So my husband had the great idea to take the family to San Diego for my birthday (4th of July). All excited I decided to attempt to find a vacation rental. We recently stayed in one over the Mother's Day weekend as we took a short trip to Flagstaff, AZ (about 2.5 hours away from home). We stayed at the Comfi Cottages we loved it!! It was so much better than a hotel!!!
Attempting to find a rental first I went to Craigslist. And found a handful of rentals that fit what we were looking for. The very first one I contact had pictures posted online of the place they were trying to rent, it was perfect. I contacted them and actually negotiated a lower rate. They then sent me pictures of the outside of the condo, we were excited everything was perfect it was right on the beach, it had exactly what we were looking for in size, bedrooms and price. But then I started to look a little more closely at the details of the pictures and the details of the description. Some things were not adding up.
Thanks to my real estate knowledge I went to Google Maps and punched up the address that they gave me. It was the correct outside but when I dug a little further into sales records I realized that this could not be what they described in their ad. The building is a 3 story condo and it has 6 units in it. The ad stated that it was a penthouse suite and that is was the entire 3rd floor, red flag number one. Number two was the ad said it was 2300 sq ft but in the sales records nothing was over 1200 sq ft. Red flag number three the ad stated in the dining area there was seating for 12, but the table only had 6 chairs and red flag number four the description stated that there was a wrap around balcony, in the pictures there is no balcony on any of the units.
So at this point I was a little upset and dug a little bit further and took the email address of the person that sent me the information and entered it into Google's Search. I came up with a story from Florida where a couple paid for the condo that they thought they were renting and got to the location and there was no condo there. They had the scammers email address in the article. To my surprise it was the same email address that I had been corresponding with. This happened April of this year. The email address goes back to INDIA.
This was crazy to me that scammers are taking advantage of the vacation rental business now. I did find the real property management company that is handling that building and to my surprise they do actually rent them out as vacation rentals. I did let them know what had happened and the agent told me that they have had that problem and have been trying to stop them for a while.
Well I decided not to let this end my search for a great vacation rental so I found another 2 properties and contact them and wouldn't you know number 2 and 3 where similar issues. Number 2 wanted me to wire the payment Western Union, uh no!! Number 3 was just too easy to realize that this was not her place she was renting.
So in attempting to plan my fun birthday trip to San Diego I have had 3 attempts in 2 days of someone trying to scam me. I did report them to the FBI's internet crime division, who knows if anything will happen. So I have learned my lesson when dealing with Vacation Rentals and have put together some pointers when looking for a vacation rental.
1.) Always get a phone number and email address. Talk to the person renting to you over the phone. Ask questions about the area they should know this area well.
2.) Do some investigating take the address and enter it into Google Maps, look at the property is it the same as the pictures. Does the property match the description?
3.) Go to the state or county sales record and see who owns the property, is this the same person contacting you? If it is a property management company is a legit check out their website, read the reviews of the properties do they have valid contact information (call the numbers on the website). If you are still uncomfortable check with the state Real Estate Board to see if the agent contacting you has an active real estate license.
4.) Take a few lines of the ad or description and go to Google Search enter "then paste the copied text into the search and enter "again then hit search. A lot of times the scammers just copy and paste from other ads. How many ads do you find that come up with the same description? I did this for the first one and it was word for word matching another ad that did actually match the description.
5.) Do not ever wire money!! The first ad that I was dealing with wanted me to pay them via PayPal so be cautious and know for sure what you are renting before you pay via credit card or PayPal. The great thing about this is you can always dispute it. But never under any circumstances wire the money. You can't trace it and you cannot get it back.
5.) And last if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!!
Buyer beware scammers are everywhere now!!!
On another note we are still looking for a vacation rental for the 4th - 7th if you have one available that is a minimum 2 bedroom and sleep 6 that is close to the beach please contact me.
Skye Hawk
Owner, Sr. Virtual Specialist
REPA (Certified Real Estate Professional Assistant)
REW (Certified Real Estate Webographer)
Office: (480) 463-4971
Toll Free: 800-403-2430
Fax: 866-625-8864
E-mail: Skyeh@atyourservice-va.com
Web: www.atyourservice-va.com
Skype: AtYourService-VA
At Your Service!
Virtual Assistant Specialists
"Offering exceptional off-site administrative support for the busy business professional"
★ Calling ALL REO Superstars!! ★
★ If you are a top producing REO agent who needs an extra set of hands, then we are looking for you!
★ If you have a large volume of listings and you can't seem to handle each task by yourself, then we are looking for you!
★ If you feel like things are starting to fall between the cracks and it is affecting your business, then we are looking for you!
★ If you feel like your real estate business is running you rather than you running your business, then we are looking for you!
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We offer virtual support services to those in the real estate industry and can assist in reducing your administrative chaos!!! We offer many services to fit around your needs. Give us a call to see how we can assist you!
★ Phone (480) 463-4971 ★ email: Skyeh@atyourservice-va.com ★ www.AtYourService-VA.com ★ Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/atyourservice
Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Real Estate Assistant, Virtual Assistant, VA, REVA, REPA, Real Estate Professional Assistant, REW, Real Estate Webographer, Lead Management, Transaction Coordination, Online Transaction Coordination, Listing Presentations, Virtual Tour, Single Property Website, Craigslist Ad postings, Realtor.com, MLS work, Contact Management, NAR Certified Real Estate Assistant, RainMaker Gooder Group Virtual Assistant, Listings 2 Leads, Point 2 NLS, Point 2, Settlement Room, RELAY, SureClose, Top Producer 7i, Top Producer 8i, Wise Agent, Active Rain, Wordpress, Twitter, Social Networking, You Tube, iContact, My Neighborhood Agent, iProperties, Trulia, Zillow
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Quick Tip.... Screening Leads!
DID YOU KNOW..... Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be used to screen your leads to make sure they are qualified.You and your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can come up with a script that works for both of you that has specific questions to help asses the seriousness of your leads. If you have any paperwork, questionnaires or anything else you like to have your leads fill out then your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can manage these tasks for you. This can often be a time consuming task for a Realtor. Let your Real Estate Virtual Assistant take this task off of your hands! If you are working with a mortgage broker you can have your Real Estate Virtual Assistant send any leads that are not pre-qualified to your mortgage broker. Your REVA can follow up with both the mortgage broker and your lead to make sure that the process has been started and keep up to date as to what is going on and where they are at in the process. Once they are pre-qualified this will help to aid in the search for a home for both you and the buyer. If the lead is a seller you can have your Virtual Assistant schedule the listing appointment, fill out information pertaining to the property and assist you with any listing presentation tasks that you may need. She/he can follow up with the seller to confirm the appt and make sure everything goes smoothly. Just another quick tip from your Real Estate Virtual Assistant!
Skye Hawk Phone: (480) 463-4971 Toll Free: (800) 403-2430 Email: Skyeh@atyourservice-va.com
Hiring a Virtual Assistant just makes good business cents!
|
|
Virtual Assistant |
Full-time Employee | |
|
Hourly Rate of Pay
|
$30.00* |
$17.00 |
|
|
||
|
Benefits @ 35%
(Dental, Health, Sick Days etc.) |
none |
$5.25 |
|
Overhead @ 50%
(Office Space, Equipment & Office Supply expense, UI Insurance, Worker's Compensation, Overtime Pay, Administration Costs) |
none |
$7.50 |
|
Vacation Pay @4%
|
$0.60 |
|
|
|
||
|
Total Effective Rate
|
30.00 |
30.35 |
|
Hours Per Year
|
780 |
2080 |
|
Annual Bonus
|
1000.00 |
|
|
Total Annual Labor Cost
|
$23, 400.00 |
$64, 128.00 |
You Save $40, 728 per year!
*rates are examples only
Hiring a Virtual Assistant can greatly reduce your costs, you are not paying any payroll taxes, equipment, supplies, space for the assistant, workman's comp, insurance etc. You are not paying for idle time such as breaks or time not spent on your work (personal calls, personal time on internet etc.). With a Virtual Assistant you are only paying for the actual time spent on your work if we only work 15 minutes you are only paying for 15 minutes. If you have a slow day and have your in-house assistant in waiting around for the phones to ring or for something to do you are going to pay for the entire 8 hour day. With a VA if you only have an hour of work than you only pay for that hour versus an 8 hour shift.
Not only are you saving money but you get an experienced professional to handle your work. Virtual Assistants are business owners and are professional in what they do. They have the training to back up the services. Contracting a Virtual Assistant to join your team is always a smart business decision they are there to assistant at any minute whether you need assistance 1 hour a week or 30 hours a week a Virtual Assistant can work with you an accommodate your needs on a changing basis.
Skye
Hawk
REPA (Certified Real
Estate Professional Assistant)
REW
(Certified Real Estate Webographer)
Phone: 800-403-2430 ext 101
Fax: 866-625-8864
E-mail:
Skyeh@atyourservice-va.com
Web:
www.atyourservice-va.com
At Your Service!
Virtual Assistant Specialists
"Offering exceptional off-site
administrative support for the busy business professional"
 |
|
|
Skye Hawk is REPA certified through the NAR Association. We offer a wide range of services for the Real Estate Professional. We are dedicated to serving our clients needs and we strive for excellence.
At Your Service! Virtual Assistant Specialists is based out of Fountain Hills, AZ and has been supporting small business owners since 2003. In this busy day and age it is not unusual to be wearing many hats. Do you ever feel like your career is running you? What if I told you there is a better way, and not only is there a better way but you have the potential to make more money and save time doing it. Real Estate Agents are trying to do it all and really what is the purpose in doing that? Why not concentrate on meeting your clients and let us, At Your Service! Virtual Assistant Specialists, take on the email organizing, updating your calendar, respond to inquires and put them into lead management for you, send out closing gifts to clients and even remember that important birthday or anniversary. Or possibly you need assistance with your marketing campaigns or handling the transactions from sign to close. Or even putting together a listing presentation to land that special client. Whatever it may be big or small we can do it all. We love being able to assist you and make your life just a little bit easier. We work hard and put alot of time and dedication into what we do, no need to worry about sacraficing quality by having someone else other than you do it. We have the same passion as you do for the industry we just chose to work in the industry just a little bit differently. We look forward to working with a diverse group of Realtors and we pledge to give each and everyone of you 110%. At Your Service! Virtual Assistant Specialists are in the business in helping the Real Estate Agent build their business, help you attain repeat clients and prove that even in this day and age there is still a thing called good customer service. At Your Service! Virtual Assistant Specialists can work on the details and relieve some of the headache that goes along with them while you, the Real Estate Agent, work on the BIG PICTURE. If you are a Real Estate Agent and want to increase your client base, profit and time to do what ever you want.......YOU need a Real Estate Virtual Assistant. Working with a Virtual Assistant (VA) is like having an administrative assistant on-call when you need an extra hand. You get the office support you need without the expense of an employee. Whatever your needs may be we can fill them virtually. Whether you are in need of someone on an on-call basis for project work or overflow assistance or if you need someone on a regular basis we are here to help. At Your Service! Virtual Assistant Specialists is here to help you every step of the way, we work in partnership with you to assist you in your dream of making your business grow. We work hard to meet the level of excellence that our clients have come to know and trust. At Your Service! Virtual Assistant Specialists is your one stop shop for all of your virtual needs.
Real Estate Services Offered
Online Transaction Coordination:We manage all aspects of your pending transactions. From open to close we are there for you to facilitate all the details involved in successfully closing your deals. You and all other interested parties are kept in the loop and up to date on the status of every transaction through a web based transaction management platform that is available 24/7.
Listing Coordination:
Once you have signed the listing contract with your new client, I make sure all the details are handled. I will take the listing and inputting into the MLS, add the listing on to your web site, we will then discuss marketing material and then I will create the material needed for this listing. Your clients will be so impressed by how timely you are and see that you are really on top of things.
Listing Presentations:
We can assist you in creating a top-notch listing presentation to get you the "yes" that you are looking for. We can work with you in using your winning strategies already perfected or we can create something that will fit your style to project you as a professional.
Farming Campaigns:
We can assist you in getting the exposure you want to your farming areas. We can assist you with mailings for these areas and make sure you stay in front of the potential clients that you are trying to reach.
Expired Listing Campaigns:
We can assist you in running expired listing campaigns to ensure that you are on top of your game.
FSBO Campaigns:
We can utilize your current system for FSBO's or we can create something that will work to make sure you can capture this market. Let's show them what great service they can only get with you.
Virtual Tours:
By allowing me to create your virtual tours you are offering your clients the quality of service that they will come to expect from you. Using the most up-to-date technology and marketing capabilities that are out there in the industry today. You not only will gain the first time clients, but will have repeat customers for life.
Flyers/Postcards/Brochures:
Allowing us to utilize our talents in creating you eye catching material you will not only save yourself time of doing this task but you we also be impressed with the quality and uniqueness that goes into each and every piece.
Contact/ Database Management:
Do you need someone to maintain your database for you. We can assist you in keeping your database up to do so that you don't miss important dates or loose any pertinent information. We have been trained on several different programs to be able to assist you in keeping you on track on time.
Newsletters:
Do you have a newsletter that you send out? Do you need assistance with this as well? We can assist you in the creation of your monthly/weekly newsletters.
Lead Management:
Do you need help managing all of your leads? We can assist you in keeping them organized and helping you turn them into signed contracts.
Client Relations/ Gift Purchasing:
Do you have gifts that your purchase for your new home buyers? Let us assist you in coordination of those gifts, or if you have an idea for a basket or gift we can create it for you. Maybe you want to send cards to your clients on the anniversary of the purchase of their new home, or maybe a birthday card needs to be sent. Whatever the needs are we can assist you in the little extra touches that will make you stand out above the rest.
Drip Campaigns:
We can assist you with your drip campaigns we are certified by RainMaker as a Certified Virtual Assistant with their company. If you don't already have an account with them, you can receive a discount by ordering through us.
Open House Assistance:
Need to make arrangements for an open house? Do you need flyers done? Need someone to handle feedback? Or maybe you need someone to send out Thank-You cards to attendees. Whatever the case may be we are here to help.
As you can see at At Your Service! Virtual Assistant Specialists we strive to serve you the best we can. If you need assistance with a service that you don't see feel free to contact us as we can customize a service to fit your needs. Contact Us
Call our Sales Department ext 106 
REPA Certification #5662
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