Dan O'Donnell's Bellingham Area Real Estate Blog

    Bellingham Real Estate Investor Network Mission: "To educate and inspire real estate investors to ethically achieve success" Last night was another great meeting for the Bellingham Real Estate Investor Network (BREIN).  Al Schweitzer taught us about collecting on judgements, screening potenti...

Accurately pricing a home is key in todays market.  Your price should be based on recently sold properties, preferrably within the last six months, and currently listed properties as similar to yours as possible.  If your home has been on the market for six weeks or more with no offers, it is lik...

  Watch Video    Robert Kiyosaki and some of his closest advisors explain our current economic situation and how to benefit from volatile times.  Kiyosaki is a successful investor and the best-selling author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", and many other widely read financial books.  He explains where r...

    According to an August 12th article in The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham area home prices posted a 1.2% decline in the second quarter of 2008 as compared to the same quarter of 2007.  This small decline is a far cry from what the evening news might lead you to expect.  Also, according to the ...

    Keys to selling your Bellingham home   Yes, you can sell your home in this market.  However, the market is slower than it has been.  Home sales by number of transactions was down about 25% in the second quarter of 2008 compared to 2007.  There are fewer buyers out there than in past years, bu...

    Is that play legal? Hello Folks, I have a question.  I'm an agent and investor.  I participate in a local real estate investor club and would like to notify those investors, via our yahoo group, of listings that would likely be of interest to investors.  Do you think this is acceptable? My po...

New to this guerilla thing?   Ok, guerilla it is.  My background is both sales and investing so I draw from both to market myself.  My brand is my name, not my company name.  Don't be afraid to make your name BIG.  Following are techniques I use, please let me know your ideas, I'd love to try th...

It's a no-brainer!   Ok, you send emails all the time.  Not just to clients, but to friends, family etc.  Take the time to make sure your emails advertise your real estate business!  Two easy ways to do this: Change the "from" line on your message from "John Doe" to "John Doe, Realtor".  So easy...

Be Smart On The Phone You want to comply with the do not call law folks, the max fine is $11,000.  Yes, you must check the phone numbers of fsbos and expireds before you call them (unless you have an interested buyer and that is the reason for your inquiry).  Getting set up is a 3 step process. ...

  Many investors, new to working with a professional management company, don't know what is a fair or typical fee structure.  With smaller rental properties, there are typically two types of fees.  A "leasing fee" (for example, 50% of the first month's rent when a new lease is signed) and a month...