Archives of real estate blog entries for August 11, 2006 (Page 2)

Blog posts


Gotta minute? Ya Bizzy? - 08:44 PM
Countless, countless times a day I hear voices.  I do.
Voices that chime..."Gotta minute?"   "Ya Bizzy?"  "Gottta minute?"
Some voices are low, some voices are high, some are sing-song, some soft and some boisterously loud.  Some don't wait to hear my answer, they just continue on with their question. 
Most of these voices, I'd say 9 out of 10, are asking for advice. They'll set the stage by explaining their situation or their woe, embellishing perhaps along the way and then ask......"What should I do?"   
I used to ramble on about possible solutions, but I've learned what they themselves don't realize.  That they … (1 comments)

Pictures worth a 1000 words or $1000 dollars? - 08:54 PM
Here's one quick and simple way to get the point across to your sellers that they need to make some changes to their home before showing it to prospective buyers. 
Get them to see their homes the way buyers will.  Take several digital photos of their home. Print them out or put them on a Power Point presenation.  Use these photos to help sellers see their home from a different perspective. 
When prospects are viewing their home, they will only have "snap shots" in their mind of what the home looked like, especially if they are looking at several listings per … (3 comments)

A Buyer's Market? - 07:34 AM
We've all seen the evening news and the newspapers on how "bad" the real estate market is right now.  Why?  Now is a great time to invest, especially in SW Florida property!  Prices in our area, on the average, are $100,000 less than last year for single family homes.  Vacant lots that were selling in the $70,000's are now in the low $30,000's, some lower!  We have tansitioned into a buyer's market, but why can't we make as much money in this market as we did in the seller's market we've just come out of?  Of course the media gives us … (0 comments)

Board of REALTORS 2006 Food Drive - 05:05 PM
The time year has come for the Snohomish County-Camano Associates of REALTORS annual food drive. This event is a great thing to do to help families who are in need. When times are tough it is nice to know that their are peopling helping othe people and what better way than to contribute to the local food banks.
Our food drive starts on September 16, 2006 and goes through October 15, 2006. The food drive is setup in a contest format to entice people to get excitied about winning. The contest format does a great thing because it encourages more donations for … (0 comments)

Points? - 05:29 PM
Did something happen to the points system when posting blogs? I just did one and nada, nathen, zilch...hmmm mabye there is a lag period today due to high volumes of traffic. Hopefully this post will jump start the system, vroomm, cough couhg, vrrooom vroom, pop pop, Whooopah WOOOPAH!! THere we go...sry I had a automobile moment there :) … (2 comments)

And What's This About! - 09:50 AM
New Yorkers are fast.  They often talk fast, walk fast, rush from one task to another to get through another day.  We're quick in everything but real estate.  Selling a home here is an odyssey.  The average time span from accepted offer to closing is 90 days.  So, when I was negotiating an offer on an in house listing recently I was more than surprised when the other agent told me the sellers wanted to close September 1st.  There was no way in hell it could happen.  Attorneys here usually give 45-50 days to get a mortgage commitment. 
My buyers wanted the … (10 comments)

Website Statistics - 10:10 PM
A post I read a little while ago talked about catering to the needs and speed (or lack thereof) of the dial-up consumer visiting your web site.  I was very surprised to discover recently that of all the visitors to my new site www.YourLongIslandHome.com only one was on dial-up.  The stats program I use on that site gives me a great deal of information about visitors and their patterns and the equipment they use. 
I'm using Google Analytics and I love it.  I'd never heard of them before but of all the sites I have and all the back end statistics … (6 comments)

. . . And Then There Were None - 11:07 PM
A lot has been written here about mortgages and mortgage brokers and their ability to best serve the real estate client.  Sometime last year I met a lovely young woman who was in the mortgage business.  She was touted as an excellent contact by a fellow agent and someone who could keep a deal together, even when the financing was complicated.   She was very accommodating and offered to do lunch for our Broker Open Houses.  Never one to take advantage, I told her I appreciated the offer, but had no need of the service. 
Some months went by and she kept … (5 comments)

It's the listings stupid! - 08:54 AM
Sometimes I get a headache reading about all the new ways some really smart boys & girls have found to search for houses in the www.
Vertical searches, pay per click, organic searches, etc., etc.
Ever since Bill Chee gave that now famous "Lion over the hill" speech back in 1995, in which he predicted the demise of Realtors and the real estate industry as we knew it then because of competition from folks like Microsoft & IBM; newer, better, faster, smarter boys & girls have been coming up with ways to "help" us sell houses, "help" us sell house cheaper, "help" us … (5 comments)

Buyer Agent designations - 08:10 PM
Do you like working with buyers?? Maybe you should consider becoming an ABR or an EBA.
ABR is the acronym for "Accredited Buyers Representative" while EBA stands for "Exclusive Buyer Agent"
An ABR usually works for a traditional real estate firm that both takes listings and sells them; an EBA however only works with buyers, they never work with sellers or take listings.
REBAC or the "Real Estate Buyer Agent Council" is the umbrella group for ABR designees and is owned and operated by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Their official website is http://www.rebac.net
To earn the ABR designation you must successfully meet 4 … (4 comments)

New Jersey Military - Real Estate Support Services and Resources - 08:54 AM
If you are military, governmental or contract support personnnel moving into or out of the New Jersey area, especially McGuire Air Force Base or Fort Dix in South Jersey, we have established support services that are geared to you and your family's special needs.   We have the experience working successfully with military personnel (whether in-country or transferring in from foreign stations), as well as personal military experience -- so can better understand your situations and requirements.We look forward to serving YOU as you proudly serve US! Click here for our New Jersey Military Support Services web page for more information and resources.  Agents with military clients transferring into … (0 comments)

New Security Measures For Traveling by Air - 09:50 AM
For those of us that plan to be traveling by plane, in order to help make travel go as smoothly as possible, you need to be aware of the new security measures that the government has put in place:
IMPORTANT: Airport security measures have recently been made more stringent. We urge you to be prepared for longer lines through security checkpoints. In addition to the usual 1-2 hours in advance of your flight, please consider arriving at the airport for your departure an extra 1-2 hours beforehand, to be sure you are on time for your flight's departure. Airports have been reporting as much … (0 comments)

South Jersey Arts, History and Culture - 10:27 PM
Composed of eight culturally diverse counties - Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem - Southern New Jersey is home to superb arts centers, museums, symphonies, and theaters.
Find out about theaters, museums, galleries, symphonies, presenting organizations, educational and multicultural organizations, dance companies, cultural and heritage agencies, and artists in Southern New Jersey.Visit the South Jersey Cultural Alliance web site.What is the South Jersey Cultural Alliance? SJCA is a member service organization with more than 125 artists, producers, exhibitors, and presenters in southern New Jersey, including museums, orchestras, chorales, dance companies, theaters, arts educators, artists and heritage organizations.   Visit … (0 comments)

Buyers Vs Sellers - 03:30 PM
I've heard some people around talking about how it's better to work with sellers now due to the market.  They also said that they were thinking of not soliciting listings anymore.  I was wondering what you all thought about that.
As for me, I'll continue to represent both buyers and sellers.  No matter what the market looks like, buyers agents have to have listings to show their buyers.  There will always be money in listings, at least from my perspective
… (8 comments)

Who's in Your Support Network? - 08:11 PM
Who rubs your shoulders when you're crying?  Who tells you when you're doing the right thing, or the wrong one?  I'm talking about people that you can trust here.  A support network.  The people who, when your common sense tells you that you should quit, keep you going. 
Being new is tough because you never know whose advice to follow.  Some people give you advice thats in your best interest, and others give you advice thats in their best interest.  That's what I love about this forum.  I have people that I've never even met before giving me advice on the … (1 comments)

A Good Cause....YOU CAN HELP! - 08:21 PM
I've begun donating $100 dollars for every completed transaction to the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Greater Tampa Bay area.  It's a great local charity that collects food and distributes it to over 40,000 families in the Tampa Bay area that don't have enough food.  You can help.
I'm looking to build a coalition against hunger in Tampa Bay.  If you are in the greater Tampa area and would like to donate a small portion of your commission to Second Harvest, contact me.  It can be any amount.  Five dollars would help.  In exchange, I'll put you in contact with the … (1 comments)

From The Team One Library - 01:35 PM
What Every Seller Wants - Discount Commission
Do You Want To List Your House Or Sell It?
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE AND YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT IS.
We could give you a low commission, a short listing period, and that would not get your house sold. 
Think about this.  If I can't negotiate the commission I charge for my work, then I may not be the person you want to negotiate the price on the sale of your house.  If I give you a short listing, then I may be willing to give away all your leverage in the negotiating for … (0 comments)

Mature Neighborhoods - 11:32 PM
What is a mature neighborhood? Someone asked me the other day how old a neighborhood has to be to qualify as a mature neighborhood. I have never thought about it in terms of age. It seems to be more of a quality of being established. Are there churches and schools and grocery stores and libraries thet have a reegular clientele and a presence in the neighborhood? Are the trees and plants newly transplanted or have they become established? Did you ever notice that you will almost never find a garage sale in a new neighborhood? Too bad, because it is a … (0 comments)

IS EVERY AGENT A REALTOR? - 06:54 PM
For our continuing education credit, Shannon and I took four classes in the past two days. Some of the information was old hat, but we did glean some interesting tidbits. We did not agree with everything, but you always learn something new in that environment.
One thing that amazed us is that the instructor said 2 out of 3 Florida agents are not RealtorsTM.  Even though we knew that being a RealtorTM is belonging to the NAR and adhering to their Code of Ethics, we figured that just about everyone was a member. Not so.
I agree that the general public thinks that … (11 comments)

INTERNET POLICY-DO YOU HAVE ONE? - 07:18 PM
How many offices actually have an Internet policy? Even though we have several websites and do updates daily, we did not realize that the broker is actually responsible for everything on our website, just as they are responsible for our advertising. In most offices the manager or broker approves all advertising. This also includes email campaigns. How many are getting that approval?
If the office does not have a written Internet policy, anything goes. Agents could be looking at porn site on an office computer. If the broker does not supervise them, the broker is at fault.
Apparently, Florida is coming down … (5 comments)

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