HOW TO USE INTERNET APPLICATION FOR REAL ESTATE
***********************************************
When the cost of Google Adwords and other forms of paid search advertising continues to rise by the day, and tying strong return-on-investment (ROI) to any marketing expense is mandatory, we think it’s time you have a few “freebies” to tap into as traffic (and potential client) streams. Enjoy these, on the house!
Twitter
If used correctly, Twitter can be a powerful marketing tool. Start out by sending invites to all your friends, family, and existing clients, and regularly post items that are substantial and pertain to real estate. You can send out listings updates, open house information, local market trends, community event notifications, or commentary on real estate news. Building up your “tweet list” will drive traffic to your blog, site, or both if you keep relevant links to them interspersed in your tweets.
Facebook
Create your personal/professional profile, then set up a Facebook group page for your business entity. You can configure a list of links on this page, so please do so. Then as with Twitter, send out invites to all your friends, family, and existing clients. You will be able to have conversions on the group’s Wall, post items like videos, news stories, and pictures, use the discussion board, and create events. Events can be particularly helpful in promoting your open houses, seminars, charity events, or other types of meet-and-greets.
Craigslist
With Craigslist it’s very quick and easy to post your listings, so make sure to do so as soon as they are available. Craigslist users can easily search for the types of properties they are interested in, so make sure to use interesting, detailed descriptions, catchy images, and enticing marketing copy in the subject line of the ad you run. You can also post events like any open houses, seminars, charity events, or other types of meet-and-greets you do.
Blogger
It only takes about 5 minutes to set up your free Google account and begin blogging with Blogger, so even if you aren’t ready to be ultra serious about it, why not get some experience with it now? Once you’re up and running, start posting and sharing your blog posts with your networks on Twitter and Facebook. You can also add links to your blog and/or its posts to your website, email newsletters, email signature file, and traditional print marketing.
iContact
For about $10/month, iContact currently lets you send up to 5 blasts to up to 500 email contacts. Imagine the increases in brand recognition, visits to your website (and other online entities that you mention in your messages, and dialogue with existing and potential clients that could occur if you use this platform wisely. The program makes it easy to manage every aspect of your email marketing campaign, from template creation to timing each blast for high deliverability.
Google Knol
Unlike Wikipedia, which seems to have a very harsh editorial review process that can make adding even non-commercial content nearly impossible, Google Knol is a great place to demonstrate your authority as a real estate professional in your local market. Simply think up some common questions your clients have about your particular market, and then see what is in Google Knol. If it’s not there, then add it in the most descriptive and eloquent way possible. Any link you include to relevant resources on your website will be nullified for SEO purposes, but you still could get valuable traffic to the website that way if your post is effective.
Anyvite
Forget about Evite, Anyvite is much simpler to use when promoting and tracking anticipated participation in your open houses, speaking engagements, and other types of meet-and-greets. It literally takes minutes to set up your first event, and the interface makes it easy to manage your email contacts into groups.
YouTube
Who doesn’t like videos? Whether you have your own videos produced or not, you should still create a YouTube channel which you can use to select and group videos you find interesting and relevant to real estate. Here’s a quick tip: make playlists based upon the differnet kinds of clients you take on (such as buyers, sellers, and investors) and then fill those playlists with how-to videos that you find on YouTube that answer common questions those types of clients might have. You can then promote this channel you’ve created on your sites and social profiles!
Digg
Here’s your open invitation to go read as many interesting real estate and lifestyle related blogs and websites as possible, and assemble a collection of them that you would like to organize and share with your existing and potential clients. Digg, one of the most popular social bookmarking sites, is built around the idea that what one person finds interesting another person might also really dig… so find 50 or so sites, articles, videos, and blog posts you enjoy and find relevant to your market’s real estate or lifestyle and then organize them accordingly for your Digg followers.
Google Analytics
Let’s not forget that while website traffic statistics won’t generate visitors on their own, there’s no doubting how powerful knowing what your visitors are doing on your site and where they come from is. With Google Analytics, you can see precisely what sites your visitors are going to yours from, which can be really helpful in seeing what’s working and what’s not with your social networking efforts on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, YouTube, etc. So don’t forget to set up this incredible analytics tool as you’re busy on everything else.
Now that you’ve got some low-cost ideas for marketing your real estate business online, you may want to consider figuring out how to convert your visitors into leads once they get to you.
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
TWITTER AND REALTORS
INTERNET MARKETING FOR REAL ESTATE
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I'll begin with the statement that this is definitely my opinion, and my opinions are sometimes not shared by the mainstream. Next, I'll say that I am greatly opposed to marketing listings on normal real estate Twitter accounts. That's when you put something like "Check out my new listing at 123 Main Street, 3 BR, 2 BA, great views" up as a Tweet on your regular account. I don't believe this approach is effective in generating business, but I do know that it's definitely going to cost you followers.
Then there's the innovative real estate agent who opened a Twitter account for a listing, and then placed up Tweets about it that gathered the attention of real estate people on Twitter. With tweets like "See naked pictures of me...." it's definitely an attention grabber. However, do we want a potential home buyer, or someone searching Twitter for "naked pictures?" But, there's one part of his plan that I like. It's the Twitter account just for that listing. What he's done with it isn't going to be effective, but what he could do with it is interesting.
Set up a Twitter account just for a listing. Twitter's account name limitations may keep you from using the entire address for the Twitter ID, but you can be creative. If 12543 Appaloosa Trail won't work, and it won't, then try a feature or location related ID, maybe something like "coolhorseprop." Or, just use the MLS # in the ID. Now, develop a nice design and a background made up of a great image of the property. We have the look, so next we develop our marketing and service approach.
At this point, we either succumb to the old and worn out tactics of slamming a bunch of stuff into Tweets on this account that a follower can find much more easily, and in more detail, on many real estate search sites. Or, we can use this account in a way that takes advantage of the immediacy and follower notifications of Twitter. Here's what you do:
The first tweet gives address & MLS #, and the basics, # BR, # BA, list price.
The second tweet, the one that will be on top for a while, tells the visitor to follow to receive price and other property and neighborhood updates.
Place a link to this account, whether image or text, in EVERY listing display that you can on the Web. It says something like "Follow this listing on Twitter for listing & neighborhood alerts."
Then, tweet price changes, and "interesting" or "related" information about that subdivision or neighborhood.
Now we're using Twitter in a way that takes advantage of the service's best features, immediacy and opt-in following. The goal here isn't to build 1000 followers, unless there are really 1000 people out there truly interested in this home, and not "naked pictures." If you only have five followers, but they're actually watching for a price drop to act, that's when you'll benefit. Or maybe they had an interest, putting it aside while they shopped around or just delayed their purchase of a home anywhere. But, when you send out a neighborhood update tweet a month later, or a price drop, someone who had an interest will be reminded. And, in those tweets, place a link to your site's listing display for the home, bringing them right to you for more information.
************************************
I'll begin with the statement that this is definitely my opinion, and my opinions are sometimes not shared by the mainstream. Next, I'll say that I am greatly opposed to marketing listings on normal real estate Twitter accounts. That's when you put something like "Check out my new listing at 123 Main Street, 3 BR, 2 BA, great views" up as a Tweet on your regular account. I don't believe this approach is effective in generating business, but I do know that it's definitely going to cost you followers.
Then there's the innovative real estate agent who opened a Twitter account for a listing, and then placed up Tweets about it that gathered the attention of real estate people on Twitter. With tweets like "See naked pictures of me...." it's definitely an attention grabber. However, do we want a potential home buyer, or someone searching Twitter for "naked pictures?" But, there's one part of his plan that I like. It's the Twitter account just for that listing. What he's done with it isn't going to be effective, but what he could do with it is interesting.
Set up a Twitter account just for a listing. Twitter's account name limitations may keep you from using the entire address for the Twitter ID, but you can be creative. If 12543 Appaloosa Trail won't work, and it won't, then try a feature or location related ID, maybe something like "coolhorseprop." Or, just use the MLS # in the ID. Now, develop a nice design and a background made up of a great image of the property. We have the look, so next we develop our marketing and service approach.
At this point, we either succumb to the old and worn out tactics of slamming a bunch of stuff into Tweets on this account that a follower can find much more easily, and in more detail, on many real estate search sites. Or, we can use this account in a way that takes advantage of the immediacy and follower notifications of Twitter. Here's what you do:
The first tweet gives address & MLS #, and the basics, # BR, # BA, list price.
The second tweet, the one that will be on top for a while, tells the visitor to follow to receive price and other property and neighborhood updates.
Place a link to this account, whether image or text, in EVERY listing display that you can on the Web. It says something like "Follow this listing on Twitter for listing & neighborhood alerts."
Then, tweet price changes, and "interesting" or "related" information about that subdivision or neighborhood.
Now we're using Twitter in a way that takes advantage of the service's best features, immediacy and opt-in following. The goal here isn't to build 1000 followers, unless there are really 1000 people out there truly interested in this home, and not "naked pictures." If you only have five followers, but they're actually watching for a price drop to act, that's when you'll benefit. Or maybe they had an interest, putting it aside while they shopped around or just delayed their purchase of a home anywhere. But, when you send out a neighborhood update tweet a month later, or a price drop, someone who had an interest will be reminded. And, in those tweets, place a link to your site's listing display for the home, bringing them right to you for more information.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
REALTORS AND INTERNET MARKETING
INTERNET MARKETING
********************
Forget all the gurus for a moment and let’s begin with talking about the essence of community and how that community fosters financial growth. All of us in marketing are familiar with A.I.D.A.
However if you are new to marketing or have not heard of AIDA, let me take a moment to go over it. AIDA stands for the following:
A – Attention : In order to engage someone whether they be a reader of your blog, a customer, a prospect or even someone you’d like to date, you must first get their attention. If you are not able to get and sustain their attention, you will not be able to achieve the result you are looking for.
Like Godin says, you must connect with the object of your focus. Trying to haphazardly market products without fully understanding your demo and what gets THEIR attention will leave you floundering.
I – Interest:Once you have their attention you had better have something that really piques their interest. You would obviously know that a man walking through the desert would want some water.
If you were standing there holding a nice glass of cold water you’d definitely have his interest. So if you are looking to make money online would you not do well if you worked a demo that NEEDED what you were offering or as Godin says connect people with what they want to be connected to?
Pretty simple stuff this Internet Marketing industry isn’t it. I mean who would have thought. Find a market who actually is looking to buy what you are looking to sell. Pure Genius.
D – Desire:As may be expected, once you have someone’s attention and have gotten their interest, then it only makes sense that you now must create the desire. After all, you need them to desire what it is you are offering. You have the attention, you have established interest, now you have to create a desire within your prospect that allows you to fulfill their desire. Why should they buy from you instead of someone else.
They have recognized that they have a need, but this is not desire. Desire is the motivation that gets them to take action. Your connection in this regard is to build trust and credibility.
A – Action:Finally, if you have gotten their attention, have piqued their interest, and established yourself as one who can fulfill their desire (i.e. need), then all that’s left is to get them to act. Or as Alec Bladwin quipped in Glengarry Glen Ross, “get them to sign on the line that is dotted”.
Funny thing in regards to all of this and I think it’s the underlying mesage in what Godin’s article said. This methodology not only applies to your endeavors in making money online as per your sales, but also in regards to your own intrinsic connection.
It’s great to be reading articles like this as it shows you are paying attention. Obviously if you are reading this you have both an interest and desire in making money on the Internet, but what will truly separate those who succeed and those who will fail miserably is Action.
SUCCESS GURU says you need to start today, I feel that’s an understatement. He should have wrote it in large, bold, italicized font. He didn’t, so I will.
START TODAY!Â
********************
Forget all the gurus for a moment and let’s begin with talking about the essence of community and how that community fosters financial growth. All of us in marketing are familiar with A.I.D.A.
However if you are new to marketing or have not heard of AIDA, let me take a moment to go over it. AIDA stands for the following:
A – Attention : In order to engage someone whether they be a reader of your blog, a customer, a prospect or even someone you’d like to date, you must first get their attention. If you are not able to get and sustain their attention, you will not be able to achieve the result you are looking for.
Like Godin says, you must connect with the object of your focus. Trying to haphazardly market products without fully understanding your demo and what gets THEIR attention will leave you floundering.
I – Interest:Once you have their attention you had better have something that really piques their interest. You would obviously know that a man walking through the desert would want some water.
If you were standing there holding a nice glass of cold water you’d definitely have his interest. So if you are looking to make money online would you not do well if you worked a demo that NEEDED what you were offering or as Godin says connect people with what they want to be connected to?
Pretty simple stuff this Internet Marketing industry isn’t it. I mean who would have thought. Find a market who actually is looking to buy what you are looking to sell. Pure Genius.
D – Desire:As may be expected, once you have someone’s attention and have gotten their interest, then it only makes sense that you now must create the desire. After all, you need them to desire what it is you are offering. You have the attention, you have established interest, now you have to create a desire within your prospect that allows you to fulfill their desire. Why should they buy from you instead of someone else.
They have recognized that they have a need, but this is not desire. Desire is the motivation that gets them to take action. Your connection in this regard is to build trust and credibility.
A – Action:Finally, if you have gotten their attention, have piqued their interest, and established yourself as one who can fulfill their desire (i.e. need), then all that’s left is to get them to act. Or as Alec Bladwin quipped in Glengarry Glen Ross, “get them to sign on the line that is dotted”.
Funny thing in regards to all of this and I think it’s the underlying mesage in what Godin’s article said. This methodology not only applies to your endeavors in making money online as per your sales, but also in regards to your own intrinsic connection.
It’s great to be reading articles like this as it shows you are paying attention. Obviously if you are reading this you have both an interest and desire in making money on the Internet, but what will truly separate those who succeed and those who will fail miserably is Action.
SUCCESS GURU says you need to start today, I feel that’s an understatement. He should have wrote it in large, bold, italicized font. He didn’t, so I will.
START TODAY!Â
REALTOR & SOCIAL MEDIA
REALTORS AND WEB 2.0
*********************
To take on new customers is a bit uncertain and problematic and this fact is known to the real estate professional. Established professionals will tell the new entrants about the confrontation they have had to tackle. Web 2.0 and social marketing can give support to every real estate professional. Statistics tells that more than 90% of the total number of network marketers actually relinquish. On an average estimation they support only three new people. Using web 2.0 and social marketing has made the state of affairs better.
Web 2.0 and social marketing fundamentally creates an atmosphere in which you, as a real estate professional, can network online with content. You can post articles. You can see and upload videos, support various people, and post blogs. You can do all this without even having to know anything about html.
You may now think how you can use web 2.0 and social marketing. As a real estate professional you can regard it as using real estate social marketing opportunities and real estate social marketing strategies. You can use different web 2.0 sites that function in the form of social marketing sites. These are brilliant tools for your real estate social marketing campaigns.
You, as a real estate professional, can think of using blogs as a form of web 2.0 and social marketing. These have turned out to be the most extensively implemented symbols of the web 2.0 of real estate. Blogs are online dialogues or notes. They can come into view on brokerage sites, real-estate oriented sites that are all-encompassing of listings, and host sites for bloggers of real estate.
Each real estate professional knows the significance of web 2.0 and social marketing that is available in the form of videos and can be uploaded online. YouTube is a well known site for sharing videos. Some special real estate websites for sharing real estate content have also been produced. ColdwellBanker.com is a case in point. Some third party sites like HGTV support the uploading of housing and real estate associated video content.
A different tool of web 2.0 and social marketing that you can execute as a real estate professional is social networking sites. These web communicates are admired nowadays and people can join them without any additional charge by simple registration. Facebook and Myspace are doing very well. Apart from young students, these sites are also gaining preference among the real estate realm where countless real estate agents have joined them.
Web 2.0 and social marketing is also obtainable in the form of mash-ups. This entails the amalgamation of elements from various web companies on your website. As an example, you, as a real estate professional, can combine maps on Google with information on local demography. In this way you will be able to inform budding customers about places they would want to reside at.
Lastly, a functional tool of web 2.0 and social marketing is in the form of Wikis. These are compilations of data from diverse contributors. As a real estate professional you can produce these Wikis for your local community and advise visitors to put down comments about various properties in your local area. Finally, as a real estate professional, you can use web 2.0 and social marketing to attain greater heights in the business world.
*********************
To take on new customers is a bit uncertain and problematic and this fact is known to the real estate professional. Established professionals will tell the new entrants about the confrontation they have had to tackle. Web 2.0 and social marketing can give support to every real estate professional. Statistics tells that more than 90% of the total number of network marketers actually relinquish. On an average estimation they support only three new people. Using web 2.0 and social marketing has made the state of affairs better.
Web 2.0 and social marketing fundamentally creates an atmosphere in which you, as a real estate professional, can network online with content. You can post articles. You can see and upload videos, support various people, and post blogs. You can do all this without even having to know anything about html.
You may now think how you can use web 2.0 and social marketing. As a real estate professional you can regard it as using real estate social marketing opportunities and real estate social marketing strategies. You can use different web 2.0 sites that function in the form of social marketing sites. These are brilliant tools for your real estate social marketing campaigns.
You, as a real estate professional, can think of using blogs as a form of web 2.0 and social marketing. These have turned out to be the most extensively implemented symbols of the web 2.0 of real estate. Blogs are online dialogues or notes. They can come into view on brokerage sites, real-estate oriented sites that are all-encompassing of listings, and host sites for bloggers of real estate.
Each real estate professional knows the significance of web 2.0 and social marketing that is available in the form of videos and can be uploaded online. YouTube is a well known site for sharing videos. Some special real estate websites for sharing real estate content have also been produced. ColdwellBanker.com is a case in point. Some third party sites like HGTV support the uploading of housing and real estate associated video content.
A different tool of web 2.0 and social marketing that you can execute as a real estate professional is social networking sites. These web communicates are admired nowadays and people can join them without any additional charge by simple registration. Facebook and Myspace are doing very well. Apart from young students, these sites are also gaining preference among the real estate realm where countless real estate agents have joined them.
Web 2.0 and social marketing is also obtainable in the form of mash-ups. This entails the amalgamation of elements from various web companies on your website. As an example, you, as a real estate professional, can combine maps on Google with information on local demography. In this way you will be able to inform budding customers about places they would want to reside at.
Lastly, a functional tool of web 2.0 and social marketing is in the form of Wikis. These are compilations of data from diverse contributors. As a real estate professional you can produce these Wikis for your local community and advise visitors to put down comments about various properties in your local area. Finally, as a real estate professional, you can use web 2.0 and social marketing to attain greater heights in the business world.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
GOOGLE AND REALTORS
How Google's Recent Changes Affect Realtors
***********************************************
Unless you have been living in a cave, you have no doubt heard about
Google's algorithm change, dubbed "Florida", which shook the world
in late November. Realtors who in the past had enjoyed good traffic
to their web site from Google found themselves out of contention for
keyword phrases that had previously been their "bread and butter".
Realtor Forums, listserves, and publications all reported and
discussed this issue and in fact still are.
What happened and what should Realtors do? Is a rewrite of websites
needed to adjust for the new reality?
Google's changes affect only certain highly competitive keywords.
Unfortunately, this includes the most productive real estate keywords
in all but the smallest markets. Where Realtor sites once occupied
the top 20 results - those spots are now occupied by "authority"
sites - large web sites that may in fact contain little or no real
estate content.
Our own websites fared quite well as we provide a package of 5 web
sites and one of the site formats included in the packages continues
to do well in Google in competitive markets. In addition, Google's
changes only affect a couple of important keywords and our sites
place well for an average of 100 keywords used by searchers - so
traffic and leads continue. More information about this program can
be found at Websites for Realtors
There was initially a lot of speculation that Google had implemented
a "filter" to try and eliminate certain types of spam or that this
was an underhanded way of forcing people to pay for listings using
Google Adwords. Neither of these scenarios seem to fit. Google
vehemently denies the Adwords scenario and investigation shows that
individual websites are not being penalized at all.
Instead, what is happening is that whole categories of keyword
searches are being judged using a different set of rules in order to
give the results a hierarchal look where the biggest, most popular -
i.e. "authority" sites come up for the most competitive keywords.
So, what is an "authority" site and why did some Realtor sites
survive this big upheaval? Why are these Realtor sites being
categorized as "authority" sites? What can you do to become one of
these lucky sites?
Countless hours of investigation has led me to what I believe to be
the answers to those questions. In the course of providing effective
websites for Realtors, I have been involved in optimizing websites to
place well in search engines since 1994 and my living has depended on
it since 1997 - so I am not a newcomer to this. Every single year in
the autumn one search engine or another has undergone major changes
and I have learned how to analyze all of the information available
and adjust to those changes - this time is no different. I was lucky
enough to have some of my own sites thrive in this new environment
and that gave me a starting point. Google themselves, in a couple of
public statements, actually filled in the missing pieces and
revealed the answer to the Florida enigma. Most Seos dismissed these
statements as a smokescreen without putting them together or
comparing them to the reality of the search engine results.
Without boring you with the details - the reason why a Realtor site is
deemed to be an "authority" is really just a refinement of something
Google has always based the majority of its ranking algorithm on.
Simply put, an "authority" site has a lot more links coming in
(called "backlinks" - and pages within the sites domain count as
backlinks too) than links going out. Actually, it is not the website
that is classed as an "authority" but the domain - and the domain can
have many websites that all benefit.
In other words, the Realtors' domains that are doing well after Florida have
many non-reciprocal links.
This sounds simple but in reality it is not something most people
have the knowledge to easily determine since Google does not display
all of the backlinks it counts. Also, when looking at a site it may
appear initially that it has lots of links leaving - but close
scrutiny reveals that this is not the case.
Remember all those reciprocal links we have all traded over the
years? How come you traded links with other agents for years and you
have seen some of their websites rocket to the top of Google while
your site has floundered?
The answer to that is that a link pointing at your web site is only
going to benefit you if the links page on which it resides is
actually included in Google - and many of the heaviest link traders
do not have links pages that can be indexed by Google, are hosted
off site, or the links themsleves are written using scripting that
can't be followed by search engine spiders. So, some of the heaviest
link traders have hundreds or thousands of links pointing at their
sites and while it looks like they also have hundreds or thousands
of links leaving their sites usually their links pages are not indexed
so as far as Google is concerned they do not.
Aside from failing to really reciprocate in link exchanges, other
ways some of these survivors have obtained many links pointing at
their websites is by using services that place backlinks (often
hidden) on hundreds of web pages and by signature spamming hundreds
of blogs (web logs).
Under Google's new algorithm reciprocal links basically cancel each
other out if they are truly reciprocal. They do not help you nor do
they hurt you. The problem is that most link exchanges are not truly
reciprocal.
If you have a links page that is not indexed in Google and have been
trading lots of links with others whose links pages are indexed -
then you will have more incoming links than links leaving and have
the basis for ranking well in Google in keyword categories affected
by Florida.
If you have a good links page that is indexed in Google and have
been trading links with those that do not - then Google looks at your
site and sees way more links leaving than coming in. You are seen as
an unimportant web site and ranked accordingly.
It may be time to scrutinize your links pages and get rid of some of
those links that are not really reciprocating to make that ratio of
incoming to outgoing links more attractive to Google. You can find
instructions for checking whether a page is actually included in
Google at http://www.leaderspost.com/lp_70.html
Google was built around the idea that when a web site links to you
it is a vote that yours is a valuable site. Reciprocal linking was a
fly in the ointment for Google - a phenomenon they did not originally
foresee. Their new ranking algorithm nullifies the effect of true
reciprocal linking for competitive commercial websites which were the
biggest proponents of reciprocal linking.
With Google, ranking well still comes down to link popularity but,
in Google's eyes, it is now a little more difficult to achieve good
link popularity that will help a site place well for the most popular
keywords used by searchers.
Having a content-rich website that people want to link to because of
quality and are not expecting a reciprocal link in return will still
work well - and that is just what Google would like to see!
Participants in our own web page program can be assured that since
Google's November changes a number of changes of our own have been made
that will result in more targeted traffic to participants' websites. The
benefits of some of those changes are already being felt but Google may
take a couple of months to factor in some of the other changes in their
ranking. We are also testing other strategies and will incorporate them
in the future once proven effective.
Google has already tweaked this new algorithm since they originally
unveiled it and will likely modify this new algorithm in the future as
they have built their reputation around providing relevant search
results and the current search results for affected keywords certainly
do not meet their prior standards.
Whether Google abandons their new algorithm or not - getting rid of
unnecessary outbound links and acquiring new inbound links to your web
site will help in either case. A good place to start is by purging your
web site of old links that were supposed to be reciprocal but in
reality no longer are. Then, carefully scrutinize new link exchanges to
make sure they are truly reciprocal and also try and obtain links to your
website where you do not have to reciprocate. In addition, adding more
valuable content to your web site is always the right thing to do.
If you follow the path outlined above your website will be on its way to
being classified as an "authority" site and Google will reward you for it!
---------------
As mentioned above, I had some sites survive and thrive after the
Florida update. This is now benefitting all of the Realtors who are
participating in our web site program which provides a package of
multiple websites (one main site plus 4 mini sites) for each
participant. The program of multiple sites was designed for
situations just like this and the value of the program is certainly
being proven now! More information about the full program can be
found at http://www.rncinternet.com/real_estate.html
In light of the recent Google changes, we are now allowing our
package of websites to be split up which allows Realtors in smaller
markets to enjoy good search engine positioning at a reduced cost.
This is your opportunity to enjoy excellent search engine positioning
- even in Google! More information on this program can be found at
http://www.rncinternet.com/minisites.html
---------------
The EPowered Professionals Real Estate Directory places very highly
in most major search engines for real estate agent related keywords
and will send prospects to your web site. In addition, the directory
has excellent Page Rank in Google and because of that significantly
enhances your own web site's link popularity and your own search
engine rankings.
***********************************************
Unless you have been living in a cave, you have no doubt heard about
Google's algorithm change, dubbed "Florida", which shook the world
in late November. Realtors who in the past had enjoyed good traffic
to their web site from Google found themselves out of contention for
keyword phrases that had previously been their "bread and butter".
Realtor Forums, listserves, and publications all reported and
discussed this issue and in fact still are.
What happened and what should Realtors do? Is a rewrite of websites
needed to adjust for the new reality?
Google's changes affect only certain highly competitive keywords.
Unfortunately, this includes the most productive real estate keywords
in all but the smallest markets. Where Realtor sites once occupied
the top 20 results - those spots are now occupied by "authority"
sites - large web sites that may in fact contain little or no real
estate content.
Our own websites fared quite well as we provide a package of 5 web
sites and one of the site formats included in the packages continues
to do well in Google in competitive markets. In addition, Google's
changes only affect a couple of important keywords and our sites
place well for an average of 100 keywords used by searchers - so
traffic and leads continue. More information about this program can
be found at Websites for Realtors
There was initially a lot of speculation that Google had implemented
a "filter" to try and eliminate certain types of spam or that this
was an underhanded way of forcing people to pay for listings using
Google Adwords. Neither of these scenarios seem to fit. Google
vehemently denies the Adwords scenario and investigation shows that
individual websites are not being penalized at all.
Instead, what is happening is that whole categories of keyword
searches are being judged using a different set of rules in order to
give the results a hierarchal look where the biggest, most popular -
i.e. "authority" sites come up for the most competitive keywords.
So, what is an "authority" site and why did some Realtor sites
survive this big upheaval? Why are these Realtor sites being
categorized as "authority" sites? What can you do to become one of
these lucky sites?
Countless hours of investigation has led me to what I believe to be
the answers to those questions. In the course of providing effective
websites for Realtors, I have been involved in optimizing websites to
place well in search engines since 1994 and my living has depended on
it since 1997 - so I am not a newcomer to this. Every single year in
the autumn one search engine or another has undergone major changes
and I have learned how to analyze all of the information available
and adjust to those changes - this time is no different. I was lucky
enough to have some of my own sites thrive in this new environment
and that gave me a starting point. Google themselves, in a couple of
public statements, actually filled in the missing pieces and
revealed the answer to the Florida enigma. Most Seos dismissed these
statements as a smokescreen without putting them together or
comparing them to the reality of the search engine results.
Without boring you with the details - the reason why a Realtor site is
deemed to be an "authority" is really just a refinement of something
Google has always based the majority of its ranking algorithm on.
Simply put, an "authority" site has a lot more links coming in
(called "backlinks" - and pages within the sites domain count as
backlinks too) than links going out. Actually, it is not the website
that is classed as an "authority" but the domain - and the domain can
have many websites that all benefit.
In other words, the Realtors' domains that are doing well after Florida have
many non-reciprocal links.
This sounds simple but in reality it is not something most people
have the knowledge to easily determine since Google does not display
all of the backlinks it counts. Also, when looking at a site it may
appear initially that it has lots of links leaving - but close
scrutiny reveals that this is not the case.
Remember all those reciprocal links we have all traded over the
years? How come you traded links with other agents for years and you
have seen some of their websites rocket to the top of Google while
your site has floundered?
The answer to that is that a link pointing at your web site is only
going to benefit you if the links page on which it resides is
actually included in Google - and many of the heaviest link traders
do not have links pages that can be indexed by Google, are hosted
off site, or the links themsleves are written using scripting that
can't be followed by search engine spiders. So, some of the heaviest
link traders have hundreds or thousands of links pointing at their
sites and while it looks like they also have hundreds or thousands
of links leaving their sites usually their links pages are not indexed
so as far as Google is concerned they do not.
Aside from failing to really reciprocate in link exchanges, other
ways some of these survivors have obtained many links pointing at
their websites is by using services that place backlinks (often
hidden) on hundreds of web pages and by signature spamming hundreds
of blogs (web logs).
Under Google's new algorithm reciprocal links basically cancel each
other out if they are truly reciprocal. They do not help you nor do
they hurt you. The problem is that most link exchanges are not truly
reciprocal.
If you have a links page that is not indexed in Google and have been
trading lots of links with others whose links pages are indexed -
then you will have more incoming links than links leaving and have
the basis for ranking well in Google in keyword categories affected
by Florida.
If you have a good links page that is indexed in Google and have
been trading links with those that do not - then Google looks at your
site and sees way more links leaving than coming in. You are seen as
an unimportant web site and ranked accordingly.
It may be time to scrutinize your links pages and get rid of some of
those links that are not really reciprocating to make that ratio of
incoming to outgoing links more attractive to Google. You can find
instructions for checking whether a page is actually included in
Google at http://www.leaderspost.com/lp_70.html
Google was built around the idea that when a web site links to you
it is a vote that yours is a valuable site. Reciprocal linking was a
fly in the ointment for Google - a phenomenon they did not originally
foresee. Their new ranking algorithm nullifies the effect of true
reciprocal linking for competitive commercial websites which were the
biggest proponents of reciprocal linking.
With Google, ranking well still comes down to link popularity but,
in Google's eyes, it is now a little more difficult to achieve good
link popularity that will help a site place well for the most popular
keywords used by searchers.
Having a content-rich website that people want to link to because of
quality and are not expecting a reciprocal link in return will still
work well - and that is just what Google would like to see!
Participants in our own web page program can be assured that since
Google's November changes a number of changes of our own have been made
that will result in more targeted traffic to participants' websites. The
benefits of some of those changes are already being felt but Google may
take a couple of months to factor in some of the other changes in their
ranking. We are also testing other strategies and will incorporate them
in the future once proven effective.
Google has already tweaked this new algorithm since they originally
unveiled it and will likely modify this new algorithm in the future as
they have built their reputation around providing relevant search
results and the current search results for affected keywords certainly
do not meet their prior standards.
Whether Google abandons their new algorithm or not - getting rid of
unnecessary outbound links and acquiring new inbound links to your web
site will help in either case. A good place to start is by purging your
web site of old links that were supposed to be reciprocal but in
reality no longer are. Then, carefully scrutinize new link exchanges to
make sure they are truly reciprocal and also try and obtain links to your
website where you do not have to reciprocate. In addition, adding more
valuable content to your web site is always the right thing to do.
If you follow the path outlined above your website will be on its way to
being classified as an "authority" site and Google will reward you for it!
---------------
As mentioned above, I had some sites survive and thrive after the
Florida update. This is now benefitting all of the Realtors who are
participating in our web site program which provides a package of
multiple websites (one main site plus 4 mini sites) for each
participant. The program of multiple sites was designed for
situations just like this and the value of the program is certainly
being proven now! More information about the full program can be
found at http://www.rncinternet.com/real_estate.html
In light of the recent Google changes, we are now allowing our
package of websites to be split up which allows Realtors in smaller
markets to enjoy good search engine positioning at a reduced cost.
This is your opportunity to enjoy excellent search engine positioning
- even in Google! More information on this program can be found at
http://www.rncinternet.com/minisites.html
---------------
The EPowered Professionals Real Estate Directory places very highly
in most major search engines for real estate agent related keywords
and will send prospects to your web site. In addition, the directory
has excellent Page Rank in Google and because of that significantly
enhances your own web site's link popularity and your own search
engine rankings.
MARKETING STRATEGY FOR REALTORS
10 Marketing Insights For REALTORS
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Marketing Strategy #1: Perhaps the single, most important marketing strategy that should be practiced by all small business owners is to make marketing a daily routine. Granted, there may be 101 different priorities vying for your attention at any given moment, but if you neglect marketing on more than just an occasional basis, then you risk losing potential sales, being overtaken by the competition, and placing self-imposed limitations on your income growth. In a challenging economy it's more important than ever to be known as a company that provides value, dependability, and great service. Without some sort of regular marketing program, your existing and prospective customers may find themselves to be unexpectedly interested in your competitor's latest offerings -- which may have been brought to their attention through a postcard mailing, a trade show exhibit, a blog posting, a phone call, a press release, or a well-written sales letter. (It's the old "out of sight, out of mind" principle.)
Marketing Strategy #2: Develop a "marketing consciousness". If you can get yourself to become just a little "obsessed" with marketing, then you'll tend to read more marketing books, attend more marketing seminars, and discover more marketing websites, newsletters, and blogs that will provide you with valuable ideas and inspiration. Of equal importance is becoming more attuned to how other people are marketing their businesses, and learning from their successes and marketing blunders.
Marketing Strategy #3: Continually ask questions, re-evaluate what you're doing, and be flexible. If your website isn't converting the way it ought to be, try to pinpoint its weaknesses and correct them. The same holds true for print ads that are not generating responses. If the solution doesn't jump right out at you, ask your associates, acquaintances, neighbors, or spouse what their initial gut reaction is to your latest print ad, website landing page, a marketing postcard, or a radio ad. Instead of asking them what they think of it, ask them the more pointed question of how they think it could be improved (and assure them that you won't be offended by their constructive criticism). Useful feedback can often come from unexpected sources.
Marketing Strategy #4: Start a blog related to your area of expertise about solving or preventing problems or making the most out of the products or services you offer. Then, invite your customers and prospective customers to check our your latest blog posts. Blogging will help give you more credibility as an expert, and it will also help keep your name and company in the forefront of your customers' minds.
Marketing Strategy #5: Email a press release to your local media whenever you have anything newsworthy to announce. It's a free way to keep your name in front of the public, and it should be a part of an integrated marketing strategy. Two tips 1) Insert your press release into the body of your short, introductory email message. The reason for doing that is many reporters and editors don't like to open email attachments. 2) Only send press releases if you have something newsworthy to announce. That could include hiring new employees, getting a government grant, organizing a successful fund raising event, a grand opening, a new web site, being a keynote speaker at a seminar or graduation ceremony, a business expansion or relocation, and that sort of thing. There are several press release distribution services that can help you build online news and get noticed, such as 1888PressRelease and PRWeb.
Public Relations + Press Releases = Publicity Marketing Strategy #6: Speaking of media relations, another strategy worth exploring is to let the media know that you're an expert in your field and are available as a company or industry spokesperson. Depending on your credentials, as well as your comfort-level with being interviewed by a reporter, you might want to send a brief letter outlining your accomplishments and expertise, and mention that they can feel free to call you if they need comments, quotes, background information, or opinion on a news article or feature story they're working on. The positive publicity, credibility, and recognition you could potentially get from this kind of coverage can potentially give your business or practice a real boost.
Journalists Want Your News
Marketing Strategy #7: Business cards can either by a waste of paper or an effective bridge between a prospect and their potential as a long-term client. Business cards are an integral element of your company's branding strategy, and can sometimes make or break you when it comes to getting prospects to take you seriously. A lot of companies skimp on business card design, concept development, and printing; and that lackluster image is conveyed directly to prospective clients. Bottom line is: Your chances of favorably impressing prospects will improve substantially if your business cards are printed on high-quality paper, display a professional-looking logo, and use a font style that's easy to read and is representative of the nature of your business. Your business cards should also contain either a well thought-out slogan or a short bulletted list that capsulizes your services, your expertise, and your commitment to excellence.
Marketing Strategy #8: Anticipate why a prospective customer might be reluctant or ambivalent about doing business with you, and then make sure to address their concerns in a clear, deliberate, and confident way. Guarantees of satisfaction, believable testimonials from satisfied customers, and assurances of dependable customer service after the sale are a few of the ways that you can reduce sales resistance.
Marketing Strategy #9: If you find yourself chatting with a blogger who's in your profession or industry, but does not directly compete with you, offer to fill in for him, occasionally, as a "guest blogger". Blogging can be a pretty arduous undertaking, so they might welcome the chance to take a break and present their readers with a slightly different point of view. Make sure, of course, that you are allowed to include one or two links back to your website. This will accomplish two objectives: 1) You'll probably draw in anywhere from a "trickle" to a "flood" of additional traffic to your website, and 2) Inbound links to your site from other relevant, high quality sites can help improve your search engine positioning (ranking) in Google, resulted in more targeted traffic and potential customers.
Marketing Strategy #10: When developing a marketing plan, don't forget that there is a huge range of marketing ideas you can employ, many of which are free or inexpensive. Marketing ideas and techniques include yellow pages advertising, Pay Per Click advertising on Google and other Internet portals, exhibiting in trade shows, networking at local or regional professional conferences and business groups, direct mail, distributing coupons, sponsoring contests, and of course, traditional media advertising, such as radio, TV, newspaper, and magazine display ads. That's just the short list of marketing strategies you can pursue as part of a planned marketing campaign, so devise an exhaustive list of possibilities, target your audience, and then plan a campaign based on your budget and your goals.
Visit this page for more marketing strategies, insights
***********************************************
Marketing Strategy #1: Perhaps the single, most important marketing strategy that should be practiced by all small business owners is to make marketing a daily routine. Granted, there may be 101 different priorities vying for your attention at any given moment, but if you neglect marketing on more than just an occasional basis, then you risk losing potential sales, being overtaken by the competition, and placing self-imposed limitations on your income growth. In a challenging economy it's more important than ever to be known as a company that provides value, dependability, and great service. Without some sort of regular marketing program, your existing and prospective customers may find themselves to be unexpectedly interested in your competitor's latest offerings -- which may have been brought to their attention through a postcard mailing, a trade show exhibit, a blog posting, a phone call, a press release, or a well-written sales letter. (It's the old "out of sight, out of mind" principle.)
Marketing Strategy #2: Develop a "marketing consciousness". If you can get yourself to become just a little "obsessed" with marketing, then you'll tend to read more marketing books, attend more marketing seminars, and discover more marketing websites, newsletters, and blogs that will provide you with valuable ideas and inspiration. Of equal importance is becoming more attuned to how other people are marketing their businesses, and learning from their successes and marketing blunders.
Marketing Strategy #3: Continually ask questions, re-evaluate what you're doing, and be flexible. If your website isn't converting the way it ought to be, try to pinpoint its weaknesses and correct them. The same holds true for print ads that are not generating responses. If the solution doesn't jump right out at you, ask your associates, acquaintances, neighbors, or spouse what their initial gut reaction is to your latest print ad, website landing page, a marketing postcard, or a radio ad. Instead of asking them what they think of it, ask them the more pointed question of how they think it could be improved (and assure them that you won't be offended by their constructive criticism). Useful feedback can often come from unexpected sources.
Marketing Strategy #4: Start a blog related to your area of expertise about solving or preventing problems or making the most out of the products or services you offer. Then, invite your customers and prospective customers to check our your latest blog posts. Blogging will help give you more credibility as an expert, and it will also help keep your name and company in the forefront of your customers' minds.
Marketing Strategy #5: Email a press release to your local media whenever you have anything newsworthy to announce. It's a free way to keep your name in front of the public, and it should be a part of an integrated marketing strategy. Two tips 1) Insert your press release into the body of your short, introductory email message. The reason for doing that is many reporters and editors don't like to open email attachments. 2) Only send press releases if you have something newsworthy to announce. That could include hiring new employees, getting a government grant, organizing a successful fund raising event, a grand opening, a new web site, being a keynote speaker at a seminar or graduation ceremony, a business expansion or relocation, and that sort of thing. There are several press release distribution services that can help you build online news and get noticed, such as 1888PressRelease and PRWeb.
Public Relations + Press Releases = Publicity Marketing Strategy #6: Speaking of media relations, another strategy worth exploring is to let the media know that you're an expert in your field and are available as a company or industry spokesperson. Depending on your credentials, as well as your comfort-level with being interviewed by a reporter, you might want to send a brief letter outlining your accomplishments and expertise, and mention that they can feel free to call you if they need comments, quotes, background information, or opinion on a news article or feature story they're working on. The positive publicity, credibility, and recognition you could potentially get from this kind of coverage can potentially give your business or practice a real boost.
Journalists Want Your News
Marketing Strategy #7: Business cards can either by a waste of paper or an effective bridge between a prospect and their potential as a long-term client. Business cards are an integral element of your company's branding strategy, and can sometimes make or break you when it comes to getting prospects to take you seriously. A lot of companies skimp on business card design, concept development, and printing; and that lackluster image is conveyed directly to prospective clients. Bottom line is: Your chances of favorably impressing prospects will improve substantially if your business cards are printed on high-quality paper, display a professional-looking logo, and use a font style that's easy to read and is representative of the nature of your business. Your business cards should also contain either a well thought-out slogan or a short bulletted list that capsulizes your services, your expertise, and your commitment to excellence.
Marketing Strategy #8: Anticipate why a prospective customer might be reluctant or ambivalent about doing business with you, and then make sure to address their concerns in a clear, deliberate, and confident way. Guarantees of satisfaction, believable testimonials from satisfied customers, and assurances of dependable customer service after the sale are a few of the ways that you can reduce sales resistance.
Marketing Strategy #9: If you find yourself chatting with a blogger who's in your profession or industry, but does not directly compete with you, offer to fill in for him, occasionally, as a "guest blogger". Blogging can be a pretty arduous undertaking, so they might welcome the chance to take a break and present their readers with a slightly different point of view. Make sure, of course, that you are allowed to include one or two links back to your website. This will accomplish two objectives: 1) You'll probably draw in anywhere from a "trickle" to a "flood" of additional traffic to your website, and 2) Inbound links to your site from other relevant, high quality sites can help improve your search engine positioning (ranking) in Google, resulted in more targeted traffic and potential customers.
Marketing Strategy #10: When developing a marketing plan, don't forget that there is a huge range of marketing ideas you can employ, many of which are free or inexpensive. Marketing ideas and techniques include yellow pages advertising, Pay Per Click advertising on Google and other Internet portals, exhibiting in trade shows, networking at local or regional professional conferences and business groups, direct mail, distributing coupons, sponsoring contests, and of course, traditional media advertising, such as radio, TV, newspaper, and magazine display ads. That's just the short list of marketing strategies you can pursue as part of a planned marketing campaign, so devise an exhaustive list of possibilities, target your audience, and then plan a campaign based on your budget and your goals.
Visit this page for more marketing strategies, insights
REAL ESTATE MARKETING
MARKETING FOR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS
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Take a look on your bookcase in the office there. What do you see? Chances are that you’re looking at binder after binder, book after book. The likes of Craig Proctor, Mike Ferry, Howard Brinton….and others. It’s likely you’ve been to a multitude of seminars, office meetings, Local Board Training, Teleconferences and National Conventions. You may have Staff, maybe an assistant or two and perhaps a buyers agent. You've got your fingers in all make and manner of advertising, print ads, postcards, newsletters and flyers and in this day in time you should have websites, contact managers, call capture systems, drip e-mail, pay per click, RSS feeds and an SEO guy……whew.
Like I said, that’s quite a list, and by no means complete either. So what does this have to do with Mount Everest? Glad you asked.
Where are your Sherpas?
Good question huh? See, in that list that I just made, there are no Sherpas. There are certainly many of the components that make up a successful Real Estate Business, Your Everest, but not a single Sherpa in the bunch. What do I mean by that? I’ll explain.
In order to be successful at anything, climbing a mountain or running a business you surely have to have the right tools. But even more surely you have to have the correct "sequence" to deploy those tools and the systems to support them. This is your business Sherpa. The definition of insanity is this: Doing the same thing over and over and over….and expecting a different result. Our answer? The FREE Busy Agent Pro Gold account.
We’ll show you that you may already have all the tools you need to be incredibly successful in the Real Estate Business, but simply lack the systems to properly implement them. In fact, we will give you a handful of tools for FREE that will both save you time and money. We’ll also introduce you to a set of simple business tools, systems and coaching that are all under one roof ready to take you step by step toward your ultimate success whatever you feel that is in your real estate business.
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Take a look on your bookcase in the office there. What do you see? Chances are that you’re looking at binder after binder, book after book. The likes of Craig Proctor, Mike Ferry, Howard Brinton….and others. It’s likely you’ve been to a multitude of seminars, office meetings, Local Board Training, Teleconferences and National Conventions. You may have Staff, maybe an assistant or two and perhaps a buyers agent. You've got your fingers in all make and manner of advertising, print ads, postcards, newsletters and flyers and in this day in time you should have websites, contact managers, call capture systems, drip e-mail, pay per click, RSS feeds and an SEO guy……whew.
Like I said, that’s quite a list, and by no means complete either. So what does this have to do with Mount Everest? Glad you asked.
Where are your Sherpas?
Good question huh? See, in that list that I just made, there are no Sherpas. There are certainly many of the components that make up a successful Real Estate Business, Your Everest, but not a single Sherpa in the bunch. What do I mean by that? I’ll explain.
In order to be successful at anything, climbing a mountain or running a business you surely have to have the right tools. But even more surely you have to have the correct "sequence" to deploy those tools and the systems to support them. This is your business Sherpa. The definition of insanity is this: Doing the same thing over and over and over….and expecting a different result. Our answer? The FREE Busy Agent Pro Gold account.
We’ll show you that you may already have all the tools you need to be incredibly successful in the Real Estate Business, but simply lack the systems to properly implement them. In fact, we will give you a handful of tools for FREE that will both save you time and money. We’ll also introduce you to a set of simple business tools, systems and coaching that are all under one roof ready to take you step by step toward your ultimate success whatever you feel that is in your real estate business.
OLD VERSUS NEW HOUSE
NEW OR OLD CHOICE IS YOURS
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Advantages of an Older Home
With an older home, you can see exactly what you are getting -- structural faults are generally easier to see and can be or have been corrected. The character of the neighbourhood is established and a variety of local services is usually available. In addition, the landscaping around the home has already been completed. There are generally fewer move-in costs because basic features like drapery tracks are already installed. Chattels -- such as special lighting fixtures --are often included in the sale of an older home.
Advantages of a New Home
A brand new home also has advantages. You have much more flexibility with a new home in customizing your decor and landscaping to suit your tastes. You get fresh, unblemished walls and you can usually choose the type of flooring, carpeting and cupboards that you want. You usually get much more storage space (such as closets) and larger rooms. In addition, today's minimum standards for plumbing, electrical, insulation and heating systems are higher than ever before.
Regardless of what type of home you choose, be sure to discuss your preferences with your REALTOR®. With an in-depth knowledge of the local housing market, your REALTOR® can help you find the home that best suits you and your family. Your REALTOR® can also offer invaluable guidance and advice throughout the home buying process.
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Advantages of an Older Home
With an older home, you can see exactly what you are getting -- structural faults are generally easier to see and can be or have been corrected. The character of the neighbourhood is established and a variety of local services is usually available. In addition, the landscaping around the home has already been completed. There are generally fewer move-in costs because basic features like drapery tracks are already installed. Chattels -- such as special lighting fixtures --are often included in the sale of an older home.
Advantages of a New Home
A brand new home also has advantages. You have much more flexibility with a new home in customizing your decor and landscaping to suit your tastes. You get fresh, unblemished walls and you can usually choose the type of flooring, carpeting and cupboards that you want. You usually get much more storage space (such as closets) and larger rooms. In addition, today's minimum standards for plumbing, electrical, insulation and heating systems are higher than ever before.
Regardless of what type of home you choose, be sure to discuss your preferences with your REALTOR®. With an in-depth knowledge of the local housing market, your REALTOR® can help you find the home that best suits you and your family. Your REALTOR® can also offer invaluable guidance and advice throughout the home buying process.
Real Estate Contracts
Real Estate Purchase Contracts in Canada
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A good real estate purchase contract usually contains numerous details and information concerning the property so it must be treated very seriously. A good real estate contract usually holds huge amounts of information and in some jurisdiction it must be in written form to be enforceable. The contract can identify the full names of the parties; hold the address and legal description of property; identify the purchase price; it must be voluntarily signed by both parties; have a legal purpose; involve only competent parties (age, medical conditions, etc.); show that both sides agree upon the purchase What is most important is that the rules for buying a home vary from province to province. The first thing that you need to find if you consider buying a home is – an experienced real estate lawyer working in the province where you plan to buy a house. We will also provide you with some general info about real estate purchase in various provinces.
British Columbia
British Columbia has an odd tradition of inviting the lawyer only at the final stage of the contract signing. Basically the lawyer signs the contract and only after that reviews it. Needless to say that it is better to avoid this tradition and consult a lawyer right from the beginning.
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A good real estate purchase contract usually contains numerous details and information concerning the property so it must be treated very seriously. A good real estate contract usually holds huge amounts of information and in some jurisdiction it must be in written form to be enforceable. The contract can identify the full names of the parties; hold the address and legal description of property; identify the purchase price; it must be voluntarily signed by both parties; have a legal purpose; involve only competent parties (age, medical conditions, etc.); show that both sides agree upon the purchase What is most important is that the rules for buying a home vary from province to province. The first thing that you need to find if you consider buying a home is – an experienced real estate lawyer working in the province where you plan to buy a house. We will also provide you with some general info about real estate purchase in various provinces.
British Columbia
British Columbia has an odd tradition of inviting the lawyer only at the final stage of the contract signing. Basically the lawyer signs the contract and only after that reviews it. Needless to say that it is better to avoid this tradition and consult a lawyer right from the beginning.
Ontario
Ontario is one of the best places to buy or sell a home. The province has one of the most advanced land registration systems in the world; Ontario has the title insurance; the province also has competent, well regulated professionals; the costs of buying, selling and owning real estate in Ontario are very reasonable; finally the province has a protection plan for new home buyers and mortgage insurance programs.
Quebec
Due to the civil law traditions the rules for real estate in Quebec can be very different in details of the contract. So in this province it is even more important to find an experienced local real estate lawyer who is familiar with Quebec real estate mortgages, amortization terms, repayment frequencies and prepayment options, along with their respective merits and demerits.
Alberta
In Alberta the contracts have flexible terms and conditions, while the whole process is considered to be very complicated. Also if you are purchasing property through an agent most probably you will be offered one of the standardized contracts used in the province.
Saskatchewan
In Saskatchewan the brokers use the local standard forms for the reel estate purchase contracts. Also the Law Society of Saskatchewan is active in establishing standardized conditions and terms for purchases done with the help of real estate lawyers.
Nova Scotia
The real estate purchase contracts in Nova Scotia must be in written form. The whole process is regulated by the Nova Scotia Real Estate Association, which has a number of various standard forms of agreements used for the purchase transactions. In Nova Scotia apart from a lawyers review of your contract you may also add a "lawyer review clause" to the contract to protect your interests.
About the Author:For more information regarding Construction lawyers, Real Estate Lawyers, Development lawyers and legal advice please visit: www.lawyerahead.ca
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Real Estate Purchase Contracts in Canada
A good real estate purchase contract usually contains numerous details and information concerning the property so it must be treated very seriously. A good real estate contract usually holds huge amounts of information and in some jurisdiction it must be in written form to be enforceable. The contract can identify the full names of the parties; hold the address and legal description of property; identify the purchase price; it must be voluntarily signed by both parties; have a legal purpose; involve only competent parties (age, medical conditions, etc.); show that both sides agree upon the purchase What is most important is that the rules for buying a home vary from province to province. The first thing that you need to find if you consider buying a home is – an experienced real estate lawyer working in the province where you plan to buy a house. We will also provide you with some general info about real estate purchase in various provinces.British Columbia
British Columbia has an odd tradition of inviting the lawyer only at the final stage of the contract signing. Basically the lawyer signs the contract and only after that reviews it. Needless to say that it is better to avoid this tradition and consult a lawyer right from the beginning.
HOW TO SELL YOUR HOUSE FASTER
Ways To Make Your Property Sell Fast
Apart from the price however the importance of making sure your property is is one hundred percent ready to enter the market is vital. This means cleaning it thoroughly, doing those little jobs that you have been putting off for years and making sure that it is presentable to any prospective buyers. Sales experts realise the importance of a property that has just entered the market, this is when interest in the property will be greatest and hence making sure it is at its best during this period is essential. First of all you have to make it appealing to the agents so they bring their clients and secondly you need to make it attractive to buyers.
Making sure that every person that enters your home sees a property that is desirable is the ultimate objective. Part of this is to create a property with curb appeal. As the exterior is the image that will create a perspective buyer's first impressions, it is of fundamental importance. You must catch their eye as soon as they glimpse the property, making sure the gardens are well tended and any exterior work is complete will help in this goal. Understandably, if a buyer is put off as soon as they see the property, you will be fighting an uphill struggle from there on in once they enter your property.
Most property sales experts recognise the importance of staging. This does not mean completely revamping your property so it resembles a show home but introducing small touches that make a home look more attractive. These do not even have to be expensive, tips such as adding hand towels that compliment the decor and putting a bowl of coffee beans for a pleasant aroma can help. While the trend in recent years has been to paint the whole house white as it is neutral is rapidly being forgotten by property sales professionals. Rather than go neutral you want to create a lived in look that is not overpowering, by painting the entire house white you are only giving the buyers an additional job of repainting every room.
Even if you are not the cleanest of people, if you want your property to fly off the market it is essential to make sure that it is not only clean, but gleaming. Windows need to be clean enough that they seem not to be there while surfaces and fixtures should not have the faintest traces of dust. While it is difficult to keep a house in this state, especially if it is a family home, it will help your property to sell quickly. In addition, it is important to get as much natural light into the home as possible, take back those curtains and trim any bushes obstructing the light; light and airy interiors are some of the most powerful lures for buyers.
By following this advice you give your property the best chances of selling quickly. In these turbulent times you want to present your home in the best possible light, enticing both agents and buyers. Hopefully by showing prospective buyers a home that they can imagine themselves living in, you will be more successful in securing that allusive deal.About the Author:
Apart from the price however the importance of making sure your property is is one hundred percent ready to enter the market is vital. This means cleaning it thoroughly, doing those little jobs that you have been putting off for years and making sure that it is presentable to any prospective buyers. Sales experts realise the importance of a property that has just entered the market, this is when interest in the property will be greatest and hence making sure it is at its best during this period is essential. First of all you have to make it appealing to the agents so they bring their clients and secondly you need to make it attractive to buyers.
Making sure that every person that enters your home sees a property that is desirable is the ultimate objective. Part of this is to create a property with curb appeal. As the exterior is the image that will create a perspective buyer's first impressions, it is of fundamental importance. You must catch their eye as soon as they glimpse the property, making sure the gardens are well tended and any exterior work is complete will help in this goal. Understandably, if a buyer is put off as soon as they see the property, you will be fighting an uphill struggle from there on in once they enter your property.
Most property sales experts recognise the importance of staging. This does not mean completely revamping your property so it resembles a show home but introducing small touches that make a home look more attractive. These do not even have to be expensive, tips such as adding hand towels that compliment the decor and putting a bowl of coffee beans for a pleasant aroma can help. While the trend in recent years has been to paint the whole house white as it is neutral is rapidly being forgotten by property sales professionals. Rather than go neutral you want to create a lived in look that is not overpowering, by painting the entire house white you are only giving the buyers an additional job of repainting every room.
Even if you are not the cleanest of people, if you want your property to fly off the market it is essential to make sure that it is not only clean, but gleaming. Windows need to be clean enough that they seem not to be there while surfaces and fixtures should not have the faintest traces of dust. While it is difficult to keep a house in this state, especially if it is a family home, it will help your property to sell quickly. In addition, it is important to get as much natural light into the home as possible, take back those curtains and trim any bushes obstructing the light; light and airy interiors are some of the most powerful lures for buyers.
By following this advice you give your property the best chances of selling quickly. In these turbulent times you want to present your home in the best possible light, enticing both agents and buyers. Hopefully by showing prospective buyers a home that they can imagine themselves living in, you
Apart from the price however the importance of making sure your property is is one hundred percent ready to enter the market is vital. This means cleaning it thoroughly, doing those little jobs that you have been putting off for years and making sure that it is presentable to any prospective buyers. Sales experts realise the importance of a property that has just entered the market, this is when interest in the property will be greatest and hence making sure it is at its best during this period is essential. First of all you have to make it appealing to the agents so they bring their clients and secondly you need to make it attractive to buyers.
Making sure that every person that enters your home sees a property that is desirable is the ultimate objective. Part of this is to create a property with curb appeal. As the exterior is the image that will create a perspective buyer's first impressions, it is of fundamental importance. You must catch their eye as soon as they glimpse the property, making sure the gardens are well tended and any exterior work is complete will help in this goal. Understandably, if a buyer is put off as soon as they see the property, you will be fighting an uphill struggle from there on in once they enter your property.
Most property sales experts recognise the importance of staging. This does not mean completely revamping your property so it resembles a show home but introducing small touches that make a home look more attractive. These do not even have to be expensive, tips such as adding hand towels that compliment the decor and putting a bowl of coffee beans for a pleasant aroma can help. While the trend in recent years has been to paint the whole house white as it is neutral is rapidly being forgotten by property sales professionals. Rather than go neutral you want to create a lived in look that is not overpowering, by painting the entire house white you are only giving the buyers an additional job of repainting every room.
Even if you are not the cleanest of people, if you want your property to fly off the market it is essential to make sure that it is not only clean, but gleaming. Windows need to be clean enough that they seem not to be there while surfaces and fixtures should not have the faintest traces of dust. While it is difficult to keep a house in this state, especially if it is a family home, it will help your property to sell quickly. In addition, it is important to get as much natural light into the home as possible, take back those curtains and trim any bushes obstructing the light; light and airy interiors are some of the most powerful lures for buyers.
By following this advice you give your property the best chances of selling quickly. In these turbulent times you want to present your home in the best possible light, enticing both agents and buyers. Hopefully by showing prospective buyers a home that they can imagine themselves living in, you will be more successful in securing that allusive deal.About the Author:
Real estate expert Thomas Pretty looks into how property sales can be sped up by making the most of your home's features.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Ways To Make Your Property Sell Faster
While the media is reporting a downturn in sales on the UK property market, some sellers may be worried that their home will sit on the market for months without a sniff of interest. However, there are certain ways to make your property standout against the rest, helping you buck the trend of apparent downturn in sales countrywide. Of obvious importance is the price, while you do not want to lose money, it is essential to find a price that is competitive.Apart from the price however the importance of making sure your property is is one hundred percent ready to enter the market is vital. This means cleaning it thoroughly, doing those little jobs that you have been putting off for years and making sure that it is presentable to any prospective buyers. Sales experts realise the importance of a property that has just entered the market, this is when interest in the property will be greatest and hence making sure it is at its best during this period is essential. First of all you have to make it appealing to the agents so they bring their clients and secondly you need to make it attractive to buyers.
Making sure that every person that enters your home sees a property that is desirable is the ultimate objective. Part of this is to create a property with curb appeal. As the exterior is the image that will create a perspective buyer's first impressions, it is of fundamental importance. You must catch their eye as soon as they glimpse the property, making sure the gardens are well tended and any exterior work is complete will help in this goal. Understandably, if a buyer is put off as soon as they see the property, you will be fighting an uphill struggle from there on in once they enter your property.
Most property sales experts recognise the importance of staging. This does not mean completely revamping your property so it resembles a show home but introducing small touches that make a home look more attractive. These do not even have to be expensive, tips such as adding hand towels that compliment the decor and putting a bowl of coffee beans for a pleasant aroma can help. While the trend in recent years has been to paint the whole house white as it is neutral is rapidly being forgotten by property sales professionals. Rather than go neutral you want to create a lived in look that is not overpowering, by painting the entire house white you are only giving the buyers an additional job of repainting every room.
Even if you are not the cleanest of people, if you want your property to fly off the market it is essential to make sure that it is not only clean, but gleaming. Windows need to be clean enough that they seem not to be there while surfaces and fixtures should not have the faintest traces of dust. While it is difficult to keep a house in this state, especially if it is a family home, it will help your property to sell quickly. In addition, it is important to get as much natural light into the home as possible, take back those curtains and trim any bushes obstructing the light; light and airy interiors are some of the most powerful lures for buyers.
By following this advice you give your property the best chances of selling quickly. In these turbulent times you want to present your home in the best possible light, enticing both agents and buyers. Hopefully by showing prospective buyers a home that they can imagine themselves living in, you
MORTGAGE FOR NON RESIDENTS
MORTGAGE INFORMATION FOR IMMIGRANTS/FOREIGNERS
Many of Canada's financial institutions have developed lending programs to meet the needs of non-Canadian buyers. Typically the requirement is a minimum downpayment of 35% of the purchase price. There are some lenders who may finance those from the US with 30% down.
When buying real estate in Canada it is good to know all your financing options. As a consultant, a Mortgage Specialist's focus is on lending options, the decision is yours. Alma Pasic works with Canada's leading financial institutions.
To apply for a rate hold, Alma needs a buyer to complete an application, confirmation of downpayment and a satisfactory Credit Bureau Rating.
Contact Alma at preferred@telus.net or 604-729-4611 for further information or for an application form.
When purchasing property in Canada as a non-resident, visit CCRA's website http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/nonresidents/individuals/nonres-e.html for information on taxes when selling a property.
Everyone who purchases property in Canada is subject to PPT, which is 1% to $200,000 and 2% on the remainder. First time Canadian buyers have an exemption, up to $380,000.
Our New Immigrant program allows those without landed or permanent status to buy without the traditional 35% down payment. The keys to qualifying are;
1) Minimum 2 year work visa with a work contract of at least the same duration. Usually for executives being transferred but as long as they make at 60k per year we can make it work.
2) Bank reference letter
3) 90 day history for down payment funds.
4) Obviously residing in Canada
for further info contact Tony Rossander 604-418-6252 or email him tony.rossander@rbc.com
Many of Canada's financial institutions have developed lending programs to meet the needs of non-Canadian buyers. Typically the requirement is a minimum downpayment of 35% of the purchase price. There are some lenders who may finance those from the US with 30% down.
When buying real estate in Canada it is good to know all your financing options. As a consultant, a Mortgage Specialist's focus is on lending options, the decision is yours. Alma Pasic works with Canada's leading financial institutions.
To apply for a rate hold, Alma needs a buyer to complete an application, confirmation of downpayment and a satisfactory Credit Bureau Rating.
Contact Alma at preferred@telus.net or 604-729-4611 for further information or for an application form.
When purchasing property in Canada as a non-resident, visit CCRA's website http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/nonresidents/individuals/nonres-e.html for information on taxes when selling a property.
Everyone who purchases property in Canada is subject to PPT, which is 1% to $200,000 and 2% on the remainder. First time Canadian buyers have an exemption, up to $380,000.
Our New Immigrant program allows those without landed or permanent status to buy without the traditional 35% down payment. The keys to qualifying are;
1) Minimum 2 year work visa with a work contract of at least the same duration. Usually for executives being transferred but as long as they make at 60k per year we can make it work.
2) Bank reference letter
3) 90 day history for down payment funds.
4) Obviously residing in Canada
for further info contact Tony Rossander 604-418-6252 or email him tony.rossander@rbc.com
CLOSING COSTS
Closing Costs
Taxes & Fees | Other Last Minute Costs | Come and Search With Us | Other Things to Consider | Fixtures or Chattels
Its easy to count your available cash, but remember that all of these cash savings cannot be used as your down payment. There are last-minute costs such as taxes, legal fees, appraisal fees, moving expenses and house insurance to pay before you are finally in your new home.
The time to budget for those end expenses is NOW. You must be prepared to pay most, and perhaps all, of the following closing costs.
You may want to ask us which of the following may apply to you?
The Properties In Victoria ProfessionalsTM
Taxes & Fees
Property Purchase Tax
The British Columbia Provincial Government imposes a property purchase tax, which must be paid before any property can be legally transferred to a new owner. The tax is 1% on the first $200,000 of the property value and 2% on any value over $200,000. Ask us about the special regulations for first time buyers in B.C.
Goods & Services Tax
If you purchase a newly constructed home, you may be subject to a 5% GST on the purchase price. However, if the home is under $350,000, and this is your principal residence, a rebate will reduce the GST paid to approximatley 3.5% of the purchase price. If the price is over $350,000 the net GST to be paid increases gradually until it is a full 5% at amounts over $450,000.
Property Tax
If the current owners have already paid the full years property taxes to the municipality, you will have to reimburse them for your share of the years taxes. Property taxes are calculated from Jan Dec and are paid at the end of June.
Appraisal Fee
When the lending institution requires an appraisal of the property before approving your loan, it may be your responsibility to pay the appraisers fee.
Survey Fee
The lending institution may also require that a survey certificate be presented to them. The purpose of the survey is to formally establish the boundaries of the property and to ensure that all buildings are within those boundaries. If the current owner cannot provide a recent survey certificate, it will be your responsibility to pay the surveyors fee.
Mortgage Application Fee
Lending institutions may charge a mortgage application fee. This application fee may vary between lending institutions.
Mortgage Default Insurance
This type of insurance is required on all mortgage loans in excess of 75% of the appraised property value. Its purpose is to insure that the lender will not lose any money if you cannot make your mortgage payments and the value of your property is not sufficient to repay your mortgage debt. The insurance premium is paid to the lender and ranges from % to 3.75% of the loan value; however, in most cases this premium is added to the loan amount, and paid for over the term of the loan.
Life & Disability Mortgage Insurance
At your option, you may purchase insurance that will ensure that your outstanding mortgage balance is paid if you die or become disabled.
Fire & Liability Insurance
The mortgage lender will insist that you purchase an insurance policy which guarantees that, in the event of fire, the lender will receive the balance owing on the mortgage loan before you receive any insurance proceeds.
Legal Fees
The transfer of property ownership from the seller to the buyer must be recorded in the Land Title Office in order to protect the new owners interests. You will probably want to engage a lawyer or notary public to act on your behalf during the completion of your purchase. The legal fees for this service will include payment of a registration fee. If you are financing your purchase with a new mortgage loan, there will be a further fee to prepare and register the mortgage documents.
OTHER EXPENSES & FEES
Home inspection fees
Moving expenses
Deposits required by utility companies
Household goods: kitchen appliances, garden equipment, garbage cans, tools, window coverings, etc.
Redecorating or renovations
^Top
Taxes & Fees | Other Last Minute Costs | Come and Search With Us | Other Things to Consider | Fixtures or Chattels
Its easy to count your available cash, but remember that all of these cash savings cannot be used as your down payment. There are last-minute costs such as taxes, legal fees, appraisal fees, moving expenses and house insurance to pay before you are finally in your new home.
The time to budget for those end expenses is NOW. You must be prepared to pay most, and perhaps all, of the following closing costs.
You may want to ask us which of the following may apply to you?
The Properties In Victoria ProfessionalsTM
Taxes & Fees
Property Purchase Tax
The British Columbia Provincial Government imposes a property purchase tax, which must be paid before any property can be legally transferred to a new owner. The tax is 1% on the first $200,000 of the property value and 2% on any value over $200,000. Ask us about the special regulations for first time buyers in B.C.
Goods & Services Tax
If you purchase a newly constructed home, you may be subject to a 5% GST on the purchase price. However, if the home is under $350,000, and this is your principal residence, a rebate will reduce the GST paid to approximatley 3.5% of the purchase price. If the price is over $350,000 the net GST to be paid increases gradually until it is a full 5% at amounts over $450,000.
Property Tax
If the current owners have already paid the full years property taxes to the municipality, you will have to reimburse them for your share of the years taxes. Property taxes are calculated from Jan Dec and are paid at the end of June.
Appraisal Fee
When the lending institution requires an appraisal of the property before approving your loan, it may be your responsibility to pay the appraisers fee.
Survey Fee
The lending institution may also require that a survey certificate be presented to them. The purpose of the survey is to formally establish the boundaries of the property and to ensure that all buildings are within those boundaries. If the current owner cannot provide a recent survey certificate, it will be your responsibility to pay the surveyors fee.
Mortgage Application Fee
Lending institutions may charge a mortgage application fee. This application fee may vary between lending institutions.
Mortgage Default Insurance
This type of insurance is required on all mortgage loans in excess of 75% of the appraised property value. Its purpose is to insure that the lender will not lose any money if you cannot make your mortgage payments and the value of your property is not sufficient to repay your mortgage debt. The insurance premium is paid to the lender and ranges from % to 3.75% of the loan value; however, in most cases this premium is added to the loan amount, and paid for over the term of the loan.
Life & Disability Mortgage Insurance
At your option, you may purchase insurance that will ensure that your outstanding mortgage balance is paid if you die or become disabled.
Fire & Liability Insurance
The mortgage lender will insist that you purchase an insurance policy which guarantees that, in the event of fire, the lender will receive the balance owing on the mortgage loan before you receive any insurance proceeds.
Legal Fees
The transfer of property ownership from the seller to the buyer must be recorded in the Land Title Office in order to protect the new owners interests. You will probably want to engage a lawyer or notary public to act on your behalf during the completion of your purchase. The legal fees for this service will include payment of a registration fee. If you are financing your purchase with a new mortgage loan, there will be a further fee to prepare and register the mortgage documents.
OTHER EXPENSES & FEES
Home inspection fees
Moving expenses
Deposits required by utility companies
Household goods: kitchen appliances, garden equipment, garbage cans, tools, window coverings, etc.
Redecorating or renovations
^Top
CAPITAL GAINS TAX ON PROPERTY SALE
HOME CAPITAL GAINS TAX
*****************************
The Income Tax Act does not specifically set out whether or not a gain or loss is capital in nature. The taxpayer is responsible for reporting the gain as income or capital gain. This report may then be challenged by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency with the onus of proof on the taxpayer.
Over the years, Capital Gain Tax has been determined based on a number of factors such as the intention of the taxpayer, relationship to the taxpayer's business, frequency of transactions, length of time held, nature of the transaction and objects of the corporation. Should a debate proceed to the Tax Court of Canada, the Court will consider relevant factors concerning taxpayer conduct before, during, and after the period under appeal. Certain factors carry more weight in the process.
Consider these Capital Gain Tax facts:
What was the taxpayer's intention at the time the property was purchased?
When a property is purchased for investment, any resale profit could still be considered taxable as ordinary income, if the apparent intent was to resell for a profit at a future time. The Tax Court will consider such things as reasons for the sale, compelling necessity, change in circumstance and external factors.
Relationship to the Taxpayer's Business:
The Tax Court will undoubtedly classify profits as taxable under ordinary business income when a taxpayer uses expertise acquired in regular business activity to generate a profit on the purchase/sale of similar or related commodities. The court also looks at the time and attention the taxpayer spent on the transaction. Real Estate transactions of contractors, renovators, brokers, sales people, and appraisers have typically fallen under close scrutiny.
Frequency of Transactions:
Revenue Canada will assess how often the taxpayer engages in the sale of capital property. Usually, frequency of such occurrences suggests the carrying on of a business for profit. Assessment as ordinary business income will be the result. However, even an isolated transaction can be so judged, given the right set of circumstances.
Nature of Transaction and Assets:
Taxability as income may be indicated if the asset cannot normally be used either personally or for investments purposes. Mortgages are often judged under this test. If the mortgages are purchased at substantial discounts or have a short maturity date, the mortgagee may be viewed as being in a business that realizes profit from the transaction, thus invoking business income as opposed to capital gain.
Objects of the Corporation:
The Tax Court will look at the articles of incorporation to determine if a transaction falls under the objects of the corporation, and if it is part of usual business. However, the absence of this provision may not be deemed conclusive by the Court. Proving that a specific sale fell beyond the normal course of affairs of the company is difficult and once again the burden of proof rests with the taxpayer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Real Estate Transactions:
Profits would likely be taxed as regular business income if a taxpayer buys and sells real estate on a regular basis. However, if the taxpayer can prove that these dispositions were a planned and necessary part of a total investment program, then there may be a case for capital gains treatment of the profit. In the case of farmlands, if the taxpayer purchased or inherited the land and lived on it for a period of time, a disposition of the property will most likely be regarded as a capital gain.
Further, if a sale of real estate is not planned, that is brokers are not employed, the property is not advertised, no sign or other visible evidence of active marketing is present, then the profit may be, but NOT always treated as a capital gain. In some cases the profit from an eventual sale of the property might be deemed as a capital gain where the taxpayer purchased real estate for a third party to whom her/she expected to transfer it without profit, and was then left with the property when the third party backed out of the transaction.
Exemptions:
Exemptions to the payment of capital gains have varied throughout the past decades. A capital gain exemption for individuals (not corporations) can apply to certain sales of real property. The Federal Budget (February 1992) dramatically affected the exemptions by eliminating it for almost all property; however, capital gains accruing prior to March 1992 on qualifying small business corporation shares may still be eligible for the exemptions. Such issues go beyond the scope of the article and expert advice should be obtained.
The major exemption for real estate practitioners to consider involves a principal residence. A principal residence is defined as a house, apartment in a duplex, apartment building or condominium, cottage, houseboat, trailer or mobile home, or a share in a co-operative housing corporation.
To qualify as a principal residence certain criteria must be met:
- The taxpayer must own the housing unit, either jointly or solely.
- A family unit may only have one principal residence.
- The land upon which the housing unit sits cannot exceed one acre and any excess is not considered part of the principal residence unless the taxpayer can prove it is necessary for personal use and enjoyment.
- The unit must be ordinarily inhabited in the year by the taxpayer or by his/her spouse or common-law partner, former spouse or common-law partner, or child.
- The unit must be designated as the taxpayer's principal residence for the year.
Appropriate expert advice from a Chartered Accountant should be sought in regard to capital Gains issues and exemptions.
*****************************
The Income Tax Act does not specifically set out whether or not a gain or loss is capital in nature. The taxpayer is responsible for reporting the gain as income or capital gain. This report may then be challenged by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency with the onus of proof on the taxpayer.
Over the years, Capital Gain Tax has been determined based on a number of factors such as the intention of the taxpayer, relationship to the taxpayer's business, frequency of transactions, length of time held, nature of the transaction and objects of the corporation. Should a debate proceed to the Tax Court of Canada, the Court will consider relevant factors concerning taxpayer conduct before, during, and after the period under appeal. Certain factors carry more weight in the process.
Consider these Capital Gain Tax facts:
What was the taxpayer's intention at the time the property was purchased?
When a property is purchased for investment, any resale profit could still be considered taxable as ordinary income, if the apparent intent was to resell for a profit at a future time. The Tax Court will consider such things as reasons for the sale, compelling necessity, change in circumstance and external factors.
Relationship to the Taxpayer's Business:
The Tax Court will undoubtedly classify profits as taxable under ordinary business income when a taxpayer uses expertise acquired in regular business activity to generate a profit on the purchase/sale of similar or related commodities. The court also looks at the time and attention the taxpayer spent on the transaction. Real Estate transactions of contractors, renovators, brokers, sales people, and appraisers have typically fallen under close scrutiny.
Frequency of Transactions:
Revenue Canada will assess how often the taxpayer engages in the sale of capital property. Usually, frequency of such occurrences suggests the carrying on of a business for profit. Assessment as ordinary business income will be the result. However, even an isolated transaction can be so judged, given the right set of circumstances.
Nature of Transaction and Assets:
Taxability as income may be indicated if the asset cannot normally be used either personally or for investments purposes. Mortgages are often judged under this test. If the mortgages are purchased at substantial discounts or have a short maturity date, the mortgagee may be viewed as being in a business that realizes profit from the transaction, thus invoking business income as opposed to capital gain.
Objects of the Corporation:
The Tax Court will look at the articles of incorporation to determine if a transaction falls under the objects of the corporation, and if it is part of usual business. However, the absence of this provision may not be deemed conclusive by the Court. Proving that a specific sale fell beyond the normal course of affairs of the company is difficult and once again the burden of proof rests with the taxpayer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Real Estate Transactions:
Profits would likely be taxed as regular business income if a taxpayer buys and sells real estate on a regular basis. However, if the taxpayer can prove that these dispositions were a planned and necessary part of a total investment program, then there may be a case for capital gains treatment of the profit. In the case of farmlands, if the taxpayer purchased or inherited the land and lived on it for a period of time, a disposition of the property will most likely be regarded as a capital gain.
Further, if a sale of real estate is not planned, that is brokers are not employed, the property is not advertised, no sign or other visible evidence of active marketing is present, then the profit may be, but NOT always treated as a capital gain. In some cases the profit from an eventual sale of the property might be deemed as a capital gain where the taxpayer purchased real estate for a third party to whom her/she expected to transfer it without profit, and was then left with the property when the third party backed out of the transaction.
Exemptions:
Exemptions to the payment of capital gains have varied throughout the past decades. A capital gain exemption for individuals (not corporations) can apply to certain sales of real property. The Federal Budget (February 1992) dramatically affected the exemptions by eliminating it for almost all property; however, capital gains accruing prior to March 1992 on qualifying small business corporation shares may still be eligible for the exemptions. Such issues go beyond the scope of the article and expert advice should be obtained.
The major exemption for real estate practitioners to consider involves a principal residence. A principal residence is defined as a house, apartment in a duplex, apartment building or condominium, cottage, houseboat, trailer or mobile home, or a share in a co-operative housing corporation.
To qualify as a principal residence certain criteria must be met:
- The taxpayer must own the housing unit, either jointly or solely.
- A family unit may only have one principal residence.
- The land upon which the housing unit sits cannot exceed one acre and any excess is not considered part of the principal residence unless the taxpayer can prove it is necessary for personal use and enjoyment.
- The unit must be ordinarily inhabited in the year by the taxpayer or by his/her spouse or common-law partner, former spouse or common-law partner, or child.
- The unit must be designated as the taxpayer's principal residence for the year.
Appropriate expert advice from a Chartered Accountant should be sought in regard to capital Gains issues and exemptions.
FOREIGN REAL ESTATE BUYERS
NON RESIDENT PROPERTY BUYERS
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NR6
If you purchase property that you rent out, you have to file an NR6 form before the first month's rent is received. This form allows you or your agent to remit taxes on your net estimated rental income vs. remitting 25% of your gross rental income. The NR6 form is a joint election betwen yourself as the owner and your agent stating that you will file a Section 216 Canadian tax return by June 30th of the folowing year and pay any taxes due by April 30th the same year. The following demonstrates this further:
No NR6 election With an NR6 Election
Gross rental income $12,000 $12,000
Monthly expenses $15,000 $15,000
Monthly tax payment due $ 250 $ Nil
Tax refund due $ 3,000 $ Nil
As you can see, this is a cash flow issue more than anything so it is very important to file this form. My fee for preparing this form is $150 per year and I will need details of your anticipated expenses in order to complete it - see detailed list below - plus the name, address and phone number of your Canadian agent.
If you have no agent, you must remit 25% of your rental income to the government by the 15th of the month following the month in which the rent was received. In other words, January you collect $1,000 in rent, then by February 15, you have to pay $250 to CRA.
SECTION 216 RETURN
This is a special rental income return that is due to be filed by June 30th of the following year. I.E. your 2004 return is due June 30, 2005. If taxes are payable, they are due April 30th and interest accumulates on the amount due after this date.
The return calculates taxes due on your rental profit. Allowable expenses include:
* advertising
* mortgage interest (not payments)
* property taxes
* repairs and maintenance
* utilities
* office supplies (receipt books, etc)
* travel (for you to do or supervise repairs at the unit but these are limited to airfare and rental car - no hotel)
* insurance
* management fees
* profesional fees (except for the sale and purchase itself)
* strata fees and levies
Other allowable deductions but not at one time are costs associated with appliances, renovation (vs. repairs) and the initial cost.
In order to complete this return, for the above plus the following information:
* statement of adjustments on the initial purchase of the property
* legal name of owners
* their dates of birth
* their non-resident address
* a contact phone number
A good point to remember is that you may own the property for several years and operate at a loss, but if you have a profit, those prior years losses do not offset this profit. In other words, each year's return is dealt with totally separately from other years.
ALL PROPERTIES
Clearance Certificate
The minute you get an accepted offer on your property, you should be filing for this certificate or your lawyer/notary will be required to withhold and remit 25% of your gross proceeds to the government! The clearance certificate is applied for to ensure that the Canadian government gets their tax on any profits you made on the property. The tax is equal to 25% of the amount calculated when you take the difference between the sale price and the cost (cost being initial cost plus legal fees and property transfer taxes plus any upgrades, additions or improvements made). This amount will be deducted from your proceeds and remitted by your lawyer to the Canadian government. In order to get some or all of these withholdings back, you have to file a Non-Resident tax return for the year of sale. If your sale is in 2006, the earliest you can file a 2006 return is around mid January 2007. Our fee for preparing this clearance certrificate is $300 per person plus GST and we will require the folowing documents:
* Section 216 returns filed and assessment notices for all years the property was owned.
* Statement of adjustments for the purchase of the property
* Accepted offer for sale
* Name, address and phone # of purchaser or the purchaser's agent
* If the property was not rented, a letter from the owner advising what the property was used for (i.e. summer cottage used personally)
NON-RESIDENT RETURN
This return is filed in the year you dispose of the property and is a separate return from your Secion 216 return. I.E. you could be filing two returns for the same year. This return is filed in the year subsequent to the sale and is due April 30th. On this return, we include all the information used in the clearance certificate but also claim the legal fees on the sale and the real estate comission paid so you will get a refund of some of the taxes paid once this return is filed. For this return I need the vendor's statement of adjustment plus the order to pay. For this return our fee is $250 plus GST per person.
There are no joint returns in Canada so each individual has to file their own separate return.
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NR6
If you purchase property that you rent out, you have to file an NR6 form before the first month's rent is received. This form allows you or your agent to remit taxes on your net estimated rental income vs. remitting 25% of your gross rental income. The NR6 form is a joint election betwen yourself as the owner and your agent stating that you will file a Section 216 Canadian tax return by June 30th of the folowing year and pay any taxes due by April 30th the same year. The following demonstrates this further:
No NR6 election With an NR6 Election
Gross rental income $12,000 $12,000
Monthly expenses $15,000 $15,000
Monthly tax payment due $ 250 $ Nil
Tax refund due $ 3,000 $ Nil
As you can see, this is a cash flow issue more than anything so it is very important to file this form. My fee for preparing this form is $150 per year and I will need details of your anticipated expenses in order to complete it - see detailed list below - plus the name, address and phone number of your Canadian agent.
If you have no agent, you must remit 25% of your rental income to the government by the 15th of the month following the month in which the rent was received. In other words, January you collect $1,000 in rent, then by February 15, you have to pay $250 to CRA.
SECTION 216 RETURN
This is a special rental income return that is due to be filed by June 30th of the following year. I.E. your 2004 return is due June 30, 2005. If taxes are payable, they are due April 30th and interest accumulates on the amount due after this date.
The return calculates taxes due on your rental profit. Allowable expenses include:
* advertising
* mortgage interest (not payments)
* property taxes
* repairs and maintenance
* utilities
* office supplies (receipt books, etc)
* travel (for you to do or supervise repairs at the unit but these are limited to airfare and rental car - no hotel)
* insurance
* management fees
* profesional fees (except for the sale and purchase itself)
* strata fees and levies
Other allowable deductions but not at one time are costs associated with appliances, renovation (vs. repairs) and the initial cost.
In order to complete this return, for the above plus the following information:
* statement of adjustments on the initial purchase of the property
* legal name of owners
* their dates of birth
* their non-resident address
* a contact phone number
A good point to remember is that you may own the property for several years and operate at a loss, but if you have a profit, those prior years losses do not offset this profit. In other words, each year's return is dealt with totally separately from other years.
ALL PROPERTIES
Clearance Certificate
The minute you get an accepted offer on your property, you should be filing for this certificate or your lawyer/notary will be required to withhold and remit 25% of your gross proceeds to the government! The clearance certificate is applied for to ensure that the Canadian government gets their tax on any profits you made on the property. The tax is equal to 25% of the amount calculated when you take the difference between the sale price and the cost (cost being initial cost plus legal fees and property transfer taxes plus any upgrades, additions or improvements made). This amount will be deducted from your proceeds and remitted by your lawyer to the Canadian government. In order to get some or all of these withholdings back, you have to file a Non-Resident tax return for the year of sale. If your sale is in 2006, the earliest you can file a 2006 return is around mid January 2007. Our fee for preparing this clearance certrificate is $300 per person plus GST and we will require the folowing documents:
* Section 216 returns filed and assessment notices for all years the property was owned.
* Statement of adjustments for the purchase of the property
* Accepted offer for sale
* Name, address and phone # of purchaser or the purchaser's agent
* If the property was not rented, a letter from the owner advising what the property was used for (i.e. summer cottage used personally)
NON-RESIDENT RETURN
This return is filed in the year you dispose of the property and is a separate return from your Secion 216 return. I.E. you could be filing two returns for the same year. This return is filed in the year subsequent to the sale and is due April 30th. On this return, we include all the information used in the clearance certificate but also claim the legal fees on the sale and the real estate comission paid so you will get a refund of some of the taxes paid once this return is filed. For this return I need the vendor's statement of adjustment plus the order to pay. For this return our fee is $250 plus GST per person.
There are no joint returns in Canada so each individual has to file their own separate return.
Down Town Vancouver Condominium Proejects
Moratorium on Vancouver's Downtown Condo Developments
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City Hall has placed a moratorium on Vancouver’s Downtown new construction. The area consist of a 17 block area from Stanley Park (2000 block) to Cambie Street Bridge.
City staff, who are at the tail end of a five-year re-think of the downtown, recommended that a much wider section of the downtown core be preserved for business-only, although some exceptions will be allowed. If a mixed-use, part-condo development can help preserve a heritage site or residential hotel or if it’s a particularly large site, then council can consider allowing it.
The new area will cover about 15 per cent of the downtown peninsula, extending east and west from the Commercial Business District (CBD) core that exists now.
This policy is intended to guide downtown development for the next 20 years. But then, maybe not. The city could still end up raising height limits in various parts of the downtown where residential is still allowed. We don’t know yet what mix of office and residential planners will recommend for the next big build-out downtown area, Northeast False Creek.
April stats show only a 3.5 month supply of condos in the Downtown Market and only 33 listed under $300,000. View my Downtown stats
Ozzie Jurock thinks this action “could drive prices for Downtown condos higher”.
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City Hall has placed a moratorium on Vancouver’s Downtown new construction. The area consist of a 17 block area from Stanley Park (2000 block) to Cambie Street Bridge.
City staff, who are at the tail end of a five-year re-think of the downtown, recommended that a much wider section of the downtown core be preserved for business-only, although some exceptions will be allowed. If a mixed-use, part-condo development can help preserve a heritage site or residential hotel or if it’s a particularly large site, then council can consider allowing it.
The new area will cover about 15 per cent of the downtown peninsula, extending east and west from the Commercial Business District (CBD) core that exists now.
This policy is intended to guide downtown development for the next 20 years. But then, maybe not. The city could still end up raising height limits in various parts of the downtown where residential is still allowed. We don’t know yet what mix of office and residential planners will recommend for the next big build-out downtown area, Northeast False Creek.
April stats show only a 3.5 month supply of condos in the Downtown Market and only 33 listed under $300,000. View my Downtown stats
Ozzie Jurock thinks this action “could drive prices for Downtown condos higher”.
GOOD NEWS FOR REAL ESTATE MARKET
REAL ESTATE MARKET NEWS
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Greater Vancouver realtors had their second busiest June on record this year as buyers jumped at lower property prices and near record low mortgage rates, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported Friday. Board realtors recorded 4,259 sales through the Multiple Listing Service in June, a 76-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago. The inventory of unsold homes in the board's area declined 27 per cent to 13,252, compared with the same month a year ago.
“Many people who were reluctant to purchase a home last fall and earlier this year are returning to the market because they see conditions that appeal to their personal and financial needs,” board president Scott Russell said in a news release. “However, the current marketplace is such that buyers are more inclined to walk if they don’t like the terms of an offer.” The benchmark price for a typical detached home was $701,384 in June, still down 8.4 per cent from the same month a year ago. The benchmark price is a calculation based on the features of homes most typically sold in that category.
Fraser Valley realtors recorded their fourth busiest June on record racking up 1,982 sales during the month, a 40-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported Friday. Buyers taking advantage of lower prices helps to partly explain the surge. The benchmark price of a typical detached home was $471,788, which is still down eight per cent from June 2008. That price, however, is up 1.3 per cent from May when the benchmark was $465,939. “We’re essentially seeing two markets right now," Paul Penner, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board said in a news release.
"Sellers have the advantage when it comes to more affordable homes, but buyers hold more sway with higher-end properties.”
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Greater Vancouver realtors had their second busiest June on record this year as buyers jumped at lower property prices and near record low mortgage rates, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported Friday. Board realtors recorded 4,259 sales through the Multiple Listing Service in June, a 76-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago. The inventory of unsold homes in the board's area declined 27 per cent to 13,252, compared with the same month a year ago.
“Many people who were reluctant to purchase a home last fall and earlier this year are returning to the market because they see conditions that appeal to their personal and financial needs,” board president Scott Russell said in a news release. “However, the current marketplace is such that buyers are more inclined to walk if they don’t like the terms of an offer.” The benchmark price for a typical detached home was $701,384 in June, still down 8.4 per cent from the same month a year ago. The benchmark price is a calculation based on the features of homes most typically sold in that category.
Fraser Valley realtors recorded their fourth busiest June on record racking up 1,982 sales during the month, a 40-per-cent increase from the same month a year ago, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported Friday. Buyers taking advantage of lower prices helps to partly explain the surge. The benchmark price of a typical detached home was $471,788, which is still down eight per cent from June 2008. That price, however, is up 1.3 per cent from May when the benchmark was $465,939. “We’re essentially seeing two markets right now," Paul Penner, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board said in a news release.
"Sellers have the advantage when it comes to more affordable homes, but buyers hold more sway with higher-end properties.”
WELCOME STATEMENT
We hereby invite professional realtors to join this blog to comment,exchange,
Educate and participate in learning as well update the information about the
Real Estate market in British Columbia. This blog provides a
Platform to provide excellent professional services to real estate industry
Offered by realtors,bankers,investors and developers.
Proessional Team Contact: canada2010@in.com
Educate and participate in learning as well update the information about the
Real Estate market in British Columbia. This blog provides a
Platform to provide excellent professional services to real estate industry
Offered by realtors,bankers,investors and developers.
Proessional Team Contact: canada2010@in.com
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