REALTORS® - Get Ready for Zillow!

Something new is happening in the online real estate arena...a new entry that will have far-reaching effects on your real estate business. Right now, you offer MLS access, valuation services, etc. as an enticement to get visitors to your Website to provide their name and email address so that you can follow-up with prospecting messages. Your Website exists to capture buyers and sellers.

While access to the MLS will remain a strong enticement, in the future it is likely that most Internet surfers will first visit a new site, "Zillow," to get an idea of property values. Zillow offers a free "do-it-yourself" comparable valuation report for both buyers and sellers. And while they are there, visitors are exposed to advertising by your competitors and (upcoming) services from affiliated Realtors. In other words, you will no longer have first shot at capturing prospective clients.

Zillow (www.zillow.com) has a database of 60 million homes, based on property values, sales and other public records. They intend to increase that to 110 records. Access to this information is free for Website visitors. On their first day of business, Zillow had so many visitors (300,000+) that their site crashed. That "nice to have" problem has been corrected.

They offer three valuation tools for buyers, sellers and home owners who just want to track the value of their largest asset. "Zestimate" is a tool that provides a rough estimate of value based on a statistical proprietary algorithm. It is really just a starting point, although Zillow claims ninety percent accuracy. A Zestimate presents a range of values and a "Zindex" is the median value. Clever branding, eh? Zillow instructions urge users to use a Zindex over a period of time, say the last month or so, to arrive at a better valuation.

To refine the value estimate, Zillow offers a free tool called "My Zestimator." It follows logic familiar to any appraiser. First, users edit facts about their home. Then they pick the best choices from a list of relevant comparable sales in their locale. The Zestimator then computes a refined value.

Zillow recognizes the difficulty in coming up with a home value based solely on figures and the qualitative assessment of an untrained user. Again they strive for ninety percent accuracy, but admit that this goal is not always possible. Obviously, Zillow does not replace a formal appraisal, nor can its results be used to obtain a loan.

Zillow is not easy to use correctly. Visitors to the site must undergo some basic training to understand how to get best results. Basically, they receive a crash course in appraisal principles and how to use the Zillow tools. For those unfamiliar with appraisal techniques, there is plenty of room for error. For example, when I used the rough estimator, Zestimate, to value my condo, Zestimator included single family residences as part of the value calculation. The satellite map also erroneously identified another property as mine. Zillow also appears to be relying heavily on a statistical dollar per square foot formula and an aging factor. When I refined my search by using My Zestimator, Zillow was unable to come up with any results even though several condo units within my complex have sold within the past year. So, it still has some kinks to work out.

How does Zillow expect to turn a profit if they offer their services for free? A look at the Website quickly answers that question. They will leverage a huge traffic volume to generate revenues from pay-per-click advertising and programs like Google AdWords. Since it is likely that your future prospects will first go to Zillow, they will be in a strong position to push real estate professionals to place ads on their site: "Advertising on Zillow.com allows you to reach people who are actively looking for information about their current and future homes."

Zillow also offers a link program, but it is strictly one-way from your site to theirs. This will help to quickly build their search engine ranking, but does nothing for your site. I would be cautious about sending your visitors to Willow where they will be exposed to advertising by competitors.

At the bottom of the Home page, Zillow has a link for you to sign up for "forthcoming programs for real estate professionals." Do it! I suspect they will soon offer (perhaps for a pay-per-click fee) use of Zillow tools without your visitors seeming to leave your site. There may also be special advertising programs for Realtors.

Meanwhile, Realtors should be prepared to respond to valuation questions from buyers and sellers who have first been to the Zillow site and have their own idea of a property's worth. You may find yourself in the position, for example, of having to explain why Zillow's valuation missed the mark. The best way to familiarize yourself with Zillow's tools is to go through their valuation process yourself for some of your listings.

The entree of Zillow into the real estate business requires that real estate professionals place more emphasis on offering Website visitors useful free information and value-added offers in order to win them as clients. It also means that you should be learning everything you can about Zillow and investigating how you can leverage their site or services to your own benefit. Things are changing out there and this is your "heads up." Those that embrace change will prosper and stay a step ahead of their competitors. Those that don't…

About the Author

Al Kernek is a real estate broker and author of "Creating E-Mail Newsletters – A Practical Guide for the Real Estate Community" and "Put Your Business Online." To learn more about increasing real estate sales using low-cost Internet marketing techniques, visit http://www.renewsletter.com

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Website Solutions for REALTORS

When it comes to setting up a real estate agent Website, there are several options. They range from "do it yourself" to complete solutions where all you have to do is change some text and upload your listings. Some vendors even include marketing activities with their solutions. The price tag, of course, varies accordingly – the more you do yourself, the less it costs you.

Realtors who have the time and inclination can save a lot of money by rolling up their sleeves and creating a Website themselves. Most hosting vendors offer free templates that can easily be modified to create a basic agent Website of a half-dozen pages or so. Inexpensive real estate Website templates can also be purchased and customized to build a more elaborate online presentation. You even get email accounts that include your domain name.


The benefit of this approach is two fold: 1) start-up costs are usually under $100, and 2) ongoing website costs are under $10 monthly. If you have a little technical acumen, you can even use this approach to create a sophisticated Website. For a free ebook explaining how to "do it yourself," go to http://www.renewsletter.com/ebooks/Budget_Real_Estate_Website.

In the middle are solutions that provide a fairly elaborate real estate Website solution, usually for about $30-to-$50 monthly with a start-up free around $100. These allow you to choose a standard design template and provide tools to easily customize your selection to include your photo, name, contact information, logo, etc. They include not only your own domain name and email accounts, but also lead generation tools (e.g., mortgage calculator, newsletter subscription form, visitor information capture, local data, etc.). They also support IDX/MLS interfacing so that both your personal listings and access to your local MLS are offered. Tools for search-engine optimization and listing your site in real estate directories are included as well. You will find good support behind these comprehensive solutions too. RapidListings.com is a good example of this class of turnkey real estate Website vendors.

At the high-end, a new class of real estate vendors has emerged. These take online marketing one step further by offering more hand-holding for real estate agents and providing more online lead generation mechanisms. Z57.com is typical of this new breed of real estate Website solutions. They actually provide a "customized" email newsletter as part of their service, along with additional lead generation and capture/notification tools. If you want an online marketing solution that involves as little work as possible, this approach may be for you. It's relatively expensive, however. Expect to pay several hundred dollars in start-up costs and the ongoing monthly fees can range from $60-to-$300.

No matter what approach best fits your situation, expect to be involved to some degree in the initial Website set-up and its ongoing maintenance. As with all marketing, decisions must be made about Website content, look and feel, adding listings, offering incentives and essentially all the ingredients that go into a successful online campaign targeting buyers and sellers.

About the Author

Al Kernek is a real estate broker and author of "Creating E-Mail Newsletters – A Practical Guide for the Real Estate Community" and "Put Your Business Online." To learn more about increasing real estate sales using low-cost Internet marketing techniques, visit http://www.renewsletter.com

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Important Tips To Keep In Mind Prior To Investing In Real Estate

By : William King

A smart investor’s earning potential is really high, as a Real Estate property only appreciates with the passage of time. With the booming Real Estate markets, the youngsters have actually started looking at Real Estate investments as great options to secure their future. There is nothing wiser than buying a flat at a young age, when your liabilities are low, and then selling it at peak at double its purchase price. To reap benefits, you need to however sow smart. As in, there is a lot of groundwork involved in finalizing a property and investing in it.

Invest smart

You need to study the Real Estate market well before finalizing the property in which you want to invest. The key areas where you should focus are: condition of the house, locality in which the house is located, prevailing rentals in that particular area, infrastructure of the area in terms of availability of recreational, health, and transport facilities in the area. Resale value of a house located in a developed area is huge; hence, prefer buying a flat in a developed locality.

In case your budget doesn’t permit you to buy an apartment in a posh area, then there is no harm in finding options in an under-developed or developing area, provided you study the area plan well. Understand your need For a smart investment, it is important that you understand your need well. For instance, if you plan to live in the property that you are planning to buy, it is wise to buy a house with multiple units. Such properties help you lower down cost of living and utilize rents obtained from other parts of the property to pay mortgaged loans, if any. In case, if you are looking at buying a property that is already on rent, make it a point to assess the records of the tenants before finalizing the purchase. It is better if you take professional help to identify your needs and formulate a suitable plan of action, and then execution. A Real Estate broker, with his rich experience in the industry and rich database of properties, can help you zero down your search very well. Choose a finance option If you are looking out for some financing options to purchase your property, you may visit a mortgage broker, to help you in finding suitable finance options at a good cost. Nowadays, most brokers offer this value-added service to their clients, so that the deal is fast without the client having to initiate the tedious bank procedures on his own. Find out if your real agent has a tie up with a bank or any other financial institutions. You need to however do some comparative analysis to get the best interest rate for a reasonable tenor.

Author Resource:- William King is the director of Dubai Property & UAE Property & Dubai Real Estate Portal , Pakistan Property & Pakistan Real Estate Properties Portal , Wholesale Trade Dropshippers, Manufacturers, Distributors & Importers Directory and Property & Real Estate Properties Directory . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

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Good Opportunity for First time Home Buyers in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

By : Aniruddha Badola

The slowdown in real estate market offers a great opportunity for individuals who want to buy their first home. And Puerto Vallarta Homes make a good option though there is no dearth of affordable properties available for you in Mexico. Properties in Puerto Vallarta offer a wide variety of alternative homes, well suited to families of every size.

Another reason for Puerto Vallarta being a better investment option is the convenience of relocating in this area. Scenic beauty of this area makes Puerto Vallarta an ideal place for people who want to break free from the maddening pace of a city life.

Living in Puerto Vallarta means putting a brake in your lifestyle. The life here is slow and relaxed. With an exotic blend of the old and the new, this city region offers an unparallel combination of simple pleasures and sophisticated charms. Visitors will find fine dining restaurants, art galleries, luxury shopping centers and nightclubs in perfect harmony with street-side vendors selling Mexican handcrafts, traditional markets and roving mariachi bands.

Puerto Vallarta is blessed with twenty five miles of golden beaches within spectacular Banderas Bay. Thus Puerto Vallarta presents unlimited opportunities for enjoying the Pacific like no else place does. Water activities like fishing, sailing, snorkeling, swimming as well as hiking are popular activities. It also has an underwater nature preserve known as Los Arcos. Apart from ocean, Puerto Vallarta also has colossal mountains which add to the beauty of this heavenly place. The mountains are adorned by the dense forests of Sierra Madre. If the natural beauty of Vallarta is not enough then old city charm and its warm people make it an icing on the cake. Puerto Vallarta homes are affordable compared to American homes, due to economy meltdown, people who are dreaming big to buy a beachfront house or a condo with seaside view. Adventure seeking families more into water sports would find their homes near to lake a good investment. Traditionally, Mexican Real Estate purchases have been limited to investors with enough cash to buy real estate without need for financing in Mexico. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to pay cash for property. To circumvent this obstacle, Mexican Government introduced a system in which banks in Mexico acquire the property you want to buy and place it in trust for the sole use of the foreign property owner, or "beneficiary." This trust, called a "Fideicomiso" ensures that the foreign buyer has all the rights and privileges of Mexican Property ownership, including the right to remodel, lease, mortgage, or sell the property at any time.

Author Resource:- MexicoSummer offers personalized assistance with Cancun Real Estate, Puerto Vallarta Real Estate in Mexico. The #1 Mexico Real Estate site offers a full range of Real Estate services for luxury vacation Villas, Condominiums in Mexico. If you are looking for any property in Mexico, just contact us. We will find it for you!

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Why Real Estate Agents Need Their Own Website

It is difficult to for a real estate agent to be successful today without a Website. First, your customers and prospective clients expect you to have a Website, simply as a matter of credibility. Second, a Website is where you have an opportunity to promote yourself, your listings and your services to your local marketplace.

Websites offer several advantages for real estate agents because they:

• Are available 24 hours daily, 7 days per week on a year-round basis.

• Give you the same marketing clout as agents with more resources.

• Generate sales leads.

• Provide credibility.

• Offer a means of making information available to customers, prospects and the public.

• Provide a platform for running special promotions, especially when used in conjunction with an email newsletter.

If your competitors have a Website and you do not, then you suffer from a competitive disadvantage. Let's face it, people would rather surf the Web to get information than pick up a phone to call their local Realtor.

Another good reason to have a Website is to acquire non-local business. Suppose someone is thinking about moving to your area, or is an absentee landowner who has a property in your area that he wishes to sell. How will they even know you exist if they can't find you when they do an Internet search?

Fortunately, today a Website can be easily created by anyone who has basic PC skills. And contrary to what you may have heard, excellent agent Websites with sophisticated features and a professional email account are possible for under $100 annually. With a little work, you can have an online presence to promote your real estate services within twenty-four hours!

About the Author

Al Kernek is a real estate broker and author of "Creating E-Mail Newsletters – A Practical Guide for the Real Estate Community" and "Put Your Business Online." To learn more about increasing real estate sales using low-cost Internet marketing techniques, visit http://www.renewsletter.com

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Ways To Make Money From Commercial Property Investments

By : William King

There are basically five different ways in which you can make money by investing in commercial real estate.

Strategy 1: Building equity

The key way to make money in commercial real estate business is by building up equity in the property. You can do this in four ways that are mentioned below.

The first way is to buy the property below its market value. To do this you will have to do your due research, you will have to find out the needs of the buyer and you also have to be good at negotiation.

The next way in which equity builds up is through the appreciation of property. You can easily ensure that your property appreciates by marinating it properly and undertaking the necessary repair work. It is also important to buy a property in a location that promises to grow.

The third way to build equity is by paying down debt. The key to this strategy is to try and get the lowest interest rate possible on your debt instrument. The fourth way in which you can create equity is the time when you sell the property. You must try and sell you property at above market value and to do this you have to put in effort to find the right buyer and again you have to have good negotiation skills. Strategy 2: depreciation of property You can save a considerable amount of tax as depreciation on building is tax deductible expenditure. When you arrive at the profit before tax, you are allowed to account the expenditure on depreciation of assets as an operational expenditure. This way you have to calculate the percentage of tax on a lower amount. It is however important to note that depreciation can be charged only on the building but not on land. Strategy 3: Charging suitable rent It is important that the property generates enough rent so that you can easily cover the expenditure if its maintenance and can also cover the interest payment of the mortgage. But you should not stop there, it should be your goal to try and get additional rent so that you can pay off the debts and thus create equity. Strategy 4: Attractive financing schemes for the buyer When you are selling your property, you can fetch a better price if you offer convenient payment schemes to the potential buyer. For example, if you allow the buyer to pay in easy installments and do not want a heavy down payment, then the buyer may be willing to pay you a higher over all price. Strategy 5: Add value to your property You can add value to you property in various ways. Try and make strategic improvements in your property that will help you to increase its worth. You can also put your property to higher and better use to increase its worth.

Author Resource:- William King is the director of Dubai Property & UAE Property & Dubai Real Estate Portal, Pakistan Property & Pakistan Real Estate Properties Portal , Canada Wholesalers & Canadian Dropshippers Suppliers Directory and Wholesale Dropshipping & Wholesalers Suppliers Trade Directory . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

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When To Invest In Real Estate

By : William King

When it comes to investing in property there is no right time or wrong time, anytime is good when investing in property. The market is so wide and high that it is always possible to find some value in there. It can be easier or harder to find value depending on the state of the market but it is always there. There is always some sort of property that has been in neglect, disrepair, or simply has motivated sellers that must make a sale. Properties such as these make for a great buy at any time no matter the state of the market. Another thing to remember is that the Real Estate market moves in cycles. It never stays low or high for too long. Eventually things reverse and go back to the way they were in the previous half of the cycle. With a little bit of knowledge you can come close to predicting the cycles and making a killing in the market. The market is also unpredictable with the leading experts unable to always buy low and sell high. Most of the time it is just educated guesswork that may or may not work so there is no point in waiting for the ideal time to invest in the market.

The Real Estate investor that always makes money is the one who makes it a habit of buy and hold. While it is true that their money is tied up it is equally true that a sluggish market or slow economy does not do them any harm. They simply have to hold on to the property and eventually when the upside of the cycle comes around they can sell it off. In the meantime they can continue to make money by renting or leasing such property. “Buy and hold” investors are very patient and they usually have more experience watching the market than short term investors. This means they are that much better at predicting the cycles. They know when they can expect peaks and valleys and they can plan their actions accordingly. They are much better at reading the signs and making the right buy or sell decision. Being active in the market for a long time also means that they have a thorough knowledge of what is available where, and they can move in and get working. The Real Estate market is currently going through a sluggish period all over the world, apart from a few spots like Dubai and some locations in China. This turned out to be bad news for those investors who thought that the market will continue to go up indefinitely. The good news here is that since the prices are falling down it is the right time to buy. You cannot wait too long or the cycle may reverse again by the time you are done deciding and you will pay more than you ought to. If you are looking to buy ownership property instead of investment property then there is no point in looking at the market condition. Just go ahead and buy.

Author Resource:- William King is the director of Dubai Property & UAE Property & Dubai Real Estate Portal, Pakistan Property & Pakistan Real Estate Properties Portal , Australia Wholesalers - Australian Wholesale Dropshippers & Suppliers Directory and France Wholesalers - French Wholesale Dropshippers & Suppliers Directory . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

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Investing in Real Estate: Taming the Fear

By : Meridian PacificProperties

Most real estate investors are aware of the terrific positive cash flow opportunities with cash-on-cash returns in double digits on single family homes. Yet many have chosen not to invest out of fear that the value of their investment property will fall. How founded is that fear? Consider what the numbers tell us.

Take the example a $60,000 1100 square foot, 3 bedroom 1 bath house in Jackson, Mississippi, already renovated with a tenant paying $700 per month. With a 20% down payment, and allowing for mortgage payments (PITI), property management, maintenance and vacancy, the property will still return well over 10% per year (over 15% if the tenant stays in place and takes good care of the property.) That is clearly a great return on investment. But how much downside is there? Will the $60,000 house materially drop in value?

Prices will not fall if there is adequate demand for housing. Consider that if the foregoing tenant were to purchase that same house with 5% down with an FHA loan at a 5.5% interest rate, his total monthly payment (PITI) would be about $436, about 38% less than the $700 he pays in rent. Plus, his savings would be even greater because his interest payments and property taxes are tax-deductible. So it is compelling for the tenant to buy instead of rent. When we hear of “pent-up demand” for purchasing homes, this is one of the main reasons why. So why doesn’t he buy? He sure wants to. It boils down to making the down payment and qualifying for the loan. Generally, the greater challenge is the latter. With the mortgage default rate so high, lenders have greatly tightened their standards, so it is harder for prospective homeowners to qualify for loans. However, the Obama administration has unveiled a number of initiatives to address this problem and enable people to once again purchase homes, such as a 10% tax credit (up to $8,000) for first-time home buyers in 2009. As these initiatives take root and more people can qualify for loans, housing sales will increase significantly, as there is huge pent-up demand. This, in turn, will stabilize prices, and will likely cause prices to begin rising. Properties today have such strong positive cash flow that they effectively mitigate the downside risk in further slippage in home price. Also, while prices have fallen throughout the United States, in some areas of the country prices have fallen only slightly, such as in Mississippi, as these areas never had a speculative housing bubble like the East and West coasts did. So there is less downside risk in these markets, generally in the center part of the nation. With the pent-up demand for housing soon to be unleashed and compelling cash flow returns, there has never been a better time to invest in real estate.

Author Resource:- Kevin Conlon is a co-founder of Meridian Pacific Properties, Inc., a real estate investment company headquartered near San Diego, California. Jeffrey King, a real estate investor for over 20 years, co-founded Meridian Pacific Properties and helps clients acquire positive cash flow properties for their personal real estate investment portfolios.

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