People bumping fist

Attracting the Best Realtors (and Keep Them from Leaving)

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

Attracting the best realtors is an interesting thing, in that its very premise requires changing your prospect’s mindset so drastically that they make a major life change, and once successful, ensuring that they never have their mindset changed in a similar fashion in the future.

This presents a challenge, because you are dealing with precisely the population of people whose minds were once changed in the first place.  So how do you go about winning both of these competitions?  It is all about creating the belief that you as a real estate brokerage offer a competitive advantage in the marketplace, and that working anywhere else would leave them at a disadvantage.

That’s wonderful as a strategy to attract the best realtors, but how do you actually go about creating that belief?

  • Attracting the best realtors requires training not only on the mechanics of the business (writing contracts, negotiating offers, etc), but focus also on how to gain more business. While almost all offices will offer floor time and open houses to hungry new agents, these methods are outdated when it comes to optimizing your presence among today’s web-savvy buyers.
  • Having a committed, proven, and effective strategy for agents to boost their business with online marketing will help you differentiate your brand from the competition.
  • Be a leader in technology. In an ever increasing technology based marketplace, not only are buyers and sellers starting their searches online, but agents looking for a place to hang their license are as well.  Taking advantage of premium placement on agent recruitment sites like AgentBranch.com are a great way to stand out as a leader in technology.
  • Give agents the right incentives to stay. This might be the most important of all.  Recruiting new agents is only half the battle, as your new recruits are just as likely to leave you as they were their last employer.  There is no one catch all solution to retaining agents though, it is more about understanding what motivates each individual
  • Will your newly recruited top producer be more motivated if he is given an equity stake in the company if he meets certain thresholds of production, or would he respond better to having a higher split on each transaction?  Will your new licensees perform better if given freedom to market how they see fit on a higher split, or provided with lead generation on a lower split?  Answering these questions correctly for each agent is key.  At the end of the day, successful brokerages will make all of their agents as successful as possible, and in so doing, will help preserve the highest possible retention rate.
Real Estate Listing Marketing Idea

Real Estate Listing Marketing Ideas

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

We all think we know how to market our listing but sometimes a refresher of a few items will help, and it can also be an opportunity to try new things.  Don’t know how…learn it on YouTube.  Here are the top real estate listing marketing ideas and how to get the best price for the least amount of days on the market.

1.    Price

Let’s face it, price is one of the biggest factors to getting your listing sold quickly.  Price it in the correct range for the quality of the house.  If you’re going to price it above all other comparable listings make sure it will appraise for that price.

2.    Set the Stage by Staging it!

If it’s empty, then stage it, if the seller is still living in the home then ask to help clean-up the clutter.  Professional stagers can work wonders with even the least appealing of houses.  Possibly refresh the house with new paint and carpet?

3.    Start with a Strong MLS Listing Description

Use a lot of keywords that other agents would use to find this home.  Key words or groups of key words (Long tail keywords) help with search engine optimization and will boost the exposure for your listing.

4.    Lots of Quality Photos

Photos say a thousand words.   Professional pictures of the front, back and every room, yards, scenic views in the neighborhood; anything at all to make the home more appealing.  If the price is a little higher than the competition the pictures should show why.

5.    Create Address Specific Landing Pages to Capture Leads

Getting a prospective buyer/lead is the first goal.  An address specific website for a high-end home really shows what you’re doing and improves your search engine optimization for marketing your listing.

6.    Posting on Facebook

The popularity of Facebook almost requires you to Post on Facebook because of the reach, don’t forget to boost your post before an open house by spending $10-$20 a day. Real estate listing marketing idea: Use hash tags to hit a larger audience. Consider changing your Profile Image to the image of the house with Open House information, that way people are notified of your change.  Suggest your friends to “Like” your marketing listing. For Top Ten Realtor Facebook Tip click here.

7.    Posting Real Estate on Instagram

Post pictures and a video on Instagram to your friends in the best location of the house.  Use a very a short description.

8.    Posting Real Estate on LinkedIn

This should be most of your business connections so get a few thousand connections that really count and market yourself as the go-to Agent and market all your properties.  Update your company profile with a professional description to make you and your listing stand out. For more information on LinkedIn Profile Optimizing Tricks click here.

9.    Open House

Consider a sign-in sheet and invite the neighbors. Do an evening open house with wine and cheese; everyone is in a better mood when the environment is festive.  Stay open later just don’t do the minimal Sunday from 1-4, maybe to 6pm.

10. Marketing in Magazines and Newspapers

One of the top marketing listing idea is the old-fashioned email marketing is the most cost-effective marketing to reach your audience.  You must dedicate an hour or two a month to update your contacts and maintain your Customer Relationship Management (CRM).  Send out at least one email a month about yourself, the local market, your brokerage and your listings.  Master the “Subject Line” it like the cover of the book, if its not interesting it won’t be opened.

11. Master your Elevator Pitch

What’s your 30 second pitch? Literally, if you were in an elevator going to the 20th floor, what would you say to the other person that just said they were moving to your marketing territory?

12. Email Marketing

One of the top real estate listing marketing idea is the old-fashioned email marketing is the most cost-effective marketing to reach your audience.  You must dedicate an hour or two a month to update your contacts and maintain your Customer Relationship Management (CRM).  Send out at least one email a month about yourself, the local market, your brokerage and your listings.  Master the “Subject Line” it like the cover of the book, if its not interesting it won’t be opened.

13. Send out Mailers

The same email marketing database (CRM) solution your using should also include mailing addresses to mail out postcards or flyers.

14. Brand yourself and the Property Profile across all Marketing Channels

If you have a team add their full profile to yours, and make sure to add the properties they sell to your page to boost your portfolio even further.  Review Building the Best Referral Base article click here.

15. Google Adwords for Real Estate Listing Marketing Ideas

If there are certain key words and long tail key works that buyers use in your area you can buy them on Google Adwords so your name is the first to show-up.  Real estate listing marketing idea examples:

  • “Vacation Beach House” – These key words can be purchase for a city or county.
  • “Napa Real Estate Agents” – Great for high end clients looking for an agent
  • “Beach houses in Newport Beach” – Great example of a long tail key word with a city

You can upload your contacts in Google as an Audience and market targeted ads to them.  The audience needs to be 5,000+ or more and Google will suggest similar lists that you can add.  The ads can be placed in Gmail accounts at the top of prospects emails and other locations.

Make sure to add “Negative Key Words” so that you are not marketing to everyone and wasting your budget.  Google support is available anytime and it’s a free resource so click on the large (?) at the top right-hand corner and call them with questions.

For a full ad on Google Adwords add the extensions for free to link to different tabs of your website.  Useful extensions would be to Listings, About Us, Resources, Contact Us, etc.

16. Yelp Account

Create a Yelp account and maintain it so it shows your current address, phone number, website and pictures.  Request past customers, associates and business partners to give you 5 stars along with some useful commentary.  This will help in your search engine marketing (SEO), not many real estate agents are focused on SEO but when you have the right profiles on social media accounts it really takes off.

17. Commission Advances for Real Estate Listing Marketing Ideas

If you have some listing marketing expenses that you need covered you may want to consider a commission advance.  An advance for a transaction that is in escrow is the most cost effective.  This is a quick and easy way to get part of your commissions early and get a portion of your commissions upfront.  Commission advances can be done for residential and commercial properties.  For more information on Commission Advance Tips click here.

18. Google your Name

When you google your name or company name and you don’t show up on the top then you need to work on your internet profile.  Make sure your social media profiles are all consistent with the same profile picture, phone number, website links and branding message.

19. Link it to Zillow

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) states that 92 percent of buyers house hunt online. As the largest real estate website with more than 160 million visitors per month, Zillow is the first place you need to be.

Real Estate Listing Marketing Idea: Once its listed in interesting statistic is the “Competition for this Home” which will show you the number of views in the last 30 days and the “Shoppers Saved” which means the number of individuals saved this home as a favorite in the last 30 days.

For more Zillow Tips & Tricks click here and here.

Conclusion

If you’re not technically savvy then hire an assistant or a marketing consultant because being a professional also means showing you’re a professional on-line.  If you’re not in front of your prospects then another realtor will be!  Having available cash flow to market your listing in the most professional and aggressive manner may require to have part of your commission early via a commission advance.  For more information about commission advances please check out Express Cash Flow.

Zillow logo

Top Zillow Profile Optimizing Tricks

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

 

A Zillow profile is the cornerstone for lead generation which helps convert prospects to contracts.  Placing your profile in the right location is key…marketing costs differ by zip code.  While 75% of a real estate agent’s business comes referrals and word of mouth, you still need a solid Zillow profile.

1.      Start with a Professional Photo that Matches all your Other On-Line Profiles

Start with the photo. Use a high-quality head shot. Avoid logos, yard signs and team pictures. A clear, individual headshot seems to work best.

2.      Introduction and About Us

Add your experience, specialties and skills.  This should include your geographic area of focus, and any particular specialty you have, like short sales, REOs, probate or buyer representation.  Also include your team and their profiles.

3.      Add Your Listings and Past Sales

This is usually done automatically but you can manually add your listings if you have recently switched to a different MLS.  You’ll want to highlight all of your best transactions, even if they didn’t occur on the MLS.  

4.      Professional Information

Have a complete and updated profile of your office address, cell phone, brokerage name, social media websites and our real estate license information.   Add a Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Website and for the Blog us Instagram.  Make sure the links work after you have completed your profile.

5.      Update your other social media profiles for consistency

Have the same profile picture, brokerage and links that work.

6.      Include an intro video

Prospective buyers and sellers want to get to know you in a 30-60 second video.  Who are you and what are you going go to do for them.  Why are you better than other agents?  Also market this video on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

7.      Ratings and Reviews – Get 5 Stars

This is huge!  You’ll want to ask past clients to review your skills for Local Knowledge, Process Expertise, Responsiveness, and Negation Skills along with adding some commentary.  Respond to every review — positive, negative or neutral. You’ll look professional and focused on customer service (stay positive!) fora complete Zillow Profile.

8.      Add other Members of your team to your profile.

If you have a team add their full profile to yours, and make sure to add the properties they sell to your page to boost your portfolio even further.

9.      Become a Zillow Premier Agent

The Zillow Premier Agent program is designed with the simple purpose of bringing agents more buyers, more sellers, and more business. Each service tier is loaded with innovative and powerful features aimed to generate more traffic to your brand and your listings — helping you sell homes faster.  To help finance your marketing check out www.ExpressCashFlow.com.

10. Other Real Estate Marketing Ideas

https://www.zillow.com/agent-resources/blog/100-real-estate-marketing-ideas/

Conclusion

Build a complete Zillow profile and be sure to revisit it every few months (set a quarterly reminder on your calendar, or you will forget!) and update as necessary.  When you get a lead be very responsive…within 5-10 minutes otherwise the prospect might move on.

 

This post is brought to you by Express Cash Flow – Helping you grow your real estate business by providing you with cash today.

Express Cash Flow, Commission Advance

 

 

a person typing on a laptop with Credit Check form

Hard Pull vs Soft Pull Credit Checks

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

For many an individual and business, access to credit depends on FICO scores, recent credit checks and the contents of credit history reports maintained at the three major credit bureaus – Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. A “pull” is a credit inquiry from a legitimate entity, made in order to check your credit.
A hard pull is one that can affect your FICO score, whereas a SOFT PULL HAS NO EFFECT. This is important to remember, because too many hard pulls can lower your credit score. The Fair Credit Reporting Acts sets limits on why and when your credit report can be pulled.

Soft Pulls – Credit Checks

All credit inquiries that are not credit checks by a prospective lender are soft pulls. First, any inquiries you make upon your own credit reports or FICO scores are automatically a soft pull credit check, so feel free to make as many as you like.
Other soft-pull examples include:
• Credit inquiries from businesses that want to offer you goods or services (for example, a promotional offer from a credit card issuer or mortgage lender)
• Inquiries from businesses where you already have established a credit account.
• Pre-approved loan and credit card offers
• Employers and others performing a background check on you. For some reason, employers tend to gravitate towards job candidates with good credit ratings.

You may be subject to a soft pull and not even know it. Often, soft pulls help businesses save money when canvassing for new customers, because these inquiries can rule out some potential prospects, saving the business paper and postage costs.

Hard Pulls – Credit Checks

Hard pulls result when a potential lender wants to review your credit application. Common credit applications that trigger hard pull credit checks are ones for credit cards, mortgages and car loans. Each credit check is counted as one inquiry. However, you get a break if you are “rate shopping,” in that all inquiries for the same purpose, such as a mortgage, business loan, rental property, student loan, etc., within a 45-day period are counted as only a single hard pull. This has implications – if you are apartment hunting, its best to do it within a short period if you want to maintain your FICO score.

Common Soft Inquires:
• Verification of identity
• Unsecured debt
• “Pre-qualified” credit card offers
• “Pre-qualified” insurance quotes
• Car rentals
• Obtaining an Internet or cable account
• Opening a bank account
• Requesting a higher credit limit
• Contracting for a cell phone account

Common Hard Inquiries:
• Mortgage applications
• Auto loan applications
• Credit card applications
• Student loan applications
• Personal loan applications
• Apartment rental applications

Pulls and Scores

Although a hard pull can affect your FICO score, the impact upon your score can vary. The score is sensitive to several factors:
• The inquiry must be a voluntary application for credit
• The number of new accounts you have recently opened
• The percentage of your accounts that have recently been opened, by account type
• The number of recent credit inquiries you have had
• The amount of time that has elapsed since you opened an account, by account type
• The amount of time since the last credit inquiry

The good news is that a single hard pull or credit check might not affect your credit score at all, and even if it does, the cost is usually less than five points. The bad news is that if you have a short credit history or just a handful of credit accounts, a hard pull can have a greater impact on your credit score. So can multiple hard pulls that are not categorized as rate shopping. Wonder why? Here’s the dirty little secret – consumers with at least six credit inquiries are 8X more likely than those with no inquiries to file for bankruptcy.
By the way, you can dispute a hard inquiry performed without your permission. Authorized hard pulls usually hang around on your credit history for a couple of years.

Soft Is Better for a Credit Check
Now, if you are looking for a commercial business loan, keep in mind that Express Cash Flow uses soft credit pulls that won’t affect your credit score. When you combine this with our fast, no-hassle process and quick turn round, it’s easy to see why Express Cash Flow is growing into one of the commission advance companies in the U.S.

Open House Sign

Realtors plot statewide database to combat Zillow, Redfin and other apps

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

Open House Sign
Open House Sign

Is the Realtor, run property listing service in California obsolete?

Several brokers, agents and “multiple listing service” operators expressed concern during a panel discussion Wednesday that commercial websites like Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com have overtaken the patchwork of industry databases agents use to find homes for clients.

“The world of big data doesn’t seem to have come to the MLS in any meaningful way,” said David Silver-Westrick, a partner at San Clemente-based Keller Williams OC Coastal Realty. “We’re missing the boat on lots of big data opportunities. To the extent that consumers have better tools than we do, we just become irrelevant.”

The California Association of Realtors sponsored Wednesday’s event, held at CAR headquarters in Los Angeles, to plot the future of broker-run MLS sites and to find ways to meet the association’s 12-year-old goal of forming a single, statewide database in California. There currently are more than 40 MLS’s in California.

Agents use the MLS to disseminate information about homes for sale, providing property details as well as insider information about showings and compensation.

The statewide MLS effort so far has led to the formation of the Diamond Bar-based California Regional Multiple Listing Service, which currently represents most of Southern California and the Bay Area. CRMLS includes more than 92,000 agents and 37 local Realtor associations. But that’s still less than half the local associations in the state and doesn’t include San Francisco, Ventura County and most of Santa Barbara County, according to the MLS’s website.

“I think that there is an opportunity that is fast fading,” said CRMLS CEO Art Carter. “If we do not do it shortly, then we will forever be chasing others that will most likely take the handles and move forward.”

Other panelists lamented MLS problems include inaccurate and outdated data as well as the lack of consolidation.

“As someone who lists and sells real estate, I need it to be more efficient,” said Jeanne Radsick, an agent with Century 21 Tobias Real Estate in Bakersfield. “I need to not have to go to multiple sources to find what I’m looking for.”

Technology isn’t an issue, panelists said. Carter said a statewide MLS could be established in three months once the paperwork is in place.

The main obstacle is politics. Concerns among agents and brokers include the question of who controls broker information — the MLS or the brokers themselves. MLS employees also worry about losing their jobs under a consolidated system. And smaller MLS sites fear larger, out-of-area brokerages will take away their business if the outsiders have access to property data in their areas.

“The politics (is) on the local level with (small) MLS’s. You can’t even get Arrowhead and Big Bear to talk, and they’re right next door to each other,” said Sandra Deering, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Newport Beach. “The reality is those people are still protective of their jobs. … They don’t have the bandwidth, I don’t think, to see beyond their day-to-day operation. I don’t know how to overcome that.”

Deering has to join 25 MLS sites for her business, “and just managing the licensing, the payment process is a full-time staff person,” she said.
“These changes in the environment, particularly on the consumer side, have given the consumer … the ability to have information that is equivalent, if not superior, to what the agents have,” said Joel Singer, CEO of the state Realtor association. “The question is can this current structure survive? Or perhaps the question is should this current structure survive if it doesn’t alter.”

Singer said that when he bought a house last year, the MLS data from his broker “didn’t compare very well to the data that I got when I signed up with Redfin. … Is this a problem for us?”

Carter and other panelists see a statewide MLS as a precursor to forming a nation-wide system.

“It’s a process of becoming a lot more aggressive,” Carter said. “Consolidate with the willing and (share data) with the unwilling to consolidate and go around those that are just willing to do neither.”

Source: Redfin California

Re/Max: Real estate expected to boom in 2018

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

Crystal Ball Real Estate Prediction

After a year of rising home prices, low inventory levels and ongoing homebuyer demand, these conditions will increase even more in 2018.

As the year begins, one expert breaks down some of the major trends to come in 2018, saying the year will bring an abundance of positive trends.

“Turn up the volume on new home building,” Re/Max Co-CEO Adam Contos said, citing housing starts that are down 2.9% year-over-year and well below the historic 50-year average. “We’d love nothing more than to see the next generation of homebuyers start building equity now.”

Contos gives these four predictions for 2018:

1. Inventory is key

Contos explained that the volume on new home building will increase, but until that happens, the market will struggle with low inventory and some markets will feature all-out bidding wars. In 2017, housing starts were down 2.9% year-over-year and well below the historic 50-year average. Even though there’s a shortage of l

abor and a spike in material costs, the primary reason for the low starts is that builders have focused on more profitable, higher priced homes and multi-family residential construction. But now, at the end of the year, single-family homebuilding and permits began to surge, he pointed out, saying he would like to see that trend continue.

2. Existing home sales on the rise

Fueled by renewed consumer confidence, wage growth and an improving economy, existing home sales could increase and may even surpass record levels set back in 2006. However, any negative impacts on the stock market, even tighter inventories, a repeat of 2017’s devastating hurricanes and fires or even the recently signed tax reform bill could slow down home sales.

3. Changing migration patterns

Home buyers discouraged by affordability and low inventory in certain cities, markets and states, will look to other, more attractive and more inviting neighborhoods. Contos said he expects to see more home sales in the suburbs, less-populated markets and even more affordable states. Cities that have the most effective transportation systems and those that promote high-amenity, “walkable,” contemporary neighborhoods will benefit the most.

4. Always the unexpected

Gadgets, apps, online tools, real estate agents and technology – anything that makes buying and selling a home more plausible and less stressful will continue to launch and evolve, especially in 2018. He predicted consumers may not use bitcoins to buy a home tomorrow, but that could be in the future.

“We’ll certainly see our share of challenges in 2018,” Contos said. “But with the challenges will come ecstatic home buyers and sellers, new and booming communities, one boasting the new Amazon headquarters, and fresh innovations in real estate that we never saw coming.”

To see more forecasts for 2018, click here.  Source: Housingwire

HELOC loans might still be deductible under new tax plan

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

If you have an existing home equity line-of-credit (HELOC) or second mortgage, do you have to fold that into a new first mortgage for it to remain tax deductible under the new tax laws?

It depends.

HELOC deductibility depends on whether it was “home equity indebtedness” or “acquisition indebtedness.” Acquisition indebtedness — mortgage debt used to acquire, build or substantially improve the residence — will be deductible, according to Michael Kitces, partner and director of Wealth Management at Pinnacle Advisory Group.

“Money used for any other purpose is home equity indebtedness,” Kitces said, and is no longer deductible, without any grandfathering.

If your existing HELOC (acquired before Dec. 15) was used for both acquisition and indebtedness, then you will have to split it going forward.

“It’s the old tracer rule,” said Warren Hennagin, CPA and partner at Marcum LLP. “If you used $50,000 for home improvement and another $50,000 for debt consolidation, only the $50,000 home improvement interest will be deductible.”

Any new mortgage debt acquired after Dec. 15 caps out at $750,000. This may be split between a first mortgage and a HELOC or fixed-rate second, according to Hennagin. Any existing total acquisition mortgage debt is deductible up to $1 million.

And, what about the deductibility of a so-called piggy-back purchase money mortgage (80 percent first mortgage, 10 percent second mortgage and 10 percent down payment) to avoid paying mortgage insurance?

That piggy-back second will be deductible so long as you stay within your total mortgage interest deduction cap of $750,000.

If you do want to roll an existing second lien into a new first mortgage, there i

Houses

some math that you’ll need to do:

  • Shop around for pricing and service levels and make sure you qualify with any potential suitors. Compare the new interest rate and payment on the single mortgage with the existing interest rates of your current first and second. And, are there any closing costs that you will need to add to factor in?
  • Consider the cash-flow. Many HELOCs are interest-only for the first 10 years. You may end up with a higher amortizing payment. Make sure you don’t lose sleep worrying about being able to cover the new monthly payment.
  • Check with your tax adviser before pulling the trigger on the refinance to see if it’s worth doing so from a tax-savings and an audit defense standpoint.

Source: Jeff Lazerson can be reached at (949) 334-2424 or [email protected] Visit www.mortgagegrader.com.

Linkedin Marketing

Top 10 LinkedIn Profile Optimizing Tricks

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

Linkedin Marketing

LinkedIn has over 500 million members; it’s a great way to connect and research companies. Optimizing your profile is key to increase traffic. Implementing these tips will help you boost your search rankings on both LinkedIn and Google.

  1. Use Anchor Text in Links

    Every LinkedIn profile “Contact and Personal Info” section can list up to three links. Include: Company Website, phone number, physical address, Twitter profile and email. You may get a lot of emails so either opt out of notifications or use one just for LinkedIn.

  2. Finish Your Profile

    This one is almost a no-brainer, but far too many of us haven’t taken the time to fully flesh out our LinkedIn profiles. Complete every single section. Upload a professional-looking profile photo, ask for and give recommendations, fill out and polish your job descriptions, and include samples or links to your work. Use LinkedIn’s help and the “Profile Strength” tool to guide your profile to completion.

  3. Keyword-Optimize Your Job Titles

    We’re definitely not recommending you describe your last position as “Management” when it was more of an administrative role, but tweaking your job titles to include a few keywords can be really beneficial. Instead of “Blog Manager,” bait search engines by changing it to “Inbound Marketing Strategy Blog Manager.”

  4. Maximize Your Group Membership

    Joining and participating in relevant groups won’t just expand your network; it can improve your profile’s SEO performance, too. Since the group names appear on your profile, search engines have no choice but to crawl the titles and share who you are and what you do. Joining your industry groups can be beneficial as well.

  5. Aggressively Expand Your Network

    Connect with past co-workers, acquaintances, prospects and employees at other companies.

  6. Optimize Your Job Descriptions

    Instead of writing out full paragraphs detailing your duties, use bullet-pointed lists that incorporate a variety of relevant keywords. Formatting your descriptions with bullet points also makes your profile more readable. Eliminate the ones that are 15+ years old if you have multiple jobs.

  7. Claim Your Vanity URL

    The fundamental SEO benefits of claiming your vanity URL may be minimal, but doing so is just good business. Connecting your LinkedIn profile to your name will allow you to be found more easily by real-life connections. A clean, custom URL is also much more attractive on business cards.

  8. Promote Your LinkedIn Profile Elsewhere

    Include a link to your LinkedIn profile in your email signature, your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ accounts, and any other websites you maintain to create inbound links.

  9. Be Vigilant About Building Recommendations

    Recommendations may have more benefits than just making you look likable to potential employers. Everyone links good feedback that’s visible to others.

  10. Keep Collecting Endorsements

    Skill endorsements are a great way to recognize your connections’ strengths and have your connections validate your own skills and strengths as well. Endorsements increase the strength of your profile and help keep you connected to your network. While these may not carry as much weight as other elements of your profile, endorsements help add to the overall value of your professional profile.

    Conclusion

    Check out an optimized profile that has completed the above items. https://www.linkedin.com/in/guertin/ – Managing Partner at Express Cash Flow

Zillow CEO responds to new competition from Facebook and Amazon

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

Zillow Logo

As one of the largest, if not the biggest, players in online real estate listings, Zillow is watching its list of competitors rapidly grow with more and more companies eyeing the potential in the real estate market.

Zillow may dominate the space right now, raking in $266.9 million in revenue in the second-quarter of 2017, but top-producing companies like Amazon and Facebook have recently encroached in Zillow’s territory.

But the small moves from others in the industry to take some of Zillow’s long-standing dominance isn’t enough to scare the CEO.

It is enough, however, for investors to ask Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow Group, about the growing competition. Zillow Group includes brands like Zillow, Trulia,SreetEasy, HotPads, and Naked Apartments.

Slipping in an answer to one more question that was submitted online before wrapping up the earnings call, Rascoff answered the question, “What do you see from Amazon and Facebook in real estate?”

Here’s Rascoff’s full response:

“With respect to Facebook, as I’ve already said, our partnership there is strong and advertisers/agents view us as an effective way to buy Facebook advertisements, more effective than from buying it directly from Facebook. In the case of either of these horizontal players, I do think it’s very difficult for horizontal players to compete with vertical companies that are focused on the vertical and have as big a brand as our family of brands have. And I do think it’s also important to understand how this ad product that we have differs from other ad products. We saw an ad product that connects the consumer with the real estate professional at the time and place that they’re shopping for a specific home. That’s very different from Amazon’s rumored directory of real estate agents or Facebook’s ad product that tries to drive traffic back to a brokerage website. So, a lead generation product that’s tied to a home search is quite different, and I think will always be more attractive to an advertiser than a branding ad product or a product that tries to drive traffic to their website. So those are some of our concluding thoughts on our ability to compete with horizontal players.”

The competition from Amazon is not nearly as concrete as the competition from Facebook.

Back in July, Amazon quietly made a move in to the real estate industry. Tucked into the website’s Home and Business Services section, where users can receive quotes from professionals for various services including assembling new purchases or setting up new technology, Amazon listed a “Hire a Realtor” webpage. But the page wasn’t up long and was taken down the same day HousingWire reported on it.

The announcement from Facebook was a lot more prominent and actually happened shortly before Zillow reported its earnings. Earlier this week, Facebook rolled out Dynamic Ads for Real Estate allow brokers and agents to advertise their listings directly to Facebook and Instagram users who searched for properties on the broker’s website.

An article by Monica Nickelsburg in GeekWire explained that the ads would compete with Zillow’s product, which allows real estate agents to advertise to prospective homebuyers and sellers on its site, according to the article.

What’s More Valuable to a Realtor- Listing or Buyer?

by Express Cash Flow Blog Posts

Realtor- Listing or Buyer
A realtor needs to use their time as efficiently as possible. Like many professions that work on commission, time spent on tasks that don’t lead to income is a poor use of time. For realtors, this means their best use of time is very simple. Activity that leads to more buyers and sellers, and then working with those buyers and sellers they generate.
What, though, is more efficient, between a new buyer client and a new seller client?
To even the playing field a bit, let’s focus on deals that are otherwise equal. We are going to operate in a vacuum- it isn’t a buyer’s market, it isn’t a seller’s market, and the hypothetical buyer and listing are going to be the around the same dollar amount. So, is a $1 Million buyer or listing more valuable to a realtor?
First, let’s consider a million dollar buyer. This is probably not their first home purchase, and they probably have excellent credit. This puts them at the top of the list that most agents would want to work with. However, buyers are time consuming. Even with today’s technology, people like to walk through homes to get the best possible feel for them. It is very rare for someone to buy the home they plan to live in without personally visiting it first.
This process is not very efficient for an agent, as they will be driving around with the clients to a number of homes that will not be bought. What’s more, sellers in this price range are generally not distressed, so negotiating can be a painstaking process. You have to have a firm commitment and understanding of your client in order to be a successful buyer’s agent.
Not to mention, the buyer’s agent will also need to get their client through all of the hurdles necessary to purchase home, including:
• Mortgage pre-approval and underwriting
• Physical inspection of property (and possibly additional specialty inspections)
• Lender appraisal
• Negotiation with seller
Working for a seller, though, allows an agent to be more flexible. Once the listing agreement is signed, most tasks can be given to an agent’s assistant, and the agent doesn’t need to spend as much face time with the client. The expectations can be greater, and the stakes are certainly higher, but there is also much more to be gained. Listings help create and add to the agent’s brand in a way that buyers never will. With open houses and mailers that go out to the surrounding neighbors, a listing is far more likely to generate new business than a buyer is. Commission advance companies, like Express Cash Flow, will even advance portions of the agent’s commission on certain listings.
So, it is settled. It is far more efficient and profitable for an agent to be working with a listing than a buyer. Agents should devote their time and resources to securing as many listings as possible, and work with the buyers that come their way organically or by referral.

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Express Cash Flow provides commission advances for real estate agents and brokers. Check us out at www.ExpressCashFlow.com or call us at 844-818-2274.