Real Estate Solutions

100 Real Estate Agent Marketing Ideas to Generate Leads Online

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Mon, 8 Mar 2021 17:47:00 +0600

I think you’ll agree with me when I say:

It’s REALLY hard to market your real estate agent business.

When people think of buying or selling a home, you want them to think of your name. You want them to give you a call. And you want them to work with YOU.

Of course, that’s easier said than done.

Because there’s a lot of other real estate agents in the area who are fighting for the same attention.

Fortunately, you don’t have to win all of the attention to dominate your market – just most of it.

And the best part is…

You don’t even have to leave your computer to get started.

In this article, I’m going to show you 30 real estate agent marketing ideas for dominating your market online.

30 Real Estate Agent Marketing Ideas and Tips to Generate More Leads Online

1. Why Don’t People Trust Real Estate Agents?

The answer is you haven’t given them reason to.

We talk about this a lot at Carrot. And that’s for a good reason: if people don’t trust you just a few moments after they arrive on your website, then there’s about a 0% chance that they’re going to work with you. Nowhere is trusting more important than in the real estate niche, where large amounts of money and emotional tension are at play.

And people will only work with real estate agents that they trust can solve their problems.

Learn more…

See Carrot in Action

Grow Your Real Estate Website’s
Traffic, Leads, & Results With Carrot’s Online Marketing Software

Take a Demo of Carrot Today

2. Build a Real Real Estate Agent Website

Why does a real estate agent need a website?

Most real estate agents become a part of the online “clutter” in their markets when they toss up a website that gets lost in the shuffle. Building a focused and optimized website will help you cut through that clutter with content marketing and adding your industry expertise.

Having a website will attract more of your favorite clients by using it as an Evergreen Marketing tool. When done right, you can reduce or eliminate relying on cold calling, direct mail, Zillow, and the marketing that’s burning you out.

Having a website will also…

Increase awareness and online presence… in fact, 50% of buyers found their home using the Internet.
Generates quality leads.
Increases your credibility.
Service as an educational tool. Add community resources, FAQ, and contact information. Educating buyers or sellers and explaining how real estate agents provide their services can build trust, rapport and earn more business.

Learn more…

Join Our 30 Day Authority Building Challenge…

Are you a real estate investor or agent and want to dominate your market, build a consistent and predictable lead flow, and earn more income?

Join the Next Challenge

3. Do Consistent Facebook Live Videos

Facebook’s LIVE video feature is useful for more than recording your kid’s birthday party. You can also use it to do a LIVE walkthrough of house listings that you’re trying to get attention around.

After all, one of the most time-consuming parts of your day is house showings, so why not show a house to your entire Facebook audience with a single LIVE video?

Plus, 70% of homeowners want to list with a real estate agent that does some video marketing as a part of selling their home. This might be your dead-simple, don’t-have-to-hire-a-professional way of integrating video marketing into the service you offer.

Just create a healthy cadence and get in front of your social media audience more regularly.

The more that people see your face online and hear you talk about their problems and your solutions, the more familiar that your market will be with you.

Video is increasingly important in both content marketing for social media. More people are choosing to consume information through video.

Here are some ideas for Facebook live videos to work into your real estate marketing:

Host virtual open houses.
Discuss your community market with a local specialist.
Livestream auctions.
Interview customers for success stories.
Interview a partner or someone you work with… such as an interior decorator.
Host a contest or giveaway

Learn more…

Free Download

4. Consistently Post on Social Media

Why do real estate agents need social media?

According to the National Association of Realtors, social media has become a major way to acquire clients and close deals. Here’s a snapshot of their report:

77% of realtors actively use social media for real estate in some capacity.
47% of real estate businesses say social media results in the highest quality leads vs. other sources.
99% of millennials and 90% of baby boomers begin their home search on the Internet. As opposed to in-person referrals.

It’s powerful. And perhaps there’s no better way to generate consistent word of mouth around your brand name and the service you offer than by staying in front of your audience.

Posting on social media consistently allows you to stay in front of your audience without even leaving the comfort of your desk chair.

Where to post:

Facebook posts
Facebook ads
LinkedIn
Instagram

What you should post:

Property photos
Success stories
Milestones
Market news
Renovation and home tips
Events

Learn more…

5. Collaborate with Other Real Estate Agents in Your Area

As the market gets increasingly competitive and the economy takes a slight downturn, collaborating with other professionals in your market might just separate the winners from those who starve. Don’t be afraid to collaborate with other real estate agents and investors in your area to make the most of the market that you find yourself in.

Sometimes, the best way to dominate your market is to team up with those who’re already dominating it.

Learn more…

6. Message 100 Friends on Facebook and Tell Them What You Do

If you really want to generate word of mouth, then spend a bit of time sending messages to your friends on Facebook and telling them about what you do. Maybe you’re offering a new service that you can announce to people or maybe you just want to tell people that you’re currently looking for new clients.

Either way, a Facebook message can go a long way in generating word-of-mouth for your business within your target market – especially if you personalize each message.

Learn more…

7. Set Your Email Signature to Explain What You Do

If you’re like me, then you send at least 3-5 emails every day. Believe it or not, every single one of those emails is an opportunity to gently advertise what you do and who you are.

By setting your email signature to automatically populate with business-card style information, you can remind people of your company every time you send an email.

Learn more…

Steal These 5 Real Estate Email Scripts to Automate Motivated Seller Follow-up

8. Set Your Social Media Bio to Explain What You Do

Similar to your email signature, your social media bios are just waiting to be exploited for your market domination. When someone clicks to your profile to find out more about you (and trust me, they do), you want them to quickly know who you are and what your business does.

A quick bio that describes your real estate expertise ensures you don’t miss lead-gen and word-of-mouth opportunity on your social media profiles.

Learn more…

Real Estate Marketing Guide: How to Drive Traffic, Generate Leads, and Land Deals

9. Listen to a Mindset-focused Podcast

You might be thinking… “why would listening to a podcast help your online marketing?”

Often times, becoming the most successful real estate agent in your market is simply a matter of believing you can do it – believing that you are the best.

I know it sounds cheesy, but the mindset is crazy powerful for building the business of your dreams and pulling in more leads than you can handle. And a podcast is a great way to test and refine your mindset regularly.

Here are some benefits of listening to podcasts:

Your imagination kicks in.
You learn new marketing tactics.
Your multi-tasking skills become enhanced.
Your listening skills grow.
You can learn more about people and gain empathy to use as an agent.

Learn more…

5 Podcast Episodes to Nail The Mindset Game

10. Optimize Keywords on Your Website for Search Engines

The most thorough way to dominate your market is to be the first result that prospects see when they type “real estate agent” or “sell my home fast” into Google. If you’re not on the page when people do that, then you have a very small chance of being a significant force in your market.

Carrot SEO Keyword Ranking Tracker

People go online to find everything, including a real estate agent to work with. You need to show up at the top of Google results. And to do that, you need to optimize your website to rank in search engines via strategic keyword placement.

Carrot members can easily track their rankings using the Carrot SEO Ranking Tracker.

Learn more…

The Complete SEO for Real Estate Guide for Beginners

Free SEO Keyword Bible Download

Get Your Free SEO Keywords for Agent or Investors

11. Set a Budget and Invest in Facebook or Google Ads

If you want to increase the number of leads and deals that you’re getting quickly and you have some money to invest, then PPC might be a great option for you.

Whether you choose Facebook or Google Ads (the two most popular options), PPC can start generating more leads immediately, increasing your business profitability and market authority.

Learn more…

12. Enhance the “About” Page on Your Website

Did you know that the “About” page on any given website is the third most-viewed page? People don’t just want to know what you do or how you do it, they want to know who you are, as well.

By spending more time on your “About” page – adding core values, a mission statement, and personal pictures – you’ll stand out from competitors who didn’t spend extra time on their “About” page.

Learn more…

13. Write or Record Weekly Blog Posts

Writing and publishing weekly (or monthly) blog posts on your website gives you and your audience something to talk about. It gives you something to share on your social media accounts and your audience something to comment on.

That’s good – the more interactions that you have with people in your target market, the more people who will view you as the real estate expert in their area.

Plus, publishing consistent blog posts can also help with your Google rankings and building trust with people who arrive on your website.

Don’t have time? Hate writing? No problem! Create a VideoPost! You could have amazing content to share in 10 minutes.

Simply upload a video and receive a transcription for your content. It’s easy to create content that helps you stand out from the crowd.

See it in action here… How to Create Real Estate Content in Under 10 Minutes with Carrot’s VideoPost

Learn more…

14. Do a Case Study Video with a Past Customer

Case studies or we like to call them “customer success stories” are powerful. When a prospect arrives on your website, one of the first things that they’re asking themselves is, “Can I trust this person to solve my problem and have my best interest in mind along the way?”

How they answer that question will play a large role in determining whether they decide to work with you or not.

Fortunately, you can help them say “Yes” to that question by filming and publishing case study videos of people you’ve worked with in the past and their wonderful experiences.

Learn more…

Real Estate Video Marketing: 12 Ideas to Fuel Your Campaign

15. Make Your Phone Number Easy to Find on Your Website

When someone on your website is ready to take action, the last thing they want to do is send them digging for your phone number. To avoid losing leads who want to call you on the phone, put your phone number somewhere on your website that makes it easy to find.

This alone might not dominate your entire market. But when you’re playing against big competitors, details matter.

Learn more…

16. Use a Low-commitment Opt-in Form on Your Website

When someone arrives on your website, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to take the first step.

At Carrot, we’ve found that a simple form like the one above with address, phone number, and email is a great starting place. It’s enough to qualify the person (having three different fields) but not so much that it’ll stop someone who’s seriously interested in your service.

By putting a form like this on your own website, you decrease the amount of lost convert-able leads to your website and increase your market domination – even if just slightly.

Learn more…

17. Write Persuasive Sales Copy

Words matter. And perhaps nowhere do words matter more than when you’re trying to convince someone who doesn’t even know you to work with you.

Often, the real estate professional who writes the best sales copy and speaks directly to their target market will win the day. Consider spending a bit more time on your own website’s sales copy to make sure every word is compelling and persuasive.

Learn more…

18. Publish High-quality House Photos

If you’re a real estate agent, then posting high-quality photos on your website, Facebook page, and house listings is critical. Several studies have shown that high-quality photos can increase how quickly a home sells and what price it sells for.

It will take more than pictures to sell a house, but this is one piece of marketing that can’t be overlooked.

Many real estate agents miss the importance of taking quality pictures. This is one simple way you can beat your competition.

Learn more…

19. Add IDX to Your Website

If you’re a real estate agent, when someone arrives on your website, there’s a good chance that they want to see some house listings.

One, because that means you’re actually a real estate agent and not some kind of a poser.

And two, because everyone loves browsing through house listings (most of all, your target market).

Your high-performing competitors are using IDX, so you probably should be too.

Learn more…

Why Real Estate Agent Websites With IDX Perform Better Than Their Listing-less Competition

20. Encourage Reviews on Your Company Facebook Page

People trust reviews just as much as they trust recommendations from friends. Think of your own experience: before you buy a movie, eat at a restaurant, stay at a hotel, or buy a book, you read the reviews.

And how much BIGGER of a decision is buying or selling your home? Sure – people won’t decide entirely if they’re going to work with you based on your reviews, but your reviews (or whether you have them at all) will play a big part during the prospect’s early decision-making process.

Facebook is a great place to collect and advertise those reviews.

Learn more…

21. Create Location-specific Landing Pages

One of the best ways to convince people that you’re the best person to solve their problem amidst a whole sea of competitors is by targeting them specifically. Rather than simply having a website that targets your city, create different landing pages that target different parts of that city.

There’s probably an entire pool of prospects who are interested in river-side houses, houses by the golf course, wooded homes, or homes in the mountains.

By niching your market down even further with market-specific landing pages, you can speak directly to those people and increase their chance of working with you.

Learn more…

How to Optimize your Real Estate Landing Pages (From 2 Carrot Members Who are Doing it Right)

22. Run Free Ads on Craigslist

Craigslist is a great place to find buyers and sellers. Mainly, because it’s one of the first places that many people go when they start looking for a piece of real estate to buy. Plus, the ads are free to post.

Post consistently with pictures of the homes or property you’re marketing and voila, you’re battling on one more front that your competitors are probably ignoring.

Learn more…

23. Create a Sales Script to Increase Close Rate

A sales script for your phone calls and email follow up doesn’t just increase efficiency, it can also increase sales. By thinking about the pain points your prospects have and what makes them tick before getting on a call with them, you can avoid losing a deal because you forgot to say something important until after the call was over.

Phone calls are still a big part of the real estate marketing strategy, and how you handle yourself on the phone (with efficiency and salesmanship) is critical to your success.

Tom Ferry shares five proven sales scripts to every real estate agent need to gain confidence and win more business

Learn more…

Steal These 5 Real Estate Email Scripts to Automate Motivated Seller Follow-up

24. Delegate “Busy Work” to an Executive Assistant

If you want to build a company that goes well beyond solopreneurship, then you need to delegate “busy work” to someone else. “Busy work” is the stuff that has to be done, but it doesn’t need to be done by you. Someone else can take it over relatively quickly and have the same impact.

To grow your business and focus on more important things, outsource the “busy work” to a VA or in-person assistant.

Learn more…

25. Know Your Market Like the Back of Your Hand

The one who knows their market best dominates the market.

Truth is, the agents and investors who know their market the best – who they are, what they like, how they think, how they talk, where they hang out – are the ones who will dominate their market.

Why?

Because those are the people that will most easily sell their services to the market. They understand the market’s pain and they position their service strategically to serve that pain.

If you’re at a loss for how to beat your competition, then spend some time studying your market. Visit forums, Facebook groups, and pages, or make some phone calls and ask relevant questions.

Once you know it, establish credibility and connections by posting market snippets on social media or an email newsletter campaign.

Learn more…

$15M+ Revenue in 5 Years… How Raul Bolufe Has Built the Momentum to Crush Wholesaling in a Very Competitive Market

26. Use a Drone For Aerial Photography of Your Real Estate Listings to Creates Visual Intrigue

There’s no better way to inject child-like life into your marketing strategy than purchasing a remote-controlled toy.

And drones aren’t just great for having a bit of well-deserved fun, they’re great for business. 83% of people selling their home prefer to work with an agent that uses drones. High volume realtors use drones 3.5 times more than their low volume counterparts. And, last but not least, homes with aerial images sell 68% faster than homes with basic images.

Really, that’s no surprise when you take a glance at the beautiful photos these flying playthings can capture.

But, which drone should you buy? There’s a lot of options and you want to get the best bang for your buck.

Truthfully, I don’t know. I’ve never bought a drone and I hesitate to tell you which one to buy before I’ve actually tried it out for myself.

But, what type of drone should you use? Here is a list to get you started. Keep in mind, though, that that article probably has affiliate links littered throughout the list, so take those recommendations with a grain of salt.

In the end, I’d trust Amazon reviews above all else (they’re harder for people to tamper with).

27. Create a Google My Business Account

Most of you have probably already created a Google My Business account.

But if you haven’t, then you might be missing out on easy-to-capture SEO traffic. For example, these are the kind of results that Google My Business can generate for your website.

Perhaps the best part about these types of results is that they draw the eye even more than normal top-of-page Google results. It’s a great way for your business to cut to the front of the SEO competition, especially if you have more five-star reviews than anyone else.

BONUS TIP: Generating reviews for your Google My Business account is another marketing strategy you might consider implementing. Reach out to your past customers and ask them to review you on your Google My Business page.

If you don’t already have a Google My Business account, then simply go the landing page and click “Manage Now” to get started.

28. Create and Promote an Infographic

More than likely, you’re not a designer.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t dip your toes in design. In fact, it can be fun to try something you’ve never done — especially when that something has as much lead-generation potential as an infographic.

In fact, here’s an infographic describing why visual content is so powerful.

Said more simply, people love visual content. And an infographic is basically a more visual and easy-to-digest blog post. Here, for instance, is an infographic that some real estate agents created.

But how the heck do you come up with an idea for your own infographic? And how do you actually design it?

Well, it’s all easier than you think.

Once you’re done creating it, promote it on your social media channels, email list, and blog.

Learn more…

Check out our real estate infographic guide to learn how to do it.

29. Host a Webinar

You might think that hosting a webinar is just for the self-proclaimed B2B coaches and gurus of the world, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, running a webinar on a topic that appeals to your audience is a great way to build digital relationships and start relevant discussions about how you can help people buy or sell a home.

Accordingly, here’s a far-from-exhaustive list to get you started hosting your very first webinar.

What not to do when buying your first home
X tricks to sell your house for its highest possible value
Should you sell your house with a real estate agent?
How to stage your house to sell crazy fast

Keep in mind, though, most people prefer to only watch a webinar for somewhere between 30 minutes and 45 minutes. So try to keep yourself to that time limit and advertise it as being that long in the first place.

In terms of technical webinar set up, this guide by SmartBlogger will show you how to do it for free (just skip to the “How to Run Webinars Like a Pro (Without Spending a Dime)” part).

And before you actually do your webinar, test everything and make sure it’s all working how you want it to. There’s nothing quite as embarrassing or frustrating as technical difficulties during a webinar presentation.

Once you’ve put your webinar together, start collecting sign-ups via Facebook ads, emails, and maybe even guest posts on other blogs.

30. Offer a Home Value Report

One of the best ways to capture seller leads is to offer a home value report on your website.

Here is an example of what this might look like on your Carrot site:

Visitors will provide their address and sometimes email in order to view their home valuation report. Now you will have a new seller lead to contact.

Conclusion

The truth is, to dominate your market, you have to change what you’re currently doing – what you’re doing to generate leads and revenue is great for where you’re at, but it’ll never take you where you want to go.

That’s the truth about everything in life. If you want to go somewhere new, then you have to make some changes.

And these 29 free real estate marketing ideas will get you on the right track for dominating your market.

Top 6 Real Estate Investor Websites 2021 [Options & Best Practices]

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Mon, 8 Mar 2021 17:43:00 +0600

Looking for the best real estate investor websites to get more motivated seller leads?

Having a real estate investor website is more important now than ever. Your customers are already seeking you out online — particularly, through Google. A high-quality website gives your business more visibility, authority and credibility to persuade people to work with you.

If you’re like most investors, then the majority of your marketing has probably been offline – bandit signs, direct mail, cold calling, driving-for-dollars, and maybe even door knocking.

But, now you’re thinking about getting a real estate investor website.

More than likely, you know another investor who’s seeing amazing lead-generation results on their own website and you want a piece of the pie.

Who could blame you?

Follow the cheese, right?

But, of course, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to building your own websites to find investment properties online.

Design, sales copy, SEO, conversion optimization, and backend code are just a few things to consider.

And truthfully, things have changed so much in the past four years alone that what was cutting edge four years ago is almost pre-historic, nowadays.

So, in this article, we’re going to walk you through:

Why you need a website,
What you should look for when you’re either building your own real estate investor website,
Buying a real estate investor website template, or using one of the services out there that helps real estate investors better leverage online marketing.

Let’s get started.

See Carrot in Action

Grow Your Real Estate Website’s
Traffic, Leads, & Results With Carrot’s Online Marketing Software

Take a Demo of Carrot Today

Why Real Estate Investor Websites Can Have a Major Impact on Business

Don’t get me wrong – offline real estate marketing methods are as powerful today as they were ten years ago. Direct mail, bandit signs, and cold calling can work wonders in the right hands and in the right market.

But…

That doesn’t mean you should limit your marketing strategies to offline tactics exclusively.

In particular, here are some of the reasons all real estate investors need a website.

Online marketing, once rolling, will save you time and money during the lead-generation process.
SEO leads (Search Engine Optimization) tend to be higher quality because they’re inbound leads – which is basically just a cute way of saying that prospects came looking for you rather than you looking for them.
Online and offline marketing strategies work best together. Our highest-performing members at Carrot use both in harmony rather than one in exclusion.
Build your online and offline credibility. You must separate yourself from the clutter. Having a high-performance, personally optimized website can get you there.

So, you know that you need a website for your real estate business…

But, you’re new to real estate online marketing with a website…

More than likely, you don’t even know where to start…

There are so many options and so many low-end platforms out there that you’re not exactly sure what you need for your real estate investor websites.

So let’s talk.

What Type Of Real Estate Investor Website Should You Pick?

The Internet is full of different options to get a website set up.

Should you have it:

Buy a template?
Designed from scratch?
Or, use a service?

Really, all of those are great options. It just depends on your goals, your budget, and how much flexibility you want with your real estate investing website.

Option 1: Real Estate Investor Website Templates

The definition of a template can vary drastically. At Carrot, a “real estate investor website template” is basically where you buy the website and choose from one of several of our templates. Then, you can customize things like images, videos, and sales copy.

You might be worried that you’re going to look the same as everyone else. Fortunately, that isn’t true. With color changes, logo changes, and other minor customizations, you get all the benefits of conversion optimization without sacrificing your distinguishable brand image.

Real estate investor website templates are great because you can still customize your website but the back-end design is already done for you.

Oftentimes, templates come with your hosting accounts. The first website I built for my real estate business was built from a basic template from our host company.

Now, you can find templates or WordPress themes that give you a look and feel to start from with your own website. You can buy these all the way from the price of “free” (free is all relative… read on below on my thoughts on that) to a couple of hundred bucks.

A template gets you a jumpstart. But with most website templates, you then have to dive in and basically build the site content, structure, lead generation pieces, do the SEO, and conversion testing all from scratch.

These are great for someone who has zero to little (under $20) money to invest in their website, have more time than they do money, and who have some level of technical knowledge (or are willing to learn how to do some basic HTML, image editing, and learn the ins and outs of basic search engine optimization).

What we’re calling a template is when you buy the website files, put them on your own server, and you’re responsible for everything from there on out.

If you choose to buy a website template that’s just a template, though, here are the pros and cons.

Pros:

Cheap. You can get into a real estate investing website template pretty damn cheap as far as out of pocket expenses. Under $100 usually.
If you are a technical person or are willing to invest the time into learning how to build a website… this can be a great place to start.

Cons:

After you get a “template” or WordPress theme… you have to invest the time into building out the content, structuring the site, hiring a web and/or graphics guy to help you finish things out, and then you have to maintain the site and files on your server each month to make sure it’s up-to-date and secure from hackers.
“Cheap” doesn’t always mean low cost. Whenever we go into a new project we always like to ask the questions… “How much money does this cost? And how much time and effort will it cost us to get it to where we need it?” Too many people only look at how much money they’re paying and forget to value their own time. Oftentimes these template routes cost you many times more than hiring it out or using a service that does it for you.
The biggest part that determines an effective real estate investing website isn’t necessarily the way it looks… it’s the way it’s structured, the words on the site, and the strategy behind search engine optimizing the site for your keywords. Many templates look pretty, but when it comes to results, don’t deliver.

See Carrot in Action

Grow Your Real Estate Website’s
Traffic, Leads, & Results With Carrot’s Online Marketing Software

Take a Demo of Carrot Today

Option 2: Create a Website From Scratch

Ok, so there’s always the option of hiring a web designer and having them design you a website for your real estate business from scratch. Truthfully, this is an option that many big players in the real estate game choose (by big players, I mean companies that do multiple million-dollar transactions per year… all the way up to institutional investors). Is this the best route for you?

It may be. If you want 100% control over every detail of your website from start to finish and want custom elements that you just can’t find in pre-made websites… then you’ll want to go the custom real estate investor website route.

You’ll also need to have a consistent budget for hiring a developer and designer to upload new content, make relevant changes, and consistently A/B test your conversion rate. Naturally, that’s going to be a big budget.

Real estate investor split test data.

Pros:

You get everything you want exactly as you want it (so long as you can find a solid web designer who knows what they’re doing… this is the biggie).
Custom means custom… you build it from the ground up with your web guy.
You can have custom elements or functionality that most real estate investor website templates don’t offer.
Your site will look 100% unique… i.e. – no one else will have a site exactly like yours.

Cons:

It can be expensive if you hire a web designer who actually knows what they’re doing. Don’t think you’ll get a quality custom design that will be search engine optimized, look good, and designed to convert your visitors to leads for under $5k.
If you don’t know how to accurately relay (doing exact mockups of what you’re looking for is best) exactly what you want to a quality web designer… you may end up with something that is nothing like you envisioned (or a huge bill to continually tweak and fix the site until it’s what you wanted).
As technology improves… you’ll have to pay more to have your website redone to get it up “in the times.”

This is what we actually did for our own business… because we couldn’t find anything on the market that would do what we wanted it to — look clean, crisp, professional, and actually work to generate leads. So we paid a web developer about $7k to build it from scratch for us over 18 months. That soon became the first REItheme (Carrot’s old name) platform… because we saw options didn’t move us… and we felt we had a better solution that we’d love to share with investors like you.

Option 3: Real Estate Investor Website Service

This option is kind of a hybrid between a template and a custom-designed website. There are a handful of credible options in the market — all have different pros and cons — many are not so good, a few are solid, and they can be a great way for you to get your real estate investor website up and rolling.

And they aren’t just great because you get your website started, but because these services continue to support your website with SEO, security, conversion testing, and support.

So long as your website exists, these services are ready to give you the support and resources you need to be successful.

Like I mentioned above, a website template is where you buy just the HTML files (or WordPress theme), then you’re left to fend for yourself putting them on your own server, doing the updates and customization yourself, etc.

If you don’t want to do all that work but you also don’t have the budget for a custom website design, you’ll want to look at signing up for a service that has pre-built websites for real estate investors, other fancy features, and you pay either an upfront fee and hosting, or just a monthly fee to access the service.

Carrot Real Estate Investor Websites Dashboard

For many of you, this option will make the most sense. It’s relatively inexpensive and has most the benefits of a custom-designed website and a website template.

Here are all the pros and cons.

Pros:

Depending on the service you sign up for, you can get websites that looks custom, lets you customize many of the site elements easily. Just make sure you look for a service that lets you have 100% control over the way the site looks and your content… easily.
May include other features built right in that would cost you thousands to build yourself. Like email marketing systems, squeeze pages, search engine optimized pages (this one is tricky, our real estate investor website system actually does get great search engine results… many systems say they’re SEO’d… but rarely show up in search rankings for their customers. Do your research)

The service usually maintains the websites on their servers, saving you money, time, and putting the technical stuff in the hands of the techie guys and gals who like that kinda stuff (and are good at it). This helps you so you don’t have to worry about hackers, your site code going out of date, etc).
You can usually get your websites set up quickly… the same day or within a couple of days for most services.
Website services also provide you opportunities to gather traffic data from sources such as Google Analytics or custom dashboards, so you can make more informed changes to your website.
Full-service website builders can also offer custom blog posts, CRMs, training courses, strategy calls, multiple design templates, and are always testing and innovating their product.
You won’t need to worry about adding plug-ins and potentially messing up your site. Most real estate website providers use custom plug-ins that both add value to your website and eliminate the risk of “breaking” your site.
They can also offer different templates such as cash buyer websites to list and sell properties faster, rent-to-own tenants websites to fill your rent-to-own / lease purchase houses faster, land buyer or land seller sites, plus many more options.
Social media integrations. Most services make it easy to post a blog post to Facebook with a simple click of a button.
Websites are mobile-friendly. Sites don’t just look good on mobile they consistently need to drive more leads and conversions. This is extremely important. Over 64% of Carrot member leads come from mobile devices.

Cons:

There is usually a monthly (or annual) fee associated with services like this. They can range from $25/mo – $200/mo+ depending on the number of websites and features. But, you just need to decide whether the time it saves you, the features it has, etc. will help you save enough time to offset the cost… or do enough extra deals to pay for the service. Usually, one deal can pay for the service for a lifetime.
Most services that offer real estate investor websites were built 5+ years ago, look like a 10-year-old made them in his basement, and won’t let you customize your website’s look and feel… or content very easily. Just make sure you do your research to see how easily you can customize your websites and how much you can customize (without paying extra) before you dive in.

See Carrot in Action

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Traffic, Leads, & Results With Carrot’s Online Marketing Software

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The 5 Best Tools For Real Estate Investor Websites

This question is just as important as the others: what tools should you use to research and build your website and market your business online?

Here are the 5 best tools that we recommend checking out!

1. BiggerPockets (Community)

As you’re doing more research, forums such as BiggerPockets, offer great insights into which real estate investor website is right for you.

2. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an email marketing service that allows users to build email lists and contact those people all at once. We recommend collecting email addresses on your website and sending out value-add campaigns once a week or a few times every month. This is a great way to keep in contact with your leads.

3. Podio

Here’s how Podio defines itself: “Podio is the CRM tool used by hundreds of realtors, brokers and agents to streamline and simplify the way they do business. Online and mobile, Podio arms your team with all the information they need to find and sell the perfect properties for your clients.”

More specifically, investors can use Podio to arrange meetings, manage prospect relationships, and automate internal workflows.

4. Aweber

Like Mailchimp, Aweber is another email marketing tool that allows users to build an email list and contact lead en masse. Users can also build landing pages, leverage push notifications, and choose from tons of different email design templates.

5. Investorfuse

Investorfuse is a CRM built specifically for real estate investors. You can use it to create automated follow-up systems, manage lead relationships, and organize all of your data.

Real Estate Investing Website Examples

What does a high performing real estate investor website look like?

That’s what we want to share with you here.

At Carrot, we’ve done a lot of research and testing to figure out what website design converts best for real estate investors.

And the easiest way to show you what we’ve found is to show you what our high-converting templates look like. On all of our templates, we include the phone number on the front page, simple navigation, and the opt-in CTA as the primary header.

All of those elements working together get more conversions than any other layout we’ve tested (and we’ve tested a lot of different layouts).

Here’s another example…

And one more…

All of those websites are Carrot sites.

Notice how different they look, but how they all have the same fundamental high-converting elements.

That’s our goal. To give each of our members and fresh look that makes their brand feel unique while also providing a website that actually converts traffic into leads.

Things to Keep in Mind When Creating Real Estate Investor Websites

Regardless of which option you pick to build your real estate investor website, these are the six primary things you should keep in mind.

1. Budget

How much money do you have in your budget?

This will have a big impact on which option you choose. If, for instance, you only want to spend between $500 and $1,000, then a well-designed custom site is probably out of the picture (unless you have a friend who’ll do it for less than usual).

If you are willing to spend $5,000 to $10,000, though, and have a consistent relationship with your web developer (or you have your own tech team) then a custom website might be your best bet.

What you have to also consider when it comes to the budget is how much time the option you choose is going to save you. Don’t just consider how much it’ll cost you…

Consider how much time it’ll save you…

Find a ratio where the money spent, results received, and time saved works in your favor.

Not sure what your per-deal budget is? Use our ROI calculator.

2. Conversion Optimization

You could go find yourself a WordPress website, pay a minimal amount of money, and have your website up and running in the next 5 minutes.

But, you know as well as I that that isn’t what you’re looking for.

You want a website that drives traffic and generates leads passively. WordPress will give you a website, but they won’t promise much more than that… because they won’t give you much more than that.

Having a website doesn’t equal being a great online marketer.

You don’t just need a website. You need a website that’s built to convert visitors who arrive on it at a consistent and promising rate. At Carrot, we specialize in building just those kinds of websites.

3. Design

Yes, you want a website that converts visitors and drives results. And you definitely want a website that falls within your budget.

But… it’d be nice to have a website that looks pretty too…

Or at least a website that appropriately expresses that you’re a professional who knows what you’re doing, not some sort of scammer looking for innocents to exploit.

A WordPress website might get you a nice-looking website, but it definitely won’t be optimized for conversion. And a custom-built website is just so darn expensive and difficult to maintain.

4. Load Speed

The faster that your website loads, the better chance that people will stick around to see what you have to offer. With a slow website, though, people will leave before you can shout, “Give me a chance!”

In fact, 40% of people will leave your website if it doesn’t load in just 3 seconds.

That’s a big chunk of your visitors – almost half!

How do you know if the website you choose loads fast?

Well, the easiest way is to go over to PageSpeed Insights and test it for free yourself. Or you can just get yourself a Carrot website and guarantee fast load speeds. :-)

5. Search Engine Optimization

When it comes to driving traffic to your website, nothing is quite as powerful as search engine optimization. Basically, this SEO for real estate is the practice of optimizing your website to drive passive traffic through search engine queries (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc).

And it can be an absolutely business-changing strategy for your real estate investor website. By optimizing your website for search engines, you don’t just set yourself up to drive traffic today (like with paid ads), but well into the future.

So long as you rank in Google, you’ll drive traffic.

A big part, though, of driving passive traffic to your real estate investor website via SEO is the backend coding of your website and the keyword placement. Most website companies will just give you… well, a website.

At Carrot, though, we give you a website that’s primed and ready to rank in search engines. Which means passive traffic for your website and more revenue for your business.

Free SEO Keyword Bible Download

Get Your Free SEO Keywords for Agent or Investors

6. Features

What do you want to be able to do with your website? Do you need any specific integrations that fit with your email service provider or with your direct mail service?

Make sure you pick a website builder that includes all the features you’re going to want a few months from now.

With Carrot, for instance, you can do tons of cool stuff. You can add a credibility bar to your website with just a few clicks.

You can change the style of your homepage opt-in form between three different styles, you can quickly upload your logo and custom brand images, and you customize your sales copy as much as you like.

If you sign up for the Content Pro or Advanced Marketer plan, then we even provide you with blog content every single month for your website. That means you get more chances to rank in Google (and possibly drive free traffic to your website) and it means your website will feel more active to visitors.

You can learn more about Carrot’s features over here.

So, Get Out There and Get Your Real Estate Investor Websites Rolling!

Alrighty, now that you know the 3 options out there for websites for real estate investors and the 6 things you should take into consideration… now it’s time for you to do a bit of research on your own to see what’s right for you.

Here’s a quick little guide to help you make that decision.

Pick the one that fits you best.

1. Technical (can do graphics and do some HTML or PHP) have a lot of spare time, have a very low budget (under $100 total). A Template may be a great route for you to go. Go to google and search “real estate investor website templates” to see what you come up with.

2. Have a hunk of cash (at least $3k – $7k), know exactly what you want and can relay that in detail to a sharp web developer, have found or can find a sharp web designer who has experience (and can show you samples and client testimonials) on website conversion and search engine optimization. If this is you, you may look at having your site built from scratch by a web designer.

3. Want custom features but don’t want to pay thousands, want the ability to customize your site so it can look unique, don’t want to learn the ins and outs of SEO or web design and would rather piggyback on those who have created systems that do it already.

They would rather have someone else take care of the heavy technical work so you can focus on doing deals… you may want to look at website services like Carrot.

In full disclosure, you’re on the Carrot blog… and we are a company (started by real estate investors) that created a website system because we felt the options out there didn’t meet the needs of real estate investors. But, with that said, we don’t want to “trick” people into going with our service… because we know that our service isn’t right for everyone and frankly, we don’t want to work with everyone.

We Believe in total transparency – It’s one of our core values.

So, do your research… find the solution that is best for you. If it’s Carrot… awesome! If it’s not, awesome! All we care about is that you find the solution that fits your needs for your real estate investing business.

And if you have any questions, feel free to throw em’ in the comments. :-)

Branded Property Brochures on Your Real Estate Solution Website

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Sun, 7 Mar 2021 10:40:00 +0600

Your custom or personalized Real Estate Solution website comes with a number of great features, and we want to make sure you can make the most of everything your Real Estate Solution website has to offer. That’s why we’ll be highlighting the powerful features you get with either a custom or personalized real estate website. In this article, we’ll be spotlighting the Branded Listing Brochure feature.

Automatic Branded Property Brochures on Your Property Listings

All the properties on your Real Estate Solution website automatically include the ability to print or save a branded listing brochure. This brochure will include your logo and all the information included in that listings, including price, beds/baths, description, photos, features and more. To access a brochure, just click on the “Get Listings Brochure” button on any listings page of your Real Estate Solution website. This button is usually located at the top of the listing, either just above or just below the photos of the home.

As soon as you click this button, the system will assemble the PDF with all the information included in the property listing.

Quickly and Easily Print and Send Property Information

Your automated property brochures are a great way to print off property information or to send all the details about a home in a PDF to a client. These brochures are branded so they include your photo, logo and details in them. All brochures also include a QR code included that takes users right to that property on your website. Visitors to your website can also view the property brochures for themselves, and when they print or save it, will also see your branding and contact information.

Google Meet - A Great Tool for REALTORS® to Work Remotely

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Sun, 7 Mar 2021 10:33:00 +0600

Google Meet is a video conferencing platform designed for business. Google Meet is included with G Suite, Google’s suite of business productivity tools. Google Meet uses Google’s infrastructure to encrypt your meeting and help keep it secure. This tool is a great option for real estate professionals to work remotely with clients, team members and the staff at their brokerage.

This article will give you an overview of how to use Google Meet, and the tools and settings available to you there.

Getting Started with Google Meet

To start using the service:

Go to meet.google.com
In the center of the screen, you will see an option to join or start a meeting - click on that to get started.

What you will need to enter here will depend on whether you have been invited to a meeting, or are starting the meeting yourself and inviting others to join.

Joining a Meeting You’ve Been Invited To

If you have been invited to a meeting, fill in the nickname of the meeting or the meeting code you were provided with and click on “Continue.” You will be able to join a meeting without being signed into a Google Account.

Please note: Meeting nicknames can only be used to join if the person who invited you is part of the same organization. You will need to be signed into a G Suite account in order to join using a nickname - otherwise, you will need the meeting code or link.

Joining a Meeting through a Link

The user who created a meeting can also provide you with a direct link to join the meeting. If they do so, you can use that link to join without going through meet.google.com first.

Joining a Meeting by Phone

You can join a meeting by phone (audio only) through a special phone number and PIN that is generated for each meeting. The number and PIN would need to be provided to you by the user who created the meeting, and is sent along with any meeting invite.

Creating a meeting

To start your own meeting, you will need to be signed into a G Suite account (this is a paid Google Account that includes access to Google’s complete suite of business products). Once you’re signed in, follow these steps:

Go to meet.google.com
Click on “Join or Start a Meeting”
Enter a nickname for your meeting
- The nickname can be used to join the meeting by other members of your organization. They will need to be signed into a G Suite account in order to access a meeting this way.
- Users who aren’t part of the same organization as you will need to use a meeting code or link to join.
- Users who are not signed into a G Suite account will need to use a meeting code or link to join.
- You can also leave that field blank if you don’t want to assign a nickname to it.
Click Continue to proceed to your meeting.

Choosing Your Settings Before Entering the Meeting

No matter if you created or are joining the meeting, once you click “Continue” on the Join or Start a Meeting window, you will see a screen where you can adjust your settings before entering the meeting.

What happen if you Sell Your House Without An Agent

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 01:56:00 +0600

What happen if you Sell Your House Without An Agent

We live in a world where everyone does everything without expensive expert service providers. People trade stocks without a stockbroker. People create wills and trusts without attorneys. Many even remodel homes without contractors. As independent as everyone is, why wouldn’t you want to look at the benefits of selling your house without an agent in [market_state]?

Saving Money

Agents cost money. It’s that simple. In many cases, it’s a lot of money. A real estate transaction can cost six percent of the final property sales cost. If a property sale price is $500,000, this can cost sellers $30,000. This amount is split between both the buyer’s and seller’s agent.

This is a considerable amount that is taken from the final sale price. If a seller still has high mortgage balances that need to be paid off, eliminating commission costs is a huge advantage. Just increase net profits is attractive to sellers. Keep in mind, just because you don’t have an agent as a seller doesn’t mean you can preclude the buyer from having an agent.

Most sellers end up paying between two to three percent to the buyer’s agent in self-represented sales. However, if you are new to real estate sales, the buyer’s agent might try to negotiate a bigger commission because he will most likely be doing work on both ends of the transaction to make up for your lack of experience and understanding.

Qualified Negotiator

Even though you can’t force the buyer to not have an agent, it doesn’t become negotiating power to say you are more flexible in the price if there is no outside representation. Buyers might feel they are able to negotiate a better price without an agent because they know the amount of savings in the transaction.

Beyond negotiating the sale price, sellers might feel they are more qualified to sell and negotiate the transaction than an agent. Sellers well versed in real estate transactions might be comfortable walking through the process and negotiating items at different points in the escrow process. When a seller is comfortable dealing with a buyer or buyer’s agent, he can save at least three percent of the commissions by representing himself.

It is also possible that the transaction is very straightforward. Perhaps it is a new construction or being sold as is and the seller isn’t willing to negotiate on anything. Buyers can come in and make an offer without expectation for repairs or credits. Sellers set with their price and able to provide all disclosures and documents properly might not see a need for agent representation.

Keeping Things Personal

There are times when a transaction is among well-known parties. Well-known could be family members, close friends or even business partners. In cases like this where everyone is clear who the parties are and what to expect in the sale, there may not be a need to bring on an agent. Of course, there needs to be a lot of trust among all parties in this type of transaction scenario.

Even when parties to a sale know each other, legal sale requirements must be followed. Adhere to all [market_city] codes for disclosures and timelines. The last thing you want as a seller representing himself is to find yourself in a legal battle down the road for a property you thought you no longer had any ties to. Follow the rules to avoid legal ramifications and penalties.

How to Determine If A Direct Sale of Your House is Right For You!

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 01:54:00 +0600

How to Determine If A Direct Sale of Your House is Right For You!

Last updated on March 2, 2018

What you may not know, is that there are multiple ways to sell a [market_city] house. While many people immediately seek the help of an agent, there are other, more cost-effective ways to sell your house. For example, you could choose to carry the note yourself or sell the property directly, without the help of an agent, which is what we will cover in our latest post!

As we said above, there are many ways to sell. For some properties, a listing makes the most sense, whereas, for other, a direct sale is the smarter choice. Which will it be for you! Don’t sign any agreements or agree to a sale until you learn about what a direct sale can mean for your situation!

The Commission Factor

When you choose a direct sale to a company such as [company], you won’t have to worry about paying out 6% of the sale price in commissions. This is thousands of dollars you will immediately save by choosing a direct sale. In addition, there aren’t any agent fees, marketing costs, listing fees or photographers to pay. When you work with a direct buyer, the property is typically sold as-is, so you can keep the money for advertising in your pocket.

No Clean-Up Or Repairs

Listing your [market_city] house will require you to make repairs to the home to get it ready for the MLS. Even small damages can severely lower your potential buyer’s perceived value of the home. Making repairs and touch-ups to the house can add up quickly as far as finances are concerned. You will also have to factor in the cost to clean up, keep it clean, store personal items and clutter as well as purchase items if you need to do some staging. While these costs can be worth it in the long run, they should be well considered before listing your home.

Your Terms

When you work with a company like us to sell your house directly, the closing date will be up to you. We are able to purchase properties almost immediately, so you won’t have to spend time waiting around for a buyer to come along. On the flip side, we will not rush you into a closing. We know that selling and moving can be a stressful time, hence why we aim to keep the process as simple as possible. If you should choose to accept an offer from [company], you will then decide on the date that best works for you. You won’t have to worry about the sale falling through as with a traditional sale using bank financing. A direct buyer will have the funds available to pay you immediately!

A Fast Sale Will Save You Money

Point blank, the longer you own the house, the more it is costing you. Investors know this, that is why the goal is always to flip a house quickly! By selling your property to a direct buyer right away, you are potentially saving yourself months of wasted time and money. You are likely paying more for your house than you even realize. There are monthly utilities to consider, homeowners insurance, property taxes that you are responsible for up until the day of closing as well as routine maintenance costs. If you are paying for things such as pool service, pest control or landscaping, those costs will immediately be over and done with.

A Direct Sale Offers Guarantees, While A Listing Does Not

There is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to buying and selling properties. Deals fall through every day. Banks often take longer than expected to fund a loan. When you list, you are in essence living in limbo until the closing papers have been signed. An agent can list your house for any price you want, even if it has been inflated in order to get you to sign a listing agreement. There is NO guarantee that you will get the price you ask for when you list your [market_city] house! With a direct sale, you will know both the exact date and amount you will walk away with. This will allow you to plan ahead without having to deal with the unknown!

Is Hiring An Agent in REALLY Worth It?

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 01:54:00 +0600

Is Hiring An Agent in REALLY Worth It?

For many people, when they think about selling their houses, the first thing they will do is look around for a local agent. Agents can be a wonderful asset when selling your house, however, it is not the only strategy you should consider. By doing a little homework, you can successfully sell your house on your own, saving you time and money overall. In our latest blog post, we will discuss some of the most common costs of a traditional listing, so you can determine if hiring an agent is the best choice for you!

The Pre-Listing Costs

Before you consider putting your home on the market, take a look at other homes on the MLS. Check out what people are asking for comparable properties and more importantly, look at what comparable properties are actually selling for. How does your house stack up? Will people opt for your house over the one next door? You will need to look t it from a buyers point of view. They will want to get the most for their money. This means you will likely have to make some repairs, touch-ups and even upgrades to the home in order to be competitive. Houses that sit on the market lose interest among buyers over time. If the property doesn’t sell, people will likely believe there is something wrong with it. You need to come out of the gate with a house that wows potential buyers and proves to be an excellent value for the money.

Agent Costs

Agents don’t work for free. Many agents work incredibly hard and deserve every penny you pay them. That said, be wary of those who don’t. While every agreement is different, when you commit to listing with an agent, you also commit to paying their commission which typically runs about 6% of the final sale price. You will own the agent this amount, even if you sell the property on your own to someone you know. In addition, some agents will charge you for administrative costs, listing fees, marketing, listing sites, photography, and more. Make sure you know exactly what’s included in your listing agreement as no two agents are the same.

At The Closing Table

Once the closing date comes around, in addition to paying your agent, you will also have to come up with the closing costs. You can usually estimate this to be approximately 2% of the final sale price. The closing costs include things like appraisal fees, taxes, deed recording, title search, dee recording, credit checks and more. With a direct sale to [company], all of these costs are covered for you.

Time Is Of The Essence

When you list your house, you are in a sense, gambling. You aren’t offered any guarantees such as how much you will get or when the house will close by. This can make it difficult to plan ahead and move on with your life. In addition, you will have to continue paying the monthly costs for the home such as insurance, taxes and monthly utilities. An agent can list your house for any price they want, however, that doesn’t mean you will get it. With a direct sale to [comapny], you will be able to know the exact amount you will receive as well as the closing date before signing anything. We aim to make the process as clear and as simple as possible.

How Much Will Listing Your House Really Cost

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 01:51:00 +0600

How Much Will Listing Your House Really Cost in [market_city]?

If you plan on listing a [market_city] house, there are costs to contend with before you list, during the listing process, once an offer has been made and when you find yourself at the closing table. In our latest post, we will take a look at some of these listing costs so you can determine if a direct sale of your property would be the better choice for your situation.

The price to sell a house in [market_city] can fluctuate greatly. It all comes down to the house itself, the needed repairs, the location, etc. Each agent will work a bit differently. Some will charge you for things, while others are “all-inclusive.” Before you commit to an agreement, find out what listing your house in [market_city] will really cost you!

Upfront Costs

Before you even talk to an agent or get started on a listing, you will need to take care of the following things. Some you can do yourself, while others you might have to pay for. You might need all of these things, but they are all important to consider.

Cleaning

To create an environment that is appealing and welcoming, you will want to make sure the house is clean. You can do a good job yourself, but bringing in a professional to do a thorough cleaning of the house from top to bottom, can make the whole house look different. If you aren’t replacing the carpets or flooring, you will want to pay to have a professional clean those as well. Don’t neglect the outside. If you have a second story, it might pay off to hire a pro to come to wash your windows!

Storage

While cleaning the home, it is a great time to pack away all of your unnecessary items. People don’t want to see personal possessions or clutter when touring your home so you will want to make sure everything is packed away. You might need to consider an offsite storage space or pod to hold your items until you have moved into a new house.

Repairs & Upgrades

You will want to fix up anything visibly broken or worn. This includes fixing and painting walls, replacing cracked tiles and smoothing floorboards. You might also take this opportunity to make minor upgrades such as new fixtures or hardware. Sending money on these things can help improve the value of your home. You just need to be comfortable paying up front.

Landscaping

You can’t have a beautiful listing with an ugly yard. The front yard is the first thing people see. This should not only be cleaned up but also used to showcase your home. Many people will add plants, flowers, new doors or fencing to make their curb appeal pop.

While The House Is Listed

While the property is on the market, you will still find yourself paying to have it for sale. There are many expenses you will be paying during this time that you could avoid with a fast and direct sale upfront.

Monthly Costs

While the house sits on the market you will still need to pay the monthly utilities. Even if you have moved out of the house, you still need to keep the water and electricity on for people viewing the home. You will also have to continue paying the homeowner’s insurance and property taxes up until the day of closing. You will also need to continue taking care of the cleaning and routine maintenance of the home. With many properties sitting on the market then having to go through escrow, it could be months until the house has officially closed. During this time, you could be out thousands of dollars you could have otherwise kept in your pocket.

Marketing

Some agents will include great marketing, while others will not. To successfully list your house, you will want to ensure there are great listings and great photography of the home. Some people are even hiring drone photographers to capture their homes from above.

After An Offer Has Been Made

Once an offer has been made, and accepted, you will still be responsible for the insurance, utilities, and taxes up until the day of closing. Depending on the lender this could add several weeks to your timeframe. In turn, adding more money you are paying to own the home. Most offers are contingent on an inspection and appraisal process. You can avoid the below costs with a direct offer from a company who purchases as-is.

Negotiated Repairs

Once the inspection has been completed, you might have to negotiate repairs based on the severity. If there is a major problem with the house, the potential buyer will likely request it be fixed before going through with the sale. (The bank isn’t likely to fund a loan for a damaged property either.) If your buyer decides to rescind the offer, you will need to disclose the needed repair to all potential buyers going forward.

At The Closing Table

Commissions

Once you are signing final sale paperwork, it is also time to sign over a check to your agent. This will typically run about 6% of the final sale price of the home.

Closing Costs

Many additional fees are lumped together as closing costs. These include document filing, title search fees, credit check costs, transfer taxes, property taxes and more. On average, this will run you another 2% of your final sale price.

Once you add up all the costs, you can see that listing may not be right for every property. Many people find greater benefits by choosing a direct sale! Run the numbers for yourself, and make the decision that works best for you!

101+ Buyers Lingo | [market_city] Real Estate | [company]

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Thu, 8 Nov 2018 14:47:00 +0600

Buyers Lingo that usually used in | [market_city] Real Estate | [company]

If you are considering buying a home in [market_city], you need to understand the terminology being used. Check out our guide to buyers lingo so you can feel like a pro… even if you’re a first-time buyer!

Buyers Lingo 101

Abstract of Title – This will basically give you a full paper trail of the property’s ownership. It will include property transfers, inheritances, liens, encumbrances, and conveyances.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage – Usually comes at a lower cost, however, the interest rate will vary depending on the market. Considered less stable than a fixed-rate mortgage.

Amortization Schedule – A table that shows your mortgage payment schedule, outlining your principal and interest payments.

Appraisal – Done by a professional to help determine the value of your house.

Assessed Value – This is the value of your home as determined by the county for tax purposes.

Balloon Mortgage – A mortgage in which the final balance is due in one large payment at the end of the loan term.

Bridge Loan – A loan to cover a period of time in between two transactions. Typically the period between buying and selling a home.

Caveat Emptor – Latin for: “Let the Buyer Beware.” Basically, at the end of the day, you are assuming any risk involved in the transaction.

Chain of Title – A list of successive owners of a specific property.

Closing Costs – Miscellaneous charges you will need to pay in addition to your down payment. This might include loan origination fees, title fees, fees from the city to record the deed, surveyors, etc.

Closing Statement – This is a legally required document that itemizes credits and debits to both the buyer and seller.

Comps – A list of comparable sales in your area. Considered one of the best ways to determine a home’s actual value and used by agents to create a Comparative Market Analysis.

Contingency – A provision in the contract canceling the sale should a certain event occur. For example, a house not appraising high enough to satisfy a lender.

Conventional Mortgage – This type of mortgage is not guaranteed by the federal government. They can be fixed or adjustable rate.

Conveyance – The transfer of property from one person to another.

Debt-To-Income Ratio – A comparison of what you owe each month to what you earn.

Earnest Money Deposit – Often used when a buyer needs more time to secure financing. It shows good faith and is typically help in a joint escrow account by the buyer and seller.

Equity – The market value of a property, minus any liens. (Including your mortgage balance.)

Escrow – When an impartial 3rd party holds the deed or funds.

FHA Loan – Issued by a federally qualified lender, and backed up by the Federal Housing Administration. Requires a lower down payment in comparison to a conventional mortgage.

Good Faith Estimate – Also called a GFE, is provided by your lender when you are shopping for a loan. It breaks down the loan terms and fees.

Inspection – A service provided by a licensed inspector during the sale of a home. They inspect the foundation, plumbing systems, electrical work, sewage system, heating/cooling systems, and the roof.

Loan-to-Value Ratio – A term commonly used by banks and lenders to show the value of the loan vs. the value of the home

Negative Amortization – This is an increase to the principal balance of the loan caused by making payments that do not cover the loan’s interest.

Origination – The process of applying for a loan, all the way to the disbursement of funds.

Refinancing – Getting a new mortgage to replace an old one. Usually done to provide a better interest rate to the buyer.

Seller Contribution – Instead of discounting the price of the home, a seller will directly contribute to your costs or downpayment.

Title Insurance – This protects property owners and lenders from damage and loss. It is required if you have a mortgage on the home.

Underwriting – Determines the amount of risk a lender is taking on

How to buy a House and stay organizied with compannies

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Tue, 6 Nov 2018 21:07:00 +0600

Buying a House in [market_city] | How To Stay Organized | [company]

If you are in the market to buy a home in [market_city], one of the most important things you can do is keep yourself organized! When you are actively house hunting, things can start to run together. You might forget about negative aspects of a home while you are daydreaming about the wraparound porch. You might misplace a number, or forget about an open house you wanted to see.

Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases you will ever make. And buyer’s remorse can set in hard if you don’t consider all of the details of a home. Below, we have put together our favorite ways to keep yourself organized when buying a house in [market_city]!

Get Your Priorities Straight

Before you start looking, take some time to prioritize your needs. Everyone in the family should write down the things they want. Together, narrow this list down to a few “absolute must-haves.” When you are shopping for your home, keep these things in mind, and don’t compromise on them. This will help you to stay focused and stop you from buying a home that isn’t right for you.

Make a Chart

Some people use Excel, others are more analog and use something they can physically write on while viewing properties. The y-axis can have the property address, while the x-axis will have things such as price, square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, yard (size & description), year built, features, comps, number of floors, size of the garage, the commute time, etc. Keep this as a handy reference to narrow down the homes you are interested in.

Take Photos

Take photos of every property you see. Take lots of them. Take video if possible. You will want to reference back to these pictures when you are making your decisions. You might even find things in the pictures that you hadn’t noticed in person. Pictures say a thousand words, and taking several will help you to remember it all.

Keep Contacts in Order

You will meet a lot of people on your journey to buy a home. Realtors, appraisers, bank employees, inspectors, title professionals and more. Make a list that includes everybody’s name, email, website, phone number and any other details you want to have. Having these numbers handy at all times will make things much easier for you.

Make a Calendar

Create a calendar that has all of your important buying and selling dates, appointments, deadlines, bill due dates, appraisal date and so on. You will have many things to keep track of, and visually seeing it all on a calendar will help you stay on top of it all. If you are selling a home, you will have many additional dates to keep track of. You can use an online calendar, or a physical planner to keep your important dates and all your notes. It’s all about what works for you.

Now, with all this extra time you have gained from being so organized, don’t forget to have some fun! Imagine your new home! Envision everything you want! Pick out your new room colors, find the hardware you love. You can track awesome things you see for your house as well! Then, when it’s time to redecorate, you will have all of your favorite ideas saved. This is a fun and exciting time, remember to enjoy the process!

Disadvantages of Buying a Short Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Tue, 6 Nov 2018 14:42:00 +0600

4 Disadvantages of Buying a Short Sale in [market_city]

On the face of it, buying a house on a short sale basis certainly sounds like a good deal, especially for investors. It’s often an opportunity to purchase a property at a price well under its normal appraised valuation.

But before jumping in, you need to be aware of the disadvantages of buying a short sale in [market_city].

Depends on Mortgage Lender’s Approval

A short sale usually involves selling a house for less than is owed on it. A house listed as a “short sale” is still owned by an individual (unlike the case of a foreclosure). That person either makes up the difference between the owed amount and sale price or gets the lender to write it off.

What this means, then, is the owner isn’t the one who approves the sale price – it’s the lender. And since the owner is attempting to get the lender to accept less than is owed on the property, the lender isn’t always very eager to accept proposed prices. You could go through the whole headache-inducing negotiations process only to have the lender ultimately reject your offer. And then you’d have to do it all again.

And on top of that, if there are liens against the property, you’d have to get more than one lender to agree to the sale price.

Pricing Problems

Related to our first of the disadvantages of buying a short sale in [market_city] is the fact that the advertised short sale price may not be a lender approved price at all. It’s often the case that the advertised price is just a ploy to get potential buyers on the hook.

If the lender doesn’t accept your offer of the advertised price, they may give you a counteroffer. But it may be more than you’re willing to pay for the property, and you’re out a lot of wasted time again. And, again, if there are multiple liens on the property and even if the first lien holders accept your offer of the advertised price, a lien holder further down the line may reject your offer.

Lengthy Process

If you need to purchase a property quickly, a short sale probably isn’t the best option. It sometimes takes up to a year to get a short sale finalized. And of all the disadvantages of buying a short sale in [market_city], this one could be the most off-putting for investors.

If you’re buying a short sale, you’ll need plenty of patience. Although a response from a lender usually takes at least a couple of months, it can (and does) take nine months or more in some cases. Other factors that come into play to lengthen the process are the lender’s experience with short sales, the number of lenders involved, and whether the seller has actually been short-sale approved.

The upshot of this is that buyers can lose out on low-interest loans with rates guaranteed for only 60 to 90 days. Buyers could also lose tax credits during this protracted waiting period.

“As-Is” Sale

Generally, sellers wanting to negotiate a short sale are suffering from some kind of financial distress or hardship. It’s very likely the case, then, that they don’t have and haven’t had the money to properly maintain the property. And because the lender is already losing money on the sale, they won’t offer any concessions for maintenance problems. That’s why most short sales are done on an as-is basis.

So if you’re considering buying a short sale, you need to be aware that you may have to lay out some significant cash for thorough inspections. And, then, maybe a lot more for repairs.

Buying an investment property isn’t always as easy as it seems, and a deal isn’t always as sweet as it appears on the surface.

Offer Tips On Making An On A Short Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Tue, 6 Nov 2018 14:29:00 +0600

3 Offer Tips On Making An On A Short Sale In [market_city]

You’ve found a short sale property that suits you and meets your investment criteria. Now it’s time to make an offer. And today that means a good amount of bidding competition – and quite a bit of it some pretty well-heeled bidders.

So you’ll need to know how to make an offer on a short sale in [market_city].

One thing to keep in mind through it all is that banks are in the business of lending money and don’t want to become property managers. And that property just sitting there with a lot of money owed on it is costing the bank money daily. So banks are often more interested in speed than in the bottom line. Because short sales usually involve a lengthy process, anything you can do to help expedite the process will help you become the winning bidder.

1. Have Healthy Earnest Money

The first of these 3 tips on making an offer on a short sale in [market_city] aims to help you be perceived as a serious buyer. To show that you’re in earnest, you need a strong earnest-money deposit.

You will need to put down much more than the minimum deposit. Experts recommend a deposit that is at least 1% to 3% of the sale price. It’s further recommended that, once the sale has been approved, you put the earnest-money deposit in a trust account. All of this will show that you’re a serious buyer, not just a tire kicker.

To add additional weight to your offer, it’s a good idea to have a pre-approval letter ready to hand. Sellers want to see that potential buyers actually have the wherewithal to close the transaction.

2. Go into it Informed

There’s a lot that can go wrong in the lengthy process of a short sale. But being informed and practicing some due diligence will help you navigate around many of these pitfalls. Besides, showing up informed and knowledgeable will always help you in making an offer.

You should start by checking comparable sales, maybe even checking with listing agents. Many times, short sale listings come in under the market value, sometimes as much as 5% to 10% under market value, depending on the property and area. But keep in mind that the low price may be just an enticement for potential buyers. The trick is to determine whether the seller’s lender is likely to approve your offer so that you can make it with confidence.

3. Show You’re Willing to Wait

Although some short sale offers are approved within a few weeks, it generally takes months and months. If you’re serious about your offer, you need to be prepared to wait it out. Just keep in mind that the bank really does want everything to go as quickly as possible to get that non-producing or money-losing loan off their books.

Some short sale buyers write offers on multiple short sales hoping to take the first one that works out. They simply leave the other sellers and their agents just standing there holding the bag. So if you can demonstrate that you’re willing to wait for the short-sale process to run its course, you and your offer will be taken much more seriously. You just need to show that you’re willing to give the seller and lender the time it takes for approval.

Buying a short sale property can definitely be a wise investment move. But because the competition is keen and because a lot of buyers have a lot of cash in hand, you’ll need at least these tips on making an offer on a short sale in [market_city].

Tips for Investing in Single-Family Properties

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Tue, 6 Nov 2018 14:20:00 +0600

4 Tips for Investing in Single-Family Properties in [market_city]

The debate never cools: is it better (financially) to invest in multi-family or single-family properties? That’s like asking whether a hammer is better than a screwdriver. The answer is, of course, …it depends. It depends on the job at hand, the materials and fasteners available, and what you’re trying to accomplish. But if, after doing some investigating, you’ve decided go the single-family route, here are 4 tips for investing in single-family properties in [market_city].

Remember the Lead Funnel

Of all the tips for investing in single-family properties in [market_city], this is the one most often neglected. Too often investors consider too few properties before buying.

You can visualize the process as a funnel, with lots of properties going in at the top and only a few or one coming out at the bottom. What this means is that you’ll want to consider and analyze lots of properties – we’ve called them “leads” at this point – before deciding on the one that will be the best investment for you.

Besides, getting lots of leads and making lots of experimental offers will give you practice. And the more you practice, the better you’ll get. In short, you will become a better investor and will make more money.

Do the Math

After you’ve narrowed the field and found a handful of likely properties, you need to run the numbers. You simply must figure out whether the properties will be a good investment, one that will move you toward your investment goals on your predetermined timeline.

Will there be sufficient cash flow after making the mortgage payment to cover everything else? Simply subtracting the mortgage payment amount from the amount of monthly rent does not tell you how much you’ll profit. You’ll still have to cover things like taxes and insurance and repairs.

After plugging in all these other expenses, you can determine with some accuracy whether the property will be profitable and will provide sufficient cash flow. If the math works out, the property will be a good investment.

Be Prepared to Research and Plan

With multi-family properties, say, an apartment complex, most of the rental spaces will be fairly similar. You just have to do your research once – for the whole building. But that’s not the case with single-family properties because they vary so widely.

Each property is different with respect to layout, location, history, landscaping, pet friendliness, and so on. Further, each one will require appropriate differences in the leasing contract. So you need to be prepared to do – and actually, do – the necessary research to find out exactly what is involved in each individual property.

In addition, it’s a good idea to have a well-thought-out plan in place to deal effectively with these different properties with their different needs and contractual differences. It’s just too ineffective and too tiring to try to handle things on an ad hoc basis. You might even consider using a property management company.

Rentability = More Bedrooms

No matter how good a deal you think you’re getting on a single-family property, if you can’t rent it, then it’s not a good deal. So take to heart rentability as of the 4 tips for investing in single-family properties in [market_city].

It’s a fact that 3-bedroom houses are far easier to rent and command higher rents than 2-bedroom houses. Of all the people currently looking to rent, only approximately 15% will be willing to take a 2-bedroom home. When you’re looking to invest in single-family properties, it’s best (when possible) to choose those with 3 or more bedrooms.

Single-family properties can be a sound and lucrative real estate investment strategy – if, that is, you keep in mind these 4 tips for investing in single-family properties in [market_city].

Fix and Flip or Buy and Hold Properties

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Tue, 6 Nov 2018 14:14:00 +0600

Fix and Flip or Buy and Hold: 3 Differences in [market_city]

Of all the possible avenues for involvement in the real estate investing arena, house flipping and longer-term investing are the most popular and common. In recent years, fixing and flipping houses has become hugely popular owing in large part to the influence of TV shows like Flip This House. Still, the tried-and-true (and steady) method of buy-and-hold real estate investing still has many benefits. But how do you determine whether to fix and flip or buy and hold?

First, there are several sound reasons to invest in real estate:

● The returns are more predictable than those for stocks/bonds.

● It provides a hedge against inflation.

● The resulting equity allows for financing other investment opportunities.

● It provides a safe place for capital to reside when other investment avenues are unstable or uncertain

So now let’s look at a few of the differences between the two real estate-investing methods in [market_city].

The Time Factor

Without a doubt, the best thing about flipping houses is the fact that you don’t have to keep an investor’s/lender’s capital tied up for long periods. You can realize a return on investment in a fairly short period of time – because the goal is to rehab the house and sell it as soon as possible. When conditions are right, you can realize a profit of, say, $30,000 after just a few months.

With the buy-and-hold method, on the other hand, it takes far longer for you to see any significant return on investment, often years. Investors in this arena more often count on market appreciation rather than capital appreciation. With few exceptions, real estate values increase over the long haul. So the longer you hold a property, the greater the likelihood of appreciation and, ultimately, profit.

The Risk Factor

When it comes to deciding whether to fix and flip or buy and hold, the risk is very often the deciding factor for many people. Still, ventures with the greatest risk often generate the greatest profit.

A little research will allow a real estate investor to predict fairly accurately the short-term direction of the real estate market in [market_city]. So, in that respect, the fix-and-flip approach carries little risk. But – and this is a big “but” – most houses bought for the purpose fixing and flipping are distressed properties. And that means if you don’t have practice and know what you’re doing, you could easily get in over your head. And then rehab expenses could easily outstrip any potential profits.

Buy-and-hold properties will be vulnerable to market fluctuations, though. And if for whatever reason you are forced to sell when the market is down, you stand to lose money. But because markets trend upward over longer periods, many fortunes have been made by this method. Also, buying and holding and then renting affords a steady, predictable stream of income with less risk and volatility than having everything hanging on the sale of a property, as is the case with flipping.

The Hassle Factor

But maybe you just want to go the most hassle-free, headache-less route. Both methods have their pros and cons here.

With fixing and flipping, you’ll never have to deal with renters, which can be an enormous hassle and headache. But you’ll also have to wade through many more transactions and will have to pay the attendant transactional costs.

Buying and holding most often entails dealing with renters, along with all the inevitable legal and management issues. And this means you will have the hassle of finding and keeping good tenants. Still, this method will provide you a reliable income without the stress of having to flip a house within a certain amount of time.

Hopefully, if you’re trying to decide whether to fix and flip or buy and hold in [market_city], the differences we’ve delineated above will help you make the best investment decision.

Which Questions Every Buyer Should Ask The Seller Before Buying?

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Tue, 6 Nov 2018 12:24:00 +0600

6 Questions Every Buyer Should Ask The Seller Before Buying A Rehab In [market_city]

Snagging a rehab house for very little money, refurbishing it, and then selling it or renting it out for a tidy return on a small investment – now that’s a nearly irresistible proposition. But there’s probably nothing worse than finding yourself irretrievably committed to a rehab project and then discovering that it will ultimately be a money-sink. That’s why you first need to keep in mind these questions every buyer should ask the seller before buying a rehab in [market_city].

1. Is there any lead-based paint?

Whether you’re buying a property to flip or to rent, the presence of lead-based paint will make things many times more difficult. Many states now mandate taking some kind of protective measures to deal with the lead-based paint. These measures, which generally require the services of trained and certified professionals, can be both costly and time-consuming.

2. Does the house contain any asbestos?

Pretty much the same thing goes for asbestos – except it’s a problem that is way more expensive to rectify. In older homes, you can find asbestos in insulation and siding and even in some flooring. In a few cases it can be encapsulated, but most often will have to be removed and disposed of properly by a certified abatement crew. And this is, of course, another costly procedure.

3. Are the window frames sound?

Windows and window frames may not seem like a major concern, but they can be. And that’s why this is one of the questions every buyer should ask the seller before buying a rehab in [market_city].

If the window sills and frames are rotted from improperly functioning guttering, they will have to be replaced. And often, you can’t tell whether the rot is present until you begin to tear into it. Once you do, you’ll generally have to replace the windows as well.

4. What kind of shape is the wiring in?

In older houses especially, the wiring can be a grave concern. It may not even meet the code requirements for [market_city].

For example, there won’t be any of the now-required ground-fault outlets or even junction boxes where needed. What this all means is that if the wiring is outdated, you’re looking at a major investment to re-wire the house.

5. How old (and in what shape) is the plumbing?

Old plumbing – now there’s another huge issue. A lot of older houses still have very outdated plumbing like cast iron drain fittings and galvanized water lines. And some of them even still have the old Orangeburg sewer lines – which will definitely have to be replaced. And if you’re aware of what plumbers charge per hour these days, you also know that replacing and updating old plumbing will be a very expensive proposition.

6. Is the foundation in good shape?

Of all the questions every buyer should ask the seller before buying a rehab in [market_city], this one may be the most important. It is, of course, easy to see what kind of shape the roof is in, but that’s not always the case with the foundation. While the foundation may look fine from the outside, there still may be problems.

It may be the case that water seeps into the basement and crawl space under the house – a sure recipe for odors and mildew. A sinking foundation shows up in floors that aren’t level. And foundation repairs are anything but cheap or easy. A bad foundation can even be an obstacle to getting financing.

Buying a house, especially a rehab, always carries a certain amount of risk. If, however, you use these questions every buyer should ask the seller before buying a rehab in [market_city], it will go along way toward mitigating that risk.

What is Warning Signs for Buying Properties

noreply@blogger.com (Realstates_solution) — Tue, 6 Nov 2018 00:59:00 +0600

3 Warning Signs To Buying A “Lemon” Home In [market_city]

You’ve found what seems like the perfect home – either for investment purposes or to move into – and you really, really want it. This is one time, though, when your head should definitely rule your heart, when intellect should over-ride emotion. You need to take the time to make sure you aren’t buying a “lemon” home in [market_city].

For one thing, sellers usually don’t disclose everything about a property they’re selling, only what they have to. So it’s up to you, the buyer, to find out everything you can, inspecting outside and inside and underneath and, well, everywhere. Below are a few warning signs you should be on the lookout for.

1. Plumbing Problems

This is an important one because plumbing problems can go on for years undetected. Because these issues aren’t always immediately evident, they can cause some pretty severe and expensive-to-repair damage.

A tiny leak in a water-supply line inside a wall, for instance, can continue for a long time before the damage is visible. And that damage after months or years can include rotten, spongy flooring and subflooring, mold and mildew, damaged drywall, and termites (which like moist and damp areas). So watch for water stains, spongy or sagging spots in floors, and mildew – all signs of plumbing problems

Even worse, if you wind up buying a “lemon” home in [market_city], are problems with sewer lines. All sinks and lavatories should drain well, and toilets should have a strong flush. If you find any problems here, that should be a strong warning sign (especially since, in some areas, sewer lines haven’t been updated for many decades). With septic tanks and sewer lines, major repairs can run as high as $25,000 to $50,000.

2. Faulty Roof (And Roof Clues)

Issues with the roof are often a sure sign of problems in other areas. If, for example, you see three layers of shingles and vegetation sprouting in the gutters, that’s a pretty good indication that the owners haven’t taken care of the home in other respects.

Also, look for broken or missing shingles or tiles, which could mean roof leaks. And the thing to keep mind about a roof leak is that the water doesn’t just fall straight down into the house from its first point of access. Often, the water travels down the roof and sometimes to the side before finding a way into the house. It may even run down inside a wall and so remain undetected and cause unseen damage for a time.

And do beware of sagging spots in a roof. For these signal damaged decking at best and damaged rafters or trusses at worst – and that’s about as “lemony” as you can get. A new roof, including tear-off and installation of new decking where needed, can run from nearly $10,000 up to $30,000.

3. Shoddy Renovations and Improvements

Another warning sign to buying a “lemon” home in [market_city] that you really need to heed is shoddy or slapdash renovations and improvements. If you see that just one wall has been painted (obviously hastily and not very tidily), that is likely an indication that the seller is covering up something she didn’t want you to see, water stains or mildew maybe. In a case like this, you need to give it the smell test and look around for saggy ceilings and odd-looking areas in the drywall.

Poorly laid tiles in the bathroom might not be a huge deal – it would cost you only a few hundred to re-do. But a bad job of laying parquet flooring in a large area will cost you more. And if a large deck or driveway has been done improperly, well, then you’re talking about thousands.

Buying a home always has an element of risk in it, but you can keep that risk to a minimum if you pay attention to these 3 warning signs to buying a “lemon” home in [market_city].