New York City public housing boilers damaged during Hurricane Sandy will be replaced using a $100 million cash infusion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The funds will go to 60 boilers in 110 NYCHA buildings, where temporary installations were made following the hurricane at a cost to the city of around $56 million. You can check out more info on this story here
South Williamsburg is teeming with new development, said a story in The New York Post. The 40-story hotel going up at 159 Broadway next to the beautifully restored South Williamsburgh Savings Bank will break ground “in a year,” said a manager involved in the project. With new businesses and buildings sprouting up and at least a dozen or sizable developments in the works “the neighborhood has changed more in the last eight to nine months than in the last eight years,” said a decade-long resident. More on this story here
“It takes time to do investigations, document and voucher evidence and continue with forensics,” said FDNY spokesman Jim Long. The explosion that caused fatal buildings to collapse in Harlem drew attention to the aging pipes beneath city streets and the role various agencies play in monitoring and fixing deteriorating conditions. It was a very gloomy day in Harlem today. The smoke from the explosion of two buildings which collapsed due to a gas leak spread all the way over to the west side. Prayers goes out to the victims who was killed and hurt in this explosion. Details here
Activity is on an upward trend with housing transactions in 2013 exceeding one million for the first time since 2007. The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases – a leading indicator of completed house sales – was 9 per cent higher in the three months to December than in the previous quarter and 30 per cent higher than in the same three months of 2012. Compared to December of last year, January saw house prices increase by 1.1 per cent, following a slight monthly fall of 0.5 per cent in December. Check out the link below about house prices.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
In the spirit of the holidays we are giving a free Ipad Air once we hit 3000 LIKES on our Facebook page! Share it with your friends and one follower will be randomly selected.
Property Buyers Group is a leader of real estate solutions in the New York Tri-State area. As the area’s premier company of choice for solving tough real estate problems, Property Buyers Group uses its expertise and experience to answer any of your questions and creatively solve any real estate problem you may have.
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We Will Bring The Ipad Air To You In This Car!!!
As of November 2013, Property Buyers Group announces that they will be utilizing vinyl car wraps as a part of their real estate marketing strategy.
Adam Glassman of Property Buyers Group and Glass Capital Ventures decided to take his father’s 1997 Lexus LS 400 and turn it into a mobile marketing machine. “We want to get deals done as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Glassman said. “We drive all over the Metro area, so why not let others know what we do and how we can help.”
Car wraps have been around for years, but there are no real estate companies currently marketing on the roads like Property Buyers Group. Most companies hang bandit signs within the boroughs of New York and Long Island. There are even quite a few businesses that pound the pavement day and night, knocking on doors, just to get a deal.
“We are looking to do all types of creative marketing so we stand out over the rest of our competition and this we thought is a genius idea as we are always on the road looking at deals and meeting with homeowners. In the 1st few week alone we have already fielded 13 calls,” Glassman said. “Even though 95% of the calls that come in are homeowners looking to sell close to retail, we always try to capitalize by taking the potential listing as another means of income.”
The New York-based real estate investment firm focuses on acquiring single and multifamily properties in the Boroughs of New York and Long Island that are distressed and in need of renovation.
There are heaps of homeowners paying home loans more than the actual value of their home. This term is named”upside down” which means that you have a loan from more than your house is worth. People who have difficulty in paying the money don’t bother much but what happens if one cannot pay the money? If you just sit back and do nothing it is obvious that you will go into foreclosure. In straightforward words, your credit history will be gone and for at least next 5 years you cannot buy a home with a bank loan. There are no easy answers but still there is no need to put your heads down. Because if you are Upside Down on Home-House loan and finding it very hard then you have an option of refinancing your loan. There is still hope for the borrowers to save their homes by applying for Upside Down on Home-House loan that will be refinanced by the related lenders.
On your refinance loan you can choose lower interest rates as this will help you to stay in your home. You can be easily offered by the lender to refinance your Upside Down on Home-House loan for a fixed rate. It is essential for you to keep the all ideas in your mind that will help you to figure out about the type of loan you want and if it will fulfill your financial goals or not. It is suggested that you should also seek help from a professional to guide you in detail about your Upside Down on Home-House mortgage. You can appoint him to take care of your current situation and work further from there.
In a situation of Upside Down on Home-House finance, there is another option available that is called “short sale” which means selling your house for whatever amount you get and then work out with the bank to accept that amount of money as a payment in full. Taking this option will still impact your credit score but it will not be virtually as bad as foreclosure. Many people may tell you that banks will not work with the owner in this process that is not true. You can get helpful from the many articles or blogs posted on the internet to guide you in organizing “Do Your Own Short Sale”
At the end it is strongly recommended that you shouldn’t get involved in any kind of refinancing activities, before approaching to loss mitigation department as you are required to contact them in order to know about how to refinance your Upside Down on Home-House loan.
Picture in your mind a bucket – but not an ordinary bucket. Think of this bucket as one you must keep full – full of leads so that your real estate business doesn’t dry up.
The good news: directly above this bucket are 10 faucets. We can call them “lead faucets.”
The bad news: many REALTORS® don’t use them.
That’s unfortunate, because each lead faucet has powerful potential. And just a little tinkering can mean a steady gush of leads that will keep your bucket filled to the brim.
Let’s look at these 10 ‘faucets’ and how to create a fire hose-strength flow.
1. Past Clients – Vital because their referrals come with an implied endorsement of your services. Put past clients into two categories: A – Those who’ve given you referrals, and B – Those who haven’t given you referrals. Set a reminder system to stay in touch with each regularly with cards, calls, small gifts, etc.
2. Internet – A must if you plan to stay in business. Put your focus on responding to the site visitors. Can you respond in 15 minutes? If not, fix it so you can.
3. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – The hotline numbers buyers can call to learn about properties. Again, ignore technology at your peril. (Incidentally, I have a client who landed 11,298 calls from his hotline number in 2005. His secret? An irresistible call to action.) In fact, visitwww.CorcoranCoaching.com/rismedia and take a look at the sample Homes Magazine ad that’s there and notice what information we show and more specifically what we DON’T show.
4. Sphere of Influence (SOI) – The more you think about your SOI (basically your family, friends and acquaintances) the larger it gets. That “acquaintances” category, for example, should include everyone you’ve met. Think how you interact with those you meet casually – develop the effective 10-second “elevator” speech for them. You can visit my website, www.CorcoranCoaching.com/rismedia for a free proven system to make the most of your SOI.
5. Signs – Revisit your signs. How can you make them more effective with more eye-catching color and contrast? Do they include an IVR hotline number?
6. Direct mail – It can be expensive, so find out what’s already being sent in the area you’re considering. The two keys here are differentiation – will your mailer stand out and will the offer and the call to action actually produce desired results.
7. Broadcast radio and TV ads – Yes, some may be too expensive. But don’t rule it out completely. Both radio and TV have massive reach and there are deals out there. The key is, if you do go with these mediums, use them regularly. Frequency beats reach – so don’t buy for just a one-shot deal.
8. Print Ads – Give them a fresh and thorough inspection. What’s keeping them from really grabbing your target audience by the collar? Often, they lack contrast and that prevents them from being noticed in the first place. Don’t forget to add muscle to your call to action.
9. Prospecting – Absolutely essential. It’s one of just four real dollar-producing activities a REALTOR®can do. The trick is to schedule time everyday to do it – the so-called ‘hour of power’ – usually in the morning because it’s the most controllable time of the day.
10. Networking – Choose where you network carefully. There are literally thousands and thousands of groups out there. Be strategic by examining what potential business they bring to the table.
And here are a couple ‘faucet maintenance’ tips:
Keep a balanced approach with all faucets flowing regularly, and avoid relying on just one or two lead generators. What if you put 90 percent of your lead efforts into your Web site and it goes down for a few days? Where will that leave you until it’s up and running again?
It’s fine to focus on three or four lead generators, but never ignore the rest of them. You might, for example, work to generate a third of your leads from past clients or SOI. Then maybe 20 percent from ad and sign calls. Another 20 percent from prospecting. The rest can fall into the five to 10 percent range.
Always keep track of where your leads are coming from – understand intimately how each one came to you. Then readjust your efforts on those that work best for you. -Bob Corcoran
Break down your territory
Looking to increase real estate sales? It's important to break down your sales territory into manageable "chunks" so you can identify your best sales opportunities. By doing so, you can more easily determine who to target and how to best establish and nurture a relationship with those prospects.
Generate leads in existing accounts
It is much easier to find new opportunities with existing customers than it is to find new prospects willing to buy. While not all customers have immediate opportunities, don't neglect your customer-focused lead generation efforts. Although they may not have any needs today, it is highly likely they will buy from you when future opportunities arise if you keep them up to date on your value and expertise.
Identify others who can help you
Enlist lead generation assistance in the form of partners. Partners might include a formal business partner of your company; someone who offers services complementary to your own or with similar business goals; or people within your own organization who interface with customers in different ways, such as customer service reps, technical support, accounting, and product development professionals. Teach them your value proposition, and guide them in how to identify new leads for you.
Use email
Email can be a very effective way to generate leads because it provides a way for prospects to respond easily. Some things to keep in mind when implementing an email campaign include: use a quality database, limit the number of emails you send at one time, create effective subject lines that will get a person's attention, structure your content to avoid spam blocking, use links effectively, and follow up on a timely basis.
Webcasts, conferences and other approaches
Other creative ways to generate leads include hosting different types of events such as webcasts, forums, or sessions at association meetings. Attending and speaking at industry conferences and trade shows can highlight your expertise and generate a host of new leads. Press coverage of your company's products or services is also a great way to draw people's attention.
If you're not getting the sales you need, it's time to implement new techniques that will help you uncover new leads and opportunities. -Kendra Lee
Billions of dollars from business-to-business marketing budgets are spent
each year on sales lead generation. Billions more dollars are spent to
fulfill and follow up on marketing responses, and to determine which sales
leads are qualified and ready for sales attention. Unfortunately, much of
this investment in sales lead generation is wasted. Why? Because many
sales lead generation programs and lead qualification efforts are not in
harmony with the needs of sales.
With this in mind, have you optimized your company's sales lead generation
programs to be in harmony with the needs of your salespeople, reps,
resellers or distributors? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
1. Have you built consensus with sales management on the definition of a
qualified sales lead? Has this definition been clearly communicated to all
parties?
Typical definitions include criteria such as:
Does the prospect have a need or an application for your product or
service?
What is the prospect's role in the decision-making process?
What is the prospect's timing for purchase or implementation?
What is the status of the prospect's budget?
What is the size of the opportunity?
2. Have you calculated how many qualified sales leads are needed in the
sales pipeline in order to meet or exceed the company's sales revenue goals? Have you broken that number down into how many qualified sales leads are needed each month and each quarter? Have you built your company's sales lead generation programs with those target numbers in mind?
3. Have you put in place programs specifically designed to weed out the
non-prospects and nurture the longer-term, not-yet-qualified
opportunities-only forwarding the truly qualified sales leads to
salespeople, reps, resellers or distributors for follow-up? Have you
budgeted appropriately for this important sales lead development function?
If you answered "yes" to these questions, the good news is that you are not
guilty of wasting your company's sales lead generation investments. Instead, you are probably well respected by the people in sales and corporate management. -Mac Mcintosh
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