Rocklin Real Estate Podcast with Dave Silva

How to Hire a Marketing Assistant

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 13:25:00 -0700

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Alex and Danny were both hired as minimum-wage marketing assistants, but they’ve leveraged their positions to set them up for future success. Here’s how.

We hadn’t had much success in the past hiring high-paid marketing assistants, so we decided that a new strategy would be necessary. Instead of hiring a high-paid expert, we would hire someone who would agree to work for minimum wage in exchange for the education and opportunities that we can provide here at Vyral. This process has yielded good results so far—just ask Alex and Danny.

They were both initially interested in the position because of the opportunity of a $50,000 + salary six months down the road. However, once they went through the interview process they realized it was a perfect fit.

This was no accident. Our eight-step hiring process ensures that we only get the best and most motivated candidates. With all the steps we take to filter candidates, it’s inevitable.

Our interview process is a bit unorthodox, but ultimately rewarding. We first contact candidates via email and ask them to fill out a personal assessment, as well as answering five questions on video. After that, we set up a Skype meeting, then an in-person meeting, then an interview.

It’s a big deal when you make the wrong hire. That’s why we have a process in place to ensure we only get the best candidates. You should have one, too.

We’ve created a culture here at Vyral that is all about improving and learning each day.

We’ve created a culture here at Vyral that is all about improving and learning each day. That’s why we’ve been able to attract such great talent.

A Different Mortgage Option for California Veterans

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 08:39:00 -0700

You've probably heard of VA loans for veterans looking to buy a home, but we can actually help you get an even better product through the California Veterans Administration.

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We have an excellent contact at the California Veterans Administration and today, I wanted to tell you about a great loan product they can set you up with if you're a veteran looking to buy a home.

There are some subtle differences between a normal VA loan and a California Veterans loan. Most brokers in town can issue a normal VA loan; they're just insured and guaranteed by the federal Veterans Administration.

The cool thing with the California Veterans loan is that it's actually California bond money financing the loan. Nobody will sell the loan and it won't be serviced by some other company. In fact, it will be serviced right here in Sacramento at the California Veterans Administration, which we call Cal Vet for short.

When my dad became disabled, they actually continued to make the payments on my folks' property.

It's definitely a good product that I'm personally familiar with because my folks had one many many years ago. When my dad became disabled, they actually continued to make the payments on my folks' property.

With a normal VA loan, the rates can actually adjust two or three times a day. Until you're under contract and locked in, the interest rate can go higher or lower frequently. You also have to worry about time frames. If you're looking to buy a new home that's under construction, there might be four to six months of construction. With a VA loan, your contract is locked, so you don't have to worry about your interest rate rising during that construction period.

Another advantage comes with the homeowners insurance aspect. With a VA loan, your structure insurance is actually covered in your loan. All you'd need is a renter's policy to cover your contents, which saves you more money off your monthly expenses.

If you'd like to learn more about these loans, I'd be happy to get you in contact with my contact at Cal Vet. Just give me a call or send me an email and we can get that conversation started for you.

How Can Our New VIP Buyer Program Help You?

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 14:27:00 -0800

Our new VIP Buyer Program offers many great incentives for buyers who choose us to help them purchase a home. Here’s how.

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Have you heard the good news? We have a tremendous new VIP Buyer Program designed to reward buyers like you for choosing us to help you buy a home. Here’s what we’re offering.

You can earn a $1,500 closing credit if you buy a property from us that’s listed by us but isn’t yet on the MLS. This type of listing is sometimes referred to as a ‘pocket listing.’ This is a great opportunity for you to save money while buying a house that’s perfectly suited to your needs without any competition.

You can also earn a $1,000 closing credit if you buy one of our listings that’s actively listed on the MLS and a $500 closing credit if you buy any listing through us that’s not one of our listings but is still listed on the MLS.

“

This program offers many
great incentives.

”

As always, all of our buyers get their new houses re-keyed, because we’d never want you to move into a house without knowing who else has access to it.

In addition to these things, our VIP buyers also get to choose from one of four services:

Free carpet cleaning.
Four hours of moving help, which can be delegated and arranged according to your preferences.
Four hours of housekeeping, from either the house you’re moving from or the house you’re moving to.
Four hours of organizing help in your new home.

If you’re interested in this program, feel free to reach out to me so we can fill you in on all the details. Our goal this year is to help 100 families, and we’d love for you to be one of them!

What Can We Expect From the Sacramento Market in 2017?

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Wed, 4 Jan 2017 14:05:00 -0800

A lot of people are wondering what will happen to our real estate market in 2017, so today I’d like to share some of my predictions.

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A lot of folks have been calling me lately and asking me what’s in store for 2017, so today I’d like to share some of my market predictions for the new year.

First off, Realtor.com just classified the Sacramento area as the fourth-hottest region in the nation for 2017. They’re citing the fact that saturation of home prices in the Bay Area is driving investors away from there and into our neck of the woods. Other factors for this buyer influx include the high price of rentals and past foreclosures being wiped off of many people’s credit histories.

Even though interest rates are high right now, they’re still very low in a historical context. Right now, they’re hovering just above 4%, but they’re expected to increase as high as 5%. Appreciation is expected to be in the 5% to 8% range, but that will depend on where you’re located and what price point you’re in.

“

Our area should experience an influx
of buyers.

”

First-time home buyers are still having a tough time finding affordable housing, so any inventory below $350,000 should move pretty quickly. That price point will move up as high and fast as the market will bear. We also see that the luxury, high-end inventory above $800,000 has a lot of traction and should attract a lot of activity.

I’m looking forward to helping you move your life forward this year, whether you’re thinking about buying, selling, or investing. We’d love to consult with you and work out a plan that works best for you, so please feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. Talk to you again next time!

Think You Might Be a Good Fit for Our Team?

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 11:40:00 -0800

Our team is hiring, and we’re looking for people who are interested in helping other people—not boosting their transaction numbers.

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Our team is hiring, and we’d love for the right person to join us.

Why work for us? Let me tell you a little bit about what we do and what we can provide for you. We like to divide our business into three categories: before, during, and after.

Our “before” category is the time in which we generate leads and contacts before we get into contract, whether it’s a buyer or seller agreement. We do our lead generation through Google pay-per-click, Facebook, Zillow, Trulia, mail-out campaigns, and postcarding. On our team, you would no longer have to create these items—we’d create them for you.

The “during” category is the time in which we’re in contract with a client. We have a management process for this, as well. We would provide a transaction coordinator for you, along with all the information you want or need for educating your clients.

Finally, the “after” category is the period after escrow closes where we provide all the information and gifts for your buyers or sellers so you can stay in communication with them. We will also supply the CRM contact management system. With RE/MAX, you’d not only get the four webistes that they provide, but you’d also have access to our two lead generation sites: www.greaterrosevillehomes.com and www.besthomesandestates.com. You would have access to these sites and be able to send them out to your clients and contacts.

Our mission is to build great relationships with the people that you already know or the people that you want to get in contact with.

“

If you’re just looking for transactions,
you wouldn’t be a good fit.

”

What’s the rub? I’m going to be completely honest with you—I don’t want every agent or salesperson to call me. I’m not looking for a salesperson. I’m looking for a consultant. I want someone who’s more interested in helping people and bringing value to those they become associated with. That’s what we built our business on, and that’s the path we want to continue to follow.

We’re looking forward to doing more than 200 deals next year and growing our team to be able to help 200 different families. If that sounds like something you’re interested in, we’d love to talk. To contact us, you can either click on the ‘contact’ button, reply to this email, or just give us a call. I look forward to talking with you soon!

How Can You Prepare Your House for Fall and Winter?

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 13:49:00 -0800

Preparing your home for fall and winter means checking off any maintenance items you still have left to do.

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Now that we’re in the middle of fall and approaching the beginning of winter, what can you as a homeowner do to prepare your house for these seasons?

Your first order of business should be to check your smoke detector batteries. Many new homes are either electrically-wired or have smoke detectors with the new 10-year batteries, but there are still plenty out there that only work with 9-volt batteries. I generally advise people to check them at the time changes, which is twice a year.

I also recommend checking and replacing your furnace filters at that same interval. This will help your furnace to be much more efficient by getting rid of the dust and animal dander that accumulates inside it. Now’s even a good time to turn your furnace on to exhaust that burnt dust smell that lingers around it after long periods of inactivity. This is especially important if you own a rental property, as this will save you from any inconvenient maintenance calls down the road.

“

Don’t put off your maintenance
chores any longer.

”

We’ve all been through a power outage or two this time of year, so it’s a good time to locate your flashlights and put them in a place where everyone in the house will know where to find them. It also wouldn’t hurt to keep a couple candles in strategic locations. Make sure they’re safe candles and not the kind that can be easily knocked over.

Any and all maintenance items you planned on doing over the summer, whether it’s unblocking some drainage or sealing something that was allowing some moisture intrusion, should be done so that any accumulated moisture doesn’t do serious damage to your foundation. Here in Northern California, we’re pretty spoiled by having a dry summer, but it never hurts to be prepared.

If you have any other questions or have a topic in mind you’d like to see me discuss, feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to talking with you soon!

Why Use RE/MAX?

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 12:20:00 -0700

Listing with RE/MAX means getting more exposure for your home and having access to a larger network of agents.

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What is the advantage of using RE/MAX?

I’ve chosen to associate with RE/MAX as my brokerage of choice primarily because it gives me great brand awareness. This means when I’m listing a home like yours, it will get a lot more exposure. We actually have five different websites we can market through RE/MAX:

“

Listing with RE/MAX means your
home will get more exposure.

”

There are more than 104,000 agents who work with RE/MAX in 6,986 offices in 95 different countries. We know the importance of networking in today’s market, and our ability to network is unrivaled. Even if you’re relocating to another state or city here in California, we can reach out to a RE/MAX agent in that city or state in order to help you. I would even go so far as to personally screen those agents to make sure that they’re competent to handle your business.

RE/MAX likes to claim that nobody sells more homes than they do, and the data from the National Association of Realtors backs that up.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Is Now a Good Time to Buy a House?

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Thu, 6 Oct 2016 08:13:00 -0700

I was recently asked if now is a good time to buy a house with school back in session for the kids.

Oddly enough, it's a great time to buy a house. Contrary to what many believe, typically in the summer, people are traveling and going on vacations. Now, suddenly a lot of people are back and focused on getting back into school and moving before the holidays.

“

Fall is actually a great time to buy
a house because of the market.

”

Just today as I shot this video, there were 312 new listings in Placer County this month with 185 properties sold. You can definitely see how accelerated the market is right now.

If you've been thinking about buying or selling a house but weren't sure about the timing, I'd be glad to answer any questions you have. If you have any questions at all about real estate or our market, I'd be happy to answer those questions, too. Give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!

Welcome to Our New Website

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Thu, 1 Sep 2016 08:42:00 -0700

Welcome to our new website, GreaterRosevilleHomes.com! I hope you enjoy it. We spent a lot of time making it a comprehensive site so you can find the exact home that you are looking for.

Be sure to click on the advanced tab when you set up your home search. The filters there will allow you to be as specific as you can. One of our customer service representatives can also give you a call to make sure that you are setting your search up correctly.

“

All of the properties on our website
are active homes on the market.

”

This site will give you unique, up-to-date real estate information. Unlike Zillow and Trulia, all the properties on our website are active on the market.

If there is any way we can help you, please let us know. In the meantime, enjoy the website. I look forward to hearing from you!

How to Handle a Request for Repairs When Selling in Roseville

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 09:14:00 -0700

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One of my pet peeves as a listing agent is when I get a request for repairs, and the item was clearly visible when the offer was written. Right away, I get pretty upset, and I let the agent know that the repair was visible and should have been in the offer that their buyer made. We don't like to receive a bunch of requests after we're already in escrow.

Health and life safety are the main issues we're concerned with. It's important that a seller passes a healthy and safe house onto the buyer.

“

Health and safety are the main
issues we're concerned with.

”

When we get that request for repairs, we'll address it with you, the seller, and only address the issues that pertain to health and safety. If there is an electrical issue or mold or termites that were brought out by the home inspection, we'll address those too. We'll also find the most inexpensive contractors to take care of these issues, because your money is very important to you and us.

I'd love to go over requests for repair in more detail with you, if you're curious. Give us a call or reach us through the "Contact Us" box and we'll get right back to you. If you have any other questions about real estate or topics you'd like to see covered in a video, let us know in that same box. Thanks for watching!

Our Free Professional Photography Helps Your Listing Sell

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Tue, 5 Jul 2016 10:04:00 -0700

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I wanted to take a minute today to talk about something I'm really passionate about - real estate photography.

Putting it plain and simple, most real estate photography just sucks. It looks like it was taken with an iPhone and doesn't even utilize the full 25 pictures allowed by the MLS. The most important thing with bad photos is the location and arrangement not making sense to a buyer. You've probably seen it in a listing and found yourself wondering where this or that bedroom is, why you only see pictures of one bathroom, and so on.

“

Most real estate
photography just sucks.

”

We hire a professional photographer here in Roseville for our listings, and he generally gives me about 35 to 40 pictures to choose from. We do a walkthrough video tour as well so potential buyers can see exactly how the house flows and how each room relates to each other. For unique properties requiring aerial views, we actually use a drone. We recently had a unique property with a canyon behind the house and very dramatic views that we wouldn't have been able to capture without the drone. We had another that was just off the ocean, and we were able to show how close the home was to the ocean with a drone fly-in.

The more unique your property is, the more special the photography needs to be, and that's a free service we offer. If you'd like to see some examples of our professional photography, or you have any questions about how we utilize photography, don't hesitate to reach out to us.

The Advantages of Buying Solar in Roseville

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 10:04:00 -0700

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I recently had a client ask me if installing solar panels on his home would affect the sale. With solar, you have an option to lease the system or buy the system. There are advantages to each.

Leasing can be up to a 20-30 year term, and sometimes the units are not large enough so you will have to pay a little extra to your utility company at the end of the year. Another thing with leasing is that your technology won’t be updated unless it says so in the lease.

If you purchase the system, you can buy the correct size for your home, and you can update your technology, and you can also install a system large enough that you will not have to pay any utilities. Another benefit of purchasing is that you get quite a few tax benefits.

“

Buying a solar panel gives you
great tax benefits.

”

Just so you know - we sold a few homes for clients last year that were leasing solar, and they have all decided not to continue doing so in their next homes. Just thought you might want to know that!

If you have any questions about buying or leasing solar energy, please don’t hesitate to contact me. In some instances, it can raise the value of your home significantly.

Thanks for tuning in!

How to Win a Multiple Offer Situation

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Thu, 2 Jun 2016 13:08:00 -0700

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In a seller’s market like the one we’re seeing in Roseville, multiple offer situations have become the norm. If you’re thinking of buying soon, don’t fret! We have got some great tips to share with you that will help you compete and win a bidding war.

1. A fully-underwritten desktop approval. Most agents just recommend a pre-approval, but we like to take it one step further. This will shorten the amount of time we need to close escrow, and will give you a better shot at competing with cash buyers. Generally, cash purchases come in and it’s a very short close, so this gives you a fighting chance to appeal to the seller in that way as well.

“

It’s not always about the best price.

”

2. Negotiate before the offer is written. Before we even write an offer, we like to call the listing agent to see what is important to their sellers. It’s not always about the best price, sometimes the seller needs to be able to rent the home back for a period of time, or they want more earnest money. Whatever the case may be, we want to find out what will make your offer stand out above the others.

In addition to these, we have plenty more strategies that we use in these types of situations. Things like guaranteeing to beat the highest offer or guaranteeing the appraisal. We would love to go deeper into these tactics with you, just give us a call or send us an email and we’d be glad to help!

Our Sale Guarantee Sets Us Apart

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Tue, 17 May 2016 09:29:00 -0700

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Today I wanted to talk about selling your home - and guaranteeing that sale.

So what makes us different from other agents when selling? We all know that everyone wants to get the most money in the shortest period of time. We want that for you too. To do that, we need to price the home accurately.

In our guarantee, we put in writing what we feel the market value of your house is. Once we agree on the price, we guarantee that we’ll sell for 100% of that price or we’ll pay you the difference. I don’t know many agents that will put that kind of guarantee in writing.

We look forward to speaking with you soon. Stay tuned for more updates on the blog, and of course, give us a call with any questions you have.

What’s Happening in the Roseville Real Estate Market?

Dave@TheSilvaTeam.com (Dave Silva) — Wed, 4 May 2016 08:57:00 -0700

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What’s happening in the Roseville real estate market? Here’s a quick market update to fill you in.

1. Is this a buyer’s or seller’s market? We are in a seller’s market. There are a lot more buyers out there than there are sellers, so there aren’t many homes on the market.

2. What does the current housing inventory look like? Right now, we have about half the inventory that we normally would this time of year. A lot of people are being cautious with the economy. Also, since the sellers don’t have much inventory to pick their new homes from, they are hanging onto their current properties longer.

3. How does the inventory level affect home values? Despite the low inventory, buyers are being a little finicky, so home values won’t go much higher. Buyers know that their dollars will go a long way.

4. What do the interest rates look like? Interest rates are still below 4% if you have good credit and a healthy debt-to-income-ratio.

5. What does all this mean for you? Overall, it’s a great time to buy or sell. Most of the better homes are coming on the market now. There aren’t many foreclosures or short sales anymore - all of those are out of the market.

If you have any questions about today’s video, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you.