How to Write the Best Property Description to Find Foreign Investors?

We have already established in the previous posts that during all those coronavirus restrictions in the world, we mostly can count on real estate foreign buyers who are investors and purchase properties based on the financials.

Yes, writing a home description to attract foreign investors is more complicated than doing it the old usual way everybody had been using for years: size, beauty, facilities, location… (unfortunately, often we can see lots of properties for sale with descriptions missing even some of these mandatory features…)

Now, let’s forget the old rules and start calculating the profit that an imaginary foreign investor could get from your property (if this is possible of course…). Treat the sale of your residential property as if it’s commercial.

There are actually 2 types of profiting from real estate: rental income and price appreciation with time. Look at both possibilities carefully, find the historic data of real estate prices in your area, rental prices and costs now, show some forecast maybe, etc. Calculate approximate financials of your property for sale, and if they look good you might be way ahead of any other real estate seller in these difficult times, and foreign buyers will come to you!

Happy blog reading,

Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

Copyright © 2020 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

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Who are Perfect Foreign Buyers for Your Property for Sale during Covid-19?

While traveling is restricted all over the world, it’s obvious that just only international INVESTORS are still buying profit-making real estate in foreign countries – as buying for their own families vacations would usually require personal visits and viewing of the property they want to buy.

Let’s look at 2 recent descriptions of condos for sale in South Florida – both are 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, more or less the same asking price around $300k AND in the same very rare(!) building in Miami-Dade county that allows short-term rentals:

1. “ALLOWED SHORT TERM RENTALS, 1 block from the beautiful beaches, 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms. The unit offers open views and very bright natural light, excellent for investors. LOW- EXPENSES WITH HIGH RETURNS, large balcony/terrace, open view of the park, assigned parking. The HOA includes maintenance of common areas, water, waste, cable, and internet. The areas close to restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, and more”

AND

2. “Here comes a great corner unit! These corners are almost never for sale. Now is the chance to acquire one! In absolutely perfect condition and furnished with high quality furniture. Good taste all over. One block to the beach, restaurants, shops, etc. Can make a 3rd bedroom with the den if desired”

So, being an investor, would you consider the first or the second condo??? The answer is obvious – what investor would care about the “good taste” of the previous owner of the second unit while the “short-term rentals are allowed” in the first one!!!

Pay attention to features attractive for investors and you’ll be able to sell your property successfully to foreign buyers even at the times of crisis.

Happy blog reading,

Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

Copyright © 2020 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

Foreign Investors for Your Real Estate for Sale during Time of Crisis

Although the world seems to have stopped during these times of the coronavirus outbreak, many people are still making money and looking for real estate to invest it in. And properties are being sold, although the numbers of sales are down, of course.

Let’s see who is buying and what? Definitely the markets for homes where families are going to live in, are on hold due to travel bans and restrictions on social contacts, etc. But what about real estate INVESTORS? They are interested not in viewing a property for sale to discover its beauty, but exclusively in profit it can bring into their pockets, right?

If it was always obvious for commercial properties to calculate CAP and ROI, how about to do the same for your home for sale, for instance, – if renting it out is an option for a new future owner?

Thus, the today’s marketing idea for any property for sale is the following: try and describe it as a profit-making property first of all. (Yes, the seller or his agent should do some research for that – for example, to find out about rental prices, possibilities and trends in the area, etc.)

The profit-making option may attract INVESTORS to purchase your home for sale (and foreign investors including, of course, if you market properly – in the foreign internet too). Remember: while regular home buyers put their dreams on hold, INVESTORS are quietly buying in difficult times.

Later we’ll talk more about creating real estate listings that beat any competition by attracting the foreign investors in these times of crisis.

Happy blog reading,
Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

Copyright © 2020 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

Update on Amazon Books on the Topic: International Real Estate Buyers

As you probably had multiple chances to notice that Amazon search results you receive each time, vary a lot depending on the key words or phrases you try. For example, the list will be different for “foreign buyers” and “international buyers” although for a human being there is no difference in the meaning of these two key words.

 

Ok, let’s search Amazon Books for “international real estate buyers”. There are 100+ books, and approximately 60% of them are e-books with an average price of $10 – very affordable.

As it always happens with any automatic search, some results are not so much on the topic, and you have to decide on their usefulness for yourself looking at particular title descriptions. (I have looked at several, and they seemed to be more about general real estate buyers rather than international ones.)

Anyway, many of the e-books we have found, are right on the topic of marketing and selling properties world-wide (my own e-books including).

And while getting ready for the after-covid19 world to be open again, you might want to read about:

= How to Build Trust with Buyers and Partners: Practical Advice to Achieve Success in International Real Estate Sales

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZ86G93

= How to Find the Best Foreign Realtors and Make Your Offer of Cooperation in Sale Irresistible to Them

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BDSMM80

= How to Efficiently Advertise Your Property for Sale Internationally  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BTCNYE6

= How to Sell Real Estate to the Russians

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C3DOB4M

= How to Sell Real Estate to the Chinese: Overview http://www.amazon.com/dp/B072JYX43F

= How to Plan and Budget for Success in International Property Sales
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CZ1K0XI

= How to Be the First on Foreign Google

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H0Q2ZGI

= How to Convert Foreign Internet Visitors into Real Estate Buyers
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H2BA00Y

= How to Use Free Online Translation in Real Estate Business http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JGQB71Y

= A Case Study of Effective Low-Budget Real Estate Marketing to Foreign Buyers: (Interview with Jessica Marks, Real Estate Marketing Specialist) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LDIEY4U

= The Beginner’s Guide to Selling Real Estate to Foreign Buyers
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MED0JTH

Happy blog reading,

Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

Copyright © 2020 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

Update on Amazon Books on the Topic: Cross-cultural Marketing and Selling

Let’s go to www.amazon.com and search for “cross-cultural marketing and selling” in Books (keeping in mind that the results may vary for any individual search depending on the time and position in the world).

There are 15 books, more than half of them are too old or aimed at a too specific topic which has nothing to do with international real estate marketing and selling.

Thus, we see not a lot of books on this very important issue: IF you want to successfully sell properties internationally to foreign buyers, you have to be aware of the fact that whatever you say in your marketing materials to the buyers abroad, most probably will be understood not the way you meant!

And the other way around: whatever the foreign buyers communicate to you, most probably you will understand not the way they meant!

Of course, each nation/culture you want to reach with your marketing message in their own language requires a specific approach.

Note: google “Olga Kellen + cross-cultural marketing selling” (or any similar formula), and you’ll be able to find many of my articles and books on the first page of this organic search – to help you with dealing with the foreign buyers in real estate in general and with Russian and Chinese buyers of international properties in particular.

Happy blog reading,

Olga Kellen,

The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

Copyright © 2020 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

Update on Amazon Books on the Topic: Real Estate Foreign Buyers

Let’s go to www.amazon.com and search for “real estate foreign buyers” in Books (keeping in mind that the results may vary for any individual search depending on the time and position in the world).

There are 17 organic results plus 12 Sponsored Ads (probably the latter may vary day-by-day): 3 books are in Spanish or specific to Spanish real estate law, which leaves us with 26 books in English.

Going one-by-one through them all we can find out the following: 4 books are more than 10 years old and that makes them probably useless now as the world has changed significantly since then, which leaves us with 22 books that Amazon search engine considers to be on the required topic.

12 books (advertised as Sponsored) are about real estate, yes, but they have nothing to do with looking for, finding and dealing specifically with the foreign buyers of real estate, while the out-of-country buyers are a huge and growing purchasing power in international real estate business these days.

The rest really up-to-the-topic 10 books are only available in digital, they indeed deal with various aspects of international marketing and selling real estate. The author is yours truly Olga Kellen.

Thus, I’m looking for a publisher willing to publish a print book “How to Market and Sell Real Estate to Foreign Buyers”. Open to any constructive ideas, thanks!

Happy blog reading, 

Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator 

Copyright © 2020 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

How Your Local Foreign Community Can Help with Selling to Foreign Buyers

Foreign buyers of real estate may originate from foreign countries as well as from foreign communities in your neighborhood. For example, according to Pew Research there are about 50 million foreign-born people mostly living in 20 metropolitan areas in the US – may be quite a market for a property for sale, right?

Of course, the first thing to do would be to find out whether the population of your country and area “fits the bill” – means whether there are immigrants settling around your property for sale and from what country or countries they come from.

At that moment we have to remind ourselves that people always prefer their own mother’s language over a new acquired language of their new country where they may settle for whatever reason.

Also anybody tends to remember and love their native country’s culture, that’s why immigrants create communities with magazines, newspapers in their native languages, events and even chambers of commerce – in some areas where the immigrant population speaking the same native language is significant enough for vibrant business life within the community. Look for your foreign buyers there!

For example, in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida some stats say that about 20% of the population speak Russian as their first language. There are Russian shops and restaurants, many other businesses with Russian-speaking personnel around the city. And of course, magazines and newspapers with advertising in Russian!

If there is one or another local foreign community around your area, using the various possibilities it can provide to market your property for sale may be the best marketing decision you can make to successfully sell the property to foreign buyers.

Happy blog reading,

Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

Copyright © 2020 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

2 types of Foreign Buyers and How to Reach Both with the Same Listing

There are 2 major groups of foreign buyers: 1. some are looking for the best way to invest in real estate abroad – never mind the area, country and type of property; and 2. others who have already made up their mind on a particular investment and are looking for a suitable property.

Not to waste our online presentation (a listing on a portal or webpage or ad) and to reach the both groups of foreign buyers at the same time, we have to combine in the presentation all the property’s features that are attractive to the both types of the foreign buyers.

Potential foreign investors looking for the best harbor for their money abroad will be definitely interested in what privileges and profits their investment might bring them: return-on-investment for a hotel or rental property, citizenship-for-investment for a property of a certain price, etc. Even for a condo or single family home mentioning their rental possibility (if any existing, of course) must be done.

The foreign buyers who already know in what country and area and what type of property they want, will be interested in all details about the property for sale: location, size, age, renovations, exclusive features, etc. Plenty of photos and video are a must.

So, why not to combine all of the above mentioned in one and the same property presentation? Then both types of the foreign buyers will be yours. 

Happy blog reading,

Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

 

Copyright © 2020 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

Pocket Listings and Real Estate Marketing to Foreign Buyers

It happens that a property owner wants to sell, but at the same time doesn’t want the general public to be informed about it ahead of time, and thus the usual real estate marketing methods are not possible. When and why does it happen?

If this is a commercial property that sells with the business connected, the current owner may fear that the existing clients would feel disturbed by the news and go to a competitor ahead of the future change of management, and this would let the sale price down (who wants to pay a top price for a business with not large number of clients?).

If this is a private property, the owner may fear that the inside pictures of his luxury dwelling would be available for everybody to see, and this would affect his privacy and safety.

Anyway, how to sell a property if it’s not allowed to be publicized (so called a pocket listing)? Pocket listings may be very comfortable for sellers in some circumstances, and also very lucrative for their realtors, but at the same time they are very difficult to market. Where to find a buyer?

The problem may be solved by marketing to foreign buyers in a foreign language on the foreign internet. Thus, the owner may be fully aware that nobody in his surrounding would know about his intent to sell the property (who on Earth is going to search the internet in other languages?), but the property marketing still can be done as wide as desired – to the foreign buyers in the foreign languages on the foreign internet in the foreign countries.

Of course, this approach requires a comprehensive preliminary research of all the marketing possibilities: the foreign buyers from what countries might be mostly interested in this particular property for sale?

Happy blog reading,
Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

Copyright © 2019 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved

Marketing to Foreign Buyers is a Way to Increase Real Estate Sales in Slow Market

We know that in the Seller’s market realtors and developers do not need to do a lot of marketing actually as homes sell themselves, while in the Buyer’s market the situation is quite the opposite: to sell a home would be a hard task to complete.

We remember the good times about 15 years ago when leaving the door of your condo building in Florida we saw people hanging around and asking whether somebody could sell something here – they were ready to buy anything at all.

Then we also remember the bad times about 10 years ago when the market was down and realtors who didn’t do an adequate marketing went to drive a taxi to make a living.

So, real estate markets go up and down and a wise seller should be always ready for any situation.

One of the best ideas for slow times is Marketing Real Estate to Foreign Buyers.

Of course, to sell a particular property would require some research: is it in demand by international investors and from what country or countries?

An example: there had been a financial crisis in Greece and the locals didn’t buy even when the real estate prices were low. What helped the sellers? International marketing. Some sources say that about one third of Greek properties are being sold to the foreign buyers.

Another example: the number of the Chinese buyers of the US homes went down, but they still had bought American homes for a billion of dollars in each quarter of the year. An intelligent US seller would increase his marketing efforts in China in such circumstances – to be ahead of the competition, right?

Happy blog reading,

Olga Kellen,
The Amazon Author
International Marketing Consultant and English-Russian Translator

Copyright © 2019 by Olga Kellen
All Rights Reserved