A $2 Guide to Miami Real Estate Investment

What could a $2 bill get you? Big Mac, large fries and Coke. Or, perhaps a pack of Players filter cigarettes. On quick notice, not much. But an article I came across online which cost me $2 on subscription, saved me from real estate investment catastrophe I could have willingly and voluntarily willed upon myself, due to sheer ignorance and reluctance to be coached by those who have gone before me, in what everyone perceived as the only way to financial glory - Real Estate Investments.

The article was concise, it could just pass up as an ordinary high school essay, but I subscribed to it because it had on its title what I urgently needed - a guide to Miami real estate investing.

What I got was a guide, all right, but it was not written by real estate gurus, rather by someone like me who flanked even harder than I imagined to make myself.

What's $2 anyway, so I read on.

The words hit me like an upper cut with a twin jab on the torso. It still sounded like an ordinary high school essay but the tips are workable, sincere and practical. In fact, I never thought real estate investing in Miami could get THAT simple. The scholarly materials I had, suddenly paled in comparison. For one, my $2 article didn't tell me I will succeed, it simply pointed the way for me not to go bankrupt!

Here are the rules - for free:

RULE NO. 1 - Partner with a Pro.

If you have decided to build a lucrative income through Miami Real Estate investments, affiliate only with Miami's most trustworthy Real Estate Brokers. There is more than a dozen to choose from. Take your best pick based on their past experiences and level of market dominance.

Partnering with a trustworthy broker saves you years of learning the basics, and ward off errors that often come with inexperience.

RULE NO. 2 - Back off early when you are not fully ready.

Miami Real Estate investment may be fast-paced, and properties don't sleep too long, but there are occasions they could also slow down. This is the real nature of real estate investment in Miami and anywhere else. The proverbial hotcake selling isn't always easy. Real Estate is not a liquid investment. Your money could sleep a while, longer than your expectations. Without sufficient capital reserve, it is unwise to go into real estate investing.

When you have assessed your financial capacity and found out that you are not ready - step out. Knowing your limitations will save you the shirt on your back, as well as the roof over your head.

RULE NO. 3 - Master the WHAT, WHERE and HOW of Miami Real Estate

Investing.

What to buy will determine largely your failure or success in real estate investing. As a rule of thumb among successful real estate investors, the purchase of a low-cost property, made to wait for the right time to be sold for a profit, promises higher yield.

Where to look is almost as crucial as what to buy. Develop a keener sense of prospecting locations that have a good chance to appreciate in the coming years. Observe fads, as well as trends. These dictate behavioral patterns of individuals that can affect their choices of investment properties.

How to recoup investment in a shorter duration of time will determine the kind of progress you will have in real estate investing, as it will define the level of your maturity to manage investments in the long term.

Research on various trends and approaches. In Miami today, preconstruction investment has sent out a fever-pitch enthusiasm among investors looking for partially-developed or yet to be developed investments in promising locations. They make a small down payment to put a hold on that property even before construction begins. As soon as construction is completed they resell the property right away for a tidy profit.

You can develop expertise on managing preconstruction investments, or flipping real estate properties. This is where this $2 article created millionaires out of ordinary individuals.

RULE NO. 4 -- Decide where you will build expertise and focus on it.

Does lease/rent option appeal to you? Would you sell wholesale or retail?

What are your interests, educational preparation, present assets and personality profile that create a fit to available investment options. Decide on a single investment strategy, and build on it.

Don't fret if you are a newbie in real estate investments. Bigtime achievers also took the first steps you are about to take. Their success could be yours, too if you follow the four (4) simple rules outlined above. These rules were carved from the experiences of those who went ahead and succeeded.

But as experiences are comparable to fashion, don't get stuck with them for a long time. Instead, continue to observe and learn new trends. Investing in Miami Real Estate is fast-paced, the trick to keep up with it is to know where it is heading, get there before your competitors do, and cash in the advantage.

Christiene Socorro C. Villanueva

Miami Real Estate

Christiene Socorro C. Villanueva - http://www.floridarealtyfinder.com

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The Dirty Little Secret About The Do Not Call List

The Do Not Call List has changed the way real estate agents can and will do business forever. After all, 76% of US adults have added their name to the list. The dirty little secret...it does not matter! The Do Not Call List does not mean that you can't still get solid qualified leads. There are a lot of real estate trainers out there claiming to have the answers, a sure fire way to beat The List and the next be all, end all real estate marketing program to have people beating down your doors to do business with you. The ads for these programs usually include a lot of hype and testimonials by agents who have increased their business by 200% and then at the end hit you with the big price tag. But where are the real numbers and hard facts behind the hype? Who really knows if those programs are going to lead you to the path of success? I certainly don't. But here is what I do know.The biggest obstacle to a real estate agents next commission, and their long term success, is finding qualified leads. You know that if you could just get the leads, you could close the deals. But most agents are at a loss once they exhaust their list of family, friends and sphere of influence. And with 3 out of 4 prospects off limits, cold calling becomes more like walking a mine field than trying to drum up business. That is why the turn-over rate for new agents in real estate is over 50% per year So how do the successful 50% find qualified leads? Well for one thing they do not passively look for leads, they actively generate them. Many successful agents have turned to toll free number call capture technology to generate leads without the risk of an $11,000 fine. When you look at the numbers, it is easy to see why it works.83% Of Americans Want Recorded InformationAccording to a Gallup Poll, 83% of Americans would rather call for recorded information before speaking to a salesperson. Give the public what they want. A toll free number call capture system allows real estate agents to offer free recorded information about properties, free reports for buyers and sellers or any other information they would like to make available to their prospects. Once the potential clients call in, their name, address and phone number are captured for the agent to follow up on. Since the prospect called into the toll free number to request information, the agent is free to call them back for up to 3 months (unless the consumer requests not to be called.)32.7% Will Buy or List Within 30-60 DaysA survey of over 25,000 prospects who called for recorded information showed 32.7% of them bought or listed a property within 30-60 days after calling. An additional 42.1% acted within twelve months. I have not heard of any other form of marketing that can tout those kinds of numbers of quality leads. A toll free number call capture system generates quality, actionable leads. And the best part? They called you. Agents who have these kinds of quality leads, calling them 24/7, could care less about the Do Not Call List.74% Will Do Business With YOU.According to NAR, 74% of the people that complete a real estate transaction do so with the FIRST agent they talked to. That being the case, it is in an agent's best interest to make sure they are the first ones to reach the prospect. A call capture system makes this easy to do. Once the potential client calls in, all the information is available to the agent; name, address, phone number, and in the better systems, even what information extension they called in on. With that kind of information at their fingertips, an agent is empowered with everything that they need to get back to the consumer in a timely fashion and with confidence.Everyone in the real estate industry knows that the Do Not Call List has completely changed the way agents do business. But some have found that by using call capture technology, they can generate even more quality leads than they ever did with cold calling. The technology gives consumers what they want by allowing them to call in for free recorded information and generates quality, actionable leads that agents can follow up on quickly and with confidence. And in spite of the Do Not Call List, agents are finding it actually easier to do business using call capture. If you want to know how that is possible, just look at the numbers and then check out call capture technology for yourself.

Brandi Cummings is a leading telecommunications consultant specializing in 800 number call capture technology for real estate professionals. Learn more secrets and tips on how to make a call capture system work for you at www.realtyone800.com.

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