Click here to view the embedded video.

ActiveRain currently has a membership of over 160,000 RE Industry members averaging 200 new members daily.  There are more than 1.3 million articles posted, with an average of 10,000 new posts monthly.  Two million+ visitors traffic the ActiveRain network each month, over 80% are consumers.  Only Rainmaker upgraded accounts receive Google traffic to their blogs and posts.  ActiveRain Members blog posts receive more than 500 views on average.  Activerain provides a wide of variety of tools, services, and solutions to the Real Estate community and to the consumer.

So you think this might be a good resource for your business?

• Think about building your realtor base nationwide
• AR is a cost effective way of starting a blog
• Access to Localism  you can sponsor your community ( if it is available )

Here is the link to an ebook that will guide you through ActiveRain

One way to set up a blog is on a site such as Trulia. Trulia is similar to other MLS aggregators that put together the property listings for the public ot search. You can start your blog once you set up your account on Trulia. Here is a short video on seting up your blog.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Trulia has other features like trulia voices where consumers can  ask questions about real estate and realtors who have signed up for trulia voices can answer these questions. Just another  way to make contact with the consumer !

The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, will be extended for contracts signed before May 1, 2010 and that close before July 1, 2010. First-time buyers, who are in the process of closing now, no longer have to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 tax credit if they do end up closing after the Nov. 30 deadline. The new legislation also increases the income limit for couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the current level.

Buyers who already own a home are also now eligible for a tax credit and the purchase of a home. The $6,500 maximum credit will be available to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years. The legislation does set forth several provisions including, limiting eligibility for existing homeowners to homes worth $800,000 or less, as well as making both credits available only for primary residences, not second homes or investment properties. ( Information obtained from Keller Williams website )

Here is a chart that may help with the information:

These days its very easy to start your own blog. There are many platforms like Wordpress or  Blogger, where you can go in pick a template & start designing your own blog. Or you can hire a company that will design your blog using one of those platforms. It’s all a matter of time & money!

I think the simpler the blog the better, what really counts is the information you share. The information you share is called your content .

Here are some tips on developing content for your blog

1. First ask yourself who is your audience, are they buyers & sellers of real estate or another sector of the market?  You will be writing for them so you will need to put yourself in their place and figure out what is important to them.
2. Read other blogs in your industry & see what others are blogging about.
3. Your writing does not have to be perfect it should be as if you were having a conversation.
4. Write about your property listings or someone elses!
5. Write about events in your community

Offer help, be consistent, add value. This is what you do anyway. Now you are doing it online for the world to see !

We get into the real estate business with little business training. All businesses must have goals and a plan delineating how they will achieve their goals. In other words, you must know the steps to take to achieve the goal.

To achieve the income you desire you need to know:

• How many leads you need to generate
• How much money you need to generate those leads
• How much support staff you will need to service your business
• How many contacts it takes to get an appointment
• Your average sales price / commission earned

You must have appointments with buyers & sellers and you must convert these appointments to listings and then to sales. There are a set of skills you must master to be successful in real estate; the skills to convert leads to appointments & appointments to listings.

 Lead Generation is Key

Here are some ways to begin lead generation:

• Call your sphere of influence
• Call expired listings in your farm area
• Contact past clients
• Meet with banks
• Develop relationships with allied businesses
• Walk neighborhoods
• Attend community & social events
• Hold seminars

Most importantly talk about your business. Listen to the people you are talking with and ask for the business. So many times we do everything right but then never ask for the business!

As a Managing Broker I have seen so many different types of people enter the field.

The Worrier : they have done the same thing over so many times and still do not think they know what they are doing. They continually doubt themselves and thus, their customers may doubt them due to the fact that they are always doubting themselves.

Don’t get me wrong I think what we do as realtors is very important & serious business. We deal, in most cases, with the largest purchase & investment a person will make in their lifetime.  My only observation is that the continual doubting and worrying by the agent makes the customer nervous. So I ask you when does the doubting end?

When do you know you know what you are doing? How would you feel going to a doctor that was worried about what he was doing? I don’t think you would go to that doctor. So the same goes for the customer who feels their agent is insecure and not able to fully support them through their transaction.

Now on the other hand….

 The Warrior :  Their attitude is I don’t care what I don’t know just let me out of here so I can work with customers!The Warriors are those agents that don’t know what they don’t know ! Many times they don’t care either ! (Which is pretty scary!)

They are so eager to work with the customers that they skip the training and hit the streets customers in tow !  The customers don’t know, they don’t know, they trust them because their confidence and their ability to work with them is their greatest skill.

If those agents just take some time to learn the technicalities they will be super stars! Instead many times they run themselves ragged and figure they’ll deal with the important details later !

My hope for them is that  they have a strong manager that will slow them down just a bit and assist them in learning the basics, so, that they can  assure that all those deals will close with the least amount of complications possible !

I have been using Google Voice, formerly Grand Central for quite some time. I got a number when it was still Grand Central. I am sure you would agree that in the Real Estate business your phone is your everything! Customers have your number, your office has your number, vendors have your number, its on your cards and website. As realtors, you need to be accessible & responsive by email & phone.

Well, Google Voice makes that very easy. You need be invited to join & then you can choose practically any area code you want, from local or faraway destinations. You set it to ring your work phone, your cell phone & your home phone or whichever numbers you want to ring. You then can screen your calls, listen in and then decide to pick up or send directly to voice mail. Google Voice also transcribes the voice mail into text and it emails it to you !

SMS and Miscellaneous features

When people SMS your Google Voice number, the message will go directly to one or more (however many you have set up) mobile phones. You can respond to those SMSs directly from the phone, and that response will appear to come from your Google Voice number. You can also send and receive SMSs right from the Google Voice Web interface, so that you don’t have to take out your phone every time you want to text your friend to ask why he’s late picking you up—assuming you’re in front of a computer already, that is. Google Voice lets you archive your SMS logs too so that you can reach them anytime from the website.

Stay tuned for more information on how to use Google Voice in my future posts.

My Google Voice # is 954-892-6199.

Give me a call!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ellen & Michael have embraced the web 2.0  environment & are reaching out to colleagues & the community to build their business and sell their listings.

Tell them what comparable homes are selling for – 11% of buyers want this from their real estate agent.
Help determining how much they can afford – 11% of buyers want this from their real estate agent.
Help find and arrange financing – 2% of buyers want this from their real estate agent.

Be sure you don’t make a habit of “winging it!”

Do you have up to the minute knowledge of the market?

Do you have a credible and dependable loan officer that you work with to qualify your buyers?

I’m sure you will agree, when you get to the point of submitting their offer you will be asked for documentation and the credit worthiness of your buyer … JUST BE PREPARED!

The first two tips will provide you with what a repeat buyer wants most from their real estate agent.
The agent expectations by the repeat buyer are to:
Help find the right house to purchase -53% of buyers want this from their agent.
Help with price negotiations – 13% of buyers want this from their agent.
Help with paperwork – 8% of buyers want this from their agent.
Based on the above, here are some questions for you to consider.

Do you listen closely to your buyer’s wants and needs?

Are you up to date with the inventory of available homes in your marketplace?

Do you have negotiating strategies and skills to support buyer wants and needs?

Do you clearly understand purchase contracts?

Do you want to increase your competency in the areas that buyers want you to be skilled?
Please give me a call today and let me coach you to increase your buyer skills!