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Your Real-Estate Business
Last month we talked about how to add value to your properties with very little cost. One of the things we learned was that making small changes to your landscaping will add thousands of dollars to your bottom line. So I took a close look at what it would cost to upgrade the landscaping at one of my locations. I figured out exactly what I wanted to do.
First thing is I wanted new mulch, then some plants that will flower to give instant visual curb appeal and plants and trees that are green all year long (Remember, I live in Florida so year round curb appeal is a must.)
I was not about to do this work myself (!) so I talked to the guy who cares for my lawn. He said he had a couple of employees that would do work on the side. I spoke to a guy named Jim. He said he wanted $10.00 per hour and figured he could get everything done in 6 or 7 hours.
We drove to Lowes to get all the required landscaping materials Jim would need to complete the job.
Materials :
1. 20 bags mulch at $ 1.79 each Total $ 35.80
2. 1 bag of 10 Hardy Glad Mix $ 6.99 Total $ 6.99
3. 3 Campanula $ 7.99 Each Total $ 23.97
4. 20 Mixed Carpet Lilies (sides of house) $ 29.99 for 10 Total $ 59.99
5. 15 Rose of Sharon hedge ( Back Yard around Pool Cage) 3 for $ 9.99 Total $ 49.95
6. 10 Mixed Magic Roses Hedge $ 39.41 for 10 Total $ 39.41
Jim assures me this will all look great once it all starts to grow out!!! I'll be satisfied as long as it gets that WOW factor when clients first see it. So the total cost of material is $ 256.70 (not bad when you see all this stuff in the garage). 8 1/2 hours later Jim is done and the place looks good. So Jim's fee is $ 85.00 plus $ 256.70 for Material for a total of $ 341.70.
I am very impressed at how much this improved the overall appearance of the property.
My realtor friend loves the new look and says it will add quite a lot of value to my home compared to other listings in the area. So let's see, and I will keep you posted on my landscaping adventure.
I have been asked a couple of times to republish my '3 tiers to locating investment properties'.
Tier 1
Major City and surrounding area up to 10 mile radius
Good Highway systems
Medical facilities and care available
Mass Transportation (With a lot of Loading areas and stops)
Schools
Major Colleges (Private and Public)
Jobs (Industry and Professional, not just Service Jobs)
Recreation areas (Entertainment)
Arts and Culture
Good Rental Market and Home ownership
Shopping (Retail and Grocery)
Strong Commercial Market
Tier 2
Must be with 20 miles of a major city
Must have easy access via highways and back roads
Schools
Medical facilities
Mass transportation with easy access to the major city
Jobs (Service Related and Industry Related)
Community College or State System College
Good home ownership and a fair rental market
Shopping (Retail and Grocery)
Strong Commercial Market
Tier 3
More than 20 miles from the city
Mostly suburbs with high home ownership
A fair rental market
Good feeder system to the highway or to the mass transportation area.
Most jobs will be service related
Medical clinics
Shopping (Retail and Grocery)
Schools
Parks
A good commercial market
Have a great month. Paul
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BOOK OF THE MONTH
This month's book is
No.B.S. Sales Success In the New Economy
by
Dan S. Kennedy
This is one of Dan Kennedy's best books and the timing could not be better. Right off the bat Dan makes sure you understand that the old economy is shattered and gone forever.
He goes into how we are monstrously 'over-stored' and have so many overlapping brands that it makes it hard for business to be profitable. He uses Cadillac as an example. Does Cadillac really need a pick-up truck when Chevy and GM sell the exact same vehicle?
Another major area Dan touches on is how poor customer service has been over the years and how most Major Corporations seem to not care at all. Then he talks about how the customer has all the power and they are not going to be satisfied with the status quo. You have got to earn the right to be of service to your customers by supplying quality products and exceptional services if you want to have any chance of getting their business.
In Chapter 2 The positive power of negative preparation he says you need to plan for problems and questions in advance so you can give a good sales or marketing presentation.
Chapter 8 tells us the most important tool for exceptional success in selling. Using testimonials is far more important than whatever you can say, period.
I loved Chapter 16 Positioning not prospecting. This is one of the best chapters in the book. Basically you need to be seen as the expert and not as someone trying to get their money.
Please order this book if you want to succeed in the new economy. I can't tell you how important this book is to you and your company business.
QUOTES OF THE MONTH
Don't wait. The time will never be just right.
-- Napoleon Hill
Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.
~ Napoleon Hill
There are risks and costs to a program of action - but they are far less than the long range costs of comfortable inaction.
-- John F. Kennedy
To not decide, is to decide.
-- John Paul Sartre
Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
-- Bob Parsons, GoDaddy.com
When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent. ~
Isaac Asimov.
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