Peak Finance Road to Real Estate Success Ebook-FINAL-8-14-14

The Road You Need to Travel By

Success is never instant, and anyone who tells you that it is, is probably selling you snake oil. Instant gratification is rare in business; rather, you have to prepare, calculate, and then start along a long journey. However, the work you put in makes the success you’ll find at the end much more rewarding.

The road to real estate success is just that: A road that you need to journey down in order to get more listings, close more deals, and in turn get more money into your pockets. Like any road trip, there are steps you need to make even before you hit the highway, and when you’re on the road there are certain stops you need in order to fuel your journey and maintain your stamina.

You can’t make this journey alone, which is why you need a navigator. This guide is intended to give you the road map you need in order to make the best decisions that you can for your business. This often means a lot of pre-planning, but also a lot of thinking on your feet as crises come up.

So buckle your safety belts: The road trip is about to begin!

The Road to Real Estate Success

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Table of Contents

Part One: Starting the Engine ...................................................................3

The Current Market .....................................................................................3

Your One-of-a-Kind Market ......................................................................4

The Long Haul ...............................................................................................4

Part Two: The Roadtrip Begins ..................................................................5

Communication ...........................................................................................5

Knowledge .....................................................................................................6

Relationship Building .................................................................................6

Part Three: Reaching Your Destination .................................................7

Paperwork ......................................................................................................7

Professionalism .............................................................................................8

The Next Trip .................................................................................................8

Conclusion: The Road Continues .............................................................8

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Part One: Starting the Engine

The key before you travel anywhere is figuring out where you are now, where you are trying to get to and what you’re going to need in order to get yourself there. When it comes to the real estate market, the most important tool that you can have is the knowledge of the current market. That way,

you are able to map out the important details that you will need in order for your road trip to be successful.

The Current Market

The housing market, like any other mainstream market, has gone through its ebbs and flows. After the market hit difficulties in 2009, the housing world is bouncing back and equity is rising in people’s homes. There are some tricky patches in the market, with mortgage rates higher and some buyers having difficulties securing loans due to limits in credit. However, securitization may be coming soon for buyers, and that will fuel the middle class to purchase homes again.

The United States Census Bureau conducted a survey on why people moved between 2012 and 2013. About 35.9 million people surveyed, or 11.7 percent, that moved between those years, approximately 48 percent of the people surveyed moved for housing reasons as compared to family and employment, which made up 30.3 and 19.4 percent, respectively. Housing reasons included wanting a new or better home, These numbers are sure to change, especially as the market picks up and new clients start to come in. (www.dsnews.com/news/06-05-2014/people-move-census-bureau-answers)

Each market has its own flow, and in Southern California there are certain homebuyers that are commonplace. One of these groups is outside interests who are looking to invest in the always-popular housing market in the greater Los Angeles area. These interests range from out-of-state interests who are looking to plant roots and become movers and shakers in a major market to even those out of the country, as Asian investors are looking in the region for outside investments. Many of these investors pay up front, and sometimes in cash.

One of the most important groups entering the market right now is Millenials, or those born from the late 1970s into the mid-1980s. These first-time homebuyers are looking to buy real estate for their growing families. These are usually mid-range buyers, and in the Southern California region are looking between the $800,000 and the $2 million home price range. They are looking for amenities and are not necessarily glued to a local; they’re much more likely to move depending on their work situations.

However, these new buyers come with challenges, such as obtaining a mortgage and making sure their credit is in check. Knowing these issues ahead of time can give you an advantage over other real estate professionals. It can help you prepare clients and, in turn, help you anticipate their needs before they even come knocking on your door.

Know your market

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Your One-of-a-Kind Market

There is no specific formula that works in every market. In order to make your market work for you, you have to be aware of what’s going on in your specific region that is unique and isn’t happening anywhere else.

For example, in recent years there has been a huge emphasis in several neighborhoods of the Long Beach, California housing market for restoration of art deco elements in older homes built in the 1920s and ‘30s. This may not be happening in other regions, but is an important detail if you’re selling in that market. This information can give you a clue about what you’re going to see from sellers and what buyers can anticipate as they come into your market. It also will help determine how to approach your long-term strategy.

Keep an eye on the deals that are going through, whether they’re for refurbished homes or newer-constructed homes. Make sure you have some good conversations with fellow professionals and vendors in your local market to collect information. Also ask who they are seeing buy and what neighborhoods they are going into. That way, you’ll be able to target your efforts towards these specific markets and the clients who are looking to get into them.

The Long Haul

This is not an instant process. Like any successful business, you need to be able to invest time and energy to make it work. This includes putting in the extra hours to do the research so you have all the up-to-date information on your specific market and what your clients may need before they even ask — even if it means delaying a potential deal.

For example, credit checking may be an important detail that you need to focus on for your future clients. If your market has more first-time buyers than homeowners looking to transition or outside investors paying up front in cash, you need to make sure they have the credit to be able to obtain a loan. If they don’t have the credit necessary now, you’ll need to refer them to a credit service that can guide them through restoring the proper credit to get the mortgage they need.

It may not get you the instantaneous results you yearn for. However, it will help set the foundation for you to maintain a healthy real estate business that obtains quality clients over the long haul and, in turn, gets them the best deals.

Target your efforts

Make sure your clients have healthy credit

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Part Two: The Roadtrip Begins

While journeying down the road with your respective clients, there are three different elements that you need to work on: Communication, relationship building and knowledge. These three tiers are important as you travel along with your clients in helping them get the best deals possible.

They aren’t necessarily direct destinations on your path; rather, think of these three elements as the fuel for your gas tank, the regular oil changes you need and the maintenance on the car you’re driving. Without these three things, you won’t be able to get to your destination in a car; the same goes for your business.

Communication

Keeping up with your clients is important if you want to keep them. And that means remaining flexible and being able to be reached through different means of communication. Technology is constantly changing, so the way that homebuyers communicate with their real estate professionals will also be changing. If you don’t change with them, you’re going to be left behind in your business.

Since Millenials are one of the strongest markets coming up in real estate, you need to communicate directly on their level. You should have social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter and be able to be reached by text as well as by phone call if that’s what your client prefers. The more outlets you have for communication, the more clients you’ll be able to keep and maintain.

Above all, keep your lines of communication open at all times; if you don’t you’ll end up with frustrated homebuyers. As your clients are most likely busy professionals, they may not be able to contact you during normal business hours. By remaining available and reliable, your clients will have a better experience.

Keep your skills up to date

Use technology to keep up with your clients

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Knowledge

You have to have a solid base of knowledge in order to get into the market, but it doesn’t stop as you’re journeying along the road. Being able to adapt and adjust that knowledge to make the market work for you is just as important as keeping in touch with your clients. If you have more information that your competitors, your clients and vendors are more willing to trust you and, in turn, refer others.

It’s important that at every stage of the buying and selling process your knowledge is up to par. If there’s an area you’re not as steady in as others, it’s up to you to make sure to read up on it and become an expert quickly so you can help your client. If you’re having a hard time, find a partner who may be better versed in that area and work with their expertise to help your business grow.

In addition to these areas, make sure to keep up with your news reading to keep tabs on the current market. Invest at least 20 minutes a day in reading up on real estate news, both nationally and in your local market. Find out about trends

that are going, whether new homes are being built or remodeling is more of a trend. By staying on top of the market and seeing what your clients are expecting from their homes, you’ll be able to deliver results for them.

Relationship Building

Having clients isn’t just about selling them a house. It’s about fostering trust and making them clients for life. They need to know that they’ll be able to rely on you beyond the current deal, whether there is a housing issue or when they may want to move up and make another real estate deal. By fostering a good relationship over the long term, you’ll be able to cash in on it beyond the deal you have made for them. Plus, your clients will refer their friends — thus giving you even more clients to work with.

You shouldn’t be only making these relationships with your buyers or sellers. There are services you need to provide to your clients that are just as important. For example, if you have first time buyers, you may also need a mortgage service or credit service. If your buyers want to have a house inspection as they go into escrow, you need to be able to pair them off with a good service. This even includes partnering with agents in other popular markets, such as Texas. That way, if your clients decide to leave your market and go to a different one, you can get a referral fee from the agent, which can lead to even more money in your pocket.

These relationships don’t have an immediate payoff; rather, they are for the long haul. You never know when a relationship with a client or a service provider will pay off for you.

Stay informed of real estate trends

Foster good relationships

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Part Three: Reaching Your Destination

You have a deal in place? Great! However, once you have matched your clients with the house comes the problem of making sure that everything is ready for them. They’ll need a mortgage, home services before move in, and of course insurance. If you were working along the road, you already have these vendors for them. But as your clients arrive into escrow, you are the essential guide that will make sure that the process can go smoothly.

This is not only important for your current clients, but also for your future business. If you don’t land a solid finish in securing a deal, your clients will remember this above anything and pass along the word. In the real estate market, word-of-mouth is just as important as any advertising that you might place. And if you want to grow in your market, you need to make sure you have the best word out there.

Paperwork

It used to be when a client filled out paperwork for their new home, it was a rather small stack. Now, there are lots of additional forms to fill out, and it can be difficult to keep up. The real estate market isn’t getting easier when it comes to issues during escrow, so it’s important to keep up with the changes as they arrive in your market.

You need to keep abreast of the changing paperwork and what your clients may need before they get to it. Loan documents are the prime example. If you can’t understand the financing language to understand the loan document issues that can arise, your buyer or your seller will feel that you’re not reliable. That reputation will hurt your business more than anything.

Make sure that you understand the laws and regulations before you come to the final parts of the deal, and make sure to do this ahead of time; that way, you’re ready even before your clients say, “Yes.”

END

Word-of-mouth can make all the difference

It’s important to understand closing

procedures

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Professionalism

Since you’re often dealing with professionals in the real estate market, the most important thing is that you’re also a professional and deal with them accordingly. This means being able to be reliable for your clients and be able to walk them through every step of the way.

No matter how far your clients are into escrow, you need to make sure that you’re available for any questions that may come up. This is where your communication, relationship building and knowledge come into play best to show what

kind of real estate professional you are to your client as they’re going through the nitty gritty of closing the deal.

You want to make sure that you maintain all standards of ethics and keep a level head in your market. This professionalism will help you not only maintain good relationships, but also help your clients refer you to their friends.

The Next Trip

This deal isn’t the last deal, and you need to keep one step ahead of the game so that you have more deals in the works. By fostering the relationships you have, you’re able to create a road map for the next trip along the road to real estate success.

As you close out your current deal for your clients, become aware of the mistakes you might have had from this time around. Was there something you didn’t do for your client that you could have? Was there a service you were missing? By understanding what may have gone wrong, you might be able to make future deals smoother. Every trip down this road is a learning experience, so it’s important to treat it that way.

Conclusion: The Road Continues

In order to be successful on the road to real estate success, you have to keep moving forward. There is always another deal to strike and more clients available for you; however, you need to make sure that you have the tools in place so that you can journey down all these roads and have enough gas in your car to get you there. However,

if you follow our steps, you’re sure to have a long road ahead of you for your real estate business and will be able to put some money into your pocket.

We look forward to seeing you down the path as you build your business and find your success. Happy travels!

Learn from your mistakes