Discover the Power of the Flat Rate Realty Group Blog: Your Ultimate Guide

Welcome to Flat Rate Realty Group’s blog, a premier resource tailor-made for homebuyers, sellers, and investors exploring Colorado real estate in Colorado Springs and beyond. Our mission is clear: to empower you with trusted, actionable real estate knowledge that drives confidence and success in your property journey.

With today’s real estate market evolving rapidly, having an expert guide can make all the difference. That’s why our blog combines in-depth market analysis, detailed how-to guides, insider tips, and regional neighborhood insights — all framed by the proven Flat Rate Realty model of exceptional customer service paired with flat-fee savings.

Why Read the Flat Rate Realty Group Blog?

  • Expert Local Insight: We live and breathe Colorado real estate — sharing first-hand neighborhood trends, market stats, and investment opportunities.
  • Cost-Saving Strategies: Learn how our flat rate commissions save typical sellers about $10,000 in real estate fees while receiving full professional services.
  • Comprehensive Guides: Step-by-step instructions for buying, selling, negotiating, and financing homes or land in Colorado efficiently and stress-free.
  • Buyer Rebates and Incentives: Exclusive details on programs offering rebates up to $3,500 for buyers who list through Flat Rate Realty.
  • Market Updates & News: Stay current with regional price trends, inventory updates, and economic drivers impacting Colorado real estate.
  • Real Client Stories: Authentic testimonials showcasing how we’ve helped buyers and sellers save money and achieve goals.

What You Will Find in Our Blogs

Our blog covers critical topics, including but not limited to:

  • Colorado City and Neighborhood Guides: Detailed posts on communities like Colorado Springs, Castle Rock, and more.
  • Real Estate Market Trends: Analysis supported by data from sources such as the Colorado Association of Realtors.
  • How-To Guides: From preparing your home to sell, home inspections, appraisal tips, to navigating loan approvals.
  • Financial Tips: Optimizing buyer credits, financing options, costs breakdowns, and tax considerations.
  • Flat Rate Realty Service Deep Dives: Understanding our unique flat-fee approach and how it benefits you directly.

Step-by-Step: How to Maximize Benefits Using Our Blog

  1. Identify Your Goals: Browse posts focused on either buying or selling to hone in on your current needs.
  2. Leverage Neighborhood Links: Access the city guides for detailed local insights before home search.
  3. Engage with Market Trends: Use our data-supported posts to time your purchase or sale advantageously.
  4. Apply Financial Tips: Make informed decisions on budgeting and rebate opportunities informed by our expert content.
  5. Follow Our How-To Guides: Prepare yourself for each transaction step with checklists, timelines, and best practices.
  6. Contact Our Team: Use insights gained to approach Flat Rate Realty agents ready to support your unique real estate journey.

Key Benefits of Using Our Blog as a Resource

  • Unique Flat-Fee Savings explained and illustrated
  • Insider market knowledge specific to Colorado Springs & Colorado’s evolving landscape
  • Actionable advice for professionals and first-timers alike
  • Direct access to trusted agents and affiliate services
  • Regular updates and fresh perspectives keep your knowledge current

Client Voices: Success Stories From the Flat Rate Realty Group Family

"Had the absolute pleasure of buying a home with Frank. We not only got our number 1 choice but also got it for over $10,000 cheaper than it was listed for... He is one of the best Real Estate Brokers in Colorado Springs!" – Ross Keps
"Frank and his team sold our house above market value while charging a fraction of traditional commissions. Their personal dedication and expertise outshone all others." – David Goscha

This is the kind of personalized service and savings you can expect, and our blog is the first step in learning how to replicate this success.

Comparison: Flat Rate Realty Blog vs. Other Real Estate Blogs

Feature Flat Rate Realty Blog Typical Real Estate Blogs
Local Colorado Focus Deeply specialized Broad/general
Flat-Fee Real Estate Insights Extensive, practical guides Minimal or none
Buyer Rebate Information Detailed and transparent Rarely mentioned
Regular Market Updates Data-driven, timely Occasional, inconsistent
Client Testimonials & Case Studies Featured frequently Less personalized

Access These Premium Tools & Resources

Ready to start your real estate journey with trusted Flat Rate Realty experts? Contact us through this link or email Homes@FlatRateRealtyGroup.com for personal assistance today.

Summary: Why Our Blog is Your Go-To Colorado Real Estate Resource

  • Unrivaled local expertise: Unpack Colorado Springs and regional market trends.
  • Actionable insights: Step-by-step guides you can implement immediately.
  • Cost-saving strategies: Learn how to maximize equity with our flat-rate commission model.
  • Exclusive rebate info: Understand and access buyer rebates and incentives.
  • Trustworthy & personable: We are Colorado real estate agents with your best interests at heart.

Explore our full blog archive and start turning information into successful real estate decisions: Flat Rate Realty Group Blog

 

March 2, 2018

Buying Real Estate for Your Family

One of the finest and greatest pleasing purpose to purchase real estate by far is in buying a property that your family will live and grow together. There is so much fun in finding the right home for you and your family to call home. There is likewise a great deal of worry involved as well and that should not be ignored.

 

Some of the things to bear in mind when looking for the right property for your family are the following:

 

1)         Make your first step the step of finding a realtor or buyer’s agent that you are confident has your needs, desires, and best interests at heart. Your realtor can prove to be a lifesaver when you’ve reached the final hours before closing and the sky looks as though it’s going to fall. Very far than that, your realtor can assist you get the home that you just cannot see your family living without.

2)         Once you’ve gotten a real estate agent that you trust to help you find a home for your family it is time to find the things that are entirely necessities in your search and those things you can live without. The most important thing to decide upon is a budget that you are comfortable living with.

3)         Once you’ve established a budget you need to decide the features that are important to meet the needs of your family. The number of rooms, bathrooms, yard space and square footage. Do you need a fenced in yard or a basement? These things are vital as they do affect the easiness and guarantee your family safety in some circumstance.

4)         Another important thing that must be considered when purchasing a home for your family is the neighborhood. This is more important than many people may realize. It is well worth having a smaller home in a neighborhood that is poised for growth rather than a larger home in a neighborhood that is in the state of decline or on the verge of the state of decline. Crime rates in the neighborhood and the school district are other things that need to be considered as well before deciding to view a potential home.

5)         You should also take the time to look at several properties before deciding on one property over another. The more properties you see, the better the chances are that you will actually find the one perfect property for the needs of your family home. The more homes you see the more you will learn about your likes and dislikes. You will also get ideas about possibilities and things that can be added on to the home you eventually select. Regardless, the more homes you see, the more choices you have when the time comes to make a decision.

6)         Never offer the asking price right away. Even if you are willing to pay the full asking price, offer something a little lower and allow some negotiating room. Be sure, if you truly want the house in question not to be insulting with your offer but make the offer just the same. Some things you may want to consider when you make your offer is how quickly you are likely to need a new roof, new flooring, new heating or air conditioning, and numerous other improvements that may need to be made on the property. All these things cost money and they add up with time. If all is fairly recent and in a good working condition you may want to reflect on that when making your offer as well.

 

You will see many houses along the way, however, a small number of will reach out and impress themselves upon you as home. Those are the ones you should contemplate long and hard. Consider the alternatives, the values, and your likes and dislikes. If you do everything you should be okay on your way to the home of your dreams.

Posted in Buyers Resources
March 2, 2018

3 Surefire Ways To Sell Your Homes On Steroids, While Other Investors Can't Give Away Their Homes

Surefire Ways To Sell Your homes On Steroids

3 Surefire Ways To Sell Your homes On Steroids,

So you have decided to sell your estate?

If you are looking at the option of selling your home or just to create a lot of leads who are HOT prospects to buy your home then this article is definitely for you.

Before, I start sharing my 3 steroid concepts on marketing your homes; you need to take a little simple step...

PREPARATION

1. It is vital to locate and interview an aggressive Mortgage Broker with high knowledge and GREAT TRACK RECORD of closing deals, particularly difficult ones.

The importance of having a broker on your power team cannot be underestimated. I own and run Colorado real estate (http://www.griffinsellshomes.com) in my area, so each time I receive news that a member got a difficult deal closed, I always guaranteed t~A34567890-inquire for an introduction, since this might be the broker who can get most of my deals funded.

Don’t forget that you can sell a home ten times if you can't get a mortgage company to fund the buyer you are just wasting your time.

2. Endeavor to make a few efforts in renovating the home up; even if it's hunkered, I will still cut the lawn and perhaps throw a coat of paint on the home. You'd be surprised at the upgrading to even an ugly property, with just a modest coat of paint on the front of the property.

3. Visit your local community financing office or local grant and home buyer bond office. Some states run a FREE class for your buyers on being a first time home buyer and when they attend the class, and then they get a voucher from the state, offering them $10,000.00 when they buy their first home. The good part is at times the loans are even forgiven when some criteria are met by the new homeowner.

LET'S DO SOME MARKETING ON STEROIDS

To be honest, you are going to have to be more aggressive, smarter and be persistent more than 99% of all your homes neighbors.

There is no magic pill here, however, this has been working for me and my students, for over a year, and as always we are testing and fine-tuning the system.

And I can assure you, that while every other investor, is sitting with their heads in their butts, my students and I are capable to sell off all our properties, during one of the worst real estate slowdowns in times past, and these properties were in one of the most depressed markets in the Country.

1. Buyer First System

Ultimately you create your own buyers. The best instance would be changing a lifetime tenant into the American Dream homeowner. Just so happens, that while achieving the American Dream, they likewise end up buying your home.

Simply, create a circular or postcard, and sell to communities of people who would be a great prospect to buy your home.

 

Is there anyone who doesn’t want to be a homeowner in America? Anyway, that's a silly question, every person wants to be a homeowner, and it's bred into us as kids.

The actual key is you must recognize, that these people renting, many believe that they CAN'T get a mortgage. In the past, they might have tried but were shut down and maybe embarrassed, only to be certain that they would live the rest of their lives as a TENANT.

The best leads you can focus on are these ones since it's not a matter of IF they'll buy your home, of course, they will, the important thing is can you get them funded or is it the right house for them, financially reasonable.

It is important to share with you too, this approach will cost you some time and initiative because there is some level of influence involved, mortgage brokers, and assisting them to get any government assistance First time as homebuyer money.

2. Fish in someone else's pond!

Visit where the greatest number of prospects is for your home. I will give you some examples, you need to visit where the best and the most prospects are to buy your home, supposing it's a good deal (valued right, and there's still built-in equity for your buyer).

If you have any contacts or any mutual friend, now is the time for using it and your prospects are for these contacts to open doors for you, to their sphere of influence.

For Instance, one of my students, leveraged a contact he had, his cousin (a middle school teacher), and she brought him into the schools, where it just occurred that the schools are in the same area, that he was selling a great starter home.

He sold the home that he desired most, but then, when word spread of what he was able to do, the rest of the teachers came out all over, wanting him to assist them. Ever since he assist the 1st teacher, sold another 5 homes, to 5 other teachers, making more than $30,000.00 for this simple, leveraged relationship.

So which of the ponds can you fish in, with your marketing? Just visualize whom you know (friends, family members, and associates etc.)?

BEST: Bus Drivers, Teachers, Cops, Firefighters, Department of Transportation, Government Employees. (These professions are adored by lenders, they mostly have good credit, and bearing in mind that their income is essentially guaranteed and very stable.)

GOOD: Large local employers: Local telephone company (Bell South), Supermarkets, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc.

3. Use the Internet...

You should certainly have an individual website for your property like us at (http://www.griffinsellshomes.com)

You can get a simple site built for under $100.00. www.elance.com or www.rentacoder.com are two great sites, for setting up your site, both are similar to EBay. You post an auction about your project (creating home website), and then freelancers and companies bid on your job, and it gives room to see samples of their work and read all their feedback for past clients, after you sure who to give the project, then you hired the person. And by the way, these services are absolutely FREE. Just take few pictures with a good camera of your home and email them to the website designer, to publish on your site.

You treat this as an online, digital brochure, basically being able to do whatever you can conceive. You can take a video of the home, with you walking through the home and then have it placed on your site.

On the chance that you feel intimidated by video, like I was at first, don't feel that way, because your website designer can easily do it for you.

At present, whenever you talk to someone on the phone or in person, they can easily take a look at your property online. Trust me this will be the best $100.00 you will ever spend on marketing of your home.

4. BONUS: Promote and hold your own, "First Time Homebuyer Seminar".

Before you start looking at possibility of this not happening, I don't expect you to be like Tony Robbins, if you can get at least 10 to 15 people in a room, you are going to be successful.

My mentoring students have tried this strategy and it's been working outstandingly for them, from the results I've been getting from my future millionaires. In actual fact, one of my students from Miami has been executing this strategy like gangbusters.

Before I start putting up this article, I received approval from my Miami friends to share some of his feedback with you, on the Homebuyer seminars that have made him very successful.

He is presently doing a 1 month, every month. Besides, since he's has some who are successful under him belt, he's currently selling sponsorship space to his seminars, to credit repair companies, Mortgage brokers, and also has worked out a joint venture with two different realtors, that pay him for every property they sell to one of his leads.

On the chance that you want to know how he is filling the room, they are as follows...

-          Flyers in Parking lots, like Wal-Mart, Publix Supermarkets, and local churches.

-          Craiglist.com Free Advertising

-          Bandit style symbols on roadside, 18 x 24 ridged plastic signs.

-          Build a website for the seminar where attendees, can pre-register

Giving out an ethical bribe for attending the seminar; like giving them a few nooks and tapes just for coming to the event. The good part is he got the books for free on the internet, and he is also permitted to give them away for free as well as rebrand them as his own books.

 

Posted in Sellers Resources
March 1, 2018

Building your Dream Home

Building Your Dream Home

Perhaps it’s a Low-country beauty overlooking a sun-kissed green or a contemporary A-frame along the fairway.  Whatever and wherever your imagination goes, the dream homes sold by Griffinseshomes a Colorado Real Estate Agent demonstrate the latest trends in laying a solid foundation for your dream home.

Once plans move from daydream to drafting board to job site, it’s essential to get skilled professionals who share same dream and interest involved.  Picking a competent architect to plan out your dream home is a compulsory. Getting a feeling for how willing the architect is to work within your design requests is also essential.

Building your dream home might mean incorporating your plans into a themed community – design restrictions and architectural standards.

Many of the nation’s top builders and suppliers contributed to the materials and amenities of each dream home – products you’ll want to consider using once two-by-fours start going up.  Just like Golf Magazine’s dream home features paint provided by Ace Hardware, broadband phone service by AT&T, and state-of-the-art appliances and consumer electronics by Best Buy.  Your builder should be able to recommend materials that are both energy-efficient and consistent with your home’s design theme.  Altogether – from breaking ground to laying a welcome mat – you can expect the construction of your dream home to take a year to a year and a half.

Sometimes you need to see it to believe it. To stir would-be dream homebuilder’s imaginations, each of the 2004 dream homes spent several months open to the public.

In addition to being featured in its November 2004 issue, Golf Magazine’s dream house at Reynolds Plantation was open to the public. According to Bill Houghton, Vice President of Marketing for Reynold’s Plantation, approximately 17,000 people toured the home in six months.  The Progressive Farmer Idea House and Farmstead was open for tours this summer and was featured in the August 2005 issue.  HGTV’s dream home tours at Cumberland Harbour debuted in May 2007 with a Winner’s Weekend that awarded one of approximately 35 million contestants the dream house itself, worth  $1.2 million. Also a giveaway event, the HGTV 2006 dream house is under construction at Grey Rock at Lake Lure, NC.

 

At 4,500 square feet, Golf Magazine’s dream house features a spacious, “’Hunt Club’ interior with leather as a fabric of choice, lending a ‘sense of sophistication’”, according to interior designer Jan Vorderburg.   Four master bedrooms with accompanying bathrooms guarantee luxurious stay even guests will enjoy.  Golf Magazine publisher Chris Whitman said, “The Golf Magazine dream house has exceeded expectations on every level…truly a dream come true for golfers.”

 

Recalling America’s rural past, The Progressive Farmer 3,500 square-foot dream home at McLendon Hills is “designed for people who choose the country as their place to live…with stalls and a tack room, the tiered garden, the pond and pastures.  It literally sets the standard for country living,” says Jack Odle, Editor in Chief of The Progressive Farmer.

The warm breezes of coastal Georgia swayed the building of HGTV’s Cumberland Harbour dream home.  The 3,000 square-foot, totally furnished home contains Victorian influences that harkens to a by-gone era. A 230-foot, screened-in boat dock allows bug-free entree to local waterways. “We want every Dream Home to have its own identity,” said Atlanta consultant Jack Thomason, who contributed to the 2004 HGTV home.

Capitalizing on its 2004 dream home success at Cumberland Harbour, Land Resource Companies (LRC) was again honored to play host to HGTV’s dream house giveaway.  Presently under construction at Grey Rock resort in western, North Carolina – a mountain living community likewise forged by LRC – the 2006 HGTV dream home promises the same great quality and close attention to detail as its coastal counterpart.  “I am very pleased that we had the opportunity to offer another community that is on the level of Cumberland Harbour”, said Bob Ward, President and CEO of Land Resource Companies, with respect to the 2006 dream home site.

Originally appeared in Living Southern Style Magazine, Winter 2006

Posted in
Feb. 28, 2018

A New Program To Assist First-Time Homebuyers

First Time Home Buyer

Studies show the dream of homeownership is becoming a reality for a growing number of Americans.

For example, according to the 2005 Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies State of the Nation's Housing Report, minorities are making inroads into all housing market segments across the United States.

This trend is expected to continue with minorities making up a growing share of the homeowner population with each successive generation. The study reveals that nearly 35 percent of all first-time homebuyers are minorities and more than 40 percent of all renters are minorities-these could be or will be the homeowners of the future.

Companies in the housing and mortgage industries are taking notice of this trend and are making efforts to meet the needs of today's prospective homebuyers.

"Mortgage lenders need to have people who reflect the communities they serve located in the neighborhoods that we want to serve if we want to inspire people to become first-time homeowners," said Jackson Cosey, senior vice president of Emerging Markets for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

For instance, Wells Fargo recently introduced a program designed to help serve consumers with down payment difficulties or lack of traditional credit history by helping them qualify for loans they can afford.

Called the Home OpportunitiesSM program, it includes qualifying debt-to-income ratios that address the growing reality that homeowners need to spend a greater percentage of their income on housing.

Also, it provides for nontraditional credit references that enable consumers who do not have traditional or lengthy credit histories to qualify for the program. In addition, flexibility on down payments and closing costs allows customers to purchase a home without a down payment.

"Home-financing options such as this program will allow more people including first-time homebuyers and low- to moderate- income borrowers to do something they have only dreamed about: owning a home," added Cosey.

Posted in Buyers Resources
Feb. 27, 2018

Rent vs Buy

Renting vs Buying

Should you buy or rent? It depends on your circumstances, and the real estate market where you are going to live. Years ago, I sold a home for a young couple who owed almost as much as the sales price on their house. They needed to take money from savings to pay the closing costs and sales commission. You can bet that they wished they had rented for the couple years they lived there.

This gives us the principal thing to ponder when relating buying as opposed to renting: the amount of time you'll stay. Buying now and later selling a home will normally cost about 10% or even more of the worth of the home. These prices mean that if the home only went up in value 10% or so in the year or two you lived there, you won't be achieving anything (equity gain from principal pay-down is very small in the first years). You will a lot better off renting if you'll be in a town for less than a few years.

What of towns with faster rates of increase? Have you done certain serious homework? Otherwise, to assume increase will be over the rate of inflation is just gambling. The sellers in the instance above sold for the same price they bought the house two years ago - and this was in a good and rising area. You can't depend on fast increase just because it has been that way lately.

To Buy or Rent - Cost Comparison

Considering the option of buying as opposed to renting, you have to take into consideration that in several places it cost much more to buy. In Tucson, Arizona, for instance, a small home can cost $200,000. The mortgage payment, insurance, taxes and maintenance will add up to around $1,600 monthly, however you can rent the same size home for around $800.

What does this mean? Many real estate fanatics will mention that you're at least buying something for your money, and renting is tossing your money away. Obviously in this instance, more than $1,000 of your payment will be moving towards interest alone, and that's not buying anything for you.

What if you can manage to pay the $1600 monthly, but as an alternative you rent for $800 and keep the other $800 into a good safe investment that gives you 5%? In three years you'll have more than $30,000 in this account. If the home increased at 6% yearly (it has been more like 25% per year lately, but that won't continue, and supposing so is gambling and not planning), it would be value at $231,000. The costs of buying it originally and then selling it would be close to $13,800 (2% buying and 6% selling), leaving you with a profit of about 19,000 once we add your principal pay-down.

In other words, you would be at least $11,000 richer if you rented and put the difference in the bank. All market is not the same, obviously, so you have to do the calculation. Match the total costs of owning against renting, and then make good assumptions about the rate of appreciation for homes.

If you'll definitely be in one place for a long time to come, it will almost always be better to buy than to rent. In the last example, buying becomes a better bet after about four or five years. Likewise deliberate if you get a fixed rate mortgage, your payment will never change, benefit landlords won't give you on your rent payment.

To add it up, take a look at the time you'll be around, the comparison of full monthly costs, whether rents are increasing fast, and whether you have decent motive to have confidence that home prices will be increasing fast. Then look also at all the personal factors. Do you want to be responsible for the maintenance, yard work and unpredictability of ownership problems?

To buy or to rent? In the end, you have to work this one out by yourself.

Posted in Buyers Resources
Feb. 26, 2018

A New Approach to Real Estate Lead Management

New Approach to Real Estate Lead Management

The Internet helped many real estate agents change the way they market their services. Now the same agents are changing the way they approach other aspects of the business - in particular, the process of capturing, filtering, and contacting leads. Web marketing assists in drawing leads more, however, it's becoming clearer that agents might not be the right people anymore to deal with. As the job moves somewhere else, the responsibility of agents is being redefined.

Several real estate agents possibly saw the change coming thanks to the difference between web leads and non-web leads. It can totally be traced down to difference in assurance: non-web leads are regularly firm recommendations from other professionals who know the client already, while web leads can represent anyone with ten seconds to fill out an online form.

Many Realtors with an online home search require people to fill out a contact form in order to view full details on a particular listing, and this tactic has had positive and negative results - mostly negative. People will readily supply their email address in order to view listing pictures, but that doesn't mean they want to buy a home - in many cases, they're simply spam-bots posting fake email addresses. These leads are less than ideal, but Realtors can't afford to disregard them entirely - that's why their role is being re-defined.

 

If Realtors are to keep their new web marketing model, they must also find a new lead management process. As it turns out, they might not have to look far; brokers might be in the best position to deal with agents' web leads. With their wider range of professional contacts, and in general superior office technology, brokers can filter more emails and follow up on more leads that look promising. The change is likewise natural because most brokers role is mainly to offer support to Realtors where needed and don't have a high web presence themselves.

An agent-broker partnership would bring real estate in line with other businesses where leads and sales are handled by different bodies. In the mortgage industry, for instance, over 70 percent of leads are filtered and delivered by real estate agents. The model projected here works considerably different since here Realtors deliver the leads while brokers filter them.

A smoother lead managing company process would also allow Realtors to concentrate on sales and customer service, the two greatest basic sides of their profession.

Posted in Real Estate News
Feb. 25, 2018

10 Ideas For Selling your House Quicker and Easier

10 Idesa for Selling your House

If you want to maximize your chances of getting a quick and easy sale when selling your house then you must adhere to these 10 ideas that top real estate agents like https://www.griffinsellshomes.com/ use.

1. NO CLUTTER.

Toss out newspapers and magazines that are old. Put away most small items like your figurines and other trinkets. Keep clothing that will not be used in the near future to give more space in the closet. Endeavor to clean out the garage. Buyers like to picture their belongings in the house and that is difficult to see when the home is full of clutter.

2. Wash windows and screens. This gives adequate light into the interior. By the way, dirty windows are a huge turnoff.

3. Keep all things extra clean. Wash fingerprints and dust from light switch plates. Clean the flats, stove, refrigerator, washer, and dryer. A house that is clean makes a good first impression and passes a message to the buyers that the home has been well cared for.

4. Place brighter bulbs in light sockets to enable rooms to appear brighter, mostly dark rooms. Change any bulb that has burnt-out. Turn on all the lights before buyers will visit to view the home.

 

5. Repair every minor thing that you can find. Everything you don’t patch-up now will be exposed in the home inspection and can give a bad impression. Little issues like torn screens, cracked caulking, sticky doors, cracked receptacle covers or a dripping faucet may appear minor, however the impression it will give buyers is that the house isn't properly maintained.

6. Shoot for good curb appeal. Clear the grass and rake any leaves, trim the bushes, and edge the walks. Place a couple of bright potted flowers close to the entryway to cheer things up and draw the buyer’s attention.

7. Fix holes in the driveway and apply sealant, if possible.

8. Clean the dirty gutters.

9. Polish or change your front handle and door numbers.

10. Get rid of smells. Clean rug and drapes to remove smoke, cooking odors, and pet smells. It is worthwhile to replace the carpets if they are old and need replacing. The extra price you get for your house will most likely outweigh the expense. Open the windows. The number one turn off to a possible buyer is an unpleasant odor.

For more helpful information including seller and buyer tips, please visit https://www.griffinsellshomes.com

Posted in Sellers Resources
Feb. 24, 2018

Cheap Houses For Sale

Cheap Houses Sale

My wife and I found cheap houses that are for sale all over the country. We were on a seven-week drive around the country. It was a holiday; however, we viewed houses also and bought one in a decent small town in the mountains of western Montana. It cost $17,500, and after $2000 to fix it up, we lived there for several months before selling it for $28,000.

We loved Anaconda. Where else can you fly fish, go to a three-dollar movie  in a beautiful old art-deco theatre (the 5th most beautiful in the country, according to the Smithsonian), drop some nickels in a slot machine, eat at a fine restaurant, stop by the bar for a dollar beer, and buy a house for  under $30,000 - all within a four-block area! There are good schools and churches, a library with fast internet service, and wildlife (including bears) a few hundred yards from downtown.

Why Are There Cheap Houses For Sale?

In Anaconda, there cheap houses there and nearby but since there aren't many decent jobs. I found jobs in Anaconda without much stress - although not good ones. This is the reason why people move from the area in the 80's after the mines and smelters closed.

Almost thirteen percent of the "housing units" in Anaconda are vacant, as indicated by the 2000 U.S. census. This has moved down the home rates dramatically. Because it still has all the basic facilities, is cleaner now, and is gradually recovering, it's a good place to retire to or to move to if you have an internet or other non-location-based business.

A cheap local economy is a reason you can get cheap houses for sale in several parts of the country. These are towns that have gone through troubled times but are slowly improving, at times with good reasons. Anaconda, for instance, presently has, in addition to its lovely mountain scenery, a ski resort and a Jack Nicholas golf course. Houses cost four times as much an hour drive in any direction, and those prices are guaranteed to reach Anaconda in the long run.

Cheap Houses You Don't Want To Buy

There are some towns like those ones in South Dakota where we had lunch one day. A notice board had cheap houses for sale ads by anxious individuals trying not to be the last set to leave town. There was a photo of a beautiful old five-bedroom farmhouse for $11,000. As we ate, we looked up the deserted street and noticed that most of the buildings were boarded-up. This was a dying town, with nothing to help revive it. A free house wouldn't be a good enough reason to move here.

Cheap House For Sale - Our Criteria

From Florida to Oregon, there are several ideal towns where decent cheap houses for sale are available. After our Montana experience, we created a website about those houses. What does a town need for it to be listed by us? The measures are definitely personal, nevertheless, comprise the following:

1. Residents of 4,000 to 80,000.

2. Good library.

3. Nice grocery store.

4. Movie theatre.

5. At least six houses for sale under $50,000.

6. The town has a good "feel" to it.

After much research, we found a number of towns that met our criteria, including some with homes for under $30,000. There are truly nice towns out there where you can get cheap houses for sale.

 

Posted in Buyers Resources
Feb. 24, 2018

6 Key Factors Successful Vacation Rental Owners Always Use

6 Key Factors Successful Vacation Rental Owners Always Use

 

If you are going to spend money advertising your vacation rental property on vacation rental websites, you want to make sure it is a success. Here are 6 things you can practice which will help ensure you receive the most "bang for the buck".

 

1. APPROPRIATELY SET RENTAL RATES – On the chance that you want your vacation property to rent, you must be realistic, optimistic, though not greedy. Set achievable rental rates for your property and make that the rates are accurate on the site(s) your listing and regularly go through as the market changes. Search for similar properties ("comps") in the same place as yours. Charge a premium only if your property has some different features. Also, be willing to discount your property sometimes as needed. In this line of business, if you lose money for a week-long rental, you can never make that up.

2. REGULARLY CHECK E-MAIL – When using an internet vacation rental property website such as http://Rentals2Remember.com or http://eVaca.com, remember your users. They are naturally Internet "savvy" and possibly check their e-mails always especially if they have asked for some info. Also, be sure to list your phone on websites that let you to because sometimes people choose to just call you directly, so be sure to check phone messages.

3. RESPOND INSTANTLY - Vacation goers regularly see a few properties that interest them and at once contact those owners. The quicker you reply, the better chance (most times) you have of winning them over. There have been times I have rented properties in the past and since it took the owner 24 hours to reply, I had already made another choice. Responding efficiently and timely gives the renter assurance that the rental experience will follow suit.

4. YOUR LISTING SHOULD BE ACCURATE AND COMPLETE - Be sure that your listing details are kept up to date and are complete. Evaluate your online listing regularly to be sure that your contact detail is up-to-date. Likewise, be sure that it is accurate in the description of your property and its facilities. This will assist you with repeat clients, but will also keep you out of issues with rental contracts or laws in regards to such things.

5. GREAT PHOTOS - It is true what they say, "a picture speaks a thousand words". Remember, renters, are considering staying at your rental based (most of the time) solely on your pictures and your word. The more pictures to assist them be comfortable with the decision, the better. Here is how I look at it. If you were going to buy a used car, would you do so over the Internet without a good look at the outside/inside of the vehicle, the engine, etc? Not exactly the same, but you get the picture. The more pictures and the prettier, the better! Be sure to have pictures of your rental amenities such as a pool, the beach, a mountain view, the lake or a golf course - these are top vacation rental sellers!

6. INCREASE YOUR EXPOSURE - There are many "hotspots" for travelers all around the world. Before we had property, my family used to travel to Destin twice every year for vacation. There are a lot of vacation rental properties in the Destin, Panama City Beach area. In areas like this, boost your exposure by getting to the top of your sites search engine. If it costs you $20, $50, even $100 to do so but that gets you one extra rental a year, that makes it more than worth it.

Posted in Real Estate News
Feb. 22, 2018

3 Pitfalls to Avoid When Playing in the Real Estate Game

3 Pitfalls to Avoid When Playing in the Real Estate Game

 

So you’ve gotten your large number of infomercial with the dude in his neatly ironed button-upped white T-Shirt smiling ear to ear swaying his rock-solid no-money-down rags-to-riches real estate investment course for three easy payments of a million dollars (that is if only you call now) and presently you are thinking, "wow this seems like a good deal, it’s okay I get it fast before the special offer expires." You notice how there’s always a special offer?

Anyway, I am not saying this guy isn’t telling the truth, however regardless of which course or school of thought you buy into there are several key areas we at GriffinSellsHomes that one must avoid when engaging in any real estate related transaction.

Pitfall Number 1: Don’t Overpay!

The whole point in investing is to find properties that are undervalued. How does one find out what is undervalued versus overvalued? Without getting into technical details, the bottom line is you need experience.

Absolutely very much like shopping for whatsoever, real estate is basically one of the top ticket things in the shopping center of life. It’s worthwhile to remain with one market, maybe the one very close to you in your vicinity as first off point. Through your experience and asking the right questions, you will eventually have a feel for the pulse of the market you are looking after, and of course identify what is considered a good buy.

Pitfall Number 2: Know the Market

Yes, you are actually going to have to do more work! This part is really common sense though, but executing it where the beauty and the payoff come in. How do you make money in real estate? The most basic way is to buy low and sell high. So from the first step, you have identified general trends in the value of homes, and are pretty good at spotting undervalued homes.

Assuming you acquire that home, you may want to profit from it by selling it off to someone else for a higher price. How can you do this? Well, there are many ways. For one, most markets appreciate in value over time so if you want a longer-term approach that will work.

Doing upgrades to the property will spontaneously increase the price of the home as well. Think in relation to what the market needs, not your personal need. You are not the one buying it; you are trying to market it to another person for a price higher to what you bought it.

Pitfall Number 3: Know Your Budget

It could be a nice philosophy to go through life on a whim, however, real estate is thoughtful business, and as such hardworking financial planning and budgeting is important to your success. Don’t be concern that you don’t need to be a finance expert, but you need to be well-organized and understand your budget from the beginning, or you may soon find out that you are learning and need to carry out some renovations or upgrades, and didn’t expect it going over to a certain cost. Think into the future as to what is required before actually putting fund or investing in real estate.

Posted in Buyers Resources