How to Catch the Eye of the Buyer with Marketing
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When about 84% of home buyers start their search online, you know you need to have an Internet presence in order to sell your home!
But that presence needs to have a professional appearance! You can’t simply slap up casual photos or boring videos. They won’t do the “sell” job for you. So, here’s some advice on how make your property as attractive as possible on the Internet.
Guideline 1: Hire a Professional Photographer or Find a Realtor Who Uses One!
There’s simply no substitute for high-quality photos of your property, inside and out. And, frankly, most of us just can’t reach the level achieved by a professional photographer. So, use the services of one to make your house stand out.
He or she should take several photos inside and out, highlighting the most attractive features of the home. Of course, get shots done on sunny days and be sure to include photos of the most important areas of the house; i.e., kitchen, a bathroom, dining room and a bedroom.
Then post the best photos (or have them posted) on an easily accessible site. It’s important to have a number of them online since potential buyers will pass over a listing with just one or two photos, feeling that they’re not getting enough information.
Guideline 2: Hire a Professional Videographer or Find a Realtor Who Uses One!
Video tours of your home are a great marketing tool. They’re dynamic and interesting to viewers – if done correctly. Also, such tours are very attractive to younger buyers who are familiar with such sites as YouTube.
I’m not saying you can’t film a video tour itself. In fact, it’s very easily done with YouTube. But, you need to ask yourself, “Do I have the talent for this?”
If you don’t and film a tour, then, frankly, the results can look very amateurish and may well end up turning off buyers who have high expectations of the videos they see online!
So, I recommend working with a professional videographer or with a realtor who has access to one. The money will be worth it. Of course, check out the videographer’s credentials first and ask for samples of their work. They should be able to send you to their own website where those samples are posted or to real estate listing sites on which their work is displayed.
Guideline 3: Work with a Realtor Who’s Knowledgeable about Social Media!
If you’re not familiar with the term “social media,” it refers to free Internet services like Facebook,YouTube, Twitter, etc. where people go online to socialize and get their messages out. A savvy realtor will link your video tour and photographs to all these sites, thus increasing the pool of potential buyers for your property and, again, tapping into a younger audience who may be the ideal customers for your home.
Need to know more about how to make the most of your Internet listing? Contact me immediately!
What Are Pre-Foreclosures in the Real Estate Market and How Can They Benefit Me As an Investor?
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A foreclosure is a formal legal process. Lenders begin the process when home owners fail to live up to their mortgage obligations. As a result, the lenders want the property back and, depending on the state, file a law suit or a notice of default.
A pre-foreclosure sale is one that takes place between the date when the lender files suit and when the property is scheduled to be sold at a public foreclosure action or a trustee’s sale. A pre-foreclosure is not a formal legal process; it’s an opportunity for you to help beleaguered home owners out.
Before I discuss the benefits of pre-foreclosures for you as an investor, let’s step back a moment and look at the reasons for foreclosures.
Beyond the recent “mortgage meltdown” due to the recession, there are many reasons that foreclosures occur. Often, people tend to think that foreclosures occur because of poor financial management by home owners and others.
While this certainly can be true, there are really many different reasons why foreclosures take place – personal problems (divorce, illness, etc.), the tendency of first-time buyers to overextend themselves, etc. Also, before the recession, foreclosures were caused by predatory lenders, lenient terms by all lenders, and low interest rates.
Now, let’s look at the benefits of making a living as an investor in the pre-foreclosure market.
What Are the Pros of Working in the Pre-Foreclosure Market?
If you’re a careful investor, the pre-foreclosure offers you many benefits:
- The ability to buy properties at a deep discount
A pre-foreclosure sale is one that takes place between the date when the lender files suit and when the property is scheduled to be sold at a public foreclosure action or a trustee’s sale. A pre-foreclosure is not a formal legal process; it’s an opportunity for you to help beleaguered home owners out.
Before I discuss the benefits of pre-foreclosures for you as an investor, let’s step back a moment and look at the reasons for foreclosures.
Beyond the recent “mortgage meltdown” due to the recession, there are many reasons that foreclosures occur. Often, people tend to think that foreclosures occur because of poor financial management by home owners and others.
While this certainly can be true, there are really many different reasons why foreclosures take place – personal problems (divorce, illness, etc.), the tendency of first-time buyers to overextend themselves, etc. Also, before the recession, foreclosures were caused by predatory lenders, lenient terms by all lenders, and low interest rates.
Now, let’s look at the benefits of making a living as an investor in the pre-foreclosure market.
What Are the Pros of Working in the Pre-Foreclosure Market?
If you’re a careful investor, the pre-foreclosure offers you many benefits:
- The ability to buy properties at a deep discount
- The ability to craft deals that cost you very little money.
- No complicated paperwork
- The ability to inspect properties (to avoid “money pits)
- The ability to structure sales agreements with favorable terms.
- The opportunity for personal and financial freedom (you can set your own hours, rules, etc. as an independent investor)
Now, as you know, every field has its disadvantages as well as advantages. So, let’s look at the cons next.
What Are the Cons of Working in the Pre-Foreclosure Market?
Perhaps the number one disadvantage isdealing with the owners of the properties. They’re not in a good situation, and, most of the time, they’re not happy about it.
That means you need to deal with their anger and frustration in a diplomatic manner and have a thick skin at the same time. The best way to do this is to approach the situation as a problem-solver; that is, you’re there to help them make the best of a bad situation and to help them avoid the embarrassment of foreclosure.
A second disadvantage is that there’s a lot of courthouse work to do to ensure any pre-foreclosure deal is profitable; for example, making sure there aren’t liens or other legal entanglements. You’ll definitely need to pay attention to all the details in these records.
The final disadvantage is that you’ll face some stiff competition in this market. So, you’ll have to stay on top of it at all times!
Now, as you know, every field has its disadvantages as well as advantages. So, let’s look at the cons next.
What Are the Cons of Working in the Pre-Foreclosure Market?
Perhaps the number one disadvantage isdealing with the owners of the properties. They’re not in a good situation, and, most of the time, they’re not happy about it.
That means you need to deal with their anger and frustration in a diplomatic manner and have a thick skin at the same time. The best way to do this is to approach the situation as a problem-solver; that is, you’re there to help them make the best of a bad situation and to help them avoid the embarrassment of foreclosure.
A second disadvantage is that there’s a lot of courthouse work to do to ensure any pre-foreclosure deal is profitable; for example, making sure there aren’t liens or other legal entanglements. You’ll definitely need to pay attention to all the details in these records.
The final disadvantage is that you’ll face some stiff competition in this market. So, you’ll have to stay on top of it at all times!
And if you have any questions or topics you'd like to discuss, contact us today!
Are Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payments Worth the Time and Effort?
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In most cases, yes! It’s essentially a process by which you make extra payments on your mortgage. That way, you save interest costs and pay off the loan faster.
In most cases, yes! It’s essentially a process by which you make extra payments on your mortgage. That way, you save interest costs and pay off the loan faster.
How Does It Work?
You make a payment to your lender every two weeks instead of once a month. This means that each payment is equal to half of the monthly amount due. The result – you’re paying the equivalent of 13 full payments rather than the usual 12.
It gets even better! The full amount of the extra payment is applied toward the principal. And because the principal balance is the amount on which interest is calculated, paying down principal results in a reduction in accrued interest!
Let’s look a traditional payment monthly schedule vs. a bi-weekly schedule so you can see exactly how it works.
Example 1: Traditional monthly payments
Let’s assume you have a loan balance of $250,000 with a 6 percent interest rate and a 30-year loan term. In this example, your monthly payments are $1,498.88. So, over the life of the loan, you’d pay a total interest of about $289,595.
Example 2: Bi-weekly payments
Using the same loan balance and terms described above, the difference would be the following:
• $749.44 paid every two weeks
• About $225,490 paid in total interest
• This results in a savings of more than $64,000 in interest!
• In addition, the loan is paid off in 24 rather than 30 years
Bi-monthly payments are still a good strategy if you’re an individual who doesn’t plan to keep your house for 24 or 30 years. Why? Because bi-weekly payments still reduce principle, even over a short period of time.
For example, in the first year, the principle is reduced by nearly $1,600. And, at the end of the fifth year, the principle amount has been reduced by about $9,000!
How Do I Arrange Bi-Weekly Payments?
The first task is to contact lenders to find out if they do offer a bi-weekly payment schedule.
If they offer one, ask what the participation requirements are. In typical situations, lenders require you to have payments automatically withdrawn from your bank account since they dislike processing checks every two weeks.
Often, it’s the case that a one-time fee is charged for this service. The fee can be minimal or be in the several-hundred-dollar range, depending on the lender.
So, after all these benefits, how can there possibly be disadvantages to bi-weekly mortgage payments?
Well, the first disadvantage relates to a situation I mentioned above - the lender’s fee is very expensive for the service provided. In such a case, the costs may outweigh or cut down your overall savings.
A second disadvantage occurs when paying bi-weekly is too hard on your budget. Upfront, you need to make sure that you have the money available for the increased payments.
The final potential disadvantage relates to the length of time you plan to stay in your home. That can affect your overall savings on interest.
I recommend that you weigh the pros and cons of bi-weekly mortgage payments by using one of the many online calculators. Just enter your numbers and the calculator will give you a comparison.
If you’d like the assistance of an expert on the subject, contact us immediately!
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