3 Tricks to Sell a Home Quickly

3 Tricks to Sell a Home Quickly

RECBL - Real Estate News

Some house flippers use short-term financing to buy a house in need of renovations, but it can have a higher interest rate than other types of financing. It also costs house flippers money in the form of daily interest charges. Other house flippers use their own cash reserves to buy a property.

In both situations, many flippers are focused on selling a home quickly. A critical aspect that impacts the ability to achieve this goal is to create a desirable home that buyers are interested in. When you’re preparing to transform an investment property, turn your attention to these important points:

Create an Open Floor Plan
One idea that works well when flipping is to create an open floor plan. Older homes that likely need more renovations may have a closed-off floor plan. This can make the home look smaller than it is, and can create a claustrophobic ambiance that may turn off some buyers. Depending on the home that you invest in, creating an open floor plan may be as simple as tearing down the wall dividing the kitchen and dining room.

For added emphasis, you can also tear down any dividing walls between living spaces and the dining room. While you’re not adding square footage through this process, an open floor plan feels bigger to a buyer and may be more appealing. In many cases, this is a cost-effective way to generate incredible results.

Add Natural Light
To transform the space of your investment home, analyze the natural light. Some older homes were built with minimal or small windows, which result in a dark and gloomy interior that is not welcoming or appealing to buyers. Consider enlarging existing windows to bring in more natural light.

You can also add a few windows or a skylight in the bathroom, kitchen or other rooms that are commonly dark. When you incorporate natural sunlight into a room, you transform the space by making it feel more inviting.

Research Competing Listings
Before you finalize your renovation plans for your next house-flipping project, you should spend time online researching competing listings. You could even visit a few homes to get a better feel for market conditions. When transforming a space, you need to at least bring the home up to a level that makes it directly competitive with other listings in the market.

It can also be advantageous to go a step above the current market conditions. This can make the home more appealing for a faster sale; however, avoid making renovations that are considerably above market-level. While the home may be very desirable to buyers when you do this, there is a strong chance that you may price the home above market rates. This can make the home too expensive for some buyers. The condition of your finished project is critical to your ability to sell the property quickly.

Many house flippers focus on cosmetic features when renovating a home. For example, they may pay attention to paint colors, countertop materials and flooring options. These are all important elements to focus on, but other factors are equally important if you want to benefit from a quick sale.

As you look for new homes to flip, and as you plan the renovations, turn your attention to these important transformation tips. By doing so, you can create a finished project that sells more quickly.

Do you have tips to sell houses quickly? Let us know at marketing@cashbuyerslists.com

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Listing During the Holidays – 3 Reasons Why It Works

Listing During the Holidays – 3 Reasons Why It Works

RECBL - Real Estate News

Before the internet, buying a home involved long hours of flipping through MLS books and driving prospects around neighborhoods; something many agents just didn't have time to do during the busy holiday season. Now that buyers are able to search, filter, and scan through potential listings without leaving their couch; home buying during the holidays has never been easier. Here are three reasons why your clients should list during the holiday season.

1. Capitalize on less competition.

During the holiday season, sellers can feel like they don't have enough time to maintain their home for showings or negotiate potential offers.

Because of this, they wait and re-list their homes at the beginning of the coming year. While this may make sense for some, it can also mean major missed opportunities.

The smaller number of listed properties can work out in your seller's favor since more potential buyers can potentially see your client's home. Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity by telling your clients to keep their homes show-ready at all times and recommending the best listing price possible. If your client's home has been on the market for a while, this may be an opportune time to consider a price adjustment.

2. Enhance the emotional experience.

Buying a home is an emotional experience for both the buyer and the seller. Often, the buyer's emotional connection to the home is what really solidifies the sale. The holidays are an especially sentimental time for many, as they bring back warm memories and allow buyers to imagine future celebrations.

Selling a home over the holiday season enhances the emotional connection that a potential buyer can make with your client's home. Foster this opportunity by reminding sellers to stage their home accordingly. Since different types of potential buyers will be coming to visit, avoid including overly religious decor. Instead, opt for simple and classic, such as a wreath on the door, a simple tree devoid of children's popsicle-stick decorations in the main room, and subtle garland in the kitchen. Also, consider burning a pine or cranberry-scented candle for those buyers who come over for a tour.

3. Work with motivated buyers.

If someone ventures out to look for a home during the holiday season, it's clear that they're a motivated buyer. Take advantage of this opportunity by making sure the property is marketed in the best way possible. This could be a great time to update listing pictures, check in with your clients on their listing price, or re-post the listing on your social pages or blog. In addition to this, remind sellers that they should be flexible around this time, in case a potential buyer wants to schedule a last-minute showing. This is also a reason why the listing should be in peak-showing condition.

Follow these tips and hopefully your clients will be out with the old and in with the new by New Year's Day!

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Tighten that belt and save for a down payment

Developing Leadership For Business Growth

Developing Leadership For Business Growth

RECBL - Real Estate News

Like most busy real estate professionals, you’ve probably found yourself daydreaming a time or two about forming a team...and exactly what it would take to get the right people on board in order to lay the foundation for success today-and well into the future.

Pam Ermen-a national speaker, coach and trainer, and president of Real Estate Guidance, Inc.-explored the team concept during the 2017 REALTORS(R) Conference & Expo.

"Teams aren’t inherently good, and they aren’t inherently bad," noted Ermen, who began building teams back in the 1990s.

"There’s no general brush you can use to stroke across whether a team is affecting something," she added. "It’s not a trend, but rather, a business model."

A vehicle for real estate growth, Ermen took attendees through a series of business growth stages. Established via a Harvard Business Study on small business, Ermen explained that the following stages overlay the growth of teams extremely well:

Stage 1: Creativity (identity/brand)

• A temporary state
• Unbelievably important, because if you don’t develop your brand, you don’t have anything of value

Stage 2: Direction (systems)

• Can’t move out of stage 1 without creating the systems that are necessary to replicate the brand experience

Stage 3: Delegation (duplication)

• Determine your pay grade and the jobs/tasks you’re doing that fall below it
• Beginning with support roles, hire to fill in the areas where you’re spending the most time

Stage 4: Coordination (team associates)

Stage 5: Collaboration (innovate/re-invent)

• Highest level of leadership that allows you to innovate

Once you’ve moved through the process of developing your brand, putting systems into place, figuring out how to replicate the process, bringing in admin support and filling people into sales roles, you’ve freed yourself to move to a level of leadership that allows you to innovate. "And that’s when it makes a difference," noted Ermen, who encouraged attendees to think about companies that have a reputation for being innovators: Uber, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, etc. "They’re innovating because of their leadership," she added.

But how do you go about creating a culture of collaboration that inspires people to take action and take part in what you’re doing? The following videos, suggested by Ermen, are a good place to start:

HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION



CORE VALUES & COMPANY CULTURE



WHY WE NEED CORE VALUES




"If you watch all these and then hold a team meeting, you will go into it with a totally different perspective of the people in front of you," concluded Ermen.

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Running Your Business Like a Business

Running Your Business Like a Business

RECBL - Real Estate News

The following information is provided by the Center for REALTOR(R) Development (CRD), with assistance from Lauren Hampton and the Podfly editorial team.

Running your business-like a business-is crucial for getting maximum value out of it, and your efforts. As REALTORS(R), it is crucial to plan and be wise, and to think of yourself as a business owner at all times.

Episode eight of the CRD Podcast is the first of two episodes that explore different aspects of business planning for real estate professionals. Part one is a one-on-one by host Monica Neubauer and an industry expert.

Part two, which will release later this month of December, will be a panel discussion, so you can hear some different opinions on the same topic from peers.

Neubauers guest for episode eight is Mark Given. Given has been teaching real estate courses nationally since 2004. He has been president of and served on numerous committees for REALTOR(R) Associations at the national, state and local levels. In addition to his speaking, teaching, and volunteering careers, Given is a prolific author. Given has a book series about his trust-based business philosophy, and has also co-written four other books. His weekly blog, "Marks Minute," is read by thousands-you can sign up to get on the list on his website. Before launching his real estate career, Given spent 20 years as CEO of a multi-state retail sales and rental company.

Given and Neubauer talk about a number of things that should become part of your business plan: finding a mentor, how to foster a good broker relationship, and the cost of training (or not getting trained) in several areas, as well as niche positions in the market and keeping up with your past clients. They also discuss aspects of building a team and being proactive in your business. Below are some of the highlights and key ideas from the discussion.

Find the right brokerage for you. One of the first things a new agent has to do is find a brokerage firm. You need to find a good fit with your broker, so they can help nurture you and gain momentum. Look for a brokerage firm that has potential mentors, a good educational program, and a culture that connects with who you are. Looking for mentors both within and outside the company is important in getting honest answers to some important questions. Learning to ask good questions is a huge part of the real estate industry.

Budget for periods of uneven cash flow. Understanding the money aspect of real estate is important in showing a profit and actually making money in your business. You likely won’t be closing on any deals right away, and you have to budget for the periods of time that you don’t have any revenue. Some expenses include gas, marketing, MLS and association fees, and other additional business fees. Taking a class that talks about the cost of running your business is a great idea for new agents-you don’t want surprises that might cause stress that would prevent you from performing at your highest level. You also don’t want to get ahead of yourself; don’t spend your earnings before you make them!

Don’t skimp on training. Training should be part of your business plan, as well-and not only for new agents. There is always new information to be learned. It is very beneficial to do more training besides what is required for your continuing education. This can help grow your own confidence, and make your business more successful.

Find your special niche. Most agents run their real estate business as generalists. There are plenty of agents who succeed running their business this way, but Given has found that agents that take the time to specialize in a given niche often become the "go-to" person for that niche. If you’re going to run your business like a business, it’s in becoming really good at some part of a business that you become recognized as the best person for that part.

"Pick a niche and get really good at it and all of a sudden your business can really explode," explains Given.

Develop systems to help your business run more smoothly. It is crucial for people running a real estate business to have better systems. Some of these systems include contact management systems or systems that track your business profit. Your management systems are only as good as the information you put in them. You need to have some systems in place to make sure you’re doing things in a timely manner, and following up with your clients. There are many companies that already have these systems in place-take advantage of them! Start your day by making a plan for what you need to get done that day.

There is quite a bit more helpful information covered in episode eight, and we invite you to check out this particular episode, as well as the seven that came before it, at www.CRDpodcast.com, or wherever you sign up to listen and subscribe to your favorite podcasts. Our goal with the podcast is to support and broadcast great conversations (in a free and easily-accessible format) between and for real estate professionals who want to always keep learning and continuously elevate their practitioner skills.

The Center for REALTOR(R) Development podcast is sponsored and supported by NARs Center for REALTOR(R) Development, an online learning platform designed specifically for REALTORS(R).

For more information, please visit the online learning portal from NARs Center for REALTOR(R) Development (CRD)and the Learning Library. Here, real estate professionals can sign up for online professional development courses,industry designations, certifications, CE credits, Code of Ethics programs and more. NAR's CRD also offers monthly specials and important education updates. New users will need to register for an account.

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Pay your rent with bitcoin. Here's how it works

Pay your rent with bitcoin. Here's how it works

RECBL - Real Estate News
Diana Olick | @DianaOlick
Originally Published on by CNBC

​While you still can't buy a meal at many restaurants with bitcoin, you can now pay your rent with it.

ManageGo, a Brooklyn, New York-based rental platform which offers landlords and tenants payment and maintenance scheduling services through online and mobile applications, is now adding bitcoin to the list. Starting early next year, a tenant can pay in bitcoin through the mobile app.

Here's how it works: The tenant uses bitcoin and then ManageGo converts the bitcoin to dollars using Coinbase, a digital cryptocurrency broker.

The landlord gets the rent payment in dollars. Since bitcoin is extremely volatile, the value is locked in at the time of the payment.

There has not been a lot of demand for this service, but executives at ManageGo, which has been around for seven years, say it is only a matter of time.

"We lead in innovation, so we saw bitcoin was something that's going to happen and become a standing currency sometime in the future," said Chaim Lowenstein, vice president of business strategy at ManageGo. "Right now there are types of clients we have, their tenants fit the profile, and we wanted to offer it as the new amenity beyond a fancy gym or a new couch in the building."

Lowenstein said he has already received interest from landlords, if not yet from tenants. The company is marketing the idea nationwide, hoping it will catch on as quickly as the currency has.

Toby Bozzuto said he learned of it this week at a real estate conference. Bozzuto is CEO of The Bozzuto Group, an apartment development and management company with more than 70,000 units nationally in its portfolio.

"Currently we have had zero interest in paying rent through bitcoin," said Bozzuto, who is still skeptical about cryptocurrencies in general. "You don't know who owns it, and that's the knock on it. It's been considered black market with a dirty reputation.

That said, he is not exactly closing the door on the option.

"If this becomes a consumer shift, like Apple Pay, we are always looking for ways to increase the ease of rent payments. I'm not closed-minded enough to say it's off the table," he added.

Appeals to a specific type of renter

ManageGo has approached the American Apartment Owners Association, but representatives there said they have not heard of any demand from renters or landlords for bitcoin options.

Alexandra Alvarado, a representative of the association, said property management companies and landlords have moved only slowly into online payments and tend to be quite cautious and conservative. They will not consider trying something until it is widely established in the market.

That could be years or months, given bitcoin's incredible rise and the expansion of other cryptocurrencies right behind it. To start, it will likely be a very specific type of renter."It's someone who is maybe in technology, somebody in finance, somebody who sees this as very exciting," Lowenstein said. "They got in, and this makes it real that they could pay their rent with bitcoin."




Pay your rent with bitcoin. Here's how it works from CNBC.

For more information about Bitcoin please visit Bitcoin.org, Coinbase, and CNN.com



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Turning Opportunity Into Profit

Turning Opportunity Into Profit

RECBL - Real Estate News

Running a profitable real estate business in today’s fast-paced, tech-driven environment is a challenging proposition. But for the industry’s elite teams (those doing 40+ transactions a year), CINC (Commissions Inc.) is a key piece of the puzzle, providing the tools needed to attract and engage clients-and turn opportunity into profit.

Created to alleviate the frustration associated with having to deal with multiple technologies in order to achieve real estate success, the platform was born in 2011 as a lead generation and CRM solution.

The team spent the next two years creating an integrated platform from which team leaders could run their total business. More depth was added to the solution, coinciding with the launch of CRM+-an update to the platforms pre-existing CRM-in 2015. In September 2016, CINC was bought by Fidelity National Financial, a huge milestone that set the stage for greater success across the board.

"There are a lot of people in the industry who do what we do," says CINC Co-CEO Jason Hoback. "This acquisition was a huge milestone as it provided confirmation that what we’ve done, not only have we done it well, but we’ve done it better than anybody else."

For Co-CEO Alvaro Erize, Fidelitys acquisition marked a true turning point in the platforms trajectory path forward.

"Everything we do is to strengthen the agent’s position in the market. Fidelity shares our client-first mentality and passion for the agent, giving us the firepower and support we need to grow beyond what we had imagined," says Erize of the company’s focus on being the best platform on which to run a business, as well as offering the best lead gen and conversion engine in the market.

"Even if you put the best fuel in a bad car, it won’t get anywhere," says Erize, underscoring the importance a good platform will have on an agent’s efficiency day-in and day-out. "The goal is then for team leaders to take agents selling 10 houses a year and mentor them to be able to sell 25."

While many clients see a boost of more than 20-30 percent when it comes to lead conversion, its important to note that CINCs investment on the lead gen side of things is paying huge dividends as well, with their clients cost-per-lead down 24 percent year-over-year.

"We have the ability to hone in on keywords that will drive the best type of lead to a specific client at the most effective price," says Hoback. A process that’s been boiled down to an art, automated algorithms ensures leads are tailored to a client’s area of expertise, falling in their conversion sweet spot.

More than just a software company, CINCs culture provides a unique value proposition all on its own.

"When it comes to culture, you either have it, or you don’t. Since were a no-contract business, we’ve adopted a Whatever It Takes (WIT) mentality because we have to earn our clients business every single day," says Hoback.

To that end, it’s all about mindset. While the phrase "no problem" is taboo at CINC, Hoback notes that even though the difference between "no problem" and "my pleasure" is subtle, it’s the small things that add up to big things when interacting with clients.

Taking this one step further, Erize believes the company’s strongest asset is the unrivaled community clients become part of when they join the CINC family. "We’ve built what I think is the most impressive community of elite real estate professionals who come together through us, refer business to one another and support each other through times of need," he explains. "The value of our community is as valuable as CINC, and it will only become stronger as we bring this dream to fruition."

Looking ahead, there’s no end in sight as the company continues to pave the way toward its goal of becoming the undisputed, indispensable piece of technology on which elite real estate professionals run their business.

"What’s really interesting from a technology perspective is the fact that we haven’t even scratched the surface with the value we bring our clients and the innovative things we can do to make their lives easier," says Hoback.

"We’ve achieved a lot already, but we still have a significant way to go," concludes Erize.

For more information, please visit www.commissionsinc.com.

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