Diary of a Newbie Real Estate Investor
Online Marketing Article for MA Real Estate Investors and Agents
October 12th, 2009 by Bernadette
Hi folks, I found this article by Duncan Wierman that focuses on internet marketing for real estate investors and agents. I thought it might be pertinent for our Massachusetts and Boston Area Real Estate Investors and Agents.
Internet Marketing For Real Estate Investors and Agents
By Duncan Wierman
Today online marketing has become key for many businesses and real estate is no exception. The Internet has become the first place most potential homeowners search when looking for the perfect property so with this in mind it goes without saying that today’s real estate investors must have an effective web presence in order to continue being successful even through these tough times.
I feel it is safe to say that the most dramatic and important changes to happen to the real estate industry has been brought about due to the Internet and all real estate agents and investors should embrace it. This is especially true when you think about the fact that there are over 2,000,000 searches for the keywords ‘real estate’ everyday on the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN; just think of the amount of potential customers that this could bring to your business and best of all with an online presence your real estate business will remain open 24/7, so you will never miss out on closing a deal. There is however one thing that you need to keep in mind, which is the fact that in order for your real estate business to do any good online you need to ensure it’s ranked high within the search engine results pages.
When a potential property buyer performs a search on one of the many search engines they will type in something that resembles the name of their city and the keywords real estate. In order for them to stand any chance of clicking on your site you need to generally appear within the first two pages of the results. This is thanks to the fact that 80% of people never look further than the first page of the search engine results and 95% of people never make it past the second page of results. Basically if your site isn’t ranked within the first two pages you will be receiving little or no traffic. So how do you get your real estate website to appear in these positions? Through Internet marketing of course.
There are a number of advantages to Internet marketing for real estate investors. Because of the numerous advantages Internet Marketing is offering to both investors and their clients, it has become more and more of a popular platform for all competitive real estate investors. Some of the main advantages that Internet marketing for real estate investors are as follows:
1. It is a lot quicker - clients can double the amount of homes they can sell when they are listed online as oppose to going through real estate agents.
2. Clients can easily narrow down their search to find the property they want
3. Due to the fact the more potential homeowners are now of the younger generation, they grew up using the Internet in their daily lives so they are more likely to find a property by using the Internet.
Websites, thanks to Internet marketing are more appealing than other promotional material such as brochures. Also by using websites to promote and sell real estate, communication is easier and cheaper as it is all done by email.
The Internet is now the best way to buy and sell all forms of real estate so if you are in the business of doing this make sure you get on board with it now
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Some tenants are great and some…yeah…not so much
April 21st, 2009 by Bernadette
Ok…..so…one of my tenants is awesome…he actually called me and said, “So, when am I going to get you this money?” “Uhhhhhh….I can come get it 
“
And, the others….not so much….I am having to go to file paperwork to get them out….so….I still haven’t moved. I’m doing that today. So, I’ll make sure to blog when I am done.
It’s a good thing I have a place to live right now. They were supposed to be gone on the 1st. Rookie mistake….file the paperwork the day they are supposed to be gone…but, I felt bad, they have kids and are having a tough time finding a place to live…but, now we are at the 21st, they aren’t returning my calls and aren’t communicating…so…off to the courthouse I go. I had hoped I wouldn’t have to do this. I do have a heart and don’t want to displace someone with their kids….but…jeez….I have to move into my house….
Wish me luck and I will blog soon!
Happy Investing!
Bernadette
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Oh Yeah…what about the tenants?
April 6th, 2009 by Bernadette
So….I closed on my house….I got all excited because I was supposed to move in the 1st of April….***note the “I was supposed to…”
Oh yeah….the tenants in my unit were supposed to move by the 31st of March…. again ***note the “were supposed to move…”
Ok….so now they are supposed to move by the 15th. I did get 1/2 a month’s rent from them. I’m not sure how cut out I am for the landlord portion of real estate. There is a reason that I previously focused on wholesaling and short sales, oh yes and my other businesses. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of residual income…its the mortgage, the maintenance and the tenants that I have been avoiding. LOL. I think after this venture, I may just do what Ann is doing and focus on commercial…
Although, the tenant that is staying is awesome. He is taking care of the yard work and what not. Both my seller and the tenants that are moving say he’s awesome. So, I look forward to my move….although Ann tells me that I can’t move on the week of our meeting…
Not to mention that Saturday the 18th we are doing a Real Deal 102 with Charlie Dobens and my mentor Kevin Lacasse. I guess I’ll have to move during the following week….it’s ok…I’ve got some cleanup to do, painting and what not.
Ok…I am off and running….marketing…looking for other properties…see you at the next meeting with Donna Bauer, the Notebuyer.
Happy Investing!
Bernadette
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I CLOSED TODAY AT 2:00PM
March 11th, 2009 by Bernadette
Whew! I closed my subject to deal….today at 2:00 PM! And you want to hear something cool? 2 days ago, I got a phone call from my soon to be new tenant. He said, “Hi Bernadette, have you closed on this property yet?” “No, we are closing on Wednesday, what’s up?”
“Well, about a month ago, the alarm on the sewer went off…I called the landlord and he told me the last time this happened, it was the float, to silence the alarm and if there were any issues to call him, well 2 days ago it started backing up into my washing machine….and, well, I haven’t paid rent yet….do you think I should because I feel like I shouldn’t?”
“Well, have you called him to let him know about the issue?” “Not yet.”
“Let me call you right back….”
“Hi there, this is Bernadette, the tenant called and something is going on with the sewer and it sounds like he’s not going to pay you the rent until it is fixed…you needed that money for closing, right?”
“Yup, but, I don’t understand, he was supposed to call me to let me know if there were any issues, he never called me.”
“Do you mind if I get him on the phone on a 3-way call and we can chat?”
“Sure!”
“Hi there, I have the landlord on the phone can you let him know what you let me know.”
“Well, the septic is backing up into my wash and it has been this way for a few days.”
“Ok….I wish you would have called me before bothering Bernadette, but, I will be there tomorrow to take care of it.”
Whew! He put in a new pump and had the system pumped clean…well that’s not something I will have to worry about for a year or so. I’ll have to bake my tenant some cookies or something.
We met at 2:00 PM to close, and I gotta tell you…when there is no mortgage involved, the amount of paperwork you have to sign is alot less! Well…I’m off to the NHREIA meeting…until next Thursday!
Happy Investing!
Bernadette
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Subject to’s and Real Estate Attorneys…
March 8th, 2009 by Bernadette
Hi folks….what a crazy Friday I had….my attorney, Jack McCormack was all set to go….he had all of the docs prepared for my subject to closing in Derry….he was putting a rush on everything because he was scheduled to go on vacation on Friday….we were just waiting for my seller’s attorney to submit the deed. I felt like…yeah….home free…at 2PM we would be closing on my house…rush to the bank….wire the money…..make sure my seller was wiring the money….we would meet in Manchester at 2PM, sign the docs…then Jack would rush to register the deed and pay the transfer taxes before going on vacation….READY….SET….WAIT?!!!! WHAT???!!!
My seller’s attorney (I will not mention his name) was evidently unaware of the subject to process. He had told my seller that the deed would be prepared and he could pick it up at noon….WRONG! He sent Jack an e-mail questioning the HUD….Jack very nicely explained how subject to’s work. And, he wanted to make sure that my seller’s attorney knew that we had been working on this deal for 6 months and that it wasn’t their job as lawyers to make decisions for clients, it was their job to explain the documents, advise and then let their clients make the decision.
I got a call from Jack letting me know that the lawyer wasn’t going to produce the deed…however ,to try to have my seller call him to see if he could explain and get him to produce the deed….
OK….so, I called my seller, explained the situation, and asked him to call his attorney. 20 minutes later I got a call back….”Hi Bernadette…so I called my attorney…I explained that I understood what a subject to was, understood that you would NOT be assuming the mortgage, understood that you would simply be paying my mortgage, understood the possible ramifications of the situation, understood the form that says you aren’t under obligation to get another mortgage…he started screaming at me about my asset and what if you flipped the property, etc…I told him that you were going to move into the property and even if you flipped it, I didn’t care because the mortgage would be paid……he still won’t draw up the deed.”
UUUUGGGGHHHH! So…Jack….can you draw up the deed? “No, the seller should really have representation, someone who is working for him…do you know any other attorneys?” I do….let me see if he is available….soooooo, I called Attorney Matt Desrochers, one of our Boston AREIA members who works in NH as well…
Talk about feeling like a knight in shining armour just rode in! The conversation went something like this…”Hi Matt, I was wondering if you could represent my seller in this subject to transaction (I explained the situation)….can I give you my seller’s number and my attorney’s number so that we can do this.”
“Sure, Bernadette. Give me the numbers, I’ll talk to your lawyer and your seller.”
Jack McCormack called 20 minutes later, “OK…I am still going on vacation, but, we have everything in place and my team can still make this happen next week. How’s Wednesday at 2? Great, by the way….Attorney Desrochers feels the same way that I do, that it’s not our job to make decisions, it’s our job to explain and advise and let our clients make the decision…he’s a good attorney and seems to know his stuff.”
YEAH! So, the transaction has been funded, I’ll go over how little I had to pay to actually get this deal done in my next blog…. and we are closing on Wednesday….How cool is that!
I’ll blog again next Wednesday after the closing…until then…happy investing!
Bernadette Trafton
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I’m getting close to closing my house!
February 24th, 2009 by Bernadette
Hi folks…been a while since I’ve blogged…sorry, I’ve been super busy!
In any case, I’m close to closing my duplex in Derry! I am extremely excited…both sides are rented. I’ve talked to both tenants, one is aware that I will need them to move out soon.
I know some people in NH and can help them find a place to live. And, I will be able to move in! I have lots of plans for the property. I want to finish the basements, this will turn it into a 5000 sq ft. property! The basement has 2 points of egress, so I could rent the downstairs. I also want to convert the barn into office space and a mother in-law’s apartment, more rent with the tenants paying for my living quarters and investment. That’s what it’s all about, right? I’ll keep you up to date on the rehab process.
I have to tell you that having Kevin’s expertise in this area was invaluable. He even had paperwork and CYA documents that the lawyer said, “Oh…ok…cool, that makes sense…” I’m even happier now about being part of Profitable Partnerships than I was before….my mentor is teaching my lawyer! How cool is that???!!!
Also, I got another lead for a shortsale….I am soooo busy that I don’t have time to work a short sale. So, I called my short sale mentor Kim Harrington and said…hey, can we work something out as far as a referral is concerned…..I’ll gather paperwork and what not…but, can’t worry about getting it listed or doing anything else…she said sure….YEAH! Win….Win,…Win!!!
I’m off and running…,I’ll try to be more diligent as we move forward about blogging weekly. Happy investing!
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I went to meet the Broker….
January 9th, 2009 by Bernadette
So, yesterday I went to meet the Broker doing the internal BPO. I had been armed with “buzz words” to say to him. I felt somewhat empowered. I had a copy of things that my mentor told me to bring. She said that sometimes they take what you offer, sometimes they don’t. But, to practice what you are going to say…so, I got there…and walked around the property. I hadn’t been there until yesterday. Everything had been done via telephone, computer and fax.
I’m not sure what I was expecting….I think I was expecting that the property was in worse condition than it was. It’s a good thing my rehab costs mainly focused on the exterior. It was actually a nice place. I was almost embarassed by my offer. That actually made me feel good. I’ve seen lots of speakers and though I can’t remember which one, I remember hearing that if you weren’t embarassed by your offer, it wasn’t low enough. I guess I hit my mark. One thing that I think may have helped us…..this is kind of funny….it embarassed my friend…but…anyhow…she takes care of cats….she’s a good person…10 minutes before the broker showed up, the stray decided to spray, downstairs in the basement. Not too big of a deal for the house, but, it managed to make the whole house smell like cat urine….she was walking around spraying perfume and I screamed, “NO, NO, NO….leave it, if he thinks it smells like this all the time, it’s only better for the shortsale.” I told her to take care of it later, after the guy leaves. I actually tried to get her to leave…but, she didn’t feel comfortable with that. So, I told her to let me walk around with him and talk. I explained it wouldn’t be fun for her to listen to me talk about the negatives of the property.
The broker came. I made sure to walk him through the basement first, so that the smell of cat unrine would be stuck in his nose. I pointed out the water damage and said the “buzz words” I was given. I tried to engage the guy to speak….but, he wasn’t taking the bait. He said this is mostly what he does. Not necessarily a good sign because he’s probably looking to list it after it goes to foreclosure. He took a whopping 5 minutes to go through the property. He did take the forms that I offered. So, hopefully that was a good sign.
Afterwards, my friend ran around spraying febreeze or something. It was funny to see how differently investors think. Previously I would have been horrified that the cat sprayed, too. I was actually excited.
Happy investing! I’ll see you all on the 15th when Jason Gilbert is going to share his secrets to commercial investing! Have you checked out his video yet? http://www.bostonareia.com/gilbert-video.php . He’s got me convinced that I need to start looking at commercial real estate….says it’s just as easy as residential….hmmm….I’ll talk to my mentors and see what they think…
Bernadette
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My Mentor and her team rocks!
December 30th, 2008 by Bernadette
Remember on the 19th of December, yes JUST 11 DAYS AGO, I told you about a shortsale that I was going to work. My friend…with the house…who was going into foreclosure, who for some reason forgot what I do for a living…if you forget, just go back to my previous blog entry.
I was really concerned because the foreclosure auction was scheduled on the 30th, that’s TODAY! That didn’t leave us alot of time, with the holidays, to get the packet together and submit it to the Bank. Well…remember I said that I feel like I have people….well…I do….and so does my mentor Kim…her people, in this case is Melissa Ryan who works with her in Ambrose Properties. Well…it took me longer to get the packet together than I thought. We had some technical issues….finally on December 22nd I compiled the information that Kim had listed and I got the packet together. I got on the phone with Kim on a webinar and we went over everything and then I sent it over to Kim and Melissa, thinking everything was ok,. They noticed that some of the data hadn’t come through - like my offer amount….oops….and they tried to hunt me down on Tuesday. Unfortunately I was in meetings all day and evening, no where near my e-mail and my cell phone decided to die so I never got their messages until 11 pm on Tuesday the 22nd, when I was home checking my e-mail…which of course means that Melissa didn’t get the offer amount until the 23rd. Talk about feeling like a turkey…..here it is 2 days to Christmas and we need to get the auction potponed by the 30th and I was incommunicado. Hats off to Melissa because she got the offer submitted and into the appropriate hands and after making numerous calls to the bank, last night at 9:10 PM we got word that the auction was POSTPONED! I was the hero when I called my friend to let her know that no one would be showing up in front of her house at 1PM. I couldn’t take the credit. I made sure that I let her know that the true heroes are Kim and Melissa. PHEW!
Now we have a few days to breathe before the bank schedules and internal BPO, which I will be at…to make sure they see everything they need to see….Kim will coach me on that….what to say, different buzz words, etc….like I said it’s good to have people! Thanks Kim! Thanks Melissa!
Happy Holidays Everyone! Until next year! Bernadette
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Now I’m off to a shortsale!
December 19th, 2008 by Bernadette
It’s amazing what you learn when you talk to people. :-) So, I was talking to a friend of mine a little more than a week ago and she was talking about her house and that she was facing foreclosure. I said, “HELLOOO…you know I’m co-owner of a real estate investors association, you know I am working with a team of mentors, you KNOW I could work a shortsale vs you going into foreclosure!” She said, “Wellllllll, I just figured with Boston AREIA, PPNE, FDI and your own real estate that you were probably pretty busy…so…I didn’t want to call.” I said, “UUUGGGHHH!” “Ok, well…I need to figure out all of the forms and pull some comps and talk to my mentors. And, we need to get you plugged into FDI because the services and income opportunity are definately what you need right now.” So, she looked at all of the changes that FDI has made, realized that she would be assigned a Personal Financial Assistant and had a 30 day guarentee and she said, “This is going to help me in more ways than one…I’m in.” Cool…2 days later, she got a call and is working with the financial team at FDI to get her finances in order. And, I am working on the shortsale.
And this time I’m happily working with Kevin Lacasse and Kim Harrington on the shortsale. No need to make another mistake like the last one. What a perfect combination! Kevin knows the area like the back of his hand and Kim knows shortsales like the back of her hand… This is what it feels like…Have you ever seen the Ellen Degeneres commercial where Beyonce invites Ellen to her concert and she says, “Just have your people call my people!” And, then Ellen runs around trying to figure out who ”her” people are so that they can call Beyonce’s people to get the ticket. Funny, huh!? Well, having my PPNE mentors in my back pocket makes me feel like I’ve got people.
It was great to be able to go through the new PPNE Shortsale information on the online University and then to talk to Kim about the forms that I needed. And, then it was great to talk to Kevin about evaluating the house the area and the first offer to put into the bank. With the help of Kim and cooperation of my friend, we were able to put together the shortsale package. Kim’s got people too! We are getting the shortsale package to the bank and we’ll see where things are at over the next week. There’s not alot of time. The auction date is scheduled for December 30th. But, we have a few things in our favor. They tried to do a loan modification and it was turned down. My friend made notes about the people she was working with at the bank and kept their numbers. She also called a few days ago and asked if shortsale was an option. She was told yes, but they needed to get the paperwork in. I’ll make sure to keep you up to date. Have a great week and if I don’t blog before then, have a very Merry Christmas.
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I got my property under contract!
November 30th, 2008 by Bernadette
Hi folks, sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged. It’s my intent to blog weekly about my progress. I have been under the weather (I wonder where that saying came from…), anyhow…I’ve had that hacking, coughing, sneezing, can’t sleep at night nastiness that’s been going around. I feel much better now! Finally…it took me 2 weeks to get over it.
No matter! I got my property under contract. The Duplex in Derry that I actually want to live in! And, I looked at the other property. It’s not a wholesale deal…but, it may end up being a deal for someone. Maybe I’ll get a finder’s fee for making a connection. Back to MY property….
I am purchasing it subject to the existing mortgage. We are waiting until January to close because of good old capital gains taxes. I’m very excited. There are lots of possibilities with this property. Even creating another unit…to cash flow the property. I’m excited to get everything going….January is going to be fun!
Happy Holidays and I will see you all at the Networking Extravaganza!
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