Before you build a mousetrap check to see if there are any mice. This saying holds very true. Sometimes we as sales people get caught up in what we want our portfolio to consist of. We envision people wanting what we feel is best for them based on our knowledge and experience. Well I've decided to take a step back and look at what is really happening in my part of the market and analyze where the majority of my inquiries are being generated from. It didn't take a whole lot of research to find out. Over recent months I would say 85% of my inquiries have been from rentals. Tenants looking to rent a home and Homeowners looking to rent out their home.
Lately I have been receiving quite a few rental leads. When I'm on duty the calls are normally from people looking to rent. Well, years past I used to refuse to do rentals. After having purchased two homes myself as a single mother I just did not understand why any one would ever want to rent and pay towards someone else future instead of securing their own. Over time housing has proved to be one of the most stable investments ever.
Now anyone like myself who has owned stock in the past 15 years has probably suffered insurmountable losses. After I loss a 100 shares in one company it was totally a wake up call. I had purchased the shares because it was a retail establishment which I frequented. Needless to say they filed bankruptcy, reorganized, and I didn't get one dime. I really felt bad for the people who owned more shares in the company than I probably could have owned in a lifetime at the price is was originally trading for. Once their stock got down to a penny it was fair game.
Well, I'm thinking if those top investors had invested the money in investment property probably the most catastrophic thing that could have happened is a natural disaster and their chances of losing everything would probably be slim to none. Most people who own property I would imagine has it insured. There is no insurance against the stock market which I'm aware of.
Undoubtedly this market has people still skeptical about buying. I was talking to an investor recently and he seemed to agree with me now is one of the best times ever to buy. My reply was "yes, I'm surprised my phone is not ringing off the hook for those persons looking to purchase."
Reality has set in. I really don't receive a lot of calls or referrals from people looking to buy. Most of the calls I receive when I am at the office for duty, on the phone, or via referrals are from people looking to rent. So yesterday evening I added a new page to my website: http://www.lynneruffin.com/VirginiaRentals/Rent.htm. Rentals are what most of the prospects I have been privy to are looking for. Why am I not featuring more information on rentals? Some people are just not ready to take the plunge into buying a home or have been there and done that and even though it is for a lot of folks it is just not for them.
Now I will hopefully be updating my Rental Hot List daily. In the past when I have featured a page of rentals on my website my website hits were off the chain. I took it down because I was receiving so many inquiries and after things slowed down I never implemented my hot lists again.
Fortunately for me the company I am with not allows us to take the rental listings when a Homeowner is looking to rent which I love. When a homeowner wants to rent their property the rental can go into the MLS with me as the listing agent and I can run the marketing campaigns to get it rented. I love it!
Now I am going to concentration on rental properties. Rentals sometimes consist of prospective buyers who are skeptical about buying right now, however, they will buy in the future once they feel the market is right for them. Homeowners who rent their property now may one day decide to sell it when the market gets better. If I put the listing into property management I get the listing back once the homeowner wants to sell.
Thus, if you're looking to rent a property or looking to rent your property I hope you find the rental resources I've added and will be adding to my website over the next week helpful.
Have a great day!
Lynne
Lynne RuffinREALTOR®
757.309.2763
Long and Foster Norfolk Companies
2000-13 Colonial Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23517
Licensed in Virginia
"Equal Housing Opportunity"
