by Keller Williams International

One out of 14 real estate purchases in the United States come from a foreign buyer. How are you reaching international leads? If your answer is, “I am not,” then you are missing out on a lot of opportunity.

Keller Williams associate and Global Property Specialist (GPS) member Ingrid Pasco of Carlsbad, Calif., is putting innovative tools and strategies to work for her in locating and marketing properties both locally and internationally. And she has some tips for you.

A native of France, Pasco began her real estate career as a broker in her home country. While she does specialize in French transactions, her business is comprised of international buyers from all over the world. “San Diego is very mixed with international buyers,” Pasco says. “There isn’t a strong influence from any one culture here.” She says that with one out of 14 real estate purchase in the United States coming from foreign buyers, the opportunity to serve international clients is great.

“Many people don’t realize how large the international network is. Real estate is very much about making connections and developing relationships – it’s even more so with the international community. KW GPS and Proxio enable me to not only be connected, but to be properly prepared.”    – Ingrid Pasco

Working with international clients is a little different than working with local clients. When working with international clients, Pasco recommends:

• Utilizing the GPS tools such as webinars, training and translatable templated documents. Not only are they very helpful, they have a positive impact on your potential reach to international leads.
• Staying current on your Website and social media pages by offering up-to-date information on market trends and helpful real estate knowledge. Foreign buyers rely heavily on the Internet to research properties and locations. You can’t afford to have an outdated Website. Invest the time to make it a useful tool that informs clients about your market and your services.
• Working with reputable translators. Even if you speak the client’s native language, it is good to have a translator when dealing with real estate transactions.
• Always being prepared. You can’t “wing it” with these transactions, nor should you.