All posts by Shannon

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents, real estate related

Bustin’ Real Estate Myths – How To Avoid Spreading These 3 “Location” Fairy Tales

Here’s a real estate myth doled out to agents from a so-called expert at, of all places, RealtorMag:

“If your seller’s home is in a part of the neighborhood that borders a highway, train tracks, or an industrial area, it’ll likely fetch a lower price.”

This is the perfect example of why you should always consult with more than one expert when it comes to helping a client with an investment as large and important as real estate.

And if you really want to turn away from the myths and start building a site based on informative content, you need a LeadSite.

Real Estate Myth - Dig through to the facts

Although that “expert’s” wisdom sounds logical, the truth is a bit more complicated than the aforementioned expert seems to understand.

Do your research, be a motivated agent, and you can bust some of the more common myths among real estate consumers about what impacts home values.

Real Estate Myth Number 1: Homes near a railroad fetch a lower price

Real Estate Myth - Living Near The Railroad Cheapens your Home

Researchers studying the issue of rail transit’s impact on home prices used, among others, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in their statistical models.

“According to the models, a house immediately adjacent to BART would sell for close to 38% more than an identical house not near any BART service,” according to Roderick B. Diaz, the study’s author.

You and I both know that “all real estate is local,” so, naturally, the researchers found variances among the increase in value, depending on the community.

Create local neighborhood farm pages with Instafarm! Learn more here.

For instance, when comparing home values before and after the construction of Miami-Dade County, Florida’s Metrorail system, they found that the most a property appreciated was about 5 percent.

And, the rate of appreciation depended not only on how close a home was located to the rail system, but among neighborhoods as well.

“There are proven premiums for being near commuter rail” in suburban Philadelphia and New Jersey, according to the study.

In fact, in the latter, homes near neighborhoods immediately served by the rail line enjoyed a value 10 percent higher than homes located farther away.

This isn’t to say that all homes, nationwide, near railway stations and along the route will have a higher value.

When studying the Portland market, for instance, researchers find that the value of homes located closest to the immediate station area, exhibited “nuisance effects,” such as the increase in traffic and noise.

“Nevertheless, that there is a net benefit shows that, at least in the case of this particular area within metropolitan Portland, the benefit of rail transit overshadows the nuisance effects,” according to Diaz.

So, the next time you hear or read that one of the drawbacks of living near a railroad is that it depresses property values, do some research on homes in the community you serve, and translate that information to your clients via your website.

You and your client may be pleasantly surprised at what you learn.

 

Real Estate Myth Number 2: Living near a highway slaughters a home’s value

Real Estate Myth - Living Near A Highway Makes Selling A Nightmare

Even the experts who’ve extensively studied the highway issue claim that results are a mixed bag.

According to Diaz, the extensive review of all the literature on the subject finds that transportation improvements positively affect the value of nearby land.

The effects ranged from quite small to more than a 10-percent increase in home values.

Whether a home’s value is positively or negatively impacted by its proximity to a highway depends on a number of variables. For instance, those homes located near a depressed freeway were valued higher than those located near at-grade or elevated freeways.

Blanket statements such as “the vroom, vroom, vroom of traffic right outside a bedroom window” will negatively impact the value of a home, are far from accurate. These stereotypes can keep you from maximizing your real estate’s potential.

Again, do the research required because what’s happening outside that bedroom window in your client’s chosen neighborhood may just have a positive impact.

 

Real Estate Myth Number 3: You’ll never be able to sell a house near a cemetery

Real Estate Myth - You'll Never Sell A Home Near A Cemetary

Believe it or not, life near the dead has its perks, and one of them is that homes near cemeteries are generally worth at least 13 percent more than homes further away.

Sure, they take longer to sell, but the wait is definitely worth it.

A few years ago, Redfin compiled research on the topic and found that homes that were the closest to graveyards (within 50 feet) sold for $12 to $20 per-square-foot more than those located farther away.

Don’t assume that homes near railways, busy highways, cemeteries and even big box department stores are worth less than homes farther away or that a new sports stadium in town will raise values. These are common real estate marketing mistakes.

It’s pretty safe to assume that no two real estate markets are identical, and what is hot or not depends on the market.

If you’re ready for a website that works as hard as you do – check out LeadSites. With a LeadSite, you can start putting your ideas into action and watch your business grow.

Dominate the competition with these real estate marketing suggestions.

Get the answers to some common questions about real estate blogging and web content in this video

 

Easy Agent Pro Blog, Lead Generation, real estate related

How To Avoid Wasting Time And Money On First-Time Real Estate Buyers

Did you get into real estate to make less per-hour than you can make at a minimum wage job? If so, keep focusing your efforts on first-time real estate buyers.

If not, read on.

First-time real estate buyers aren’t all that

First-time real estate buyers - Not as great as you'd think

Take a tour around the web and you’ll find tons of articles (18,200,000 to be exact) geared to first-time real estate buyers. How to buy, when to buy, how to save for the down payment.

It’s as if there are no other homebuyers

Why are you chasing after first-time real estate buyers? Because (or so we learn on so many agents’ blogs) they are the largest share of homebuyers?

That simply isn’t true.

First-timers make up only 35 percent of the buying pool, according to the NAR. Not only is this particular lead pool small, those in it are hard to work with, have unrealistic expectations and are almost guaranteed to be a total time suck.

By the way, we did the math for you: 65% of homebuyers are repeat buyers

So, again, why are you putting yourself through this?

Don’t be like this guy

There’s a hilariously pathetic article on realtor.com about how agents can find starter homes for first-time real estate buyers. The suggested tactics included “Dredge up the inventory yourself,” and “find creative financing solutions.”

Really?

Then, there are the articles that teach agents how to help first timers overcome their reluctance, fear, etc.

Can you hear that sucking sound? That’s yet more of your time

First-time real estate buyers - A waste of your time and money

Why not use the exorbitant amount of time that you’d spend on ONE first-time buyer to instead pursue move-up buyers who don’t need inventory dredged up for them, don’t need to learn about the mortgage process, don’t need their hands held AND have a home to sell?

Repeat buyers are the key to winning the stay-alive-in-real estate game

The old saying that if you list, you last, is still largely true. But, if you simply must be a buyers’ agent, be an efficient, money-generating buyers’ agent. Don’t GIVE your time away to first-time real estate buyers.

How to attract repeat buyers

I got a Target gift card in the mail recently, from my attorney. I referred a friend to him and he was grateful.

My referral to my friend was because he is an amazing lawyer, but you can be sure that the gift card will have me referring him in the future. He actually appreciates his clientele. Rare in a lawyer—at least the ones I’m familiar with.

When I bought a home, my lender offered me a gift card if I’d leave a review about him on Yelp. Not only will this solicitation get him banned from Yelp (I won’t tell on him, but others might), I just don’t have the time to write for free.

Yet, I’ve referred three people to him. All of them bought homes with a mortgage he helped them get. I asked each of them if they told him that I referred them. They, indeed, did.

I didn’t even get a thank-you email

Think I’ll ever refer friends to him again? I don’t know. Probably not. He’s not very grateful.

All of this is a rather long-winded way of reminding you to show your past clients who refer you to others some love. These people are A-Listers and they’ll keep referring to you if they know how much you appreciate their efforts.

Use your website

First-time real estate buyers - Make your site a go-to resource

Make your site the go-to resource for repeat homeowners with a powerful leadsite. This is the pool in which your repeat buyers swim. If they’re visiting your website, they’re not just homeowners, they’re homeowners considering buying another home (and selling the current home).

Your content, if done right, will help lure them in and keep them coming back. From special sections to blog posts, here are some examples of information repeat buyers will find valuable:

  • Should I sell or buy first?
  • Explain the bridge loan and how to get one
  • What your market is like right now for larger homes
  • How to upsize, downsize
  • New home communities in your area that are ideal for move-up buyers

Of course, it’s always wise to know your audience before sitting down to put fingers to keyboard.

Think “older” when considering your website content. Ditch the millennial pieces and aim for Gen X and Boomers. Roughly 66 percent of homebuyers are older than 36.

Know your target audience

Boomers are a bit scattered in their desires right now, with a bunch of them saying they’ll rent after selling, another bunch wanting to upsize and, yes, some want to downsize.

A lot of them, however, haven’t bought or sold a home in a very long time, so sprinkle in some information for boomers on how the process has changed over the years. They also want walkable neighborhoods and those filled with or close to amenities they crave.

Many Gen Xers still have kids at home, so keep that in mind as well. Plenty of them are seeking homes in excess of 2,300 square feet (according to a large home builder’s study), located in the suburbs.

Best of all? They tend to do copious research before even looking at homes so their learning curve will be far less intensive on your part.

Your non-real estate-related posts can include information on local schools, things for families to do in their leisure time and date night ideas for Mom and Dad to get a break from parenting.

Finally, understand that both generations typically won’t need advice on down payments.

More than half of them, according to NAR, used the proceeds from the sale of their current homes. So, aim your content to how they might go about getting at that equity when they want to buy a home before selling and explain jumbo and bridge loans.

Drip on your leads with appropriate content

Direct mail is still an effective way of reaching prospects. Consider farming areas with a significant number of long-time homeowners.

Let them know how much equity they’ve gained since the market crash, especially if they own a starter home

“Owners of starter homes have gained 44 percent in equity over the past five years,” according to a Zillow study. And, if you work in Seattle or the San Francisco Bay Area you probably know that higher-priced homes are regaining their value faster than starter homes.

Overall, “housing equity now equals 58% of home values — the highest point since 2006,” according to the Associated Press’ Christopher S. Rugaber.

This is information homeowners need to help get them off the fence about selling

They’re afraid they don’t have the equity to buy another home. They’re also unsure that they’ll be able to sell their current home before buying the next one. Thank the media for that.

Show them — tell them — that they’re in the driver’s seat right now and warn them that no sellers’ market lasts forever.

Stop wasting time and energy on the young’uns and gear your business to repeat buyers. You won’t be sorry.

Need more real estate marketing ideas?

Want to learn how to better manage your real estate leads? Find out more in this video

 

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents, Lead Generation

How To Get Probate Real Estate Leads With This Little-Known Trick

Ok, we admit it: the word “probate” is a snoozer. Not only that, it implies something few of us wish to contemplate – DEATH. So, to put death anywhere near “gee, that’s a great lead-gen idea,” seems almost creepy. But, when you consider how few agents specialize in probate real estate leads, and how much money is on the table, you may quickly get over that slimy feeling.

Probate Real Estate Leads - An untapped nicheSomebody will list these homes, right?

And most of the time, it’s an agent who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Not an expert on probate real estate leads. Not an agent who specializes in probate sales.

Although we couldn’t find an official statistic on how many homeowners die each year, we came close. Consider the following:

  • Nearly 73.7 million Americans between the ages of 25 and older than 75 own homes.
  • Each year, nearly 2.5 million Americans in this age group die.
  • If these deaths were divided evenly among all 50 states, there would be 50,000 probate home sales in each state.

But, they aren’t divided evenly. And, again, we were unable to find pertinent statistics on a statewide level.

But, thankfully, the courts keep track of these things. For instance, there were 4,147 probate filings in FY 2015/2016, in Miami-Dade County, according to Juan C. Antúnez at flprobatelitigation.com.

Now, suppose all of those filings included a home. At the area’s median home price, that’s more than $34 million in per-side commission sitting on the table.

Okay, not all probate cases include a home. So, let’s get conservative and assume that only half do. That’s more than $17 million in commission (per side).

Quite the lucrative real estate niche if one were to become a probate expert in the area.

Probate real estate – in a nutshell

Probate real estate leads - These homes need new tenants

As a decade-long agent (before I quit), I performed a whopping one probate sale. Then, as a real estate consumer, I sold my parents’ home in probate.

Far from an expert, I’ll try to explain the basics. A probate attorney would be the wisest choice to consult, however, if you have deep questions.

“Probate is the formal legal process that gives recognition to a will and appoints the executor or personal representative who will administer the estate and distribute assets to the intended beneficiaries,” according to the American Bar Association.

The process varies, depending on the state, so it can be quite challenging to find probate law information. And, the more “stuff” the decedent left behind, the more complicated the process becomes.

What you need to know as an agent is the name of the contact person in charge of the deceased’s probate. What that person is called varies across states.

In my case, I was the “personal representative,” but in some states, they’re known as the executor (male) or executrix (female). Then, there are states that only use executor, regardless of the person’s gender.

This representative’s job is to inventory the deceased’s belongings and dispose of them, according to the will (which takes precedence) or, if the person died intestate (without a will), the state’s laws of inheritance.

It’s not that steep of a learning curve

Lucky you if your MLS offers probate training like California’s Orange County Association of Realtors does. Taught by a probate attorney, association members pay only $15 for a class packed with valuable information.

If not, you’re on your own, but thankfully, it’s not as tough a nut to crack as you might imagine. Check out The Sanborn Team’s explainer, this one at realtor.com, and at probaterealestatesales101.com.

How and where to get probate real estate leads

Naturally, there are companies that are happy to sell you probate real estate leads.

We know nothing about these companies, by the way, and offer them up for informational purposes only. Check out usprobateleads.com, successorsdata.com and alltheleads.com.

Ah, but agents are a thrifty bunch, so if you’d rather try the DIY route, read on.

Locating probate court records is easier said than done

“Because probate files are public court records that anyone can read, if a will has been filed for probate then you should be able to obtain a copy of it.”

“And with modern technology comes the ability to locate information about a deceased person’s estate online, and in most cases for absolutely free,” or so says attorney Julie Garber at thebalance.com.

Not all counties place their records online, which means a trip to the courthouse. But, which one?

According to Garber, the probate records will be located in either the county where the deceased person lived at the time of death or “the county where the deceased person owned real estate.”

If you’re unsure of which county a particular city is located in, use the search function at naco.org. Once you know the county, you can do an online search for probate records.

Then, be aware that not all counties call them “probate records”

This is why we warned you that the DIY route is easier said than done. Some counties refer to them as “circuit court” records or any number of other names.

“There are over 3300 counties in the United States and each one of those counties has a different procedure for getting the information that you need to work in this niche,” claims Sharon Vornholt at biggerpockets.com.

She recommends calling the probate court in your area and asking “How can I get a list of probates for my county?”

Garber offers tips on how to search online, and what to do if you can’t locate online records, here.

How to make that oh-so-important first contact without looking like a slimeball

Since we aren’t the experts in this niche, we’ll direct you to some of the best. Most of them, by the way, recommend writing a letter, rather than calling.

The investors who hang out at biggerpockets.com have loads of great advice on how to make the first contact.

Brandon Barnes, an investor who specializes in probate real estate leads, suggests “addressing the elephant in the room” upfront, in your initial contact. He offers condolences on the death and then heads into his soft pitch.

You may want to consider offering services to potential probate clients – things of value they won’t get with an agent who generalizes. See the ingenious list at probaterealtypdx.com.

No, it’s not all grief and tears

While the personal representative is the estate’s contact person, be ready to deal with the entire family. It happens a lot.

Many agents avoid probate real estate leads out of the fear of offending the bereaved. Knowing how to handle these touchy situations is crucial to generate real estate leads.

Consider this, however: by the time they get ready to list the home, the loved one’s death is most likely fading into the rear-view mirror and the hassle of owning another home is squarely in front of them.

They feel the need for speed—to avoid yet another house payment and having to pay more utility bills out of their own pockets.

In other words, these are serious sellers

Of course, there are the personal representatives who have that “I-grew-up-in-this-house” emotional attachment. It’s wrenching for them to think that someday they’ll close that front door and never step foot in the home again.

But you’ll find that same type of attachment in many traditional home sellers as well. Be sure to keep informed so you know what these sellers are looking for.

Part of specializing in the probate niche is to learn why the family feels the way they do and, more significant, how to deal with these emotions

Probate Real Estate Leads - Handling a sensitive subject

“Childhood homes, even those we lived in for a short time, become repositories for our memories, and even years later, when we see a home we once lived in, hundreds of evocative memories can flood in,” Dr. Ramani Durvasula, professor of psychology at California State University at Los Angeles tells Danielle Braff of the Chicago Tribune.

Consider as well that the last time these family members moved out of this home it was voluntary. This time, it’s not and, this time it’s final.

There’s the why

Probate real estate leads can be tricky because of the nature of probate. The loss of the home may resurrect the grief over the loss of the person who owned it. And, people react to loss differently. Anxiety, anger, sadness, and helplessness are some of the emotions they may be dealing with.

Encourage these clients to talk, and let them know it’s okay to feel sad. Avoid giving non-real estate-related advice and never be afraid to utter these four simple but comforting words: “How can I help?”

Suggest that the client take pictures of the interior of the home, especially areas that contain potent memories.

Durvasula also suggests encouraging them to take fixtures, such as lighting, doorknobs, or anything else that will help them maintain a connection to the home long after the sale closes.

Want to learn other amazing secrets to generate real estate leads?

Want to increase your real estate conversion? Learn 5 better ways to talk to leads in this video.

 

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents, Lead Generation

Baby boomer real estate leads: 3 strategies you absolutely have to know (and some tips)

“I think the baby boomers are still going to pick up books in the grocery store but everyone else is looking online first, researching second and then picking up the phone.” This from a very young agent in a thread at Active Rain.

baby boomer real estate leads - not as old as you think

Myths like that one about baby boomers abound and it’s useless to try to dispel all of them, especially to younger generations.

Suffice it to say, however, 87 percent of younger boomers – adults between the ages of 54 and 64—are regular internet users while nearly 70 percent of older boomers (65 to 72) use the internet, according to Pew Research.

So, despite the aformentioned agent’s vision of a doddering oldster, browsing the books at the local supermarket, the fact is that a boomer is just as likely to find his or her agent and next home via the Internet as any other generation.

Beware! There are certain things members of this demographic won’t bother telling you about themselves, but they’ll expect you to know. Baby boomer real estate leads aren’t what you might think.

1. They aren’t old

Baby Boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, won’t tell you that they don’t consider themselves old or elderly or even senior citizens, but they will either laugh at you or choose another agent if treated as such.

This generation is active, vibrant and much healthier than the previous generation – the one on which the current stereotypes are based.

“They will not tolerate typecasting, stereotypes, pandering or ageism,” warns Brent Green, author of “Marketing to Leading Edge Baby Boomers.”

He goes on to say that “They will invest in products and services that resonate, and they will reward those who crack the idiosyncratic marketing code.”

This brings us to the second secret your Boomer clients won’t share with you. They will reward you.

2. They’re good at referrals

As of last year, the Census Bureau estimates that there are 65.2 million American-born baby boomers. Add in immigrant boomers and that number rises to 76.4 million. According to a study by ThirdAge and JWT Boom, a whopping 96 percent of these people (73 million) participate in word-of-mouth marketing.

What this means for the real estate agent is that a boomer client who is happy with the service he or she receives is highly likely to pass on your information to friends, colleagues and family members.

Will they tell you this?

Probably not, but it’s something you should keep in the back of your mind when working with this generation. Referrals from this segment can be gold!

Go above and beyond the normal expectations and you may just end up with every boomer in town as clients. Not bad when you consider each one of them represents at least two transactions, since they will typically sell a home to buy one.

They are also considering renting

baby boomer real estate leads - they may consider rentingOf this generation’s members that say they’ll be moving, 41 percent say they’ll purchase a home. Only 10 percent will rent, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). That sounds like good news for an agent hoping to corner this market niche, right?

Here’s the clincher – 45 percent are undecided. It’s up to you, then to sell them on the benefits of owning over renting. Are you aware of what those are for folks in this age group? If not, you’ve got some studying to do.

3. They Expect Excellent Customer Service

“I think a big mistake that many marketers make is assuming that all boomers are hippies,” Lisa Magerl, SVP, director of client services, at RTC Relationship Marketing tells Direct Marketing News’ Nathan Golia.

“Boomers have very high expectations with their interactions with businesses. They expect a high degree of customization, personalization and on-demand service,” she concludes.

Whether this is true of all Boomers or most of them isn’t explained. But the nugget of knowledge provided is invaluable when working with your older clients.

“Right now the housing recovery has been fueled by baby boomers with good credit and lots of equity,” David Cobb, regional director for Metrostudy, tells NewsPress.com.  “It’s been mainly the blue chip buyer who’s brought the market back from the abyss.”

How to Generate Baby Boomer Real Estate Leads

Go through your website and delete all mentions of “retirees,” “seniors” and “elderly.” Replace the terms with “baby boomers,” or “50+,” or, if you must, “older adults.”

Remember, many boomers are still active in the workforce. Even more important, you’re referring to the Peter Pan generation and growing old is something they don’t want to be reminded of.

Forget everything you think you know, and a lot of what you read online, about this generation. Even if retired, most refuse to be considered “out to pasture,” so arts and crafts classes at the local senior center aren’t a hot button.

Boomers are a varied bunch, but typically enjoy:

  • Travel – AARP conducted a study two years ago that found 99% percent of baby boomers were planning to take vacations that year.
  • Golf
  • Working out
  • Walking, running, jogging, hiking
  • Playing online and video games
  • Gardening
  • Entertaining and socializing (consider restaurant and movie reviews, “where to buy” lists, etc.)
  • Home improvement projects

Since not all of your blog and social media posts should be real estate-related, sprinkle in some hyper-local posts about the above topics.

Baby boomers are today’s repeat buyers. Baby boomer real estate leads can help your business grow – ignore them at your own risk.

Need more ideas for generating real estate leads?

Want to generate baby boomer real estate leads through Adwords – in this video, Mike breaks down the perfect seller lead strategy for Adwords

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents

How to avoid fake real estate news – and why it is critical that you do

Avoid fake real estate news? What are we even talking about? Why is it important? Simple – as a professional, part of your job is to cut through the hype and help your clients understand what’s actually happening.

real estate tips - avoid fake news
Consider this scenario, recently posed in an online article. What if interest rates increase to 5 percent, wonders Diana Olick of CNBC in an article titled “Here’s how a 5% mortgage rate would roil the US housing market.”

Her answer?

“A 5 percent rate would cause more than a quarter of today’s homebuyers to slow their plans, according to a Redfin survey.”

Well, yes, but it turns out that the statistic she highlights is but one of several and, should it come to pass, it most certainly will not cause the housing market to “roil.”

We call this “cherry picking”—choosing to highlight the statistic that furthers the writer’s agenda.

What would cause disruption in the housing industry is if a large share of the respondents said that a hike in interest rates would cause them to give up on buying a home. But, that isn’t the case.

Let’s dive a little deeper into how to avoid fake real estate news.

“Just 6 percent said they would drop their plans to buy altogether,” according to Olick. And, she continues:

“About one-fifth of consumers said 5 percent rates would cause them to move with more urgency to purchase a home, fearing rates would rise even further. Another fifth said they would consider more affordable areas or just buy a smaller home.”

First, notice how she uses a mix of percentages and fractions.

real estate tips - avoid fake newsIt takes our brains some time to switch between the two. And, since it’s a well-known fact that Americans suck at math, many will assume that whatever those numbers are, they illustrate what she stated in her title.

Plus, most online readers skim text. In other words, they won’t take the time to figure out the numbers.

Why the mix of fractions and percentages?

Think about it: “About one-fifth” sounds a lot tinier than 20 percent. And both of the largest number of responses are stated as “one-fifth.”

Take away the fractions and here’s what her stats say:

  • More than 25 percent will slow their plans
  • 20 percent say they’ll buy sooner to avoid the coming high rates
  • 20 percent will either choose a cheaper area or a smaller home
  • 6 percent won’t buy a home

Wait – something is missing!

real estate tips - avoid fake newsWhat did the other 29 percent of respondents say? We aren’t told—at least in this CNBC article.

So, we went to the source, and here’s what Redfin’s Greg McCarriston has to say about the company’s survey:

“Prospective buyers were unfazed by the prospect of rising mortgage rates.”

Well, that’s certainly not what we expected. In this case, we avoid fake real estate news by reading the rest of the study.

It turns out that the study actually shows positive news for the real estate industry. And, since humans are basically pack animals, a potential buyer reading this, rather than the CNBC article, will relax if rates go up. After all, if they don’t faze other homebuyers, why should they faze me, right?

We also find that Redfin used actual percentages—not fractions.

And, we found the missing respondents (they’re bolded, below).

  • 27 percent of respondents say a rate hike will cause them to slow down their home search in hopes the rates will come down.
  • 25 percent say a rate hike will have no impact on their decision to buy a home.
  • The two 20 percent categories mentioned above are actually 21 percent
  • 6 percent won’t buy a home, as Olick stated

So, Olick, for some reason, felt we didn’t need to know about the second highest response rate in this survey: “25 percent say a rate hike will have no impact on their decision to buy a home.”

Taken in total, then, Redfin’s survey finds that if the mortgage rate increases to 5 percent, it will have little effect on the US housing market.

In fact, a whopping 94 percent of homebuyers say that despite a rate hike, they may slow down or change their process, but they will still buy a home.

real estate tips - avoid fake newsCompletely the opposite of the notion the CNBC writer was trying to get us to swallow

It might take more to avoid fake real estate news than we thought. It isn’t just not reading things. It’s interpreting information critically.

Your clients might not – this is why it’s so important for you, as a real estate professional, to take the time to critically and skeptically read anything real estate-related.

If something in a news article seems hinky, take a minute to find the source, and verify the statistics, before passing it on to clients, leads and anyone else.

In our opinion, this article constitutes “fake real estate news.”

After all, is there anything in the survey that sounds like a 5 percent mortgage rate will “roil the US housing market?”

Of course not, yet the average homebuyer or seller will read it lightly, coming away with the impression that a mortgage rate hike to 5 percent is on the horizon and that the real estate market, as a result, will be “in a state of turbulence or agitation.”

And, if you don’t think the writer or publisher very carefully chose to use “roil” in the headline, think again.

So, we now know that there is a deliberate attempt to mislead readers. What we don’t know is why.

Headlines are to writers what scripts are to Tom Ferry followers. Sometimes it takes longer to come up with the right headline than it does to write an entire article. They are that important.

In all fairness, the CNBC headline may have been constructed as clickbait, akin to the old “You’ll never believe what happened when …” stuff.

Then again, it may have been written knowing that many people only read headlines. In other words, it contains the message the writer or publisher wants us to walk away with.

Even those who do read the entire article are blinded by the headline, according to The New Yorker’s Maria Konnikova, quoting an Australian study.

“The headline, it turns out, had done more than simply reframe the article. In the case of the factual articles, a misleading headline hurt a reader’s ability to recall the article’s details.”

As an industry professional, you owe it to real estate consumers to tell the truth and the only way you’ll get it is to read everything critically and perform your own due diligence.

Enjoy this real estate tip on how to avoid fake real estate news? Need some real estate marketing ideas?

Easy Agent Pro Blog

Real Estate Blogging (7 critical lessons to learn from the worst real estate blogs)

real estate blogging

Real estate blogging – loved, hated, promoted, ridiculed. Nevertheless, I just read an article about real estate blogging “do’s and don’ts,” that was the absolute epitome of why we have to be careful from whom we take advice.

Blogging best practices include – typically at the top of the list – breaking up long paragraphs so that they are no longer than five sentences in length.

The aforementioned post about what not to do when real estate blogging started out with a paragraph that is TEN sentences long.

But, wait!

Further into the article there is a paragraph that is EIGHTEEN sentences in length

What happens when a reader is met with a huge block of text?

Most won’t bother reading it.

What else can you learn from sucky real estate blogs? Even better, how can you use these tips to become better at real estate blogging? Read on!

 real estate blogging - the framework is important1. Ignoring blog structure best practices

Those overly-long paragraphs? Those are just the beginning of some of the structure blunders we see on many real estate blogs.

And, they go hand-in-hand with the term “whitespace.” You need as much of that as possible in each post.

Break up your posts into sections, using headers, sub-headers, block quotes and bulleted lists. Regardless of the length of your post, these “tricks” help the reader assume that it’s a quick read.

Consider incorporating photos, infographics, charts and other visuals. Get additional tips on blog structure at globalyogi.com.

real estate blogging is critical to your business2. Not understanding why blogging is critical to your business

Blogging consistently offers several valuable paybacks. For the real estate agent who does it right, blogging helps establish authority. It also builds the volume of indexed pages on your site, which is good for SEO.

And, lest you don’t believe us, check out the stats:

  • U.S. internet users spend three times more time on blogs and social networks than they do on email, according to Hubspot.
  • Statista.com finds that nearly 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies have a public blog.
  • “Businesses that blog witness their monthly leads rise by 126% more than those who don’t,” according to a Hubspot
  • Companies that blog get 55 percent more visitors

Want organic traffic visiting your site? Want site visitors to ‘discover’ you instead of having to be hit hard by your ads or direct mail? Want to be known as a resource to your community? Real estate blogging can give you all of this and more.  A lot more, in fact.

 real estate blogging - learn best practices3. Not taking the time to learn blog content best practices of real estate blogging

It’s not enough to sit down at the computer and start dashing off your witty words of wisdom, though. Even the most brilliant blog posts run the risk of sinking into obscurity if they’re not formatted correctly or if they’re riddled with mistakes.

Blog topics should be, above all else, of value to your reader.

“For each post, I made sure to identify what my readers want to read and to define the problem that they want to solve,” explains Neil Patel, who can legitimately boast of receiving more than 262,000 website visitors in one month.

No, your latest listing isn’t all that compelling – at least not to the vast majority of readers. Choose your topics carefully and, when you come up with one, your job has only just begun.

Find a way to differentiate that topic from the millions of others out there. For example,

There are 154 million Google results for “How to buy a house”

Choose any of those results at random and you’ll find that most say the same things.

“How to buy a house in [your city]” is probably just as saturated. But, “How to buy a home with a view in [your city] isn’t.

Not only are you working with a long-tail, hyper-local search term by niching down your topics, you can reuse the topic repeatedly just by plugging in a different niche, such as “luxury home,” “condo,” “a home with a well and septic.”

You’ll also need a compelling title. According to Copyblogger, on average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the actual article or blog post.

Create compelling, SEO-friendly blog posts with Blogger Pro, part of LeadSites. Learn More.

“Essentially, your blog title has the ability to make or break the success of the whole post.”

according to Carly Stec, Hubspot’s senior content strategist. She mentions some takeaways from research performed by Takipi’s co-founder, Iris Shoor – words to consider using in your titles to help generate more shares of your blog posts.

They’re surprising and worth a read.

For more on the nuts and bolts process of writing a blog post, refer to Patel’s Ultimate Guide to Writing Blog Posts that Rank in Google’s Top 10.

real estate blogging - more than selling4. Selling instead of informing

While it’s perfectly fine to occasionally post information about a new listing or let folks know about an open house (although social media is a far better vehicle for this), avoid over-posting these items. Few people go to a blog to be sold to; most want to learn something.

Offering content that is relevant to the reader is the only way to do this

As well, don’t go overboard on your calls-to-action. We’ve seen some that are longer than the post. A call-to-action, by the way, shouldn’t read like a bio.

In fact, it is just what it says it is – it directs the reader to what you want him or her to do next.  If you are using your blog to build community, for instance, you’ll probably want readers to share your posts and/or leave a comment.

Your call-to-action in this case would be to ask a question. “Do you have an autumn home maintenance routine? Feel free to share it with us in the comments.”

Posts about home selling might direct your reader to your free market analysis page and those buyer-focused posts should take the readers to some of those amazing buyer posts you’ve written.

Save the blatant self-promotion for other pages on your site.

 real estate blogging - lead visitors to more content5. Not leading the reader to more of your content

“The longer someone stays on your website, the more they’ll get to know you and your business,” says Curaytor’s Kristi Hines. And, she’s correct. It’s the reason you’ll find links to other, similar articles at the end some of the industry’s best blog posts.

“Strategic internal linking is an SEO power technique,” according to Elliot Ross, writing at kissmetrics.com. How?

Links send signals to both search engine spiders and to readers that the content linked to is exceptionally important and relevant. This is something both search engines and readers want, according to Ross.

real estate blogging - proofread before publishing 6. Not proofreading before publishing

This is a biggie. We recently read a blog post from a Florida agent who apparently wrote notes to his writer in the post and then forgot to remove those notes when he published the finished product.

Throughout the post, the reader is treated to gems such as “I CANNOT UNDERSTAND YOUR WRITING!” and “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THIS?”

Then, there are the agents who hire writers who don’t know the first thing about real estate. What happens is they end up with posts full of misinformation, like this one, from a paragraph about being mindful during the final walkthrough:

“Realtors will only pay for something that is broken so make it a mission to inspect closely.”

Since this particular beauty was published in an agent’s newspaper, sent to thousands of people in his farm, wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall when one of his buyers demands that he pay for damage found during the walkthrough because, after all, he said in his newspaper that “Realtors” do that?

Whether you hire a ghostwriter or write your own posts, it’s important to proof carefully, several times, before publishing them on your site. Look not only for factual errors but grammar, punctuation and spelling errors as well.

real estate blogging - promote your work7. Not promoting your blog posts

So, you’ve just published the world’s most compelling real estate blog post. Now you need to share it.

Not only does sharing help drive traffic back to your site, but “Blog content also helps keep your social media presence going,” according to Hubspot.

Publish that post to your LinkedIn Groups (as long as they allow this), Facebook, of course, and any other social media platform you use.

If you mention a local business in your post, let them know you mentioned them and ask them to link to your post. Now, each of their followers will see the post and, hopefully, many of them will end up on your website.

Real estate blogging isn’t for the feint at heart. It’s a big job but offers a spectacular return on the time and/or money you invest in it. Learn from the worst, so you can be the best.

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents

Will it EVER end? 5 Ways to Keep Real Estate Agent Motivation Until Spring

real estate agent motivation
Even on a good day, real estate agent motivation can wane. This can be a difficult business. But in many markets, winter can put a fine point on the challenges.

Feast or famine – it’s the nature of the real estate beast. Yes, business is cyclical and, yes, real estate veterans know to be prepared for the down times.

But, sometimes, all the preparation in the world won’t cure that feeling of being at loose ends when your business goes from supersonic to snail’s pace.

The weather doesn’t help either. Less sunshine and cold temperatures do little to help lift our moods and give us a reason to put our feet on the floor every morning.

It’s coming – the end of the real estate doldrums – and we’ve come up with some ideas to help you deal with them for just a little longer. Here’s the real estate agent motivation you need.

real estate agent motivation1. Just keep swimming

“When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do?” Dory asks Marlin in “Finding Nemo. “Just keep swimming.”

Motivational coach Tony Robbins calls this “action.”

“Action is the key to everything,” he says. “Even if you take the wrong action, if you keep changing your approach, you can succeed in anything.”

Even a slow market

So, you don’t have buyers wanting to see homes for sale or you aren’t taking listings at the same rate you were just a few months ago. Take one small step – one action every day can move you from paralyzed to motivated.

real estate agent motivation2. Get out of the office

 Studies show that changing your environment can lead to “a burst of fresh thinking and increased drive,” according to Samuel R. Sommers, Tufts University associate professor of psychology.

 Get out of the office (even if it’s a home office) for a few hours every day. Work from Starbucks, the library or, if the weather is conducive, a park.

Take a former client to lunch or meet up with other agents for cocktails at the end of the day.

Breaking up the routine opens your mind to entertain ways to remain productive during the down time.

real estate agent motivation3. What are you streaming?

Motivation can come from music, books and videos as well. Set aside some time every day to catch the motivation bug from some of the best coaches on earth, both past and present.

The late Zig Ziglar’s classic “Better than Good: Creating a Life you can’t wait to Live,” will pump you up to new heights.

Gary Keller’s “Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times” is at the top of our list of books to curl up with at night.

In the car, it’s always Tony Robbins, especially “Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement.” Sure, it’s old, but it’s still quite effective at kicking our motivation into high gear.

real estate agent motivation4. Get back to your basics

Think back on your career to a time when business was booming. What were you doing then that brought you results? For instance, if it was FSBOs that brought in the money, go after them again. Set a goal around the activity, such as getting one FSBO listing a month.

If nothing else, you’ll polish your listing presentation to perfection

Or, consider working on reaching out to your sphere and past clients.

real estate agent motivation5. Realize that pain is a motivator

Even greater than pleasure, according to Robbins. He teaches his clients that we seek action to move away from pain toward pleasure.

If you’ve been in this business for any time at all, you know there can be plenty of pain – if you can transform that into motivation, you’ve got a lock on success!

What sort of real estate agent motivation is driving you? What goal have you set for yourself and your business that would bring the most pain if you don’t achieve it?

Robbins suggests that instead of focusing on the pleasure we feel by avoiding the more distasteful activities required to reach the goal, we should focus on the pain we’ll feel if we don’t achieve it.

Cold calling comes to mind here – the ultimate in real estate agent motivation

Now that you have some down-time, focus on obtaining that goal, even if you take small steps every week. Motivation will build every time you move closer to achieving it.

“There’s a warrior in you,” Robbins says. “The warrior is the one who can face anything and storm through it.”

Storm through the “pain” of picking up the phone to prospect and reaching out to angry homeowners whose listings have expired.

Put your feet on the floor every morning, consistently. Before you know it, spring will be here.

Need more motivation? Check out these 50 motivational real estate quotes – winter will be over in minutes!

Need marketing-specific motivation? Here are 200 real estate marketing tips, plus a bunch more!!

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents

Boost your Real Estate Customer Service: Explain the Mortgage Process

real estate customer serviceReal estate customer service. It seems like an easy thing to lose track of in the rollercoaster that is real estate.

If you take a minute and think back to real estate school.  Did you ever get the feeling that the lecturer was speaking a foreign language? Littoral vs. riparian rights, avulsion vs. erosion, all those ways of holding title?

Through it all, we came away remembering there are 43,560 square feet in an acre. Oh, and some random facts about estates and interests in real property.

What we weren’t taught is how to prospect, what to do on a listing presentation or anything about the mortgage process.

Of course your clients know none of this – they don’t know what you know, but they also don’t know what you don’t know. They assume because you’re in the real estate business, that you know everything. About property, transactions, lending, and houses.

This is where good real estate customer service comes in. You don’t have to be a seasoned agent with a thousand deals under your belt to be ready to support your clients through a transaction.

Sometimes, you just have to avoid jargon.

 

Consider this: most of your clients think that you’re speaking another language

 

Remember – these things are confusing to you. And you’ve been to school. As a result, lots of clients find the process stressful.

Your client know nothing about the process, the terminology, the technical aspects of transactions, and still we breeze in and rattle off information about loan pre-approvals, down payments and closing costs.

Also remember that none of this is taught in school – just like you learned a lot of import aspects of the real estate business on the street, your clients are having to learn part of the purchase process, well, from you. Maybe you should add ‘Educator’ to your titles.

Providing good real estate customer service means un-complicating and demystifying the words AND the processes. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to educate your clients, in ways they understand, to reduce their stress. In other words, add value.

They deserve more

 Got Value?

Have you noticed how handily real estate coaches, trainers and other advice-bearers toss around the word “value?”

You’re advised to figure out your “value proposition,” offered steps to “bring more value” to your clients and warned that you need to “add enough value” to justify your commission.

 

Ok, cool. But, just what is this “value” of which they speak?

real estate customer service - confusion is everywhere

Only your clients can determine what’s valuable to them in the real estate process. Most want to be able to trust their agent. They want their phone calls and emails responded to quickly.

Most of all, they want to understand the process they’re about to enter into – explanations in plain English.

Since one of the first steps for a buyer is to see a lender – and we haven’t found an agent yet who doesn’t share this information – wouldn’t a bit more information be of value to your buyers?

“See a lender” is skimpy advice. So is “Go see Jack. He’s my lender and he’ll get you pre-approved.”

A walk-through of the lending process, however, is valuable.

Real Estate Customer Service For The Win!!

By the way, how much do you know about it?

real estate customer service - educate yourself

Educate yourself

If you work closely with a mortgage professional, and most experienced buyers’ agents do, you can’t be blamed for assuming that it’s his or her job to educate your clients. This seems reasonable – except, it often doesn’t work that way.

Guess what? It’s not going to happen

Now, don’t worry – chronically missing pieces of a process represent opportunity – here’s a place for you to shine!

But, there’s a catch. You have to do your homework and be ready to step in to this important educational and real estate customer service role.

If you aren’t well-versed on the lending process, it’s time to get up to speed and make an explanation of it part of your buyer consultation.

Hey, not only does it add value for your client, but it cuts down on those nasty last-minute surprises during the purchase – you know, the client who thinks it’s perfectly ok to buy brand new appliances on credit, before closing.

Your Knowledge Can Cure Stress

Are you feeling powerful yet? Your wisdom is imparted during the buyers’ consultation – before setting one foot in a home for sale.

For starters, this meeting help you establish a relationship with the clients and learn their wants and needs. But it is far more – it offers the opportunity to explain the entire process.

This helps them relax into the process and relaxed clients are so much easier to work with than stressed-out ones, right? In fact, we’re all easier to work with when we’re relaxed, right?

Your job as an educator shouldn’t end with an explanation of the purchase process.

You can pretty much count on the fact that your first-time buyers have no clue how to determine their DTI and how the lender uses it. The terms “mortgage origination and processing” are gobbledygook.

And that’s not even considering questions like:

Who is the underwriter and what is her part in the process?

What are points?

Closing costs?

And, that oh-so-important discussion about not changing anything having to do with their employment and finances is deserving of a mention and explanation.

Here’s a great example of Keith Hiscock sharing this kind of value on Twitter:

 

 

So…how can you fix this? Rather than letting this stress you out, or having to repeat yourself in every conversation, use your tools. Here are a couple of approaches to consider –

Use handouts

Start here – give your buyers handouts. In fact, to cut down on the amount of time you’ll spend in the consultation, consider packaging the handouts in a handy buyer presentation packet. Create an explainer sheet, or even an infographic, about the steps in the mortgage process, who the players are and what they do.

Remember to include information on the differences between the VA, USDA and FHA loan programs. And, if your buyer is going for an FHA-backed loan for a condo, there’s even more information to share.

Use your website to educate 

Lastly, To really streamline the process, you can post that explainer or infographic to the buyers’ section of your website. Then, direct your buying clients to that page.

There’s enough research out there that proves real estate consumers don’t care how many homes you sell every year, they have no interest in your designations and “top producer” means nothing to them.

They want to know what’s in it for them to work with you. Addressing that – answering the “what’s in it for me?” — is your value proposition and a way to make you the superstar customer service agent.

At EasyAgentPRO, we try to make things easy. Adding a page with this information on your site is easy. From there, you can always include a link to this page in an email that you regularly send in your CRM. Better yet, add an introduction to this information in an email and then link – and add this email to your buyers nurture campaign. Real estate customer service doesn’t have to be a chore – but it does take some focus and thought to execute it correctly.

Real estate customer service is just one aspect of being an effective real estate agent. Need marketing ideas? Check out our monster list of great ways to excel at real estate marketing!

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents, Lead Generation

Want More Seller Leads? 3 Things Your First-time Sellers Wish You Knew

Converting seller leads depends on knowing how they think - fear.

Seller leads are always the holy grail of real estate – but it’s easy to just view these mythical creatures as names and emails, phone number you can call, or worst, potential commission checks. Taking time to understand the seller’s experience can make you more effective in your pitch – and help you land more deals!

The truth is, real estate agents do a bang-up job of informing consumers about how to buy a first home. Almost every agent’s site has information about the process and there’s even more available from non-real estate sites.

Sadly, the same can’t be said for first-time seller advice. Because of this, these clients are filled with anxiety and have plenty of questions they may too embarrassed to ask.

Most of all, they’re scared

Of course they are. After all, most of your listing clients don’t really know you, yet they’re putting their largest financial investment in your hands. That’s some pretty scary stuff.

Yet so many agents run through a listing presentation that may sound Greek to the consumer, hand them a contract and a pen with which to sign it and breeze out with a wave and a mumble about the MLS, a sign and a lockbox.

If you were aware of their fears, what would you do to help your clients overcome them?

Let’s take a look at three of the biggies and some solutions you can employ to put their minds at ease. Master these and you’ll be speaking the language of your seller leads!

Real estate seller leads are often confused.

1. I don’t understand how the process works

If you’ve ever had surgery you know that the doctor, or his nurse, walked you through the process beforehand. They didn’t use medical jargon and welcomed your questions about the procedure.

“Preoperative procedures are designed to improve the outcome of the surgery, decrease the risk for complications, and make the surgery as safe and effective as possible,” according to the pros at healthcommunities.com.

The same should be said for the pre-listing procedure. Make it a point to explain the process and you’ll improve the outcome of the sale, decrease the risk of complications and make the process as smooth and effective as possible.

Whether you put it in writing and slap it up on your website or in your listing presentation, or plan on doing a verbal walk-through, the procedure is a win-win for both your clients and your customer service reputation.

There’s more to counselling your listing clients than talking about curb appeal, staging and recommended repairs. Walk them through the process, in its entirety:

  • Show them how you determine a home’s market value
  • Explain the importance of pricing the home appropriately out of the gate
  • Share your opinion of which pool of buyers their home will appeal to and the importance of staging it for those buyers
  • Describe the MLS – what it is, how it works
  • Explain the lockbox’s operation
  • Explain your process, step-by-step, from the time they sign the listing agreement until closing. Yes, include the small stuff. “When I leave here I’ll go back to my office and open a file for your home. Then, I’ll call the sign company and request the for-sale sign be placed in your front yard. I’ll contact the photographer to take photos of the home, write the listing description for the MLS … “.

Keep going until you’ve covered every single thing you will do for the client

Not only will it put their minds at ease to know the steps of the process but it cements the fact that you truly are worth the money they’re paying you.

Then, get into what’s expected of them. Keep the home clean, be flexible with showings, etc.

Wrap it up with a step-by-step description of what happens from the time they accept an offer to closing.  Explain contract jargon, such as escrow, earnest money deposit, contingency and comps.

seller leads are nervous.2. I’m nervous

Put yourself in your listing clients’ shoes and imagine the anxiety they’re suffering. What if the home doesn’t sell? What if I don’t make enough money from the sale? What if this house doesn’t sell before I close on my new home?

If they listen to the agent-bashers online they’re also nervous that you will suggest a low price just to get a quick sale.

Meet that one head-on by explaining the CMA process and how it compares to the appraiser’s evaluation. If you have a high list-price to sale-price ratio, by all means, let them know.

Be the problem solver – earn the right to convert seller leads

If they’re both buying and selling, explain the pros and cons and what might go wrong. If they’re nervous about how much equity they have, help them find out the exact figure.

seller leads are scared of losing their important things.3. How do I know these strangers in my home won’t steal from me?

First-time sellers only have one point of reference when it comes to who will be touring their home: themselves, when they were buyers. They remember peeking into drawers, opening closets and cupboards. And, their interest was most likely innocent.

Yet, not everyone’s is

Experienced agents understand this fear and know how to deal with it. New agents, on the other hand, may either not understand how common this fear is, or think their clients are being overly paranoid.

All listing clients, first-timers or otherwise, should be reminded that thefts do happen and recommend that they lock up their valuables, weapons and prescription medications.

Agents wear a lot of hats –marketers, negotiators, bloggers, hand-holders and problem-solvers among them. Add psychologist to the mix.

Keep an eye on the clients during your listing presentation to determine if they are anxious. If so, take the time to help them relax into the process.

If you’re lucky, seller leads turn into sellers. Use these tips to make sure you’re ready to support them through the process.

It’s the bedrock of customer service.

Want to target seller leads on Facebook? Mike breaks that down in this video:

Need more lead gen ideas for 2018? We’ve got them! Real Estate Lead Gen for you!! Want real estate marketing ideas? Yep, we’ve got those too!!

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents

5 Stupid Marketing Mistakes Agents Make

real estate marketing mistakes - you can recover!!

Unless you came to the real estate industry after a career in marketing, you’re not a marketer. It’s that simple. And that means, you’re likely making some of these real estate marketing mistakes. I mean, I hope not, but you know, it happens, right? Well, let’s see if we can correct that today!

Sure, we can learn marketing tips and tricks, but along the way we’ll make some pretty big blunders. Today we’ll take a look at 5 of them and see if we can lead you in another direction.

1. Buying into myths

How often do you read information like this: “ … the majority of people looking to purchase a new home are first-time buyers?”

It’s absolutely untrue, but many agents won’t bother checking its veracity. In fact, it’s one of the biggest myths in the real estate industry and agents across the country are wasting precious time and money because of it.

For the record, only 35 percent of homes purchased last year went to first-time buyers

So, while you’re out there focusing your marketing efforts on this tiny pool, other agents are getting the remaining 65 percent of buyers.

Many of whom have homes to sell

Speaking of possibly double-ending a deal, how about this one?

“Gen X homeowners represented the largest share of sellers in the past year (27 percent),” according to the NAR. The very next sentence, belies this claim, albeit sneakily.

They split the boomer generation in half, for some reason, but when added together, your most likely home seller this year will be between the ages of 54 and 72 because boomers make up 43 percent of the home seller pool.

Or, how about the advice that you should be marketing on a specific social media platform because it’s “growing at an explosive rate?”

Do you stop to wonder which demographics are included in this growth? Are they people you want to spend your time and marketing money on?

Focusing your marketing based on myths or half-truths will get you nowhere.

Kick your big-kid brain into gear and pay attention to the details of what you read and hear. Be discriminating in what information you file away to use when making marketing decisions. This is how you avoid real estate marketing mistakes.

real estate marketing mistakes - lose your focus, and you lose.

2. Lacking a focus

Shooting marketing arrows into the air, hoping something will stick, isn’t a winning marketing strategy, either. But, it seems to be the preferred method in much of the industry.

In fact, this may be one of the easiest real estate marketing mistakes to make. The wide-range-appeal-agent-thing may get you a couple of deals a year, but if you want more, you need to focus.

Whether it’s simply deciding to be a listing or a buyer agent or if you man- or woman-up and go for a narrower niche, target marketing is effective.

Not only that, once you narrow your market you’ll find everything else — from branding to content marketing – far easier.

 

real estate marketing mistakes - make sure you learn from yours!

3. Not Learning From Your Mistakes

In a perfect world, we learn from other people’s mistakes – because it costs less, happens faster, and is usually a lot less painful (for us!). However, truth is, you will make some mistakes along the way.

Real estate marketing mistakes are easy to make because as a new agent, you’re juggling so many aspects of your business. Some balls are bound to drop.

And when you do, you’ll have to pay the price. The consequences may be easy or difficult – a lost contact or a lost contract – both hurt, but at different levels.

Truth is, you likely already know yourself. You can see where these may come from, so be ready. Missed details? That’ll cost you. Misjudging a situation or individual. Yep, that’ll cost you too. Assuming someone else took care of things? Oh yeah, there’s a price for that too!

Here’s the thing to remember – don’t just pay the price and move on – learn the lesson so you have something to show for your pain! Too many people don’t learn from their own mistakes and so they repeat them over and over.

Sometimes this is because we’re moving too fast. Take a moment and reflect on the big losses – be honest about your involvement, and make a commitment lookout for the same behaviors in the future and steer clear. Look, you’re going to have some scars, might as well have the wisdom too.

real estate marketing mistakes - outsourcing can save you

4. Not outsourcing

Who told you that you had to wear all the hats in your small business? Point him or her out so that we can go have a chat with the fool.

If you truly have a background in marketing, advertising, publicity, copywriting, graphic arts, blog writing, photography, CRM management, bulk mail, social media management, office administration, transaction coordinating, lead nurturing, testimonial gathering, bookkeeping, accounting and website development, then by all means, wear all the hats.

If you lack all of the aforementioned experience, or you would rather spend your time actually making real estate deals, you need to hire help or outsource.

From virtual assistants to freelance writers to social media management companies – there is marketing help available.

Once you free yourself from the minutiae of your business, you’ll make the money to pay for all the marketing help you need. Be brave – have faith – take the leap. You won’t regret it.

Pro-tip (just for perfectionists): Lots of times people don’t outsource because they are afraid that ‘no one can do this as good as I can’. That might be true. But who cares? As a general rule, if you have a service or an individual who can do something 80% as good as you could, let them do it.

From a few steps back, you’ll wonder how you made it this far doing everything…and the small differences in quality are more than made up for by your efforts being focused on higher-value aspects of your business.

Neil Patel gives you his take on outsourcing marketing efforts right here –

5. Not taking advantage of FREE marketing opportunities

Passing up on free is a serious version of real estate marketing mistakes, folks!

It’s easy to assume that free stuff doesn’t have any value. But remember, opportunities aren’t really free things – they are a place to start. Sometimes they can be very valuable because the work you put in makes them so.

When was the last time you thought about Craigslist? Not only is it still a smart place to market your listings (and pick up buyer leads), but to troll for FSBOs that may not be showing up in the MLS.

A while back, Tyler posted a definitive guide to using Craigslist in your marketing mix. Check it out. In fact, if you’re looking for marketing opportunities

6. Ignoring the power of relationship marketing

Do you remember those stats about referrals that the National Association of REALTORS published? Agents who make more than $100,000 a year can thank former clients for nearly 65 percent of that business.

Referrals from past clients and repeat business made up the bulk of these highly successful agents’ businesses

That’s nearly 65 percent of clients they won’t have to chase – pretty compelling, right?

Getting to that point won’t happen by accident, though; it takes a concerted and consistent marketing effort to keep those relationships alive.

Remember, relationship marketing emphasizes your relationship with the client, so ditch the sales and promotional messaging.

This doesn’t mean you can’t use traditional marketing methods, only that you need to change the tone. Drip campaigns, for instance, are ideal ways of keeping in touch with past clients.

Tyler gives you his take on referrals right here –

Just ensure that you aren’t crossing the line between the casual “reach-out” to being annoyingly spammy.

While under-marketing can be a problem, over-marketing, especially to the wrong crowd, is among the most annoying real estate marketing mistakes. The occasional face-to-face meeting is also quite effective. Many agents hold some sort of annual client appreciation event or, make a list of who to take out for coffee or cocktails.

Probably the biggest mistake agents make in marketing is not understanding that the plan isn’t a set-it-and-forget it thing – it requires consistency and commitment to make it work.

Need to make fewer real estate marketing mistakes? Check out these real estate marketing ideas!!

Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents, Lead Generation

Generate Winter Seller Leads Using this Data (Who Says You Can’t Sell in the Cold?)

winter seller leads - they are out thereWinter seller leads – is that a thing? Some call it the “off-season” for real estate, but successful agents know better – winter is a kick-hiney season to sell a home.

If you aren’t telling potential clients about the winter advantage – right now – you will have an off-season for the rest of winter.

The numbers don’t lie

NAR statistics tell us that fewer homes sell in winter than in spring. Their studies show that in November, home sales slide about 8 percent. In January, they slide even more – 27 percent to be exact.

These numbers make sense: fewer homes are on the market, so naturally, fewer homes sell

The media then steps in and trumpets these statistics, adding their own take on why this is so. If they told the whole truth, or a clue about the housing market in general, I have a feeling we’d have far more winter clients. You can use this data to generate winter seller leads – and even better, winter listings!

What is the whole truth?

winter sellers leads - houses sell in winter

Homes are more likely to sell in winter than at any other time of year

Not only that, they sell quicker and they sell for more money. These statistics hold, at various percentages, whether the home is in balmy San Diego, CA or snowy Washington D.C.

In fact, according to a late 2013 study, the likelihood of selling a D.C. home within six months in the winter is 67 percent, but it’s only 57 percent in summer and 60 percent in spring.

NAR does us no favors by claiming that the reason for the winter sales slump is because of January’s “cold, dark weather” across most of the country.

Sure, that may be part of the reason, but most of the slide in sales can be attributed to the media helping to form public perception that winter is a horrible month for real estate deals.

Less competition from other sellers

“Just your luck — you have to sell your home in winter, the slowest and dreariest sales season of all,” begins a column on winter selling from USA Today.

“Winter can be the toughest season to put a house on the market,” claims a writer at Fox News before he goes on to give us tips to increase our “chances of a winter sale.”

Naturally, homeowners read these news items and form an opinion that selling during winter is a stupid idea and and decide to hold out until spring.

Worse yet are the homeowners who take their homes off the market as winter approaches, aiming to re-list in spring

Sadly, by not selling during winter, they may be missing a prime opportunity to finally get the home sold and for top dollar.

Because other homeowners took the media bait, there is far less competition for those who do list and homeowners are definitely in the driver’s seat in a winter transaction.

Buyers are more motivated

What would motivate someone to buy a house in the dead of winter, especially in areas with wicked weather?

Job transfers are high on the list of reasons, so if you practice real estate in an area that receives large influxes of transferees, winter is an even better time to sell.

‘It’s true that if your home isn’t on the market in winter, the new Microsoft manager relocating from CA won’t see it and will thus buy another home,” agrees Seattle agent and broker Sam DeBord at seattlepi. com.

“But that same situation for a home seller who is on the market is magnified. Your competition is nowhere to be seen,” he continues.

“While the buyer may have had 30 homes to choose from in June, there may only be 10 homes that fit their criteria in January. If they are motivated to buy, they will choose one of those 10 homes.”

Spread the word

Do your prospective sellers know the winter real estate secret?

Late summer is the best time to let them know, but it’s never too late. With the right positioning, you can turn winter seller leads into winter solds!

Someone out there may be fence-sitting, waiting for spring – generate winter seller leads 

One of the best ways to get the word out about selling during winter is via your blog, on social media postcards or newsletter. You can also generate winter seller leads throughout the year as you speak with potential sellers.

The call to action? That depends on the time of year.

Even though they won’t be listing until winter, urge folks in spring or summer to take advantage of free “green photography”, snapping the marketing photos for the property while the sky is still blue and the trees still have their leaves.

winter seller leads - takes pictures in the summer!Even California has deciduous trees and flowering perennials that look much better then than they will in a few months.

Winter doesn’t have to be the “off season,” but it takes agents educating homeowners about the benefits of selling during the year’s final season to make that apparent.

Bust the winter selling myth and bash the media’s ill-conceived perceptions – you can generate winter sellers leads. Tell us – what’s working for you?

Learn more about getting real estate leads online!

Branding, Easy Agent Pro Blog, For Real Estate Agents

3 essential tools for the rookie agent

Are you a rookie agent? Here are three essential real estate tools to ensure your success!

While many successful real estate agents began their businesses with little money, real-estate-on-a-shoestring is neither advised nor comfortable. In fact, beginning with several essential real estate tools is, well, essential!

Sure, licensing and joining the various associations takes a huge chunk of money, but the out-of-pocket expenses don’t end there.

You now own a business and, like all business owners, you’ll require capital to get started. Certain systems, tools and supplies may be provided by your broker but you’ll be the one shelling out the cash for the ones you need the most.

Ideally, you’ll start your business with the following common yet essential real estate tools. If that’s not possible, plan on going shopping sometime between hanging your license and receipt of your first commission check.

They’ll not only make your work life a lot easier, but they’ll help you generate new business as well.

 

What are the essential real estate tools?

Choose either one, but both are considered essential real estate tools.

1. Smartphone

It’s hard to believe that there are some people roaming the earth who aren’t connected to a smartphone. Not many, mind you, but we hear tell that they do exist.

If you’re among them, make the investment in a smartphone as soon as possible. It’s the one tool you’ll use more than any other in your real estate practice. This may be the most important element of these essential real estate tools.

Not only is a mobile phone important for being able to respond to leads quickly, but the “smart” aspect of it allows you to accomplish a lot of tasks remotely.

“I have about 60 Android apps on my new phone, and I use 10 of them on a daily basis, including Twitter and Facebook,” St. Paul, Minnesota agent Theresa Boardman writes at Inman.com.

Warning: Choosing which platform will be the hardest part

Despite Android™ claiming the title of the world’s most popular operating system, more than half of REALTORS® use the Apple iPhone®, according to the NAR, but you’ll find a good share of Android™ fans as well (45 percent).

Don’t let popularity be your benchmark, when deciding on a platform. Talk to agents in your office about why they chose the OS they did.

While a smartphone’s features are critical when making the decision on which to purchase, the types of apps it can run and their ease of use is important to consider as well.

Android™ gets the award for the sheer number of apps (2.8 million, as of March of this year) but the Apple Store isn’t too far behind with 2.2 million apps on offer.

 Which apps will you need the most?

Ask your colleagues and you’ll get a variety of answers, but those we’ve spoken with say the must-have, basic apps for the rookie are:

  • Microsoft OneNote (for Android and Apple) or Evernote (for Apple and Android) for note-taking.
  • Remember the Milk, 24Me or similar personal assistant apps
  • Karl’s Mortgage Calculator (available for Android and Apple devices; free) can help you whip out a quick estimate of a buyer’s “monthly payments on a property given the principal, interest, and loan terms,” according to Reut R. Cohen, at Inman.com. Quicken also offers one for Android and Apple.
  • Your most-frequently used social media app
  • Maps, so you don’t get lost. Google Maps and Waze are the most popular, with the latter offering humor along with your directions.
  • Personal safety apps are, unfortunately, a must. Check out RealAlert or check out the list at missourirealtor.org.

 Can you hear me now?

Compare the audio quality on speakerphone and Bluetooth since you’ll most likely be using the phone a lot while driving (if it’s legal in your area) and audio quality can vary greatly between phones.

In the beginning of your career you’ll probably rely on your phone to take photos (please hire a pro when you can afford to), so ensure that the photo and video display and resolution are what you need.

Again, the techies at your office will more than likely be happy to share their opinions on this with you.

From adding contacts on the fly to mapping and navigation, you’ll find a smartphone to be your most valuable tool.

What's in your CRM? Hopefully leads...

2. CRM

From day one in your real estate career you’ll be hitting the ground, drumming up business. Unless you plan on going through piles of scraps of paper to keep track of all the contacts you’ll make, you need a customer relationship management system.

Used for a number of tasks – from automating some of your marketing to keeping track of your sphere, your prospects and clients (past and present) – a CRM system is invaluable.

Look for a CRM that offers property blasts, email templates and the ability to monitor client activity on your website. In fact, you can’t go wrong with any of the CRM solutions we list here.

It’s not enough to own a CRM, you need to learn how to use it

We walk you through how to get the most from your CRM here.

If you’re on an extremely tight budget you might want to start with what the NAR calls “no-frills electronic address books,” such as Outlook and Apple Address book.

You won’t get the integrated solutions that you will with the higher-end systems, but at the very least, you’ll get your contacts organized.

Have a website? Have you considered a LeadSite? Talk about essential real estate tools...

3. Website/Blog

“My website – I call it my hub for my business. It truly is the engine that makes my business run,” says Pittsford, NY mega-agent Kyle Hiscock

He goes on to remind agents that their websites aren’t just for lead generation, but also offer exposure for listings, buying and selling information for potential and current clients, a platform to demonstrate your expertise and more. Websites may be the most essential real estate tools.

Sure, your broker may offer you a page on his or her company website, but

 get your own website, with your branding

The most important features in a real estate website include:

  • Mobile optimization
  • Local IDX
  • The ability to integrate with your CRM
  • Lead capture capabilities
  • Google-friendly

Some of the bells and whistles that are nice to have include done-for-you blogging, automatic text follow-up and visitor tracking.

If that sounds suspiciously familiar, it should – it describes Easy Agent Pro websites, which we just happen to think are the best investment you can make in your real estate business.

As you consider which tools you’ll need to get started in real estate, don’t skip the free stuff. Set up a Facebook page, Twitter page, Google Plus page, LinkedIn — these are all places where consumers will look for you before hiring.

Then, to hit the ground running, check out our video for new and relocating agents.

Help a rookie out: what tools do you wish you would’ve purchased on day one?

Speaking of essential real estate tools, here are the three essential Facebook ads every agent (especially rookies) should be running:

Want to learn more? Check out our article on the Top Ten Real Estate Websites and what they know that you don’t.