realtor – REeBroker Group

Make Your MLS Listing Stand Out!

Make sure that when leads are searching for their Dream Home that *your listing* shows up

When writing information regarding your new listing, don’t just regurgitate data and numbers. You need to create a descriptive story and build a lifestyle that draws in prospective buyers.

10 Tips on Getting Your Listing More Attention

Get creative with your Listing’s descriptions. Yes, you’re limited in liberty but use the properties best features to draw in interest. Use photos with unique features and angles. Create a video house-tour and let your creativity blossom. Create a narrative, a vibe, a mood while showcases the properties most valuable characteristics.
Optimize your search results by using your target market’s key word phrases. Use these words in your advertising and marketing.
Use QUALITY real estate listing photos. If your budget allows, use a professional. If not, you can do your own photography, but pay attention to lighting, staging, curb appeal, etc.
Utilize email to get your listing in from of leads. Use one or two of your best photos and include important items such as: location, notable features, etc. Have a call to action whether that is replying to the email, filling out a query form, or visiting a landing page. Make sure your subject like is clear and concise so your leads will open the email.
You want to capture your target audience with a variety of marketing avenues. Therefore, create a special landing page and/or a specific property blog. This is where you dazzle your leads with photos and video detailing all valuable of the property and surrounding community. This is where you get creative! Have calls to action, simple capture forms, and a free download to increase your conversion rates. As in all marketing be sure to include those targeted key words throughout the post or page content to ensure maximum exposure.
If your listing shows well – host an epic open house! Capture that lead in-person, face-to-face. Market the open house both offline and online. Stage and prep the home. You may also want to print out buyers guides with information about the listing and local community.
Leverage all social media sites to increase your advertising efforts: Pinterest, Facebook, twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Send snail mail – email is great but target the local community with high-quality branded mailers. Use those professional-quality photos and create a beautiful postcard or brochure, but make sure to include an URL to your landing page, blog, video-tour, etc.
Share the listing with other agents and brokers in your sphere of influence. Be personal and encourage them to forward your listing on to other agents/leads in their network. Real estate is all about how you use your network!
Be consistent with your branding – present your listing as a unique experience that conveys similarly across all marketing channels and platforms. Use consistent text copy, font style, color theme, etc.

Need to join an Association or MLS board to get your listing process started? Check out REeBroker Group who has broker membership to over 55+ Associations through California.

Top 10 Lead Generation Tips

By: Sarah Vance

1. Build partnerships. Your success begins with networking with other local businesses and real estate professionals in complementary industry niches such as insurance companies, title companies, bankers, lenders, staging companies, landscapers, cleaning services, etc. Anyone that is you can form a mutually beneficial alliance with will help you in being more successful.

2. Send a handwritten note. Personalization goes a long way when communicating with past and present clients. You can also follow up on the card/note with a phone call days later to ensure they received it, have any questions, and ask for a referral.

3. Advertise. You will want to invest in yourself and your business with paid advertising. There are many companies that will allow you to create a campaign within your budget no matter how big or small. Some effective ways to advertise yourself include traditional and technology or internet-based such as billboards, local newspapers, neighborhood canvassing, Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads, Google ads, blogs, etc.

You may also want to consider advertising options specific to real estate agents such as REALTOR.com, Zillow, Trulia, etc.

4. Build your own website. Personalize your brand and web presence by brandishing your specialties, niches, and client reviews. SaleCORE allows you to customize a website unique to your market area: https://salecore.com/pages/12514564/salecore-for-reebroker-group-agents.aspx

You can optimize your personal websites by writing valuable content regarding the buying and selling process. Create a unique and helpful “how-to” video.

5. Develop a niche. Choose a niche and become an expert! A niche will allow you to focus your targeted marketing efforts and become the go-to real estate professional for those buyers and sellers.

Check out some of our REeBroker Group webinars on choosing and building a niche.

Some examples of typical real estate niches are historic homes, luxury homes, neighborhoods, student rentals, school districts, first-time home buyers, condos, distressed properties, seniors, divorcees, commercial, land, etc. The possibilities are endless!

6. Use “Coming Soon” and “Sold” signs. These are tried-and-true ways to generate interest – so don’t skip these integral items!

7. Generate leads on LinkedIn. Join LinkedIn Groups for your target audience and contribute to the conversations with knowledgeable answers and comments. Build rapport before pitching your services.

8. Organize educational events. Host educational events that will build rapport with your niche market and community. This will help boost your personal brand as well as get some new business prospects.

Partner with other local businesses and set-up a home-buying seminar over lunch. Co-hosting will broaden your audience base and increase leads.

9. Don’t neglect leads. Whether hot or cold. Even if you showed that prospect a dozen homes before they realized they weren’t ready to commit. Don’t discard their information – send them follow-up postcards, emails, texts, etc about new market developments. You want them to remember you when the time comes that they are ready!

10. Target FSBO listings and Expired Listings – for more information of how to earn their trust check out our previous blog post.

Buying a Short Sale (REO Property)

By: Sarah Vance

A typical short sale transaction may run through (any or all) of the following steps:

1. Identifying potential short sales – buyers can look at pre-foreclosures online, courthouse, legal ads, etc.

2. View the property – go physically inspect the property and consider what renovations/repairs that may need to be completed.

3. Do your research – What’s the FMV? Is there profit potential?

4. Find all liens and mortgages.

5. Figure out the financing – have your financing figured out, because once an agreement is approved it may be too late to shop mortgages.

6. Contact the lender.

7. Complete the lender’s short sale application.

8. Assemble to proposal.

9. Negotiate the terms – it’s not uncommon for counteroffers, so establish your limits and budget beforehand. Don’t be afraid to walk away!

10. Seal the deal.

What to Expect – time, patience, and understanding through closing. The process can be complicated for the seller and therefore may take additional time. The buyer is receiving a great deal and investment as long as they are willing to put in the time.

Example of timeline process events: appraisal, inspections, approval of seller’s bank, and buyer’s lender.

Common mistakes of short-sale buyers – don’t make these mistakes!

+ Ignoring property problems

+ Skipping the home inspection

+ Ignoring legal and insurance information

+ Leaving too little time of closing

+ Falling hard for a bad home

The time frame of the contract to close – average about 3 months (min 2 weeks to 6 months)

What affects the time to Close Of Escrow:

+ Number of lenders and who each of the lenders are

+ Types of lenders

+ Homestead property

+ Retrieval of documents, responses, and all other communications from all parties

+ Offer contract terms? Bank’s counteroffer?

+ Buyer’s financing option

Submitting the “right” offer – know the seller’s motivation and strategy while working with a professional. Ultimately, it is the bank that decides the terms of contract acceptance for the short sale and forgiveness of deficiency of debt. So, the “right” or best offer is one made at fair market value.

Submitting a low offer – is a gamble, one that allows room for a competing offer to come in and be more attractive than yours. If you are offering what your comfortable with and what your budget allows then that is acceptable, however, be sure that you are not wasting time.

For more information on REO (bank-owned) properties/short sales including seller’s eligibility, pricing, required documents, tax or credit implications check out REeBroker Group’s Mentoring Program training documents.

Your Home Sales Process at a Glance

By Sarah Vance

Looking to sell your home and don’t know where to start? Follow these 10 easy steps to get you started.

Step 1: Choose listing agency and sign the listing agreement. Price your home to sell based on FMV (fair market value) and CMA (comparative market analysis). Both of which your listing agent may provide as well as a better understanding of the market in your neighborhood.

Step 2: Prepare your home for the sale. Clean, de-clutter, depersonalize, and neutralize. You may also consider home staging, carpet replacement, and repainting. You only have ONE chance to make a FIRST impression, so make it a good one!

Step 3: Marketing your home. Approve your agent’s marketing campaign and advertising plan. This should include (but not limited too): MLS system, syndication to Zillow and Redfin sites, social media, personal website, etc.

Step 4: Show your home. Make it accessible via lock box or keypad rather than appointment only basis. Be flexible. Prepare for an Open House if your agent prefers to hold them. To Open House or not to Open House should be agreed upon in your marketing plan.

Step 5: Review and negotiate (if applicable) any offer using counteroffers. After you’ve accepted an offer your agent will open escrow and order a title policy for you. *Ask for a receipt for the EMD*

Step 6: Schedule an appraisal. Or if they buyer is getting a loan, the lender may order an appraisal. Be sure to check with your agent.

Step 7: Deliver seller disclosures. This is where any known material facts or problems with the property will be disclosed.

Step 8: Cooperate with all buyer’s home inspection scheduling requests. Ask your agent to provide you with a home inspection checklist so you’ll know in advance what the inspector will want to see. Prepare the attics and basement for inspections, too. Move stuff away from the walls in the garage, and make sure there’s a clear path for the inspector to get through.

Step 9: Negotiate Requests for Repairs (RR). If the buyer requests repairs, you as the seller are entitled to a copy of the home inspection. You also do not have to accept the buyer’s requests, but if their inspection contingency is still in place, they do have the option to back out of the contract. You may also find that the buyers may accept a closing cost credit instead of a repair. Ask the buyer to release contingencies. The buyer is not obligated to provide the contingency release if you don’t demand it. All contingencies must be released in writing.

Step 10: Close of Escrow. Finish signing any final paperwork and hand over the keys. The transaction records will enter into public record and, as specified in the contract’s buyer possession rights, you might be required to move on the day the home closes or even in advance.

All sale proceeds will be wired to your bank account (minus commissions, credits, and other feeds as outlined on your closing statement).

Need more information on the home buying process? Check out our previous blog post.

What Kind of Negotiator Are You?

Written by: Sarah Vance

There are 5 kinds of negotiators: competitive, collaborative, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. What’s your style?

Competitive negotiators are results-driven, assertive, and aggressive.
Collaborative negotiators are honest, understanding, and creative in finding solutions.
Compromising negotiators conduct fair dealings and judgments even at the expense of their own superior outcome.
Avoiding negotiators hate conflict and are easily stressed or intimidated. They prefer to stay under the radar.
Accommodating negotiators build and maintain relationships; are attentive to needs; and sensitive to emotions.

5 Tips on Negotiating a Real Estate Deal

If you find yourself in a competitive market space and your clients agree, try locking in the property with an escalation clause. Escalation clause states that the seller agrees to pay a certain amount more than the highest offer received. There will usually be language capping the total sale price, to ensure buyers/investors do not agree to more than they can afford.

Negotiate in person. Reactions to tone of voice and body language is often better received than guessing the intentions and tone of an email or text message.
Never make the first offer. Most negotiations end up “splitting the difference.” Let the other party speak first. This allows for you, the second party, to define the midpoint. Also, there is a chance that the other party’s first offer will be better than the first offer you would make.
Talk less and listen more. Embrace the awkward silence, one party will likely offer concession to break the uncomfortable situation. Whether is 30 seconds or 15 minutes, expert negotiators will employ this tactic to receive successively lower offers without having to present a counteroffer.
Do your homework. Know everything you can about the subject matter of your negotiation as well as the person you’re negotiating. Find out what’s important to the seller is it money, escrow period, contingencies, etc.
Always ask for and receive the last concession (something the other party gives) in a negotiation. If the other party realizes that each time, they ask for something they will need to give something they will likely stop asking.

Need assistance in negotiating a real estate deal? Join a mentor program!

Keep Yourself Safe In The Field

Written by: Sarah Vance

The natural processes of buying and selling a home often make real estate agent’s a prime victim to crimes. Most crimes against real estate agents are crimes of opportunity. Therefore, avoid providing the opportunity for crimes to happen.

Reasons why real estate agents may be targeted:

Real estate agents often work alone
Schedule showing appointments with random members of the community
Advertise open houses
Visible signs of wealth
Women are more likely to be attacked than men

Tips that may keep you safe:

Hold open houses during day-light hours.
Instruct owners to put away valuables, photos, and prescriptions. Make sure home is insured.
Do not wear expensive jewelry, flaunt luxury items or a full wallet because that may imply that you’d be a valuable hostage.
Avoid being alone at isolated homes. Have another person with you or inform someone that you will be checking in and if you do not, they should contact you.
Ensure cell phone works and emergency contacts are programmed.
Have visitors sign in: full name, address, phone number, and email.
Walk behind the prospect, direct them do not lead.
Always check the premises before and after the Open House. Don’t assume everyone has left and check that all windows and doors are locked.
Inform the neighbors – have them be your eyes and ears to anything out of the ordinary.
Carry small self-defense weapons with you such as pepper spray or a handgun (if its legal in your area). Safety alert devices are also great because they send distress signals directly to police station at the push of a button.

Stay safe in the field! Listen to your gut. Real estate agents are taught to be polite and accommodating to all people, however, often those who have been a victim of a crime ignored a client’s unusual behavior. So, if you feel uncomfortable or that something is amiss don’t ignore or dismiss those feelings. It is okay to leave as quickly as possible; your safety should be your number one concern.

Contingency Removals

What to Know About Contingency Removal by: Sarah Vance

Need to know what a contingency is – check out our previous post here.

All Parties Should Fully Read and Understand
the Purchase Contract They Are Signing

It is important to know what your contract says. Some purchase agreements (such as the C.A.R Residential Purchase Agreement) requires an active removal of contingencies for a real estate contract versus a passive removal. Therefore, an active removal requires an action like all contingencies must be removed in writing and are not automatically removed with the passage of time.

Each contingency has its own default time period/removal date based upon the terms and Acceptance date of the purchase contract. This date is defined in the offer as when the buyer will remove the contingencies and commit to a firm intent to close escrow. The appraisal, physical inspection, and buyer’s investigation contingencies have a defaulted removal date of 17 days after acceptance and the loan contingency has a default removal date of 21 days after acceptance.

What happens if the contingencies are not removed?

If the contingency period (date) has passed for a contingency to be removed, then the seller (or buyer) may issue a Notice to Perform. This is a tool designed to ensure all parties are sticking to their contractual duties defined in the purchase agreement. The Notice typically allows 48 hours for the other party to remedy the situation otherwise the transaction may be cancelled by the issuing party. Even though the Notice to Perform is in every real estate agent’s arsenal, it is highly recommended to not use it at the first sign of a passing removal date. As an initial step, as a real estate professional you should maintain open communication with the buyer or seller to discover the reason for the delay and work towards solving the problem.

As a seller, it is important to remember that purchasing a property can be stressful and with a lot of moving parts making mistakes and missing deadlines may be unintentional. In some instances, it may even be out of their hands especially if it involves a lender or an appraiser.

Therefore, if a contingency date has come and gone choose empathy first towards the buyer or seller situation and the Notice to Perform as a last resort. This will help to ensure that the transaction continues to move forward in an amicable way without stirring up unnecessary strife.

When contingencies are removed, what does that mean for the buyer and seller?

It means that if the buyer does not close escrow, whether due to lender or unsatisfaction with the property, then the buyer may not be entitled to a return of buyer’s deposit.

What is a Contingency?

What Contingencies Are in My Purchase Contract? By: Sarah Vance

Does Your Purchase Contract Protect You?

To start we should answer the question, what is a contingency in real estate? It is a condition or action that must be met. The contingency clause essentially gives parties the right to back out of the contract under certain circumstances without legal consequences.

Contingencies for a real estate contract are put in place to protect the buyer when they enter into a purchase contract to ensure that before close of escrow, they are satisfied with all aspects and conditions of the property. In a standard purchase agreement, the following contingencies are the most common:

Loan contingency giving the buyer time to obtain financing for the purchase of the property.
Appraisal contingency protects the buyer by ensuring the property is valued at a minimum, specified amount.
Physical inspection/buyer’s investigations, also referred to as due diligence, gives buyer the right to have the home inspected within a specified time period.
Sale of buyer’s property which allows the buyer to place their home for sale so that the escrows may work in tandem with one another.

Sellers may also have contingencies in place such as:

Finding a replacement property
Closing on a replacement property

There are other contingencies that may apply if the buyers and sellers agree to those circumstances during negotiation period.

The contingency removal period (ie: the removal date) is negotiable between the buyer and seller before signing of the purchase agreement. For this reason, the shorter the contingency period is more favorable for the seller because the sale may move forward more quickly without the buyer having opportunity to withdraw from the contract. On the other hand, a longer contingency period is favorable for the buyer because they have more time to ensure the property is the right fit for them.

Choosing the correct negotiation stance can be a tricky business when you are trying to bring two parties into a purchase agreement that is favorable to both sides. If you find yourself in need of new, or refreshed, negotiation techniques you may want to seek guidance from a real estate mentor. REeBroker Group has an amazing Mentor Program with a team that will assist you step-by-step in all thing’s transaction related including negotiation tactics for listing, purchase and services. For more information, check out their website here: https://reebroker.com/MentorshipOnlineAgreementForm.aspx.

Next week we’ll be discussing contingency removals and what that means for your real estate transaction.

How to Earn the Trust of Expired Listings?

How to Provide Value to Expired Listings – Connect with the Homeowner/Seller. By Sarah Vance

Disclaimer – It is no secret that when a listing expires, real estate agents know about it! Did you miss the last blog post – see the Top 3 Reasons Why Listings Expire. Understanding these three key areas of real estate listings will be monumental in your marketing and advice to homeowners that have fallen into these pitfalls.

Expired Listings is Real Estate Farming 101 and that’s because it works for agents who really follow through with their marketing plans. Therefore, you must provide something of value to the seller. Give the seller realistic goals and expectations. Do not oversell or under promise! Use your expertise to your advantage and play to your strengths.

The seller after their listing expires will be bombarded with postcards, flyers, letters, and other similar solicitations from real estate agents in the local market. If will need to ensure that your material stands out, so it doesn’t get thrown out. Make it colorful, oversized, customized, add some swag, and if you can: hand deliver. Be creative and don’t be afraid to explore different options to see what works best in your area!

Your solicitations should be encouraging and supportive in message and tone. If you are reaching out within the week that the Listing expired, most sellers, at this time, may be frustrated with the fact that their home did not sell and may not be receptive to more real estate lingo and advertisements. Your marketing should be consistent, direct, but not aggressive. Use your experience, recent sales, and neighborhood market expertise to show that you can bring something new and fresh to the table. If the homeowner seems distrusting, then you may want to switch your marketing plan to providing consultative services.

If the property is not re-listed and you have not received a listing appointment by week three, you should be trying to reach the seller directly by phone. The follow-up phone call should be to 1) see if the owner received your service package and 2) ask to view the property so that you can have up-to-date information for potential buyer clients. Get your foot in the door (literally)! This property preview could give you some one-on-one time with the seller and gather more information on the listing – if you come prepared you may even be able to give your Listing Presentation and Marketing Plan during the preview! Plus, if you can’t get the listing you may have a jump start on potentially being the buyer’s agent.

Be sure that you are checking the MLS weekly or driving by the property looking for yard signs to ensure that the listing hasn’t been re-listed with another brokerage or gone For Sale By Owner (FSBO). If it has gone FSBO – your marketing tactic will change, and you will want to change up your message and tone.

Don’t have a good marketing strategy, scripts, or Listing Presentation. REeBroker Group’s Mentoring Program provides top training, business collateral templates, and step-by-step guides to ensure you are prepared for each and every real estate transaction.

Beware of Real Estate Scams

August 16, 2019 – Sarah Vance

Online Money Transfer Scams are Rampant in Real Estate Industry

All Buyers, Sellers, and Real Estate Professionals should be informed and capable of conveying the truths behind the scams facing real estate transactions.

Electronic Funds Transfer

Wire fraud scenarios happen seamlessly. For example, just imagine, a hacker embeds a small attachment or virus into an non-suspicious email. When the recipient of the email, agent or client, opens this email a program is automatically implemented onto their computer. Then copies of agent, client, escrow, and title email communications are received by the hacker. When the time comes for a buyer’s funds to be wired to escrow, the hacker simply must switch the escrow account number in the escrow instructions to their own account number. Following the altered escrow instructions, the buyer completes the wire transfer into the hacker’s account. At the point when the parties figure out what happened, the money is gone and becomes almost impossible to recover. Hackers are using advanced and technologically savvy methods to maneuver and deceive people. For more information on countermeasures and reducing the risk of real estate wire fraud please read here.

Escrow Fraud

Another version of real estate scam comes to agents and clients alike in the form of an escrow façade. The industry has seen an uptick in these cases where both agents and clients have been victimized by what is being coined as escrow fraud. An example of this scenario is when the listing office and brokerage may request clients to use their own, in house escrow company as part of the terms listed in the purchase agreement. The clients then deposit their earnest money deposit (EMD) into the requested escrow account. After collecting EMD on several transactions, the escrow company disappears. By the time the agent or clients realizes the scam, the money is gone to an undisclosed offshore or personal account.

Today’s real estate transactions often involve the wiring or electronic funds transfer (EFT) of money to complete a deal. We want to remind all real estate professionals that escrow, wire, and EFT fraud is still a current crisis in the industry even with growing awareness surrounding the scams. Here are some tips to ensure that you and your clients are protected from this kind of criminal activity:

When possible, use alternatives such as cashier’s checks. For smaller transactions, make the payment in person by check or credit card. Always receive the receipt for your records.
Obtain phone numbers and account numbers of real estate agents and escrow-holders at the beginning of the real estate transaction and use those numbers throughout the transaction.
Never act on a change of wiring or EFT instructions that you receive electronically (via e-mail) or via phone call. If you (or your client) receive an instruction change about wiring or EFT of funds, call the real estate agent or escrow officer and verify new instructions before sending money.
Do not send personal information (bank account numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and financial details) by personal e-mail or text. Take steps to use a secure, encrypted site to send personal information, or provide this information in person.
Use established, reputable escrow companies. Do your research and due diligence!

If you (or your clients) are victimized, it is crucial that you or your client contact your depository institution and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) immediately in order to have a chance at halting the criminal transfer. File a report with the FBI by calling a local FBI office or reporting online at FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Their web site is: bec.ic3.gov