When selling a home many home owners think about doing some renovations of improvements to increase their asking price and thereby increasing their bottom line selling price. While some renovations are excellent choices for this, there are some that may not bring in the kind of money sellers expect. In thinking about this kind of renovation there should be a few distinctions made as to improvements that will increase the asking price, and improvements that will justify the base price.
If your home is in need of repairs and renovations then the necessary things should be done to make the home a livable and comfortable property. These are the kind of renovations that should not be expected to raise the price of a home by much. Rather, these fixes will make the home itself more attractive and competitive in your local market. In order to be competitive homes need to be in good repair, clean and tidy, with all appliances and fixtures operating properly. The interior systems of the home should also function as they should. replacing a broken heating system should not be seen as a cash generating upgrade. It is a necessary upgrade to make the home complete.
Now, if you want to completely renovate the kitchen for instance; that is a great way to increase a home's asking price. Newly designed and decorated rooms are a great selling point and something that brings buyers into a home. Other facility upgrades such as new appliances, a hot tub or jetted tub can make a home a much more desirable property very easily as buyers also love little extras and the fact that care has been taken of the home. In fact the feeling that a home has been well taken care of is one of the most important things that a buyer can feel in regards to any home. A feeling that a home has been neglected can lead buyers down the road to wondering what else about the property may have been neglected. A home that is obviously well cared for will always sell quicker.
Steve Proski is a realtor who specializes in the purchase and sale of Scottsdale real estate For all your real estate needs in Scottsdale contact Steve or visit us on the web at http://www.az-homes4u.com


The “Sounding Board” of Your Support Network
The “Sounding Board” of Your Support Network
Perhaps nothing is more important than a solid NETWORK when it comes to business and especially for Real Estate Investors and Professionals. Do YOU have a network?
If you are active in this business, you more than likely do whether you realize it or not.
If you are new to the business of Real Estate Investing or Sales, then creating a network as fast as possible is one of the most important things you can do!
Trust me when I say this: “My network contacts have made me millions of dollars in this business”. That’s right, without the support of my network (and the contributions I make to it), I would not be anywhere close to the success I have achieved today. Guess what? I am still learning and expanding this network all the time.
To me, nothing in this business is more important than nurturing and expanding this network. It is the prime reason for the creation of the www.HomesToGo.Com Network system…to help manage and expand your own network.
You see, to my way of thinking, the network comes first and the deals (both purchases and sales) flow back and forth through this network.
To the new investor, this is often the most overlooked of all aspects of this business. It is also probably responsible for why so few people ever make it to the top of this game or even stay in it for that matter.
A while back, I speculated that if 100 people purchased a book, course, tape series, or attended a seminar, only a few of those would put the information to use and profit from it. I figured most of the people would open the course or review the seminar ideas. A smaller percentage would actually act on the ideas or strategies presented in it. Still fewer would actually ever use the techniques to purchase a property. And finally, a very small percentage would actively and continuously use the ideas to profit from. Overall, I speculated that 1-3 people would realize measurable profits with really only about one person becoming very successful with this knowledge.
So here, we have a bunch of people from around the world spending hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars trying to make it using the information provided in these courses and books. Who is really getting wealthy here? I think you can figure it out.
So why the low odds of success and what can you do to beat them and become wealthy?
In talking with people after close to fifteen years of investing, I realized that people did not have a support system or network to continuously help them to achieve what was promised in the information they purchased.
It wasn’t that the ideas were bad or wrong, it’s just that to the new investor the obstacles appear to be larger than they really are and no one is there to share knowledge with to create the necessary synergy to overcome these perceived obstacles and succeed.
It is no coincidence that many gurus offer a year of follow up tutoring by telephone or email to help the new investor succeed. Unfortunately, the kind of support needed by the new investor is not what is provided. In many cases this is friendship and moral support!
That is why it is so important to build and maintain your own support network!
This goes for both new investors, experienced investors, and other real estate professionals. The most successful Realtors realize the importance of this and some are quite creative in the way they constantly keep their name in front of your face. Think about it. Every year I receive magnetic calendars, business cards, pens, pictures, calculators, letter openers, and a host of other things from successful realtors who know the importance of keeping their name in the minds of their network. Who are you going to call when you want to sell your home? Hey, just look on your refrigerator at home!
So, how do we go about building a network so we can be successful in this business?
The first element of your network should be what I call the “sounding board”. Ideally this is a person who will listen to your ideas and reciprocate with his or her own. You almost have to generate conversation and excitement to continue to propel yourself forward.
So who should this person be? Well, let me go out on a limb here and say it should probably NOT be your spouse. That person knows your strengths and weaknesses far too well and these will often interfere with the purposes of a good “sounding board”. That is not to say you should not discuss your ideas and inspirations with your spouse, family, and friends. In many cases, however, these are exactly the wrong people to talk to and can actually generate a sort of negative energy to dampen the investor’s excitement and spirit. Note that they don’t do this intentionally; some people feel they must ground you with their concept of reality. Remember, their reality is not yours! People make millions in this business regardless of what my wife, mother, sister, or brother think!
I suggest you find a new friend through your local real estate group or form a mutually beneficial relationship with someone interested in the same things you are from somewhere else. It could be work, school, sporting activities, or your church. Start up conversations and someone will rise up to fit this bill.
I maintain about three close “sounding boards” that I talk to (often daily) to keep me grounded in the reality of real estate investment and keep me excited about new ideas and challenges. You will find one too if you are passionate about investing.
Nurture the relationship with your “sounding board” and always be ready to give more than you receive.
The importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded, goal-oriented individuals cannot be overstated. This is the basic fuel for the fire that continuously propels you to greater and greater levels of success. If you are reading this, you are participating in a prime example of what I’m talking about.
Three years ago Mitch Stephen and I decided to build a website to help us leverage our time in the real estate business - a website for our personal use. We had both done very well in the real estate business but we wanted go beyond our current situations. Our respective businesses had “leveled out” and we were finding it all but impossible to break through to the next level of financial success while maintaining a reasonable level of freedom. We DID NOT want to work every hour of the day so we explored ways to put less hours in and get more done using the computer. The idea evolved and evolved and evolved and sometimes it was very frustrating and expensive… and yes I can say sometimes it literally hurt. For months we worked tirelessly. When I was about to give up, Mitch would take the ball. When he was worn to a nub my energy was back and then I’d take over again. We kept each other going until finally our website was producing results.
Today we have broken through those walls but we are amazed at what we thought was going to pull us through and what actually did put us over the top. Mitch and I talked every day for months on end… sometimes for minutes, sometimes for hours. We almost never left the conversation as the same person we were when we took the call. I have grown mentally, emotionally, technically, and that website has grown as well. Today it is www.Homes2Go.Com . It worked so well for us, personally, that we wanted the world to know there is a better way to manage your contacts. Stop waiting for business to come to you. Use the computer and legal email strategies to go get business –NOW!
Don’t be afraid of change. Changing your mind or modifying your direction to compensate for new found knowledge is the mark of a successful entrepreneur. The late Ken D’Angelo, Founder of HomeVestors, once told Mitch, “A true entrepreneur usually ends up with a completely different business than the one he started out to build in the beginning”.
Always prepare yourself for the next direction in your investment career. Keep your sounding boards close and give willingly to those around you. It will come back to you in wonderful ways you never imagined!


Spiderman on Real Estate Web Marketing
Spiderman on Real Estate Web Marketing
What can a comic book hero teach us about buying and selling more properties using the web?

The Internet (or web as I will call it in this article) is really an amazing invention. In the case of the Internet, the web-like design allows communications to take place even if one of the hubs or nodes is not functioning. You can see the value of something like this for a country worried about the impact of a nuclear disaster and the threat it would pose to communications.
If you look at the typical layout of the Internet (in line form) from above the U.S. (and even the world) it does indeed look like a web. The web is the network connections. Remember the word network because I will come back to it in a few minutes.
But, the word “web” can be applied to Real Estate Investors and Professionals in some very creative and out-of-the-box ways.
Just about all spiders create webs, but often for different reasons. Some such as orb-builders create beautiful designs to capture creatures that jump and fly. Others have ground-based webs with tunnels. Others live underground and line their homes with them. They use them to house their young, create homes, wrap up food, travel with the wind, climb and descend, and the list goes on. I find them fascinating creatures.
So what can Spiderman and webs teach us about our Real Estate Business?
Let’s take a look at how many different types of “webs” we can use to profit in Real Estate.
The Website—Just about everyone is familiar with websites these days. It is a spot on the web that people can reach for all sorts of information. Perhaps you as a Real Estate Investor or Professional even have one. It is open 24 hours every day of the year, offers information, pictures, and more. Just like a spider, you must have at least a basic understanding of how to use it to help your business succeed. Sadly, very few professionals really understand what it can do for their business and their efforts are equivalent to putting a sign in the yard and hoping someone accidentally drives (or surfs) by.
Now take Spiderman here, our red, white, and blue, two-legged acrobatic arachnid.
Spidy uses his web a bit differently. He has the unique ability to PROJECT his web. Sure, you have watched him shooting it out. What happens? Well, it STICKS to something of course and he can then do all sorts of things. He can swing down a busy street, wrap up some people and drag them to him, and much more. Do folks know he has a web? Sure, everyone does because he is constantly shooting it out for one reason or another. Spiderman markets his abilities very well!
The question is: Are you marketing your abilities well?
Most of the gurus out there are usually trying to get you to buy their system of acquiring properties. Now there is nothing wrong with this. If you looked in my closet, you would find many books, courses, and tape sets that I have purchased over the years. Have I gained a lot of knowledge from some of these systems? Sure—without a doubt!
PROJECT and be ACTIVE! = Active Projection--it applies to buying and selling.
One popular guru uses regular mail to send postcards to everyone in a certain neighborhood that he wants to purchases houses in.
Another guru puts signs up at all busy intersections with his phone number stating that he buys houses for cash in less than 48 hours. (You see these all the time and perhaps you have put some of these signs up yourself.) I have always wondered how many sellers actually receive a check in their hands within 48 hours…Hmmmmm…
Another guru goes down to the County Courthouse several times a week to search records for indicators of people who might like to sell.
Still another (slightly morbid) guru scans the obituaries in the paper and attempts to contact the owners of the property.
 Now I would agree that all of these techniques work in order to find leads and purchase properties.
 I would NOT agree that they are an effective use of your time.
 I would NOT agree that they are easy or likeable enough to do regularly.
 I would also NOT agree that they work in the REVERSE very well when it comes to selling the property.
For example:
Are you going to go to the expense of mailing postcards when you have a property to sell?
Are you going to go out and pepper signs around town with a property to sell?
Are you going down to the courthouse when you have a property to sell?
Finally, are you going to take an ad out next to the obituaries when you sell?
You might say, “Hey Joe, aren’t you getting a bit crazy here? (It would not be the first time someone said that to me.)
But hold on a second. Why should you have to change tactics so drastically when it comes to selling the property? Doesn’t it make sense to use the same tactics to simplify your real estate business process and Buy in the same way you Sell?
I would bet that Spiderman has some buttons down near his wrists that cause his web to shoot out and stick to something.
You probably see where I am going with this. Your buttons down near your wrists are called a keyboard. You shoot a signal (instead of sticky silk) through a wire or through the air that attaches to an email box.
You can BUY in the same way you can SELL!
 More effectively.
 For less cost.
 In a fraction of the time.
 AND you can do it over and over without ever running out of supplies or money.

Most importantly, none of the tactics above ever uses the Web as we talked about earlier as a NETWORK!
This network literally “works” both ways generating leads and accomplishing sales and expands larger and larger as you work the system.
I think you would agree it is far easier to open your email box and see 10 leads waiting for you to screen than it is to accept and screen 10 telephone calls. Of course, these calls come while you are eating dinner with your family, hanging out with friends, watching TV, or doing whatever it is you like to do when you are not working your business.
The HomesToGo.Com system is designed to take maximum advantage of the things we looked at above to build networks and actively project your web of influence.
I don’t know of any other system that has been designed by Real Estate Professionals FOR Real Estate Professionals that is build from the ground up using the concepts and theories of “Active Projection Marketing”. The power of the system is incredible and almost unlimited.
Let’s look at the design from the ground up.
The Name: Homes To Go
Unlike several other sites, the name is designed to work both ways. It doesn’t stick to the old and overused tradition of appealing only to those that want to sell.
A website like IBuyHomesForCashInaFlash.Com (if it exists) really pigeonholes itself into only half of the entire Real Estate business process, namely attracting buyers. Would you feel comfortable trying to sell a home with an email like that? What would your customers think? Would they think they are being taken advantage of in their situation?
If you think your clients, (sellers and buyers) are all dumb, think again. They watch TV and have seen Carlton Sheets’ infomercials just like you. People who advertise that they buy houses are a dime a dozen and many people feel they are going to be taken to the cleaners.
The System: Passive Lead Generation and Capture
This is common and has been around for years. The Homes To Go Network takes the idea to a whole new dimension. The simplest system of passive lead generation and capture is to put an ad in the paper with a phone number and have an answering machine record the information from the lead. This is old school thinking and does not work very well. People who call a number want to talk to a real human being and statistics show that they will hang up over 65% of the time.
By the way…what can you do with the recorded lead on your answering machine? Can you save it to a file for later use? Mark it as a possible foreclosure, subject to deal, or wholesale flip? Of course not.
Leads ARE passively generated through the HomesToGo Network system. Yes, like other systems you receive an email with all the details in the county or counties you work in. The difference is that the system captures ALL leads in a database by county and stores them. This is true whether you delete the email you receive or not. It is also true for those counties where an investor or professional is not signed up on the system. When they do sign up, those leads are already there under the Buyer/Seller Explorer in the control panel!
Why is this important? Because of the old adage that “Situations Change”. The smart user of the system will follow up on these leads regularly to see if something has changed in the seller’s life that now makes a deal possible.
Of course, you can do the same thing by dragging and dropping the lead into any folder you create.
The System: ACTIVE Lead Generation and Capture
How would you like to be able to shoot an email to the group mentioned above where the seller’s situation may have changed with just a few clicks?
Ready to shoot your web like Spiderman? Here we go…
Let’s send an ACTIVE web-shot at all of these leads.

“Hi,
My name is Joe Ponce and I remember that you were trying to sell your house a while ago. I was just touching base with you to see if it is still for sale. I am looking to purchase a home in your area and came across your previous email.
Please shoot me a message back or give me a call if you have not sold it yet.
Best wishes,
Joe
(Your personalized email signature and phone number)
OKAY—How long did that take to follow up on all those leads?
Probably no more than just a couple of minutes and your phone may ring in the next 15 minutes with a possible deal. By the way, remember to remove those leads where the email is bounced back, or you can call to make sure the home is no longer available.
Remember, you can shoot a message like this to any of the groups you have out there to generate new leads or follow up on older ones.
You will be amazed at how powerful “Active Projection” is for leads and sales through the HomesToGo Network system.
So start shooting your web like Spiderman and let it stick to some profitable deals!
We will discuss many other techniques in future strategies!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007