Survey: Well-Kept Yards Most Important Factor in Determining Neighborhood Safety

RISMEDIA, November 16, 2010--

A new survey conducted by Relocation.com finds that 75 percent of Americans believe the most important factor in determining a neighborhood's safety is the up-keep of surrounding homes, especially the conditions of the front lawns, which trumps even Googling neighborhood statistics to get a feel for a community.

The latest Relocation.com survey finds that 74 percent of respondents indicated they would select a neighborhood based on "word-of-mouth" or its local reputation over any other reason, while 67 percent of the respondents say they pay attention to local crime reports and statistics as reported in the local media. Less compelling, according to the survey, are "a gated community with security patrols" and "proximity to a police or fire station" when determining the safety of a neighborhood.

"It's interesting to see how home buyers determine neighborhood safety based on the neighborhood's appearance and not as much based on police statistics or crime reports," says Relocation.com Chairman and Founder Sharon Asher. "Our findings suggest that some home sellers who are struggling to generate interest may want to go the extra mile and help their neighbors with landscaping needs in order to create buyer interest."

The Relocation.com survey was conducted in mid-October, 2010, in a continuing effort to provide information on lifestyle factors that drive moving and relocation decisions in the U.S.

Article provided: RisMedia.com sponsored by Lowe's (Daily Real Estate News)

I am proud to be associated with a company that believes the dream of home ownership is not dead.  We only truly help our ourselves, when we help others.  All the Best!

- Trecia Cooke, Realtor
  Exit Realty Group, TX

	EXIT Realty Corp. International Invites You to Columbia for the Dedication of its Latest Corporately Sponsored Habitat for Humanity Build. Ceremony scheduled for July 24th Since April, real estate agents from EXIT Realty offices across South Carolina and volunteers from the community at large have come together to help build a new home and provide a fresh start to Columbia single mom, Debra Lewis and her son, Ben. Debbie and 23-year-old Ben lived in a second-floor apartment at the time they were approved for the Habitat program, but due to poor living conditions, both in the unit and the neighborhood, they had to vacate and are temporarily living with Debbie's oldest son. Ben is mentally disabled and he would rise in the middle of the night and walk around the apartment complex unbeknownst to Debbie. Debbie, herself, suffers from osteoarthritis and is primarily wheelchair bound. Even though they had lived in the same unit for more than 10 years, the landlord denied their request for a downstairs unit. Even with their disabilities, both Debbie and Ben managed to earn "sweat equity" hours and partner to the fullest with Habitat for Humanity. She is very excited to finally have a home that is comfortable and will meet the special needs of her family. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 10:00 am on Saturday, July 24th at the site of the home at 1000 Rockyknoll Drive, Columbia, SC. The press and community are invited to attend. Other ongoing EXIT Realty Corp. International corporately sponsored Habitat for Humanity builds are located in Salt Lake City, UT and coming soon to Cornwall, ON. Please click on link for directions: http://bit.ly/exithabitatsc Link to the photo gallery:  http://images.exittools.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=13017 Click on the below links for a copy of a press release, which has been issued to our usual media outlets as well as to our South Carolina office's outlets: Active Rain - click here Realestateindustryleaders - click here EXITRealtypress - click here
	"Whatever good things we build end up building us." JIM ROHN

Article provided by Exit Realty International

 

Master-planned communities in Central America come in all shapes and sizes - from small condo buildings to developments covering thousands of acres offering resort style amenities.  Many offer pre-construction sales where you buy before you see the finished product.   Great gains can be made as properties are offered at a discount.  But you have to be confident that the developer will deliver.  The starting point is getting answers to these 10 questions below, before you sign the contract.

1. Find out what kind of title the developer has to the land and ask to see the master title insurance policy.  Ensure the legal due diligence on these documents is carried out by a good quality attorney.  The developer may recommend their own attorney, but it is always safer to conduct an independent review of the documents before signing.
2. Ask whether the development masterplan has been approved by all relevant authorities.   In particular, check to see if environmental impact statements have been submitted, and approved.   Authorities across Central America are getting increasingly stringent in their environmental regulation.
3. Investigate whether the developer has the capital to move the real estate development forward or if they are relying on sales revenues.  Remember that limited financial flexibility or low project sales can adversely impact the timely completion of a project.
4. Do some research into the past experience of the developer and and ask to be put in touch with previous buyers.  Try and get background information or bios on the entire developer team including builders, architect, marketers, operators and master-planners.
5. The builder being used is a critical component of the development team.  If the developer is using a well respected local firm that has a track record in the type of construction required by the master plan, this is a good sign.  If possible try and see examples of buildings that have been completed by the builder so that you can get a real sense of the quality of their work.
6. Find out how much time of the year the developer spends in-country.  If the developer is foreign, but lives full-time in the country where the real estate project is located, this is a positive indicator for their long term commitment to the project and country.
7. Find out about the water source and whether the developer has ensured that there will be enough supply even when the development is fully built-out.  Ask how sewage is being handled and does the process comply with local regulations.  Check to see if power lines will be underground or overground.
8. Read the Codes Covenants and Restrictions (CC&Rs) carefully.  CC&Rs in some international real estate developments can be highly restrictive, down to what you can or can’t grow in your garden, what pets you can have, the architectural style that is allowed, or the color of your roofing tiles.  Make sure you know what you’re getting into. In most cases the CC&Rs will be enforced by a Home Owners Association (HOA) - a legal entity which allows the developer to transfer ownership and management of the community to the homeowners after it has sold a predetermined number of units or lots.  Ask to see a copy of the Association bylaws and budget.
9. Don’t forget to find out about after sales service such as property management, rental management and marketing support for re-sales.  Make sure you are comfortable with the level of service that the developer intents to provide after the sale.
10. Find out if the developer is addressing the social and environmental impacts of the development and whether there are any programs in place to support the local community.  Efforts to protect the environment, treat employees and suppliers fairly and ensure that the local community is benefiting are all good signs of a ‘responsible’ approach to development over the long term.
    
    Article Provided by: Revel Real Estate

<sup>Checkout these tips for Agent survival in any market - by Trecia Cooke



1]</sup>RISMEDIA, December 29, 2009—You may remember reading about Andy Alexander about two years ago in this column. Then, he was in California’s Beach Cities and he was tremendously successful at selling homes to Internet buyers. Despite his outstanding success in Southern California, Andy and his wife had discussed raising their hoped-for children in a more rural environment. They settled on Breckenridge, Colorado—a town in the Rockies more than 1,000 miles away from the market and the success Andy had—and in June of 2009, they made the move. Andy began prospecting in July. I recently spoke to Andy and was delighted to hear that he is doing very well.

His story is a demonstration of how simple technology makes agents free—able to succeed anywhere (including the market you are already in), despite market conditions—and how—in this Internet-enabled world—innovation by an agent can trump bad markets.

Background

Although I have spent some quality time in and around Breckenridge, I was surprised how little I actually knew about the market there. Upon reflection, I’ll wager that Breckenridge is not unlike a great many other vacation-oriented towns: feeling the burn of the now-recovering economy deep down in all things. Andy soon confirmed that my feeling was correct.

“The market in Breckenridge gets the “double whammy” because it took a hit from the recession (like all markets) and it also is a second-home market,” Andy explained. “90% of transactions here are second-home buyers. To give you an idea of just how much we were affected by the economic fallout, our transactions here have decreased by 75% since 2007. 2008 was about 35% down and so far in 2009 it is about 40% down. In this economy, who has money for a second home? We are all hoping that this turns around in 2010, but in reality, nobody really knows when full recovery will come. The market here lags a year or two behind most regular markets. If that holds true, we should be ready for a turn. I came into this market for a lifestyle change and I knew what I was getting into from a business standpoint. I knew it was going to be tough and I knew that I needed innovation and technology on my side to get going in this type of a market. Although I had experienced great success with my personal website over the years, I was at a point where I knew I wanted an outsourced lead-generation system because I wouldn’t have time to play webmaster and technician once I got here—I would need to be prospecting. I had several good discussions with my longtime Internet marketing services company and to my surprise, found that they had been hearing this from a lot of agents, and that they were about to roll out a beta (test) version of such a system. I signed on to be a test subject.”

Quick Results

“The very first month my system went live I began receiving leads. I created a systematic approach to responding to internet leads and I have a systematic approach to following up and staying in touch. (The market here requires this or you will be swallowed because a lot of second-home buyers can take a year or more to purchase.) Starting in July (the first month) I had 100+ unique visitors on my brand new website. I am now approaching 200 unique visitors every month. From these visitors I have received about 40 good leads. I have closed two of these opportunities that came directly from the website. The total commission from these sales is almost 10 times what it cost me to join the program. I am also conversing with 30 of these leads, 10 of which I believe will be purchasing or selling within six months. I am extremely happy that all this has occurred within about a four-month timeframe—two sales made and 10 sales working—from nothing!”

Bottom Line

“The bottom line is that over a five-month period in a market where transactions are down 75% from two years ago that is “frozen” from a transaction standpoint, I have closed two transactions: both generated solely from my lead generation system that farms the Internet for me. When the market turns I will be positioned well with buyers as a direct result from this lead generation system. I also think it is noteworthy that of the two closed transactions, one was a listing, and of the 10 prospects that are near, two of those are also listings. I am getting about 20% listings from my leads. I have done all of this without having to play webmaster and techie even one day; in fact, without doing anything but following up the leads that the site generates for me. To do all of this within a few months of relocating here continues to amaze me and to convince me that my choice to stop prospecting the web the same old way was the absolute right choice. Here at the Breckenridge Real Estate Group, we don’t sell or list real estate the same old way, and we think that is good for our clients. We know it’s good for us.”

Tough Times Spur Innovation

The innovative system Andy chose uses intelligent paid advertising as well as organic search to bring solid traffic to your individual account, fast. Unlike ordinary websites, the conversion rate of Internet visitors to sign-in registrations is currently running at 8+% system-wide, with several hundred users and more joining daily. With such high conversion rates, it is not necessary to have huge traffic: even 100 unique visitors monthly can bring a very nice living. The system was designed to accomplish Internet marketing from a fresh perspective, namely: is the purpose of your website to provide information to everyone or to provide interested buyers to you? The lead generation system that is Compass PROLeadS™ believes that purpose is to provide interested buyers to you.

Taking a different approach to the answer to that question has made a huge difference in performance. The real purpose of your website is to help you sell homes. To do that, it must produce real leads in sufficient numbers to build a practice. Chances are that most agents’ websites were not designed for that purpose, but instead, to inform, to provide information to any visitor that happens to visit them. PROLeadS™ exists to have Internet shoppers find your site and request information from you as to exactly what they are looking for. Combining organic and paid search, the site builds traffic, converts it to leads, and does so without your daily involvement—except to follow up the leads properly.

Andy moved 1,000 miles but you can succeed right where you are.

If you started innovating today, would you be pleased to have made a couple of sales, have another 10 seriously incubating, and another 20 in process four or five months later? That is what succeeding online can do for you. Succeeding there brings you a whole new source of real leads and sales that you simply can’t access any other place.

You have all the skills you need to sell homes to Internet buyers. In fact, we could parachute you into anyplace in North America and you could sell homes provided you had interested buyers, couldn’t you? Well, that is the point of innovation and online marketing: to assure you of a steady stream of interested buyers to talk to. It’s not necessary to move to Colorado; it’s necessary to move your marketing online.

It’s almost 2010 and if you refuse to listen to the naysayers and the pessimists, you can make it into a wonderful and successful year. Andy moved his family during the worst market ever, into a market down 75% and succeeded. He did this—not with magic—by planning and executing his online marketing strategy. Please—make this the year you do the same.

Mike Parker (mparker@theblackwatercg.com ^[2]) advises thousands of agents and brokers on the subject of online marketing services for Realtors. If you’d like to investigate this new innovation that is bringing success to hundreds of agents and brokers—or to find out if your website is set up to deliver buyers to you, click here and fill out the form. We’ll tell you confidentially and for free.


Article printed from RISMedia: http://rismedia.com

Take a look at this information related to the national housing market outlook - Trecia Cooke, Realtor  Exit Realty Group - Tomball

RISMEDIA, November 18, 2009—Aided by the home buyer tax credit, the outlook for housing and the economy appears headed for a sustainable recovery, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the projections are enhanced by a tax credit expansion to more home buyers through the middle of 2010. “Given the success of the first-time buyer tax credit to date, and the need for qualified buyers to continue to absorb inventory that will include additional foreclosures over the coming year, we are hopeful about the impact of the expanded tax credit because it will stabilize home prices,” he said. “In fact, the credit is working better than first projected – it now looks like we’ll have 2.3 to 2.4 million first-time buyers this year.”

The 2009 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, shows first-time buyers accounted for a record 47% share of home sales over the past year, up from 41% in the 2008 survey. The share has risen steadily since a cyclical low of 36% in 2006.

Existing-home sales are expected to total 5.01 million in 2009, a gain of 2.0% over last year, and then are foreto rise 13.6% to 5.69 million in 2010. “A steady draw down of inventory will help home values to turn positive in 2010, but risks such as unemployment remain in the economy,” Yun said.

New-home sales are projected at 397,000 this year, recovering to 549,000 in 2010. Housing starts, including multifamily units, should total 564,000 units this year but grow to 752,000 in 2010.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will probably average 5.3% in the fourth quarter, rising gradually to 5.8% by the end of next year. NAR’s housing affordability index will set a record in 2009, averaging 30 percentage points higher than 2008. Affordability will decline from record highs next year but will remain at historically attractive levels for home buyers.

“We’ve seen a steady downtrend in housing inventory for well over a year and home prices appear to be in the early stages of stabilizing. With the expansion of the tax credit to additional buyers through the middle of next year, and no major unforeseen events impacting the economy, home prices should rise between 3 and 5% in 2010, but with wide geographic differences,” Yun said. He expects growth in the U.S. gross domestic product to be at a pace of 2.5% in the current quarter, with GDP up 2.8% in 2010.

The unemployment rate is close to peaking and is projected to ease to 9.5% by the end of next year.

“The size of the U.S. budget deficit is a concern going forward, and carries the risk of higher inflation. At this point, that risk appears to be restrained,” Yun said. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is seen contracting 0.4% this year, then rising 1.6% in 2010. Inflation-adjusted disposable personal income is estimated to grow 0.4% this year and 1.2% next year.