Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
All of the tag lines we hear somehow incorporate the following: Who do you know who’s looking to buy or sell in the next 30 days? Notice we never hear “rent” in those scenarios. Well as REALTORS®, how do you know when to focus your time on a rental, versus a bigger money maker like a buyer or seller? Where do you draw the line?
After a recent experience with a renter where I showed 16 houses and counting, I started to wonder – would my efforts be better focused elsewhere? Am I just donating my time at this point?
I’ve had some wonderful experiences with renters in the past, as I generally do about 6-8 per year (both landlord rep and tenant rep). I’ve had some old renters turn into listings, buyers, and referrals, and then I’ve had some turn into nothing at all. So I tried to come up with a way to evaluate whether to take on a rental client:
1. Is their price range realistic for the market? If they’re looking for a diamond in the rough, I may decide to refer them to an agent who only deals with rentals.
2. Do I have more “A” clients who need my time? I like to devote as much time as necessary to each client to make them feel they’re getting the level of service they require. Taking on too many things will only spread you thin and not make anyone happy.
3. What is their level of commitment to my services? Are they looking at Craigslist too? Would they be willing to pay a retainer fee to assure their commitment to me? Continue reading »
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
Millions of people tuned in last night to watch football, commercials, eat junk food and drink beer, or maybe you were just waiting to see when it would be over to catch the new episode of Glee. Regardless of your motivations, the Superbowl is the largest television audience all year, giving advertisers the ability to spread their brand awareness tremendously! Here’s what I learned from the game, and how I applied it to my real estate career:
The Green Bay Packers
Losing Woodson and Driver early, the Packers went up against more odds and yet somehow pulled together to pull off a great down-to-the-last-minute win. In real estate, we often encounter bumps from contract to close, so it’s imperative you work with a group of people who know how to get their jobs done.
The Pittsburgh Steelers
Favored to win, the Steelers had too many interceptions and not enough defense to win this game. Feeling entitled and like you’ve got this “in the bag” won’t actually get you anywhere – in football or in real estate. Keep working, everyday, to get better.
Christina Aguilera
If you’re hired to do a job, it’s best you come prepared to actually perform. Forgetting lyrics and screeching musical notes don’t qualify as a good performance or doing your job. Much like in real estate, if you come unprepared, you’ll get ripped apart as well. She also taught me that it’s not about me – it’s about you (the client). She butchered the National Anthem to try to show off her musical talents, but failed to actually do the song justice or properly honor the history of the Anthem. Don’t look out for only your own benefits, look out for theirs. Continue reading »
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
Lately I’ve been convinced that Facebook business pages should be more like a community page, a 365 page, or another way to get your community involved and talking.
While I see extreme value in that, and don’t mean to discredit that theory, because there are many ways to make social media work for you, I want to say that you should STILL have a fan page for you business (or your brand).
I recently got engaged and found wedding planning to be a second job. Research, planning, Web surfing, reviews, etc. etc. <eyes glazing over here> I’ve found that I went back to what I know well. When I find a vendor I’m interested in, I took to wedding rating sites in addition to Facebook. I wanted to see what people were willing to stake their names and identities to say. Is it just the vendor talking about recent events or did the clients actually post something to say “Thank you! You were great!” or something of the sort. In one instance, I was so torn between two vendors, I actually sent a complete stranger a Facebook message. Surprised? She responded. She was willing to spend the time to tell a complete stranger how great this DJ was at her wedding. I find it’s easy to bash or praise a vendor as a faceless avatar with an arbitrary name – it’s more credibility when it’s an actual person speaking up and vouching for this professional.
Take that to your business. We ask clients for testimonials all the time – we add it to our websites, our marketing brochures, we paste them everywhere! But what about your Facebook page? Why not simply ask them to write it there? You know they’re on there killing time anyway! You know how it goes – the post shows up on their wall, and their friends see it, and so on and so forth.
Just don’t forget to be consistent. Don’t have one post a month or none at all. Don’t brag, don’t just post your blogs or tweets. Actually provide some content and reassurance so when a stranger looks for you, they’ll find something great they can’t ignore! I plan to implement this new strategy, now that the lightbulb has gone off!
Laura Rubinchuk, GRI, is a real estate practitioner with Keller Williams Realty in McLean, Va. Visit her blog at www.ArlingtonRealEstateNews.com or her Web site at www.TheLJRGroup.com.
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
Blog for business. SEO on steroids. Tags, Meta Tags, video blogging, photo blogging, keywords and content…I could go on and on about all of the things we’re taught when we explore the online world as a lead generation method. Do you need to consider all of these things if you’re spending time on them as viable methods? Of course. Should this be the only thing you keep in mind? That depends.
Lately, I find myself more and more engaged with other local bloggers who have absolutely nothing to do with real estate. They’re not potential buyers or sellers (at the current moment, anyway), they’re not competitors; they’re just regular people trying to bring information to the community.
I live in Arlington, Va., and I write a blog called Arlington Real Estate News. So it’s no surprise that I’ve struck up a friendship with a fellow Geek (aka blogger) who writes Arlington Now. I hang my license in McLean, Va., so it should also be no surprise that I’m now contributing real estate news and gossip to The McLean Ear, written by a journalist and resident in McLean who just wants people to know what’s going on. They call and e-mail me when they have questions…a recent D.C. Housewife put her house on the market, while I’m (sadly) not the listing agent, they called me for information on price, pictures, etc. etc. When a bunch of trucks were parked on a street outside of a condo building for a few days, I got an e-mail to find out what was going on. Continue reading »
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
The real estate market is cyclical, we all know that. Busy in spring and fall, quiet during the winter and summer. At least that’s what my market usually looks like. This summer I found myself with a long list of “to-do’s” for those rainy days where I had some extra time. They range from things like checklists, exploring CRM software, possible blog redesign, to working on finding new clients to fill the long cold winter (I guess that should be No. 1, huh?).
But what about when business is slow and you already have your systems/processes in place? What if all of your ducks are aligned and ready to go the next time your phone rings? You’ve done your prospecting for the day, follow up for the month, and client/transaction management…do you ever allow yourself to take a day off?
The life of a REALTOR® is 24/7; always connected, always on the go. Sometimes I think it can get overwhelming, so this summer I actually gave myself a few days off, when I thought I could sneak away for a day or two. I was still accessible through phone/email, but I wasn’t worried every minute of those days about business. It gave me a chance to clear my head, reenergize and reengage. I found myself coming back with more energy and enthusiasm to give my clients. Continue reading »
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
So it’s the week after the tax credit deadline…have you noticed a change yet in behavior? While real estate is local, our inventory in the Washington, D.C. metro market got eaten up in April as people made the final push to qualify for the free $8,000. We’re down 25 percent in inventory levels since this time last year and we were seeing multiple offers more often than not. If there weren’t multiple offers, things went under contract in the first weekend it was on the market. Literally FLYING off the shelves. So how do I feel about the tax credit expiration?
I’m OK with it. I think the tax credit did its job for the duration it was being offered. It definitely was an incentive for some people to get into homeownership, it undoubtedly created a sense of urgency in April, and it spurred activity. But I’m glad it’s over. It’s time for the market to self correct now. Prices in our area are stabilized, if not increasing. We’re in a balanced market since the tax credit helped us sell through idle inventory that was lingering.
The real question is “now what?” Do you think the market will die for a short period while people reevaluate if it’s still the right time to buy, now that they don’t have the $8,000 incentive? Do you think affordable properties were picked up? If you had to guess, what will happen to your market now that it’s over for everyone except military (who are still eligible through April 30, 2011)?
Laura Rubinchuk, GRI, is a real estate practitioner with Keller Williams Realty in McLean, Va. Visit her blog at www.ArlingtonRealEstateNews.com or her Web site at www.TheLJRGroup.com.
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
Unlike the old playground version of Foursquare, when you had to keep the ball within boundaries, the online/mobile version actually encourages you to venture out and explore new areas and venues…oh, and meet new people.
Foursquare gives you points for every “check-in” you make, and gives you more points for new venues. You also can collect badges, for example: “Super User” for checking in at 50 different venues, “Local” if you check-in to the same place three times in one week, and even a “Crunked” badge for checking-in to four different venues in one night (yes, I have one…call me a social butterfly if you must).
While entertaining to keep track of your friends (i.e. stalk, let’s be honest), the real reason I got hooked on it was when I heard the founder, Dennis Crowley, at Inman Connect in New York talk about the marketing implications of check-ins. For areas that allow billboards, think of the demographic information they can collect when they want to target a certain area for a particular product – they have thousands of check-ins and user information (male/female, age, etc. etc.) to base their decisions on where to spend their marketing dollars.
So how can Foursquare help your real estate business? Continue reading »
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
When I heard about the new FHA DELRAP/HRAP guidelines for condo financing, my gut reaction was, “Well, I might as well go find another job.” Some of the subjective guidelines for the new approval process will greatly affect my market:
-Proximity to a noise (i.e. busy streets, highways)
-Proximity to a gas station
-Percentage of commercial space
And the list goes on, and on… For those of us in a Metropolitan/Urban environment, the whole point of condo living in the city is ease of travel and lifestyle. In the D.C. area, we have numerous major highways that lead into the District, the metro system, etc. and the majority of our high-rise condo buildings are located within blocks of these things.
So tell me how it makes sense to take buildings we’ve been selling for years with spot-approved FHA loans, taunt first-time buyers or other qualified buyers who have the minimum 3.5 percent down-payment, and tell them that because it’s the first of the month of this year, now they have to wait WEEKS to months for a green light on the home they fell in love with, if the seller is willing and/or able to wait at all!
Again, I ask, how does the economy continue to grow if the FHA puts the cabash on condo financing and eliminate the pool of buyers who don’t have the minimum 10 percent down-payment but qualify for the loan? Even funnier, why is the HUD website of approved condo projects only searchable from Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.? Does the site need beauty sleep?
I don’t intend to start a political debate, but I can’t help wondering if the underlying reasons are a bigger concern? Is the FHA running out of money? Are they trying to keep out some buyers so some remain for later in the year?
Laura Rubinchuk, GRI, is a real estate practitioner with Keller Williams Realty in McLean, Va. Visit her blog at www.ArlingtonRealEstateNews.com or her Web site at www.TheLJRGroup.com.
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
For the past two years, I’ve been able to bury my head in the sand when it comes to distressed properties. It’s just not a huge part of the market in the area I do most of my business. As of this morning, only about 6 percent of the active listings were short sales, and fewer than 3 percent were REOs. However, hearing of the shadow inventory that’s possibly coming on, and that most of the properties that were bought in 2005-2007 around here are underwater (some more than others) I finally pulled my head out of the sand and realized it’s not going anyway any time soon, and probably will increase in market share.
I attended a seminar on “The Truth About Short Sales” this week. The amount of information that I didn’t know, and didn’t know that I SHOULD know made my head spin. It got me wondering… how many “short sale experts” are doing a real disservice to their clients? How many want a quick sale and push a short sale without considering the whole picture? I know that I’m not qualified to tell you whether a short sale, foreclosure, bankruptcy, or using your house as a coffin and continuing to pay is the best option. But I can listen. I can help you make sense of a messy situation and direct you to the resources who can help you get to the right decision for you.
As real estate professionals, we know what the market is doing. Are prices coming up any time soon? If not, you know how to market and sell the property, when/if a short sale is right for the client. If not, direct them to someone who can help. Earning someone’s trust in a very uncertain time is hard, but rewarding. Not only will you feel good about helping someone who desperately needs it, but I bet you they’ll be loyal for life. Be a neighbor, be a friend, first and foremost, by putting their needs ahead of your agenda.
Laura Rubinchuk, GRI, is a real estate practitioner with Keller Williams Realty in McLean, Va. Visit her blog at www.ArlingtonRealEstateNews.com or her Web site at www.TheLJRGroup.com.
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
Has anyone told you recently that you may sell real estate, but you’re actually in the lead generation business? Yeah, it struck a chord with me too. Your next closing could be, and ideally would come from, your next lead. So how are you generating leads?
I like to the think of it as a big circle with spokes from different methods generating leads. The beauty of real estate is that there are so many different ways to be successful; you just have to find what works for you. So as an example, my “spokes” include:
- My Blog
- Social Media (primarily Facebook, Trulia, and Twitter)
- My Sphere (people I know)
- Open Houses
From Flickr: kr-crew
Your spokes may look different – calling FSBOs or expireds, newspaper ads, etc. But if you take out one of those spokes by not committing to them, the wheel will go flat!! Flat tires mean the bus goes nowhere, much like our business when we stop lead generating. It’s so easy to get caught up in babysitting current clients and contracts when things are busy, but if you don’t lead generate now, you’ll feel it in a few months.
Figure out your strengths and what will work for you and your personality. Stay true to what you pick because things may take a while to take off, but when they do, all the effort will be worth it! Get busy!
Laura Rubinchuk, GRI, is a real estate practitioner with Keller Williams Realty in McLean, Va. Visit her blog at www.ArlingtonRealEstateNews.com or her Web site at www.TheLJRGroup.com.
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