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Useful Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Agents

Real estate business is ideal if you utilize everything in right way. For real estate agents we bring 8 perfect marketing ideas to strengthen their efforts.

Content that Provides True Value

The primary focus of agents is their clients, who are in the market to buy or sell a property. But what about the time in between these transactions? To stay in touch with your clients you need something, and the best is sharing a good content. Providing too much but irrelevant content is not helpful, instead you should share and send content that is full of valuable information applicable to clients. Good quality content also increases your exposure to potential clients. This helps you to stay top of customer’s mind so they remember you when they’re ready to make a move.

Upgrade Your Photo Quality

In this modern era everything is available online, many people look for online listings to buy a home. In this regard you need to post high quality photos for better impression. Even an untrained eye can easily tell the difference between good quality and bad quality photo. Buyers looking for new home when see the grainy, blurry or strange angle pictures, chances are your impression of the home isn’t going to be positive. The good news is you can do it own your own without hiring the expensive professional photography. We all have smart phones with great cameras and we have many free editing apps at our fingertips. So, before posting photos of your next listing take the time and take good quality images. There are plenty of online tips and tricks to learn better photography.

Social Media

Almost everyone use social media for different purposes. There are number of famous social Medias that you can use to grow and nurture your business. But one common mistake seen with many buyers is that they only post home listing on their social media. Just posting listing adds no value to anyone that isn’t currently in the market to buy a home. Share value-rich content, ask your network to engage with you and share their thoughts in the comments and be sure to response.

Referrals are Important

One of the most successful marketing efforts that real estate agents make is referrals from current and previous clients. But unfortunately many agents do not spend any money on referrals. Ask your clients for referrals and make it standard practice. The effort requires to generate referrals may feel daunting but you need to realize how impactful they are to your business. Don’t hesitate to ask your happy clients to pass along your business card or introduction.

Clean Up Your Database

If you’ve bad data all your effort you put into creating content and sending out your newsletters may go in vain. Moreover, if you cause too many bounces or spam reports your ability to make it to the inbox will take a tailspin. Clean data is vital for real estate agent’s business as it impacts your email deliverability and your capability to expand your reach. Try to clean your data regularly and remove unsubscribe request to ensure you’re making the most of your marketing efforts.

Add Live Chat

We know that you work hard on driving web traffic but ever think what happens when a potential client gets to your site? It’s difficult to be there every time when your prospects need you the most. The best way to deal with this is to add live chat option to your website that helps you to have coverage 24/7. It is consider the most effective tool in terms of conversion on your website. This amazing tool allow visitors to ask questions and receive answers in real-time rather than going elsewhere to find answer of their questions. Another benefit of adding live chat is that it prevents the dreaded automated menu loop we’ve all been trapped in when calling customer service. It also helps to create strong user experience and gives you valuable information to reach out and follow up.

Follow up with Clients

Mostly buying or selling a home doesn’t happen many times for most of clients but if they do you must be the one they call first. It’s critical to stay in touch with past client but if you send emails and newsletters regularly you are doing your job. Past clients will be more likely to remember you when they need your help again.

Automate Your Marketing

Maintaining a healthy pipeline of clients is important for real estate agents or broker to grow their business. You may busy with your daily, weekly, monthly or yearly task which makes difficult for you to share content and follow up with past clients. To solve this problem automated emails and social media marketing is ideal way to reach your audience. Several tools allow you to automate this on your own, but if you want content created for you beginning to end Outbound Engine’s automated marketing is the right choice for your business.

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How much does it cost to start in Burlington real estate?

Planning to start in Burlington real estate? You might be overwhelmed from thought of earning big sum of money, the common concept about real estate. Big cluster of thoughts working in your mind especially for the beginners and money is without a doubt at the top of the list. Every new investor at least once thinks that, it would be perfect if he can pay off investment property using cash, without mortgage payments or special qualification and above all how nice if he can put all the cash flow that property generates into my pocket. This seems little impossible for many because many believes that they will never have enough money to get started in real estate. But the question is how much it costs to start in real estate in Burlington County, NJ. Well, giving the exact number of amount is not possible in real estate market as market fluctuates all the time but there are four major expense categories that investors must be aware of before getting started in real estate.

The Purchase Price of The Property: 

Many people prefer to invest in same area that they live in as they know the neighborhood well. It is obvious that you need to pay less if the property prices are lower. If your area is affordable that’s a good investment opportunity but if you live in an area where property prices are high than buying there might not be a good choice. Keep in mind that you are not buying for yourself, buying an investment property is different than buying your own home. Investment property is your business where making money and generating profit is your only goal. Don’t get attached emotionally with investment properties. Look for areas that offer low property prices to avoid financial complications in future. Moreover, affordable homes are preference of buyers, these homes appreciated faster, generate more cash flow and affect less in an economic downturn. These two simple tips about property prices helps you a lot:

Buy around the median price: 

Little research is always helpful, find out the median home price in your concern area. Use an investment property calculator or take help from any good realtor. The median price is right in the middle from all the homes sold in your area from least to most expensive. Once you find the median price next set the initial price range including houses that are between 50 % under the median and 25 % over it. Property more than 25 % median means your mortgage payment will so high that your cash flow will be weak.

Negotiate: 

Always keep in mind that prices of property are negotiable. Unless you’re in very hot market, it never hurts to make a lower offer. Negotiation sometime will save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. But don’t make mistakes while negotiating as it will put bad impact on your offer.

Save Your Down Payment: 

Before getting started you must have enough for down payment. The more leverage you have when lending a loan for investment property, the less money out of your pocket is needed and the higher your cash on cash return will be. Prior you take this financial commitment make sure that you are free from any debt, especially high interest liabilities. Next you need to save enough money to put down a 20 % down payment on your investment property. Most of the lenders want to see six months of mortgage payments in your bank history along with down payments, so start saving up!

Estimate Repairs and Maintenance: 

After finding property, saving down payment and making purchase, next step is estimating repair and maintenance. This is the crucial point where many beginners get stuck. The cash requirements with real estate investment properties don’t simply end at purchase. You need good sum of money to maintain the property and to keep it in a rental condition; this is where newbies often miscalculate. The money you need for repairing and maintaining depends on two things:

The initial repairing to make property rentable

The average annual maintenance cost

Having an idea of how much money you need for repairing will help you save a lot before getting started in real estate and purchasing the property. Along with repairing cost there are other things that need to take into consideration like maintenance cost and holding cost. For smooth investing till the end you need to make sure that you have enough money with you to cover property insurance, mortgage payments and taxes for 1 or 2 months until you fix the property and find a tenant. In addition to that there are things that you have to pay for on yearly basis like cleaning the gutters. For the beginners all this sounds very daunting especially if you don’t know how to fix things up. To handle this you can lean on people like a property inspector or a handyman.

Save for Emergency Situations: 

The unexpected costs and vacancies are some other factors that you must consider in before getting started in real estate.  You may have to experience vacant property for one or two or may be for longer time, so be prepared for this. If this happens at any point you have to pay mortgage from your own pocket without earning anything. It’s better to overestimate your costs rather than underestimate especially in terms of emergency reserves costs.

Getting started in real estate and purchasing an investment property is not kid’s game. You need to think carefully and thoroughly to make sure you’re fully and financially prepared. If you feel like buying a property, you can rely on our experience and professional agents all across the New Jersey. We help you to buy or sell your properties at best price as quickly as possible. For more information contact us now!

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Best ways to make money in Real Estate

Real estate is one the best and fastest way to make money. If you buy a stock the only way you to earn is when stock appreciates in value and you sell it at the right time but not in real estate where you can earn more quickly and professionally. Infact, real estate produced more wealth than any other industry still people think that they need to start with some sort of capital. That’s not a full story. The only magic you do need is to be able to find the money. You can earn handsome sum in real estate if you know what you’re doing even if you’re just starting out. We guide you with some of the best ways to make money in Real estate.

1. Make Money With Long-Term Residential Rentals: Long term buy and hold residential rentals are one of the most common ways to make money in real estate. Why? Because whatever the circumstances are people always need a place to live. In order to buy your rental property you need a good sum of money but more importantly you need a good location. Location, location, location because it is everything when it comes to real estate. This does not only apply to increase your property value but also help to quickly rent your property to a long-term tenant. It is recommended to look for a great location when you purchase for long-term residential rental. You can make best investment with run-down homes at great location. It means purchasing a property with some cash on hand to make a down payment while holding that property for the long term. With good strategy you can hold that property for a very low or even no down payment especially, if it is a pre-existing income-producing property.

2. Lease Options: If you don’t have great credit or significant amount of capital, you can still make money in real estate with lease options. Lease with an option to buy. It is a great option especially when market is climbing as you’re going to create a pre-set price that you can later purchase the property at. For example, if the real estate market climbs substantially, you can purchase the property at discount or you can sell your rights for that purchase to someone else. With this option you can exercise without setting something that says you have to buy at the end of the lease regardless, then you can just about guarantee you’ll turn a profit.

3. Make Money By Contract Flipping: Flip contract is another best way to make money in real estate without having great credit or capital. You have to find a distressed seller and potential buyer and bring them together. The only trick with contract flipping is that you have to identify the distressed seller and locate a ready-to-go buyer.

4. Make Money with Home-Renovation Flips: With the immense popularity of home renovation shows, the fix-and-flip culture has exploded. Fix-and-flip gives you the surety of earning big amount of money but navigating these in big market can be tricky especially for the beginners. If you lack in knowledge or experience and fail to select the right home than you could find yourself on the losing end. Play cool and avoid biting more than you can chew. Your success depends on how creatively you solve problems and help others.

5. Make Money With Short Sales: Succeeding with short sales is often tricky. This usually happens when current owner is behind on their mortgage but the home hasn’t yet entered into foreclosure. Since the property is sold off for less than its actual price it is necessary for the all parties to agree to the transaction. Avail this great opportunity to make quick profit without investing into lengthy renovations. As compared to the auctions, short sales are much better. Short sales are time taking but they can be well worth the wait because the potential return on a short sale can be instantaneous.

6. Hard-Money Lending: You’ll need some capital to participate in hard-money lending. These loans are for very brief time period but at high interest rates because people who normally wouldn’t qualify for regular loans get short-terms loan from hard-money lenders. On the other side if you have some capital you can also become a hard-money lender. Even if you don’t have big amount of capitals but successfully identify the right deals, with small amount generates a high success rate you can easily find investors to come on board. The high interest rate is risky but also gives good reward. Its good way to generate nice profit in short term without waiting for long years.  

7. Make Money With Vacation Rentals: Vacation rentals led the path to profits in real estate market. You can make some side hustle income as well as significant amount of money if your vacation rental is in a highly-trafficked tourist location. You can make money even without owning by providing a high-end consumer experience. Convince owners in your area, build bonds, make good network with others, establish systems and do your best to manage vacation rentals.

8. Make Money With Commercial Real Estate: Investing in commercial real estate is one of the great opportunities to earn considerable amount of money in real estate. As long as you can find ways to add value to the exchange it can be the largest income generators you’ll find in real estate.

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10 WAYS TO PURCHASE AN INVESTMENT PROPERTY WITH NO MONEY DOWN

10 WAYS TO PURCHASE AN INVESTMENT PROPERTY

Buy an investment property with no money down seems like too-good-to-be-true venture. But shockingly there are some methods and safe ways to purchase a property with no money down. Don’t know about your situation but I bet there must be at least one method mention below that suits your situation. For the real estate investors who don’t have enough cash to finance the purchase, here are 10 simple ways to buy an investment property with no money down.

Buy an investment property using borrowed money: Borrowing money to buy a property with no money down is the simplest way and the first thing that comes to the mind of any real estate investor. In this case, you borrowed money from any source, which is especially effective if you manage to find a creditor who is willing to lend you the money with low or no interest rate. Investors can also borrowed money from hard money lenders or from a home equity loan. However, the best source to obtain borrowed money would be from someone whom you personally know, as it is easier to come to an agreement of the loan that you’re obtaining with someone you already know.

Buy an investment property using a lease option: To buy an investment property with no money down, lease option is an aspect that isn’t very common or popular among real estate investors. However, for homebuyers and real estate investor lease option can be an invaluable strategy equally. With lease option you are able to buy property by renting it out and paying off its price through rent. Generally this results in you having to pay big sum of rents, but the extra amount you pay will go towards the buying of the property without having to pay any money down.

Purchase by assuming an existing mortgage: Another smart way of buying an investment property with no money down. Here buyer can negotiate a deal with the seller to assume the seller’s existing mortgage and pay it off instead of paying a down payment. If a mortgage has a low-interest rate then this method is incredibly successful and beneficial. However, it is better to keep in mind that not all loan types can be assumed by someone else. Before using this method research the types of loans and mortgages to make sure that it is practical.

Swapping properties: You can also purchase property with no money down by swapping properties. All you have to do is make an agreement with the seller to buy a property with no money down by endeavoring the seller something else in return other than cash. For example you can offer the asset that you own but don’t need and that you believe might be of greater value to the seller of the property.

Get the seller to finance the purchase: Yes, it is totally possible! A method to purchase a property with no money down is to get the seller to help you financially to purchase. A perfect method when seller is desperate to sell the property. It is also possible in case you build trust with the seller to pay the amount back within certain period of time. This means the seller pay the down payment and you a buyer will pay back the amount of down payment in monthly or annual payment to the seller. Sellers commonly set an interest rate on the amount, which makes it similar to obtaining a loan.

 Offer a high price: If you desperately want to purchase certain property you can offer the seller a deal to buy the property at a higher price in exchange for paying off the price of the property in installments and skipping the down payment.

A good partner can help you: In real estate partnerships are very common. Sometime real estate investors don’t have sufficient amount to purchase with no money down but he has the skill to manage the investment and make it succeed. In such case real estate partner is helpful who has enough funds to finance the purchase of the property while you manage the different aspects of the investment. If you are making partnership it is better to set and agreed the terms and the allocations of the profits along with the responsibilities towards all partners who are involved in the purchase.

Buy a property with no money down by taking on the seller’s debts: If the owner of the property is indebted for a considerable amount of money, you can negotiate a deal. A win-win deal that involves you taking on the debts of the seller in exchange for skipping the down payment.

Buy a property with no money down by exchanging properties: You can exchange a real estate property with the property you own. To do this it is necessary to make accurate investment of both properties and their values. The difference in value should be compensated with cash or other valuables. In this way you can own that you like and sell that you don’t need.

Offer a skill or service: If you have any skill or service that is useful for the seller, it is possible to negotiate purchasing the property in exchange for providing seller with a free service. for example, if you are a doctor, you can offer free health counseling or services as a replacement of down payment.  

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