Brand consistency becomes brand recognition. Brand recognition converts into trust, and trust equals success. 

If you’re having trouble figuring out which scripts work best in various situations, take them for a test drive on ChatGPT, writes trainer and author Bernice Ross. See what it says, and ask it to explain why one script is more effective than the others. 

When done well, events offer huge rewards, whether that’s increased brand engagement or more leads coming through your door from referrals made at events themselves. 

When selling a house, several contracts are necessary to protect both the seller and the buyer. These contracts typically include: Purchase Agreement: This contract outlines the terms and conditions of the sale, including the price, closing date, and any contingencies such as inspections or financing.Disclosure Forms: The seller must disclose any k...

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Homebuyers daunted by the idea of amassing a huge down payment for a mortgage might be surprised (and relieved) to know that not all home loans set such a high bar. If you’re shopping in rural areas outside of cities, a USDA loan can help you buy a house with $0 down and lower-than-average interest rates, too.

USDA loans are offered by the United States Department of Agriculture, in an effort to help lower-income homebuyers afford a house. While these loans come with many cash-saving benefits, the catch is they also come with more rules than a typical home loan.

The biggest restriction for USDA loans is that the home must be in certain, more remote areas and be “modest” in size (no mansions allowed).

“The general USDA standards for eligible properties include being located in a rural area and having a living area typically between 400 and 2,000 square feet,” says Jill Gonzalez, an analyst for WalletHub.

Realtor.com

You don’t often see Moorish architecture in the Midwest, but that’s exactly the vibe of this $1,999,000 Cincinnati home, which hit market in early March.

With unparalleled river views and newly renovated windows and patios from which to enjoy them, the next buyer has surely found a unique slice of paradise in a prized neighborhood.

“The home is located within a Cincinnati suburb called Mt. Adams—a picturesque landmark community for the city, located on a high hill overlooking the Ohio River,” says listing agent Julie K. Back.

Realtor.com

Realtor.com

With manicured grounds poised for entertaining, an English Country-style manse in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hancock Park, seeks an adoring new owner.

Alexis Valentin Ramos, of Sotheby’s International Realty, and Rochelle Maize, of Nourmand & Associates, are co-listing the home for $7,695,000.

The homeowner is David Cooley, owner of The Abbey Food & Bar in West Hollywood, a landmark LBGTQ+ establishment.

The property sits on a .43-acre lot. Cooley bought the home 21 years ago for $1,925,000.

HGTV

Renovations can be pricy and time-consuming, but Erin and Ben Napier of “Home Town” know just how to redo a home on a tight budget and timeline.

In the Season 7 episode “The Clock Starts Now,” the Napiers meet Chance and Emily, a Louisiana couple hoping to relocate to Laurel, MS, by Christmas. They have a tight budget but are thrilled to find a beautiful 1945 home for just $150,000. The place is a serious fixer-upper, but Erin and Ben offer to renovate the whole thing for $130,000, in just five weeks.

It’s a big undertaking, but the Napiers manage to pull off a speedy and cost-effective renovation. Check out their work, which might inspire some upgrades around your own abode, too.

Big trees can be a liability

HGTV

Houston real estate veteran Haley Garcia has taken her seven-person team to Keller Williams. Garcia was with Compass from 2018 to early 2023 and generated $205.5 million in sales volume during her last two years with the brokerage.

The deal includes the purchase of approximately $72 billion in loans at a discount of about $16.5 billion, along with the transfer of all of the bank's deposits totaling about $56 billion, according to the FDIC.

Cities in the West that saw prices soar during the pandemic are now cooling while metros in the Northeast and Midwest are showing more resilience, according to a new analysis.

The recent market shift has been a "great equalizer," accentuating the differences among brokerage models and the importance of agent count.

As mushrooms become more prominent in nearly all spheres of modern life — including wellness, pop culture and cuisine — they’re also becoming sought-after motifs in interior design.

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Freshly retired MLB relief pitcher Steve Cishek is selling his waterfront home in Jupiter, FL.

The pitcher and his family put plenty of thought into the 4,632-square-foot home’s construction in 2021.

“We curated our favorite details of this property, from the places we called home during my career playing baseball,” Cishek says, adding that the builder incorporated the features into a functional floor plan. “The end result ended up being perfect for our young family.”

The list price is $4,431,000—a nod to the No. 31 jersey Cishek wore with several teams during his career.

Evocalize describes its product as a "Collaborative Marketing Platform" that allows users to announce their services through an array of campaigns on Google, Facebook and Instagram

A midcentury-modern home designed by Cliff May in Long Beach, a 1918 Craftsman house in Oakland and a three-bedroom bungalow in Sierra Madre.

Ikea

For decades, Ikea has been churning out stylish, minimalist furniture and accessories that come with affordable price tags. Because of this, the Swedish brand is a favorite among new homeowners, cash-strapped renters, and, yes, even professional designers.

Katie Zimmerman, owner and principal designer at Zimmerman Interiors, in Bowling Green, KY, says one of the best things about Ikea furniture is that many of its pieces are customizable.

“Whether it’s adding a new coat of paint or swapping out hardware, there are plenty of ways to make these pieces your own,” she says. “This not only allows you to create a unique look in your home, but it can also help your furniture last longer and stay looking great.”

From luxury-looking sofas that don’t break the bank to a wildly popular pendant light, here are the Ikea pieces that design experts can’t recommend enough.

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Those days are fast fading. Today’s homebuyers simply don’t have as much cash to spend; they’re grappling with rising rents, punishing inflation, and increasing mortgage interest rates. Those higher rates can tack on hundreds of dollars each month to the typical mortgage payment, pricing many buyers out of the market entirely, and forcing others to drastically reduce their homebuying budgets.

When a near-turnkey home in a desirable area is priced right, it’s still selling fast—often with multiple offers stretching well above the list price. But sellers who overshot the market are quickly learning they can no longer fetch the sky-high prices their neighbors nabbed in early 2022. So, many are now reducing asking prices to attract buyers.

Realtor.com® found the real estate markets where the highest percentage of sellers are cutting their initial list prices—and the markets that are seeing the lowest number of price reductions.

In places where prices are being trimmed, buyers have more power to negotiate the final price and repairs and to ask for other concessions—maybe even for the seller to chip in on closing costs. However, in areas where sellers are sticking to the list, buyers could find themselves in bidding wars and offering above the asking price.

In just one week, you can make sure that every platform where you have a profile is fully updated with this handy-dandy checklist.