16 Tips to Keep You Moving Forward With the Home Downsizing Process

Our last article included 11 Tips to help you get started with the Home Downsizing process. Whereas that article focused more upon how you can „Get Started“, this article takes you to the next step and provides you with 16 tips and strategies designed to „Keep You Moving Forward“ after you have started the Home Downsizing process.

Know Values Before You Begin Dumping. „Do Not“, I repeat, „Do Not“, begin dumping anything before having someone look at it for potential value. All too often things that you perceive as having value turn out to be valueless, while things that you perceive to have little value end up having considerable worth.

Have a Professional Help You With Values: Before tossing anything out you would be wise to hire someone who is knowledgeable in Personal Property values to provide you with valuations prior to beginning the dumping process. A Professional In-Home Personal Property Walk-Through Valuation is usually a good place to start for most individuals. A USPAP Appraisal will be more precise and detailed, but will cost significantly more because of the time involved in its preparation. The up-front cost of either should seem quite reasonable when compared to the potential loss if you throw the wrong things away.

What You Paid Has No Bearing On Today’s Value: We’ll cover this concept in greater depth in a later article, but at this point you must understand that what you paid for something has absolutely no bearing…none…on what it will bring in today’s market.

Start Early In The Process: Whatever you do, don’t wait until the last minute to get started. Start early, work in smaller blocks of time, and the job will go much easier.

Start With A Small Room: Start by selecting a small room to begin with. Once that smaller room has been successfully completed, it will be easier to move on to a more complex room.

Start With A Room That Has Less Sentimental Attachment: A bathroom, closet, or kitchen may be a good place to start. The most important thing is to start somewhere, and then build momentum towards larger projects.

Start With Larger Objects: It’s often easier to start by eliminating larger items, such as furniture. The logic here is that you can begin to feel as if you are making progress after only making a few decisions.

Start With A Portion Of The House That You Don’t Currently Use Much: A grown child’s empty bedroom is often a good place to start.

Start With Personal Papers and Family Photographs: This won’t gain you that much space, but it can be fun, and is a logical step in starting the downsizing process.

Work In Limited Blocks Of Time: The process can be very tiring and emotionally draining. Limit yourself to only a few hours at a time, at least in the beginning. Then, if you are feeling up to it, you can work in extended periods of time.

Stick With A Specific Project Until Done: Once started, do your best to complete a specific project, especially smaller projects. For example, if your start cleaning out a closet, finish that project before moving on to another project. However, recognize that larger projects, such as a basement or attic, will most likely not be completed in a single session.

Anticipate The Weather: Plan ahead, keeping the weather in mind. You don’t want to work in the attic on a scorching July day, and you don’t want to be working in the garage or outbuildings in sub-freezing weather. Use the weather to your advantage.

Give Yourself Ample Lighting: Little will get done if you can’t see what you are doing. If the room you are working in isn’t bright enough, bring in some temporary lighting to brighten up the workspace.

Give Yourself Ample Workspace: You can’t sort much into piles or sorting categories on a single, rickety folding card table. Try to provide yourself with one or more solid 3′ x 8′ folding tables. Today’s tables have light, plastic tops and are much easier to move by yourself than the heavy wooden tables of previous years.

Use Heavy Duty Plastic Bags For Dumping: It doesn’t matter whether you buy them at the supermarket, home improvement store, or dollar store, be sure that you use heavy duty plastic bags for packing old clothes and linens, or dumping unwanted smalls into the weekly trash. Nothing is more frustrating than having a lighter-duty plastic bag break after you have spent considerable time packing it.

Homes With More Space Can Sell Better: Selling off your Personal Property can make you even more money when you sell your current home. Clutter tends to make a house look small. By downsizing before you put your house on the market, you can make your house look even bigger than it really is, thereby increasing its salability. We know of one situation where the Real Estate agent felt that a house brought $30,000-$40,000 more than it would have brought had the home downsizing not occurred.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Types of Real Estate Investment Properties

Real estate investing strategies have undergone major changes in the past four years. Before the banking crisis and economic recession, many investors were generating massive profits through rehabbing distressed properties and engaging in house flipping. Today, investors are using distressed properties to generate rental income or to offer creative financing options.

The first step to achieving real estate investment success is to become educated about the market. Investors should become familiar with the various types of investment properties such as residential, commercial, and vacant land, as well as investing in real estate notes and land contracts.

Residential real estate can be used as rental properties or placed for sale. Many investors are offering creative finance strategies to attract buyers who cannot qualify for bank financing. Popular financing options include lease purchase option agreements and seller carry back mortgages.

Commercial real estate includes a wide mix of properties such as condominium and apartment complexes, retail shops, warehouses, and office buildings. Investors often partner with other investors or investment groups when purchasing commercial property in order to cover the costs and management duties required to maintain investment properties.

Commercial property has the potential to generate substantial profits as long as investors evaluate market conditions. Investors may be entitled to tax incentives when commercial investments bring employment opportunities to the area or when properties are upgraded using energy-efficient technology such as solar panels or other forms of green energy.

Investors often seek out bank owned foreclosure properties because this type of realty is usually priced well below market value. Bank owned realty encompasses all types of properties and can range from mobile homes to swanky high-rise apartments and industrial parks to golf courses.

Locating residential and commercial foreclosures is relatively simple. Using the services of a realtor can expedite the process. Agents can access the multiple listings (MLS) database to quickly locate all types of properties for sale.

Once banks repossess properties they are first placed for sale through public or government auctions. The property is given back to the bank if it goes unsold at auction. Banks then sell foreclosure properties through their loss mitigation division or local realtors.

Prices of bank owned properties are generally higher than properties sold through auction. However, banks remove liens and judgments in order to sell the real estate with a clean title. Buyers are able to take quick possession and can move forward with preparing the property for sale or rent.

Many investors are buying residential properties through Fannie Mae’s Homepath Mortgage program. In addition to selling homes at deeply discounted prices, Homepath Mortgage offers low down payment requirements and special financing options to both individual buyers and real estate investors.

Many Fannie Mae properties qualify for grant money offered through HUDs Neighborhood Stabilization Program. NSP grants are offered to improve properties located in areas with high rate of foreclosure. Qualified investors can obtain up to five NSP grants.

Investors who invest in commercial real estate must become educated about federal, state, and county property laws. Commercial buildings must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and be zoned for commercial use.

Although the real estate market continues to head in a downward spiral, there are still plenty of solid investment opportunities. Investors must stay abreast of market conditions and be capable of changing strategies when needed. Otherwise, they will quickly become another real estate statistic.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Are Zero-Day Inspections Deal Killers in REO Investing?

Usually a buyer of real estate had the seller give him an inspection period in which the buyer will have the property inspected by a professional to see if there is anything the buyer missed. These inspections are very inexpensive insurance for the buyer and should always be done when buying a personal residence. For investors, the inspections are equally important but often investors do these themselves.

An increasing trend in REO (bank-owned) properties is for the addendum that comes back from the asset manager or the realtor, to have a short inspection period. The usual inspection period for REO varies by the area of the country where the Reo is located. In some very distressed areas, it is not uncommon for 15 – 20 day inspection periods. In active markets, the inspection periods are usually 5 to 10 days.

The inspection period is very important to investors because this allows them to market the property to his buyers list and re-sell the property at a profit. If the only advertising medium that sold REOs was the MLS, many would go unsold as the average investor doesn’t have access to the MLS and the best buys are the REOs that are not sold in the first 30+ days on the market (DOMs). So investors put the properties under contract, provide proof of funds or letter of credit and make a deposit to the closing agent chosen by the asset manager or the realtor.

However, the REO brokers and agents may have trouble closing these deals because the investor put it under contract at too high a price. He now knows this because he can’t resell it to another investor who will rehab or keep it as a rental. Therefore, the investor uses the inspection period to get out of the contract and get his money back. This usually infuriates the realtors as they have to re-market the property all over again. If this happens too often the realtor will not only lose this listing but may lose the asset manager (bank) as a client.

A trend in REO contracting is happening that gives the buyer a zero day inspection. This means that as soon as the buyer signs the contract he can no longer get out by using the inspection period as a legal loophole. We are even seeing the realtors‘ addendums say zero day inspection while the asset managers‘ addendums allow 5 days. Obviously, this is a realtor lead movement because the outcome is detrimental to the final sale price of the property. These investors who are returning the properties are doing so because the price they paid was too high. The result is the asset manager has to drop his price to attract more buyers.

While a small group of investors are wholesalers who use the inspection period to abandon an offer, the vast majority of investors do not and these are the end-buyers who should be bidding on the properties. Because of this onerous requirement of zero-day inspection, the inexperienced investors are paying more money to the seasoned investors, often for the same properties. This profit differential could be going to the asset managers‘ accounts but they may not even know this anomaly is happening as their only input is the listing realtor.

In summary, in an attempt to have fewer failed deals, realtors have tightened the requirement of the inspection period and often the amount of the deposit. Most REO deposits are in the range of $500 to $1,000, but some realtors are requiring the greater of 10% or $5,000. The net result is fewer bidders willing to buy the properties and further price declines when the properties are finally sold.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

How to Get Super Cheated While Your House is Being Foreclosed

You have seen that bandit sign at the intersection that says STOP FORECLOSURE call Mr. Miracle at 555 BIG SCAM. Here is an opportunity. Mr. Miracle who looks talks a lot like P. T. Barnum and Elmer Gantry all rolled into one, suggests that you deed your house to him subject to the mortgage. What does that mean? In Florida, it means that you have deeded your house to Mr. Miracle He owns it. It is his. You need to move out or pay him rent. He owns the house but you owe the mortgage. You owe the mortgage. You signed a promissory note when you got the mortgage. You personally promised to pay back the money. If you don’t, the bank will sue you for a deficiency judgment. What is a deficiency judgment? It is when the bank sues you and gets a personal judgment against you for the difference between how much you owe and what the house sold for at public foreclosure auction on the courthouse steps when Mr. Miracle did not catch up and make the payments like he said he would.

Oh well. You can always declare bankruptcy unless you have already done that and the bank waits until you have done that to sue you. Don’t those judgments expire? Yes they do in twenty years. In Florida the creditor can take your assets. take your bank account, garnish your wages, aggravate you for a long time

Wouldn’t it make more sense to get a little more information before you deed your house to Mr. Miracle.

Here is another idea. Let’s do nothing! Yeah do nothing. Just sit back and wait for the foreclosure auction. It’s not your fault that you are in this fix anyway. It’s the bank“s fault. It’s the real estate agent’s fault. It’s the government’s fault. Do nothing is just a little bit better than deeding your house to Mr. Miracle. If you do nothing, in Florida, it will take about six to ten months for the foreclosure process to happen.Your house will be sold on the courthouse steps. It will sell for pennies on the dollar or the bank will buy it. You will probably be sued for a deficiency judgment. Your Problems have just begun.

Deed it to Mr. Miracle. That is not a good plan. Do nothing. That is not much better. What can you do?

Here is a novel idea. Catch up the back payments and continue making the payments. I am amazed at how many people are being foreclosed on that aren’t working. Go to work. Earn some money. Do something beneath your dignity. Sell something. Sell everything you own. Sell your car. Sell your jet ski. Sell your furniture. Sell your jewelry. Sell your motorcycle. If any of this stuff has payments, sell that first. Get the money together and make the payments. Unless you committed fraud to get this mortgage, you could afford this house when you bought it.Afford it now. Make the payments. Don’t take this lying down. If you did commit mortgage fraud to get this loan, that is an even better reason to make the payments. After foreclosure a fraud investigation could really make your life miserable. Google that,

Many people that come to my real estate school are there to learn how to learn to make money so they can make the payments on their house that is being foreclosed. Real estate, insurance,pre paid legal, Avon, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef and a bunch of other products are sold on commission only. Anyone that wants to earn money can learn to make money by selling one of these products. It is easy to get hired because the recruiter can’t tell if you are going to work. Almost all products that are sold on commission only can be sold by anyone that works hard. Get such an opportunity and earn some money. Make your payments.Most of these products including real estate can be sold part time. If you are currently employed but need more money, find such an opportunity. Make your payments.

Call your mortgage company or bank. Talk to them. Ask them what you can do. They might amaze you. I have heard some amazing stories.

Here is a plan that I am certain will work. Sell your house. If you can’t afford it, sell it. What could be more simple than that. Find a buyer. He gets a new mortgage, pays your mortgage off. Your problem is solved. What if your house is worth three hundred thousand and you owe four hundred on your mortgage.?

Banks are in business to make money. If they foreclose on your house, it will probably sell at public auction on the courthouse steps for $200,000, or the bank will buy it at the courthouse steps. Then they will list it with a real estate agent and he will make a commission. They will also pay the normal closing costs of the transaction. They will also have all the normal expenses of home ownership; taxes, HOA dues, insurance, maintenance, etc. They don’t want to do that. However, if it is the most profitable option available to them they will do that.

Another choice for you is called loss mitigation, slangly called „short sale“. The way this works is, you find a buyer, the best way to do that is to list with a good real estate agent. The real estate agent finds a buyer at a proper price. Participate in that decision. After all the expenses of the sale have been paid, the bank accepts the proceeds of that sale and satisfies the loan.

Have an attorney represent you and be certain that the bank waives their right to a deficiency judgment.

Please understand you are in a very bad spot. It is going to take a lot of discomfort to get out. Be good to yourself. Be good to your spouse. Do not sign any papers that you don’t understand. Legal advise is cheap compared to what can happen without it. Think. These are big important decisions.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Real Estate Brokerage: A Guide to Success, By Dan Hamilton

Owning a business of your own is the American dream. Real estate agents or those considering opening their own residential real estate brokerage should read Dan Hamilton’s new soup-to-nuts book on establishing a successful brokerage.

Real Estate Brokerage: A Guide to Success by Dan Hamilton, Thomson/ South-Western, 2006, ISBN 0324379463, Paperback, 380 Pages, $46.95 is written by an experienced real estate broker and instructor. Hamilton readily admits that the brokerage business is going through a permanent shift in how they will continue to be financially successful and remain the first point-of-contact for residential real estate consumers. Admission is one thing, but the author provides deep and clear ways to reorient your brokerage from agent compensation,recruiting and retention, business planning and development, to effective new-age brokerage marketing. All ideas are explained in great detail, with an added benefit of bolded topics and bullet points, for those who want a pick-up-put-down desk reference.

Chapter titles include:The Real Estate Industry, The Real Estate Broker and Owner, The Real Estate Brokerage Office, Real Estate Brokerage Operations, Real Estate Marketing, Additional Marketing Ideas in Real Estate, Real Estate Brokerage Compensation Structures, Real Estate Brokerage Staff Relations, Recruiting Real Estate Salespeople, Recruiting Interview, Retention of Real Estate Salespeople, Real Estate Business Development, Real Estate Business Planning, Financing a Real Estate Business, and Starting Up a Real Estate Business.

In addition to the chapters there is an appendix and introduction. Chapters are presented in an easy-to-understand format with review questions to help the reader assimilate the chapter information and it’s relevance. Boxes highlight important definitions or statements. One benefit I especially liked was the use of relevant definitions adjoining text instead of the usual back-of-the-book glossary

This book is recommended to current managing brokers, real estate franchise operations managers, brokerage educators and trainers, and those contemplating starting up their own brokerage.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

What Is Spuds?

Spuds is what REALTORS call the Seller Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS). It is a multi-page document that sellers typically provide with information about the house and all its major systems (e.g. air conditioning, plumbing, roof, etc.).

In Arizona, sellers are required to disclose any material fact they are aware of regarding the property. The SPDS is a form created by the Arizona Association of REALTORS (AAR) to standardize the way sellers disclose material facts about the property.

The standard AAR Residential Purchase Contract has a provision requiring sellers to provide SPDS to buyers within 5 days of contract acceptance. Buyers have until the end of the inspection period or 5 days from receipt of the SPDS (whichever is later) to provide notice of any disapproved items disclosed in the SPDS.

Contrary to what many people think, the SPDS is not required by law. It is only a provision in the standard AAR Residential Purchase Contract. The law requires sellers to disclose material information. Sellers can do it in any other document they choose.

The other common myth about the SPDS is that once the seller provides it, he has no further obligation to disclose new material facts. That could not be farther from the truth. Seller’s obligation to disclose remains during the whole escrow period. If seller becomes aware of a material fact that was not originally disclosed, he has an obligation to disclose and give the buyer 5 days to review and provide notice of disapproved items. This is typically done through issuance of a revised SPDS.

Many sellers will not accept contracts that require them to provide a SPDS and they will ask buyers to remove the provision from the contract. Banks selling foreclosures will typically ask buyers to waive SPDS based on the claim that the bank has limited knowledge about the property. One important thing to remember is that even when SPDS is waived, the seller still has the obligation to disclose all material facts.

Your REALTOR should review the SPDS, its importance, and implications when sellers ask buyers to waive SPDS. Buyers should understand all the ramifications and make an informed decision whether they are willing to waive SPDS or not.

And before I close this article I would like to leave you with a thought. If you are a seller, I would strongly encourage you to prepare a SPDS when you put the property on the market. You can even make the document available for prospective buyers. It will show them that you are on top of your obligations and that if they decide to submit an offer you will not cause any delays to the process. Very few sellers do that and it usually has such a positive impact on potential buyers. If you do that when you list the property, once you accept an offer all you have to do is re-read the document and make sure that it is still valid and up-to-date. Ask your REALTOR to help you fill the SPDS as soon as possible.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Funding For Your Internet Business

Have you ever thought of or come across what you believe to be the right internet business opportunity but you don’t have start-up capital and enough money to stay afloat until you start making a profit?

There are several options which are open to you to get that start-up capital. Here are three of these options, bearing in mind the costs of repayment and timeliness.

(1) Loans from banks

Many banks do not do personal loans for business purposes. They may also be unwilling to offer a business loan for what they would undoubtedly consider a risky project. Read their terms and conditions carefully, paying particular attention of term of the loan and interest rates. Also answer all questions as honestly as you can.

Another option is to secure the loan on your home if you have one. You should think carefully about doing this, as you may risk losing your home if you fail to keep up with repayments.

If you have spotted that business opportunity and you are itching to start but do not have the funds, all is not lost. You just need to be very careful you do not overextend yourself, put you and your family at risk, alienate your friends and family or risk losing your home as you chase your dream.

(2) Loan from friends and family

This is a quick way to get funds required to start your business. However, it is important that you are totally honest in letting them know what the money is for.

If they know it is for you to start a network marketing business, they may not want to lend you the money due to the low success rate in the industry as a whole. On the other hand, they may lend you with the expectation that the risk exists you may not pay them any time soon. Thirdly, they may opt to give you the money instead, with a caveat to repay only if you re successful.

Their decision may be influenced by how much you require. Bear in mind that there is a significant risk of alienating your friends and family if you do not manage your finances appropriately causing you to default on your repayment or failing in the business.

(3) Get funding from investors

This is another option which you can tap on without borrowing from banks or friends and family. You may need to draft up a business proposal for the investors to evaluate the viability of the internet business. Usually there may be some benefits for the investors, in terms of higher returns or equity shares in the business. You can try at i buy lounge.com to post your ideas.

(4) Save Up for the opportunity

This is the least risky way of obtaining start-up and working capital. You will have pressure to succeed but not as much as you would if you had to repay a creditor. The downside to this option is that it may take you a while to save up. Would the delay make the opportunity less attractive in terms of profit potential? Would the market be saturated before you enroll? You need to do thorough research to establish this.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

4 Objectives Of Home Sellers

When a homeowner decides, he is ready and willing to sell his home, he must examine, using the utmost degree, of objective introspective, why he has decided to do so, and what he wants to achieve/ accomplish (his personal objectives). In my, over a decade, as a Real Estate Licensed Salesperson, in the State of New York, I have determined, there are a wide variety of reasons, but, in the vast majority of instance, these fall into 4 specific categories. With that in mind, this article will briefly attempt to review, examine and consider, 4 objectives of most home sellers.

1. Best possible price: Obviously, when one sells his house, he hopes to receive the highest, best possible, price, for it! However, to do so, requires a strategy and focus, and the realization and recognition, the listing and selling prices, might be considerably different entities, in certain instances. These sellers should have a thorough discussion with their real estate professional, to come to a meeting of the minds, to determine what price to list, the house at, and the reasoning. strategic purposes. Depending on many factors, setting the price, right/ correctly, from the start, generally, garners the best price. This does not mean, merely setting a high price, because there are many instances, where doing so, may do harm, to the final result. Smart homeowners have a complete discussion, before they proceed!

2. Shortest period of time: There’s many reasons, getting the home sold, in a relatively short period of time, is beneficial to a homeowner. Studies indicate, in the vast majority of cases, the best, selling price, is generally offered, in the first few weeks, because, that is when, it is perceived, the house is hot! Many potential buyers tend to wonder, if a house is great, why didn’t it sell, sooner! Generally, this occurs, when the listing price is higher than it should be! In addition, one should understand the opportunity – cost of money, because a homeowner must continue paying the costs associated with the house, until it closes (including taxes, utilities, mortgage payments, upkeep, etc). One should also understand the longer the process lingers, the greater, the stresses and inconveniences!

3. Best terms: Often, price is not the only factor involved. Some buyers might put more money down, while others might be willing to waive contingencies, such as for receiving a mortgage, etc. The fewer the contingencies, the less might go wrong!

4. Least hassle: When homeowner and agent, have a complete conversation, and share strategy and process ideas and considerations, there will generally be less hassle. Understand, often, the process of selling one’s house, is a tense period of time!

Professional, quality real estate agents, recognize, understand, and fully examine and consider, the seller’s objectives, and do everything possible, to provide the best possible service and advice. Will you be guided accordingly?

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

2 Dynamic Copywriting Tips to Sell Your Offers Like Crazy!

Is your copy failing to make the conversions you hoped for?

Well how would you like a few quick fix tips to help boost the response your getting?

If that sounds good to you then continue reading this entire article…

By applying the dynamic tips I’m going to reveal, you can take your copy from being a dud to being absolutely irresistible and compelling!

So lets begin with the first tip which is…

1. Sell Specifics, Not Generalities

Make sure that if you have any general words, statements or stories that you make them more specific. Why?

Because when you sell the specifics you make your claims a lot more believable. Especially when using copywriting over the internet.

If your target reader sees your message as vague then they’ll be highly skeptical to the claims you make within your copy.

Also using specific words generate a far greater emotional reaction then generalized words.

Take these two lines below for example… Which ones has more of an emotional impact:

„Last week I went to a restaurant and I had the worst experience ever“

or..

„Last Thursday I went to Ceros Heros, a popular Greek restaurant in my town, and the waiter tripped over my shoe spilling all the dishes on me. I rank that as one of my worst restaurants experiences ever.“

Do you see how much more emotional the specific statement is compared to the first statement, which is general?

If so then you understand dynamic copywriting tip and you should use it with all your copy for now on.

Now the second dynamic copywriting tip is…

2. Be „You“ First

When writing any kind of copy the target reader/listener/viewer must know he’s the target so the benefits exist to him.

The majority of your copy should be about what’s in it for your target. Not for you.

So instead of „these speakers look deluxe and sound amazing“, you would write „You’ll love the deluxe look of your speakers and how amazing the sound is in your home.“

That’s all there really is to it. Being „you“ first should be treated more as a rule rather than a guideline. If you do so then you’ll notice how your copywriting performs much better.

So in conclusion…

The next time you sit down to write copy, remember to convey specifics and talk about what’s in it for the target. Doing so will ensure that your copy gets a bigger response selling your offer like crazy!

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Your Online Reviews Can Make or Break Your Real Estate Deals

If you looking to purchase a product which is offered by different companies, how would you decide who to purchase it from? If you are like most of us, you would simply pick up your smartphone and read online reviews about each company and make your decision on those reviews. Well, the same goes for anybody who is possibly going to use your real estate services.

With the internet and technology making it easy and quick to access information about anybody, your potential clients will search for reviews on you. The reviews and testimonials they find online could be the difference between getting new clients, or losing them to someone else.

Get a Testimonial From Your Client After Every Closing

It is important that you obtain a testimonial after every closing if your clients are happy with your real estate services. Typically, the time of closing is a happy time for the client, and therefore, a perfect time to ask for a testimonial. It is always harder to obtain that testimonial at a later time down the road.

Tell your clients that it could be short and just be a few sentences. Many don’t like writing long reviews and may not give you one because of that. A short testimonial that’s to the point is just as effective.

Take a Picture With Your Client In Front of the Property

Along with asking for a testimonial at the time of closing, you should definitely take a picture with your clients. It is always preferred to take a picture at the property. An effective picture is to take a picture in front of the property while your clients hold the SOLD sign or the keys. The picture can be taken when you meet your client at the property to deliver the keys.

Displaying Your Testimonials on Your Real Estate Website

The most important place to display your reviews and testimonials is on your very own real estate agent website. Your real estate agent website is typically ranked higher in search engine results than your Facebook page and profile pages on Zillow, Trulia, realtor.com, and other large real estate marketplace websites. Therefore, you’ll definitely want to display your testimonials on your agent website.

You should have testimonials clearly visible on your homepage along with a separate page that displays all of your testimonials. Your real estate agent website platform should contain an interface that allows you to enter reviews and testimonials along with pictures of your clients.

Post to Facebook

If someone is looking online for reviews about you, they’ll most likely land on your Facebook page. Therefore, it is very important to create a „Just Sold“ post after every closing. The post should contain the testimonial by your client AND the picture you took with them in front of the property. Be consistent and do this for every time you close on a property.

Ask Clients to Submit a Review on Zillow, Trulia, and realtor.com

Anybody looking for online reviews about you will also most likely end up on Zillow, Trulia, and realtor.com. All of these sites accept reviews and it is important that you build up the number of reviews and your rating on these large marketplace real estate websites.

The review is submitted by your clients from your profile page on each of these sites. A client can submit a review by clicking on the „Submit Review“ button that appears on your profile page. To make it easier for your clients, send an email with links to your profile page for Zillow, Trulia, and realtor.com.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

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