Will You Add? - Real Estate

The Biggest Secret To Selling On The Internet
One of the single biggest mistakes most Internet marketers make is trying jump right into a sales pitch without warming up first.By that I mean, they try to sell a complete stranger who lives maybe 5,000 miles away on a product or service, without any kind of warm up or finesse.And unless you are the first person in your market, this can spell disaster for you.Why?Because selling is mostly about relationships. Your relationship to the person you are asking to spend money on what you have.And personal relationships and business relationships start off the exact same way.For example, if you are going to ask a woman on a date, are you going to walk up to her and ask her to marry you?Or are you going to say something like, "let’s go out for a cup of coffee or a movie."You see, marketing online is just as much about building and maintaining a relationship as offline marketing is.That’s why on my own sites, I always give people good, solid information they can use up front. They can spend hours on my site getting to know me, who I am, what I have to offer them.And when it comes time to buying, they already trust me and my opinion. I'm not some criminal out to steal their identity or money.And if you sell anything on the Internet, you should seriously consider doing the same thing. Give a little information up front before asking for the sale. Whether it's in a sales letter, newsletter or anywhere else.

iness of selling your home.

GET RID OF THAT FURNITURE An easy way to “unclutter” and create a much greater sense of space is to get rid of some furniture.

Consider moving your sofa, extra chairs, and end tables into storage so you can make the home feel like it is larger and has much more space.

If your furniture is old, you may want to pack it away and rent a few more contemporary pieces.

The goal is to sell your home, not display your old furniture.

MAKE YOUR HOME “THEIR” HOME The goal here is to get the potential buyer to imagine that he is living in your house. If he feels like an intruder during his tour, your chances of selling the house are less. That means put away anything connected to your family or personal interests. Like trophies, family vacation photos, and personal mementos. Box it all away!

Clear refrigerator fronts of all messages, magnets, pictures, reminders, etc.

Stagers say the bathroom is a crucial place to pay close attention too. Shampoo bottles in the shower and toothbrushes near the sink make it very hard for the buyer to picture himself there. Box it away during the day and bring it out at night for your use.

Keep the towels to minimum as well. Think “neat hotel bathroom” on the day you checked in.

MAKE THAT HOUSE AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE If your house is clean, the buyer tends to believe everything else is great with the house as well. This means clean everything! The mirrors, walls, floors, carpets, drapes, bathrooms, kitchen, and even door handles, light fixtures and pantry cupboards.

If you hate cleaning, bring in a professional maid service regularly while your home is listed and get someone in to do the windows, driveway and walkways. Remember, it costs money to make money.

HIRE A PROFESSIONAL HANDYMAN As I mentioned, I recently sold an investment property of mine that was staged in 11 days. I staged it myself by following all of the items listed here.

Credit Cards for Small Business
Do you have a small business? How much do you earn? Is your credit card helping you? How much do you pay for your credit card?Running a small business is a very difficult job, especially if you are alone with this endeavor. It will take a lot of consideration and study. Small business must work hard to prevent bankruptcy. The owner should have the full knowledge on how to prevent it from happening.Business is in fact a fragile cycle. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Business at all times should have a profit for it to survive and be worthwhile.An ideal credit card should aid the small business to earn. It should offer a helping hand and assist a small business by giving great deals and agreements from leading companies. By this way, the small business will have a chance to have extra income.Many people do their purchases using credit cards. If your business doesn’t accept credit cards, you may be losing a slice of the market.What services does a good credit card must have to help a small business?Small businesses must have a full assistance. Credit cards should have a customer service department seven days a week and 24 hours a day. By doing this, the owner can inquire its status without any delay. They can do their purchases expediently and trouble-free.The credit card must have a representative to give assistance to a small business proprietor. The credit card representative will entertain each and every question that the owner will ask. If there is any trouble and problems the representative can orient the business owner and further give some advice.The credit card should have a well-managed online service. Online service should be present all the time. There are many credit cards that keep on putting their lines “off” because they do not want to give extra assistance. This companies shou

I was hanging out with a few people at a wedding recently and the conversation turned to today’s real estate market.

One of my friends, John, from a town near San Jose, CA told a fascinating, yet familiar, story. I thought I would share it with all of you.

John and his wife, Liz, decided to sell their home. They bought the house in 2004, saw it increase in value, and this summer decided to sell it. They interviewed four different agents to sell their home and finally decided on the one who agreed to sell their home for what they wanted to sell it for.

They believed the home was worth $625,000. The first three agents who came in to interview for the listing told them the house would never sell at that price and that they should consider listing it below $600,000. They all felt $589,000-$599,000 was the “magic” number.

John is a commercial real estate broker. He knew that his asking price was high but he was in no hurry to sell. He also didn’t like the fact these three agents weren’t offering any “solutions” they were only discussing the “problems” he would face at the higher price.

These agents told John and Liz about the current market conditions for their area. If their home sold, it would likely take up to 120 days. There was a 55% chance that the home wouldn’t sell at all during these four months. Based on what they wanted for their home, they needed to be prepared for this. The agents told them they needed to consider lowering the price.

John and Liz talked very seriously about lowering their price. Then they met a fourth agent named Lynette.

Lynette came in and presented her case. It really wasn’t much different than the rest. She also told them about days on the market and the chances of selling their home. She also suggested they may be priced a bit high but then she offered an option.

“Let’s stage your home using a professional home staging company,” Lynette suggested. “This is going to cost you about $4000. We will list the home at the $625,000 you want but to offset some of this expense, when I sell your home, I will split this expense with you.”

Whereas real estate professionals, like Lynette, are highly skilled in marketing, selling and closing your home, home stagers are designers. They are artists who prepare your home for resale.

Home stagers work with the “flow” of your home. They will remove and re-arrange furniture. They will eliminate clutter. They may even add pictures, bedspreads, paint, art, rugs and other items to make it more appealing. They may even assist in enhancing curb-appeal.

Their goal is to make an incredible first impression on potential homebuyers the moment they pull in front of your home.

Lynette explained that although the d?cor of the house was very nice and contemporary, the home was cluttered because of their three young boys and busy lifestyle. The home didn’t feel as large as it was because it was packed with too many items to display it properly. The home was “too personal,” she told them. They had picture of the boys all over the house from birth to last year’s soccer playoffs.

She told them that they needed to compete with new home builders who are offering buyers the most incredible purchase incentives. She said that when you walk into the model homes of the builder you are “blown away.”

“THAT is your competition,” Lynette said. “You need to blow away the people who walk into your home too.” She also explained that the last few clients who hired her home staging company sold their home in less than 60 days and didn’t discount their asking price.

John and Liz were not crazy about spending $4000, and certainly not thrilled about taking down pictures of their beloved family, but they were encouraged by Lynette’s creative idea. At the end of the day, what they really cared about was selling this home, so they did it.

John said the home staging company came in and made the house seem like a “hotel.” “They took out way more things than they put in, but it did look better, like a nice bed and breakfast hotel,” he said. “It almost made me want to stay there,” he joked. It worked. Their house sold in three weeks….at the $625,000 list price. Lynette did an amazing job from start to finish!!

Just this month, I sold my very own investment house that was staged in 11 days. There were three like models listed in the subdivision at the same time. Mine was the highest priced. My incredibly talented real estate agent did an amazing job too but I truly believe staging was a real key as well. I did take a small loss on this home. However a sale in 11 days is no small accomplishment in today’s market.

Experts say that if you are hiring a professional staging company, plan on spending between $2000-$5000 based on the size and condition of the home. If you just want consultation, plan on $100 or so per hour.

Experts, like StagedHomes.com, say that a staged home sells in half the time as a similar home that is not staged and that a staged home sells for 7-10% higher.

Coldwell Banker tracked nearly 3,000 properties, ranging in price from $229,000 to $4.8 million, in eight major U.S. cities.

During this time, they determined the average home was on the market for nearly 31 days, the typical staged home sold in less than 14 days.

The average home sold for 1.6% over the seller's asking price. The staged homes, in the Coldwell Banker study, over the same time, went for a 6.3% more.

This means, if the average home price is $300,000, you can expect the average staged home to sell for $318,000-$330,000. Obviously, this makes the $2000-$5000 investment a no-brainer.

Inventory is at an all-time high in many areas. The National Association of Realtors recently reported the biggest drop in home prices since the trade group began compiling price data in 1968. Many experts are now saying housing prices will continue to decline though 2007.

So do you take your home off the market until 2008, and hope it gets better, with the possibility it gets even worse, or do you separate yourself from the competition and do what it takes to give your home the very best chance it has to sell today?

We are in a slower real estate market, however the people who are most committed to selling their home will likely still be successful. When you are selling real estate it’s no different than selling any other product. You have to market to find a capable buyer and then you have to impress him.

Your real estate professional will market the property to bring the buyers but the product and how it’s displayed will determine if it sells and at what price. This is where the professional home stager comes in.

OK, so you want to give Home Staging a try? Here’s how.

There are many websites out there. Just type “professional home staging” into your favorite search engine like Google, Yahoo!, or MSN and you can start looking for the one that best fits you.

If you want to try doing it yourself, take these tips from professional home stagers like StagedHomes.com and others:

HOW TO “STAGE” YOUR HOME YOURSELF

MAKE AN AWESOME FIRST IMPRESSION Look at your house like you will look at the homes you want to buy next. Prospective buyers make up their minds about your house even before they get out of the car.

This is your chance to WOW them. Clean up the yard; rake the leaves and sweep driveways and porches.

Get out the rags and cleanser and spend 30 minutes scouring your front door, porch, railings and steps.

Make sure all of all your trash cans, recycling cans, other bins, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, etc., are in the garage.

Check gutters for roof moss and dry rot. Make sure they are swept and cleaned. Look at all plants. Prune your bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows.

Weed and then mulch all planting areas. Keep lawn freshly cut and fertilized.

Remove dead plants or shrubs.

Clear patios or decks of all small items such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, and toys. Box them away and store them.

Check the paint condition of the house, especially the front door and trim.

UNCLUTTER YOUR HOUSE Empty your closets to a minimum, clear out the cupboards, and get rid of the small appliances. Take books off the shelves, get rid of all of the magazines, the CDs, video games, and DVDs, and lose the kid’s toys. Minimize it all.

Rent a storage unit or box what you want to keep and toss the rest.

Now is the time to say goodbye to your house and your stuff and transition. Your life may be a bit uncomfortable during this time but you are now in the business of selling your home.