Market the heck out of first-time buyers

You should stop what you’re doing right now and get on the phone or visit us online to get started on your marketing campaign advertising this great news!  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has just announced that the FHA is going to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment on a new house!  So not only are first-time buyers eligible to receive a credit when buying a home for the first time, but now they can use it as part of their down payment to drop their interest rate, or just have more cash at hand to start.

Don’t forget that this credit is not only available to regular first-time buyers.  Anyone who hasn’t owned a residence in the last three years qualifies.  And any type of home used as a primary residence, whether it be a single family detached home, condo, townhome, mobile home, co-op, etc. qualifies for this credit!  The money doesn’t have to be repaid as long as you stay in the home for at least three years.

So where are you going to start? 

-Send out an e-mail newsletter to your current database mentioning this news and ask them to forward it on to anyone they know who could be eligible.  Make sure you send a thank you gift to anyone who does refer you to somebody
-Send out a postcard campaign to an apartment complex in your area
-Mail out to your farm announcing this great development

There’s so many great ideas, and everyone who you’ve ever worked with or talked to about real estate should have some type of communication with you regarding this announcement, whether it be a phone call, e-mail, newsletter, or personal visit.  The phone call and visit are great suggestions to get in front of your sphere and influence.  If you’re trying to drum up new business, the e-mail and mailing campaigns are probably better ideas.  But it doesn’t hurt to always follow up with a phone call after!

We’re here to help with all your marketing.  We can get postcards mailed for you, draft and send out an e-newsletter, pull together lists of people to mail to, etc.  Any help you need, you got it!  Just visit us online or give us a call at 773-267-6167 to request a quote so we can get started right away! We specialize in real estate marketing and think now could not be a better time to get the word out that buyers should be buying!

Negotiate your way to a better deal

A lot of Realtors believe that when it comes time to negotiate a deal, if they don’t agree to everything the other side wants, that their clients will be at a great loss.  Fortunately for you, this is not true.  Negotiating tactics can help get your client the most for their money, or even save them money if they’re the sellers.  Jennifer Allan, a Re/Max Hall of Fame agent and author of several real estate books, offers these tips when it comes to negotiating.

1. If you are the listing agent, and the other side is in the process of finishing their home inspection, do not call the other agent asking how it went.  That could make them think that there are problems you’re hiding or are worried that something significant came up.  Let them make the call to you if they need to discuss something.  It makes you appear more confident that the inspection didn’t have any issues.

2. Most Realtors put the day the mortgage commitment is due into their calendar to call the lender or agent to make sure that approval is complete.  You shouldn’t be concerned about the buyer’s earnest money.  Wait a day or two, and then make the call.  If they don’t have the commitment done, then it’s their side who is losing their deposit.  A lot of attorneys (especially in Illinois) will even make this call for you to make sure the deal is progressing.

3. If you’re negotiating back and forth for several times a day and are unable to come to an agreement, hold off.  Especially if you are representing the seller.  Give the buyers some time to think that they could have blown the deal by not responding right away.  However, you don’t want to make them back away, either, so don’t allow this time to go for too long.  Just enough to push them into wanting the house even more.

4. Remember that you can always say no.  You don’t have to argue back and forth over a few thousand dollars.  You can always say no and say that your last offer is what stands regarding a repair issue, for example.  Who knows?  The other side may just agree to it.

5. Try to always find something to negotiate in a deal.  We’ve seen Realtors just accept contracts which makes our buyers feel that they came in too low, initially.  Even if everything looks perfect, try to ask for a tad more money for your seller or one more item included in the sale for your buyer.  Negotiating makes everyone think that they came out on top. 

Jennifer also says to always stay pleasant during these deals, even when times get tough.  You never know when you can encounter the same agent on another deal, and you want to make sure they’ll continue to work with you.  Everyone’s job is to best represent the interest of their clients, not of your own needs.

What other tips do you have when negotiating deals?  Jennifer has a few more tips here. Leave us a comment or visit us online.

Be a team player

We all know the results of great teamwork.  Take the Olympics for example.  You have the four members of a relay team competing for Olympic gold.  These four athletes rely on each other to win.  If one person drops the baton, the entire team is disqualified.  It’s important in the real estate industry to understand this concept if you’re working on a team.  And by “team,” we mean those who have one or more partners that all benefit from sales.

Dirk Zeller is the president and CEO of Real Estate Champions.  He trains agents throughout the country.  He wrote a great article on the importance of teamwork in the real estate industry. Here are some of his biggest tips:

1. Accountability.  It is so hard to know you’re being productive when you’re only accountable to yourself.  It’s so simple to say that you’ve worked enough for the day so you can now go home.  When you’re on a team, you need to be accountable to each other.  Make sure that reports are done with how many prospecting calls you made, what your time was devoted to in a given day, and how many deals were closed.  Turn these reports in and discuss them.  Changes should be made to team members who are under performing.

2. Cooperation.  A closed deal is a win for all team members involved and everyone should benefit.  It’s important that you’re all working toward one common goal.  And everyone should always be willing to help everyone else out.  You shouldn’t always assume that it’s one person’s job to take care of A, another takes care of B, etc.  While everyone has their own responsibilities, if someone needs help, a team player will always jump in to help.

3. Caring.  Caring for each other and caring for clients is key.  A great motivation for this category is to work toward a common goal, aside from making money in sales.  It might be nice if you reach a certain monetary goal that the entire team gets a vacation together or a big gift certificate to a favorite retailer.  It will motivate everyone to work harder and to support each other.   It also helps make everyone more…

4. Competitive.  While cooperation and caring are equally important, if you’re not competitive, you won’t be successful.  You should be striving to get more sales than the other agents in your office.  You should be competing to be the most helpful and giving the best service to your clients.  You want prospects to believe that you are the only team they should be calling when they have a real estate need.

Please write us a comment if you can think of other important attributes to real estate teams.  We’d love to hear them!  For help with your online marketing and client prospecting, please visit us for a quote online.

Pricing your sellers’ homes correctly

Price is one of the most important factors in getting a home sold quickly in this real estate market.  While your client might have the nicest house in their subdivision or neighborhood, if it’s not priced aggressively, buyers won’t see the value in purchasing it.  Real Estate Trainer Craig Proctor recommends having a serious price discussion with your sellers prior to listing their homes.  He says that clients will have the tendency to blame their Realtors if their home doesn’t sell, for whatever reason.  You have to do everything you can to let them know the market is at fault, not you.  So make sure to bring “proof” to every real estate listing presentation.  Here is what Craig considers to be good “proof”:

1. Prepare an effective Comparable Market Analysis (CMA).  You want to use homes that are as close to the subject property as possible.  Craig says to use “A summary page that lists 10-20 actives within the immediate area; whatever pendings that show up (it’s very important to point out that this is what the market is saying yes to at that very moment); 10 solds within the last several months or up to a max of 6 months if possible; and several expireds and withdrawns in the area (it’s important to make them aware that the wrong price caused these).” 

An additional part to the CMA should contain pictures with the property descriptions as written by their brokers.  The descriptions will help you know what features the other homes have that your subject does or doesn’t have to compare it to. 

2. Let them know that the price discussion is never over.  You want to prepare your sellers for additional meetings about the price changing in the future.  When you choose a price today, that is based on today’s data.  This data can change within hours or even minutes as houses go under contract or new ones come on the market.  In order to stay realistic and aggressive, you’ll want to compare market data every few weeks and determine if a new price needs to be chosen.  Craig suggests using this language, “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, I appreciate that you have given me the opportunity to market your home, but no matter what great programs I offer, I’m not good enough to overcome the market. I still need to price it right so at least I can attract buyers to come through the home and then offer them these programs. 90% of marketing, especially in the early weeks, is about pricing it in the right range. Now clearly I know I can negotiate the best deal for you and get you the highest net, but not if the price is scaring the buyers away from even viewing your house.”

3. You’re in charge of following up.  Your sellers will most likely not be the one to initiate another face-to-face meeting discussing the price of their home, especially if they wanted to price it high to begin with.  It’s your job to get in front of them and show them the current market data.  Make sure you bring in proof if you recommend a price reduction.  They’ll want to know what their strongest competition is. 

If your sellers are getting consistent showings without offers, it’s very likely that they’re overpriced.  No matter how the housing market is, buyers are often afraid to present a low-ball offer, even if the seller is willing to negotiate, so it’s important to be priced at market value.

For help with your real estate marketing, please visit us online.

Relief offered for struggling small businesses

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is working with Washington to help those small businesses that are having trouble paying off their current debt.  Unfortunately, businesses that have current loans backed by the SBA won’t be able to use new loans to cover their current ones.  This new program is tentatively called “America’s Recovery Capital” and the stimulus bill from Obama’s administration helped to create it.  The bill requires the SBA to create a program to back loans of up to $35,000 for small businesses that are experiencing hardship.  The loans can be used to pay principal and interest on loans for up to six months.

Businesses with existing SBA loans can apply for the new ARC loans but they have to use it to help pay down debt other than a current SBA loan.  These loans will come directly from banks but the SBA will offer the banks a 100% guarantee.  If the business owner defaults, the SBA will pay the bank back the full value of teh loan.  The SBA will also subsidize all the interest on the loans.  Payments won’t be due for a full year and business owners will have up to five years to pay them back.

Only “viable” small businesses will be eligible.  “A ‘viable’ small business is a business that has a demonstrated earnings history and proven record for success that may just need a little extra help to get through a short-term downturn,” Eric Zarnikow, the SBA’s associate administrator for capital access said during a recent presentation.

Congress has allocated $255 million to start up this ARC program.  It will have a higher lending amount since this money will be used for the interest subsidization and the loan guarantees.

Does your small business need help?  Read this article for more details. For small business marketing assistance, be sure to visit us online.