Most of the families with pets think of their dog or cat as a family member. Despite the affection though, pets don't help much with the sales process. A homeowner with pets need to go a few extra steps to clean the house and mend the necessary repairs before it becomes ready for the market at a competitive price.
Here are a few useful tips to prepare for selling your home with pets. Read this article and filter out the information that does not fit your particular situation. We are pretty sure you will still find some tips appropriate for you and your beloved pet.
Pets are known for not adjusting well to change, especially cats or older dogs. Have a serious conversation with a good veterinarian before making any changes. This will make the process easier while helping you identify the critical aspects you need to consider before they leave a mark on the pet.
Make sure the pet is not home when buyers arrive. The best way to handle this is by relocating the pet in advance. You need the help of a friend or relative the pet gets along with. It would be ideal to relocate the animal earlier in the sale process to allow you the time to clean the house of any traces of the pet. This way you make sure no buyer gets turned off no matter how indifferent to animals he or she is. It is also important to make sure your dog is not home during showings for liability reasons. There is always a potential risk of unpleasant incidents when a dog meets new people no matter how friendly the animal is. Even pets have bad days.
Repair any damages made by the pet on carpets, furniture, hardwood flooring, walls, doors, turf in your yard, porch, and fence. It is almost impossible to avoid these damages with a pet in the house. Any such deterioration may have a negative impact on the selling price and the value perceived by potential buyers.
On of the easiest ways to betray the existence of a pet in a house is the smell. A strong odor is in fact one of the top reasons a buyer will pass on a home. Now matter how keen is your sense of smell, you have probably gotten used with it in time. Don't think there is no odor just because you can't smell it. The best thing to do is clean thoroughly and rely on someone that does not live in the house to offer you feedback on how good of a job you have done on removing pet odors. Extra tip: use a professional carpet cleaner. If nothing works, replace the entire carpet.
Clean the yard if you are a dog owner who gives their pets free reign of the backyard. It may be great for the pet, but it surely leaves a mark on the lawn. Improve the look of your yard by repairing the discolored patches. A successful backyard will help your home’s outside sparkle and shine as vibrantly as the inside.
Do your best and prepare thoroughly. Sometimes though, even if there are no indications of pets living in the house, potential buyers ask anyway. Be honest and upfront. Some people may try to bargain and push the price down despite the fact that you have successfully cleaned up and removed any traces of your pet. The best approach in this case is to focus on the current state of the house. Emphasize that your house now looks as good as it did before you had the pet.
Selling a home with pets takes work, but it’s worth it in the long run! Clean your house and make the necessary repairs to make sure your home is not devalued in the marketplace. The best thing to do as pet owners is to take action to eliminate the problem before your home goes on the market. Remember, a home is only really worth what a buyer is willing to pay.
Century 21 and Google Sign Exclusive Partnership
The contract recently signed is an exclusive partnership in the real estate industry between two giants: Google, recently named the world's most powerful brand, and CENTURY 21 Real Estate, the franchiser of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization in the world.
This partnership has the potential to be one of the most powerful programs in real estate, adding a team of professional marketing assistants available to help brokers and real estate agents with the following tasks:
By signing the partnership, Century 21 has a national scope in view, since the company advertises in iconic national media venues and fuels the industry's most visited real estate franchise website.
Century 21 has added two new fantastic websites: Century21Espanol.com and FineHomesAndEstates.com, dedicated to keep the real estate agents front and center in the conversations with customers throughout the year.
During its recent "Sell Like a Champion" 2014 Global Conference, Century 21 announced that it will be advertising in the 2015 Super Bowl.
- design and personalize their myc21 site;
- create unique property site flyers;
- enroll sellers in the golden ruler
- enroll customers into pcc
- create marketing collaterals with AdMaker
- generate publicity with PR studio
- prepare listing presentations
- implement the new C21 Social Exchange to schedule media posts
- generate leads.
Century 21 has added two new fantastic websites: Century21Espanol.com and FineHomesAndEstates.com, dedicated to keep the real estate agents front and center in the conversations with customers throughout the year.
During its recent "Sell Like a Champion" 2014 Global Conference, Century 21 announced that it will be advertising in the 2015 Super Bowl.
For more details visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39DNpfZMKV4. If you are looking for a home in the North Myrtle Beach area, give us a call at (888) 249-2100 or visit CENTURY 21 Thomas search page.
How to Go Green in Real Estate and Make Your Home Environmentally Friendly
April 22 is Earth Day, observed all over the world. It is a day of action for individuals, companies, and organizations to build awareness and protect the environment. As residents of North Myrtle Beach, we aare very happy with the latest developments regarding the wind energy in the area. In 2012 North Myrtle Beach City Council approved a resolution in support of offshore wind energy in South Carolina and identified North Myrtle Beach as a "Wind Powered Economic Zone."
CENTURY 21 Thomas has been a supporter of these initiatives. Our real estate agents are aware of the importance of promoting a green economy. They are open to managing listings of eco-friendly homes or sustainably-built homes. CENTURY 21 Thomas real estate agents were happy to share a few ways to go green in real estate and help others take steps to make their homes environmentally friendly:
Improve the energy efficiency of your home - work on the key areas of the home that are common trouble spots and frequently contribute to a home's poor energy performance:
Compare your home's energy use to similar sized homes and climates across the country with the Home Energy Yardstick (home utility bills needed) to see how you measure up with your neighbors. Going green is not just a fad–it’s an important element in our fight to save and preserve our planet for the future.
Resources:
CENTURY 21 Thomas has been a supporter of these initiatives. Our real estate agents are aware of the importance of promoting a green economy. They are open to managing listings of eco-friendly homes or sustainably-built homes. CENTURY 21 Thomas real estate agents were happy to share a few ways to go green in real estate and help others take steps to make their homes environmentally friendly:
Improve the energy efficiency of your home - work on the key areas of the home that are common trouble spots and frequently contribute to a home's poor energy performance:
- seal and insulate the outer walls, ceilings, windows, doors and floors
- perform annual maintenance of your heating and cooling system, clean the filter, install and use a programmable thermostat
- use geothermal energy to heat and cool your home by using a ground-source heat pump
- use energy efficient lighting and appliances labeled as energy star products
- use the food you already bought and have in the house instead of buying more
- reuse items around the house such as rags and wipes, empty jars and mugs, party decorations, and gift wrap
- return used car tires to retailers or wholesalers that recycle or retread them
- mow higher and leaving the clippings (called grasscycling). Homeowners can reduce their mowing time by 30 to 40 percent by not having to bag clippings.
Compare your home's energy use to similar sized homes and climates across the country with the Home Energy Yardstick (home utility bills needed) to see how you measure up with your neighbors. Going green is not just a fad–it’s an important element in our fight to save and preserve our planet for the future.
Resources:
EPA - Green Building
Energy Star resources:
National Association of the Remodeling Industry - Green Remodeling 101
Social Media for Real Estate Agents - LinkedIn (Part III)
LinkedIn is probably the best social media channel for testimonials and referrals. Even though little adopted by realtors, LinkedIn presents great opportunities for real estate agents. LinkedIn might not help you directly sell a home, but it will definitely help you create useful relationships.
Recent studies show that more than 70 percent of people would recommend the real estate agent they worked with. LinkedIn helps leverage this potential and makes it so much easier to get back in touch with previous clients. If most agents miss doing one important thing, that is contacting previous clients! The research shows how much those people are ready to recommend the agent, yet agents forget to reconnect with them. A good profile on LinkedIn with a good number of people in the network might be the solution.
Real estate agents can use LinkedIn to get referrals almost effortlessly. A profile on LinkedIn where you add a good presentation of yourself, with all the professional details and a good resume, will help others discover and contact you. Your LinkedIn profile will help you expand your professional network while making it easier for people interested in your expertise and knowledge of the local real estate market learn more about you and get in touch with you.
One of the biggest strength of LinkedIn is its embedded tool for recommendations. Once you bring in some of your past clients, it is very easy for them to write a good recommendation for you and emphasize your professional qualities. These testimonials and recommendations will help you build your reputation and boost credibility. The recommendations will be posted on both your profile and the person who wrote them so this gives you exposure to your past client's network, increasing the chances for other people to want to work with you. LinkedIn is one of the best social media tools to tap into the power of peer review, the best component of effective marketing.
Here are some good articles and resources on using LinkedIn for real estate:
It is time to adopt LinkedIn, the social media channel that can best help you capitalize on testimonials and build your referral database. As always, if you are not a realtor but you are looking for a home in the North Myrtle Beach area, give us a call at (888) 249-2100 or visit CENTURY 21 Thomas search page.
Recent studies show that more than 70 percent of people would recommend the real estate agent they worked with. LinkedIn helps leverage this potential and makes it so much easier to get back in touch with previous clients. If most agents miss doing one important thing, that is contacting previous clients! The research shows how much those people are ready to recommend the agent, yet agents forget to reconnect with them. A good profile on LinkedIn with a good number of people in the network might be the solution.
Real estate agents can use LinkedIn to get referrals almost effortlessly. A profile on LinkedIn where you add a good presentation of yourself, with all the professional details and a good resume, will help others discover and contact you. Your LinkedIn profile will help you expand your professional network while making it easier for people interested in your expertise and knowledge of the local real estate market learn more about you and get in touch with you.
One of the biggest strength of LinkedIn is its embedded tool for recommendations. Once you bring in some of your past clients, it is very easy for them to write a good recommendation for you and emphasize your professional qualities. These testimonials and recommendations will help you build your reputation and boost credibility. The recommendations will be posted on both your profile and the person who wrote them so this gives you exposure to your past client's network, increasing the chances for other people to want to work with you. LinkedIn is one of the best social media tools to tap into the power of peer review, the best component of effective marketing.
Here are some good articles and resources on using LinkedIn for real estate:
- How to Use LinkedIn to Boost Your Real Estate Business by Rebekah Radice
- LinkedIn is the "it" place for real estate referrals by Bernice Ross
- 6 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Real Estate Business Network by Keller Williams
- LinkedIn Tips to Build Your Real Estate Business by Esther
- LinkedIn Tips for Realtors by Viveka
It is time to adopt LinkedIn, the social media channel that can best help you capitalize on testimonials and build your referral database. As always, if you are not a realtor but you are looking for a home in the North Myrtle Beach area, give us a call at (888) 249-2100 or visit CENTURY 21 Thomas search page.
Social Media for Real Estate Agents - Pinterest (Part II)
The real estate market is becoming more and more competitive. New people turn real estate agents every day so you have to find ways to stay ahead or else... Social media is one of the new marketing paradigms that can be turned into an extremely powerful strategy, tactic, tool, and everything in between. We have started in our previous blog post to present various social media channels and tools useful to real estate agents. Today we will talk about Pinterest and how real estate agents can use it to make a difference.
If you want to understand Pinterest you need to understand its three main components: Pins, boards, and repins.
Pins are images that are added to Pinterest via the Pin It button or uploaded from your computer.
Boards are are sets of pins that real estate agents create, usually around a certain topic (interior design, cleaning and organizing ideas, elegant dinnerware, etc).
Repins means adding to one of your own boards an image you find while browsing other Pinterest accounts. It's very simple: you like the image - you click repin - you choose one of your own boards you want to put it on - it gets displayed on your Pinterest board. Repining is the way to share someone else's image on your own board. But this is also the way someone else can post YOUR images on their boards! This can give real estate agents exponential exposure.
We live in a highly visual world. Don't forget that 80 % of the signals we process are visual. That's probably why Pinterest has gained tremendous success recently and people spend more and more time browsing boards on Pinterest besides catching up gossips on Facebook. When people repin an image from your Pinterest account, that image automatically gets a link back to your board. That makes it a great way to get back links, valuable for SEO and traffic building.
Here is an example of the "Real Estate Tips" board on Century 21 Thomas' Pinterest account:
Also remember that you can add a link to any image you upload on Pinterest so people who click on your image are directed to the destination of that link. So if you post a picture with a great view of one of the properties you handle, you can drive people who click on it to your listing.
The main social media for real estate opportunity with Pinterest is to promote great real estate images of the properties you manage with the goal of having other people repin them on their own boards. This gives you exponential exposure on the internet and increased chances to build traffic to your listing.
In one of our previous blog posts we emphasized how important it is to make sure you use great photography for the properties you list. Now that you have those great pictures, why not use them on Pinterest to capture more attention and traffic to your listings? Re-purposing existing photography is one of the best ways to effectively use Pinterest for real estate.
Good luck with using Pinterest for real estate. Hopefully you found these simple recommendations helpful. As always, if you are not a realtor but you are looking for a home in the North Myrtle Beach area, give us a call at (888) 249-2100 or visit CENTURY 21 Thomas search page.
If you want to understand Pinterest you need to understand its three main components: Pins, boards, and repins.
Pins are images that are added to Pinterest via the Pin It button or uploaded from your computer.
Boards are are sets of pins that real estate agents create, usually around a certain topic (interior design, cleaning and organizing ideas, elegant dinnerware, etc).
Repins means adding to one of your own boards an image you find while browsing other Pinterest accounts. It's very simple: you like the image - you click repin - you choose one of your own boards you want to put it on - it gets displayed on your Pinterest board. Repining is the way to share someone else's image on your own board. But this is also the way someone else can post YOUR images on their boards! This can give real estate agents exponential exposure.
We live in a highly visual world. Don't forget that 80 % of the signals we process are visual. That's probably why Pinterest has gained tremendous success recently and people spend more and more time browsing boards on Pinterest besides catching up gossips on Facebook. When people repin an image from your Pinterest account, that image automatically gets a link back to your board. That makes it a great way to get back links, valuable for SEO and traffic building.
Here is an example of the "Real Estate Tips" board on Century 21 Thomas' Pinterest account:
Also remember that you can add a link to any image you upload on Pinterest so people who click on your image are directed to the destination of that link. So if you post a picture with a great view of one of the properties you handle, you can drive people who click on it to your listing.
The main social media for real estate opportunity with Pinterest is to promote great real estate images of the properties you manage with the goal of having other people repin them on their own boards. This gives you exponential exposure on the internet and increased chances to build traffic to your listing.
In one of our previous blog posts we emphasized how important it is to make sure you use great photography for the properties you list. Now that you have those great pictures, why not use them on Pinterest to capture more attention and traffic to your listings? Re-purposing existing photography is one of the best ways to effectively use Pinterest for real estate.
Good luck with using Pinterest for real estate. Hopefully you found these simple recommendations helpful. As always, if you are not a realtor but you are looking for a home in the North Myrtle Beach area, give us a call at (888) 249-2100 or visit CENTURY 21 Thomas search page.
Social Media for Real Estate Agents - Networking (Part I)
Social media has become an important component of the online marketing mix of every successful business. As a real estate agent, you run your own business and you should not be stranger to strategies, tactics, and tools that can help you become more successful and get ahead of your competitors. We are going to present in this blog post more details about networking.
"It's not what you know but who you know" is as true today as it ever was. Networking and relationships are crucial for any real estate agent. From this perspective, social media is hard to beat. There is nothing more effective for building and nurturing relationships than Facebook, Youtube, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest. Just imagine how much information about your potential clients is at your fingertips on social media.
listening and engagement tools so you can easily follow conversations and jump in at the right time with the right message. Nimble helps you create potential customers profiles by keeping complex information well organized: you can access in one place all the information about someone's social media accounts and the exchange of messages you have had on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkeIn, all the emails you've sent or received, notes you've made to help you remember important information related to the interaction with that person, etc. Nimble comes with a set or useful widgets and add-ons so you can easily access it through Chrome, Hootsuite, Android or Apple mobile phone and even through Microsoft Office 365. Read this article on Social Media Examiner if you want to learn more about social crm.
Facebook
Facebook is great for leads generation. Many real estate agents are very knowledgeable of Facebook, yet many are still at the beginning of including it into their toolbox. Basically, the best way to generate leads with Facebook is through interaction and creative posts which encourage interaction. Unfortunately Facebook is in a constant state of change and it makes it hard to keep up with it. That doesn't mean it is not worth doing it. You should look at Facebook as an extension of your database and treat it like one and nurture it. Create a content strategy and don't push only real estate posts like your current listings for sale and nothing else. Be creative and find the right balance between selling and create interaction and engagement. Often times the best balance is 60/40 where you post 60 percent of the times messages that are not related to real estate and the other 40 percent of the time you work on the sales process.
Twitter
Twitter is an effective social networking and micro blogging site and it offers a great way to make connections and establish your real estate agent brand. Confined to only 140 characters, Twitter enforces conciseness and sometimes... grammar creativity. Twitter can help you build trust through new connections and strengthen ties to the local community. Start by determining who your target audience is and what content they are eager to consume. Include relevant and newsworthy content along with inspirational and motivational tweets. Promote your next open house and tweet links to your YouTube videos. According to MSB (Maximize Social Business), your tweets should consist of:
We will continue our presentation of social media channels for real estate agents so don't be a stranger to this blog. Remember to be authentic on social media. Networking becomes very powerful when developed around trust. Surprise and delight your clients on a regular basis. The secret to successful marketing is simple: be likable! And don't forget: if you are looking for a home in the North Myrtle Beach area, give us a call at (888) 249-2100 or visit CENTURY 21 Thomas search page.
"It's not what you know but who you know" is as true today as it ever was. Networking and relationships are crucial for any real estate agent. From this perspective, social media is hard to beat. There is nothing more effective for building and nurturing relationships than Facebook, Youtube, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest. Just imagine how much information about your potential clients is at your fingertips on social media.
Social Customer Relationship Management Tools (Social CRM)
With Nimble and you can easily become a networking super star! According to their website, "Nimble automatically pulls your contacts into one place so you can engage them across any channel (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Skype, Phone, Email) in one easy to use interface. Nimble incorporates socialNimble: Contact Management Reimagined. (C) Nimble.com |
- Link to your own blog or website content 20%
- Link to other people’s content 20%
- Talk business or share your own marketing material 20%
- The remaining 40% should consist of personal interaction, small talk, commenting and networking
We will continue our presentation of social media channels for real estate agents so don't be a stranger to this blog. Remember to be authentic on social media. Networking becomes very powerful when developed around trust. Surprise and delight your clients on a regular basis. The secret to successful marketing is simple: be likable! And don't forget: if you are looking for a home in the North Myrtle Beach area, give us a call at (888) 249-2100 or visit CENTURY 21 Thomas search page.
How Much Can You Trust the Real Estate Sales and Price Statistics?
Most people think that when a house doesn't sell, there is something wrong with the house. Not necessarily! What if there is something wrong with the way the house was marketed? What if the expectations involved in the process were unrealistic? One crucial component of successfully selling or buying a home is data. Statistics related to pricing and sales have a strong impact on all decisions made and represent the main ingredient in the recipe for a successful real estate transaction.
I never understood why so many real estate agents or brokers throw all purchased homes into a single statistical category, whether they are distressed properties or not. You cannot expect to buy a brand new car for $10,000 - the amount the dealer had to sell a repossessed car to cover the cost of that specific loan, when the actual price of such a vehicle is much higher. Distressed properties do not set generic pricing levels for all the homes on the market and such expectations from buyers are only meant to create frustrations. "The home sales figures, home price trends, and other comparative statistics released each month to the news media, treat foreclosed upon homes and short sale homes in the same realm as a paid up home seller looking to profit or needing to move," complained Dave Kohl, real estate marketing and advertising expert, the author of "8 Hours To Sell Your Home" audio book.
It is not meaningful to report "the sales are up" when counting 3 distressed homes recently sold at half their value in a community of 20 similar homes and establish that median price as a reference for someone who paid the mortgage regularly, maybe even in full, and tries to relocate and sell the house. Even worse, if three months later another distressed home in that community is sold for a little bigger amount than the previous distressed homes, false news will be spread that home sales in that community are UP 10% over three months ago. How accurate is this conclusion for a real estate investor?
Take real estate stats and news with a grain of salt before you make any important decision. Question data and learn the details behind the numbers. Separate foreclosures and short sales from the rest of the other homes sold. Only this way you get closer to paying or asking a fair price and match your expectations with the reality of the market.
CENTURY 21 Thomas Real Estate prides itself in building a strong team of great real estate agents aware of these aspects. Our agents are highly trained and very knowledgeable of the intricate aspects of the local market. They all strive to provide their clients with accurate data. There is no coincidence CENTURY 21 Thomas Real Estate agents won so many awards for excellence and outstanding service. You can contact us on the internet here or by phone at (888) 249-2100.
I never understood why so many real estate agents or brokers throw all purchased homes into a single statistical category, whether they are distressed properties or not. You cannot expect to buy a brand new car for $10,000 - the amount the dealer had to sell a repossessed car to cover the cost of that specific loan, when the actual price of such a vehicle is much higher. Distressed properties do not set generic pricing levels for all the homes on the market and such expectations from buyers are only meant to create frustrations. "The home sales figures, home price trends, and other comparative statistics released each month to the news media, treat foreclosed upon homes and short sale homes in the same realm as a paid up home seller looking to profit or needing to move," complained Dave Kohl, real estate marketing and advertising expert, the author of "8 Hours To Sell Your Home" audio book.
It is not meaningful to report "the sales are up" when counting 3 distressed homes recently sold at half their value in a community of 20 similar homes and establish that median price as a reference for someone who paid the mortgage regularly, maybe even in full, and tries to relocate and sell the house. Even worse, if three months later another distressed home in that community is sold for a little bigger amount than the previous distressed homes, false news will be spread that home sales in that community are UP 10% over three months ago. How accurate is this conclusion for a real estate investor?
Take real estate stats and news with a grain of salt before you make any important decision. Question data and learn the details behind the numbers. Separate foreclosures and short sales from the rest of the other homes sold. Only this way you get closer to paying or asking a fair price and match your expectations with the reality of the market.
CENTURY 21 Thomas Real Estate prides itself in building a strong team of great real estate agents aware of these aspects. Our agents are highly trained and very knowledgeable of the intricate aspects of the local market. They all strive to provide their clients with accurate data. There is no coincidence CENTURY 21 Thomas Real Estate agents won so many awards for excellence and outstanding service. You can contact us on the internet here or by phone at (888) 249-2100.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)