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Blogging with Activerain

Why use ActiveRain as your Blog?

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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

 

Home Buyer Tax Credit Expanded & Extended

Great Information for Your Homebuyers!

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:

	Current	New
Effective Date	·        January 1, 2009	·        November 7, 2009
Deadline	·        Close on or before  November 30, 2009	·       Contract signed before May 1, 2010, must close before July 1, 2010·       Members of the uniformed services, foreign services, and intelligence employees who served an extended service of 90 days will have until April 30, 2011 and June 30, 2011.
Amount	·        First-Timers: maximum of $8,000  or 10% of sales price ·        Prior Owners: $0	·        First-Timers: Unchanged·        Prior Owners: $6,500 if lived in prior home for at least 5 consecutive years of past 8 years.
Income Limit	·        Individual: $75,000·        Couple: $150,000	·        Individual: $125,000 ·        Couple: $225,000
Other   Restrictions	·       Home must be primary residence for at least 3 years. If home is sold or buyer moves before 3 years, must re-pay full amount of credit.	·       Buyer must be at least 18 years old and not classified as a dependent for tax purposes·        Home must cost less than $800,000·       New Home must be primary residence for at least 3 years following purchase. If home is sold or buyer moves, before 3 years, must re-pay full amount of credit. Exception for military, foreign services, or intelligence with extended 90 days service overseas.
How to claim	·       If purchased in 2009, by amending 2009 tax return or claiming on 2010 tax return	·       If purchased in 2010, by amending 2010 tax return or claiming on 2011 tax return

How to Start your own Blog

Keep it Simple

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 !

The Mind is a Powerful Tool

From Dianna Kokoszka’s Journal

Dianna Kokoszka is the president of MAPS Coaching for Keller Williams Realty. I was at a BOLD training and came across this statement from Dianna.

• When you want it means you lack. The brain hears you want & helps keep you in the wanting.
• Want = lack
• When you want money the brain says give them what they ask for-They ask for wanting money so keep them wanting money.
• Want control – never get it.
• Wanting control means you are lacking control & you’ll always lack.
• We cannot stand up & sit down at the same time
• You cannot want & have at the same time. 
• Release the want & you’ll receive it.

We must change the way we speak to ourselves in order to change our circumstances. This is the start of changing our limiting beliefs.

The Value of Blogging

 Are you Part of the Conversation ?

In the video below Seth Godin & Tom Peters talk about the value of blogging. Never before has it been so easy to reach the masses and get your message out. Are you sitting on the sidelines or contributing to your profession, community and the greater good?

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Are You Using Social Media ?

If Not You May Be Missing the Boat …

Here are things I hear from some agents regarding technology & social media.

• I don’t have time
• I don’t know how
• I don’t know what to say
• I like the old way better

What I have to say

• Take the time to open your mind
• Learn how
• This is marketing
• If you don’t incorporate technology you will become extinct

If you are not convinced watch this video for starters

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Tech or Touch ?

Which is it going to be ? Or Both…..

Ok , so I know you’ve heard from me, your broker, and everyone else that technology is key in the real estate business. And it is very important.

Technology… things that you need to have

1. A website with an IDX feed
2. A  blog
3. Facebook
4. Twitter
5. LinkedIn

On your Way toTouch… things that you need to do

1. A database with your contacts & sphere of influence
2. A plan delineating ways you will communicate with your customers & sphere of influence
3. Contact your sphere by phone to keep in touch
4. Mailings
5. Birthday cards ( email)

We’ve left the most important thing out!

The most important thing you can do is build rapport with your customer. After you do this everything is easy! How do I do this you ask ?

1. Be interested in them ( forget about yourself & your commission)
2. Ask questions, get to know what they are looking for, not only in a property but also in a real estate agent
3. Listen to what they are saying and what they are not saying, both will give you lots of information about how to work with them.
4. Hear them… many times we listen and do not hear. They can tell the difference.
5. Exceed their expectations – think of a time that someone exceeded YOUR expectations How did you feel?

So I guess you can see where this is going… it’s all about building relationships.

These small things can make a customer for life ! Its the small things that count.

Realtors Think Like a Business & Become One

Do you Know your Numbers?

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!

 

Worrier or Warrior Which are You?

So many people are so very enthusiastic as they launch their  real estate careers, then comes the reality that it takes alot of learning & hard work.

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 !

Google Voice for Mobile

Realtors Use Google Voice Mobile

Google Voice for mobile allows you to make calls and send texts from your Google Voice number. You can dial your Google number then press 2 and call the number that you want to connect with and the receiver of the call will see you Google Voice number! Inexpensive  international calls are also an option…. Google has dome it all!

 

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