real estate agent

Critical Time Management Tips For Landlords and Investors

by Jason Hanson | October 2, 2011

It never ceases to amaze me how irresponsible, forgetful, or just downright rude people can be. For instance, if you’re a landlord, you know that 50% of people you set appointments with to see a rental property will never show up. Not only will they not show up, but they won’t even call and let [...]

7 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Tips

5 Key Steps In Hiring A Real Estate Agent

by Joe Manausa, MBA | January 25, 2011

I am always amazed when I see the typical real estate agent do their one deal of the year. Mostly, their customer is a family member who felt compelled to work with them because after all, “it’s family.” But what about all of the people who just work with the first agent that they find? [...]

19 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate

Is Your Realtor a GREAT Real Estate Agent?

by J Scott | August 11, 2010

There’s a BiggerPockets forum thread going on this week that addresses the issue of realtors, and whether they are worth their fee when selling your investment property. While I’m not going to address that particular issue in this post (suffice it to say, I believe great agents are worth every penny and not-so-great agents will [...]

10 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate

The Ten Best in RE.net This Week: June 20, 2010 Edition

by Dean Ouellette | June 20, 2010

1 ) REALTOR, it is such a hot button word for many agents. How many agents are told they cannot use the word the way they are using it such as in website names . . . a lot of them. Realtor -vs- Real Estate Agent. When is it Appropriate to Use the Term Realtor? [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Realtors

Honestly, I’m Not Making This Up: MLS Rants

by Florence Foote | March 16, 2010

Last week, I criticized the practice of some agents who hide potentially important information from buyers by putting it in the secret “agent’s only” section of the MLS called “private remarks.” I stand by that post: if it is important enough for the buyer’s agent (and would not cause embarrassment or a security risk) I [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

Realtors

Sex, Lies and the MLS: Why What You See is Not Always What You Get

by Florence Foote | March 9, 2010

I believe most people, and even most Realtors, are fundamentally honest. Not only are there moral reasons for telling the truth, but these days, given the number of lawsuits that arise from real estate transactions gone wrong, it is simply good business to be honest. Thus, I am continually amazed by what I find under [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

Realtors

Traits of a Great Real Estate Agent

by J Scott | March 3, 2010

Last week, my BiggerPockets.com blog article discussed the pros and cons of “Getting Your Real Estate License”… With that post in mind, I wanted to throw out some additional thoughts for those people who want to or plan to get their license to buy/sell their own properties. While the logistical parts of being a real [...]

5 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate News

The Ten Best in RE.net This Week: Feb. 27, 2010 Edition

by Dean Ouellette | February 27, 2010

1 ) Real Estate Investors – Don’t Be Seduced By Rickety Cash Flow – Good article for investors who are obsessed only with cash flow. This is one of my favorite topics I like to read Jeff Brown write about. His opinion always seems to be a little different than most opinions on cash flow. [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate

Rise and Fall of a Real Estate Agent

by Richard Warren | January 25, 2010

A few days ago I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen for quite some time. Bob (made up name) was a real estate agent I had come to know through networking. I first met him a few years ago just as the Las Vegas real estate market was starting to decline. Bob had been fairly [...]

6 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Marketing

Done Trying To Sell Your Home Yourself? Questions To Scare Prospective Listing Agents With In 2010

by Ryan Hartman | December 14, 2009

With 90% of buyers searching for real estate online, does it make sense to list with the guy who has the most signs in the neighborhood anymore? Questions For Prospective Listing Agents In 2010 Will you create a single property website for my property? Will it be syndicated? Can you set me up to watch [...]

5 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Tools

Furnishing Your Home Office on a Shoestring Budget

by Craig Grella | December 12, 2009

Last week, a few new investing partners and I took a drive around our neighborhood looking at potential short sale properties that were listed by local agents. Within a few hours of viewing the properties we had made an offer on two properties. I put together the packages including an offer, addenda, hardship letters, financial [...]

3 comments Read the full article →

Selling Real Estate

Real Estate Agents Can Process Short Sales in Seven Easy Steps

by Christina Inman | November 9, 2009

In my previous blog posts I told you that real estate agents who are tired of losing commissions to “short sale processing companies” are starting to realize that processing short sales themselves is well worth the effort. But, I’m not sure agents realize just how simple this process–which can net them some serious profits and [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate

Advantages to Having a Real Estate License When Pursuing Listed Properties

by Stephani Davis | October 22, 2009

It’s no secret that there are some smokin’ deals to be had on the MLS right now in the form of short sales and REOs. While having your real estate license is by no means a necessity if you want to score great deals off of the MLS, there are definitely some advantages to being licensed. Following are a few of those advantages..

Having access to the MLS

I’ve been wholesaling REOs for the last two years, and I can’t imagine doing so without having access to the MLS. Aside from being able to look up comparable sales, I can also do research to find out where the investor hot-spots are, as well as find out which properties have fallen in and out of contract multiple times, and which properties are due for a price reduction (I specifically target such properties). The MLS contains a wealth of information, and is something that I rely on heavily in my day to day investing activities.

Making a Commission on Purchases

Another upside to having your license when pursuing listed properties is that in many cases you will be allowed to take a commission on the deals that you purchase. While you may elect to give your side of the commission away to the listing agent in order to sweeten your offer, it’s always nice to have the option of making a commission on top of the profit you are making on your deal.

11 comments Read the full article →

Social Media

Why Real Estate Pros Don’t Need Facebook or Any Other Social Media

by Christian Russell | September 29, 2009

You’ve been told that as a real estate professional you have no business ignoring social media. It’s the wave of the future. You’ve been told it’s a great way to earn business and make money. You’ve even been told it’s mandatory. But I’m going to give it to you straight. You don’t need a Facebook profile. You really don’t. In fact, you don’t NEED to use social media at all.

Facebook is a Tool, Only a Tool

Good tools can make your work more effective and efficient. But they do not do the work for you. Facebook, Twitter, etc…these are merely tools. I do internet marketing consultation with many real estate professionals, and one popular concern that people have expressed to me is how to “get social media set up” or how to “get this social media thing knocked out”. I’ve been offered jobs to set up a bunch of social media profiles for brokers, because they don’t have the time to do it themselves.

The response I offer is “I appreciate the job, but if you’re too busy to even set up the profile, there’s probably not a lot of point in you having it!” Social media is not something to “set and forget”. You can’t “knock it out” or “get it taken care of”. A social media profile is only a tool. It’s an awesome tool, but it’s just a tool.

11 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate

Selecting a Realtor in a Small Town

by Richard Warren | September 28, 2009

Any real estate investor knows that having a strong real estate team is an essential part of the business. You need your attorney, accountant, title officer, lender and real estate agent. The last two are probably the most important. Today we’ll talk about selecting an agent.

Ely, Nevada In a city or a large town it’s fairly easy. You probably have hundreds of agents to choose from and you just keep going until you select one that meets your needs. Choosing someone to work with in a very small town is a horse of a different color. You may need to choose from a very small number and it’s possible that none of them will seem to fit the bill. I was recently faced with having to make that choice myself when it was time to list a property.

Defining the Parameters

Most of my properties are in the small mining town of Ely in northeastern Nevada. It is actually a very good real estate market with a strong demand for rentals. When I first started rehabbing there several years ago I had the opportunity to work with a truly outstanding agent. She knew the market and understood rehabbing and investment. Unfortunately after watching me make a lot more money than she did, she decided to go into rehabbing with her contractor husband and she left the business.

When she left I started working with the first agent’s associate. That worked out well until that agent left the area because of her husband’s job transfer. It was back to the drawing board for me. I defined what I was looking for in an agent and began my search.

1 comment Read the full article →

← Previous Entries