Rule number one: You must go where the prospects are! No one is going to come to a lemonade stand in the middle of the desert. If you are not in front of the correct audience, you may as well be singing in and empty theatre. Your mortgage marketing and lead generation efforts need to be focused.

Look at trophy fishermen. They know exactly the right spots to fish and exactly what bait to use to nail the biggest fish. After identifying exactly who your target audience is, it’s easy to get that message in front of them. For instance, if you are marketing to first time home buyers, have you put some thought into where most first time home buyers are going for information? Most likely, they will be using the Internet more than anything else. So now, how about you identify which websites they will be going to, and figure out how to put yourself in their search path? This is how real mortgage lead generation is done!

What can you do to get their attention, and to get them to stop and take action? Ask yourself what you would like to see if you were a potential home buyer or you needed a mortgage. What do they see, and what would stand out? See, once you hit the right places to “fish”, your closing ratio will go way up, as will the ease of your mortgage marketing efforts.

Rule number two: You absolutely must have a strong call to action! You may have noticed that I put an exclamation point at the end of the last sentence. That’s because it causes you to realize how important this is. I see some really weak, lame calls to action and it saddens me. It’s like begging or hoping for a date, rather than being forthright about it. Go for it! It also shows that you are very sure about what it is that you are selling to your audience.

I’ve seen a ton of great ideas melt to nothing because they were lacking a strong call to action. Mortgage lead generation relies heavily on getting customers to take right action. If you don’t tell your prospect what they should do next, then why should they do it? Don’t forget…at the end of the day, you are in sales! It is your job to sell to these prospects. You’re not giving free lessons here, are you?

You’re customers will not be offended that you asked for business, and if they were, then they really were not potential customers to begin with. Now get out there and put some snarl into your mortgage marketing efforts.

It never fails to amaze me how much time is wasted by Loan Officers doing unimportant activities, rather than tried and true mortgage lead generation activities. Every week I talk to at least 3-4 loan officers just in the state of MO, who are still managing to close 8 – 10 deals or more per month. Now, these are not the norm, these are very good and experienced Loan Officers, but they are doing the right things day in and day out. These Loan Officers spend their day doing true mortgage marketing, not reading newsletters, answering less than priority calls from friends, and basically just going through the motions pretending to get things done.

It is totally possible to still be closing at least 4-5 loans per month in this market. And you don’t need to spend a lot on your mortgage marketing functions. So exactly how are these successful Loan Officers doing it?

Here’s what I think: Take a look at how much time was wasted in the middle of the boom time. People wasted relatively the same amount of time, because they are creatures of habit and their behavior is very predictable. But the difference was that you could actually get away with it during that time. Not so much today. Today’s marketing is all about micro managing your time effectively.

In a down market, you absolutely need to spend at least 40 – 50% of your day in front of people giving information, presentations, sales pitches, whatever! I can’t even stress this enough. So who do you need to be in front of? What people? Prospects, realtors, fsbo’s, other Loan Officers, your local clubs, your Internet leads,etc… You need to make a list of literally every type of prospect you can get in front of, and exactly how you can hit each one, day in and day out. Do not be lazy, you will pay dearly for it!

It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you structure your day properly. Identify exactly who needs to be contacted and when. Run experiments to figure out which form of marketing is working best for you, and exploit it. The Internet will very likely be your best form of advertising and mortgage lead generation. Use Google Analytics, for example, to track the best websites, and where buyers and sellers are coming from. start a blog and integrate it with your website.

I would go as far as to say that 75% of your mortgage marketing should be done online. Don’t join 13 clubs or networking organizations, that is shotgun marketing and rarely works. Instead, learn how to market yourself effectively via Google, learn to get a mortgage lead generation website going, and you will be on the path to success.

The Defence Housing Authority was established in 1975 and since then it’s striving hard to make life worth living in the locality. The Defence Housing Authority is under direct control of Pakistan Army’s high officials who insure the best services and atmosphere there. Through years, the DHA has expanded to places far and wide by acquiring Lahore Property in bulk from the nearby landlords.

Now the DHA is considered to be the most luxurious and expensive place in Pakistan. The Defence Housing Authority has divided itself into various phases and blocks. Currently the Defence Housing Authority is also involved in various projects, which will further make living in Lahore a worthwhile experience. Following are the glimpse of projects started by the Defence Housing Authority.

DHA Haly Tower:

Global Haly Investments and the Defence Housing Authority have entered into a joint venture to develop a seventeen storey commercial complex. This project will be one of the major advancements in Pakistan Properties as it will be constructed in the heart of the DHA Lahore area. DHA Haly Tower will have four basement levels which will accommodate approximately three hundred cars.

Upper, lower ground, first and second floors will have state of the art shopping malls; rest of the floors will be reserved for high-class offices. This project is under construction and is expected to be completed soon. The DHA Haly Tower will have all kinds of facilities that an international standard shopping malls have.

Five Star Resort Hotel:

The Defence Housing Authority has also planned for a five star resort hotel which will be a real breakthrough in Lahore Real Estate. This project will cost more than a hundred and fifty dollars and will be constructed by top constructors. Second phase is completed and project’s final planning and construction is soon to be started.

Golf Course Housing Scheme:

The Defence Housing Authority has total commitment to its work and is always striving hard to bring utmost results. Another project of the society is the Golf Course Housing Scheme, which will give Pakistani citizens another facility to live in most luxurious homes that cater every need of the elite class. The DHA aims to fulfil all the demands and desires of people waiting to live life in lavishness. To fulfil dreams of people, the DHA has struck a partnership deal with a Malaysian developer with track record of creating luxurious and high quality homes. These two mega brands have come together to construct Pakistan’s first Golf Resort and housing community in the heart of Phase VI of the DHA Lahore.

The Golf Resort will have lush green 18-hole international standard golf course. The whole project will span over 400 acres with beautifully landscaped houses. It will also have prestigious golf, country club and retail centre designed to meet every lifestyle need. The real estate sector would have 1 to 2 Kanal villas, 14 marla semi-detached houses and trendy condos. This project, when completed, is hoped to not only increase the Lahore real estate value but also that of the whole Pakistan real estate.

From the very beginning, the Defence Housing Authority is working hard to make Pakistan Real Estate better. The current projects of the society also show that they are still committed on their motto. Other housing societies should also take such initiatives to make Pakistan a better place to live.

In this article, we will be giving some design tidbits for two unrelated, but important, features of your church project: balcony seating and landscaping.

Balcony Seating

When properly designed, balcony seating has some benefits worth considering. Balconies can solve the problem of future expansion as the congregation grows and can enable a church with limited land to expand “up” rather than “out”. In fan-shaped sanctuaries a balcony can increase the seating by almost 50%. A future balcony should be master-planned from the start with the major structure completed during the sanctuary construction. A removable wall can temporarily hide this unfinished space.

Many people assume that a balcony is always an inexpensive and smart way to expand. However, the floor system, structural framing, riser framing, handrails and multiple stairways are an additional expense not incurred when seating on the main level. The primary problem with balcony seating, however, is often not related to construction costs. Many people complain of feeling like spectators when sitting in a balcony, and balconies often do not provide good visibility of, or easy access to, the altar area. Furthermore, it’s simply difficult to see someone’s face beyond about 65 feet. Since the sight-line is downward, balcony handrails and the person in the row ahead often block the view as well. Problems related to the seats under the balcony may include columns, low ceilings and poor sound or lighting.

Some elements of good design include stairs or stadium seating on the sides with easy access to the main floor, two steps per row for added visibility, high-back pews to alleviate the fear of falling forward, glass or narrow rails in the upper half of balcony walls, and large-screen video monitors or projection screens.

Landscaping

While landscaping can add immensely to the value, beauty and comfort of a church site, most architectural firms do not provide detailed landscaping design in their scope of services unless specifically requested by the owner. Many jurisdictions will require a rudimentary landscaping plan consisting of a site plan indicating the location, type and size of new and existing trees and shrubs, areas of sod and mulch, as well as an erosion control plan. It is now common for permit authorities to require landscaping islands in the parking areas based upon the amount of pavement. These islands are usually located at the ends of parking rows. Landscaping islands, however, can become an impediment to snow removal. In transition yards (a green area separating the church parking lot or buildings from adjoining residential or commercial property) a screen of trees and shrubs is also often required by permit authorities.

Deciduous trees on the south and west of the building will shade and cool the church in summer yet let warming sunlight through the bare branches in winter. The church should select hardy plant types that require little maintenance. Keep in mind that the little shrubs being planted may quickly grow too large for their placement near parking spaces, sidewalks, and buildings.

The church should consider the benefits of good landscaping design. A knowledgeable landscape architect can be hired to develop a master plan for landscaping that can be developed over time as funds become available.

Most of the Real Estate agents who are starting or seasoned bloggers are having hard time to find a topic to write on their real estate blogs. Here is an idea about finding new topics for your real estate blog looking at your blog from another pair of eyes like your buyers, sellers, neighbors or who is new to the area may give you tremendously different topics to write about easily. Think about what they may want to learn or what they are more likely be interested in the area, roads, special events, parks, recreation centers, fitness centers, kids clubs, schools, builders, schedules, new restaurants etc.

Starting a new blog is very easy with free popular blog platforms like WordPress, BlogSpot, Blogger and many others that you can easily find and start writing immediately about your area. I am sure most of you have seen or read about the saying that the content is the king which is a good explanation of what others are going to look at your blog rather than the platform, colors, plug-ins you choose. These are of course important however having an original content gives you the most exposure than the other details that you might spent a lot of time to try.

Another good topic would be the market statistics in your local area; you can easily receive updates from your local realtor association. You may even find charts and information about the specific areas you and your clients might be interested in.

Putting pictures on your blog gives more idea to the new residents about the subdivisions, building styles and even landscape designs of the area. Putting high – resolution pictures may change your blogs uploading time from others; choose your pictures around mid-size resolutions so that your followers will not have problems in the future.

When you choose your topics specifically the area oriented you will see more people looking forward to reading your postings from that specific area which gives you more exposure that you are expecting.

As a real estate agent I am horrified with some of the things that other agents do to make a sale. I began my career after having a couple of these agents literally lie and deceive me on the sale of a home myself and decided that someone needs to be out there for buyers and sellers that will handle their clients fairly and honestly.

Now that I have been in the business for ten years I am outraged at what I see out there and want everyone to be sure their agent is really being upfront, honest and handling your transaction the way you deserve to be handled.

I have seen homes that should be on the market, open to all buyers and their agents being held back by the list agent while they tried to get their own buyers to have first shot at making an offer on the home. This goes for a recent encounter of an agent that lists hundreds of foreclosed homes for the banks and keeps some of the homes from being actively on the multiple listing system in hopes their own team members can procure a buyer and double dip. They have held these homes from other buyers and agents for up to thirty days. If the bank knew this kind of business was happening with their foreclosed homes they would lose the privilege of listing hundreds of homes and making thousands of dollars. This is a disgrace to the business and honest agents.

Agents have produced false documentation on repairs that were to be made on a home but the repairs have actually not been made but receipts produced showing the repairs have been made. Imagine being the buyer, finding out months or years later that a repair that was to be made was never actually done. This type of behavior is an embarrassment to all of us in the business. These agents continue to act this way and I have personally run into the same agent over the course of many years continue to falsify documents, mis-represent homes and documents.

When you go to hire a real estate agent do not think that just because they are a huge known agent with a large team that your transaction is being handled with the utmost care and with complete honesty. Unfortunately, some of these bigger agents bully their way through a transaction and do not seem to care how many rules they are breaking. Be particular, pick wisely and watch out for this type of behavior.

Now this simple fact is the hardest to get under control. We all have choices in the action we take, however most salespeople do not make the right choices or do not make enough of them. Random and generic action is more common than you would think in the property industry. That is why many agents struggle when the market becomes difficult.

The best and most successful real estate agents working on commercial property make deliberate choices to do the following very well:

1.  Prospect every day within their market. They build a market share and identity that supports continuous personal branding.
2. Grow their database with qualified prospects and then maintain contact with them for the long term. The database has to know you the person and not particularly the real estate business.
3. Inspect property with an eye for detail, identifying important issues that help to create the sale.
4. Be prepared to offer sales and lease solutions that are relevant, special, and timely. Make sure that they tap into the client’s property ‘pain’ and provide a clear solution.
5. List property at the right price or close to it. This helps the marketing for the client and does not waste the time of the agent.
6. Market property using the best tools available that reach the target market for the property.
7. Communicate continually with property owners in ways that keep control of the listing and convey the accurate feedback.
8. Negotiate with parties with a view to fair and focused outcomes given the conditions of the market.
9. Remember just who the client is and what they have as the targets in the sale or lease process.
10. Keep abreast of rents and prices of comparable property activity in the local market so that any listings and negotiation can be supported by third party evidence.
11. Close the sale or lease and then keep on top of the documentation and settlement procedures for the client.
12. Look for opportunity for your clients so you can do more ‘off market’ deals where property circumstances exist.
13. Market your sale or lease success to the other owners and tenants in the local area with a suitable market update or advice of sale.

 These simple and yet precise matters are the foundation of a successful and professional commercial real estate agent. They can be personally developed and shaped as you and your territory grow.

There are lots of agents and realtors chasing property in your real estate market. Only a few of them are really good at what they do. You have a choice here and it is largely driven from your mindset supported by your actions.

Some real estate salespeople however look to expanding or specialising their skills and moving beyond residential property. In that case they can consider commercial investment property. Now one thing needs to be said here; commercial property is not hard, it is just different. Many of us in the industry would say that commercial is more interesting than residential property but let’s not start that debate. Suffice to say that commercial property is very stimulating and gives a totally different twist on the industry for those that feel so inclined. In commercial property you can really specialise.

One of the greatest advantages with commercial property is that it is based on logic and property performance. The emotion of residential property and the family home is no longer an issue. Most of the clients you deal with are business proprietors, investors, or owner occupiers of a corporate nature.

In commercial property the sellers and buyers do the deals because they can see an advantage or opportunity. Salespeople that work in commercial property therefore have to know how to interpret and display opportunity to a buyer.

The most significant advantage you have in working in commercial real estate is that you can focus on both commercial leasing and sales. Both are very lucrative to those that choose the career path. Property leasing underpins the investment aspect of commercial sales. In other words, a great lease will help a future sale. If you lease a property well, it is quite likely that you will be invited back to sell the property when the time comes.

Every property or tenancy lease should therefore be negotiated with the investment in mind. The landlord will have some targets and the lease should be created to match that landlord plan.

To be very successful in commercial real estate sales and leasing you should be prepared for extensive hard work and systemised marketing. You will have to know these people in your territory and market to tap into the property churn and spin:

• Landlords
• Tenants
• Investors
• Business Proprietors
• Owner occupier businesses
• Solicitors
• Accountants
• Planning Officers
• Buyers
• Sellers

All of these high level contacts have to feature in your database of activity. Build your business on constant contact prospecting with the people that invest, own, rent, and sell commercial property. Whilst implementing the necessary contact build your knowledge in commercial property types, methods of sale, and methods of lease, negotiation, and marketing. Your career in commercial real estate will gain traction very quickly. Success in the commercial property industry is based largely on the performance of the individual, and has little to do with the office you work in or for.