Tough times in the real estate market have made many agents look beyond the traditional residential home sales market to bolster their incomes in a declining market. It has been said that for every problem there is an opportunity and this is as true in the real estate field as any other.

Below are some alternative markets worth taking a look at if you want to add income streams to your bottom line in this difficult market.

oPerforming Broker Price Opinion valuations for banks and mortgage companies. Similar to the traditional Comparable Market Analysis, or CMA, agents are familiar with providing for potential listing clients, they are very much in demand as foreclosures rise. Pay ranges from $40-150 per report and many agents perform multiple reports daily.

oShort Sales. As property values decline in many areas of the country, more and more sellers are finding themselves in the position of being “upside down” in their homes. It is well worth the time and effort to learn the ins and outs of handling such sales successfully and those who specialize in this field are seeing their incomes soar in spite of the slow market.

oREO/Foreclosures. Only a few years ago, this was an almost non-existent niche in most markets. A handful of agents who specialized in this field dominated the market and it remains difficult to break into. REO offers its own special challenges but mastering and establishing yourself in REO can bring very substantial rewards.

All three niches above offer increasing opportunity in the present market and promise to do so for some time to come. The wave of foreclosures is by no means over and market corrections are expected to continue for quite some time.

Before making a decision to enter any new niche, it is recommended that you research the pros and cons as well as prerequisites for success in each.

By: Ellen Mikesell

“What’s the one thing I should do with my real estate marketing to build my personal brand and generate leads?” I get asked this question all the time. New agents or agents who are struggling with a marketing budget will ask this question and I always preface it by answering: Marketing is a holistic endeavor and, unfortunately, real estate agents being salespeople are always looking for the next big thing or the silver bullet to solve their client attraction problems. The best approach is a holistic one where marketing is approached from a big picture strategy that blends marketing channels, tools, activities and sales integration that align to collectively achieve objectives.

And then the agent will say, yeah but if I only had enough money to do one thing, what do you suggest?

With my caveat out of the way and being pressed for an answer, I would still, even in today’s Internet age, say the personal brochure is the most important tool a real estate agent can develop.

Even with the emergence of the Web as the most powerful tool in real estate, the individual agent is still engaged in a business of building relationships on a community basis through trust and credibility. The average agent without a sufficient marketing budget is primarily engaged in traditional farming and networking. In the traditional scenario, the agent is meeting people at networking events, open houses, broker opens and through contact with family, friends and sphere of influence. These are the highest quality leads that can be developed. The problem is making a positive, memorable impression.

The pushback is usually, “But the Internet is changing the real estate business. 80 percent of the people start their search on the Internet.” Yes, this is absolutely true (and remember I was asked about “one” tool). In my view, a real estate agent without a custom created, personally branded website, strong search capabilities, a commitment to search engine positioning and social media and the dedication to provide valuable information and content is missing a huge holistic component of the big picture of marketing. Again, I am answering the question, “What’s the one thing you would do with a limited marketing budget?”

A well-written and professionally-designed brochure should be the cornerstone of your brand-building efforts.

There’s a problem with an agent who creates a website as his or her “one thing.” While most people do begin a home search on the Internet (or conduct research about their pending home for sale), the vast majority of people do not engage with a real estate agent solely from Internet engagement (with the exception perhaps of second home markets). The best Internet marketing agents are great marketers in general, who are active in networking, print/TV advertising, public relations, direct mail (at the very least to their sphere and past clients), and client and sphere follow-up.

How do you build your business with a personal brochure? First, it gives you a way for people to remember you. The business card is wholly ineffective in accomplishing this. It would be great if you could get the people you meet to your website, but what are the chances of that early on? And there’s no immediacy of connection. Handed to someone you just meet, the personal brochure gives that person a storytelling device through words and pictures to place you and to remember you. It’s PR and Marketing 101 and is essential.

So, if it’s down to one tool, I recommend, with a caveat, the personal brochure as the foundational tool for the real estate agent who wants to proactively increase his or her business. First, let’s assume your brochure does what it needs to do, which is tell a memorable story, create a marketplace niche or unique selling proposition, and demonstrate credibility and trustworthiness through high quality graphics and printing. That’s job one. It needs to be well executed to achieve desirable results.

The next key is distribution. And if you’re on a limited marketing budget, I don’t mean mailing it to a farm area. I mean hand-to-hand combat, looking for ways to get 30-50 brochures in the hands of people you meet pro-actively on a weekly basis. Networking. Open houses. Broker opens. All of your real estate activities. Even door-knocking if it’s come to that. People you meet at restaurants, gas stations, dry cleaners, on the golf course, at kids’ sporting events. The vast majority of agents hoard their brochures and/or are too shy to pass them out. The real estate business does not pay the meek or reluctant personal brander.

What’s the one tool? I still say the best real estate marketing engages a variety of communication platforms to develop relationships and attract leads of varying quality. But if you’re going to play the “one tool game,” the real estate personal brochure is your best bet.

By: Greg Herder

Homes For Sale By Owners is the private way of selling your home without the need for a real estate agency. In places like Europe and throughout North America Homes For Sale By Owners accounts for up to 40% of real estate sales.

Homes For Sale By Owners is a similar concept to online selling agencies such as eBay and the Online Trading Post where both web sites allow people to sell their own goods online, often resulting in higher profits than utilising the services of a third party agent.

The process of selling your own home online will save you costs which real estate agencies charge you. Costs can include commissions and marketing. Homes For Sale By Owners services assist home sellers with as little headache approach to selling their home online.

What’s Involved

The crux of the work involved in selling your home will require to organise a Valuation, Legal Requirements, For Sale Boards, Photographer and posting your home on all the major real estate sites and write the copy write for your house description. This can be proved through Homes For Sale By Owners websites.

Inspections

There are two options for Inspections; Open for Inspection or Private Appoints. This is completely up to the Vendor if they feel happy about hosting many people walking through their home at the one time. If you believe that everyone is a potential buyer this might be the right approach or arranging private appoints will ease the worries of keeping an eye on things. Homes For Sale By Owners services will give you the option where professionals can be hired to conduct the Open for Inspections.

Negotiating Price

Scared when it comes to negotiating your house price? Not what you were after? Homes For Sale By Owners web sites can provide these services for you. Alternatively you need to be strong in this regard and inform your potential purchaser that the price is not negotiable and let them know that you have received other offers at the price you are after. It can surprise you how often people will bump their offers up.

Legal and Settlements

Once your house is sold you will need to settle! Settling is the process of handing over the right documents and receiving your monies. You will need agree with your purchaser on a settlement date. The average settlement option is 3 months. You will receive the deposit usually 10% at the signing or selling of your Home. This process will require a conveyancer or a legal representative.

By: Peter Butterss

Cheap houses for sale in Spain are sometimes difficult to find, especially in the high-demand coastal areas. For UK buyers looking for affordable houses in Spain, one piece of advice is to move inland. Away from the seacoasts, property prices are more realistic, giving buyers of holiday houses in Spain the opportunity to do something creative and off the beaten path when looking for bargain houses in Spain. A unique and interesting type of Spanish property you might find inland is the ecological cave house. Built by a well know Spanish property developer, in the province of Granada, cave houses are unique houses to buy in Spain that pay special attention to environmental and ecological concerns.

What Is A Cave Home?

A cave home is an affordable home in Spain that generally has 2 parts. One section is conventional and consists of typical rooms in the front of the house. The rear section of the house is carved into the side of a hill and the rooms in this part of the house are quiet and cool. Generally the “cave rooms” are bedrooms and the ambiance they provide allows occupants to sleep soundly and peacefully. The rooms in the front of these affordable Spanish houses comprise common areas and living space. Blending seamlessly with their surroundings, cave homes have a long list of benefits, many of which are environmentally sound and ecologically effective.

How Cave Homes Are Built

Cave homes often are built from existing derelict or abandoned properties and utilize as much as possible the existing materials on the site, such as roof beams and roof tiles. Even the new products used in cave home construction are made from recycled materials, making cave homes highly affordable houses for sale in Spain. Where possible, the wood used in cave homes comes from pine trees, which are a fast-growing and easily renewable resource. In keeping with their environmental commitment, cave homes often use geothermal energy for heating and cooling. This allows them to function “off the grid,” and thus have much lower utility costs. Typical modes for powering cheap Spanish houses like cave homes include solar photovoltaic panels, diesel or biofuel generators, wind turbines or some combination of these.

Prices of Cave Homes

Cave homes can be highly customized or built to stock plans. The cost is competitive. For example, a two-bedroom cave home costs between 110,000 to 150,000 Euros. A three- bedroom adds another 30,000 Euros to the price. All in all, cave houses for sale in Spain can be 20% to 40% cheaper than conventionally built houses. Like any other homebuilders, contractors who build cave homes will require a signed contract before work begins. As work progresses, any additional costs for these unique homes are handled by signed written variation orders.

Cave homes are unique types of country houses that might appeal to UK buyers looking for cheap houses in Spain that have a distinct yet environmentally sound character.

By: Morris Simpson

Whether you are looking to buy or sell a house, the internet can be an essential tool in your venture. When someone is looking for houses for sale, 80% will start by looking online, so this means if you are the one selling, it is very important to make sure that your home is listed with a realtor who has a website, and lists the homes they are selling on there. Almost all of them do, but it is still a good idea to check first.

Not many people will skip over the internet, and only look at printed catalogs of homes that are for sale, so it is in the best interest of the seller, if not listing with a realtor to make sure that any houses for sale they are selling are listed in as many places as possible, both online and off. Having a home listed online adds many benefits for potential buyers like the ability to enter a price or a certain location and find the homes that apply. Being listed online also allows the buyer to see many more pictures than they would have in a printed catalog. A seller can take advantage of this by taking as many as pictures as possible with a high quality camera to post online to give the buyer a look at the home from every angle.

Those selling a home will want to use the internet to get an idea of what to set the price at. They should look closely at homes with similar features to theirs, and those that are in the same general area, specifically the same school district. Taking an average of the cheapest 5 houses for sale that meet the above criteria, and taking off 10% from that, then what is left should be the asking price. That will create demand for a cheaper house in the area, and the seller will actually make more as a bidding war should break out over the home.

If selling a house, one can either be listed with a realtor who will take a cut of the money made from the sale. Or they can skip the middle man and list the house on their own. For those looking at houses for sale to buy one, they should remember that buying a home is not like buying other merchandise online. The internet can provide good information about many homes, and allow them to search a bigger area, but they should narrow their search down to just a few, and visit them in person before buying.

By: Ehsan Ghavamifard