Homefinding Book

One of the most important steps in making any business successful is to give it enough exposure through effective marketing. Nowadays many marketing options are available to business owners including real estate investors and realtors who want to make their presence known. Marketing is a useful way to express your ideas and make people realize that what you are selling is what they need. Communicating your ideas through marketing also helps you to stand out among your competitors, thus reaching more clients and increasing profits. In this article, we will discuss some tips on running a successful real estate business through effective communication.

First of all, determine who your target audience is. Your potential customers are not just the ones who are looking for a property or home. Once you realize this, you will be able to write more generic and helpful ads. Profile your customers so that they fall into different categories and write advertisements according to the specific needs of a particular group. You need to know why your potential clients must buy from you. What is it among your offerings that cater to the needs of your customers? These and other questions help you to write effective and meaningful ads.

Another important step is to know what your competitors are selling. This will help you point out what makes you different. Reaching potential customers also mean knowing their needs, so do not make your ads sound like you are only interested in making money. Be honest about your offerings and tell your customers how those things are going to improve their lives. Provide a way for your customers to contact you in case they are interested. Clearly mention your telephone number or address of your website so that they may get in touch immediately after reading the ad.

If you find it difficult and costly to distribute flyers in your neighborhood, one of the easiest and most effective ways to make your presence known is to advertise online. If you have a blog or website, you can post your ads over there. In addition to this, online classified ad sites like Craigslist and Oodle can also be used to place your ads. Social media and bookmarking sites like Facebook and StumbleUpon can help you reach thousands of customers through one ad. Remember to state clearly in your ads what you want your customers to do. If you want them to visit your website and sign up to stay informed about your services, mention it in your ad.

Now, the final step is to write attractive ads to grab your customers’ attention. Describe your property by using concise sentences and list down all features of your property emphasizing on the ones you think will make your customer interested. Also, add good-sized photos of your home capturing it from different angles. This can be effectively done on a website where you can add as many photos as you want. These are some of the tips on writing useful and attractive advertisements to find potential buyers of your home or property and make money in real estate.

Many people are aware that flipping or wholesaling real estate can be very profitable but they do not know how to carry out such a business. When you wholesale a house, you do not become the owner of that property. Hence, it is a no-risk business and that is why so popular among investors all over the world. Flipping properties and wholesaling real estate both refer to the same concept. All you have to do is follow some steps and make big money out of this simple real estate investment technique, which is different yet very easy and fast. Let’s find out more.

You might be wondering how one makes money on a property they do not own. This is exactly what we are going to find out in this article. First, you have to locate a “flip”. This means you have to find a house on sale for flipping which is in need of renovation and can be bought cheaply. Next, you do it up to increase its value and resell it quickly to gain maximum profit. Usually flippers look for run-down or foreclosed houses to buy them at low cost. Finding a property that investors will be interested in is usually the most difficult step in wholesaling.

The only difference between wholesaling real estate and buying properties the normal way is that a wholesaler does not actually buy the property but put it under contract with a contingency. Real estate investors are always looking for wholesalers that have good deals under contract. This way they can reduce their work and still make money. And for wholesalers who want to enter the business of real estate but do not have enough capital, can make money by simply finding properties for flipping, renovating them and selling them to more serious investors in a short span of time.

However, the catch here is that if you want to become a successful wholesaler, you need to find good deals. This involves thorough calculations and estimates to determine if there actually is profit in a particular deal. Serious real estate people are experienced investors who would tell you in 5 minutes whether your deal is a good one or not. So, first you need to educate yourself about wholesaling real estate or flipping properties and then jump into such a venture. You will need to look into many properties in your area to compare them in terms of market value and other features.

If you want to become a full-time wholesaler, then it is recommended that you build your list of buyers. This list will be composed of experienced investors who buy and sell properties on a regular basis. It is also a good idea to join a wholesalers’ network to learn what other wholesalers are doing and what kind of properties they are buying. Next, start looking for properties online and post ads to let people know that you are in need of a distressed house and will buy it immediately. The final step is to lock down the property and flip the contract to earn your commission.

New investors usually come with many expectations when they invest money in real estate. Nowadays many internet gurus can be found bragging about their experience in the real estate that made them rich overnight. Some people believe their stories and fall in their traps. However, in reality it is not that simple or easy as it looks. Although if you have money you can easily find properties on sale, renovate them and resell them again at an increased value to gain profit. But sometimes you are bound to sell your recently bought property at a decreased price, which means a loss of thousands of dollars.

It is advisable to set goals for experienced as well as new investors so that they know why they are buying and why they are selling. Your goals allow you to move systematically and set a road map to follow. If you do not have a map, you will soon be lost in this huge and never-ending haze. It is also a good practice to write down everything on paper. If you can, seek professional help to learn different aspects of a business transaction including legal issues, maintenance costs associated with houses and buildings, and skills required to handle such a huge project.

New investors can easily fall in traps set by bad buyers or sellers. Do your homework before you actually risk your money in real estate. Due diligence is another important step which should be carried out before making the final decision. This involves thorough inspection of the property you are about to buy among other things. Although there is a lot of easy money involved in flipping properties or wholesaling real estate, no one becomes rich overnight by simply deciding to be a wholesaler. Special skills are required to find properties that can actually be sold to investors in a short span of time.

Always make a plan before you invest. This is best done before finding a property you want to buy. You should know what kind of a property you are interested in before you start looking for it. The plan should include the total income you will generate when the transaction goes according to your plan. It is a good idea to hire a Realtor to help you find run-down houses or foreclosed properties, but do not trust every other Realtor that crosses your path. Also, have confidence in your own judgment instead of relying completely on the advice of your agent.

Sometimes real estate investors are in a hurry to make money so they do not usually keep their good deals. If you think you have found a gem, do not sell it right away. You might get a chance to sell it later on at a much-increased price. If you have money and want to invest it in real estate, do not defer your plans. The earlier you buy a property you are interested in, the better. Finally, find sellers who are in desperate need of your houses or properties by advertising and marketing effectively through print media and the internet.

Some people say that in real estate business you only succeed by luck. This is just to cover up their own mistakes that they made along the way, which landed them in the trap. Although hard to pinpoint when the business is underway, once it fails to bring you profits you actually start counting your bad moves. It is also true that you learn by experience and nothing anyone says would keep you from trying a certain tactic, it is always wise to predict the outcome of your actions before starting the endeavor. The best way to avoid making mistakes in real estate investing is to know the traps and then taking precautions to evade those pitfalls.

To keep abreast with your competitors you need to learn all the latest technology and tactics they are using for marketing and other tasks. Not having a website to reach your customers easily and without spending a lot of money is definitely a mistake in today’s information age. People nowadays expect every advertisement to end with a website address they can log on to in order to collect more information about a business. If you are merely providing a telephone number, which is not available all the time, you are taking chances to lose your customers.

Do not invest in real estate if you have not yet made a long-term plan. Just because you got a good deal does not mean you should buy a house and then end up being confused about what to do with it. If you really want to make money in real estate then first chalk out a plan for your next move. See if it is going to be a profitable attempt and not the one that will make you lose money. Also, keep in mind that in real estate, you risk your money and you do not become rich overnight.

You do not make money in real estate simply by buying and selling a home or property. Proper analysis is required to see if such a transaction would actually generate profits. Sometimes because of wrong calculations, investors end up paying too much for properties and then not making enough money through sale of those properties simply because they failed to analyze the situation. Due diligence is important in order to know the market conditions and then making an investment plan accordingly.

An important step that investors usually overlook or neglect is to calculate the total cost of a real estate investment. This includes taxes and maintenance, which is required in most cases. If you think you will be able to sell a house without first addressing its shortcomings, you are making a mistake. There are many other alternatives available to home buyers out there and they will simply walk out on you if you are not offering much.

Considering what your customers need instead of focusing on making money is the key to be successful in real estate investment. People only buy from those whom they trust, and if you fail to build that trust, you will soon land in the dumps.

The First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit is an amazing opportunity!
There is an $8000 tax credit for
first time home buyers! LET US CLEARLY EXPLAIN all the details — and yep, you guessed it, the Veenstra Team has prepared an easy to read and understand explanation of the program.
Call us at 269-216-9148 to get started with our FREE home buyer program.  (That is right!  When you hire the Veenstra Team to help you buy a home–there is no fee!)
In our explanation we will tell you:

• The Definition of a First Time Home Buyer
• The income levels that fully qualify
• The income levels that partially qualify
• When the program is available
• What the program provides

Þ And then we get into all the nitty gritty details as well…..
(For example, we will explain: what is a modified adjusted gross income, how is a partial tax is calculated, how this tax credit is different from the tax credit Congress enacted in July 2008, how the tax credit is claimed, what types of homes qualify for the credit, what it means when it says the tax credit is “refundable”, whether it is possible to claim the $8000 tax credit if the $7500 tax credit was already claimed, whether new construction qualifies, whether property financed with a mortgage revenue bond qualifies, whether a non-resident alien can claim the credit, whether the tax credit is the same as a tax deduction, whether homes purchased in 2008 qualify, whether you can get the money before the filing of your 2009 tax return, whether the tax credit for 2009 can be applied to the 2008 tax return, and whether a home purchased in 2009 can be treated as a purchase for 2008 or 2009. )  Call the Veenstra Team at 269-350-5514 and we will send you the full details…or visit www.VeenstraTeam.com for the rest of the story!

  Thanksgiving Treats

Oreo Turkeys

These are cute little turkeys made out of oreo cookies and candy pieces. They are even easy enough for young children to help make and look great on the holiday table.

Requires:

For each turkey:

• 2 Oreo Double Stuff cookies

• 1 malted milk ball (like a Whopper)

• 4-6 candy corns

•  tubes of green (or blue) icing for eyes and white or brown for  ”glue”

Directions:

Less than 15 minutes preparation time, and fun for the family. Because,  after all, Thanksgiving is all about Family. We can certainly take a little time out our Real Estate days to be with Family.

• Twist 1 oreo apart. The creamy part  will be the base. 

• Eat the other half as this will reduce your Holiday stress.

• Push the whole oreo, on its edge, into the cream base, so that it sticks up to form part of the  tail. (see picture)

• In front of the oreo, on its side, place a malted-milk ball for the turkeys head.  Use some white icing as glue.

• Place candy corn, points down, in between the oreo cookie that is standing on it’s side to form the feathers.

• Use more icing to attach another candy corn to the malted milk ball to form beak.

• Place dots of Green incing on the malted milk ball to form eyes.

Enjoy!

Recipe From:

Louise Grinsell

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

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Getting a loan is not big deal in the present market. But the type of loan for which you are trying and the security you are showing to get that loan matters a lot. There are two types of loans available in the market. One among them is unsecured loan. Here no security should be submitted to the lender or to the bank. But the drawback is high rates of interest and less repayment period. In case of secured loans you can get more loan amount very easily. Interest rates will be very low. So when you decided to keep your home as collateral you should upgrade your home to get more equity.

Upgrading your home frequently will increase the equity value of your home and this helps you get loans easily and when you plan to sell your home than you can get high price. If you like to sell your home for good price then the following steps will help you in upgrading your home.

Exterior appearance

First thing is the exterior look of your home. Because first impression is the best impression and the client who lies to purchase you home will first have a look at the exteriors. Get your outside walls painted so that it adds a rich look. Improve the garden surrounding your home. Try to improve the broken compound and remove the weeds surrounding your home.

Door mat and drainage facility

If you are using the same door mat for the past years then replace it first. Purchase a costly mat that attracts the look of the person entering the home. Maintain the drainage facility in good condition. Because whatever improvements you make to your home will be affected if your drainage facility is bad.

Walls and fireplace

Power washes to the exterior walls and interior walls gives fresh look to your home. If you possess a brick fireplace that was not being used for many years then definitely the bricks might have got stained with soot and creosote. So clean the soot with some wet rag followed by fireplace cleaner that removes creosote. This gives fresh look to the fireplace. Fireplace adds good value to your home.

Cabinet remodeling

Change the door handles and cabinet knobs to the recent technologies used. If you stick up to the old models then your homes equity will be stuck down at low level. Change the kitchen drawer handles too. Stains on the cabinet of your kitchen will affect a lot. Purchasing new cabinets will charge you more money and consume more time. So use rich quality paint to paint the cabinets of your kitchen. Use white color while painting the cabinets as in future the buyer won’t face difficulty to change the color of cabinets.

Change fixtures

If you possess old outdated fixtures then change them immediately. Change the sinks, towel bars and tiles of your bathroom so that it gets modern appearance. Change the ceiling light so that the brightness of your bathroom increases.

Entrance room

Install some wooden models to your walls in the living room, entrance room and to your bed room. Mount new ceiling fans in all the rooms. Freshen up the walls of the entrance room. Improve the windows of your entrance room and change all the fixtures of your entrance room.

Whatever may be the economy status Real Estate Appraiser job will never affected in anyways. Frankly speaking it is one of the jobs that provide immediate cash. For becoming Real Estate Appraiser you need not complete a graduation course. If you are not a graduate also you can do this job very coolly. But there should be proper measures taken to become the best appraiser in the market. Until and then these measures are taken you cannot survive in the tough competition among appraisers.

Here are some of the tips for you:

1. The updated list of recent costs of the land and the improvements taking place in the market should be done
2. Spending more time on your business.
3. Be the best one to give perfect value in the market.
4. In the start of your career work for less commission rate. Once you get famous your commission rate will rise automatically.
5. Your career rating depends on the total number of works completed. So try making up the number.
6. Your first job is to get a license to be an appraiser.
7. Gain full knowledge regarding what the industry is all about.
8. For gaining full knowledge don’t step back in getting trained from some reputed person in the market.
9. Be the first to offer what the customer expects from the appraiser.
10. Check all the documents to deal a business correctly. One failure may affect your career.
11. If you like to work for some company take a wise decision in selecting a reputed company.
12. You are responsible for your expenses. So try giving more appraisals and get more commission fee.
13. If you are new to this industry then try to attain some goals which make you famous.
14. Get your payment hourly as you can earn more here.
15. Your personality and communication skills matters a lot.

If you follow these basic steps then you will soon become the king among Real Estate Appraisers. If you work for some company that employs appraisers remember then you will be paid depending on the number of works you have completed. Your value in company gets raised depending on your success stories.

Many people while appraising their property will ask the appraiser to step down to their places on some specified date. So be sure that you will reach them in time as this helps you increasing number of clients. You may feel all these tasks little bit tough. But these are the compulsory steps to get success. Make a clear idea of how much the other appraisers charge for one appraisal. Try getting fixed to the same rate or in some cases go for low income as this may increase number of jobs. If you get less income in one deal then that amount can be compensated with the increase in number of deals.

Not all Real Estate Appraisers are same in the market. So when there is some difference between you and others you can succeed in this career.

Buying a land without having minimum knowledge regarding real estate business may create serious issues. Some foolish acts before fixing a deal to buy land also cause serious issues to you. So be sure you will never make silly mistakes before the start of the process.

If you are a bad credit holder then make sure that you will not make any costly purchases before fixing the deal. Because when you go for loans to buy the land, the lender will check your entire profile. If any pending bills are found then they create huge problem regarding loan amount.

Many banks in the process of approving loans check the transactions of the borrower for the past 12 months. So the borrower being a bad credit holder should not open multiple accounts in the past 12 months. Never create new debts before applying for a land loan as there are chances that interest rate will be increased.

Before fixing a deal to buy land never move your money around many places. Because moving your debts or money in the process of consolidating your funds creates confusion to buyer and the process gets slow down. The lender before granting loans to you will check the source of your funds which you are giving as down payment. So don’t rotate your money around in many banks.

Never apply for loans in multiple banks or lending associations because the reviewer who checks your loan approval will check the entire history of your loan applying process.  Once he comes to that you have tried to apply for multiple loans he will delay the process to confirm that you didn’t get loans from other places with the same security.

Never sell a liquid asset before applying for a land loan. Because when you go for a loan which needs security, you can show your asset as security and get high amounts of loan. This reduces the interest rate to a good level. Thoroughly check all the documents of the land you are going to purchase. Because on fraud case will create such situation that it will take your life time to come out of bad credit rating. If possible consult an attorney to check all the documents as he knows very well what all the precautions to be taken are.

If you are not a real estate agent or don’t have sound knowledge in the real estate field then don’t hesitate to contact some reputed real estate agent who makes your work smoother at low costs. Never be uncertain to contact an appraiser to calculate the land value which you are going to purchase. Because the owner of the land will give an approximate value and obviously it will be high price to you. Once an appraiser decides the cost of land then there will no chance that you will get cheated in the deal of the land.

Don’t neglect to check that there are no government restrictions in the sale of the land which you are going to purchase. If unchecked they may create serious issues later. When these minimum measures are taken the deal of your land becomes smoother.