Archives of real estate blog entries for August 18, 2006

Featured blog posts


I hate open houses and I'm sticking to it! - 04:57 PM
I hate open houses! There I said it. It's out in the open and I'm not taking it back. I don't do them and I'm not starting. My Sellers know this. I tell them this at time of listing. "I will sell your house but I will not do an open house, ever."
Well, I had two of my Sellers call me today wanting to do open houses. So being the good little Realtor that I am, I said no. Now don't get me wrong, I like pleasing my Sellers and I like being agreeable when they ask me to do things. … (22 comments)

What's The Buzz About Bi-weekly Payments? - 09:20 AM
Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster Without Refinancing!
Before I delve into a bit of a rant, let's be honest.  You can do this by yourself.  Simply make one extra payment a year and do it consistently or take your monthly payment, divide that 12 and pay that much extra on your mortgage consistently every month.  And if you do this, presto, you will eat into your principal balance faster and pay off your mortgage in less time which is one of the more financially savvy things you can do.  So, why pay to have that service implemented when you can do it … (7 comments)

Understanding web traffic - 03:03 PM
For those you that are relatively new to the workings of a website, there are lot of terms you may be unfamiliar with. One of the questions raised in the comments on my Active Rain traffic post, was what is a session.  In practical terms, a session is a visit from a web surfer that actual spends time on your website.  Web traffic is divided up into hits, sessions, returning users and unique or first time visitors.
So first lets break it down. You will see advertising on web portals claiming x number of hits per month or day, blah blah … (5 comments)

What makes a great real estate website??? - 10:02 AM
Starting off would be a powerful design; that is one that is visually appealing, has a ‘clean' look, and easy to navigate.
Here's the link for Alice Held's website; Alice is a Realtor in Arizona and I've always thought she had one of the best real estate websites I've seen.
http://www.come2az.com/
Clean, visually appealing designed, lots of compelling content, and tons of great information about the area she serves.
Second would be lots of useful content to today's real estate consumers. People buying and selling, first and far and away most important; want to see ALL the homes for sale in a certain area. … (5 comments)

FSBO wants it all for Free! - 05:20 AM
My Seller called me to tell me her neighbor two doors down wants to speak to me and gave me her phone number to call. I`m delighted, i figure the FSBO has exhausted all avenues of attempting to sell their home and now need a professional to do the job,right?,wrong!
I call this person, we immediately engage in a wonderful conversation about her beautiful 5bed,3ba,3CG home! I explain what I`ve done with her neighbors listing and the FSBO comments she loves my Flyer's and the fact that she`s seen me take Buyers to her neighbors home.
She asks me this question:"Why don`t you … (16 comments)

Increasing Your Value Propositon is NOT About Good Service - 02:13 AM
                        
What is value-proposition? It's what you do that's different/better than your competitors. So how is giving good service going to make your value any better than your competitors? It's interesting how much marketing in the real estate business is devoted to saying what nobody cares about wants to hear.
"Top-notch Service"
"We put YOU first"
"FREE! Market Analysis"
"First-Class Service"
"Two Realtors for the Price of One"
"I Sell More Homes in (Add your city name here) Than Anyone"
"Top 1% Internationally"
Any of this originality sound familiar? They should- they're plastered on bus benches and shopping carts in every city across the country. And, a side note- those 1980's … (3 comments)


Blog posts


Form Revisions - 11:38 AM
Recently, the NWMLS revised several forms including the Purchase & Sale contract and addendums.  I've highlighed a few of the important changes below; for more information, please visit my blog @  Seattle Housing Buzz.
Purchase & Sale Contract (Form 21)
Possession Date - option defaults to closing, may fall on weekend or holidayComputation of Time - clarifies based on days, not hoursAttachment of Legal Description - must be attached to the offer, otherwise offer is not bindingAssignment - must be agreed to by both parties in writing Seller Disclosure Statement (Form 17)
Revised the proximity to farming statementFinancing Addendum (Form 22A)
Type of loans - … (0 comments)

Feature Update: Blog Dashboard - 05:44 PM
We just added a new page to the ActiveRain Real Estate Network we are calling the "Blog Dashboard".  This page has links off to various views of blog postings on this site such as viewing the latest postings, or most interesting postings.  It also includes a list of featured blog entries and bloggers.  This page is a little ugly at this point, but feel welcome to provide feedback.
Is there anything missing from this page that we should add?
We linked the "Blogs" link do this page instead of directly into the blog search, should we keep it this way or revert to … (18 comments)

Trying to Blog - 11:23 AM
Well this blogging thing is new to me.  As I understand it spelling does not count and I just write on the fly.  I thought Real Estate agents had an easy job, until I started to doing the job.  I have more work in a day than I can possibly complete.
One of the biggest parts of the job is marketing.  Now a lot of that is marketing myself.  So many buyers and sellers will wonder what difference does it make if he markets himself to me.  "I want my home marketed or I want someone to find my home," is the … (3 comments)

Dallas Real Estate - Foreclosures are Third in Nation - 08:17 AM
Foreclosures are going up an up in the Dallas area.  Year to date, it's now reported to have had over 28,000 foreclosures.  3800 are threatened to face foreclosure next month.  It's really sad, but all these people who got put into ARMs and didn't really understand what would happen, are in big trouble trying to scrape together a mortgage payment. 
I had a listing appt this past Sunday where her ARM adjusted and she can't afford her $1600 a month payment though she has a roommate splitting part of it.  Her ARM adjusts every 6 months, and she wants to sell … (1 comments)

Gas Prices Eased this Week - 08:24 AM
Gas prices eased a little this week.  In Texas, the average is around $2.87 with the lowest amount in Corpus Christi at $2.75 a gallon.  The national average was down $0.06 to $2.98.
I still don't think that gas prices effect where people buy houses.  We have the DART train that runs through parts of the Dallas area, and I haven't really noticed the parking lots more full (fuller) than usual.  People in Dallas love their cars.  They like to show off their cars.  They're not going to park their nice, expensive car in a parking lot to take a train to work.  … (1 comments)

Condo Conversions - 03:44 PM
My team will be working 2 large conversions (200+ units) starting the end of this year. It will be great exposure for our team and we can't wait to get started.   
Just wondering how many members have worked a condo conversion in the past.
If you have worked on one how did you deal with the tenents to get them to buy, currently these guys have only been getting a little under 10% and I feel that can be improved upon.
What was your most effective form of avertising?
And any other tips that you are willing to share?
Thanks for any help that you are willing to … (7 comments)

Traffic from Active Rain - 04:22 AM
I was looking through my weblogs earlier today.  As I suspected, quite a large chunk of my web traffic is coming from google for out main keyword phrase, Las Vegas Real Estate.  Search engines deliver roughly 90% of the traffic to our site, with the remaining 10% divided up among a variety of other sites.  As far as directories go, very few provide any traffic at all. We have been listed in yahoo's directory for years and have received minimal traffic at best.  For those of you thinking about plunking down $300 per year, think again.
I was however, pleasantly surprised … (9 comments)

Understanding web traffic - 03:03 PM
For those you that are relatively new to the workings of a website, there are lot of terms you may be unfamiliar with. One of the questions raised in the comments on my Active Rain traffic post, was what is a session.  In practical terms, a session is a visit from a web surfer that actual spends time on your website.  Web traffic is divided up into hits, sessions, returning users and unique or first time visitors.
So first lets break it down. You will see advertising on web portals claiming x number of hits per month or day, blah blah … (5 comments)

IDX For Your Website - 10:52 AM
 
If you are looking to add IDX to your website I would like to recommend Ashton Data.  The cost is only $250 per year.  They have been very helpful  When you call them just give them my name Debbie Colubiale when they ask how you heard about their service. 
Below is a list of the features that are included in ASHTON DATA IDX.
Best regards,
CALL
Susan Rosencrants
Ashton Data
Ph: 888-777-7803
ASHTON DATA IDX FEATURES:
Our IDX is a "plug and play" link that is easy to integrate into any existing website and the information is updated every 24 hours; Your link can be framed, open in new window or in a pop up window, … (0 comments)

Open House Curse or what? - 04:01 PM
I had an Open house today.   I had gotten some really wonderful ideas from this site and I have been busy implementing all of it.  Especially researching the market for that building and the couple buildings in the general area.  I was armed and ready, so I thought....
It is the second time this week that I went to all this work, posting a blog on the condo, creating great statistical information.  I was prepared!  Only to arrive at the property to find that the air conditioning was out.   I seem to book the wrong location -- I think we are just going to book the air conditioning company … (10 comments)

Thank You Louann Nudi - 04:20 PM
On August 16th you posted a great BLOG Predictive Marketing.   I pulled out my pen and fancy thank you notes and sent out several hand written notes as she suggested.   This afternoon I got a call from on of the recipients and I have a listing appointment on Tuesday.  The people were so impressed that I took the time to write a hand written note!
Thank You Louann!   I thought it would work, but not that fast!
 

Colleen Kulikowski is your Western New York Real Estate Expert focusing on Buffalo and Niagara Falls neighborhoods of Western New York.  If you … (4 comments)

The Death of Virtual Tours? - 10:26 AM
The virtual tours company IPIX has recently filed for bankruptcy.
Their 360-degree tours were favored by Realtor.com and others for a while, but it seems that consumers really don't like those head-spinning tours as much as they used too. Many feel that it just makes them dizzy. Consumers instead seem to prefer the slide-show format where you can zoom in and out to see different views of a room.
The IPIX Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing states that it has ceased all business operations in connection with the filing. Their company website is now offline as well. Real Tour Vision has offered to "step … (18 comments)

Another story on ClUE Reports - 03:31 PM
Let your customers know that they can access the CLUE system for insurance quotes.
this report will show you any claims made against a home for a very small fee.Your customers can find out what the history of claims are on the home they
are considering.  Existing home owners should be very aware thus being careful about filing claims.Buyers should get insurance quotes on a home during the inspectionperiod.  Here is a link to another article about Clue Reports on realty times.
… (3 comments)

Realtor Designations Another Look - 03:46 PM
If you work with Asians it is very important to display you designations and have your business cards in other languages.  They are very into letters and degrees.  It also prompts them to ask me what does all that mean?  At that point you can differentiate yourself from the competition that hasn't spent the time or $$ to go beyond what the basic requirements are...as with going to the Dr. would you work with one that wasn't board certified or one that was?
It is our responsibility to let the customer know what these designations mean and how they differentiate us from … (5 comments)

How do you attract business? - 04:01 PM
Yesterday I signed up for a great net program They were only taking 20 people from Orlando and surrounding counties.  When I went to lookat the examples it was amazing to see one of thesites have a gorgeous head shot of a beautifulgirl.  I was told his site got more hits than all theother 19 at this city.  The person in the picture didn't work at his office at all but was a model and he paid for the use of the picture.  I guess sex sells even in real estate.Now I get to use the word sex now in mytags!!  … (3 comments)

I hate open houses and I'm sticking to it! - 04:57 PM
I hate open houses! There I said it. It's out in the open and I'm not taking it back. I don't do them and I'm not starting. My Sellers know this. I tell them this at time of listing. "I will sell your house but I will not do an open house, ever."
Well, I had two of my Sellers call me today wanting to do open houses. So being the good little Realtor that I am, I said no. Now don't get me wrong, I like pleasing my Sellers and I like being agreeable when they ask me to do things. … (22 comments)

The fastest listing in the Bay Area! - 10:46 PM
So I meet a lovely couple who are interested in selling their home.  I meet them on a Saturday.  They call me Sunday and tell me they'd like to work with me, and how quickly can we get the house on the market?  I don't like to skimp on quality and I told them one week.  Here are the steps involved:
Sunday: Listing agreement and all complimentary agency disclosures must be signed before I can start any work.Sunday: Take some photography for use in ads due Monday/Tuesday.Monday: Turn in listing paperwork for office, and start fileMonday: Call all local papers to enter … (0 comments)

Donation to charity! - 11:14 PM
In an effort to give back to this wonderful community I live and work in, I have developed a relationship with Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), whereby I will donate $600 to ARF for every closed transaction with other friends of ARF.
If you don't know about ARF, or the services they offer, check them out: http://www.arf.net/ Located in Walnut Creek, CA
My daughter recently participated in a week long summer camp at ARF and what an outstanding experience.  They have programs all the way up to teens and high schools, and many opportunities for adults too! 
So, if you're a friend … (0 comments)

Actors Selling Homes?? - 04:11 PM
This probably will not keep Craig Schiller up nights.  At least I hope not.  If this article has any merit, we might all consider going to the local theatre and hiring out of work actors. In Denver, that would be the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  Somehow, I think I will stay with the staging concept. Frankly I have found that a staged house is not cold and has a far better presentation than most homeowners can ever accomplish!!
Little Improv Goes a Long Way in Selling a Home, from REALTOR Magazine Online. This is an interesting approach to offsetting the often cold feel of staged homes.  Centex Homes … (2 comments)

BLOGGING WHEN AND WHERE YOU CAN!! - 10:17 PM
Last Saturday we invited Kristal Kraft and her husband Larry to go to dinner with us.  I had a diabolical plan.  I was going to get ahead of her on the Active Rain blog!!  I excused myself and went to the ladies room.  Now you can see parts of my body other than the "head shot" with my body guard!
… (16 comments)

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