I’ll bet that you know that 90% of home buyers use the Internet at some point during their home buying process.  (Source: NAR’s 2009 Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers).

But, did you know that Google can put your business on the “map” for free?

Here’s how to take advantage of this Free service from Google:

• Open your browser and navigate to http://budurl.com/LocalBizCtr
• Create a Google Account if you don’t already have one
• If you have an account, Log In
• You will be taken to a page where you can fill in the necessary information about your business (Hint: As a real estate agent you ARE a business)
• You can upload pictures and videos. (The videos have to be on YouTube first).

When you are finished, Google will want to verify that you are the owner of the business by calling you and giving you a PIN number (Or Snail mailing the PIN number).  Once you enter the pin, you are good to go!

Watch this short video for a quick overview.

The video uses a restaurant as the example, but think about the ways that a real estate agent could use this. Why not put your vitual tours on YouTube and then bring them back into your Local Business Center listing?

Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - All rights reserved - http://RealtyTechBytes.com Did you know that I have arranged for readers of my blog to receive licensed software for free? And that there is something new everyday? Click on the link to go to the blog and look for Give Away of the day in the sidebar.

Free Google service puts you on the map!

All of my computers use backup drives that are physically connected to my computer. They run continuous backups and are available to move my data to another machine if I need to do so. Or, they can be used to restore missing or corrupt data.

I also use MozyHome as another way to back up data. So in theory I am covered, right?

Not so quick. What about my social sites like Twitter and Facebook? It turns out that I have not been backing those up. What if my account at either site got trashed or even worse, cancelled? How could I recover my friends lists or pictures or the content that I have posted?

To put that in perspective, at Twitter I am following over 4500 people and over 4300 are following me. Trying to restore those lists without having a back up file would be impossible. The same holds true for my Facebook account where I have over 600 friends, many Notes, a few pictures and so on.

In my research to solve this problem I ran across a service that I am using and thought that you might like to know about it too.

This is a cloud based backup service that will use your login information to go to your Twitter, Google Docs, Wordpress, GMail, Facebook, Zoho, Delicious, Flickr, Basecamp or Photobucket accounts and perform daily or weekly backups of your data.

The service acts as backup program and does not actually store your data on their servers. Instead, the data is stored on the Amazon S3 Web Services Cloud, which in my opinion was a really smart move on their part. To understand why I say this, click here to read more about Amazon S3 web services.

You can also download your data to your local computer once it has been backed up. This now gives you 3 copies of your data. The original is on Twitter, Facebook, etc. But, you also have a copy on the S3 cloud and the one on your hard drive. The chance of all three failing at once are very, very small.

Finally, until January 31st, you can get an account for free. Hmmm, sounds like a good deal to me. Better click on the backupify logo in this post or just click http://www.backupify.com and sign up.

About the Author: Jerry is a 23 year veteran of the real estate industry and has done it all from listing and selling, to managing single and multiple offices.  He has been the IT Director for a major SF Bay Area company, and has also been the Training Director for another major SF Bay Area company.  In addition to writing this blog, Jerry is the Principal of Jerry Kidd Training and Consulting, specializing in showing real estate professionals how to utilize today’s exciting social tools to create and nurture relationships with home buyers and sellers.  Visit http://www.JerryKidd.com to learn more about the training and consulting services offered.

Copyright 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - All rights reserved - http://RealtyTechBytes.com Did you know that I have arranged for readers of my blog to receive licensed software for free? And that there is something new everyday? Click on the link to go to the blog and look for Give Away of the day in the sidebar.

backupify your social content

As I have mentioned many times, I would go for “low-hanging fruit.”  I would do everything that I possibly could to be engaged in the activities that made me the most amount of money at the least amount of cost in the shortest amount of time.  While doing this, I also tried to provide the highest perceived value to my customers and the community. 

Below and the following pages is a list of activities that I personally cured in my own business or have cured in other top agent’s careers.  I know that some of these are “sacred cows” and some of these are promoted heavily by speakers and institutions.  Please understand that sometimes when you hear a speaker promote an idea it might conveniently coincide with a product that he or she sells.  At best, that product or idea is only a small percentage of a top agent’s arsenal.  At worst, it can be contrary to an agent who is looking to increase net profit!  At the risk of receiving a million E-mails arguing with me, here goes the list that I believe will help you side-step some of the activities currently in real estate should be a low priority (or completely eliminated). 

1.       Signing up for expensive lead generation that you do not follow up on.  There are many who tout billboards, full-page ads, and other very expensive modes of advertising and promotion to create leads.  The problem is many agents do not have the question list necessary to properly counsel a buyer or a seller on the phone.  Agents need to be able to differentiate a client currently “in play,” a client who should receive a calendared call back, or a client who only qualifies for a standard database solicitation.  If you have trouble following up with clients and you do not have a client A, B, and C program then please do not pull the trigger on expensive promotions until that system is in place.

2.       Jumping up like a Pop-Tart™ to take care of client’s needs.  Please remember top real estate agents do not get paid until closing.  A real estate agent does control the quality of the client he or she agrees to work with.  If agents are implementing my lead generation system, there should be enough leads to go around; however, some people spend so much time working bad leads that they do not have time for new lead and also takes the energy necessary away from solving the problems of clients who need and deserve it.  Therefore, one of the activities we have to stop is working with clients who do not “jump through” the necessary “hoops” to be helped.  Earlier, I mentioned the use of questions for a buyer and a seller.  If a buyer or seller is not allowing you to ask questions so you can help in achieving their goals then the necessity of counseling a buyer or a seller needs to be explained to them.  If they still do not understand the rationale of probing questions, then you will have to give them a list of valuable things that will happen when they agree to participate with your counseling methods.  If they turn down both of those offers, it is time for you to turn the client over to someone in your office who is not as fortunate to have so many leads.  Walking away from non-cooperative buyers and sellers can only happen once you generate enough consistent leads.  In my opinion, this is job one.

3.       Taking on stupid business.  Right now, one of the most “stupid” activities in real estate is taking on transactions that will not close.  These are over-priced listings from under-motivated sellers and non-financially qualified buyers who are also under-motivated.  The most stupid of these deals might be taking on short sale listing who have a very low percentage of closing.  If a seller will not participate in the following questions then I would recommend that these leads be referred out and/or not acted upon.  Here are the questions that must be answered fully, prior to any time being spent by me on a short sale.

A.       Is the seller willing to throw any amount of money into the mix?

B.       Did the seller lie on the original loan application?

C.       Are you only handling one short sale lender?  This means that either there is enough money to pay the first and you are doing the second, or you are doing a short sale on the second with the same lender owning the first.  If you are doing a short on the first and also with the second with two different lenders, then please do not get involved.

D.       Will the seller allow easy and consistent access to the property with a lock box?

E.       Does the seller have concern for their future credit rating?  This might be the most important!  The bottom line is there is very little reason for a seller to do a short pay unless they are looking to mitigate damage to their credit.  If they already have horrible credit or they do not care, you are dealing with a seller who will become non-cooperative in the short sale process, sooner or later.

F.       Are you dealing with a short sale lender who has a record of approving short pays?  I know this changes every day; however, if you are trying to do a short sale with a lender who consistently declines short sales, then this is not worth your time. 

There are many other activities that increase the profit in a short sale, but not taking the bad ones is probably the most important!

4.       Buyer house calls.  I actually know real estate agents who are still going to buyers’ homes to meet with them, prior to working together with them!  Buyers are the least profitable aspect of any business plan so they should be screened with more probing questions and offered less personal time in the beginning relationship building stages.  A buyer must answer questions over the phone, become pre-approved by my team lender, agree to meet with me at my office, then sign a buyer-brokerage agreement before I will show them properties.  Of course, the value regimen that I offer buyers is extensive so this has not been a problem in implementing with a buyer who is truly motivated.

5.       Working low-motivated sellers.  In this market, a seller has to have a reason to sell.  In my seller counseling questions, you will find that I ask that question several times until I find an answer that makes sense to me.  Many sellers do not like to tell you why they are selling, because they think it will give you a leg-up in the negotiations.  You must realize that you work for free until closing.  Your potential seller must not only have the ability to sell but also a reason to sell before you become involved.  Stop talking to sellers who are unrealistic about today’s market, unless they have a true reason to sell.  As a corollary, I would take over-priced listings in a tough market if the seller needed time to become realistic and have a definite date in which they need to move (i.e. a true motivation to sell).

6.       Start getting in the habit of walking away with buyers who have minimal down payments and mediocre credit.  In case you have not caught this yet, I feel that buyers are the worst business segment of real estate.  If you take the worst of that group, you will find that you will never become a top producer.  In my opinion, if you take buyers who have FICOs in the high 600s and down payments of 10% or more, you are dealing with the minimum-ability buyer.  Anything less would cause me to refer the transaction.  Remember, my systems generate leads so you can be a little choosey.  Get in the habit of walking away from buyers who do not have an excellent ability to perform in this market.  Some of the greatest satisfaction that I have ever received was working with a buyer who did not have credit or money for a down payment but did have massive motivation.  It might have been much harder to find them a property and close it, but it provided great satisfaction.  Unfortunately, this is not about obtaining satisfaction by going the extra mile, but it is about doing the activities that are the most profitable in the least amount of time.  Poorly qualified buyers are not on the list.

7.       Getting ready to get going.  One of the tragic activities is the “getting ready” process that many agents believe they need to prep for.  They need to understand contracts, have a website, have the right wardrobe, have a vehicle that can transport a family, have a great office, have an inventory of lockboxes, have their files in order, have their…well, you fill in the blanks.  I have seen agents take years to get ready in this business.  If you got your license today, you should be knocking on the doors of expireds tomorrow.  It is a simple concept — the only thing that is truly necessary in this business is to find a seller who wants to sell, put a sign up, create buyer leads, and work with the buyers who are sincere and qualified.  It is a simple business plan that anyone could implement tomorrow.  It is time to start generating leads and stop “getting ready to go.”

8.       Dealing with inexpensive properties.  Simply put, we get paid a percentage of the sales price.  Selling inexpensive properties probably involves the same time investment as properties with a higher price tag.  Raising your price point is a necessary endeavor every year.  If you do not have the time to contact all of the FSBOs, contact the most expensive ones.  If you do not have time to contact all the out-of-state owners in your area, contact those with the highest assessed value.  Here is a revolutionary concept — expensive listings attract buyers with more money.  Those buyers with more money will buy more expensive listings.  Those past clients who own more expensive properties will cause you to have listings in the future with above average sales prices.  Start pointing your seller lead generation systems to more expensive lead generation systems today!

9.       Hanging out with other REALTORS®.  Here is a philosophy that absolutely amazes me!  Why hang out with REALTORS® when you can socialize with people in your family, friend groups, church, and service organizations?  REALTORS® will probably not buy and sell through you!  Start understanding where your business and personal time should be spent.  Not only will it make bigger difference in the lives of your family, friends, and charitable activities, but it will also increase your business.

10.     Hiring assistants who only give assistance.  This has always been huge for me, since I have an assistant for nearly thirty years.  I was just like everyone else who hired an assistant to answer the phone, prepare listing presentations, and facilitate transaction coordination.  I soon found that management carries a price.  Assistants who do not produce leads are not effectively increasing net profit.  I looked for things that an assistant could do to increase the number of buyer and seller leads that were brought my way.  This was also the reason that I could pay my assistants more than anyone else and always attracted the best.  When an assistant is processing a new listing, it is simple for him or her to send that new listing to the expireds in that exact area letting them know that a big push in their area is coming and now would be the time for them to put their property back on the market.  It is easy for an assistant as they go through the closing checklist to make sure a testimonial letter is received and posted to the appropriate section of your website.  Also they can make sure referrals have been requested from that satisfied client.  My checklists contained numerous activities that I would engage my assistant in to generate additional leads, leveraging my own activities.

11.     Setting up elaborate systems for class “C” buyers.  Many agents feel they have a need for a website that looks like everyone else’s website.  Everyone tells you that all area agent listings must be promoted on that website and that website will bring you buyers.  Seldom will they tell you that the buyers generated from that website have a less than two percent closing ratio.  Extensive follow-up campaigns with class “C” buyers, who have not been qualified over the phone, who have not been pre-approved, and who have not signed a buyer-brokerage agreement, do not deserve to have a lot of money spent on them.

12.     Staging can be a nice idea for sellers, and it has the possibility of increasing the net to a seller.  Obviously, this can be a service that is offered based upon area and competition.  To make it a key point of any marketing plan can cause problems.  If a seller has motivation, has lived in the home, and has not made any improvements that a reasonable seller would make to make the property more saleable then this would lead me to believe that possibly the seller does not believe the improvements need to be made or does not want to make them. By you letting them know that these are necessary improvements, you might upset the seller or increase the time you spend on the listing in the attempt to counsel them on repairs.  Sometimes, they just do not want to make the obvious repairs or do not have the money or time.  Be careful about pressing hard about staging.  Relegate it to one of your lesser points, only after you have approached the subject carefully or the seller has asked if it is available.  Making staging the cornerstone of any marketing program could cause more harm than it creates good.

13.     Waiting for the market to change.  As I travel the country, I see how people are waiting for the market to get better, stabilize, or in some cases, to show any signs of slowness.  I am here to say that you need to stop waiting for the market to change, and you need to change.  The business plan is simple — when the market slows down, you need to increase the number of listings that will increase the number of buyer phone calls, double-end contracts, and cooperative agent showings.  Listings create activity.  If your activity is low, increase the amount of listings that you have.  If you are waiting for a thaw in the market, please do not bother because none of know when that will happen.  A few of us just do not care!

14.     Doing inspections at the wrong time.  Especially for a top agent who specializes in listings, the proper time for inspections is to have them done as soon as you take the listing.  This will, of course, allow the seller to obtain various bids without time constraints and lessen your involvement in the process.  Furthermore, it removes the tension and aggravation that a buyer will add to the equation since the inspection is being done and the repairs are being done without the buyer’s intervention.  Presenting a new buyer with an inspection report including the repair receipts is an inducement to participate in this market.  It also reduces the “nibbling” from buyers who read the bad press that real estate is getting.

15.     Letting them see you sweat.  At some point in the negotiations, you are going to have to back off a bit.  Remember, buyers and sellers who hear excessive and non-realistic complaining have no motivation to stop.  At some point, which is different for all of us, you are going to have to stop obliging to the requests for unrealistic expectations.  At some point, you are going to have to say to your seller, “Sell it or cancel!” and to your buyer, “Close it or cancel!”  Normally, when they see that you do not care about your commission as much as they thought and you are willing to let the deal go, then that removes one more advocate and can occasionally increase their motivation and stop the nibbling.

16.     Being a lone ranger.  There a lot of people who want you to succeed – your family, your manager, your broker, and your affiliates.  Please start including them in your business.  I have written entire books about this process yet many still do not give their clients lists of things to do and your family is not helping you with easy to accomplish real estate activities.  Your affiliates will reward your loyalty by becoming a productive team member.  You are just going to have to start asking for the help.

17.     Create contracts with higher chances so they will close.  The days are over of writing and accepting weak contracts.  Huge deposits, pre-qualified buyers, motivated sellers, shorter closing times, and shorter contingency times are all the hallmarks of a professional real estate agent in today’s market.  It is time to start increasing your velocity by shortening the amount of time that you have a property in the pending status. 

18.     Failing to keep your pipeline full.  Now more than ever, you can not get so busy that you forget to generate leads.  Your listing inventory needs to be growing all the time.  When it is not, you are going to have some tough times down the road.  Every week for the next two years, try to end the month with more listings and pendings than what you started the month with.  Keeping your pipeline full or “pipeline management” is essential in this market.

19.     Get rid of the “ugly” first.  It is time to get rid of your largest pain item first thing in the morning.  Sitting and waiting for bad stuff to happen will destroy your creativity.  First thing in the morning, call the one client you do not want to or deal with the problem that you know lurks out there.  Eliminating the “ugly” tasks first will allow you to have the energy during the day to complete your other necessary tasks.

I hope that you look at some of these activities as goals to implement in changing your business plan next year so that you have more time to allow the wonderful things of this business happen to you.  There is no better business in this world.  Sellers beget buyers, and as you look for unique inventory for buyers, buyers beget sellers.  The greatest leverage in this business is that you have buyers and sellers paying you to look at the inventory.  This is inventory that you should be buying in this market to provide for your future, but that is an entirely different article! 

About the Author:

Walter Sanford was one of the top real estate agents in North America for nearly thirty years, and now, he is one of the most requested speakers, trainers, and coaches.  He has authored dozens of systems and books on checklists, pro-active lead generation, affiliate lead generation, plus others.  You can hire Walter for speaking engagements or coaching or buy his products by visiting his website.  For more details, visit www.waltersanford.com, call 815.929.9258, or email Walter at walter@waltersanford.com.

“If you had a magic wand and could make one change to your offering to sell more, what would it be?”

I heard several responses – remove back-up home contingencies and lower prices were at the top of their lists.

How would you answer that question?

More leads? Better location? Better value? Our former “magic wand” was an incredible, unsustainable and ultimately reckless marketplace that threw out most of the fundamental laws of marketing and sales. I hope you have come to realize that the marketplace is not going to help you make sales today or anytime in the near future.

Are you sick and tired of buyers who are “just looking?”

Here’s a great question. What message are you conveying to your model home guests? Most of the homebuilders and remodeling contractors I meet have a one-step marketing message. They market their homes or services and then wonder why they don’t sell more. The problem with this approach is that it is company-focused, not client-focused.

Anytime you want to make more sales you need to go back to Marketing 101: Discover what your target market wants and give it to them. Consumers don’t want to buy your physical offering. They want to own your solution to their problems!

The reason you’re not selling more homes through a one-step, company-focused marketing message is that it doesn’t appeal to your true target market. If you want to sell more today, you must be customer-focused, and you need to offer a multi-stepped approach to sales.

If you had a secret weapon to sell more homes, would you use it?

I ask this question because your homebuilders association (NAHB) gave our industry the “secret weapon” three years ago at the 2005 International Builder Show. In case you’ve forgotten I’ll share it again in their words…

“Women directly purchase or have a controlling influence in the purchase of 91% of all new homes.”

-Smith-Dahmer Associates, NAHB IBS

Right now you’re probably saying, “Rick, I’ve known that for years. We already do a good job of appealing to women.”

Do you? Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you know why women buy or don’t buy from you? 
• Do you know why they recommend you or why they go out of their way not to recommend you?
• Do you create staged experiences throughout the shopping, designing, buying, building and warranty phases that specifically appeal to women?
• Do you know how women define “quality”?
• Do you know how women choose brands/contractors to work with?

If you want to position yourself for both short- and long-term success in this incredibly tough marketplace you must have a sales process that appeals to women. Women are the answer to today’s and tomorrow’s sales.

Let’s take a look at how one person has used the power of marketing to women greater than anyone else in the world. Her name has long been a household word – Oprah Winfrey.

“Forbes’ International Rich List” has ranked Winfrey as the world’s only black billionaire in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and the first black woman billionaire in world history. In July 2007, TV Guide reported that Winfrey was the highest paid TV entertainer in the United States. She earned an estimated $260 million during the year. That amount was more than 5 times greater than the $45 million earned by the person in second place – music executive, Simon Cowell. By 2008, Oprah’s income had increased to $275 million.

Now that I’ve got your attention, let’s take a look at how Oprah Winfrey got to where she is today.

The Oprah brand
Women don’t buy Oprah, they “join” her. What do I mean by that? Besides her TV show, Oprah has her own book club, magazine, interactive website, charity causes, radio show and store. Oprah brings women together through her brand and sells her wares through that connection. How do you connect women through your company?

If She has to Ask, it’s too Late
Oprah understands one very important lesson; it’s easier to keep her female customers than to lose them and try to win them back. Oprah anticipates what her women customers want, and she delivers. She offers thoughtful surprises around every corner all the while respecting women’s power in her success. What do you do to anticipate your women customer’s needs during your shopping, buying and building process?

Oprah is Transparent
Oprah’s life has been an open book with her customers. One day she is talking about her weight issues and the next about her relationship woes. She is not afraid to express an opinion, share knowledge and promote her Angel Network philanthropy projects. Oprah has a maniacal attention to detail when it comes to fulfilling women’s needs and wants. How do you open yourself up, exploit your weaknesses and share your beliefs with your female customers?

Several of my clients have re-positioned their companies through the Woman-Centric Matters^TM program (check out their website www.WomanCentricMN.com). Over the past year, each of them has taken dramatic steps to better understand what women are looking for and then deliver an experience like no other.

Every day they learn a little more and make a few more adjustments. The bottom line? Old inventory has been sold and new offerings created. Models are selling and pre-solds are being captured. Most are still making decent margins but, best of all, each of them has a strategy to maximize their sales today and in the future.

Are you ready to quit relying on this market and take control of your business again?

Happy Selling!

About the Author

Helping home builders maximize sales in any market. The New Home Sales Coach Transformational Sales System for salespeople and the Team Builder Advantage® Positioning System for homebuilders, transforms dull and boring organizations into extraordinary and remarkable. To sign up for Rick’s FREE monthly newsletter and Quicktip visit: http://www.nhsalescoach.com/ or call (952) 895-5566.

The urban buyer is a unique breed that rejects previous generations’ dreams of white picket fences and grassy lawns to negotiate their own place in urban locations. Not at all intrigued by a game of one-ups-man-ship to see whose home has the highest square footage, urban dwellers seek homes with intrinsic values that often escape the suburbs: usable space, function over form, greenspace, and easy access to work and play.

Many builders and developers are responding to the need by transforming historic industrial areas. Once used as warehouses, factories or other commercial endeavors, these abandoned spaces present the scale, access and sense of place that urban buyers crave.

Who are these buyers? In growing numbers, they are Gen X and Gen Y. From their 20s into their 40s, they are eager to feel part of a neighborhood. Here are three low-cost or no-cost ways to reach them:

1. Connect with brands they already know and trust. For urban dwellers, focus in on brands that speak to the urban lifestyle. For example, work alongside the favorite neighborhood hangout to sponsor an open house or to distribute information about your homes. You automatically earn points with the in crowd because of the association.

2. Make sure you go where your buyers are. Festivals, bike rides and charity runs are all places these outdoorsy groups like to congregate. By sponsoring a rest stop, contributing toward event t-shirts or staffing a booth, you can show that you value the same things they do.

3. Place sign posts on the Information Highway. Baby Boomers use the Internet, but they still favor traditional media as sources of information. Gen X’ers have learned to use the new media, and they navigate it well for information, but it’s likely to be a little clumsy for them. Gen Y-ers, on the other hand, just assume use of Internet technology and seem to know it intrinsically. You will want to make sure all of these groups can find you there.

The more places your company name appears on valid websites next to keywords that legitimately describe your business, the more likely search engines such as Google are to send visitors to your site. Placing your home listings online is one way to spread the word about your company over the Internet. Many of these sites are free. Sites such as Trulia have earned such a strong reputation that they are destination sites within themselves; they don’t rely completely on keyword searches to get buyers to their pages. Even so, they are indexed by Google. They may not need search engines to get their own visitors, but they can help companies like yours that generate traffic through keyword searches.

If you want to catch an urban buyer, start thinking like an urban buyer. Spend some time eating, shopping and relaxing in urban areas, so you can taste the neighborhood atmosphere that beckons them.

Who knows, you may end up becoming part of that unique breed yourself. Lucky you. You’ll know just where to find a good deal on a home

About the Author:

Mitch Levinson, MIRM, CSP, MBA, is founder and president of Mitch Levinson Consulting, MLC New Home Marketing and MLC FlatFee Realty, and he is a Managing Partner of mRELEVANCE, LLC, a firm that combines the power of Internet marketing, social media and public relations. His companies have offices in Chicago and Atlanta. As a Multi-Million Dollar Sales Producer who earned an MBA in Computer Information Systems and eCommerce, he brings a unique perspective and experience to the field of technology in real estate. In his current businesses, Mitch combines the two interests in order to help home builders and developers gain a competitive advantage through the Internet.

Details on the 11:00 PM News

According to the news media, the past 18 months have seen the nation’s economy declining. Nevertheless, to appreciate what is reported in newspapers and nightly broadcasts, you have to come to a higher understanding of to whom the news media touts their messages. The target audience: mass America. However, there is a small minority of the market that the news does not cater to as well.

Mass America Doesn’t Want to Hear About the Rich Staying Rich

The affluent market marches to the tune of a different drummer and while everybody knows someone who says “I don’t watch the news because of all the negative media,” there are those who not only watch the news, but also absorb its message daily in order to profit from the market’s ups and downs. The affluent consumers in this country have always utilized the uncertainty of the mass consumer to take advantage of unmet consumer wants and needs. This astute mentality was embraced by the late Sir John Templeton, whose empire was built on a few simple founding principles. One such principle he advocated was that when the market was selling, he did everyone a favor and bought. Likewise, when the market was buying, Templeton did them a favor once again and he sold all that he had. Savvy investors today are quietly demonstrating the same mindset.

Realistic Expectations of the Affluent

According to the 2008 Coldwell Banker Previews International® Luxury Survey, 85% of high-end home owners expect home prices to increase over the next five years. The top locations which the affluent will gravitate towards include island and/or rural country living, (data supported by approximately 49% of respondents). The outlook held by the affluent is one totally different than is being touted in the news media today. Just to give you an example, the 85% surveyed expecting prices to increase over the next five years represents a sharp increase from the 66% tallied in just 2007. More importantly, 4 out of 5 of these homeowners surveyed believed the increase in value will be a “significant” to “moderate” 81%. They see these as long term gains coming from their real estate investments.

Dream Homes in the Allure of Warmer Weather

Interestingly enough, the allure for warmer weather and being close to the water ranked as some of the highest percentages for respondents – a whopping 45% said they want to be near a beach and  another 23% said they want to be near a lake or a river.  The survey also revealed some of the must-haves for the luxury amenities, which included designer kitchens, custom home centers, and indoor gyms and fitness centers. Also rounding out the surveys were boat docks and golf courses. It appears that this market will move more towards well designed communities located on the outskirts of cities with good airport access and the ability to be in the city with just a short drive. Properties with these amenities and locations will see the most dramatic increases in the next few years as affluent buyers are quietly stacking their portfolios for the future.

Bottoms Up!

The bottom line is that most affluent buyers seem to go in the direction which is a little different than the mass market catered to by the news media. While the market may indicate that there are tough times at the present, the more affluent market thinks ahead with great prudence about the future of the market instead of where the market is today. While the Coldwell Banker Luxury Survey does not expose any revelations, it does indicate that America’s affluent think differently, invest differently, and achieve more simply by looking at the world with a different, more futuristic, set of eyes.

The Luxury Survey was conducted by an independent research firm and commissioned by Coldwell Banker Previews International®.

 About the Author:

Author, speaker and financial expert, John A. Palumbo will take you “Where Wall Street Can’t”. As one of the nation’s leading authorities on unique investing strategies. John has been tagged by the press as the “Donald Trump of the South” and the “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” of the real estate industry. For over 2 decades, he has developed his maverick investing tactics, which has earned the title of “America’s Investment Gambler”. As a regular guest on Jacksonville’s WJXT Channel 4’s The Morning Show and radio broadcasts nationwide, he continually provides myth-shattering strategies and thought provoking insights on alternative means of getting the most out of your money. You can contact John directly at PalumboJ@aol.com or (904) 641-2043.

• Stay Positive. A negative attitude will cause you to be less aggressive.
• Use this time for education and skill development. It’s time to become an expert rather than just saying you are one.
• Prospect more than ever before. In this market, you must be selective on what listings you take and in order to do this you have to be in a position of strength to turn down listings of unmotivated homeowners.
• Work diligently with the most motivated buyers (multiple appointments) and put all others on a back burner where you keep in contact until their motivation changes.
• Cut back on unnecessary expenses so you have more to invest in necessary expenses. Expenses that will increase productivity are necessary.
• In everything you do, be better than your competition. Buyers and sellers will notice that and you will reap the rewards.

 About the Author:

Joe Meyer is President of Joe Meyer Presentations, Inc and has delivered over 2600 seminars throughout the U.S. and internationally over the past 21 years including fifteen presentations at the NAR annual convention. For information about having Joe Meyer deliver a seminar to your organization, you may contact him at 1-888-593-5951 or visit him on the web at www.joemeyer.com

To start with, go sign up for MyFax for $10.00 a month.  MyFax® is an award-winning Internet fax service that lets you send and receive faxes through your email. MyFax provides exceptional value, a great low monthly price, and 24/7 customer support.  And, although there are others providing a similar service, it’s the one that I use and therefore recommend.

Although MyFax will let you send any document that is already on your hard drive, what about documents that are in paper form?  Wouldn’t you need a fax machine to send them?  Nope.  Not if you have a scanner.  Again, there are any to choose from, but the Fujitsu ScanSnap series is the one all the rest try to beat.  And can’t.

The ScanSnap comes in a version for Windows and a version for Mac.  There are desktop models and portable models to choose from.  The desktop models come with Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Standard which allows the scanner to save scanned documents as Adobe PDF files.  All models come with Rack2Filer software which simplifies document management.  The Fujitsu web site is offering a free carrying case for the Windows version of the portable scanner and a $50.00 rebate on the Windows Desktop and Mac desktop and portable versions.

So, if you’ve got MyFax and one of the ScanSnaps you won’t need to ever use a fax machine again.  A side benefit is that any thing that you ScanSnap and fax will arrive looking as good as the original copy.  No more messy faxes coming from you.

So, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Winter Solstice and whatever other holiday you may be celebrating!  Be sure to include yourself on your gift list and get one of these.  It will change the way you do business for the better.  (I own 4 of these devices and have them at home, at my office, in my briefcase and at my wife’s office and have been a MyFax customer for years, so I am speaking to you from experience and as a satisfied customer)

For your convenience you can visit my Amazon Store so you can purchase the ScanSnap.  You may be able to get a better price by shopping around.  I’ve also provided a link to MyFax (above) for your convenience.

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Last minute shopping for you!