Trick or Treat? Don’t Get Pranked by these 4 Loan Guideline Changes! - 09/30/11 05:01 PM
The buying public would sure be better off if all lenders were like Rebekah!
Staying on top of loan program changes has to be an extreme challenge, but by doing it she's making her clients' lives easier.
My hat is off to Rebekah!
Via Rebekah Radice Colorado Springs FHA Loan 203k, VA Mortgage, Loan Pre-Approval (Benchmark Mortgage, Colorado Springs FHA, VA, Pre-Approval):
October 1st brings 4 BIG changes to FHA, VA and USDA loan guidelines that offer two pre-Halloween tricks and two delicious treats for VA homebuyers.
VA Funding Fee Reduction – TREAT!
This is a real treat for any eligible current … (4 comments)

OK, that does it. I'm finished with you! - 09/28/11 12:29 AM
Well, to tell the truth, I never was "with" this guy in the first place. But today's message caused me to quit deleting his messages and take the time to unsubscribe.
Some person called Rick has been sending me a whole flood of emails lately. I have no idea why - I don't even know what it is he's trying to sell me. I suppose it's some kind of "you can get rich on the Internet" thing, but I haven't taken the time to look.
Today he went just a bit over the line, by giving me hell. Here's … (15 comments)

"Hey You Guys!!" - a Marketing Mistake! - 09/26/11 07:11 PM
Your favorite blogs and newsletters probably all have something in common… they probably feel like they were written directly to you.
 
There's just something more appealing, more personal, to a message that says "you" instead of "you guys." And it doesn't matter that we know the message is going out to hundreds or even thousands of other people.
 
That's why one of the "rules" in copywriting is to remember that you're writing to an individual. There may be many individuals, but each one will read your message separately. And they will respond to feeling worth your personal … (26 comments)

Best Business Practices: Say What You'll Do, Then Do What You Say - 09/24/11 02:28 PM
Best Business Practices: Say What You'll Do, Then Do What You Say
This is so basic that no one should ever even have to mention it, but unfortunately, a whole lot of people in business don't do what they say they'll do.
In my copywriting business, doing what I say I'll do usually means turning in copy on time, or making a phone call at the appointed hour. But it can be other small things. For instance, when I'm promoting Active Rain (always, always!) I often tell agents that I'm going to send them the link to join. That's a promise … (18 comments)

Interesting Mail From My Homeowners' Insurance Provider - 09/21/11 09:42 PM
 
Today's mail brought a letter from Grange Insurance, informing me of an endorsement which changes my homeowners' policy.
Since it was written in legalese gobbledy-gook, it took a few reads through to figure it out. But finally, I think I have the gist…
If I default on my mortgage, my lender or lenders will be the ones to collect if the house burns down.
Even more interesting: My insurance company can pay off my lender and deny payment to me, and in so doing, the insurance company will gain ownership of "all securities held as collateral to the … (8 comments)

Is Google +1 Taking Off As Expected? Does it matter? - 09/21/11 01:36 PM
When Google +1 was announced, the idea was that it would soon overtake the Facebook "like," but I'm not so sure that's happening.
I see plenty of good sites - and blogs with enough comments to indicate that a variety of people enjoyed them - but they're painfully low "+" numbers.
My feeling is that we just forget to click.
Or perhaps there's a reason why we don't bother.
When we "like" something we're usually offered the opportunity to make a comment and share the information with our own contacts. The same with Twitter - we tweet because we think … (8 comments)

Good News for Agents and Home Sellers! - 09/18/11 12:40 AM
Home staging hadn't yet made it to North Idaho when I left real estate sales, and I only hope it is here now.
I remember dealing with homes that were so cluttered it was hard to see the floors - and of course they sat on the market for months and even years. Staging would have been a God-send for agents trying their best to move those homes.
Via Kristine Ginsberg (Morris County, NJ: Elite Staging and Redesign, LLC):
                                                                                                               
Did you know that your first home price reduction will cost you thousands more than having your home professionally staged? When not … (5 comments)

Ideas Make the World Go Round - 09/17/11 03:52 AM
Last night I had work to do in the kitchen that occupied my hands and not my mind, so I dug out an old set of casette tapes and began listening to Napoleon Hill.
On the tape he talks about the man who started the Piggley Wiggley stores. He worked in a grocery store, mostly delivering groceries. And he had ideas - lots and lots of ideas. His boss got so sick of hearing them that he told the young man that the next time he came up with an idea he would be fired. The boss was tired of this … (10 comments)

Boy am I disappointed! - 09/15/11 12:05 AM
Earlier today I swas reading a blog that had some really cool graphics - a little gold colored man wheeling around some gold colored money...
I've seen those golden stick figures before and wondered where they got them, so today I looked at the image information and found that it said "Active Rain image_store."
I thought that must mean that there were images that could be purchased through Active Rain.
So tonight I went in search of the "Image Store."
Well darn, there isn't one. Every image we upload gets that label. It doesn't mean "Image Store," it means that the … (11 comments)

Best Business Practices - Hang on to Those Past Clients! - 09/14/11 02:11 PM
One thing I wish my first broker had taught me - "Hang on to those past clients!"
She didn't, and not because she forgot to say it. She didn't do it herself.
It was as if she thought that once a person purchased or sold a home or land, that was it. They weren't going to do it again. And I don't know if the idea of referrals ever crossed her mind. If so, she never mentioned it.
It took me years to learn that one, and even then I didn't learn it well enough.
When I … (15 comments)

Is it "Fewer" or is it "Less?" - 09/13/11 03:34 AM
Do you ever get confused over which word to use?
I sure do, and writing is what I do.
So when I ran across this bit of instruction about when to use "less" and when to use "fewer" I decided to share.
Use "less" when the subject can't be counted. Use "fewer" when it can.
For instance, when discussing the results of a new marketing campaign, you would say:
 
We've had fewer calls this week than last week. We've had less response from this ad than the last one.  
You can count "calls" but you can't … (11 comments)

Best Business Practices - A Print Newsletter - 09/12/11 07:41 PM
Do people still read print messages?
Sure they do, and since "real" messages in print are becoming more and more infrequent, they'll probably work even better than when I used to write and mail a monthly newsletter for my real estate company.
Thus, my my "best practices" recommendation is to write, print, and mail a monthly newsletter. Send it to your past clients, present clients, and your sphere of influence - and perhaps to a select group of current prospects or to residents in your farm area.
I'll admit that it's expensive. We had a bulk mail permit, … (10 comments)

Need Some Advice from a Internet Exporer Pro - 09/09/11 03:18 PM
You may have seen my blog about the problem with my new HP computer.For a month or so I was letting it drive me crazy.
Unless it's connected directly to the satellite cable, I can't get to my own URL's at all. If the router is even connected, it simply refuses.
But the strange thing is, even connected directly to the satellite cable, I can only go to my sites from Internet Explorer. Firefox simply shows a blank page.  I can't figure out how the computer knows these are my URL's - or why it choose to "bite the hand … (6 comments)

They Won't Read Your Real Estate Marketing Message if You Break These 2 Rules - 09/07/11 10:50 PM
Are there really RULES that must be followed for an effective marketing message?
Yes, and these are two of the most important:
The subject:
One of the most important is that the message must be about the reader, not about the writer. Rule #1 for any marketing copywriter is that we must never begin a message with the words "I" or "We."
If at all possible, we begin with the word "You." Sometimes that doesn't work, but it at least has to begin with something of interest to the reader. And as much as it hurts to realize, that reader … (50 comments)

JP Morgan Chase Sued by FHFA - 09/06/11 12:48 PM
Am I the only one who sees some humor in this?
First the Feds push the banks to hand out "zero down" mortgages to people who really couldn't afford to make payments on a home.
Then the house of cards came tumbling down and they handed out money to prevent the banks from failing.
And now... FHFA is suing 17 banks (including our old favorite, Bank of America) and 132 individuals, alleging fraud. Chase is at the top of the list, with $33 billion in such loans.
The lawsuit, filed last Friday, alleges that these banks misrepresented the loans sold to … (4 comments)

Back to School - School Supply List at Staples - 09/04/11 04:47 PM
Although our small town of Priest River, Idaho doesn't have a store that posts the school supply lists - or a store that carries the required supplies, the Staples store in nearby Sandpoint does.
They'll also have everything on the list - a big plus for parents who don't want to go from store to store to find what's required.
So any Priest River parents who have put off buying those supplies until the last minute need only to drive the 30 miles or so to get what the kids will need.
I don't have any kids in school, but … (5 comments)

Your Real Estate Website is a Marketing Tool, Not a Public Service - 09/04/11 04:03 PM
In a given week I visit about 10-12 real estate agent websites. Some because an agent has inquired about my copywriting services and I want to see what they already have, and some because I'm looking at my clients' competition.
Agents often tell me that they don't get much response from their sites, and usually I can see why.
The sites aren't asking for business, they're merely providing a home search service – or a form that allows homeowners to estimate the value of their own home.
Some do double duty as what I refer to as "Chamber … (7 comments)

This Planning May be in Error - 09/02/11 02:18 PM
Like the ant in the old tale of the ant and the grasshopper, this little guy is planning ahead for winter. And he's working hard at it. 
I always tend to assume that animals have an inborn sense of what they need to do, and that's what guides their actions. In this case, I'm not so sure.
Maybe the sense that nature gave them doesn't take human interaction / interference into account.
Every day I see him go past the slider in my office on his way to our wood storage. For the most part, he's in constant motion. He's … (8 comments)

 
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Marte Cliff

Priest River, ID

More about me…

Marte Cliff Copywriting

Address: 1794 Blue Lake Road, Priest River, ID, 83856

Office Phone: (208) 448-1479

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Author Bio: Marte Cliff is a freelance copywriter who specializes in writing for the real estate profession.

Thoughts, ideas, insights, and tips on real estate copywriting and real estate marketing.
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