Using a website to get more deals... - Posted by SteveC(Shooter)

Real Estate Investing
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Posted by ben on March 04, 2000 at 01:12:02:

Bob, there are a few simple steps to begin with. First, you have to find a “hoster”… somebody to host your site. There are millions of web hosting companies, I can help you find one if you like. That will usually cost about $15 - $29 per month, depending on how much traffic you get and how many megabytes of space you buy. There will usually be a one-time setup fee of about $19 - $49, and you will be asked to pay for the first three months up front.

Before you put your site up, you need to get and register a Domain name. This will cost $70.00 for the first two years, $35 per year after that.

Now you have a Domain name and have found a company to host your site. So you Build your site. You can hire a web designer to do this, they will charge you anywhere from $800 - $1500 … or you can have a template designer build one for about $300 (will not look as original, will not be unique but WILL look pretty good) … or you can build your own. There are some great software packages out there for very resonable price - MS Front Page 2000 for example is excellent and will let you make a page just as if you were using a Word Processor (about $150). I use Net Objects Fusion which cost more but is VERY good. You can even make a basic page with Netscape, which you probably already have and can get for free - or with MS Front Page express, also free.

CHEAP ALTERNATIVES - you can make a web site without the Domain name by using one of the many Free site hosters such as Yahoo/Geocities, Tripod, Fortune City, etc. But the web site won’t have your name, your company name of ANY unique name. That would save you the $70 fee for Domain name and the setup fee & hosting fees. I love these services for personal pages but hate them for business - because they force your visitors to put up with floating java applets & advertising and because they give your business the appearance of being cheap or not completely legitimate; but you can’t beat the price.

If you are really interested, I would be happy to email you the resources, about 20 different free hosters, links to some shareware & freeware for building a site and other helpful tips. If you decide to set up a proper business site with your own domain name, I’ll be happy to help you register with Internic and introduce you to somebody who will host your site for $6.95 per month - they will give you FIVE EMAIL addresses to use for your business, 30 megabytes of disc space, and over 2000 megabytes per month of transfer hits.

Please email me with questions and I will help you. Good Luck!

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Using a website to get more deals… - Posted by SteveC(Shooter)

Posted by SteveC(Shooter) on March 02, 2000 at 06:22:03:

Using a company website is a great way to find Sellers and Buyers, many gurus at the convention made light of this fact.

Since the foundation of this website is to help other investors become successful, I think we should develop a network of website owners who are willing to link to each other. I receive inquiries all the time from Sellers who want to sell a home outside of my investing area.

If you have a website and would like us to add a link to it on our website, send me an e-mail.

My first post on this subject got deleted and I think it was because I put my URL in it. I am not trying to solicit business with this post, but want to pass on leads from other parts of the country to fellow RE investors.

J.P., I think a great “discussion topic” could be started about Internet marketing. Something like, “Ideas on increasing your business through the Internet”. Something to think about.

Anyone else have any ideas on how we can help each other form an Internet network to pass on leads to each other generated from our websites?

Steve Case

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Re: Using a website to get more deals… - Posted by Reg (WA)

Posted by Reg (WA) on March 02, 2000 at 11:28:49:

I’m in send me your e-mail address.

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How About FREE Classifieds Here? - Posted by J.P. Vaughan

Posted by J.P. Vaughan on March 02, 2000 at 08:47:17:

Hi Steve,

We weren’t going to let this out of the bag just yet,
but now seems like a good time to announce it.

Terry and I have been planning to put up a free classified
ads section for our visitors’ use. With over 5,000 visitors
a day here, that should give folks some decent exposure.

Look for it in about 4-6 weeks.

Feel free to start an internet marketing discussion. I
can’t give away any of my inside secrets because our
competitors watch this board.

JP

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I’m in! I’ll email you in the next couple of days with my URL… - Posted by TRandle

Posted by TRandle on March 02, 2000 at 08:03:31:

I think it’s a great idea…thanks…

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How do you set up a webb site? - Posted by Bob Burkhard

Posted by Bob Burkhard on March 02, 2000 at 07:21:00:

The convention stimulated my interest in setting up a webb site but I have no idea how or where to start. Ideas would be welcomed.

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Re: Using a website to get more deals… - Posted by paris

Posted by paris on March 07, 2000 at 10:32:32:

I’m also in send me information & all e-mail addresses possible.

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This is GREAT news!! (nt) - Posted by SusanL.–FL

Posted by SusanL.–FL on March 02, 2000 at 08:54:38:

nt

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Re: How do you set up a webb site? - Posted by ben

Posted by ben on March 05, 2000 at 14:57:45:

Hello again, Bob -

If you visited R. Campbell’s site from his post, that is an example of the software I was talking about in my first post … the page was made using MICROSOFT FRONT PAGE (version 4.0). As I’ve said, it’s a pretty good piece of software, allowing you to make a nice page from one of many great templates and you can do it with no prior knowledge. As you advance, the software will support more advanced programming, including raw HTML editing.

If you use that site as an example, it shows you how polished a “Front Page” generated site can look. It also shows you the limitations of templates insofar as the template he used was optimized for 640x480 resolution (that’s why there is no margin on the left, but a huge blank space on the right for about 90% of monitor screens). You can change those specs though, by editing the raw HTML code - again, I’d be happy to help you with that if you’d like.

The most recent version of MS Front Page (Front Page 2000) is only $149 and worth every dime. You can get additional Templates and real-estate-specific templates for MS Front Page from one of the URLs I listed in my second post (many of those templates are free).

If you’d like to see examples of web pages made with Net Objects Fusion, a more advanced yet still simple software builder, email me and I’ll send you a few URLs to view.

If you are still anxious to get a site up fast, but can’t yet shell out for some good / easy software, I’d be happy to make up a template for you, specific to real estate investing. You can fill in the blanks with your own information and have it up in no time.

Good luck, Bob. I hope to see your site up soon!

Ben

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Re: How do you set up a webb site? - Posted by ben

Posted by ben on March 04, 2000 at 20:33:22:

Hello Bob -

Chris’s recommendation is excellent! I’ve read that magazine he’s talking about (from Smart Computing) and have actually loaned it to friends who had the same question(s) as you.

He’s right Bob, there is probably no better pub to read for starters. Here are four websites that will also give you some fast relief:

Here is the URL to a site from Netscape, where you can make a web page right online - it will lead you through the system block-by-block, and within minutes you will really have a basic page. Use Netscape Composer (built in to Netscape Communicator) to modify your page, add pictures, etc.

http://home.netscape.com/browsers/createsites/index.html

Here is a wonderful web site that has thousands of free web-building resources - free graphics, backgrounds, tutorials, buttons, banners, templates, newsletters, tech advice and more:

http://www.freewebtemplates.com/

Another great free site with over three-thousand free tools and resources is “really big.com”. Here is the URL:

http://reallybig.com/andover.shtml

Finally, a site called “Joe Expert”, where you type in your website-related question, and “Joe” finds hundreds of answers for you in search-engine format:

http://www.JoeExpert.com/

Again, feel free to email if there are any questions … and take Chris’s advice about that wonderful publication!

ben

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How to make a web site SELL is the key! - Posted by Robert M. Campbell

Posted by Robert M. Campbell on March 04, 2000 at 09:26:55:

Creating a web site is the easy part.

Creating a web site that SELLS is the challenging part. Believe me, it’s a lot of work.

It’s no different that sending out a direct mail letter to buy real estate.

Sending out the letter is easy. But sending out a letter that people respond to (ie, generates leads) is what makes you money.

I have spend 4 months building my web site at www.SanDiegoRealEstateReport.com . . . and it’s finally about finished.

It is a SELLING MACHINE . . . that is designed to GENERATE LEADS.

In essence, your site should be designed to capture names by email . . . and then use that data base to stay in contact with them. Marketing 101 in cyberspace.

Like anything else, if you don’t do it right, you are wasting your time and money.

How to start? Surf the web and look at what the real “pros” do and take notes. That’s what I did. Now I have a real ASSET that will generate real estate business for me.

Good luck.

Robert M. CAmpbell

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Re: How do you set up a webb site? - Posted by Chris

Posted by Chris on March 04, 2000 at 02:18:32:

Bob- Ben looks like the man with the plan. To further educate yourself a good magazine written in layman’s terminology is Smart Computing magazine. You can view their articles online for free if you want. They have lots of info on setting up a web site among other computer knowledge.