Move My Realty - Real Estate News

YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO BE A REALTOR

FAR 2006 President Mike Dooley says Realtors “get back in one hour” the yearly dues they pay for Realtor membership. When people ask how, Dooley points to FAR’s Tech Helpline, a free member service. “I use the Tech Helpline five, six, seven, eight times a year,” Dooley says. “If I buy a new phone or a Palm Pilot or a new computer, instead of calling a company like Dell or Compaq, I call the Tech Helpline. They’re right here, and their motto is: ‘We’re going to stay on your issue until such time as it’s solved.'" Dooley also compares FAR’s Legal Hotline – a free member service for legal advice – to the cost of a one-hour consultation with a private lawyer. “We have so many great programs and products and services that if a Realtor really took the time (to add up the dollar benefit of association membership), they’d write a dues check for a thousand dollars a year,” says Dooley.

TIME TO BUY MARKETING

How do you get buyers to commit to home buying in today’s market? Steve Kantor, author of “Billion Dollar Agent – Lessons Learned, ” provides strategies that can be used to find new clients. When meeting with buyers and sellers, the book encourages you to talk about media reports and highlight positive factors of the current market; and when dealing with hesitant buyers, point out that interest rates will not remain low forever. As for concerns about the vast number of distressed properties on the market, associates are urged to establish Web sites detailing foreclosures, short sales, and real estate owned properties and bargain listings. To boost their client base, practitioners also can market to children and adults with disabilities, conduct seminars on HUD and FHA programs, ensure these seminars are available in other languages, or focus on the relocation market. Additionally, they should consider marketing to parents of college students who might be interested in saving money on dorms by purchasing an investment home, and offer to waive the listing commission if buyers sell within the first year.

Source: Inman News (12/07/07) Ross, Bernice
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