Rising energy prices, consumers feeling pinched at the gas pump, and an aging, inefficient housing stock all create a compelling case for making sustainable housing choices a priority. Real estate practitioners and others in the building industry have been teaming up to green their MLSs.
In 2006, Regina Ragon launched her own nonprofit, Latin American Community Development, with the goal of helping people in rural Central American towns help themselves.
Samuel Thomas has been right on time since founding Quest, a nonprofit that serves the hungry and poor in the Philadelphia suburb of Burlington, N.J. At Tabernacle Baptist Church, where Thomas is a deacon, he and his 110 volunteers provide an array of services to alleviate physical and spiritual pain.
While there’s no silver bullet that will turn a slow market into a hot one, using a few of our strategies will reduce your anxieties now and ensure that you’re ready to make the most of the next market upswing.
Besides providing much-needed help to people or organizations that need it most, volunteering can open the door to new business opportunities, friends, skills, and appreciation for the everyday things you take for granted. Most of all, it can make you happy.
Practitioners at large firms often obtain E&O policies through their brokerage’s preferred provider. However, in some cases it’s necessary to shop for your own insurance. Since premiums are determined by your individual situation and risk profile, there’s no one-size-fits-all policy.
When it comes to real estate commissions, consumers want to know they’re getting solid value. It’s up to you to explain why you earn every penny. Here’s how.
Taking your practice international may be simpler than you’d imagine. Much global business stems from your ability to build relationships and exchange referrals—skills you already possess.
If you aspire to start your own real estate brokerage, whether it’s a highly-specialized boutique or part of a big franchise, you need to start with smart planning, thorough research, and expert follow-through. Follow these tips from practitioners who have branched out on their own.
Practitioners who work in high-priced markets need to find innovative solutions and funding alternatives to help get clients into homes. Here are some tips from real estate professionals who have overcome such hurdles with their buyers.
When the market slows — or if you’re faced with other market challenges, such as unrealistic seller expectations or a glut of listings — those adept at adapting and responding to these challenges with a little creativity are best able to continue to thrive. Here are some of the ways that practitioners are responding to curves their markets are generating.
With the explosion of loan options, it’s become increasingly challenging to keep up on the newest mortgages. While your job as a real estate professional doesn’t require you to help your buyers get financing, clients often look to you for guidance on their mortgage options, including matching them with a mortgage broker.
Hits don’t -necessarily translate into sales. But eBay is a tool—like direct mail or news-paper advertising—that some practitioners are using to market listings, drive traffic to their Web sites, and attract new prospects.
Real estate professionals across the country found their own, sometimes unique, ways to pitch into the relief efforts to aid the victims of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami that devastated many countries in South Asia. Here are some of the ways creative, bighearted REALTORS® have helped.
Even if you do few 1031 exchanges, the general public expects you to have a working knowledge of them. Not knowing about 1031s could lose you potential business.
Brokers and real estate executives, almost without exception, say the influx of new talent is a positive trend for their offices and the industry overall. But they also acknowledge challenges of adjusting to the different skill sets, ambitions, and interests of the new generation.
Savvy real estate professionals who are long-time investors know that the occasional challenges of being a landlord is well worth the trade-off of having a stable investment. They offer their hard-earned knowledge on how to avoid the most common pitfalls of being a landlord.
Ever wish you had a time machine and could start your real estate career over—with all the experience and skills it’s taken you years to develop? Here are some of the challenges experienced real estate practitioners faced and overcame, plus some advice from practitioners, brokers, and trainers on how to leap those hurdles.
Real estate professionals, along with most self-employed taxpayers, are generally required to make quarterly estimated tax payments. Carefully calculating your estimated tax payments can keep you from paying a 20 percent penalty on any underpaid tax.
Entrepreneurs like you are vulnerable to major losses--and not necessarily because of bad business decisions. A loss may result from having too little insurance.
