Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Be like a sponge.
One of the keys to successful home buying, selling and investing (or any type of real estate endeavor) is to know more than anyone else.
You should research urban and suburban growth issues such as schools, zoning, transportation, employment centers - and how they will effect property you want to purchase .
Good buyers of real estate usually have some experience that let's them uncover value. They may be good at finance, art, architecture, gardening, politics - and the really great ones are good at many fields that can impact real estate value.
In a post a few days ago, I included an article that gave examples how to look for real estate. The author advocated talking to neighbors, police, real estate agents and other local experts. Good advice.
Most buyers rely solely on their agent for information. Not the best plan. There are more than a few real estate billionaires, and guess what -- none are real estate agents. However, most every real estate billionaire uses real estate agents. So what gives?
Rich real estate folks take in a lot of information so they can do their own homework.
The key is to use your agent, your banker, your insurance broker and even the staff of your local county and city government -- all as a set of consultants that can provide you with pieces of your home buying or investment puzzle.
Smarter Agent is a good tool for your arsenal.
We invented Smarter Agent Mobile for a single reason. When we were involved in real estate development, you had to go to a lot of different places to get information about a property. With Smarter Agent mobile, you will start to see a suite of services that bring pertinent information to you where it really counts - out in the field - as you drive around. Smarter Agent let's you tap real estate information spontaneously - when you see something you like, from a device you will have with you - your cell phone.
There are a lot of great real estate tools to support you, but if you spend more time on the Internet than in the field looking at property and neighborhoods you can forget about being a great real estate buyer, seller and investor. Doing research online and visiting a dozen homes pretty much assures you might have found something better.
So my advice is be like a sponge. Actually I heard the Donald say that in his book, but as any expert knows, they are successful because they are information sponges.
Learn as much as you can about a place. Do not depend on few sources for your information. I suggest reading things you might not normally do like architecture, urban planning and real estate finance magazines - most which can be found online - and which can get your creativity flowing. Even HDTV can give you some tips, although I do not have the patience to sit through a show with all those commercials, I wish you could search them online by topic.
AN eye opener is to go to a few planning board meetings.
Then get out there and compare homes in the town you want to live, with homes in neighboring towns as well.
Remember it is up to YOU to create and recognize value. It takes time and effort to be in the part of the pack that knows more than everyone else. But once you get up the curve you can take action based on your new knowledge, which in turn lowers your stress level!
You should research urban and suburban growth issues such as schools, zoning, transportation, employment centers - and how they will effect property you want to purchase .
Good buyers of real estate usually have some experience that let's them uncover value. They may be good at finance, art, architecture, gardening, politics - and the really great ones are good at many fields that can impact real estate value.
In a post a few days ago, I included an article that gave examples how to look for real estate. The author advocated talking to neighbors, police, real estate agents and other local experts. Good advice.
Most buyers rely solely on their agent for information. Not the best plan. There are more than a few real estate billionaires, and guess what -- none are real estate agents. However, most every real estate billionaire uses real estate agents. So what gives?
Rich real estate folks take in a lot of information so they can do their own homework.
The key is to use your agent, your banker, your insurance broker and even the staff of your local county and city government -- all as a set of consultants that can provide you with pieces of your home buying or investment puzzle.
Smarter Agent is a good tool for your arsenal.
We invented Smarter Agent Mobile for a single reason. When we were involved in real estate development, you had to go to a lot of different places to get information about a property. With Smarter Agent mobile, you will start to see a suite of services that bring pertinent information to you where it really counts - out in the field - as you drive around. Smarter Agent let's you tap real estate information spontaneously - when you see something you like, from a device you will have with you - your cell phone.
There are a lot of great real estate tools to support you, but if you spend more time on the Internet than in the field looking at property and neighborhoods you can forget about being a great real estate buyer, seller and investor. Doing research online and visiting a dozen homes pretty much assures you might have found something better.
So my advice is be like a sponge. Actually I heard the Donald say that in his book, but as any expert knows, they are successful because they are information sponges.
Learn as much as you can about a place. Do not depend on few sources for your information. I suggest reading things you might not normally do like architecture, urban planning and real estate finance magazines - most which can be found online - and which can get your creativity flowing. Even HDTV can give you some tips, although I do not have the patience to sit through a show with all those commercials, I wish you could search them online by topic.
AN eye opener is to go to a few planning board meetings.
Then get out there and compare homes in the town you want to live, with homes in neighboring towns as well.
Remember it is up to YOU to create and recognize value. It takes time and effort to be in the part of the pack that knows more than everyone else. But once you get up the curve you can take action based on your new knowledge, which in turn lowers your stress level!
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