Nationwide Home Sales are Up

Resales up 10.2% in the nation. This is the highest recovery in 3 years. Lack of inventory, high demands in an improving economy. Of course lending conditions have improved, but still tight. Its a good time for sellers, buyers, Realtors, Lenders and it seems like its going to get even better.

Gordon Inman
Broker/Owner
Keller Williams Realty LA Harbor

Rolling Hills View Lawsuit Settled

A view dispute between 2 homeowners when there is a settlement usually both homeowners end up not happy with the results. I can see both sides of the issue, one to improve their view and the other to save the trees that insure their privacy. Rolling Hills is a wonderful city and we can count our blessings to live in such a wonderful gated community. The came to an conclusion with a private agreement, and worked things among neighbors civilly and respectfully. I am please that they came to a settlement and wish them both the best.

Gordon Inman
Broker/Owner
Keller Williams Realty LA Harbor

Launching your Online Brand

In this world, we are constantly trying to sell ourselves, our knowledge and our experience. This all starts with your online brand. Many business men and woman have invested too much time and money into blogs, iPhone apps, IDX for home searches, search engine optimization, advertisements, online ads, and social media marketing. All these things are great, but do they really help launch your brand? They do if you are using them correctly and marketing to the correct target audience. Here are for major tips from Realtor Magazine, to boost your brand.


1. Get a New Bio
If you wrote your own bio, it was probably a painful experience. It’s an unnatural thing to do, writing about yourself in the third person. But bios have become more important than ever for real estate professionals. Just think about how many places you have one: your Facebook profile, Twitter account, LinkedIn, personal Web site, company Web site, Zillow, Yelp … the list goes on. This is usually the first thing your audience will read when they see your websites, so make it worth their time and to the point.

I would argue a good bio matters, when it matters the most! Google has a free e-book titled the Zero Moment of Truth. It’s about the moment online consumers go from being interested to making a purchase or reaching out to a business. This decision is often driven by your bio. They like your Web site. They like your listings. Do they like you?

Consider hiring a copy writer to compose a new bio for you. A service called eLance can connect you with U.S.-based professional copywriters who have been reviewed openly by their past employers. They specialize in on-demand, one-off work, so it’s a perfect fit for getting a bio done quickly and professionally. Expect to pay about $150.

A great way to collect what should be in the new bio is to survey your existing network using something like Survey Monkey or even building a simple Google Doc form. Ask your past clients, friends, and family what words they think best describe you. Ask your current buyers and sellers exactly why they hired you. The answers and data you collect will help you craft a meaningful new bio that’s relevant and accurate.

Update all of your existing online profiles with your bio.

2. Get a New Logo
Having your business card blown up to the size of a Web site is not a logo. A logo should and can be so much more. The logo your company provides may be great, but it isn’t truly yours either. Understanding that a logo is used in nearly every marketing initiative you will do and on every piece of communication you will send to clients, it’s a great place to start when relaunching. Logos that pop become iconic. Think the Rolling Stones, Nike, and FedEx. Figure out which colors elicit certain emotions and take that into account as you brainstorm. Grab a pen and paper and doodle. Find some of your favorite logos across industries and write out why you love them and what you would like to see comparable in your new logo design.

I’ve had tremendous success with crowdsourced logo design sites like 99Designs and CrowdSpring. As opposed to hiring one designer, you launch an open contest that many can enter and submit logos for. By having hundreds of options instead of a few, you almost always end up with something you like. You can also engage your social networks during the contest for their feedback before selecting (more on the importance of the “pre campaign” in a minute). When using the crowdsourced sites, I highly recommend choosing the most expensive option, which runs around $799 on 99Designs and $1,349 on CrowdSpring. This higher-end bid greatly improves the quality of the entries and designers you will attract to your project.

Hiring a local custom designer is also a great option. It gives you the ability to sit down with them face to face, which is still important for many people. Hiring a custom designer is typically billed out hourly, from about $100 to $250 per hour for good talent, so multiple redesigns and iterations can become expensive quickly.

3. Build a Mobile-Responsive Site and Home Search
If I pull up your Web site on my iPhone and it doesn’t look great and load quickly, I’m out. This is an industrywide challenge for good reason. Any Web site built before 2012 was not truly “built for mobile.” Take advantage of this for your big relaunch. Market the heck out of the fact that you have an iPhone- and Android-optimized Web site with a home search for your town. Most of your competitors do not have these tools in place yet—they will eventually, so get going!

Relaunching your Web site may seem like a time-intensive and truly costly task, but it doesn’t have to be anymore. Check out this site on your phone that was built by Agent Evolution. It’s built on WordPress, so it’s mobile-responsive out of the box, and it has one-click mobile IDX installation as well. The theme is a one-time cost of $50 and the monthly cost to host it, as well as the IDX tool, is about $40 per month. Keep an eye on the start-up Placester and the custom design shop Ha Media, as additional resources focused on mobile-optimized real estate Web sites.

Keep in mind that simply paying for a Web site and IDX is just the beginning. To truly see a return on investment, you will want to have some strategies focused on generating traffic from around the Web consisting of interested buyers and potential sellers. With a new site, you will need to leverage your existing network. Start with sending some mass e-mails to your database of contacts and leads letting them know about it. Be sure to link to one or two very specific features, ideally the best the site offers. Another reliable source of instant traffic is Craigslist. Post simple ads with only one picture, a call to action, and a link to see all of the additional details on your Web site. Many have tried and failed at Craigslist. More often than not, that’s due to putting too much information in the ads. Short, concise ads with a link back to your site works better and also avoids some of the spam that happens by placing your phone number or property address in the ads directly.

4. Build Pre-Launch Buzz
It’s amazing what people will do to be a part of a beta test. Launching is great, but the gold is in the pre-launch. Think about the buzz and anticipation that Apple builds when a new device is coming out. It doesn’t start the day you can buy the device; it starts much earlier. With your relaunch, you will want to follow the same model.

Most real estate Web sites are somewhere between adequate and terrible, but yours will rock. Any buyer or seller who has tried to search a local agent or broker’s site in the last few years has likely been somewhat underwhelmed by the experience. I wish it took more to stand out in our industry in 2013 than a well-designed Web site that worked well on a smartphone and that only focused on getting people to the areas of the site they want quickly, but that’s where we find ourselves. Less is more right now and simplicity that is laser-focused on the end user wins.

Your new logo, bio, and mobile Web presence should be leveraged with your “inner circle” before you relaunch. I used Join.me to share my screen during private one-on-one demos. Call your best past clients and those who refer the most business to you and show them all of these new things before the public can see any of it. I can’t tell you how special this makes people feel. When I launched my start-up Curaytor recently, I did about 150 one-on-one demos of the Web site, before the public even had access. By focusing on my inner circle and making them feel like a part of the journey, they more than returned the favor once the site was live. People will always support what they feel like they helped create. Never forget that.

I also highly recommend using LaunchRock for building early buzz, social and viral growth, and new e-mail opt-ins. LaunchRock provides a very simple “coming soon” landing page that is free to use; anyone can build one. You provide a short teaser and a photo about what you are doing, then offer an incentive to sign up early and socially share the link on Facebook and Twitter. For Curaytor, we simply offered 24-hour early access to the site and people loved it. We generated 2,000 e-mail addresses before we even turned on the site! This fresh and interested e-mail “list” got us 70 percent open rates and 40 percent click-through rates when we sent them the access we promised. Those are nearly unheard-of results in the e-mail marketing world.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make online is investing in expensive new tools and technologies for their clients, but then spending little to no time on any “coming soon” marketing. The best chance to build buzz in 2013 may just be before your launch.



The Inman Team

Texting & Driving

This message is to appeal to all Realtors and everyone affiliated with the Real Estate Industry. In this business, we are constantly on our phones. Replying back to emails, answering phone calls, texting back clients, it is apart of our lifestyle. But using the phone while you are driving is illegal and has been proven to increase your chances of an accident drastically.

69% of American drivers say they talk on their cellphones and about in three read/send text messages or emails.State wide police have issued 425,041 tickets last year for talking on hand-held phones. This April, police are planning to crack down on this matter.

Texting and driving is extremely dangerous, in 2011 3,331 people were killed and 400,000 injured. Texting takes your eyes off the road, which creates your vehicle to veer into other lanes. Some studies have shown that a driver texting can travel the length of a football field at 55 mph without even looking up once. Lets think of our families, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and friends. Life is so precious lets not take their lives and also protect our loved ones. "We can do it" If you want to text pull over and save lives. Lets all take the pledge to not text & drive. The Text can wait.



Gordon Inman

Broker/Owner

Keller Williams Realty LA Harbor

Home Prices Expected to Rise

Although some recent real estate activity has been speculative, it seems as if buyers have more realistic expectations about housing market returns after having lived through the largest housing market crash in U.S. history,” says David Stiff, chief economist, Fiserv.

Realtor.com®’s February 2013 national housing data indicates that listing inventories increased 1.15 percent month-over-month; median age of inventory was at 98 days, a 9.26 percent decrease month-over-month; and median list prices were slightly higher month-over-month at $189,900. These numbers show that home buyers are getting an early start on the spring season despite the fact that inventories recently hit record lows.

The median age of inventory was down by 9.26 percent month over month and total listings are up 1.15 percent month over month, suggesting that many reluctant home sellers are starting to take an early advantage of the recent improvements in housing prices.

National Data
• In February, the total number of single-family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops for sale in the U.S. (1,494,218) increased by 1.15 percent month-over-month. On an annual basis, however, inventory was down by 15.97 percent.

• The national median list price for single-family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops ($189,900) increased by 1.01 percent year-over-year and 1.55 percent month-over-month in February.

• The median age of inventory of for sale listings fell to 98 days in February, down 9.26 percent from January and 11.71 percent below the median age one year ago (February 2012).


Local Data
• Nearly all of the markets with the largest year-over-year declines in their for sale inventories in February were in California, where declines averaged 48 percent. The list includes Sacramento, Stockton, Oakland, San Jose, Orange County, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Riverside and Ventura. These markets also experienced a dramatic decline in the median age of inventory, falling to an average of just 31 days, or 53 percent lower than it was one year ago.

• On an annual basis, February median list prices were up by 5 percent or more in 51 markets while they were down by more than 5 percent in 11 markets. The number of markets experiencing a year-over-year list price decline in February (39) is significantly below the number of declines observed in January (50). California markets continue to dominate the list of areas experiencing the largest year-over-year increases in their median list prices, representing nine out of the top ten best performers.

• The ten markets with the longest time on the market continued to include the coastal areas of the Carolinas and the resort communities of Santa Fe, NM and Ashville, NC. In addition, five older industrialized areas also appear on the list: Reading, PA; Portland, ME; Albany, NY; Philadelphia and Trenton, NJ. California markets continued to dominate the list of top ten areas with the shortest time on the market, although the median age of inventory was also at record lows in Denver and Seattle. Median time on market in these areas averaged just 28 days, 51 percent lower compared to one year ago.

Palos Verdes Art Center Reopening

Palos Verdes Art Center is one of the oldest community arts associations in California, is being reopened with a family-friendly celebration from noon-3pm on Sunday March 24th at the Palos Verdes Art Center/Beverely G. Alpay Center for Arts Education @ 5504 West Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes. Everyone is invited. Hope to see you there.


Gordon Inman
Broker/Owner
Keller Williams Realty L.A. Harbor

Tips for Creating your REALTOR® Brand

In today's industry, it is all about selling your self. Selling your knowledge, your personality, your experience, etc. You have to be able to create a brand for yourself. This goes for any industry, but especially for the competitive Real Estate Market. Here are some tips on creating your Realtor brand.

1. Find your niche. Figure out what sets you apart. Is it short sale expertise? Deep knowledge of Craftsman homes? Concierge customer service? Decide carefully. Your niche needs to be something you can stay passionate about throughout your career.

2. Know your client base. Who are you trying to appeal to? “Everyone” is not really an effective target audience, but “buyers looking for high-end modern design in Orange County” is. Don't go too narrow, but be specific enough to have a clear, recognizable specialty.

3. Be the kind of REALTOR® your client wants. Yes, your brand is about you, but you’re also creating an image that clients want to be associated with. Do your clients perceive themselves as value shoppers, architecture fanatics, hip urbanites? What are you offering that is valuable to them?

4. Conceptualize your brand. Once you discover your niche, who your clients are and what you have to offer, figure out how all of this—your brand—is going to look. Everything you present to the public--the paper you use for your mailings, the photos you use on your website or blog, the fonts you choose--should reinforce your brand. If you are not a visual person, hire a designer to help you create a professional look.

5. Consider a tagline. The right slogan can help position you in your niche and will strengthen clients' association between you and whatever that niche is. Go for something short, memorable and professional. Run it by a few others for a reality check.

6. Keep it unified. Whether you're reaching clients via social media, newspaper ads, flyers, or a website, your promotional materials should have a unified look and feel. If you have a tagline or a logo, make sure you put it on everything.

7. Establish yourself as an expert. Do whatever you can to establish yourself as the go-to person for your niche. If it's green housing, for example, give seminars on eco-friendly gardening choices, write articles on green building materials for a local newspaper or website, and link to articles about green homes on Twitter or Facebook.

8. Network with REALTORS® with a similar brand. Other REALTORS® with a similar niche are a good source for marketing ideas. See if you can develop a marketing synergy with REALTORS® from other parts of the country to share tips and promotional ideas.

9. Use testimonials from satisfied clients. Help reinforce your brand with client testimonials focused on whatever it is you are offering. If you're the “Short Sale Expert,” for example, use testimonials that illustrate how your specialized knowledge of the complicated short sale process made the transaction easy and clear.

10. Use your brand as a structure for business. Your brand is an outline and will help guide you in your business decisions. If something doesn't fit within the guidelines of the brand you've established, it probably doesn't belong. A smart, well-conceived brand will keep you clear and focused on your goals.

2012 Keller Williams Awards

It was a great day for The Inman Team yesterday at the Keller Williams banquet. We were recognized by Keller Williams for 2012 in our region for the following awards:

#1 Top Producing Team

2012 Mega-Million Dollar Top Producer

2012 Listing Leader

Our hard work has payed off, and being recognized for all our blood & sweat put in for 2012, is the biggest compliment and motivator for this 2013 year. Our team only strives to work harder, and we will continue to do what we do best.



The Inman Team

Blogging 101

Here are some tips to starting out a good blog! It is not always easy, but you have to start somewhere !

1. Write good content. (This one should come as no surprise to you. If you write amazing content, you’ll attract attention.)

2. Create other forms of content, rather than just blog posts. You can build an audience if you are everywhere doing lots of different things at once. Record podcasts, shoot videos, take pictures, and utilize social sharing and social media.

3. Compile lists. Whether it’s a Top Bloggers list or another kind of “top” list (like Top Travel Destinations), this kind of thing always gets attention. Be prepared for some controversy, since there will always be people who disagree, and make sure you do your research so your list is complete and valuable.

4. Team up with other people. Joint ventures are always tricky to orchestrate, but when done successfully, you both reap the benefits. Think about what you can bring to the table. Otherwise, an established blogger won’t have any reason to want to work with you. An audience isn’t the only important asset you can add to a project.

5. Be personable. Telling interesting, personal, or funny stories can help you stand out in a sea of posts. Tell people about you — storytelling is an extremely popular way to bring people into the fold.

6. Put your nose to the grindstone and write! More content leads to more readers, as long as you can maintain quality.

7. Write great headlines. There’s no faster way to catch the attention of people in your niche than an intriguing headline.

8. Interview someone in your niche who is not a blogger. Bloggers tend to interview one another fairly regularly, and while this is a good technique to use, you can also get noticed if you interview people outside of the world of blogging. For example, if you’re a travel blogger, you could interview a hotel manager or a hotel chef.

9. Do reviews. If you’re new you might not get products for free or be paid to do review yet, but you can still review products you love. Make sure to notify the company/author/etc. whenever you do, and they’ll often share your post via social media or email.

10. Make it easy for readers to share your posts. Word of mouth marketing can drive tons of traffic if you’re a new blogger, but if I can’t really quickly find sharing buttons, I’m probably not going to bother. Don’t make it hard for your readers.

Future of Ports O' Call in San Pedro

What do you want to see there? Hotels, shopping, fine restaurants or...? The sky is the limit. I have been waiting for the city to make some kind of motion to make plans for this area, it has so much potential. What I would love to see, is new restaurants that accentuate San Pedro's waterfront, and history with modern restaurants featuring local seafood overlooking the port and ocean. For entertainment have live bands performing on the weekends and access to the waterways. Hopefully, the community will come together to make big things happen for Ports O' Call, and get San Pedro to thrive again. You can voice your ideas at the public hearing, 5:30 PM April 2nd at the Warner Grand Theater on 6th St. in San Pedro. Its like monopoly, place your wants on this 30 acre prime water front property.

Its about time!

Gordon Inman
The Inman Team
Broker/Owner of Keller Williams LA Harbor

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Condo for Sale $1.00 ?

Do you want to buy a condo for only $1.00? Small 500 sq. ft. in a resort style living in a Orange County High-rise. Just some of the amenities included access to a Library, game room and fitness center. Listed for 90 days in Laguna Woods Village and now off of the market. Is it too good to be true? Yes, residents are required to be 55 or older and the association fees ran more than 1,700 a month. Would you believe no takers, maybes the price was too high.

Gordon Inman
The Inman Team
Broker/Owner LA Harbor

This Week in Real Estate

Lately, in all Real Estate News the focus has been around the shortage of inventory and how the Market is in almost full recovery mode. In California, the number of homes listed for sale has shrunk an average of 48% since last year. According to the latest data from Realtor.com, the average time a home in California stays on the market is 31 days, down 53% from last year. Nationwide, the median age of a home listing was 98 days. Of the 146 markets surveyed, home prices were up in 78 cities and down in 39 year over year. Shortage of homes to buy may last another year, but by 2014 the shortage will decrease. These statistics makes our team feel really good because we are way better than the average in the U.S. for days on market.

Trulia economist Jed Kolko predicts, the shortage of inventory will only last a year. He stated, "Now, the punch line: It could be at least another year until national inventory starts expanding. Of course, inventory will probably turn up this spring and summer because of the regular seasonal pattern, but the underlying trend will be less inventory than is typical for each season, not more. … Ultimately, the inventory turnaround will depend not only on how fast prices are rising, but also on whether prices will have been rising for long enough to encourage homeowners to sell and builders to build."

Where do homes linger longer?
According to Realtor.com’s February Trend Data, most of the cities where homes stay for sale the longest are in the Northeast and in the Carolina's.


Enjoy the Weekend, See you Monday.
The Inman Team

Seems Like Forever

Have you been driving in San Pedro lately? Maybe wanted to go to Pacific Diner for breakfast or grab some Busy Bee and head over to the Korean Bell?

The usual route was to take Western all the way down past 25th, but if you notice past the park and the tide pools the road is completely closed. So instead you must make your way through a detour all the way back, through the neighborhoods. On November 20, 2011 approximetly 600 feet of road collapsed on Paseo Del Mar in San Pedro. It has been over a year now, and the street is still closed off and nothing has been fixed. Paseo Del Mar is a main street that runs all the along the coast of San Pedro leading to Palos Verdes, if you take this road you will notice how it literally goes up and down, it seems as if the road is going to end up in the ocean at any point. And that is exactly where it will end up, in years to come if the city does not maintain it correctly. If you've ever driven through Portuguese Bend,Paseo Del Mar is a very similar road. They both have similar issues with road movement and are constantly being repaired. This brings up the issue, is the city maintaining our roads correctly? It could be disastrous if they would have to close down Palos Verdes Dr. South or Portuguese Bend, which are main roads leading to Palos Verdes. Depending on the option they choose to repair it, the total damages could cost $6.7 million to $51.3 mil. They have 3 options to fix the landslide area, construct a bridge, make a graded roadway, or completely restore the roadway. I for one have complete trust in our representatives making the right decision to repair our beloved road.

It is now time for our representatives to make a tough decision on the best way to repair the landslide area and also the entire street of Paseo Del Mar.Best of luck in making that decision.

Thanks for Reading,
Gordon Inman
The Inman Team
Broker/Owner of Keller Williams LA Harbor

Tourism Sets New Record in LA County

Obviously good for our local economy. Hotels, Restaurants and hospitality businesses were visited by 41.4 million visitors and spent$16.4 billion dollars, last year. Of those visitors 85% from the good ol' USA and 15% from other countries with China leading the way. Does this mean we are getting rid of all that red ink. Are taxes still going to go up? We will see!

Gordon Inman
The Inman Team
Broker/Owner Keller Williams LA Harbor

Questions To Ask The Seller

Here is a list of important questions to make sure you get an answer to before moving in. Have your Realtor communicate with the seller, before you make the big move.

1. Do you have any information about the repair history of the house

2. Do you have any warranty paperwork and owners manuals for anything that is staying with the house

3. Do you have paint colors available so that they can be matched for touch ups etc.

4. Do you have the phone numbers for any contractors you have used for repairs and landscaping on the house. You may want a contractor that is familiar with the house or perhaps you like the way the lawn looks and would like to keep the landscaping service

5. Where are the best restaurants, dry cleaners, daycare centers etc. located

6. Is there a neighborhood watch program and how do you get in touch with the organizer

7. Is there a Homeowners Association and where is the clubhouse - if applicable

8. What are the trash days and what are the requirements. Is there a trash bag limit and what do you do with bulk items

9. What is the history of the house. Things that are not disclosed on the disclosure form - such as an interesting story, the prior uses of the house, do they have a set maintenance schedule in place. Is there anything that works but is a bit quirky when operating it. This could save you hundreds of dollars in unnecessary repairs when you find out something works but is just a bit quirky

10. Don't forget to leave the garage door openers

11. Where are the emergency cut offs, the breaker box and utility meters and any tools needed to use them. What about that wrench that is needed to operate the fireplace - is it available

12. Don't forget to ask about the sprinkler system, landscape lighting, septic tank, basement pumps, pool pumps, well pumps, hot tubs operating systems. All of these items may be things you know how to operate or possibly not. So it is best to ask.


Thanks for Reading,
The Inman Team

Mortgage Troubles do a Reversal

The self employed and first time home buyer are finding it difficult to qualify for a loan. The tightening of money began in 2007 and the mortgage credit has not eased much. Low rates and the recovery in housing has borrowers seeking financing. The tight lending standards are even making credit worth borrowers from buying homes. What we are experiencing is buyers paying all cash, FHA for Lower Income borrowers are raising insurance Fees and are tightening Credit Standards. With all this said, The Real Estate Sales are containing multiple offers on properties.

Thanks for reading,
Gordon Inman
The Inman Team
Owner/Broker Keller Williams L.A. Harbor

Best Markets in Real Estate

National home prices are expected to climb 0.6 percent in the next year, according to the latest home price report by Fiserv Case-Shiller. But over the next five years, home prices are expected to rise 3.3 percent.

According to AOL Real Estate, the following cities are looking good when it comes to annualized changes in home prices between the third quarter 2012 and the same time period 2017. Some of these markets have been hit by big drops in pricing but are now beginning to come back. All the below-named cities are expected to see growth ranging from a low of 8.1 percent to 9.1 percent. Although L.A. did not make it to the list, it is predicted that the Real Estate Market will grow as a whole and remain stable for the years to come, and 2013 is believed to be a BIG year for Real Estate. I believe it is safe to say the Market is in full Recovery mode shifting into a stable and prosperous Market.

Home buyers can expect a more competitive market in 2013, and should start the mortgage lending process at least three months before they plan to start seriously looking because experts expect the process to take several months under new lending standards. House hunters should be ready to deal right away as inventory is expected to remain at low levels throughout the year.

Increasing home prices will bring reluctant homeowners off the sidelines and will encourage home buyers waiting for rock-bottom prices to jump in. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, applications for new-home loans are expected to increase 55% this year.

The top seven cities, shaping up to be the best markets are:

Medford, Oregon
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, Florida
Sebastian-Vero Beach, Florida
Carson City, Nevada
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California
Reno-Sparks, Nevada.


Thanks for reading,
The Inman Team

Real Estate Update

Many companies and economy analyzers are making predictions of what will be happening in the future of the Real Estate Market.
Home prices are expected to rise 3.3% annually through 2017.

The housing recovery is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 0.6 percent through the third quarter of this year, then gain momentum and prices are projected to grow 3.7 percent between the third quarters of 2013 and 2014 until settling down to 3.3 percent annual increases over the next three years according to Fiserv, a financial services technology provider using data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
“Although some recent real estate activity has been speculative, it seems as if buyers have more realistic expectations about housing market returns after having lived through the largest housing market crash in U.S. history,” says David Stiff, chief economist, Fiserv.
Fiserv Case-Shiller predicts that by the end of 2013 home prices, will rise dramatically everywhere in the U.S.

This past year for Keller Williams has been the best yet. We are #1.

Facebook for Businesses

When you post content and have conversations on your Page, you’re building loyalty and creating opportunities to generate sales. Facebook, is a great website for connecting with people on a social level, but it can also take your business to the next level.

1)Make a Page for your business is the first step.
2) Now you must get people to like your page, start out with friends and family, and then you can import your email address to find friends that way.
3) Now post daily, only important and relevant posts that are entertaining, relatable to your viewers, and informative.
4) Do not always stick to the same boring posts, change it up by adding creativity, post a status about an upcoming charity event in your area, etc.

-An average post can last from 10-50 hours, depending on how many followers you have.
-Install a Facebook "like box" and "like button" into your website
-Use status tagging, which means you can mention people by adding the "@" before typing someones name/page to tag them into the post.
-Post Pictures
-Put a cover photo that will amaze your clients, preferably a professional photo. If your a Real Estate Team put up a professional photo up from the view of a recent home you've sold.
-Track your growth, Facebook allows you to view your "Insights" which allows you to see how many people your Page is "reaching" and "How many people are talking about your page"
-If you have a blog, post your blog articles onto your Facebook. Also add a Facebook "like button" onto your Blog site.
-You can use Buffer or Hootsuite to manage all of you social media sites.
Goodluck!

The Inman Team

Check out our Facebook for ideas:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Inman-Team/115726945105994?ref=hl

DIY Painting Basics

Did you know that painting is the one thing that will make the biggest impact to your home for the least amount of money? A fresh coat of paint can transform your home from drab and dreary to fresh, clean, bright and updated.

If you are thinking about selling your home, then it would be in your best interest to give your home a fresh coat of paint inside and out if you can afford it. It could mean the difference between a quick sale or no sale or an asking price offer from a low ball offer.

Here are a few things you can do to give your home that fresh, well taken care of, upgraded look.

You will need:

• Stepladder
• Screwdriver
• Angled sash brush
• Wide paintbrush and paint roller and tray
• Extension pole for paint roller
• Paint
• Painter’s masking tape
• Cleanup rags and drop cloths to cover the floors and furniture etc.

What To Do:

• Scrape away old layers of paint if necessary
• Remove wallpaper if necessary
• Sand the imperfections
• Fill any nail holes with putty
• Apply your primer coat
• Cover the floors, furniture and anything you don't want to get paint on
• Remove hardware - light switch and plug covers, curtain rods etc.
• Cover all the trim with masking tape
• Paint a three inch strip of paint out from around the top and bottom of the trim using your angled paint brush because you won't be able to get that close to the trim with a roller
• Now take your roller and fill in the remaining wall areas that need painted. You can use a paint brush but it will take much longer and won't look as smooth as when you use a roller
• The best way to cover the roller with paint is to fill the paint tray with paint. Then dip your roller into the deep end of the tray then roll it over the ribbed section of the tray to cover the roller evenly. Now you simply take your evenly coated roller and roll up and down the wall making vertical lines. Then take the roller and paint right to left diagonally across the vertical lines you just painted and this will give you an even finish


Their are so many small and simple things you can do for your home, to give it those finishing touches. Do the little things now and the next thing you know you will be packing and getting ready to move into your new home.

Thanks for Reading,
The Inman Team

Understanding The Tax Deductions for Rental Property

We thought this post was perfect timing for Tax Season! If you are thinking about buying rental properties, then you are probably wondering what benefits you will have other than the rental income. Rental homes can be a houseboat or a trailer or anything as long as there are sleeping, cooking and bathroom accommodations. And the location of the home does not matter - even if it is outside of the United States.

There are many pros and cons to owning a rental property but some of the best benefits are the tax deductions that become available to you. Just remember to save all of your receipts and any other documentation you may have for the expenses you have incurred.

Here are some of the most common items you can use as a tax deduction if you own rental property.

• Advertising
• Cleaning
• *Maintenance
• Any commissions you pay to a rental agent
• All homeowners association dues or the like
• Your insurance premiums for the home
• Any legal fees you have incurred
• Your mortgage interest
• Taxes
• Utilities
• Accountant fees
• Some travel expenses - there are some restrictions
• Mileage

*The IRS has different rules for repairs versus improvements. You can write off repairs; which is anything that fixes your property to keep it in good working conditions. However, you cannot write off improvements per se; which is any cost that adds value to your rental property.

An example of a repair would be patching a leaking roof. An example of an improvement would be actually replacing the roof. If you have the cost of an improvement, then you can use that expense as a deduction but it must be depreciated over several years. You can also use the actual depreciation of the home over time due to wear and tear. But these rules are very tricky and it is recommended that you seek professional tax advice before proceeding with these types of deductions.

This article has been written as a general overview of this topic and should not be construed as tax advice or legal advice. Always consult a tax professional for this type of advice.

Thank you for Reading,
The Inman Team

Prime Time for Social Media

When is the best time to Post, Tweet, Update Statuses and Blog? How can I get more likes and traffic to my page? Those are the big questions many people are wondering for their businesses. Knowing when to post a status update, tweet a blog post or send out an email newsletter can make the difference in its effectiveness. After all, it does not do much good to share a video early in the morning if your readers, fans or customers are typically not active until late in the day. Does it really matter what time and day of the week you post on? The answer is YES, although it does not mean that if you don't post at the specific time, you wont get more "Likes" it just means on average this is when more people are on, therefore more people will view your post.

According to data from bit.ly, The BEST day to Post/Tweet/etc is Wednesday with the ideal time between 1pm to 4pm.

BEST TIMES TO POST ON...

FACEBOOK:
The prime time for links is between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Bit.ly data, says 3 p.m. on Wednesday is the peak time to post links on Facebook.

-Best Facebook "Sharing" is done on Saturdays
-FB "shares" spike around noon and after 7pm.
-"While traffic starts to increase around 9:00 a.m., one would be wise to wait to post until 11am,"
-Posts from fan pages generally last for 22 hours, and 51 minutes.
-You should not Post more than once a day on Facebook Fan Pages

TWITTER:
The prime time for clicks is between 1 and 3 p.m. on Monday through Thursday.
The worst times are after 8 p.m. and after 3 p.m. on Fridays.

-Most Retweets occur around 5pm. So try to Tweet before then.
-Best time to tweet generally, Noon and 6 pm. Lunch time, and average time people get off of work.
-Best time to tweet for the most traction is on a Monday between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET.
--Life span of a Tweet on average is 2.8 hours

PINTEREST
-The best time to share things on Pinterest is Saturday morning, according to data from Bitly,
-12% of clicks comES from mobile devices.

TUMBLR:
-It's suggested to wait until at least 4:00 p.m. ET. to post important content, and posts that go up after 7:00 p.m. get the most clicks during a 24-hour period.
-It's also suggested that Friday evenings are a key time to post on Tumblr
-Traffic from Tumblr peaks between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday

INSTAGRAM
- Use Statigram.com to come up with the statistics for your personal Instagram, and figure out when the best time for you to post is.



-Nearly 50% of Americans are on the Eastern Time Zone. This may also affect your traffic coming in. Figure out your market, are trying to provide posts for traffic nationwide or more locally. For Our Team, we focus on local areas and times.




*These are all tips & data taken from different researches, they may contradict each other, but generally provide the times and days most beneficial to use social media.

*times/numbers data from bit.ly.

DIY Or Hire A Professional?

This weekend, may be a perfect opportunity for you to show you creative side and start a DIY project. With all the DIY shows and Pinterest app its easy to find really good ideas. Sometimes these DIY projects can actually cause more of a headache. Have you ever seen an amazing post on Pinterest, and thought "I can do that", But after you attempt to recreate it, you quickly learn that it is not turning out the way you planned. You have to find that fine line between what you can manage on your own and what you should leave for a professional to accomplish. With that being said, there are some home improvement projects that can absolutely be done yourself. So how do you determine if you should DIY or hire a professional?

Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself to help decide whether or not your home improvement project is one that you should try to tackle yourself or if you should hire a professional in order to avoid a DIY disaster!

1. Make a list. Write down the name of the project and everything you will need to complete that project. On your list make a pros and cons column. Write down in the pros column all of the tools you already have and know how to use. Then write down the extent of the knowledge about the project you know how to do. Then write in the cons column all of the tools you don't have for the project and what knowledge you are lacking to complete the project. This will help you determine whether or not you should hire a professional. It could be that by the time you buy all the tools you will need for this one project that you could have saved yourself the trouble and hired a professional for relatively the same price. You quite possibly could have saved yourself a lot of time and hassle.

2. Will your project require permits? Quite a few projects do. Do you know how to obtain a permit? Call your City's Building Services or Building Permits Division to determine if you need a permit and how to go about actually getting the permit. Getting a permit, if you are not well versed in doing this, can be extremely tedious, stressful and time consuming. Sometimes one project can trigger the need to meet another city requirement. Therefore, this may be something best left to a professional.

3. Are there any safety issues? Does your project entail having to use a ladder, electrical issues, gas or anything that could potentially collapse? If so, you will need to determine your level of expertise and then either proceed with caution or just go ahead and call a professional. It's not worth it to take a chance on your safety or the safety of your family.

4. Get bids. Get several bids and then compare the cost of doing the project yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised. Example: you may be perfectly capable of painting; however, more than likely, a professional will do a better job and do it more quickly and without all of the mess. Additionally, most contractors get their supplies at a reduced cost because they buy them in bulk. This could mean savings for you.

5. Time. Do you have time to do this project? Do you really want a project to be drawn out for a month or more just because you don't have time to complete it?

6. Do you enjoy the whole DIY thing? If so, go back over what you do and don't know how to do and then have at it.
Generally speaking, if you have the money to have your DIY project professionally done then do it! If not, take a good hard look at what needs to be done and think about every step very carefully to determine what could go wrong.

So next time you try to paint your kitchen cabinets, like the ones on Pinterest take the time to research and see if it is worth Doing Yourself or Hiring a Professional.

Thanks for Reading,
The Inman Team

Luxury Homes in Demand

Signs of Luxury homes are not only appreciating in value for sale, but super high end rentals are showing an increase in demand. The extreme example is a Beverly Hills Estate with 17 bedrooms, 29 bathrooms all on 3.7 acres, offered for lease at $600,000 a month. Considerably higher than the legend Michael Jackson's lease in Holmby Hills, for $100,000 per month. Buyers demands for buying income units, or homes has increased dramatically.



Good luck in your Real Estate Ventures.

Thanks for Reading,

Gordon Inman