Flipping Houses is not Real Estate Investing?
by Fortune Builders
Is flipping houses purely a dangerous way of gambling on the housing market? Should it really all be about cash flow?
Sadly it seems that some still just don’t get flipping houses or at
least they haven’t been successful at it or make more money from
acquiring rental properties. Though one blogger who recently claimed
‘flipping houses is not real estate investing’ and that it relies on
speculation was certainly irresponsible, misleading or at least terribly
misinformed. A prime example of why constantly building on your real
estate education is so critical.
Flipping houses the right way is certainly anything but speculative.
In fact there is really no safer way to get into real estate investing.
Buying homes at full market price and sitting on them, hoping to unload
them for a profit sometime in the future, now that is an incredibly
dangerous and speculative approach to real estate investing, especially
if any leverage is used. That is exactly what brought the housing market
to its knees.
In contrast, buying low and locking in your profits at acquisition is
not just smart but the only way you should approach any type of
investment. If you buy low enough you don’t even have to get into
rehabbing and you certainly don’t have to wait months on end to get full
price from a retail buyer. Right now the focus of the game should be
buy low, sell low, flip more houses. If you can get top dollar great. If
not make a nice spread and get onto the next one.
Going a step further, those who really take their real estate
education seriously will learn how to build a serious buyers list and
network. This eliminates months of marketing compared to what some
outdated real estate courses may teach but it only makes sense. This way
you already have buyers lined up before you make acquisitions, you know
how much they can pay and that they can pay. Meaning barring any issues
which you should have a back up plan for anyway your acquisitions are
almost as good as gold when you put pen to paper.
go to Fortune Builders
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Does Your Real Estate Investing Business Need A Mobile App
by Fortune Builders
Are custom mobile apps the Must Have marketing tool for real estate investing companies this year?
Next to video marketing it is widely accepted that mobile marketing is one of the most important differentiators between winners and losers in business during the next 18 months. So does your real estate investing business need its own mobile app in order to compete and win?
There are many ways to improve your mobile marketing capacity and presence without having a mobile app. Optimizing your site for the mobile web, reserving the .mobi extension of your domain name, building on local search marketing and utilizing text and bulk SMS marketing can all enable you to compete in the new mobile world.
However, there is no question that mobile apps are taking over the real estate industry. Real estate investing pros must realize that they are not just another channel for reaching buyers, tenants, sellers, private lenders and other investors for sending repeat messages like social media or for keeping brands at the forefront of prospect’s minds. The best mobile apps are evolving into tools which are hard wired into the daily lives of users and are becoming inseparable from their everyday routines. It’s far better than magnetic marketing which draws people back or social recommendations through friend’s Facebook profiles. It is controlling the matrix that others live in.
How could this new breed of apps work for your real estate investing company? What about an app which showed rent to own tenants how much equity they were building up and helped them keep on track to take out a loan? What about an app which helped prospective first time home buyers improve their credit and manage their everyday spending and savings so that they could buy a home from you faster? Perhaps even a mobile app which calculated buyer’s equity and finances and alerted them to opportunities to invest with you by buying new properties you are flipping or as private mortgage lenders?
Unlike other forms of marketing prospects won’t be tapped into numerous mobile apps for every industry. They will lock themselves into one and grow with it. Will it be yours?
go to Fortune Builders
by Fortune Builders
Are custom mobile apps the Must Have marketing tool for real estate investing companies this year?
Next to video marketing it is widely accepted that mobile marketing is one of the most important differentiators between winners and losers in business during the next 18 months. So does your real estate investing business need its own mobile app in order to compete and win?
There are many ways to improve your mobile marketing capacity and presence without having a mobile app. Optimizing your site for the mobile web, reserving the .mobi extension of your domain name, building on local search marketing and utilizing text and bulk SMS marketing can all enable you to compete in the new mobile world.
However, there is no question that mobile apps are taking over the real estate industry. Real estate investing pros must realize that they are not just another channel for reaching buyers, tenants, sellers, private lenders and other investors for sending repeat messages like social media or for keeping brands at the forefront of prospect’s minds. The best mobile apps are evolving into tools which are hard wired into the daily lives of users and are becoming inseparable from their everyday routines. It’s far better than magnetic marketing which draws people back or social recommendations through friend’s Facebook profiles. It is controlling the matrix that others live in.
How could this new breed of apps work for your real estate investing company? What about an app which showed rent to own tenants how much equity they were building up and helped them keep on track to take out a loan? What about an app which helped prospective first time home buyers improve their credit and manage their everyday spending and savings so that they could buy a home from you faster? Perhaps even a mobile app which calculated buyer’s equity and finances and alerted them to opportunities to invest with you by buying new properties you are flipping or as private mortgage lenders?
Unlike other forms of marketing prospects won’t be tapped into numerous mobile apps for every industry. They will lock themselves into one and grow with it. Will it be yours?
go to Fortune Builders
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Home prices post steep decline
Home prices post steep decline: Home prices posted a steep, month-over-month drop in November, falling 1.3%, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city report. Prices fell in 19 of the 20 cities the index covers.
5 Reasons why your Rental Ads are Failing
by Fortune Builders
There is a lot of competition out there amongst real estate investing companies who are all fighting over tenants but the following 5 fatal flaws could be causing prospective renters to automatically pass over your ads…
1. You Look Like an Agent
Just as many of those in the real estate investing business don’t like working with real estate agents, neither do renters, especially if their credit isn’t perfect. You may find all kinds of tools for creating neat looking ads but carefully weigh the benefits of visuals versus effectiveness. Sometimes feeding your own ego is exactly the opposite of what is needed to get results.
2. Your Photos Stink
Many renters won’t even look at ads without pics. However, this doesn’t mean putting up terrible pictures is OK. How much cash flow is this property going to put in your pocket over the next 5 years? Isn’t it worth making sure you have at least half a dozen decent photos? Make sure the toilets are flushed, trash isn’t over flowing and sorry, no one wants to see you standing in their home, unless you really are a super model.
3. Ease of Contact
The easier it is for prospects to contact your real estate investing company the more likely they will. Phone and emails are a must and social links can be a great way to allow people to learn more about you and enter your funnel even if you don’t have a property which is a perfect match for them right now.
4. Too Strict
While narrowing down the number calls you get can certainly help you to maximize your time it can also mean alienating some of the best tenants and missing out on adding hundreds of additional prospects to your lists. You don’t have to advertise application fees and tough screening measures in your ads, even if you do require them.
5. Too Much Money Upfront
This is especially true when your real estate investing business is promoting rent to own deals. It is OK to leave some mystery. Focus on generating the the most leads.
go to Fortune Builders
by Fortune Builders
There is a lot of competition out there amongst real estate investing companies who are all fighting over tenants but the following 5 fatal flaws could be causing prospective renters to automatically pass over your ads…
1. You Look Like an Agent
Just as many of those in the real estate investing business don’t like working with real estate agents, neither do renters, especially if their credit isn’t perfect. You may find all kinds of tools for creating neat looking ads but carefully weigh the benefits of visuals versus effectiveness. Sometimes feeding your own ego is exactly the opposite of what is needed to get results.
2. Your Photos Stink
Many renters won’t even look at ads without pics. However, this doesn’t mean putting up terrible pictures is OK. How much cash flow is this property going to put in your pocket over the next 5 years? Isn’t it worth making sure you have at least half a dozen decent photos? Make sure the toilets are flushed, trash isn’t over flowing and sorry, no one wants to see you standing in their home, unless you really are a super model.
3. Ease of Contact
The easier it is for prospects to contact your real estate investing company the more likely they will. Phone and emails are a must and social links can be a great way to allow people to learn more about you and enter your funnel even if you don’t have a property which is a perfect match for them right now.
4. Too Strict
While narrowing down the number calls you get can certainly help you to maximize your time it can also mean alienating some of the best tenants and missing out on adding hundreds of additional prospects to your lists. You don’t have to advertise application fees and tough screening measures in your ads, even if you do require them.
5. Too Much Money Upfront
This is especially true when your real estate investing business is promoting rent to own deals. It is OK to leave some mystery. Focus on generating the the most leads.
go to Fortune Builders
Monday, January 30, 2012
How to Never Make a Mistake with your Blog Again
by Fortune Builders
Want to boost the results from you blog this year but worried changes may actually work against you? Want to know how to never make a critical mistake again?
Making changes to your web assets or business processes used to be a perilous, expensive experiment which could cripple your business, income and reputation. Not anymore.
Making visual changes to your WordPress blog has never been easier and the same goes for changing the flow of your site. This is important as every minute factor can have a big impact on conversions. Now you can make changes in minutes as a temporary test and always restore to your previous set up if you see a dip in sales or even just the stickiness of your blog.
You can also test out varying styles of posts and keywords and easily keep an eye on your metrics to watch how they perform and affect your traffic figures. However, there can be other moves which could potential have a much larger impact on your blog and business reputation which you simply won’t want to gamble on.
However, now with the speed of social media and the ease of syndicating your blog across the web and through email you can ask questions before you make critical mistakes. Plus this could even help you increase your brand’s buzz. Look at Bank of America and Verizon’s recent stories in the news. They have have started an outcry and outrage at planned increases in fees but they also got a ton of free press and interaction on their social platforms.
This won’t just help you avoid making mistakes either. Asking questions in your blog posts can also help you identify new revenue opportunities including what enhancements you can make to your current offering and what new products or services your prospects are eager to buy that they can’t find.
Perhaps you even have challenges with your blog that we have answered here yet. Just ask and our next blog post could be just for you…
go to Fortune Builders
by Fortune Builders
Want to boost the results from you blog this year but worried changes may actually work against you? Want to know how to never make a critical mistake again?
Making changes to your web assets or business processes used to be a perilous, expensive experiment which could cripple your business, income and reputation. Not anymore.
Making visual changes to your WordPress blog has never been easier and the same goes for changing the flow of your site. This is important as every minute factor can have a big impact on conversions. Now you can make changes in minutes as a temporary test and always restore to your previous set up if you see a dip in sales or even just the stickiness of your blog.
You can also test out varying styles of posts and keywords and easily keep an eye on your metrics to watch how they perform and affect your traffic figures. However, there can be other moves which could potential have a much larger impact on your blog and business reputation which you simply won’t want to gamble on.
However, now with the speed of social media and the ease of syndicating your blog across the web and through email you can ask questions before you make critical mistakes. Plus this could even help you increase your brand’s buzz. Look at Bank of America and Verizon’s recent stories in the news. They have have started an outcry and outrage at planned increases in fees but they also got a ton of free press and interaction on their social platforms.
This won’t just help you avoid making mistakes either. Asking questions in your blog posts can also help you identify new revenue opportunities including what enhancements you can make to your current offering and what new products or services your prospects are eager to buy that they can’t find.
Perhaps you even have challenges with your blog that we have answered here yet. Just ask and our next blog post could be just for you…
go to Fortune Builders
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