There’s nothing better than that! I’ve been at this now for several years, trying to figure out how to streamline processes and increase revenue. Without a doubt,  the iPad, more than any other device out there, has the potential to net you tens of thousands more income in a year. And at prices ranging from $499 to $829, the return on investment is pretty impressive!

When you consider the time wasted looking for things you can’t find, it gets even better. I saw that a Newsweek article was quoted in a study showing that we waste 55 minutes a day looking for things we know we have, but can’t find. You’ve done it: “I know that piece of paper is somewhere on this desk!” That precious 55 minutes a day translates to 2 weeks a year! (And of course, if you live in Atlanta and have to go to jury duty on a rainy morning and wait on a hard chair in the jury room for your name to be called, you’ll have wasted 5.5 hours that you’ll never get back…but I digress…and of course I have my iPad, so I’m being productive writing this blog using the Dragon Dictation App.)

Seriously though. If you make $100,000 in a year, getting those 2 weeks back and productive equates to about $4000. Even if only a quarter of that wasted time you get back is work-related, then you’ve more than paid for your iPad in just “saved time.” Whether it’s finding a document, or a sticky note, or an address, or an email, or an appointment – all of that is stored, paperless, at your fingertips, on your iPad. (And backed up to the iCloud, so you can always retrieve it!)

For a real estate professional, with apps like Google Maps street view making it easier to instantly check out a house and neighborhood, and show what the traffic looks like to get there, you can save an hour or two a day! No more getting a call about a lead and having to drive to a wifi hot spot and boot up a computer to access Google street maps. Just pull over, open your iPad, touch the Google Maps icon, and you’re there – immediately.  And real estate professionals, more than most, spend lots of time in our ‘mobile offices.’

I’ve gone on about saved time, here. We haven’t event gotten into all of the productive apps that can actually make you money. Let’s get into that in a future post. See you there!

Make More. Work Less.

This year, let’s do something a little different…and make it stick.  Let’s challenge each other to Make More and Work Less. That’s what we’re all striving for – right?

And the way to do that is:

• Leverage technology
• Use tools to their greatest advantage
• Eliminate wasteful actions that take up your valuable time

In my opinion, the best way to accomplish this is to fully use ‘mobile devices’ – i.e. my iPad and iPhone – to the as much as you can.  If you’ve seen or heard me any time in the last 18 months,  you know where I’m going with this!

First, let’s talk about leveraging technology.

Tablets and smart phones have changed everything.  Instead of lugging around a laptop and having to find a wifi hot spot to access the Internet – for comps, directions, whatever – tablets (with 3G) are always connected to the Internet, so you’re never without access.

And if you don’t have a tablet/iPad, but you’ve got a smart phone, then chances are your smart phone can become a wifi hot spot itself. So even if you have to lug that laptop with you, at least you don’t have to drive to a wifi hotspot to boot it up and get the info you need – quick! You can work wherever you are, and not waste time driving to a hot spot – or even more important, responding to that lead.

How about using tools to their greatest advantage?

There are so many – where do I start?!!  One of my favorite apps is Bento.  It’s basically a database tool that’s extremely simple to use, but has become absolutely critical to making more money in my business! With Bento, you can create an easily accessible, customized buyers list, And with that list, you can become an ‘order filler’ – that is, find houses that meet your buyers criteria.  In this market, where there’s an oversupply of houses, doesn’t it make sense to have the buyer in hand and ready to buy? It will certainly make you more money this year if you do that.

And what about eliminating actions that waste your valuable time?

The rollout of Apple iCloud to automatically back up all of my Apple devices and share apps, pictures, videos, and other files was one of the biggest advances in leveraging technology (for me) to eliminate wasteful action – i.e. having to plug in to iTunes to get all of that done.  The back up to iCloud happens in the background, automatically.  Awesome.

I have dozens and dozens more examples. Check back here this year, as I’ll share the latest with tools, tips, and tricks to leverage technology, especially mobile technology for real estate professionals on the go.

And I’ll be rolling out a new site to teach how to use mobile technology in your business. Be on the lookout for it!

Happy New Year. And Remember…Make More. Work Less.

Some people have a negative impression of negotiating – think of a “Used Car Salesman!”

Don DeRosa will show you that artful negotiating – in any area of your life – is really just coming to agreement so that each party feels like a winner. Right!?

From meeting with your buyer, to coming to terms on price, to working through the contract, negotiating skills are a crucial part of any successful real estate transaction.  Join Don as he shares the tools, tactics and strategies he uses in every deal.

Here’s just a sample of the things you’ll learn so you can buy a house for as little as possible and leave your seller smiling –

• The Five things EVERY negotiator must know to be successful
• How to prescreen a seller to find out what they really want, and what they really need
• Why building rapport is the most important thing you can learn – and how to do it!
• Five reasons why you should always ask for more than you expect to get!
• Why you never want a “yes” on your first offer!
• How to effectively overcome objections
• How to know exactly what to offer before you meet the seller
• How to creatively structure your deals so both sides win
• How to set up your competition so the buyer wants to work with you

Don has also developed a set of tools that he uses on his iPad – so he can use hem anywhere, anytime he needs them!  You’ll see how he uses these tools to determine whether a deal is worth going after. And he tells you exactly how he uses his tools – both when evaluating the deal, and when sitting at the table with the seller.

By using his tools, Don actually takes the most of the negotiating – and emotion – out of the deal: It’s all in the numbers. By the end, your seller will be telling you what you can offer!

So if fear of negotiating is what is keeping you from being a successful real estate investor, this session is just for you!

Register for the Saturday workshop and we’ll seen you there!

Some people have a negative impression of negotiating – think of a “Used Car Salesman!”

Don DeRosa will show you that artful negotiating – in any area of your life – is really just coming to agreement so that each party feels like a winner. Right!?

From meeting with your buyer, to coming to terms on price, to working through the contract, negotiating skills are a crucial part of any successful real estate transaction.  Join Don as he shares the tools, tactics and strategies he uses in every deal.

Here’s just a sample of the things you’ll learn so you can buy a house for as little as possible and leave your seller smiling –

• The Five things EVERY negotiator must know to be successful
• How to prescreen a seller to find out what they really want, and what they really need
• Why building rapport is the most important thing you can learn – and how to do it!
• Five reasons why you should always ask for more than you expect to get!
• Why you never want a “yes” on your first offer!
• How to effectively overcome objections
• How to know exactly what to offer before you meet the seller
• How to creatively structure your deals so both sides win
• How to set up your competition so the buyer wants to work with you

Don has also developed a set of tools that he uses on his iPad – so he can use hem anywhere, anytime he needs them!  You’ll see how he uses these tools to determine whether a deal is worth going after. And he tells you exactly how he uses his tools – both when evaluating the deal, and when sitting at the table with the seller.

By using his tools, Don actually takes the most of the negotiating – and emotion – out of the deal: It’s all in the numbers. By the end, your seller will be telling you what you can offer!

So if fear of negotiating is what is keeping you from being a successful real estate investor, this session is just for you!

To register for the General Meeting,  go to Triangle REIA’s Web Site. You can register for the Saturday workshop, too. See you there.

• How to evaluate a deal to see just how little cash you do need
• How to make an offer with confidenceyou
• Know exactly how much you can offer and how much you can profit
• Where to find all the private money you need to buy all the houses you want

Specifically, Don will cover how to:

• Generate interest in lending you money by telling people ‘what you do’
• Present the deal to your potential lender
• Tell you what NOT to say to your lender that could put you in a bind
• Disclosure MUSTS to protect yourself and your lender
• The paperwork you need to secure your lender’s money and safeguard your investment
• The kinds of insurance you must have and WHY
• How old 401K money is the best kind of money to borrow and how to get it set up to make it easy to borrow
• Why I pay my lenders EXTRA for short term loans and how that encourages them to lend to me OVER and OVER.