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Home for Sale! What marketing plan?

When showing homes in this current market, I often acknowledge to myself that something is really wrong with the picture. Have you ever gotten the feeing that the home you are showing will not sell in your lifetime? Perhaps pricing, appearance, and marketing are missing from the big picture? It's as though the home was listed without a marketing plan. Someone just placed a sign in the ground!

The home could sell, but my experience tells me that the home has little or no chance of ever selling as it is currently marketed. Why is this? Inexperience or indifference comes to mind.

You cannot help but wonder is anyone advising the seller on the homes' appearance, pricing, or any other negatives impeding the sale of the home. But these are all issues that can be corrected!

Pricing a Home to Market: A real estate professional does not list a home at any price the seller chooses. We've gotten used to listing the home at the seller's price. We did not have to qualify the price. Some agents were just buying the listing!

Telling the seller the home is worth way more than the market value just to get the listing. The only problem is that now the homes are not selling! We are in buyer markets in many areas of the nation. If you are so sure the home will sell at the agreed upon listing price … then place in the listing agreement a clause that states, "At no time during the term of the listing agreement will you request a price reduction!"

Identify the Competition: Take off the rose colored glasses, and inform the seller of real current conditions for his home. Competition in price range: from new homes, current market inventory, market absorption rates, offered builder incentives, bonuses, upgrades, improvements, increased commissions and other incentives.

Determine the Negatives and Objections and Correct: Walk the entire property, and take notes! Notes are very important! Date the notepad, and have the seller initial it. If the home needs interior or exterior paint, carpeting, a new roof, or furnaces -- be sure that it is done. This is why they call the current market a buyer's market. There are more goods available for buyers to pick and choose what they want to buy and they can be negotiated on the buyer's terms.

Clean and Immaculate Homes Sell: Cleanliness helps homes sell more quickly -- and at a higher price.

Smelly Homes are Offensive: Vacant homes should be aired out frequently. Odors should never be masked with heavy scented perfumes etc.

Neutralize Those Colors: Neutral colors appeal to more people, so they have a greater chance of selling. Darker colors tend to be more spatial and confining.

Maintain the Exterior: Nothing is worse to drive into a great neighborhood that the buyer really likes and pulling up to the house -- overgrown lawn and all. Homes offered for sale where the lawn is not trimmed appear as "foreclosure bait!" The buyer will say, "Next!"

Don't Posture: When another offer comes in, work it! Don't say I have another offer coming in when you don't! If you do the buyer will step back and wait. Several weeks later when the listing is still showing as, "ACTIVE" the buyer may come back at an even lower price. Selling is not based upon manipulation, or "Liar's Poker!" It is employing time tested strategies, and negotiation skills that allow us to earn a very good living.

Make Available Your Current Contact Information: Voice mails and recording machines need to forward, or provide alternative numbers where you can be reached immediately. If you are going out of town, or plan to go on vacation, have someone cover for you. Return all calls the same day. Do not have other agents show their listings for you without notifying the client first. That is abusive. If you're going to work real estate, then be willing to do what it takes! Remember, others are depending upon you!

Ron Jones

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Introduction to SEO

Webinar On Demand: Introduction to SEO ~ HubSpot

Confirmation | Create social media fans on Facebook & Twitter | Jeff Wiegand | USA Today

Confirmation | Create social media fans on Facebook & Twitter | Jeff Wiegand | USA Today

Prospecting Tips

· Prospecting With a Poor Attitude Do you ever notice how sometimes a person's attitude can change your own attitude? In addition to this have you ever noticed how quite often what you expect to happen does happen? People respond to you based upon what you are putting out to them. When you have a great, positive, fun-loving attitude people will like talking to you more. And when your prospects need a real estate agent they are more likely to remember the agent who made the best impression on them. Make that agent be you. When you begin your prospecting sessions coming from a positive attitude and an expectation that you are definitely going to uncover some solid leads, you will often prove yourself to be 100% right. · Not Following-Up With Prospects If you've ever uncovered leads from prospecting and weeks or months later found out that these same people listed their property or completed a transaction with another agent, you know exactly what I'm talking about here. Doing your prospecting is only part of the formula for success in your real estate business. Following-up on the leads you've uncovered and enrolling your prospects in working with you exclusively is really what being a successful real estate agent is all about. · Prospecting the Wrong People Are you prospecting the people you ideally want to be working with? Are you prospecting in the geographical area that has the properties you really want be working on? Sometimes agents get to the point where they now want to work on transactions that will earn them more commission dollars per transaction than what they've normally worked on in the past. If this is true for you make sure you are prospecting the people who will be closing the exact kind of transactions you want to be working on. · Not Asking Your Prospects for Referrals When you are prospecting you will maximize your results when you ask your prospects who they know who may be interested in buying, selling, or leasing in the near future. If any of the people you are prospecting right now aren't looking to do anything themselves you might as well ask them who else they know who may be looking to buy, sell, or lease. And if you have the great attitude we talked about above you are much more likely to have these people want to refer you to someone. Remember...when you're prospecting you're not just prospecting the person you're speaking with in the moment. When you ask the right questions you can also begin prospecting everyone else they know. · Discontinuing Your Prospecting Once You Generate Activity This is one of the biggest, most common mistakes that many agents make. To be the best you can be in your real estate career you need to be prospecting constantly. As you already know there's a time lag from the moment you identify a prospect to the time you successfully close a transaction with them. If you get busy with activity and stop or substantially reduce your prospecting you will most definitely experience a gap in your incoming commissions in the weeks and months ahead. Don't delude yourself about this. Know with certainty that whenever you slow down your rate of prospecting you will substantially decrease your income for the year.

3 Reasons Agents need online marketing campaign...

1. Home Buyers use the Internet to search for a home more then any other form of media

2. Home Buyers have voiced that the 2 most important features are photos and detailed descriptions

3. Home Buyers are 9 times more likely to find a home online over the newspaper that they ultimately  purchase

5 Friday Favorites

Evernote ~ Remember everything. Capture anything. Save your ideas, things you like, things you hear, and things you see. Access anywhere. Evernote works with nearly every computer, phone and mobile device out there. Find things fast. Search by keyword, tag or even printed and handwritten text inside images.

  Tout ~ 15 Second VIDEO STATUS UPDATES 1 Click to record with Smartphone 1 Click to instantly push to friends (SMS), family, Twitter or Facebook Find and follow friends - and watch their Touts as they happen

  Viddy ~ It’s a simple way for anyone to capture, beautify, and share amazing videos with the world. And it’s free!

  streamzoo ~ Share & discover streams of mobile photos and videos... Express yourself with filters, tilt shift and much more. Earn points for likes and unlock badges for pro features. Compete on the Daily, Weekly and Monthly Leader boards!

  instagram ~ It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos with friends and family. Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it's as easy as pie. It's photo sharing, reinvented. Oh yeah, it’s free!

Marketing Monday Deals!

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Free Social Media Training Class

Free Social Media Training Class

When Friday April 20 2012

Where 527 E. Rowland St. Covina Ca 91723

Time 12:30 - 2:30

RSVP and save your seat!

Space is limited so don't wait til its to late.

Listing Classified Sites

Listing Classified Sites

1.Oodle  ~ Oodle marketplace

2. OLX ~  Where Buyers meet Sellers

3. Domestic Sale ~ The Effective Free Classifieds

4. eHouseAds ~ Real Estate Ads

5. YaKaz ~ Classified Ads United States

6. Vast ~ Open Marketplace

7. trovit ~ A search engine for classified ads of Real Estate

8. Lycos ~ Go get it!

9. Local ~ Promote your business online for FREE

10. FrontDoor ~ Homes and Condos for Sale Across America

11. Craigslist

12. Yahoo Real Estate

13. Rentbits ~ Post & Find Rentals

14. CLRsearch ~ The right home in the right place

15. Enormo ~ The Simple house search

the-small-business-social-media-cheat-sheet

Flowtown - Social Media Marketing Application

Read Buyers’ Minds

Read Buyers’ Minds With These Selling Strategies

Marketing Your Home

Written by ForSaleByOwner staff

Conditions are aligning for a strong start to the spring home selling market. As you get ready to list, you can tweak the condition and positioning of your house to appeal to what buyers want right now. And what is that? Keep reading!  Here’s the latest market research, interpreted for your selling success. I want to own for the same cost as renting Two trends are converging: in most markets, homes are more affordable. Prices are flat or down, and mortgage rates are low and likely to remain so, thanks to current federal policy.  And, rents are rising. The net result: In many areas, the cost of owning is about the same as the cost of buying. And that means that many renters are watching the market closely, looking for the right place at the right price. A recent national survey of homeowners and renters conducted by trade publisher Hanley Wood found that 66^ of current renters wanted to buy because they “would rather build equity than pay rent.” Help them see how buying your house is on a par, if not better, than continuing to rent. Create a “cost of ownership” sell sheet that breaks out the monthly cost of owning the house.  Use the actual cost of utilities and your current property tax bill. The sheet should include: Mortgage payments (use your asking price, less a 10% down payment) Homeowners’ insurance Condo/HOA fees Electricity Gas/heating Cable/internet Water Property taxes Mortgage deduction (buyer must estimate) Refer buyers to the Rent vs. Buy calculator at ForSaleByOwner.com. Great house, small package Less really is more in the 2012 home market. Buyers – first timers and repeat buyers – want manageable houses with low maintenance and carrying costs. Even if you are selling a McMansion, you can use key terms to appeal to Goldilocks buyers who want a house that is not too big, not too small, but just right. Label rooms as ‘flex’ or ‘multipurpose’ space instead of ‘dining room,’  ‘media room,’ or ‘den.’. This signals an open floor plan and lets buyers identify their own use for these rooms. Emphasize storage space – walk in closets, pantries, dry useable basements. Sprinkle in a few descriptors like ‘cozy’ and avoid words like ‘formal.’ Select photos that show inviting, small-scale vignettes, such as a window seat or  two armchairs in a conversational grouping in front of a fireplace. You can get there from here                                                                 One of the biggest selling points is a convenient location. A survey completed for CEOs for Cities confirmed that in nearly every market, houses with higher WalkScores ( a ranking of walking convenience for daily activities) http://www.walkscore.com/ snagged higher selling prices. Each one point increase in a WalkScore delivered $500 to $3,000 more in home value than comparable houses with lower WalkScores. Even houses with mixed WalkScores – close to some daily amenities but within a short drive of others – garnered higher values than those with low WalkScores. Include a WalkScore sheet in your marketing package that highlights the ranking system, and your house’s WalkScore. Create a map that plots your house’s location and routes to everyday amenities such as grocery stores, parks, schools, dry cleaners, coffee shops and movie theaters. Help buyers envision how easy it would be to live in your house. If your house is in a location that requires driving to accomplish most errands, create a map that shows the driving time to the nearest most important amenities, such as the post office and grocery store. Go Green to Get Green Builders and remodelers are pushing environmentally friendly materials and building processes as a major marketing tool. According to the most recent McGraw-Hill Green Home Builders and Remodelers Study, green homes are expected to become up to 38% of the new-home market by 2016, and 35$ of remodelers will be ‘building green” by the same year. Nothing is more green than making the most of an existing home. Play up these environmentally friendly features of your house: Passive solar – south and western exposures capture plenty of sun. Keep window coverings open to show buyers how solar heat streams in. Energy efficient appliances – if you have to replace outdated major appliances or HVAC systems anyway, buy EnergyStar appliances and highlight that in your listing. Insulate pipes – Consider upgrading the insulation around your plumbing to minimize heat loss.

 

Legends FC Soccer Defender Kaz James Signs with Mizzou Tigers

KAZ Signs with Mizzou

Mizzou Tigers Kasrum Kaz James

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Kaz James Signs with Mizzou @ Lorbeer

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Kaz James honored with Ted Moore Award

Lorbeer's 2008 Ted Moore Recipient Kasrum "Kaz" James plans to go back to her junior high for the signing of her official commitment letter with a full Soccer Scholarship to The University of Missouri  a Division 1 School, where she will become a Mizzou Tiger. Recognized as MVP in Soccer, Track and Volleyball Upon Graduating from Lorbeer Junior High. Kasrum "Kaz" James was also honored with The Ted Moore Award by The entire athletic department for the athlete she was then and is today. With the official national letter of intent day for College Athletes just around the corner Kaz is hoping to return to Lorbeer, and share her official signing moment with all of those teachers, coaches, administrators who helped to accomplish her goals and achieve her dreams. The positive support and never ending encouragement will never be forgotten.

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