Finance

Welcome to the latest series at JosephSangl.com – "Helpful Real Estate Sites".

It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!

Part Two – Zillow.com

This is another way to research homes that are for sale in your area.

I like the clean feel of Zillow.com, and its of use.  Here are some additional reasons I like Zillow.com:

• Market Dynamics  Just below the search bar, Zillow provides an up-to-date number of homes that are on the market in the entire US.  I like seeing the macroeconomic view of the housing market.
• Days on Zillow  A key measure in real estate is "Days on Market" or DOM.  Zillow has created a similar measurement called "Days on Zillow".  This information can be utilized to construct a better offer.
• Make Me Move Feature  Zillow has a feature where you can list your house without actually listing it.  Basically, you provide a price that you would be willing to sell your house for and if someone decides to purchase your home, the "make me move" happens.  Interesting concept!
• Recently Sold Feature  This feature allows you to see the houses in your search area that have sold most recently and the price at which they sold.
• Home Values Index  You can see what homes are selling for you in your area by a number of measures – including $/SF, Selling Price, and flips.

Those are some of the reasons that I love Realtor.com.  Have you used this resource before?

Visit Zillow.com

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Welcome to the latest series at JosephSangl.com – "Helpful Real Estate Sites".

It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!

Part One – Realtor.com

I have used Realtor.com to find each of the four houses that I have purchased.

This web site is an excellent way to understand market prices and to understand market availability.

Here are some specific reasons I love Realtor.com:

• Easy to search  You are able to select the specific items you are interested in.  For example, if you are interested in a three bedroom, two bathroom house with a garage, you can search for that.  If you want to search for listings that include land, then you can select that also.  Another key search criteria is square footage.
• Price range specific  You can search for specific price ranges of houses within your set criteria.  This really helps one understand what is available within that price range.
• Listings are mapped  You can see all of the listings on a map.  This is a great feature that allows you to understand the inventory available within the location you have selected.
• Pictures  Many of the listings have photos of the exterior and interior.  Instead of setting up a walkthrough, you can do so from your computer!
• Seamlessness  Once you find some homes that you are interested in, you can select "Request a showing" from the actual listing.  Awesome!

Those are some of the reasons that I love Realtor.com.  Have you used this resource before?

Visit Realtor.com 

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Welcome to another series on JosephSangl.com – Setting Goals

I am passionate about helping others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances.  I know that the number one way that folks will win with their personal finances is to have a well-written plan and clearly defined goals.

Part Five  Compare ACTUAL performance against the goals on a consistent basis throughout the year.

You have taken the time to prepare your vision, mission, and plan each goal.  Now go after it, and be sure to track your performance through the year.  Set monthly or quarterly review sessions with your team.

Be sure that the entire team KNOWS what the goals are and how their efforts funnel into the overall organization's objectives.

I have weekly meetings with my team, and update our key goals on a monthly basis.  Guess what?  The items that are measured are what is getting done!

I hope that this series has been helpful and that it leads to a prosperous year. 

Read the entire series 

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Welcome to another series on JosephSangl.com – Setting Goals

I am passionate about helping others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances.  I know that the number one way that folks will win with their personal finances is to have a well-written plan and clearly defined goals.

Part Four  Narrow down the list to eight or less goals.

I remember my days of being in manufacturing.  As an engineer and business manager, I visited a lot of manufacturing facilities.  Sometimes I would see a production board covered with charts of thirty different measurements.  Guess what?  Nearly every production employee had no clue of 95% of the goals.  The goals were not relevant to then.  Even worse, the important goals were lost in the sea of less important goals.

What gets measured, gets done.  If everything is measured, nothing will get done.  Narrow down your list to the top eight.  It will be difficult, but it is very important!

Go ahead and narrow down your list and then go read Part Five.

Read recent posts by Joe

Welcome to another series on JosephSangl.com – Setting Goals

I am passionate about helping others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances.  I know that the number one way that folks will win with their personal finances is to have a well-written plan and clearly defined goals.

Part Three  Establish SMART Goals

I do not know who invented the acrostic SMART for goal setting, but I have found it invaluable for setting my own goals.

Specific

If your goals are not specific, they are worthless.  "Teach people" is not specific enough! 

Measurable

What gets measured gets done.  If you can not measure it, how on earth can you know whether or not you are accomplishing the goal.  "Make the presentation pretty" will not work.  I can not measure pretty.

Attainable

Teach 5.1 billion about personal finances by October 2011 is certainly possible, but it is not probable. 

Relevant

Teaching people about hairstyles is not relevant to the crusade!

Timebound

"Teach 100,000 people" is not timebound.  It needs to have a specific goal date in which it will be accomplished.

It needs to be SMART.  "Teach 100,000 people by October 2011." is SMART.  It is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timebound.  Perfect.

Go brainstorm several goals for the next year.  Then go read Part Four.

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