The Real Estate business is truly unique in the sense that most people will only engage in it once or twice in their entire life.

And since purchasing property is such a complicated matter, Real Estate businesses have laboriously pursued every means to make this transaction as easy and as informative as possible.

This explains the plethora of agents, advertisements, listings, open houses, and gimmicks realtors employ just to attract potential buyers, who, understandably so are squeamish about jumping headlong into such a big investment without thinking everything over.

However, there is great satisfaction in being able to close a successful deal with a client. This is especially true when the client is satisfied and heartily recommends the agent/broker to his friends who may be considering purchasing homes too.

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It’s been quite a few years since I read RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert Kiyosaki; I think it was back in 2000 as a high school freshman. It was one of my first insights into the business world, and after reading it, I was extremely excited!

First, if you have not read the book yet, I strongly urge you to pick-up a copy. Last time I checked Amazon it was $11 – not bad for a life changing book! If you have read the book, continue…

Now I’ll assume you’ve read the book or at least heard something about it. There seem to be two opposite perspectives on the book:

1. It is a great introductory book into the world and business and real estate investing.

2. The book is useless and Kiyosaki is a fraud.

My opinion is along the lines of #1. Kiyosaki has written a wonderful book that will enlighten and motivate almost any individual to take action and better their financial situation.

I can’t say whether or not Kiyosaki’s story of his two dads is true. But if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter. That fact has nothing to do with how good the book is. What matters is that the book is easy-to-read for the average person thanks to Kiyosaki’s style.

If you want detailed how-to information, look elsewhere. RICH DAD, POOR DAD puts the idea of financial independence in your head. That’s the point. If you gave a novice a technical book about flipping properties, he/she would be pretty bored and gain no interest in real estate investing. Those are the books you read after Rich Dad.

Regardless of your stance on this issue, you need to consider this valuable lesson:

Find a mentor.

“Rich Dad” is an example of a mentor, someone who guides you during your investing. Someone you can go to for advice. Someone experienced in your field. Mentors are invaluable when you are starting out and when you are faced with any sort of strategic decision.

Now go find your own “Rich Dad.” (Check out http://www.score.org/ for help.)

The MLS is a database - an extremely convenient way to know what properties are for sale at any given moment. This makes it very useful to real estate agents and brokers (or basically anyone looking to buy or sell a house.)

Basically, the MLS is like a huge property warehouse. When a property is available for sale, it enters the warehouse. When it is sold, it leaves the warehouse.

The MLS only contains information since real estate cannot actually be stored in a warehouse. This information comes from the various brokers that exist in the scope of the MLS.

Why the MLS works for home buyers

First of all, MLS is very convenient. Buyers can browse through the available properties listed on an MLS.

Using the MLS also does not cost anything. It is a free service that is sponsored by the realtors advertising their available properties.

Options Galore

On the MLS, a buyer is not limited to choosing among a few available properties. Usually, the MLS makes available many properties that are for sale.

In the olden days, when information was limited, a buyer would only be able to visit a few homes per day. He or she would also need to communicate with the agent for details and such.

With MLS, the buyer can start browsing from the comfort of his or her home. Details regarding the property are also listed there.

Aside from the written details, MLS usually provides pictures of the property. Other advanced MLS implementations even have other surveying tools that help buyers come to decisions regarding their desired property.

Fitting the Bill

MLS also helps the buyer by narrowing down choices to those that fit the buyer’s desires. The buyer supplies information on his or her desired property to the MLS site. This information includes desired area, size of property, age, location, and other specifics. The buyer is then given a set of houses that fit that description.

Communication

MLS also makes it easier for the buyer to contact the realtor. Details about the realtor are listed along with the property to allow straightforward communication between buyer and realtor.

Conclusion

It may be hard to believe but the real estate industry has benefited a lot from MLS. MLS is the next step in real estate evolution. It is relatively safe and is very convenient. As the MLS grows in popularity, more and more realtors avail of its listings. For the buyer, this can only mean good things – more choices, better decisions.

Realtors Get Their Hands on Technology

This article discusses how real estate agents are leveraging technology to make their job easier. One example is Pathfinder from InternetMLS which integrates MLS listings wirelessly with GPS. A quick search for 'real estate software' on Google returns a variety of potentially useful programs for the RE investor and broker a like.

Services like Google Maps and Yahoo! Local allow you to also see what amenities (restaurants, coffee shops, schools, etc.) are near properties. A quick search for "[town name] + census" will generally return the newest census data on that town. Virtual 360 degree tours of houses is also a new but increasingly popular feature requested by potential buyers. The more information and interactivity you can provide over the web, the better. Real Estate is still somewhat of a conservative industry so you can get ahead by leveraging new technologies.

Here is a great article by Rik Foote about how to get started as a Real Estate Investor by becoming a 'scout'. This is the best way to get started, particularly if you are young. There is little to no risk, you learn a great deal, expand your network, all great things. The key is to learn as much as you can and then see if you can leverage your learning with the network you now have to get yourself into a deal with little to no money down. Then build your real estate empire from there.

Here is the article… Read more

Behind the success of a man is a woman, and behind the success of a real estate business is an ideal agent. Indeed, it's the human resource that is considered to be the most important factor for real estate business to succeed.

Indeed, real estate can be a lucrative activity when managed properly by the right person. But what does it take to be an ideal real estate agent?

1. Have a solid track

Most people who succeed in life know where they want to go, what they want to do, and the reasons behind it. And so, for a person to be a successful real estate agent, he or she must encompass this trait.

2. Knows who you are

Skills, strategies, and marketing tools will all go to waste if the real estate agent does not have a solid assessment of his or her own personality.

Consequently, a successful real agent is honest in his or her endeavors especially those that involve transactions with a client. If, in the first place the real estate agent is not being true to him or herself, then the real estate agent will most likely have difficulty in dealing with other people.

This all boils down to the fact that an achiever is a believer not of any other thing, but in himself.

3. Optimism

A lot of people who succeed in life are optimistic. This means that a person always has a positive outlook on life. An optimistic person believes that there is no such thing as failure. And an ideal real estate agent knows this too.

4. Motivation power

An ideal real estate agent knows how to motivate or move people into action. It's that unique power of every sales person to devise a strategy that can motivate their clients to buy the product he or she is selling.

5. Awareness of the value of properties

To become an ideal real estate agent, one should be aware of the ebb and flow of the cost of the properties. These should be taken into consideration with utmost care and skill.

6. They should price right

To be an ideal real estate agent is to be considerate with their client's purchasing capability. They should be sensitive enough to detect if the price of the real estate is reasonable enough to hit their market.

7. Does not engage in hard selling

Be considerate of the buyer’s emotions. Putting someone in a house they don’t want will come back to haunt you later.

8. Know how to make a pleasant showcase of the property

If the house is presented properly, there is a much greater chance of making the sale. In the same vein, even a nice house may appear dull if the agent does not fully describe its appeal.

A perfect business card for real estate investors

This is a great post over at the Michigan Real Estate Investment Blog. It shows examples of great business card designs for real estate investors and how to use them effectively. Simplicity coupled with all the details people need as well as what you are looking for as an investor makes the perfect real estate investor business card.

Want to buy cards for cheap? Check out Overnightprints.com they are fast, high quality, cheap, and you can design a card right on the site if you want.

I just stumbled upon CREOnline.com and it is an incredible resource for real estate investors. It includes forums, FAQs, guides, articles, ideas, classifieds, newsletters, courses, books, legal forms, and a slew of digital resources for today's RE Investor. Not only is this site filled with a wealth of information to increase your knowledge base, their community forums provide a continuous active discussion to learn more and network. While the design of the website is somewhat lacking, it has been on the net since 1995 so the fact that the site needs a facelift is understanding. Regardless, it is a great resource.