Even though Facebook turned off ads for real estate agents to attract new buyers and sellers, the platform is a prime opportunity for you to drum up business. Below you’ll find 12 Facebook marketing strategies you can use to grow your leads funnel of home buyers and sellers. [Read more…]
The good news is that real estate transactions are staying strong, even when we cannot connect with our clients in person. The biggest obstacle we are seeing is getting the best possible assets for property listings when the client does not want us to be with them in person.
Never fear! Just like we now have remote online notary (eNotary and eClosing services), there are solutions for real estate agents to get listing assets and photos that sell without having to come in contact with your client.
Here are three options so that you can get incredible listing assets and remain “contact free”.
Thanks to smartphones having advanced camera lenses and video conferencing, you or your photographer can connect with the seller virtually to take incredible listing photos.
Have your client set their computer or secondary device up so you can see where they are in the room. Now you or your photographer should give your client guidance on angling their phone or camera and describe what to capture. The best part is they can email or share the images in real time making sure you have the right shots.
Bonus tip – while you’re at it, why not have them do a 360 degree video of the room and a virtual walk through. You can make sure they scan the entire room and also position the camera correctly.
It can be nerve racking for clients to have strangers walking through their homes right now. But PPE and HAZMAT equipment are becoming available again.
By purchasing this for your photographer and making sure everyone follows social distancing and hygiene guidelines, you may be able to have your photographer go through and capture the correct images for the listing.
Another option is to see if your client will be running essential errands. This could be a great time to schedule your photographer to go in.
There will be no human contact and if the photographer wears their gear and follows guidelines and you have done your best to help prevent the spread of any viruses.
If your photographer does not want to do this, or the client prefers you go in instead, this could also be a great alternative to being in your clients house with them directly.
Always check with a licensed medical professional for best practices and practical advice on staying safe while being in your clients home.
Similar to the first solution, the client will be responsible for taking the shots. The good news is that in this case the camera does all the work.
Go online and buy one or a few 360 degree cameras. Next type out instructions on how to set the camera up, turn it on, and capture an image. Last, have your client place the camera in each room to capture the photos.
Now you can list these photos and create a virtual walkthrough and tour of the property.
Bonus tip – there are apps and services that allow smartphones to create virtual tours. Some are under $10 for the download. If you don’t plan on doing many of these, this is a time and budget saver. If you’d like to continue with contact free listing photos, investing in a camera could be less expensive.
Just because we cannot be with our client in person does not mean we cannot get quality assets for their property listing. By being creative and staying within proper health guidelines, we can continue to gather the images we need and continue to sell properties.
If finding deals and buyers wasn’t tricky enough, as a sole proprietor and real estate agent you also must navigate the tricky federal tax system. Good news, you are not alone in this!
Below you’ll find a list of the top tax deduction rules specific to real estate agents and professionals. As a bonus we’ve also included tax-saving tips that you can use to pass real estate tax savings on to your clients.
Click any of the links below to skip to the section that will walk you through the options, share which forms you may need and also help you learn how to save on your taxes as a real estate agent. If you know someone who could benefit from this list, share it with them on Facebook or your other social media channel of choice.
Real Estate Agent Business Tax Deductions
Home Buyer and Seller Tax Programs
Home Office Expenses
If you use all or part of your home for business purposes, you may be able to deduct several related expenses, including insurance, internet costs, utilities, repairs, and even mortgage interest and depreciation.
To be eligible for this deduction, your at-home business practices must fit into one of two categories:
Potential tax form requirements:
Client Gifts
Under current tax code, business owners of any type can deduct up to $25 per client gift, even if the cost of that gift exceeds $25. In addition, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) also now states that entertainment gifts can only be claimed as such if the giver does not attend the event with the recipient. [Read more…]
Bringing people to your website or to your property listing is hard enough. You have to do marketing, pay for ads in local papers or magazines, and also spend your own time and money on digital platforms like Facebook and Google just to get a buyer lead. After all this work, have you wondered if there is a better way to turn more of the viewers into home buyer leads? you do to help encourage more buyer leads to contact you, instead of looking and leaving for the next property. The answer is yes.
One of the most underutilized opportunities is the way your real estate photography is displayed and the wording you can place next to the photo.
The photos are what drive a homebuyer to view your property listing. But have you thought about if the photos are directly relatable to the shopper? Do they capture and relate to the person enough to make them want to read through the rest of the listing and click to set up an appointment? This is one of the largest opportunities for real estate agents like you to stand out from the other properties and turn lookers into home buyer leads. Here are a few tips that you can use to turn listing viewers into actionable buyer leads.
You don’t know if the buyer is going to have or want kids or pets. Pets for example can be associated with smells or allergies for non-pet owners. If the current owners have cat trees, dog houses, bird cages, fish tanks, or other visible pet related items, remove them from the home and the yard before taking the photos. If there is a swing set or something that you cannot take down in the yard, make a note that the seller will remove it upon request. A swing set or jungle gym can be seen as an added expense and hassle which can work against you.
The photographer will show up when you ask them too, but the middle of the day may not be the best option. What about sunrise or sunset when the sky is lit up? Then think about the description and see if it tells the story of what it will be like for the homebuyer to wake up in the morning and look out the window to watch the sunrise.
If natural sunlight in the morning is a selling point, why not show up at golden hour to take a photo for the website and let the potential buyer experience sipping coffee in the morning. The same goes for a sunset view. Show the stunning view of a sunset from the patio with a glass of wine in the evening? You can set the scene and also place items like a magazine or book and a wine glass or two with wine in them to set the mood. If a view and natural light are mentioned in your copy as a selling point, especially for vacation properties, give the home buyer a matching visual and let them experience it through the photography.
Next back this image up with the photo description. Don’t just say “gorgeous sunrises from your kitchen window”, try saying “wake up each morning to a majestic sunrise while you enjoy your first cup of coffee and start your day on a good note, every day”. Instead of saying “natural light in the kitchen”, say “the light naturally fills your kitchen while overlooking the stunning landscape in your private oasis”.
If a selling point is the farmers market which is open every weekend, a dog park, or running trails, are you including them in the listing photos? Community amenities are part of reason someone will buy a home, but not everyone remembers to have their photographer include the images of the nearby amenities that attract the home buyer to that neighborhood. By including photos instead of just writing that they are nearby, you can help the person to picture themselves having access to them and making these features be a part of their everyday lives if they buy this specific home.
It’s that easy to help make a listing go from the standard, to something that stands out. Simply pull out anything that is not appealing to the majority of buyers moving into the area, make sure that you show the times of day and describe the experience the person will have if they buy the property, and if there are amenities nearby that are also selling points, show them visually instead of just saying they are near the house.