Archives of real estate blog entries for September 30, 2007

Featured blog posts


Stoopid is as stoopid does! - 04:52 PM
 
OK, if I were a smart man, I wouldn't write this post BUT.........sometimes I just have to throw it out there and see where it goes. As many of us have, I have been following all the ActiveRain vs. Move, Inc. stuff floating around the blogosphere over the last few days. If nothing else, it has been entertaining.
We have a Bloodhound who has already reached a verdict based on......well....based on nothing, I guess. With out looking at the actual agreement between AciveRain and Move, Inc any and all conclusions have been based on assumptions. Of course the assumption is that … (131 comments)

In Defense of Plagiarism! - 12:17 PM
Does that title get under your skin? Good! I want to talk and you are welcome to talk back. Take off the gloves, remove the blinders and let's just sort this out once and for all. Plagiarism is OKAY in some situations.
Getting you to click that Blog Title link is the only reason for the Title at all. I'll dispense with the "defense of plagiarism" issue in this short paragraph. Plagiarism is theft and is never "Okay" or defendable. I just wanted to get you to read this article and selected the most aggravating title I could think of to get you … (114 comments)

Fighting for the customer. Are we losing the battle? - 06:05 AM
AR is addictive, and I am not the most organized person, so I am spending more than I can afford. But I am glued to it trying to see if guys out there figured where we are going. It bothers me, there is a lot of uncertainty, and hey, maybe someone has a crystal ball?
Unfortunately, the overall tone of the blogs is not that encouraging. We are sort of enthusiastically complaining. About the media, which causes people to be concerned, the FSBOs who have more and more chutzpa, and about tons of other things. The idea is that if we eliminated … (21 comments)

The Un-conference - An Improvisation In Learning - 03:12 AM
This post is dedicated to Colleen Kulikowski in thanks to her post on active/rain about BlogOrlando. There were several comments on Colleen's post about the formate of an "unconference." I wanted to share a couple of lessons that I learned from turning a traditional workshop format into a less formal structure. To me an unconference is like an improvisation versus a three act play. For this type of format  it to work the "actors"/presenters" should:
Be skilled in moderating a discussionHave a good knowledge of the subjectBe open to taking a few risks and able to go with (and enjoy) the … (7 comments)

Become The Real Estate Expert In Any Community In Less Than 60 Days - 08:48 AM
Imagine becoming the recognized real estate authority in the community of your choice and building that reputation in less than 60 days. Now imagine doing it without spending a dime on marketing in a neighborhood that is presumably entrenched by your competition. Sound impossible? It's not!
The Problem Entrenched Competitors with An Unlimited Marketing Budget
You want to farm a community but you don't have the money to spend on expensive postcards and reports. Besides, the bigger real estate companies seem to be entrenched in the neighborhood you want to farm and they have a marketing budget that goes on forever. How can … (38 comments)

Click Here, Please - 08:50 AM
Hah, gotcha!
These words (click here, please) must be the mantra of most real estate agents in the 21st century. If not a specific request, then certainly an implied one. Believe it or not, though, there are still some agents who do not have websites. Perhaps they have plenty of referral and past client business so a website is not needed. Hmmm, I wonder, though.
Anyhow, we all want consumers coming to our websites, don't we? Otherwise, why spend the money to buy a template site, or even bigger bucks to have a custom site designed? More traffic means more leads and potentially … (102 comments)

Worth a thousand words? - 08:59 AM
OK, more geek-speak. This is about the photos that agents (or FSBO) have on their sites. I know this has been discussed to death, but I have a few more pointers that may help. A photo can be worth a thousand words, but are those words the ones you want to be saying?
Having a background in graphic design and working on many a photo shoot (and taking a few pix myself) there are some basic rules to follow.
1. Have a good camera. The days of the throwaway camera are gone. Invest in a good digital camera. 2. Know some … (29 comments)

One Possible Solution to immediately Stimulate Sales - 05:45 PM
Real Estate Activity Observed:  One of my associates recently listed a property in Buena Park, California.  He started at $500,000.00 which was approximately $30,000.00  below any other home available on the market......two weeks go by and there is no activity so he convinces the seller to lower the asking price to $450,000.00..........two more weeks go by and no action.  Then he decides to list the property at $417,000.00 the conforming loan limit for Fannie Mae and the boundary line for qualifying for various 100% financing products.  Suddenly, he had ten offers at full price, but each was asking for closing costs … (30 comments)

Do You Give Good Phone? Screen Your Leads! - 11:46 AM
 
When a transaction goes bad and I get involved, the trainer seems to come out in me!  As a trainer I do pick apart a dead deal to see where we have gone astray. 
In most cases agents simply need to get back to basics to help prevent dead deals. 
In most cases they were never transactions to begin with. 
Certain steps were missed, yes let me say that again, "Certain steps were missed and in most cases the dead deals were never transactions to begin with".
To me the most important step when dealing with the consumer is screening of leads. 
It's too many … (49 comments)

Geothermal.......Eco Friendly Heating & Cooling!!! - 11:52 PM
Almost 5 years ago my family moved from a 1200 sq.ft. Rancher into a 2800 sq.ft. Cape Cod. The cape cod at the time was about 12 years old and had one peculiar feature which we knew nothing about. It had 'Geothermal' heating and cooling!
I'm not going to go into the technical aspects of this technology, but I'll share some personal, practical thoughts about this phenomenal system.
*Simplicity---it has slightly more moving parts than an average refrigerator. There is only one unit, inside, for both heating and cooling---there is no outside 'cooling' module required! We thought when first looking at the house … (45 comments)

Creating a Standard in the Staging Industry: Can our Services be better categorized? - 12:50 AM
In my last post I wrote about how consumers cannot look at price alone when selecting a stager to market their home. This post received a lot of attention and many of you have written me to let me know that you will be using it as part of your marketing materials.
Another issue facing stagers today is the different caliber of home staging services offered by staging companies that stage vacant properties. Since there are no industry standards, there is no "secret formula" that dictates that in each room a certain number of accessories and a certain quality of art … (65 comments)

Sometimes I hate my "job" - 06:30 AM
I don't think this is public knowledge, although a few of you know this already:I would MUCH prefer to work with buyers than with sellers.  Give me an 80 hourwork week with buyers and I'm energized and happy.  40 hours a week withsellers and I'm depressed and drained. (I am the oddball in my office or soI've been told time and time again.)I won't go into too many details as I wouldn't "out" anyone even though theperson isn't a client.  Yet. 
Yesterday I had a seller sob.  I could feel my own tears just below the surface.I had to give her … (55 comments)


Blog posts


Screening A Real Estate Lead? Ask These Questions! - 10:45 AM
In real estate it is extremely important to screen your leads. Why? So you know whether you are working with a ready, willing and able buyer or seller.We seem to spin our wheels and waste hours on end with a potential customer to find out they either did not have the need for our services or they were never qualified to utilize our services. Has this happen to you?
Create yourself a lead sheetA lead sheet is a form you use on every buyer and seller prospect. Even if you are seasoned there are occasions I have been at a loss for … (6 comments)

Do You Give Good Phone? Screen Your Leads! - 11:46 AM
 
When a transaction goes bad and I get involved, the trainer seems to come out in me!  As a trainer I do pick apart a dead deal to see where we have gone astray. 
In most cases agents simply need to get back to basics to help prevent dead deals. 
In most cases they were never transactions to begin with. 
Certain steps were missed, yes let me say that again, "Certain steps were missed and in most cases the dead deals were never transactions to begin with".
To me the most important step when dealing with the consumer is screening of leads. 
It's too many … (49 comments)

Daughter starts college tomorrow... daughter-in-law gives birth tomorrow! - 11:04 PM
Well tomorrow will certainly be an interesting day for me. My eldest daughter will attend her first lecture at college tomorrow. She is taking a law degree at Bristol University in the UK. This is not her starting late, this particular university starts late!
As far as I can tell there is no equivalent to this degree in the US, but after three years of this she will be an LLB and then if she wishes to pursue Law, she will have to go to Law School for one year. I cannot tell you all how proud I am; how scared I … (11 comments)

Keep Blogging, Don’t Stop - 02:03 AM
I know that sometimes it is difficult to find things to blog about but once you start blogging it is important that you do not stop. Before I started blogging I could not find my website on search engines. Since blogging my site went from not being able to find it to number one on google. I noticed that when I stop my site seems to drop in the ranks.
Daniel Lowery, Certified Negotiation Specialist (CNS), e-PROREALTOR® Broker/Sales Coldwell Banker Gordon Co. Realtors Direct: (573) 291-1819 Office: (573) 761-3312Email: daniel@daniellowery.comWebsite: DanielLowery.comWhen Service Matters Call Dan!
  … (1 comments)

New Domain Extension - 04:17 PM
Be sure you go out and reserve the .mobi domain name for your sites.  This extension is geared specifically for the mobile devices so the pages will serve up faster for them.  You can get the domain names for $9.99 per year out on GoDaddy.com.  Hurry before the good domain names are taken!! … (4 comments)

Life and Death Living In The Country - 11:27 AM
So often, people comment to me, "It must be peaceful living in the country where nothing ever happens."  That's when I know that, if they ever think of moving out of the city, they need to do their due diligence.  This morning was just such an example. 
A few days ago I blogged about the arrival of Headlight, our new bull calf out of Dot, herd matriarch.
I didn't mention that we had some other babies on the place, 8 chicks that we'd been raising for a few weeks from tiny little fluffballs.  An assortment of four breeds, they make quite … (15 comments)

Wynmoor Village (55+ Community) 2/2 Ground Floor $78,800 Wow Furnished! - 09:13 AM
MLS# F838551
2505 Antigua Terrace #N1
Coconut Creek, Florida 33066
Asking Price: $78,800
2 BEDROOMS FOR THE PRICE OF 1*IN DEMAND 1ST FLOOR 2 BEDROOM 2 BATH CONDO IN WYNMOOR VILLAGE* LOCATED IN THE GREAT TOWN OF COCONUT CREEK*SPOTLESS WELL TAKEN CARE OF HOME, JUST PAINTED AND CARPETS PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED* BEING SOLD AS-IS FURNISHED WELL APPOINTED*ALL KITCHEN APPLIANCES LESS THAN 3 YEARS OLD,A/C LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD*WYNMOOR HAS TONS OF AMENITIES; A MOVIE THEATER,GOLF COURSE & RESTAURANT*  ABSOLUTELY A NO BRAINER AT THIS PRICE*EASY TO SEE!VERY CLOSE TO ALL SHOPPING,THE GREAT NEW CASINO & MORE
     
              
 
Keith Sonenson REALTOR Charles Rutenberg Realty, LLC … (2 comments)

In Defense of Plagiarism! - 12:17 PM
Does that title get under your skin? Good! I want to talk and you are welcome to talk back. Take off the gloves, remove the blinders and let's just sort this out once and for all. Plagiarism is OKAY in some situations.
Getting you to click that Blog Title link is the only reason for the Title at all. I'll dispense with the "defense of plagiarism" issue in this short paragraph. Plagiarism is theft and is never "Okay" or defendable. I just wanted to get you to read this article and selected the most aggravating title I could think of to get you … (114 comments)

Stoopid is as stoopid does! - 04:52 PM
 
OK, if I were a smart man, I wouldn't write this post BUT.........sometimes I just have to throw it out there and see where it goes. As many of us have, I have been following all the ActiveRain vs. Move, Inc. stuff floating around the blogosphere over the last few days. If nothing else, it has been entertaining.
We have a Bloodhound who has already reached a verdict based on......well....based on nothing, I guess. With out looking at the actual agreement between AciveRain and Move, Inc any and all conclusions have been based on assumptions. Of course the assumption is that … (131 comments)

Austin Real Estate Stats for August Released - 12:56 AM

So the amount of inventory was up 21%. This is a pretty large increase but the amount of inventory on the market last year was insanely low. The market was slowed in August by some of the issues with subprime lending. It will be interesting to see what happens next month and if the Fed rate cut or the FHA Secure plan help to alleviate the problem with credit crunch.
Here is a breakdown of the central Austin MLS Areas

Ki is a realtor working in the Austin market. His website The Austin Real Estate Guide provides … (2 comments)

Request Employer Identification Number Online In Real Time - 12:32 AM
Taxpayers can now request an Employer Identification Number (EIN) through a Web-based system that instantly processes requests and generates identification numbers in real time, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced recently. "This new and improved online application will reduce the time it takes taxpayers to get an EIN," said Richard Morgante, Commissioner of the IRS Wage & Investment Division. "Essentially they can get one while they wait -- within minutes." No more need to file a Form SS-4!  Note that while you will obtain relatively quick response, it will still take about two weeks for the new EIN to become a … (0 comments)

"We are going to wait to sell until after this Buyer’s Market" - 11:11 AM
I hear this time and again from potential home sellers.  It seems the overriding sentiment among sellers is that it is best to sell in a "Seller's Market".  In some cases this may be true.  However, in more cases than one would think, a "Buyer's Market" is the perfect time to sell your home.  I will elaborate on what I mean in the following paragraphs.  In today's article I will look at one example of a situation in which now (epitome of the "Buyer's Market") is the ideal time to sell your home.
If you are considering moving to a larger, more … (0 comments)

"We are going to wait to sell until after this Buyer’s Market" Part II - 11:12 AM
As I posted in the previous article, the conventional wisdom is not always so wise.  I spoke of a situation in which selling in a "Buyer's Market" is the perfect thing to do.  That scenario is when you are moving to a home that is more expensive than your current home.
Another situation when the same is true is when one is making a lateral move in the same general geographic location.  That is, if the home you will purchase is of approximately the same value as the home in which you currently live and are selling, a "Buyer's Market" is not a bad time … (2 comments)

Screen Capture Question (Mac Users) - 04:09 PM
I am looking for some tips or a recommended software for screen capturing an image using my Mac computer.  I previously used an HP Tablet PC and I used the snipping tool which was awesome but I have not learned how to do this with my Mac yet.  I am not sure if there is something already built into the Mac or if I need to add a software.  Any help or recommendations you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
… (10 comments)

Relocating to Brookline: You’ll Never Look Back - 05:37 PM
Whether you are moving to Brookline from another part of Boston or from further away, you'll find exploring your new neighborhood exciting and rewarding. Brookline is a friendly area with a close-knit community that is only a short trip to downtown Boston. Beautiful neighborhoods comprised of houses, condos, and large estates are interspersed with quaint foot-traffic-friendly commerce areas. In Brookline you'll find a mix of upscale boutiques, spas, and restaurants along with more rustic pubs and eclectic shops. The area attracts a variety of residents including young professionals, families, elderly, and students.
Because of Brookline's many housing options and different neighborhoods, it … (0 comments)

Brookline Village - 05:41 PM
With all the charm of a traditional village-small businesses, quaint storefronts, people who know each other and chat on the sidewalks-Brookline Village boasts a string of stores and eateries that pride themselves on blending the modern and the traditional. You'll also find the majority of the city's public services in Brookline Village like the fire and police stations, the public library, Town Hall, and the courthouse. Residential neighborhoods that flank the Village include the Point and Pill Hill; you'll find beautiful historic homes and Victorian-styles buildings there. Because of the proximity to Longwood Medical Center, many doctors and medical staff live … (0 comments)

Coolidge Corner - 05:42 PM
Coolidge Corner is Brookline's busiest and most popular business district that also includes apartments, condos, and single and multi-family houses along its borders. The actual "corner" is where Harvard Street and Beacon Street cross, but the district is long enough to create a great walking area for locals and visitors alike. If you choose a property around Coolidge Corner, you'll have walking access to the Coolidge Corner Playhouse, the movie theater, and a plethora of eateries, eclectic shops, and larger commercial shops like the Gap and McDonalds.
JFK Crossing is a subsection of Coolidge Corner, which is near the house where … (0 comments)

Washington Square, Brookline - 05:43 PM
Washington Square feels like a bustling little town of its own. You can find anything you need here including restaurants, ethnic markets, dry cleaners, and small shops. Its train stop (or T-stop) is marked by a unique four-sided clock at the intersection of Beacon Street and Washington Street. Nearby neighborhoods are filled with large single-family homes and luxury condo developments.
For homes, single family houses, multi-family houses and condominiums visit http://www.bostonrealestatema.com/ … (0 comments)

Longwood, Brookline, MA - 05:45 PM
Longwood has a plethora of historic brownstones that are protected by the local Historic Preservation Commission. In addition, you'll find beautiful single-family homes and condos in this area. With Harvard Medical sites near by, this is a thriving area that is also popular for doctors and academics. Longwood Mall, the largest collection of protected antique Beech trees in the nation, ensures that there will always be greenery in this area.
For homes, single family houses, multi-family houses and condominiums visit http://www.bostonrealestatema.com/
… (0 comments)

Cottage Hill, Brookline, MA - 05:46 PM
If you are looking for a large single-family home in a historical district, consider looking in the Cottage Farm neighborhood. Surrounded by Halls Pond Bird Sanctuary and Boston University, this area is considered a little oasis for its residents. Cottage Hill offers peaceful living with easy access to all of Brookline and downtown Boston.
For homes, single family houses, multi-family houses and condominiums visit http://www.bostonrealestatema.com/
… (0 comments)

Related links

New Members for 2007-09-30

 Archives:

30 Sep
29 Sep
28 Sep
27 Sep
26 Sep
25 Sep
24 Sep
23 Sep
22 Sep
21 Sep
20 Sep
19 Sep
18 Sep
17 Sep
16 Sep
15 Sep
14 Sep
13 Sep
12 Sep
11 Sep
10 Sep
9 Sep
8 Sep
7 Sep
6 Sep
5 Sep
4 Sep
3 Sep
2 Sep
1 Sep
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006