Real Estate: Sell or Renovate, Which Should You Do
By Andrew Hodge

Whether to Buy or Sell a home is one of the biggest decisions anyone makes and brings up the question "should I move?” To this I always ask "why do you want to move?"

I have had a surprising number of people respond with "I want to collect on the increase in value since I purchased". They believed that they could sell their home for top dollars and buy a similar home for much less. For anyone who has not guessed already, this will not happen. All homes of a similar style, area, size and with similar features will sell for similar prices. Once you account for real estate fees and closing costs, a move can have significant expenses. So why should anyone move? The simple answer is, because they need something that the current home can not give them. The longer answer involves cost comparisons with renovating, accounting for the inconvenience of both selling a home and renovating a home and whether or not a renovation is even possible.
Real Estate: Sell or Renovate, Which Should You Do Continued

Flipping Real Estate
By Jeanette Joy Fisher

Many beginning real estate investors get started by flipping real estate to make quick cash. If you would like to make more money by investing in real estate, you need to know a few essentials.

What is the definition of real estate flipping?

Simple definition: Buying property and reselling quickly, hopefully for a great profit. Usually, people think of flipping houses, or the buying and selling of a home fast, as the only way to make money flipping real estate. However, some investors specialize in other types of real estate such as land or strip centers.
Flipping Real Estate Continued

Fundamentals of Real Estate Marketing
By Brandon Cornett

Your personal marketing program needs certain ingredients in order to succeed. Chief among them — research, focus, testing, honesty and enthusiasm.

Fundamentals of research
Effective marketing demands thorough research, the more of it the better. In fact, I would rank research in the top-three factors of successful marketing.

Before you can write a brochure to inform your audience ... before you can write an advertisement to persuade your audience ... before you can write Web content to educate your audience ... you have to know everything about your audience.

You have to know what their days are like, how they define success, what they worry about. Everything. Only then can you begin to communicate to them effectively.
Fundamentals of Real Estate Marketing Continued

Real Estate Investing - Motivated Buyer?
By Mike Burke

What's the first image that comes to mind when you hear the term -- motivated seller?

You probably think of someone who is desperate to sell his property, as quickly as possible, for well below the market price - right?

Well, sometimes that's true but often it's not.

There are many reasons, other than desperation, that motivate a person to put their property on the market.

Maybe needed repairs are too costly for the property owner or perhaps the owner is relocating to a different area. Maybe the owner, for various reasons, is trying to avoid the pressure of waiting to the last minute to sell his property so time isn't always a consideration.
Real Estate Investing - Motivated Buyer Continued

Real Estate Agents: Don't Rely on the Free Consultation
By Brandon Cornett

Does this line sound familiar? “Call today for a free consultation.” Or how about the wordier version: “Call today for a no-obligation consultation.”

I'm betting it does sound familiar. Because while working in the direct-mail industry, I saw these exact words on more real estate marketing pieces than I care to count. And that's the first thing wrong with the free consultation — it's overused, and it has been for years.

Here's what else is wrong with it (and those who have tested this offer against others will agree with me here). Your prospects expect a free consultation, and they know they're going to get one ... if not from you, then from some other agent or REALTOR® they'll inevitably stumble across.

One final problem with the free consultation: Much of the information you'll share during the consultation can be found on the Internet, if you know where to look. And believe me, your prospects know where to look!
Real Estate Agents: Don't Rely on the Free Consultation Continued