This temporary quarantine made many
people think about their values and goals in life as well as their work
situation and their homes.
Although, this isolation is only temporary,
life itself has always and will continue to change.
Our social interactions will be different for months, if not years to come. Our economies will eventually grow again, but the way we do business will have progressed. This is true for real estate as well.
Next time I like to quarantine on a tropical island…
One thing is certain, everybody needs a place to live, therefore real estate will always be needed. As much as everybody would like to improve their homes to be able to quarantine in style in case this happens again, it has to be considered that the financial situation of most people changed. Therefore, the housing market needs to adapt. Cheap real estate will be needed more than ever before. “Cheaper” meaning more cost effective.
This of course can mean that people have
to downsize or reconsider what they really need in their home – simply back to
the basic needs.
“Cheaper” doesn’t mean uglier
It’s true that many houses for sale that are on the lower end of the price range don’t look too good. But to be honest most of them only need a little bit of TLC and they can be a cosy home.
If you need to downsize, why not sleep on a sofa bed in the living room?
How can real estate agents adapt to this new situation?
You as a realtor can continue to do what
you are really good at – be there for your clients and understand what they
need in their circumstances. This is a new situation for all of us and for some
it may be hard to adapt. Maybe some can’t picture themselves in a smaller,
simpler home.
Whatever step someone needs to take, you
can be there to help and make this a good experience.
What exactly does this mean?
You have to think outside the box, but yourselves in the buyer’s shoes. It maybe time to rethink how real estate deals where done in the past and see new ways that can make the whole process simpler, more time effective and more cost effective.
Will you go with the flow, let the waves take you wherever they go, or will you build a ship and go your own way?
Pick your boat and get on your way.
What is your idea of real estate after quarantine? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.
This is the
longest period of time most of us ever spent at home non-stop. The risk of
COVID-19 has grounded about 1.5 billion people worldwide, meaning people are
engaging with their homes more than ever before.
Regarding real
estate this means that many people have time to think about their living arrangements.
They may see things they like to improve in the house or they might shop around
for a new house that suits their needs even better.
Whatever
the reason why someone may shop around for a new home, it’s simply amazing to
see how realtors have already adapted to the new circumstances. I saw that many
newsletters were send out by them to keep their clients informed and engaged.
Target buyers who are at home
Also, they started to offer some great new services to buyers, for example to make a house viewing via video conference. While the agent would walk through the house for sale the client can follow along while sitting at home. The agent would explain while doing the walk-through and answer any questions that arise.
Another less personal but equally effective way to target buyers is the virtual tour, where the real estate agent made a video recording of a house viewing and puts this video online. It might surprise how many people will actually look at it who otherwise would have never asked for a house viewing.
My absolute favourite is the 3D tour. As far as I know, the real estate agent needs some special equipment to make a 3D tour for a house but from all options this is probably the best. The 3D model that is created allows anyone to “walk” through the house. It is similar to Google Street maps just indoors.
What about
private seller?
Well, nobody can stop you from doing your own video where you walk through your house for sale. This is something everybody can do.
This is definitely some positive side effect of the COVID-19 and I hope this new digital strategy for real estate is here to stay. It saves a lot of time for buyer and seller – house hunting can be very time consuming – as this already helps to get a good overview of a property.
Changing the way we think about real estate usually happens very slowly, sometimes over a few generations. Basically, we adapt to new needs and likes but at the same time we benefit from the customs and experiences of the generations before us.
Think About Real Estate Priorities
I was thinking about this a lot the last couple of weeks – not only because I have a lot of time sitting at home – but mainly because my priorities seemed to have changed.
Storage Space
New on my wishlist – a pantry
I live in a spacious apartment but now
preparing for the lock-down I found myself running low on storage space for
food items.
I ended up piling up water bottle and
canned food in the living room. I was reminded of the basement in my
grandmother’s house where they use to store foods for winter time when there
wouldn’t be much fresh fruits and vegetables available – that would come in
handy right now.
I also thought of those nice old-style
apartments in Berlin, they would always come with a “Speisekammer”, – literally
meaning food chamber – that’s a pantry, a small room in the
kitchen dedicated to shelf-stable food storage. I loved to hide in one of those
when playing hide and seek with my friends who lived in one of those
apartments.
I think that’s one of those things I really
would like to have now and I’m sure in my next home I will make sure I have a
pantry.
Practical and clean
I always hated clutter, now I hate it even
more. Since the coronavirus I became very minimalistic and I just love it,
every day more. It looks tidy and is just so easy to clean and disinfect. I
only kept some decoration that is actually serving some purpose, like mirror or
a clock.
Another thing that is on my wish list for
my next home is a sink beside the entrance door. A place where you can wash
your hands straight away when you come in. It just seems to be the perfect
place and you can make washing your hands a little entering-the-house-ritual.
Another thing I find to be great in this time is some sort of outside space – being it a garden or just a balcony. It can be great for many things, drying the cloths, grow some vegetables or just letting the sun shine on your belly… Especially when spending several days or weeks at home some space like this can make all the difference. Houses with garden are just great when you have to stay at home.
Flexible
One thing COVID-19 teaches us is that our
house should be flexible. Within a couple of days some people found themselves
in a new situation where they maybe had to quarantine someone of the family or
set up a home office. This is very challenging for many. An en suite guest room
can be a good solution as you can turn it into your temporary office or where
you can quarantine yourself if necessary. An en suite guest room
is a bedroom with adjoined private bathroom.
Back to the Basics – think about real estate
Altogether, with everything that happened
in last few weeks, it definitely already changed my view of real estate. It all
comes back to the basics – a warm, practical, clean shelter with enough storage
space for necessities and last but not least for our mental health, some space
outside.
What do you think, will the covid-19 change
the way we think about real estate? Leave a comment below and let us know what
you think.
The cat is
sitting on your lap, your kids are screaming and running around you, here you
are finding yourself with your laptop at the dining table trying to cope with
this new challenge of working from home.
This is a sudden and new circumstance for all of us. Because of the coronavirus pandemic many employees are finding themselves in this new situation of working from home. It has its advantages but also comes with its very own challenges.
How to make
your home office successful
Here are a few tips how you can stay motivated and effective at your new workplace within your own home.
# 1 – Keep the routine
Even if you are working from home now there is no need to get floppy. Stick to the morning routine you had before, wash, get dressed, look professional. This gets you into the right working mood and you don’t need to fear the video conference with your boss or clients.
# 2 – Sit at the table – dedicate a space just for your work
Although it might be very tempting to work from the sofa or even laying in bed, but there are more advantages to have a dedicated spot just for your work. This will help you to don’t mix your leisure time with work and keep things separate. Keep everything you need for your work close at hand. Like this it will be easier to focus on your job.
# 3 – Stay concentrated
That’s probably the most challenging of all. There may be kids, pets or your partner that are moving around in the same space distracting you with all sorts of things. If you can’t have your own room to work in peace, it might be good to speak with them and arrange a quiet time so you can stay focused on your work. The less distractions possible the better.
# 4 – Make small regular breaks
Don’t forget to make small breaks just as you would get before at the office. Get a tea or coffee, walk around a bit, stretch, call a friend… whatever you like to do in your little break.
Always remember, working from home is no vacation. It is very easy to get distracted and sometimes difficult to stay focused but with a good routine and planning it will be no problem.
You might get so good at it that you don’t want it to stop. ?
We have seen a sudden but shockingly high decline in interest for real estate in the COVID-19 affected areas. This truly is a big concern for everybody that works with real estate. It’s totally understandable as people have other things on their mind than to buy a new house. Let’s see what you can do to keep your real estate business healthy.
The arrival of the coronavirus has been
unexpected, both in terms of speed and extend of damage that it could impose on
the industry if not managed quickly.
So far, we don’t know for how long this
situation will go on or worst – we may not know how our business can survive
this time. Most likely the interest in properties will come back but at the
same time we don’t want to sit on our hands waiting for this to happen. So here
are a few tips on damage control for your business or – to give it a more
positive twist – improving your real estate business in a way that will make it
more flexible in the future.
Tip # 1 – Carefully plan your new strategy
First and foremost – like with every advice
given regarding the coronavirus lately – stay calm. This is true for your new
business strategy as well. Make yourself a coffee sit down and think about new
ways your business can operate. Maybe make a little brainstorm with your staff
via video conference.
Keep in mind to put yourself into the shoes of your customers. They are told to have as little physical contact as possible and only to leave the house if totally necessary. A trip to a real estate agent might not be on their list of priorities right now. At the same time, they may have lots of time at home, being bored and surfing the net. If they would have the possibility to go to some virtual house viewings it’s probably great fun for them. Who knows if they not fall in love with one of your houses they otherwise never would have seen?
Technology to the resue
Tip # 2 – Less personal and more virtual
This is definitely the new way for many businesses. If you think you still need to improve in that regard, this is the time to do it. So far, many really appreciated the personal contact real estate agents offer – they could discuss their needs and preferences. Only because you should avoid direct contact doesn’t mean you can’t still offer a great service to your clients. It only means that the way on how to do it changes. You can still be there for them – although not in person – and keep them engaged. For example contact via phone and internet.
Find a way for your employees to work from
home. Strange as it may be in the beginning, once everybody is used to it you
will recognize its many advantages.
This new technology already exists and
right now we can see the big advantages it gives in a time like this.
Tip # 3 – Work on your online presence and social media
If you have no website, get one. If it is
20 years old, get a new one. Also, get active in social media. See what people
– your possible customers – are concerned about and give them a solution. If
they like it they will share it with others giving you marketing for free. Word
of “mouth” – although virtual – is a great tool that should not be
underestimated. It might even spread to locations you previously had no clients
giving you a broader audience.
Unusual circumstances call for unusual
solutions. This is your chance to come up with something truly unique and
creative. Good ideas you implement and share will spread and get your business
back on your feet in no time. As long as you stay positive and motivated there
are many ways you can explore. Please keep in mind to share your optimism with
your staff as well, they contribute a big deal to your business and are a
valuable asset. Give them room to be creative as well.
Tip # 5 – Getting help from the government
Last but not least, getting some help is no sign of weakness. Don’t feel too proud to accept it. You don’t need to feel ashamed to apply for the help your government offers for affected businesses. Every country may handle this in a different way and it is a great thing that they are helping the local companies. Always remember, to be in financial difficulties because of the COVID-19 is not your fault. If someone lends a helping hand to support you, you take it.
Those 5 measures are a big step in the right direction to keep your real estate business healthy. We all understate the significance of planning to deal with emergencies.
If not already done so, prepare yourself for future emergencies. Don’t forget to set up your business continuity plan – a file that identifies possible dangers/emergencies that can arise in your location, ways to reduce risks, and ensures the least amount of interruption to your business during such an emergency. The business continuity plan should assist you to set up the resources and information needed to deal successfully with a future crisis.
Of course, you hope you’ll never need to use it, but you’ll be happy to have it should disaster strike.
Keep your real estate business healthy and your staff safe, plan ahead
Keeping your real estate business healthy
in all sorts of circumstances will be essential and it’s always best to be
prepared.
There are certain smells that sometimes are unavoidable in an empty old house but some are so bad that they can ruin your real estate business altogether. If your house stinks it can be a big problem.
Have you ever been at a house viewing and the first thing you noticed when entering was a musty mouldy smell?
Well, it’s not very pleasant to say the least. It immediately gives a bad impression. Nobody wants to live like that. But if you see it from a business point of view it might be a different story. If a house stinks, you might be able to see what the problem is and be confident in how to remove it.
It happened to me when viewing a house in Germany. I was visiting an old house together with my family and when that musty smell hit us at the time of entering our immediate reaction was “no way!”. After a couple of months though we had to admit, there was no other house available anywhere near our budget.
That’s why we came back
to it and actually looked at the problem. It turned out that the problem was
some humidity in the basement. The basement was all panelled up with wood which
also didn’t help much. After a long family meeting we decided, we go for it.
It definitely paid off.
We removed the mouldy wood and did some treatment to the basement walls. The smell was gone and never came back. And best of all, we were able to get our family home within our budget.
That’s the advantage when buying, you are able to get a house with a bad smell cheaper. Of course, you have to be confident that you are able to remove the problem causing this smell.
When selling, it would be wise to spend
some money in solving the problem before. Or, maybe there isn’t even a severe
problem. Sometimes it just needs a bit of care, like opening the windows
regularly in an empty house. Especially before a viewing.
Bad smell that is really harmful
There are certain smells though that are really harmful for your business. It’s those that can’t be solved on a low budget or maybe they can’t be solved at all. Therefore, it is advised to make some counts before jumping into a “smelly” business. One example of a smell problem that can’t be solved would be a nearby pig farm.
Bad smell that can ruin your real estate business
I recently came across a neighbourhood in Portugal located near a paper factory. On photographs all the houses look lovely and it seems to be a really nice place to live. Unfortunately, visiting and smelling the place ruled out any real estate business in this area. Unless you have clients that lost their sense of smell. ?
In many countries the Health Authorities held public meetings to give information about the new coronavirus as well as informing about the ongoing preparations. This is a good thing to be prepared and informed as this puts everybody at ease. There is nothing worse than public panic, when everybody runs to the shop leaving empty shelves. This can create even bigger problems.
Of course, this is not just job of the authorities, there is something everybody can do. First, stay calm and objective.
How can each of us be prepared you may
wonder.
Especially if you have a real estate agency
you may have to think about what actions to take. As seen in Italy maybe it is possible
for some workers to do their tasks from home. Always remember, better safe than
sorry. You can make sure that all of them have the necessary tools to be able
to do that. Maybe a business cell phone and laptop that they can bring home,
just in case.
You should start thinking about special preparation for your team, some may have to stay with their kids if schools or kindergartens close.
Avoid trips to coronavirus infected areas
Also, avoiding trips to places where the virus has spread should be carefully reconsidered. Maybe a possible buyer likes to view a house in such place. It might be better to postpone in that case. For example, you could show a virtual viewing of the house instead. You can then travel later when it is safe again.
Regardless of being a real estate agent or not …
This is the most important everybody should do: wash your hands as often as possible. Everybody should have a good cough etiquette, disinfecting surfaces that might be contaminated, keeping distance to somebody who seems sick and don’t go out if you feel ill. Those are very simple but effective things. Of course, we all know them, but as we sometimes forget it’s always good to be reminded especially now with the new coronavirus.
It seems optimism returned among buyers and sellers – house prices rise across the UK as a result.
After 10 quiet months, property prices rose in November and December 2019.
The average price for a home in December was £215,282, according to Nationwide building society, one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders. Property prices go up by 0.1% every month.
In January they said property values were
1.9% higher than a year earlier – up from 1.4% in December and the fastest yearly
growth since November 2018. The average price for a home now stands at £215,897
– up £615, or 0.5% higher than in December.
In further evidence that the housing market
is picking up, inquiries from would-be buyers, agreed sales and the number of real
estate coming on to the market all rose in January.
Some surveys have also suggested a price
bounce in the housing market since the general election in mid-December, although
much will depend on how the Brexit after effects develop.
No doubt, we’re seeing a lot of enthusiasm among
buyers since the beginning of this year but we cannot yet tell how sustained this
optimistic mood will be.
By the way, price growth in London has
fallen to 0.6% since the referendum. This will be welcome news for many people
who are interested in becoming homeowners in London. Although it still remains
far from affordable for most of us.
One challenge remains though
Raising a deposit to get on the property
ladder is still difficult for many. Even in the north of England and in
Scotland, where property appears to be cheaper, it’ll take someone earning the
average wage more than five years to save up for a 20% deposit.
Are you looking for a property bargain or – as house prices rise – you think it’s a good time now to put your real estate on the market? Visit www.propertyunder100k.com
Isn’t that what we all want to know? I always wanted to get rich with real estate. It seems like a simple enough equation but what appears to be a simple method in theory is very often not found in reality.
First and
foremost: A property must generate cash flow
Here you can see the basic components that decide
the income and therefore the regular income from a rented real estate.
Generally, the property has to make profit. The income from your property has
to be higher than what you spend. This is a simple and most important rule if
you want to make money from renting.
Cashflow is the “key” so to say – just
with this income we increase our available capital, which we can spend as we
like. We have to take all costs for the property in consideration though,
everything – running cost, repairs, maintenance… etc. – to be able to
calculate the expected cashflow.
Our goal should also always be to invest as little,
if possible, no equity at all. Because on the one hand we can maximize our
return on equity and on the other hand we keep our own money with us. In other
words: we are looking for bank offers that finance 100% of a real estate for
us. To do this, of course, as borrowers, we have to meet the banks requirements.
Those costs for a credit also have to be taken into consideration.
How to get rich
with real estate – cashflow is the most important
After considering all costs our cash flow should still be positive. Some may now think: there is no such property available by any means. But they do exist! Granted, you may need some time to find them. But why not have a look at our real estate listings? Surely you will find some interesting properties.
The same of course is valid if you are trading with real estate instead of renting it. The only problem is that it will take longer time to generate cashflow as you don’t get money on a weekly/monthly basis. It might be a bit more difficult to get by until you make a sale. You can list your real estate for free on www.listproperty4free.com
Make your homework
Also, if you are buying and selling properties for a living make sure you check with your revenue office beforehand to know how much of you profit will need to be paid in tax. This is also an important figure to keep in mind, in some countries this tax is very high.
Also, you might need to register yourself as a
business depending on your local laws, this is always good to investigate
before you start as it can be a real game changer.
Conclusion
I did not get rich with real estate but I’m able to make a
living without needing to go to a job every day. That was my goal and I’m happy
that I reached it. I had to start small though and I’m glad I did as I learned
a lot with my smaller projects bringing me to where I am today.
Is it actually possible to work as a real
estate agent while still in University?
Being a realtor
or even just a sub agent may be a very
easy work which
can be done on a
part time basis while studying at the university.
All you’ll
need may be a realtor
license or a
friend with a real estate business.
Sounds easy enough, right?
That’s why above question crossed my mind.
It would really be a cool way to get enough money to support your busy life as
a student. Here is what I found out.
I came across many agents who got their
Real Estate Agent’s license while they were still in College. And it seems, if
you are passionate about real estate and good with people this is definitely
the way to go. Maybe you were planning to go in this direction anyway so this is
a fantastic way to start getting some experience.
You are probably very limited regarding your time
That’s why the best would be to only start as a part timer. Ideally, you can set your own hours and pick up listings between classes. You can start doing open houses on weekends – that’s when most of the clients are around anyway.
Some who started doing this loved it so
much that they left college all together and concentrated on their real estate
business. That’s not what we like to encourage! Everybody has to make their own
decision regarding their career.
If you like to try it yourself with little money
– maybe you have a friend or relative who wants to sell a house – why not try
some websites where you can list real estate for free. This will keep your
costs down until you made your first money that you can reinvest into your
little venture. Here at https://www.listproperty4free.com/
you can list your real estate ad with no strings attached. Interested buyers
will contact you directly.
Even if you fail…
Even if you try to work as a real estate agent while still in University and fail, don’t see this as a waste of time. At least then you know it’s not for you and the experience you made in this time will always be helpful for you in the future – maybe when you get your own home.
Some even found out that they rather buy
properties themselves, do some work or staging on it and resell it for more
money. That’s what I ended up doing. It’s great because you have full control
over your time and project.
Some even work their way up this way. This
is called the property ladder. With the money you got from selling your first
home you buy the next slightly more expensive as you have a bigger budget now.
This you repeat several times until you are at the top. You might discover that
this is something you really enjoy doing as it usually involves handy work or
decorating. For many this is far more interesting than to work in a real estate
office.
If you are looking for a first project that you can buy with a small budget
It’s definitely worth a try to work as a real estate agent while still in University. Maybe even helps you to find out what kind of work you like to do in the future.
