Category Archives: Real Estate

A Guide to Property Managers Going virtual

There are many ways for property managers to try to mitigate the dangers of COVID-19 for residents, staff members and themselves. It is seriously important to keep up to date on public health guidelines, and below are seven tips to help steer you and help you thrive through these challenging times.

Prioritize Maintenance

Your duties as a property manager vary. During COVID-19 you will need to limit physical contact between maintenance staff and residents. When maintenance issues arise consider whether the problem is life-threatening or if it is an immediate threat to the property before dispatching employees. If the issue can be resolved virtually use that option. Routine maintenance on building mechanicals should continue to be done to avoid larger problems that may require more physical contact.

Cleaning 

Be aware of health department guidelines about cleaning product efficacy. Disinfectants must be applied using a strategy that minimizes your employees contact with the chemicals. Provide protective gear like masks, gloves, eye coverings and for some products full body disposable suits. These measures may not be physically comfortable but are necessary to the health of your employees. Clean common areas often, especially elevators, railings, and pulls on trash chutes and doorknobs. Touch-less entry systems may be a good investment at this time.

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Tips for Buying Your First Condo

Have you decided to buy a condo but not sure if there are differences between purchasing a condo or a home? Or maybe you don’t know what you should be looking for? Well, you don’t have to worry because this article is here to help you make sure you are financially geared up before you rush into a decision.

Strategies to Make Sure You Are Financially Ready

Buying a condo for the first time can be tricky, and all you need are essential tips from experts and consultants to help you in this world of real estate. The following are six crucial strategies to help you become successful in owning a home. They include: 

Budgeting Your Finances 

It advisable you jot down the critical points to help you in handpicking the best home. A condo has a lot of specifications and in getting it, requires proper planning of finances to make sure all the amenities and stocking of the house is well budgeted for. 

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Do Existing Personal Loans Affect a House Purchase?

Are you planning to purchase a house but have an existing personal loan? Do you want to know if it will affect your purchase? Many individuals that are planning to buy a home are asking the same question. 

It is important to be independent and have your own space where you can rest and get cozy. Being independent will also help you grow as an adult and learn to live alone without your parents. 

Therefore, purchasing a house would be one of the most significant decisions you can make in your entire life. Continue reading to know the answer, so that you can properly plan your purchase according to what is best in your situation.

Will Existing Personal Loans Affect my Purchase?

An existing personal loan can affect your plan of buying a home. Whether it is a good or bad effect, may all depend on the situation. An unpaid personal loan can reduce the amount you can borrow in the future. It could also significantly affect your credit score, depending on how you handled your debt. 

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Realty Executives International Launches Digital Marketing Executive Course for Continuing Education During COVID-19 Outbreak

Realty Executives International has launched the newest addition to their exclusive training suite, the 2020 Digital Marketing Executive course. This four-week certification course is offered annually to all Executives, Broker/Owners and office employees of the Realty Executives’ franchises. 

The educational event is held virtually twice per week for four weeks. Brand leadership including President, Patrick van den Bossche, and Vice President, David Celaya, are joined by various guest speakers to lead the network through a multitude of topics pertaining to real estate in the digital world. Topics include: social media advertising, leveraging your CRM, perfecting online profiles and more. The goal of the DMX certification is for all attendees to leave with a digital strategy and execution plan for their business. 

Realty Executives International launched the 2020 course, understanding the evolving state of real estate and the opportunities for business that lie ahead. As many agents and brokers are having to adapt to staying distant from clients, the brand wanted to provide different opportunities to utilize downtime and connect with clients through digital channels. By providing the training course free-of-cost, Executives and Brokers are able to provide better service to home buyers and sellers around the world. 

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Does a New Roof Boost Your Home’s Value

Are you considering putting in a new roof? Sure, this isn’t a project that’s quite as popular and snazzy as remodeling your home’s interior. However, it does have some advantages, especially in improving your home’s resale value; not to mention the newer and nicer appearance, the improved warranties and lower bills. Still, there are a few different factors to keep in mind when thinking about a new roof over your household. With that in mind – we’ll take a look at some of the most pressing ones.

Your New Roof And Home Value

Naturally, one of the main remodeling ideas behind putting in a new roof is to protect your home beneath it. However, there are other practical advantages, such as having better insulation. Plus, if you’re going to use one of the newer roofing materials, your summers won’t be quite as unbearable; the heat will be reflected from your rooftops instead of being absorbed. In terms of comfort and lower utility costs for AC, this is a great relief. 

And the functional additions aside, even if you just put in newer asphalt shingles, there’s an aesthetic appeal to think about as well. Of course, there are plenty of options available to you, including natural wood; many homeowners prefer it due to its objective and natural appearance. 

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Best Apps to Get to Know Your New City

Navigating a new city is hard. Moving is one of the most stressful things a person will do in their life. Luckily, our phones make the transition a little easier by having a plethora of apps to download in order to thrive in your new home.

Apps to meet new people

We are social animals. We need people – simple as that. Making friends in your new city will be one of the first things you’ll want to do, and these apps make it so easy to connect with new people!

Meetup

Don’t just stay at home every night binging your latest TV addiction. Get out there and meet like minded people! Meetup makes it easy to do that. Whatever your interests are, Meetup most likely has a group for it. Whether you’re into running and want to train for a local race, a reader looking for a book club or an outdoorsman looking for people to hike with, Meetup has kindred spirits just waiting for you.

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Property Experts Share Advice for First Investment

It is almost always exciting to think about the potential that any property investment holds, particularly when you’re new to the business. While buying your first rental property is almost certain to be a lucrative maneuver, it’s important to proceed with care. 

The good news is that all of the most common property investment mistakes have been made before, and with careful, in-depth research, you’ll find it easier to avoid them. Our real estate pros have been in your shoes: begin your quest for knowledge by using their investment tips to your advantage. 

1. Still renting? Buy your own home before you invest in a rental. 

There are tons of reasons to rent instead of buying your own home. But purchasing your own residence before you invest in rental property gives you real-world experience while easing your way into the financial side of things. When you buy your own home first, you’re likely to get better interest rates plus you’ll need a far lower down payment. There are tax write-offs to consider, too. When you’re ready, upgrade to a new home and use the old one as a rental, or continue to live in your home and invest in a second rental property. 

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Eight Ways Real Estate Agents Can Leverage Downtime

These are rare times, when you’re forced to work from home and no commute! How could you spend your time? You could read Hemingway, tend that garden or binge-watch Netflix.

Or, you could use the time to polish your sales and tech skills, set up a lead nurture campaign or record a video email. Maybe find a new perspective on your business approach. 

If you can’t show or sell houses right now, why not use the time wisely in other ways? Here are eight ideas.

1. Sync your CRM

Tag your As, Bs and Cs and note their sources of lead origination. By integrating your CRM with your transaction management system, you can leverage synced contacts to reach out to past and future clients in new, personal ways while better tracking your ROI. 

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Six Ways to Create Wow-Factor Rentals

Most investors are interested in improving the value of their asset over time. Investors typically seek both capital growth – I.e. turning a profit when they want to sell – but also maximum rental yield and minimum vacancy whilst holding the asset. The best way to do this is to create maximum appeal for prospective renters in the area.

But this can be tough to do, especially in suburbs or cities that are flat, facing oversupply (too much choice for renters, which pushes rent rates down), or perhaps aren’t offering the property type that rental seekers are looking for in that area.

Many different home improvements can be made to the property to increase its appeal and functionality to renters. Today the team at Property Correspondent offer up some innovative ideas to make your property stand out from the pack in pursuit of the best quality tenants looking in your area.

Houses – Install a New Garage Door

This is a big one. Older garages often appear tired to renters and older garage doors often lack the security level needed to protect the tenants’ vehicles being stored. Garages and sheds should be in good condition to allow the home to look maintained. The garage door is one of the main features on buildings that influence the aesthetics of the home and the good news is there are many tools available to design your own shed or garage.

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Things You Need to Know About Trust and Estate Administration

There was a time when many people associated words like “trust” or “estate” with wealthy people, with the belief that only the rich should be concerned about who should get a hold of their assets when they pass on.

These days, however, more and more people are becoming aware of how important estate planning can be. Whether or not you have a huge house, plenty of cash in the bank or a massive enterprise is immaterial. With estate planning, you get to choose who gets what, even if it’s just a tiny home, a little bit of cash or a few trinkets here and there. At its very heart, drafting a will or setting up a trust is all about protecting your loved ones.

Of course, trusts and estates need to be administered when the time comes. With estate and trust administration, the directions in a will or trust can be routinely implemented, all loose ends pertaining to debts and taxes tied up and the affairs of the whole estate managed.

Here are some of the things you need to know about trust and estate administration.

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