5 Easy Ways Realtors Can Outsource Their Daily Schedule

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Most Real Estate Agents are aware of the concept associated with outsourcing. However, they might think that it is only applicable for things such as article writing or maybe some website work. These agents tend to feel that they simply must keep on top of a lot of their routine, everyday work. If they don’t, won’t they lose control of their hard-earned business? It can be difficult to let go, but in reality the right Virtual Assistant is ideally placed to help with so many different elements of your daily schedule.

  1. Calendar Management:  If you feel that you are running around from pillar to post, always seem to be late for appointments, and can never seem to fit in time for meetings with important prospects, then you should outsource your calendar management to a VA. When you’re busy doing other things, meetings can be scheduled and you can be given plenty of advanced notice so that you are in the right place at the right time without feeling flustered.
  2. Trip Planning:  Love all of the great Real Estate seminars but hate the hassle of traveling for them?  Have you noticed how long it takes to try and plan a trip these days? Those airline travel consolidator sites may offer you many different choices but you’ve still got to try and sort out your hotel, car and do so within your budget. Before you know it you’ve spent hours trying to arrange just one trip. Outsource this to a virtual assistant. Once you have given them the appropriate parameters they’ll do the rest with maximum efficiency.
  3. Client Support:  Now that Real Estate is finally starting to come back again, you’ve got an increasing number of listing and showing appointments “on the books”, not to mention worrying about getting your transactions managed.  You will find that there will be an increasing number of client issues to deal with. Yes, Real Estate is highly relationship based, but well-trained Real Estate VA’s can handle issues that don’t involve negotiations.  This is something that you must prioritize, as poor support in this area will quickly gain you a bad reputation, to say nothing of lost or angry clients. The right VA will ensure that everything is handled carefully, professionally and promptly, with your input only required in predetermined circumstances.
  4. E-Mail Management:  Time management and efficiency experts tell us that one of the worst ways that we can waste our time is to constantly drop everything to deal with e-mails as and when they arrive. So many of these e-mails can be time wasters that will veer you off course. Other e-mails represent an attempt by the originator to control your time according to their schedule. By putting a virtual assistant at the gateway, you know that you will only be prompted to deal with emergency situations and all other e-mail can be handled by the VA in the background.
  5. General Tasks:  As there are only so many hours in the day, most Real Estate Agents will invariably find that there will be many calls for their time that may not necessarily be related to business at all. For example, running errands, gift shopping, social event organization, and other things of that nature. All of this can be handled by your VA.

Treat your virtual assistant as an extension of yourself. There’s no need to feel as if you are giving up control when you outsource all of those general administrative tasks that in truth are simply non-productive and holding you back from becoming successful.

Filed Under: Coffee with a VA, Escape the Paper, Real Estate Info, Transaction Management

How To Use Basecamp for Transaction Management

April 6, 2012 By 1 Comment

Basecamp is one of my favorite business tools.  I use it daily to keep track of clients, their projects, my projects, and my team.  I even have a project setup for my kids chores, but that’s another post!  Today I want to show you how you can easily use Basecamp to organize your transactions, give others access to it, store it for later, and keep all information in one central, cloud-based location.

  1. Create a Basecamp account if you don’t have one already at http://Basecamp.com.  You will get 1 project and 4.95 MB of storage for free, which is plenty to get you started.
  2. Click Projects and then New Project.
  3. Use the property address for the project name, add in a description if you wish.  I put that it’s a short sale and that escrow should close on April 30, 2012.  You can put your clients names or whatever you want here.  Also add in your Transaction Coordinators email, your broker’s email, or your clients email; anyone who needs access.  If you do decide to add in your clients, you’ll want to make sure that each and every property is its own project.
  4. Once that is done, I’m going to make sure that all of the important days are on the calendar.  Click on Event and start adding in the day that escrow is opened, the day it should close, contingency removal dates, inspections, etc.  You will see that the dates are displayed in an Agenda style; click Calendar to view them on a 6-week grid.
  5. This would be a good time to point out that you can subscribe to this calendar so that you have access to it via Google Calendar to view on your smart phone or tablet.
  6. Time to make checklists!  To jump back to the main page of the project, type the address into the search box, click, and you’re there.  Click To-do List, and the title will be Disclosures.  Click Save and start adding in each disclosure, the date that it needs to be signed by, and who is responsible for getting it done (you or your TC/VA).  I just want to throw in really quickly that New Basecamp does not yet support Checklist Templates like Basecamp Classic does.  If you already have a Basecamp Classic account, you may want to do this as a Checklist Template instead.
  7. My poor husband was just bombarded with all of those emails!  Anyhow, at this point you or your TC/VA will then get all of those forms signed by your client with DocuSign, EchoSign, or by that old-fashioned method of signing in person (on an iPad of course).
  8. Check them off as they are signed, then compress them into a Zip file, and upload that to the File section.
  9. Once they are all loaded, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the link that says “Loop-in someone who isn’t on the project to share this by email only”  Add in the Buyer’s Agent’s email address.  If you know their TC/VA’s email, you can add that in as well.
  10. Alternatively, you can click to add a discussion and address the Buyer’s Agent directly and add the documents in that way as well.  This works best when the other agent isn’t as tech savvy as you are.
  11. Once you receive the fully executed documents, you or your TC/VA should upload each individual file to the file section in Basecamp.  
  12. You can keep up-to-date with what everyone is doing by clicking on the Daily Progress tab.

Keeping an accurate account of every step of a real estate transaction is important.  If you’re negotiating a short sale, you can use Basecamp’s Text Documents to keep track of each person you speak with and everything that was said and/or promised during the conversation.  If you’ve negotiated them before, you know that they tend to “forget” what was previously said, and this is a good way to remind them.

Having all of the information in one central location is also important.  Sure, there are a lot of transaction management programs out there, but most of them are not very intuitive.  Basecamp is so easy, I’m sure that my grandmother could use it, so getting people on board with you should be much easier.

If you need help getting this set up, or you are in need of a transaction coordinator, go to my Work With Me Page, fill out the form and schedule a quick chat session with me.  You can also check out our TC packages here.

Filed Under: Coffee with a VA, Real Estate Info, Transaction Management

Thursday Reviews: My Intervals Project Management

September 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

My Intervals LogoAt the start of the new year, I switched from my beloved Basecamp over to My Intervals for managing projects and teams.  Why if it’s so “beloved”, did I switch you ask?  For starters a lot of the subcontractors that would need access just weren’t “getting it”.  Basecamp can be tough to learn, but it’s a great tool once you figure out its full potential.  Here is a good post title Three Ways to Leverage the Power of Basecamp.  Don’t mind that it was written for Virtual Assistant’s; there is some very good information in there.

Intervals was a bit different for me, and after 9 months of full-time use I can say that it’s an extremely powerful tool for small companies who need to manage multiple projects and work with subcontractors.  There are some things that really bother me about it as well, which is why I’ve been on the lookout for another program that just might do it all (a girl can dream, right?)  If they could fix those nuisances I describe in the Cons section below, Intervals would be perfect for me.

About Intervals (from their website)

Struggling with tracking time? Drowning in a sea of task and project details? You are in the right place.  Intervals is web-based project management software that marries time tracking and task management in a collaborative online space with powerful reporting.  Intervals is ideal for small businesses — including designers, web developers, consultants, creative agencies, IT services firms, and communications companies that bill on an hourly or per project basis.  Fully hosted online service, no software to install—be up and running in minutes.  » Try Intervals Free for 30 Days

The Home Page

Pros:  At-A-Glance ease that lets me see how much billable time and unabillable time I’ve recorded for the week, a calendar view with upcoming milestones, projects, tasks, etc., a Milestones 30-day calendar (which I don’t think I’ve ever looked at), the ability to filter, right-click capabilities that I find very powerful; I love not having to click through too many screens to make a small notation of something or add time to a project.  Can see overdue tasks, and as the owner I can see if any time sheets need to be approved.

Cons:  Not too many, but I want the bar graph on the homepage to show ALL billable time for myself and any subcontractors that log in.  I want to see at a glance EXACTLY where we are at in the scope of a project on the homepage.  I often access Intervals from my smart phone, so I want it to be RIGHT THERE.

The Time Tab

I like being able to see if anyone has a timer running (most of my subcontractors bill hourly, so this is helpful).  I think this whole area could be more streamlined and easier to read.

The Tasks Tab

Pros:  This section is the heart and sole of my business.  I like to break things down to the tiniest task, and this is where I get to do that.  Let’s say the task is to set up a new Facebook Fan Page.  I would break that down into about 20 very distinctive steps in order to make sure I don’t miss a step.  All of the steps together then would be categorized as a Milestone so that I can track it as a whole.  Another huge plus?  I can create a group of tasks that are done often (such as creating a Facebook page) and upload it all at once.  Love that feature and it’s saved me a TON of time.

Cons: I want my overdue tasks to be INMYFACE so I feel really bad about not taking care of them.  Seriously.

The Milestones Tab

I pretty much covered these in with Tasks.  I don’t use them as much as I should, but when I do I love the I can see at-a-glance just how much progress we’re making.

The Projects Tab

Hmmm.  I’m probably using this part wrong, but it works for me.  I don’t have pros or cons because it just is what it is.  I think this could use some redesign.  Clients who are on a monthly retainer for a large range of admin support are on a project that is connected to the month.  A new project is started each month so that I can track their retainer properly.  Clients who have purchased a specific package or we are doing project type work for will have on project set up for each item and it is then tracked from beginning to end that way.  I am pretty freaking anal about all of this because I have to be.  Again, I really think this part should just be easier.

The Clients Tab

I use this section when I set up a new client and then I never look at it again.  I wish we could combine Clients & Projects.

The Invoices Tab

Pros:  I can easily create invoices.  Sometimes I bill in the middle of the month, so I like being able to select “since last period invoiced” as an date range.  It’s the ONLY one I use.

Cons:  This is the main reason I am searching for a new system.  Every other aspect of invoicing not listed above pretty much suck.  People who work online like to be paid online, so why not integrate with Paypal?  Why not have the ability to pay via an emailed invoice?  Why is it SO confusing in there?  If Interval married Freshbooks they’d have a pretty cute kid, and I wouldn’t have to do double entries.  I purchased Quickbooks to fill this gap, but their QB integration is difficult at best, and I LOATHE entering information twice.  I’m scared to find out how much money I’ve left on the table by having so many loose ends in the invoicing process.

The People Tab

Pros:  It contains people and their information, and allows you to set their individual access levels.  Useful.

Cons:  I think this tab and the Clients tab could be rolled up together, and we could simply categorize “people” as either clients, subcontractors, employees, vendors, etc.

The Reports Tab

I {heart} the Reports section; it’s the main reason I haven’t jumped ship.  No other PM program tracks SO MUCH useful information.  I can easily run any number of customizable reports to see exactly where my business is in any point in time.  I am extremely visual, so the colorful charts and graphs really help me to see our overall progress and company growth.

Cons:  I’d like a report that tells me when to fire a client who is literally sucking the life out of me.  Apparently I don’t notice until it’s too late.

The Documents Tab

Because I can upload and later view a document while in the tasks section where I hang out the most, I rarely (like never) visit this tab.  If it were to disappear tomorrow, I’d never know.

Ooh, I just saw a Pro though since this may be my first time on this tab:  there is a cool tag cloud where I could just click on a client’s name or other tag that I’ve used.  This again just proves how visual I am.

Other Stuff

I like being able to customize different pay scales for different clients, and specifically for different types of work.  I don’t do this very often, but it makes a huge difference when I do.

They have a lot of helpful videos so when a client or vendor needs access, I don’t have to take the time to mediocre-ly train them; I let the experts take care of it.

I’d like for Intervals to track my payments to subcontractors and vendors.  I forget, I have to triple-check and I don’t like doing that.  Just track it already!

I want a system that tracks every aspect of my business and makes it EASY for me to collect money.  I like money, and I like receiving it for all of the hard work that I provide to my clients, but that doesn’t mean that I can keep track of all of it in my head.  Like most entrepreneurial types, my passion lies in my craft and the amazing things I can do for my clients, not in my accounting abilities (because I don’t any).

The bottom line:  if you have a lot of clients or projects to track, you work with vendors and subcontractors, are detail-oriented, like colorful charts and graphs and already have a strong accounting system in your business, Intervals is an amazing tool.  If you’re looking for one program to do it all, I’ll let you know as soon as I find it.

What project management system do you use?  What are the pros and cons of using that particular system?  What else have you looked at using in its place?

 

Filed Under: Coffee with a VA, Escape the Paper, Transaction Management Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Our Services

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Real Estate Virtual Assistant Chick Services

Visit our new Services page which will walk you through most of the services that we offer.  Can’t decide or don’t see exactly what you’re looking for?  Contact April directly from the Work with Me page!

Filed Under: Coffee with a VA, Ditch Your Desk, Escape the Paper, Real Estate S & M, Transaction Management

How to Tame Your Email

June 16, 2011 By 3 Comments

I get around 500 emails per day.  Some are from clients, some are from potential clients, VA’s who have questions, the VA’s who do work for me, various newsletters that I subscribe to, a bunch of spam and other “junk”.  I usually do a very good job of keeping it under control, and I’d like to teach you as well.

First of all, let me warn you that I am a Gmail snob.  Just like every Mac owner will tell you how special their “baby” is when given a chance, I’ll almost do the same with Gmail.  My husband still uses Outlook half the time (I’ve only been able to partially convert him) and I smack him around every chance I get.

Anyway, back to taming your Gmail inbox.  First thing you’ll want to do is enable Nested Labels under settings –> labs.  This is crucial, especially to those who are transitioning to Gmail from Outlook.  My main Labels are:

  • Clients
  • Inactive Clients
  • VA Work
  • Subcontractors
  • Vendors
  • Leads
  • My Mentors
  • Webinar Replays
  • Social Media
  1. Color-code each main label.  Clients are a deep red, Subcontractors are turquoise, leads are purple, vendors blue, etc.
  2. Make a nested label for each Active Client by name or even by property (but it’s easier by name).  So ALL of my active clients are the same deep red color.  When something pops up in my inbox, I know just by glancing that it’s from an active client and needs my attention.
  3. Once you’ve done this for all of your clients, leads, inactive clients, etc. create some filters.
  4. Start with your first client, select an email from her and click to create a filter.  For clients, I use these filters:  From, Star It, Apply the Label Clients/DougWathen, Always Mark it Important

Go through all of your clients, then inactive  clients, then leads, etc. in this fashion.

For Social Media, webinar replays and anything else I don’t want to see on a daily basis I use these filters:  From, Skip the Inbox, Apply the Label Social Media, Never Mark it Important

I am especially diligent at adding more than one label per email if necessary.  For example, if Dawn is designing a flyer for Doug, I will add labels for both Dawn and Doug to each email.  Sometimes it takes a little extra work, but it has saved me so many headaches when I need to go back and find something later on.

How do you tame your email?

 

Filed Under: Coffee with a VA, Ditch Your Desk, Escape the Paper, Real Estate Info, Transaction Management Tagged With: , , , ,

3 Real Estate CRM’s You May Not Know About

May 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Real Estate CRMIf I had a nickel for every real estate agent that asked “What’s the best CRM for an agent?” I’d have enough money to buy…  well, I’d have like $5.  The point is, I don’t know anyone who has found the perfect CRM.  Those who use Top Producer mostly want out, or don’t use it.  If you’re using SalesForce you likely don’t have much time for it, as you’re busy trying to pay for it.  Still others don’t know the difference between a CRM and a Newsletter Manager such as Constant Contact or Mail Chimp.

So, just to confuse you even further, here are 3 Real Estate CRM’s that you may not have tried yet:  (Note, I have not had a chance yet to try out all of these)

  1. Smart Touch Cost:  You must Request a Quote {translation:  $$$$$}
    • Segmentation + relevant messaging
    • Integrates listings and critical data with back office and website
    • Connects online marketing messages with offline sales activity
    • Track every lead received from all sources
    • Automatic lead scoring: tracks online activity
    • Automatic digital correspondence from marketing and sales
    • Notify realtors when a lead is “sales ready”
    • Segmented e-mail campaign with “1-Click Preference Updates”
    • Unique e-mails are based on segmentation and intelligence
    • Integrated Web Forms: Auto Populates Records
    • Cost per Lead Reporting
    • Lead Hotlist: Smart Pipeline Report
    • Inventory Management (Listings)
    • Full record per listing
    • Do it yourself set-up wizard
    • Auto calculated commission structure
    • Listing history & showings reporting
    • Add price reduction ranges
    • Full description and MLS details available in the CRM
  2. All Clients Cost:  $19 – $29 per month {Calendar doesn’t sync with Google, Not very “pretty”}
    1. Very Easy to Learn and Use (Really!)
    2. Monthly Newsletter for Clients
    3. Flexible To-Do Management
    4. Email Drip Campaigns
    5. Autoresponders
    6. Lead Capturing Web Forms
    7. Team System that Grows With You
    8. Contact Management
    9. Deals Management
    10. Birthday Assistant
    11. Client Referral Tree
    12. Easy Audio Generator
    13. Easy Contact Filtering
    14. 10 Second Mail Merge
    15. Calendar
  3. REThink Real Estate CRM Cost:  $39 – $69 per month
    1. MLS Integration
    2. Integrate with Outlook
    3. Integrate with Google Apps
    4. Integrate with Company Website
    5. REthink Mobile works with iPhone, iPad, Blackberry & Android
    6. From their website:

The real estate market as we know it has changed. Agents must reach out to more leads to achieve the same amount of business and close the same amount of deals. Home buyers are requesting much more information and assurance from their agents before they’re ready to buy a home. Home sellers want to make sure they hire an agent that will get them the best price for their home.

REthink Residential Real Estate CRM provides agents and brokerages with the tools necessary to close more deals, especially in a down economy. Capture more leads from your website, convert every lead into a client, and provide up-to-date, real–time home information to your clients. Manage all of your activities and tasks and associate these to any property, listing, or contact. Manage all of your home showings directly from REthink Residential Real Estate CRM and associate them to them to contacts, properties, and listings.

Whatever you choose, use the free trial.  Also discuss your needs with your Real Estate Virtual Assistant.  We’ve used so many different CRM’s, we know the in’s and out’s and the annoyances of different programs.  Plus, if we’ve been working with you for a while, we know how YOU work as well and can help you find the best fit.

Filed Under: Coffee with a VA, Ditch Your Desk, Escape the Paper, Real Estate Info, Transaction Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

So What Exactly Does a Real Estate Virtual Assistant DO?

May 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I get a lot of email from Real Estate Agents, Coaches, Brokers, aspiring Virtual Assistants and other small business owners.  Some of them want free information (usually just the aspiring VA’s), some just want to know my rates, some want to complain about my rates.  Most are just curious:  ”So what exactly does a Real Estate Virtual Assistant DO?”

I can picture them on the other end of their computer with that glazed over, deer in the headlights look.  It sounds cool, but what the heck can you do for me?

I’d like to show them the 208 tasks that we added to our project management system this month!  But no, it’s a legitimate question that I often begin to answer with some questions of my own:

  • What is it that you do?
  • Who do you prefer to sell real estate to?  Yes, your target market.
  • Do you like working with buyers or sellers? (This question usually knocks them off balance a little.  I think they aren’t used to somebody caring).
  • Where are you stuck right now, this very moment.

That’s where we stop and I can start to get a feel for what their problem is.  This is where my wheels start turning and I’ve already half-way formulated a plan to un-stick them from this position.  I’m also going through my roster of amazing Virtual Assitants who I call my team members.  My chicks.

You see, I like to solve problems.  I want to find out what your biggest problem is and get it solved for you as quickly as possible so that when you’re finally free of that burden you feel as if you can take on anything.  When you’ve dumped some of your “tolerations” you are much more ready to start implementing a new marketing plan, or shifting your focus on more pressing matters, delegating more items to my team, and seeing more clients.

And in case you’re wondering, here is a list of “what we do”:

  • Listing Coordination
    • Add to MLS
    • Create Virtual Tour
    • Create syndicated flyer, QR Code, etc.
    • Create CL ads that drive traffic to website
    • Create new listing flyer, postcard, etc.
    • Reverse Prospecting
    • Post new listing to all social media networks
    • Make all necessary updates to online listings
    • Incorporate client’s existing listing plan
  • Transaction Management
    • “In the Cloud” file management
    • Work directly with clients, escrow, agents
    • Complete all disclosures & docs per broker’s  list
    • Coordinate with escrow, title and lenders
    • Schedule all needed appointments & inspections
    • Obtain signatures via DocuSign, fax or postal mail
  • Social Media for Real Estate Agents
    • Market to new clientso Protect your brand
    • Test new marketing ideas
    • Track all Social Media Metrics
    • Custom backgrounds and landing pages
    • Add new contacts systematically
    • Create professionally branded fan page
    • Post local content daily/weekly
    • Set up auto/semi-auto postingo Reply to DM’s on your behalf
    • Create events, invite contactso Pre-schedule tweets for max exposure
    • Geo-target people to follow
    • Add listing s to fan pageo Incorporate client’s existing social media plan
  • Blogging & Ghost Writing for Real Estate Agents
    • Creation of hyper-local content that you own
    • Creation of real estate content that you own
    • Repurposing previous blog posts
      • Other blogs
      • Social media networks
      • Newsletter or e-zineo
    • All post included pictures, keywords, approx. 300 words and are posted on your site
  • Market Updates, Flyers & Other Print Media
    • Creation of flyer template by former Senior Graphic Designer of the LA Times Real Estate
    • Creation of MLS search templates
    • Add a featured listing at the top of each flyer
    • All market activity is added to the flyer and set up for monthly delivery
    • Professionally printed and delivered to you
  • Database Management
    • Top Producer/Market Snapshot
    • Wise Agent, Ixact Contact, MLS Office, etc.
    • Strategize to find the best possible CRM
    • Creation of new drip campaigns/autoresponders
    • Categorize and assign all contacts
    • Create and maintain clear follow-up plan
    • Sync database w/ client & mobile devices
    • Link social networks to database if possible
    • Use database to build fan/friend/follower base
  • Miscellaneous Services
    • Business Strategizing
    • Full Bookkeeping
    • Calendar management
    • Phone answering
    • WordPress
      • Installation
      • Update
      • Customization
      • Anything!  We have dedicated pros!
    • Lead tracking/management
    • Newsletter creation & management
    • Update listings on websites
    • Photo enhancement
    • Systems & Processes development
    • Vendor management
    • List buildingo SEO/backlinking

 

Filed Under: Client Creations, Coffee with a VA, Ditch Your Desk, Escape the Paper, Real Estate Info, Real Estate S & M, Templates, Transaction Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 Real Estate and Mortgage Urban Legends

April 7, 2011 By 2 Comments

Originally posted here on Trulia.com

Entire feature films, websites and hour-long cable specials have been devoted to debunking  urban legends, those modern fables that circulate at the speed of the internet. And real estate is not immune; modern-day myths of easy-peasy seller financing, distressed sellers practically throwing their properties at buyers, and cosmetic fixers that can be had for pennies are just that – fairy tales which, if believed, can result in some not-so-happy endings.

The real deal is that real estate is much more affordable than it used to be, but the barriers to entry are higher, and the days in which you could get something for nothing are over.  Here are five real estate and mortgage urban legends, and the truth which lies beneath.

Urban Legend #1: Got bad credit? Get seller financing.  Does seller financing exist?  Of course.  Is it as easy to get – or desirable – as they make it seem in the infomercials? Not even close.

Here’s the real deal: most sellers who have a mortgage they obtained in the last 10 years or so also have a due on sale clause which requires them to pay it off when they sell the property. Financing the sale themselves, vs. requiring the buyer to obtain mortgage or other financing to pay for the property, prevents them from having the cash to pay their mortgage off, as required.  And the vast majority of those who don’t have a mortgage of recent vintage need the proceeds from the sale of their homes to buy their next home or invest in their next property.

What’s more, even the few sellers who don’t need the cash often don’t want to take on the long-term risk and hassle involved with having to collect payments from a buyer for 10, 15, or 30 years.  The sellers who can and will agree to seller financing usually want a premium price and interest rate for it – and the smart ones will require some type of credit check and a deeper down payment than a traditional lender.

And seller financing, as sweet as it sounds, poses risks for buyers, too.  If the seller keeps a bank mortgage on the property and fails to make the payment, the seller-financed buyer could end up losing the home they’ve paid for to foreclosure. Best targets for seller-financing are investor sellers who are looking to avoid capital gains, and best practice is to get a local real estate attorney involved in drafting and recording the transfer and financing documentation.

Urban Legend # 2: Buyers save big bucks on cosmetic fixers.  Sellers aren’t stupid – and neither are their agents.  There might have been a day and time in which you could find listings that were deeply discounted because they needed a little cosmetic refresh.  But those days are long gone – even in today’s down market, sellers expect to invest a little cash into paint and carpet to stage and spruce up their biggest asset and get as much as humanly possible for it.  Today’s sellers also know that homes not  in tip-top shape may not sell at all these days, so they go to great lengths to do make their homes shine.  (And those who can’t afford to aren’t slashing tens of thousands off their homes’ list prices, though some will offer buyers a credit at closing.)

That’s not to say you can’t get a discount on a place that needs some work.  But the meatiest discounts are on the places that need the most work; roof leaks, old windows and laundry-list long pest inspection reports are much more likely to get you a big price break than scuffed walls and grungy carpeting on a home in otherwise sound condition.

Urban Legend #3: 100 percent financing for first-time buyers.  Most of the national first-time buyer programs are mere figments of our collective mortgage memory.  But during the subprime mortgage era, 100 percent financing was available to pretty much everyone, not just first-timers.  And the post-bubble first-time buyer programs tended to be tax credits that could defray some of the up front investment required to buy a home, rather than zero-down home loans.

FHA loans, which are extremely popular with first-time buyers, are available to any buyer who can qualify, whether or not they have owned homes before or own one now.  Most of the state and local first-time buyer programs that still exist involve some level of down payment or closing cost assistance, but the vast majority also require that the buyer put some of their own cash into the transaction. The prevailing theory today is that homeowners who have put their own hard-earned cash into their homes are less likely to walk away from it later, whether or not they are first-time buyers.  It has also become clear that the financial management skills and discipline it takes to save up for a down payment or closing costs are skills and habits that stand prospective buyers in good stead for the rest of their lifetimes as homeowners.

Long story short, while virgin homebuyers can and should seek out the assistance programs available to them (local real estate and mortgage pros often know the ins and outs), they should also tuck their pennies away and expect to have to put some of their own financial skin in the game.

Urban Legend #4: Nearly free foreclosures. We’ve all heard the line that banks don’t want to be in the business of owning homes.  That may be true, but they are in that business, whether or not they want to be.  As a result, they’re not giving houses away at pennies on the dollar.  In fact, bank-owned homes, as a rule, must be sold at as close as possible to their fair market value. Banks and their Wall Street mortgage investors do this by exposing the property fully to the market, rarely accepting lowball offers, and only lowering list prices in fairly small increments after a listing fails to sell after 60 or 90 days (plus) at the pre-reduction price.

While foreclosed homes do sell for less, on average, than their “regular” sale counterparts, they are also often in worse condition.  And banks are virtually always less negotiable on pricing, repairs and other terms than individual sellers.  The fact of the matter is that some of the best deals on today’s market are to be had via negotiations with realistic owners of non-distressed properties who are ready, willing and able to make a deal.

Urban Legend #5: Distressed owners who will sign their home over to you, gratis. This one is fantasy of the highest level.  First off, very few assumable home loans even exist anymore; most mortgage are due on sale, which means that new buyers have to qualify for and secure their own loans.  Secondly, many mortgages that ARE assumable have much higher interest rates than today’s home loans. Third, most homeowners who are in a distressed position on their home are in that position because their home has declined in value and they now owe more on it than it’s worth, which stops them from pulling off a traditional sale or refinancing it at today’s lower rate.

Ask yourself: why would you, a buyer, want to assume a mortgage balance vastly greater than the property is worth, even if you could?  It’s just not worth it, even if you think you’re getting a shortcut around the mortgage qualifying rigmarole.

Add to that the fact that many states have consumer protection laws dramatically limiting the sort of ‘bailout’ that is even legal to propose to a homeowner who is in some stage of the foreclosure process. In addition, many homeowners who have received foreclosure notices are in the process of trying to work out their distress with their lender or staying put without making payments as long as possible before losing their homes.  These folks might be slightly miffed at your intrusion, to put it politely, if you ring them up, send them a note or knock on their door trying to pitch yourself (and your signature) as their mortgage distress solution.

Did you have any personal real estate urban legends that were debunked in the process of homebuying?  Leave a comment, and share with us!

P.S. – You should follow Trulia and Tara on Facebook, too!

Filed Under: Real Estate Info, Templates, Transaction Management Tagged With: , , , , ,

Delegation Series – Scheduling

February 18, 2011 By 1 Comment

Day 2 according to the 30 Days of Delegation ebook is all about Ditching the Email Overwhelm, but I’ve already posted about that here and here.  No need to do it again!

On to scheduling!  This is one that I don’t always feel the need to delegate because I have the right tools in place, but you may need to.  Please tell me you’re not still just writing it down on a paper calendar!  (Outlook is just as bad.)

The key here is to be able to share your calendar with your team and to be able to access it anywhere, anytime you need it – just like your email.

I highly suggest using Google Calendar for all of your scheduling needs.  I’ve used paid services that don’t even come close to the functionality of Google’s calendar!  I keep 8 calendars that all mesh nicely into one view:

  1. General Company Calendar – hold my daily, weekly schedule for client work, appointments, recurring events, training courses, lunch (yes, I have to schedule it!), blogging, marketing, etc.   I also add into this calendar the “type” of day it is:  Client focused, Marketing, Flex, Planning, Development, etc.
  2. I have 1 calendar for my husband’s real estate company.
  3. I have 1 calendar for a client who does a lot of real estate transaction that I manage, and we need to both see when items are due and what is needed.
  4. I have 1 calendar for launches & promotions.  I haven’t used this one yet, but just having it there is a great reminder that I need to spend some time in this area.
  5. I have 1 calendar that is linked to my Google Tasks (in Gmail)
  6. 1 is for family activities.  I keep track of weekly carpooling, cheerleading schedules, school projects, family functions, dinners, date nights (those usually get ignored though), parties,  and my personal time.
  7. 1 have a Team Chick calendar that is shared with the members of my team to keep track of vacation days, personal time, outside work schedules – everything.  This helps when determining deadlines or if one team member needs to schedule something for another.
  8. And the last calendar is simply a US Holidays calendar.  When I work with clients in other countries, I’ll add in their calendar as well so that I always know what is going on in their world.

Sceduling Tools

I use Tungle.me to quickly and easily schedule consultations and appointments with my clients.  I can quickly and easily “paint” off the times & days that I’m available, and then it’s sent off for the recipient to choose which of those times work best for him or her.  Once a time has been established, everyone gets an email, and then it’s automatically added to your Google calendar.  It also syncs with Outlook, iCal and there is an iPhone app as well.  Tungle, if you’re listening, we’re also ready for an Android app!!

You can easily delegate this to your real estate virtual assistant by giving her access to scheduling applications and sharing your Google calendar with her.

My calendar this week – so girly!! Notice my logo in the background.

My Tungle availability for next week - this is what your client sees if they go directly to your page.

Filed Under: Coffee with a VA, Ditch Your Desk, Escape the Paper, Transaction Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

New Rates for the New Year

December 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Virtual Assistant Chick Rates

0 – 5 Hours: $48/hour

6 – 10 Hours: $46/hour

11 – 20 Hours: $44/hour

21 – 30 Hours: $42/hour

31 + Hours: $40/hour

All services are billed at the same rate, and all time spent on your project is billable.

You are not required to maintain monthly minimums, nor do we auto debit your account.

All services are paid for in advance.

All invoices must be paid upon receipt.

Filed Under: Coffee with a VA, Transaction Management Tagged With: , , , ,