By Amy Hoak
RISMEDIA, March 26, 2010—(MCT)-Homeowners love their yards. They plant gardens, create cozy areas for entertaining, and install decorative elements that they’re as happy to look at from the kitchen window as they are from their chaise lounge.
And despite a weak economy, Americans are expected to continue this love affair with the world outside their door—and perhaps spend a little more time in it as they plan to spend their summer vacations at home.
About 94% of residential landscape architects polled by the American Society of Landscape Architects earlier this year said that outdoor living spaces, including cooking and entertaining areas, would be popular in 2010. That said, improvements are expected to have few frills as homeowners stick to the basics in this cool economy.
“Homeowners want to create a sense of place for their family, friends, and neighbors to enjoy outside, but an uncertain economy means many will dial back some of the extra features we’ve seen in past years,” said Nancy Somerville, executive vice president for the group.
According to the survey results, some of the most popular features this year include: outdoor seating and dining areas, including benches and seat-walls or weatherized outdoor furniture, as well as fire pits and fireplaces, the classic outdoor grill and outdoor counter space. More lavish outdoor kitchen appliances, including refrigerators and sinks, are expected to be less popular, as are stereo systems and outdoor heaters. Survey results found a growing interest in low-maintenance landscapes and native plants. There’s also a continued resurgence of the home garden.
While consumers may be planting more as a way to have fresher produce or so they can know where their food is coming from, there’s also an economic driver: According to the National Gardening Association, a well-maintained food garden yields an average $500 return, considering a typical investment and the market price of produce.
A growing market
The interest in spending time outside is likely to beget more products designed for indoor/outdoor use in the near future, according to Rob Tannen and Mathieu Turpault, of Bresslergroup, a product-development firm.
One of the products they imagined: a tray container system that people could take into the garden to collect fruits and vegetables, adapt to fit the sink for cleaning the produce and slide into a refrigerator as you would a crisper drawer. Another concept was a grill with seating built around it, allowing cooks to entertain friends as they work.
Technology will likely play a larger role outdoors, too, Tannen said. It’s not far-fetched to imagine a shed with solar roofing panels that allow you to charge pieces of large lawn equipment, as easily as you might dock your Dustbuster inside the house. Or using iPod apps in the garden to learn how to best take care of a plant, he said.
Already, technology has entered some gardens. EasyBloom, a product that hit the market in 2008, is a sensor that you stick in the ground to collect information about the soil. You then connect it to a computer via a USB port, where collected information is analyzed to help determine what plants will thrive in that area. The tool also can diagnose problems with an existing plant. “People get bummed out when a plant is not doing well,” said Matt Glenn, chief executive of PlantSense, the company that sells EasyBloom. “If you have a rose bush, put the sensor next to the rose bush and the sensor will look at the world the way the rose does.” You’ll quickly learn, for example, if it isn’t getting enough sunlight or has been over-watered—which can be useful for the growing ranks of novice gardeners.
Adding appeal
When designing any outdoor area, it’s important to create a series of places that you can inhabit, whether it’s a covered space to entertain in or a vegetable bed to attend to, said Sarah Susanka, an architect and author of The Not So Big House series of books. Don’t forget your garden’s view from the inside either, she added.
“When I was designing my garden, I designed a view from my kitchen window,” so it could be enjoyed while standing at the kitchen sink, she said. “If you can see something that you find attractive day after day, you’re much more likely to sit out there,” she added.
And while many homeowners are making these outdoor improvements to their homes so they can enjoy them—especially in a real estate market where moving to another home is financially difficult for some families—a well-planned and maintained garden and outdoor area will serve an owner at the time of resale too.
“When you have a beautiful garden, someone will fall in love with it. In fact, it’s what they’re purchasing—more than the house even,” Susanka said.
Arbors, water features such as fountains, pergolas and decks are expected to be the most popular outdoor structures for homeowners this year, according to the architects group. And making an investment in a deck, for example, might set an existing home apart from a newly constructed one, said Edie Kello, director of marketing for Fiberon, a company that manufactures composite decking material.
“Fifteen to 20 years ago, most builders were putting on decks. A lot of construction builders these days aren’t building decks,” Kello said. “I think it’s a cost factor,” she said, adding that when builders were mass producing during the boom years—building as quickly and cost-effectively as possible—home buyers would often get only a stoop outside their door.
(c) 2010, MarketWatch.com Inc.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
10 Staging Tips to Help Your Home Sell
By Jean Patteson
RISMEDIA, March 19, 2010—(MCT)—Want to sell your home? Get out the bucket, mop and Mr. Clean. The key to making a positive first impression is simple, said Sandra Rinomato, host of HGTV’s popular “Property Virgins” show.
“Get it clean, clean, clean,” said Rinomato. “If your house isn’t clean, it instantly sends up negative thoughts that the home is not well maintained. If your house is spotless, you’re ahead of the game,” she said.
But don’t stop there, advised Rinomato. To increase your chances of making a sale, “stage” the house to make it as attractive as possible. Until recently, “Staging meant pulling out all the stops—setting the dining table with your best china and crystal, arranging flowers, lighting candles,” she said. “Now we take the minimalist approach. Basically, you want to strip the house to its bare essentials, depersonalize it so potential buyers can superimpose themselves and their lifestyle on the house.”
Rinomato offered the following tips for staging a home:
1. Visit model homes and examine shelter magazines for inexpensive decorating ideas. Always keep in mind you are not decorating for yourself but for the general public.
2. Start with the outside. Give the house a fresh coat of paint, add shiny hardware to the front door and plant a few flowers to send a subliminal message the house is loved and well cared for.
3. Declutter every room to make it look larger. Get rid of family pictures, trophies and knickknacks. Closets and drawers should be no more than 30% full.
4. Invest in eco-friendly but bright lights. Open the drapes or remove them completely. “Light, bright rooms give the impression this is a happy place—and everyone wants to move into a happy place,” said Rinomato.
5. Feature only a few pieces of furniture with mainstream appeal. Pull pieces away from walls to make rooms look bigger.
6. Make sure a room’s primary use is obvious. A bedroom should look like a bedroom, not an office, hobby center or gym.
7. Bedrooms and kitchens are difficult to stage because they are in daily use, but make the effort. Clear everything off the counters and nightstands, roll up the rugs and hide the laundry hamper. Buff the cabinets with car wax and clean under the sinks. Invest in pristine white bed linens and towels.
8. Minimize the “pet effect.” Remove food bowls and litter boxes to the utility room. Deodorize thoroughly.
9. Organize the utility room and garage. Hang up the bicycles, roll up the hose. Renting a storage locker is worth the cost if it helps you sell faster and for a higher price.
10. Once your house is staged, invite your friends or Realtor over and walk them through to get an objective opinion.
RISMEDIA, March 19, 2010—(MCT)—Want to sell your home? Get out the bucket, mop and Mr. Clean. The key to making a positive first impression is simple, said Sandra Rinomato, host of HGTV’s popular “Property Virgins” show.
“Get it clean, clean, clean,” said Rinomato. “If your house isn’t clean, it instantly sends up negative thoughts that the home is not well maintained. If your house is spotless, you’re ahead of the game,” she said.
But don’t stop there, advised Rinomato. To increase your chances of making a sale, “stage” the house to make it as attractive as possible. Until recently, “Staging meant pulling out all the stops—setting the dining table with your best china and crystal, arranging flowers, lighting candles,” she said. “Now we take the minimalist approach. Basically, you want to strip the house to its bare essentials, depersonalize it so potential buyers can superimpose themselves and their lifestyle on the house.”
Rinomato offered the following tips for staging a home:
1. Visit model homes and examine shelter magazines for inexpensive decorating ideas. Always keep in mind you are not decorating for yourself but for the general public.
2. Start with the outside. Give the house a fresh coat of paint, add shiny hardware to the front door and plant a few flowers to send a subliminal message the house is loved and well cared for.
3. Declutter every room to make it look larger. Get rid of family pictures, trophies and knickknacks. Closets and drawers should be no more than 30% full.
4. Invest in eco-friendly but bright lights. Open the drapes or remove them completely. “Light, bright rooms give the impression this is a happy place—and everyone wants to move into a happy place,” said Rinomato.
5. Feature only a few pieces of furniture with mainstream appeal. Pull pieces away from walls to make rooms look bigger.
6. Make sure a room’s primary use is obvious. A bedroom should look like a bedroom, not an office, hobby center or gym.
7. Bedrooms and kitchens are difficult to stage because they are in daily use, but make the effort. Clear everything off the counters and nightstands, roll up the rugs and hide the laundry hamper. Buff the cabinets with car wax and clean under the sinks. Invest in pristine white bed linens and towels.
8. Minimize the “pet effect.” Remove food bowls and litter boxes to the utility room. Deodorize thoroughly.
9. Organize the utility room and garage. Hang up the bicycles, roll up the hose. Renting a storage locker is worth the cost if it helps you sell faster and for a higher price.
10. Once your house is staged, invite your friends or Realtor over and walk them through to get an objective opinion.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Many Stay at Home for Free as Banks Defer Evictions
By Alana Semuels
RISMEDIA, March 20, 2010—(MCT)—It’s been 16 months since Eugene and Patricia Harrison last paid the mortgage on their Perris, Calif., home. Eleven months since the notice got slapped on their front door, warning that it would be sold at auction.
A terse letter from a lawyer came eight months ago, telling them that their lender now owned the house. Three months later, the bank told them to pay up or get out by the end of the week.
Still, they remain in the yellow ranch-style home they bought seven years ago for $128,000, with its views of the San Jacinto Mountains. They’re not planning on going anywhere.
“We’re kind of on pins and needles, but who’d want to leave when you put this kind of energy into a house?” said Eugene Harrison, gesturing toward a bucolic mural of mountains, stream and flowers the couple painted on the living room wall.
Throughout the country, people continue to default on their home loans—but lenders have backed off on forced evictions, allowing many to remain in their homes, essentially rent-free.
Several factors are driving the trend, industry experts say, including government pressure on banks to modify loans and keep people in their homes. And with a glut of inventory in places like Southern California’s Inland Empire, Nevada and Arizona, lenders are loath to depress housing prices further by dumping more properties into a weak market.
Finally, allowing borrowers to stay in their homes helps protect the bank’s investment as it negotiates with the homeowners, said Gary Kirshner, a spokesman for Chase bank, a major lender. “If the person’s in the property, there’s less chance for vandalism, and they’re probably maintaining the house,” he said.
Economists say the situation won’t last forever, but in the meantime the “amnesty” may allow at least some homeowners to regain their financial footing and avoid eviction.
In the Inland Empire, an estimated 100,000 homeowners are living rent-free, according to economist John Husing, who based that number on the difference between loan delinquencies and foreclosures. Industry experts say it’s difficult to say how many families are in that situation nationally because only banks know for sure how many customers have stopped paying entirely.
But Rick Sharga of Irvine, Calif., data tracker RealtyTrac notes that the number of loans in which the borrower hasn’t made a payment in 90 days or more but is not in foreclosure is at 5.1% nationally, a record high. And yet the number of foreclosures last year was 2.9 million, below the 3.2 million that RealtyTrac economists predicted.
More evidence is provided by another firm, ForeclosureRadar, which says it now takes an average of 229 days for a bank to foreclose on a home in California after sending a notice of default, up from 146 days in August 2008.
“For some reason, banks are being more lenient with homeowners who are behind on their loans,” Sharga said. “Whether it’s a strategy to try and slow down the volume of foreclosures or simply a matter of the banks being able to keep up with volume is something that banks only know for sure.”
Lenders say the trend reflects their efforts to work with borrowers to modify loans to avoid foreclosure. Bank of America “continues to exhaust every possible option to qualify customers for modification or other solutions,” spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens said.
Some lenders are making it a policy to partner with delinquent borrowers. Citibank said this month that it would let borrowers on the brink of foreclosure stay at their homes for six months, whether or not they make payments, if they turn over their property deed. Such policies may partly reflect the fact that lenders can’t keep up with all the foreclosures, some say. “The mortgage lenders are so backlogged that some people are able to slip through the cracks,” said Kathryn Davis, a real estate agent at America’s Real Estate Advocates in Corona.
That was apparently the case for the Harrisons, who were told at various times that their house had been sold, that it belonged to someone else and that it was empty. “It’s been frustrating,” said Eugene Harrison.
The Harrisons missed their first payment in October 2008, shortly after Patricia Harrison lost her job as a healthcare aide and her husband’s part-time towing work dried up. They said they applied for a loan modification but were told that they couldn’t receive one until they were three months behind on their payments. So they stopped paying.
In April 2009, they received a notice warning them that their property “may be sold at a public sale,” and in July, they were told their house was a bank-owned property.
The bank sent a notice by FedEx in October demanding $3,000, and when the Harrisons called to discuss this notice, they were told they had four days to vacate the house.
Panicked, they arranged to stay with family in New Mexico and started packing their things, filling their garage with boxes of books, camping equipment and art. But no one came to kick them out. “We were afraid to leave the house, afraid the sheriff was going to come,” said Patricia.
After contacting consumer advocates about their situation, the Harrisons decided to stay put. Soon after, two men in a white pickup truck showed up at the house and peeped in the windows, telling the Harrisons that they thought the house was abandoned. The Harrisons suspected they were planning to move in themselves and chased them away.
As they wade through the red tape, the Harrisons can’t imagine abandoning a house where they’ve left their mark in the goldenrod and potpourri rose walls, the new fixtures and stenciling in the bathrooms, the fruit trees planted in the yard.
Although the Harrisons’ future is uncertain, industry observers agree that the rent-free life can’t last forever. As home values climb, banks will find it financially advantageous to foreclose on delinquent borrowers and sell their properties.
“In many cases, particularly in California, people owe a boatload of payments, and no bank is going to forgive that,” said Guy Cecala, editor of Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication.
In Diamond Bar, the Fraguere family is finally moving on after living rent-free for 18 months. Job loss and other setbacks prevented them from paying their mortgage, but they say they didn’t hear anything from the bank until a real estate agent showed up at their door last month saying she was going to sell their house.
Sandy Fraguere wasn’t surprised that it had taken the bank so long to ask them to move. “I don’t think they really knew what was going on or who was there,” she said.
Next stop for the Fragueres is a hotel, where they plan to stay for two weeks until their apartment in Chino Hills is ready for them to move in. Their dogs are being boarded and their belongings stored until they can retrieve them someday. The Fragueres have started saying goodbye to their neighbors, adding yet another empty house to a block that has already seen two other families forced to pack up and leave.
RISMEDIA, March 20, 2010—(MCT)—It’s been 16 months since Eugene and Patricia Harrison last paid the mortgage on their Perris, Calif., home. Eleven months since the notice got slapped on their front door, warning that it would be sold at auction.
A terse letter from a lawyer came eight months ago, telling them that their lender now owned the house. Three months later, the bank told them to pay up or get out by the end of the week.
Still, they remain in the yellow ranch-style home they bought seven years ago for $128,000, with its views of the San Jacinto Mountains. They’re not planning on going anywhere.
“We’re kind of on pins and needles, but who’d want to leave when you put this kind of energy into a house?” said Eugene Harrison, gesturing toward a bucolic mural of mountains, stream and flowers the couple painted on the living room wall.
Throughout the country, people continue to default on their home loans—but lenders have backed off on forced evictions, allowing many to remain in their homes, essentially rent-free.
Several factors are driving the trend, industry experts say, including government pressure on banks to modify loans and keep people in their homes. And with a glut of inventory in places like Southern California’s Inland Empire, Nevada and Arizona, lenders are loath to depress housing prices further by dumping more properties into a weak market.
Finally, allowing borrowers to stay in their homes helps protect the bank’s investment as it negotiates with the homeowners, said Gary Kirshner, a spokesman for Chase bank, a major lender. “If the person’s in the property, there’s less chance for vandalism, and they’re probably maintaining the house,” he said.
Economists say the situation won’t last forever, but in the meantime the “amnesty” may allow at least some homeowners to regain their financial footing and avoid eviction.
In the Inland Empire, an estimated 100,000 homeowners are living rent-free, according to economist John Husing, who based that number on the difference between loan delinquencies and foreclosures. Industry experts say it’s difficult to say how many families are in that situation nationally because only banks know for sure how many customers have stopped paying entirely.
But Rick Sharga of Irvine, Calif., data tracker RealtyTrac notes that the number of loans in which the borrower hasn’t made a payment in 90 days or more but is not in foreclosure is at 5.1% nationally, a record high. And yet the number of foreclosures last year was 2.9 million, below the 3.2 million that RealtyTrac economists predicted.
More evidence is provided by another firm, ForeclosureRadar, which says it now takes an average of 229 days for a bank to foreclose on a home in California after sending a notice of default, up from 146 days in August 2008.
“For some reason, banks are being more lenient with homeowners who are behind on their loans,” Sharga said. “Whether it’s a strategy to try and slow down the volume of foreclosures or simply a matter of the banks being able to keep up with volume is something that banks only know for sure.”
Lenders say the trend reflects their efforts to work with borrowers to modify loans to avoid foreclosure. Bank of America “continues to exhaust every possible option to qualify customers for modification or other solutions,” spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens said.
Some lenders are making it a policy to partner with delinquent borrowers. Citibank said this month that it would let borrowers on the brink of foreclosure stay at their homes for six months, whether or not they make payments, if they turn over their property deed. Such policies may partly reflect the fact that lenders can’t keep up with all the foreclosures, some say. “The mortgage lenders are so backlogged that some people are able to slip through the cracks,” said Kathryn Davis, a real estate agent at America’s Real Estate Advocates in Corona.
That was apparently the case for the Harrisons, who were told at various times that their house had been sold, that it belonged to someone else and that it was empty. “It’s been frustrating,” said Eugene Harrison.
The Harrisons missed their first payment in October 2008, shortly after Patricia Harrison lost her job as a healthcare aide and her husband’s part-time towing work dried up. They said they applied for a loan modification but were told that they couldn’t receive one until they were three months behind on their payments. So they stopped paying.
In April 2009, they received a notice warning them that their property “may be sold at a public sale,” and in July, they were told their house was a bank-owned property.
The bank sent a notice by FedEx in October demanding $3,000, and when the Harrisons called to discuss this notice, they were told they had four days to vacate the house.
Panicked, they arranged to stay with family in New Mexico and started packing their things, filling their garage with boxes of books, camping equipment and art. But no one came to kick them out. “We were afraid to leave the house, afraid the sheriff was going to come,” said Patricia.
After contacting consumer advocates about their situation, the Harrisons decided to stay put. Soon after, two men in a white pickup truck showed up at the house and peeped in the windows, telling the Harrisons that they thought the house was abandoned. The Harrisons suspected they were planning to move in themselves and chased them away.
As they wade through the red tape, the Harrisons can’t imagine abandoning a house where they’ve left their mark in the goldenrod and potpourri rose walls, the new fixtures and stenciling in the bathrooms, the fruit trees planted in the yard.
Although the Harrisons’ future is uncertain, industry observers agree that the rent-free life can’t last forever. As home values climb, banks will find it financially advantageous to foreclose on delinquent borrowers and sell their properties.
“In many cases, particularly in California, people owe a boatload of payments, and no bank is going to forgive that,” said Guy Cecala, editor of Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication.
In Diamond Bar, the Fraguere family is finally moving on after living rent-free for 18 months. Job loss and other setbacks prevented them from paying their mortgage, but they say they didn’t hear anything from the bank until a real estate agent showed up at their door last month saying she was going to sell their house.
Sandy Fraguere wasn’t surprised that it had taken the bank so long to ask them to move. “I don’t think they really knew what was going on or who was there,” she said.
Next stop for the Fragueres is a hotel, where they plan to stay for two weeks until their apartment in Chino Hills is ready for them to move in. Their dogs are being boarded and their belongings stored until they can retrieve them someday. The Fragueres have started saying goodbye to their neighbors, adding yet another empty house to a block that has already seen two other families forced to pack up and leave.
Friday, March 19, 2010
How to Re-invest, Re-evaluate and Re-diversify in post-RSP Season
The 3 Rs: How to Re-invest, Re-evaluate and Re-diversify in post-RSP Season
You know the drill. As the RSP deadline approaches, you scramble to make a last-minute contribution for the previous year. But while it's always a good time to invest in an RSP, many Canadians make the mistake of parking their contributions in a cash account or cash equivalent mutual fund, and forgetting to come back post-RSP season to invest in something that will better help them reach their long-term goals.
The problem: Your contribution winds up generating minimal returns instead of reaching its true growth potential. For example, if you invested your 2009 RSP contribution in a short-term savings vehicle and abandon it for the remainder of the year, you risk missing out on a positive turnaround in financial market returns.
Fortunately, it doesn't take a whole lot of time or effort to avoid the pitfalls of being out of the market unintentionally. Taking the time to meet with a financial advisor, adopting a long view of your investment strategy and diversifying your portfolio are simple steps that can help you meet your retirement goals.
Get re-acquainted with an advisor
Certainly, parking this year's RSP contribution in a savings vehicle is a fast and flexible alternative when you simply don't have the time for a full retirement review. But scheduling a follow-up appointment with a financial advisor is critical. Sitting down with an advisor to analyze your investment portfolio will help ensure that you're in the best position to meet your financial goals and retirement objectives.
For starters, an advisor can help you create an investor profile to determine what types of investments can help you reach your goals. Using sophisticated analytical tools, an advisor can work with you to examine your existing investments to make certain they're in line with your financial situation, including your mortgage and savings. And, best of all, an advisor can help you create a financial plan or carefully restructure your portfolio to help you meet your savings objectives.
Align your financial goals with your aspirations
The key to financial planning is developing an investment strategy that reflects many variables, including your retirement goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. That's all the more reason to decide in advance exactly what your retirement means to you. Do you see yourself riding into the sunset on a cruise liner? Or how about paying for your children's post-secondary education?
Figuring out your aspirations beforehand will help you make important decisions about how to fund your retirement, what supplemental income you'll need, what kind of investments to make and what investment performance level you'll need. What's more, it's important to factor in the financial impact of lifestyle changes such as frequent travel, new hobbies or a vacation home to make the most of your retirement dollars.
Once you've established realistic lifetime financial goals, the next step is to ensure that your investment portfolio is aligned with your long-term financial strategy. A mix of foreign and domestic investments including equities for growth potential, bonds for stable returns and some cash for security will give your portfolio the diversity it needs to reduce risks and increase returns over time.
The benefits of laddering
In today's financial environment, it's more important than ever for fixed-income investors to ensure the highest rate of return on their investments. While it's true that low interest rates can pose a challenge, laddering is a simple diversification strategy that can potentially maximize your returns and reduce your portfolio's sensitivity to interest-rate fluctuations.
Adopting a laddering strategy is easier than you might think:
To ladder your GIC portfolio, start by investing in a range of shorter and longer terms (one year through five years) so that 20% of your portfolio matures each year. For instance, instead of investing, say, $10,000 in one five-year GIC, invest $2,000 in five GICs that mature over one, two, three, four, and five years.
Protect your investment by rolling over the proceeds from a maturing shorter-term GIC into new GICs at the longer term, usually five years, at the best available rate.
When interest rates are falling, the longer-term GICs will continue earning higher rates. When interest rates are climbing, you will be re-investing in GICs with higher rates.
Given today's interest rates, recovering economy and rebounding stock markets, Canadians simply can't afford to park their RSP contributions in a short-term cash solution. Rather, now is the time to meet with a financial advisor who can help you move into long-term growth investments that could provide higher returns over the long term.
Better yet, take the time to ensure that your investment portfolio is aligned with your overall retirement plan. If you're strapped for time, ask about managed portfolio solutions, which provide one-stop diversification in professionally managed mutual fund portfolios. And if you're looking for a guaranteed way to invest, set up a fixed-income ladder with GICs coming due for reinvestment every year. By following these few simple steps, you can secure your financial future.
Could your GIC portfolio benefit from a laddering strategy? The diversification offered by a traditional laddering approach can help protect your investments from the impact of interest-rate changes. The Ultimate Laddered GIC™ also offers higher returns combined with increased flexibility and cashability. It's easy to purchase your laddered GICs online or by visiting your Scotiabank branch.
You know the drill. As the RSP deadline approaches, you scramble to make a last-minute contribution for the previous year. But while it's always a good time to invest in an RSP, many Canadians make the mistake of parking their contributions in a cash account or cash equivalent mutual fund, and forgetting to come back post-RSP season to invest in something that will better help them reach their long-term goals.
The problem: Your contribution winds up generating minimal returns instead of reaching its true growth potential. For example, if you invested your 2009 RSP contribution in a short-term savings vehicle and abandon it for the remainder of the year, you risk missing out on a positive turnaround in financial market returns.
Fortunately, it doesn't take a whole lot of time or effort to avoid the pitfalls of being out of the market unintentionally. Taking the time to meet with a financial advisor, adopting a long view of your investment strategy and diversifying your portfolio are simple steps that can help you meet your retirement goals.
Get re-acquainted with an advisor
Certainly, parking this year's RSP contribution in a savings vehicle is a fast and flexible alternative when you simply don't have the time for a full retirement review. But scheduling a follow-up appointment with a financial advisor is critical. Sitting down with an advisor to analyze your investment portfolio will help ensure that you're in the best position to meet your financial goals and retirement objectives.
For starters, an advisor can help you create an investor profile to determine what types of investments can help you reach your goals. Using sophisticated analytical tools, an advisor can work with you to examine your existing investments to make certain they're in line with your financial situation, including your mortgage and savings. And, best of all, an advisor can help you create a financial plan or carefully restructure your portfolio to help you meet your savings objectives.
Align your financial goals with your aspirations
The key to financial planning is developing an investment strategy that reflects many variables, including your retirement goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. That's all the more reason to decide in advance exactly what your retirement means to you. Do you see yourself riding into the sunset on a cruise liner? Or how about paying for your children's post-secondary education?
Figuring out your aspirations beforehand will help you make important decisions about how to fund your retirement, what supplemental income you'll need, what kind of investments to make and what investment performance level you'll need. What's more, it's important to factor in the financial impact of lifestyle changes such as frequent travel, new hobbies or a vacation home to make the most of your retirement dollars.
Once you've established realistic lifetime financial goals, the next step is to ensure that your investment portfolio is aligned with your long-term financial strategy. A mix of foreign and domestic investments including equities for growth potential, bonds for stable returns and some cash for security will give your portfolio the diversity it needs to reduce risks and increase returns over time.
The benefits of laddering
In today's financial environment, it's more important than ever for fixed-income investors to ensure the highest rate of return on their investments. While it's true that low interest rates can pose a challenge, laddering is a simple diversification strategy that can potentially maximize your returns and reduce your portfolio's sensitivity to interest-rate fluctuations.
Adopting a laddering strategy is easier than you might think:
To ladder your GIC portfolio, start by investing in a range of shorter and longer terms (one year through five years) so that 20% of your portfolio matures each year. For instance, instead of investing, say, $10,000 in one five-year GIC, invest $2,000 in five GICs that mature over one, two, three, four, and five years.
Protect your investment by rolling over the proceeds from a maturing shorter-term GIC into new GICs at the longer term, usually five years, at the best available rate.
When interest rates are falling, the longer-term GICs will continue earning higher rates. When interest rates are climbing, you will be re-investing in GICs with higher rates.
Given today's interest rates, recovering economy and rebounding stock markets, Canadians simply can't afford to park their RSP contributions in a short-term cash solution. Rather, now is the time to meet with a financial advisor who can help you move into long-term growth investments that could provide higher returns over the long term.
Better yet, take the time to ensure that your investment portfolio is aligned with your overall retirement plan. If you're strapped for time, ask about managed portfolio solutions, which provide one-stop diversification in professionally managed mutual fund portfolios. And if you're looking for a guaranteed way to invest, set up a fixed-income ladder with GICs coming due for reinvestment every year. By following these few simple steps, you can secure your financial future.
Could your GIC portfolio benefit from a laddering strategy? The diversification offered by a traditional laddering approach can help protect your investments from the impact of interest-rate changes. The Ultimate Laddered GIC™ also offers higher returns combined with increased flexibility and cashability. It's easy to purchase your laddered GICs online or by visiting your Scotiabank branch.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Short Sales: The Rise, the Revenue, the Reality
RISMEDIA, March 17, 2010—Distressed homes are still accounting for more than a third of all sales nationwide, providing evidence that real estate recovery is still fragile at best. While there is no magic bullet for understanding or navigating the short sale process, Realtors who excel at managing these transactions will find success in today’s market. In this month’s Power Broker Roundtable, industry leaders Terry Hankner, Helen Hanna Casey and Larry Hibler discuss how to take advantage of the distressed market.
Moderator:
Steve Brown, Special Liaison for Large Firm Relations, NAR
Participants:
Terry Hankner, President Comey & Shepherd REALTORS®, Cincinnati, Ohio
Helen Hanna Casey, President, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Larry Hibler, Broker, RE/MAX Achievers, Phoenix, Arizona
Steve Brown: While sales dropped slightly in December of 2009, the overall rate of existing home sales at the close of the fourth quarter was 15% higher than it was in the year-ago period. The price median rose a bit to post the first year-over-year gain since 2007, as inventory continues to shrink. That is reason for optimism as we move into the spring sales season. But since distressed homes are still accounting for more than a third of all sales nationwide, it is safe to say that recovery is fragile at best—and that until the jobless rate improves, the success rate will be highest for those REALTORS® who excel at managing short sales.
But therein lies the rub. The truth is there is no magic bullet for understanding, much less navigating the muddy waters of the short sale process…although there is now some hope on the horizon thanks to the upcoming Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) developed by the Treasury Department. Designed to simplify and streamline the use of short sales, the expected benefits of HAFA include: allowing borrowers to receive pre-approved short sale terms before listing the property; requiring borrowers to be fully released from future liability for their first mortgage debt; and the use of standard processes, documents and deadlines in the short sale process. For more details, visit www.REALTOR.org/shortsales and remember that NAR also provides a dynamic Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource Certification (SFR) course to help educate members on this growing issue. More information can be found at www.realtorsfr.org.
Terry Hankner: Well, I don’t think there is any doubt that the problem begins with the lenders, who by and large have never clearly defined the issues or offered any reliable guidelines. What’s worse, their communication, in my opinion, has been lacking—excruciatingly slow and inconsistent.
Helen Hanna Casey: Yes, it’s been tough to even get a call back with any kind of timeliness, and that wears on everybody’s patience, agents, sellers and buyers. We try to get around that by relying on our most experienced agents—REO specialists who have long-time lender contacts and tend to have the best success rate.
Larry Hibler: The good news, at least in Arizona, is that we’re beginning to see some progress with that. Some lenders seem to be finally gearing up. We actually got one approval in seven days last month.
HHC: Amazing! How did that happen?
LH: Well, for one thing, we place a lot of importance on impressing the lender with the buyer’s strength and commitment. We submit only one contract at a time and the buyer has to put down non-refundable earnest money for a period of 60-90 days.
SB: What about seller issues?
HHC: We have high unemployment in Ohio, but I don’t think we had as much subprime lending or zero-down buying going on during the peak, so the problems may not be as dire here as in some areas. But all our agents are well trained in the financial alternatives so they can work with sellers who may be in trouble.
TH: The issues for us are disclosure, disclosure, disclosure, to be sure the sellers understand their options, whether short sale, foreclosure, loan modification or whatever. We use a program we call “Fresh Start,” which we present upfront as a for-profit entity designed to educate the seller, negotiate with the lender and handle any eventual sale of property. It took us two-and-a-half years to come up with the process, but we did do over 100 transactions last year, and our agents are not shy about referring business to this more experienced group.
LH: We’ve had good results using third party negotiators, who handle short sales for a flat fee. I’m comfortable with that from a liability point of view, and it takes responsibility off our agents.
HHC: It also takes the pressure off of having to deal with the banks ourselves. I don’t know whether some banks are just lagging in getting systems in place—like when there is a merger or acquisition—or whether they are deliberately stonewalling. Either way, it is exasperating.
SB: What needs to happen in order to see an improvement?
TH: Basically, the industry needs to do two things: the first is to reduce our risk in negotiating short sales, which is why disclosure is so important. The second is to hold lenders accountable for clarifying and articulating the ground rules. My worst nightmare is that, a year from now, some lender will come back after a seller and say, “we never really let you off the hook.”
HHC: I don’t think that’s going to happen unless there’s been fraud or collusion of some kind, but I do agree that disclosure is paramount, and that sellers would do well to seek legal counsel before they make a decision.
LH: I do think, though, that the banks are beginning to catch up with us and that the process shows signs of improving. I hope so, especially now that there is some stirring in the higher end of the market. Now we need to hope for continued improvement in the economy.
Moderator:
Steve Brown, Special Liaison for Large Firm Relations, NAR
Participants:
Terry Hankner, President Comey & Shepherd REALTORS®, Cincinnati, Ohio
Helen Hanna Casey, President, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Larry Hibler, Broker, RE/MAX Achievers, Phoenix, Arizona
Steve Brown: While sales dropped slightly in December of 2009, the overall rate of existing home sales at the close of the fourth quarter was 15% higher than it was in the year-ago period. The price median rose a bit to post the first year-over-year gain since 2007, as inventory continues to shrink. That is reason for optimism as we move into the spring sales season. But since distressed homes are still accounting for more than a third of all sales nationwide, it is safe to say that recovery is fragile at best—and that until the jobless rate improves, the success rate will be highest for those REALTORS® who excel at managing short sales.
But therein lies the rub. The truth is there is no magic bullet for understanding, much less navigating the muddy waters of the short sale process…although there is now some hope on the horizon thanks to the upcoming Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) developed by the Treasury Department. Designed to simplify and streamline the use of short sales, the expected benefits of HAFA include: allowing borrowers to receive pre-approved short sale terms before listing the property; requiring borrowers to be fully released from future liability for their first mortgage debt; and the use of standard processes, documents and deadlines in the short sale process. For more details, visit www.REALTOR.org/shortsales and remember that NAR also provides a dynamic Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource Certification (SFR) course to help educate members on this growing issue. More information can be found at www.realtorsfr.org.
Terry Hankner: Well, I don’t think there is any doubt that the problem begins with the lenders, who by and large have never clearly defined the issues or offered any reliable guidelines. What’s worse, their communication, in my opinion, has been lacking—excruciatingly slow and inconsistent.
Helen Hanna Casey: Yes, it’s been tough to even get a call back with any kind of timeliness, and that wears on everybody’s patience, agents, sellers and buyers. We try to get around that by relying on our most experienced agents—REO specialists who have long-time lender contacts and tend to have the best success rate.
Larry Hibler: The good news, at least in Arizona, is that we’re beginning to see some progress with that. Some lenders seem to be finally gearing up. We actually got one approval in seven days last month.
HHC: Amazing! How did that happen?
LH: Well, for one thing, we place a lot of importance on impressing the lender with the buyer’s strength and commitment. We submit only one contract at a time and the buyer has to put down non-refundable earnest money for a period of 60-90 days.
SB: What about seller issues?
HHC: We have high unemployment in Ohio, but I don’t think we had as much subprime lending or zero-down buying going on during the peak, so the problems may not be as dire here as in some areas. But all our agents are well trained in the financial alternatives so they can work with sellers who may be in trouble.
TH: The issues for us are disclosure, disclosure, disclosure, to be sure the sellers understand their options, whether short sale, foreclosure, loan modification or whatever. We use a program we call “Fresh Start,” which we present upfront as a for-profit entity designed to educate the seller, negotiate with the lender and handle any eventual sale of property. It took us two-and-a-half years to come up with the process, but we did do over 100 transactions last year, and our agents are not shy about referring business to this more experienced group.
LH: We’ve had good results using third party negotiators, who handle short sales for a flat fee. I’m comfortable with that from a liability point of view, and it takes responsibility off our agents.
HHC: It also takes the pressure off of having to deal with the banks ourselves. I don’t know whether some banks are just lagging in getting systems in place—like when there is a merger or acquisition—or whether they are deliberately stonewalling. Either way, it is exasperating.
SB: What needs to happen in order to see an improvement?
TH: Basically, the industry needs to do two things: the first is to reduce our risk in negotiating short sales, which is why disclosure is so important. The second is to hold lenders accountable for clarifying and articulating the ground rules. My worst nightmare is that, a year from now, some lender will come back after a seller and say, “we never really let you off the hook.”
HHC: I don’t think that’s going to happen unless there’s been fraud or collusion of some kind, but I do agree that disclosure is paramount, and that sellers would do well to seek legal counsel before they make a decision.
LH: I do think, though, that the banks are beginning to catch up with us and that the process shows signs of improving. I hope so, especially now that there is some stirring in the higher end of the market. Now we need to hope for continued improvement in the economy.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Online Marketing: The Silver Bullet for Internet Success
By Mike Parker
RISMEDIA, March 3, 2010—Everyone wants to somehow profit from the Internet. These days – with 80+% of all homes sales beginning on the Internet, the ‘wants’ has changed into ‘must.’ Any agent who is not making a significant percentage of their sales from Internet activity is missing out on more commissions than they can imagine as well as continuing up that traditional methods trail that surely is becoming a dead end.
That’s part of the reason so many methods of trying to succeed online are out there: everyone is looking for the ‘Silver Bullet’: the one thing that will make them successful.
You remember Silver Bullets (before they referred to Coors beer cans), don’t you? In ancient days, silver bullets were believed to be the only effective way to kill werewolves and witches. More recently, the Lone Ranger (a mythical ex-Texas Ranger who rode the range righting wrongs and dispensing justice with his faithful sidekick, Tonto) used silver bullets as his calling cards, using them as a symbol for justice done. Although witches and werewolves are making a comeback in the movies, no one seems to have actually encountered one of late and the demand is also down for an ex-ranger and his loyal companion who ride around the West righting wrongs. There are over one million agents who would like to crack the Internet, however, and it appears that a Silver Bullet might be just what they need.
Today, anything referenced as a Silver Bullet possesses near-magical qualities that allow the user to overpower difficult problems. Efficient air conditioning, for example, was the “silver bullet’ to developing the humid climes of Florida into one of our most populous states. Penicillin was the ‘silver bullet’ that finally allowed physicians to conquer dreaded bacterial infections. And so on. The term has been adopted into a general metaphor, where “silver bullet” refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technology or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem. Thus, the problem would be that most agents can’t seem to make the Internet produce for them, and the technology (“the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area” and “a capability given by the practical application of knowledge”) has not improved much in five or more years, until now.
This Silver Bullet delivers buyers to agents
It finally appears that the Silver Bullet has been invented that enables almost any agent* to generate real leads and sales from online buyers without breaking the budget. Consider these examples:
1. An agent in Windsor, Ontario, acquired the technology in December 2009. In January 2010, the technology brought the agent $1.4 million in residential house sales in a market where the average home price is $150,000—so far. The technology has also brought the agent 57 quality leads from only 600 total visitors to his website, so far.
2. An agent in Hilton Head, SC sold a condo to the very first lead the technology brought her—29 days after she acquired the new technology. She also has received 55 additional quality leads that she is continuing to work with, so far.
3. An agent in Wasilla, AK, acquired the technology in August of 2009. The technology has delivered over 120 quality leads to him from which multiple sales have closed. He states that his investment has already been returned 10 times or more, so far.
4. An agent in Etobicoke, ON, is negotiating a $600,000 sale two weeks after acquiring the technology.
5. The technology produced a request from an elderly couple who live in a two-story home in an exclusive neighborhood to a Southern California agent: the couple finds stairs increasingly difficult. They love where they live, however, so they asked the agent to sell their $1.2 million home for them and find them one of same value in a one-story in the same neighborhood. The elderly couple was attracted by the agent’s simple message: “Tell me what you want.” They wanted to sell and they wanted to buy.
These are but a few of hundreds of examples we could list.
Clearly, something unusual is going on when agents from anywhere can start receiving high quality leads and making sales from Internet buyers almost immediately simply by switching this technology on.
Since this technology became available about six months ago after a four month beta test period, hundreds of agents have adopted it and—far more often than not—their results mirror those above. There are exceptions, of course.
Technology can’t make up for poor sales follow-up or an inability to engage clients and develop relationships with them. (Occasionally, the leads don’t come as often as they should. At least if that happens, a client will get their money back, pro-rata!) More than 80% of those who use the technology succeed right out of the box, however.
*Who will accept proper training and follow practices taught in that training.
This Silver Bullet hits the target without you having to be a ‘crack shot’
Here’s just a few of the ways this technology makes online success possible for any agent—regardless of technical skill level:
• The technology requires no work by the agent to implement—everything is done for them; it does require work by the agent to sell to the customers that the technology delivers to the agents.
• The technology combines a super-streamlined and branded personal website with the best in organic and intelligent paid search and limited content that out performs any traditional website in terms of converting visitors to registrations; resulting in an average 8 out of every 100 visitors to such sites signing in and asking for more information from the agent; all inclusive and with no extra cost options or charges; all professionally managed by the host for you exclusively at a fixed cost. The agent has no further tasks to perform after choosing the color and specialties they want to attack and providing a photo of themselves and a copy of their logo; the agent simply must follow up on the leads. This technology is provided on a limited distribution basis. That is, each marketplace may only support a finite number of agents and the money-back guarantee means that the vendor cannot exceed the natural ability of the market to satisfy a proper amount of clients. A small town—or two small towns— may only support one such site with demographics determining the scalable density allowable in any city or town. (The proprietary knowledge of the vendor regulates against over- selling territories or specialties).
• The technology starts bringing real leads to the agent within weeks; real people signing in with their name, phone and/or email address are contacting you about receiving further information about something they saw on your personal site. Over time, the agent is guaranteed 100+ such leads at minimum. (These are not the lead aggregator type of lead, where someone applied for a mortgage, checked a home’s value, or filled out a form somewhere and where they may have no interest in real estate. These are real leads from real people who have looked at your personal site and want more information).
In sum, the technology represents turn-key Internet prospecting, effective anywhere for any market, at a fixed price and with a money back guarantee. Nothing like this has been offered before now.
The future of online marketing for real estate professionals
There’s no argument that the Internet is a large part of the future for real estate professionals; with 80+% of home sales beginning there today, it’s clear that for the buyer, the Internet is the future. They are never going back to having no information available to them and having to go into an office to look at an MLS book.
In the final analysis, it is that truth which explains the success of these Professionally Managed Lead Sites that embody the technology referred to throughout this article: the public wants help choosing their home and they want it from a knowledgeable professional. They do not want to be left to themselves trying to finalize what they are dreaming of buying. They’ll go so far as to go online and look at homes to narrow things down, but when it comes to the next step, they want a real estate professional on their side. That’s why this technology is so right for these times: it re-establishes the agent as the source of information and convinces the Internet visitor to ask the agent for exactly what they want.
That is where all this is going: use technology to find the area of interest and use the agent to bring the sale home. The agent returns to being the authority source and uses the tools available to them to give the client what they want. Technology is making that future happen today for several hundred agents who have embraced this technology, early. It will take a few years to determine whether this trend is permanent or fleeting, but for the foreseeable future, those embracing the technology are doing far better than others at finding online buyers. This Silver Bullet may go the way of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, but today, it’s dominating online prospecting. Cue up “the William Tell Overture “and make hay while the sun shines.
Mike Parker (mparker@theblackwatercg.com) is a well known authority on the subject of online marketing services for Realtors® and other real estate professionals. If you’d like a demonstration of this powerful new technology known as a professionally managed lead site that is managed exclusively for you, click here and we’ll be happy to provide it for you at no cost or obligation.
RISMEDIA, March 3, 2010—Everyone wants to somehow profit from the Internet. These days – with 80+% of all homes sales beginning on the Internet, the ‘wants’ has changed into ‘must.’ Any agent who is not making a significant percentage of their sales from Internet activity is missing out on more commissions than they can imagine as well as continuing up that traditional methods trail that surely is becoming a dead end.
That’s part of the reason so many methods of trying to succeed online are out there: everyone is looking for the ‘Silver Bullet’: the one thing that will make them successful.
You remember Silver Bullets (before they referred to Coors beer cans), don’t you? In ancient days, silver bullets were believed to be the only effective way to kill werewolves and witches. More recently, the Lone Ranger (a mythical ex-Texas Ranger who rode the range righting wrongs and dispensing justice with his faithful sidekick, Tonto) used silver bullets as his calling cards, using them as a symbol for justice done. Although witches and werewolves are making a comeback in the movies, no one seems to have actually encountered one of late and the demand is also down for an ex-ranger and his loyal companion who ride around the West righting wrongs. There are over one million agents who would like to crack the Internet, however, and it appears that a Silver Bullet might be just what they need.
Today, anything referenced as a Silver Bullet possesses near-magical qualities that allow the user to overpower difficult problems. Efficient air conditioning, for example, was the “silver bullet’ to developing the humid climes of Florida into one of our most populous states. Penicillin was the ‘silver bullet’ that finally allowed physicians to conquer dreaded bacterial infections. And so on. The term has been adopted into a general metaphor, where “silver bullet” refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technology or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem. Thus, the problem would be that most agents can’t seem to make the Internet produce for them, and the technology (“the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area” and “a capability given by the practical application of knowledge”) has not improved much in five or more years, until now.
This Silver Bullet delivers buyers to agents
It finally appears that the Silver Bullet has been invented that enables almost any agent* to generate real leads and sales from online buyers without breaking the budget. Consider these examples:
1. An agent in Windsor, Ontario, acquired the technology in December 2009. In January 2010, the technology brought the agent $1.4 million in residential house sales in a market where the average home price is $150,000—so far. The technology has also brought the agent 57 quality leads from only 600 total visitors to his website, so far.
2. An agent in Hilton Head, SC sold a condo to the very first lead the technology brought her—29 days after she acquired the new technology. She also has received 55 additional quality leads that she is continuing to work with, so far.
3. An agent in Wasilla, AK, acquired the technology in August of 2009. The technology has delivered over 120 quality leads to him from which multiple sales have closed. He states that his investment has already been returned 10 times or more, so far.
4. An agent in Etobicoke, ON, is negotiating a $600,000 sale two weeks after acquiring the technology.
5. The technology produced a request from an elderly couple who live in a two-story home in an exclusive neighborhood to a Southern California agent: the couple finds stairs increasingly difficult. They love where they live, however, so they asked the agent to sell their $1.2 million home for them and find them one of same value in a one-story in the same neighborhood. The elderly couple was attracted by the agent’s simple message: “Tell me what you want.” They wanted to sell and they wanted to buy.
These are but a few of hundreds of examples we could list.
Clearly, something unusual is going on when agents from anywhere can start receiving high quality leads and making sales from Internet buyers almost immediately simply by switching this technology on.
Since this technology became available about six months ago after a four month beta test period, hundreds of agents have adopted it and—far more often than not—their results mirror those above. There are exceptions, of course.
Technology can’t make up for poor sales follow-up or an inability to engage clients and develop relationships with them. (Occasionally, the leads don’t come as often as they should. At least if that happens, a client will get their money back, pro-rata!) More than 80% of those who use the technology succeed right out of the box, however.
*Who will accept proper training and follow practices taught in that training.
This Silver Bullet hits the target without you having to be a ‘crack shot’
Here’s just a few of the ways this technology makes online success possible for any agent—regardless of technical skill level:
• The technology requires no work by the agent to implement—everything is done for them; it does require work by the agent to sell to the customers that the technology delivers to the agents.
• The technology combines a super-streamlined and branded personal website with the best in organic and intelligent paid search and limited content that out performs any traditional website in terms of converting visitors to registrations; resulting in an average 8 out of every 100 visitors to such sites signing in and asking for more information from the agent; all inclusive and with no extra cost options or charges; all professionally managed by the host for you exclusively at a fixed cost. The agent has no further tasks to perform after choosing the color and specialties they want to attack and providing a photo of themselves and a copy of their logo; the agent simply must follow up on the leads. This technology is provided on a limited distribution basis. That is, each marketplace may only support a finite number of agents and the money-back guarantee means that the vendor cannot exceed the natural ability of the market to satisfy a proper amount of clients. A small town—or two small towns— may only support one such site with demographics determining the scalable density allowable in any city or town. (The proprietary knowledge of the vendor regulates against over- selling territories or specialties).
• The technology starts bringing real leads to the agent within weeks; real people signing in with their name, phone and/or email address are contacting you about receiving further information about something they saw on your personal site. Over time, the agent is guaranteed 100+ such leads at minimum. (These are not the lead aggregator type of lead, where someone applied for a mortgage, checked a home’s value, or filled out a form somewhere and where they may have no interest in real estate. These are real leads from real people who have looked at your personal site and want more information).
In sum, the technology represents turn-key Internet prospecting, effective anywhere for any market, at a fixed price and with a money back guarantee. Nothing like this has been offered before now.
The future of online marketing for real estate professionals
There’s no argument that the Internet is a large part of the future for real estate professionals; with 80+% of home sales beginning there today, it’s clear that for the buyer, the Internet is the future. They are never going back to having no information available to them and having to go into an office to look at an MLS book.
In the final analysis, it is that truth which explains the success of these Professionally Managed Lead Sites that embody the technology referred to throughout this article: the public wants help choosing their home and they want it from a knowledgeable professional. They do not want to be left to themselves trying to finalize what they are dreaming of buying. They’ll go so far as to go online and look at homes to narrow things down, but when it comes to the next step, they want a real estate professional on their side. That’s why this technology is so right for these times: it re-establishes the agent as the source of information and convinces the Internet visitor to ask the agent for exactly what they want.
That is where all this is going: use technology to find the area of interest and use the agent to bring the sale home. The agent returns to being the authority source and uses the tools available to them to give the client what they want. Technology is making that future happen today for several hundred agents who have embraced this technology, early. It will take a few years to determine whether this trend is permanent or fleeting, but for the foreseeable future, those embracing the technology are doing far better than others at finding online buyers. This Silver Bullet may go the way of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, but today, it’s dominating online prospecting. Cue up “the William Tell Overture “and make hay while the sun shines.
Mike Parker (mparker@theblackwatercg.com) is a well known authority on the subject of online marketing services for Realtors® and other real estate professionals. If you’d like a demonstration of this powerful new technology known as a professionally managed lead site that is managed exclusively for you, click here and we’ll be happy to provide it for you at no cost or obligation.
Monday, March 1, 2010
7 Tips to Motivate Your Sphere of Influence to Refer to You
By Maya Bailey, Ph.D.
RISMEDIA, February 27, 2010—As a business coach for entrepreneurs, my clients often say to me: “I just can’t pick up the phone and call my sphere of influence.” The responses I get when I ask “Why not?” include:
-“I don’t know what to say.”
-“I can’t ask my friends for business.”
-“I have no reason to call.”
-“I don’t want to bug them.”
-“It’s not okay to call them too often.”
The following tips will enable you to motivate your sphere of influence to refer to you easily and effortlessly.
Tip 1: Have a script so you know what to say
What you decide to say may vary from person to person. For instance, the way you talk to a close friend may be quite different from the way you talk to a distant acquaintance.
There is no one formula of what to say. However, it is very helpful to have something to offer when you call. One idea that many of my clients have found helpful is to call your sphere of influence and offer to be a referral source for them.
In other words, let them know that you have plenty of connections to people who could help them. For example, you know many painters, electricians, plumbers, etc. and your sphere of influence should know that if they need any names and phone numbers, they should call you and you will be happy to provide a referral source for them.
Tip 2: Think of yourself as being “the giver”
Most of us love to be the giver. We know we will be well-received and people will like us. We also know that “giving” leads to more business.
Before you pick up the phone to call your sphere of influence, ask yourself: “what can I give to them?” One way that you could be of service to them is to offer to be a cross referral partner.
If they have their own business, ask them how their business is doing. Ask them how you could help them at their business. Ask them what kind of referrals they would like to receive. Let them know that you will do your best to send referrals to them. At the end of the conversation, you can say something like, “when you hear of anyone who’s interested in buying or selling a home, please call me with their name and number. If it’s okay with them, I will call them and make sure that their real estate needs are being taken care of.”
Tip 3: Send something of value each month
What kind of valuable gift should you send? It used to be that sending newsletters was a hot item. However, most people have gotten too busy to read a newsletter.
The selection that works the best is a colorful postcard that gives the events happening in their area. Their sphere of influence is likely to put that postcard on the refrigerator and refer to it often.
Of course, next to the list of events happening in the area is your photo, your phone number and your tag line such as “relax and let me run the extra mile to fulfill your business needs.”
Not only will you start to enter their stream of consciousness, they start to associate positive ideas with you:
-You are associated with happy events in their area,
-You are associated with brilliant bright, happy colors in the postcard,
-Your face smiles at them every time they go to the refrigerator.
Do you think they are more likely to remember you the next time they have a need for your service?
Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to call them too often
As long as you have a good reason to call, your sphere of influence will be happy to hear from you. Trust your own gut instinct about how often you should call. Many real estate gurus suggest calling people in your sphere of influence about once a month. You may choose to do that with your “A list,” the people most likely to refer to you.
Since you are sending an item of value each month, you can always ask your sphere of influence if they received your postcard. You can then follow that with, “so what event are you going to?”
Tip 5: Assume the positive
Simply assume that your sphere of influence will be happy to hear from you. Why wouldn’t they be? They are receiving a wonderful colorful, informative postcard from you each month, then you are calling and offering them something, and you are conditioning them to want to hear from you.
Assume that you have something valuable to offer- your friendship and your expertise- and people want to hear from you.
Tip 6: Be excited about your business
Remember, “desperation does not sell,” but “excitement” does. No matter what the current condition of your business, always say something like, “I am so excited about my business. I get to meet such wonderful people and I’m really in an expansion phase of my business. If you want to help out, just send people my way, I will be happy to help them.”
Tip 7: Use the Law of Attraction
To successfully use the Law of Attraction, you need to be clear about what you want. What do you want? Do you want your sphere of influence to send you several clients a month? If so, then set your intention, “I am now in the process of attracting several new clients from my sphere of influence each month.”
Do you have any opposing beliefs that you need to clear? The Law of Attraction cannot give you what you want if you have any beliefs that will oppose your desired outcome.
For example, if you want to attract an abundance of prosperity, don’t focus on beliefs such as:
-I don’t deserve to have a lot of money
-It’s selfish to want more than I have
-Money is the root of all evil
-Money can’t buy me happiness
-Rich people are usually not honest.
If you have any of the above beliefs, those are called “opposing beliefs.” Can you see that you could be doing all the right activities with your sphere of influence, but if you had opposing beliefs like these, you would not be attracting the clients and the income you want?
To get the Law of Attraction to work for you, you need to identify these old self limiting beliefs, release them and install empowered beliefs.
Here are some examples of empowered beliefs that will help you create the income you want:
-I do deserve an abundance of prosperity.
-It’s okay for me to be grateful for what I have and still want more.
-Money is neutral and can be used for good or evil.
-Money can’t buy me happiness, but I can create a better life for myself and people around me by being prosperous.
-Some people are honest and some are not. It has no relationship to whether or not they have money.
Practice repeating your empowered beliefs frequently and train your mind to focus on what you “want,” not on what you “don’t want.” If you find yourself dwelling on thoughts of scarcity, like “not enough money,” switch your focus and ask yourself, “so what do I want?” Start to notice yourself becoming more positive and attracting more of what you want.
Dr. Maya Bailey, author of Law of Attraction for Real Estate Professionals, integrates 20 years of experience as a psychologist and 12 years as a business coach with her expertise in the Law of Attraction. Get Bailey’s free report, 7 Simple Strategies For More Clients in 90 Days, by visiting www.90DaystoMoreClients.com.
RISMEDIA, February 27, 2010—As a business coach for entrepreneurs, my clients often say to me: “I just can’t pick up the phone and call my sphere of influence.” The responses I get when I ask “Why not?” include:
-“I don’t know what to say.”
-“I can’t ask my friends for business.”
-“I have no reason to call.”
-“I don’t want to bug them.”
-“It’s not okay to call them too often.”
The following tips will enable you to motivate your sphere of influence to refer to you easily and effortlessly.
Tip 1: Have a script so you know what to say
What you decide to say may vary from person to person. For instance, the way you talk to a close friend may be quite different from the way you talk to a distant acquaintance.
There is no one formula of what to say. However, it is very helpful to have something to offer when you call. One idea that many of my clients have found helpful is to call your sphere of influence and offer to be a referral source for them.
In other words, let them know that you have plenty of connections to people who could help them. For example, you know many painters, electricians, plumbers, etc. and your sphere of influence should know that if they need any names and phone numbers, they should call you and you will be happy to provide a referral source for them.
Tip 2: Think of yourself as being “the giver”
Most of us love to be the giver. We know we will be well-received and people will like us. We also know that “giving” leads to more business.
Before you pick up the phone to call your sphere of influence, ask yourself: “what can I give to them?” One way that you could be of service to them is to offer to be a cross referral partner.
If they have their own business, ask them how their business is doing. Ask them how you could help them at their business. Ask them what kind of referrals they would like to receive. Let them know that you will do your best to send referrals to them. At the end of the conversation, you can say something like, “when you hear of anyone who’s interested in buying or selling a home, please call me with their name and number. If it’s okay with them, I will call them and make sure that their real estate needs are being taken care of.”
Tip 3: Send something of value each month
What kind of valuable gift should you send? It used to be that sending newsletters was a hot item. However, most people have gotten too busy to read a newsletter.
The selection that works the best is a colorful postcard that gives the events happening in their area. Their sphere of influence is likely to put that postcard on the refrigerator and refer to it often.
Of course, next to the list of events happening in the area is your photo, your phone number and your tag line such as “relax and let me run the extra mile to fulfill your business needs.”
Not only will you start to enter their stream of consciousness, they start to associate positive ideas with you:
-You are associated with happy events in their area,
-You are associated with brilliant bright, happy colors in the postcard,
-Your face smiles at them every time they go to the refrigerator.
Do you think they are more likely to remember you the next time they have a need for your service?
Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to call them too often
As long as you have a good reason to call, your sphere of influence will be happy to hear from you. Trust your own gut instinct about how often you should call. Many real estate gurus suggest calling people in your sphere of influence about once a month. You may choose to do that with your “A list,” the people most likely to refer to you.
Since you are sending an item of value each month, you can always ask your sphere of influence if they received your postcard. You can then follow that with, “so what event are you going to?”
Tip 5: Assume the positive
Simply assume that your sphere of influence will be happy to hear from you. Why wouldn’t they be? They are receiving a wonderful colorful, informative postcard from you each month, then you are calling and offering them something, and you are conditioning them to want to hear from you.
Assume that you have something valuable to offer- your friendship and your expertise- and people want to hear from you.
Tip 6: Be excited about your business
Remember, “desperation does not sell,” but “excitement” does. No matter what the current condition of your business, always say something like, “I am so excited about my business. I get to meet such wonderful people and I’m really in an expansion phase of my business. If you want to help out, just send people my way, I will be happy to help them.”
Tip 7: Use the Law of Attraction
To successfully use the Law of Attraction, you need to be clear about what you want. What do you want? Do you want your sphere of influence to send you several clients a month? If so, then set your intention, “I am now in the process of attracting several new clients from my sphere of influence each month.”
Do you have any opposing beliefs that you need to clear? The Law of Attraction cannot give you what you want if you have any beliefs that will oppose your desired outcome.
For example, if you want to attract an abundance of prosperity, don’t focus on beliefs such as:
-I don’t deserve to have a lot of money
-It’s selfish to want more than I have
-Money is the root of all evil
-Money can’t buy me happiness
-Rich people are usually not honest.
If you have any of the above beliefs, those are called “opposing beliefs.” Can you see that you could be doing all the right activities with your sphere of influence, but if you had opposing beliefs like these, you would not be attracting the clients and the income you want?
To get the Law of Attraction to work for you, you need to identify these old self limiting beliefs, release them and install empowered beliefs.
Here are some examples of empowered beliefs that will help you create the income you want:
-I do deserve an abundance of prosperity.
-It’s okay for me to be grateful for what I have and still want more.
-Money is neutral and can be used for good or evil.
-Money can’t buy me happiness, but I can create a better life for myself and people around me by being prosperous.
-Some people are honest and some are not. It has no relationship to whether or not they have money.
Practice repeating your empowered beliefs frequently and train your mind to focus on what you “want,” not on what you “don’t want.” If you find yourself dwelling on thoughts of scarcity, like “not enough money,” switch your focus and ask yourself, “so what do I want?” Start to notice yourself becoming more positive and attracting more of what you want.
Dr. Maya Bailey, author of Law of Attraction for Real Estate Professionals, integrates 20 years of experience as a psychologist and 12 years as a business coach with her expertise in the Law of Attraction. Get Bailey’s free report, 7 Simple Strategies For More Clients in 90 Days, by visiting www.90DaystoMoreClients.com.
Most Spectacular Event of the Century
Flame that lit Olympic cauldron ignited spirit of a nation at Vancouver Games
Mon Mar 1, 5:31 AM
By Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER, B.C. - Canada entered the 2010 Winter Olympics a little like the cauldron at the opening ceremonies: not all together.
It will leave the Games behind just as the cauldron was at the closing ceremonies: in one piece. For if China used the Games to introduce themselves to the world, Vancouver used theirs to introduce Canadians to each other.
"I believe we Canadians tonight are stronger, more united, more in love with our country and more connected with each other than ever before. These Olympic Games have lifted us up," said John Furlong, the chief executive officer of the organizing committee, in his final words.
"If the Canada that came together on opening night was a little mysterious to some it no longer is. Now you know us... eh?"
When the four pillars of the cauldron failed to rise during the opening ceremonies, it was the start to what in the early days was known as the Glitch Games, a series of gaffes that had Canadians - and the world - questioning whether the country was up to hosting the biggest show on earth.
Raising that final pillar of the cauldron in the first moments of the closing ceremonies was the signal that as keepers of the flame, Canada in fact did manage to pull it together in the end.
By doing so, they pulled the country together as well.
The Games have come to Canada twice before, but it wasn't until this third date that things seem to have really clicked.
Yes, the early moments of the relationship were tragic and uncomfortable.
"We have shared the grief of an Olympic dream cut short. The memory of Nodar Kumaritashvili will always be with us," International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said in his speech at Sunday's closing ceremonies.
"We have shared the joy of dreams fulfilled. We have been moved by tears of elation and tears of disappointment."
The death of the Georgian luger will forever mark these Games.
But after the first few tumultuous days, the sun came out.
Not just in the sky but in the form of the first gold medal won by a Canadian at a Canadian Games.
The home turf drought ended with men's mogulist Alexandre Bilodeau.
"Alexandre - your first gold medal gave us all permission to feel like and behave like champions," said Furlong in his speech.
It also proved that while hockey might be Canada's game, these truly were Canada's Games, Rene Fasel, the IOC member who oversaw the 2010 Olympics, said in an interview.
"People were not only focused on ice hockey here, you had so many medals that this was not only a celebration of hockey but a celebration of the Winter Games," said Fasel, who is also the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Even so, that last gold medal was a nice touch. Canada defeated the U.S. 3-2 in sudden death overtime.
While the Olympic charter may say the Games are about athletes, not nations, hockey is definitely about both.
Tony Sam, 41, drove in from Chilliwack, about an hour's drive from Vancouver, with friends to watch the game on Sunday.
"Before this, Canada only seemed patriotic when there was a beer commercial on TV," he said.
"This is the most exciting thing that's happened in Canada, maybe, ever."
The final medal set a record for gold medals won by a host country at any Winter Olympics.
"I'm very proud to be Canadian, proud to be a part of this Olympics, to be a part of this team, to join the women's side in the gold medal," said Jarome Iginla, part of the men's gold medal winning team.
"But what I'm really proud of is to join the Canadians in the gold medal and setting that record. That is really cool."
After Bilodeau's win, the country also began a run on red mittens, red sweatshirts, red facepaint - anything and everything to show off Canadian pride.
While the Olympic fever that inflamed Canada during the Games was hotter than many expected, it wasn't accidental.
A strong home team was perceived as being the key to strong national support, and Canadian Olympic officials built the $117 million Own the Podium program, with its goal of seeing Canadian athletes win the most medals of any country.
But Canada was behind its athletes even in their darkest moments.
When skeleton racer Mellisa Hollingsworth placed a disappointing fifth, it wasn't just her loss.
"I feel like I let my whole country down" she said.
She received more than 6,000 emails or Facebook messages of support.
When figure skater Joannie Rochette's mother died days before she was to compete, there was a similar outpouring.
The Olympic flame went out Sunday, but organizers hope the national spirit it ignited doesn't follow suit.
Furlong said he hopes that passion remains.
"The Games will have many wonderful legacies. I wish but for one," he said in his final words.
"That every Canadian child - be they from Chicoutimi, Moncton, Grand Prairie, Squamish or Niagara Falls - will have the chance to grow up to experience the pleasure of sport ... no one left out. And that we of the global Olympic family will not rest until the right of every child to play across this planet is secured."
Mon Mar 1, 5:31 AM
By Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER, B.C. - Canada entered the 2010 Winter Olympics a little like the cauldron at the opening ceremonies: not all together.
It will leave the Games behind just as the cauldron was at the closing ceremonies: in one piece. For if China used the Games to introduce themselves to the world, Vancouver used theirs to introduce Canadians to each other.
"I believe we Canadians tonight are stronger, more united, more in love with our country and more connected with each other than ever before. These Olympic Games have lifted us up," said John Furlong, the chief executive officer of the organizing committee, in his final words.
"If the Canada that came together on opening night was a little mysterious to some it no longer is. Now you know us... eh?"
When the four pillars of the cauldron failed to rise during the opening ceremonies, it was the start to what in the early days was known as the Glitch Games, a series of gaffes that had Canadians - and the world - questioning whether the country was up to hosting the biggest show on earth.
Raising that final pillar of the cauldron in the first moments of the closing ceremonies was the signal that as keepers of the flame, Canada in fact did manage to pull it together in the end.
By doing so, they pulled the country together as well.
The Games have come to Canada twice before, but it wasn't until this third date that things seem to have really clicked.
Yes, the early moments of the relationship were tragic and uncomfortable.
"We have shared the grief of an Olympic dream cut short. The memory of Nodar Kumaritashvili will always be with us," International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said in his speech at Sunday's closing ceremonies.
"We have shared the joy of dreams fulfilled. We have been moved by tears of elation and tears of disappointment."
The death of the Georgian luger will forever mark these Games.
But after the first few tumultuous days, the sun came out.
Not just in the sky but in the form of the first gold medal won by a Canadian at a Canadian Games.
The home turf drought ended with men's mogulist Alexandre Bilodeau.
"Alexandre - your first gold medal gave us all permission to feel like and behave like champions," said Furlong in his speech.
It also proved that while hockey might be Canada's game, these truly were Canada's Games, Rene Fasel, the IOC member who oversaw the 2010 Olympics, said in an interview.
"People were not only focused on ice hockey here, you had so many medals that this was not only a celebration of hockey but a celebration of the Winter Games," said Fasel, who is also the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Even so, that last gold medal was a nice touch. Canada defeated the U.S. 3-2 in sudden death overtime.
While the Olympic charter may say the Games are about athletes, not nations, hockey is definitely about both.
Tony Sam, 41, drove in from Chilliwack, about an hour's drive from Vancouver, with friends to watch the game on Sunday.
"Before this, Canada only seemed patriotic when there was a beer commercial on TV," he said.
"This is the most exciting thing that's happened in Canada, maybe, ever."
The final medal set a record for gold medals won by a host country at any Winter Olympics.
"I'm very proud to be Canadian, proud to be a part of this Olympics, to be a part of this team, to join the women's side in the gold medal," said Jarome Iginla, part of the men's gold medal winning team.
"But what I'm really proud of is to join the Canadians in the gold medal and setting that record. That is really cool."
After Bilodeau's win, the country also began a run on red mittens, red sweatshirts, red facepaint - anything and everything to show off Canadian pride.
While the Olympic fever that inflamed Canada during the Games was hotter than many expected, it wasn't accidental.
A strong home team was perceived as being the key to strong national support, and Canadian Olympic officials built the $117 million Own the Podium program, with its goal of seeing Canadian athletes win the most medals of any country.
But Canada was behind its athletes even in their darkest moments.
When skeleton racer Mellisa Hollingsworth placed a disappointing fifth, it wasn't just her loss.
"I feel like I let my whole country down" she said.
She received more than 6,000 emails or Facebook messages of support.
When figure skater Joannie Rochette's mother died days before she was to compete, there was a similar outpouring.
The Olympic flame went out Sunday, but organizers hope the national spirit it ignited doesn't follow suit.
Furlong said he hopes that passion remains.
"The Games will have many wonderful legacies. I wish but for one," he said in his final words.
"That every Canadian child - be they from Chicoutimi, Moncton, Grand Prairie, Squamish or Niagara Falls - will have the chance to grow up to experience the pleasure of sport ... no one left out. And that we of the global Olympic family will not rest until the right of every child to play across this planet is secured."
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