Posted by IB (NJ) on January 02, 2003 at 12:02:57:
at godaddy.com. I use them to register the domain name and then I host it at Yahoo!.
Website advice… - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on January 02, 2003 at 09:41:50:
I am considering creating a website for the sale of my REO’s acquired through tax foreclosure. Basically, instead of me e-mailing, faxing and verbally providing information and details about each property to each potential buyer, I want to be able to scan a detailed report with photos onto a website and then just steer potential buyers to the site. It would be non-interactive and I would just need the capacity to delete properties as they are sold and put up new ones as they are acquired. I don’t know jack about websites, ie-how much something like this would cost, how long it would take to get up and running,maintenance fees,etc. Also if anyone can recommend a website creator in Northern NJ, I would appreciate that too.
Re: Website advice… - Posted by Matt (NJ)
Posted by Matt (NJ) on January 03, 2003 at 21:26:38:
I live in North Central NJ and I can do a website for you. Check out my sample website at http://www.knightcast.com . Email me for pricing and details.
Thanks,
Matt
Thanks everyone-very helpful ideas! (nt) - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on January 02, 2003 at 22:05:22:
nt
You missed something . . . - Posted by JoeKaiser
Posted by JoeKaiser on January 02, 2003 at 21:12:28:
The “northern NJ” requirement is not really the requirement you think it is. I’ve got an excellent web guy now and frankly, I couldn’t tell you where he lives. No, wait a minute, I do recall . . . NC. We’re at opposite corners of the country and since we do everything by email and since uploading a website to a server can happen from anywhere on the planet, it really doesn’t matter where he’s at physically,
Try Kirk at ideazoo.com. Tell him Joe sent you.
Joe
Go to school - Posted by ken in sc
Posted by ken in sc on January 02, 2003 at 12:30:48:
Actually, to schools near you. Any colleges nearby? Or Tech schools? You can hire students for an hourly wage to create this site for you. It is SO simple for them. I have less than $300 in mine and it works fine (www.theholmescompany.com). The student can then write instructions for you to put in/take out data. So maintenance costs are basically nothing too. But Stacy is right, this just adds to your marketing efforts and expenses. It does not lower marketing expenses. Too many peope still want the phone and fax.
Good luck - Ken
Re: Website advice… - Posted by daveh
Posted by daveh on January 02, 2003 at 12:30:30:
Ben:
Check out my website at www.motorcityhouses.com.
There’s a link there where you can get your own site for $25/month (dirt cheap). They have lots of pre-made pages. All you have to do is type in your info or cut & paste from a Word document, scanned photo or form, etc… VERY easy.
I did the whole thing in about 8 hours total over a couple days and I started with zero webpage experience. They have very good tutorials that guide through each step. I’ve gotten many compliments on the site and lots of people want me to “design” a site for them.
Re: Website advice… - Posted by Stacy (AZ)
Posted by Stacy (AZ) on January 02, 2003 at 12:00:12:
Hi Ben. Happy New Year. Hope your family is doing well.
Just wanted to chime in here. I think a website is a good way to complement your current marketing methods. I’ve found that my website has helped me to sell about half of my properties, but the other half needed the old fashioned tried and true methods you are currently using. My site doubles as a marketing tool for finding sellers as well as buyers, and has paid for itself many times over in deals it has brought in, but there’s no way I could abandon all the other methods and still survive. The general public is just not quite as web-savvy as we’d like to think.
I wouldn’t spend thousands on a web-designer if I were you. I designed mine myself, and although it doesn’t look as slick as some major corporate sites, it certainly is good enough for its intended use. Tricky web graphics and gimmicks don’t sell houses; houses sell houses.
Good luck!
Stacy
www.NOSPAM866mybuyer.com
(Remove “NOSPAM”)
Re: Website advice… - Posted by Tim (ME)
Posted by Tim (ME) on January 02, 2003 at 11:37:30:
Ben,
First, you would need a unique domain name. You can type in “domain name registration” on a search engine, and it will have many responses. You can check different names there to see if they exist or not. Once you find one that works, registering it costs about $20 per year. That locks you in as the owner of that name.
Then, you need a host. For my website www.cadjockey.com I use Hostsave.com. (I am not promoting them, they are just the one I use. There are many hosts out there) They are about $8 per month to host your site, and they give you plenty of services (email forward, autoresponders, hit statistics etc)
Then you build a web page and upload it. You may want to use a designer for this. I designed my own using publisher, and uploaded it using FTP Pro software. A professional designer could do a much better job though.
It’s nice having a unique domain name, though, instead of one of those free sites from tripod or geocities, etc with their long confusing names.
Good luck!
Tim (ME)
Re: Website advice… - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on January 02, 2003 at 11:07:47:
It might be better if you have a website that feeds off of a database containing property info and photo(s). That way you would only have update the database and it would automatically reflect on the website. I’m checking with a friend of mine that does this sort of work (she’s actually working on mine). I’ll get back to you and let you know what I come up with.
Re: Website advice… - Posted by Heidi White
Posted by Heidi White on January 02, 2003 at 10:48:01:
While you’re getting your website up - can you send me your list of properties. I might want to buy a few, especially if you have any fixers at 65% or less ARV.
Regards,
Heidi
buyingallhouses@ureach.com
Re: Website advice… - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)
Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on January 02, 2003 at 10:39:56:
What you are presenting is a single page main home page and a choice of X representing each of the properties available that will show that new page of information you scanned. Very simple.
You could get a web designer, but this sounds like a perfect opportunity to use one of those simple packages (Publisher maybe?) that will help you create the page with ease. Learning curve maybe 4 hours. Updates and maintenance 5 minutes when adding or deleting a property.
I would lean towards doing this for yourself because of the simplicity and ease that it will allow you for future maintenance.
As far as a web designer in NJ, I don’t know any. 
Re: Thanks everyone-very helpful ideas! (nt) - Posted by njdave
Posted by njdave on January 03, 2003 at 09:28:38:
When you do have your site built… make sure the designer provides a banner ad so that you can position your link on other sites. I’ll place your banner on my new NJ foreclosure oriented site.
Re: Website advice… - Posted by ActionHank
Posted by ActionHank on January 03, 2003 at 24:22:09:
Go to www.doteasy.com. It’s only 18.00 to register a domain name, BUT you get free web hosting.