When you purchase property in a condo, townhouse, co-op, or subdivision development, you'll have to deal with homeowner association's rules and regu...
When you purchase property in a condo, townhouse, co-op, or subdivision development, you’ll have to deal with homeowner association’s rules and regulations; violation fines; a lien if you don’t pay your fines, monthly dues, or assessments; and other fines if you don’t abide by the rules.
If you’re considering purchasing real estate subject to a homeowner’s association, you may be surprised at how detailed the regulations can be. Let’s go over some typical stringent rules found in some association regulations:
-The homeowner association has to approve any exterior design alterations or painting done by the homeowner.
-Vehicle repairs aren’t allowed to be performed in the driveway of a home.
-Backyard storage sheds aren’t allowed on your property.
-Outdoor clotheslines, television antennas, basket ball hoops, and satellite dishes are prohibited.
While civil rights laws influence the drafting of homeowner association rules, some residents won’t be thrilled with some of the regulations. For example, just because a homeowner association regulation permits a property owner to have children living in the community doesn’t mean all residents will be overjoyed with the presence of kids. Only a senior community can exclude children from living in its association. You may need to be proactive in your association to help reform a better environment for your children.
Here are some additional association guidelines you may be forced to follow:
-Only one pet per unit allowed. Maximum weight can’t exceed 15 counts.
-Association rules will force a property owner to dispose of uncontrolled or excessively barking dogs within three days notice by the board.
-Homeowners that own bicycles cannot leave them in undesignated spots. They can’t be left unattended on community areas, in hallways, or placed on the balcony or patio.
-Personal conduct and clothing in the common grounds must meet association guidelines.
-Placement of signs aren’t permitted on community grounds.
-Placement of drapes or curtains in a unit without a white liner is prohibited on association grounds. You must be able to see the liner from outside the unit.
-Property owners aren’t permitted to entertain more than 10 people in a unit of any single time.
-A property owner desiring to rent their unit out must obtain approval from the board prior to doing so.
-If you decide to sell your unit, the board can reject any new homebuyer in the association for any legal reason it decides is appropriate.
Homeowner association rules can affect certain areas of your lifestyle. Before you decide on a development, make sure to review the regulations to see if you can live with them.
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Where is a good place to check mortgage rates? How many different choices are there? This can be a bit bewildering. Here are some answers to those questions.
Places to find current interest rates
You can go online and type your request into any good search engine. You also might try the websites of banking and lending institutions. They usually have a link to the current rates. When you get there, you will see many different types of loans. Here are some that you will encounter.
Fixed thirty-year rate
If you take this option, your loan will stretch for thirty years. Your rate of interest will not change for the entire life of the loan. These are usually conventional types of loans. They may be harder to meet the requirements for. Sometimes the down payment can be as much as twenty percent of the loan amount.
Adjustable rate mortgages
These loans are also known as ARM loans. You may see an ARM labeled 5-1. That means that the interest will not go up for the first five years. After that, it can only be raised once a year. When current interest rates rise, so will ARM interest rates.
There may be reasons to consider an ARM. You may plan to refinance to a fixed rate after some time. Perhaps your financial future looks bright? These could be good reasons to get an adjustable rate mortgage.
You can choose from several different types of adjustable rate loans. Some adjustable rate loans will convert to a conventional loan after a certain time. The cap on the interest rate can vary also. It is best to talk to someone in the lending business to get your best options.
Not long ago there was an ARM problem in the United States. Many lending establishments offered low interest ARM loans. People bought many expensive houses with low payments. As long as times were good, everything was fine. When times changed, many could not afford their higher house payments. Foreclosures were frequent, which caused a chain reaction in the economy. Many people lost their homes and went bankrupt.
15 year fixed interest
This fifteen-year loan has fixed interest. Your rate will never change. Your payment will be much higher, but you will pay it off twice as fast. The interest rate is lower too. However, the higher monthly payment makes it impossible for many people.
A fifteen year fixed offers a huge benefit. It is not just about the payout time. Consider this example.
Tom and Mary were paying $537.00 a month on their $120,000.00 home. They financed $100,000.00 with a thirty year, fixed rate loan. After thirty years, they paid $93,256.00 in interest. June and Harry financed the same amount for their home. However, they went with a fifteen year, fixed rate mortgage. It was harder for them to make the $765.00 house payment, but they managed. After fifteen years their house was paid off. They paid $37,699.00 interest for the same money as Tom and Mary.
Balloon loans
Most balloon loans are from five to seven years. Make your payments and after five or seven years, the remainder is due. There are advantages. You get low interest and low payments for several years. But you have to come up with the balance of the loan in a lump sum. Unless you have a good plan this could be hard. Maybe you can refinance? It is still taking a chance.
Final thoughts
Borrowing money for a house can be a daunting task. Talk to a loan professional so you can be aware of all of your options. Do not be in hurry.
Analysts are expecting the to rise and to drop within the upcoming year. Read more about it on our blog.
Those of us who wants to be in the lucrative world of buy and sell business have no doubt looked the business of selling homes and houses. To be able to enter this market has a few procedures that must be followed and you must get a real estate license to begin your adventure into this very profitable venture. There are several ways to do this procedure which will be covered here.
In these modern times, the way to get a the license is probably more convenient and less of a hassle than in the past since we now have the internet and a wider range of communication. By opening up your web browser and typing in the phrase how to get a real estate license, you will get numerous hits and references in sites and companies that give a service to help you get that license. Several options also open themselves up to you once you have decided to make a choice.
Offers to help you a license is given by schools and other related entities on the web. Their services range in assisting you to acquire specific licenses by state, for example a Quebec real estate license or a general brokers license. Their services also include assisting you in getting a broker license. Other services include preparation for you to get specialized licenses depending on your need and field of specialty.
Once you do decide to enter this business, the main form of investment especially if you are new to this field is an investment in training and schooling to prepare yourself for the licensing examinations. This can cost you anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a thousand or more. All depending on what you want to specialize in.
In fields and areas where there is much competition, you need an extra edge by taking more review classes and the like to the license. This will take much effort on your part. But in the end it should be worth it.
You may also consider training yourself or preparing a review on your own for the examinations to offset expenses. This has the drawback of spending too much time on it and also the relative difficulty of finding the right materials you need as the industry updates itself now and then. Whether you do decide to do it on your own or go to a school for preparation, remember it is not always an iron-clad certainty that you will pass, for sometimes it is not in all of us to be a real estate person.
Your first hurdle in this field is to get that license, and this can be followed by another hurdle which is boredom. Somewhere down the line most agents find out later on that the job is not really suited for them. This despite the time and investment they have put in.
Should this happen there are other options out there that give similar and and profits like direct selling. You may join big companies in being their distributor for their products and this can also be lucrative. The final decision of course is always yours on whether to go on or not or to new altogether.
If you’re looking for a , then go to your nearest real estate agent. They can help you find exactly what you’re looking for, whether it’s a large kitchen, multiple bedrooms, or even a home with, , they can help.
Proactive prospecting can be much like physically exercising regularly. It’s something that you know is good for you and will produce predictable positive results, yet is something that most sales people always seem to avoid!
The key word is commitment. Commit to setting an appointment with yourself for one or two hours each day. Start with utilizing your resources such as your sphere of influence. It is easy to say to ourselves, “Well, I have a lot to do today so I’ll start prospecting tomorrow or next week”. Prospecting not only requires commitment but discipline as well. You are important so make that daily appointment with yourself just as you would will any potentially important customer or client.
Write down what you are going to say and practice saying it to yourself in the mirror. You will come across more confident to the person on the other side of the phone. Consider talking about something of value to the customer. It might be something related to the economy or the real estate housing market. People love knowledge and education. Provide them with information that will draw their interest.
Accurately define your target market before you begin. Determine how many calls you will make in that hour or two. Some sale people will call until they get an appointment or make the sale. Or you could decide to make 20 calls in that allotted time. Whatever you feel comfortable with and reasonable within the time allocated.
Be prepared with a list of names from your personal Sphere of Influence before you call. Not being prepared with a list of names will force you to devote much, if not all of your prospecting hour, to finding the names you need. Have at least a one month supply of names on hand at all times.
Work without interruption. Do not take calls or schedule meetings during your scheduled prospecting time. Take full advantage of the prospecting learning curveas with any repetitive task, the more often you repeat it during a contiguous block of time, the better you become. Prospecting is no exception to the rule. Your second call will be better than your first, your third better than the second, and so on.
When calling, decide on a time slot and try to stick with it. Maybe 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM or 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM. There will be customers that seem impossible to get a hold of. You will have to set aside another time of day and try to call those customers. We are all creatures of habit (Hint). They are probably in a routine between a certain timeframe, so you need to try and catch them at a different time or different day.
Don’t stop. Persistence is one of the key virtues in selling success. Most sales/valuable contacts are made after the fifth call, and most sales people quit after the first.
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I wanted to share with you some good information and knowledge I have learned over the years. If you are in direct sales of any kind, I will provide you with a proven example of how powerful business cards can contribute to your sales figures. With over 20 years experience in real estate sales, I will be more comfortable giving you examples based on my expertise. However, you will see that this can apply to any and all types of direct or commission sales personnel.
When I first started in the business, I had absolutely no prior sales experience. I was actually a computer geek and spent most of my time talking to computers. My first month in real estate I had 4 sales. Well, it was just luck and when those sales closed, I had no more business.
If you are brand new in sales, you need to come up with a way to market yourself and your product or service you sell. Advertising can be very expensive and the least expensive form of advertising is business cards. A good quality professional business card should cost you no more than $100 per 1000.
Around that same time the Super Bowl was coming to Arizona. I was a season ticket holder and was able to get tickets for $100 each. When I arrived at the game early, shortly thereafter I was offered $1000 for each ticket. The temptation was too good and I couldn’t resist.
A good habit to be in, is always keep a box of business cards in your car. Over the years I have asked so many people for their business card and they didn’t have one on them. As far as I’m concerned that is a “lost” sale.
That 3 hour excursion increased my sales over 6 figures in the next year. It then dawned on me, that this was the way I was going to generate business in the future. By doing this I was able to considerably keep my overhead costs to a minimum.
Let’s look at this example I experienced in more detail. I sold 15 homes from these 1000 business cards I handed out. Although the conversion ratio was small my net return was huge. If I could pass out 1000 business cards in 3 hours, I could easily distribute 1000 cards per quarter. 4000 business cards per year at a total cost of $400 would generate at least 60 home sales per year. Not too shabby considering the average agent only sells 8 homes on average per year.
Remember to hand out business cards to everyone you meet. In the grocery store line at the dry cleaners, the dog groomers, etc. The worst thing that could happen is they throw your card away. That is about 10 cents a card. Not a great loss considering what the return can be.
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We are all somewhat familiar with social networking. The Internet has allowed us to network with other people through some very popular sites. Most of us probably are a part of either Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or one of many other social networking sites. With the Internet and technology today, we tend to lose sight of how important face-to-face networking is. In person networking has always had positive results when it comes to generating new customers, friends and business opportunities.
Understanding that networking groups on a face to face basis are critical for opportunity, more and more businesses, independent contractors are coming together. Business and Networking International, the Chamber of Commerce, Toastmasters, and the American Legion are just a few of the organized networking groups located all over the world. This will in fact increase your potential and provide you with a chance to share your experience with a group of untapped prospects.
Keep in mind, you can always form your own networking group. You can organize specific dates, times and locations convenient for everyone. Be sure to invite a variety of knowledge and experience that are all related in some way shape or form. You have total control of the size of attendees and the likeminded professionals that will be meeting.
As business entrepreneurs, we want more prospects, clients, customers and the like. With the same goals in mind, we can share ideas and meet new and exciting people. Business success always begins with getting in front of people, communicating and sharing our knowledge.
When attending a networking meeting, be sure you have twice as many business cards as there are attendees. Each participant should receive two cards from you. One for themselves and one to give someone they may know.
Most networking groups will start off by allowing you to introduce yourself. Take about two minutes to “tout” yourself, your product and your services. You will be in the “spotlight” for a brief moment, so make the best of it. Practice and rehearse what you will say when called upon. This will be your moment to put forth your best impression.
When researching networking groups or starting your own, try to limit the number of professionals within your own industry. In other words, if you are in the Real Estate business you wouldn’t want seven other Realtors in your group. The same would hold true for Insurance Brokers, Doctors, Contractors or other professionals.
Especially in today’s economy, face to face networking is very inexpensive. The success and knowledge you will be able to gain in a short amount of your time will be priceless. You will hear other success stories, meet new people, make a few friends and will be able to interact with one another to achieve your common goals.
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When you are ready to take out a new mortgage, home equity loan, or homeowners insurance it is important that you comparison shop and receive a variety of quotes. By doing this you will ensure that you are getting the best possible loan or coverage, at the lowest cost available.
If you are shopping for a new mortgage for a home, you will want to first check the rates available at a variety of banks, credit unions and private loan organizations. It is generally a good start to first approach the bank or credit union where you have already established a relationship. They may be able to make you a good offer and be competitive with some of the others who you will approach.
After visiting with your own banker, seek rate information over the Internet so you can find local companies who are offering very competitive rates. Contact these organizations and obtain additional information regarding terms of loan, closing costs, etc. so that you will be able to compare one quotation with the others. It is important that the products you are comparing are equivalent for the same costs.
If you are looking for a home equity loan, it may prove to be a little tougher. When the economy started to crash many banks canceled, or reduced, the lines of credit that were in their portfolios. Most banks currently have a freeze on giving out these types of loans until things start to get better with the economy and the housing market.
When shopping for a new mortgage, you will be required to purchase a homeowner’s policy that will show the mortgage company as the loss payee. This covers their investment in your property and they will insist that such a policy exist and have this particular endorsement. Premiums for homeowner policies vary greatly so, again, you must shop to obtain the policy that will best meet your needs. Always consider getting a policy that offers a replacement guarantee clause, as this will enable you to replace your home completely in case of a total loss. Other policies will provide funds if a loss occurs, but they may not cover the cost of replacement. If that is the case, you will have to privately fund the balance of the cost through a new mortgage which will just leave you with additional debt after your loss.
When you are shopping around to acquire various you should always start with the bank you are currently doing business with. Once you find a suitable rate you will then need to research and list your mortgage lender as the first payee. To find out more check out www.quotefinancial.com.
Could today’s economy have an effect on the way we do business? It seems like since the year 2000 there has been dramatic changes in our business economics. There has been substantial drops in the stock market, continued corporate scandals, the closing of many banking institutions, almost double digit unemployment and a housing market that has plummeted. This has caused a major disbelief in our society of what’s to come.
Unemployment, hiring freezes and spending freezes in businesses seem to be commonplace. We are starting to question our stability as human beings. We are becoming more and more apprehensive about the security of our nation. These feelings have clouded our mindset for any individual whether on a personal or business level. It doesn’t matter what industry or geographic area we live in, our behavioral traits are changing. As a business professional, it is evident our customers and clients are more cautious when it comes to making any type of decision. They are weighing their options more closely. The public in general, in my opinion are just sitting back and waiting it out, hoping things will eventually change for the better.
Yes, we are pretty much powerless to change the situations, however we are in definite control of how we respond and react to the dilimeas. As business sales professionals, we have some hurdles that we need to overcome and rethink some of our skills to continue to rise to the top. Our knowledge and experience is priceless and we need to use these skills to our advantage.
If we were successful in the past, we can be successful in the future. We need to trust the system if we expect to flourish and enjoy continued success. Yes, we will get knocked down along the way, but we get up, dust ourselves off, and drive forward. This part of being successful has never changed. There will always be obstacles in the way. Customer’s mindsets and anticipations have changed and we need to be accommodating to meet their requests. We need to ask ourselves, what can we do to reach that success at the end of the pipeline?
Salespeople are always prospecting. We need more regularity to continue to fill the “pipeline”. This will help in securing our success in the future and a continuation of income. Cold calling customers have changed over the years and we can change with it just by being more aggressive in our creativity and consideration of others.
We already know that the postcard prospecting system can be productive. We may need to improve our frequency and volume. Additionally, using the IBS in email format can get to potential sponsors quicker and for less cost. There are numerous ways to obtain the addresses, usually by visiting company or industry websites, as well as current print advertising sources. Be sure your subject line has strength to avoid being deleted before the message is opened. You can reach hundreds of prospects in a short period of time. The result is usually an appointment, and in my experience, I have found that our closing ratio improves on an appointment versus a cold call. We need a mixture to keep energized and productively busy all day.
Now more than ever the customer is not making quick decisions. Their thought process has been extended. Creating significance in the customer’s mind is vitally important.
We need to change with the times or we will have to go to the end of the line. Ask yourself, “Is “adequate” really adequate? Will this mindset make us reach our goals to success?
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To some salespeople, follow-up means a call or two after the sale has been closed. It may come as a shock, but most don’t even do that much! Consider this: if salespeople stop at one post sale follow-up call, they are throwing away future business. Successful sales professionals and experts consistently tell us that not keeping in touch with your clients after the sale can have serious negative consequences.
The Eighty-Twenty Rule in sales usually signified 20% of the sales people did 80% of the business. This could also represent 80% of your business comes from 20% of your client resources. In other words, following up with your clients could generate 80% of your sales. This is true for repeat clients or referrals from these particular clients.
In real estate for example, we need to stay in touch with our buyers after the sale to find out if any problems exist. Remember, they will call you if there is a major problem, but won’t bother you with the “little” things, but it’s those little things that will prevent them from referring others or buying from you again. You will never know if any problems exist if you don’t stay in touch.
Always consider each customer or client in multiples. Every client could potentially produce 3 to 5 more clients. The one way to assure this will happen is to always touch base with your clients AFTER the sale. Always focus on treating your clients as you would want to be treated.
With advanced technology, there is no excuse for you NOT to reach out and touch your past clients. Some of the resources available for you to follow up with your clients are written thank you cards, birthday or anniversary cards, or periodic emails.
With today’s innovative ideas we can easily try to escape the phone call approach. This is probably more powerful than any other follow up technique and should not be forgotten. If it is available to you, then I would highly recommend incorporating this method in your follow up procedures. A few minutes of conversation will reconnect the rapport with your client.
Sales people seem to not realize how powerful follow up can be. Repeat business is what we all strive for and you will get positive results by including follow up in your daily or weekly agenda.
To stay on the road to success, be sure you follow up after the sale. This will assure you increased sales and productivity.
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Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get in a time machine or rewind the clock to make the best use of our time? Unfortunately, that only happens in the movies. We are each allotted 24 hours a day. What we do with these 24 hours is our choice. The old adage, “Let’s work smarter” not “harder” has a purpose. By mastering this adage, by constantly looking for ways to improve our time management will increase our productivity 10-fold.
PROCRASTINATION. We can easily point to ourselves for examples. Is there anything you have ever “put off until tomorrow” that you later regretted not doing? Perhaps it was an exercise program or some other regimen, such as a plan to quit smoking. What about your daily business plan?
We need self-discipline. This is really something that is non-negotiable in the work force, whether we are independent of have superiors we report to. If we are in fact responsible for ourselves, we require a disciplined mindset and variations of energy to be able to succeed and fulfill our goals.
Especially in sales positions, how many times to hear the “NO” word? Then why do we have so much trouble saying “NO” to our customers or clients? In order to stay on track, there are going to be time we have to say “NO” or it takes us off the path to success. This can happen so easily when we start readjusting our time to convenient our clients. More so than not this could have a negative impact and disrupt our plan of action.
We most likely communicate with all different types of clientele. Evaluate the current business model you are using and determine if improvements can be made to become more organized. Improved organizational skills will save you critical production time and increase your net worth.
Be careful not to overload yourself with responsibility. We can easily fall into a trap of doing more than we can handle. Creating a daily, weekly or monthly plan through our initial goal setting which of course, is in writing, will assist us in maintaining our control of time. Aiming for our targets without getting sidetracked, will keep us on the path to success.
Our path to success is followed by clear and precise goals. We have defined objectives that are determined by written goals. These defined objectives are crucial to our business growth and development. This provides us with a specific plan of action and is of no value otherwise. Reviewing your objectives daily is of the utmost importance. Reaching our objectives will be interrupted with obstacles along the way. Stay focused, leap over these hurdles and watch your productivity soar.
Our time is valuable and cannot be replaced. Once used, we cannot get it back. What we do with our time is a personal choice and must be measured to perfection. We are rewarded for our performances and controlling how we use our time, will effectively eradicate the “time wasters”. By doing so, could be the difference between a “weak” performance and a “superior” performance.
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