Archive for February, 2011
5 Real Estate Blogging Tips For Agents
5 Real Estate Blogging Tips For Agents
If you enjoy blogging consider adding a blog about real estate to your website.A blog brings you closer to the people who you want to connect with and can give them a better idea of your personality and what you can do for them.If you take the time to show your prospective clients who you are and how you can solve their problems it will up your chances of them actually calling you up.
Be passionate!
If you are passionate it will show in your writing no matter how inexperienced a writer you may be.Readers of any kind can tell if youre bored or just doing this so youll have some unique content on your page.If youre not passionate about what you write you wont convey a very good impression on your blog.Dont blog if you dont enjoy blogging.
Write how you speak.
Not only is it easier to write how you speak it is also more likely to convey your enthusiasm about your subject.Refrain from utilizing a grandiose lexicon and ostentatiously exhibiting erudition.Nothing shrieks “Look at me!I know all these words!Hire me because Im smarter than you!”Any fool with a thesaurus can compose the above sentence and your potential clients dont want someone who is going to make them feel stupid.
Write on subjects your clients want to know about
Your clients dont need to know that Idealville is the very best home for them; chances are that if they are on your site they have already come to that conclusion or at least have determined that its the best theyre going to get.Either way theyre not looking for you to tell them why they should buy here.They are looking for information about schools the pros and cons of various neighborhoods and locationspecific real estate issues.
If you can tell them in detail why they should make sure to get a mold inspection before they buy do so.If you can let them know that theres an annual Maple Sugar Festival in the area theyre contemplating go for it.Just dont sport with their intelligence or yours by writing another terminally dull “Idealville real estate is the best real estate in the entire country of the United States because we have a lot of singlefamily homes condos and townhomes!Isnt that exciting?”
What you want to convey is that youve been there done that and have succeeded.You want your prospective customers to feel that you have the same aims and interests as they do when it comes to real estate and you are able to help them solve their problems.
Spelling and grammar shall be thy gods and thou shalt keep them holy
While you should write like you talk you should make an effort not to spell like you talk.Spelling and grammar are kind of like a MLS listing.You can have “Somewhere in Idealville smallish house” or you can have “123 Listing Lane: 2 bedroom 1000 square foot house with fully landscaped fenced yard with carport”.Spelling and grammar help you say exactly what you want to a potential lead.They also help you get leads as someone who is careless in these matters may well be careless in others.This may not be true but its how some buyers/sellers think so its worth taking the extra time to carefully read over your blog post and use a spell checker.
Talk about it
If theres something going on in your area concerning real estate talk about it!If its news to you its news to the people who are looking at your site.Maybe its something they missed while skimming the paper or maybe its something they were specifically searching the Internet about either way if you have useful information they can use let them know about it!If you have time dont be afraid to do a little digging yourself and publish the results.
You can use negative press to your own positive ends if there is a news item out there about how 56 of real estate agents dont do a good job reference it directly and speak out about how you think that real estate agents should do a good job and what you personally do to ensure your client is happy.Offer to discuss the issue with people who post on your site.Go to war on your blog for the rights of clients to have professional representation.There are many ways you can use news items to further you and your business.
There are many great tips out on the Internet for writing a blog that will help get you leads do a search for “how to write a good real estate blog” on Google for some good ones.For more generalized writing advice hie thee over to CopyBlogger.com for some great writing advice and tips.If you take anything away from this article it should be: Be Yourself Be Passionate and Write With the Client in Mind.
About the writer: For local personal attention to your Las Vegas real estate needs visit eHome Realty your professionals in the Las Vegas Valley. You’ll find information about Eldorado Las Vegas real estate and more at eHomeLV.com.
You Own The Business Should You Own The Space?
You Own The Business Should You Own The Space?
Dollars Sense
By Denice Gierach
As published in the Naperville Sun March 5 2006
Both individuals and businesses are faced with the choice of whether to lease or purchase property.
Many of the same considerations apply whether the property is an automobile a personal residence or an office condo or building. These considerations need to be weighed by the individual or company to determine which is the right decision for you. The following are just a few of the considerations to weigh. They are set out using the example of a purchase versus a lease of an office condo or building:
Cash outlay. Typically if you are planning to buy office space you can expect to make a down payment of up to 25 percent of the purchase price depending on the lender and your credit. When you lease office space you won’t need to put down nearly as much. With good credit the typical outlay is the first and last month’s rent which is only about 10 percent to 15 percent of the cash outlay required when buying office space.
Opportunity cost. With a large outlay of cash required to purchase office space the opportunity cost of that money needs to be taken into consideration. You need to compare the return would you expect to receive on that money invested in the office space to the return you would expect to receive if the money were invested in your business or other investments.
Fixed versus variable cost. When you buy office space you have fixed your cost as you will be paying a monthly mortgage amount. If on the other hand you decide to lease your lease cost may go up depending on the market conditions.
Growth considerations. If your company is in a highgrowth mode buying property may be the wrong choice as you cannot determine what amount of space you may ultimately need. Many businesses even in the growth mode will buy more office space than they need at the time and lease a portion of it to another business until they are ready to use it.
Property management. Of course if you own a property you will need to maintain it which will require your time or someone that you hire. This is not the case if you lease the office space.
Appreciation. One of the primary reasons for buying office space is to obtain longterm appreciation. When there is a good healthy real estate market this is a strong factor in your decision.
Tax factors. Lease payments are usually fully deductible while on a purchase you will be able to deduct the interest costs and depreciate the building cost over a longer timeframe. It is a good idea to consult your attorney and tax professional about the legal and financial considerations of owning office space.
Cash flow. It is a good idea to do a cashflow analysis of the buyingversusleasing decision which will take into account your predictions on your holding period anticipated appreciation rental increases interest rates and the costs of maintenance on the property.
The decision to buy or lease property is not a “one size fits all” type of decision. It requires you to analyze all of the above factors to reach a conclusion that is right for you.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Denice Gierach is a lawyer and owner of The Gierach Law Firm in Naperville. She is a certified public accountant and has a master’s degree in management. She may be reached at deniceggierachlawfirm.com. For more information on Denice and The Gierach Law Firm visit Gierach Law Firm
Why Would You Consider Real Estate Investing?
Why Would You Consider Real Estate Investing?
There are many avenues through which people can get started investing these days and one of the most profit yielding investments is real estate which can generate a very handsome income indeed. If you are considering beginning real estate investing you can look forward to some stupendous gains that are associated with this investment alternative.
Investing in real estate can be very lucrative. If you leverage your down payment to earn a return on the entire value of the property you could earn a lot more than investing in the stock market. For example assume that you invest 10000 in a down payment on a house and you borrow the remaining 90 from the bank. If you earn a 10 return you will finish with 110000. On the other hand if you were to invest that 10000 in the stock market and also earn a 10 return you would finish with only 11000.
Your 10000 has been doubled in the real estate investment but returned only 1000 from stock market. This is because of the fact that you have used your lender’s money through real estate investment. This is the best part of real estate investing as it gives you power of leverage in the investment. There are more strong and valid reasons for you to begin investing in real estate.
Another reason for beginning real estate investing is the tax benefits. The IRS actually requires you to depreciate your property and this “paper loss” on the property brings the actual tax liability down every year but on the contrary the actual value of the property and the land is appreciating in the market. So you actually end up paying taxes on a reported profit figure that is significantly lower than the actual earnings.
Perhaps an even better tax benefit is the 1031 exchange as defined by section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. Essentially this allows investors to delay paying any capital gains taxes when a property is sold as long as the proceeds are reinvested in an appropriate property. The government is basically encouraging investors to stay in the market with this fantastic incentive.
One of the great benefits of investing in real estate is derived from the flexibility of sale contracts of property. Unlike stock investing you can be very creative with your offers while buying and selling real estate and you can exchange property for a lot of things other than just cash. This leads to some spectacular winwin arrangements.
Summary:
Real estate is one of the most lucrative investments these days. So how does real estate investing work? For those considering beginning real estate investing there are many benefits. Leveraging your finance means you can earn up to tens times the profit of stock market investment because your lender’s money has been working for you as well. Tax benefits are another reason to become a real estate investor. Required depreciation allowed by the IRS bring tax liability down every year while the value of the property climbs. Finally there is great flexibility in real estate sale contracts.
About the writer: Gary Zaccaria is a Sr. Financial Consultant with OpmCredit.com on the topic of Hard Money Loan options for real estate investing. He has marketed real estate investment training programs for Trump University Dolf De Roos Robert Allen and AD Kessler.
