Real Estate Marketing Blog

The Future of Internet Advertising and Marketing

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:12:05 GMT

Why advertise in a declining market? Why spend more money to reach fewer people? Traditional advertising, in todays highly competitive market, has proven to be insufficient in helping many small businesses grow. Newspaper and Yellow Pages readerships continue to decline, while their cost to run ads are increasing. We guarantee that your average placement for relevant Google searches will be on the first page of the Google search results. It is estimated there are over 29 billion web pages in the world today all trying to connect to someone. About half of all American businesses have a website because they realize the need for an online presence but most dont know how to drive customers to their website. The real question is not do you have a website, but how are you driving customers to it? How can your products and services stand out in your local market when your customers are online? Introducing AdzZoo. AdzZoo is fast becoming a leading provider of internet marketing campaigns for small-to-mid-sized companies. While other advertising mediums continue to decline, the internet has continued to grow. AdzZoo offers local businesses a vehicle for reaching a desired geographic market without blowing the budget. AdzZoo is dedicated to helping local businesses reconnect with their local markets while offering a rewarding business opportunity to our Campaign Directors and Sales Representatives. Our goal in becoming a leading industry provider of affordable internet advertising campaigns for small to mid-size businesses, begins with our commitment to you, our clients. As your business becomes our business, AdzZoo goes to work to ensure that each internet marketing attempt achieves maximum reach and frequency. Visit us at http://www.AdzZoo.org for more information.

REIA - List of real estate investor associations across the United States

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:34:08 GMT

REIA - List of the real estate investor associations in the Atlanta, Georgia area and across the United States

Search Engine Optimization, Mistakes, and Solutions

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:05:09 GMT

Search Engine Optimization, Mistakes, and Solutions

Taxes Will Skyrocket Hello Rental Property!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:59:43 GMT

Last week, two local, successful businessmen asked to meet with me. After learning of President Obama's (and the Democrats in Congress) plan to dramatically increase taxes for the purpose of stealing money from America's achievers and giving it America's parasites, they had some questions about the tax benefits that come with owning rental property. After our meeting, I realized that there are probably a good number of business owners who may suddenly be very interested in sheltering their hard-earned income from the steal-every- cent-they- can politicians. Normally, when people think about rental property, they only think about the perceived negatives tenants destroying the property, not paying their rent on time, etc. Most folks fail to realize all the advantages that come with owning rental property. First and foremost, you have an appreciating asset for which someone else (the tenant) is paying. In addition, because the government is such a terrible landlord look at any government housing project they pay (with tax incentives) hard-working citizens to provide housing to folks who would otherwise be homeless. These hard-working citizens are called real estate investors! What types of tax incentives are offered to these investors? First, you are able to deduct the mortgage interest. Second, you are able to depreciate the property over 27.5 years even though, in most cases, the property actually increases in value. Third, the net profit from rent isn't taxed as earned income. Instead, it is taxed at the much lower long-term capital gains rate. Fourth, you are able to write off all repairs made to the property. Fifth, you are able to write off all improvements you make to the property over a number of years. Sixth, if you find a property you like better, and you follow the rules, you can exchange into the better property with absolutely no tax implications! Seventh and this is THE BEST reason to own rental property your tenant is the one paying the house off and giving you all these benefits! The guys I met with loved these benefits, but they weren't thrilled with the idea of finding or managing rental property. No problem. Real estate deals can be broken into the following parts: Growth, Income, Amortization, Profits, Management, Tax Benefits and Use. By dividing these up, win-win deals can be structured. Bottom line: With the coming massive tax increases, consider partnering with successful business owners to create win-win deals! NOTE: Naturally, everyone's tax situation is different. Being such, the folks you partner with should first meet with their CPA to make sure they can take advantage of all the tax benefits. Bill and Kim Cook live in Adairsville, Georgia. They have been successfully investing in real estate since 1995 and write a weekly real estate investing newspaper column. http://www.reioutpost.com/index.html

Internet - Web Site and Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals

Sat, 30 May 2009 09:05:26 GMT

Web Site and Internet Marketing - Increasing Traffic and Visibility in the Internet

Accelerate Earnings, Ways To Accelerate Your Earnings During Economic Slowdown

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:18:14 GMT

Accelerate Earnings - Ways To Accelerate Your Earnings During An Economic Slowdown

The Yellow Letter

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:25:31 GMT

The Yellow Letter

Realtors Are from Pluto, Investors Are from Uranus

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:21:17 GMT

North Metro REIA - Successful real estate investors association in Bartow County, Georgia. (NorthMetroREIA.com). Investors see realtors as nothing but a bunch of they-won't-present- my-offer, deal-killing, I-want-my-full- commission- no-matter- what sales weasels. On the other hand, realtors think investors are nothing but a bunch of low-ball-offering, commission-cutting, money-grubbing, scum-sucking- bottom-dwellers. Ah, a match made in heaven! (Sigh) Here's the main problem Plutonians and Uranusites have: It's a Plutonian's job to sell real estate. It's a Uranusite's job to buy (and hopefully keep as rental property) real estate. You see, right from the start they see themselves on opposite sides of the buy-sell fence. To take up for Plutonians and this is hard for me to do after having been called a "scum sucker from Uranus" by a good number of them their job is critical to the real estate industry. I hate selling real estate that's a realtor's job. All the calls, showings and buyer's questions it drives me nuts! Let me do what I do best go out and creatively structure win-win deals with sellers. Now, to take up for Uranusites the wisest and best-looking species in the solar system they can make deals work that no one else can. It's sad seeing such a huge number of homes going into foreclosure each month. Even sadder, most homeowners or realtors representing homeowners never call a Uranusite to ask whether the foreclosure can be stopped. Why not call? This is exactly what Uranusites do best! Upside down? No problem, let's do a Short Sale. Need a fast closing? No problem, let's do a Subject-To deal. House in terrible condition? No problem, let's get it rehabbed and flipped. Can't find a lender? No problem, let's get a private money lender. Truth is, we're NOT on opposite sides of the fence. Plutonians and Uranusites are both working toward the same goal solving the seller's real estate problem. The sooner both species understand this, the sooner we can all get busy cleaning up this real estate mess! One last thing: Hey, Plutonians, can we switch planets for awhile? When I hear the word "Uranusite," I think of something terrible that can be caught by swimming naked in the Nile River. Bill and Kim Cook live in Adairsville, Georgia. They've been investing in real estate since 1995 and write a weekly real estate investing column. http://www.reioutpost.com/index.html

Real Estate Postcards - Postcards that Get You More Leads, Listings, and Sales

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:53:26 GMT

Real Estate Postcards - Postcards that Get You More Leads, More Listings, and More Sales!

Direct Mail Campaign

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:49:52 GMT

Direct Mail Campaign

Marketing Is A Four-Letter Word!

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:01:28 GMT

Effective marketing is as much about consistency and repetition as anything else. Once youve settled on your message, then youve got to get it out multiple times to each prospect.

Web Site Content - Why

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:50:35 GMT

Every week I'm asked to look at business Web sites and tell the owners why they're not getting the results they want. Some of these sites are straightforward brochures, others are e-commerce catalogs, and some are those direct-mail-style pitches reminiscent of old mail-order magazine subscription schemes. Some have incorporated do-it-yourself audio and video, and some even have such media professionally produced... but, still, the results stink. Why? 'The Close' Is Always Found in 'The Why' Certainly part of the problem stems from a very narrow definition of what a Web site is: by casting your site in terms of a brochure, catalog, e-commerce-site, blog, or portal, you are falling into the trap of concentrating on "The What" rather than "The Why." This focus on "The What" is exacerbated by some search engine optimization techniques intended to drive traffic rather than to brand product, sell services, or convert traffic into customers. Traffic is important, but converting that traffic into paying customers is more important. Even the best and brightest search engine optimizers will tell you that their job is to deliver traffic, not ordersclosing the deal is your job, and anybody who tells you that closing can be done by means of some automatic never-touched-by-human-hands method is just plain nuts. What you want to be careful of is search-engine tactics and second-rate media that actually get in the way of effectively delivering your marketing messageof telling your business story, creating a memorable brand image, and above all generating profitable business clients. Web Video Is a Presentation-Marketing Strategy If you pay any attention to what's going on, you must be aware of the shift in Web thinking and the acceptance of Web video as a fundamental Web-marketing tool. But like most things, there is a right way and a whole bunch of wrong ways to do it. Web video is a presentation-marketing strategy, and its strength and power come from its ability to overcome the Web's natural sterile, isolationist environment by incorporating verbal and non-verbal human elements that effectively deliver bold, well-crafted memorable messages. Can a Web-video campaign cure everything that's wrong with your company, or even your sales department's deficiencies? Of course not. But the right message based on "The Why" using appropriate, cost-effective presentation techniques can position your business, brand your product, and generate sales leads.

Foreclosure Market Report

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:39:19 GMT

U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for 2008:

A total of 3,157,806 foreclosure filingsdefault notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessionswere reported on 2,330,483 U.S. properties during the year, an 81 percent increase in total properties from 2007 and a 225 percent increase in total properties from 2006. The report also shows that 1.84 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 54) received at least one foreclosure filing during the year, up from 1.03 percent in 2007.

Here's a look at the U.S. cities that were hit the hardest in the bust:

Top 100 U.S. Metro Foreclosure Market Data 2008
Rate Rank	State	Metb ro Name	Total Properties with Filings	Housing Units (foreclosure rate)	Change from 2007
1	CA	STOCKTON	21,127	9.46	99.16
2	NV	LAS VEGAS/PARADISE	67,223	8.89	121.31
3	CA	RIVERSIDE/SAN BERNARDINO	112,284	8.02	117.02
4	CA	BAKERSFIELD	16,208	6.17	115.42
5	AZ	PHOENIX/MESA	97,684	6.02	220.77
6	FL	FORT LAUDERDALE	47,387	5.95	127.81
7	FL	ORLANDO	46,843	5.48	195.84
8	FL	MIAMI	49,697	5.21	96.46
9	CA	SACRAMENTO	39,876	5.2	67.74
10	MI	DETROIT/LIVONIA/DEARBORN	38,106	4.52	-7.67
11	FL	SARASOTA/BRADENTON/VENICE	17,256	4.5	153.58
12	CA	FRESNO	12,571	4.2	102.5
13	FL	TAMPA/ST PETERSBURG/CLEARWATER	53,630	4.14	122.66
14	CA	OAKLAND	38,797	4.09	99.34
15	CA	SAN DIEGO	44,931	3.99	122.24
16	FL	PALM BEACH	23,399	3.71	96.33
17	GA	ATLANTA/SANDY SPRINGS/MARIETTA	67,007	3.26	33.29
18	TN-MS-AR	MEMPHIS	17,245	3.21	52.73
19	CO	DENVER/AURORA	32,920	3.2	23.61
20	CA	VENTURA	8,422	3.11	94.01
21	CA	ORANGE	31,300	3.06	150.38
22	FL	JACKSONVILLE	17,025	2.99	78.46
23	DC-MD-VA-WV	WASHINGTON/ARLINGTON/ALEXANDRIA	50,148	2.97	160.79*
24	OH	CLEVELAND/LORAIN/ELYRIA/MENTOR	27,693	2.94	-0.56
25	MI	WARREN/FARMINGTON HILLS/TROY	30,817	2.92	42.63

Will economy improve in 2009?

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:46:42 GMT

By Joel Furfari
Calling the current recession a "global event," Atlanta-based economist Dr. Donald Ratajczak told the Council for Quality Growth last month that he expects the U.S. economy to begin slowly improving in the second half of this year.

"Is it a difficult year? I don't know, but it's a very important year," the founder and former director of Georgia State University's Economic Forecasting Center told the group of real estate developers during its annual meeting at the Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place in Duluth. Georgia

During his approximately 20 minute speech, Ratajczak discussed the underlying problems that caused the economic crisis in 2008 and said he predicts the U.S. economy will continue to shrink until the third quarter of 2009, when it will show tiny growth.

Still, plenty of bad news could be coming down the pipeline, Ratajczak says. He told the audience that the financial crisis is being addressed in Washington, but that unemployment will continue to grow this year.

"We have a strong feeling that we've seen the worst of the shocks but we still have to absorb those shocks," he says.

Ratajczak told the Council's members that he predicts a 5.8 drop in the GDP during the fourth quarter of 2008, a 3.4 drop infirst quarter of 2009, a 1.2 drop in the second quarter of 2009 and then a miniscule .75 rate of growth in the third quarter.

What went wrong?
The Council for Quality Growth is mainly composed of Atlanta-area developers, contractors and engineers, so there wasn't too much sympathy when Ratajczak eviscerated the mortgage industry's role in creating the real estate bubble.

For example Ratajczak points out that mortgage companies were issuing adjustable-rate mortgages that lenders knew would be refinanced, allowing them to pocket highly profitable pre-payment penalties.

"We didn't actually realize how significant these financial shenanigans were in driving up real estate prices," he says, adding that betting on continuous price appreciation was "a bad game."

Other targets of Ratajczak's ire were the credit rating industry and the now-infamous credit default swaps, which are complex credit derivatives that act like insurance but avoid many of the regulations governing traditional insurance.

"The halo of regulation didn't protect all these activities, which we found out too late," he says.

Why be optimistic?
The biggest factor in any turnaround from the recession, Ratajczak says, is the federal government's willingness to actively prevent further collapse of the credit market through bailouts and an ambitious expansion in infrastructure spending.

Ideally, the bailouts will help supply the economy with credit and infrastructure programs will make the economy more efficient in the long-term. Ratajczak admits this is a serious recession, but another depression it isn't.

"During the Great Depression we allowed the collapse of banks and the collapse of credit markets," he says. "Now we're fighting diligently against that."

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Commercial Real Estate - How to Start and Create a Commercial Real Estate Empire

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:51:53 GMT

Commercial Real Estate - How to Start and Create a Commercial Real Estate Empire

Self Directed IRA - Investing options include Real Estate IRA Investments

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:05:12 GMT

Self Directed IRA - Self Directed Real Estate IRA Information

Effective Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Investors

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:03:43 GMT

Effective Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Investors and Professionals

Real Estate Training and Study Programs Diversified for Real Estate Investors

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 10:19:23 GMT

Real Estate Training Programs Recommended for Serious Investors, Agents, and Professionals.

Unwanted Houses

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:18:52 GMT

Recently we received a call from a very motivated seller that was desperately trying to sell. The same week I received a phone call from another seller in the exact same situation. Both of the sellers were desperate to sell due to a tenant situation.

People that cannot sell their houses, decide to rent them out and as a result they become inexperienced landlords. These sellers are not the type of landlords that are in the business of making monthly cash flow.

They are owners that may have an extra house that couldnt afford to make the second house payment, so they decided to rent it out, making it the only solution that seemed available.

With the current downturn in the real estate marketplace for sellers and with lack of management of tenants, many home owners are desperate because now they are upside down in a property that needs enormous amount of work, not to mention the possible eviction of their current tenants and other holding costs.

They are frustrated and mad of the rental business and come begging to get out from under these houses that they've rented. Some of the owners are now facing foreclosure, while others have just witnessed their tenants completely destroyed their homes.

There is hope for this home owners. You could still make money easily with these types of deals even though they appear to have no equity by short selling or taking subject to the existing loan.

Your first step as an investor is to get as much info from the seller to start the purchase process.

We bought one of these two homes, using a short sale process. The house was behind over 3 months and it had a second $22K. Using the "Subject To" technique, we bought it and requested a discount of the second for $1,500. The house is worth $150K and it has a first mortgage of $132K.

What made this house a good deal was that the first mortgage has payments of $773 (PITI) at 30 years and it is 5 years already into it. This particular house needed little repairs.

For exit strategy, we sold on lease purchase asking $3K down and payments of $1,100.

Loan-modification firms subpoenaed. Companies may be preying on desperate homeowners.

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:27:31 GMT

All are based in California. Such companies may be preying on desperate homeowners. By Margaret Jackson The Denver Post

Learning about Real Estate Investing

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:04:11 GMT

I'm often asked, "What's the best way to learn about real estate investing?" Well, it depends. Some folks learn best by reading manuals and studying theory. Others learn better by getting their hands dirty.

Since I don't read very well, if I want to learn about something, I like getting my hands dirty and talking with been-there-and-done-that people.

I started looking into foreclosures and REO's properties. Because I've had experience with carpentry, I decided to be a rehabber. Well I bought an ugly property and started remodeling so I could rent it and get all my money back (in 30 years?).

Instead of jumping into something that I didn't know much about, I decided to first get educated.

Reading books is easy but the problem is that it has little information about marketing, legalities, etc. and there is no one you can talk to for questions. I took it a step further and started attending real estate seminars and had the opportunity to talk with many "gurus".

Education gets many years of bad experiences and allows you to accelerate the way you buy properties correctly.

Remember, when learning about real estate investing, nothing takes the place of talking to an experienced, successful real estate investor who invests in your area! Assist your local REIA meetings to find these resources.

Be advised that the traveling "shows" that regularly come to town claiming that you can become a millionaire real estate investor by the end of the month, while only working ten minutes a week, are full of bolony!

Success takes time, persistence and hard work it ain't an instant-win lottery ticket!

Hope this helps you to see the steps we took to learn a new way to invest in real estate.

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How to Knock on a Seller's Door

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:06:59 GMT

There's something about knocking on the door of someone who is trying to sell their home that terrifies people. Folks mistakenly think that the seller will fling open the door, scream, "Go away!" and then slam the door!

Truth is, sellers are delighted to see you. Heck, if they had their way, twenty potential buyers would stop by each day until their house is sold. Sadly, especially these days, most sellers haven't seen a potential buyer in months.

First, when going to the door, don't worry about what you are wearing. Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable.

Second, when you go to the door, don't carry anything, (like a notebook or papers) in your hands. It makes you look like a salesman. Remember: You're not SELLING anything. You are the BUYER!

At the door, ring the bell and knock on the door. Often, the doorbell can't be heard or is broken but a knock can be felt.

As soon as you ring and knock, immediately walk about twenty feet away from the door. This means you'll be standing in the yard.

Why do this? So the homeowner will feel safe and comfortable. If you, a perfect stranger, are standing at the door, the homeowner is more likely to feel crowded and keep the door shut. It's hard communicating through a closed door. If you back away, the seller is more likely to open the door and come out on the stoop.

When the owner comes out, you say, "Hi, my name is _____________. I see your house is for sale. I'm looking for a house in this area. Would you mind telling me about yours"?

The seller usually answers, "What would you like to know?" I ask about the price, number of bedrooms, and why they are wanting to sell, etc. Before I can get all of my questions answered, eight out of ten sellers ask if I would like to see the inside. I usually answer, "Would you mind?" and in I go.

If you will give door-knocking a try, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how nice sellers are, I promise!

Subject To Real Estate

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:37:23 GMT

Subject To Real Estate and Programs

Other Methods of Lead Generation

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:34:27 GMT

Other Methods of Lead Generation and Finding Sellers

Finding leads - More Tips To Help You Find Motivated Sellers!

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:31:22 GMT

Finding leads - More Tips To Help You Find Motivated Sellers!

Real Estate Deadly Mistakes You Can Avoid

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:28:24 GMT

Deadly Mistakes You Can Avoid in Real Estate and your Business

Real Estate Bandit Signs for Investors

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:25:29 GMT

Real Estate Bandit Signs for Investors

Website Blogging

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:22:38 GMT

Website Blogging

Ways to buy Foreclosure Homes

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:40:02 GMT

Three Ways to Buy Foreclosure Property With a record number of foreclosures hitting the market, lots of folks are asking us how to buy foreclosure property. There are three methods we use: 1. We buy pre-foreclosure 2. At the foreclosure auction 3. From the lender if the property doesn't sell at auction (a.k.a. REO property) Out of the three methods, buying pre-foreclosure is BY FAR our favorite! It gives us the opportunity to structure a win-win deal with the seller. We are also able to use more of the deal-structuring tools in our real estate investing toolbox. Think of it this way: If we are able to buy a property pre-foreclosure, because it is a true sale, the homeowner prevents his record from being permanently tarnished. In addition, we're able to use a wide variety of deal-structuring techniques to buy the property such as: Short Sales, Subject To deals, owner carry-back financing, etc. One thing: Because you must meet face-to-face with sellers, buying pre-foreclosure can be the most difficult way to buy distressed property. Most would-be investors, because they don't know what to do or say to homeowners, are terrified of this method. Know that, as it is with everything, with time, experience and education, you will get better. The second way to buy foreclosure property is at the foreclosure auction. Though we have bought a good number of properties at the auction, it is our least favorite way to buy because there is only one way to structure the deal use a big dang hammer! In other words, you have to put cash on the barrelhead. No financing, no terms, no creativity, just 100 cash or certified funds. Yuck! This brings us to the third way to buy foreclosures. Because of the number of homes going back to lenders at the auction, buying REO property (Real Estate Owned or bank-owned property) is coming on strong as a great way to find a pennies-on-the- dollar deal. Just last month, we bought an REO single-family property in Atlanta, Georgia for only $30,000. Sure, the house needs about $15K rehab. Still, $30,000 for a house in Atlanta worth $125,000 what a great deal! Why are REOs quickly becoming THE way to buy investment real estate? With banks tightening up on lending, most investors can no longer get funds to buy at auction. This means that many of the properties are going back to the lenders unsold! Problem is, lenders are in the money-loaning business, not the home-owning business. For this reason, after the auction, many lenders are willing to deeply discount their REO property in order to get it off their books. For the record, because of the number of unsold homes sitting on the market, this is an incredible time to be buying investment real estate!

Creating business cards for your real estate investing business

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:45:13 GMT

Creating business cards for real estate investing business that work!

Foreclosures and How to Work with Home Owners

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:19:42 GMT

Foreclosures and How to Work with Home Owners

Marketing Using Real Estate Flyers

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:38:55 GMT

Real estate flyers and marketing flyers provide everything you need to effectively market your business for you.

Quit Claim Deed vs. Warranty Deed

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:32:39 GMT

When you're in the process of selling (or purchasing) a house, you will most likely, encounter several kinds of documents: all with different names and with different uses and functions. Two of the most misunderstood documents are the warranty deed and the quit claim deed. Many think that these two forms are alike, but they are not. A warranty deed is a document which the seller presents to you and is used in majority of all sales transactions. The warranty deed simply states that the seller owns the property being sold and that it is free from any sort of liens. By presenting a warranty deed, the buyer is assured that the holder of the title has the legal right to transfer ownership of the unit and is assured that no one (financial institution or other creditors) would come after him to make a claim on the property. In the eventuality that someone does lays claim to the property that has just been purchased (or that the claims stated in the warranty is erroneous), the buyer is further protected by law, and would be entitled to receive a form of compensation. Warranty deeds seldom stand alone as these documents are usually backed up by a title insurance policy. A quitclaim deed, on the other hand, is presented to a buyer by someone who does not necessarily own the property being sold, but holds responsibility for it. This occurs due to several reasons such as when the owner dies and bequeaths the property to one of his heirs, or when there is a marriage and the owner wants to include the name of his/her spouse to the title (among others). A quitclaim deed offers a lower level of protection to buyers. This kind of document is used primarily when the property in question will just stay within a family. Incidentally, there are times when both a warranty deed and a quitclaim deed are presented to a potential buyer. An example is when the property lies on the border of rivers and or lakes; where ownership of the underwater land on which his property stands on remains unclear. If you are unsure which kind of deed works best for your property, consult a real estate agent or a real estate lawyer.

Get A Free Credit Report

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:19:19 GMT

We've all seen the ads for free credit reports in our email and on various websites.

But are most free credit report offers real?

Unfortunately, most are not actually free. In fact, most require a monthly credit monitoring or other fee one that most people really don't need.

Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) consumers can request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companiesExperian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

Get Equifax Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 Now!

To get your copy, visit http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com and you can order your credit report online. Or if you prefer, you can make your request by phone or mail.

Other websites that claim to offer free credit reports free credit scores or free credit monitoring are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program.

What should you do if you find any wrong or damaging information on your credit report?

Contact the credit bureau that issued the report in writing (you can also file a dispute online.) Be specific about what you think should be removed, and provide an explanation.

By law, the credit reporting agencies must investigate your dispute within 30 days, and notify you in writingif the information cannot be verified as correct, it must be removed.

One way to monitor your own credit throughout the year is to order one credit report at a time, wait a few months, then order the next. While not all creditors report to each of the 3 major credit bureaus, this will give you a good idea about any changes in your credit.

What about your credit score?

Unfortunately, your credit score is not considered a part of your free credit report, and must be purchased separately. In most cases you do not need to order your credit score frequently, although it is a good idea to know your score before you apply for any major credit purchases.

Does credit repair work?

Credit repair does work. The credit reporting agencies must remove any items that are incorrect. And there is nothing that prevents you from disputing any item on your credit report that you consider to be damaging.

While the credit reporting agencies have no obligation to remove any items just because it hurts your credit, many individuals are able to get damaging items removed from their credit report, and improve their credit score, just by asking for the item to be verified.

But be careful there are many companies that will charge you a fee, basically to do what you can do on your own. And beware of any company that offers to create a new identity or credit file for you, as this is fraud, and can get YOU in trouble.

Get Equifax Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 Now!

Estimate the Market Value of a Property

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:31:20 GMT

Often people fail to make a profit from property investment when they do not understand the true market value of their chosen property, both in terms of resale and rental income. Investors hoping to purchase a run-down home or off-plan development and sell it on at profit when the work is complete; a practice known as flipping, are often caught out by over-inflated prices or under-estimated renovation costs. On the other hand, lease-purchase investors can be seduced by suggestions of high rental values and then disappointed when these do not materialize. Whether you're planning to flip a property or lease-purchase, it is important to ensure that you do not pay over the odds, as money saved on the purchase price will lower your mortgage costs and increase your profit margin. Understanding the local market One of the best ways to estimate the potential value of a property is to understand the local market. Fortunately there are a number of tools to help you do this: Use the internet - Zillow.com now provide information on all properties sold in the United States. Through this you can access information on the property's value, public and loan info. Remember this information will not be up-to-date, but it may give you a broad idea of what the current owner paid. Browse estate agent listings - Using the internet and local papers, you can soon get an idea of the market value for different types of property in the area. It is also worth arranging a couple of viewings, allowing you to make suitable comparisons when you have decided on a place to purchase. If you are planning to lease-purchase, it is also worthwhile speaking to a few investors or real estate agents to try and gauge the general rental prices expected. Again rental listings on the internet and in local papers will help to verify the amounts tenants will be prepared to pay. Once you have decided on a property and feel confident that it reflects the true market value, it is advisable to carry out a full inspection with an real estate inspector. Although it is not a requirement for mortgage lenders to inspect the property, the inspector will look at inaccessible parts (such as the roof, floors and drains), in case that there may be a serious defect. By having a inspection, they will be able to identify such defaults and advise on the potential cost of repair Unfortunately there is no silver bullet approach to accurately valuing property and one of the secrets to running a profitable property business is investing time and money to ensure your buy your property at the right price.

What happens when sellers call ! ! !

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:52:37 GMT

What do you do when a seller calls? If you are new to real estate investing, the first thing you do is simple << PANIC >> !!!

I still remember the first time I got a call from a seller. Because I had no idea what to say, all the seller heard was static. When I finally talked, I stuttered my head off I sounded like M-M-Mel Tillis. When the call ended, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die!

Truth is, there is not a real way to handle a seller's call. Some investors have a seller's call go to a voice mailbox. Others have the call go to a live operator. I think that if someone took the time to call, I should give them the courtesy of talking with them.

Here's another difference among investors:

What to say to the seller on the phone. Many gurus provide some type of detailed seller contact form. They instruct their students, that when a seller calls, to ask each question on that form.

The goal is to determine whether the seller is a motivated seller. The thought is this: If a seller isn't motivated, why waste time meeting with him?

Although this sometimes truth I do it slightly different. When a seller calls, I only want to know three things: 1) What is your name? 2) Where is the address of the house? 3) And how motivated are you?

Why don't I fill out an elaborate contact form? Experts say that 90 of communication is non-verbal. If this is true, then it means that when you talk to a seller on the phone, you're missing 90 of what the seller is saying. How can you be a successful investor if you're missing 90 of the conversation?

With this thought in mind, most of the time is best to meet with the seller face-to-face.

Here are two bonuses that come from meeting with non-motivated sellers:

1. The seller is likely to remember you. Therefore, if three months go by and his house still hasn't sold, he may turn into a motivated seller! If this happens, who do you think he is more likely to call you or someone he talked to on the phone?

2. Three months after meeting with you, the seller bumps in to a friend who is desperate to sell. Who do you think he'll tell his friend to call you or a guy he talked to on the phone?

Just remember, if you want to be a successful real estate investor, you have to meet with a lot of sellers on a regular basis!

Real Estate Auctions Tips

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:31:09 GMT

The popularity of real estate auctions are growing in the USA. Commercial and residential property are available to upper and middle class people. No longer is being wealthy a prerequisite of having the ability to bid on property. Why are real estate auctions so popular? This is something you should investigate before you commit to your first auction. Some believe that both buyer and seller are benefiting from such auctions. It is a fact, the popularity a real estate auction will drive up the sales price. As the seller, you can determine the selling date of your home. This means, if you are currently sitting in a home valued at $235,000 and the opportunity arises for you to get your hands on a newer home because of a builder's buy-out sale, you can place your home in a real estate auction and know it will sell. It won't be long before you are packing up the kids, the dog, and moving into your new home. When real estate property values are down, the easiest way to unload a home is with a real estate auction. You can work a real estate auction as an independent auction company who obtains its own properties to sell or a partner with a real estate broker who provides you with properties to sell. The benefit of being an independent is a full commission. Some states require that you have a realtor's license. If you attend an auction, I would recommend following the guidelines of that state. You will more and likely invest some capital into marketing your services to home sellers or real estate firms. The most work you'll do is what has to be accomplished through advertising. Working a real estate auction is really a comfortable way of selling properties. There is not protocol to attending, except for the real estate license, and it is up to you how much money you can make.

Great Marketing Techniques

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:52:17 GMT

Here are five successful marketing techniques you can use to increase sales. All of them are simple and they're effective for building any businesses.

1. Keep Adding Something New
Every time you add something new to your business you create an opportunity to increase sales. For example, something as simple as adding new information on your web site creates another selling opportunity when prospects and customers visit your site to see the new information.

Adding a new product or service to the list of those you already offer usually produces a big increase in sales. The added product increases your sales in 3 different ways:

a. It attracts new customers who were not interested in your current products and services.
b. It generates repeat sales from existing customers who also want to have your new product.
c. It enables you to get bigger sales by combining 2 or more items into special package offers.

2. Become a Valuable Resource
Look for ways you can be a resource for your prospects and customers. Supply them with FREE information. Help them do things faster, easier, less expensively. You get another opportunity to sell something every time they come back to you for help.

3. Separate Yourself from Your Competition
Find and create a reason for customers to do business with you instead of with someone else offering the same or similar products. For example, do you provide faster results, easier procedures, personal attention or a better guarantee?

Determine the unique advantage you offer to customers that your competitors do not offer. Promote that advantage in all of your advertising. Give your prospects a reason to do business with you instead of with your competition and you'll automatically get more sales.

4. Promote the End Result
Your customers don't really want your product or service. They want the benefit produced by using it.

For example, car buyers want convenient transportation with a certain image. Dental patients want healthy and good-looking teeth without suffering any pain. Business opportunity seekers want personal and financial freedom for themselves and their family.
Make sure your web pages, sales letters and other sales messages are promoting the end result your customers want.

5. Anticipate Change
Change is the biggest challenge to your business success. The days are gone when a business could constantly grow by simply repeating what it did successfully in the past ...or even recently. Aggressive, innovative competitors and rapidly changing technology make it impossible.

Expect change and prepare for it. Don't wait until your income declines to take action. Develop the habit of looking for early signs that something is changing. Then confront it before you start to lose business.

Wholesale Flipping Houses - How to Locate Wholesale Properties

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:51:21 GMT

Wholesale Flipping Houses - How to Locate Wholesale Properties

Real Estate Terminology, Terms & Definitions - Investing Glossary

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:19:34 GMT

Real Estate Terminology, Terms & Definitions - Investing Glossary

Marketing for Real Estate Agents

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:57:35 GMT

The core marketing components to every effective agent's arsenal should include at least 5 or more of the following strategies

The starting point: List the property in the local MLS

On-Property Marketing - This strategy includes the traditional elements like home properly staged, yard sign, property flyers, thank you cards, property cards and custom visitor folder.

Online Marketing - In addition to your rock-solid, SEO rich website jammed with great search tools, neighborhood maps, condo buildings and other rich resources, you must have a blog working in concert with your website. Begin blogging about all the wonderful activities you can experience in the area, market stats, neighborhoods and so much more. Distinguish yourself as the area expert! Link the blog back to your website for added SEO power.

It is also important to "Go Social". Make sure you are using "word of mouth" social media marketing strategies like:

Entrepreneurs.com
Fast Company.com
Real Town
Localism
Active Rain
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Squidoo
Flickr
Real Estate Voices

and many other social media portals. In these settings, forget the hard sale, it's all about offering reliable information.

National High-Traffic Real Estate Websites - The goal here is place your client's property in the bulls eye of your area's home buyers. This plan includes syndicating the listing to high-traffic national websites including:

Realtor.com
Craigslist.com
Google Base
Trulia.com
Zillow.com
Oodle.com
Yahoo Real Estate Classifieds

Think viral -Place your neighborhood videos on YouTube and syndicate them through TubeMogul.com.

Direct Mail Marketing - Of course any agent worth his or her salt will utilize many of these time-tested strategies including:

Just Listed Postcards
Just Sold Postcards
Direct mail postcards quarterly to your farm community
Peer to peer marketing targeting other top producers

Print Media Marketing - While I'm not as high on this media, many areas still lean heavily on print ads. Options include:

Newspaper Classified Ads
Newspaper Display Ads
Homes and Land
Harmon Homes
The Real Estate Book

Mobile Computing Marketing - In light of the impressive array of APP's available to mobile computing home buyer's, you should target iPhone users in a heartbeat! Armed with their property search "APPS", agents should tap into the power of mobile computing and make sure your properties appear in the Trulia Property search APP. With the sale of 3 Million new iPhones in this quarter alone, you are missing a golden opportunity if you are not taking advantage of this tech-savvy segment of iPhone carrying home buyers.

Posting on Craigslist

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:58:35 GMT

I have been getting many questions on the basics of posting a free ad for properties on CraigsList Classifieds. This is a quick process to posting to CraigsList Classifieds.

Posting a free advertisement on Craigslist is a simple andinexpensive way to advertise your real estate property on the web. Posting an ad is a short and easy process. It is quick and painless. You will need to do the following steps to post your free ad. First go to CraigsList.org, and locate the closest city you live in. In case you arenot familiar with the geography, here are some popular locations you can post your classified ads.

housing

apts / housing
rooms / shared
sublets / temporary
housing wanted
housing swap
vacation rentals
parking / storage
office / commercial
real estate for sale

We assume you only want to advertise locally. Otherwise, select all cities that apply. Once you have decided on the city, you will need to click on the link post to classifieds. Next you find the most appropriate category. There are times when multiple categories may suit you. For example if you have a lease purchase home to sell, it may qualify to put it in either "Real Estate for Sale" or "Apts/Housing".

In that case, post your ad in multiple categories, but make sure the ads in the different categories are different because Craigslist does not allow the same ad multiple times. Under the category heading, select apts/housing for rent link. Now, you type in the title and description of your property. Of course, there are different types of classified ads.

The advertisement needs to have a catchy title to grab readers attention, for example, "Bad Credit OK, Rent to Own, Only $1500 down and $800/per month". After you have finished typing your ad, wait for verification to ensure you are human. Type in the verification code andagree to terms and conditions, login to your email account, click on the email from CraigsList, and click on the link within the email. A new window should open, next review your ad, and publish. The steps are as simple as that. Anyone can do it.

After 20 minutes, go back to the category you've posted and make sure that your ad has been listed. Sometimes Craigslist will block some keywords and your all will not be posted and they won't notify you. It that's the case, look for words like "foreclosure + REO" in the same add or the word "auction" or websites like tinyurl.com or imageshack.com.

Hope this information helps you with your marketing campaign so visit our main page for more marketing info at http://www.GreatMarketingGuide.com/

Make Deals Work Creatively

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:49:00 GMT

Todayreal estate investors are moaning about the current real estate market. They say the market is dead, that no one is buying, that mortgages are impossible to get and that everyone is going under!

To make matters worse, these same investors have quit going to REIA (Real Estate Investor Association) meetings and seminars. They figure it's a waste of time and money.

Honestly, I want to hit these folks with a big I-can't-believe-you-can-be-so-stupid stick.

This is a GREAT time to buy investment real estate! In almost fourteen years as an investor, I've never seen a better buyer's market. Interest rates are low, housing prices are at rock bottom, and lots of folks need a good place to rent!

Sure, you may have to get creative to make deals work, but that's why smart investors regularly attend investor meetings and seminars, to learn how to make the impossible deals possible.

Here's an example of a creative deal we just did.

Alocal real estate investor, called the other day. He had some folks who wanted to lease/option a house he managed. The problem, they couldn't do the deal until they sold their manufactured home.

Hemet with the owners. Their place was incredible; it's one of the cleanest homes I've ever seen! Better still, they owned the manufactured home outright.

After some discussion, they agreed on a sale price. Problem was, it's nearly impossible for an investor to get a loan on a ten-year-old trailer in a trailer park. In addition, the seller needed $3,000 to be able to move into the lease/option property.

To get this deal to work, the owner agreed to owner-finance his manufactured home for five years at $100/month principal-only payments IF we agreed to put down $3,000.

This brought up another problem, he was $3,000 light of having to do the deal. What to do? A bank won't loan me the money and my wallet is as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cubbards!

He calledanother investorand told him if he would put up the $3,000,he would owner-finance the property out the back side, give him half of the down payment, half of each month's mortgage payment and half of what we make when the property sells.The oter investoragreed to the deal.

In the end,they all got whatthey wanted: The sellers were able to sell their mobile home and move into the house of their dreams. Our investor was able to fill a vacant propertyand the second investorwas able to pick up a deal that gave him some cash flow and half of the upside. Andwas able to pick up another rental property without using any ofhis money.

What is your USP?

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:08:36 GMT

The question in the minds of each prospect that talks with you is Why should I choose you?. How do you differ from others and why will that difference help your prospect buy or sell a home? This is what marketers call a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

Your USP should include:

who your target audience is
what youll do for them
why thats different from what others are offering
why that solution matters to your target audience

Your USP should be based on your strengths, passions, talents and skills. How does what you bring to the interaction help your target audience? If you decide to target investors and you have a 10 year background in financial services, mention that. If youre a single mom and have been helping single moms buy homes, mention that. If you offer a solid guarantee - such as if the home doesnt sell in 90 days, youll buy it - mention that.

For a USP to be successful, it must also address the key concerns of your target audience. You arent meaningfully differentiating yourself from others because you wear a trendy new tie each day, love animals, or have 3 kids you showcase in all your advertisements. Rather, your USP should explain why youre the best person for the job based on your background, experience, passions, skills, and knowledge.

Your USP is dependent on your target audience. Youll never be everything to everyone - but you can be the best for a niche group of people - and thats what you should strive for.

Also note that you must be able to do what you say. If you cant, you dont have a USP, you have a gimmick. Gimmicks may work during the short term, but as soon as clients find out that you cant deliver on what you say, theyll leave - and probably tell a number of people about your shoddy service.

Raising Your Income 10-25 Per House and Keep Your Tenants!!

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:23:09 GMT

I'd like to share some ideas with you to help you increase your income on each property that you already own. Any way that you can increase your income on a property is worth looking into. There are many ways to increase your income without increasing the rent itself. You may know some of these and you may not but sometimes it is just as important to be reminded, as it is to learn something new.

The first way is to lease appliances. You may be able to pick up a washer and dryer for a couple hundred dollars or less and rent to own them to your tenant. They will pay anywhere from $25.00 to $60.00 to rent from you. What if your property doesnt have a washer/dryer connection? How about asking the tenant how much they would pay to have one installed.

You will be surprised how much a tenant will pay to avoid the weekly laundry mat trip. You could do this with any appliances, furniture or added improvements. How about sending all your tenants a letter listing any improvement that you can think of (new deck, vinyl siding, carport, fenced in yard, etc.) and asking which ones they would be interested in paying a little extra to enjoy? Isnt it still your property? You are getting paid to improve your home!

Now, in that same letter put a list of appliances and furniture that they could rent to own from you and the monthly payment. Anytime you get a call from a rental center to verify your tenants occupancy, you should immediately contact the tenant and offer to rent whatever they are wanting.

What we have been talking about is the same principle as buying paper at a discount only in our examples we are working on a smaller scale and we are creating our own paper.

Biggest Mistakes That Real Estate Investors Make

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:09:23 GMT

1. Paying too much for property - Listening to in the Box thinkers who will always tell you, it dont work like that around here. Or, We dont do it like that around here. Avoid those people. I came across a Realtors ad, proclaiming that he was the discount king. Out of curiosity I called this realtor and began to interview him. When he told me that he was very successful at getting 5 discounts regularly, I complimented him and told him he was probably a great resource for Consumers, but that I needed better discounts as an Investor.

When I told him that I needed 30 discounts he proceeded to tell me that was impossible. That might work in a place like Utah, but you obviously dont know our market. After letting him know that I attended elementary school a few blocks from his office, been invloved in Real Estate for several years and helped Investors Atlanta buy properties as recently as the month before, he continued to tell me that buying at a 30 discount was impossible. After telling him that we had just closed on ahome for $120,000 (Comped at $200,000), his best response was Well if you can do that, you dont need me. I had to agree.

2. Buying Functionally Obsolete property. This is property that has a physical layout problem, a physical anomally such as 7 foot ceilings, or has a physical location problem, without preparing a solution for that problem, and setting aside funds for that solution. Buy a Functionally Obsolete property without remedying the problem, and you can count on becoming a motivated seller.

3. Engaging in the wrong activities and wearing themselves out (which leads to mistakes #1 and #2). What is the worst wrong activity?

Driving around and looking at homes.Investors dont have sufficient time or energy to drive around looking at homes.

1) No one has the personal time or energy to drive around looking at homes.
2)The market doesnt give Investors enough time to drive around and look at homes.

As one friend put it so well, If I drive out to a property, when I get there it already belongs to someone else". I tell my students to behave as if they have 15 minutes to make an offer. What if the property has been on the market for a long time? Then apply Frits Rule, which is No property is interesting to other Investors, until its interesting to me. While that is intended to be humorous, Ive encountered numerous properties that sat for long periods of time, but as soon as I was ready to make an offer, offers were coming in. Move quickly.

Anything that keeps you form getting properties under contract properly, will keep you from success. That is an Investors job description; Getting property under contract properly.

Finding Good Investment Deals

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:56:44 GMT

Real estate investors looking to make that first real estate investment have undoubtedly become aware that finding a good income property can be daunting. Good real estate investment deals are either hard to find or they are already taken. This article will explain how to locate good investment opportunities that are hidden from plain view.

Develop a good working relationship with a real estate professional. A qualified real estate salesperson can be an excellent resource for you. You can build trust by exclusively working with one agent.

Look for people who are in the business of selling their own real estate. Often you can find someone with a treasure trove of inventory that is motivated to sell some of it off.

Look for code violations. Local building codes sometimes change during the course of ownership and put a seller into a difficult spot, for example when the state passes a law to require buildings of a certain category to have fire sprinklers installed, or earthquake reinforcement. The required investment to do that work may be more than the owner has to spend, and in turn might motivate the owner to sell at a reduced price instead.

Look for foreclosure-REO. When lenders foreclose on a delinquent loan and buy the property themselves at a foreclosure sale, they end up with real estate owned property (REO property) which they generally prefer to sell rather than operate. REO properties can sometimes be a prime source for good deals.

Look for sale by owner. It's common for owners to market their own properties to avoid paying a real estate commission. When properly handled, sale by owner (FSBOs) can be a good source for good deals.

Look for management problems. Properties in need of maintenance can be an indicator that the owner no longer has a heart (or the cash) to continue managing the property and might want to sell. A call to the owner expressing your interest in the property might be all it takes to negotiate a good deal for yourself.

Run your own numbers. Regardless what resource you pursue, always run the numbers yourself, and do not naively accept numbers for a rental income property given to you. Making a small investment into affordable real estate investment software will help protect your investment.

Knowledge is King

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 11:24:00 GMT

When it comes to creative deal structuring, most new real estateinvestors are lost.

In the beginning,we only had one tool in our deal-structuring toolbox - a big darn hammer. Meaning: If we wanted to buy a property, we applied for a mortgage, waited 30 to 45 days for it to close, did the rehab, put the house up for sale, and finally, after what seemed like a very long wait, sold the property and deposited the profit in the bank.

Because we were new and inexperienced, we didn't know anything about creative deal structures like: Subject-To deals, lease options, short sales, wrap around mortgages, owner carry-back mortgages, pre-foreclosures, REOs and private money lenders.

Where did we learn to structure deals creatively? At our local REIA's (Real Estate Investors Association) monthly meetings.

The meetings gave us the opportunity to meet with and talk to experienced investors. In addition, we were able to learn something new about real estate investing from that month's featured speaker a speaker who was usually a savvy dealmaker.

Fact is, if we hadn't joined our local REIA and attended the meetings,we would still be doing our deals with nothing more than a big darn hammer!

Last week, ata local REIA, William Tingle was the guest speaker. When it comes to "Subject to", William knows his stuff and is one of the best teachers you will ever meet.

At the meeting, an investor we knew was surprised that we were there. It amazes me that some people think that learning has an end. Learning never ends. It's a rest-of-your-life sort of thing! I'm reminded of something my mother taught me: When you're green, you grow; when you're ripe, you rot.

Now, I have a question. We're good friends with many of the been-there-and-done-that investors in Georgia. Why didn't more of our friends join us to listen to William teach? After all, a Subject To is one of the strategies that's working right now.

Oh yeah, that's right, the Olympics were on and Phelps was swimming. Haven't you heard of TIVO?

I believe when folks look back at 2008 and 2009, all will agree that it was a fantastic time to buy investment real estate. Incredible deals were done, fortunes were built and millionaires were made. However, if you're not in the game, you can't play!

This is the time we, as real estate investors, all need to be attending our local REIA meetings and learning the latest deal-structuring techniques. Remember when it comes to investing in real estate, knowledge is KING!

Rookie Mistakes

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:33:47 GMT

A new investor, let's call him Jerry, just missed an opportunity to pick up about $50,000 in equity from a real estate investing deal.

What happened? A "VERY" motivated seller called the We Buy Houses ads. Jerry got the first call. The seller told him that she needed to sell her house immediately.Jerry met with her later that afternoon andthe seller toldJerry that she wanted her house gone quickly and needed the mortgage paid off.

Jerrytold the seller that he needed to "check some things out" and promised to get back with her "soon". Sadly, Jerry made a rookie mistake by leaving without getting a signed Purchase Agreement.

By the next afternoon, after not hearing from Jerry, the seller got nervous and called me remember, she was a VERY motivated seller who wanted to sell quickly. Because I work a concentrated area, I wasn't far away and agreed to meet her immediately .

Driving into the neighborhood,we figured that the average house was worth about $165,000.

The seller's housewas in excellent condition and we quickly learned that the payoff was only $117,000. In other words, she was willing to walk away from about $50,000 in equity.

Over the years, I've learned that incredible deals like this one only stay on the market for a day or two before they are gobbled up by a buyer who's willing to pull the trigger (i.e. do the deal).

I don't know why Jerry walked away from this deal to "check some things out" butwe do know that our net worth increased by $50,000 because of his mistake!

You're probably asking, "But what about the importance of doing your due diligence?" True, you always need to do your due diligence before buying a property. However, you can get a property under contract and then do your due diligence.

How? Here's a clause that's in all of our Purchase Agreements: This offer is contingent upon inspection of the property within (blank) days after the Binding Agreement Date. If inspection is not satisfactory to Buyer or Buyer's assignees or agents for any reason, then Buyer may declare this Agreement void and will immediately be due a full refund of any and all earnest money .

This clause gives the buyer a number of days, which the buyer sets, to do his due diligence. If, FOR ANY REASON , the buyer doesn't like the deal, he can walk away AND get all of his earnest money returned.

My point is this: when you find a greatdeal, immediately put the property under contract. If you fail to do this, you can bet that the next investor the seller talks to won't make the same mistake a mistake that can cost you $50,000 or more!

Puzzling over Internet search marketing?

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:21:08 GMT

Is your site attracting the people who are searching for what you sell?

If not, your search marketing efforts (or lack of!) are probably to blame.

Consider this: There are almost 134 million people in the U.S. alone regularly using the search engines to search for information online, according to Marketing Sherpa. And of those, only 64 look past the first page of results!

So naturally, when someone does a search for what you sell, you want YOUR site to show up at the top of the results.

That's where search marketing comes in. We've written in detail about a lot of search marketing techniques . A lot of people wrote in telling us they just weren't clear on how all the strategies fit together.

Well, if you've got the jigsaw puzzle pieces but not the picture on the box, you're not going to get far. So here's a quick overview of how everything works together...

What exactly IS search marketing?

Search marketing is the catch-all term for:

Search engine optimization (SEO)
Pay-per-click advertising (PPC)

They are both ESSENTIAL to achieving the online marketer's dream of a top listing. Let's take a look at search engine optimization first...

Search engine optimization -- how to rate HIGH in the free listings.

Search engine optimization is all the different strategies for earning top rankings in the search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo. These are called "organic" or "natural" listings.

You can actually direct the way your site is listed (and improve your ranking ) by giving the search engines what they're looking for. The goal is to show the search engines that your site is relevant to searches for your top keywords. Then, they'll place your site in the top results when people are searching for your product or service.

SEO should be at the core of your overall Internet marketing strategy! It's inexpensive. It's effective. And in fact, most of the things you do to optimize your website are totally FREE!

However, it can be slow. When you're starting out, you'll probably have to wait awhile before you show up in the search results. That's why you also need pay-per-click advertising, the absolute fastest way to get TARGETED traffic to your site.

Head over to our blog to find out how Google fights for order and 7 SEO strategies you can start using right away to maximize organic traffic.

Real Estate Marketing Blog

The Future of Internet Advertising and Marketing

REIA - List of real estate investor associations across the United States

Search Engine Optimization, Mistakes, and Solutions

Taxes Will Skyrocket Hello Rental Property!

Internet - Web Site and Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals

Accelerate Earnings, Ways To Accelerate Your Earnings During Economic Slowdown

The Yellow Letter

Realtors Are from Pluto, Investors Are from Uranus

Real Estate Postcards - Postcards that Get You More Leads, Listings, and Sales

Direct Mail Campaign

Marketing Is A Four-Letter Word!

Web Site Content - Why

Foreclosure Market Report

Top 100 U.S. Metro Foreclosure Market Data 2008

Will economy improve in 2009?

Commercial Real Estate - How to Start and Create a Commercial Real Estate Empire

Self Directed IRA - Investing options include Real Estate IRA Investments

Effective Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Investors

Real Estate Training and Study Programs Diversified for Real Estate Investors

Unwanted Houses

Loan-modification firms subpoenaed. Companies may be preying on desperate homeowners.

Learning about Real Estate Investing

How to Knock on a Seller's Door

Subject To Real Estate

Other Methods of Lead Generation

Finding leads - More Tips To Help You Find Motivated Sellers!

Real Estate Deadly Mistakes You Can Avoid

Real Estate Bandit Signs for Investors

Website Blogging

Ways to buy Foreclosure Homes

Creating business cards for your real estate investing business

Foreclosures and How to Work with Home Owners

Marketing Using Real Estate Flyers

Quit Claim Deed vs. Warranty Deed

Get A Free Credit Report

Estimate the Market Value of a Property

What happens when sellers call ! ! !

Real Estate Auctions Tips

Great Marketing Techniques

Wholesale Flipping Houses - How to Locate Wholesale Properties

Real Estate Terminology, Terms & Definitions - Investing Glossary

Marketing for Real Estate Agents

Posting on Craigslist

Make Deals Work Creatively

What is your USP?

Raising Your Income 10-25 Per House and Keep Your Tenants!!

Biggest Mistakes That Real Estate Investors Make

Finding Good Investment Deals

Knowledge is King

Rookie Mistakes

Puzzling over Internet search marketing?