REAL BUYERS • REAL SELLERS • REAL ESTATE
Why Video Based Marketing Can Send Your Business Skyrocketing
Video Marketing Is The Next Mega Trend
Imagine being able to instantly increase your average website visitor’s stay by 720 percent. Or instead of the average eight second scan of your email before it is discarded, 65 percent of your email recipients viewing a video email from you in its entirety. Now that’s engaging prospects and clients.
It gets better. Think about these statistics:
70 percent of the top 100 search engine results today are video. The number of videos watched online grew 660 percent last year, and 90 percent of all Internet traffic will be video-based, by 2015.
If those numbers aren’t enough to get your mind into high gear thinking about how to tap these trends in your business, then consider that over 1.2 billion people now access the Web on mobile devices and that viewing of mobile video shot up 5000 percent in the last thirty six months alone.
By now anyone who browses the Internet would have also realized that search engines have been prioritizing video over text content. So, it has become crucial that business of any kind or size, whether it’s real estate auction sites or auto dealerships and banks, that three key things are seriously looked at.
1) How to constantly crank out video content;
2) Where to publish the content; and,
3) How to best leverage the content to in your marketing and sales.
We can write a book around content ideas. But if you are not in a position to effectively leverage the content in your marketing and sales, the effort will be far less than optimal.
Start thinking about video email, video auto-responders and video newsletters. Yes there is one such solution now and it’s absolutely stunning.
Live broadcasting and presentations that include video should also become a key part of your marketing, so should mass video syndication over the Web, including to social media sites. I’m not referring to simple or expensive tools that help you to reach ten or 30 sites. It’s time to think big. Reaching 200 sites or more with a click is now at everyone’s fingertips and is a great strategy to help your brand and business be found more easily by your prospects online.
And that’s just the beginning. We’ll cover more ideas about how to use your videos, in future articles. For now, I’d start by writing down (and shooting some) video ideas including quick local market snapshots and updates, property tours, neighborhood tours, team and company clips, client testimonials, Holiday greetings, open house promo videos, new listing videos and so on.
For starters, definitely begin to film and add property videos to your listings whether on ListedBy.com or any other sites. Any site of consequence today should offer this option free of charge.
The Making Of A Millionaire – How To Benefit From Public Real Estate Auctions
You Eat An Elephant One Bit At A Time
You eat an elephant one bite at a time.
Often, having a clear vision and the courage to start working towards an opportunity is what stands between man and his or her ultimate goal. With a little bit of study and appetite for some risk, the goal may in fact be closer than one might think.
The first order of business is to spot the opportunity. The next order of business is to remove anyone from sight who’s job seems to discourage us from moving forward. This is frequently the reason why most people freeze. In his famous The Law of Success in 16 Lessons book, the success bible, Napoleon Hill specifically discusses how you must keep your chief aim shielded from others who are likely to challenge or resist it. Even your spouse. Take this as law in achieving the success that you want, even though it is contrary to all the modern guru teachings that you must publish your goals far and wide so you may be more committed to achieving them.
In real estate, an opportunity of a lifetime came to those who saw a buying window when everyone ran the other way in 2008, 2009 and even up until last year. Those who made the move and acquired as much property as they could, boarded or not, with spouse approval or not, are on a different plane now. We all know where these investments stand today. Up some 20-25 percent in the past year alone, in many states and cities across the US. They hopped on the Web and onto online auction sites to grab REO auctions, government real estate auctions, residential real estate auctions, commercial real estate auctions, you name it. Some flipped them right away while others rehabbed and held the assets for rental income with high annual cash on cash returns unlike we’ve seen for decades.
The biggest complaint circling the sector today is lack of inventory, especially distressed assets. Whether that’s in Detroit, Las Vegas or any other market.
The next time I come across a hot deal in Detroit or otherwise, boarded or not, shabby or not, I’m jumping on it. That’s just what I did earlier today, when opportunity presented itself. I bid on five residential properties in Detroit on ListedBy.com, going for just tens or mere hundreds of dollars to anyone willing to take on just a few thousand dollars of back dues taxes. A great deal if you ask me. At worst, the land will always be there for me or my kids to farm someday. Each will have their profiting strategy. Some will resell the assets immediately for a bit of profit, taxes still unpaid. Others will hold till values increase, then sell at that time, still passing due taxes to the next investor. Yet others might pay due taxes in order to obtain title insurance, rehab the properties and rent them for regular cash flow. That is, if the neighborhood and overall conditions are adequate, an insurance provider is willing to provide the service in the area, and the risk of another round of vandalism of the property has been well considered. Risks are out there and professional advice and due diligence on any investment is always necessary.
But first I must win those bids. Some astute investors seem to have spotted the same properties. Until then, I’ll keep scouting the site for more. Here great deals still do come by.
I also like it here not just because of my obvious bias towards ListedBy, but because I also don’t need to pay registration and technology fees like on most other auction sites. Nor do I have to contend with buyer premiums like most everywhere else. Here it’s all free. So each bite I take at my goal, goes further. In English? More dollars in my pocket to go towards buying more assets (with or without spousal approval), instead of handing them to the auctioneer.
There you have it. That’s one of my paths. I’m pulling ahead in the game of real estate just one small bite at a time, until the elephant is in the bag.
Transparency In Real Estate – Key Message at SJREI Mid-Peninsula Meeting
The Three Pillars Of Change
The main message we delivered through our presentation (SJREI021313) at the SJREI (San Jose Real Estate Investors) two days ago was that transparency, or its lack thereof, is a critical catalyst that is preventing the industry from being what it can be, and the real estate professional, agent or investor, from being as efficient and productive as they should be. The underlying force being that a new paradigm shift in real estate is in underway, fueled by consumer insight, powered by technology and new business models.
We stressed and showed how these models will threaten the existence of organizations, large and small, that refuse to notice the oncoming change and tune in to new consumer expectations in how the real estate business is handled, especially online.
This would include real estate auction companies and real estate auction sites, sites that enable REO auctions and real estate government auctions, and organizations dealing in any shape or form with public real estate auctions or foreclosures and distressed property data and listings.
Notwithstanding, regular consumer portals were discussed in the same context, be it publicly traded companies or startup. That the threat is real.
The good news was that the undercurrent also brings with it potentially huge opportunities for those same organizations who tune in to the change and adapt, as many have magnificently done over the years.
Within the context of a session meant to explain to experienced real estate investors what ListedBy.com is, we took the path of focusing on industry concerns that when addressed by platforms and open environments such as ListedBy.com, should result in far greater efficiencies (operational and cost) and productivity for the investor and anyone engaged in the buying and selling of real assets. This, on the premise that all technology we elect to deploy in business is meant to enhance one or the other, in some shape or form.
The paradigm shift would consist of three key pillars with transparency at its core. From these new levels of transparency, the benefits far greater efficiencies and productivity will be drawn. Lack of transparency, today a detriment to economic growth and sales productivity will be replaced with an environment where full transparency is an expectation. Vis:
- Open access to listing data, REO, distressed and regular assets included. Hiding data behind cumbersome registration pages and fees will no longer be an option.
- Actual listing reps featured. The challenge of not being able to instantly see who the true seller or representative is, and not being able to access their contact information, will do more damage to the site or portal exercising such a strategy, than it would do them good.
- Bidding and bidder transparency. Shil bidding (bidding that is used to artificially inflate the price of a certain item), and transparency in being able to see who is bidding and who wins a bid, will become the norm.
Improved cost efficiencies would be delivered in a number of forms including:
- Free auctions
- Free access to listings
- No buyer premiums
- No registration fees
- No brokerage fees
We have a long way before everyone buying and selling real estate realize how deep the benefits of transparency would run within an organization, and how much of a boost in operational and sales productivity such transparency and access to information can drive.
If participant feedback at the session was any indication, the thinking behind ListedBy.com is definitely something more and more real estate professionals will be gravitating to.
ListedBy How-To Videos Now Online
ListedBy How To Video Series
A nice and short set of videos is now available to take you through all key areas and tasks on ListedBy. If you have any questions that the videos do not address, please drop us a note here.
The 2013 Real Estate Market
Stephan Piscano. CEO and Founder, ListedBy
Interest Rates, Real Estate Auction Companies, Inventory, Inflation, Pricing Predictions
What we think you will see and how we recommend you act on it!
As my real estate mentor always did tell me, “My opinion and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee.” But for all those who care to listen, here is the way that I see the real estate market as a whole going in 2013, and some strategies that in my humble opinion could benefit our users.
To start, I will give some background to my opinions and what I have done so far to capitalize on the market. At the end of the year in 2011 and the beginning of this year 2012 I told all of my friends, clients and all those who would listen that I strongly believed that the bottom of the market had come and gone and that we would look back at 2012 and ask how much did we capitalize on it. If you look at the stats and all of the trends, that has proven to be true. The market nationally has started a slow rebound, and as predicted, the areas hit hardest by the crash such as Las Vegas, NV, and here in California have rebounded the strongest. With hopes that this would happen, I started investing very heavily in Las Vegas in July 2011 and since that point the market as a whole there is up 37%! My thought process has remained the same for the market as a whole in 2013 as there are still exceptional buys out there on a national level and in some of these key regions like CA and Las Vegas, and while they may not be the 15% cap rate rental properties that we saw every day for a while, the ROIs are still dramatically better than what you would get in the bank and once again I strongly believe you will see continued upswing in the market in 2013 and beyond. There are two possibilities for the market that I see that both result in pricing rising:
Possibility #1: The economy crashes hard once again and the fiscal cliff destroys the markets:
This, believe it or not, could result in house prices going dramatically higher, as if this happened it is likely that we would see some form of rapid-inflation which although a slow process would ultimately hit the housing market. This means house prices would go up not so much because the house is worth more, but rather because the dollar is worth less. This means that condo you bought for $90K could and will likely someday be worth $1 million just like how a house you bought for $2,600 in 1944 would be worth dramatically more today. Inflation always happens and it always at some point hits the real estate market. It is simply a question of how long that will take. If the economy crashed and we had another dip in the market briefly, it would create another exceptional buying opportunity before inflation kicks in and you can see that exceptional long term growth.
If this happened, the way to capitalize on it is by having as much leverage as possible. So instead of buying one rental property cash for $200,000, you would want to buy 10 rental properties with 10% down and maximize your leverage so you can pay off the loans with cheap dollars. It can be a bit in-depth so if you have questions about this email me through my user profile on ListedBy.com and we can go in to some extra stats and detail.
Possibility #2: The economy and the markets get a bit better
This obviously results in having the economy and the market in a better condition, which helps buyers to have the resources needed to purchase, which should continue a slow upswing in home prices and purchases as a whole as we grow. Also, note that many Americans with foreclosures that happened in 2008 will now have more than 5 yrs since that foreclosure, which for many is enough time to rebound their finances to be able to buy another home, which will also help the market.
As you can see, the stats and the details seem to point towards a strong market recovery regardless of the economy as a whole which is obviously great extra security for all of us who invest in real estate. I think that it is likely that you will see a combination of the two where the economy stays well and we see some rapid inflation also, which is why in 2013, I will be trying to buy as many units as I can the same way that I did in 2012 hopefully with the same result!
Accelerating Negotiations in Real Estate
Online auction accelerates sales by significantly cutting down negotiations time.
Online auction accelerates sales by significantly cutting down negotiations time consumed in traditional buying and selling.
Breaking it down to a few of the many time intensive components of a traditional transaction that selling or buying through online auction alleviates or eliminates:
- Playing telephone tag
- Recording and accessing voice mails
- Drafting and chasing all the email correspondence
- Traveling back and forth to personal meetings with a seller’s or buyer’s agent and their customers
- The direct involvement of actual buyers or sellers in the negotiations process
Instead, use new online auction technology to negotiate multiple initial tender offers at the same time. Click to present offers, click to counter, reject or accept offers. It’s that easy and takes just seconds.
As to what real estate auction sites are best, always go for the entirely free venues. Ensure that these also do not charge any buyer’s premium, which traditional online or on location auctioneers still charge to this day. This fee can reach up to ten percent over and above the value of the property.
Avoiding Registration Fees At Real Estate Auctions – ListedBy KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
By eliminating auction fees, more money is left to go towards a property
Most traditional real estate auction companies and real estate auction sites still charge bidders a registration fee, on top of the Buyer’s Premium* that alone can reach a whopping 10 percent of the property value.
The key to maximizing the value of a home selling at auction is to attract more bidders. Applying such fees can have the opposite effect, compromising the asset value and the home seller in the process.
By eliminating all auction registration fees, more bidders are enticed to participate. By removing the Buyer’s Premium as well, more money is left in buyer pockets to go towards the purchase instead of the organization that is running the auction.
* Buyer’s Premium – A traditional practice that new free online real estate auction business models such as ListedBy.com are eliminating. Also referred to as a Buyer’s Penalty, or the fee that a winning bidder must pay over and above the price of the subject property. The premium is typically between two and ten percent of the asset value.
Download your copy of the ListedBy – Real Estate Auction Primer for Consumers printable booklet, for more information about auction terminology.
