Real Estate and Beyond Blog: December 2009

   In today's economy, buyers have more homes to choose from than ever before. Why should they stop and look at yours? What is different about your home? To catch the buyers attention, you need to offer an eye catcher such as "This home is inspected...no surprises!" Eliminate some natural fears of the buyer right away by letting them know that this home in generally good shape or better. When buyers are surfing the web, they can pass over your listing fast. You need an eye popper link at your web listing that says Click here to see the home inspection Just because you may think your home is in good shape does not separate it from the 100's of others that you may be competing with for the buyers attention. If you were an agent and were looking on behalf of your buyers for possible homes to show them, would you be attracted to a home that may sell easier because you know the home's condition has already been inspected? If the price is right, and the financing is favorable, then the hardest part remaining (the inspection) is already passed! Agents work on commission and many times the inspection is the problem. With a sellers inspection link at your listing, the buyer's agent can see quickly that this home is alot more attractive than the other homes on the street and is likely to go to closing if the price can be worked out!

How easy is selling a house with a Seller's Inspection?
If a seller's inspection is performed and significant damage or defects are found. there will be disappointment, but no hysteria or regret. No deal about to go sour. The agent will discuss the problems with the Seller and will determine if this listing is "AS IS" with full disclosure, or if any repairs need correcting to expedite the sale. The Seller then corrects any problem areas, and calls for a reinspection of the home. The home inspector returns a clean report. Next, a Buyer enters a contract agreement with the Seller. The Buyer will choose to trust the home inspection or will have another. No major problems should be found by the second inspection. The deal coasts downhill to closing. Everyone is happy.

So, you have been unemployed for 2 or 3 months now. Or you may have just received news that your position will be eliminated after the New Year. What should you do?

Many households exist without a BUDGET. Money comes in, money goes out - sometimes thousands of dollars exchange hands in a single month with nothing to show for. Names were left off to protect the innocent. Then, there are some households who "think" they have a budget, but never really respect/ abide by it.

When families run into financial difficulties, some may have depleted their savings, tapped into retirement savings and even ask for families to help.

One very stark observation is that families never get on EMERGENCY mode - ie. changing their lifestyles to adjust to the new financial environment.

One thing I constantly hear, "I'm just holding out waiting for God to turn things around. I know it will happen. It will happen real SOON." So, they go on living the next few months as if things will continue to be the same because "God's going to continue to bless me" mentality.

Now, before you get upset, don't get me wrong. I love God with all my heart. I believe in the power of prayers and I believe that God could turn things around for anyone in an instant. But I don't believe God wants us to live in denial.

 

As a good steward of your finances, whether or not you receive the BAD NEWS, a household NEED to have a Financial Plan B and Emergency Plan C.

Your Financial Plan A is the "currnet" lifestyle you live with the current income you can support your lifestyle with. You must have a Basic Budget.

Your Financial Plan B is when you receive the BAD NEWS. You may need to evaluate what are the lifestyles and expenses you need to cut out. Some examples may include: Manicure/ Pedicure, going out to restaurants to eat, Christmas or vacations, Starbucks, dry cleaning, services for conveniences such as lawn care, shopping and unplanned grocery trips. You may also want to consider trimming back your TV cable services, your cellphone services - Unlimited plans, etc. (You would think these are easy to understand, but you'd be surprised how many don't go in this mode).

Your Financial Plan C is when you need to make drastic measures for basic survival. First, you make sure you have your Basic 4 walls taken care of. This includes your rent or mortgage, your transportation, your food, clothing and utilities. Over and above these necesseties, you make a priority list of what needs to be paid. The word here is "EMERGENCY". Your job is to stretch your financials coming in for as long as you could.

The final and drastic measure would be to consider selling your cars and your home. No one wants to come to this point. But if you do, you may need to get yourself financially and emotionally ready to take on this step.

The biggest problem is that unemployment income was never enough to sustain a household's current income. Yet, families fail to make necessary adjustments for the transition. What they believe is that this is temporary. It is TEMPORARY but TEMPORARY for some, maybe be 2 months, temporary for some could be 18 months or longer.The problem is also to find the position that pays the same to continue living the current lifestyle. Most people have to take 1/3 in pay cut to be in the same position they were in.

The saddest part is that at the beginning, people live and spend as if bad things won't happen. Before you know it, families are in turmoil, emotions are high and divorce is in the picture.

These are REAL for many families. Don't be another statistic. Just like any business practise a Fire Escape plan, you owe it to your family to create a Financial Escape plan. You don't ever have to execute it. But if you do, you have one less thing to worry about.

A business would not go into the following year without a Financial Budget. Why should your household be any different?

 

Question of the Week:

WOULD YOU FIRE YOU If YOU WERE HIRED TO MANAGE YOUR FINANCES?

 

 

If you need a simple Financial Budget to begin your planning, find it here on Budget in pdf format.

The Equity sheet (pdf format) is to see how much you are worth.

 

PS: I'm sorry that I felt compelled to talk about this right before Christmas. Some financial damages may have been done. But there is still time to correct the problem. I rather plant this in your mind before the holidays, rather than to throw a bombshell at you after the New Year. Too many families have "Christmas" with no budget only to find "surprises" on their credit card bills in January and February.

 

 

Related Articles:

• When Finance is More Than Head Knowledge
• The Real Hard Truth about Homeownership
• Time Value of Money in Closing Costs
• Unconventional Financial Advice for Newly Weds
• Can Dave Ramsey Principles Work for All America?

 

 

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Subscribe via Email if you are not an Active Rain member here.

 

Contact:

Loreena Yeo
Frisco TX Realtor® / Broker of 3:16 team REALTY
(214) 783-2210
loreena@loreenayeo.com

Check out my Frisco TX Homes website.
The premier greater Frisco TX Homes local informational center for your one-stop real estate needs.

Search MLS Listings with no registration required.
Home Value Request

 

Super-serving Frisco, Plano, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Little Elm, Prosper, Celina, Richardson, Dallas M-Streets,
Dallas White Rock Lake area communities and other surrounding areas.

 

Copyright © 2009 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY)
Originally Posted on Every Household Needs a Plan B. Sometimes Plan C too.

First let me say thank you to everyone who participated in our contest to promote the upcoming release of SHIFT in a limited edition hardcover. We had 325 entries for the contest (which amounted to 162,500 points awarded to those that participated).

Of course, in addition to promoting Gary Keller's limited edition copy of SHIFT, we also hoped that many of our members would re-read SHIFT or tackle it for the very first time. Gary is leaving a legacy in the real estate industry as first class educator and a champion for agents that want to excel, no matter what the market conditions. His tactics aren't for everyone, no tactic is. He demands that you be tenacious, be able to work hard on a sustained course, and operate your business in a fashion that illustrates you understand, you ARE a small business owner.

You can find links to the posts that our members wrote, here, here and here. If you've never read the book, you can just about get the impact of it from reading through some of the posts our members did. The book itself (and many of the blog posts) is a fantastic read and sure to leave you empassioned to tackle 2010 head on!

And of course, you can order it by going to 'GiftOfShift.com/ActiveRain' where you will also get audio copies of two of Gary's other books, Millionaire Real Estate Agent and Millionaire Real Estate Investor as well as a new eBook, Soci@l, written by Jay Papason and Ben Kinney (Ben is the headline speaker of our RainCamp tour and a mega producing agent with Keller Williams in Bellingham, WA.....he also sits on the Board of Directors here at ActiveRain) with an assist from Jonathan Washburn and me.

(and by assist from Jon and me, I mean one of those standard 3 on 1 fastbreaks where all you have to do is not mess things up and get the ball to Lebron on the wing.......not one of those Magic Johnson behind-the-back, no-look assists to Kurt Rambis that has to be perfect or Rambis will drop the ball and trip on his untied shoes)

I know, I know......shut the #*!! up and get to the winners.

Alrighty then!

I sat here this morning trying to figure out how to do the drawing. I was going to use some kind of random number generator online and then match the number it generated with the comment number on each post.....but what happened if a number 45 came up and all three posts with the links had someone on comment 45? So that wasn't going to work. (my posts kept getting shut down because they went over the 210 comment limit so in the end I had three posts with links)

So then I had the bright idea of cutting up 325 little slips of paper and writing everyone's name on it. The cutting up was easy, just stack a bunch of paper and cut away into little squares......it was the writing down of 325 names that stunk! But I did it, in about 45 minutes with a pretty bad cramp in my hand (doesn't make me miss finals in college, that's for sure).

So, to find out the winners, you will have to watch our little video of a special guest picking the names of the winners out of a hat:
(and yes, even though we are PATHETIC right now, it's still a Seahawks hat!)

And once again, don't forget that you can get the limited edition Hardcover copy of SHIFT, an audio version of SHIFT, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, as well as the eBook Soci@l all for $19.99 by visiting GiftOfShift.com/ActiveRain

 

If you would like to know what I'm up to, follow me. But don't be offended if I say something colorful. I'm human!

  Friends, followers, and connections are the way of the future. 

 Make sure you check out some of our Facebook Fan Pages Too!

Flickr and BigHugeLabs -  Here's one for all you folks in the ActiveRainPhotoBloggers Group

There are many great photography tools and FREE photo hosting sites on the web.  Flickr, Picasa, and Photobucket are just the first few that come to mind. I have used all three but have chosen Flickr for all my primary photo hosting for numerous reasons. One of which is that I can post to my photo Blogs right from Flickr with a single click of a button.

Another feature I like is that you can tag your photos and add comments as tags.  See the boxes I used to tag Jeff and Teresa?  Now check out Jeff's hand.  He was able to tag a specific section of the photo and leave a comment embedded in the photo.  What did the comment say?  Click on his hand to find out.

One tip I'd like to share about flickr is something that Jeff told me about last year while we were in Texas.  The SEO that Flickr photos can generate is awesome.  I have seen many flickr photos show up on standard Google searches just using keywords and tag phrases.  This particular photo was posted on Flickr last week along with many others from the REBarCamp in San Diego. 

This morning I received a Google alert about this photo that linked me back to a site called BigHugeLabs, which has some really cool and fun tools.  Since I love photography, I just had to check it out as I'm sure many of you will too.  Creating this chicklet below was just one of the cool things I liked at BigHugeLabs.com.

Check them out and see if there's anything there you can use as either a tool for your photos, or just for fun.  We have become a digital point-and-click shoot society that love to share those special moments and memories with all those we're connected to via our photos. Here's just a few more ways to make that experience a bit more unique, fun, and exciting.

There's tons of stuff there... it really is like a Big Huge Lab! 

Gift Center, Motivator, Pop Art Poster, Magazine Cover, Mosaic Maker, Movie Poster, Jigsaw, Photobooth, Hockneyizer, Letter from Santa, FX, Map Maker, Favorite Surfer, Mat, Pocket Album, Sunset, Badge Maker, Top Cameras, Calendar, Trading Card, Framer, Wallpaper, Color Palette Generator, Cube, Bead Art, Guess the Title, CD Cover, Random Photo Browser, Captioner, Lolcat Generator, Billboard, Photo Fortune, Slideshow, Writer, Blog Header, Gallery, On Black, Profile Widget, Scout, Flickr DNA, Name That Contact, Favorite Finder, Pool Cleaner

This was created using the "Motivator" link above:

BigHugeLabs also works with photos from your computer, Flickr hosted photos, and Facebook photos.

                    

"RainMaker" Special - Signup Here and Get New Member Discount
RainCamp™ - "Because The Way We Do Business Online Has Changed!"

In my last article I had given a description of podcasts, podcasting and how they can be used to make money on the internet. In this article I will take you through the importance of podcasting for real estate agents and their influence on online real estate marketing.

If realtors have not yet started using podcasts for marketing their business online, here are a few reasons why they have to begin podcasting for online marketing.

The richness of online media:

Selling of homes requires the capacity to deliver persuasive marketing materials to successfully showcase a property in business. Podcasts, both audio and video, provide a level of interaction and experience to the users that help them to get direct information from the realtors. Podcasts also give the sellers a medium to successfully advertise their business effectively on the internet.

Economic usage:

Realtors and clients are accountable to their broadband usage. Podcasts influence broadband connection and usage to make rich internet content be streamed and delivered online. This makes podcasts highly reachable and attractive for the real estate market.

RSS technology:

Podcasts content can be easily updated and instantly consumed. When a realtor wants to update a new podcast, it can be produced and published on the same day. This makes the content on all subscriptions, listing sites and aggregators be updated immediately. The RSS feed makes the exchange of real estate information quick and is perfect for adaptable podcasts medium.

Relevance to technology:

Realtors have long been on the cutting edge of technology. Podcasts are now the most modern technology application in internet communication. They are proving to be an effective and practical method for instant marketing.

Number facts:

80 percent of today’s population now shops online. Since the internet is now the active place of many transactions, where better to market your business? Podcasts are a means to reach out to this 80 percent of population.

 

The time factor:

Podcasts can be e-mailed, downloaded and subscribed for free using the RSS technology. They are available 24 hours in the day and never stop working. This makes podcasts a very effective marketing tool.

Content distribution:

Podcasts are now available on all leading search engines. This technology combines the benefits of improved online listing and wide distribution of property details to the clients. This is a tool to enhance your marketing and sales among clients.

Ultimate online experience:

Today’s market is governed by the technology geeks who are buying and selling real estate on the internet. With podcasting realtors are able to deliver their property directly to the clients.

Podcasting gives the potential real estate investor an improved outlook of the real estate business, market and the current property listings. This makes the agent much more viable on the internet.

 

For additional resources and information please visit the following sites.

Resource Links:

http://www.gmacrealestate.com

Bill Fields All Star Coaching Program: http://www.AllStarCoaching.net
GreatWest GMAC Search all MLS Listings: http://www.LocalHomeLink.com
GreatWest GMAC Consumer Buyer/Seller Blog: http://www.GreatWestBlog.com

T. Sami Siddiqui (Broker/ Owner) Buzz About Sacramento Blog: http://www.samisiddiquiblog.com
Brodie Stephens (Executive Vice President) One Stop Blog: http://www.brodiestephensblog.com
GreatWest Podcasts- Weekly Updates on new REO, Short Sale, Bank Owned Foreclosure Listings: http://www.HouseTalkOnline.com
GreatWest Videos: http://www.youtube.com/brodiestephens
Facebook Brodie Stephens Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/brodiestephens
Facebook GreatWest Profile Page: http://www.facebook.com/searchmlshomesforsale
MySpace Brodie Stephens Blog: http://www.myspace.com/brodiestephens
MySpace GreatWest Blog: http://www.myspace.com/greatwest
Picasa Web Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/brodiestephens

GreatWest Real Estate Careers- GMAC is looking for Professional Realtors to Join Us: http://www.CareersWithUs.com
Global Employee Relocation: http://www.employeerelocation.blogspot.com
Apply for a Loan: http://www.choice1funding.com

ActiveRain Blog Brodie: http://activerain.com/blogs/brodiestephens

ActiveRain Blog Company:http://activerain.com/blogs/greatwestgmac

Sacbee:http://www.sacbee.com

Company WordPress Site:http://www.thehomeholders.com

Real Living:http://www.realliving.com

 

 

 

     Ever feel like you're spinnig your wheels? Is your "to do" list getting longer and longer with very few items checked off?  Are you thinking of more and more great ideas but there's no time to implement them? Do you sometimes feel like you're doing it all?

     I suppose we have all had some of those thoughts or feelings at least some of the time. Team management is time management. You can achieve an amazing level of productivity if your team, and your time, are managed well.

     When you feel overwhelmed here are some strategies you might employ:

1. Identify your team.  If you're thinking you don't have a team, you must rethink the concept of "team". Team members are not just co-workers with whom you share a call schedule.  That's only one part of a team. If you have those team members, great.  But think about who else may be on your team. Spouse, children and other family members are key team members. So are close friends. Professional adjuncts are also team members such as your accountant, attorney, mortgage broker, etc. They are in business to provide you with their services. Use them for that purpose.

2. Once you've identified your team, lay out a plan to gain the most output for the least effort. If you have traditional team members, ask for and expect a daily update. Collaboratively develop goals. Clearly define tasks. Make sure everyone is held accountable. In other words, is what is supposed to be happening, really happening? For the non-traditional team members, assign them tasks also. It may be that you need your spouse to pick up the dry cleaning, but it may also be that you need the title company to get you the HUD1 statement. Ask for what you need, expect to get it, and keep everyone on task.

3. Reevaluate your team effort. If goals were not met, determine why that was the case.  Were the goals unrealistic? Did the tasks assigned match the strengths of the team member assigned to the task?  Are you expecting something of someone they are just incapable of providing? If so, readjust and try again.

4. Expect your team to perform. Sometimes it's not a problem with your clearly articulating goals and assignments. Sometimes it's not a mismatch between team member and team task. Sometimes it's a people problem. In other words, sometimes a team member needs to be released to find another team in which he/she can succeed. If it's a professional team member, then find another accountant or another title company that can do the job you need to have done. I don't care that you went to school with them or that you are related to them. Find someone who will do the job.  If it's a team member at work, ask for a different team. Or if you are the boss, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and tell the ineffective team member that you are going to do them the favor of freeing up their future. No excuses, no arguements, no pleading, no third and fourth chances. You have to have a functioning team. If the weak link is with a spouse or family member, that requires a lot more negotiating and perhaps professional counselling. But the concept is the same: all team members need to be actively working towards the same end result. As harsh as this sounds, your goals must be met or you must set different goals.

Team management is one of the most difficult aspects of managing your business. However, it is essential if you want to manage your time effectively. Even superstars cannot do it all. Gather your team, get them on board, expect to succeed, and have a great 2010.

 Rumor has it some Activerain Members don't write their own material!

 There are some Activerain members that don't write their own material and I am not talking about individuals that (cut and paste)!

 I am talking about members that are either to busy or just plain can't write, so they hire some one to write their posts for them.

 Now do you think this is fair?

 When you see this (red X) going through what looks like a gold coin where it reads (Posted by) that means this material isn't yours but you have permission to post it.

 There are quite a few members around Activerain that should have this (red X) where it says (Posted by) but they don't because they receive less points and comments if the material isn't theirs.

 (Example below)

  Posted by ROBERT A.SWETZ - Commercial Real Estate on 12/23/2009 11:45 PM

 If this is the case and we can hire someone to write our posts and get full points and recognition then I could use some help!

 I am a very busy man and I am looking for individuals to write some posts for me, I will supply the (Photos) and ideas for the posts.

 That way I can get credit for them!

 I am not a terrific blogger and for some reason I really don't think this is fair, does anyone else agree with me on this one?

 And yes you know who you are and when you look at all the credit you are getting for someone else writing your ideas, I would call that (cheating)!

 (Please Note) This is my own material but because I attached this (little gold coin & red X) it is showing up on the bottom that it is not my own material

 Post written by Robert Swetz (Vegas Bob) 12-23-2009

Be Careful out there, Baby!

This will date me for sure but I can't resist asking how many folks reading this post know how to drive a manual transmission....in addition to today's ubiquitous automatic? You might ask, "Why bother?"  Everybody knows automatic transmissions are now standard equipment in most motor vehicles today.  Well, here's the answer:  there is great value in understanding how things work before you actually operate them.  When you shift from one gear into another there's a closer connection with the mechanics of the vehicle you are driving.  Once you master a manual transmission you have greater control over your traveling speed and how well you and your vehicle handle steep hills and sharp curves.  You are simply a superior driver.

Gary Keller's book "SHIFT" is said to offer us the opportunity to learn skills to help us better understand and navigate the complexities of today's real estate business.  Just as we are better drivers on a challenging road when we know how to coordinate the movement of the clutch and the gears, "SHIFT"can show us how to better respond to the challenges of today's market conditions.   And that can make us better and safer drivers of our business which benefits not just us...but also our clients.

Have you read "SHIFT?"  No?  Get it here: http://giftofshift.com/activerain.

 

Honestly, I have not read "SHIFT" but I'm going to order it today.  Now, it's your turn to be honest....can you drive a manual transmission?   Wanna race?

Kirsten Lindquist

Sotheby's International Realty

25 East Napa Street

Sonoma, Ca  95476

707.337.1182

kirsten@kirstenlindquist.com

PART 1 - THE PREFACE AND PRINCIPALS

This coming Friday, we all have the opportunity to correct our financial indiscretions and begin methodically securing our financial futures.  Friday is the beginning of the New Year of 2010.

My daddy, William W. Cherry, passed away unexpectedly twenty-nine years ago; in fact on December 19th.  He would have been 72-years old the following February 7th.

I'm telling you that because it will put this into prospective: 1) my daddy was always a salaried employee, 2) he became a millionaire, and 3) starting from scratch, he accomplished his financial goal by following these rather uncomplicated rules:

1. Save at least 10% of your gross income
2. Know about, understand, and use the principal of Dollar Cost Averaging
3. Intellectually know that you don't have a profit or a loss in an investment until you sell it.
4. Secure your family's well-being and your retirement income stream with life insurance annuities
5. Pay off the mortgage on your home as quickly as you can
6. Accumulate a portfolio of income producing real estate
7. Diversify

Over the next few days, I'm going to take each of these seven "rules" and explain why Daddy made them his rules.  Interestingly, it is empirical that his formula works, and that it can work without taking extraordinary risks.

BILL CHERRY, REALTORS

DALLAS - HIGHLAND PARK

Our 45th Year

214 503-8563

WEB

WIKIPEDIA

 

The Internet has evolved dramatically over the last ten years. It has been transformed from a mammoth file repository into something much more ethereal and interactive.

There are still those that are locked into “old-school” thinking about static websites and work constantly on schemes designed to attract more visitors. The battle for recognition was always an uphill campaign, as the Goliaths of webdom had invested millions and had taken control of the medium.

But something very interesting has happened along the way. It seems that the focus of both web surfers and search engines has shifted from Internet “places” to fresh, new content.

And the only thing that matters is that the content is quickly indexed and available SOMEWHERE! As a matter of fact, the more places that the content is delivered, the better.

It is no longer about getting visitors to “your site!” It is ALL about getting them to “your content,” wherever it is and by any means they might use to get to it.

So it is backwards thinking to use content to drive visitors to a static website. You ALREADY have them, why would you focus on driving them somewhere else?

The forward thinking content creator understands that the content only has merit if and when time it is presented to an end user, no matter where they find it.

Content should be designed to stand on it’s own as a complete entity. It is of no consequence where the file resides. The only significant issue is whether or not the content can be readily found!

It’s a hard concept for some to accept, as they may have a significant investment in web properties. But it is reality that cannot be dismissed if one is truly seeking a notable web presence.

It is so much easier and more productive to embrace the new trends than it is to resist them.

And it’s a lot less expensive too!

 

All content, including text, original art, photographs and images, is the exclusive property of Coweta Fayette Real Estate, Inc., and may not be used without the expressed written permission of Coweta Fayette Real Estate Better Homes and Gardens Metro Brokers, Newnan Georgia. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted, Copyright 2003-2009. Richard Weisser REOS, E-Pro. licensed Auctioneer. 770-827-6225.
Learn more about Coweta County and Fayette County Georgia Real Estate, and to search the entire Georgia MLS for free with no registration required visit CowetaFayetteRealEstate.com! Photos of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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