Chris Davis - Mortgage Consultant

7 Important Ways for Real Estate Agents to get Started with Internet Marketing of Their Business

Tuesday, September 28, 2010 3:22 PM Posted by Chris Davis

Nearly everything below is free or very affordable, however you must be willing to invest the time for setup and a certain amount of time every day to work your plan. If you’re not willing to do that, then hire someone to set you up and assist you to get started or don’t do it at all. This is by no means an overnight success for getting found online.

1. Have a Blog that is geared toward your real estate marketplace, community and real estate laws and home-ownership.

Write to your audience with good, interesting content
Use good keywords that relate to your business and community
Include links to resources, sites, and points of interest & a photo on each Blog post
Use widgets for email sign-up, RSS, older posts, and links
Use key Plugins and Widgets for Social, Optimization, and other time saving goodies

2. Use a second Blog platform (Amplify or Posterous) to share interesting business and real estate events from Inman, REALTOR.org, etc.

Share your posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
Bookmark your Blog posts and others in categories to share
Use Add This Button for sharing on Delicious, Digg, StumbleUpon and others

3. Google Tools

Google Profile: Make it complete with links to all your other sites, Blogs, and Social media profiles.
Google Reader: Wonderful for research, staying abreast of industry news, innovations, and community. My favorites include Mashable, Inman, RISMedia.
Google Alerts: Setup Google Alerts on yourself, your company, your competition, your community and real estate in general. This will alert you on timely matters and news.
Merchant Center/Googlebase: Excellent place to promote and advertise your business, featured listings, coupons for free market evaluations, etc.

4. Use Facebook

Profile: Use a photo, complete your profile with keywords that will relate to you, your business, and interests. Brand your page with your name. Example: www.facebook.com/chadprull.realtor. This is better than having all those numbers connected to your address.
Business Page: You can get this page branded and customized to match your website or Blog (Fee involved) or use some of the applications included with Facebook.
Focus on Community: Places to see, things to do, events, festivals, meetings, points of interest, and other relevant facts.
Use RSS and share Blog posts to your business page.
Have a Tab set up to your LinkedIn, Videos, Business Page
Marketplace: Another avenue for promoting and advertising your listings and services.

5. Use LinkedIn

Make sure your profile is complete.
Participate in the Questions and Answers section.
Applications: Forward Twitter streams to your LinkedIn, setup your Blog to RSS into LinkedIn, post your recommended books.
Build your recommendations up to 12 plus from key local community business people and centers of influence.
Complete a Resume for your LinkedIn geared toward real estate. Remember you wake up unemployed every day. Your resume should highlight your career successes, education, and accomplishments.

6. Use YouTube

Set up a Profile and YouTube Channel for your Business.
Use YouTube to do quick real estate market updates for your community, discuss community events, grand openings, and other items of interest that can be shared. Keep these videos to under 2 minutes.
Share your updated videos on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Upload appropriate videos to your Blog.

7. Use Twitter

This Profile can only be 140 characters or less, so focus on your community, real estate, homes, services, and a link to your website or blog.
A Photo or Avatar is a must. Example: twitter.com/TheRehabAgent
Share, Thank, compliment often (3 to 1 rule).
Re-Tweet others Tweets that are interesting and informative.
Don’t sell – provide links to further information.

This may appear to be basic, however most real estate agents have not yet designed a plan to make sure they are being found online. Some real estate agents have good intentions, set up a few sites and forget about them. This is worse than not having any profiles at all.

The guidelines above can be expanded over time; however, it’s just a plan to get you started in the right direction. Remember that your goal is to drive traffic to your listings, your services, and develop relationships that will result into a face-to-face contact. This is still a “people business.”

Article Source: www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com

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Ensure Your Listing is the One that Stands Out!

Thursday, September 16, 2010 9:24 AM Posted by Chris Davis

Nearly 90% of potential home buyers begin their search online. Buyers want as much information online as you can possibly give them and they don’t want to pay for it nor be required to register for it. By offering floor plans of your listings online, you are adding ammunition to your arsenal of information for buyers.

Here's another interesting statistic for you, according to Rightmove, a leading magazine for real estate agents in the UK, properties marketed with a floor plan generate a whopping 30% more interest than properties without one. Reasons to use floor plans really don’t get any clearer than that!

Set yourself apart from the competition. Here are a few programs to try out and create floor plans for your property listings:

1.- Floorplanner.com
With this program, you enter the dimensions and create the 2-D, 3-D and interactive floor plans yourself using the online tools. Add your logo and print in hi-res for print marketing pieces. The interactive floor planner offers a huge library of textures, fencing, and furniture. Pricing starts at $29/month and you can try the service by creating your first floor plan for free.

2.- Diakrit.com
Diakrit is an online tool where you upload a sketch of your floor plan and Diakrit’s designers create 2-D, 3-D, 3-D Special (with light and shadows), furnished or unfurnished renderings per your request. Turn-around time is next business day. Prices start at $19.95 per floor plan.

3.- Sweethome3D.com
A free, open source program that you download and save to your computer. The user then enters the dimensions of the home and can then view 2-D and 3-D versions of their floor plan. A limited library is available for furniture placement.

4.- Gliffy.com
Gliffy is a free online diagram software where you can create floor plans as well as flow charts and technical drawings. It also features a “share” tool where you can invite friends to view your creation or blog about it. Gliffy can also be added to your Google Apps. Basic accounts are free for up to 5 floor plans and premium accounts start at $5/month.

5.- Floorplanonline.com
This program gives you the option of self-service or full-service floor plan creation. You can choose to sketch the floor plan and take your own pictures, or have someone come out and do it for you, or a combination of both. You can link your creation to Realtor.com and/or other sites. Prices start at $59 for a self-service floor plan and $179 for full-service.

With so much competition out there, savvy marketing is crucial. If you are already using any floor-plan technology tool, let us know your thoughts.

Article Source: futureofrealestatemarketing.com

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Mortgage rate up to 4.35 percent

Thursday, September 9, 2010 1:21 PM Posted by Chris Davis

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 4.35 percent, up from 4.32 percent the week before. It was only the second rise in the past 12 weeks. Last week's was the lowest number since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed loan remained at 3.83 percent after falling last week. It's still the lowest rate on records starting in 1991.

Mortgage rates moved higher following a series of more upbeat economic readings prior to Labor Day. The August jobs report wasn't stellar, but it wasn't as dour as expected, and this was a catalyst for investors to move into riskier assets. In doing so, investors sold safe-haven Treasury securities, to which mortgage rates are closely related. The path of mortgage rates will be determined largely by investors' sentiment about whether the economy is getting better or worse, and will continue to yo-yo up and down amid conflicting economic readings.

The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was Nov. 2008. At that time, the average rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 4.58 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,022.90, a savings of almost $219 per month for a homeowner refinancing now.

Don't get left behind, if your ready to purchase a home, get your mortgage as soon as possible.

Article Source: AZCentral & Bankrate

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Gov't launches plan to help ''underwater'' borrowers

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 3:04 PM Posted by Chris Davis

The Obama administration is trying to jump-start its sputtering attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with an effort to assist homeowners who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth.

The Federal Housing Administration will allow lenders to give these borrowers refinanced loans if the lender agrees to forgive at least 10 percent of the original mortgage amount.

The plan, which was announced in March, is being made available starting Tuesday.

The FHA said in a document published last month that between 500,000 and 1.5 million homeowners are projected to be helped.

However, the Obama administration's previous efforts to stem foreclosures have fallen far short of expectations. Analysts at Barclays Capital estimated last month that the refinancing program would only aid between 200,000 and 300,000 homeowners.

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U.S. 30-Year Mortgage Rate Declines to Record 4.32%

Thursday, September 2, 2010 4:08 PM Posted by Chris Davis

U.S. mortgage rates dropped to a record low once again, reducing borrowing costs for homebuyers as demand slumps.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.32 percent in the week ended today from 4.36 percent, Freddie Mac said in a statement today. That was the lowest since the McLean, Virginia-based company began compiling the data in 1971. The average 15-year rate was 3.83 percent, also a record.

Low home-loan rates have yet to boost home sales, depressed by unemployment and the end of a federal homebuyer tax credit. Sales of new and previously owned homes fell to the lowest level on record in July, according to reports last week from the Commerce Department and National Association of Realtors.

The number of contracts to purchase previously owned houses unexpectedly rose in July, a sign the market may be starting to stabilize. The index of pending home resales rose 5.2 percent after a revised 2.8 percent drop the prior month, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington.

The decline in rates has spurred a surge of refinancing as Americans seek to reduce payments. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of refinancing rose 2.8 percent in the week ended Aug. 27 to the highest level since May 2009.

If you have any questions regarding the possibility of refinancing your home or applying for a new mortgage loan, please feel free to contact me. Now is the perfect time to buy a home!

Picture & Article From: Bloomberg

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2 New Federal Programs to Help Borrowers Pay Their Mortgages

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 2:33 PM Posted by Chris Davis

The Obama administration plans to take two new steps in the next few weeks to help struggling homeowners pay their mortgages, said Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The administration will begin a Federal Housing Administration refinancing effort to help borrowers who are struggling to pay their home mortgages, and will start an emergency homeowners’ loan program for unemployed borrowers so they can stay in their homes, Mr. Donovan said on “State of the Union” on CNN. “We are going to continue to make sure folks have access to home ownership,” he said.

Sales of new homes unexpectedly dropped in July to the lowest level on record, signaling that even with cheaper prices and reduced borrowing costs the housing market is retreating. And sales of existing houses declined by a record 27 percent in July as the effects of a government tax credit waned. Reasons why the administration is taking these additional steps to make sure the market stabilizes and recovers.

5 Tools to Turbo-Charge Your Social Media

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 11:18 AM Posted by Chris Davis

I've said it a million times, the importance of social media in a real estate professional’s marketing plan is undeniable.

Consumers now receive their information through different outlets like the internet, smart phones, I-pads and more. Rather than picking up the newspaper they may receive their news online, rather than looking up for a service provider in the phone book, they will look on Google, Facebook connections, etc. In a world where billions of people use the internet as a place to go for information about products and services, a real estate agent cannot afford not having a strong online presence.

There are many different approaches as to how to best implement a social media strategy, the need to streamline the SM integration process on a day-to-day basis grows constantly. There are 5 great tools than can help you to effectively manage time and increase efficiency:

1. Tweetdeck – Initially made as a desktop application for Twitter, now it has grown to incorporate Facebook, Myspace, Linked In, and the most recent updates include Google Buzz and Foursquare. The purpose of Tweetdeck is to connect the user with contacts across different social media outlets, allowing you to tweet, update Facebook status, change Myspace user moods and much more all from a single application. And the fact that it supports iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad makes it a mobile command center for all your social media needs.

2. Gist – Although still in the beta stage, you can consider this to be your ultimate Customer Relations Management (CRM) for social media. This application allows users to combine contacts across multiple mediums and organize data based on contact priority, thereby providing a full view of your social network. Gist will continue to be my social media CRM of choice, especially as it has an app specifically tailored to work with Gmail.

3. Roost - In order to establish and maintain a successful social media presence it is critical to provide useful/relevant information. The Roost application for Facebook, aptly named Social Real Estate, is a free, easy-to-use tool that gives consumers the information they want and agents the ability to further engage their target audience. Data includes Altos Research market stats, walkability scores, education info, and a market snapshot. Not all real estate markets are available yet, but expect big things from this forward-thinking company.

4. Chatterbox - The more people you follow on Twitter, all the ‘chatter’ makes it more difficult to stay updated on the topics that matter most to you. Chatterbox allows users to organize and prioritize their tweets based on keywords, Twitter handles, tags and an assortment of other criteria. Think of it as your single-point of reference for all your Twittering needs. This tool is of particular use to large real estate brokerages that have strong Twitter presences, as it allows specific areas to be assigned to individual agents who can better engage followers with timely responses and local expertise. Although currently it only works for Twitter, look for other services to be integrated in the future.

5. Social Radar - Social Radar by Infegy provides users with the ability to get updated information of what is being said about them. It scours the ends of the Internet, literally billions of messages 24/7, so you don’t have to.

As the hours in the day seem to be getting shorter and there are always more things to attend to, it is important to use technological advances to work more efficiently.

If you are using any of these tools please let me know what you think.

Article Source: Future of Real Estate Marketing

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