Houston Real Estate Schools

Real estate experts predict that the demand for housing in Houston, Texas, which has surged recently, will continue to rise in the foreseeable future. This means that for real estate agents and brokers; Houston can become a very lucrative place where they could practice their profession. However, this also means that real estate agents or brokers who want to work in Houston should expect that they will face stiff competition from other real estate professionals who also want to get in on the action. Given this, it is then very important that real estate agents enroll in a very good real estate school, which can provide them with the tools and skills they need to be successful in Houston.

Finding the right real estate school in Houston

Finding the right real estate school in a place like Houston, Texas, which has a very healthy real estate market can be a bit of a challenge given that there is a large number of real estate schools that have ?sprouted? in the area. However, there are still some steps that realtors can take to gain access to the right real estate school in Houston. Some of these include asking the right questions and looking for certain things from the real estate schools that realtors are considering. One of the most important things that realtors should look for is the course outline of the school, as it can help them assess the relevance of the courses that the school provides. In relation to this, realtors should also look at the reference materials that schools are using, as much as possible; realtors should pick a school that uses books that were written by some of the most notable real estate authors like Gaines, Coleman, and Crawford.

As to some very important questions that realtors should ask real estate schools, one example is to ask the school on how long it takes to finish the course. Other important questions include asking about the support that the school would provide their students with regard to the licensing process and on the continuing education programs that the school provides its alumni.

To be able to succeed in Houston, realtors need to gain access to the right real estate school that can provide them with the skills, which can help them do so. However, given the large number of real estate schools in Houston, picking a school can be a bit difficult. The good news is that there are some steps that realtors can take to help them pick the right school for them, which include asking the right questions and looking for certain things from schools.

Real Estate Courses

Buying, selling and investing in real estate involve complex transactions and high financial considerations. Given this, buyers, lenders and investors usually ask the help of real estate agents and real estate brokers to help them in their real estate needs. This is because real estate brokers and agents possess a thorough knowledge of the real estate market. They are also familiar with local zoning and tax laws and with financing agencies. In some cases, agents and brokers also act as intermediaries in the negotiations between buyers and sellers on the price of the property.

Becoming an agent or a broker

Being a real estate agent or a broker has proven to be a lucrative source of income for those practicing this profession and most estimates show that in the near future, the number of real estate agents and brokers will continue to rise because of this fact. However, becoming a real estate agent or broker requires that potential agents be at least 18 years of age, a high school graduate and be able to pass the state exam. The state exams, which is usually more comprehensive for brokers include questions on real estate transaction and relevant real estate laws.

If you wish to become an agent or a broker in the United States, you must be informed on the different requirement of the different states with regard to licensing. In most of the states, it is required that potential agents must complete between thirty to ninety hours of classroom instruction. For brokers, they are usually required to undergo sixty to ninety hours of formal training together with a required amount of experience in real estate transactions, which range from one to three years. Most of the courses in the training include subjects on marketing, accounting, and a substantial amount of courses in real estate, finance and real estate laws.

Most states require that these licenses be renewed every one or two years. However, instead of requiring agents to take new exams, some states require continuing education for agents and brokers for them to be able to renew their licenses.

Where to enroll

Given the demand for real estate training, a large of number of rims has been set up to provide such services. These firms cater to both beginners and experienced agents and brokers for their specific training needs. Apart from the traditional institutions such as universities and colleges, potential brokers and agents can also look to the Internet for online courses. As the number of agents and brokers who wish to get formal training on real estate continue to increase, the importance of institutions that provide these training will further be highlighted.

Real Estate Marketing - Getting Focused

The single biggest question I get from people getting started in real estate (and experienced for that matter) is "how to find deals?" They say, "I don't know what to focus on in real estate. Should I focus on rehabbing? Should I focus on finding absentee owners? Should I focus on direct mail?"

The problem with those questions is that the real estate investor is confused about the whole business of real estate and the marketing plan behind finding the deals. I understand that you go to a three-day real estate training, or you buy a home-study course, and every angle of real estate investing is attractive. You can see the potential in all these different markets.

First things first, you have to get focused! This is the only way to get good at overcoming objections and solving problems unique to different types of motivated seller markets.

Let's simplify this whole real estate marketing game and boil it down to this:
Who, What, When, Where, Why & How (And How Much)!

Who:
Who is that we are going to be talking to? Who is that we are going to be trying to purchase homes from? You may want to work in one or two of the following markets: foreclosures, absentee owners, our probates, divorces, for sale by owners, tired landlords. This is your market - the who.

What:
What are you going to say in your marketing? This may be a real estate marketing script that you follow, a direct mail postcard system that you roll out, or specific copy in your advertisement. Understand, that you are looking for motivated sellers to take action. If you're taking the time to write a letter, place an ad, etc you want your prospect to do something like call you or email you or listen to a recorded message!

When:
When are your prospects going to receive your marketing message? Timing and consistency is everything to your real estate marketing campaign. You need to be the single person (or company) they think of when the moment strikes at which they realize they are, in fact, a motivated seller!

Where:
Where are they going to receive your message? Obviously if you're door knocking, you'll meet them at their home. But if you are marketing to personal representatives of an estate, the attorney may receive the letter and pass it on. It's important to think about where your potential seller is going to "see" your message because this will affect the action they take.

Why:
This is where your real estate investing exit strategy comes into play. What are you going to do with the property once you've gained control? Are you going to wholesale it to another investor? Are you going to fix it up and flip it yourself? Are you going to hold on to it for rental?

As you grow into your real estate business, you'll have a number of options for each deal depending on what's most suitable for the piece of real estate. You may have properties that you can assign, rehab OR rent. But, initially, decide where you are on your real estate investing scale and work within those parameters. If you are asking: "Should I focus on rehabbing houses or should I target probate?" you're asking two different questions.

How:
The next thing is the communication method. That is 'how are we going to talk to our potential motivated sellers?' So let's suppose your market is foreclosures or pre-foreclosures (the who). The next question is how? There are basically only four methods that we can use to communicate with our target market.

1. Driving for Dollars (or door knocking)

2. Telemarketing

3. Direct mail

4. Mass marketing

How Much:
I toss this in because this is going to affect your real estate marketing strategies. How much can you afford to spend? Understand for a few dollars a day, you can have an extremely profitable real estate investing business. It doesn't take a lot of money to bring in home run deals!

Here's a quick real estate marketing business plan that you can implement immediately using the Who, What, When, Where, Why & How approach:

Who: Pre-foreclosures within 2 weeks of sale at the courthouse (note how specific this is)

What: Yellow legal pad letters

When: Two weeks prior to the sale

Where: Prospect's Home

Why: Seller is more motivated and has run out of options

How: Hand-written, hand addressed, first class postage and return address label

How Much: Based on a budget of $100/month, I will send 59.5 letters each week (remember to figure out your marketing budget down to the penny - stamps, ink, paper, envelopes, etc.)

And there you have it! 7 Simple Steps for your real estate marketing plan.