Real estate is a business based on trust, and built on handshakes. Working ethically is essential building a solid relationship with your clients and to growing your business in a way you can be proud of. Buyers and sellers alike need to be able to depend on you to act with their best interest in mind, as they make major, life-altering decisions surrounding the purchase and sale of their homes and businesses. The National Association of REALTORS® is committed to promoting real estate ethics in everything we do.
Whether you’re a new and aspiring REALTOR® or whether you’re brushing up on changes in the industry, we have multiple resources to help you join us in a commitment to real estate ethics. Continue reading »
Transforming a home into a Green Home can add value to a property, making it more desirable for environmentally-conscious buyers and reducing overall energy bills. By making a few updates and quick fixes, such as adding energy saving light bulbs, appliances, and high-efficiency water heaters, sellers can add both enticing new features and legitimate value to a home. Here’s a place to get started, and why they’re important selling points worth mentioning to potential buyers.
Simple Green Updates to Homes
Add a Green Home Energy Tracker – Keep track of energy output of individual appliances and electronics for between $20 and $50 or have a home-monitoring device installed for around $250, which will track overall electrical usage and provide real-time feedback on energy consumption and waste. A large variety of in-home energy trackers and monitors are currently available on the market, and new technology is syncing them with devices like smartphones and tablets. Continue reading »
If you want to stay on top of the real estate profession it’s important to consistently evaluate your actions and to remain nimble in the face of changing technology. REALTORS®, like any profession, can get stuck in a rut, or in a repeatable course of action that works but might not be the best for growing and moving forward. Sometimes even the best plans need a bit of tweaking. For those in need of a real estate makeover, we’ve collected some of our best posts for evaluating your career and expanding your professional skill set —
Take a Break and Look Inward
Allow yourself time to step away from work. Take a vacation and assess what, if anything, is keeping you from moving forward. Is it an issue of motivation or training? Does working with difficult clients have you down? If work itself has become overbearing or tedious, check out these three blog posts: Continue reading »
Sharing photos of your property listings is essential in real estate, and when it comes to photo sharing online, Instagram is perhaps the most talked about and exciting social media platform available. Instagram is a great way to connect with your real estate clients and to network with other REALTORS®, and with over 80 million users, Instagram has quickly become the platform of choice when it comes to simple edits like cropping and filtering.
If you have an iPhone or iPad you can download the Instagram application in the iTunes store, or for Android phone or tablet, download Instagram in Google Play. Once Instagram is installed, stand out from the crowd with this 5-step guide to Instagram photos for REALTORS®.
1. Start sharing photos
Snap photos of your listings, and experiment with different angles and lighting. Part of the value of Instagram is that it’s an on-the-spot photo service that even amateur photographers can use. It’s okay if your photos aren’t perfect, as long as you’ve taken the time to get your best shots. If you’re not confident in your photography skills, make up for it with clever captions and creative uses of filters. Continue reading »
