Category: Real Estate

Tips to Keep Your Deck in Tip-Top Shape

Posted by on December 17, 2018 in Beach, Real Estate

A Fancy Wooden Deck Wood Deck

Decks can be expensive, and they can end up being a pretty big investment. Since this is the case, you don’t want your decking materials to start looking bad because it isn’t being maintained. The good news is that there are a few things you can do to keep it looking great and, hopefully, the tips below will help you do that. 


Clean it


For starters, you want to make sure you keep your deck nice and clean. While there isn’t a set cleaning schedule, you should try to do it every few months and you can clean it in between those times if you see that it’s needing it. Keep in mind, different areas are going to require different cleaning times, so make sure you clean as much as you need to. First, remove all items from the deck and sweep away any debris. Next, you should use a cleaner that’s specifically made for decks. Pour it on the area and scrub with a brush or washcloth. Finally, take a bucket of water or water hose and wash away any residue. 


Stain it


Generally, you want to stain your deck every 2 to 3 years. It is up to you, though, and you don’t have to stain it that often if you feel it looks fine the way it is. Before starting the staining process, you want to make sure you remove all items and debris. If possible, you should wash the deck and let it dry thoroughly. Once you do that, you can stain it. Wait for it to completely dry before putting the items back. The great thing is that you can pick any color you want, and you could even change it each time. 


Keep it Sealed


You also want to make sure to keep your deck sealed. The good thing about seals is that most stains will already have them included. If they don’t, you’ll have to buy them separately. If it is included with the stain, you’ll already be sealing at the same time you’re putting new stain on. If it isn’t, you should still put some down at the same time. This means that the sealing and staining process should be on the same schedule and be done together. There are quite a few different types of stains out there and you’ll have some things to figure out, such as the features of the sealer and how it’s applied. 


Remove Snow


It might not seem like a big deal, but you also want to make sure you remove the snow in the winter time. The reason for this is because it can cause many issues to come up, including wood warping and breaking. There’s also the chance that it can soak into any areas that aren’t sealed well. While it might seem like an inconvenience, it will save you both money and time in the long run. With that being said, you don’t have to remove snow if it’s just a small amount. Only remove it if it’s several inches deep. 


Replace Damaged Boards


You should also make sure you replace damaged boards. This is another thing that doesn’t have a certain schedule. Depending on the area you live, you might need to replace boards every few years, while people in other areas might need to replace them after several years. It’s something that can be figured out by just looking. Just to be safe, it’s a good idea to inspect boards every year to see if they’re all in good shape or not. The good thing is that most decks are made in a way that won’t require you to completely tear it down to replace one board. You should be able to pull the board up while leaving everything else alone! 


Replace Nails


Replacing nails is extremely important because, if you don’t, it can cause many serious issues to come up. Examples would be boards not being secured and causing people to fall, as well as nails sticking up and stabbing people in the foot. If you see boards that are loose or missing nails, make sure you reinforce them by adding more. If you see nails sticking up, try and hammer them down. If that doesn’t fix the issue, completely remove the nail and replace with new ones. 

As you can see, it takes a little work to keep your decking materials looking good. If you want a deck that’s always looking great, you’ll have to put some work into it. Remember, all the hard work will pay off in the end and you’ll continue having the deck of your dreams!

How Harnick Kang Chooses a Property to Invest In

Posted by on November 5, 2018 in Real Estate

Rental property

The Crucial Criteria Experts Use to Choose a Property

 

Millions of Brits are looking to break into the lucrative world of real estate investing. They know that investment can be risky and difficult. Investing has a significant chance of loss and failure for many investors. But for those investors who are looking to get started and do not know where to turn, there are answers. Investors like Harnick Kang have made a considerable amount of money investing in and choosing properties. They are happy to share their knowledge in order to ensure that more likely investors take the plunge and take advantage of the plethora of money available in the real estate field.

Neighborhood

Location is often viewed as the central tenet of real estate. A perfect location in London or Sheffield can make up for a number of deficiencies that any building might have. Location can ensure that individuals are close to the amenities that they will want to frequent on a regular basis.

One location may be closer to a place of business or a popular park than others. The internet has revolutionized the ability to view many locations and gain a sense of their potential profitability. Individuals can stay in their beds and look up street views of millions of homes all across the country and around the world. With this potential, one would think that finding a proper location would be easy.

But Harnick Kang disputes that assertion. He believes that there is more to a property than the profile shown on a real estate website. Websites do not show how active or friendly a community is. They do not capture the nuance of certain neighborhoods and the relationships between neighbors. In order to capture this information, individuals need to actively explore different neighborhoods. They should never purchase a house or rental building before they spend several hours in that neighborhood at many different hours of the day. Only through persistent research can an individual determine whether or not a location is worth their investment.

Price

Investors like Kang are also sensitive to the price of a property. They scour listings and the internet for many hours per week on a quest for the best prices possible. Kang makes sure to carefully analyze the prices that appear and make the right connections in order to learn when properties will appear on the market and at what price.

He sometimes has relationships with real estate agents who will let him know when prices will increase and decrease. In other situations, he knows how prices have moved in a neighborhood. A successful investor like Kang needs to be so familiar with real estate prices that he can find and seize a good deal in a matter of hours. If not, there is a good chance that his competitors in the area will.

Rental yield

Rental yield with a house or a block of flats is also a primary consideration for Kang. This term refers to the amount of money that an investor hopes to make from renting out a property. Net rental yield is determined by subtracting the costs associated with paying for and owning a property from the overall amount of money brought in from rent. Rental yield helps an individual decide when they should sell and how much income they could make from a property while they owned it. This metric is incredibly helpful for determining whether or not the repairs and maintenance associated with a property would be worth its cost.

Conclusion

Investors often have a hard time choosing a property to buy or invest in. They spend weeks and months researching, analyzing, and talking to professionals. They occasionally make mistakes and have to sell early to cover their losses. But in total, these investors have the potential to earn tens of thousands of pounds from their investments. Listening to an investor like Harnick Kang can ensure that an investor makes as few costly mistakes in this process as possible.

Why Mark Hanrahan Believes The Midwest is Ideal for New Real Estate Development

Posted by on October 26, 2018 in Real Estate

Why Industry Expert Mark Hanrahan Sees the Midwest as the Ideal Place to Put Down Roots in New Developments

Once considered “flyover country,” the Midwest has emerged as one of the best-performing areas for commercial real estate development in the United States, according to Mark Hanrahan, founder and managing partner of Markmel Company. “Attributes such as centralized location, favorable tax incentives, skilled labor pool, relatively low cost of living, high quality of life and generally strong market fundamentals make Midwestern states ideal for new commercial real estate development,” said Hanrahan. Additionally, nearly 30 percent of Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Midwestern states, and the Urban Land Institute’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2019 report calls out Minneapolis-St. Paul, Indianapolis, Columbus and Kansas City as the Midwestern metropolitan areas with the brightest futures with regard to commercial real estate demand.

Industrial Development

On the industrial side, as e-commerce business continues to grow, demand for warehouse and distribution space is growing as well. Online sales are projected to reach more than $700 billion in the United States by 2022, and Amazon has more than 40 fulfillment centers in the Midwest alone. Amazon and other retailers are turning to the Midwest for distribution centers for a variety of reasons. The top three largest rail hubs in the U.S. — Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis — are located in the Midwest, and many Midwestern cities, such as Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, are within a day’s drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population.

Office Development

The office sector in the Midwest is just as strong as industrial. In Indianapolis, for example, downtown office buildings are almost 100 percent leased — primarily by technology companies — and firms have invested more than $3.6 billion in downtown properties. Of the 20 finalists to win Amazon’s second headquarters, three — Chicago, Columbus and Indianapolis — are Midwestern cities. (Pittsburgh is also a candidate, which straddles the fence between Midwest and East Coast.) Venture capital is flowing in Ohio as well, where, according to the VentureOhio 2017 Venture Report, nearly $500 million was invested in more than 200 startups in 2016. Other Midwestern cities are focusing on construction of world-class medical centers and sports facilities, such as the new Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, to drive office and mixed-use development.

Mixed-Use Development

The confluence of technology, medicine and sports, combined with the desire of millennials to live in an urban, walkable environment, has spurred a multitude of mixed-use developments across the Midwest. In Indianapolis, the construction of an all-electric bus system, a more cost-efficient labor pool, and a thriving life sciences industry is bringing firms downtown to planned, mixed-use communities. In Cleveland, a federal historic tax credit program is enabling the city to redevelop abandoned structures into mixed-use buildings, while nearby Shaker Heights is developing a district to include office, multi-family and retail components with a walkable town square. Even Detroit is shaking off its recent doldrums with the retrofitting of many obsolete downtown properties into mixed entertainment, retail and office facilities to attract primarily millennials.

Future Outlook

“Investors and developers who are seeking a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of at least one million, with civic leadership that provides tax incentives and a diversified economic base, are investing in the Midwest,” said Mark Hanrahan, who has successfully negotiated and facilitated more than $10 billion in multifamily, office, retail and industrial transactions. Both startups and established firms located in the Midwest can offer Silicon Valley-type perks and benefits at a much-reduced cost, attracting skilled labor looking for a lower cost of living. And they can take advantage of the area’s inherent friendliness and hospitality, qualities that go a long way with developers and venture capitalists when selecting where to invest next. For these reasons and more, whether downtown or in the suburbs, the Midwest is ideal for real estate development.

Where Nate Armstrong Sees as the Best Regions for Real Estate Investing

Posted by on October 25, 2018 in Real Estate

Where the Experts Like Nate Armstrong of Home Invest See Opportunity

According to Nate Armstrong of Home Invest, real estate investors must research deeply on properties, contractors, and other necessary information before buying a house. The best areas to purchase real estate property for equity and cash flow growth often have particular aspects in common: population growth, job growth, and affordability. Once you find an area that has these specifications, consider investing in that locale as soon as you can. These characteristics still exist in many U.S. areas, locations where you can purchase high cash flow property and watch as your equity grows. This article will highlight some of these locations. Read on to find out what factors makes them good places to invest.

 

Orlando, Florida

The market demand for family homes has been increasing for a while in the state. It is still possible to purchase fully renovated real property in nice Florida neighborhoods at friendly prices. Even more fascinating is that, despite the unbelievably low housing prices across the state, most home seekers have opted to rent instead of purchasing. As a result, this position has caused rental rates to increase.

Other than the good cash flow, values are skyrocketing in this area with no indications of decelerating any time soon. The prevailing prices are nowhere close to 2006 highs because builders cannot make good profits at the prevailing price points. Insurance and property taxes are low; plus, the state does not impose any income taxes. Consider the warm weather and good healthcare in the state, and you can imagine why over ten thousand baby boomers are moving to Florida every day.

Orlando ranks as one of the best locales to buy real estate property in Florida as of 2018. Located across the state’s Sun Belt region, the area is popular for its warm weather, entertainment, tourist attractions, beautiful beaches, and renowned amusement parks.

The area has a combined population of over three million residents. For this reason, the city’s real property market is motivated by baby boomer retirees, job seekers, and students who wish to live in a cheerful and cheap location that promises high-quality life at a reasonable cost.

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Metropolitan is the 22nd largest metro area in the U.S with a total population of over 2.3 million people. Pittsburgh is widely referred to as the City of Bridges due to, unsurprisingly, its many bridges. It is also home to a number of large corporations that assist in growing and moderating the metro’s economy. Pittsburgh economy does well on education, healthcare, robotics, technology, financial services, film production, and glass.

Moreover, the region is well known for the production of natural gas and oil. Also, given that the city is home to prominent financial organizations like PNC Financial Services, Federal Investors, and BNY Mellon, Pittsburgh promises to be a good area to invest in real estate.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ranks the city as one of the best places to invest. The list also considers Pittsburgh to be one of the best markets for growth and redevelopment. Additionally, according to RentRange, rent costs for homes increased by 12.6 percent in 2018. That is why the metropolitan might be the best place to purchase real estate property this year.

 

Huntsville and Montgomery, Alabama

Huntsville is about 90 miles north of Birmingham. Founded in 1811, the city is well known for its deep Southern heritage and a number of space missions. The city in Alabama is referred to as the rocket city due to the Marshall Space Flight Center that enabled Neil Armstrong to walk on the moon.

Currently, Huntsville ranks as one of the most popular cities in the Southeast area of the country. According to USA Today, Huntsville is one of the top cities that is prominent in the economic recovery. Also, Money magazine considers the area to be one of the most affordable cities in the nation.

Huntsville offers a great opportunity to real estate investors. The city is one of the most affordable markets in the U.S, it prides itself in a steady job market, and has an ever-increasing population. These are good indications for real estate investors interested in generating passive revenue.

The real estate sector will likely continue improving in terms of demand and interest rates. However, it is still important to execute due diligence while purchasing real property. According to Nate Armstrong from Home Invest, the Home Invest platform is the first application on which investors can choose their property, select a contractor, and choose a property manager to ensure that homebuyers have an enjoyable experience while they build their passive portfolio.

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4 Ways Architects Are Modernizing The Real Estate Industry

Posted by on July 31, 2018 in Real Estate

Brian Setencich

Architects are resourceful professionals. Although they have completed their degree understanding the traditional styles of property design as well as some contemporary ones, they should still be able to engage in self-taught learning. This is because times have changed for real estate. You can notice this when skyscrapers, homes, and other commercial establishments look different than they were 30-40 years ago.

According to freelance architect and expert Brian Setencich, there are many reasons why architects should always be updated with the trends:

  • As the population grows, there is a need to create space-saving properties. An example of a country that has adopted modern architecture to save space in Hong Kong. They have created units that sprawl as high as 30 stories for residential homes. Additionally, people have also opened up to the idea of tiny spaces for minimalistic living.
  • The elements of modern architecture are much different. You don’t have to be an expert to notice the difference in styles. Now, modern buildings have fewer frills, more into creating spacious-looking rooms, and uses more straight lines than intricate details.
  • Architects have to be updated with what clients want. As the years move forward, so are the clients. The younger generation has different tastes, and this is evident in their home choices. Architects must understand what they want, or present options that are affordable yet aesthetically pleasing.

What are the ways that architects are paving the way for modernization in real estate? Let’s find out more through this post.

4 Ways Architects Are Modernizing The Real Estate Industry

Architects have embraced minimalistic design

Now, minimalism isn’t just for the simple–it can take on many forms. Minimalism can also mean elegance and class in modern architecture. New buildings are made and inspired by the Japanese or Zen-like structures, which are not into many details but are described by more simplicity and less clutter.

The younger generation prefers this kind of establishments because they are easier on the eyes, affordable to create and only emphasizes the essential. Now, architects who are building on new properties have moved away from the frills-filled classical architecture into the minimalistic modern types.

Architects prioritize safety in modern establishment ideation

Aside from style and design, architects are also finding ways to make establishments safer than ever. This means making use of sturdy materials based on the terrain, location, and weather of the lot. Safety is all about making sure that the proper foundations are built and the right materials are used during the construction process.

Modern architects can now team up with engineers and other members of the real estate development to share ideas. This can be done simply now through collaborations in the virtual space.

Architects can incorporate eco-friendly strategies into their profession

Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the preference to push the world into a more eco-friendly state. According to Brian Setencich, this movement has also affected not just the manufacturing or energy industry. The green movement is also affecting the real estate industry as well.

Now, architects are taking on the challenge to create spaces which are made of eco-friendly materials. In some areas of the world, some architects have proposed making use of compressed plastic as hollow blocks as a means to save concrete and recycle the plastic for affordable homes. This is a genius idea that has paved the way for a more sustainable living.

Architects help transform home foreclosures

An example of a show that helps in the modernization of home foreclosures is those from HGTV called “Fixer Upper”. These professionals are inviting families that are home-shopping and asking them to pick second hand or foreclosed homes. After the choice, the professionals work their way into modernizing the home based on the preferences of the family.

This is a great way to inspire future homeowners not to be intimidated by picking foreclosures. With the right choices, they can save money and continuously transform old homes into new ones.

Architects have been and will always be important in the real estate industry. As times change, so does their skills and capabilities to modernize their scope of influence.

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Luis Enrique Coll’s Guide to Real Estate

Posted by on May 10, 2018 in Real Estate

Luis Enrique
Luis Enrique
Real estate can seem to be an intimidating industry to get into. Whether you are an average joe, someone who has an intermediate knowledge, or even an expert, you may come across a set of challenges which may still come as a surprise when buying and selling properties.

Despite the challenges, real estate keeps itself as one of the most profitable industries. Property never depreciates in value, and there are a lot of agents gaining profits from buying and selling homes and commercial units. According to Luis Enrique Coll, a real estate expert, here are some real estate investment statistics:

  • Residential real estate investing is in a boom because of the home flipping business
  • Foreclosures can be brought in public markets, which make it accessible for others finding a home
  • Some real estate agents who own properties for rental proved to be a billion dollar business

Given the benefits of real estate investment, many people are not sure about the basic principles in becoming an agent. In this post, we will be looking into Luis Enrique Coll and his guide for the basic principles you need to understand before getting into the real estate business.

Luis Enrique Coll’s Guide to Real Estate

1. Get educated, then get started

Real estate is a complex business, but it is highly profitable at any point in time. The best part about real estate investment is that they give such a high return for a short period of time. Unlike other business models that only give your trickles of profits, real estate can give you returns in bulk.

Consequently, these high returns means that you would also need a larger pocket of money to invest in. There is also a bigger risk when it comes to this type of industry. This is why you need to get educated about the type of real estate niche you choose, then get started right away. There is no wrong time to start in real estate.

2. Establish a good line of credit

If you are planning in becoming an agent or an investor, it is very important to have a good line of credit. There is just an element of trust that comes along an investor with a good credit.

This also gives you the ability to purchase property, recommend property, and get loans which you may be needing to expand your business. Although not a firm requirement, it can help you gain a leverage compared to other investors who cannot scale their business because of poor credit score.

To improve your line of credit, make sure to pay your bills on time, pay your other property mortgage, and be able to record other alternate lines of credit to help you strengthen your score.

3. Start with residential real estate investments

If you are not sure about the real estate niche you will be picking, you might want to start on residential real estate. This niche has proved to be an easy entry point, and would yield quicker profits over time.

New families who are starting their lives together are looking for a home, additionally, people who are moving cross-state may also be looking for a place to stay, either for rental or purchase. People constantly look for this because having a home is a necessity. That being said, it will be easier to find a residential client than a client who is looking for a commercial unit.

As a real estate beginner, you can try getting into residential investments initially.

4. Start your team with trusted individuals

No real estate investor is an island. In fact, a lot of successful investors have networks where they are part of. Through these networks, they are able to find potential customers, and they can get referrals and pass on referrals when needed.

Additionally, your team can help you promote properties, add their knowledge, skills and expertise in help closing out sales for potential customers.

5. Invest in progressive locations

When it comes to real estate, some investors would attest to this quote: “Location, location, location.” This means that you need to invest in sites where people like to live in, where there are great opportunities to start a life, build a career, or be a part of a community.

Progressive locations are your best bet to be successful in real estate. Investing in properties where there is low population, poor opportunities, and other unlikely livable conditions may not be the best idea no matter how affordable you brought the property for.

By keeping mind these fundamental principles, any real estate investor will be able to succeed in the business. It takes moments of learning, steps of action, and continuous progression to earn the best profits when getting into real estate.

Why AI Is Going to Have a Significant Impact on the Real Estate Industry

Posted by on January 4, 2018 in Real Estate

AI or artificial intelligence has become a major factor in modern society. It helps protect people from identity theft and credit card fraud because it can tag photos. It performs tasks, is critical for web development, synthesizes information, and categorizes data. As a futurist, David Lubbat has seen the potential of machine learning in all fields, including real estate. This new technology touches buyers, sellers, renters and real estate professionals. Despite the possibilities, the technology is complicated, but there are numerous benefits for renters in the future.

Artificial intelligence is being used to streamline the procedure for property managers, landlords, and tenants. Property managers are able to recommend management and maintenance tasks, locate new tenants, and find vendors at a lower cost of advanced machine learning. Tenants now have the convenience of paying their rent on the internet, and the chatbots feature enables them to report any issues they are experiencing quickly and easily. This type of technology is fixing a lot of the problems so common to buildings with numerous tenants. Property managers can accurately anticipate and respond to tenant issues without any guesswork involved. This makes the process much smoother for the managers and owners of the buildings.

Chatbots are starting to completely change the field of real estate, and the way business is being conducted. While it is true that it takes a human being to take interested buyers on an actual tour, virtual tours are gaining in popularity and momentum. There are bots capable of answering a wide variety of questions concerning the terms of the lease, the square footage, and many of the most common questions asked in real estate. As the web development and machine learning continue to advance, the bots will be able to answer more questions and even accommodate many of the nuances. This is having an impact on every area of real estate. Commercial real estate brokers are using a platform powered by machine learning to locate and lease office space. The chatbots are finding small to medium sized locations for commercial clients. Please take a moment to browse David Lubbat and his views.

Machine learning not only enables bots to correctly answer the question, if the bot does not know the answer, the call will be transferred to a human representative. This is increasing the number of leads generated and combines the worlds of humans with machine learning. The biggest concern regarding this new technology from the realtors is job automation. There have been a lot of predictions in every industry, and during the next twenty years, fifty percent of the current jobs may be threatened by technology. Many people do not believe this technology is harmless, and are afraid of the possible repercussions in the future. As this concern starts to spread, it is imperative society prepares for significant changes in the workforce of the future.

There are two distinctly different thought processes concerning the new AI technology and the effect this will cause for the real estate agents. The first is the core capabilities of real estate agents can be improved through cognitive computing. The agents would be unified, and their services significantly improved. The second thought process is machine learning could effectively eliminate the need for many of the services provided by the agents. If this occurs, the belief is the only remaining agents would be specialized practitioners. The real estate business must be extremely careful how much of the new software and technology is integrated into the field. The optimal solution would be to increase the efficiency of the process for the buyers and renters, without jeopardizing the jobs of the property managers, brokers, and agents. The changes cannot be ignored because the process has already been set in motion.

Many individuals are expecting a lot of future layoffs for the real estate agents. Although there is currently no solid answer, many people in the field believe there is a way to use AI to support the real estate industry without humans losing their jobs to machines. Technology must be implemented to make businesses human side stronger and more competitive, not eliminate the human factor. This encompasses relationship building, emotional intelligence and customer service. The new technology does offer the real estate field a lot of advantages. There may come a day when new apartments and houses will be shown by robots. The expectation is robots will eventually find roommates, answer complex questions and match the skills of the real estate agents. The change is evolving, and hopefully, human and machines will be able to work together to improve the field.

How 3D Rendering Changes the Way Realtors Work

Posted by on August 16, 2017 in Real Estate

3D rendering is an impressive feat of technology which has just recently entered the field of architecture. Companies like Renders 3D Quick can help clients take ideas or floor plans and turn them into realistic three-dimensional images. How does this change the way that realtors work?

 

Imagine that you are describing an idea for a new building. You can imagine it in your mind, but can only use words to describe it. Now think about how powerful it would be to give someone the exact same images that you can see in your mind. You could show them the shining window surfaces, the way the roof is angled, and the way it would feel to walk into the building. These powerful images could help you sell your idea. In addition, a three-dimensional rendering of a place means that real estate agents clients no longer need to be physically present in order to experience a space. Let’s go over both changes.

 

Real estate agents know how powerful visuals are when it comes to selling. They might have to wait for a spec house to be built so that they can walk potential buyers through the room and show them what space looks like. With three-dimensional rendering, a real estate agent could begin selling a home before the home is even built. Instead of just describing it, they could ask a company like 3D Render to make a complete three-dimensional virtual reality visual of the house. This would give the potential buyer a visual experience of the house, and the real estate agent could sell it before it is even built.

 

The second major change for the way Realtors work will come from the physical location aspect of making a sale. Instead of waiting for busy times of the year or fluctuations in a tourist economy, a realtor will have the power to make sales regardless of the physical location of the customers. This opens new avenues of marketing and customer targeting. Realtors from any area can now target customers in any area of the world, regardless of the convenience or ease of attending a showing. A potential buyer will no longer need to be physically present in order to see a three-dimensional model, visually, of what the house or space looks like. Because a virtual reality space can be multiplied an unlimited amount of times, a realtor can “show” space virtually much more times than he or she could physically show it.

 

A three-dimensional image of a building is much more impressive than a two-dimensional photograph or floor plan. Although the potential buyer will want to eventually walk through the property in person, the 3D image will go a long way towards giving them a feel for space.

 

Real estate agents have been leveraging 3D images since the products first became available. Agent Shawn Battle is one example of a real estate agent who began using 3D imaging early and has found success with it. Do you use 3D imaging in your real estate practice? If not, do you think that you want to try it?

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5 Tech Tools That Make Home Buying Easier

Posted by on May 25, 2017 in Real Estate, Technology

The process of buying a home can be an enjoyable experience when you have the right tools. Many factors go into the buying decision. Technology has made it easy to collect, analyze and share resourceful information quickly. This enables you to make decisions faster than before and simplify the process. Consider factors such as the location, cost estimates, a reliable realtor, moving, decorating your new home and keeping up with property tax.

Let us look at five tools that can make the process of buying a home easier.

 

  1. Real estate directories and search engines provide a convenient way to find important information about a home. With an internet connection, you can search, view locations and prices, and read reviews about specific localities. Some of the popular services include Zillow and Trulia among many others. You can obtain useful information such as local amenities, transport systems, and home value trends. It is an excellent option to help you figure out where to buy.
  2. Mobile phone apps have become the first stop in our search for information. The real estate sector enjoys a variety of applications that enable you to obtain and process information. There are real estate apps to allow you to get an intelligent agent, estimate the amount of mortgage, view floor plans of proposed houses, plan your move, and decorate your house among others. The apps are cross-platform and available to all devices making this a convenient way to accelerate the home buying process.
  3. Online maps and GPS services provide a convenient way to get a visual impression of the location. Google Maps is an excellent option but compare with available local providers offering niche information. GPS systems come as a standard in most vehicles today, and this makes the perfect case to take a trip out to a proposed home. Updated maps provide a realistic presentation of the location.
  4. Everything looks better on video. Modern digital cameras and mobile devices allow inexperienced users to take clear videos. Aggregate and edit the videos to highlight important sections. Streaming services are available to enable seamless sharing. A video is an excellent way to virtually walk through the property and document different options for quick comparison. It’s a great way to capture the details that cannot be included in the documentation.
  5. Media sharing services enable consumers to share large files quickly. Services such as Google Drive and Dropbox enable you to upload files for online storage and easily share with friends and associates. Social media sites are easily accessible from most mobile devices. They are designed with media sharing as a core element of the service and provide an excellent platform to get feedback on various aspects of the property.

 

As the buyer, you are the target consumer of a lot of information. Tech tools help you collect, analyze, and share information flawlessly. Explore your choices and find a system that works to lower your logistical costs, enables quicker decision and smoothens an otherwise complicated process. Working with professionals such as Martin J. Stallone is a great way to guarantee that you get the information you need to purchase your next home.

5 Real Estate Photo Tips

Posted by on May 8, 2017 in Real Estate

1. Make Good Use of That Tripod.

What’s it even there for if you never use it; am I right? Pull out that sucker and show the positioning field of scope what it’s all about, my friend; you’ve got the power. HDR techniques are especially useful with a good tripod by your side. There’s so much more that a tripod allows you to do as it frees your hands and mind even more.

2. Bring Plenty of Flashes with You.

You never know when you’ll need them, and it’s usually when you least expect to use them. This has been the case with multiple new or seasoned photographers, and a good real estate photographer should be no less professional when he takes that money shot.

Whether in daylight or night-time darkness, you’ll be prepared.

3. Work within a Specified Contract, and Never Let It Leave Your Side.

As obvious as this fact would appear to most, you would be surprised to note the number of people that often fails to consider it or value its importance. The result is astounding, yet the simple point must be likewise repeated: Always read the fine print and understand it first. Never enter a contract until you’re fully certain of its terms and implications even if you assume that you know every dot and tittle. It never hurts to ask before signing away; in fact, it’s your right to do so. Keep your contract with you in case you need to review or address a part of it to the client.

4. Be Flexible and Relax: You’ve Got This. Open Yourself to the Possibilities.

The f word is key in this industry, and I don’t mean the f word that you’re probably thinking of: I refer to flexibility. This is an industry that requires much re-scheduling, re-shooting, re-pricing and overall re-planning. Are you prepared to handle such a flow? If not, then this may not be the best choice of careers for you. Sometimes the client or your boss will say, “Scratch that” and begin a new line of thought, leaving you scrambling to pick up the pieces within the looming deadline.

5. Make Pre-Set Editing a Friend.

This saves you both time and extra effort in the long run. Different cameras have varied settings for this with some far more elaborate than others and others far more elusive – yet nearly all professional cameras feature these settings unless yours was made before 1990 or some similar time. All joking aside, this is the first thing that you should do after you get your new camera: Learn its settings and features as you diligently browse that manual. Memorize the pre-set options so that you can use them as needed, and then apply them to your settings manually or automatically.

Rocco Basile has much to offer, so listen up. This special leader offers more tips on his main website. Check it out.

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