50 Do-It-Yourself Marketing Ideas for Your Real Estate Business

Most of us are looking for ways to save. And although time is money, a little time spent working on your marketing can stretch your budget even further. I’m not suggesting you attempt to create all your marketing yourself, but you can pick and choose a few ideas to supplement with some of your higher quality pieces. When it comes to listing flyers to showcase a home, go for high resolution, custom branding and consistency. However, there are many other affordable ways you can market your real estate business using social media tools, word-of-mouth, and even marketing templates. Check out these 50 do-it-yourself marketing ideas for your real estate business.

HONEY What did you COOK "MOI" for Valentine's Day?

With less then 2 weeks to go till Valentine's Day,

do not forget the important "Moi" in your life!

BEST MEAL VIDEO - CLICK HERE

This amazing cooking video was an official selection at the 2011 New York City Food & Film Festival! I hope you enjoy it. . . The menu is quick enough for a weeknight, but special enough for date night, so this Valentine’s Day, make a reservation for two at your dining room table.

The Valentine’s Day menu stars a knock-out pairing: Vodka-Steamed Lobsters and Tomato-Thyme Butter Dipping Sauce, and includes a nuanced but unfussy salad of Greens, Prosciutto, Avocado & Pears. Finish the meal on a sexy note with Bittersweet Chocolate Pots de Crème.  Bon Appetite! 

Vlogging for Real Estate Agents Part II: What to Say?

In Vlogging for Real Estate Agents Part I: Getting Started we talked about what a vlog (or video log) is, how it helps real estate agents be more successful, and how to set up your vlog.

But picking a topic to vlog about can be the most challenging part! Below is a list of great vlogging topics and ideas to help get you started.

February is Mortgage Health Month!

Stick out your mortgage paperwork and say, “Ahhh!” It’s time for your annual mortgage health check up. Mortgage experts agree that if you make time for a quick review at the beginning of each year, it may yield you some fruitful financial savings.

Your 2012 home loan review should examine the most common potential monthly savings opportunities, including high-interest credit card debt or fixed loan payments.  Perhaps your home is financed through a first and second mortgage?  If so, reviewing your options to combine the two could result in having more money left over at the end of each month.

Vlogging for Real Estate Agents Part I: Getting Started

What is a Vlog, you ask? 

Though it sounds a bit like an ancient Viking ritual, vlogging is the latest-and-greatest way to communicate with your prospects.  A vlog is a video blog (or vidblog), which is just another form of blogging – but without the writing.  Vlogs  are short video clips people put together to spread the word on a specific topic of their choice. Like a blog, a vlog is a sort of  live diary that you publish on the web.

Have You Considered Refinancing to Pay Off Debt?

With the high cost of holiday gift-buying and entertaining now behind you, this may be the perfect time to get the New Year off to a fresh start by refinancing your mortgage and freeing up some money to pay off that high-interest credit card debt.

By talking to mortgage professional, you may find that taking equity out of your home to pay off high-interest debt associated with credit card balances can put more money in your bank account each month.

And since interest rates are at a 40-year low, switching to a lower rate may save you a lot of money – possibly thousands of dollars per year.

Bank of Canada seen on hold until 2013

TORONTO — A deteriorating European with slower growth and the longer we go without economy and weak global growth will keep the Bank of Canada from raising rates for at least another year, though an interest rate cut looks highly unlikely, according to a Reuters survey.

The Reuters poll of 41 economists and strategists released on Tuesday showed the median forecast for the next interest rate hike was pushed back by three months to the first quarter of 2013 from the fourth quarter of 2012 projected in a November poll. The Bank of Canada's target for the overnight rate - its main policy rate - has been at 1 per cent for more than a year.

"The longer we spend struggling the Europeans coming to some cohesive policy solution, the worse the economic drag will be," said David Tulk, chief Canada macro strategist at TD Securities.

"You get the sense that growth I think is likely to remain lower for longer, just like interest rates."

What if my Bank Goes Bankrupt?

Is My Mortgage Still Safe?

 A recent client called me last week questioning whether the mortgage they just received (NOT WITH ONE OF THE CHARTERED BANKS) was "reliable".

Let me dispel this myth, first by saying...THIS IS NOT TRUE.

I hear a lot of myths in my business but this one seems to pop up every time there is instability in the market, particularly when there is bad news coming out of the US and now Europe. While it is often a concern, the reality is mortgage brokerages typically have access to special deals from lenders that are not one of the chartered banks. In fact, many of these other lenders are either companies owned in part or entirely by the major banks, or major banks themselves in other parts of the world. Rest assured, a mortgage broker can still offer you a mortgage with one of the major Canadian banks, but it may not necessarily be the mortgage rate, terms and conditions that is right for you. Remember the fee for using my services are paid by the lenders, not my clients.

A Business Plan to Stick With!

Define Your GOAL!

 A realtor business plan is a map that calculates the number of transactions you must close along with your total cost per transaction to reach your income goals. This strategic business plan establishes your goals and objectives in writing. 

There are companies and consultants who can write a business plan for Realtors, for a fee, however, writing your own strategic business plan, keeps you involved in the process and the direction.  After all is said and done, it is your business and your plan. It’s not hard and it doesn't have to be complicated to get started.

Brown Rice, Lentil, and Spinach Soup

After  the excesses of the Holiday season, January is a good time to adjust to a lighter menu and set new habits for the new year.  I hope you enjoy this healthy soup and a way to start the new year.

1⁄2 lb. sweet Italian sausage

Heat 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. cumin seeds,
1⁄2 tsp. dried thyme
1 dried chile de árbol
12 cups chicken broth
1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed
3⁄4 cup brown lentils, rinsed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

                                                                       1⁄2 lb. spinach, coarsely chopped

1. Remove sausage from its casings. Heat oil in a 5-quart pot over medium-high heat; add sausage and cook, stirring and breaking it up into small pieces, until browned, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a plate.

2. Add carrots, celery, and onions, along with cumin, thyme, and chile de árbol. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 10–15 minutes. Add reserved sausage, chicken broth, rice, and lentils and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until rice and lentils are soft, about 45 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.

SERVES 6 – 8

In These Uncertain Times!

Happy New Year Friend!

In these uncertain times, many home buyers are holding off on making a decision to purchase in their near future.   A common fear is that the home pricing may keep dropping.  So what should a buyer do?  Timing any housing market is generally considered to be a losing proposition.  Trying to time the price of housing is no different than trying to time the stock market. There are many issues that may affect the timing of a purchase and given the current economic global market, I would like to recommend that you focus on the price of a home within our current market and the current level of interest rates (table below).

Many reports have stated that we may see a continuation of price erosion in the Kelowna real estate market.  The interest rates are as low as we can expect them to go; from here on in the question is not if the rates will rise, but how much and to what magnitude.  The following table is an attempt to provide insight into a hypothetical decision that a current home buyer may need to consider.  In this analysis, I provided the current average price (of a home in Kelowna and surrounding areas), and the best 5 year fixed closed rate currently available. (The house price scenarios are a drop of 5% and 10% over the current rate and for the interest rates, I looked at a rise of 0.5% and 1% respectively.)

	home price	5% price drop	10 % price drop
	$525,000.00	$498,750.00	$472,500.00
Down payment 20%	$105,000.00	$99,750.00	$94,500.00
mortgage amount	$420,000.00	$399,000.00	$378,000.00
Scenario #1:  0.50% interest rate rise
interest rate	3.29	3.79	3.79
monthly payment	$1,831.00	$1,850.00	$1,752.00
scenario #2:  1.00% interest rate rise
Interest rate	3.29	4.29	4.29
Payments	$1,831.00	$1,963.00	$1,860.00

As you can see, from this analysis, the decision to buy now or to wait can be a risky game.   It will all depend on the assumptions you make.  If you could predict that the rates will remain low for the current years to come and that home prices will keep going down, then maybe you should wait.  But, if you predict prices to continue to drop and the interest rates to rise, even by a modest amount, then waiting is of no real benefit to you.  At this current time the decision to buy now or later perhaps should not be based on these two criteria’s, but more on the underlying reason(s) you think you are considering the  purchase in the first place: is it an investment or a place to live, raise your family and feel security?

Sincerely,

Philippe Daigle