I heard a story recently from a real estate agent whom I've known for years.  He had been very successful in the past but in the last few years, his production and subsequently, his income had dropped dramatically.

I asked if he was staying in touch with his friends and past customers and he said he was doing monthly mailings.  The answer was a little too convenient and when I asked the last time he had sent out a mailing, he said it had been over a year and more than a year before that one.

Obviously, he knew what he should be doing but not doing it.  He said he'd been trying to cut back on his expenses because he wasn't generating the income that he used to make.

He's a smart guy and he got the point.  So, not to beat a dead horse, I went on to the next question which was "how long has it been since you called all of your past customers?  It had been years on that too.

If they haven't heard from you in years, is it possible that they may think you're not even in real estate anymore?  If they had the need for your service, do you think they'd call you?

So, I suggested a little test.  Let's put together a mailing and send it by email.

Regular mailings take days to start getting results but email is almost instantaneous which is exactly what happened.  No sooner had the messages started leaving his computer, he got a response from a past customer who said "You won't believe this but I was just thinking about you when we got your email.  Robin and I are going to be moving and we want to talk to you."

Can you believe it?  However, the real question should have been "if he hadn't sent the mailing, would he have still heard from the seller?"  You'd like to think so but what if the seller knows more than one agent.  Most people do actually know more than one real estate agent.

If you don't have a system to maintain top of mind awareness, you need to look at InTouch, the Automatic Contact System.  InTouch will send a weekly article to your contacts and link it along with four other links weekly to your Facebook and Twitter accounts and even post it directly to your blog.  Maintaining top of mind awareness couldn't be any easier than this.

Use the promo code InTouch30 for a 30 day free trial and waive the start-up fee. | No minimum contract

"The significant problems you face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking you were at when you created them."  Albert Einstein

The housing market has definitely caused significant problems for some people but is also providing some amazing opportunities for others.  Agents aren't like retailers who wake up one day realizing they have the wrong merchandise on the shelves.

Everyone needs a place to live and whether you rent or buy, you pay for the house you occupy.  While the home for sale remains the same, the methods that produce results have to change.

Listing agents are diametrically opposed to the objectives of buyer's agents.  This is not to say that there cannot be a win-win situation but each agent is trying to negotiate the best price and best terms for their client.

Financing can make listings more marketable and structure a transaction to provide the buyer with the cheapest cost of housing.  Personal experience is a great teacher but a very expensive way to learn.  An expert, like a Residential Finance Consultant can provide information and tools to make better decisions to be able to profit in the current market.

© 2011 Residential Finance Consultant | This article cannot be reprinted or republished without written permission. Subscription service is available to republish the article by direct mail, social media or blog.

Imagine that you've just finalized a contract with a buyer referral.  They trusted you and they were a joy to work with.  It's in the title company; you're confident it will close and you're ready to move to your next qualified buyer or seller...assuming you have one.

Imagine being in an ice cream shop.  You take a number and wait for your turn to be served.  This procedure maximizes the store's productivity because they're moving from customer to customer without wasting time.

Creating a fully-automatic lead generation system to propel your productivitiy to the next level is no small feat.  Even before you start "calling out numbers", you must have a supply of loyal contacts who will use you when they're ready to buy or sell a home.

Your contacts must think of you as their real estate professional if you expect them to "take a number."  Repeat and referral business depends on maintaining top of mind awareness.  The challenge is what to do for them between when they buy and sell which could be years.

The solution is to make them better homeowners by showing them how to increase their home's value, improve their equity position, maintain their home and enjoy living in it more.  Helping your contacts become better homeowners addresses their interests and keeps your name on the top of their mind.

Knowing what needs to be done and doing it consistently are two different things.  It's understandable with the demands that you have on your time.  Sometimes, the failure to act is due to not knowing what to say or send that will be well received.

InTouch will maintain top of mind awareness for you automatically while branding you as a professional who helps them be "Better Homeowners."  Each week, your contacts that are easily imported will receive an article from you.  Each article and four other links per week will be posted to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  The same article can be automatically posted to your WordPress, TypePad or Blogger Blog.

InTouch couldn't be any easier or better return on your investment.  Make the decision to use InTouch and you can focus your attention on serving your next customer.

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If you had a 3.5% mortgage on your current home and were buying another home, transferring your low interest rate mortgage would be ideal.  Unfortunately, lenders don't allow that.

When buying a home today, it would be smart to think about selling it in the future.  To have a good home with unique features makes it marketable.  To have attractive financing that could be assumed would add to the salability.

Consider getting a FHA or VA loan to purchase your home.  The present advantages are that these loans are priced competitively and a little easier to qualify for than conventional loans.  The future advantage is that FHA and VA loans are assumable at the original note rate for qualifying buyers.

There's more to sell than the home itself when you have an assumable loan.  The mortgage payment could lower the cost of housing significantly.  A buyer may easily be willing to pay more for the home due to the attractive financing especially if it helps their equity grow faster.

© 2011 Residential Finance Consultant | This article cannot be reprinted or republished without written permission.  Subscription service is available to republish the article by direct mail, social media or blog.

Recently, a homeowner had a burglary and part of the insurance claim was denied because they didn't have proof of purchase or a current inventory of their personal belongings.  This is something that could happen to anyone.  Even if you had an inventory but it was several years old, it could cost you money.

Some homeowners who have placed an insurance claim for losses say that they realized something was missing months after they had filed.  The inventory can actually serve as a guide to make sure you get compensated for all of your loss.

The best proof of purchase is to have a receipt for the item.  The reality of the situation is that most people don't keep receipts.  The next best item is to have an inventory and the more details like pictures, the better.

Contact me for a Home Inventory.  Once you get it completed, put it somewhere safe so you'll have it when you need it.  Saving it in the "Cloud" like  Microsoft Office Live is convenient because you can acess it from any computer with Internet access.

© 2011 Residential Finance Consultant | This article cannot be reprinted or republished without written permission.  Subscription service is available to republish the article in your own mail merge, newsletter or blog; please contact Sales@PatZaby.com