What three letters make bankers cry but can help industrious REALTORS® thrive when there is a prolonged real estate slowdown?

REO. That’s shorthand for “Real Estate Owned,” which is what lenders call properties they own following formal foreclosure proceedings against borrowers who have defaulted on their mortgages. Lenders truly dislike assuming physical ownership through foreclosure. When they do, they often turn to REALTORS® for help.

REALTORS® who were active from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s will remember neighborhoods filled with REO properties, particularly in inland Southern California and after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Because foreclosure numbers lag behind sales and price trends, the REO market didn’t peak until 1997—well after the market showed signs of the recovery that led to California’s most recent real estate boom.

Today, as the market slows and foreclosures rise, banks, secondary market institutions, and REO specialists are gearing up to handle the expected increase in REO properties. While banks are mum about the topic, some veteran REO specialists offered to share their expertise with REALTORS® looking for ways to diversify their business.

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NEW YORK (Money Magazine) — If prospective buyers looked at your house today, what would they see outside? A giant evergreen that looks as if it might swallow the station wagon, perhaps, scraggly old foundation plants or maybe a kitchen-table view of the neighbors’ kids’ trampoline?If so, you have a truly inexpensive opportunity to boost your home’s curb appeal.

By spending $500 to $3,000 on plants and materials and a few hours of time, you can achieve a well-landscaped look without shelling out for professional help.

Besides the personal enjoyment you’ll get from a prettier yard, landscaping adds more value than almost any other home renovation.

A recent Michigan State University study found that depending on where the house is located, high-quality landscaping adds 5 percent to 11 percent to its price.

If you have no immediate plans to move, all the better: Landscaping is the one home improvement that actually appreciates over time.

So how do you decide which projects to tackle? That depends on how long you think you’ll be around to enjoy the results.

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I found this list of “totally stupid” business ideas and it inspired me to think.  You know, even if you think your plan is “stupid,” or will never work - think again.  Many of these people had faith in themselves and took a risk - and succeeded!  So if you’re in a slump in this housing market, don’t start drinking and sink into a depression.  There’s hope!

Get those creative, innovative thoughts crankin’ and take a chance.  Perhaps try a different marketing strategy using our new QuantumMail system?  How about reaching out to a new audience?  Check out the training being offered at PMZ University and take a class you may not have previously attended because you were too busy.  Drop into the office of one of your colleagues that has been in the business for a while and ask them what they think you should do.  You know the saying, “think outside the box!”

To inspire you, take a look at the stories of success below (click on READ MORE) Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re like me, you dread getting caught in the automated menu systems of most institutions.  Take, for example, Wells Fargo Bank.  I have had accounts there since I was a kid, and it pains me to call their 1-800 number because I know it will take me at least 5 minutes to get a live person on the phone.  That’s the only reason I am calling - to get a live person!  Otherwise I can find out everything online.

For those of you who share my pain, here’s a helpful resource to skirt around systems you’re most familiar with and get a live person to answer.  Check out this tip list >> DIAL A HUMAN chart

PMZ.com has arranged a special rate for virtual tours provided by Circlepix.com.

PMZ agents now get $10 off the regular price of the tours and the audio tour is included. You can burn your tour to CD for free or purchase duplicate CD’s. You can also build and print Flyers for free. There is a free 800 number that a client can call that will present the audio tour information and capture the phone number of the caller. (click Read More below for details and download CirclePix Data Sheet & Info)

“Virtual tours” is an industry name for a photographic process that allows an individual to view a room as if he were standing in it and turning to look at every angle. The technology gives a potential buyer a much better idea of the space, light, and architecture of residential houses, hotels, nursing homes – even boats - anywhere that a physical tour would be useful. Allowing the buyer or renter to see the property as if he were actually there – to “virtually tour” the property – give the technology its name.

The tours are hosted on the Internet and allow buyers to tour properties from any location with web access. Data show that over 80% of homebuyers begin their search for property on the Internet, an increasingly crowded market where sellers are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd.

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By now, most of us understand the effectiveness of branding your business using the power of the Internet. However, some of us still might not yet realize the Internet’s potential. For those people, here is a quick refresher on why the Internet is such a powerful marketing tool and why traditional advertising, such as newspapers and magazines, are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

The Internet is changing the face of consumer spending. Consumers are turning more frequently to the Internet as a first resource in searching for goods and services. According to the National Association of Realtors, over 80% of home buyers now turn to the Internet to start their home search. Fading are the days when consumers wait until Sunday for their local newspaper to publish homes that are “new” on the market. Why should a consumer battle through a sea of gray and black that is updated once a week and that covers a limited area when they can easily hop online anytime to find the home of their dreams?

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You might have seen “Hometime,” a home improvement show hosted by Dean Johnson broadcast on public television and in syndication. The basic aim of the show is to help homeowners achieve professional-looking results from their home improvement projects. On Hometime, they tackle everything from landscaping, painting, and kitchen facelifts to managing new construction and major additions to older houses.

They have a really helpful companion web site that you, and your clients, can use as a great resource for some interesting home improvement projects.  There’s no fees or registration.  Just video features and step-by-step instructions!

To see the web site, click here >>  HOMETIME SITE

Here’s another resource for those of you who need to convert media (sound, video) from one format to another.  Say you want to change a Quicktime movie into a Windows Media Format movie… this site allows you to do that at no cost. Yep, it’s free.  Click here >> MediaConvert

Make them yourself or find somebody to shoot, edit and host ‘em — but don’t miss out, believers say: video is an easy way to set yourself apart from the competition in real estate.

You don’t have to hire a professional or go to film school to make use of video. The ability to shoot video in digital format and edit it on a computer has turned the process into child’s play — literally.

But there’s more to it than walking through a listing capturing some footage and posting it on YouTube (no-no’s in this video: “blown out” sunlit windows and rooms cloaked in darkness; occupants and their possessions at every turn, and a heavy-breathing cameraman who gives the whole thing the atmosphere of a slasher flick).

With a little bit of effort, it’s possible to get good results shooting your own video. And there are a growing number of videographers who will do the work for you at surprisingly affordable rates. At the upper end of the scale, there are professional production companies capable of producing broadcast video that’s good enough for TV.

For the most part, agents and brokers are using video in two ways: to promote themselves, which brings them clients and listings, and to sell individual properties with videos that accompany listings.

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In today’s diverse workplace, your actions and motives are constantly under scrutiny.  If you aren’t managing your own professional image, others are.

“People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace,” says Harvard Business School Professor Laura Morgan Roberts. “It is only wise to add your voice in framing others’ theories about who you are and what you can accomplish.”

There are plenty of books telling you how to “dress for success” and control your body language. But keeping on top of your personal traits is only part of the story of managing your professional image, says Roberts. You also belong to a social identity group—African American male, working mother—that brings its own stereotyping from the people you work with, especially in today’s diverse workplaces. You can put on a suit and cut your hair to improve your appearance, but how do you manage something like skin color?

Get answers to these questions and more:  How do stereotypes affect perceived professional image? How do authenticity and credibility influence the positive outcomes of impression management attempts? What are the steps individuals should take to manage their professional image?

Read an insightful interview with Professor Morgan Roberts by clicking here >> READ INTERVIEW