Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Marki Lemons-Ryhal not only shines as Chicago’s own “Queen of Foreclosures”, but she also shares her knowledge with other professionals who are eager to learn from her expertise. An insightful and dedicated Real Estate Educator, Marki’s drive to empower other professionals with the tools they need to grow their businesses is fueled by her passion for excellence and her commitment to serve.
We recently sat down with Marki to discuss her real estate career past and present.
RealtyBizNews.com: As a Real Estate Instructor, what are some of the things you specialize in?
ML: I’m a subject matter expert on foreclosures, short sales, technology, and social media, and then I am a full-time instructor in the State of Illinois, dealing with license law, pre-licensing, and that sort of thing.
RealtyBizNews.com: So is your experience more on the investor side or the retail side of the business?
ML: Oh, I would say it’s more on the retail side, but I have a lot of investor experience. I was an investor, as well, so I’ve done quite a few purchase rehab deals myself.
RealtyBizNews.com: With the housing crisis being a daily topic, what advice would you give those who are facing foreclosure?
ML: The first thing I would tell them is to talk to their lenders because their lender likely has special programs, which may be able to help them. Even though the government has the home affordable foreclosure alternatives program and the principal reduction program for mortgages, a lot of lenders have developed their own programs. The guidelines are a little different than the federal guidelines, so homeowners facing foreclosure will need to investigate what their options are with their lenders. They should sit down with their own certified home finance counsel or if they want to keep the property to see if a modification is an option.
Realty Biz News.com: We noticed one of your specialties is Gamification, what benefits does if offer within the real estate industry from a technology standpoint?
ML: Gamification allows you to be a market leader in the community you’re trying to serve. Technically speaking, you could dominate a community on the internet. Gamification also helps with search engine optimization. For example, I could search for “Marki” on Foursquare, and there are 9000 impressions on that program - just from me checking in every few seconds into the venues in my community.
It’s really dominated by males who tend to make $100,000 dollars or more a year. I’m in a “war” over a couple of places in the neighborhood that I serve! But now, I’ve gotten to know people that I normally would never have met. We send text messages back and forth and we joke around with one another, but we have met face-to-face so it’s really a good networking tool as well.
Realty Biz News.com: So what’s in store for 2023?
ML: More technology. I think you’re going to see a continuation of video and of global technology. I don’t believe the market is going to change substantially next year. I believe that with unemployment still remaining high that we’re still going to see a constant flow of homeowner defaults.
What I would love to see is state funds so that we can actually transform some of the houses that would probably be more advantageous for an investor and put the property on its way to cash flow.
Awards And Achievements:
2010 Real Estate Instructor of the Year
Accredited Buyer Representative
Certified Residential Broker
Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Certification
You may contact Marki and view her properties on her website at: www.markilemons.com
