Archives of real estate blog entries for September 4, 2007

Featured blog posts


How to look like an experienced agent, even if you're new - 02:38 AM
Just because you're new, doesn't mean you have to look it.
When I was starting out, I showed amazing confidence and was never once asked how much experience I had. But to have confidence, you need to have knowledge.
Know your market
Preview everything in your area. Go on tours or go on your own--just preview. Don't just preview your own office's listings, but preview other listings as well. If your town is big, just focus on a small section. Previewing around where you live is key, and I will explain more about why in a bit. 
Hot Sheets
Read them daily. Know what home prices actually go under contract and … (145 comments)

Windows of Opportunity: Realizing They Exist Before They Close - 08:17 PM
 
 
 
Today I had a client who asked me to refer him to a mortgage broker.  Most of my clients purchase cash, so I don't have someone I refer regularly.  When I was on the phone with the client, I used my home phone to dial my "mortgage guy" in.  Of course, my call went to voice mail.  So I sent the mortgage guy my client's info and asked him to call my buyer client ASAP.
During the call with my client, he was searching online for a mortgage calculator.  He Googled "mortgage calculator" and happened upon Quicken Loans.  … (109 comments)

Attn. Market Timers! Exactly When to Buy! - 07:56 PM
Frankly, the #1 questions I get are market timing questions like: "Have we hit bottom?" and "Is NOW the time to buy?" Well, after months of thinking and market analysis I've discovered the EXACT time you should buy, down to the DAY! 
So you no longer believe the "Buy Now!" campaign from the National Association of Realtors. Especially since The New York Times quotes the former Chief Economist David Lereah as acknowledging he had gotten it wrong. Also you no longer hear the office water cooler chat: "Historically with a 7% annual appreciation, you can't go wrong" or "stop throwing money out the window" (see my … (34 comments)

What? The Laurie Manny Challenge Again? Two New Gems fall out of the Rain. - 02:48 AM
thought the last one we did on the challenge was it, so we guess this one might not be the last thing we do about the recent AR contest that was intended to get all of us to not only think outside of the box, but to look outside of it as well.
This is one of the good things we've learned about AR, there's great help around here... if one is willing.
Here are two new gems that fell out of the rain, so to speak, on us last night. And we really like how this works:
AR has a contest.We … (42 comments)

Are you selling what you do OR who you are? - 02:51 AM
Hi folks. Today I'm going to write a follow up to my last post "Sally's eyes will make a grown man cry". It is a pretty intense and a very sad post but there was a reason I wrote it. First, I want the consumer to be able to see what it is we really do and secondly I want my peers to understand what it is we really do.
In this day and age of Internet based real estate companies and Alternative Business Models(ABMs), that charge a fee, to give Sellers access to the MLS and offer other tools to get … (64 comments)

TouchGraph ... How Are We All Connected? (A Fun Link Tool for Us Visual Learners) - 03:46 AM
Thanks to one of my favorite feeds: ProBlogger.com, I was able to find a SUPER COOL (free) tool that shows, VISUALLY how certain search terms and websites are all connected, through Google. This site is called: TouchGraph.com
For example: I typed in "Understanding the Realtor® Code of Ethics" (something that I wrote a lot about, on my "other" blog as well as here, on Active Rain) into their search bar. The diagram below is what came up:

What this shows is the Top 10 Google Results for this search term (the big bubbles) and from there it shows the top … (54 comments)

How to compete with the lowest commission? - 08:14 PM
New business models....we are afraid!!!  Are we?  Don't consumers deserve choices?  Some consumers are very knowledgeable about the real estate process and commission structures and different models and yet others have no idea how it works.  Believe it or not, some agents don't know how they work - perhaps because they are afraid, too busy, or don't care enough about their business.
New business models are being introduced everyday in the form of choices for the consumer.  Some are harnessing technology; some are stripping services; some are gaining efficiencies in the formation of teams; some are providing all the services associated with a transaction.  … (37 comments)

Will The Client Choose You? "For Better. For Worse. Never Static." - 02:41 AM
I didn't choose my darling.  Oh, I bought the ring and posed the question.  But even though she responded to my "marketing campaign" in the affirmative, it would be a mistake to think the relationship was my choice--that I decided, and it was so.  She did the choosing.
As in love, so in business. The choice is not ours.  The parallels are striking. 
Here's our usual marketing mindset:
     • The success of my business is up to me.     • I designed the ad campaign.     • My dollars paid for the marketing.     • The web page, the clever tag line, the appealing graphics-all … (47 comments)

Here's the Big Secret: None of Us Know What We’re Doing - 08:14 PM
Alright, Newbies – you just got here, or you’ve been here a little while and you’re still getting your bearings.  Everything moves so fast, there are people everywhere and they all seem to know each other.  Are you feeling like you’re the last one to arrive at the party?
Well, don’t worry about it.  Here’s a little secret for you.  None of us know what we’re doing.  We’re ALL new to blogging, with just one or two notable exceptions.  No one has been doing this long enough to become the Blog Police and no one can tell you you’re doing it … (181 comments)

I Lost A Listing - 02:42 AM
I lost a listing a week ago. I was surprised. They had moved to California and I had over 30 showings on the property but no offer.
 What happened?
Before I listed the property I went over everything that needed to be done to prepare the house. They painted the great room, painted the ceiling, painted the bedroom, painted the trim and flower boxes. They did everything I asked but REMOVE The Green Ivy Wallpaper from the kitchen and nook. They liked it and didn't want to remove it. It was a former builders model in the 90's.
The house also backs up … (167 comments)

Part Time Agents - 08:04 PM
How many part time Realtors are there in your market?  Will there be less or more as the market changes?
I have never been a fan of Part-Time Realtors.  Even though, I was one (and I think many of us were); when I was first transitioning into the business.  I played "Part-Time Agent" for only 6 months; just enough time to save a very small amount of cash before making the leap.
I think it is understandable that for many folks getting into this business; costs a lot of money and going from a job with a regular paycheck to working soly for … (74 comments)


Blog posts


Hudson, New Hampshire (NH) Home for Sale - 09:18 PM
Hudson, New Hampshire Home for SaleDescriptionWhen it comes to finding a new home, they say location is everything.
What better example than this home on a quiet dead-end street in Hudson, New Hampshire, a short hour from Boston, and a pleasant walk to Robinson Pond.
Hidden behind lush trees, this 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home feels secluded and private. Set on over 1 acre and backing up to the woods, it feels like your own private hideaway.
Family get togethers and holiday meals find a perfect home in the formal dining room.
The sunken family room, with cathedral ceilings and a wood burning … (1 comments)

Targeting teachers - 06:02 PM
Hope this helps someone, but I found it very useful to e-mail all of my daughter's high school teachers. The e-mail basically said: "Hey! you are taking care of something very important to me so I thought I would offer my services to help take care of something very important to you".
The response was extremely good with only one out of some 450 staff asking to be removed from my mailing list. I also have some deals bubbling with them. To get their e-mails I went to the school website where they are all published.
Don't forget to subscribe to my blog!
(7 comments)

Florida posts impressive five year value gain - 10:05 PM
Second only to Hawaii in the nation, Florida posted a five year price increase gain of 95.3% with a statewide 2006-2007 loss of 0.75%.
This is yet more good news for Florida which has some of the most impressive figures in the nation on numerous fronts - not least of which are both job growth and population growth.
The Government figures from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, also showed that the Orlando area had a one year price increase of 3.64% with the last quarter showing a negligible 0.30% decline in prices. The five year figure for Orlando was above the … (2 comments)

Jefferson City Missouri Real Estate - Market Update August 2007 - 10:56 PM
The table below shows the number of closed transactions for August 07.This representation is based in whole or part on data supplied by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of the Jefferson City Area Board Of REALTORS, Inc. Neither the board nor its MLS guarantees or is any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Board or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Jefferson City Missouri Real Estate 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! … (0 comments)

Jefferson City Missouri Real Estate - Market Update August 2006 - 11:00 PM
The table below shows the number of closed transactions for August 06. This representation is based in whole or part on data supplied by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of the Jefferson City Area Board Of REALTORS, Inc. Neither the board nor its MLS guarantees or is any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Board or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Jefferson City Missouri Real Estate 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! … (0 comments)

Real Estate Books, Agents, Buyers, and Sellers - 11:36 PM
I wanted to share a website with you that has a small variety of real estate related books for Agents, Buyers, and Sellers. You can browse the items listed on the page or you can search for more books. Stop by today and browse the books.
An Amazon.com powered website.
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!
(0 comments)

Blog Topics – Write about what you know - 11:44 PM
I often find it hard to find topics to blog about. Do I keep it real estate related only or do I blog about other things that interest me. I think the best blog topics are topics you know something about. For example if you like to garden write about it. Just a thought to keep you thinking.
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!
(2 comments)

Jupiter Real Estate Sales - what is selling? - 01:00 AM
Jupiter Real Estate Sales improving... 
Great news for property owners - the inventory in our area of Palm Beach County is finally starting to decline!!
As I was reviewing the year to date sales for the Jupiter Real Estate Market - i thought it might be useful to share some of the best selling condo communities.
Numbers reflect the solds from RMlS from 1/1/2007 to 9/3/2007
Interested in knowing more about the absorbtion rate or the statistics for your Palm Beach County community?
Contact Dave AbernathyEXIT RealtyOcean 30 Marketing GroupJupiter Condo Specialist(561) 628 - 0128
(2 comments)

Windows Vista - Is it right for you? - 03:23 PM
The big rush to Vista that Microsoft was hoping for never materialized and with some good reasons. If you buy a new PC, you're going to be stuck with Vista whether you like it or not. Part of the abysmal response to Vista was due to (in part) pc manufacturors building pcs with inadequate hardware to run Vista properly. A PC needs at least 1 gig of memory and I would recommend dual core processor  as well.
But is it right for you?  If you use a lot of older software applications (or older hardware), definitely not.  Quite a few older … (4 comments)

Ecological Eating - 09:40 AM
I saw an article on CNN this morning about the 100-mile-diet.  I found it intriguing, as a new member of the Slow Food Movement, and all-around general foodie. While I try to eat local produce (most local being picked from our garden, of course, where the lovely okra blossom below was blooming yesterday), I didn't realize there was an actual movement dedicated to that.  I'm afraid I won't be giving up chocolate or my favorite wines anytime soon, but I'm sure I can do more to eat locally, and will.  It's good for the planet, in terms of less fuel needed … (23 comments)

From Historic to Antique - 08:52 AM
Having a historic listing in Dickeyville made me want to visit the Baltimore Summer Antique show that at the Baltimore Convention Center this weekend.  The show started on Thursday and ran through Sunday. So after my first showing on 2300 Tucker Lane we took a short drive downtown to the Baltimore Convention Center.
Somehow "antiques" makes me think of chairs with delicate legs and fragile porcelain vases. The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show had those, of course, but so much more.  Fine furniture, jewelry, sculpture, and books were only part of the story.
 
This ax sculpture doesn't seem like an antique, but … (11 comments)

Are you selling what you do OR who you are? - 02:51 AM
Hi folks. Today I'm going to write a follow up to my last post "Sally's eyes will make a grown man cry". It is a pretty intense and a very sad post but there was a reason I wrote it. First, I want the consumer to be able to see what it is we really do and secondly I want my peers to understand what it is we really do.
In this day and age of Internet based real estate companies and Alternative Business Models(ABMs), that charge a fee, to give Sellers access to the MLS and offer other tools to get … (64 comments)

Park City Condo for Sale - In town & on Bus Route $177,000 - 10:03 PM
New Listing for a Cute Remodeled Park City Utah Condo for Sale - Only $177,000 and full ownership
  
  
MLS#99707381 Bedroom1 BathroomHot TubSwimming PoolNew AppliancesSlate FloorsNightly Rentals AllowedOnsite Property ManagementUnderground ParkingOn Free Bus RouteFantastic In Town LocationVery Short Drive to the Ski Resorts (about 5 minutes)List Price Only $177,000
Great Price for a full ownership Ski Condo
Virtual Tour of this Condo for Sale
Contact Park City Realtor Julie Olsen at 435-513-2848 for more information or Visit BestSkiProperty.com
 
(0 comments)

Downtown Austin Development on the Way in 2007 - 11:44 AM
As you know, we've been experimenting with Slideshare.net presentations. Our team specializes in new construction, second homes, relocations and investments, so we have to be on top of upcoming projects.
Austin is moving towards more mixed-use residential retail in Downtown and Central areas. By passing ordinances that allow for taller buildings, the city is set to handle the huge population boom that we will see in the next 10-20 years. View the full-sized version after clicking on the Slideshare logo.
CONTACT US at CopelandGroupRealty.com for questions, full-sized pdfs and more information.
(0 comments)

Tomorrow Will Shape My Feelings About Real Estate Forever....... - 07:06 PM
                                                     
     Tomorrow afternoon my husband and I will test the Realtor's Preamble,,,,"Do Onto Others....Yadda Yadda." We had buyers who identified themselves as our buyers....who we talked to the lister about and he called them "our" buyers....who we began negotiations with on his listing...we have dozens of e-mails that span 6 months...cell phone records of his calls to us (if these folks were your customers why would you call another agent ? )  We will appear before a panel of our peers and present the evidence with the assistance of our manager and assistant manager who tried negotiating a settlement and … (0 comments)

FSBO TOUR - 09:23 AM
We've tried everything else, so here's something new we are trying. 
A FSBO Tour.  Every Monday night from 5 to 7 PM we have a realtor tour of FSBOs.  Our team members go out from Tuesday to Friday talking to FSBOs and ask them if they would like to be on our Realtor Tour.   The script goes something like this:
"Hello, my name is (Agent Name) with (Company Name).  We do a lot of business in this area and we like to keep up with the inventory of homes for sale.  We have a Realtor Tour that visits various homes in the … (0 comments)

Real Estate Helps - 09:25 AM
Well, if you've been to www.realestatehelps.info lately, you see the site is no longer FREE.  They is now a $5.00 one time fee to gain entrance to the site.  I just couldn't afford to keep it up for FREE anymore.  Thank you to all those who have visited the site in the past and have come back to pay the $5.00.  It's is greatly appreciated. … (0 comments)

Who has seen a great movie that most of us have not heard of? - 09:12 PM
My wife and I had been movie buffs but ever since the bith of our children we have had little time to see any good movies.  We used to go to the movies 3-4 times a week and now we're lucky if we can see 1 a month.
So I'm asking for help.......the we are planning a movie night out next week.  What movie would you recomend us seeing?
Help please, we can not afford to waste our night on a bad flick.
Thanks.
(1 comments)

Taunton Real Estate- Very Large Single Family- $319,900 5-6 Bedrooms. - 07:01 AM
E. Taunton Location- Very large single family home built in the 1900's, but totally rehabbed in 2001. The property sits on a double lot, has 5-6 bedrooms. 2 baths. Buyer could apply for business zoning with the town. The property also has multi-family potential. Seller is very motivated and will look at ALL offers.
Some minor finish work still needed
Address is 534 Middleboro Avenue, E Taunton, MA .Call me at 508-878-0917
Lori Lincoln
Keller Williams Realty
To view this property please visit my website at http://www.LoriLincolnTeam.com
Serving the needs of sellers and buyers in Berkley Ma, Taunton Ma and surrounding Bristol County cities and towns
(1 comments)

Fall Lawn Tips From My Favorite Ryan Guy - 12:27 PM
(0 comments)

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