Bradenton Real Estate ~ and Beyond

NOVEMBER 2009

CONTACT THE SERENA GROUP FOR A LOCAL INTERPRETATION OF THIS REPORT OR TO REQUEST A FREE MLS MARKET REPORT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

BRADENTON, SARASOTA, REAL ESTATE, MARKET REPORT, INFORMATION, UPDATE, MLS INFORMATION 

Many of us read John Novak's post this week on "Facebook Fan Page Basics" and heard the call to action to either create a page or to develop the pages that we already have.

Among some of the many comments made on John's post was: 

"How do I get fans for my FACEBOOK fan page?"

Great question... with lots of answers and strategies.  Here are a few tips that have worked for.....

    THE SERENA GROUP'S ......FAN PAGE!

• Send out an invitation from your page to all your FACEBOOK Friends to "fan" your page.  Ask some of your friends to do the same.
• Join groups in Facebook and post information on the group page adding a link to your fan page at the bottom of your post.
• Send a link to your fan page with all of your email blasts to your database with the phrase: "FIND US ON FACEBOOK!"
• Add a "FACEBOOK Widget" to your Active Rain blog and/or any other blog's sidebar that links back to your FACEBOOK Fan Page
• Add a link to your fan page to the end of your email signature
• Add the "URL" to your fan page to all of your print advertising
• Put a "FIND US ON FACEBOOK" widget or link to the home page of your website
• Do a "paid" ad through FACEBOOK advertising
• Make sure to put a link to your fan page on every profile that you have on the Internet... for example:  Linkedin, MySpace, Yahoo, Google, etc.
• When you get a "new friend" on FACEBOOK, go to their wall and do a "thanks for friending me" post with a link and request to visit your page.
• Find local business profiles on FACEBOOK and post to their wall with a link to your fan page.
• Do a special "FIND US ON FACEBOOK!" email blast, initially when creating your fan page to unveil it to your sphere of influence and your database.
• Add a link to your fan page to your newsletter and enewsletters.

After you have 25 fans, you can create a "custom or vanity URL" for your fan page here: VANITY URL FOR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.     A "custom FACEBOOK URL" should be "keyword" specific to your business and is more memorable because of the customization... making it easier to share!

Once you have a "custom FACEBOOK URL" ... you can;

• Have it printed on your business cards
• Print it on all your property flyers
• Make sure to add "FIND US ON FACEBOOK" to your phone scripts and give the "custom URL" verbally.

These a a few  of our ideas of ways to generate interest and attract fans to your FACEBOOK FAN PAGES ...

Now....What have you got?  BRING IT... SHARE WITH ALL OF US ON ACTIVE RAIN! 

Bradenton Real Estate investors... heads up for a great Bradenton "investment" opportunity! 

This adorable home needs some updating but has great potential for the "handyman" Real Estate investor!

Contact THE SERENA GROUP for our list of "best investment" home buys. 

Now is a great time to get into the Real Estate investment market.  A combination of low pricing, great inventory, low mortgage rates, and large rental pool mixes together for a "winning recipe" for Real Estate investors looking to get back into the market or to expand their existing portfolio.

Palm Lake Estates is beautiful, well maintained, and active adult manufactured home community in Bradenton, Florida.

A peaceful and tranquil lake is the center of this community and affords many home owners water views and boating for kayaks, canoes, or small fishing boats.   If you'd "rather be fishing than..."  ... the lake is stocked with fish for hours of enjoyment right in your backyard!

Palm Lake Estates offers an active lifestyle for the "over 55" crowd with lots of planned activities, a clubhouse for socializing, and a heated pool for "sun lovers" and swimming for exercise or just plain fun!

If you are a snow bird, looking for a "florida nest" or a home buyer with your eye on a retirement or vacation home... consider Palm Lake Estates, a wonderful place to call "home!"

The Bradenton Real Estate market is ripe for picking if you are comtemplating a winter retreat or vacation home, residence!

It's a "PERFECT STORM" for Real Estate investors...

1. High home inventory levels
2. Great pricing on homes
3. Short Sale & Foreclosure Opportunities
4. Low Mortgage rates
5. Large rental pool, if you'd like to lease part of the year, due to the fact that many sellers who have had to let their homes go are now entering the rental market

For a list of THE SERENA GROUP'S "Best Buys" for investors... contact us today.

THEN... GRAB YOUR GALOSHES... and we'll help you navigate through the storm!

Back during the Real Estate "Boom Time," between 1997 - 2006... scores of real estate investment "speculators" came out of the woodwork to try to "cash in" on the "hot market" with it's historical skyrocketing home values.  A lot of these people were not true "Real Estate Investors."  They simply saw an opportunity to make a lot of money....FAST... and wanted to get a piece of the action.

Unfortunately, due to "market timing" and loose mortgage lending practices...  a lot of those people couldn't turn the property over fast enough to make their fortune.  Instead... they ended up "holding the bag" on properties who's values tanked along with the Real Estate market, leaving them owing more money than what the investment property was worth... and on top of that, their "creative financing" mortgages sucked the rest of the life out of their hopes for holding onto the properties long enough to recover their loses.

ENTER THE CURRENT OPPORTUNISTIC INVESTMENT MARKET! 

The current real estate market presents an exceptional opportunity for investors due to the fact that property values have come down to a level where the buyer /investor can take advantage of the pricing opportunities that exist in the market today... get good financing rates... and VOILA!... positive cash flow is achieved encouraging a "buy & hold" mentality that is the sign of a seasoned, true investor!  Great news indeed for experienced investors who have been waiting for this type of market to come around again and know the secret to achieving long-term investment wealth. 

Another great point to be made is that, due to the unfortunate reality that many homeowners who were also victims of "bad market timing" and sub prime mortgage loans, have lost their primary residences and are now entering the "rental market" looking for rental homes to live in.  This group of people offer an excellent opportunity for the investor for leasing an investment property to someone who wants a long-term rental and who will look at the "rental home" as their sanctuary... not just a "rental"... and treat it as such!

1. HIGH INVENTORY LEVELS
2. LOW MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES        =        "A WINNING REAL ESTATE INVESTOR MARKET!"
3. HISTORICAL PRICING
4. LARGE RENTAL POOL                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

THE SERENA GROUP's team of 5 licensed REALTORS has over 80 years of combined REAL ESTATE EXPERTISE.

If you are an investor looking to identify, finance, and purchase either a single investment home or a portfolio of properties... We can help!

Below is a sample of a few excellent real estate investment opportunities that we currently have listed.  In addition to these properties, we have an "INVESTOR BEST BUY LIST" that we would be happy to share with you including traditional home listings, foreclosures, and short sale home listings.  Contact us today... it would be our honor to help you meet your INVESTMENT GOALS!

Visit our website where you can do a "customized REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT SEARCH"  from our homepage. 

This investment property search tool will allow you to search by:

1. zip code
2. city
3. state
4. property type
5. price per square foot
6. cash flow / cap rate
7. estimated equity
8. down payment %
9. and mortgage type

You can also do calculations pertinent to a specific property.

At Keller Williams Realty of Manatee, we also have an "in-house" MASTER PROPERTY MANAGER with 20 years of property management experience... for investors who need property management services.

ONE STOP SHOPPING... FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS!

HERE ARE A FEW GREAT BRADENTON, SARASOTA, EAST MANATEE COUNTY, MANATEE COUNTY, AND SARASOTA COUNTY IN FLORIDA... INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO CONSIDER....

We hope you can get into the "spirit" of things and enjoy the Halloween Holiday! Here are a few famous "Halloween" quotes ... and a video staring all the members of our team... to get you in the mood!

"This Halloween the most popular mask is the Arnold Schwarzenegger mask. And the best part? With a mouth full of candy you will sound just like him."
~ Conan O'Brien

"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls."
~ George Carlin

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."
~ William Shakespeare

A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween.
~ Erma Bombeck

Forget love - I'd rather fall in chocolate!
~ Sandra J. Dykes

HAVE A "FANG-TASTIC!" HOLIDAY!  

Wildewood Springs is an oasis of tropical beauty on the west side of Bradenton, Florida! This lovely community is also a bird sanctuary, which makes it a great place to observe and enjoy the local wildlife... including the birds!

Offering several styles of homes, this community has no age restrictions and welcomes home owners with pets. Just a quick jaunt from IMG Academy, close to great shopping, hospitals, entertaiment & restaurants... and minutes to the beautiful area beaches.

Wildewood Springs becons you to truly enjoy a peaceful Florida lifestyle!


NEW WILDEWOOD SPRINGS HOME LISTING!

Just attended an OCTOBER FEST at our local board of REALTORS and participated in a discussion about advertising and marketing with a couple of colleagues. In particular,  the subject of print advertising came up...

Our team, despite the down economy, has always budgeted in costs for print advertising.  We have made adjustments in the sizes of some of our print ads... but we do them, faithfully, each month.  It has been our experience and observation that print advertising is key to establishing credibility and name/ face recognition in our local real estate market and, although internet marketing is hot right now and certainly an avenue that all real estate professionals should learn to navigate and become proficient at, print advertising is an invaluable constant and consistent foundation on which to build your "local domination" marketing plan! 

There could be a strong argument made for that fact that BECAUSE of the down economy and the fact that REALTORS are falling out of the business left and right.... the professionals who will thrive once the market swings back in our favor... are the ones that have consistantly kept themselves in the eyes and minds of "potential future home buyers and home sellers."  Print advertising is a graphic and tangible way to do this.

Let's talk about leads... do we get leads from our print ads? ... MOST EMPHATICALLY... YES!! LOTS OF LEADS!  We not only get calls on our ads in the books and newspapers... but we get inquiries and leads from the INTERNET VERSIONS of these ads that are posted continuously on the websites of books like:

THE REAL ESTATE BOOK and THE HOMES AND LAND MAGAZINE. 

By doing print advertising you also strengthen your internet presence with exposure for your business and your listings on the web!!  Now if you look at it from that angle... THAT'S A BARGAIN!  And let's not forget the most important point ... we have CLOSED DEALS with leads sent from these advertisers... that's the name of the game... CLOSING DEALS!

So now... if YOU would be so kind.... YES OR NO TO PRINT ADVERTISING... AND PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR REASON!