nities in their homes.
world. Participate. Here are some ways that you can actively create what I like to call “collective abundance” in your com- munities, which leads to a strong tribal culture: • REMEMBER THE LITTLE THINGS. Handwritten cards on a tenant’s birth- day can mean the world. • GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO SAY A FEW WORDS. Stopping by to chat with a resident can cheer up a lonely person and give you insight into a tenant’s daily struggles. • MAKE A HOSPITAL VISIT OR BRING A FAMILY A HOT MEAL. You have no idea how much a 15-min- ute bedside chat or a frozen casserole will mean until you experience it. LESSON LEARNED: When you take small steps to create a tribal culture, the rest of your community will begin to follow suit. This is one of the most meaningful ways in which real estate investors change lives, create loyal- ty, and establish long-term relationships. In my com- munities, there are residents who have lived there for as many as 30 years. They are loyal because we show our loyalty is to them, not just our bottom line. EXPANDING THE CONVERSATION When you think of adding value, don’t stop with just your real estate investing. Take the conversation into all areas of your life: home,
healthcare professionals.
major cities (and employ- ment opportunities) or even the proximity of your listing to major local employers, such as hospitals, universi- ties, or corporate headquar- ters. Brag about it! If your property is only 10 minutes from the leading healthcare provider in the area, make note. Nurses and doctors will search for properties using that provider’s name as a keyword. If you own a prop- erty in such a location, you may want to consider con- verting it from a long-term rental unit to a short-term corporate rental in order to attract higher rents and visiting physicians and other
urban residents with little outdoor space of their own to gather in a beautiful, com- munity setting. LESSON LEARNED: Even cut- and-dried physical upgrades should be made with the feel- ing of community in mind. VALUE-FACTOR #3 TRIBAL CULTURE Real estate investors are, by definition, in the business of real estate. However, many fail to realize that real estate is about people. The people who live in your properties or work on your properties are a community, and that community has a culture. Invest in and cultivate that culture, create a “tribe,” so to speak, and the power of your tribe will change your life. It will also change the lives of the community members for the better. When I realized that people do not really care how much you know about anything – investing, property management, their ability to qualify to rent an apartment, anything – until they know how much you care. Once they know that they matter, they will happily join with you to create a community that is attractive to all residents. So, how do you make this happen? For starters, immerse yourself in “the moment.” Be present in your residents’ lives and world. We talked about this a little bit earlier in the section on physi- cal changes. Take it a step farther and immerse yourself in your residents’ lifestyle including but not limited to their residence (factor #2) and their daily behavior and
work, friends, and business. Take the time to examine your personal cultures and communities, then create value plays to add value to them. The inevitable will happen: Value will come back to you. • > Continued from :: PG 47 10 Mistakes Property Owners Property Listing year. You may want to mar- ket your property as a ski retreat in the winter and an outdoors-y adventure in the summer, or you may want to advertise a special offer or deal within the text of your headline. Update your head- line/title often and see which attracts the most attention. MakeWhen Writing their #8: "MAKING DO" WITH POOR LISTING PHOTOS A picture says a thousand words, so make sure those “words” are positive! Have good quality photos that showcase your property in a positive light. #9: NOT POSTING ENOUGH PHOTOS The more photos the better. People will see what they’re getting and be more confi- dent working with you. You might even want to consider video, either pre-recorded or via a social media outlet for live video, such as Facebook.
81 percent of all buyers indicat- ed they would be more likely to buy a home if smart technology were already installed. However, many investors fear all this technology can have a negative effect on renters’ and buyers’ per- ception of a property if it limits human contact too much. VanWinkle believes that the time has arrived to accept that while this may be a concern now, nonhu- man interaction will become increasingly attractive to renters and buyers in the near future. “The nonhuman interaction is the way of the future,” he said, adding that today’s young professionals, “digital natives” who have grown up with full access to the internet for their entire lives, “want to work and live this way.” There are plenty of resourc- es that back him up in this belief, as Millennials (defined as those born between 1981 and 1997 in this study) are more than happy to report their preferences in a variety of recent surveys. According to Wakefield Research, 86 percent of Millennials will pay more for a home or rental property if it has smart home technology. Furthermore, the same survey indicated they will pay an average of 20 per- cent more for specific features: • Electronic access • Keyless locks • Interconnected doorbells • Mobile-controlled security systems • Voice-activated assistants By comparison, 65 percent of Baby Boomers 65 years and older said they would also pay more for these ame-
> Continued from :: PG 10 3 Money-Saving Strategies Hands- On Investors Miss and bar codes so you can easily identify a lack and re- stock when the time comes.
WHAT SMARTHOME TECHNOLOGYWORKS BEST FOR INVESTORS? Picking the right smart home technology for your investment property will hinge on two things:
THE RIGHTWORDS FOR THEWIN Using the right words to describe your rental, including the right information, and fea- turing lots of the right pictures will add tremendous value to your property nearly overnight by helping your target market understand exactly what your property offers and what makes it better than other, similar properties also on the mar- ket. You could dramatically improve your days-on-market simply by taking the time to correct these common proper- ty listing mistakes. •
MONEY-SAVING TIP #3 EXPLORE YOUR WORKFLOW OPTIONS
1 How the installation benefits you 2 How the installation benefits your buyer
Many vendors now offer contractors and hands-on investors the option to use the company’s workflow and reporting software. Instead of paying extra for this type of software program, see if your local supply store offers an online version for investors like you. This way, you can consolidate your purchasing habits and how those pur- chases get used (and on what schedule) in one place for better business analysis. • > Continued from :: PG 43 What the “Internet of Things” Means for Your Real Estate Returns depending on the preferences of your target tenant population. Many of these smart items also may enable a fix-and-flipper to snag a higher sales price on the retail market, depending on the price point of the updated home and the target demographic. In Miami, for example, about a quarter of all luxury homes had smart-home technology in 2015, and that trend is starting to extend downward into other price points. As far back as 2015, a CNET/Coldwell Banker survey indicated that 25 percent of all U.S. adults have at least one smart product in their home, and about half of all Mil- lennial buyers did. At that time,
Both benefits can take the form of financial returns or quality-of-life returns. “When you are dealing with IoT, experience drives interaction,” VanWinkle said. “Instead of having to sell a buyer or a tenant on the idea of a smart home, anyone who has already experienced the service side of this technology will probably sell themselves. Similarly, as a real estate investor, once you experience returns from these installations or an improved bottom line on your rent- al portfolio, you will likely continue to install them as well. Of course,” he noted, “in some sectors of real estate these installations still will not be something your buyers or renters will pay for. In that scenario, your financial and quality-of-life returns will be the driving factor in the decision to install these types of technology.” • > Continued from :: PG 45 3 Value Plays to Create Community stalling community gar- dens (and the associated after-school activities) and even large decks or bar- beque/picnic areas in our properties, thereby allowing
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#10: OVERLOOKING COMMUTER DETAILS
If your potential tenants are not familiar with the area, they may not realize how close your town is to
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