Planning Wealth

Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies shows you how to make your fortune in the real estate business. Whether you are looking to rev up your real estate business, deciding whether to specialize in commercial or residential real estate, or just interested in refining specific skills, this book is for you.

This no-nonsense guide shows you the fun and easy way to become a successful real estate agent. It provides expert advice on acquiring the skills needed to excel and the respect and recognition you’ll gain through making sales and generating profit. Soon you’ll have all the tools you need to:

• Prospect your way to listings and sales
• Build a referral-based clientele
• Work with expired and FSBO listings
• Plan and host a successful open house
• Present and close listing contracts
• Market yourself and your properties online and in print
• Negotiate contracts and avoid derailment
• Stake your competitive position
• Achieve excellent relationships with clients
• Spend less time to earn more money

This guide features tips and tricks for working with buyers, must-haves for a successful real estate agent, and common pitfalls that can be avoided. Also included is a list of Web sites for real estate agents that are valuable resources for success. With Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies, you’ll discover how to acquire key skills and get on track for a successful career!

THRIVING IN TODAY S REAL ESTATE MARKET is A Risk Reduction Blueprint for Investors and Real Estate Professionals. By using new advanced GPS technologies, and quality relevant data, investors can learn to win in any market with quality Census Block Group information not available to the public until now. Introduction This probably seems like the worst time to think about investing in real estate especially when you read the latest headlines forecasting doom and gloom throughout the entire economy due to the housing crisis. My name is Eddie Godshalk. While I have thrived in the real estate industry for more than 20 years, I can t remember things ever being this bad. From realtors like myself to builders, lenders and even the average buyer and seller everyone is feeling the pain and wondering just how bad things will get. Like most of you, I can t help but wonder: Why didn t anyone see or foresee the major local real estate delclines around 1995 and in 2007-2009? How are bad mortgages affecting Wall Street and credit companies all across the nation? Will house prices continue to drop? Is there any hope for 2008 and 2009? Where Did It All Go So Wrong? There are many more millions of vacant properties in the U.S. and prices fell over five percent nationally in 2007. Although foreclosure rates have already doubled (from 2006 to 2007), in many parts of California and other former hot spots, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Industry experts predict somewhere between 1.3 and 1.5 million foreclosures by the end of 2009 due to the sub-prime crisis alone. This will further add to the excessive housing inventory and could force prices even lower by as much as 10 to 15 percent lower before it s all over. The crisis has already forced major players like Countrywide to slash its payrolls by 12,000 workers and tap emergency reserve credit lines to help weather the storm. All but one of the large publicly-traded builders posted losses in 2007 while watching their stock prices plummet. In response, many builders have slashed both their prices and their work force to compensate for the lack of demand. Some industry analysts predict that 54% percent of workers in the building industry will lose their jobs before the crisis is over. In the end, this could be the largest housing correction since the Great Depression and it is certainly the largest I or any of my colleagues have ever seen. As a realtor, I can definitely understand everyone s fear. After all, real estate is my livelihood! In 2005, I had to hire someone just to answer my e-mails and my phones seemed to never stopped ringing. Today, like most real estate professionals, I pound the pavement all day and am grateful to hear the phones ring! No one wants to buy when they think house prices will go lower and no one wants to sell for a loss, so the market has essentially ground to a halt while everyone waits. We all sit around waiting to see what will happen as if the real estate market is some magical concept that no one can possibly understand or predict. But the real estate market is far from some mystical concept beyond anyone s comprehension. Just like the stock market or any other financial concept, the real estate market is predictable when you have access to the most accurate, reliable and relevant information available. With a large enough database to collect, sort, and filter all of the economic and market data relevant to home values and price movement, it is possible to identify profitable opportunities in any investment environment even in a massive correction like the one we are currently seeing. But to thrive in any investment environment, you need a real estate tool unlike anything ever seen and far more advanced than the simple Automated Valuation.

Buying a home can be scary enough, but when you are surrounded by job losses, foreclosures and media tales of a credit crunch, many potential buyers give up the American Dream without even trying. But today’s potential homebuyers have advantages that buyers a few years ago lacked:

* There are plenty of homes on the market,

* Home prices have become more affordable in many markets,

* Mortgage lenders have money to lend and interest rates are at historically low rates.

This step-by-step guide will show homebuyers how to take advantage of the current market conditions to buy a home that is both a refuge from the tough times and a worthwhile financial investment. Includes information on:

* Buying vs. renting

* First-time financing

* Finding the right realtor

* Choosing a neighborhood

* Understanding legal, tax, and insurance issues, contracts, contingencies, inspections, warranties, and settlement

* Also includes a list of US state & Canadian territory Real Estate Commissions; list of first-time homebuyer programs with descriptions; glossary of real estate terms; US and Canadian resource guide to websites with first-time homebuyer information.

Your Dreams Can Come True

You CAN Buy Your Own Home

Do you throw away money on rent month after month? Is your only hope of making a profit on your home getting your security deposit back after your lease runs out? Don’t waste your hard-earned dollars paying your landlord’s mortgage. With these strategies from experts in real estate, personal finance, taxes and mortgages, you can afford to buy your own home!

In just three hours, learn how to:

• Raise the money for a down payment
• Organize your personal finances so you can meet mortgage payments
• Choose the mortgage type that’s best for your financial situation
• Discover your ideal home based on your budget and lifestyle

Take the first step toward financial freedom-homeownership. Get the inside story on how to stop paying your landlord’s mortgage and buy your own first home.

Especially useful for first-time buyers, “The Smart Home Buyer’s Handbook” provides a wealth of inside information for anyone contemplating one of the biggest investments of their lives. Containing a series of buyer’s checklists as well as information on inspectors, closing costs, and much more. Photos & illustrations .

Amazon.com Review

Thinking of putting yourself hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt? Buying a house is likely the most significant, exciting, scary purchase you’ll ever make. Doing some careful research and knowing all the angles beforehand is well advised–and you can start with The Smart Home Buyer’s Handbook. The first chapter, “What Can You Afford?”, is quite well done, providing easily applicable formulas for calculating your monthly fees, depending on the amount financed and the interest rates of the loan. It also explains the kind of housing-expense ratio (monthly fees divided by monthly gross income) lenders look for, so you can reach educated decisions about just how much house you’re actually in the market to buy. Once that most major of decisions is carefully reached, Keating moves on to assist in choosing a house, taking into account neighborhoods, home designs, issues of construction, and how to go about evaluating a used home. Leading you through all the steps of negotiating and closing the deal, Keating concludes with some practical advice on moving into your new purchase and getting the most financial interest, leverage, and payback from your new financial investment. David Keating’s home handbook carefully explores all the issues, from types of mortgages and how interest rates work to foundations, brokers, and tax deductions. He does this all in clear, easy-to-understand language that demystifies the terminology and laws that would otherwise bring on a headache and make you think that renting for the rest of your life isn’t really so bad. –Stephanie Gold

For Sale By Owner is a four step program that teaches individuals to sell their own homes in a correct and professional manner. It teaches them how to price their home correctly, how to properly present their home, how to market it effectively and how to close the sale.

The Keepin It Real, In Your Face, Boot-Camp Method To Buying Your First Home.Book!, is unlike your average “How To” manuals. Although it is written in its basic and simplest form, it adds a flare of real life experiences, hard-core reality and extreme fanatic humor through the eyes of the real estate agent. It embraces the unspoken true feelings and daily dilemmas of the real estate professional, while retrospectively offering the consumer down-to-earth, detailed, to-the-point information on how to buy their first home in a direct, yet calming atmosphere over-taken by laughter. The Keepin It Real, In Your Face, Boot-Camp Method To Buying Your First Home.Book!, explains in simple, real-life terms the basic process for buying a home regardless to personal situations. It’s not a “get rich” scheme or an industry-written catalog of procedures and lingo unknown to the common consumer. It provides step-by-step, fully comprehensible instructions on obtaining and maintaining real estate, while embracing issues, rules and common sense knowledge for everyday survival. The Keepin It Real, In Your Face, Boot-Camp Method To Buying Your First Home.Book! , is a straight-from-the-hip manual that’s also a pleasure to read. Unlike most basic instructional manuals or audio books, this book is definitely not for the squeamish or up-tight consumer. Like mama always says, “If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen”. If it’s Real you want, it’s got to come from the “FoREALtor”. READER BEWARE! For information on this or future works, log on to www.myundergroundsound.com/bcm

This Book Will Help You Sell Property!

REALTOR® Pat Stewart has combined some of her most outstanding (and profitable) marketing ideas into this easy-to-follow-guide.

Her down-to-earth advertisements combine humor and pique the interest of homebuyers everywhere.

Keep this one on your desk!!

Homeowners considering whether to remodel their house or move into a new one will benefit from this guide to making the right real estate decision for their heart and their pocketbook. A step-by-step calculator provides readers with an easy method for determining the importance of such factors as financial constraints and the quality of their home, school district, neighbors, and backyard in their decision to stay or move. Tools for comparing and lowering real estate and housing materials costs, tips for finding top-notch contractors and real estate agents, and a comprehensive glossary of real estate terms are also provided.

Get more house for less money with one of America’s top real estate experts!

Robert Irwin’s Power Tips for Buying a House for Less is the homebuyer’s book for today’s red hot real estate market­­by the real estate guru whose guides have sold over one million copies. Whether the market is soaring skyward or standing still, potential buyers need Robert Irwin’s inside secrets to save money and aggravation. In his trademark straightforward style, Irwin reveals how to:

• Size up buyer’s brokers vs. traditional seller’s brokers
• Stay cool in hot markets
• Use home inspection reports for price leverage
• Battle, bargain, and come out on top

The world today is a complex place, and quality of life—yours and your familyÂ’s—is more important than ever. The chance of getting saddled with pitfalls has never been greater. Congestion, crime, greed, immorality, and indecency top the list of ills that exist in far too many locales in this country. Overwhelming bureaucracy, unseen loopholes, and outright deceit are valid concerns in any real estate transaction. You simply can’t afford to buy a home blindly. To avoid the pitfalls that plague far too many places, you need to arm yourself with as much information as possible. Safe & Sound—How to Buy A Safe, Private, Quiet Home is designed to do just that. Written by a veteran law enforcement officer, Safe & Sound is chock full of vital home buying information that doesnÂ’t exist elsewhere. In four vital categories—security, road and traffic safety, nuisances, and catastrophe precautions—Safe & Sound identifies hundreds of quality of life variables involved in the purchase of a home, including a host of things you won’t notice, your real estate agent wonÂ’t think of or inform you about, and the sellers of the home won’t—and aren’t required—to tell you.

Learn how to estimate the value, productivity, and potential of small business while receiving solid advice on the risks, financing, and protection of small business investments. Owners and future owners of the over 20 million small businesses in the U.S. cannot afford to be without this book.

Sellers – whether you are retiring or moving on to your next business adventure – learn how to:
* Maximize the equity in your business
* Develop and present a defensible asking price
* Determine the best-qualified buyer for your business
* Negotiate the best sale price possible

Buyers – whether you are a first-time business owner, a long-time employee wanting to be your own boss, or a successful business operator seeking to expand your chain of stores – learn how to:
* Finance your purchase
* Assure the future stability of the business
* Choose between a new, old, independent, or franchise business

Professionals, Consultants, Advisers – learn how to best serve the needs of your client and protect your client and yourself from post-sale trauma. Plus, a special section on how to value and sell a professional practice.

Just some of the 23 worksheets contained in this book:
* Justification Research Strategies
* The Essential Checklist for Sharing Control of Your Business
* How to Prepare for Buyer Questions
* Cost Analyses to Improve Your Profit and Loss Statement
* How to Cut Costs and Face Serious Business Problems
* Exposing the Minuses without Losing the Sale

Audio Cassettes also Available.

Learn even more of the “ins and outs” of the buying and selling process from author, Ira N. Nottonson’s Secrets to Buying and Selling a Business Audio Cassettes. Whether on the road or at home, these audio cassettes (about six hours in length) make it easy to learn additional tips and ideas not discussed in the book.

Please note: The audio cassettes provide additional information, and are not a reading of the book.

An all-you-need-to-know introduction to purchasing a home—ideal for beginners as well as veterans wary of today’s roller-coaster market

• Smart Strategies for surviving the crucial negotiation stage—what to watch out for and how to know when you’ve landed a successful deal
• Smart Advice on the ins and outs of choosing an agent, evaluating a property, and selecting the neighborhood that’s right for you
• Smart Techniques and simple, step-by-step worksheets for determining your net worth and buying power
• Smart Insights into the entire home-buying process, from scouting to closing, so you always know where you stand, what’s next, and what to expect
• Quick reading and easy referencing with a comprehensive index and loads of sidebars and tables

Amazon.com Review

Buying a home is not like buying groceries–it’s a complicated exercise that most of us will do only few times in our lives. And given that a home is most often the biggest financial transaction we’ll ever make, it makes sense to get help, but not necessarily from your friendly real estate agent. That’s just one of the many tips that Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner offer in the Smart Guide to Buying a Home. The authors provide a solid foundation for prospective home buyers, and consider everything associated with buying and owning a home, such as finding a mortgage, negotiating, inspections, using a real estate agent, taxes, and the costs and the risks of home ownership. The book also considers how to evaluate property and assess just how much house you and your pocketbook can really afford. An excellent primer for first-time homebuyers. –Harry C. Edwards

Are you a first-time buyer, afraid of getting taken for all you’re worth? Did you forget to factor property taxes into your monthly mortgage estimates? Or, are you a nervous seller, foregoing a broker and trying to figure it all out for yourself? Relax! What you need is a good laugh and some practical advice from people who have persevered in similarly trying times. Offering plenty of useful tips and coping strategies, the stories here will help you outsmart the market and get the deal you’ve always wanted–or at least stay sane while trying.

Do you feel yourself slipping into bridezilla mode even though you swore you’d never be one of those brides? If your in-laws are driving you crazy, your day planner is overflowing with vendor cards, and your groom just can’t seem to be bothered, now is the time to cozy up and treat yourself to these ceremonial tales that will make you laugh out loud–and restore your inner bridal calm. Rest assured every bride encounters some mishap; this little book is full of testimonials from those who have triumphed over wedding mania, with their hearts–and (usually) their pocketbooks–firmly in place.

The Streetsmart Homebuyer outlines a step by step plan that anyone can use to purchase that sometimes elusive first home or make great real estate investments. Charles Steed, a veteran real estate investor since the early 1980s, illustrates techniques any determined individual can employ to get a super deal starting with even the most modest of resources.

The book does a great job explaining conventional real estate financing as well as some very innovative financing techniques. There are illustrations of the types of classified ads to look for, sample letters one may write to prospective sellers, and several role-playing examples of the all-important questions a buyer making first contact with a seller must ask. The book explains the advantages a buyer has when she compiles a team of like-minded professionals to work with her. There’s even a chapter that explains how a buyer can raise cash for a down payment.

The author takes the reader on a carefully planned walk through the home buying process planning for all or the possibilities. The book is written in an easy to read, conversational style using many real examples from the author’s investing experience.

Structural conditions are often the most serious and expensive area to correct, making this an important topic for potential homeowners. They are also among the most difficult for home inspectors to identify. This comprehensive test carefully walks inspectors through challenging topics such as cracks, soil conditions, footings, and distinguishing solid masonry from masonry veneer walls.