Certified Distressed Property Expert - You Gotta Get This!

Alex Charfen founder of the Certified Distressed Property Expert organization is rock'n and a rollin with the CDPE course that are all over the United States. All you need to do is to find a location and attend the two day event. If you cannot travel to the course then you have the option of attending it online. But being at the course you will walk away with so much more knowledge and meet some great people who all have the common goal and that is to help our neighbors, friends, family and new friends to know there are solutions and options regarding foreclosure.

I had the pleasure of meeting Alex at the 2009 STAR POWER Conference in Denver this past July and I was very impressed with his dedication, not to mention his wonderful smile. Tee Hee! Anyway, I was happy to hear they moved their headquarters to Austin, Texas recently, which I then saw on the tour schedule Austin will be holding a CDPE class and I am going.

Now you are probably wondering why would Kim Hughes a Real Estate Virtual Assistant needs to invest in the CDPE? Right now homeowner's need all the help they can get to resolve their foreclosure issues and by having this designation I can help my clients achieve their goals, which is to help today's homeowner's find a solution to their foreclosure crises. When you earn the designation of a CDPE you have so much given to you to market yourself as well as information to ensure you have the tools to successfully help resolve the problems.

Agent's today need to take advantage of the tools offered by the CDPE organization, which below is just a couple of things you need:

Set-up and manage their micro-site
Prepare and submit press releases
Incorporating the CDPE information to their website and marketing material

Today, the CDPE offers a micro-site for those that want to go a step further with their designation to become and Advanced CDPE, then there is RealPro Systems that offers Foreclosure and Short Sale Stealth Sites not to mention custom pages that you can add your own content regarding foreclosures and short sales. Pro Step Marketing recently got on the board to offer stealth site on the same.

Agents now have options on where they feel they will receive the most exposure and they do not have time to create the content, submit the sites to the search engines, etc., not to mention the marketing strategy that needs to be implemented. So, by attending the class I will gain the knowledge on the best way to assist my clients achieve their goals and that is to dedicate themselves in helping homeowner's resolve their current situation so they can relax and get their lives back track and start focusing on what it really important and that is their life and family.

To give you some idea of what the CDPE Advanced micro-site looks like visit Brian Schantz - www.stopnorthernvirginiaforeclosures.com.

If you would like to learn more about the CDPE please visit www.CDPE.com and then visit www.KimHughes.com to see how I can assist you.

The IRS Posts Ten Facts about the First-Time Homebuyer Credit

If you are an agent or maybe a first-time homebuyer you might be interested in what the IRS has to say about the 2009 Tax Credit. This article is from the IRS newsletter and could answer a lot of questions for you or your client.

Many taxpayers who purchase a home this year will qualify for an $8,000 federal tax credit. The refundable first-time homebuyer credit is a major tax provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But time is running out to qualify for this credit.

Here are ten things the IRS wants you to know about the first-time homebuyer credit:

1.To be considered a first-time homebuyer, you – and your spouse if you are married – must not have jointly or separately owned another principal residence during the three years prior to the date of purchase.

2.You cannot claim the credit before there is a completed sale and purchase of the residence. The sale and purchase are generally completed at the time of closing on the purchase.

3.To qualify for the credit, the completed purchase must occur before December 1, 2009.

4.The home must be located in the United States.

5.The credit is either 10 percent of the purchase price of the home or $8,000, whichever is less.

6.The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is more than $75,000 or $150,000 for joint filers.

7.The credit is fully refundable. A homebuyer with no taxable income, who qualifies for the credit, may file for the sole purpose of claiming the credit and receive a refund. The credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax owed.

8.The credit is claimed on IRS Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyers Credit.

9.Taxpayers can claim the credit for a qualified 2009 purchase on either their 2008 or 2009 tax return. For those who have filed a 2008 return, a Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return can be filed in order to get a refund in 2009.

10.The credit for qualified 2009 purchases does not have to be repaid, as long as the home remains your main home for 36 months after the purchase date.

Qualified taxpayers who have been considering a main home purchase may find extra incentive from this tax credit to buy now so they can complete the purchase before the December 1 deadline.

For more information on this and other key tax provisions of the Recovery Act visit the official IRS Website at IRS.gov/Recovery.

Links:

• First-Time Homebuyer Credit
• YouTube Video - First-Time Homebuyer:
• Audio File for Podcast - First-Time Homebuyer Credit 2009
• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Information Center
• Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit (PDF)
• Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (PDF)

Social Network Marketing for Real Estate Agents

Daily I am reading about new opinions, tricks and new applications with social networking. Sometimes I think "this is consuming my life" - But, really it is the best marketing you can do for yourself and your business, if you do effectively.

Because I work with so many real estate agents across the country in building their social networking presence I find real estate has its own social networking niche. What works for other businesses or industries is not necessarily the case with real estate.

You need to constantly work on re-crafting your talent and message to your target audience. Your audience already knows you help buyers and sellers with their real estate needs, so get creative in keeping them focused on you because you don't necessarily focus on your real estate marketing, but focus on local charities that need attention, local events, local issues. Ask yourself - Why would the local community connect with you? Yes, you should throw some real estate in there on occasion, but you will receive more positive exposure by focusing on what your audience is craving. Be unique and supportive. Get to know your audience and engage with them.

Believe me - this has a bigger impact and makes your audience want to see what is next or rely on you to have the information about what is happening in the local area.

As for who your audience is. You need to focus on your community. Sure connect with other agents (Keep them private, if you can) and learn from their posts and hopefully build a great network for referrals, but engage your neighbors, local businesses, etc.

I made this suggestion to a client and we re-focused and he even went as far as hosting a social networking event to help his community to involved in social networking. This was unique and a big-big hit!

Another client hosted a church networking event and again - huge hit.

I discovered the principal of our high school was following me on Twitter. I told him I would be happy to build a background page for the high school. He was very appreciative. After I created the background I would get stopped at events by people saying they saw the page. I thought to myself "WOW! Word sure gets around!" So, remember people talk and share information, so do something that gives your community something to talk about and WANT to connect with you.

Social Networking is about socializing. You have a wonderful opportunity to offer so much more than just real estate, but make them remember you when it comes to their real estate needs.

Tip - You might want to have two Twitter accounts - one for real estate connections and the other for your local community. I have two and it is amazing how well this works.

If you are attending the 2009 STAR POWER Annual Conference look for me and let's see how I can help you make this social network marketing concept will work to your advantage.

5 Tips to Teaming with a Real Estate Virtual Assistant

You love the idea of finding a virtual assistant who specializes in real estate, but you are just not sure where to begin finding the right one for you.

Over the years I have found that any real estate agent, real estate coach or the entrepreneur wants is to have someone to assist them in organizing, maintaining and creatively assisting in building their business with them. Someone who will have an interest your success. One thing about a virtual assistant is they are a business owner and they are successful only when their clients are successful.

So, when you are ready to find the right real estate virtual assistant to assist you keep these 5 tips in mind.

1. Decide what you need a virtual assistant to help you with. What skills and abilities do you want your VA to have? What projects/tasks do you want to delegate to them? Do they have the knowledge and experience you need? Visit their websites, view client testimonials, view the services they offer and get to know them through their profile.

2. Jack-of-all-trades. Although VAs primarily offer administrative support, many are now specializing in specific industries/niches. If you’re looking for someone who offers listing coordination, lead management, website assistance, copywriting, blogging, marketing, social networking and/or transaction management look for a VA that specializes in these areas. Most real estate virtual assistants offer these unique real estate services, but it is important that they have the knowledge and experience.

3. Cheaper isn’t always better. Even though you are on a budget that does not mean to find the VA who has the lowest fees. I know it is tempting, but in the long run it could cost you more. Why… if a VA is charging less than the average rate, think about how many clients are they going to contract with before the break even in their business. The last thing you want to do is not have the deadlines met, too busy to call you and give you personal attention, mistakes because they are rushing. This will leave you with a bad experience. Remember, you get what you pay for and in most cases the higher the fee the more experience the VA will have and in the long run will save you money.

4. Virtual Assistants are Business Owners. The virtual assistant is a business owner and should run their business like a business. They may work all hours of the day and night, but they have a business and should run their business like any other successful business. Virtual assistants are organized professionals and they have systems in place to ensure their business runs smoothly so they can take care of their clients. When contacting a VA keep this in mind. This is to your advantage. They have a process of scheduling appointments for client consultations and will offer to try to meet your timeline, but may not always be able to, so work together on this. They are giving you their time for free to consult with you and to discuss your specific needs. Each client is different and will require at least an hour to determine if there is a good fit to work together, making sure they can accommodate your needs, etc. You should never work with a VA until you have spoken to them and confirmed they can handle your tasks and projects. This is the most important part of the process when working with a VA and if the VA determines they cannot meet your needs they will be happy to recommend someone who can. Everyone wants to have a positive experience and it is important to remember that the VA has your best interest.

5. Sign the dotted line. Once you and the VA decide to move forward with your working relationship they will send you an agreement, which you will be required to sign. Make sure to read it. It is important to know and agree to exactly what is expected of each other. The agreement will include information about the fees, terms & conditions etc.

And remember to schedule weekly, bi-weekly or monthly conference calls to stay on target and comfortable with the relationship.

Having a real estate virtual assistant on your team is a great asset and the return on investment in priceless. They can help you to become more organized, help you focus on what is important and allowing you to have the time you need for your business or personal life.

Your Virtual Assistant will help you plan, strategize and achieve the goals you have set for yourself. And if you have worked with a virtual assistant and had a bad experience don’t let that leave a bad taste in your mouth. Find another one. I guarantee if you work together and communicate the possibilities are endless.

Social Networking - Where You Need To Be NOW

All the buzz among today's conversations is social networking. Are you constantly being asked "What is your Twitter profile?, What is the link to your Facebook profile? Are you on LinkedIn?" You might answer yes to all these questions, but deep down thinking "I don't have a clue."

Everywhere you turn you are seeing the new term "Social Marketing Expert", but is anyone really an expert? The Social Networking phenomena is just now catching on and those like me who have been at it for months I suppose can be called the experts, but the question you should be asking is "What makes you a Social Marketing Expert?" "What can you do to help me get to the next level?"

The first thing you need to understand is by just setting up an account and a creating a profile does not do all that much for you. Sure, your on the network, but unless you really get involved it does not all that much for you in the way of search engine optimization, exposure, etc.

This is where you need someone that understands how to work each network for you and your business.

As a virtual assistant specializing in real estate assistance I have seen this new way of marketing work, but only if it is done correctly. It can be a very time consuming task if you don't know what you are doing, so you have to research each network to see how it will benefit you and what steps you should take to make that happen.

Because I am a virtual assistant my job is to stay on the leading edge of technology. As part of my services I offer today's business owner the help they need in setting up their social marketing action plan and making sure it is implemented to benefit you and the industry you work with.

If I may plug my services here - I think it is vital to your business to get on board with social networking even if you don't "get it" just yet. This is where I will help you and save you the trouble learning what I already know. Save time by having Kim Hughes & Company put in the forefront with your peers, industry leaders, clients, and more.

You can view my profiles on each one of the social networks in the left column to see I do know what I am doing and I do know how to help you.

So, get on the social networks today! My in-depth action plan is one that I have spent hours putting together and it is exclusively for my clients and know that your return on investment is unbelievable.

Feedburner Moving to Google

If you have not heard, Google has acquired
FeedBurner. In order to maintain your feeds you will need to move your FeedBurner account over to Google no later than February 29, 2009.

If you are wondering why do I need to do this take a minute to visit the FAQs Transferring FeedBurner Accounts to Google Accounts FAQ.

If you already have a Google Account, then you would use that username to make the transfer, if you don't have an account with Google you can open one by visiting Google.

Once you move your feeds your old FeedBurner feeds with automatically redirect traffic to the new address.

This is a very quick and painless tasks, but if you are not sure what to do ask your virtual assistant to assist you with this very important tasks. Just another way your virtual assistant can help you with your everyday business.

10 Things to ask when Getting a Mortgage Loan

As a member of several groups across various social networks it is my responsibility as a real estate virtual assistant to know what is going on the the real estate industry. I came across this article today and though this would be something of value to my readers. Let me know what you think.

We know that buying a home is a big and important decision. Selecting a good Loan Officer is a key part of your financial success. You will find our way of finding a good Loan Officer may be different from other blogs or postings. I am seeing quite a few blogs or posts that are saying the same thing and I find the questions do not really pertain to finding a good Loan Officer. Also, I find it interesting to learn that a company is selling the data.

What we have below did not come from any source that we paid for but comes from the heart and after being in the industry for a long time. At LendingLadies.com, we find character and experience plays a large part in finding a good Loan Officer. Therefore our questions are based upon that. If someone is a smart and truly caring person, they will end up being a good Loan Officer. It does not mean that everyone will agree with us, but some of you will. Please see our suggested list of questions to ask below. As always, LendingLadies.com encourages you to ask us the questions below.

Please pass this along to anyone who will be obtaining a loan in the future.

1. Do you guarantee your fees on a Good Faith Estimate? (This is important. You do not want to work with someone who will last minute add an additional charge. Please do get this in writing)
2. Have you won any national or local awards? ( If someone is good, they will be recognized)
3. Do you volunteer in the community? (We suggest you also ask in more detail. If a Loan Officer is a truly caring person, it will show in their efforts in the community. If they care about their community, they will care about finding you your best home loan. You do not want to work with one who only helps a few hours a year but does so on a monthly basis)
4. Do you have any references or testimonials? (A good Loan Officer will have these available)
5. How long have you been doing this? (You want to ask this since experience does pay)
6. What makes you different from the other Loan Officers? ( It is good to learn their own perspective on how they perceive themselves)
7. Do you prefer a fixed mortgage or an adjustable? Why do you choose so? (Write down what they say and really think about their answer)
8. Can you shop several different banks local or non local, or do you close loans for one bank? (You do not want to work with someone who is limited on their products or rates. You want to work with someone who can shop different financial institutions and find the best loan for you)
9. Do you have any specials? (You just never know what they may have going on that they would not tell you without you asking)
10. Are you willing to speak to my accountant or financial advisor to insure I will receive the best home loan? (You want to look for someone who is willing to work with your team of experts)

Written by Jessica Peterson with Lending Ladies.

5 Tricks to Managing Your Time as Real Estate Agent or Real Estate Virtual Assistant

With a new year comes new goals, so I tweeted on Twitter tonight a tip to write down your top 6 important to-dos for the next day then do them! As a real estate virtual assistant with multiple clients I have to be organized, but when things get crazy I cannot be as organized as I want, but I always get things under control be the end of each and then sit down and plan my next day.

So, this evening I saw that someone replied to my tweet - very cool - I like it when people chat with me. This twitter's profile name is twitter.com/trontastic - Levi Wardell. He tweeted back that he also wrote an article about staying organized so after I read his article I was so excited to share with my clients and anyone that read my blog. You do read my blog, right?

Anyway, Levi gave me his blessing to re-blog the article so here it is.

5 Tricks to Managing Your Time as an SEO

f you’re like me and have 100 different tasks that need to be done on a daily basis, it is critical to manage your time carefully in order to get it all done. Personally, I’ve always struggled with this so like I usually do, I took the bull by the horns and made conquering this obstacle a pet project.

In doing so I found a few ways to manage my time that I thought I’d share with you. Is this going to be an eye opening, never before revealed super secret blog post? Not unless you have been asleep most of your life, no. None the less, these are steps that have helped me in a huge way and might warrant reviewing from time to time. So, here we go…

My 5 tricks to managing my time as an SEO -Use 10% less Time to Complete Tasks

Review the processes you go through to complete your regular tasks in order to reduce the amount of time it takes to get them done. For instance, if it takes you 30 minutes to filter through your email every morning, look at why it takes that much time. Perhaps creating filters for your email will help you get to the important emails faster or delete trash emails without having to do it manually. Remember, we’re only talking about 3 minutes being saved from this one task. Add those up for every task you do on a regular basis and you’ll probably end up with a significant amount of free time.

When I did this, I evaluated the time I spend every morning looking at my analytics, going through my email, and planning out my day (ironic, huh?). I recommend you don’t try and tackle all of them at once. I took a few days to approach each task and get my processes down before moving to the next. When all was said and done, I added about 15 minutes to the clock. Not too shabby for only three tasks, right?

Email Is The Devil! Keep it at Bay And You Will Win - The Second Trick

Okay, its not the Devil, but it can suck the ever living life out of your day if you let it get out of control. The best way to keep control of your inbox is to keep it clean. Here is what I do to keep my inbox clean:

• Answer emails right away that only take a minute or two.
• If answering an email takes longer than that, I’ll let them know I will be getting back to them by day’s end. IF it is urgent, just do it.
• Delete what can be deleted as soon as it can be deleted. Don’t let junk pile up!
• Create folders to put ‘keepers’ in rather than keeping them all in your inbox.

Sounds easy right? That’s because it is. The problem most face is the lack of time to organize it. Well, that’s on you, but I recommend you find the initial time it takes to clear out the inbox, set up your folders, and get rid of the junk. You’ll feel more organized and won’t run the risk of letting things get buried.

Manage Your Time With a Calendar

Get a desktop calendar, use Outlook, Use Google’s calendar, hell, get a Dallas Cheerleader/fireman (what ever your preference) calendar to put on the wall… I don’t care. Just use a calendar that works for you.

Obviously you’ll want to stay flexible but it is important to schedule out the time you have. Not only that, but try and plan your day out by the times that you know work best for some of your campaigns. Let me esssplain Lucy…

You know the best time to submit an article to Digg is between 9am and 10am so make sure you plan to write your article the afternoon before and have the time in the AM to publish it.

OR

You have noticed that you get the best response from your email campaigns if you send out Thursday afternoon. Mark your calendar to send at 3pm and work backwards, scheduling all the items you need to accomplish before you can send it out. This accomplishes a couple different things: A) You have planned out everything you need to do in order for the email to go out so you won’t have to worry about forgetting anything and B) Allows you to hit your target without it consuming all of your time at once.

Build a Squeeze List

Along with your list of “to-do’s” for the day (I’ll get to the to-do list in a second), create what I call a ‘squeeze list’ of items that only take a few minutes to accomplish and can be done between larger high priority projects. Keep this list with you so when you’re waiting on that article from your copywriter you can knock a couple of them out or while your boss pontificates during a marathon conference call you can use the list to keep you awake.

Build A To-Do List Before Leaving For The Day

Before you leave for the day, review and scratch out what you accomplished and build a new list for the next day. It is important to do it before you leave because you may not remember everything the next day. Also, this way you will come in the next morning with a list already created. Usually you will have a couple things to add once you go through your emails but at least 90% of the work is already done in tasking out your day.

Like I said, none of these are revolutionary, but they are effective; and that is what it’s all about. I’d love to hear ways that you have managed to put hours on the clock, manage your to-do list, or conquer the ever growing pile of requests on your desk so shoot me an email or drop a comment!

Cheers

I want to say thanks to Levi for being so generous with his article and I invite you to visit his blog for some additional tips, etc.