How do you as a home owner get the MOST money possible for your hard earned equity in the house of properties you own? 

You get it by having a well executed plan.   The same way Ian Cockburn, REALTOR ran multimillion dollar projects is the same framework and process you need to use to increase the odds to not just more money for your house, but get it close escrow faster with less headaches.

These secrets are basic: 

1) Have a REALTOR actually listen to your needs, what you want out of the house, where you want to go, and how you can alleviate drama and circumstance so you don't get sued because someone dropped the ball in the middle of the transaction.

2) Ride the train! Does the REALTOR have an actual, written marketing plan of action, and is their a seat in first class to ride that train to a successful closing? No train = plenty pain.  

3) Use a defined framework to reach the most eyeballs and ears fast, furiously and consistently.   Don't just hire a pretty face. Hire a marketing professional with a global presence who has the framework and process in place already. 

These days, we are all so worried about being curvy. It's fine to be curvy, but not fine to be someone's learning curve. 

4) You got to show up! It is so unfortunate when listing agents feel they are too special to even show up to show their listings...ever.  Isn't that their primary job?   When I represent a buyer and the listing agent never shows up...guess what! I get seriously hungry and my buyer client and myself will eat the listing agent for lunch. We always make money when others don't show up.

This is why it is so important for a Seller to know they and their place are truly represented.  A property needs to show well, in adequate pictures, video's, 360 tours, podcasts, smoke signals, dolphin sounds...whatever it takes by whatever means possible to reach the most qualified people in the shortest period of time, period.

Let's be frank, less than 10% of real estate agents are in the game for the long term.  This is not disclosed to you when the image of a face pops up on Zillow, Redfin, or any of the real estate consolidators you find online.  This is the first lie you as a human are served up on an internet platter where at the end of the day, you, the user, are to be consumed like some ancient cannibalistic ritual by a multitude or other humans trying and vying to "help you" do whatever without you realizing they may or may not have any skills to help you reduce your bills. 

 This means there is a 90% chance that the person you meet as a real estate agent to represent you has very little experience or construction/architectural background to really serve you to the level you deserve.  

What they don't tell you is that:

1) There are 52 steps to buying or selling a home. 

In the GoFindHome mobile application(available for download for free in IOS or Apple Stores), goto the Resource Guide and go through each and every step.

2) Instead of just throwing you a list of houses to look at, they should be helping you define what you want, how the property fits into your lifestyle, and the stakeholders involved in the whole process.  (On this site, we have questions to help you through this process).

3) Disclosures are super important! Ask the California Department of Real Estate. In California, there are disclosures for the disclosures. Let's translate for a second; Disclosures means "Do what your Moma told you to do" or "Do the right thing" or "what would (pick your religious person of choice) do?" Before you look at ANY property, have some context of "what the disclosures look like and what to look for"  This preparation empowers you, the buyer and seller to make better decisions on what you want, and what risks you are willing to take buying, selling or leasing a property.

4) How risk averse are you? Translated...are you on a first name basis with your Home Depot or Ace Hardware salesperson? If you are, probably you are not afraid of taking some risks and reaping possible rewards in a fixer upper.  

If your idea of tools turns you into fools, maybe that completely renovated condo is more up your alley.  Personally, I love risk / reward system,,depending on the property, I don't want to touch a toilet replacement, while on others, myself/clients/combo are gutting an entire building and putting it back together. 

Risk is relative.  Perceptions of risks is different with each and every one of us. Just this factoid alone should be enough that what you value has to be considered so the air is clear when communicating what all parties want out of a transaction on a property.

5) The real estate process does NOT have to be complicated. This is a fact.

 Ian Cockburn, your REALTOR has been involved in 400 unit hotels, shopping centers so big all his ex wives couldn't find each other between the stores, and from the ground up projects in multiple countries.  

Real Estate basis is always the same...good people with good intentions do good real estate until somebody mixes up the mud and causes miscommunication.  Real Estate is real; you can feel and touch it. It is honest.  It either is, or it isn't.  The earth is honest. We as humans make up rights about below the ground, on the ground and above to the heavens, but at the end of the day, real estate defined is simple.  It only becomes overly complicated when humans miscommunicate the bundle of rights and responsibilities about their relationship with the real estate and those who control it.

6) Get ALL the costs associated with what you want UP FRONT! This element is so super important. Whether you are buying or selling or leasing or a combination of these, never, ever take "we will get to that later" as an answer to this pertinent question.  An eagle seeks dinner not by walking on the ground with its beak in a snake hole, to then be eaten by a coyote. The eagle flies high above the ground to get an overview of what is, then what will be hers.  Be an eagle. Be the predator, not the prey.

These are just a few pointers to get you in the right direction. Next steps to keep you on the right track are but additional means to keep you going and keep you smiling.

You can leave a legacy so your future generations can live their dreams easier than the What makes the United States one of the greatest countries in the world is the freedom to work hard and have the opportunity to build generational wealth through real estate.  This is done using a systematic, planned approach to investing.  

For most Americans, most of their wealth is tied to the equity in the home they live in. For some home owners, they choose to use their homes like other real estate investors as a way to rent parts or all of their real estate to generate cash flow now, and then continued appreciation of the property later.

Being in Orange County gives one a unique opportunity to be in a place where places hold their value, especially when certain upgrades and improvements are done.  

If you decide to sell your property, you have options to avoid or minimize capital gains on that hard earned equity.  This is where a seasoned agent becomes part of your "Help my leave a Legacy" team, by showing you tools, techniques and the people who can help you leverage your equity into: 

1) Passive real estate investments, (mail box money) where you get a check every month.

2) Take that money you gained selling and put it into another similar property to make even more cash flow.

3) Look at alternatives overseas to do 1 and 2.

We take a holistic prospective that considers where you want to be, now and in the future.  With a global network of licensed professionals, our clients get to take advantage of opportunities to preserve their wealth for generations.