Can you really make money online???

Ever since the Internet got started about a million of these scams have come along. I am one of the first people to say, "if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is."

Hey everybody and their dog would stay home and make a million dollars online if it was that simple. Wouldn't you???

Well I have came across legitimate ways to make money online but I had to work it to get it to pay. If you are willing to put in the effort the reward can be there also. I've done very well with Ebay and here are a few of the secrets.....

1. Have a good reputation- your reputation is everything in Ebay

2. No matter what you are selling- start it at a dollar with no reserve

( If I am selling an ounce of gold and it's value is $600 per ounce I start the bidding at a dollar with no reserve- WHY?- because nobody is gonna let you get that gold for a couple of bucks- this fires up the feeding frenzy. Go look at some auctions; the ones with no bids always started too high or have a reserve. Hey I go to Ebay to look for a bargain as does everybody else and I ain't gonna let you get something that I want for less than market value- this is human nature so capitalize on it)

3. A picture and description must be accurate.

There are a lot of various other resources that can help you out- I've included a link to the ones I found the most helpful- some of the stuff is free and the other stuff I have purchased was worth the money. The link below will take you there.

Free Ebay Ebook! Learn to make a full time income on Ebay. You won't believe how easy it is. Don't waste another minute. Go download this new ebook while it's still available for free: http://www.auctionsprofit.com/download/?aff=35649

If you are thinking about doing online business Ebay is probably the best way to get your feet wet as to how things work. Other money generators I use require more programming skills. Start off slow and easy- learn the ropes- then your revenue will start to come in.

By far my biggest online sales are the houses I have listed- but the money I make off junk from around the house is a great side addition to my wallet.

Who's working for Who???

In the old days of real estate (I'm talking like 1970's) everybody worked for the seller- let's face it- he had the product that generated money for all. Needless to say a lot of buyers were getting taken to the cleaners as the greed of the deal ran a muck. Now I am not saying every realtor prior to 1980 was a crook- but there was a reason that Real Estate Commissions came into existence.

The Iowa Real Estate Commission is my governing body as a realtor and a broker. This is the judge and jury when a member of the public feels they have been wronged by a realtor's actions. The Commission is in charge of seeing that the laws of Iowa are carried out and that the public is not harmed in any way by the actions of a brokerage or a realtor. They hold the power to fine and take away the license of a realtor.

If you have done a real estate deal in the last few years you might remember the "Agency Disclosure Form" we as real estate professionals are required by law to let you know right up front who we are working for- either the buyer or the seller or both (Dual Agency) As a consumer you have the right to chose the real estate professional that you want to work with- and I think you should put serious consideration into that decision.

So who is working for who- in a nutshell if you and I are looking at houses for you to buy- I am working for you- my job entails getting you the best deal I can and protecting your interests in the transaction and the negotiations. If I have your house listed then I am working for you as the seller with the same job description as above.

If you are buying a house I have listed and using me for both sides we are in Dual Agency- at that point I am simply the middle man in the transaction- I must remain fair to both sides.

When you are working with a real estate professional make sure you have discussed the "agency" relationship- its the law.

.

Yummy Cakes

I recently celebrated my 45th birthday and my friend Linda got me a White Chocolate raspberry cake from Yummy Cakes--Damn that was the best cake I ever had. They sell them here in Ottumwa and if you haven't tried one you should. You can get them here......

Hy-Vee Drug Store
Look for our refrigerated Yummy's case & you can place your special order for delivery on Fridays only for pick up after 6:00 p.m.

North Side Hy-Vee
They are offering Case Cakes and Minis in the bakery area & you can place your special order for delivery on Fridays only for pick up after 6:00 p.m.

Fareway on Church St.
Look for our refrigerated Yummy's case & you can place your special order for delivery on Fridays only for pick up after 6:00 p.m.

It took me over a week to eat the whole thing!!

How to Guarantee Your House Won't Sell

Here are some of the best ways to guarantee a "no sale" on your home

1. Just pick any realtor- they are all the same

According to national statistics 9 out of 10 realtors will be out of the business within their first year- of those that are left half will be gone within the next 5 years. This is a very high failure rate so therefore I think you should put some thought into who you would pick to do one of the most important sales in your life. Should you use the realtor with the most listings? Maybe their plate is really full and they may not be able to devote the kind of time you would like to your property. Should you use the realtor with the most sales? This guy may be great at selling but you need somebody who can market your property. This is the time to do a little research and make sure you are getting someone you feel confident with.

2.For Sale by Owner

There is nothing I hate worse than negotiating something I am selling myself- I have too many emotions tied into the sale and I know the buyer is just going to try to beat me down to the last penney.
As a realtor I work with buyers and I have sold many "for sale by owner" properties and I have yet to have a seller tell me No to a valid and decent offer- its human nature. The problem with most FSBOs is that few people know about them- they stick up a sign and run one or two ads and then just wait- the real estate market anywhere is FULL OF BUYERS and we as realtors know who they are.
Alot of people like FSBOs- they figure since you are not paying a commission they can get the seller down in the price- and they usually do. National statistics for FSBO = only 8% actually sell. Everybody and their dog will tell you different just ask the postman or your barber. (and remember whatever they tell you treat it like gold because they sell houses for a living on a daily basis- lol)

3. Reduce the Commission

Here is a no-brainer- almost all realtors work on a commission only basis, so why would I waste my time trying to get an offer on your place when all of your competition is paying me a better wage. You want your property to stand out in the realtor workforce's minds as a valuable resource- telling all the agents that you are paying less than anybody else doesn't promote your property correctly.

4. Talk to Buyers or Buyer's Agents

Who is working for who? I had a listing a couple of years back and everytime another realtor showed the home the owner picked up their card and called them. She rattled on about problems in her life and why she was selling and how she needed the money- blah blah blah. Every offer they broght in was way below asking price- I wonder why??

The realtor with the buyer is working for the buyer not you! I love when someone else's customer calls me, they always slip up and tell me things they shouldnt- things which I let my buyer know. This plays out with the FSBO prospects also.

This is a pretty rough statement but--Sellers please dont help- you hired me now let me do this job- I sell houses for a living you don't.

5. Appointment only showings

I have lost more sales on properties that I cant get into because of ridiculous showing schedules. Many times I have someone in town for the day only- they have to buy something and we have already looked at everything else. Your house from what they tell me might be perfect- but I cant show it till after 6 on Sunday- so they buy the house down the street. Make your house easy to show at a moments notice- I know its a hassle but we need to get this place sold as quick as possible. Another note- you hanging around while we are showing it makes buyers uncomfortable and makes them rush through the property.

6. Pricing Too High

Why does everyone have the thought "I can always come down" When your house hits the market- there is a whole slew of buyers that have already seen everything on the market -when your property hits at an unrealistic price it goes right to the back burner in their mind- this happens daily in every real estate market. If your home is worth 80,000 on the market and you list for 99,900- don't worry you are right you can come down and six months or a year from now we will get it sold for 72,000. The longer the house is on the market the less the seller will make on the true market value.

7. Hire the Best and Ignore the feedback

Ok you have a top agent marketing your property and it is being shown alot. As a top agent you regularly asks the other agents for their customers feedback. Turns out the buyers are creeped out by all the satanic posters and goth paraphenalial in your crazy teenagers room. His walls are painted a deep black and inverted crucifixes are everywhere. This has happened to me before. Time for Jr's room to get a makeover to sell.

The feedback is crucial in getting the good offers- some things can be fixed and some things can't. Do whatever your agent tells you that is within your means to help get the property sold- most of the time it is just clear the clutter, fix the hole in the front entry carpet- remember you want top dollar for your home.

Currently we are in a buyer's market- so what makes your home so special??

So you wanna flip houses???

A few years back a friend and I bought a tiny little 2 bedroom home for the huge price of only $2000. Back then, we thought like everybody does that there is a fortune to make in the real estate market flipping houses. We hadn't invested much money but the house was ours and we began to clean it up and get ready for the resale of the property.

Now I will say it is rare to find a house this cheap. (and it was worth every penney- lol) We were excited, and young, so we jumped in and started our project. In all it took us about 2 and a half months of some of the most intense cleaning and scrubbing I had ever done. My partner in this project did alot of the yard work and she ended up with one of the worst cases of posion Ivy I have ever saw. She was done for about a week as the doctor tried to make her life bearable again. I lucked out and never caught the posion ivy, but I got the great jobs of cleaning up years of dirty baby diapers that were thrown on a back porch. You get the idea- this was a helluva lot of work.

The end of the project was painting the house- we chose yellow with white trim. (because these colors give the best curb appeal- and it is true- it worked)

We sold the house for $12,000 and we were so happy in our endeavor- we knew we were on to something. We made $10,000 dollars!! Then as tax time was rolling around I sat down to do the numbers- all the costs were calculated- the paint, the cleaning supplies, new flooring- a couple of new windows- medical bills -the list went on and on. Then I had to figure the amount of hours that it took us for the project. (we skipped a few days of our regular jobs to work on this money making project)

When all was said and done we both made about $3.68 hour- our house flipping days were over.

What people should know about buying a house on contract

Buying a house on contract can be a very quick way to get into home ownership whether you have good credit or not. Usually the Seller wants a substantial down payment and a higher than normal interest rate. The Seller acts as a "Bank" and their money is made via the sale and the accumulation of interest.
The sale is closed at the signing of the contract. I strongly recommend that you have a lawyer look over the contract and make sure that your interests are protected.

Ok sounds easy enough- right?

In many of the contract sales it is that simple, however remember that when you make your last payment it is the Seller's responsibility to provide you with a clear Title to the property.

Check out this scenario:

I sell you a house on contract. You pay me $5,000 down and $500 a month. This goes on for a few years and everyone is happy, at this point in time let us say you have given me over $30,000 towards the purchase of this home it is almost paid for and you decide to scrape up the final amount left and own the property free and clear. Most of the time this works out fine BUT it turns out that last year I got into some legal trouble and was sued for over $50,000. I lost the case and I don't have that kind of money lying around. The courts then placed a lien on any and all property that I own so now the house that you almost have paid for has a lien against it for my debt. I cant afford to pay the money so I can't give you a free and clear title.
This is a horrible predicament to be in and it is definitely not your fault- you made all your payments and followed the contract as it was written. I suppose you could sue me- but since I can't pay the original lawsuit how in the world could I pay yours??? Unfortunately this has happened to people.

Some Sellers know from the start that they can never produce a clear title and they are crooks looking to take advantage of someone. Others can have a clear title when they begin the contract and due to unforeseen circumstances (like a car wreck, or medical emergency) they can no longer produce that clear title.

When a Buyer uses a Bank for the loan then all this is taken care of at the time of closing- the old owner and any future debts would no longer be against the property.

I would always recommend that you try for a traditional loan before jumping into a private contract.

Ottumwa Iowa Real Estate- all sales 2008

For those of you who have a little bit of Gladys in you....

Click here for all the residential sales in Ottumwa Iowa and surrounding areas for 2008


Excel format of house sales for 2008- Click here

. Heres an interesting note 30% of all the listed properties DIDN'T Sell

Beware of Do-It-Yourself Projects

October 2009- Ottumwa Iowa Real Estate Sales

Ottumwa Iowa- October real estate sales- click here

So many times people ask me, "what did the house down the street sell for"

I thought this might be easier