Archive for February, 2011

Real Estate Contracts: What To Include?

Transactions involving real estate properties wont be complete without the necessary documents. Written and signed documents are important to legitimize these deals between two or more parties. One vital form involved here is the contract also known as purchase agreement or sales contract.

A contract is needed in the sale or purchase of a home and must be entered into by the parties involved voluntarily. In some cases the purchase agreement presented by a homebuyer to a seller can already serve as the contract. In the U.S. the Statute of Frauds requires that real estate contracts should be in writing to be considered enforceable. However as real estate laws vary from one state to another this form may also differ in some states.

The information contained in a contract pertains mostly to a piece of real estate property but it also includes the names of the home seller and the buyer. If youre in the process of selling your home and are not sure what to include in a contract its best that you consult a lawyer who specializes in real estate to help you with this concern. If you plan to get the services of real estate agent your agent will take charge of preparing this document.
Specifically a contract identifies the property involved. Details should include a legal description of the house and the exact address.

The full name of the seller and the buyer or the principals should be on the document. As principals they are distinguished from the real estate agents who serve as representatives during the negotiation process. The signatures of the two parties should also appear on the contract to be considered legal.

Being a sales transaction the purchase price of the property must be stated.

Contingencies are normally included in real estate contracts. One of the most common pertains to mortgage calling for the buyer to obtain a loan within a specific timeframe after the contract signing. Home inspection is another contingency required by most buyers. This is to ensure that the property is in good condition without material defects before closing. In some cases the home buyer may also include an appraisal contingency to ascertain the propertys fair market value. This is useful to the buyer considering that lenders refuse to approve a loan more than a homes appraised value.

The closing date is usually also specified. This refers to the date when ownership of the property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. However a separate date may be stated as to the transfer of possession of the house or the day when the owner has to vacate the house.

Its ideal as well that the closing costs and the parties responsible for paying them be written in the contract. Sellers often shoulder most of these costs as an incentive to their prospective buyer. However both parties can also agree to split the costs between them.

Notarization is not needed for a real estate contract. What usually requires notarization is only a sellers signature on a deed as required by many recording offices.

Now that you know the details in a contract be sure to read and understand carefully all the terms and conditions before signing the document.

About the writer:  Learn more about real estate contracts by visiting www.LegalHomeForms.com.

Real Estate Call Capture Hotlines: 3 Secrets To Increasing Leads And Conversions

Call capture hotlines have been around for many years now. Real estate agents are using them to generate leads increase conversions track and test their advertising campaigns and stay in contact with their clients and prospective clients. You will find call capture hotlines in the arsenals of some of the top agents in the country as well as newbie agents just starting out. They can be used to supplement marketing that is already working or to help create a marketing campaign from scratch. You will find people that swear by them and by the success that they have brought them in their real estate business and you will find others that don’t believe they work at all.

So if they are so flexible and widely used why don’t they work for everybody? Call capture hotlines are a tool just like any other. If you don’t know how to use it you will not get the results you seek. If however you educate yourself on how to use that tool you can use it to get the results that you seek and more. Here are 3 secrets experienced and successful users of call capture hotlines know and use to increase leads and conversions:

1. The Right Copy Will Encourage Calls. When it comes to ad copy there is a certain psychology that you need to employ if you want to encourage people to pick up the phone and dial your toll free number. Statistics show that people looking to buy a house want “Free 24 Hour Recorded Information”. Let’s break it down:

* FREE 90 of Americans report using a toll free number and studies show that using a toll free number in your advertising can increase your response by 30.
* 24 HOUR 94 of people looking for a new home do so at odd hours of the day or night.
* RECORDED 53 of home buyers avoid calling a real estate agent for fear of getting into a highpressured sales pitch.
* INFORMATION 88 of home buyers browse neighborhoods in their cars looking for homes for sale. 94 of people find it important to have access to home information as they browse from their vehicles. Luckily 78 of people carry a cell phone.

Using the right copy on your advertising will greatly improve the number of leads you generate from your call capture hotline. Using “Free 24 Hour Recorded Information” in your ads will break down barriers tell your prospects they are going to get the information they need let them do it at their convenience and ultimately increase calls to your hotline.

2. Get Callers To Connect To You. Obviously call capture systems are great at generating leads by capturing your caller’s information even if they just listen to your recording and then hang up. However wouldn’t it be great if 1/3 of those people also pressed that key to connect to you right then and there? To ensure that this happens your property listing recordings need to encourage them to do so. You can do this in a number of ways.

First you can let them know that due to changing market conditions the pricing information on the property would need to be updated nearly every day. Let them know that rather than rerecording the messages daily they can simply press “7? and you would be happy to get pricing information for them. Secondly make sure you are creating excitement with your recordings. Spark their curiosity with statements like “Homes in this neighborhood are the most sought after properties in this community. Press 7 now to find out why.” Or another example might be “The family that currently lives in this home hates to leave it. To find out why press 7 now.” Give your callers a reason to connect to you live to increase your conversions. Just make sure that when they do you can fulfill your promise to satisfy their curiosity.

3. A Personal Touch Converts. One of the things successful agents do on their call capture hotlines is to make their own recordings. Don’t be tempted to use a professional voice service to make the recordings on your call capture hotline. People like it when the voice they hear in the free recording is the same voice that answers the phone when they get transferred to a live person. They like it so much it can increase your conversions up to 30. An increase in conversions of up to 30 is completely worth the few minutes it will take you to make that listing recording.

Real estate call capture hotlines are great marketing and lead generation tools. But just like any tool if you don’t use it correctly you will not get the results you are looking for. The above 3 secrets that successful users of call capture already know will definitely get you on your way to getting the most from your hotline. Use the right copy to encourage your prospects to dial your toll free number encourage them to want to speak to you live by sparking their curiosity with your recordings and make sure those recordings have an added personal touch by being in your own voice. Those 3 simple tactics will easily increase your leads and conversions and help you get the most from your call capture hotline.

About the writer:  Brandi Cummings is a leading telecommunications consultant specializing in 800 number call capture technology for real estate professionals. Learn more secrets and tips on how to make a call capture system work for you at www.realtyone800.com.

Real Estate Auctions – When Should You Use Them?

Real Estate Auctions have been used to sell properties successfully for many years. Do they always work? No but if done in the right way they ALWAYS attract attention. They ALWAYS make a property stand out from other properties on the market.

There isn’t a magic formula that will always sell a property except price. An auction gives you the ability to use price as a way to attract buyers. However the majority of buyers that you attract are expecting a deal. So unless your property is in a hot real estate market or is unique and highly desired you need to expect to sell at a discount. You should expect to discount at least 10 and many times more.

If you’re considering selling by auction you need to realize that you will probably be giving up some equity for the convenience of selling fast. However time is money and it still makes sense for many sellers to use this method. Not to mention there have been many auctions that have received bids right at or higher than market value.

When should you use an auction?

1.On any property that you are willing to take at least a 10 discount. The bigger the discount the better chance for success.

2.On any property in a hot market. If you’re in a market where multiple offers are common for any listed property take advantage of that excitement and let buyers bid against each other in an open format.

3.On any good investment deal. If you have a property that needs to be rehabbed income producing property with good cash flow or any other type of good investment property. Investors buy based on numbers show them the numbers!

Up until a few years ago seller’s who wanted to sell by auction usually held a “live” auction on the property. This process requires hiring an auction company and paying hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in fees regardless of whether the property sold or not.

Along came the Internet and then Internet auctions for “stuff”. Now Internet Real Estate auctions are starting to take hold. One of the advantages of using the Internet is that it doesn’t require people to be onsite to bid. Bids can be placed anywhere a person has access to the Internet.

It’s understandable why real estate Internet auctions are becoming popular. They make this successful method of selling real estate accessible to many more sellers and investors.

About the writer:  Copyright Steve Gillman. To see a photo of the house we bought for 17500 and to get a free ebook on How To Save Thousands Buying Your Next Home visit: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com