ALOHA! Hawaii Real Estate and Relocations Blog

LOTS OF HARD WORK and PATIENCE = Hawaii Short Sale Success

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:51:09 -0600

During the beginning of the year the Hawaii Short Sale listings were abundant! I had tried in vain to get buyers into a 'great deal' althought the time constraints did not work out. Contract after contract and denial after denial. People were fighting over short sales and only the patient ones survived.

By July a Hawaii Short Sale listing I have with another agent 'got into contract' and it was finally approved.

By August another listing 'was in contract' and recently the seller gave up.

One buyer put in a contract in late August and another in early September.....BOTH Short Sales are now bank approved and one is recording next week.

Prior to this year I had not had the opportunity to do a short sale (either buyer or seller) and through all of this I have found that short sales are LOTS of research, hard work and patience.....and in the end it pays off when it goes through.

Seems to me it's a BIG accomplishment to help someone from going through a foreclosure....

or to have a happy buyer who got a great deal.

It's like fishing.....it takes a lot of PATIENCE!

Mililani Condo for Sale | Mililani Hawaii Real Estate | Waikalani Woodlands

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:48:56 -0600

Mililani Waikalani Woodlands Condo for Sale!

95-273 Waikalani Drive, D1103, Mililani, 96789 View Map

Situated in Launani Valley this two bedroom unit in Waikalani Woodlands is waiting just for you.

Upgraded with new carpet, flooring fixtures and more this condo is VERY clean and ready to move in NOW.

On the eleventh floor the breezes flow through the unit constantly forom the winds through the valley. A gorgeous view overlooking the woods and treetops....

Your new abode awaits......

Details

Asking Price:

$179,000

MLS:

2914797

Sq. Feet:

840

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

# of Floors:

HOA/Maintenance Fees:

401

Subdivision:

Waikalani Woodlands

Year Built:

1976

Property Amenities

Community Amenities

Contact Info

Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman, Realtor-Associate®
Hawaii Real Estate & Relocations

Main (808) 625-1776 ext. 300
Cell (808) 375-1404
Dir (808) 375-1404
Email | Website

All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.

Is a Prequalification Letter Worth the Paper It's Written On?

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:04:42 -0600

Lending guidelines are continuously changing and very strict when approving a buyer for a loan. That IS a VERY good thing. We NEED to have a well qualified buyer putting in an offer lest it's wasting everyone's time and putting the seller and buyer's life on hold.

When an offer comes in the Realtor® goes over all details of the contract, the addendums AND the prequalification/preapproval letter that's attached. We speak to the loan officer and go through the credit worthiness of the buyer.

Pursuant to our Purchase Contract the buyer has XX amount of days after acceptance of the offer to go through the application process and submit a prequalification letter based upon the review of Buyer's credit report and items in the loan application.

Time and time again we will run into a situation where the loan officer is all for the buyer being well qualified only to have them evading an update during that first week after acceptance. Why? Because they're scrambling to FIND a lender that will take their client's loan when all along they KNEW that it's borderline to begin with.

We think in the best interests of our clients and scrutinize all letters of credit worthiness and speak to the loan officer regarding their letter of prequalification or preapproval. We then pass all the information to the seller and go over the offer...and they make a uniformed decision if they will accept that offer or not.

We think and do everything in our power for the best interests of our clients.

BUT..........Mr. Loan Officer........

There's a difference between the "buyer is well qualified" and it ‘may or may not fly'.

Please Consider the Environment Before Printing ALL Those Condo Docs

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:14:59 -0600

Condominium Documents are a big business here. They're needed .... therefore, the cost is jacked up to 'accommodate' the buyer who is purchasing the home. If you have the bulk of the documents (By Laws, Articles of Incorporation, Declarations and so forth) and just need the RR105c (property information form), budget, minutes, reserves and insurance summary paying for them separately ends up costing more than the whole packet.

So we buy the whole packet. If we're lucky the document center for the association sends them by email and we can just pass them on to the buyer's agent. If not, the documents are printed out and trees are used to print out this stack of documents. If the buyer doesn't want the stack we have to scan and email all of this.

And if they could ALL be in pdf file then why the huge cost of $350 per when it can take a few minutes to zap it over?

ALWAYS Have a Back Up PLAN

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:24:52 -0600

We represent our clients best interests. THAT is my first and foremost priority when strategizing the sale of a home. In Strategic Planning + Hard Work = Property IN CONTRACT my planning turned out to be a big positive and the townhouse was in contract by day ONE after the Open House. With 50+ guests to view the Mililani Townhouse for Sale there was no doubt in my mind that all efforts paid off.

But by the third day in contract the buyer's agent politely calls to inform us that they are backing out. No home inspection yet either. "The wife didn't really like it" was the reason....but hey......

.....I'd rather find out quickly rather weeks down the line.

At last Sunday's Open House the guest sign in sheets were filled out completely with guest, name of agent and so forth. I had also made notes on the side of the guests (i.e. very interested and said their agent would be contacting me) so I would remember who they were.

So when the contract fell out I hopped on the phone and within the hour had called five agents with the interested clients from the Open House. They were so excited and the following day received four contracts. We are now back in contract and have a back up offer besides.

Always have a backup plan.

Because as we all know it's never for sure....until it records.

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Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs, she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents.

Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!

I Just Don't Understand.....

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:20:25 -0600

I received this email a couple days ago and saved it so I could keep reading it. Before I continue ...this person is a Hawaii licensed real estate agent and a member of our board /mls.

I have my own opinions about this scenario and keep wondering why a licensed agent and member of our board/mls would want others to look for property when they have access to the mls?

HMMMMMM.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE INVESTOR LOOKING FOR PROPERTIES Hi, my name is XXXXXXXX and I am an investor in the local area. Due to the current economic conditions, I have decided to ramp up my existing operations. I not only represent myself but I also have several investors in and out of the area that I help find, rehab, rent out, and manage properties. Because of the money backing me, I have set the goal to buy 100 hundred properties within the next 12-18 months. Some of these properties I will buy and hold myself, some of them I will sell to other investors and some I will buy, fix up and flip for myself. Regardless of the strategy I use on each property, I need to be very aggressive on the price I pay for the property, especially in the current market. I have not chosen a real estate agent to represent me yet. The agent that I choose cannot be afraid to offend other agents with low offers. The agent I choose also will have to be available at all times. I use several strategies to buy and sell properties quickly, including making verbal offers when permitted. I will also look at a lot of properties and buy only a few. So an aggressive work schedule will be required. The upside of the agent who get accepted will be lots of commission. We will close on properties every month. I will pull in the agent on for Sale By Owner deals. At times I will write additional commission into the contract when we ramp up to full speed. All that aside, I am a professional and I expect to work with a professional. I want to make money and I want the agent to make money. Here are the type of properties I am looking to buy:

Single family home 3bedroom/2bath +, at least 1,000sq.feet.

No vacant ground

Located in whole Oahu only in low crime neighborhoods.

If you have properties that fit this description or would like to represent me please call me at XXXXXX or send me e mail to XXXXXXX

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Wassup Folks?

Strategic Planning + Hard Work = Property IN CONTRACT

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:50:56 -0600

We all talk about how we go above and beyond the call of duty in our businesses and there are many different opinions of exactly what that means. In a market that has been undoubtedly slow we have to be unique in our approach in doing the best we can for a Hawaii Home Seller and GETTING THE PROPERTY SOLD!

After viewing a property the Saturday before it was obvious there would be MUCH to do as the property was a rental for MANY years. The listing was signed with the contingency that it would not be shown until all repairs and cleaning were complete.

I started brainstorming and came up with a few ideas I thought would work to get it on the market and hold an Open House the next Sunday:

By the next morning- Sunday- the painter started on not only painting but spraying new ceiling throughout the downstairs. (don't ask me how it got so many dings and scrapes...they may have been walking the ceilings?)
The painter finished up putting back the ceiling fans etc by Monday. The handyman started to do a few odds and ends and installed the new range hood.
On Tuesday we went in to do some cleaning to put a ‘woman's touch' on everything. Argh....that took 2.5 days and it was more than what I first thought. Also, the flooring guys came in to change the tile in both bathrooms and put new baseboards and the handyman came back to finish up some final work.
On Wednesday the new dishwasher was delivered, I put up the listing on the MLS with specific instructions that the first showing was at the first Open House on Sunday. Added just a bit of staging (plants, rugs, table etc.) so the floor plan was evident.
Thursday and Friday screens were cleaned, additional caulking and open lanai painted (it had splotches of three different colors) and I added the listing to MULTIPLE sites and the final touch up cleaning through Saturday.

From Wednesday to Saturday many calls came in to view the property before Open House day but they were politely declined due to ‘work being done' and told to please attend the First Open House/Showing on Sunday.

Sunday's Open House proved fruitful and it turned out to be a great strategy for a highly desirable complex........21 groups of people (about 50+ individuals) came through and only 1 person signed in the guest book that DID NOT HAVE AN AGENT. By Monday morning (yesterday) we had an offer in hand. By the afternoon we had other calls from agents saying their clients came to Open House and considering putting in an offer.

The property is now in contract and in escrow.

Moral? Even though a lot of work in a short period of time (and at minimal price) went into getting the property ready.... it was well worth it to get the property sold!

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Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!

History Surrounding the Makapuu Lighthouse

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:49:20 -0600

The stone image of "Makapu'u " the supernatural woman and another one of Malei are no longer visible but it is said that Makapu'u (bulging eye) was in the form of a black rock. She was a female kapua (flower, blossom, child) who came to to Oahu (Honolulu County) with a famaous voyaging priest.

Malei, another female kapua was a stone set up to attract Uhu (Parrotfish) to the area. They made offerings of Lipoa (a type of seaweed) and also said to be a rock relative of Pele (the fire goddess)

But the Makapu'u Lighthouse is still standing and located on the East side of Oahu high above on the cliffs overlooking Makapuu beach. The lighhouse was established and first lit in 1909 and the light is still operational (as depicted in the picture).

The current use for the Makapu'u lighhouse is for "Active Aid to Navigation.

The owner is the U.S. Coastguard.

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Happy Halloweenie!

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:39:12 -0500

Happy Halloween Everyone! Unfortunately I was unable to dress up this year but will share the past two Halloween's on ActiveRain with all of you. The one on the left is from A Halloweenie Story and Greeting From Hawaii! from 2008 and the one on the right is from Halloween At the Office With Wizards & Fairies last year.

And the one below is Shadow with her boinging ears.....Have fun....and be safe!

How to Be a Happy Hawaii Short Sale Home Buyer

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:53:28 -0500

After working diligently the last few month with short sale buyers I am pleased to announce that recently two of my Hawaii Home Buyers finally got approved for short sale properties! For most of 2009 it's been hard to get Hawaii Relocation clients into contract. For one, they are just relocating here to Hawaii and it's been a long trip and they just want to get into a home.

On the other hand, local area residents are already in a home and in these two cases they wanted to REALLY buy a home and had time to wait for a good deal and a home they can call their own. Short Sales are no easy picnic for the seller or buyer. The process is lengthy and in many cases multiple offers are being submitted or homes are not appraising at the offering prices.

A few tips for Hawaii Home Buyers considering short sale properties:

Make sure you have the time and patience to wait for a short sale to get approved by the bank. If you don't then there is no sense wasting your, the agents, the seller and the bank's time. The short sale MUST be approved by the lender and just that process could take anywhere from two to four months and then another two to three months for the transaction process.
Before you have your Realtor® write up that contract make sure that they check current comps (preferably the last three months) and that the property is listed in a comfortable price range. If it's too high it is not going to appraise and too low and the bank may not accept it anyway.
The Lender most likely will request that the property be sold "As Is" and because of the sellers hardship they most likely will not approve any repairs or credits for repairs. They may not even approve of paying for the association documents, pest inspections, surveys and so forth. You may have additional costs to deal with so be prepared.
There may be more than one offer due to the lower list price of the property (and condition) so as always...put in your best offer. If you looking to just lowball an already lower priced home then your killer negotiations will most likely lose the home you really love.
Have a Professional home inspection even though the lender may not approve any repairs, remedies. It is in your best interests to KNOW what may need repairs and what you may need to fix. If there is structural, hazardous, electrical and plumbing issues that would take a considerable amount of money to remedy a home inspection will reveal all.
Make sure you have a knowledgeable Realtor® who can explain the Short Sale Process and all that is typically involved in this type of transaction.

My buyers were well informed and are on their way to be happy homeowners.

How about you?

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Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!

Mililani Townhouse for Sale | Mililani Real Estate

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:41:44 -0500

Mililani Real Townhouse for Sale| Mililani Real Estate

95-344 Kaloapau Street, #148, Mililani, HI 96789 View Map

Two Story Townhouse for Sale at an UNBEATABLE price!

This split level townhouse in "Hale Kaloapau" in Mililani Town is rarely available and just steps from Mililani Recreation Center #3. That means steps away from the pool on those hot days!

Enter the dining area and an open kitchen with loads of cabinet speace and if you choose, you can close off the kitchen with sliding doors while entertaining your guests.

Convenient laundry area off the kitchen and a half bath with new flooring completes the first floor.

The second floor boasts two spacious bedrooms and a full bathroom and a large floor to ceiling hall walk in storage closet.

This townhouse is VERY clean and MOVE IN READY.

Your "Hale Kaloapau Townhouse" awaits......

Details

Asking Price:

$259,000

MLS:

2914149

Sq. Feet:

877

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

1.5

# of Floors:

HOA/Maintenance Fees:

356

Subdivision:

Mililani Town

Year Built:

1972

Property Amenities

Community Amenities

Contact Info

Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman, Realtor-Associate®
Hawaii Real Estate & Relocations

Main (808) 625-1776 ext. 300
Cell (808) 375-1404
Dir (808) 375-1404
Email | Website

All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!

Engaging and Enhancing Relationships Through My ActiveRain Blog

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:30:51 -0500

Bob Stewart has some great ideas when it comes to a community challenge and the current one on Using Your Blog To Enhance Existing Relationships got my blogging juices running. His Theme?

How are you using your blog to enhance your existing relationships with clients and prospects?

The most important part of my ActiveRain blog is my Profile Page. Yeah, we all insert some information about ourselves and what we will do for our clients. But what sets my blog apart from others? A while back I decided to make my profile page a ‘one stop shop' for all posts that I had written for the Hawaii Relocations and Real Estate. A Relocation Packet for the consumer.

My Profile page gave the consumer all the information they needed to get started to learn about Hawaii the State, Local Area History, Businesses around my area, Points of Interest. I included basically ALL things Real Estate including market reports, community information and information for buyers and sellers. Of course I couldn't fit all nine hundred + posts I've written on ActiveRain over the years but I did a good job of focusing on my niche area.

‘It's not just about real estate...

it's about the community and making their transition just a little bit easier.'

Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and many of my buyers are Military Relocating to Hawaii and other Hawaii Relocations. I have to rely on my websites and blogs to keep them interested and eventually email or call me.

Updating and Creating: Update, create, update, create. It's a lot of work but hey...it's well worth the results. Old news does not keep a reader engaged. My blog is a continuously moving ad and constantly updating my blog and website with FRESH content will keep me on the first page of Google with many keywords for my niche market. (My Website is my own creation and I can keep it fresh because I don't have to rely on others to do it)

My ActiveRain Outside Blog: My outside blog is a great additional tool (extended from ActiveRain) and all you have to do is subscribe, pick your own domain name, update your theme and add links and so forth. All the rest is transferred over to www.cheesemanhomes.com from my ActiveRain blog when I choose to publish public and consumer posts to my outside blog. I currently have the link to my outside blog in my signature for emails as well.

MY OUTSIDE BLOG IS A NEWSLETTER IN ITSELF!

Connnect to Facebook and Twitter and all my public posts are linked directly in as well.

Creativity and Using My Own Voice: There is nothing better than a reader reading something and they can "feel" the writer in the story. You could be writing a great localism post about the history of your area or real estate related material. If you are ‘talking' at them instead of ‘talking' with them they won't listen. So I write the same way. I write as if I'm walking with them and talking with them.

It's a conversation that is continuously moving with words.

Pictures, Virtual Tours and Video: Pictures that are tastefully inserted into my article or post shows the reader the area I live in and enhances my blog tenfold. I happen to think it's my blog's best trait for visual appeal. I enhance my blog further with video and virtual tours from www.realestateshows.com. Real Estate Shows is my all time favorite for listings, tours around Hawaii and anything I want to use it for...including inserting a show in the PHOTO GALLERY on my website.

Local Area and Business Posts: What better way to engage my readers than showing them I am the local area expert by writing about Hawaii history, sites, businesses and neighborhoods? Real Estate is talking about ALL THINGS REAL ESTATE and if you are your local area expert you show them you have information by writing about everything in your community. www.localism.com is another part of ActiveRain where you can ‘sponsor' your local areas and connect with businesses in your area as well.

Utilizing all the ActiveRain challenges and writing my best industry related posts is the best part of ENHANCING those RELATIONSHIPS. Another recent challenge by Bob Stewart and his 1000 Point Challenge For The Rest Of Our Members.....'The Series' which allowed me to redo my HAWAII HOMES MARKET RELOCATION AND REAL ESTATE INFORMATION ONLINE and currently put the first three parts (links) on my MILITARY/VA Information page of my website.

Hawaii Military Relocation | YOUR Military Move to Hawaii PART I Loads of information on the bases around the island of Oahu (which is Honolulu County) and getting your pets ready, the diversity of Hawaii, living on an island paradise with little buildable land (therefore, smaller homes) and so forth.
Hawaii Honolulu Military Relocation -Part II of the Series on YOUR Military Move to Hawaii we discussed options on renting, buying or living on Base Housing and gave you a chart on Honolulu County 2009 BAH so you know what to expect for your Honolulu County Housing Allowance.
Hawaii Military Relocation| PART III on YOUR Military Move to Hawaii | Hawaii Home Buyers VA Loans Your To Do List in getting ready for your Hawaii Home Buying Process is the next step in being proactive in your Hawaii Military Relocation. Starting your Hawaii VA Loan Process before you even arrive will make the process time shorter once you get into contract.

My efforts have informed many about all aspects of the Real Estate Industry including but not limited to Real Estate Transactions and Information, examples of real estate trials and tribulations, Hawaii Local Area History, Sites, information on relocations across the Pacific, Neighborhoods, City, Points of Interest, Businesses, Entertainment and more.

And all was obtained by communicating my thoughts through....blogging.

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Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!

Falling Head Over Heels

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:49:18 -0500

How many of you have ever taken a picture while falling down?

Yup...after meeting clients for a home inspection today I stopped to take pictures (those are coming). After snapping a few shot I hopped off the wall and I took one step and....you got it. I fell head over heels onto the pavement while my camera left my hand and click a pic while skidding on the pavement.

Mighty talented that camera of mine LOL!

I got a pavement burn on both hands and made most likely a sight for traffic going by but hey.....

I have a talented camera lol!

WINNERS OF the P.A.W.S. CONTEST Life BEFORE ActiveRain...and NOW

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:58:18 -0500

Since June of 2007, POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul group has strived to be a place to read many positive and inspirational stories. We have remained in the top spots of ActiveRain groups since inception and the contests we have every so often boosts everyone's spirit as well.

The theme of this contest was What Was My Life Like Before ActiveRain and Now? The members were beckoned to reach back into their memory banks and remember what it was like before they even became members of ActiveRain. They wrote their stories on their marketing, businesses, internet presence and even their personal lives.....BEFORE ActiveRain.

When we read what their lives were like BEFORE....

and then read about their changes and how ActiveRain has affected them in every aspect of their business and lives NOW....

It was ever so profound..... the impact of ActiveRain .

Before announcing the winners I'd like to thank Bob Stewart for without him none of this would have been possible and our THREE JUDGES who took a LOT of time to read, reread and stress out over all the 47 entries.

Applause for the Judges!

Kathy McGraw- who has been head judge throughout many contests and best known for Lil Devil posts (tell it like it is), William Johnson- an articulate writer with soul and depth and who captured my heart long ago, and JL Boney, a wonderful bloomed (quickly) blogger indeed whose Localism posts are grand.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Winners!

FIRST PLACE of 3,000! Before Active Rain and Now: 3,000 Miles and a 180 Degree Turn Later...by Christianne Gordon

SECOND PLACE of 2,000! Before Active Rain And Now- A Gift I Get To Live Each and Every Day by Martha Brown

THIRD PLACE of 1,000! Before Active Rain and Now, Organic has a whole new meaning! by Tammy Lankford

HONORABLE MENTIONS receive 250 extra points!

1) A Lonely, Stupid REALTOR is Transformed - BEFORE ActiveRain and NOW by Jeff Dowler

2) What A Difference The Rain Makes - My Life Before ActiveRain and Now! by Paddy Pizappi

3) The Lonely Realtor Before ActiveRain and...Now by Holly Kirby Weatherwax

4) Before ActiveRain and Now - 30,000 Points and 3 months Later... by Denise Hamlin

5) Before ActiveRain and now, a journey of discovery. by Andrea Swiedler

In My Book EVERYONE was a winner and for those who participated (and not listed above as a winner) you receive 200 additional points! ALL THE REST OF THE ENTRIES FOR THE BEFORE ACTIVERAIN AND AFTER CONTEST!!!

It takes a whole lot of HARD WORK, effort, dedication and consistency (and carpal tunnel lol) to have continued success, professional networking and friendships formed here on ActiveRain.

Stick around, you'll learn more.

NOTE: Points will be awarded in the next few days....

How Does It Feel To Be a Plagiarizer?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:21:42 -0500

We blog so we can give the consumer information regarding the Real Estate Industry, our Local Areas, Businesses while giving them a bit about ourselves. It's a shame when one of those consumers reads something and then Googles it to look for other articles and finds out it's on another website too...written by another person. Or they see the same picture from one author or site and then see it on another. Shame, shame, shame.

It's stealing...it's plagiarism and you could be sued or heavily fined!

We talk about transparency and writing as if we're 'talking' with the person. Through our writing the reader will determine just how sincere and REAL we are. Especially when they finally pick up the phone and contact us. You better be like the person in those stories you're 'writing' lest the reader loses interest...REAL QUICK.

We write OUR OWN words and use our own pictures.

This is the whole essence of blogging with ORIGINAL content so everyone who reads will ‘feel' a bit of who we are as a person as well. If you cut corners and steal, borrow, copy or even think that just because you ‘gave credit' to the photographer or the writer...it's wrong if you didn't get written permission.

In our industry we get EVERYTHING in writing.

Following are wonderful 'oldies but goodies' for those that THINK they are above the law:

Taking a stand of copyright violations by the Active Rain Real Estate Network This can have a very adverse effect on the community as a whole and must be stopped.
TLW (The Lovely Wife) wrote about If You Think It Can't Happen To You...You'd Be Wrong About That...ROAR! and copyright laws when it comes to PICTURES IN YOUR POSTS on your blog. Read why she and BB are very careful about what pictures they insert into their posts.
PLAGIARISM, COPYRIGHT AND GOOGLE JUICE is one article of Lenn Harley'sthat IS a must read. One of the points Lenn states is: "Distain for the law. The copyright law doesn't apply to them or it only applies of they get caught and then only if the owner of the intellectual property is willing or able to enforce their copyright."
"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words? How About a Thousand Dollars?" Community Guidelines Re-Visited Rich Jacobson explains that ‘this guideline is extremely important, and will help to keep your hard-earmed money where it belongs and your butt out of court. It reads as follows: Respect copyrights. Only upload content/images that you have the right to use (what you have paid for or own), and whose copyright rules allow for commercial use.'
Blog Photos: How to use images from the Internet and not get sued Kathy McGraw opens a group in Flickr where they use the ‘Creative Commons License' for people who truly want to share and allow commercial use. Check it out here: Foto Share Shop for Bloggers

Just as in our business.......

Think Twice and when in doubt......ASK!

Note: Be assured that the consumer and other professionals are wondering...what kind of professional do I want representing me?

Okay Kid...PULEEEZE Pick Up Your Toys!!!

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:05:52 -0500

Shadow? Shaaaaadowww? Where are youuuuu?? Please pick up all your toys and those stinkie chewies! Eww...Yuk. Now where is that 'kid' of mine?

Oh....there you are....you little stinker!

It would be nice if our poochies would pick up after themselves wouldn't it?

The price we pay to have a good friend.

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Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!

LAST FEW HOURS:

P.A.W.S. CONTEST: Life BEFORE ActiveRain...and NOW

LAST DAY......And It'll Be Over

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:25:10 -0500

For those of you that missed the contest announcement for P.A.W.S. CONTEST: Life BEFORE ActiveRain...and NOW click on the link and join the contest!

First Place: 3000 points!
Second Place: 2000 points!
Third Place: 1000 points!

Three Honorable Mentions: 250 extra points!
All other entries that were not winners: 200 extra points!

Changes occured after you started blogging here on ActiveRain. Tell us your story about what your life and business was life before ActiveRain and when summing up your entry tell us how ActiveRain has made an impact (or what you're hoping you will achieve) on your life, your business and personal relationships.

P.A.W.S. CONTEST: Life BEFORE ActiveRain...and NOW

If you have been here for just a short time....tell us what your life was like before joining ActiveRain and what you hope to gain, achieve or learn from ActiveRain. We're here to help!

BEFORE...... .... AND NOW

ALL THINGS REAL ESTATE!

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:29:38 -0500

Some may tend to believe that Real Estate talk means only short sales, buyers, sellers, loans and so forth. I'm a Real Estate Industry Professional but I'm darn sure human. And that means I can adjust my thinking and my attitude to any market, conversation, challenge because I AM a chameleon.

Being a chameleon means I can adapt to my surroundings.

Regardless of where I am ....when it comes to ‘All Things Real Estate'..... I can take into consideration what real estate means at any given place and time. While blogging on ActiveRain, I grasped the concept that ‘All Things Real Estate' meant to write about ‘All Things Real Estate' too.

Open your mind to the possibilities of what "All Things Real Estate" really means.

My Local Area: No matter what branch of the Real Estate Industry we are directly connected with our communities, counties and state and everything happening in our area. We have to have knowledge about the businesses, events, history, neighborhoods and more. We need to know where to direct the consumer when they want to know where the elementary school is in conjunction with the geographical location of the home they're thinking of purchasing. What about the local restaurants and the gym?

Yes, it's a lot of work to research and write about our local area but in the end.....

I AM THE AREA EXPERT.

I opened my mind to grasp the concept that ‘All Things Real Estate' went beyond the scope of just Real Estate knowledge. It meant that I had to know more about everything and anything in my area. It meant that I needed to get more educated on not just Real Estate...but my local area of expertise.

Are you adapting like a chameleon with "All Things Real Estate"?

Are you the LOCAL EXPERT?

Localism

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Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!

Gaming Gary

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:10:09 -0500

Once in awhile my husband and I catch each other on video. Don't you agree that when someone doesn't know...it's that much more entertaining real? The following is what he does after a long days work while I'm blogging.

Take note of the whole set up. He's playing the "Need for Speed- Shift" game...but no...does he just stop there? Of course not! He gets the steering wheel and the pedals too!!

He used to tease me about blogging....but I keep telling him....my blogging brings business....his games? Ahhhhh, watch the end....what a kid. :)

Ewa Gentry Homes For Sale | Ocean Pointe Real Estate | Hawaii Homes Market Report September 2009

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:37:23 -0500

They say that Hawaii is a year behind the ‘mainland' (continental U.S.) with the real estate market. With that in mind we are still have a high inventory for short sales especially in the Ewa Gentry and Ocean Pointe areas of Oahu (Honolulu County).

This is still the hot area to get a great deal on a ‘newer' single family home.

More bang for the buck!

Ewa Gentry Single Family Home Market Report September 2009: We had 44 Active Listings with 37 in contract and 12 sold. The Ewa Gentry activity has been one of the best neighborhoods for a deal as there are still many short sales to choose from. Now that the Hawaii Home Buyer is wanting to take advantage of that first time home buyer credit we are seeing multiple offers on properties. Average Sales Prices were $448,471 and the DAYS ON MARKET (actively on market before getting an accepted contract...and sold) about 69 days.

Ocean Pointe Single Family Home Market Report September 2009 We had 24 Active Listings with 19 in contract and 10 sold. Again, there are many short sale listings receiving multiple contracts and with these newer homes you just can't beat the prices. Sales Prices ranged from $422,000 for a 3 bdrm home to $665,00 for a 2,704 sq/ft 5 bdrm home with average days on market (actively on market before getting an accepted contract...and sold) about 63 days.

More Hawaii Market Reports for Honolulu County:

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Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com

Supporting Hawaii Local Businesses!

Girls (Mom's) Just Wanna Have Fun!

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:14:16 -0500

My mom will be 82 years come January 2010.

If I could give her the world ....I would.

Instead she wants to go to Vegas :)

P.A.W.S. CONTEST: Life BEFORE ActiveRain...and NOW

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:38:23 -0500

During the Fall Season we think of changing colors and the beauty surrounding us. The fall season is significant of those changes and it's a cooling off period from a hot summer. Just like anything else in life, I made changes in order to succeed.....and that includes being a Member and Ambassador of ActiveRain.

Do you remember what you were doing before you joined ActiveRain? What kind of marketing were you doing? Were you socializing elsewhere regarding real estate? If you've been actively blogging and commenting on ActiveRain then you KNOW how this Real Estate Network has had an impact on your whole life.

I wrote What was MY LIFE like before ActiveRain? My prior posts about ActiveRain over the last few years were all about the business and personal successes. How I made a lot of friends and how I had closed transactions. The successes are a given but what did I do before all this to get me to the point and time of NOW?

The theme of this contest is What Was My Life Like Before ActiveRain and Now?

***Changes occured after you started blogging here on ActiveRain. Tell us your story about what your life and business was life before ActiveRain and when summing up your entry tell us how ActiveRain has made an impact (or what you're hoping you will achieve) on your life, your business and personal relationships.

The POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul was founded by me in June of 2007 to give a ‘safe haven' to those who needed a place to go when the soul got weary.

The following CONTEST RULES are simple rules for this "Life Before ActiveRain and Now" entry and you MUST FOLLOW ALL THE RULES:

Contest starts NOW and ends October 21, 2009, midnight ActiveRain time
Theme: Tell your story of what life was like before ActiveRain and sum up what it's like now. (or what you hope to achieve on this network)
You may submit only ONE entry and it has to be YOUR OWN CONTENT.
Your post must have at least ...either a picture or video for visual appearance and YOUR OWN. (if you didn't buy it, take it or have permission to use it then don't put it up)
Your title has to include the words Before ActiveRain and Now
Your tag line has to include the words Before ActiveRain and Now Contest (look at my tags and title)
Join the group Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul group and Post your entry into the Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul group
You must add your CONTEST ENTRY POST LINK to the comment section of this post.

BOB STEWART kindly responded to my request for points awarded for the winners:

First Place: 3000 points!
Second Place: 2000 points!
Third Place: 1000 points!

Five Honorable Mentions: 250 extra points!
All other entries that were not winners: 200 extra points!

Happy Blogging!

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Entries to Date

Adding Pictures to Your Active Rain Blog--The 20/20 Rule

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:01:30 -0500

For those of you that want to make your post visually appealing (it's what many are drawn to....and makes a post interesting) take a look at this great tutorial Debe Maxwell did on adding picturea to your ActiveRain Blog.

She gives us all information on keeping your beautiful pictures from running into your wonderful written words.

THIS is another factor on how to keep your reader engaged....:)

Via Debe Maxwell, Realtor® - Charlotte NC MLS - Charlotte NC Neighborhoods (Helen Adams Realty):

Adding Pictures to Your Active Rain Blog--The 20/20 Rule

I was teaching a blogging class at our Association recently and one of the questions was about posting your photos and clip art on your blog. "How do I keep my text/words from running into my pictures?" I explained the 20/20 rule to him. This week I received an email asking me that same question from another member. Today as I was reading a post, I noticed that the text was butting up against the bloggers clip art and thought it was time I share this simple rule with you for posting pictures on your blog. Here's a simple tutorial on posting photos/clip art to your blog:

Is this what you're seeing after you've uploaded a photo?

Do you see how the words appear to be running under the photo?

Here's what you need to do to prevent/correct this problem. After you've clicked on the Upload button, you'll remain on the 'General' tab--this is where you enter your picture's description and title here.

No need to click 'Update' just yet...you've got just a little more to do! Next you click on the 'Appearance' tab:

Now, select the following:

1. Where do you want the photo/clip art positioned in relation to your text? Under ALIGNMENT (click on the pull down arrow), I generally click either left or right (and alternate each photo so that all of the photos aren't weighing one side of the page down!)

2. What size do you want your photo to be? First, you want to be sure that the 'CONSTRAIN PROPORTIONS' box is checked. Then, I typically select 300 - 400 in the first box, which is the horizontal box, then TAB over to the second box, which will automatically change the size of the photo to the proper proportion (rather than 'stretching' the photo so that it's skewed and out of its original proportion).

3. Then tab down to the VERTICAL space and type in 20
4. Next, tab down to the HORIZONTAL box and type 20 again. (Hence, my 20/20 rule!)

5. If you'd like to add a border to your photo, you can type the size of the border that you'd like. I rarely use this feature but, anything from 1-3 is what you'll see used to provide a border around your photo/clip art.

6. Then, click UPDATE and you're through!

Now, if you don't like one of the adjustments that you've made, simply click on the photo, which will show a border around the photo. Clicking the photo ALSO highlights the INSERT/EDIT IMAGE box; simply click on that box. You can tab over to appearance and make the adjustment that you need! Don't forget to click the UPDATE button when you're finished!

See the difference?

Remember that pictures keep your readers engaged--even just one breaks the monotony of an all-text post which alot of readers avoid. You'll notice that featured blogs all have photos or clip art to keep the reader's attention--it's just easier on the eyes than text alone!

Happy Blogging Everyone!

Are You Engaging Your Readers?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:44:16 -0500

There are many topics and thousands of posts that have been written about How to Blog, Why to Blog, When to Blog, Where to Blog and What to Blog. And then you see a comment on someones post where the writer is complaining about others getting featured posts all the time. Obviously they aren't getting a post featured ...or even read......and they are wondering why?

We engage the reader with our ‘interesting' content and I can't be more straightforward than to say that if you want others to read your posts you have to MAKE it interesting.

Localism Posts: They have been always my favorite to write and I've written hundreds that have given the consumer an idea (and then some) about my local area happenings and so forth. One of my favorites was: Tsukiji Fish Market & Restaurant- Honolulu Hawaii where my husband and I took clients to lunch.
Personal Posts: No one said that transparency in blogging meant to reveal the skeletons in your closet but it does mean to have a little transparency in your writing. Showing your personality through your writing is something we all share when ‘getting to know others'. The best way your peers and the consumer will ‘see' you is right there in your writing. "The Lovely Wifes" Blog.... is for members only blog but indeed a level of transparency that we all can relate to.
Market Reports: You can do a ‘boring' market report but make it eye appealing and attractive with a graph, pie charts and pictures of the area you're doing the report on. KNOW what you're talking about and give details that the consumer WILL UNDERSTAND. Renee Burrows taught me how to do pie charts and I'm doing some wonderful ones with Hawaii pictures in the background to enhance them.
Off Topic:Sure, we want to create a discussion on whatever the topic for off topic (not real estate) like SEO, Windows 7, Positive Attitudes and so forth. Keeping it light and not judgmental is a great start. No one wants to read a closed minded post full of ‘only my opinion matters' type of thing. Again, we engage the reader without insulting everyone that is reading.
Real Estate Industry Related: We all know that ActiveRain is a wonderful place to gain knowledge about everything real estate industry related. My favorite real estate writers are long time seasoned ActiveRain bloggers Lenn Harley and Broker Bryant and you'll see some hard core real estate with engaging conversations for sure on their blogs.

Why do I read the blogs of these writers? They are creative, interesting, eye appealing and lo and behold ORIGINAL, honest, great information, entertaining..... and they allow the reader to walk beside them while they are talking ‘with' them. ....not AT them. They engage me.

Are YOU engaging the reader?

Fact or Fiction?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:00:04 -0500

What kind of books do you read? While perusing the book store for a great read I gravitate toward documentaries, news and then look at the soulful (Deepak Chopra) stuff that has helped me through the years with ‘getting a grip' on the meaning of life. On the flip side I love the weird but ‘exotic' writing of Stephen King.

What kind of television shows do you watch? My husband got me into watching history, NATGEO and all those channels and topics I didn't even know about. I'm still learning! On the flip side I like cop shows and action/drama/love/fantasy stories. And most of all I LOVE kiddie movies that teach some sort of lesson.

When you look at the wide variety of topics for entertainment that I like you can safely presume that I have an open mind to pretty much anything. Separating fact and fiction is a must and no matter what the topic I try to find some learning lesson in everything I read or watch.

There ARE learning lessons in all we do....if you just look for it.

In the real estate industry we have to ask questions, research and learn more about the changes in laws and contracts. We form an opinion after gathering all the information and wholeheartedly separate the fact from fiction. We are confident and comfortable in our own skin while giving the consumer and our peers the correct information.

Having a grip on life and business means continuing education.... and then giving the facts.