Herb's Portland Oregon Real Estate Blog your RE/MAX Agent

Sold and Closed ! Congratulations to the Seller and Welcome home to the Buyer!

Short_Sales_and_Foreclosures  was the topic of the week.  The Broker had asked two of us to present to the other Agents a solution for prospecting Short sales and Foreclosures at our company meeting.

I was asked to go first. I laid out a strategythat included the help of my Title_Company  and their marketing department. Ticor Title employs an outside firm to provide Notices of Default NODand present them in either PDF or ASCII for those who want to import into their databases.

After selecting my area of interest ( Portland Oregon), I read through each page of the report online. Generally there are 10 to 30 pages with 3 listings per page. If I see a property address that interests me I make note of the page number. After completing all of my selections I print only the pages that contain those properties that I was interested in.

The next stepfor me is to do an advanced search via Portland_Oregon_MLS  to find out if the property is currently listed or pending etc. 

I then check the tax records to make sure as well that there has not been a recent sale by owner or a transfer.

I then do a drive by of the properties. The final step for me is to put them on a high priority mailing list.

The second presenteroutlined there prospecting through the use of Realty_Trac. A pay for use service where you pay a monthly fee for the privilege of receiving leads of buyers and or sellers wanting more info on homes.

Now I have first hand experience with this company as I did use and pay for their services for a little over a year, with no results I might add. Seller leads were often listed properties who's desperate sellers were willing to try anything. After all what did they have to lose? They were probably not going to see any proceeds from the sale. They have nothing to lose any way, just an eager agents time who was going to get paid while they suffered. Still other Sellers often said that they were just curious about the service and how it worked.

Of course these experiences were just mine. I am sure there have been many people who have experienced the opposite effect and were very satisfied with the product. I was not one of them.

As I watched the faces and actions of those who were at the presentation I saw many write down and ask for additional info about Realty Trac. I realized that in general real estate agents are just lazy. Not wanting to put in the work as I had above for a targeted action plan. But willing to pay for quantity even with no guarantee of success.

As agents I think that we are often soft targets for sales people. If not then why is it there are so many successful companies providing dubious leads, and selling real estate miracles left and right to us the hungry buyers?

Foreclosure_and_Short_Sale_Buyers are you looking for Portland Oregon Foreclosure properties?

Flip_Buyer's_let_your_next_Portland_Oregon_Investment_Property_find_you! 

If there is one thing that is obvious this year more people will be creating and viewing videos. Just when you thought that the consumers appetite for new technology's might slow down, BAM, you get it right between the eyes.

Yes the video boom is on its way and this year portends to be a banner year. Like most technologies once they catch on they take off like wild fire. So don't get caught behind the learning curve. Get on the band wagon now or be left behind.

Some quick observations about video that I have learned about while trying to get set up. First and foremost, most video sales people do not have a clue. Sure they know which cameras the boss wants them to sell. Mine is a Panansonic_40GB_HDD .  They also may know about a few practical features that they have either read about on a review some where or a satisfied customer has told them about.

But practical issues like ' Will I be able to download video directly from this camera to my software? ' Or how about this one, ' If I make a mistake while reccording can I back up and start over ? ' Trust me all cameras are different and some of those simple ideas you are not able to accomplish with every camera.

Even the software is confusing at times. Most of the software packages all say something like " download your videos and use our special features to create movies your friends will admire". Getting those movies into the software and out again is a challenge exam.

All this however is in the learning curve. Once you have taken, edited, added all of the Titles, Sound track voice overs, stills and perhaps some back ground music it is time produce and upload your movie to a video site.

Yet which video site should you post to? We all have heard about used and enjoyed Youtube. Yet this may not be the best avenue for you. Youtube has become the poster child for video sites and does have the majority of the videos on line.

************************** Update ***************************

New group started for video's. Please be sure to join submit and comment. Let's get this thing started. Show us your First Video. Let us share in your trials and tribulations.

Join_the_My_Video_group_today 

For real estate however this is not exactly the best site. Choosing a site can be a daunting task to say the least. There are hundreds if not thousands. So this past week I have been doing just that. Looking for a site that might be the right place for my videos.

Here is the criteria I was looking for. :

• Preferably a site that was real estate oriented or at least business oriented.
• A site that currently had real estate videos on it ( more than just a couple ).
• A site who's viewing pain was medium to large size.
• A site that provided the link codes for easy downloading to your web pages or blog.
• A site whose real estate video's were getting a fair amount of views not just a couple.
• And a site that did not clutter the video up with advertising.

After personally going through more than 350 sites here are the top 12 in no particular order.

Photobucket  Break  Metacafe  Live_Video  VodPod  Wonder_How_To  Viddler  Clipser Spike  Seven_Load WelcomeMat  Zipvo 

***** UPDATE ****** as per Fred Light - Real Estate Video Tours for MA and NH (Nashua Web Design | Nashua Video Tours)   who took the time to post a comment. The following sites do not allow commercial postings as outlined in their Terms Of Service agreement, and your videos may be removed and your account disabled should you add them there . Spike, Blip and Vimeo. Also AOL has stopped accepting user generated video.

Of course there are the other more famous name sites like :

Google_Video  Yahoo_Video  AOL_Video and of course Youtube . The search engine sites however are not all that good when it comes to video.

So play around with it and see what you think. If you have a site that you like that is even better than this group then by all means share the info and I will update it here. If it measures up that is!  

 Herb's_Youtube_Video_of_132_SE_71st  here is one of my first attempts.

My future video's will not be longer than about two minutes. 

Be sure to stop by my Portland_Oregon_Real_Estate_Web_Site for more photo's and Portland area information. 

How is your Web Site Doing? Do you recieve any business from it? Have you tracked the results with Stat_Counter or something Similar?

Are you Trapped within your own Web Site? Sold on the concept, but did not ever take it to the next level? What level you ask? Why to the level of recieving business of course. Instead of bragging about that very expensive business card ( your web site ) you are paying for which very few people ever see!

I think that as busy_Real_Estate_Agents  we often take for granted things that are not necessarily true. We all have heard for years about having web sites. Most everyone you talk to will ask if you have one. Sales people take it a step further when they say " Of course you have a web site" which presumes if you do not that some how you are missing the boat.

Yet how many of us have really tracked our business from that web site. Is it cost effective? Where are you in the search engine position count? If you can not be found on the first few pages of a Google_search  then who is ever goin to see your site?

Let's face it with only 10_spots_per_page_on_Google to be divided up with all of the other agents vying for top spot someone is bound to be left out.

Given those facts perhaps a web site as a stand alone strategy might not be the best strategy for you. I know it was not for me. That is why a little over a year ago when my_Web_Site  which had been online for a couple of years and could not be found in the first 100 pages or better, I switched my thinking.

Here is what happened to me that caused that paradigm shift in thinking. I had written my_first_blog_post here on Activerain and then subsequently followed up about a week or so later with my_first_post on my Wordpress  blog. I had been avidly reading about SEO and the benefits of rich keyword content for your web site. The recomedation was to change your web pages regularly with fresh content. Who has time for that?

A few days later after I had written those posts I checked Google and found that I was on Page One for my Wordpress post and about page four for my Activerain post. I was astounded. I began to craft a strategy from that point forward that would link my Blogs to my web site. Using the speed of the rise of popularity in the blog to point the customers to my_Portland_Oregon_Real_Estate_web_site . I also use the same strategy to point the Buyers to my Buyer's_Web_Portal  where after Buyers Sign up they recieve daily or hourly updates from the MLS on homes that match their needs. This has been a big boon for me and is all driven by my Blogs towards these Web Site Landing pages.

Today I have more than one blog and am always using those blogs to send traffic to my web site. Web sites tend to be more static and are not crawled as frequently as blogs. It is a strategy that is working well for me. Perhaps it will work for you as well!

Portland Oregon Home Buyer's let_your_next_home_find_you with House Hunt Portland. For Portland_Oregon_area_information and Real Estate Property searches please be sure to stop by my web site at www.portlandrealproperty.com and say Hello!

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High Impact Business Strategies on a Budget for 2009

Start out your Day with a plan and just as important stick with it. An unplanned day is day doomed to failure. Some of the old ‘tried and true' methods still work very well today. Like Prospect, Preview, List and Sell.

Quick Sources for New Business :

Contact your_title_company marketing representative. Their job is to look for new ways to increase revenues for their company. They do this by attracting more business, mainly you. They can provide you with a lot of ideas to help you create new business. An example would be to provide you with Weekly lists of FSBO's, Foreclosure and Pre-Foreclosure notices.

Expired listing search. Most MLS's will allow you to search Expired listings. Do this on a daily basis. Get out there early. Preview those homes then pursue them. Remember this, it takes at least 6 contacts before people will remember you. Do your first 3 contacts in week one. Two the following week then weekly thereafter.

Advertise and promote yourself and your services. Advertise a Listing for Sale. If you don't have a listing then borrow one from a co-agent or your office. Believe me when I say that most agent's will be more than happy to let you advertise one of their listings. Remember the idea is to make the phone ring!

Long Term Sources for New Business :

A very underrated and under utilized method of attracting new business is the Business card. We normally pass them out as if they were made of Gold and should be given out sparingly. Stop it ! Set a new goal of passing out 400 Business cards a month. At the store, when buying gas, in the envelope when paying bills. Everywhere! You will not find a more cost effective way of getting your name and picture out in your local area.

Promote your self on Craigs_list  under services offered. Join as many Social platforms as you can like Myspace , Facebook , Twitter  etc. Blog and blog often but stay focused. A Blog about a new listing one day and then termites another day will confuse Search Engines and your reading public. So stay focused. If you want to cover more than one topic then join other blog sites creating a profile and blog role that is focused only on that topic. Link, Link, Link! Yes Link them all together with RSS feeds and or links via your profile page. Keep something in each one that gives consistency so that while jumping around your readers will recognize that this all comes from you.

Traditional prospecting for new listings works very well today. Get out in those neighborhoods and knock on some doors. Pass out your cards. Promote your Web site and Blog site on those cardsand flyers. Prospect around new listings. No matter if they are from your office or from your competition. It is better if it is around your competition. Why? Because in case you hadn't noticed in any given neighborhood there may be several for sale signs but rarely from the same office or Agent.

Sphere of Influence:

Make a list of everyone you know then send them out a letter announcing your business. Follow up every 6 weeks at a minimum to let them all know you are still in the business and looking for new clients as well as past ones. Past Clients are an excellent resource for finding new business. Especially right after they have bought a new home and have invited all their friends. Cater or provide a Dish for that event along with an ample supply of your business cards. What you don't have any past clients? Then do a search of past Sales and a secondary search to see if those agents are still in the business? Go back two or three years. Add this new group to your sphere. Honestly most agent's do not follow up with their closed clients. After a while many Buyer's will forget who they dealt with but will be impressed with you tenacity.

Advertise:

Today's agents have more opportunities than at any other time in our history to reach a broad audience. The Internet gives you many free avenues, use them and constantly search for new ones either by yourself or by reading others finds right here on Activerain. Get your listings out their not only on your own web site but the free ones as well and don't forget those Social platforms like Facebook as they have ad space as well free or pay for use. So do most search engines like Google , Yahoo and MSN and all the rest.

Think outside the Box. In today's struggling economy investors are constantly looking for a place to shelter their money so that the Stock Market doesn't eat it up. Contact Financial Planners and adviser's sending them your new listings or MLS potential Short Sale properties that will make good rentals. Back it up with sound demographics ( a good title company can provide this for you ) that will support your opinion of value. Check out your local chamber of commerce for recent inquires especially those searching out schools. Example of a focused post could be on a Blog site that you designate to be information about your town. Write a few posts about schools in your area. Keep it keyword rich and very focused. Follow up then with your Stats program to find out where the readers are coming from. Look for advertising opportunities then in that area.

Contact Agent's for Referrals. Like me! I am more than happy to give your clients the best in real estate service. You can follow along on their progress as well through my interactive site at www.househuntportland.com  the Buyer's Web Site of Choice. Or stop by my Portland_Oregon_Information   site and property tour. Be sure to check out a few of My_SOLD_listings .

And Finally : If you are going to Farm. Then for heaven sake do not farm geographically. Do High Impact prospecting or farming. Do not send letters to people who never intend to move.