Tag: 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

  1. 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.  
  2. Optimize your search results by using your target market’s key word phrases. Use these words in your advertising and marketing.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Leverage all social media sites to increase your advertising efforts: Pinterest, Facebook, twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
  8. 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.
  9. 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!
  10. 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.

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.