Outside Company Distribution

There are companies out there that do distribution of post-it notes. There’s a company called Markot. I ‘m not going to recommend them because I tried them and I was not particularly happy. There are others and you can look them up on Google under “post-it note distribution” and your city name. Try one and see how they perform with small batch before you give them more business.

You tell them what neighborhood you want, you give them the post-it notes, and they’ll go out and distribute them on each and every door. They’ll walk up and down the neighborhood and put them on the doors.
I had some problems with one of my vendors. First, was they’d tell you they were delivering them this week, and then something would happen and it would be next, and then the following week. I had some problems getting them to deliver them on the dates they chose.

Second, I was always concerned when they did finally get around to it, because it seemed like my response was fairly muted compared to when I would have the post-it notes delivered myself by my people I trusted. It always made me wonder if they were getting out there in the exact number they stated.

Hire Someone to Distribute

Again, there’s nothing wrong with paying somebody to do it. In fact, that’s what I recommend, that you eventually get somebody to hire to go out and put them on doors. It’s very easy if you know some people – some young kids, 15 year olds or something like that. You can pay them 10 or 15 cents per post-it note to deliver. They can do it after school or on the weekends. It’s a nice part-time job for a kid.

For the most part, if you know the kid and you can trust they’ll actually deliver them and they count how many they delivered – you pay them after they’re completed. You should know when they’re being delivered almost to the moment they’re being delivered. That’s how often you’ll get calls.

If they start delivering them on a particular street at 4:00 in the afternoon and they deliver 300, 400 or 500 of them, it is almost inconceivable that you wouldn’t get a couple of calls. That’s how effective these are.
Some of these calls might not be very productive. You might even occasionally get a cranky person calling to complain. Tell them you’re sorry, apologize, and maybe you’ll have the kids run over and pull theirs off the door of something. Just deal with the cranky calls.

You will be getting calls almost immediately so you will know that they’re being delivered. I know for sure the date they’re being delivered because I get calls. If they deliver on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then I get calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If they don’t deliver on Wednesday then maybe the phone is quiet on Wednesday. That’s how effective these are.

Popularity: 28% [?]

Historically, once the holidays have passed and January arrives, there is an immediate increase in people on the move, which translates to an increased demand for available rental properties. According to Google’s search analytics, web searches for rental housing in the first week of January 2010 were at their highest level since the first week of August 2009. Online rental searches on Monday, January 4, 2010 were 39% greater than on Monday, December 7, 2009 and continue to show a positive increase over December.

Popularity: 25% [?]

During my tests of over 5000 ugly yellow signs I have identified 11 profitable reason why real estate agents should be using them to generate buyer leads for their business. Now more than ever real estate agents have to think outside the box to be competitive.

1. Low cost. At about $1.98 per sign with stake they are lower than any other advertising media.

Consider the cost of a newspaper line ad which is between $85 and $100 dollars or weekend home showcase ad $250 to $750, then there is the homes magazines charging roughly between $300 to $600 or how about thousands of dollars that are spent on just one direct marketing post card mail out?

2. Consistent advertising because of low cost.

One of the biggest reasons for any business failure is lack of capital for consistent marketing. At $1.98 per sign agents can stay consistent with their lead generation plan.

3. On demand Quickly and easily generates leads when you want them.

Generating real estate buyer leads when you want them has several benefits. They help make your real estate lead generation and your business reliable and predictable.

Too many real estate buyer leads can be overwhelming. Agents often spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a lead generation campaign and are overwhelmed by the response and are unable to follow up on the leads resulting in huge losses.

Ugly Yellow Signs will generate loads of calls for you, but if you happen to get overwhelmed and are unable to get back with all the calls, you are only out a few bucks. And of course you only have to put out signs, as you need, to build your lead generation funnel.

4. Consistent message delivered perfectly hundreds of times.

Having a well scripted recorded message to use with your signs has such a positive impact on response, because a recorded message is nonthreatening, so prospects are far more likely to call on your sign when there is no threat of an agent on the other side of that call.

Plus a recorded message is delivered perfect every time staying consistent. We as agents get bored saying the same message over and over. So sometimes we might change it, or get a little lazy and not deliver it the way we should, every time.

5. They act like a sales force that works for you day and night.

They are like having sales professionals on your team working 24 hours a day 7 days a week without ever complaining. They show up on time to work, and never ask for a raise and even work holidays.

6. Doesnt matter what level your business is at They work.

If you are a new agent you could launch your entire business with just ugly yellow sign strategies. As a new agent, capitol to run your business is usually a little tight and you will most likely want to preserve it at $1.98 for a sign anyone can get the phone to ring and be in business.

Seasoned real estate agents who are looking for options to replace the high cost of in-effective lead generation methods, with low cost highly effective strategies, will find ugly yellow signs can cut expenses and increase there bottom line.

7. They have the ability to target specific areas and neighborhoods.

One of my favorite things about them are their ability to generate targeted prospects in specific areas and neighborhoods. This can also be done with some other types of advertising such as direct marketing, but is much more difficult and costly to do.

8. They have the ability to target prospect type.

With their flexibility I am able to target a specific prospect type like first time home buyers, move up buyers, Luxury home buyers.

9. They are Unique in their ability to differentiate YOU in your market area.

With so many me too agents all doing the same things, ugly yellow signs help you to stand out from the crowd of other agents, just like they stand out from other signs on the street.

I get listings all the time because of the attention my signs bring. I have been specifically asked countless times Are you going to use those yellows signs for my property too? In fact they are part of my listing presentation.

10. Increases the chance of selling your own listings.

As I mentioned in the 7 myths article ugly yellow signs wont increase the percentage of double ending your own listing by 50 to 75% but they will increase the odds of selling your own listing between 20 to 30% which is significant when translated into real world dollars.

11.Target BUYERS.

From the day you become a real estate agent you are told you have to list to last. Get listings and lots of them. These days everyone seems to have a lot of listings and no buyers and ugly yellow signs target buyers.

Popularity: 26% [?]

I get tenants of mine that for a few extra bucks will go out and put 50 signs up for me on a Friday afternoon and pull them up on Sunday. Sometimes they’ll put up 50 and pull in 30. They leave a few around. Depending on the people that put the signs out for you, you need to be able to trust them.

The other way we deal with people is I give them a very precise route. We have a mapped out route. They’re to put out signs at various places. The first couple of times I go with them, put two signs here, the next spot put three signs here. We go to the next stop and put four here. We go through the whole process, and then on Sunday they go back and reverse the process.

That’s worked somewhat well, but what I’ve found over the years is you’ve got to train people. If you hand them a map and what not, they’re probably not going to do it. You probably need to go with them the first few times to make sure they get the route down fairly well.

That’s how you work with local townships in terms of trying to stay out of trouble. I really do recommend you try to stay out of trouble as much as possible. If you’re investing in a particular town and you get a reputation for being one that puts out signs, and the local township people get to know who you are – if you do a lot of investing, they will – it creates bad blood.

I know in my township they were getting upset with me, so I learned very quickly to go in and pay the permit fees and make sure I was in compliance. Think about that, because you don’t want to create a bad situation between you and the township that you’re investing in.

Bandit Sign Messages

I know we talked about the messages. We already mentioned those.

* We buy houses.

* Sell your house fast.

* I buy houses cash.

* Avoid foreclosure.

* Sell your house in as little as 48 hours.

These are all effective. Whatever you like and whatever you’re trying to stress in your business, try to boil down to a fairly succinct three or four word message. It could be “I’ll do a short sale” and things like that. All of these can be very effective, but you don’t have a lot of space so you have to be quick and precise.

I think that’s it. Bandit signs do work very effectively. You will get a fair number of calls and they will be for the most part fairly targeted and fairly good calls.

These are people that are going to be motivated and obviously have taken the time to write your number down. They’re going to be fairly good leads. These are leads you are definitely going to want to follow up on. Potentially there is going to be a quick deal there. If not, you’re going to want to put them into your database and work those people over time.

If you put out 50 signs on a Friday afternoon, I would think you’ll get five, 10 maybe 15 calls on a weekend if you’re putting them out at the appropriate places. They definitely work and are definitely effective.

I invite you to learn more about Real Estate Investing and become a member of our FREE weekly tele-seminar class where we teach tips and strategy on how to grow your real estate investing business and how to raise Private Money by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/TuesdayTipsSignUp.html.

Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE eBook go to Real Estate Investing Blog.

Popularity: 29% [?]

The popular notion that it is imperative to invest a great deal of money in order to make profits in real estate business is simply not true. The same goes for a credit or financing facility. There are many ways which can be applied for making real money in real estate business without investing your own money. The idea that I am going to put into words below is not an on-time quick-rich formula. It’s a genuine real estate activity. One, which can be adapted as a career. The idea is called bird-dogging.

Bird-Dogging defined

Bird-dogging simply means locating and selling a property to a potential customer. The bird-dog finds a suitable property, locates its owner and convinces him to sell. If the owner agrees to sell, the bird-dog finds an investor who is ready to buy that particular property. The investor buys the property and pays a certain amount to the bird-dog for the services rendered by him. The bird-dog does not need to invest a single penny of his own in the whole transaction. Yet he gets away with a hefty sum.

How to become a bird-dog

The first step in this regard is to find an investor who enjoys good reputation and with whom you will feel comfortable. You can also seek a company that specializes in buying and selling properties.

Ask the investor or the company to register you with them. They will usually assign you a certain area to work in. It is your job to look out for suitable properties in that area and make contact with the owner, and then inform the company or the investor about that property.

What do you need to become a successful bird dog?

There are many attributes that are necessary for you to become a successful bird-dog. Fortunately, you don’t have to be born with them. A little time and effort is needed to cultivate such properties. Some of them are noted below.

A knack for properties

You must train yourself to be on the constant look-out for available properties. You must keep your eyes open all the time even when you are driving in the neighborhood or going to the gym.

Moving in the right circle

If you want to be a bird-dog, you must move in the right circle. Your acquaintances must belong to the real estate community so that whenever a particular piece of property or an opportunity arrives; you are first one to hear about it.

Impeccable interpersonal skills

This is the key to success. The bird-dog is like a double agent. He has to convince the owner that the deal he is offering is good enough for him. At the same time he must convince his investor or principal that the deal is good for them too. The activity needs a cutting edge sharpness of mind and impeccable negotiating skills. Fortunately, this is something that you can achieve after spending some time in the field.

I invite you to learn more about Real Estate Investing and become a member of our FREE weekly tele-seminar class where we teach tips and strategy on how to grow your real estate investing business and how to raise Private Money by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/TuesdayTipsSignUp.html.

Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE eBook go to Real Estate Investing Blog

Popularity: 30% [?]

Valentine History

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome.

The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270.

Valentine Tradition

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

Valentine Symbols

Around 12th Century people were not aware the function of heart was to circulate blood inside the human body. What they knew was that heart begins to beat faster when a person is upset or excited. They, therefore, derived that heart was the seat of emotions and feelings. Poets too eulogized the role of heart in feelings of love and romance and over the years this make believe connection between heart and love became deep seated in the minds of people.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Trulia founder Pete Flint and Realty Trac Senior Vice President
Rick Sharga estimated that we my see 4,000,000 foreclosures in 2010.
This would be the highest rate of foreclosures since the real estate crash.

When the tax credit runs out, inventory will go up and interest rates will
go up. Prices will go down again. We have a long way to go until we have
a healthy real estate market.

In their forecast, they cited several reasons why things will remain challenging in 2010:

* Mortgage interest rates will move into the 6 percent range.

* The record high unemployment rate will continue forward

* Negative equity will drive many home owners from their homes

* Expiration of the tax credits

* Difficulty buyers and investors have finding new financing for their
home purchases

* Large number of Alt-A and negative amortization loans that will
begin resetting starting July 2010.

For many of us in real estate, we want to be positive about a rebound in our market. However, the economic factors influencing sales and home prices point to an ugly year. We cannot simply try to hold on for a few more months. Instead, we need to build our businesses and marketing campaigns around the spike in foreclosures.

Popularity: 14% [?]

With a Home Equity Loan you can borrow money and use your home as equity for borrowing money. When you minus the mortgage value on your home from its actual cost, what you have left is your equity. Instead of applying for student education loans, a Home Equity Loan would be right for you at any point that you are interested in raising some money for serious expenses like school fees. This loan is particular about the use of home equity as security for borrowed funds.

Home Equity Loans can be carried out in two ways:

One is the open-end and the other is the closed-end Home Equity Loan. The first type, the closed end Home Equity Loan resembles any normal loan. This practice is similar to a ’second mortgage’. At the time the loan closes, the borrower gets the full loan amount. A specific amount is then paid back each month by the borrower. Complete repayment has to be done within a precise time frame, usually between 10 and 15 years.

The terms of pay back in the open end home equity loan are a lot more flexible than in the case of the closed end scheme. The entire sum of the loan is not given the borrower at once in the open end scheme, merely a line of credit from which he can draw at will. Against the equity of his home, the borrower can decide how much he wants to borrower.

It’s only wise to do sufficient research on types and options of Home Equity Loans as you consider your choice. Ensure that no lender fools you into taking a loan that is impossible to reimburse and you might need aid to get out of debt, so be on the look out for such. You might as well consult a well-informed person to know the lender to do business with.

Popularity: 11% [?]