Real Estate and Beyond Blog

DEVELOP A REALISTIC BUSINESS PLAN FOR REAL ESTATE

It is critical for all of us to create a business plan for each one of us so that we have a road map to arrive at our destination. I see so many Realtors not focused and frustrated. This can be remedied by establishing a solid business plan. Furthermore, I would highly recommend to them on having a mentor to keep one accountable during this time.

Here are the TOP 5 MISTAKES CREATING A BUSINESS PLAN

1. UNREALISTIC FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS-I am going to make $1 million in my first year in real estate. How many of you have witnessed this from a new Realtor? Setting realistic financial projections creates a true picture for oneself.
2. Opportunity-I believe the Realtor needs to define who they will serve such as first time home buyers. Otherwise, one will do a shot gun approach to real estate and become frustrated because of no accomplishment.
3. No Marketing Plan-A Realtor needs to define a solid marketing plan so people know that they exist when thinking about leasing, buying or selling real estate. Too many real estate agents miss the mark.
4. Competition-Agents do not analyze the competition in their own local markets. Who is my competition? How will I compete with my competition?
5. Budgets-Real estate agents do not create realistic budgets when it comes to expenses. Many of them ignore living expenses needed to sustain oneself. Furthermore, most agents do not have marketing in their budget. We receive many calls each month to purchase marketing devices that will increase our business by 25%. Focus and frugal is needed when starting off in the real estate business.

I encourage all of us to avoid these mistakes when creating a business plan in order to achieve the unthinkable. One must be focus and determined to achieve the business plan. Also, other people will need to be involved in order to achieve the plan. I see #5 being the biggest mistake with many Realtors starting their business of.

TOP 5 WAYS TO GIVE FEEDBACK

I wrote an article about receiving criticism the correct way. It is hard to listen when people give us feedback because right away we think the person is attacking us. That is not the case every time. There are times when we do need feedback in order to improve ourselves. We do not know everything. If you think you do, then there is a big problem. Now, I would like to discuss the

TOP 5 TIPS TO GIVING CRITICISM

1. Write down the main reason for the criticism. The goal is to help the other person and not to attack them. Writing down your thoughts will help the conversation go better. Do not attack someone on a personal level. The criticism is to help the other person grow.
2. Be specific and to the point. Again, do not bring personal matters into the discussion.
3. Bring a third person into the discussion as a witness. This way everyone avoids he said she said scenario.
4. It is better to deal with that person and avoid giving comparisons of other people. Criticism is to help improve the other person after the outcome.
5. Make sure you pick the right time to confront the other person. Timing is everything. Then, leave the conversation with encouragement. The goal is to remain on speaking terms.

Here is your lesson on giving constructive criticism. I used these five tips during my corporate experience. Let me know if these tips are helpful to you.

TOP 10 REASONS TO OBTAIN REAL ESTATE MENTOR FOR 2011

I have been in the real estate industry for the past seven years. I spent the first fourteen years in corporate America. I was thrown into the real estate industry. However, I knew I had to obtain a mentor in order to survive in real estate. I needed someone to teach me the ropes. Real estate is very competitive. Many agents do not like to teach other new agents based on creating more competition in the field. Why? That was my question. There is enough business for everyone in this field. Senior agents brag about their knowledge. However, they are not willing to share it. Has anyone else experienced this practice?

Here were my Top 10 Reasons for obtaining a Mentor in Real Estate:

1. Professional-Learn from a pro who has been in the business for ten years or more to obtain the same knowledge.
2. Accountability-My mentor keep me honest with myself at each level. Quit the Long Ranger mentality.
3. Focus-Mentor teaches you how to balance work and life as you start the real estate career.
4. Questions-Mentors are there for you to ask as many questions as possible to increase experience.
5. Mistakes-A good mentor will help you avoid rookie mistakes or walk you through a rookie mistake that happened in order not to do it, again.
6. Goals-Mentor will help you set realistic goals to achieve.
7. Best Interest- Mentor has your best interest in mind. Mentor wants to see you succeed.
8. Investments-Mentor will walk you through a good real estate investment. This will save you money to avoid investing in the next big thing
9. Network-A good mentor has an established Network in place for one to use in real estate. You do not have to create the wheel.
10. Compass-Mentor will keep you going in the right direction at all times. A mentor will help you stay on course even when you want to quit.

I hop these reasons that I mention above motivate you to obtain your mentor this year. I would advise not to wait any longer. The real estate market will only become more competitive. The main reasons for me to obtain a mentor were #1,2, and 8.

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO BEFORE SATURDAY MORNING REAL ESTATE AND BEYOND RADIO SHOW

It is hard to believe that I will be on air for the past five years doing real estate radio. I named my radio show "REAL ESTATE AND BEYOND."Why? Well, my thought process that there are many different parts when it comes to real estate. Also, there is more to life than real estate. Hence, this is how I came up with the name for my radio show. Yes, I am the producer, host and everything else on the show. It all starts with me. So, a person asked me the other day what I do before the show. That was a great question. Let me answer that one.

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO BEFORE REAL ESTATE AND BEYOND RADIO SHOW

1. Drink a cup of coffee in the morning
2. Blog on ActiveRain
3. Develop content for the radio show
4. Pick my deals of the week for the show
5. Breakfast with the family
6. Hike or bike with the family
7. Physically view fix and flip projects on the way to the radio show
8. Follow up with clients via the phone
9. Check Email
10. Doulbe check the guests will call in for that day

It is amazing how fast as hour goes when you having fun on the radio. I did two hours for two years. However, I decided to cut back to have more time with the family. Radio is a great way to obtain instant credibility in your local real estate market.

I have been writing blogs on ActiveRain for almost two years. It has changed the way I do business. I write about different niches that I have created in my local real estate marketplace. Well, I got hooked on blogging. It gives me a chance to share with others what I do on a weekly basis. Plus, I have connected with people from around this great country. I became an official AMBASSADOR within four months. 

Here are my top 10 Tips to writing more effective blogs:

1. Title must catch people's attention so they click to read
2. First couple of sentences must be interesting enough so people want to read it
3. Write about topics that interest other people
4. Write about your own experiences so other people can learn from it
5. Write a blog about an experience and ask for AR input from other professionals
6. Proofread it and Spell-check to avoid errors
7. Include bullet points and numbers so people can can obtain information faster
8. Link like a mad man
9. Keywords throughout the post
10. Drink Coffee

I like #10 myself.

STAY CONSISTENT WITH CONTENT MY FRIENDS......

Which is your favorite number on the list above?

BEING AN ACTIVE BLOGGER STARTS WITH A PLAN

I have been dedicated to social networking for the past twenty months. I decided to develop a plan to heavily invest my time into social networking. Here were some of my main reasons to start social networking:

• Everyone is doing it
• Minimum cost
• I love to write
• Search engine rankings
• Obtain new business

So, I developed the reasons above to start my social networking plan. I got myself on all the social networking sites that are possible. I am sure I am missing a couple. My assistant helps me to be current on all sites. I must say that I love ActiveRain the best for the following reasons

• Ease of blogging
• Great search engine ranking
• Superior customer service support
• Excellent people blogging daily
• Coffee and blogging go together

We are making great strides in social networking. One must create an overall social networking plan. Then, it must be executed on a daily basis. Otherwise, it can be very overwhelming in my opinion. What do you think? Content is king. So, I have been writing articles for the last six months to post on different article web sites to be known as an expert in my field. There is a lot to write about when it comes to real estate. What is the trick to it? I write about my experiences and events that people want to read about.

Let me give you an example the POWER OF 1+1. I am demonstrating that it amazes me when two people do come together for a meeting after social networking together. I invited someone of Facebook to meet me last night. It has quite the network himself of about 2,000 people. Well, I have a little over 5,000 people in my network. We are combining our networks when it comes to real estate. So,  I am listing a triplex that he had purchased with a partner below market value. I have two people interested in the property at this time.

Done Deal! I just wanted to share my success story. Yes, blogging is worth every key stroke.

DO YOU HAVE A REAL ESTATE MENTOR IN YOUR BUSINESS

How does one obtain a great mentor? Are they in the Yellow Book or www.superpages.com? You must be careful on who you pick to be your mentor. You want to have a positive experience and not a bad one. A bad experience can set you back for months in the real estate business. Personally, it took me three months before I picked my mentor. I created a set of ten questions to ask a potential mentor.

Here are my Top 10 Questions when interviewing a Mentor:

1. Why do you want to mentor me?
2. What is your experience? Please explain in detail to me.
3. What are your goals for this year?
4. What did you accomplish last year? Pick a mentor that is a true Rainmaker in real estate.
5. How much money did you make the last three years?
6. What are your three greatest strengths as a mentor?
7. What is your greatest weakness? Please explain how you overcome this weakness.
8. What is in it for you being my mentor?
9. What schedule do you propose when it comes to meeting times and subject areas?
10. When do we start?

I interview nine people that I knew in the real estate industry at the time. I picked a man who answered all of the questions with straight answers. Also, I was impressed with his accomplishments. It was someone who I could replicate to be one day in the real estate industry. We all have a vision how we want our business. Are we willing to ask for help? Currently, I am mentoring three people at this time.

OBTAIN A GREAT MENTOR NOW!

I WILL NEVER PAY FOR ONE OF THOSE REAL ESTATE INVESTING COURSE PURE RIP OFF

I have had an interesting past week. My neighbor invited me to attend a introductory real estate investment workshop. There were over 200 people that attending this meeting. Now, everyone wants to invest in real estate and become millionaires over night. It does not happen that way. So, I said yes to his invitation. I have been assisting real estate investors for the past nine years. I will be the first to admit that I am always learning when it comes to real estate. So, I networked with quite a few new real estate investors to the game. It is nice that I have a local radio show that talks about real estate investing.

So, we ended the three day introductory workshop. It was time to make the decision to further our education. My next store neighbor is a retired doctor who would like to start investing in real estate. We decided to take it to the next level. I was able to do some fast talking to get us into the class this weekend. We are learning about wholesaling. I am in a class of 59 new real estate investors. The majority of the attendees are from Arizona. Did I tell you that I was the only Arizona Realtor in the class. Do you think I will get one deal from this class? Yes!

I am a student of real estate. I want to learn from the experts.

I went into this program with my TOP 3 REASONS FOR ATTENDING REAL ESTATE EDUCATION

1. EDUCATE
2. NETWORK
3. MAKE MONEY

REAL ESTATE IS A TEAM SPORT.

Today is my last day of this class. I have accomplished all three in less than 72 hours.

WHAT DO YOU DO? I LOVE WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME THIS QUESTION

We all know that being a Realtor is not such a great choice with today's real estate market-Right? How many of you out there agree with me? Wake Up America! I love this real estate market. There are so many deals out there in your own backyard. Anyway, I was at a dinner party function with my wife with about two hundred in the crowd. I knew someone was going to ask me that favorite question "WHAT DO YOU DO?" Everybody wants to know what each other does to make a living. How do you answer this question? Let me give you an example how the conversation went the other night

FRED: Hi, my name is Fred

Me: Hi Fred, get to meet you tonight. My name is Harry

Fred: So Harry, what do you do for work?

Me: I am in real estate.

Fred: Boy, things must be tough right now. My wife is a Realtor and she has decided to get out of the business because of no closings.

Me: Really-that is great for me.

Fred: Excuse me-what did you say?

Me: Well, I figure as more agents get out of the real estate business that will continue to increase my business. People will use me because I am still in the game.

Fred: How do you keep getting business in this market?

Me: Well, real estate is a team sport. One must have a team in place to assist clients with problems. Furthermore, I am always prospecting. Also, my main business is working with real estate investors to find them the best deals.

Fred: How do you advertise?

Me: Well, I have three main areas Internet, Radio and Referrals. That is it.

Fred: Wow, you are on the radio.

Me: Here is my business card. My radio show information is on the back of the card. Hey Fred, I have to get back to my wife. You have my card-please call me if you wish to invest in real estate.

Fred: Great it has been nice meeting you.

Me: Thanks the feeling was mutual

Fred gave me a call the other day to set up a meeting regarding real estate. It does work.

REAL ESTATE IS A CONTACT SPORT-YES-WE HAVE TO TALK TO PEOPLE!

NICE TO BE BACK IN THE RAIN

I have to admit that it is so nice to be back in the rain. Wow, I have been blogging on a daily basis for the past thirteen months. It is like working for a major corporation when they force you to take time off without pay. However, I have to admit that it was nice to take a week off. I was able to take care of some things around the house that needed my attention. I have to give ActiveRain complete kudos for pulling off what they did in such a short amount of time. You guys are the best and we just want to thank everyone for pulling this one off.

The ability not to log into ActiveRain was very frustrating for people. Many people do not like change and do not know how to respond to it. This is similar to the real estate market. Real estate investors made easy money by fixing and flipping a home in months. Home owners cashed out of their house two or more times. Everybody thought the streets were paved with gold with no end in stop. Grandma said, "Whatever goes up must come down." Wow, the real estate market came down hard. There are over 11 million home owners upside down in their home. Millions of homes are being foreclosed upon each year. We have experienced a major correction.

Real estate agents needed to react fast to change with the times to make living. It seems many agents were not able to make the change so they got out of the market. Change is constant so we must continually be open for change. Currently, I focus on fixing and flipping, rent to own, distressed properties and short sales. I work mainly with real estat investors who wish to take advantage of this market. Are you changing with the times? Again, ActiveRain was a great example that they decided to make the change and do it quickly. Were there some obstacles? Yes! However, everything is in working order. We are all happy because they made a decision to change. You can do the same thing. Make the Move!