Hiring your own Virtual Assistant (VA) needs proper preparation and candidate selection. Making the decision to hire a VA and posting the job position online are the easiest parts of the process. The crucial parts are; choosing the right candidate, and managing the Virtual Assistant that you eventually hire. In this post, I will present to you the first part – Choosing the right candidate.

What job or tasks do you need the VA to do?

Before posting the job online, it is wise to determine the specific tasks the VA will be doing on your behalf. Knowing what task you will be asking the VA to be responsible for will give you a clear idea on the specific skill sets the job requires. List the task and the skills needed to carry out the task, and then ask yourself how many hours will be needed to carry out the task, and how much you are willing to pay for the number of hours that the job will require.

You then will have to determine if this task is a one time task, such that once the job is done, then there will be no need to repeat the job, in the future. If this is the case, then this job can be posted as a fixed price job. But if this task is part of a repetitive process within your business, then this job is classified as a weekly task that will need a fixed amount of time each week. Jobs of this type will require you to set a budget on a weekly basis to compensate the VA for doing the job.

Posting the job

There are several good websites to post your job such as oDesk.com, Elance.com. Most sites all you to post your job based on its category or type. You will be required to set up your account including entering in your credit card details. Before posting a job on any site, make sure that you have complete understanding of their terms and conditions. Pay particular attention on their charges. Some sites add 10% on top of what you are offering to pay the VA, while there are others who deduct 10% from the amount you pay the VA. Also take note of their dispute resolution process should you need to resolve an issue with the VA your eventually hire.

The hiring process

After posting the job online, you need to keep track of applicants or job candidates.

There are two types of job candidates you need to be aware of:

1. The newbie
   1. These are applicants who are new to the online job posting site. And there are two types of newbies.
      1. i.      The newbie who is a veteran. This job candidate is a new user of the job posting site, but has extensive offline experience.
      2. ii.      The newbie who is just starting off. This job candidate is a new user of the job posting site, and has relatively short off line experience with jobs requiring a similar skill set.
2. The 2^nd type of applicant you will encounter is the veteran. This applicant has been a member of the job posting site and has logged quite a number of hours and jobs over three months. This type of applicant can and will ask for a higher fee owing to the track record the applicant has established over time. Hiring this type of applicant MAY ensure successful delivery of tasks. But you have to take note of the fee that the candidate indicates.

There are veteran applicants who have already logged on quite a number of hours and jobs, but are new to the task that you want done. You will find this out in the job applicant’s profile.

Always look at the job candidates posted profile. This profile paints a more or less accurate picture of the candidate. Before doing the interview, take particular attention to the application letter that the candidate sent. This letter will reveal to you the communication skill of the prospect. A letter that appears to be a standard format letter can be a red flag. A letter that is written in a flowing manner, referring to details found in your job post is a good indicator.

The Interview

When doing the interview, ask for the candidates’ views on the job you posted and how the candidate intends to carry out the task. Emphasize to the candidate the number of hours you will be requiring for the task and your preferred work schedule. Take note of the time zone difference in other to synchronize real time communications across time zones can become a hassle.

Hiring a candidate due to low fee considerations sets you up for a trap. Low fees do not necessarily mean savings on your part. In most cases, this is a red flag for a frustrating relationship with a possible hire.

In the world of online outsourcing, the reality is – you get what you pay for.

In doing the interview, see to it that you are able to come up with a decision within a short time frame. The best candidates do not wait. They are always on the hunt for other jobs. You could miss out on a good candidate. Job Candidates who linger on are those who have no current work, or are not online often to keep track of their job candidacies.

Once you find the right candidate, hire that candidate immediately and prepare the virtual workspace where you and your VA will be interacting in.

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So what do you think?

This is the first part of the process in hiring your VA online. I am sure you have your questions and ideas. Take time to share them with me. So we can enrich each others ideas and views on hiring a Virtual Assistant. You may have questions. Post your questions / suggestions in the comment box below.

In my next post, I will show to you how to manage your VA and set up the virtual work space so you and your VA can interact in a more efficient and effective manner.

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• 7 ways a Real Estate Agent can become more Productive by making use of a Virtual Assistant

The current Real Estate Market

Due to the increasing numbers of distressed homeowners, there has been an upsurge in the number of potential short sales available to real estate agents. Many of these homeowners will need someone to negotiate their short sale once they have decided that it’s the best option for them to use to avoid foreclosure. The sheer amount of documents that needs to be prepared as well as the time one spends on the phone going back and forth with lenders during a short sale negotiation makes investing in a Virtual Assistant (VA) a strategic decision to make.

The question is – how can hiring a VA ensure that each short sale negotiation is carried out more efficiently and effectively? In order to answer this question, allow me to walk you through the entire short sale process and then point out the crucial areas wherein a virtual assistant can complement the agent’s efforts.

The Short Sale Process

Short sales usually follow the same sequence of steps for those real estate agents who handle the entire process from start to finish; it begins with the agent marketing for prospective clients, screening them, signing up the listings, getting the lender’s specific short sale requirements and instructions, sending in the Authorization to Release Information document to the lender, listing the property on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), scheduling showings and following up with potential buyer agents, preparing and submitting the short sale packet, following up with the lender once the short sale has been initiated, getting the short sale approved by the lender and finally, getting the buyer to close on the transaction.

1) Marketing for clients: Agents have various means to find clients such as sending out direct mails, going door knocking, internet marketing and so on. The VA can assist the agent by handling all the calls that come in as a result of the marketing effort. The VA can also schedule time for the prospects to speak with the agent in order to get all their real estate specific questions answered as well as follow up with them prior to an appointment to confirm their availability.

2) Screening potential clients: To start off the process, agents usually have to screen potential clients to find out if they meet certain conditions that qualify them to sell their property as a short sale. These conditions are:

1. The home owner is experience a financial hardship.
2. The current value of the property is less than the amount owed to the lender.

Instead, the VA can ask the homeowners the necessary questions to determine if they meet the criterias listed above so that the agent only spends time explaining the entire short sale process and the steps to be taking to the right candidates thereby saving time.

3) Preparing the listing documents: Once the homeowner has decided to move forward with a short sale, the VA can then prepare the listing documents. This step prevents the agent from having to spend time putting together the required paperwork. Once prepared, the agent can then meet with the homeowner to sign them up as a client.

4) Getting the lender’s short sale requirements: During the first call to the lender the VA can get all the necessary information such as the fax number to send the authorization, the fax number to send the complete short sale packet, the status of the loan and pending foreclosure and so on.  Since the lender may not have already received the “Authorization to Release Information” document from the homeowner giving them the authority to speak with the agent and the VA, hence the VA can set up a three-way call whereby the lender gets to speak with the VA while the homeowner is on the line. The agent doen’t have to be on the phone to do all this because it’s usually the same set of questions that each lender will be asked so this can be systemized and delegated to the VA.

5) Sending in the Authorization to Release information: After the first call to the lender the VA can immediately get this document from the homeowner and send it in to the lender’s designated fax number. The authorization has to state that the homeowner has given both the agent and the VA the authority to talk to the lender on their behalf, its also necessary for the VA to send it in as soon as possible because it takes time for the authorization to take effect with the lender.  

6) Placing the property on the MLS: This step is self explanatory; essentially the VA enters in the listing information into the MLS along with the pictures of the property in order for it to be exposed to buyer for offers. The agent sets the property price at a level that will bring in a flood of buyer quickly, while the VA can takes care of all the time consuming data entry required to list the property on the MLS.

7) Scheduling showings and following up with potential buyer agents: Assuming the agent listed the property at the right price, it won’t take long for buyer agents to start calling to take their buyers to see the property. The VA can take these calls and give the buyer agent all the necessary information for them to get access to the property. If the property is not vacant, the VA can find out from the homeowner the best time for the buyer agent and their client to come out to see the property. If the selling agent needs to be at the property during the showing, then the VA can make sure that the showing is scheduled at a time that is convenient for all parties. Also the VA can follow up with buyer agents after the showings to get instant feedback from them to see if their client is interested in buying the property.

Preparing and submitting the short sale packet: Once the agent gets a suitable offer from a buyer and the homeowner accepts it, the VA can prepare all the necessary documents required by the lender for the short sale and then send it to the designated fax number. This process can be very time consuming because it is of utmost importance that the complete short sale packet is turned in. Hence it can be a benefit to the agent to know that they don’t have to be bugged down by this task because the VA can handle it.

Following up with the lender once the short sale has been initiated: A couple of days after the short sale packet is submitted the VA can begin the process of regularly calling the lender to find out the status of the short sale. This is a very monotonous process because it involves being on hold for quite some time until someone picks up the phone. When this happens the VA can then transfer the call to the agent to find out the current status of the short sale. The initial follow up process continues for another period of time until the lender assigns a Loss Mitigation officer to the case. It is at this point that the agent actually begins the negotiation process. The loss mitigator then orders a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) to determine the value of the property and establish the amount the lender is willing to net as a result of the short sale. The entire short sale negotiation process can take typically between one month to four months (or more) depending on the lender hence the VA can handle all the follow up calls so the agents only gets on the calls once someone representing the lender is available.

Conclusion

As a agent, the most productive activities you can partake in is getting new listings, negotiating contracts and closing transactions. As a short sale specialist two additional activities needs to be added to the three above which is ethically influencing the BPO so that the final value reflects the the current value of the property and also negotiating with the loss mitigator to approve the short sale in a timely manner in order for the buyer to close on the deal. Everything else in the short sale process can and should be delegated to your Virtual Assistant. By dividing the short sale process into those task that are most important and those that the VA can handle, it allows you to focus on what matters most – developing a track record as the “go to” agent for getting short sale negotiated and approved successfully.

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The current need for BPOs

Banks and other Lending Institutions are currently overwhelmed with a record number of properties needing Broker Price Opinions (BPOs). This is an opportunity for Real Estate Agents to increase their earnings by getting paid; usually within 30 days or earlier for their BPO services. It is an additional stream of income for agents since they do not have to depend on getting paid only when a property is sold. But accepting large number of BPO assignments can be a daunting task especially if you want to handle the entire process all by yourself. Is there a way to increase the number of BPO orders you accept while making sure that the quality of your work exceeds the expectations of the BPO companies? Before I answer that question let me explain what a BPO is for those who don’t already know.

What is a Broker Price Opinion?

A BPO is essentially a tool that is used by banks and lenders to quickly determine the value of a property without having to pay for a full blown appraisal. An agent is usually assigned the task of carrying out the BPO which can either be an exterior BPO that requires only the pictures of; the street, the street name, the address numerals, the front of the property, the side(s), the back and so on; typically pictures that can be taken without entering the property itself OR an interior BPO wherein pictures of the interior are required as well such as pictures of every room, repairs needed, mechanical parts – water heater, HVAC, sump pump and so on. These pictures are usually accompanied by additional information of three sold and three actively listed properties that are comparable to the subject properties. Agents are paid more for the interior BPOs than the exteriors; depending of the market area, agents can get paid between $30 on the low end to as high as $75 (and sometimes more).

How to increase your number of BPO assignment by using a Virtual Assistant (VA)

• Registering with new BPO companies: A VA can help you get additional BPO assignments by taking over the time consuming task of signing up with new BPO companies. All you need to do is give the VA the required information and they will go ahead to fill out the application forms on your behalf. The competition between agents for BPOs is fierce; it can easily become a question of how badly do you want it and how quickly can you accept it. In order for you to get a sizeable and predictable number of BPO orders daily, then you need to be signed up with a lot of BPO companies.

• Following up with BPO company contacts: A VA can help you follow up with key contacts at the BPO companies in order for you to get assigned BPOs. Most times these contacts will tell you that they are no longer looking for agents in your area or might just tell you to be patient and wait to be assigned a BPO. The solution is really to attempt to get them to assign you BPOs that are needed in a hurry – rushed BPOs or those that were previously assigned to other agents who for one reason or the other did not do a good job on it. The VA can call these contacts quite frequently using a script you design to ask for BPO Re-Assignments and rushed ordered BPOs. After helping these BPO companies with these kinds of BPOs you will become a much needed resource to them because they can depend on you to correctly turn in BPO that other agents dropped the ball on or BPOs that they need to get back immediately.

• Entering time consuming BPO data: A VA can help you enter the BPO data into the system used by the BPO companies so that you do not have to spend time doing data entry. All you need to do is supply the VA with the comparable sold and actively listed properties in form of a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA), as well as the pictures of the subject property. Once the VA has completely entered in the data, you can then go back and quickly review the data and enter in the final comments to establish the value of the property. One of the reasons why using a VA to enter in the data is a great option is that you can keep track of what type of information each BPO company requires and essentially create a system for the VA to actually pull the data on their own without you having to actually pull the data yourself.

• Taking pictures of the property: Okay this point has two sides to it because it depends on where the VA is located. If they are located in your state, you can actually train them on how to take the required pictures for the interior and exterior BPOs so that they go out and take the pictures themselves. In situations whereby they are not located in your state, they can help you find people to go out to take the pictures on your behalf by posting ads on online classifieds such as Craigslist, Kijiji and so on. In this economy folks are eager for a paying job, I suggest paying them $10 per property and also paying for their gas. The VA will then be responsible for coordinating the picture taking activities of these folks by letting them know the addresses for each property, the types of pictures required and when they are due back.

In essence, I have gone through various reasons why it makes sense to have a Virtual Assistant help you with your BPOs. It really boils down to the systems you have in place because if you have a good system for doing BPOs a VA can easily take on some of the task or all of it so as to free up time for you to work on getting more BPO orders while ensuring the quality of your work so that you do not lose your relationships with the BPO companies.

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So what do you think? I am sure your mind is already buzzing with other ways a Virtual Assistant can help to increase the number of Broker Price Opinions you do. I will like to hear from you so leave your comments below.

OR

If you want to hire a VA that has been already trained on how to handle BPOs then please click on the flashing button above that says “Click here to Hire your Virtual Assistant Now!”

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• Hello world! welcome to Hire Your Virtual Assistant Blog.

…”We wanted to thank you for your efforts on our behalf. We’ve been extremely pleased with Courtney, Martha and HYVA…“

He likes our services so much that he willingly gave us a testimonial in his company letterhead. Please check it out the complete testimonial by clicking the link below!

Actual Written Testimonial

for other testimonials from our clients please go to

www.HireYourVirtualAssistant.com/clients/clients-testimonial/

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• How to hire your Virtual Assistant – Choosing the right Candidate
• Can Virtual Assistants help Real Estate Agents Negotiate Short Sales more efficiently?
• Can a Virtual Assistant help a Real Estate Agent complete more Broker Price Opinions (BPOs)?
• Any business can hire a Virtual Assistant! And you can too!
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When your business starts to grow, daily activity in running the business gets spent answering phone calls, booking orders, filling up invoices, filing all types of information and all other related paper work. Hence, keeping track of marketing strategies, business development and earnings gets out of your focus and attention. You will end up with a pile of tasks and details that just brings everything else in your life to a stand still.

work stress - too much ToDos

Using the traditional approach

As a response to this pile up of tasks important to keep your business going, at first you might decide to use the traditional solution of hiring employees to do all the paper work and customer support. The employee you hire then reports to work 8 hours a day, Monday to Friday; you must first have in place all the necessary office equipment and furniture– which becomes an expense on your part. At the end of the day, the employee stops working, and your office closes for the night. All the needed work is restarted on the next business day.

This traditional business approach automatically limits your business operations to the hours the business is open for the day. At the end of the work day, all work ceases, while you, the business owner continues to think, plan and work on other details to keep the business going and ready for the next work day. If you need assistance from an employee you will have to pay for overtime work.

Virtual Assistant - The Fortune 500 way

The Virtual Assistant solution – fortune 500 approach

Traditionally, only Fortune 500 companies hired virtual assistants. This was necessary for them due to the global reach of their business. Today, current technology has shrunk the world and allows even small businesses and professionals to offer their services across time zones. The opportunity to hire virtual assistants is now available to small business owners like you.

Like traditional employees, a virtual assistant does the needed tasks any business requires to run efficiently. The marked differences between a virtual assistant and a traditional employee, has advantages small business owners can maximize.

3 Significant Advantages your business will benefit from when you hire a Virtual Assistant

1. The virtual assistant is responsible for providing the necessary equipment needed to carry out the tasks that they are assigned.
2. Your business can operate 24/7 since the virtual assistant can be in another time zone. When your business closes for the night, the VA can continue working in another time zone. Time zone barrier ceases to limit your business operation.
3. Wages are set based on the virtual assistants’ preferences and you will be able to negotiate a cost efficient wage. The VAs you choose will give you a cost efficient wage structure for the task your business needs to get done.

The Virtual Assistant you hire will work on all the tasks than can be assigned to a traditional employee. Your virtual assistant can take care of all the needed paper work to keep your business running. Now, you can hire a specialist to assist you in improving and implementing the business development plans you need to extend your market reach. You will be able to hire professionals to assist you in developing your product and streamline services.

This in turn will allow you to then focus on increasing earnings and making a profit. Most of all, you get your life back and then will be able to enjoy and benefit from the profits your business will bring to you.

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Would you hire a Virtual Assistant? Why or Why Not?

I currently use virtual assistants myself and as a matter of fact, you too can hire a virtual assistant and implement this Fortune 500 approach for your business. Give this a thought and take time to leave your comments or suggestions on my blog. I will like you hear what you have to say.

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• 7 ways a Real Estate Agent can become more Productive by making use of a Virtual Assistant
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