Real Estate Tips

Though “flipping” real estate has become a popular practice, it is also pretty controversial. This is mainly because people have gotten into it without considering the ramifications of their actions and, consequently, engage in some very bad practices. The clumsy flipper can anger both the buyer and the seller-not to mention get themselves into some very awkward and costly situations-by flipping real estate. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

Flipping is simply the quick selling of a property that one has just purchased. The sale may take place that very day, or even at that very closing. The idea behind this practice is, if a property appreciates and I’m just going to turn around and resell it at a profit anyway, why wait? Why not buy up a whole bunch of properties, sell them quickly and make a ton of money?

See the allure? It can be done, but it is a tricky business. You cannot be a successful flipper without using some finesse. For instance, many people think they are being hugely clever by working the seller and the buyer against each other. The flipper, who sets himself up as a middleman without the knowledge of either party, actually gets the seller to agree to sell to him, then runs to the buyer for the cash, from which he pays the seller. Using this method, he makes the purchase without even using any of his own cash. Afterward, he simply pockets the difference.

But if he has sold a property to the buyer that isn’t actually his, and the seller learns what is going on, there could be trouble. The seller, aware that the flipper is in dire straits, will probably up his price. The seller now knows the buyer is expecting that property. It is even possible that the flipper has sold the property to the buyer and is then turned down by the seller. This puts the flipper in the position of having just sold something he can’t deliver.

According to Ken McElroy, author of “The ABCs of Real Estate Investing,” there are, however, companies that flip very successfully. This is because they follow a few simple rules, such as never selling something they haven’t actually purchased. On the surface, that sounds like such a basic idea, it is not necessary to mention it. However, you would be surprised if you knew the number of people who try to get away with not following this simple rule.

The companies who flip will resell a property that very day if at all possible, but they don’t sell at the very closing where they purchased the property. Instead, thy use mailing lists they have built over time to send out bulletins that they have a property for sale. It can cost hundreds of dollars to get the word out and arrange meetings. It can also require an entire staff to do it quickly enough to make it pay off.

Because of those particular limitations, it is often not lucrative for an individual to attempt flipping properties, although, conceivably, a particularly savvy individual could indeed make it pay off. The question is, is it a good approach for you?

About the Author:
Alex Anderson Connects Investors With Florida Investment Properties and Minnesota Real Estate Investment Property in Appreciating Markets.

Articles are for a variety of topics: real-estate, mortgage

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Is PR Right for You? 6 Questions to Ask
Copyright © 2005 Michele Pariza Wacek
The Artist Soul
http://www.TheArtistSoul.com

When most people think about marketing, they think advertising.
While advertising is a part of marketing, marketing is much
bigger than advertising. There are lots of different marketing
methods floating around out there, and the challenge as a
business owner is figuring out when it’s appropriate to use each
one and the best way to use it.

Public relations, or PR, is the art of getting someone else to
write or talk about you or your business. Preferably in a
favorable manner. Traditionally, “someone else” was the media. In
this day and age however, someone else can also be a blogger, a
freelance writer, an e-zine publisher or even an owner of a big
Web site. For purposes of this article, I’m using the word
“media” to refer to all of those folks.

PR is also being able to get yourself on a big talk show to talk
about yourself or your business, or writing your own article
that’s published in a desired outlet. (Not your own newsletter or
Web site.)

PR is one of my favorite marketing methods, but it can also be
one of the more frustrating ones. Even when you do everything
right, you still might not get the publicity you want. Or for
that matter, ANY publicity at all. When a PR campaign doesn’t
work, you can find yourself wanting to pull out all your hair in
frustration.

Even with that in mind, I do believe most if not all businesses
can benefit from some type of PR campaign. But before you launch
into something that could end with you becoming hairless (and
investing in a sizeable hat collection) ask yourself the
following questions.

1. Do I need to see results right away? If you do, better pull
out your wallet and pay for some advertising. PR takes time. And
it’s not guaranteed. You might not see your article for weeks,
months or ever, and there isn’t a darn thing you can do about it.
If it’s immediate gratification you want, don’t look for it in a
public relations campaign.

2. Do I have the time to consistently devote to a public
relations campaign? We’re back to the time issue. PR not only
takes time to see results, but you also have to take time to make
it happen. Either you have to do it or you have to pay someone
else to do it. If you do it yourself, you’ll have the potential
of garnering the equivalent of thousands of dollars of
advertising for little or no money. But it will cost you some
time. If you pay someone else, you’ll save time (which is a good
thing, I’m a big believer in outsourcing) but it can get
expensive. Worse yet, you STILL might not get any coverage for
your money.

3. Do I have enough perseverance to run a PR campaign? PR is
about follow-up. It’s about sending story idea after story idea
to the same reporter before one finally connects (and maybe it’s
the tenth one). It’s about sending a little note or letter to the
same editor for as long as several years before you get a bite.
It’s about reminding your contacts you’re out there until one day
they realize they need you.

If you’re willing to court the media, develop relationships and
do whatever you can to make their lives easier, the rewards can
be huge.

4. Do I have newsworthy events happening at my business?
(Newsworthy is something media personnel feel would interest
their readers.) Or, if I don’t, can I create them?

I’m not talking about making things up here. But there are things
you can be doing to make your business more newsworthy. For
example, you can do a survey and publish the results. You can tie
a feature of your product or service to something that’s
currently happening in the news. You can hold an event. You can
research a newly published study that relates to your product or
service. There are countless ways you can transform aspects of
your business into newsworthy story items — the creativity
exercise below can help you come up with your ideas.

5. Do I want to build my credibility? Develop my status as an
expert? Then get that PR campaign off the ground. Nothing builds
your credibility or expert status faster than having other people
say you know what you’re talking about.

6. Do I want to augment my other marketing efforts? Public
relations definitely plays nicely with the other marketing
methods. You can be building your long-term expert campaign with
PR and building short-term customers with advertising. Or you can
turn your community relations strategies into PR campaigns. It’s
a great way to get the most bang out of your marketing time and
dollar.

Creativity Exercise — How can you use PR in your business?

Grab some sheets of paper and pen (I like the fun gel pens
myself) and get ready for some brainstorming.

Start by listing everything you do or sell. Then write out all
the features or descriptions of your products or services. For
instance, if you have a book, what is your book about? What does
it offer people?

Now see if you can turn those features into something newsworthy.
Is there a time of year when people are interested in your
services? (Accounting and tax season). Are there any studies you
can dig up? Is there something in the news that ties into your
product? Can you turn an aspect of your business into a human
interest story? (Something like fitness tips for busy people or
parenting tips for single parents, etc.) Write everything down
that comes into your head, even if it’s silly. See if you can
come up with 50 story ideas.

Now look at what you wrote. Can you find a few in there that you
think would interest the media? Congratulations — you just came
up with a PR campaign.

———————————————————————
Michele Pariza Wacek is the author of “Got Ideas? Unleash Your
Creativity and Make More Money.” She offers two free e-zines
that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting
marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful
at attracting new clients, selling products and services and
boosting business. She can be reached at:
http://www.TheArtistSoul.com. Copyright 2005 Michele Pariza Wacek

Listening Strategically

By: Robert F. Abbott

Usually, we’re most interested in communicating outwardly; getting our
messages out to others. But finding ways to hear what’s going on around
us can be just as important.

Let’s start by identifying three different types of listening we do.
The first type - informal listening - comes naturally, as in listening
to another person. I take in what you have to say, and how you say it.

A second type, competitive intelligence, is a systematic process for
monitoring sources and gathering information. That information is
aggregated, processed to bring out the important points, and
distributed to others who can use it to make decisions.

In this article, we look at a third type, a less rigorous approach to
competitive intelligence, one that falls somewhere between simple
listening and formal competitive intelligence. Call it strategic
listening, a relatively simple way to stay on top of issues that affect
your organization.

Let’s start with objectives, which we normally do when looking at
something strategically. Ask two key questions, “Why are we doing
this?” and “What will we do with the information we gather?”

The first question focuses our efforts by putting them into the context
of our overall goals. The second question, “What will we do with the
information we gather?” relates to more immediate issues. It helps us
articulate how we will use the material, and that in turn, affects the
way we see our objectives.

Next, we need a process for gathering, managing, and storing the
information we gather. What sorts of sources? How will we get them?
What will we do with the material? How will we store it?

Once we’ve listened and gathered our information, we need to manage it.
All those mounds of paper and electronic files must be boiled down into
chunks of information that others can use easily.

This part of the process might involve the selection of excerpts or it
might involve writing summaries. It might require an argument or simply
a statement of facts that allows others to draw their own conclusions.

The final step in the strategic listening chain is to provide feedback
to those who provided raw information, and to get feedback from those
who used the processed information (or intelligence) we provided.

Giving feedback to those who provided raw information could be
considered a courtesy, and a way of encouraging them to keep supplying
us. Gathering feedback from those who used the processed information
will help us determine whether or not we met the objectives that got us
started.

In summary, one important form of listening is strategic; that is,
informally gathering and processing information that helps us stay on
top of issues that affect our organizations. The four key steps in this
process are: setting objectives, developing processes, managing the
information, and gathering and getting feedback.

Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter.
Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by
reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An
excellent resource for leaders and managers, at:
http://www.communication-newsletter.com

The 6 Characteristics of Highly Creative People
By Michelle L. Casto

Thomas Moore said, ?We are all poets and artists as we
live our daily lives, whether or not we recognize our
role and whether or not we believe it.? Human beings
have an innate need to create. Even you! There is a
continuum of creativity, ranging from being slightly
creative to highly creative.
The good news is that you can learn to be more creative by observing creative
people and modeling yourself after them.
Artists, writers, and creative types seem to have
similar characteristics.
Some of the personalitytraits listed below may seem eccentric, odd, even ?
outthere?—but that is where creativity lies— in the
outreaches of our consciousness, in the depths of our
souls.
If you had the opportunity to speak to
Picasso, Walt Disney, or Jane Austen, you would
probably find out that they are ordinary people, much
like you and I. The difference is that they have
allowed more of their soul to come out and play and
have freed themselves of convention and restriction.

Creativity is essentially the art of discovery and an
act of faith. When you create something— a work of
art, book, software program, dance routine, or role
for a play, you discover parts of yourself that you
never knew existed.
Creative people have a strong need to express more of who you really are and
often have to fight for that right. The character Isabelle in the movie,
Fire and Ice, has a great outlook on
what it means to be creative, she says, ?To create, sometimes you must
rebel.?

1. Unconventional
Creative people do not feel the need to conform to
society?s standards. They often swim against the
current and flow with their own way of thinking and
living. They have original ideas that literally turn
the world upside down and right-side out.
Take for example, the 16th century Italian astronomer,
Galileo, who proved that the earth revolved around the
sun (instead of the other way around), which was
revolutionary in his time.

2. Individualistic
Creative people want to find out what the truth is,
and they have a strong need to decide for themselves
what works and what does not. Often they are ahead of
their time, and much of their work is
appreciated/acknowledged after they are dead and gone.
Many writers are famous for marching to the tune of
their own drum, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote
the book, Self-Reliance, and Robert Frost who penned,
?two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one
less-traveled.?

3. Inventive
Creative people live in the world of ideas, and don?t
always have the best interpersonal skills. Because
they are so highly intelligent, and live in the realm
of possibility, they are constantly coming up with
bright ideas. They also take notice of what is
missing in the world and/or what could be improved.
Take for instance, Thomas Edison, who invented
hundreds of things in his time, his most famous
invention being the light bulb. He saw that there was
darkness and then created light.

4. Driven
Creative people cannot ?not do something??they are
almost compulsive until they can bring their internal
vision into fruition. They have that ?fire in their
belly?—a passion to contribute to the beauty and
betterment of the world. Because of their high drive,
they can produce a lot in a relative short amount of
time.
Talk about drive—the material girl herself, Madonna,
has not let public praise or criticism stop her from
being a super star. She is a modern day Diva,
multi-talented as a singer, dancer, and actress who
has released hundreds of songs, albums, videos,
movies, books— all the while reinventing herself as
someone new.

5.Visionary
Creative people have a guiding vision in their head,
heart, and soul that they are often called to bring to
life. Who else but Michelangelo could look at a large
piece of marble and ?chip away at everything that
wasn?t David?? According to him, ?I saw an angel in
the marble and carved until I set him free.?
One of his best-known works is the immense ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel, which took him three years to
complete, where he often had to work upside down for
hours at a time. If you ever have seen any of his
work, you can easily see that it is a vision to
behold.

6. Intuitive
Creative people are very in touch with their inner
selves. They pay attention to the signs,
synchronicities, symbols around them, and make use of
that information in their work. They often act as a
channel, where ideas and inspiration come from a
higher plane. They allow the work to guide them to
where it needs to go. The work clearly originates in
their soul, not from their ego.
Talk about ideas coming from out of the blue, remember
how the scientist, Isaac Newton ?discovered? gravity?
He was sitting under a tree and an apple fell on his
head! Had he not made a connection with his intuitive
nature, he would have missed a major theory about the
world we live in!

As you read this, do you find yourself relating to
some of these traits? If so, it is time to start
creating. Getting started can often be the hardest
part, because we often limit our creativity by
listening too closely to our negative inner voice.
But so did all of these examples of creators. Even
the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh struggled with
that, but he created a remedy for that, he said, ?If
you hear a voice within you saying, you are not a
painter, then by all means, paint, and that voice will
be silenced.?
Robert Henri says, „When the artist is alive in any
person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes
an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing
creature.‰
Once you have created, you now have to put
yourself out there for all to see. This is where your
faith comes in to support you. Remember that if you
are creating from your soul, it will not matter
whether other people accept your work or not. You are
simply doing what you are called to do as a human
being, create.

Focus
by Catherine Pulsifer

To have a goal is like having a road map. It shows you where to go,
and where not to go. Would you begin a trip to an unknown city
without first looking at a map? Probably not.

Amazingly though, many people conduct their lives without any
personal road map to success. Goals are like a map. They help us
determine where we want to end up, and give us personal direction on
which to focus our energy.

Once you decide what it is you want, set your sights and start taking
action to achieve it. This “action” is the commitment on your part.
And, once you are committed to a goal, really committed, problems are
short term. With your entire “focus” on your goal, you will reach
levels of achievement that you never thought possible.

Without goals, you will end up going nowhere, or, you will end up
following someone else’s map!
Develop your map today - set your goals and focus!

To quote Alan Pariser: “The sun’s energy warms the world. But when
you focus it through a magnifying glass it can start a fire. Focus is
so powerful!”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Catherine Pulsifer is one of the editors of Words of Wisdom 4 U,
http://www.wow4u.com. You will find a collection of motivational
thoughts, stories, quotes, poems, smiles, proverbs, and more at Words
of Wisdom 4 U!

Breakfast of Failures
by Sharif Khan

“If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.”
–Thomas Watson, Sr. Founder of IBM

Before the Breakfast of Champions - there was the Breakfast of Failures:

. C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) had over 800 rejections before
he sold even one piece of writing.

. Oprah Winfrey was not deterred when she got fired from her television
reporter’s job being told, “You’re not fit for TV.”

. Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World) had lost his family to
drink and became a homeless person before becoming an inspirational
bestselling author selling over 30 million books.

. Marie Curie, recipient of two Nobel Prizes once said, “I tried out
various experiments.and the results were sometimes unexpected. At times
I would be encouraged by a little unhoped-for success, at others I would
be in the deepest despair because of accidents and failures resulting
from my inexperience.I was taught that the way of progress is neither
swift nor easy.”

. Bill Gates and Michael Dell were college drop-outs.

. Babe Ruth had more strike-outs then any other baseball player of his
time. He also had the most home runs.

. Ann Bancroft, the first woman to travel across the ice to the North
Pole, reminisced later about not reaching a goal to cover 2,300 miles
across Antarctica (bad weather forced them to be airlifted off) on an
expedition with her sister: “Once again this [expedition] is another
successful failure.”

. After auditioning for his band, musician Eddie Bond told a young Elvis
Presley to “Stick to driving a truck, because you’ll never make it as a
singer.”

. Abe Lincoln lost his job and his sweetheart, failed miserably in
business, was defeated for state legislature, had a nervous breakdown,
was defeated for nomination for congress, lost the renomination, was
defeated for US Senate, defeated for nomination of Vice President, and
again defeated for US Senate, before being elected as the sixteenth
President of the United States.

Forget about living a ‘comfortable’ life. I’m not interested in the
items you’ve crossed off your to-do list today. I want to know: have you
failed - I mean really FAILED lately?

Sharif Khan is a professional speaker, writer, coach, and author of
Psychology of the Hero Soul, an inspirational book on awakening the hero
within and developing people’s leadership potential. For more
information, visit http://www.herosoul.com Email: sharif@herosoul.com
Tel:(416) 417-1259. Copyright C 2005 by Sharif Khan.

How To Speak Up When You Don´t Know What To Say
by Peter Murphy

We all get tongue tied at times when we really don´t know
what to say next. Maybe you get stuck when talking to
authority figures such as your boss or bank manager. For
someone else certain situations might bring on that
self-conscious tongue-tied moment.

What can you do to avoid getting stuck for words?

1. Trust yourself more

Forget about being perfect and don´t demand that you say
the right thing at the right moment all of the time. It
really is okay to make little mistakes and to learn from
them.

Do forget about perfection because it does not exist in the
known world. Doing what you can with what you´ve got in any
moment is all anyone can reasonably demand of you.

And usually, the more you trust yourself and get on with
it, the more often you will be surprised at how well you
will do. If you pay attention every experience will be an
opportunity for you to get better, much better.

2. Learn like a child

When you were a child you were a highly advanced learning
machine! You learned new skills and understandings at a
phenomenal pace. You were unstoppable in your quest for new
experiences and new learnings.

As adults we need to remember to tap into this fascination
for life. Kids learn by observing AND doing. Adults often
forget the doing part!

In terms of making great conversation, allow yourself to
learn by doing. Make mistakes, learn what does not work and
improve one conversation after another. You will move ahead
much, much faster when you live in this way.

3. Apply the knowledge you already have

It is very likely you already know how to start a
conversation, how to keep a conversation alive and how to
engage the interest of another person.

However, knowing what to do and using what you know are two
very different things. Here is a useful guideline you might
like to keep in mind — you only know what you can do.

Unless you are getting good results with a technique or
approach that you understand - you really have not learned
and integrated it into your life.

The best way to take on board and use what you think you
already know is to spend a little time each day reviewing
solid material on communication skills. Review it and then
use it during your day when you deal with people.

Before you know it those tongue-tied moments will be a
distant memory of how you used to be.

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently
produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to
Developing Communication Confidence. This report reveals
the secret strategies all high achievers use to communicate
with charm and impact. Apply now because it is available
for a limited time only at:
http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm

Local Realtor Attends “World-Class Service” Seminar by Leslie Riggs

For Further Information Call:
Jonathan Taylor (714) 815-4540
For Immediate Release

Local Realtor Attends “World-Class Service” Seminar
This past week, Orange County real estate specialist Jonathan Taylor attended an advanced customer satisfaction seminar in Palm Springs given by BY REFERRAL ONLY, a professional training company devoted to excellence and delivering “wow” service.
“I’ve lived and worked in Orange County for over 40 years,” said Taylor “My work in real estate helps build the community I love.”
During the seminar Taylor learned about common mistakes many homeowners make when selling their homes. “I came back from the seminar full of information to share with the community,” said Taylor. “Orange County is a wonderful place to live. I’m committed to making sure that home sellers and homebuyers have all the information they need to make the right decisions.”
Jonathan Taylor of First Team Real Estate has set up a free, 24-hour Consumer Awareness Hotline a1-888 281-3740 Ext 8605 that gives Orange County home sellers a behind-the-scenes peek at the most common mistakes people make when selling their homes – how not to make them – and shares tips on simple, inexpensive things to do that make homes sell for thousands of additional dollars.
“Some home sellers overinvest in expensive improvements that don’t significantly increase the value of their home,” said Taylor, “while other sellers fail to do the simple things that cost almost no money, yet always make homes sell for thousands of dollars more.
“It’s really nice to see that people are calling and getting benefit from the hotline,” added Taylor. “We get calls from people almost every week thanking us for the tips.”
Listen to Taylor’s free, 24-hour Consumer Awareness Hotline by calling 1-888 281-3740 Ext 8605

About the Author

Top Prodcer fro First Team Real Estate