I finished a great book this morning. Playfully titled, "POW! Right Between the Eyes! Profitting From the Power of Surprise," by creative genious, Andy Nulman, this noble tome is quite possibly the best book that I've read on the subject of marketing. When I began reading two days ago, I don't think that I was halfway through chapter two before I had the creative juices flowing and my mind flooded with ideas for personal marketing. Among the many, there are about two or three that I'm going to pursue a bit further to see how they work. I'll make sure that I update the Blog with results as soon as I have them.
In a bonus surprise, a well placed page at the end of the book contained a message from Andy, with the comment that it is only contained in a select few First Edition copies of his book, congratulating me for finishing the book and letting me know that there is an ending to the story beyond the end of the book. A special surprise, sorry I won't give it away, was referenced and I participated in the terms. Surprise was a complete understatement! Needless to say, this experience made my day and has truly driven home the message of his book, which I highly recommend!
Andy Nulman's Blog: http://powrightbetweentheeyes.typepad.com/
Visit my Website: http://nathanhosier.lnf.com/Default.aspx
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NateHosier
Monday, June 27, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Folly of FSBO
For Sale by Owner, or FSBO, has become a fairly common factor in today's Real Estate market. Any Realtor can likely think of at least one FSBO that they've passed recently while showing other homes in the area. Just a few years ago, homes were entering and leaving the market so fast that after taking a listing, a Realtor could easily have 10 offers on the home before they were even able to get a sign in the yard. The bravest of homeowners could put a FSBO sign in their front yard and could be fairly confident that the home would sell pretty quickly. They may or may not have found their buyer with the help of a Realtor, but they definitely had the market activity to do it without.
Today, the market is extremely congested with foreclosures and short sales. The average seller, at least in my neck of the woods, has so much competition that, unless they have the luxury of spending every day advertising their home and the money available to spend on the marketing, will not stand a chance without someone to represent their interests. Furthermore, the far fewer active buyers are working with Realtors, in most cases. Where are the Realtors seeking out the properties to show to their buyers? I'd be willing to wager that they aren't driving them around looking for FSBO properties. With our responsibility to our buyer-clients, we'd be doing them a disservice if we weren't relentlessly searching our local Multiple Listing Service or Foreclosures.com or Homepath.com for the best possible house at the lowest possible price. Unless one is paying to advertise in every media resource available, a FSBO likely has only the traffic passing by each day, mostly neighbors and their houseguests, to actually see that the property is for sale. If you live on a dead-end street, you can imagine the additional hardship. Unless one owns their home free and clear, is offering it for sale at a huge discount, and has the advertising available to attract attention, a FSBO is a hard property to sell.
To quote one of my favorite writers, "Pay your brokers well... If they are truly professionals, their services should make you money." I like to add my own extension to Robert Kiyosaki's phrase, mine being specifically geared toward the current market, "Their services should either make you money or save you as much as possible." I add my extension since many homes are being sold short, meaning that they are being sold below the actual mortgage balance owed. A Realtor should be able to point you in the right direction to find the advice necessary to negotiate with the bank and reduce the amount of the difference that you will end up having to pay by as much as possible. Furthermore, a Realtor earns their commision for marketing your property in whatever way necessary to get it sold in the shortest time for the best price. This includes not only advertising your home for sale and listing it the MLS, but also negotiating on your behalf and with your instructions when offers come in. I could go on and on about the benefits of the lockbox that a Realtor might put on your home, depending on the area, so that your home can be shown while you're at work or on vacation or otherwise occupied and unavailable to show yourself, as you would be in a FSBO situation.
Bottom line: the market has changed drastically and what worked a few years ago doesn't work as well today. This is a challenging time for a seller and the assistance of a Realtor in getting a home sold may mean the difference between a sale and a long and stressful process that ends in disappointment. If you want your home sold, I advise that you at least speak with a Realtor and learn what services they have to offer. If you are steadfast in your goal to sell your home FSBO, I would advise speaking to a Realtor and exploring the possibility of paying a flat fee to get your home listed in the MLS to at least improve your pool of potential buyers. If you choose option number 2, make sure that you or someone else is available at all times to answer calls and make the property available when buyers come to look. I wish you luck, I do truly hope that your property sells, as it will improve the market in it's own way.
Visit my Website: http://nathanhosier.lnf.com/Default.aspx
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NateHosier
Today, the market is extremely congested with foreclosures and short sales. The average seller, at least in my neck of the woods, has so much competition that, unless they have the luxury of spending every day advertising their home and the money available to spend on the marketing, will not stand a chance without someone to represent their interests. Furthermore, the far fewer active buyers are working with Realtors, in most cases. Where are the Realtors seeking out the properties to show to their buyers? I'd be willing to wager that they aren't driving them around looking for FSBO properties. With our responsibility to our buyer-clients, we'd be doing them a disservice if we weren't relentlessly searching our local Multiple Listing Service or Foreclosures.com or Homepath.com for the best possible house at the lowest possible price. Unless one is paying to advertise in every media resource available, a FSBO likely has only the traffic passing by each day, mostly neighbors and their houseguests, to actually see that the property is for sale. If you live on a dead-end street, you can imagine the additional hardship. Unless one owns their home free and clear, is offering it for sale at a huge discount, and has the advertising available to attract attention, a FSBO is a hard property to sell.
To quote one of my favorite writers, "Pay your brokers well... If they are truly professionals, their services should make you money." I like to add my own extension to Robert Kiyosaki's phrase, mine being specifically geared toward the current market, "Their services should either make you money or save you as much as possible." I add my extension since many homes are being sold short, meaning that they are being sold below the actual mortgage balance owed. A Realtor should be able to point you in the right direction to find the advice necessary to negotiate with the bank and reduce the amount of the difference that you will end up having to pay by as much as possible. Furthermore, a Realtor earns their commision for marketing your property in whatever way necessary to get it sold in the shortest time for the best price. This includes not only advertising your home for sale and listing it the MLS, but also negotiating on your behalf and with your instructions when offers come in. I could go on and on about the benefits of the lockbox that a Realtor might put on your home, depending on the area, so that your home can be shown while you're at work or on vacation or otherwise occupied and unavailable to show yourself, as you would be in a FSBO situation.
Bottom line: the market has changed drastically and what worked a few years ago doesn't work as well today. This is a challenging time for a seller and the assistance of a Realtor in getting a home sold may mean the difference between a sale and a long and stressful process that ends in disappointment. If you want your home sold, I advise that you at least speak with a Realtor and learn what services they have to offer. If you are steadfast in your goal to sell your home FSBO, I would advise speaking to a Realtor and exploring the possibility of paying a flat fee to get your home listed in the MLS to at least improve your pool of potential buyers. If you choose option number 2, make sure that you or someone else is available at all times to answer calls and make the property available when buyers come to look. I wish you luck, I do truly hope that your property sells, as it will improve the market in it's own way.
Visit my Website: http://nathanhosier.lnf.com/Default.aspx
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NateHosier
Friday, June 24, 2011
A few words about my fellow Bloggers...
I'd just like to take a few moments today and write about how wonderful I feel right now due to some of my fellow Bloggers. Steve Harney http://kcmblog.com/ and Amanda Wilson http://www.amandajwilson.com have both given me the great honor of quoting a comment that I made and reposting my first post, respectively.
I'm so very touched that others have found what I say interesting enough to repost on their websites, as I am that those of you following my Blog have decided to do so. I highly encourage all of my followers to also follow these two individuals, they have very interesting things to say themselves about our Real Estate Market and how to improve our current situation. Thanks to everyone, please watch for more quality content coming soon!
I'm so very touched that others have found what I say interesting enough to repost on their websites, as I am that those of you following my Blog have decided to do so. I highly encourage all of my followers to also follow these two individuals, they have very interesting things to say themselves about our Real Estate Market and how to improve our current situation. Thanks to everyone, please watch for more quality content coming soon!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The current Real Estate Market
When I talk to people about buying or selling a home these days, most react with an involuntary shudder followed by some comment about how only a fool would think about getting involved with Real Estate these days. We are, after all, right in the middle of a nationwide recession, and we do, after all, have an extremely high number of foreclosures occuring.
If you know even one Real Estate investor, ask them about the market. They'll very likely tell you that the market is great! There is no better time to buy! You can find deals for fifty cents on the dollar compared to home prices just a few years ago!
The fact is, your investor friend is absolutely correct. We are in the middle of a recession, which lowers prices, and makes homes affordable for individuals that couldn't afford to buy a few years ago when the bubble was still intact. With the inventory of short sales, bank owned and foreclosed homes that we have at the moment, many home sellers are desperate to get out of their mortgages. This makes them very negotiable when it comes to seller assistance for closing costs, seller-bought home warranties, and making repairs to otherwise inconsequential items that a buyer may have accepted as is just a few years ago, such as needed paint, carpet or windows.
Furthermore, we are, after all, in a recession. The way that we improve the economy and get out of the recession is buy participating in the economy. An article I read a few days ago by a financial analyst stated that we have an inventory of about two to three years of foreclosures and bank owned properties, and that the number will grow over the next two years.
Most of this is due to the fact that too many people bought far above their price range due to the relaxed qualification criteria causing banks to write loans for just about anyone that had a job. Now, Mr. Jhonny Homeowner has a home that he payed $350,000 for that has returned to it's appropriate fair value of $175,000. The adjustable rate, interest only mortgage that he got at a great starting rate has changed it's terms and his $1200 payment just went to $2200 and has caused him to default. The bank will take his property and either auction it or advertise it for sale. Knowing that they will never get the $350,000 that is owed to them, and also that they will likely never get the $175,000 that the home is worth, they will write off the loss and offer it for a bit (sometimes quite a bit) less. Now, Mr. Smart J. Homebuyer can buy this $175,000 home for a huge discount, gain instant equity, have most if not all of his closing costs paid, get a home warranty out of the deal and settle into his new home with his 4% Fixed APR no-money-down FHA backed mortgage with an $800 payment, $400 less than he was paying to rent his two bedroom one bathroom apartment.
My final thoughts for this post: We're in a Buyer's Market currently and many, many people are going to find incedible homes at incedible prices with incredible terms. We will, as always, have those that were left behind and will continue to dream of owning a home because they stayed afraid of the current market without really understanding what it was that they were afraid of. The government will continue to come up with bright ideas and create programs intended to fix the economy and improve the market, but it will be a slow and long process. The only way to kickstart the economy and raise us up out of this recession is to participate in the market and clear out the inventory of discounted property flooding the housing market. Get out there, do your part and buy a home. If you already own one, buy another to rent to one of our friends who are afraid to buy and create an income from it. It begins with action, go out and make it happen!
If you know even one Real Estate investor, ask them about the market. They'll very likely tell you that the market is great! There is no better time to buy! You can find deals for fifty cents on the dollar compared to home prices just a few years ago!
The fact is, your investor friend is absolutely correct. We are in the middle of a recession, which lowers prices, and makes homes affordable for individuals that couldn't afford to buy a few years ago when the bubble was still intact. With the inventory of short sales, bank owned and foreclosed homes that we have at the moment, many home sellers are desperate to get out of their mortgages. This makes them very negotiable when it comes to seller assistance for closing costs, seller-bought home warranties, and making repairs to otherwise inconsequential items that a buyer may have accepted as is just a few years ago, such as needed paint, carpet or windows.
Furthermore, we are, after all, in a recession. The way that we improve the economy and get out of the recession is buy participating in the economy. An article I read a few days ago by a financial analyst stated that we have an inventory of about two to three years of foreclosures and bank owned properties, and that the number will grow over the next two years.
Most of this is due to the fact that too many people bought far above their price range due to the relaxed qualification criteria causing banks to write loans for just about anyone that had a job. Now, Mr. Jhonny Homeowner has a home that he payed $350,000 for that has returned to it's appropriate fair value of $175,000. The adjustable rate, interest only mortgage that he got at a great starting rate has changed it's terms and his $1200 payment just went to $2200 and has caused him to default. The bank will take his property and either auction it or advertise it for sale. Knowing that they will never get the $350,000 that is owed to them, and also that they will likely never get the $175,000 that the home is worth, they will write off the loss and offer it for a bit (sometimes quite a bit) less. Now, Mr. Smart J. Homebuyer can buy this $175,000 home for a huge discount, gain instant equity, have most if not all of his closing costs paid, get a home warranty out of the deal and settle into his new home with his 4% Fixed APR no-money-down FHA backed mortgage with an $800 payment, $400 less than he was paying to rent his two bedroom one bathroom apartment.
My final thoughts for this post: We're in a Buyer's Market currently and many, many people are going to find incedible homes at incedible prices with incredible terms. We will, as always, have those that were left behind and will continue to dream of owning a home because they stayed afraid of the current market without really understanding what it was that they were afraid of. The government will continue to come up with bright ideas and create programs intended to fix the economy and improve the market, but it will be a slow and long process. The only way to kickstart the economy and raise us up out of this recession is to participate in the market and clear out the inventory of discounted property flooding the housing market. Get out there, do your part and buy a home. If you already own one, buy another to rent to one of our friends who are afraid to buy and create an income from it. It begins with action, go out and make it happen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)