Phoenix Area - Jan 2015 Stats - Optimistic Outlook

Here are the Jan 2015 ARMLS Stats.  Third and fourth quarter of 2014 was much better than the year prior.  I've been optimistic about the Phoenix Market this year and ARMLS agrees as well.  I will continue to buy at an aggressive pace.

My flips are moving at much quicker pace, and I'm selling for a nice premium.  Inventory has remained steady much of last year and I think sellers are now accustomed to the market.  In early 2014 they were hoping for the big pickup they saw in 2013, but it just was not there.
As long as interest rates stay low, we should see a strong year in real estate.

From ARMLS -   "People are feeling better about themselves. I feel it’s a safe bet to say 2015 sales volume will exceed 2014. I don’t think it will be the breakout year we've been awaiting, but in terms of sales volume, it will definitely be better. 

Based on information from Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service for the period January 2014 to January 2015.  ARMLS Copyright 2015. 

How to Rock your Remodel Designs

To stay on top of current trends, you need to hire a designer for your remodels.  I paid $1500 for a designer to go through and pick out all colors and material for my flips.  I will probably do it again in another month or two.  The result?  Every house is moving quickly and selling for 10K+ more than I thought.

If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, 

wait until you hire an amateur.

-Red Adair

As an example - here is the latest new remodel coming from ReZamp.  Purchased for $142,500 from the MLS.  I will try to push $250,000 as resale price.  The remodel uses our new design colors and cabinets.

Numbers look good if it sells quickly for full price:

What do you think?  Like the new design?

Real Estate is not as easy as you thought - That's okay, come work for ReZamp!

I want to let you know I want to hire you or one of the best people you know.

Do you want to do something fun and learn real estate at the same time?

Do you want to be around people who crush real estate everyday? (yes, I used the word crush)

Do you want to try new things and learn from the best?

Do you want to drive around on our golf cart?

If so, I want you.  Click here to apply.

We are hiring for ReZamp.com, the most advanced real estate company on the planet (in my opinion).

At our company we accept only the best people.  We are looking for above average people who want to jump start their real estate career.

You get a chance to learn from the best real estate investors in the valley.

The only caveat is that culture fit is important!

• We are looking for confident people but not cocky people
• We looking for competitive people
• We are looking for someone who likes thai food and beer.

If you WANT to grow as a person, I want you to apply.

If you have a friend who you think is awesome, I want you to refer to them us!

If you are seriously experienced in any job below, apply.

Here is what we are hiring for:

1. Acquisitions Manager - Negotiations, contract writing, office manager
2. Remodel Project Manager - Construction experience, can use a hammer or screwdriver
3. Executive Assistant - Contract writing, follow ups, office management, etc

Are you ready to learn real estate?

Click here to apply.

Why Real Estate Technology is Lagging Behind

So you want a cool real estate investment app?  Well, good luck.  Real Estate is a monstrous industry and most people end up buying at least one house in their lifetime.  Have you noticed there are no good apps or software for the real estate investor?

Even the big players like Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin are shying away from this.  They have wonderful websites, but they don't help you, as an investor, purchase your next house.

A study done by Biggerpocket.com and Memphis Invest said there are 28.1 million US real estate investors.  That is the roughly the same number of people who own Roth IRAs or money-market share holders.  So why do we have Etrade or Scottrade, but nothing powerful enough to buy/sell real estate?

As a startup trying to solve this problem, let me first tell you why there are no good programs.

Real estate data is a huge mess!

Here are some facts:

• 1365:  Different Local Realtor Assoc.
• 900+:  Multiple Listing Systems
• 3007:  Unique Counties
• 517,800:  Total Brokers
• 165,000:  Total Brokerages
• 1 Million+:  Total Realtors

Every MLS and County uses their own data format.  There is zero standardization and no leadership from NAR to get better data standards. Sure there is a push from the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) and startups like rets.ly that are trying to standardize the data, but what do you do when you have incomplete or wrong data?  Garbage In = Garbage Out

On top of that, the MLS boards do not want you to have the data.  They want to put it behind a lock and key and make customers and brokers jump through hoops to see sold date. There are three ways to have access this MLS data.

1.  Vendor -  Create a product and you can ONLY sell it to agents. So the MLS are okay having vendors charge Realtors for their own data, but the vendors can't charge the public?
2.  Broker -  Become a brokerage and apply for a VOW feed. The MLS's don't want creative brokers to have access to this data as a proof in the DOJ vs NAR antitrust case.
3. Portal - The MLS's will syndicate limited data via List Hub, Point2 to Zillow or Trulia and convenience agents that it is  Zillow or Trulia's fault for the inaccurate data.

The Chicago Tribune says:

"The real estate industry is hungry for technological breakthroughs, and opportunity awaits existing business-to-business startups that can expand to serve it, real estate investors and entrepreneurs say.”

We think that:

No One Shares Data + No Standard Format + Not Investor Friendly = Huge Opportunity

Inman News has a great article how over $1B is being spent on real estate startups.  All of these companies are awesome, but I could not find one that focuses on the investor.

So, why is there 28.1M investors, but no cool apps for them?  Perhaps there should be.

ReZamp.com is a nationwide brokerage with powerful software that analyzes every property on the MLS.  ReZamp is free to use with no obligation to use ReZamp as your brokerage.  Anyone, even the general public, can use it.  

ReZamp is currently operating in Phoenix, Tucson, Tampa, Orlando, Las Vegas, Denver, Houston, and Jacksonsville.

5 Easy Steps to Get Your House to Appraise

Appraisals can kill your deal and cost you thousands of dollars.  This article will help you avoid a low appraisal!

It is true that you cannot pick your appraiser. Appraisers are supposed to be independent third parties to the transaction. Not all appraisers or lenders are created equal though. Lenders can chose their appraisal management companies which in turn chose the appraiser.

Their are aggressive and conservative appraisal management companies.  It is your job to find out which lenders use the aggressive appraisal companies.

Here are some quick tips:

1. Use a Lender you trust 
Yes, I know you cannot pick the appraiser or the buyers lender, however you can reject/counter offers based on a buyers lender. Lenders are not a protected class. It is not a coincidence that investors have their favorite lenders and provide incentives to use them. Get creative and offer incentives for buyers to use your lender. This is much easier in a sellers market vs. a buyers market. If you cannot get them to switch, then the tips below will still help.

2. Make the appraiser call you. 
Change the MLS listing to state that all showings must call the listing agent first before entering. The reason for this is so you can get their phone number and email. Once you get their email send them remodel costs and comparable sales (comps) for the area. More on this later.

3. Let the appraiser do their job 
Don't get in their way and don't make their job harder. Make sure they can access all areas of the home, and have easy access to walk the property. I never even meet the appraiser, I just provide the lockbox code and let them go on their own time.

4. Remodel and Upgrade Costs
Put your remodel costs together into an easy to read and easily printable format. I use Excel, but you can use anything. Just make it easy for the appraiser to see the improvements you have done to the property.

5. Comparable Sales 
I send 3 comparable sales to the appraiser even if they don't request them. This lets them know you've done your homework and know the area well. Some appraisers will ask for them, and some don't. Send them either way. I use ReZamp's built-in CMA function for this, but you can use any method that works best for you.

Thats it!  These five steps will save you thousands of dollars and avoid the dreaded low appraisal.

What tips do you have on getting houses to appraise?

6 Easy Steps to Great Listing Photos!

This is a guest post by Marc Freislinger.  

Marc is an upcoming real estate photographer.  His tips will help you sell your homes faster and for more money.  More people are using the internet to find homes, and great photos are key!  

1.  Stage The Property

To stage a property is to make it appealing to as many people as possible. This is usually done by de-cluttering and maximizing the use of space. When a buyer tours a home that’s too full of personal effects, they don’t see the years of memories that accompany those things. Buyers just see a home that feels a bit too small. In a similar way, vacant homes can feel cold and uninviting. Some sellers will rent a full homes worth of furniture to negate this effect, but even small items such as wall art, place settings, and silk plants can make a home feel lived in. Because photos are even more impersonal than a walking tour, they can amplify these effects if you’re not careful in your staging and shooting.

2.  Shoot HDR

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography is a great way to show off property interiors. Because homes are lit from multiple sources such as ceiling lights, floor lights, and exterior windows, it can be a challenge to take a good photo that doesn't burn out the windows or hide the interior in shadows. HDR photos are created by merging a series of photographs into one image that contains more detail than any single shot can. The photo series is taken on a tripod, using equally spaced exposures.

This allows for the full range of tones to be shown in the final product. The series can be merged using specialty programs such as Photomatix or Luminance HDR, or by hand in photo editing software like Photoshop. In the two shots below, you can see the difference between the camera’s “auto” setting, and a finished HDR photo.

3.  Shoot From The Hip

When most people take photos, they walk through the home and shoot while looking through the camera view finder at eye level. While this may easy for the photographer, they are missing out on one of the easiest ways to make a home feel larger on the inside. Set your tripod a little lower. While hip level may be a bit too low, shooting from chest level will help get more of the room in the picture and thereby make the home feel larger.

4.  a² + b² = c²

The widest point of any square or rectangle is across the diagonal. Another easy way to capture more of a room and improve the open feel of a home is to shoot photos across the widest part of a room. Shooting on the diagonal will also usually allow you to show only two walls of a room rather than three. This can be useful for keeping cluttered shelving or other unwanted items from view.

5.  Watch Your Verticals

When houses are being built, contractors use carpenter squares, lasers, and plumb bobs for one very important reason. They use them to keep the house square. Walls are vertical, ceiling and floor joists are horizontal. While looking at photographs, our imagination puts us in the space. Lines in pictures such as baseboards, door frames, and even wall corners should be horizontal and vertical just as they would be in life. Anyone who as ever visited a fun house knows how uneasy a person can feel when these items are built off kilter. When these things are off in a photo, some people experience that same feeling of vertigo.

6.  Hire A Pro

Taking and processing photographs is time consuming. Realtors make their money dealing with clients, networking, and marketing. Investors make money locating deals, analyzing properties, and running their businesses.  Is your time best spent learning and perfecting this craft? Or is your time better spent doing those things that make you money? I hope that something above will help you get your homes sold, but the best way to ensure professional looking photographs is to hire someone who has the eye, the software, and the experience to make your listing look its best. If you’re in the Phoenix area, I hope that you will consider Marc Freislinger Photography.

5 Social Media Tips to Help Your Real Estate Business

This is a guest post by Matthew Coates.

Let's get one thing straight, Matthew Coates knows social media.  Matthew is running a real estate business and a majority of leads come from social media and the effort he puts into it.  Here are his tips on helping you grow your business through social media.

With some major prodding from my wife, I entered the social media space about 6 or 7 years ago. I never thought my business life (and personal for that matter) would change as much as it has during this period of time. There is no doubt in my mind that with the current business I'm doing , approximately 50% of it comes from social media. Bold statement, especially with these real estate trainers out there that say social media is a waste of time, and stop playing Candy Krush on Facebook and all that, "tweeting around", etc. I contend that I am more productive than many of your agents that make 300 cold calls a day to complete strangers and hard pressure them, and I don't burn out from doing what I do. 

And it's not that I haven't tried other methods - believe you me. I jumped in gung-ho last August after I got back from a retreat featuring one of the heaviest hitters in the real estate training world. I got a farm area around one of my listings, made 300 calls in a day. About 15 people actually picked up the phone. This is because when someone calls your home phone and your don't recognize the number, they don't answer. Pretty simple. Of the 15 who answered the only positive response was one person who was interested in receiving updates in their neighborhood. 

Now I see the point that if you do this daily you will have made 6,000 calls in a month and that yields X production, but you know what? Too much abuse for me. I want to work with people that WANT to work with me, not ones that need to have their arm twisted. I'm sure I'll bend a lot of people out of shape, but oh well, I know what works for me, and you can take it or leave it.

I don't look at my post so much as a "strategy", as I do just a way of being successful in life, and it automatically pours into your business life. And while I am referring mostly to Facebook, these could easily be woven into Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and the whole 9 yards of social media sites.

So, what are my top 5 social media tips for real estate success?

Fill a need

When someone expresses a need, can you help? I'm not really talking about financial contributions, although that is the biggest given. I'm talking about helping make a recommendation for a good local vet, or maybe if someone's car broke down and they can't get to work. Most people look at this as taking time away from their own schedule and what they are going to lose, but I suggest looking at this as an investment in people. Does that mean they are going to call you next week to buy a house? Probably not, but you never know who they might run into. Heck, nothing may ever come of it for you, but you will have made a different in the life of another person, and I think that's enough.

Listen

Most of the time people just want to be listened to. Isn't it nice when you have had a hard day at work, or out trying to get clients, just to have someone there to hear your story. We all want that. Most people don't listen very well. They are too busy thinking about what they are going to say next. I'm not saying to jump into the drama and go fix everything, but by listening and adding comments of empathy and understanding , you will gain trust from others.

Be original

This is my biggest pet-peeve on social media. So many people comment the same exact things. Your friend posts a pic of them on family vacation in Hawaii, everyone says "awesome", or "hope you had a good time". Say something unique! How about "Did you get a chance to check out the Princeville area in Kauai? I heard it's pretty lovely and lush." Open up for the original poster to provide additional information, they love to give it, trust me! And the funny thing is that others will "like" your comment if it is original. One step further, you are looking forward to a notification on the OP's response because you had something intelligent to contribute to the social media interaction.

Be positive

I recently watched a very powerful video about the perception of negative social media behavior and how it can impact what friends think of you. It portrayed a guy updating his Facebook status with "My life sucks." And then we see friend after friend "hiding" him from their timelines.

Although it may have been stretched a bit, I don't think it was far from the truth. People don't want to see negative status updates on Facebook, especially ones where the only want to change them is if YOU change YOURSELF. Now tempering the negatives of your life and asking for advice or help is a completely different matter. I'm talking about airing your dirty laundry, complaining about this or that for argument's sake. Not attractive at all. Keep it upbeat , optimistic, but more than anything ,be yourself and be genuine and authentic. People can see right through a phony.

Don't "like" everything

One of the first things many people in business do when prompted to get involved in social media is to "like" all of their friends status updates. Please don't do this! It is pretty annoying, very transparent, and screams that you are desperate for friendship and/or business. Be selective - if something truly resonates with you, go ahead and "like" it, even comment "LIKE", or add something else to validate the friend's status update.

Hope you found this article helpful. My passion is helping people find solutions to buying and selling real estate in the Phoenix, AZ area. If I can be of assistance you can visit my website at livingchandler.com, call me at602.332.3321 or email me at mdtscoates@gmail.com 

If you have other social media tips feel free to comment below!