Agents who use direct mail to market should give this iPhone app a lookKey Takeaways Direct mail remains a highly effective marketing and customer follow-up tactic. This iPhone app lets users embed links to videos that are later accessed via text shortcodes. Gift cards are printed directly onto mailings via a patent pending process.KardZee is a service that lets real estate agents create and mail custom postcards. Platforms: iOS app; browser-base
Key Takeaways Use the FORD -- Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams -- method to build rapport and learn about your clients. As an agent, only let people know as much about your politics and beliefs as you are comfortable with.Working with buyers is a very intimate experience. When thinking about and discussing “home” with buyers, we’re not just talking about the real estate or business transaction, we’re also diving into the emotional i
Featuring Allen Stone breaking into Ryan Lewis' house, it's, well, an invasion of privacyKey Takeaways Allen Stone spends 20 minutes "breaking and entering" Ryan Lewis' home for sale.What is Allen Stone’s Invasion of Privacy? Well, the first (and so far only) episode involves the soul singer from the Pacific Northwest breaking into DJ and producer Ryan Lewis’ Seattle house, then running amok inside.Lewis (of Macklemore fame) is listing his
The majority of buyer's agents say a staged listing helps their clients visualize life in the homeKey Takeaways Staging a home "greatly reduces" the amount of time a home stays on a market, according to seller's agents. Buyer's agents concur that home staging has an effect on their clients' decision and how much they're willing to spend.Inventory is low, which means most listings are selling faster than ever. But there are still some outliers
Preparation and rehearsal are the keys to success and confidenceKey Takeaways Agents should feel comfortable approaching their brokers for listing presentation advice and criticism, and brokers should make sure their feedback is constructive and practical.Agent perspective Summer is baseball season, and it is definitely fair to say that I am stuck in a slump. I have done hundreds of listing presentations over my career, but my last few have bee
How to talk to your clients about the importance of this protectionA home warranty company’s primary goal is to make your clients feel secure and protected in their new purchase. It’s scary to buy a home and not know the state of the systems and appliances inside. A home warranty can provide that peace of mind and protection.One of the complaints home warranty companies get from new homeowners is that their home warranty didn’t cover
Real estate professionals officially are entitled to receive a copy of the closing disclosure from lenders, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced last week. Agents traditionally have used the information in the disclosure form to advise their clients during transactions, but about two years ago, when the CFPB made sweeping changes to the settlement process, some lenders stopped making the form available due to privacy concerns.The Na
To garner more attention for a recent listing, a real estate agent in Australia threw a Cirque du Soleil-themed open house at the home. The gimmick worked, drawing 120 people and interest from several serious buyers, says Nick Slater, who listed the property with brokerage McGrath Gunghalin in Canberra, Australia. Slater now expects to sell the home before a scheduled auction on July 22.Guests were greeted at the party by performances from cont
Buyers on the hunt for a lakefront home that promises to be a lucrative investment will want to head to Chelan, Wash. The town tops realtor.com®’s list of top lakeside cities in America.Researchers scoured realtor.com® data to find lake towns that offer the most activities for residents as well the fastest growth in home prices (based on price appreciation between the first quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2017).Lake towns are general
Consumer sentiment about the housing market zoomed to a record high in June, with seller optimism making up most of the uptick, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index. The index rose 2.1 percentage points last month to an 88.3 reading, which matches a record high in February.The number of consumers who say now is a good time to sell a home reached a record high in June, rising 7 percentage points from the previous month. Resear
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