Agents Realtors

Calling all Real Estate Professionals! We know that you work hard and that you know your markets; but, do you know how to maximize your accounting deductions, shelter your income through retirement accounts, and incorporate to avoid or reduce self-employment taxes or Alternative Minimum Taxes?

Whether an agent or broker, the type of business structure is one of the most important decisions that you will make when starting your business. Likewise, it is one of the most important decisions to re-evaluate as you grow. The IRS allows real estate professionals to incorporate their independent practice into an entity structure. The structure can be held in any allowed entity. The most common entities for real estate professionals are Sole proprietorship (non-incorporation), Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs), Sub-Chapter Corporations (S-Corps), C-Corporations, or inside of a Trust or Retirement Account. For the independent professional, the Sole proprietorship, LLCs and S-Corporations are the most common and appropriate choices; thus, we will focus our attention to those entities in this first article of three. Depending on your choice, you will be able to shelter income and avoid or reduce self-employment taxation, maximize expenses, and gain more of the money that you work so hard to make. Entities also provide liability protections when incorporated.

Under the most basic setup, the Sole proprietorship, is basically a non-incorporated entity that may set up a tax identification number (EIN). In some cases, the real estate professionals social security number can also be used instead of the EIN. This type of election will require the owner to paid self-employment taxes on 100% of their earnings, and the agent deductions could trigger the alternative minimum tax. Most agents who are not incorporated will fall under this structure. This structure provides no benefits in sheltering income, provides no liability protections and provides no maximizing of deductions.The benefit is that the record keeping is simple.

LLCs are not true corporations. LLCs are considered a lesser form of a corporation with the purpose of sheltering liability. LLCs can be considered a sole member or partnership, or a corporation depending on the taxation election made at the setup. The IRS considers the default to be a single member LLC or a partnership for two or more members. The corporation election choice is for a S-Corp. Election of the S-Corporation requires adherence to a strict period of time; thus, we recommend that you consult a tax adviser or attorney in this matter.

The LLC and Partnership models flow directly to the owners personal taxes and are subject to the same taxation as the sole proprietorship. The S-Corporation allows the LLC to be taxed as a corporation and a business loss or gain to pass to the owner(s) personal taxes. Gains are not subjected to self-employment tax; unless taken as a salary, and will not, in itself, trigger the AMT rates. It is recommended that a portion of the gains be taken as a salary or the owner could run the risk of the IRS not allowing the corporation deductions. This would trigger all gains as personal income and something to avoid!

LLCs are the simplest entity form to manage and provides excellent liability coverage for the real estate professional. The main difference between an LLC taxed as a S-Corporation and a company set up as an S-Corporation is that the LLC holds a member percentage and has reduced record keeping; whereas, the S-Corporation has shares of stock and requires more record keeping. Essentially, the LLC allows the benefits of a member based ownership that can be any percentage and hold as many members as desired. The S-Corporation, inside the LLC, supplies the best of both worlds by supplying the tax advantages of the corporation without the strict setup requirements of the S-Corporation. We will discuss those requirements next.

S-Corporations are a true corporation. The purpose of the S-Corporation was for small to medium size business owners to reduce and streamline accounting, record keeping, and taxations costs. Benefits of the S-Corporations includes a true corporation that allows reduction or avoidance of self-employment taxes by the use of K1 distributions of profit. Likewise, deductions are not limited to cost basis for tax deductions of expenses, liability protections are present with the corporate vail, and pass through of losses may be deductible from other income received or use as a carry-over to another tax year. K1 distributions gains are not subject to self-employment taxes allowing owners to shelter more income.

The S-Corporation has IRS requirements that must considered when determining whether this entity is the correct entity for your practice. The S-Corporation is limited to 100 shareholders. If the shareholders are more than 100, the LLC or a formal C-Corporation is the recommendation. Ownership percentage and shares must be proportional and equal percentages in the S-Corporation. There is a fiduciary part to the S-Corporation where the officers must act in the best interest of the owners.

We will continue our series of structures looking at the C-Corporation in our next article and the use of self-directed IRAs, and other retirement vehicles in our final article.

If you would like more information or a tax consultation services, please visit Charles H. Maness, Accountant or Kristen E. Richbourg, ESQ, Tax Attorney and Accountant at The Tax Advisers LLC. We can be contacted at 404-438-8642 or through the brokerage at 678-580-0470.

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The basics of taxation for real estate professionals depends on the real estate professionals goals and what steps they take to increase profits, decrease taxation, provide growth opportunity, and minimize risks. In the first series of the article set, we discussed the common vehicles used for solo, partnership, and small to medium size brokerages.

In this second series, we will address the use of c-corporations and the advantages and disadvantages of this type of business structure. Out of all the structures, c-corporations are the most complex and expensive to administrate. Record keeping, accounting, legal, and insurance all tend to be more expensive to administer. Before venturing into this type of structure, the shareholder(s) should understand that necessity of the time commitment and resources needed. At the very least, an accountant, attorney, and knowledgeable broker are a must.

All corporations are considered c-corporations unless a sub-chapter election is filed. C-corporations are primarily used when shareholder(s) exceed the threshold of s-corporations. Public trading is wanted or an Initial Public Offering is planned, and when there are franchising and growth accumulation for acquisitions.

As we learned in the earlier article, the maximum shareholders in an s-corporation are 100. In comparison to s-corporations, c-corporations have no limits in shareholders. Ownership also does not have to be equal and can be public or private. Public ownership is made subject to approval from the US Security Exchange Commission. Further, deductions for benefits are generally more lucrative for c-corporations vs. as s-corporation have limitations on deductions.

C-corporations have received a bad reputation for double taxation. Double taxation happens when the entity is taxed on the money that the c-corporation earns during the year and again when the dividends are paid to the shareholders. No dividends, no capital gains tax is paid; thus, no double taxation is present. The entity can normally prevent double taxation by zeroing or causing the profit to be near zero at end of the year. This is done by increasing salaries and 1099 payments to the employees, contractors and executives. It has been our experience that this strategy works best in private c-corporations and in public companies looking for growth opportunities.

The entity also enjoys a lower taxable rate on the first $50,000 dollar of income. Often the amount is less than that of an s-corporation. The rate for c-corporation on the first $50,000 is 15% vs. the rate on the s-corporations pass through to ordinary income taxes. The rate can vary and can be as high as 35%. Again, the costs for c-corporations can be very costly to administer; thus, a complete review and plan, with a knowledgeable accountant and attorney, is imperative to maximize savings.

Brokers and agents should assess what their desires and goals are. Do they want to create a small solo practice, a medium size or regional brokerage, or franchising or national company? The goals to begin with can help shape the finances for years to come; thus, before the broker or agent incorporates, they should consult competent professionals. Whether an LLC, s-corporation, or -corporation, there are advantages and disadvantages of each. You should perform due diligence to make the best and most informed decisions. This will help to make sure that your dreams can become reality!

If you would like more information or a consultation on professional management services, please visit Charles H. Maness, MSACC, Accountant and Managing Broker or Kristen E. Richbourg, ESQ and Accountant at The Tax Advisers LLC. Our number is 404-438-8642 or through our brokerage at 678-580-0470.

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I would like to introduce a few elements that caused the crash in real estate and to put things in perspective for homeowners and real estate investors:

Greed and Fear - greed being the stronger component

Real Estate is a leveraged investment when financed - it can appreciate or depreciate

Velocity of money - how fast money circulates in the economy - government and banks control this by using fractional reserves and policy

Government policy intervention - can change direction of investments pretty fast - foreclosure laws, ordinances

Real Estate - not a liquid investment - cannot be converted quickly into cash

Construction Real Estate buying - speculative investment as it took 1-2 years for homes to be built in a fragile market.

It began with our Federal Reserve injecting cash into the banks in preparation of year 2000, it continued with banks multiplying the effects by using lending and fractional reserves which increased the amount of money and the velocity of money. We had too much money chasing too few goods and at very low interest rates. This money had to be invested - it was irresistible for banks as they were making large profits and irresistible for the typical person as there was an abundance of cash/home equity and the possibility to multiply the wealth very quickly. The FED and the Banks created a monster and the speculative real estate investor was the accomplice.

When the FED and the Banks realized what happened, and tried to drain reserves and pull money out of the economy - they halted investments in real estate industry and brought everything to a halt and prices of real estate began crashing down. The banks cancelled the home equity lines for homeowners and speculators that were waiting for homes to be completed could not flip them and lost their investments. Prices continue falling because banks were leverage not 8 to 1 ratio, but they used special derivatives and basically they leverage 25-25 to 1, therefore in a falling home price scenario, they had to sell real estate investments faster and faster to raise equity so that they could meet regulatory requirements for capital. It was an impossible task and many banks have failed and they were taken over by the government at taxpayer's expense under the guise that banking was too important to the economy and they could not fail.

So the government has been injecting capital into the banks and other large firms to maintain status quo and in the process to save banking while the ordinary citizen would assume this debt as part of the American national debt. The ordinary citizen - the middle class person that did not speculate is suddenly hit by a higher debt owed to the government - why do we call it debt - because it has to be repaid via taxes, no equity left in the homes because of crashing prices in the neighborhood. Businesses were hurt as consumers were being cautious with their money and layoffs begin and increase due to less demand - unemployment grows - and it weakens the tax receipts by government at every level - they begin to reduce services and layoff people because they cannot meet their budgets.

Where do we go from here? It is both a personal question and a societal question. Unfortunately the government has it wrong over and over again because the people in power are very corrupt. They feel invincible, they feel as if we are their minions and they cater to a select group of people that believe money, power and prestige are more important then human value, common sense, education etc. Furthermore, they squander important resources trying to redistribute capital either via grants - yes grants as in free money to buy real estate or by subsidizing social programs which create dependencies.

Government has it wrong on both counts. Home ownership of real estate is very important and needs to be cherished and enjoyed by those saving and creating capital for investment and it is natural to expect a return on your hard work - a return on investment.

It is equally important for homeowners and investors to understand that leverage works both ways and it is much healthier and more solid to save the capital needed to buy a home and have continue saving to ensure that enough resources are available in case of a crisis. You can build a cash flow business with real estate - just don't do it too fast by taking on too much debt.

You will live a happier life and a healthy life if you can be very disciplined in real estate investing.

Call Fulcrum Realty LLC today and speak with Dorin Frai at 954-663-5944 when contemplating a real estate transaction in South Florida.

Dorin Frai has over 20 years of real estate experience coupled with banking and appraising experience and is very active in the South Florida real estate market. Whether you buy or sell call Dorin Frai with Fulcrum Realty LLC at 954-663-5944. We handle short sales, bank foreclosures, waterfront investments, luxury homes. Please register on our website at http://www.fulcrum-realty.com/ for more information.

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For starters, it's important to know that not all real estate agents and brokers are REALTORS®. Even though the name REALTOR® has become synonymous with real estate agent, it actually identifies a real estate professional that is a member of the National Association of REALTORS and has agreed to abide by their code of ethics as well as be governed by the National Association of REALTORS®.

In addition to the incredible arsenal of resources available to REALTORS® to help them serve you that non-REALTORS® simply don't have, you have the protection of the code of ethics as well as a grievance, or complaint process, if your agent doesn't live up to those standards.

Not all REALTORS® are created equal however. When selecting a REALTOR® don't just pick someone because they are a friend, neighbor or relative... treat the process like you would if you were choosing a doctor. If you needed brain surgery would you go to uncle Bob the dermatologist just because he's related? No. Well, REALTORS® have their specialties too; different markets, price ranges, types of property, etc. Select an agent that specializes in, and is experienced in, the type of house, area and price range you are interested in and that has the market data and resources available to them that will help you make an informed decision.

The REALTORS® website is a good place to begin as that will give you an opportunity to learn about their company, get a feel for their "style" and determine if their site makes it easy for you to search for homes, find the market data and info you are looking for or not.

Good things to ask the REALTOR® about would include:

What will your agency relationship be? This varies by state, but in general if you are a buyer you want an agent to represent you as a buyers agent and not as a transaction agent, sellers agent or dual agent. If you are a seller you want the agent working for you as a sellers agent.
Are there any fees that you will be charged other than the commission charged to you if you are a seller? Many companies today have transactions fees charged to buyers and/or sellers from around $200 up to $500 or more.
If they are full-time as well as what their background and experience are. I'm not saying all part-time agents are bad, but when the cost to you is the same, why would you possibly want to settle for "part-time" representation when you can have full-time representation? Also, it's good to know how long they have been in the profession, what their background is, etc. to assure they have the knowledge you and your transaction will require.

There's more, but this is a good start. Finally, when selecting a REALTOR®, you want to make sure your personalities mesh and that you feel you will enjoy working with the person. Buying or selling a home can be stressful enough in itself, the last thing you want is to add more friction to it because of a personality clash with your REALTOR®.

Dennis entered the real estate business straight out of high-school at the age of 18 and has now been in the business for over 33 years. He has been a member of the St. Louis Association of REALTORS® for 27 years, served as President of the St. Louis Association of REALTORS® in 2007, served as a director for the Missouri Association of REALTORS® as well for the National Association of REALTORS®.

Dennis is a frequent contributor to http://stlouisrealestatenews.com/ and has one of the best St Louis real estate sites at http://stlouisrealestatesearch.com/

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In this property market you will come across all types of people and business owners that enquire about your listings for sale or for lease. Importantly you should qualify all of them before you spend time with them.

There are a few reasons why qualifying prospects in more important today than ever before:

The person or group could have been introduced to your properties earlier by another agent through an open listing.Another agent could already be servicing the prospect with other listings, and they are just testing out the remaining listings around before they make a decision.They may not have the money required to match the asking price or the asking rental.They may have other complications and property issues that will frustrate the deal that you attempt on your property listings.You may not be speaking to the decision maker when it comes down to the person that runs the prospects business or company.The prospect may have spoken direct to the property owner earlier, and they are now using you as a 'go between' to facilitate a deal that could not be put together earlier.

So the prospect will generally either want to buy or lease one of your listings. To qualify them you should have a checklist to help the process and to make sure that you cover all the bases.

Here is a list to help you start the qualification process. In giving you the list, it should be said that a successful qualification is a carefully crafted question and answer process instigated by the agent or salesperson.

Some parties will answer all your questions, whilst others will be hesitant to 'tell all'. Top agents deal with this through conversation and reading all the signs of response.

Get their name and contact phone number at the very startAsk for their email address for contact and providing property information.Are they part of a business structure or company and if so can you get details?Are they occupying other property at the moment, and if so where?Find out just how they came across the property or found youWhat are they looking for in a property and why does the current property interest them?What is the timing of the change of property or the current property need?What are the key issues that they must have satisfied in any property change or purchase?

You can certainly add to this list based on the responses you get from the prospect, and the other local area factors that you know apply to property listings on your books.

When you ask the right questions, you can build on the opportunity that the prospects bring you; perhaps you will have some other property that will also interest them.

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If you are going to buy a real estate property, the most important thing that you need to have is a real estate agent. There are a lot of things that you can get from their services, especially if you were able to find the best for you. The problem is that there are a lot of people who are still unaware of the things that should be considered when looking for an agent, and this is the reason why they were not able to find the best for them.

Always Check the Services That They Are Offering

Whenever you are looking for a real estate agent, the first thing that you need to do is to check the experience of the agent. There are a lot of people who are only after the percentage that the agent is asking from them. If you really want to get the best service possible, the best thing that you need to do is to look for the one that has the best services, regardless of the amount that they are asking from you. Of course, a real estate agent won't be asking for more than what they deserve, especially if they are not too confident that they can deliver great services to their clients.

Only Look for an Agent That Is Credible and Has Good Reputation

Nothing can beat the credibility and the reputation of a real estate agent, because this is something that they have built overtime. An agent who is credible and reputable won't put their names at risk when working on such transactions, so you can expect that you will get good services from them. This will help you avoid every potential problem that you may encounter and you can be assured that you will always get the best return for the investment that you will be making.

Try to Look At Their Personality

Before you get a real estate agent, you need to interview them and check their personality before anything else. A reliable agent should not be driven by money and is after the results that they can offer you. An agent who is always looking for the commissions won't be able to give you the best investment opportunities, so you need to avoid dealing with them at all cost. You are looking for the best property that you can buy and not the one that has the highest price, so you need to be very careful about it.

If you are still in the process of looking for a Las Vegas Real Estate Agent, then it would be better if you are going to check our website now. We can provide you with all the services that you need, and you can be assured that you will always get the best results from us. This will also help you understand why we are the best that you can get when it comes to Las Vegas Real Estate.

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Knowing your market is not enough for you to succeed as a real estate agent, because there are still a lot of other factors that you need to do in order to get more clients. Getting your face in front of interested buyers is even more important, and this is something that not every real estate agent can do. You are probably wondering why there are agents who are not making money, while there are some who can sell almost every property that they have, right.

Here are three markets that you can get into in order for you to gain more clients:

1. Cold Market
2. Warm Market
3. Hot Market

Some of you may be familiar with these types of markets, but I will be using them differently for the sake of the real estate industry. Cold market refers to people who are not yet interested in buying a property but could be a potential client in the future. Warm market is for those who are looking for properties but are not yet ready to buy one. Hot market is for people who are already looking for a property and will buy one as soon as they found the right investment.

If you are going to work with the cold market, the only thing that you need to do is to let them know that they can contact you whenever they want to buy a property. The things that you to do include building rapport and letting them know that they can contact you whenever they want to buy a property. Just let them know about your skills and your ability when it comes to closing a deal.

Warm market is something that should be taken care of properly. Since these people are already looking for a property, they are most likely getting more information about investing. In these cases, it would be better if you are going to provide them with all the information that you can. Keep in mind that they are looking for more information, and the one who can give it to them will get better chances.

When it comes to your hot market, you don't have to do a lot of things to them. The only thing that you need to do is to make sure that they are aware of the things that you can do for them, and how your service can be beneficial for them when investing.

Finding a Real Estate Agent in Las Vegas should not be that hard, since you already have the Internet that can help you get all the information that you need. You can also visit our website now to find out more about our experiences, and why we are the best when it comes to the Las Vegas real estate industry.

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Becoming a real estate agent is the easiest thing to do if you want to make money in real estate; the problem is how you can be an effective agent without spending a lot of time in honing your skills. There are a lot of things that you can do in order to be an effective agent, but a lot of people are not aware of it and this is what this article will be discussing. Read on to find out more about the things that you can do in order to be more effective when dealing with clients and selling real estate properties.

As a real estate agent, the first thing that you need to remember is that you should never put your interest above the interest of your clients. The most common mistake of most agents is that they are always looking for the commission that they are going to make after selling the property and not with the satisfaction that they can provide their customers. If you really want to be effective and be able to make more sales in the future, you need to make sure that you are going to offer your clients with the best service, because this will give you the advantage of the word-of-mouth endorsement.

Another thing that you need to do is to make sure that you will avoid selling a property to your clients. A very common mistake of real estate agents is that they are trying to convince a client to buy a property, which should not be the case. Once a client searches for a property, he/she is already convinced and is ready to buy a house. The only thing that you need to do is to give him/her the assurance that you are the best agent available and is capable of helping them with what they need to buy the house.

The last tip that you always need to remember is to focus on selling what your clients really need. You are an agent who is getting paid for the services that you had given your clients and not for selling the property. If you are going to focus all your efforts into convincing someone that the house would be perfect for them, then you, most likely, won't get paid, since selling something is not considered as a service. Focus on offering services and not on selling a real estate property to your client.

Finding the best Las Vegas Real Estate Agent is not that hard, but it is also not that easy to find the one that can give you what you need. You might want to check the Internet to find the best options that you have or simply visit our website now to find the best Las Vegas NV Real Estate who can provide you with all the services that you need.

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If you have plans to try another job or you just want to obtain a convenient but satisfying job, you might get interested in learning about the real estate broker requirements. You will surely obtain lots of opportunity in the home financing market. Many people who chose this field are greatly satisfied with their income. Many individuals are looking for properties to either sell or buy. Because of this, the services of a mortgage broker are high in demand. They play a crucial role in the real estate market.

Real estate broker requirements are actually dependent on the states where you live. Different states have their own district law that rule mortgages. If you have plans to work as a mortgage broker in your state, then you should first search for the different requirements provided by your state. However, most states have common requirements. The first common requirement is that you should be in legal age. You should be at least 18 years of age. The next common requirement is with regards your reputation as a citizen of that state. You should have no criminal records. After these common requirements, you can further proceed to your state's own additional requirements for you to settle.

The Minimum Course

Real estate broker requirements also include passing a qualifying or licensure exam. But before taking up a qualifying exam, most states will require you to take a minimum completion course. These said courses are actually provided by real estate schools. These courses have a range of subjects which include real estate's legal aspects as well as the code of ethics for better practice. Moreover, if you want to be sufficiently equipped with all the needed knowledge and skills, you can enroll yourself in dynamic trainings and seminars. During classes, you will learn and understand the legal aspects involved between client-agent relationships.

Passing a Licensure Exam

After all the mentioned real estate broker requirements are completed, you are now qualified to take the licensure exam provided by your state. The licensure exam is the last requirement that you should successfully pass. The exam includes different aspects of this field. You will encounter legal aspects imposed by your state in the field of home refinancing business. The legal aspects include the rules and regulations that govern the home mortgage industry. The perfect way to pass this exam is for you to seriously take classes from real estate schools.

Plan Ahead Of Time

If entering a home refinancing industry is your next year plan, and then it is much better to prepare all your real estate broker requirements in advance. This will ensure that you will have a greater chance to comply in all the requirements, most especially in passing the licensure exam. You will have enough time studying the rules and regulations of your state. If you are determined enough to enter into this kind of profession, then you need to make a complete preparation. Don't just rely on someone who promises you that he will provide you a job.

Read more information about the real estate industry at http://www.realestatebrokersonline.blogspot.com/ and know more about its requirements on becoming a professional agent.

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When people are looking for investment opportunities, they are always looking for an agent or a broker. Most of them think that there's no difference between the two, which is definitely not true. There are a lot of things that you need to know about it, and if you are going to look at these two professionals closely, you'll know which of them can provide better services when investing in real estate. So if you want to find out more about the differences between a real estate agent and a broker, it would be better if you are going to read this article first.

The main difference between the two is the ease of becoming one. Agents are the first step towards building your profile in the industry, while brokers are those who have proven themselves to be efficient and effective when closing different transactions. It is very easy for someone to become an agent, but not all agents - even realtors - can become a broker. You need to do a lot of things, and you need to make sure that you are going to succeed as an agent before you can become a broker. This is the reason why there are only a few people who have the right to use the title "real estate broker" with their name.

Aside from the ease of becoming one, being a broker is also not as easy as the task of an agent. In fact, agents won't be able to get a lot of clients if they are not working for a broker. It means that aside from the average tasks of an agent, a broker also needs to think about the agents that he has. They are also responsible for other transaction processes such as appraisals, and building their own firm. These things are the main advantages of a broker, but it is not that easy to achieve, as there is a saying that goes "great power comes with great responsibility".

Now that you know the difference between a real estate agent and a broker, the next thing that you need to do is to decide which of them can provide you with better services. There are a lot of options that you have, but you need to make sure that you are going to look for the one that has the best pricing structure and services that are being offered to you.

Are you still looking for a Real Estate Agent in Las Vegas who can provide you with all the services, tips, and advices that you need when investing? If yes, then you can check us out now to find out how we can provide you with what you need. We are now considered as the best in Las Vegas real estate, and sending us a message will help you understand why.

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Real estate is a great business these days and many people start to discover its full potential. That is because real estate agencies are actively helping customers finding the right houses and also they help owners selling their properties. If you are searching for a condo where you can live with your family, here is a short list of benefits that you can get if you hire a professional real estate agency.

1. Tailored services. A professional real estate agency will be able to offer you services that are focused on your needs. For example, a realtor will focus his searches on the right area where you want your house to be. In addition, a house might be not advertised on the market correctly and you may never know of it. Luckily, a realtor has access to an array of tools that will help him find the perfect house for you.

2. MLS listings. You get the chance to access a huge database full of information about houses that are getting sold currently. You get accurate and updated information and you can be the first customer who contacts the owner of a house. In addition, you can opt to be constantly informed if new condos that match your preferences are entering the market. MLS listings gave you access to hundreds of condos that are being sold in your country and you can choose whatever you think it is suitable.

3. Quickness. Some customers say that by using a real estate agency, they have found the right house in less than a week. This is entirely possible because you can get in contact with hundreds of owners thanks to the listings that are permanently updated. You will definitely find something suitable for you from this plethora of owners that are willing to do business with you.

4. Hassle free. Everyone knows that searching for a condo can take a great deal of time and it is quite a complicated process. You have to select the owners, choose condos, look for them on the internet and so on. What if you are a busy person and you cannot afford waste time with this? That is why a professional realtor will take care of all the arrangements, searches and paperwork for you and you don't have to worry about anything.

Take this into consideration if you are opting to buy a condo. In each major city there are at least a few professional real estate agencies that can help you in this regard. Make sure that you opt for experienced ones and you will not be sorry. With professional help, you will be able to find the house of your dream in just a few days. Furthermore, the condo that you are buying will be exactly as you wished it to be. Don't miss this opportunity and start looking for a great real estate agency. You can also make use of the internet in order to find more details about specific agencies or find out the contact details, in order to call them and discuss your case.

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While participating in a realtor's forum recently, I came across a new thread that boldly asked, "Blogs, are they a waste of time?" I recognized his question as one being contemplated on a daily basis by many brokers and that reflects a tension between what most online real estate marketing experts say (that a blog is essential) and the real-world experience of real estate blog owners who see little in the way of new leads coming from them.

At the time of encountering the question I was in the process of researching good examples of realtor blogs. Well, this was certainly easier said than done because around 80% to 90% of the realtor blogs I found are indeed wasting their time with their blogging efforts. This is not because blogging itself is a waste of time, it is because realtors themselves are not applying best practice principles.

Now that may sound harsh, but it would be more cruel to watch hard working agents squander their limited time building a real estate blog that doesn't meet their objectives - and may, in fact, turn off those few people that stumble upon it because it doesn't measure up to their expectations. Here are the biggest and most frequent mistakes I've seen in realtor blogs:

There is an unclear understanding of a blog's purpose or the expectations of the intended audience. I have ranked this as the number one mistake because so many of the other errors stem from this basic misunderstanding. Most realtor blogs I have seen use their blogs to explicitly promote their services or attempt to get a low-value SEO bounce to their website. Instead, what should happen are genuine attempts to answer questions or solve problems posed by people in, or about to enter the housing market. Do this, and the key objectives of a blog will be achieved. These are: to enhance recognition, build trust, and develop expert status.
Blog posts that include new listings or open houses. Neither of these post "topics" answer questions or solve problems, which is the main purpose of blogs - they belong on your website or email list. However, by simply "re-packaging" the new listing as a "lesson" then you make these sorts of posts serve your audience - instead of just promoting yourself. For example, you can explain how a new listing's well-established garden helps the marketability the property.
Blogs that are difficult to navigate. Visitors to your blog will often find their way to it by a search engine pointing to a post that may answer their question or solve a problem they have. You want them to stay on your blog site as long as possible, but too many realtor sites lack basic navigational tools that will help your new visitor to find more information on what concerns them. A well thought-out category list and search box are essential. Internal links to other posts within your website are also good for navigation and SEO.
Blog titles, headings and images are not search engine optimized. Titles need to have keywords and clearly reveal the topic of the post. Break posts up into sections and use Heading tags to help readers and search engines understand the nature of your posts.
Blogs that are part of a realtor website instead of linked to it. As you go about answering your visitors' questions and solving their problems, your blog is uniquely positioned to establish you as a credible, reliable and trustworthy expert. Visitors are more likely to establish this perception via a detached, impartial blog than they would through a business website. Blogs that are merely an extension of a corporate website loses this advantage of being impartial.

So, back to the original question: Are real estate blogs a waste of time? Quite possibly, if 3 to 5 of the errors listed can be identified. Luckily, most of the above errors can be fixed, although some more easily than others. But get these issues corrected and your blog can be a rich source of leads.

Social media is changing the commercial landscape in which realtors work. Matteo Pantalone cuts through the hype and confusion and guides realtors on effective social networking strategies specific to the real estate industry. Discover more at his blog: http://blog.totalpropertylistingengine.com/

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What Is SEO?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is a method of improving and enhancing the traffic that reaches your website through targeted techniques that make your company appear as early as possible on a page of search results. That's obviously a highly desirable situation to be in - after all there's no point in having an amazing website that no one sees, and the higher up you are on a list of search results, the more likely a potential customer is to click through to your site.

SEO works through analysing popular search terms and the way people find you, and then using this data to adjust your website construction and content appropriately. SEO is not the same as paying search engine companies to host an ad - it is intended to take advantage of the algorithms that produce 'normal' (known as organic) search engine results.

Local Application

Estate agents and letting agencies are businesses that are particularly well suited to use the power of SEO, as they have a very local focus. Providing a local service is excellent with respect to search efficiency, as most people will be searching with specifics such as 'flats to rent in Bristol' rather than just 'flats to rent'. The narrower the search terms, the less competition there will be within the results. Most industries have to compete on a national or global ground - property businesses do not have this problem. With a greater level of precision in a standard search, SEO tactics massively increase in effectiveness.

An intelligent investment

Most companies these days do know that they need to pay attention to online marketing if they hope to have any chance of success. But with so many different options available, it can be difficult to know which choice to go for in order to get your money's worth. A pay-per-click campaign can seem like a tempting option, but it is unwise to leave this as your only strategy. It may be quick to set up and relatively simple to understand, but it can also be incredibly expensive. If the keywords you want to use are popular, the cost can be really prohibitive. In addition, if you set a 'per day' budget limit, you are potentially missing out on a lot of traffic once that limit has been reached.

The Long-Term Approach

A strong SEO system will incorporate aspects of your website design such as navigation, search engine-friendly URLs, and good keyword analysis and placement for your content. It should also cover your external online presence via link building and social media. Ideally, your online marketing strategy should not be an afterthought, but an integral part of your business plan.

Within the estate and lettings industry, SEO is an excellent option for a tight, focused campaign that can still produce good results for a reasonable cost. Pay-per-click ads are the equivalent of renting a property - you only benefit from them while you are still paying. But investing in a long-term SEO campaign is more like buying a house - once you have made the initial outlay, the benefits and the value of your SEO just keeps on growing.

Estate Agent SEO provides a comprehensive range of services to help UK estate agents and letting agents improve their online visibility, boost website traffic and gain higher search engine rankings.

For further information please call 01722 414 300 or visit http://www.estateagentseo.com/

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