3 Tips for Sellers of Real Estate in 2012

Hi Folks,
   Hope all is well so far in this shiny new year!

   If you were waiting for the Holiday season to end before selling your home, there are some tips you can follow that will help you during the new world order of the 2012 Housing Market. To be exact, we have highlighted 3 tips just for you, and hopefully, these will be very helpful for you.

Tip #1: Price Flexibility. Make sure either you or your agent have all of the local sales, including those of short sales and foreclosures, so you can see what they sold at vs what they were asking, writes Steve McLinden in an article on Bankrate.com

Tip #2: Clean up. Neaten up. Paint, etc. Neglecting even the cheapest repairs can turn a buyer off. You want to make sure that you have dotted every "i" and crossed every "t" when it comes to curb appeal. It's more important than ever before, it seems (due to the over-abundance of homes on the market to choose from).

Tip #3: "Trump your techno-fears", writes McLinden, and suggests hiring a listing agent "steeped in mobile platforms", and mentions Facebook and other social media. He even eludes to a trend where Some owners are even making YouTube videos to showcase their homes, and thus, "making it easier to quickly link to potential buyers via email"

McLinden listed a total of 12 Tips in his story, but I feel that these 3 tips (not in the same order as his story) will be the dominant factors to help sell your home in 2012. What do you think?

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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #SellRealEstate #HousingMarket #shortsales #foreclosures #listingagent #mobileplatforms #Facebook #YouTube #video #socialmedia

5 Tips to Protect Your Home from Robbery

Hi Folks,

   As the Holidays are fast-approaching, we'd like to focus on one of the hottest trends this Holiday Season (and all Holidays Seasons); Home Break-ins and Burglaries. As a matter of fact, the FBI says that a home is robbed every 14.6 seconds and the average dollar loss per burglary is $2,119.

   Now, however, even though burglaries were down from 2009 to 2010, writes Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman for the Consumer Reports Website, in her article, "Break-ins are down, but your house may be screaming 'rob me'", locking your door and windows is not the only thing you should be doing to protect yourself. Lehrman names 5 things that she says you are, "probably doing that make your home a target, and what you should do instead".

   One of the first tips provided by Lehrman, in light of the explosion in popularity of Social Media, is in regards to posting vacation photos on Facebook, as she says that, "Burglars troll social media sites looking for targets". The suggestion is to post the photos once you get back, or to tweak your Security Settings to allow trusted friends only to see your adventures.

   Lock your garage from the inside! Lehrman says that if you don't, a burglar can gain entry to your home via an internal door by using "any tools you haven’t locked away" to break into your home "out of sight of the neighbors".

   Hiding Spare Keys is a bad thing. "Burglars know about fake rocks and leprechaun statues and will check under doormats, in mailboxes, and over doorways", says Lehrman, who suggests that you give a spare set to a neighbor or family member.

   Ladders should be kept stored away and out of sight. Lehrman says that they can be used to "reach the roof and unprotected upper floor windows".

   Let's not overlook the home security alarm factor. Silent alarms are great, and noisy alarms are irritating, However, noisy alarms are also irritating to burglars, but the smart thieves, says Lehrman, know that "it can take as long as 10 to 20 minutes for the alarm company or cops to show up after an alarm has been tripped", and she suggests using both silent and audible ("noisy") alarms.

   One bonus tip for you; beware of people calling with a survey in which they ask if you have an alarm system. They could potentially be "casing" your home as a target. Additionally, an answering machine saying you are not home is also bad (instead, make it a generic message).

   Do you have any other tips? We'd love to hear.

Would You Like Our Blog Posts Sent Directly to your E-mail? Here's How:

1. Locate the "Follow this Blog by Email" box on the Right Side of your Screen.
2. Type your E-mail address in the box, and click "Submit"
3. Check Your E-mail and Confirm Your Subscription...it's That Simple !

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #HomeBreakins #Burglaries #homesecurity #homealarmsystem #socialmedia #Facebook #Consumer Reports

What Are The Hottest Real Estate Internet Trends?

Hi Everyone,
   Glad you could make it back with us today.

   Today, I'd like to discuss some of the hottest Real Estate trends on the Internet. Some of them will be familiar to you, and some of them will be new ones that will surely become a part of the mainstream for Real Estate on the Web.

   The first "trend", if we can even call it that, since it has become super-mainstream, is Social Media, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Earl Miller of 5Star Investment Group, feels, "that the hottest Internet real estate trends are social media", and says that, "Studies have shown that 90% of all buyers that are looking for a home will start their search on the Internet.", and that, "The old way of doing showings on properties with a Realtor are really fast becoming outdated. People want to see more of the property in a smaller amount of time before they actually drive out to see it." One of the many services that capitalizes on the soaring popularity of Social Media is "Tweetlister.com", which, "takes MLS listings and turns them into tweets, then allows agents/brokers to schedule them to tweet to selected Twitter account", as explained to us by Lloyd Chrein, an individual that is familiar with the service. There are numerous other utilities and services that piggy-back on Social Media, but that would encompass an entire Blog post by itself.

   Another hot trend is the Housing Search experience on the Internet. Paul Gleger, Director of Communications Office for HotPads.com, says that he is seeing a, "Particular emphasis on creating a granular and personalized housing search experience.", which he says is being done through, "interactive map technologies, neighborhood search filters, integrating the social graph into the search process, and there is an especially strong growth in mobile tools." Along the same theme, Sam Debord, a Managing Broker/Realtor with Coldwell Banker Danforth, says that one of the biggest Internet trends in Real Estate are, "tying in localized services to MLS listings.", and that, "Every web site has home listings with photos, but the more advanced real estate sites have a suite of features from multiple vendors/providers all on one page." Debord says that, "Users shouldn't have to click around to find these features, they're all on one page.", and he gives examples such as map search, area maps, Google street view, walk score, census data, school data, and pricing history. As Debord says, "Many different data sources, but no need to search around."

   Video Tutorials are also becoming increasingly more popular, and as Christine Schwalm, an Interior Designer that specializes in home staging for Realtors says, the videos she creates are, "Nothing fancy." Schwalm says that she shoots it, "with a flip camera and don't do much to edit the footage." She informs us that she does, "A one take video that lasts several minutes that follows the realtor around the space as he/she explains the property. Home buyers know that it is fairly easy to manipulate pictures, so the videos do a more accurate job of selling the property--and featuring the realtor."

   The final trend leans more toward the lending side of the industry, and Dave Galanter, President of freeMortgageFix.com calls it, "DIY Mortgage Modification". Galanter says this is a free online utility to assist homeowners in, "preparing a Mortgage Modification Application which complies with HAMP guidelines as well as individual lender's own programs. It works in a way that is very similar to Turbo Tax, with helpful hints and prompts.", and says that he is, "quite sure it is the best assistance for the DIY Mortgage Modification Applicant on the web."

   There are some exciting trends on the Internet for those of us in the Real Estate industry. I hope these have been helpful. I'm sure we missed a few and we'd love to hear about them from you.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com


TAGS: #realestate #socialmedia

E-book, Rent to own Secrets, and Barbecue...

Hi Everyone,

We just wanted to do a quick check-in with everyone and wish you a peaceful and relaxing day, if you are off today.

It will be a quiet week in terms of Economic and Housing indicators, but we will be buzzing on the HomeRun Homes campus with some new Social Media initiatives we have coming up this week. Also, coming up in the short term will be another wonderful utility to help you catch the latest Rent to Own Homes and Rent to Own Buyers as soon as they hit our website.

Additionally, we are very honored to have our E-book, "Secrets of Rent to Own", listed on the super directory of E-Books (E-Library.net), with the full link to our book directory listing as http://e-library.net/Secrets-Of-Rent-to-Own__ebooks22707.htm

OK, we will let everyone get back to their family, barbecue, and festivities.


Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Foreclosure Prevention, Improved Housing Markets, Social Media Blog Updates...

Good Morning to All,

Glad to have you back here with us today ! I don't know how the weather has been where you are, but the humidity has been sky-high here on the East Coast, and it's not even summer (officially) yet, and if this is any indication of how this summer will be, then I'm ready for the Fall !

Today, I wanted to share two interesting pieces that crossed my desk; Once is concerning foreclosures, and the other one is a little more positive, and is regarding some housing markets that are showing improvement.

Let's first begin with the sour apple of the two: "Avoid foreclosure-prevention scams: 3 tips" (Source located at this link). Without regurgitating the entire article, the three tips for whom to avoid are summarized as follows; Those who "Ask for a fee in advance, Tell you they can guarantee foreclosure will stop, and Urge you to stop paying your mortgage and pay them instead".

These are great pieces of advice, but there are a few more that we would like to add, namely, when someone tells you that they are a member of XYZ Corporation, don't just take their word for it...do your due diligence. Investigate the company. Ask for a corporate phone number. Make sure they are for real, since it is your home that is on the line.

One other thing that you want to do is to have them lay out a plan in writing and on their corporate letterhead (for a corporation that you have already done your homework on from our previous tip listed above). Have them put everything in writing and get them to notarize it. If they falter or give you a difficult time with any requests that you may have, a red flag should go up. There are many hunters out there looking for "prey", or people who are in a very bad economic situation and are highly susceptible to any offers, good or bad. Keep your eyes and ears open, and make sure that you don't lose your home and any additional money you have to a scammer.

As for the Housing Markets that are showing improvement (Source located at this link), the top 5 are: Denver, Boston, St.Louis, Pittsburgh, and San Jose, California. Some of the factors that were used in building this list were home prices and bids placed on homes. The complete list of 20 of the improving housing markets is located at this link. Do you live in one of these cities? Have you sold a home in one of these areas, or have you been trying to sell a home or to rent to own a home? Please weigh in on this and let us know what your thoughts are.

We are happy to say that we are now saturating over 50 Social Media Sites with our Blog posts, so if you prefer to read our posts on your favorite site, we are already on most of the major sites. If there is a site that you would like us to update, check with us and if we are not updating it already, we will be glad to add it.

Stick with us. This is going to be an exciting week !
Have a great week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

Top 6 Housing Features that Define Comfort

Hi Everyone,

Hope you have had a great week, and the Memorial Day Weekend is upon us. Literally...it's hours away !

We recently took a poll amongst people advertising their Rent to Own homes on our website, and we asked them a very specific question: "What do you consider the most attractive features of your home and neighborhood?". We posed the same question to people looking for a Rent to Own Home on our website, but we changed it slightly to say, "What would you consider the most attractive features of a potential new home and new neighborhood?" The results were tallied, and we have summarized the top 6 of them, since they were the most popular by a landslide. Here is what we found out:

6 Housing Features that Define "Comfort":
1. Ability to make the rental or house payments
2. Proximity to Employment
3. Proximity to Family
4. How easy it is to get around locally - bus routes, trains, etc
5. Amount of traffic in (1-mile) perimeter around the home.
6. Proximity to Houses of Worship

If you are all thinking the same thing I am, it is amazing that the majority is primarily concerned with being able to make the payments. I wonder if we had done the same poll 3 years ago, if the results would be different? We can only wonder. Incidentally, take note of #3 ("Proximity to Family") - my Mother-in-Law lives overseas - so I am living outside that particular rule (wonderful lady - but space is good, universally).


OK, this week, we have been syndicating our Blog across may more Social Media sites, and, we are very proud to announce:
Our Podcasts are now available on ITunes for Free Download. The exact link to our ITunes Store is:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=373351426.

We will try to make at least 1 or more Podcasts per week, coupled with our 3 +/- Blog Posts per week.


A few reminders: We offer very generous referral fees (contact us here for more information). Also, the Pending Home Sales index will be released next Wednesday, June 2nd, and it will cover the month of April. Keep your eyes peeled for that one.


May you have a fantastic Holiday Weekend.
And as always, Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Special Offer, Social Media, Mobile, Home Prices...

Hi Everyone,
Happy Friday - we made it through another week!

It's been a busy week here, and we want to cover a few things, as well as announce a New SPECIAL OFFER, since the one from last week was a HUGE hit with everyone!

First off, some business:

We continued aggregating our site across the Social Media Aggregation sites to ensure our Blog reaches new visitors - in plain English - this means more and more visitors to your Ads - a very good thing !
Additionally, we continued developing StopForeclosureRenttoOwn.com, our newest venture, with the goal of reaching people in desperate need of housing!
Last but not least, we continued preparing our site for Mobile users - it's a huge project, since there are so many models of mobile devices, but very important!

Next - Upcoming Economic Events:

Tuesday 4/27 - S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index:
Per Standard and Poors Site:
"The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices measures the residential housing market, tracking changes in the value of the residential real estate market in 20 metropolitan regions across the United States."

Now - for the SPECIAL OFFER:

For Every Ad placed, whether it is a "Home Wanted", "Home Available", "Home Service", or "Commercial Property" Ad, you will receive a Free Copy of "SECRETS OF RENT TO OWN" (Click here for info on this book)

Now, normally, we only do this when you purchase an Ad of 3-Months or longer, however, just for today - that is until 12 Midnight EST today 4/23 - when you order ANY Ad (1 month and longer), you will receive a free copy of the Guide

Sounds Good?

OK, here's how this will work, step-by-step:

1. Place an Ad at one of these links (click on of the following links):
Looking for a Home? - "Home Wanted" Ad
Selling a Home? - "Home Available" Ad
Offering a Service? - "Home Service" Ad
Offering a Commercial Property? - "Commercial Property" Ad

2. Remember - the above pages will say you get the book for a 3-Month or longer Ad...This is a SPECIAL OFFER direct from management!

3. Once you have placed your order, send an E-mail to homebuyer@lease2buy.com with this subject:
"Ad Placed - Send me Secrets of Rent to Own"...we will verify, and then E-mail it to you immediately.

Remember - this is a SPECIAL OFFER to our members !

Thanks, have a great day, a great weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

Site Design, Social Media, & Housing

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to thank you for being regular readers on our blog, and also, repeat visitors to our website (www.Lease2Buy.com).

A few notes on our website, as we have continued to re-design quite a few key pages and remove some fluffy text. Additionally, we will be adding newer features to get your Ads out in front of more (even more!) potential buyers or sellers, so please keep checking the site regularly for these changes and additions.

On the advertising front, we have continued working with some solid companies in terms of expanding our Social Media presence, and you can check a few our profiles here:
Facebook (Click Here)
Twitter (Click Here)

We are also listed on every major social media site, and we are developing our profiles on them substantially, as well.


On the economic front, New Residential Sales were released last week, and the numbers dipped 2.2% from January...but 13% from Feb 2009. These are some very telling numbers, and this tells us we are not out of the woods yet.

Continue to keep all creative buying or selling options open.

Thanks, and Happy Rent-to-Owning.