One of my co-workers was trying to find out what terms other people are using when referring to McMansions and I thought this might be the perfect place to conduct a quick survey to see what kind of list we could generate.  It might be interesting to see if different parts of the country have different terms,

I'll start and I hope you will add to my list.

McMansion, Hummer House, Monster House,..

I received this info in an email and thought I would share it with my fellow agents. Driving clients to see homes has become very expensive. Maybe this will help.

Gas by Zip Code
 
This is pretty nifty.  Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening!   Just click on the link.  You will see a map of your area and then scroll down and you will get a listing of gas prices in your area with addresses and brands starting with the cheapest and going up.

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx
Be a good neighbor and pass this along.

You may have already seen this, but if not it is worth a read. It may even be a great piece to forward to your buyer clients. He really spells out what we would all like our clients to know.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/beware-home-sellers-freebies/story.aspx?guid=%7B14D0CD77-0F21-47F3-B1B9-EC1F82CBD8A3%7D

Hope you find it useful!

Dana Hill

I recently found this site and thought I would pass this information along to all agents working with clients in DC. This link takes you to a DC Government Page page where the District Department for the Environment offers DC residents free home radon test kits.  

http://www.ddoe.dc.gov/ddoe/cwp/view,a,11,q,494301,ddoeNav_GID,1458.asp

For more information and to get the free radon test kit, DC residents should call the Radon Hotline at (202) 535-2302 or click below to request your free radon kit.

http://www.ddoe.dc.gov/ddoe/cwp/view,a,1209,q,494350,ddoeNav,%7C31005%7C.asp

I hope you and your clients find this useful.

Dana Hollish Hill 

The District Department of the Environment is offering Free Home Energy Assessments to residents of Washington DC who own a single family home. If you, or someone you know may be able to take part in this program, visit the following link to get more information.

This program is set to expire on September 30, 2007 so act now.

visit http://www.ddoe.dc.gov for all of the deatails or call The Energy Hotline at (202) 673-6750.

Agents servicing DC, spread the word to your clients! This is something many of my clients ask about and yours may be interested in as well. There is also info about free Radon Test Kits at this site. Enjoy.

Dana

I had a call from a client asking if we had a list of companies that conduct home energy audits. Though not on our company contractor list, I felt that as an Exclusive Buyer's Agent, this was something I should have readily available. I spoke with some of my old colleagues at the US Environmental Protection Agency and found the following links which may be useful to you and your clients. I asked my client to let us know if he likes the energy rater he uses so we can add them to the Buyer's Edge contractor list, but in the meantime, the first link provides certified home energy raters listed by state. The other links may be helpful to you or your clients if interested in a more self-oriented approach. If you have any experience with any of the energy raters on the list in MD, VA or DC, whether favorable or not, I'd sure appreciate hearing from you.

Directory of Home Energy Raters

http://www.natresnet.org/programs/providers/directory.aspx

Home Energy Yardstick

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_index_tools

Home Energy Audits

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits

I recently came upon a great website you may find useful if you want to check to see if there has been a building permit issued for some recent renovation in a home your buyer may be considering. It is a national site but you can search at the county level and I found it very useful in a recent Arlington, Virginia transaction.

The address is http://www.velocityhall.com/accela/ and it is very easy to use.

Last year I had a potential client tell me he didn't select me because I didn't have my own website. I work in a small office so I had always thought our company website was enough. He said he couldn't take me seriously if I didn't have a web presence. I did some asking around and many of my clients were surprised that I didn't have my own site.

This really hit me because I do everything online. I worked in web development and internet marketing in a past life and if I were searching for a home - I would be searching online. So why wasn't I addressing my online audience?

I immediately put my site together. It was amazing how hard it was for me to put my face on things. I work as an Exclusive Buyer Agent and believe that we "Represent People, Not Properties" so I had never put my picture on any of my marketing materials.  

In the end, I am very glad that I created my website. The process of sitting down and writing about my unique selling proposition was very exciting. Pulling it all together made me a lot more confident about selling my service. Now I just have to figure out blogging :)