Look at your personal life; how many times have you had the best intentions to start a workout program, go on a diet or declutter your life?

Think about these three quotes and how they relate to your business or personal life.

• Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. – Dale Carnegie
• Continuous, unflagging effort, persistence and determination will win. Let not the man be discouraged who has these. -James Whitcomb Riley
• The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and the unknown, who is afraid of failure, will succeed. – Gordon Parks

Whether it is these motivational quotes that touch you, or something else you have stumbled across in your path; print them, hang them everywhere and read them often. They will surely have a powerful and positive impact on your success.

Real estate marketing takes motivation! Motivation to try, motivation to get over failure, and motivation to step out of your comfort zone! Focus on these 6 crucial steps to help you take the next steps to marketing success.

1. Marketing requires repetition – It’s all about relevance and you must utilize your marketing efforts to stay at the forefront of your clients minds, sometimes even for years.
2. The marketing you do today will create your business of tomorrow – Return on Investment in this industry is hard to identify but if you want business in the future, market yourself, services and listings TODAY.
3. Open the lines of communication and keep them open – Give away your contact information to everyone you can, whenever you can and keep those lines of communication always open.
4. Contacts create contracts – Sales is truly a numbers game.  Contacting more people who may not need your services now will increase your odds of reaching someone who does.
5. Be different, be yourself – Even if “you” is quirky or nerdy.  People want to know you. Despite the advancements in technology, this business is still about building relationships and when people meet you face to face, they want to meet the person you presented yourself as in your marketing.
6. Be found – People can be found by being present. Utilize many different social networking platforms to brand yourself.  Keep in mind, Quality still beats quantity so make sure the message that you are sending gives people knowledge and touches their emotion.  Knowledge and emotion are what guide the intangible after all!

Unfortunately, out of the over 23,000 marathon starters; only 17,580 actually finished. TREG agent, David Phillips was one of those people, and although he was able to complete the race, he was profoundly affected by the events that transpired just minutes after he crossed the finish line.

“I was at the Boston Marathon only a block and a half away from where the first bomb exploded. My parents arrived at the first bomb site at 7:45 in the morning in an attempt to get a spot as close to the finish line as possible. They left the site only 15 minutes before the first explosion to find me. When the bombs went off, one of my friends had just crossed the finish line. As you can imagine, it was a very emotional week for everyone involved”.

Since his return to Hampton Roads, David has connected with other local runners and fitness enthusiasts and is helping the Tidewater Striders Running Club support the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Their goal is to raise $26,200 in one week which represents $1000 for each of the 26.2 miles of the race. David sees this as his way to help those that were affected by the tragedy that he and his family just narrowly missed.

The Tidewater Striders Runners United to Remember Fundraiser:
WHEN: Saturday 4/27
TIME: 1 p.m.
WHERE: Crossfit Unparalleled, 4904 Rutherford Rd. Ste 101, Virginia Beach.

If you are unable to make this event, you can donate to this great cause here. To find out more information about the United to Remember Fundraiser, please visit David’s Hampton Roads Runners site. TIdewater Striders are a 501C3 Nonprofit Organization.

We stand with David in raising awareness for this event and we are truly grateful to have David back and serving his clients in Hampton Roads.

For those who know David or just those of you that want to help, we would appreciate any effort you can give to spread the word about his support of the victims. If you have blogs, or friends on social media, please post about this (feel free to link back to this post) and assist him in getting the word out. We only have a week to do this and any help is greatly appreciated.

Most of the focus was drawn to uses, content, audience and statistics, which compared each platform’s effectiveness.

As I listened to each instructor speak about this now ubiquitous tool for socializing, I began to reflect on how far technology has advanced in the last 20 years. I recently attempted to explain to my children the concept of a “party phone line”, which my family had when I was a child. The thought of dialing a number only to hear another conversation already in progress on the other end was unfathomable to them. Not to mention, having to stand next to a wall-mounted phone in order to have a conversation was unbelievable.  Developing relationships face-to-face has become a thing of the past.

Facebook, in itself, is a great way to brand yourself ,develop relationships and communicate with your contacts. However, Facebook is a dinner party not a trade show. What I mean by this is, users come to Facebook for the social connection. They share photos, talk to friends, read community information as well as humanitarian stories and sometimes even gossip. It’s a place to be yourself. Be quirky, funny, nerdy and interesting. Facebook should be thought of as your little black book or high school reunion not a place to do business. Your “likes” are your fans and are engaging in your content.

Building your brand in your industry starts with building relationships, credibility and letting people know that you are human.  People don’t care what you know until they know that you care!

According to NAR’s 2012 profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 45 percent of all buyers used open houses as a source in their home search process.  This powerful statistic illustrates the continued importance of open houses, even in our soaring technological era.

National REALTOR® Open House is an NAR sponsored open house event which offers a fantastic opportunity for those interested in homeownership to connect with a TREG REALTOR® who can offer expert advice and guidance on the home-buying process.  The benefits of Open Houses for buyers, sellers and REALTORS® are vast.

• Open houses give potential buyers a feel for what is available in their local market
• An open house allows neighbors to identify with which houses in their neighborhood are for sale, which can create a buzz
• Prospective buyers can see a number of houses, all on the same day
• Sellers get the opportunity for a new group of buyers to check out their homes
• REALTORS® get a better feel for a neighborhood or area
• They give REALTORS® the opportunity to make personal connections and brand themselves by developing relationships, not only with prospective buyers, but other local homeowners that may be buying or selling in the future.

The National Association of REALTORS® has created a wealth of promotional materials that you can use to promote your open houses including news release templates, logos, flyers, media hooks and a hash tag which you can use on your social media sites.  You can view the entire NAR site or click on the links below for specific information.  This YouTube video will give you 10 creative ideas for how to promote your open house.

REALTOR^® Resources and Materials

• NAR Field Guide to Open Houses
• Open House – Media Talking Points
• Get Customizable Hand-outs for Buyers and Sellers from REALTOR^® Magazine
• Nationwide Open House Weekend flyer

To support our TREG agents who plan to participate in the National Open House weekend, you can pick up your REALTOR and TREG balloons in either office next Thursday or Friday! Just grab your balloons and fill them with the in office helium tank, tie them up and go! We only have a limited number so make sure to get yours!

You can place a newspaper and/or online open house advertisement with realestate.hamptonroads.com  but be mindful of advertising deadlines.

We had never met in person before, even though we’ve been doing business together for well over a year; and a lot of business at that. It amazed me how similar my experience in meeting them could be to what a new Hampton Roads resident would find as they met their REALTOR® for the first time. The meeting was seamless and their approach to relationship marketing was amazing. I thought I would pass on 3 key things that they did to earn my business and my respect.

1) They were authentic. The person I met when I got off the plane was EXACTLY who I had been doing business with via the web. He was as helpful, innovative and friendly in person as he was online. The photos that I had seen of Vladimir were an exact match to seeing him in person. Who you say you are online creates a promise, and when you finally meet someone in person, that either delivers on that promise or not. One thing that sets many people at ease when they meet you in person for the first time is that the experience CONFIRMS what they already thought they knew about you. Having that happen multiplies the level of trust much quicker and when you only have a day or two to develop that relationship, first impressions matter a lot.

2) They took great pains to understand my needs. Our conversations started and ended with them trying to understand MY business and MY needs vs. making me try to understand theirs. Many times in the real estate business our jobs are to help people understand the “ins and outs” of the business.  With that said, the opportunities we make to have general conversation, ask questions and listen empathetically allow us to truly form a bond.  Honestly, the more I tried to understand what they needed, the more they did the same with me. The result was SYNERGY and a lot of great ideas. This also lead to increased trust and respect, which I am sure will lead to more business.

3) They were AMBASSADORS of their area. Despite my excitement, I was uncertain about travelling to Serbia. Most of the news that we see about Serbia is less than what their Chamber of Commerce would want us to read. Based on my experience, I will be traveling there again. The warmth, hospitality and genuine friendliness that I felt contributed to a truly special experience that I will cherish. They went out of their way to educate me on the culture and the history of Belgrade, and the aspects that were a potential negative were kept in context.  This relaxed me and truly helped to enjoy the experience. Whether people are relocating for military reasons, retirement, or for a job change, their anxiety about an area is often the best place to start. If you can make them feel a sense of belonging, your jobs are well underway.

Think of these three points as you do business. People have concerns when relocating, and many areas of the country have stigmas attached. People worry about the education that their kids will receive, and what people in general will be like. It is an unfair perception, but savvy REALTORS® take the extra steps to show potential relocation clients the award winning schools, the arts, the museums and other parts of the city that counteract negative impressions that they may have received from the press, friends or other sources.  Try to identify the possible negative stereotypes someone may have about moving to Hampton Roads, and consider these questions:

1. How can you overcome those objections?
2. What are some of the GREAT things about our area that you can point out to a potential client which will sell them on the area and more importantly on you?
3. What are some of the things that you do to make a relocating person or family more comfortable on their first visit to Hampton Roads?

The fact is, unreleased Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) make up a significant amount of claims in the title insurance industry.  An equity line is essentially a revolving line of credit secured by a mortgage Deed of Trust against a piece of property. Two major issues often arise during closing process:

• One of the most frequent surprises to borrowers, sellers, agents, and lenders alike is an unexpected equity line Deed of Trust showing up on title after the title search is complete.  Often times the seller doesn’t realize a HELOC attaches to the property and is a lien that has to be paid off in order to sell the property.
• Another example is when a homeowner takes out an equity line, pays it down to a zero balance…often never even using it…and then finds out that the equity line that was supposedly “closed” is still recorded against a property. How is this even possible?  The equity line was paid and closed so it should no longer affect the home, right?”  Unfortunately, borrowers are often unaware that there is a difference between “paying a loan off” and “paying a loan down”.  Since many home equity loans allow funds to be borrowed, repaid in whole or in part, and then borrowed again, the banks will not automatically close an equity line simply because it was paid down to a zero balance.  In order for the bank to prepare the appropriate release document(s), referred to as a Certification of Satisfaction here in Virginia), the BORROWER must request in writing to “close the account”. The circuit court recording fee of $41 will typically be collected by the bank.
  • The seller MUST NOT close this HELOC account prior to closing , but allow the settlement company to order the payoff which will show a zero balance, and collect the $41 fee which will show on the HUD. If the HELOC account is closed by the seller in advance of closing, this will delay closing as the buyers closing agent will need a release recorded prior to settlement. Lenders take anywhere from 60-120 days to have this release prepared; executed and recorded.

When insuring a transaction in which a HELOC Deed of Trust is recorded against a property (refinance or sale), a title company will require that the line of credit be irrevocably terminated and released.  Title companies have a sizeable responsibility when it comes to equity lines, specifically in the event of a sale because an equity line that is not closed and/or released could potentially be borrowed against (while secured against) a piece of property that the borrower no longer owns.

The best protection for a title company against an advance being made after the closing is receipt of a payoff statement received prior to settlement showing a balance owed, or in many cases a zero balance. Either of which usually includes collection of the $41 recording fee for the release (as this indicates the lien will be released after settlement).This payoff request causes the lender to freeze the account and at closing a seller will sign a document affirming their wish to permanently close this account.

SO, if an unexpected equity line comes up during the course of your next closing:

• Obtain applicable account information and/or loan numbers and be in close communication with your title company.
• Consult your title company and allow them to contact the bank on behalf of you or your client to ensure the account is not closed ahead of settlement, but addressed through settlement on the HUD.

Just remember, Most of the time, unreleased equity lines can usually be easily handled, but only if the Deed of Trust recorded against a property is addressed prior to closing!

More info on issues that could affect your closing or looking for a highly qualified title company to handle the purchase or sale of your next property?  Contact Landmark Title at 410-8077 (press 1 to reach any of the Landmark staff)

This content written and contributed by Tara Muniz of Landmark Title

Research shows that now is the time to sell.  The National Association of REALTORS® recently reported that buyer traffic is continuing to pick up but inventory remains tight on the sellers end.  That coupled with the low mortgage rates makes NOW a perfect time for your clients to sell their home.  As this seller’s market emerges, the reasons to list are clearer than ever:

• Only serious buyers are out
• There is far less competition
• The process will be quicker
• Upgrading will be cheaper as interest rates remain low
• There is no better time to move on with their lives!

Whether or not your clients are making a spontaneous decision to sell or they have been “on the fence” for some time, getting their house “LIST READY” may take a little extra effort.  Their home only has one chance to make a classy first impression.

Share these quick and easy tips with all of your clients as a way to help them declutter their homes, their lives and feel more in control of their home sale!

Well, May will still bring flowers; however the showers will come in the way of a flood of changes concerning FHA mortgage insurance premiums.  The majority of my career has been spent working with first time homebuyers and thus FHA has always been my go to product. Low down payment, flexible credit requirements and an all around safe product for buyers has made it quite appealing. So what is changing?

As of April 1^st, 2013 we are going to see a significant overhaul in how the private mortgage insurance is structured for buyers using an FHA product. The majority of consumers currently use FHA to take advantage of the 3.5% down payment which leaves them paying a monthly mortgage insurance premium (MIP) of 1.25% or roughly $224.15 per month on a sales price of $225,000. While the monthly mortgage insurance premium of 1.25% is going to rise to 1.35% on April 1^st, this isn’t the biggest cause for concern. Using the same sales price of $225,000, the monthly MIP payment will only be $20.11 higher per month. It’s how long home buyers must keep the MI that is the flood I referred to earlier.  The following explanation below details the changes and was taken from an article in Mortgage News Daily.

• FHA will reverse its existing policy of cancelling MIP on loans when the outstanding principal balances reached 78 percent of the original balance. Because FHA remains obligated to insure 100 percent of the outstanding loan balance for the life of the loan, homeowners will now be required to maintain principal payments over that period as well. FHA’s Office of Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs estimates that the MMI Fund has foregone billions of dollars in premium revenue on mortgages endorsed from 2010 through 2012 because of this automatic cancellation policy.

While the proposed changes are not exactly a deal breaker for most consumers, it will certainly have people questioning whether or not they want to pay that extra MIP charge for the entirety of the loan. That being said, there are occurrences where a buyer is not at that 96.5% loan to value and they decide to put more money down. The length of time they have to keep that monthly MIP all depends on the down payment. The chart below helps illustrate that.

We are using this as an opportunity to educate our customers on all of the loan products that are available to them.  At the end of the day, it is all about comfort with payments, especially for those of us writing that check. Please take a look through the two articles below that detail more of the changes and what we can expect in the future. As always, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call anyone on our team. We are always here to help!

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/01302013_fha_mmi_fund.asp

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2013/HUDNo.13-010

Here’s one of its best features, one that can help you maximize the quality of your follow up and communication:

OUTLOOK SOCIAL CONNECTOR…

If you haven’t tried using this feature, give it a spin and see how easy it is to match up an email message from a sender with their current Facebook profile photos and newsfeeds.  Now that’s an email on steroids!  You can also pull information from:

• LinkedIn
• MySpace
• Viadeo
• Xing
• Windows Live Messenger

Not only will this help you associate a name to a face, but it can give you the opportunity to check out someone’s status updates, uploaded photos and wall posts before responding.   Knowing more about what’s going on in the lives of people with whom you’re communicating could turn a simple response into a real relationship builder.

Installing the software is easy and the integration of information is seamless! Follow these steps to get connected to real time data which will make the time you spend in Outlook more beneficial and productive.

1. For Outlook 2010 32-bit, Outlook 2007, and Outlook 2003: Click on this link from your computer to go to the Microsoft Download Center.  For the 64-bit edition, click on this link
2. Follow steps to download software
3. From the Outlook toolbar, click on View, People Pane and Account Settings, once there, Click on the “View Social Network Providers Online” tab and choose the networks you are interested in connecting with.
4. This will prompt you to download the needed software for Facebook. If it does not, you can click here to take you to the software page.  Make sure that you download the software that is compatible with your computer
5. After installing the software for both applications, restart Outlook.
6. Once you have done this, return to the View, People Pane and Account Settings area of Outlook and click on the social media sites which will prompt you to insert your username and password.  After you have done this for each site, click finish.
7. To view your social media contacts, you will want to click View, People Pane and Normal and once you have done this, each e-mail contact you have will appear at the bottom of your Outlook inbox with an         option to add that person to one of your social media sites.
8. You will also find tags to the right of their photo that allow you to view your e-mail, meetings and other data about your contact; as well as view status updates, newsfeeds and RSS updates for this person.

It truly is a flawless process that won’t take more than 30 minutes to install.  You can begin using the feature as soon as possible which increases your ability to stay connected all in one place.  For more highlights, information and FAQ about the Outlook Social Connector, visit Microsoft Office Support.

Between scheduling appointments, visiting properties, preparing CMA’s, writing contracts, coordinating closings, being at the constant disposal of your clients and the million other tasks you complete every waking hour of the day, where do you find the time? Some are also justifiably concerned that a social media site might not attract enough attention to even warrant spending the time.

The key to this is to prioritize the time you spend, spend a little time familiarizing yourself with a few key new platforms that have potential, and most of all DO NOT GET LEFT BEHIND!  Social media sites provide you with opportunities to create your personal brand awareness, not just for today but for the future as well.  Investing a little time today to play around with a new tool may well give you a much greater return on investment later on when “everyone is using them”.

Google Plus is an example of this. It is still in the early stages and we don’t know whether it will become as big as Facebook or Twitter, but Google has the resources that could well make that happen.  Google Plus is similar to Facebook and Twitter,  but has a few additional features.

Circles:

Google Plus lets you share your thoughts, links and photos with only those people you wish by creating circles of people with whom you want to connect. So you can share church stuff with church friends and real estate stuff with real estate friends, etc. Add a friend to as few or many circles as you want.

+1:

You can add a “ +1” button on your site. This allows others to share your content with people in their circles and as more people begin using Google plus this will become much more important.

Hangouts

Ever want to have a video chat with clients far away? The hangout (or video chat) feature allows you to strike up video conversations with as many as nine people at once. This is handy for meeting with clients who are deployed or in other parts of the world.

Other Features

There are other features for sharing photos (Picasa) and making it easy to keep track of information (Spark) as well.

All of this pretty easy to use and if you are familiar with Facebook, you will find this user friendly as well. We will be doing some training on it as well and that will be available to you on TREGTraining.com site for you soon.  We will show you how to set up a profile, connect with others and start to connect with potential clients.

The whole idea is to spend a few minutes now, and get familiar with it so that you DO NOT GET LEFT BEHIND!