Minneapolis
Minnesota First Time Home Buyer Tips
November 17, 2010 by Financemyhome · Leave a Comment
A buyer in Minnesota, and specifically the Twin Cities area-Minneapolis/St Paul, should consider visiting the board of Realtors site at http://www.MplsRealtor.com On the tab regarding market activity, they will be able to click through and find out aggregated information that is compiled into city specific reports. For example, Minneapolis real estate will be broken down into the various areas of our MLS. All the data mining and statistical information is done for you. This is an excellent resource, as it gives you average market time, sales prices, and percentage of list to sales price.
Another resource is Http://www.Hocmn.org This site provides information for homeowners in distress and explains all the Minnesota laws regarding the foreclosure process and debt forgiveness. Visit this site and download the PDF fact sheets. Buying distressed properties today represents an opportunity. Understanding how the law works in our state is imperative.
Crime reports are also a useful tool. Some cities have the information aggregated and reported better than others. Minneapolis is one of the best. If you visit the Google search engine and type in “shots fired Minneapolis” you will be taken to the crime statistics area. You might want to use this to determine how close in proximity your desired home sits in relationship to previous criminal activity. Along that same thought, if you want to research registered sex offenders, visit http://www.corr.state.mn.us
Another site that can help source down payment assistance and grants for Minnesota home buyers ishttp://www.Workforce-resource.com This links with the MLS and actually becomes specific to a property in which you are interested. You will find that not all lenders will work with these programs. So, you may need or want to switch lenders if you want to access some of these special programs.
Lastly, we have sourced various discounts with local & national companies. For example, at this time, I can get you a discount coupon at Lowe’s, Pods, and other national firms. Many companies have discounts arranged for their agents to offer buyers and sellers. Not every Realtor is aware of this, so you might require that they check in with their corporate office and find out-or you could just work with me.
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Minneapolis
Twitter Real Estate Tips – Tweet Your Listings
July 20, 2010 by Financemyhome · Leave a Comment
By Kevin Curtis
New technologies continue to make business easier and more exciting than ever. The recent introduction of social media websites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are creating quite a buzz among the Real Estate community. It has never been easier to connect with people and share your listings.
Twitter provides a large chat room feel where Realtors may list properties and answer questions asked by interested parties. It also gives the Realtor a chance to connect with new lenders and real estate investors. At Twitter, people choose the people they wish to follow and create a tailored list of friends. They may also choose to un-follow certain people at any given time.
Be Honest
Create your Tweets with honesty in mind. Don’t mislead potential clients or trick them into visiting a home that isn’t what they’re looking for. A wasted trip may cost you a great lead. Home owners have become much more knowledgeable about the real estate business in the last couple of years. Mass foreclosures have taught home buyers what to look for and warning signs to avoid.
Be Brief
Twitter limits each message to 140 characters. As a Realtor, certain acronyms are used on a regular basis to describe a home. For instance when someone reads “4bed, 2.5 bth” it’s readily understood that the home has 4 bedrooms and 2 and one half bathrooms. Make the most of those acronyms while “Tweeting” your listings.
Create Curiosity
Provide a city name and brief description of the home. Links to photos or videos can take up valuable space and should always be shortened by using a service like TinyURL. A properly written Tweet may look similar to this: “New Listing Minneapolis. Single Fam Home 4bed, 2bth, fenced yard, great neighborhood. Starts at $98k.” Thirty-nine more characters allow you to link to the listing on your website or photos.
This example provides valuable information for home buyers and real estate investors. They know up front that the home is an affordable single family home in Minneapolis with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a fenced yard and a great neighborhood. Encourage your Twitter followers to ask questions and answer them promptly.
Obviously the information contained within a 140 character message isn’t going to provide all of the information buyers are looking for. Engage in conversation via tweets with followers. Really get to know what they’re looking for in a home so you can effectively tweet about listings they may be interested in.
Tweet Open Houses
Any time you have an open house, Tweet about it. Let your followers know when you will be there so they can plan to attend and get information about the property. Every professional Realtor knows that getting the interested party to tour the home is incredibly important to sealing the deal.
Tweeting an open house should be done in much the same way as a new listing. When you tweet an open house, include the address. Make sure your followers know exactly where the home is. Interested followers will show up, especially if you’ve already created a relationship with them on Twitter.
Make Use of Media Sharing Websites
The Internet makes it possible for a variety of websites to communicate. Posting your message to multiple sites can be quite time consuming. Look for websites that offer the possibility to post to multiple communities simultaneously. For example, when you post a photo to FriendFeed or TwitPic you have the option to post it to Twitter in the same instant.
Use these services and others like them to your advantage. Don’t spam your followers with message after message, just share the important stuff. Keep a close eye on each community website you use and keep communication flowing freely. Buyers and investors enjoy building a relationship with their Realtor. Be the Realtor that provides them that opportunity.
Kevin Curtis is a licensed agent with RE/MAX Advantage Plus and The Minnesota Real Estate Team. The #1 Re/Max team in MN For 06, 07,08 & 09. Search for Minnesota and Minneapolis Real Estate at mn mls and get ongoing insights into the Minnesota Real Estate market at MinnesotaPropertiesOnline.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Curtis
http://EzineArticles.com/?Twitter-Real-Estate-Tips—Tweet-Your-Listings&id=2395798
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