Follow-Up - The Key To Successful Closings
If everyone always did everything they said theyd do, wed all be a lot richer. Unfortunately, tasks are overlooked, and the ball is often dropped. If you want to have successful closings, you must have strong follow-up skills to catch problems early in the process. Follow-up on everyone and ... more...

Negotiating the Sale of Your Home
Negotiating a successful sale of your home requires an environment that sustains the buyer's interest and trust during the process. Many of our clients have been very experienced negotiators, and from them we have learned that the goal is to reach a "good agreement" - one in which the underlying ... more...

Customers For Life
Whos talking to your customers? Is it your competition? Why or why not? When you stop to think about it, these are valid questions. Most people rely on some sort of clientele for their business, and can improve on customer relations. A more holistic approach to this process incorporates the more ... more...

What's Missing on Most Home Buyer's Checklists?
In a search for "Home Buyer's Checklist," I found articles, spread sheets, and tips with differing advice. Some of this advice includes:1. Know your location2. Negotiate price3. Check for amenities and compare to other homes4. Inspect the house for defectsIt seems that the real estate websites want ... more...

Credit Traps Snag Consumers
Nearly 20 years ago I worked for a small consumer advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Each week we received sacks full of mail from consumers across the country requesting our list of credit cards with low interest rates and no annual fees. If you wanted a low interest rate on a credit card ... more...

Personal Finance - Have Consumers Had a Belly Full of Personal Debt?
For months, we were trigger-swipe happy, putting our groceries, clothes, holidays and service charges on our credit cards. We wanted mortgages, we took out loans, we watched Property Ladder and What Not To Wear. Whether you were born middle class, had middle class aspirations, you became middle ... more...

Home Buyers Your Price, Not the Listing Price
Here is your opportunity:The media by blowing out of proportion minor interest rate increases has given home sellers concern about the market slow downs, and possibly being stuck with the house. You may be able to get a discount on a home if look closely and are ready to buy quickly.Start today by ... more...

How To Build Stellar Client Relationships
Your opportunity to build a stellar client relationship starts with managing the gap between your perception of how things are going and your client's.Begin the process here . . .--Know who your ideal client is.Minimize problems from the get-go by targeting clients you want to work with and clients ... more...

Will The Real Home Buying Guide... Please Stand Up?
Use Google right now and do a search on, "Home Buying Guide". Take a few minutes to click some of the links to see what's out there and then come right back.Now, try "Home Buyer Guide" and do the same thing.Overwhelming, isn't it?And thats exactly the problem facing todays prospective homebuyers; ... more...

Men, Women and Their Finances
What do you worry about most when it comes to your finances and debt or your credit card repayments? It seems that men and women have different outlooks and think differently about their finances. A survey was carried out to see whether men and women thought differently or the same about their ... more...

Flat Fee MLS Listings - Is This The Future Of Real Estate
Realtors are all a buzz about this new form of listing houses on the MLS (multiple listing service). Some feel it creates more work for the buyers agent, while others see this as a way to tap into the For Sale By Owner market.It use to be when you made the decision to sell your home, you ... more...

Debt and Financial Optimism in the UK Continue
With 1.3 trillion pounds worth of debt in the UK, Scotlands Citizens Advice Bureau has welcomed a new Bill to regulate lenders and protect borrowers from creating un-repayable levels of personal debt.Chief executive Kaliani Lyle said: "For years, Citizens Advice Bureaux have been dealing with case ... more...

Negotiating the Real Estate Contract
Negotiation is the process of communication back and forth in order to reach a joint agreement. There is no "one size fits all" strategy of negotiating a real estate contract. Many of our clients have been very experienced negotiators, and we have learned a great deal from them, as well as from ... more...

How To Increase Your Income
Why on earth would you want to run an event for your business? Events take a lot of organizing and publicity, not to mention the time you might not have and, depending on what you want to do, they can also cost quite a bit of money.So is it really worth all that effort?In a word, yes!An event is a ... more...

Creative Home Equity Strategies for Retirement
The Baby-Boom generation is nearing retirement and it is clear that millions of aging Boomers are financially under prepared. Reasons are many - poor savings habits, rising medical costs, the demise of guaranteed corporate pensions, and the dreaded squeeze faced by many: i.e. having to pay college ... more...