034: Resort and Second-Home Properties with Holly Mabery
01/07/20 • 64 min
Resort and second-home properties can be located anywhere! They are becoming more and more popular in small towns, as well as the coastal cities and mountains. In this episode, Holly Mabery joins Monica to talk about her own experience working with investment and second home clients in Sedona, AZ. She shares ideas for marketing, building connections with buyers, and highlighting what’s so special about your community.
More and more, real estate is becoming a great leverage tool. Homeownership has expanded to where people have a second home for personal enjoyment, and also more people are choosing to invest in real estate rather than another avenue. A hybrid they are seeing more and more is when people buy a house and can use it for personal use 14 days a year and rent it out the rest of the time, and it still counts as an investment property. This trend is increasingly becoming more popular as a gateway to making memories with family and friends.
The resort and second home market has shifted from the mountains or the beach to more small town, slow-paced areas. As an agent, there’s an opportunity to accent your local lifestyle that can make a huge difference in marketing. People will always need a place to live, but as agents, we can show people how to live in your market. Showcasing what you love can help build connections with clients.
There are a few different options when it comes to financing for investment and second home properties. Working with a local lender is key. For second homes you’re typically looking at 20% down, and investment properties are usually 25% down plus an interest rate.
Some challenges that come with investment or second homes that are being rented out is that the owner has to be available 24-hours-a-day. In many instances, you have to live within a certain distance of the property. Some unexpected costs to note could be a property manager, furniture in the unit, replacing appliances, etc.
The resort/second-home certification goes through making good choices in investment properties. It allows you as the REALTOR® to become a trusted advisor to investors. You’ll get an understanding of the financing, as well, so you can help your clients make the best choice for them.
Another important thing to be involved in is government in your area. Either get involved yourself or get connected with a group that shares frequent updates about what is going on in the area, so you know how to be proactive with what’s going on. If you already involved, maybe you can be that resource for your market/community.
Homeownership is the biggest investment someone is going to make in their life. It’s a financial, emotional, and family investment. As REALTORS®, if we help them navigate and negotiate, it makes a huge difference. Focus on what you love about living there, and what investors can expect if they live there. Highlight local businesses and bring them to the forefront.
Other resources to check out are city parks and recreation, or your county health services. Both usually have different programs depending on what’s going on. As you get to know potential clients, you can address their interests, hobbies, and concerns so you can start to assist them in feeling at ease.
Holly and Monica talk about furniture in the property. When it comes to furniture in the property, best practice is to do it on a separate bill of sale. The seller needs to get very specific about what they are leaving behind. Sellers need to make sure they remove any personal and valuable items before the property goes on the market. Once the seller creates the list, it needs to be made available to potential buyers. Make sure your separate bill of sale is contingent on a close.
Holly talks about some things to keep in mind when working with investment and second-home buyers. It’s important to over-communicate, especially since they may not be local. Using programs like Zoom or Google Hangout can be helpful. It also allows you to set up expectations ahead of time.
Some things you want to be able to note are what potential buyers can expect to be able to do year-round in your community and what amenities they will be provided (internet service, etc). Holly has also recently started tracking direct flights and doing some reverse marketing to find your feeder markets. One of the things that Holly does is create a lifestyle map around the areas where she has potential buyers.
As we start this new decade, embrace what you love about where you live and tell that story every day. Instagram is a powerful medium for advertising what’s great about where you live.
Guest Links:
Resort and second-home properties can be located anywhere! They are becoming more and more popular in small towns, as well as the coastal cities and mountains. In this episode, Holly Mabery joins Monica to talk about her own experience working with investment and second home clients in Sedona, AZ. She shares ideas for marketing, building connections with buyers, and highlighting what’s so special about your community.
More and more, real estate is becoming a great leverage tool. Homeownership has expanded to where people have a second home for personal enjoyment, and also more people are choosing to invest in real estate rather than another avenue. A hybrid they are seeing more and more is when people buy a house and can use it for personal use 14 days a year and rent it out the rest of the time, and it still counts as an investment property. This trend is increasingly becoming more popular as a gateway to making memories with family and friends.
The resort and second home market has shifted from the mountains or the beach to more small town, slow-paced areas. As an agent, there’s an opportunity to accent your local lifestyle that can make a huge difference in marketing. People will always need a place to live, but as agents, we can show people how to live in your market. Showcasing what you love can help build connections with clients.
There are a few different options when it comes to financing for investment and second home properties. Working with a local lender is key. For second homes you’re typically looking at 20% down, and investment properties are usually 25% down plus an interest rate.
Some challenges that come with investment or second homes that are being rented out is that the owner has to be available 24-hours-a-day. In many instances, you have to live within a certain distance of the property. Some unexpected costs to note could be a property manager, furniture in the unit, replacing appliances, etc.
The resort/second-home certification goes through making good choices in investment properties. It allows you as the REALTOR® to become a trusted advisor to investors. You’ll get an understanding of the financing, as well, so you can help your clients make the best choice for them.
Another important thing to be involved in is government in your area. Either get involved yourself or get connected with a group that shares frequent updates about what is going on in the area, so you know how to be proactive with what’s going on. If you already involved, maybe you can be that resource for your market/community.
Homeownership is the biggest investment someone is going to make in their life. It’s a financial, emotional, and family investment. As REALTORS®, if we help them navigate and negotiate, it makes a huge difference. Focus on what you love about living there, and what investors can expect if they live there. Highlight local businesses and bring them to the forefront.
Other resources to check out are city parks and recreation, or your county health services. Both usually have different programs depending on what’s going on. As you get to know potential clients, you can address their interests, hobbies, and concerns so you can start to assist them in feeling at ease.
Holly and Monica talk about furniture in the property. When it comes to furniture in the property, best practice is to do it on a separate bill of sale. The seller needs to get very specific about what they are leaving behind. Sellers need to make sure they remove any personal and valuable items before the property goes on the market. Once the seller creates the list, it needs to be made available to potential buyers. Make sure your separate bill of sale is contingent on a close.
Holly talks about some things to keep in mind when working with investment and second-home buyers. It’s important to over-communicate, especially since they may not be local. Using programs like Zoom or Google Hangout can be helpful. It also allows you to set up expectations ahead of time.
Some things you want to be able to note are what potential buyers can expect to be able to do year-round in your community and what amenities they will be provided (internet service, etc). Holly has also recently started tracking direct flights and doing some reverse marketing to find your feeder markets. One of the things that Holly does is create a lifestyle map around the areas where she has potential buyers.
As we start this new decade, embrace what you love about where you live and tell that story every day. Instagram is a powerful medium for advertising what’s great about where you live.
Guest Links:
Previous Episode
033: Book Reviews for 2020 Business Building with Cheryl Knowlton and Kristy Hairston
As we approach the end of another year, it’s time to start thinking about business strategies and what we can do to boost our business in the new year. In today’s episode, Monica speaks with Cheryl Knowlton and Kristy Hairston about some book suggestions for building your brand, personal development, and business strategies. Both guests stress the importance of reading, and with a curated list like this, you’ll know right where to start!
Cheryl Knowlton
Cheryl loves to read! Not only physical books, but Audible is a great hack to get more books in. Both Cheryl and Monica have their book lists on their websites, and you can also check out Goodreads, a social media platform for book sharing.
The first book they discuss is Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss. Chris was the chief hostage negotiator for the FBI, and the book focuses on different types of negotiations. In some cases, you literally can’t negotiate for half of whatever is at stake, and this book teaches you the skills to never settle for half of what you want. You can also access Chris’ material on YouTube.
Cheryl and Monica discuss the idea of a win-win situation if you never split the difference. The book provides scripts and scenarios that can help you navigate different situations. They also talk about the “black swan” as a key to negotiation, and how knowing what the black swan is can change the course of the deal.
The next book is Unfu*k Yourself, by Gary Bishop. Though the title is a bit colorful, it is a great personal development book. It helps you be intentional about the things that are hijacking your life. The companion workbook is an aid to help you work through these things and make real changes. The way to make fundamental changes is to make promises with ourselves, and hold ourselves accountable to those promises no matter what.
Think and Grow Rich for Women, by Sharon Lechter is a great book about not only how to make money, but also talks about other motivations beyond just making money. Money means different things for different people. It uses the same language and terminology as the original, and has a lot of great quotes and affirmations, especially for women.
The last two books they discuss are both from author Sally Hogshead. Fascinate is geared toward understanding branding in corporations. She took this same information and put it into How the World Sees You, which focuses more on branding for individuals. There is also a code in the back of the book for a quiz to determine your primary and secondary advantage, and how to use them.
Books allow you to connect with very powerful people without having to be physically with them. Reading can make you a better real estate professional, husband or wife, son or daughter, and all-around human being.
Kristy Hairston
Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got, by Jay Abraham has 21 ways you can outperform your competition. It focuses on mindset and looking at other industries for principles you can apply to real estate. These steps can help you form your brand around the customer experience. The book also provides tips on how you can get clear on who you are and what you’re setting up for yourself.
Kristy and Monica go in-depth about the customer experience, and how we can draw on different industries and apply those ideas to real estate, especially getting consistency in your customer experience from open houses to closing gifts.
Ninja Selling by Larry Kendall focuses on the flow Kristy referenced. Sometimes we don’t have a referral-based business because we aren’t “in flow” with them. It focuses on two types of flow, auto-flow and live-flow, and how you can continue to deliver to your current customer base. It will help you identify your “Ninja 9,” nine successful habits that are done each week.
Kristy talks about how she combines the ideas and principles of the two books mentioned to better suit her business.
The book To Sell Is Human, by Daniel Pink is a research-heavy book that breaks down the different layers of information about our careers and industries. There are case studies across several different industries that can help shift the mindset for REALTORS® in how they present themselves and their product. This book is great for people who are looking for thoughtful insight and data.
In this business, don’t forget to be uniquely you! Do that with a system and a brand for yourself.
Guest Links:
Next Episode
035: Technology Advances to Watch with Craig Grant
The Real Estate Tech Guru Craig Grant joins Monica on the show today to do a tech overview in the real estate industry. They discuss several different tech items that are around or will be around in the next 5-10 years, and how this will directly affect REALTORS® and agents. This is a great episode to familiarize yourself with tech concepts that are prevalent in today’s real estate climate.
The first tech item they talk about is the next generation of cars. Right now cars are starting to integrate with smartphones and AI; down the pipeline, there will be developments that will change real estate. 100% autonomous driving is going to change the look of a car, and what kinds of garages and car-related amenities people will need.
Smart homes are growing more than we realize. Over 50% of US households have a smart speaker, like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. You can get three smart devices and qualify yourself as a smart house. Smart house technology is going to continue to grow, especially now that younger generations are interested in real estate. Smart home technology can also provide companionship for the aging generations. For safety, it is crucial that your devices and your network are locked or password protected. Craig talks about a few other things to think about as a REALTOR® in a smart home.
The third piece in the tech world is internet-based tools. Today, most agents rarely have to go into the office because the cloud allows people to be more mobile and work remotely, rather than in a physical office. EXV is one of the fastest-growing companies, and they do everything through an internet portal. Craig and Monica also talk about the tech arms race and the implications on REALTORS®.
Big data and predictive analysis is the collection of massive amounts of information, then using that data to predict what will happen in the future. This stuff already exists in the real estate market, but there are developments that will allow it to work with your MLS. It’s like getting coupons on the things you already buy.
Artificial intelligence is when a computer is learning your behaviors, and attempting to act like a human. The most common form of this is a chatbot, where a computer is available to respond to clients at any time of the day. In the next few years, we may see where your CRM can basically work as your personal assistant. AI also influences algorithms. This helps both buyers and sellers by providing more detailed searches and descriptions.
Craig and Monica talk about some cybersecurity concerns, and what type of things REALTORS® have control over. Most don’t realize how many problems they could create in the tech/legal world. Agents often collect more information than they really need. They talk about some of the specific types of information we don’t need and encourage REALTORS® to just stop collecting it. PII and wire transfer fraud are the two biggest offenders when it comes to cybersecurity concerns. Letting vendors handle this information can remove you from these situations. Craig talks about some other things you can put into practice to help protect you from data breaches.
iBuyers are another facet of technology in the real estate market. The problem with the iBuyer model is that while the sales pitch is awesome, they wrap in other costs in the inspection and closing costs. People who sell their house through an iBuyer are losing about 15% in a transaction.
Augmented reality is being used with virtual staging, and virtual reality could be used to do a rendering on a property before anything is even built. While augmented reality is already mainstream, virtual reality will be mainstream in probably the next 10-15 years.
The last tech item they talk about is 3D printing homes (contour printing). It’s already happening, and the idea is that you can build an entire house all through 3D printing. This would greatly diminish the time spent to build a house, as well as money spent on labor. The major builders are working on this to see how they can build entire communities.
Most REALTORS® are scared of the technology, but this stuff will help the business. Don’t be afraid to reach out and learn new things — you never know how it will boost your business!
Tweetables:
“Your relationships are still the best way for you to get business and maintain business, and that’s what people want in the real estate business. That’s going to be what we carry on into the future as we adapt to these things.” — Monica
“I think a REALTOR® needs to understand it, they need to learn how to sell against it, and give their customers options and realize it’s out there.” — Craig
Guest Links:
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