BestHomePro has launched a brokerage with heavy emphasis on referral of leads.  We have created The BestHomePro MarketPlace, which some have said is the "match.com of real estate."  We are pleased with that analogy.

In fact, our software and systems allow Opt-In for both consumers and agents, and there is no expense to agents, whatsoever, unless a client to whom they present themselves actually choose the agent.

Our search software uses patented preference profiling to determine precisely what homes fit that user the best and then our systems allow buyers and sellers to opt-in to our BestHomePro MarketPlace to see profiles and offers from agents before they choose an agent. 

All agent subscribers to BetsHomePro are alerted by email or text that a client is looking for an agent.  The agent can actually see the consumer profile, including recent search results, target move date and other information before they opt-in to make an offer to the prospective client.

Our system is definitely different from other referral systems, while it is quite similar to the dating service approach of matching people who want to meet each other.  Our system does not sell contact to random agents and it does not force agents to pay for leads that don't fit their interest.

We think it is a win-win for everyone.

If you are a REALTOR in The Triangle, NC or a consumer looking to buy or sell a home, check us out at www.BestHomePro.com, currently operating in The Triangle area of North Carolina.  We are planning expansion this year into other markets as well, so if not in The Triangle, keep you eyes and ears open to announcements about expansion.

Also, please stay in touch by reading our blog at www.BestHomePro.com/blog.  We would also love to see your comments.

Consumers, and even agents feel low these days because we are in a recession and home values are down from where they were two years ago.  If you are trying to sell, that certainly is a problem, but if you or your clients are in the market for a new home, now may be a great time to buy.

Research has shown that with the stock market, a vast majority of small investors hold back from buying when the market is low ("ah, things are really bad in the market!") and they tend to buy when the market is near the peak.  Is this not true in real estate?  When the market was "hot," buyers were lining up to get the deal because they were afraid they would completely miss the increasing investment values.  Well, many bought near the top of the market and now are severely burned.

Remind your customers that "smart money" buys low and sells high.

Read more in my BestHomePro blog post, Simplel Economics...

By the way, we are looking for a few great agents who want to work with knowledgeable consumers in a whole new way.  Our IDX offer is FREE and you never pay for a lead unless THEY select you.  Check it out at MarketPlace.

Thanks

Jeff Johnston

BestHomePro.com has launched a new lead and referral model in The Triangle.  It is called the BestHomePro MarketPlace and is based on the philosophy that REALTORS and consumers should be in more control of their time, choices and expenses.  Our basic tenants are as follow:

Consumers

1. Search all you want with no requirement to register

2. Use the most advanced home search tools in the world

3. Be assured that your contact information will never be shared until you choose an agent

4. When you decide you want to work with an agent, you get to choose which agent you wish to work with, based on detailed agent profiles and offers from multiple agents.

REALTORS

1. Never pay anything unless a consumer chooses you

2. Be in control by deciding to which clients you want to be presented

3. Only make offers to prospective clients that you are interested in serving, based on detailed profile information, including search results, target move date and other information.

4. Only work with clients (or leads) that have a high probability of closing a deal

We are now generating traffic and leads, and our consumers need top-notch agents to serve them

If you are interested in participating in this FREE trial offer, please visit www.BestHomePro.com and click on Agent Tools.  We offer a powerful IDX solution and we are now offering the opportunity to examine and make offers to great leads.

Feel free to email me at Jeff.Johnston@BestHomePro.com or call our office at 919-794-3350.  Currently, we are available only in the Triangle area of North Carolina.  We have plans to expand into other markets nationally in late Spring.

We are offering a new and different model for a highly competitive Internet world.

Jeffrey M Johnston

President & CEO

Getting a mortgage at 1% less than a conventional approach might seem like a great idea, but beware the future of interest rates if you expect to be in the house more than 3 to 5 years.  If your income is rising and home values start rising again, then that 1% can look pretty good.  But if the home price stays the same, or decreases; and your income stays the same or decreases; and mortgage rates begin to climb: watch out!

ARM or Diss-ARM on my BestHomePro blog.

BestHomePro is just launching its MarketPlace.  Direct-to-consumer search services, a promise not to share their contact information until they want to find a REALTOR.  IDX and MarketPlace Free to REALTORS until they make offers and the client chooses them.

Find an Agent:  Check it out

We would love to hear from you.

Currently available in The Triangle, NC

It sure seems like we rejoice about interest rates being low, but my analysis suggests that extremely low interest rates may actually depress prices on homes.  In my BestHomePro blog I write about the trade-offs in considering the impact of low interest rates.

Are Low Interest Rates Good?

I would certainly like everyone's opinion on this.  It is an important topic for our times.  Can real estate values begin to increase consistently again?  What will it take?  Is everyone a victim in this economy or can we do something to help consumers and help ourselves?

Give this some thought and comment

Thanks

Jeff Johnston

President & CEO

BestHomePro.com

We are all so eager for this economy to be fixed.  We want things to be the way they were in 2005 through 2007.  But The Beachboy song, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" rings in my ears and resonates in my brain.

Quick fixes are seldom possible.  Bush was at fault for everything.  Now the tide has turned and Obama is blamed.

Let's think before we accuse.  Let's analyze the trade-offs between government stimulus and allowing the natural laws of equilibrium and market forces to play their roles.

I wrote a blog at BestHomePro.com on the subject and how it relates to real estate.

Give it a read at Wouldn't It Be Nice, and please comment with your thoughts...         

Recently, I have been educated about the benefits of "New Urban Development," "Traditional Neighborhood Development," "New Urbanism," and "Walkable Neighborhoods."

But in searching on Google and Yahoo I mostly see esoteric studies and commentary about this "new trend."  I actually believe that this trend is real, describes the re-birth of urban living and a style of new construction that is both esthetically pleasing and good for the environment.

Check-out my blog at www.BestHomePro.com called The World is Turning Green in Real Estate, and add your comments regarding your knowledge of this trend and your belief or disagreement about issues related to neighborhoods and "green."

The answer would be "YES," if a poll had been taken anytime from 2000 to 2007. Now, there are a lot of questions about this.  It is illiquid and has a high cost.

But with all the problems in real estate in the last 3 years, many U.S. citizens are beginning to wonder if things will ever be really good again for building wealth through owning your own home or investing in residential real estate. My answer is "Yes," but only if you buy low and sell high, and take into consideration some key factors in how to finance a home, when to buy and how to sell.

Check out a recent blog post on my BestHomePro blog: Is Residential Real Estate a Good Investment?

What do you think?

Reyn Bowman is retiring as President of The Durham Convention and Visitor's Bureau today.  He has been running this organization promoting Durham as a great place to live and work for nearly 20 years.

Because Durham, NC is a great place to live and work, and because Reyn and others have been evangelists, Durham now gets the respect locally and in the national media that it so richly deserves.

Check out my blog post about Reyn and the article about him at WRAL, and think about who in your community fills this roll.  Are you the leader in your city or town?  Is there a leader?  Can you make a difference in how people feel about your location?

Let me know if you can identify those leaders in your communities.  They can make a real difference.

I write in my BestHomePro blog that very much like the old McDonald's 1970's ad campaign, "You Deserve a Break Today," we all deserve a break in 2010.  But I also have my three keys to getting that break in 2010.

1. Get off our duffs and do something about it

2. Think more of what will satisfy others, and

3. Don't wait for devine intervention.

Check-out the entire blog post at We Deserve a Break.

Cheers and let's get it done this year!