town or city.
Low maintenance is another reason people, in fact most people, live in land lease communities. The lots are usually quite small and often the park owner maintains each of the lots. When the individual does need to maintain their individual lot the grass cutting expense is minimal. The fee for cutting the grass, edging and trimming can be as little as $8 each time, as the grass cutter can often take care of a lot in less than ten minutes and if he has several lots in the same community he can do 5 or 6 lots per hour with a push mower and a weed whacker. Some folks do fabulous landscaping jobs on their land-lease community lots. In fact some communities have annual or seasonal competitions for the best kept, most beautiful, or most improved yard. Many of these lots are only 50 feet by 100 feet, sometimes less - so a lot of beautification can be done with limited expense compared to the far larger lots that one must have in a non leased community.
3.Are homes on leased land a good investment?
Very seldom are homes on leased land a good financial investment. There are exceptions. The homes on the leased land on Lewes Beach are just as good as financial investments as the homes on what is called in-fee or deeded land in Lewes town proper. In fact, since the Lewes Beach is more desirable to more people - the prices are higher and the percentage of appreciation on Lewes Beach is, over the long term, better than those in Lewes proper. The town of Lewes, other than the beach, is more of a Williamsburg flavor in architecture, ambiance and character. Lewes Beach on the other hand is less traditional in it's architectural character. The town of Lewes is very much a walking and shopping town with shops, boutiques, and little stores along Market Street, Second Street and Pilottown Road, especially. The beach has very little commercial activity and is far more a beachy bedroom community where the focus is of course the beach, the canal and the bay.
Homes, manufactured homes or stick-built homes on the other land lease communities are not often a good financial investment. However they may be the best investment in lifestyle. Many folks have other real estate, other investments, and do not need to have the home they own in a land-lease community appreciate in value. And, the homes in the land lease communities are a small fraction of the purchase price that they would be if the land were deeded, in-fee.
For instance, a waterfront home on the Rehoboth Bay in Rehoboth Bay Mobile Home Community; now known simply as Rehoboth Bay Community; may cost as little as $115,000, for a beautiful, double wide, full time, modern home. The land rent would then be from $400 a month on a lagoon to $500, up to $750 a month or more on the largest and best bay front lots. Compared to a home on deeded land the same size that is a savings of over a million dollars!!! So, as an investment in lifestyle it is phenomenal and astute buyers seldom allow these homes to sit on the market.
Other areas, for instance the Angola Area are, have resale homes from $10,000 for a small fixer-upper on a small lot leased at $270 a month to brand new homes on much larger lots, large homes, for $70,000 to $90,000 on lots that rent for usually less than $300 per month. One double size corner lot rents for $400 a month and could have a many bedroom home with decks, porches, garage and still room left over. Angola Beach Estates and Angola Beach and Angola Estates are well established communities with pools, security, substantial community management and lots more. They have community centers, boat docks, launching ramps, boat storage areas, and a list of amenities not available in many other communities.
What a range of values: resales from $10,000 to $80,000 and new homes from $40,000 to $80,000 or $90,000 for a real show stopping extravaganza. Now you know why people are so willing to buy and live in land lease communities!!! You get a wonderful lifestyle for far less than you can purchase anything even remotely similar where you don't lease or rent the land.
Copyright 2002-2005 by www.JodyHudson.com
Mr Jody Hudson is a realtor living in southern Delaware with 35 years dealing with real estate on leased lands!
Source for this article is: http://www.kate-jody.com/essays/faqleasedland.html
Monday, October 5, 2009
How I Became a Real Estate Investor
Recently I closed on the sale of two homes. They were located about a mile apart and had comparable market values. However, beyond these two similarities, the two deals were very different from each other. Let me discuss in more detail the similarities and differences of the two deals.
My business partner and I purchased both properties from families who were in preforeclosure. The leads for each property came from letters that I had mailed to families who had recently received Notices of Default. The one family responded to me within 24 hours of receiving my first letter. I met with them within two hours of receiving their phone call and signed a contract with them on the spot to purchase their home. The other family responded to me after receiving the fourth letter from me. After a couple of broken appointments and two meetings we signed a contract to buy their home. With each home we did a "kitchen table" type closing within a couple of days of signing the contract. Both homes were purchased "subject to" the existing financing remaining in place. The earnest money given for each home was one dollar.
First Deal
We began marketing the first house by advertising it in the newspaper at market value and putting signs in the neighborhood and nearby intersections. We had a verbal agreement with the seller that they would clear all of their belonging out of the house within two weeks. The house was very messy and dirty. When the sellers failed to make any progress clearing the house we went ahead with the marketing and reduced the asking price. Within two weeks we had only received a few phone calls from mostly non-interested prospects.
At this point we reduced the asking price further and changed our signs to notify the public that owner financing was available. At that point we started to get a larger number of phone calls from truly interested prospects. Our owner financed terms and the lower than market value asking price separated us from the hundreds of realtor represented homes that needed bank financing.
With the second home, purchased a month later than the first, we immediately marketed it with owner financing. When we purchased the home we stipulated in the contract that the seller had to vacate the property in two weeks or be charged a fee for failure to do so. The seller was agreeable and cooperative and moved quickly to remove their belongings from the house. The seller of the first house was still dragging their feet and the house was still a mess.
Shortly after changing the marketing of the first house, we received an offer from a highly interested buyer. This house was truly ideal for this family and we wanted to help them get into it. They offered to buy it with bank financing and we agreed to sell it to them. There was still enough time before the foreclosure auction to close the sale with bank financing.
I cautioned the buyer that he should seek a loan other than an FHA loan since we had not held title to the property long enough for FHA to approve a new loan. In case you didn't know, FHA recently changed a rule that now requires a property to be on title at least 90 days before they will approve a new loan. So guess what the buyer did?
Right. His mortgage broker and his real estate agent steered him toward an FHA loan program. Luckily, the buyer qualified for a good FNMA program as well. So I stipulated in the contract that the buyer had to gain approval for the FHA program within 5 days or else drop the FHA program and proceed with the FNMA program. Both the broker and the agent needed education on this point, which I provided in writing, and four days later the broker notified me that the buyer would not be approved by FHA and that they were proceeding with the FNMA program.
The next obstacle we faced was the home inspection. The inspection resulted in asking for several hundred dollars worth of repairs that we agreed to do. The repairs took two weeks to complete. While repairs were ongoing we ordered a property appraisal. The appraisers in our area are backlogged eight weeks but we knew an appraiser who would perform an appraisal within a week for 150% of his normal fee. Of course we didn't have the luxury of being able to wait eight weeks so we bought the expensive appraisal.
The next obstacle was to order a preliminary title search, which showed a clear title luckily. The previous owner did not have an as-built survey so we had to order an expensive set of survey documents from the county.
Now that the obstacles to closing were nearly erased and we were close to a hard closing date, we still had a problem with the previous seller. They had only moved a few things out of the house and the house was still well cluttered. They were getting around to moving out eventually but not fast enough to be out of the house before closing the sale. Their lack of cooperation and their inability to follow through with their verbal promises made it clear why they had neglected their home and let it go into foreclosure.
Since the utilities were turned off and the seller was no longer living in the home I had the legal right to declare their belongings as abandoned property and I notified them that I would move the items out for them. My partner and I spent a day boxing and bagging up the seller's personal items, and grudgingly they picked the boxes and bags up the day before closing. Whew!
Second Deal
Now, on the other hand, events with the second property proceeded much more smoothly. We bought the home, found a buyer for it within eight days, and closed on the sale eight days later.
We decided to sell the second home on a land contract or wrap mortgage with the existing financing remaining in place. We also decided to stipulate that the home had to be refinanced within two years or it would be foreclosed back to us. We did this to protect the previous seller's interest in the underlying financing. They didn't want it hanging out there for a long period of time.
Our "owner finance" signage attracted several buyers quickly. We required a large enough down payment to "cure" the loan, that is, to pay off the existing arrearage and attorney fees. We found an eager buyer who had sufficient cash on hand and a good income, but without enough time in the area to have a high credit rating. He understood the concept of the wrap mortgage and the underlying financing and we negotiated a contract with him at Starbucks. He negotiated a lower sale price by offering a larger down payment. Basically we were able to immediately receive all of the "back end" profit that would have been paid to us in two year's time when he refinanced. We received this up front in exchange for a lower sales price. It was a fair exchange for both parties.
He agreed to buy the home "as is" and to do some repairs himself. No home inspection was needed; no appraisal was needed; no repairs had to be made; no real estate agent needed to be paid; and no survey had to be ordered. The buyer paid all of the closing costs which were far less than he would have paid if he had used a real estate agent and a mortgage broker.We used a closing agent who is very familiar with transactions of this type, which she calls "unacknowledged wrap sales." Our closing agent has become a friend and has spoken at our local Real Estate Investment Club.
In summary, each of the two deals netted about the same profit, but it is obvious which deal one would prefer to do if given a choice. If I were Robert Kiyosaki I might call one deal my rich dad's deal and the other my poor dad's deal. We learned enough to make deals of the first type go more smoothly in the future but I'll take deals of the second type every day of the week.
I hope all of your real estate investing deals proceed smoothly and quickly.
Garry Gamber is a public school teacher and entrepreneur. He writes articles about real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is the owner of Anchorage-Homes.com and TheDatingAdvisor.com.
My business partner and I purchased both properties from families who were in preforeclosure. The leads for each property came from letters that I had mailed to families who had recently received Notices of Default. The one family responded to me within 24 hours of receiving my first letter. I met with them within two hours of receiving their phone call and signed a contract with them on the spot to purchase their home. The other family responded to me after receiving the fourth letter from me. After a couple of broken appointments and two meetings we signed a contract to buy their home. With each home we did a "kitchen table" type closing within a couple of days of signing the contract. Both homes were purchased "subject to" the existing financing remaining in place. The earnest money given for each home was one dollar.
First Deal
We began marketing the first house by advertising it in the newspaper at market value and putting signs in the neighborhood and nearby intersections. We had a verbal agreement with the seller that they would clear all of their belonging out of the house within two weeks. The house was very messy and dirty. When the sellers failed to make any progress clearing the house we went ahead with the marketing and reduced the asking price. Within two weeks we had only received a few phone calls from mostly non-interested prospects.
At this point we reduced the asking price further and changed our signs to notify the public that owner financing was available. At that point we started to get a larger number of phone calls from truly interested prospects. Our owner financed terms and the lower than market value asking price separated us from the hundreds of realtor represented homes that needed bank financing.
With the second home, purchased a month later than the first, we immediately marketed it with owner financing. When we purchased the home we stipulated in the contract that the seller had to vacate the property in two weeks or be charged a fee for failure to do so. The seller was agreeable and cooperative and moved quickly to remove their belongings from the house. The seller of the first house was still dragging their feet and the house was still a mess.
Shortly after changing the marketing of the first house, we received an offer from a highly interested buyer. This house was truly ideal for this family and we wanted to help them get into it. They offered to buy it with bank financing and we agreed to sell it to them. There was still enough time before the foreclosure auction to close the sale with bank financing.
I cautioned the buyer that he should seek a loan other than an FHA loan since we had not held title to the property long enough for FHA to approve a new loan. In case you didn't know, FHA recently changed a rule that now requires a property to be on title at least 90 days before they will approve a new loan. So guess what the buyer did?
Right. His mortgage broker and his real estate agent steered him toward an FHA loan program. Luckily, the buyer qualified for a good FNMA program as well. So I stipulated in the contract that the buyer had to gain approval for the FHA program within 5 days or else drop the FHA program and proceed with the FNMA program. Both the broker and the agent needed education on this point, which I provided in writing, and four days later the broker notified me that the buyer would not be approved by FHA and that they were proceeding with the FNMA program.
The next obstacle we faced was the home inspection. The inspection resulted in asking for several hundred dollars worth of repairs that we agreed to do. The repairs took two weeks to complete. While repairs were ongoing we ordered a property appraisal. The appraisers in our area are backlogged eight weeks but we knew an appraiser who would perform an appraisal within a week for 150% of his normal fee. Of course we didn't have the luxury of being able to wait eight weeks so we bought the expensive appraisal.
The next obstacle was to order a preliminary title search, which showed a clear title luckily. The previous owner did not have an as-built survey so we had to order an expensive set of survey documents from the county.
Now that the obstacles to closing were nearly erased and we were close to a hard closing date, we still had a problem with the previous seller. They had only moved a few things out of the house and the house was still well cluttered. They were getting around to moving out eventually but not fast enough to be out of the house before closing the sale. Their lack of cooperation and their inability to follow through with their verbal promises made it clear why they had neglected their home and let it go into foreclosure.
Since the utilities were turned off and the seller was no longer living in the home I had the legal right to declare their belongings as abandoned property and I notified them that I would move the items out for them. My partner and I spent a day boxing and bagging up the seller's personal items, and grudgingly they picked the boxes and bags up the day before closing. Whew!
Second Deal
Now, on the other hand, events with the second property proceeded much more smoothly. We bought the home, found a buyer for it within eight days, and closed on the sale eight days later.
We decided to sell the second home on a land contract or wrap mortgage with the existing financing remaining in place. We also decided to stipulate that the home had to be refinanced within two years or it would be foreclosed back to us. We did this to protect the previous seller's interest in the underlying financing. They didn't want it hanging out there for a long period of time.
Our "owner finance" signage attracted several buyers quickly. We required a large enough down payment to "cure" the loan, that is, to pay off the existing arrearage and attorney fees. We found an eager buyer who had sufficient cash on hand and a good income, but without enough time in the area to have a high credit rating. He understood the concept of the wrap mortgage and the underlying financing and we negotiated a contract with him at Starbucks. He negotiated a lower sale price by offering a larger down payment. Basically we were able to immediately receive all of the "back end" profit that would have been paid to us in two year's time when he refinanced. We received this up front in exchange for a lower sales price. It was a fair exchange for both parties.
He agreed to buy the home "as is" and to do some repairs himself. No home inspection was needed; no appraisal was needed; no repairs had to be made; no real estate agent needed to be paid; and no survey had to be ordered. The buyer paid all of the closing costs which were far less than he would have paid if he had used a real estate agent and a mortgage broker.We used a closing agent who is very familiar with transactions of this type, which she calls "unacknowledged wrap sales." Our closing agent has become a friend and has spoken at our local Real Estate Investment Club.
In summary, each of the two deals netted about the same profit, but it is obvious which deal one would prefer to do if given a choice. If I were Robert Kiyosaki I might call one deal my rich dad's deal and the other my poor dad's deal. We learned enough to make deals of the first type go more smoothly in the future but I'll take deals of the second type every day of the week.
I hope all of your real estate investing deals proceed smoothly and quickly.
Garry Gamber is a public school teacher and entrepreneur. He writes articles about real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is the owner of Anchorage-Homes.com and TheDatingAdvisor.com.
Friday, October 2, 2009
How Do I Implement The Lease Purchase Plan?
Well, as we have discussed in previous newsletters first you have to set up goals for yourself, both long term and short term. Don't forget these goals define how your business is run. They will determine what you do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. The best way to do this is to picture yourself a year down the road. Close your eyes and get a mental picture of where you want to be, what you want to have, how you want to look, then open your eyes and write all that down on paper or speak into a voice recorder.
First determine how much time you will have to work on your business. If you are starting part time or spare time and think you might have 5-7 hours per week, in reality you probably will have 2.5 to 3.5 hours per week. Whenever we ask a partnering student how much time they have I always cut the time they give me in half. Why? Well because things come up, such as children, obligations, illnesses, their other job, etc. So rather than kid yourself and set yourself up for failure before you even start, be realistic with the amount of time you will have.
Once you have determined how much time you have, make up a 12 month plan. For example if you only have 3 hours per week to work, that means in a 4 week month you have 12 hours. So realistically, the first month is going to be getting yourself set up. Getting your identity package done, your template letters done, your database set, your telephone script done, your research (networking, FSBO sites). You want to start collecting newspapers (remember 5 weeks and older). Your second month would be going through the newspapers, and going on line to those FSBO sites and collecting numbers. During the end of the second month (6 weeks after you have started) you should be able to start calling on property. Depending on the hours you are doing your calls will determine how many people you get to speak with as opposed to leaving a message for them. Months three and four you will continue your calls, set up a networking schedule and do deals with one particular strategy. After you feel comfortable with that strategy you can move on to the next one during months five and six. Months seven and eight should have you starting the next strategy, and the same goes for the remaining months (nine, ten, eleven and twelve). During months eleven and twelve you should do some evaluating of your goals for the year, and start thinking of where you want to go in year two. Be sure to write articles up for each deal and make note of things you did wrong (yes, you will make mistakes) and how you fixed them for subsequent deals.
Once you have your monthly plan set up, break that down in weekly goals, and then set up your daily goals to meet your weekly goals. If you don't meet some goals, don't beat yourself up. Look at the reasons why you didn't meet your goals for that particular day, week or month. Did other things get in the way (family, work, health issues) or did you just slack off. Sometimes you need to take a breather and come back with some fresh energy. So if you need a break once in a while take one.
However, you need to realize if you want to succeed you need to make a commitment to implementing the plan you set up. If this means missing some television shows, shopping spree, visiting with friends or some sleep; then that is what you have to do.
So start implementing the plan today!
Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2003
Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com
First determine how much time you will have to work on your business. If you are starting part time or spare time and think you might have 5-7 hours per week, in reality you probably will have 2.5 to 3.5 hours per week. Whenever we ask a partnering student how much time they have I always cut the time they give me in half. Why? Well because things come up, such as children, obligations, illnesses, their other job, etc. So rather than kid yourself and set yourself up for failure before you even start, be realistic with the amount of time you will have.
Once you have determined how much time you have, make up a 12 month plan. For example if you only have 3 hours per week to work, that means in a 4 week month you have 12 hours. So realistically, the first month is going to be getting yourself set up. Getting your identity package done, your template letters done, your database set, your telephone script done, your research (networking, FSBO sites). You want to start collecting newspapers (remember 5 weeks and older). Your second month would be going through the newspapers, and going on line to those FSBO sites and collecting numbers. During the end of the second month (6 weeks after you have started) you should be able to start calling on property. Depending on the hours you are doing your calls will determine how many people you get to speak with as opposed to leaving a message for them. Months three and four you will continue your calls, set up a networking schedule and do deals with one particular strategy. After you feel comfortable with that strategy you can move on to the next one during months five and six. Months seven and eight should have you starting the next strategy, and the same goes for the remaining months (nine, ten, eleven and twelve). During months eleven and twelve you should do some evaluating of your goals for the year, and start thinking of where you want to go in year two. Be sure to write articles up for each deal and make note of things you did wrong (yes, you will make mistakes) and how you fixed them for subsequent deals.
Once you have your monthly plan set up, break that down in weekly goals, and then set up your daily goals to meet your weekly goals. If you don't meet some goals, don't beat yourself up. Look at the reasons why you didn't meet your goals for that particular day, week or month. Did other things get in the way (family, work, health issues) or did you just slack off. Sometimes you need to take a breather and come back with some fresh energy. So if you need a break once in a while take one.
However, you need to realize if you want to succeed you need to make a commitment to implementing the plan you set up. If this means missing some television shows, shopping spree, visiting with friends or some sleep; then that is what you have to do.
So start implementing the plan today!
Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2003
Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com
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