Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Controlling the Public’s Thoughts About You The Michael Bloomberg Way

“I am the best Realtor in town! Why can’t anyone figure it out?” (frustrated Charlotte Realtor)

Michael Bloomberg, the current Mayor of New York City, came to fame as the founder of Bloomberg, LP. His company builds and maintains data terminals for members of the financial community who need access to real-time financial data. He built this from nothing to a $10B+ company in around 20 years. He is obviously an astute and extremely successful businessman who knows a thing or two about serving up data, both to his customers and to the press. Let me explain.

Bloomberg knew that favorable media coverage was extremely important to the growth of his business. So, he had to figure out a way to make sure that all (or at least most) of the news stories about Bloomberg, LP were positive. Short of threatening reporters, it was tough to see how he could coerce them into writing what he wanted (aka good stuff). It seemed like a crapshoot; any reporter could write anything they wanted and it could be influenced by nothing to do with his company. For example, the reporter could have had a breakfast that didn’t sit well or his ex-wife could have had the maiden name of “Bloomberg” which would result in a negative article. How could he increase his odds for positive coverage?

Well, he hired a staff whose sole job was to work with the media. Doesn’t every company do this? Yes, but he took it a step farther. When reporters called, his staff asked them what they were writing about, who they wanted to talk to, and what angle they were looking to take. When the reporters showed up at Bloomberg LP’s headquarters, a packet of information was waiting on them regarding the subject they were looking to cover (all pro-Bloomberg LP, of course!).

In this information packet, and what set Bloomberg apart, was an article (already written!) on the topic they were planning to write about. His staff would say something to the effect of, “We know that reporters are busy and have a tough job with all these deadlines and such. So, we thought we’d make it easier for you. Feel free to use as much of the provided article as you like; there is no need to reference our work. It’s yours to do with as you please- use the article in its entirety, if you’d like! We won’t tell anyone.” And as the story goes, most of the reporters used parts of the article in their stories and, sure enough, some of the reporters published the full article verbatim.

“Ummm… I’m not a billionaire and can’t afford to hire a staff of writers. Great article, though!” Thanks, but the point of the story is two-fold:

1. You can largely control the information about you in the public domain. Just write positive things about yourself and have the search engines index it!
2. You can make it easy for people to find positive information about you; simply provide it to every customer you meet! This can be on your business card, e-mail signature, or company brochures.

When people Google your name or your real estate company’s name, what comes up? What does your Linked-In profile look like? What are you “tweeting” out regularly? How are customers figuring out how “good” you really are?

Don’t make people do the work of drawing a conclusion about what type of agent you are. Give them the conclusion you want them to have about you (in an easy format). It worked well for billionaire and Mayor, Mike Bloomberg! Will you let it work well for you?

Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty, “Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company” (www.BDFRealty.com and www.RentToSell.com). You can follow his Twitter thoughts on the Charlotte real estate market by clicking on http://twitter.com/bdfrealty. He is the author of the FREE E-Manual entitled “How to Rent-To-Sell Your Own Home” (http://www.renttosell.com/RTS-Book.html) which details how to get the most potential buyers to your home in this challenging real estate market.

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Sarah Palin- A Huge Rent-To-Own and Seller Financing Fan?

“I need to do something to sell my empty house NOW.” (Unhappy Charlotte Landlord)

Moderator: “Who do you think was at fault? I start with you, Gov. Palin. Was it the greedy lenders? Was it the risky home-buyers who shouldn't have been buying a home in the first place?”

Sarah Palin: “Darn right it was the predator lenders, who tried to talk Americans into thinking that it was smart to buy a $300,000 house if we could only afford a $100,000 house. There was deception there, and there was greed and there is corruption on Wall Street. And we need to stop that.” (VP Debate vs. Joe Biden 10/2/08)

When watching the Vice-President debate in October 2008, one thing was crystal clear- Sarah Palin doesn’t care for banks very much. It appears that she would rather trade two small fur skins for a gallon of milk than go to a bank’s ATM and buy the milk outright. After all, Wall Street is corrupt (some, yes), they rip you off (true…), and the mortgage crisis was all the bankers’ fault (not true). She certainly wouldn’t advise you (and her 800K+ Facebook “friends”) to go to a bank and get a mortgage. You’ll be duped! It would be the equivalent of subjecting yourself to a financial “death panel”. Not good!

When you’re trying to get elected, blaming corporations instead of voters who put you in office is a much better strategy. But as for the aftermath of the mortgage crisis we faced, WWSD? What would she want us to do differently now that she isn’t running for office? Maybe she would tell us to take some of the blame? And be part of the solution?

I’m convinced that former Governor Palin would naturally be a fan of rent-to-own (lease options) and seller financing. These methods allow people (who can’t get a mortgage) to rent homes until they have built up their credit and a down payment so they can own; this promotes personal responsibility and puts the power in the hands of the people, rather than the banks. And I’m sure she believes in the resiliency and will of the American people to overcome and right their own ship. The question is, do you?

As your home sits on the market for sale month after month, would you be willing to “rent-to-sell” it? “But a lot of the prospective rent-to-own tenants have poor credit…” “Some of them have been in foreclosure and bankruptcy before.” “I met one and his nails weren’t cleaned properly.” All valid points. But they are humans. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. For example, do you know anyone that has lost a job and might have started being late on their bills? Do they deserve a second chance? And, yes, sometimes bad people do bad things. But if this wasn’t true, Michael Knight would have been on the unemployment line and Kit would have spent most of his time parked uselessly in a garage. But I digress…

As Ms. Palin exhorted in the debate, “One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is let's commit ourselves just every day American people, Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again. Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars.” Maybe we can pick up the slack for Wall Street?

Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty, “Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company” (www.BDFRealty.com and www.RentToSell.com). You can follow his Twitter thoughts on the Charlotte real estate market by clicking on http://twitter.com/bdfrealty. He is the author of the FREE E-Manual entitled “How to Rent-To-Sell Your Own Home” (http://www.renttosell.com/RTS-Book.html) which details how to get the most potential buyers to your home in this challenging real estate market.

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: What is “Rent-To-Sell”? A Primer by “Ugly Kid”

“You think ‘Rent-To-Sell’ is the best way to sell in this economy? Why is it better than just listing my home for sale?” (Skeptical Charlotte Home Seller)

“My son will have a date to that darn prom if it is the last thing I do…” (Rueful rallying cry from the father of “Ugly Kid”)

A father had a problem. Rather it was his son’s problem, but he couldn’t stomach the thought that his offspring was so unappealing to the opposite sex. So now the problem was his. The high school junior prom was only three short weeks away and his son was still unable to secure a date. “Pathetic,” the father thought as he trolled his retired black book to see if any of his prior flings had a daughter his son’s age. How could this be happening?

It certainly wasn’t for lack of effort. Not only had his son asked out every girl in his class, but he had followed it up with invitations to every girl in his grade, then every girl in his high school, and every girl in his nascent Facebook account. No go. The real world and cyberspace were proving equally as cruel. Apparently, when one has earned the moniker of “Ugly Kid”, the deck is stacked against you. However, the father was undeterred and began his campaign to get his son a prom date.

It started with accessing message boards from high schools around the country and posting ads. “Attention High School Girls: Great Guy Needs Prom Date, Awesome Personality, No Pictures Available (hard drive crashed), Will Pay Airfare, Room, & Board to NC.” He alerted radio station disc jockeys to his son’s dilemma. He submitted thousands of entries into the “Win a Date with Britney Spears” contest. He put profiles on Match.com and HighSchoolGirlzHere.com. And then, he waited…

Something happened. His e-mail began to fill up and his phone started to ring off the hook. Nationally, high school girls were requesting more information (and pictures) concerning his posts. Disc jockeys were putting him on their shows and having intrigued girls call in. Activity was booming and the excitement was palpable. And then one week before prom, his son got a call from a Carolina girl from Charlotte who said the sweet words he had been yearning to hear, “Yes, I will go to the prom with you.” And Dad’s work paid off; “Ugly Kid” was going to the dance.

This is the essence of “Rent-To-Sell”. The traditional buyers who go get a loan and purchase your home outright are scarce! You need to remember the oldest selling axiom out there (“Sales is a numbers game”) and have it work for you. Instead of just listing your home like you did in the past, you need to open your home up to the greatest number of potential buyers out there; this includes rent-to-own tenants (building their credit), tenant-buyers (renters with good credit who don’t want to buy right now- usually just moved to the area), and investors looking to buy a home with a paying tenant already in place. The American dream of homeownership isn’t dead; it is just is going to be played out differently until the credit markets firm up. Change your game plan accordingly!

Your home and “Ugly Kid” are in the same boat. Enlarge your target buyer audience and that call will come!

Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty, “Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company” (www.BDFRealty.com and www.RentToSell.com). You can follow his Twitter thoughts on the Charlotte real estate market by clicking on http://twitter.com/bdfrealty. He is the author of the FREE E-Manual entitled “How to Rent-To-Sell Your Own Home” (http://www.renttosell.com/RTS-Book.html) which details how to get the most potential buyers to your home in this challenging real estate market.