Stock Picks Expert

by Donald J. Trump

George Steinbrenner was not only an icon, he was a friend and a very great man. He also knew what winning is and what winning meant. It meant everything--and everything is what it took to achieve it. If you know anything about George, you’ll know he was focused and incredibly tenacious. He knew what he wanted, what his vision for the Yankees was, and he went at it 100% on every level. Every detail mattered to him and the bottom line is that his tenacity worked. He refused to give in under any circumstances and he made the Yankees a great team. There will never be another George and he gave us some of the greatest moments in the history of baseball. He also gave us an example to remember: go for it, no matter what, and give it all you've got and more. His generosity of spirit was without equal. He'll be greatly missed.

by Koz Khosravani

Social media is without a doubt one of the fastest ways to bring red hot leads right to your door. No matter what industry you are in, your target audience is out there right now just waiting for your product or service; you just have to get their attention. So how do you that? The answer is simple: leverage the power of video on YouTube.

Why YouTube?
Because people love video! Given the choice between reading a long, boring article and watching a captivating video, which do you think your audience is going to choose? Plus with video, you can invoke positive emotion in your prospect, and link that emotion to your products and services. I personally use videos on YouTube and my site for a variety of reasons, including introducing myself as an internet marketing and technology expert.

Creating a video and uploading it to YouTube is only part of the process though. If you want to maximize your YouTube traffic and generate more leads, you need to have a solid game plan. Follow these steps and watch your traffic explode:

1 -- Encourage Comments on Your Videos
At some point in your video, usually towards the end, always ASK your viewers to leave a comment. Not only will more comments improve your video's ranking and lead to more viewers and more traffic, but it also helps to build your reputation in your niche. People are always drawn to others that actually listen to what they say. If you show your viewers that their opinion matters, then you will gain their trust and that is going to translate into more leads and more sales.

2 -- Optimize Your Tags and Keywords
Always make sure that you are adding specific tags and keywords to your videos when you upload them to YouTube. If you upload a video of a walkthrough for a property in Charleston, South Carolina, make sure to have tags like "Charleston SC property for sale" or "Charleston home for sale" -- the more specific the better. You will also want to include those keywords in the description of the video, which makes your video easier to find when users search on YouTube or Google. This method can help you get high ranking on YouTube - I call it localized video optimization. The localized video optimization is great because when people look for a local entity, they usually type the name of the city. For an example, visit YouTube and search for "online promotion Los Angeles".

3 -- Start a Discussion with Your Video
You never want to just lecture your audience. You want your videos to become an interactive experience. Draw your audience into the discussion by asking them questions in your video and soliciting their opinions. As an example, if you are in real estate, ask them what they think of the property you are showing, what ideas they have for improving it; whatever is appropriate to the video you made. When you get your audience to actively think about your video, they are far more likely to become a lead.

4 -- Build a Network of Friends
Interact with the people commenting on your videos. Invite them as friends, watch videos that they post and comment on them. Networking on YouTube is just like networking offline (or on Facebook). The more you network, the more traffic your videos are going to get. And more traffic can potentially translate into more profit.

5 -- Weigh in on Popular Videos
Respond to popular videos on YouTube by posting a video response of your own. Popular videos on YouTube receive tons of traffic, and if you can capture even a small fraction of that with your video response, you will increase your traffic significantly.

6 -- Consistency is Key
If you want to keep your momentum on YouTube, you need to be consistent in adding videos regularly. If you've got a new property, shoot a quick walkthrough. If you've got some ideas on real estate investing tips, shoot a video and share them with your audience. Keep adding relevant videos to your YouTube channel on a regular basis and your traffic will snowball. What if you don't have time to create videos on a daily basis? No problem. Just shoot a long video 1 day a month. Then, during the same day, edit the video into many pieces and simply post each piece per day. If daily upload sounds too much too, then at least post a video a week.

7 -- Don't Imitate, Innovate!
In order to get the most out of every video, don't imitate what others are doing. You need to stand out from the crowd in order to really take your YouTube traffic to the next level. Making your videos as interesting as possible keeps your audience coming back for more. To get ideas, look at videos in your niche and look for ways to improve on what others are doing. As an example, if you are in the field of real estate, you can always create a simple online show about real estate. Such show would make you look like an expert and will definitely bring you traffic. Take a look a sample about buying real estate directly from banks (REOs).

8 -- Optimize Your YouTube Channel
When people find your videos for the first time, many of them will visit your YouTube channel and check out your bio. Make sure that your channel is visually appealing and that you have a solid bio. It shouldn't be "salesy" at all though. Speak to your audience; tell them how you can help them achieve their dreams. Be real - as Rumi once said, "Appear as you are, Be as you appear".

Look, there is nothing magical about improving your traffic with YouTube. It's all about having a game plan and sticking to it. Do that and you will have more leads then you know what to do with. But that won't happen if you don't take action. Stop thinking about it and just do it! It will take serious effort to get serious results. But you already knew that! Also feel free to use YouTube videos in your site for your own online marketing. See you on YouTube! Don't forget to subscribe to Trump Initiative and my channel.

by Tina Merritt

Buyer's remorse. Appraisal problems. Loan denial. We all know the pitfalls of what can cause a contract to fall apart. Here is a list of 10 ways to keep that agreement together.

1. Don't allow closing dates too far into the future. If necessary, a closing date can always be extended through an addendum to the contract. The quicker the closing, the easier it is to keep everything moving and all parties on their toes. If a buyer is in a lease and claims to not be able to close quickly, offer to pay the remainder of their lease or some other incentive to get them to the table sooner rather than later.
2. Have someone (other than you or your real estate agent) who is familiar with your property (and any work that has been done) attend the home inspection. This helps to show the buyers that you care about your property and also gives you someone (and a more neutral, 3rd party) to address any immediate issues which could cause buyer's remorse.
3. Before putting your property on the market, go into the attic, crawlspace and/or basement. Check for leaking pipes, animal infestation, unsecured insulation, etc.
4. Keep your property maintained while it is under contract/in escrow. Buyers want to see their future home. They will drive by - a lot. Keep it looking as nice as it did when they wrote the offer.
5. Have your attorney or escrow company run a title search as soon as you are ready to sell. This way you can be made aware of any title issues that need to be addressed sooner, rather than later.
6. Don't be a jerk and don't tolerate the people who are working for you be jerks either. This may be the first time the buyers have ever purchased a house. Maybe they are in the midst of relocating. Whatever the reason, it is often a very emotional time for them. Bite your tongue and be the voice of reason - and encourage those working on your behalf to do the same.
7. No matter what the contract says, you cannot physically force the buyers to buy the property. That being said, it is a good idea to have a relationship with a local real estate attorney who can quickly send out a "you might want to reconsider backing out of this contract" letter to the buyers if necessary.
8. Be willing to open up dialogue when necessary. Look at the path of communication in a real estate transaction. As a real estate agent, I can attest to the fact that when a problem arises, sometimes it takes a seller talking directly with a buyer to work it out.
9. Talk to the buyer's lender. Yes, you, the seller. Ask him or her point blank, "will you be able to approve a loan for these buyers to purchase my property and will you be able to close it on time?"  Instead of just being "the seller", you have now identified yourself as a real person; a person who has a significant interest in that lender doing his or her job effectively.
10. Read the purchase agreement. Know what it says and what both parties have agreed to. Check with your real estate agent to make sure the appraisal was ordered on time, that inspection contingencies are being removed in a timely fashion, etc.

by Tina Merritt

As I stated in my last post about formulas, I would address how to calculate a figure for ARV in a post of it's own. Simply put, ARV, to a real estate investor, means Approximate Retail Value or After Rehab Value.

ARV is one of the most important values to the real estate investor in calculating profit. It is extremely important for this figure to be realistic and formulated for the market in which the property will be sold.

"The market in which the property will be sold". Remember that sentence. Write it down. Unfortunately, when calculating ARV, many real estate investors and real estate agents don't put enough weight on that statement.

The way most investors and agents calculate ARV is by looking at the most recent sold properties in the area, adjusting for square footage, lot size and improvements and coming up with a number. That's great and that is how most appraised values are factored. But, the ARV is not what the value was in the past, it is what a buyer will be willing to pay for the property in the future.

So, what are we supposed to do to arrive at THAT figure?  Look into a crystal ball?  Have our palms read by a psychic?

Realistically, it's not that difficult. Accurately arriving at ARV just involves taking into account a few more factors. Let's look at some:

• What is currently on the market?  Competition drives down real estate prices so if there is a lot of inventory for buyers to choose from in your price range, you will need to be priced better than the competition in order to compete.
• What is the season?  Seriously. I can tell you for a fact that in a particular neighborhood near the beach in Virginia Beach, real estate prices drop every year by 7-12% when it gets cold outside. Look at the seasonal trends for the neighborhood in which you are selling. Does a large employer hire during a certain time every year?  Are there seasonal "snowbirds" flocking to your area?
• Where are mortgage interest rates and what is the forecast for the rates?
• Existing/upcoming barriers or future features. For example: (barriers) road construction, pending government legislation, next-door neighbor's lack of exterior maintenance, (features) new recreation center, new elementary school, county utilities being installed.
• What is the current time on market for properties?  If the average market time is 6 months, you will need to consider setting your ARV lower if you want to sell in less time.
• Remember to factor in any customary seller-paid buyer concessions.
• Perception. This has become more important as buyers have turned more and more to the internet for their real estate information. What value does the city/county have the property assessed?  What is the Zestimate® for the property on Zillow.com?  While these figures don't necessarily reflect true value, sellers need to be aware of these figures and understand that buyers are looking at them.

What factors influence the ARV in your area?  Keep a list and refer to it when making your calculations.

by Tina Merritt

Over the past week, I have received quite a few inquiries from real estate investors asking me to help them build their portfolios through purchase-rehab-sell (I despise the word "flip"). When I initially speak with an investor, I ask a lot of questions. Unfortunately, many don't have some of the most important answers.

To invest in real estate, you must have a goal, an objective. You must also have a formula. We cannot create a successful real estate investment plan without the formula.

It's really very simple: P = ARV - (PC + SE + HC + RC). Where P = profit, ARV = Approximate retail value, PC = purchase cost (not purchase price), SE = selling expenses, HC = holding costs and RC = rehab costs.

For investors who use short term rehab financing, HC will be much higher than those who pay cash out of a savings account. RC will be higher for the investor who contracts out the work than the one who can do a lot of the work himself (keep in mind to factor TIME into that figure though if you rehab yourself). SE - it is common in your area/price range for the seller to pay the closing costs for the buyer? Be sure to include that as well as any other factors such as required radon inspections. PC is much different than PP (purchase price) as there are always costs associated with the actual purchase of the property.

ARV. My next blog post will address this value as this is one of the most miscalculated figures by investors. In the meantime, play around with this formula and some figures. You should be able to get a pretty good idea of what your bottom line is when investing in PRS (purchase-rehab-sell) real estate.

By the way, it's OK to insert the P=Profit figure first. That is why I put it at the beginning of the equation, not the end. P also equals your goal, your most important objective. By inserting P first, you are being a pro-active rather than re-active investor.