Real Estate Information

Cyberstars 2010

Scottsdale, AZ

 

Tech tools – Rob Jansen, Rob Levy, Nate Maritnez

 

iPhone – applications

 Jawbone Headset

ColorSplash – standing out

Instapaper on the iPhone or iPod

Autostitch – iPhone

Zillow iPhone application

Tour narrator – alamode.inc

MapQuest navigator

Slydial – goes straight to the voice mail.

PhotoGene

Adobe Photoshop for iPhone

Mobileme – internet cloud, full internet between Mac and iPhone

            Does work with Mac and pc

Knockinglivevideo – iPhone send video phone to phone

Snippets –

Mobilio for blackberry

Auto conference

 

Hardware

Mac book touch – just coming out

Dell xt2tablet pc – solid state hard drive

MIFI 2200 from sprint that is a wifi – can be shared with 5 people

4g wimax sprint – rolled out by clear wire – only 4 g – be sure to get it from Sprint

Projector from 3m to use from

Dell 1901s

 

Software

Picasa – 99% can be used for photo

Snagit – Capture. Edit. Share. Organize

Walkscore – tells you what you can walk to

Jing – like Snagit

Premierpro cs4 - $600

Visual communicator from Adobe –

Keyword spy – keyword research

Printlimenator – remove stuff from intern

Website grader

 

CRM

Platinum Real Pro – idx, people, where leads are, all the team can use from iPhone and blackberry. Calendars. You can go to breakout today for more info

 

Kodak V750

Poor Mans Steady Cam

Flip Eye-Fi – it does geo code

LCDVF7D – viewer

Lense – sunpak  m power lense – lens .45 x

Canon Rebel T1i

Qrcode.kaywa.com – code

 

 

Lead Generation & Conversion – Bryan Bomba, Kristen Cole, Sven Anderson, Thomas Cook

 

Market and team structure – Bomba -150 leads a months, uses tigerleads, custom web and realtor.com -25% of his business comes from internet.

Cole – VA does lead conversion out of KC. 1800 leads a year.  Steal websites, you have the right message so that you get people to site. They have worked on foreclosure and short sale, that is who they come in. Copy in the lender for the leads.

Cook –

 

Database – Top Producer 7i – looking for a better solution, Online Agent – admin uses, real pro for drips, Cook uses Top Producer 8i and likes it . Constant contact, get response, and intele contacts

Have over 65000 contacts in email. –Cook

Bomba – Tiger Leads with email conversion, scripts, blogging and direct Mail

Cole – stealth websites, micro marketing to specific sellers, blogging and direct mail.

Cook – craigslist, pay per click, buyer seminars.

 

Bomba – if there is a phone number with the email – call asap

            Go to Bomba site to get dripped

           

Cole – VA that does the immediate contacts, then puts into AO and website back end.

            On her website is best buy.

            Using the David Knox videos on short sales and tax credit

Stealth sites – best buy list, foreclosure email, idx search, preset idx searches, public sites

 

Cook – The thank you site –

            Are you interested in other areas

            Getting information as you warm them up. Get a sign in and then have them

            asking for more information.

            On going training for internet lead conversion

            Pay per click – on Google www.livingintoronto.ca

            Www. Homebuyerworkshop.com

            www.saturdaytourofhomes.com

            20 individual sign up sites – www.libertyvillagecondolist.com

He buys his pay per click when he needs it and flips it off and on. He gets 35- 50 clicks per day.

 

Print advertising –

            Just listed and just sold cards

            Direct mail – experience matters more than ever.

            List of homes when they were the second Realtor

            Micro marketing – finding sellers that can really sell. Finding seller that

            bought before 2004 with only one loan. Terry Mc that maybe able to find out

            that person.

 

Blogging with kinetic

Altos research

Stealth ads in the newspaper

Respond to email with in 10 minutes. Response is 4 times better when done by phone.

 

Top lead generation & top conversion tools

 

Blogging and adding content to your site that will be market edge type of interest.

Leadrealty.com for listing leads

Small ads in newspaper of your stealth ads

Gooder group on the website

Niche website that generates

Get a good response from Craigslist – call to action after the ad for want a foreclosure list, free CMA, or email list of houses.

Personal contact is the 4 times more effective.

High touch working with the database with client events, asking for Facebook classes,

Banner ad on the newspaper site for CMA’s for $45 per month. Ron Kubek

Hour of power by talking with clients.

Social, economic and keyword adds.

Display ads for being specific to social / economic

Highly targeted pay per click – Patrick Lilly – Greenwich Village town house

Every office meetings team member does 3 thank yous a week

Stealth ads on tag lines on craigslist – Galen 200-300 leads a week with 8 sales.

Market snap shot - that it $99 per month.

Dining card in their area they can pay for ($4) and 2 for 1.

eNeighborhoods.com

Seminars – buyer workshops, women for women, 100 to 150 per month.

Visual tour and uploading it to Craigslist

Purchased 5 zip codes from Zillow for leads. $6000 per year.

Micro sites for specific neighborhoods – does a neighborhood a month. – Willow Historic Neighborhood - Phoenix, he uses referral only. Goes after listings.

Banner ads on TV or Newspaper Websites

Radio station advertising - $2200 per month

Keywords – property listings

Form – weekly foreclosure list

Sold cards – sold , in case you missed it, homes I sold

Target market to seniors – went to people who have lived in homes over 20 years through title companies.

Newsletter – neighborhood farming – hand delivers

 

Three Minutes of Fame

 

Tupper – does a walk on video like Demetiria with buttons instead of having every time, add banker’s quarterly report.

 

Leigh Brown – Issuu.com account $19 per month – seller, buyer, relo books

            Don’t print the books just email them to customers

            Green version of the homebuyer workbook

 

Judy Luna – Magneticlens.com you can get a wide angle or fisheye

 

Schenfeild – “Free” is my favorite place.

            Calculatedrisk.com – you can tell you a lot of stuff going on in this difficult

            market.

            Google Docs Spreadsheets is for free – put all listings on a spread sheet and

            can view it from the team. Any time a team member changes is changes to

            everyone. It can be viewed on your cell phone. Google is going to rule the

            world.

 

Orly – Zingding.com with sound enhancements

            Redx – a great expired program

            Shredding event in a neighborhood with a shredding truck.

            Eco-friendly shopping bag Art of Marketing 888

 

Wynne Achatz – sendoutcards for birthdays, anniversaries

            FAX service, Notary service

 

Erik Lerner –“Qualify” Architectural Quality of Listing

                                    Enrich your understanding

                        Classicist.org greatbuilding.com notsobighouse.com

 

Bryan Bomba – Welcome to the Neighborhood Sign for 2 weeks for your buyers.

 

Scott Pridemore – Canon 50D with wide angle, photomatrix, HDR Techniques and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2

 

Tim Burrell - Technology & Short Sales – Training for how to go from signing to back approval. Software is www.shortsalecommander.com for working on your short sale. Outsource it to a closing services company for short sale. www.NationalQuickSale.com

www.shortsalenegotiatingspecialist.com

 

Tami Spaudling – Job Loss Protection Program, mortgage payment protection plan, $500 at closing. Myhelpconnection.com

 

Valerie Hunter Kelly – Amazon Kindle – paperless, more environmentally friendly. Download 60 books. Much cheaper than buying regular books. Over 1000 blogs. Over 350,000 titles for Kindle. Cost around $260. Free access to Wikipedia.

 

Susan Camiliere – holiday party, invitation to database 4-5 times over 6 weeks. It is the 1^st Monday of December. Cost $3500.

 

 

 

 

Virtual Assistants – Sven Andersen, Shane White, Leigh Brown

 

VA – Using Steve Kantor’s team that he goes over projects for the week and then they implement. Contact management, closing coordinator. It took Sven 7 different VA’s before found one he really worked well with. Creative marketing, post cards, blogs, newsletters, web banners and footers, eCare coordinator (leads for seller, buyer, renter, relo), data base cleanup, better organization and lead management, any thing that doesn’t take a personal touch in office. They become a business expense, no office expense, don’t need to teach, no dead time, no vacation or benefits, 

You can hire for a specific talent.

Order by project.

Finding one by referrals and/or recommendations from agents.

Hourly rate or contract.

What do you think your ROI is for your VA?

 

VPN to do a remote. Box.net to upload pics,

 

How to make sure it is the right one

            - things to look for and think about

            - make sure personality, profile fits job description

 

It is hard to find a good VA.

            www.realsupportinc.com

            www.myreassistant.com

            Steve Kantor

 

What VA did?

            Updated Real Pro site – babblefish, altos

            Do the brochures – template

            Post cards for just listed, just sold – go to a mail house, special events.

            Listing marketing to craigslist, Zillow, realtor.com, etc

            Monthly marketing eNewsletter

            Posts the blogs, does the Monday Morning Coffee

            Do the drip marketing campaigns, customize it.

            Newsletter can become a blog post

            Referral marketing

            Create stats for houses

            Internet marketing

            Website maintenance

            Internet lead follow-up – leads went from 6% of business to 23%

            Buyer lead management including database organization, phone calls,

                        vetting relo leads

            Enter all leads into central database and attach email campaign.

            Make initial phone call within minutes of prospect registering.

            Schedule recurring follow-up calls

            Access to automated searches

            Send to lenders

            Either they die or buy

            The VA and pick the DISC

            Listing processing

            Calling database

            Closing coordination

           

 

Real Pro Systems Upgrade Ideas

 

John Jones with video that is updated.

 

Background photo on the front page is video newjerseybesthomes.com

 

Pick your from pic as a reflection of your area, maybe using the seasons.

 

Sven Andersen with them around the area North of Boston Real Estate – he went to his VA to creatively work with Real Pro to upgrade for front page.

 

They do free training. Virtual assistants can be the hired from Real Pro for $30 an hour. They know Real Pro Systems.

 

Find the Sven page for following on FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn

 

A blog with a video in it.

 

John Jones does Tuesday Morning Coffee with a video.

 

What ever you can bring up on a browser your can put on your blog.

 

Control panel with videos with 15 different things

 

Altos research to take info and drop into your pages for market stats

 

Community market statistic – Bearpath market stats

 

TeamJodi.com for Chapel Hill Stats to check

 

Made links for an idx search – look at Janet Reilly Monterey County

 

Blog article by Zac with a list of terms _ bankruptcy

 

Rob Zimmer and video

 

Testimonial videos from raving fans.

 

Tom Cain sets up community vendors

 

You can have as many custom pages as you want

 

Idx broker – drilling down to specific neighborhoods to have for quick look

            Bank owned

            Short Sale

            Traditional sales

           

 

Look a Rob Levy to see the specific neighborhoods and then by price

 

You can go to the idx site from your Bank Owned with idx broker

 

 

 

 

DOING MORE WITH LESS

“Right Sizing”

 

Story of the forest fire in the Black Hills

 

I.                    Know your balance sheet.

A.     Use your past 3 years tax returns to begin with

B.     Don’t for get the dollars your paid your company in looking at GCI

C.     Get yourself up on Quick Book

D.     The 50% Rule in Real Estate – 50% your business, 50% for you!

II.                 Don’t Confuse the Business with Yourself – you make money and spend it.

A.     Make a Business Budget- How will you run your business on 50% of GCI

B.     Make a Personal Budget – How will you run your household on the other

III.               IOU Dearly

“When you Output Exceeds Your Input,

Your Upkeep will be Your Downfall.”

IV.              Reserves

A.     Cash in Bank – how much must you have to run your business

One month, three months, or six months –Cash is King

B.     How liquid are your assets

V.                 Inventory

A.     What is good inventory I have now? Any energy vampires?

B.     What is the saleable inventory I should go after?

C.     There is not a seller or a buyer market. It is the market.

VI.              What you need to know!

A.     What is my cost of taking each listing to closing?

B.     What is my cost of taking each buyer to closing?

C.     What is my hourly rate?

GCI $100,000/3000 hrs = $33/hr

GCI $500,000/3000 hrs = $166/hr

D.     Know your market – stats on unit sales, average sales price, days on

market, months supply, value ranges selling, areas selling, etc

E.      What are the percentages of where your of source of income comes?

 

VII.            Cutting Expense

A. Fixed expenses – leases, taxes, insurance, telephone, etc

      Rework lease with landlord or cars; insurance deductables; types of

      phones with long distance & line charges, take each line by line

B. Variable – staffing, advertising, education, vechiles, etc

      1. Staffing –Question to ask, “If I had to rehire knowing what I know      

          would I rehire?” If not – bye bye. “Who is the most cross trained or

           willing to cross train?” If they say “It’s not my job.” Show the door.

          Build on a core group. Capable of learning. Incredible flexibility.

If some one specializes – cut to half time so they    

          can work for someone else.

      2. Advertising – I use 1 to 5 ratio. If you spend $1000 in advertising it

          should generate $5000 in GCI. If you advertise and it is not generating

          the proper GCI – get aggressive and cut.

      3. Keep asking the question – “Did I cut enough?”

 

 

VIII.         Managing your business Week to Week

Some business look at there business on a year to year budgeting. Better business look at their budgets on a month to month. The most effective businesses in these hard economic times are looking at their businesses every week. 9AM on Monday, What sales happened last week,? What listings happened last week? How many new customers did we get last week? Etc

Then – What is the plan this week? Who is going to buy this week? Who is most likely to sell this week? What do we have to do this week to make this one better than last? What are you committing to do this week?

 

If you concentrate on yourself 80% of the time on what you need, you will lose.

 

If you concentrate on what your client needs 80% of the time, you will win.

 

REAL ESTATE IS PERSONAL!

The most current report on Lender Mediated sales in the Twin Cities shows the in the 1st quarter 55.8% of sales were lender mediated and in the 2nd quarter it dropped to 44.2%. That is a 20% drop.

Current new listing in the 2nd quarter that were lender mediated dropped by 5% to 7,369.

The bank owned properties seem to be dwindling quickly but short sale listings are increasing. This maybe that the banks are willing to work with sellers on their homes that they are upside down in. To get help in this area please check out our new web site www.ShortSaleHELPtwincities.com

For the full report on lender mediated sales for the 2nd quarter click here; http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/FSS/fss.pdf

 

The Twin Cities has signs of coming out of the declining market both in sales and also in market value.

In the enclosed reports you will find that our inventory of homes for sale is dropping, and has in fact been doing that for 2 years. But to get back to inventories of the early 2000's we still need an additional 25% decrease.

Average sale prices and median sales prices have been declining since 2006 but in these most recent reports you will in an increase in both over the last 2 to 3 months.

Unit sales are up, which is a very good thing. But the great increase in sales has been in the value range under $150,000. At the values over $190,000, sales lag behind last year by 15-25% depending on the value range.

Lender mediated sales (foreclosure & short sale) grew from 6%, 2 years ago to over 50% in 2009. A changing indicator though is that we peaked in percentage of lender mediated sales in the spring of 2009. This trend needs to continue to firm up the values on Twin Cities real estate.

Enclosed are the reports. I would be honored to meet with you to get specific with your property(ies) and how these apply to your specific price range, area, and style.

Monthly Market Indicators: http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/MMI/mmi.pdf

Housing Supply Outlook:http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/HSO/hso.pdf

The Skinny - youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwdCVLCS82A

 

Enclosed is an article from the MAAR research that shows our lender mediated sales percentages are on a 4 month decline after going through a 2 year increase. This is a good reflection for the Twin Cities that have been in a fall back position since July of 2005. We continue to look a other changes in our market like less inventory, reduction in speculative new construction and days on market before sale as positive indicators of a market turnaround.

 

Traditional sales increase market share

Minneapolis, Minnesota (June 10, 2009) – Traditional, non-lender-mediated homes increased their market share in May, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) based on data from the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc.

The number of traditional home sales is growing. Only 43.0 percent of the pending sales in May were lender-mediated, compared to 59.4 percent in January.

This decrease in lender-mediated market share brought the overall median price up $12,000 from last month to $165,000 in May. Despite the month-over-month increase, that's still a 19.5 percent drop from May 2008. The median May sales price of traditional homes was $214,000, down 4.3 percent from a year ago. Lender-mediated homes posted a May figure of $122,000, down 20.8 percent from a year ago.

There were 5,183 signed purchase agreements in May, up 17.3 percent from this time last year, marking the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

"With low mortgage rates and the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers we're seeing the recent jump in sales spill over into the traditional market a bit," said Steve Havig, MAAR President.

The number of properties for sale at the end of May was 26,674, down 19.0 percent from this time last year. That amounts to 7.6 months of supply available, down 26.9 percent from this time last year and trending back towards a balanced market of 5 to 6 months of supply. However, there are 9.9 months of traditional supply and only 5.0 months of lender-mediated supply.

"Sales are only up in certain price ranges and on certain property types, so smart pricing and marketing remains extremely important for sellers," said MAAR President-Elect, Brad Fisher.

Established in 1887, the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® (MAAR) is the leading regional advocate and provider of information services, research and education on the real estate industry for brokers, real estate professionals and the public. With more than 8,000 members, MAAR is one of the 25 largest local REALTOR® associations in the nation and serves the Twin Cities 13-county metro area and western Wisconsin.

Since Jluy of 2005 the Twin Cities market place has had different types of indicators that we are in a declining market. From the falling of unit sales, to decline in average and median sales prices, increased inventories, conservative lending practices, affordability issues. foreclosures and leander mediated sales, and other economic forces;we have had to deal with the changes in this real estate market.

Enclosed is the most recent "The Skinny" from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors to give a prespective on what is happening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXbOx925NbM

Each area, price range, and style is affected differently by the market. I meet daily with people to discuss what is beest for them in their specific market. Let me know how I can help.

If you are a parent with children of the age of 18 years or older you are eligible to help them buy their first home with you as a cosigner by using FHA financing. With FHA financing the down payment amount is only 3.5%. So instead of renting they can now have an option to buy with your help.

For example if you buy a $100,000 home or condo your down payment would be $3,500. Once you have closed the home you are now eligible for the $8000 tax credit. Instead of waiting until next year to file your taxes your child can amend their taxes and get the $8,000 check from the government this year.

Now as long as your child does not sell their home for the next 3 years then they do not have to pay back the $8,000 tax credit. This holds true whether you have one or more children. In my 35 years of helping first time home buyers buy a home I have never seen such a great way to help them get into a home for virtually no money of their own. It is like our government is paying us to help our kids buy their first home.

If you would like to learn how you can help your children own a part of the American Dream please give me a call at 612-363-6600 or email at steve@stevewestmark.com

In our new housing market I have many people asking me questions about foreclosures and shortsales. I will try to answer a few questions about this subject and then give you a report from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors of what is happening in todays market.

What is a foreclosed property? It a real estate property that had a financial lien on it that was defaulted on by the owner and the financial institution followed foreclosure proceeding to gain title to the property. Usaually the default by the property owner goes on for several months before the financial institution begins the foreclosure proceedings. It takes at least six months once the foreclosure proceeding have begun before the financial institution gains the title to the property.

What is a short sale? It is when the encumberances are more than what the property can sell for including costs of sale. If a property has a $200,000 mortgage on it and a buyer was interested in purchasing for $190,000 and the owner doesn't have the money to pay the difference, the owner could contact the financial institution to see if they would accept a payoff of less than the mortgage amount. It is a sale where the bank receives short of what the encumberance is. As a Realtor and training I have received I have helped many a seller in this situation.

Why would a bank consider a short sale? It has been shown that a house that is a foreclosure brings 10 to 20% less than a short sale. Some of the reasons why are that the owner is living in the property and maintaining it, it is not a stripped or damaged house, and it does not carry a foreclosure stigma with it. Also the costs that a bank must go through to cause a foreclosure is very expensive.

Why would an owner consider a short sale rather than foreclosure? A short sale is much better to have on your credit history than a foreclosure. Today banks understand they are better working along with an owner than to work against them in foreclosure. It is a problem solving solution rather than an us versus them solution.

I recently completed course work for my Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation. It is a great course work to help owners work with their bank to resolve situations where they are upside down in the property and work with the bank to keep their dignity and problem solve to a much better solution than foreclosure.

Enclosed is the most recent reporty on foreclosures and shortsales in the Twin Cities. Over 50% of current sales are in that catagory. Two years ago it was 6% of sales, one year ago it was 20% of sales that were in this group. It has be estimated by the CDPE Institute that we may have another 2 to 3 years more of this type of sales because of the predatory lending practices of the past 10 years.

Click here to view the report:

http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/Reports_Analysis/Foreclosure-Short-Sales_2009-Q1.pdf

I am here to help those who are struggling with financial stresses that have been caused by the forces of this real estate and lending marketplace.

Do you ever wonder why open houses when most of the time the homes can be seen at anytime? Here are a few reasons for sellers and then a few reasons for buyers.

Sellers:

1. It can be a convenient way for many people to look in a short period of time at a house.

2. It is an exposure to people that are inquistive and want general information.

3. Sometimes people buy from an open house. (Though it is less than 5% of time how people find their new home.)

Buyers:

1. It is a way to window shop with little commitment.

2. It allows the buyers to look a large price ranges, areas and styles on a Saturday or Sunday.

3. Sometimes the agent holding the open house maybe able to answer specific questions better than an agent taking people from house to house.

I will be holding 4 opens this Sunday and maybe your looking to do some house shopping.

6560 Fox Path, Chanhassen 12 to 1PM $549,000

http://www.westmarkteam.com/property/6560-Fox-Path-Chanhassen-Minnesota

180- West Point Drive, Tonka Bay 1:30 to 2:30 PM  $325,000

http://www.westmarkteam.com/property/180-West-Point-Drive-Tonka-Bay-Minnesota

3345 Crystal Bay Rd, Orono   3-4 PM    $899.000

http://www.westmarkteam.com/property/3345-Crystal-Bay-Road-Orono-Minnesota

6152 Ridgewood Rd, Mound   4:30-5:30 PM    $187,900

http://www.westmarkteam.com/property/6152-Ridgewood-Road-Mound-Minnesota

If you enjoy great values on great properties, please drop by. If you read this blog, say so and I will send you 2 FREE Twins Tickets for upcoming games.

There trends that show some stablizing of the Twin Cities real estate market but here are a few highlights from the enclosed report.

1. The median sales price had an increase for the 1st time in 9 months.

2. The average sales price is still on a decline to for the last 5 month.

3. The afforadablity index is 40% better than last year at this time with lower interest rates and house pricing lower.

4. Inventory on new listings is down 21.7% from two years ago. That is good, but we are still high in comparison to our inventory levels in 2004.

5. Pending sales are up 13.7% from a year ago though the increase in sales is under $150,000 with sales over $250,000 down by about 20%. Each Twin Cities market place varies so each needs a separate look.

6. Lender mediated sales peaked in February at 60%  and now is back in the mid 50% range. A hope of moving towards a more normal market.

7. The total sales volume for sales is down 16.8% from last year, showing that even though total sales are up the homes that are selling are in the lower value ranges. This maybe a reflection on the 1st time homebuyer $8000 tax credit.

Click below for the full report from The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors:

http://www.mplsrealtor.com/downloads/market/MMI/mmi.pdf

There is great data available to share with you about your specific area of town. Give me a call if you want more specific information on your area, style of housing and price range.