Tag Archive for: the Brokerlist

There are SO MANY so called Real Estate Gurus out in the market place and I really hate to see anyone give them their money!

There are SO MANY so called Real Estate Gurus out in the market place and I really hate to see anyone give them their money! For all of the 20 years that I have selling Investment Real Estate; sometimes it baffles me how these people can take the money from investors-many of whom have little experience.

I have given seminars for Investors since 2003 and I do not want a dime upfront.  If I do my job correctly-including educate the Investor; there is not any reason that I do not get compensated for my efforts on a performance basis.  Meaning COMMISSION!

Here is what every Investor in Real Estate needs to know-simple steps.

  1. Pick a Power Team-which means a Broker (preferably a CCIM) that understands the market that you want to invest in.
  2. With the Power Team- Make sure that the Broker is strong and well connected to the sources that you need(Lawyers, Lenders, Inspectors and other Brokers as well)
  3. Decide on your PATH. This can mean several things such as what type of asset class do you want.  Why do you want to invest? How long do you want to hold the investment? Make sure that your Broker not only understands this but also has the well rounded ability to explore all possibilities with you. Often times when someone visits with me, by the time we are finished with the conversation we are exploring a different path.
  4. Make sure that you get “papered up”. This means your entity that you are going to use to buy the Asset with.  Don’t wait until you go to contract.  Contracts can be overwhelming and why not get some of the details completed before you go to contract.  You will be busy enough with the Due Diligence that you will not need to be distracted by the paperwork of the Entity,obtaining your EIN number, and establishing the correct bank accounts.
  5. Speak with either your CPA or your Power Team’s recommended CPA.  While your CPA may be great; get the advise of a good Real Estate CPA.  Like all professions-some CPAs are better at different things.
  6. GET QUALIFIED-in today’s world, if you are not qualified the contract is not worth the paper that it is written on!
  7. Be prepared to write a contract.  This does not mean the closing price-it means get the deal and figure it out! Rely on your Broker to advise the offering price.  Many markets need a full price offer to obtain the accepted contract.
  8. ASK QUESTIONS! If I do not hear a question after explaining something; I can only believe that I was understood. The only “stupid” question is the question that is not asked!

I could go on and on and often I do but here is the BEST advise I can give-no matter what market or even country that you invest in:

Give a Tenant a CLEAN place to live

Give a Tenant a SAFE place to live

Give a Tenant responsive property management

Do this and you will not experience vacancies, you should be full and I can speak from experience that you will get above market rents!

Check out our listings Gerchick Real Estate Listings

/0 Comments/by

Social Media-Friend or Foe-Don’t be a SECRET AGENT

I have been using Social Media since about 2009.  I am active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and within reason Google Plus with the addition of You Tube.

While I have had articles written about my use of Social Media-there are some thoughts and idea that are important to share.

I also spent a great deal of money to update my website at the end of last year. Over the course of my career I have spent more than you can imagine to create the Branding that I use today.

First, I started on Social Media to “see” what the kids were doing on Facebook.  In 2009 not many Real Estate professionals had caught on.  In the first six months of using Facebook-I sold 7 properties.

I am currently connected to 5000 people on Facebook. I have a page and a closed group as well.  Today Facebook is used to promote everything from a political stance to the food that you have for lunch! I find that I do not log into Facebook like I used to for these reasons.

Twitter started when my Step Daughter, who was about 8 or 9 came to me and said that I needed to have a Twitter account. In the spirit of encouragement, I told her to make one for me.  Hence, I am ccimcutie.  I did not use Twitter a lot for a long time.  Now I use this all the time.

You Tube is used all over my website and I love the platform not only to educate my Clients but to share videos with Clients that helps with marketing.

LinkedIn is the platform that I recommend. As of this morning I am connected to almost 12,000 people.

Here is the secret to social media (and there are NO secrets in marketing) – consistency!  I spend approximately at the minimum 1-2 hours a day. I have most of my social media accounts linked together so that I can work on one platform and it will populate all of them.

BEFORE you dive into Social Media spend a GREAT deal of time to develop your profiles.  For heaven’s sake get a current professional photo!

I do not hire my Social Media to be done by someone else-they never sound or feel like me.

Remember that when someone connects with you-send a thank you to them and tell them about yourself.

STATISTACALLY, you have 7 seconds to make an impression-don’t use this to tell someone what you had for lunch-no one cares!

When someone endorses you on LinkedIn-say thanks and Endorse them back.  ASK for Recommendations and know the difference between Endorsements and Recommendations. Be sure on LinkedIn to list all 50 of your items that You want to be endorsed for!  Change the order as the top three is the order that these items are seen.  Change them as you evolve in your business.

Block anyone that either annoys you or certainly harasses you! On all Social Media Platforms.

Remember that no matter what your business is – if you don’t tell anyone they will not know who you are or what you do!

In future blogs, I will take each platform and break it down completely what works for me and what does not.

/0 Comments/by