Stay Warm! Network Online.

After being back in the cold for a few days, I can see why facebook, linked-in and all of the other online networking groups are growing at exponential rates. IT’S COLD OUTSIDE! Lets face it, when the temperature stays in the single digits for this long of a period, it really makes it hard to justify spending a lot of time outside interacting with fellow man. That’s ok, it is forcing to do something that I have been meaning to get done a long time ago. Giving me the time to really make my online profiles shine.
I have had a myspace page for the last year and have a lot of fun connecting with old friends and seeing what they have been up to the last few years. At the builder’s show it was great to catch up with other volunteers on the Sales and Marketing Committee and see what they have been up to in their business. It was exciting to see their networking groups and I have added a couple of links to my blog. Theses guys have written some great articles and have some really good resources to view about the economy today. I will be posting local market numbers by Jan 30.
I have also just started building my profile at activerain.com, which is a site built for the networking of active salespeople in the real estate profession. If you want to find out more about what is going on in the real estate industry go check out the blogs and read the profiles. I will also be building a profile on facebook and linkedin.com. I am excited to expand networking opportunities. I will put the links on the side of this blog as well. Please link your profiles when you get a chance.
One of the most exciting online programs we have going this year is the revamp of lifeinlansing.com. The site has been redesigned and is much more user friendly. TasteofLansing and lansingareaevents.com are all being rolled into the site. We will have online forums and places to review local restaurants and hotspots. We are looking for subject matter experts in different fields that would be willing to write columns, or basically blog for the site in its different fields. There is not a lot in the way of tangible returns, we can’t pay because this is a grass roots effort, and you would have to buy your own food at the restaurants and clubs until they see what great value we have here and start sending us meal tickets to get us to show up. Until then, it should be more than rewarding in the fact you get to influence how people spend their hard earned entertainments dollars. Also, it gives you a chance to really show off your expertise in a particular field, and lets face it, on some level we all love to give reviews and share our experiences.
I am trying to keep these short, so I will wrap up. Stay out of the cold and on your computer (unless you are going out to look at a house). I am really excited to work on my online profiles and connect with people to see what they have going on. I am excited to expand on the web and see who I get to run into. I also can’t wait to show you all the new LifeinLansing.com site. I hope you find it useful and exciting. Please share your ideas and experiences either here, or send me an email. Have a great week.

Real Estate, Investing, and "Bad Markets"

With all that has happened in the last month or so around the world with the credit crunch, banks failing, real estate prices still declining, and of course the great world of politics, I can’t help but think of lyrics from a song artist that escapes me at this time. “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”
It is hard to keep a positive attitude on our countries financial future when we hear nothing but doom and gloom around us. One point of this whole mess that really struck home to me was CNN’s top ten most wanted for the cause of the financial crisis. One of the people named on the list was “you,” meaning each of us in the US. It really struck me with the fact that I do have some control with what is going on. I may not be able to bail out a bank, but I can start at home with bailing out my own finances. As with 99% of America I got caught up the notion that the ride we had from 2001 to 2006 was never going to end. Even though I saved what I thought was a good portion of my income, it was no were near the 10% that used to be our nation’s average. I also thought I played by the rules investing in real estate and putting money in mutual funds to help my money grow faster than it would in a savings account. Unfortunately, neither of the investments have shown the return that was expected, and unfortunately opening my IRA and 401K statements have been disappointing to say the least. So what next?
I haven’t written in a while because what’s next is to keep investing. I just finished up an investment home and sold it to a first time home buyer. I made more than I would have with just a regular commission, and still gave the client a great deal on a home. I am not saying that quick turning a home is the best way to make money in this market, but I found a great home that fit one of my clients needs and we took a foreclosed home and rebuilt it to his needs and helped out the neighborhood it was in. I wrote back in January that now is the time to keep moving forward with your real estate investing. People always look for the deal when they go retail shopping. Yet when it comes to purchasing a home or investments in the stock market, we shy away from the markets when they take a major drop. I do not know enough about stocks to know if buying now is a good idea, if that is the investment vehicle you want to use, consult a professional in that area. As far as real estate goes, even in Michigan, which is being written off by most of the country, there is still money to be made in this area.
Even if you are only looking to purchase a home to live in, buying when the market is near the bottom of the trough, (I say near the bottom because no one knows when we are going to see the bottom or when the turn around is going to happen), gives you the best chance of seeing the biggest gains when the market does rebound. This is one of the greatest opportunities that has been seen in twenty years to purchase. I have always been taught, when you don’t know what to do, look at the best people in the industry and follow what they do. Listening to Robert Kiyosaki in an interview on the “Real Estate Guys Radio,” he was talking about how exciting real estate investing is right now. Many of the big investors are currently out buying properties all over the US. These are the guys to follow and study if you want to be successful. I will be adding a few more books to the list I have read recently. These are an excellent source of education to understand how real estate, investing, and goal setting work.
Even with all of the bad news we are being bombarded with everyday, this is the opportunity that the big guys and sophisticated investors of the world have been waiting for. If it is the right time for them, why not have it be the right time for the rest of us?

New Years Resolutions, Education, and real estate

I hope everyone’s New Year was good and you haven’t broken too many of your resolutions yet, it’s still early. One of my goals this year is to read 15 books in either the real estate field or self help type books. Last year my goal was one a month, and I achieved it. Not all of them were in print though, I have used my MP3 player to turn my car into what Zig Ziglar calls, Mobile University. What does this have to do with real estate? If you are thinking about buying a home, or investment properties there is a lot of material out there to help you get a jump start. I have a couple good sources on the side of this blog page. I was looking through I-Tunes, which is free even if you don’t have an I-Pod and the amount of knowledge there is incredible. No matter what your interests are, there is probably a cast that can give you information about it. You can even download podcasts that teach you different languages.

I will be posting the 2007 final market report for Lansing Real estate within a few weeks. If you would like to find out more information about the Lansing real estate market before then, please feel free to call me or leave questions here and I will get answers posted up. My number is (517) 349-9330 ext. 206. I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope you look as forward to a great year in 2008 as I do!

Happy Thanksgiving

I apologize for not posting in the last week, but I have been out with a severe cold. I will try to post the recap of the Michigan association of planning meeting that I went to last week. Being on the development side of the business, it was very interesting sitting in a class that was designed for governemnt officials on how to design a master plan for a community. I will also have the podcast up of my interview with a first time home investor by Monday next week. I am really excited with these upcoming stories for the week and I hope you find them interesting and educational. If you have any topics that you want covered, please email me at brent@lansingrealestate.com, or post a comment. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.