Today's PREP = Tomorrow's Sales

A Home Warranty, Is It For Me? (reblogged)

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:25:57 -0500

Many people who are buying homes today are young, first time buyers. Because of the enormous financial responsibility that buyers are taking on, it is important to do a bit of research into the different options that may be available. With the soft sellers’ market that many areas of the country have been experiencing over the past few years many Realtors®, builders, and sellers are offering more incentives to buyers. Keep in mind that there is no one single, monolithic market when it comes to real estate but thousands of local and hyperlocal markets that are as unique as snowflakes. With that said, one of the most common incentives offered to buyers is the home warranty.

Internet Business Requires Internet Presence (reblogged)

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:13:02 -0500

As an Internet business, Positive Real Estate Professionals understands the need for an Internet presence. For the most part, that is a given when you run a Real Estate network such as ours. The great thing is that our members understand the importance of this. However, this post is not about the people that are members here nor is it about our network. It is about the people that do not understand that to build your business on the Internet, you first have to build an Internet presence. Before I take that any further, let me state this; Internet presence is not achieved by playing games on the computer all day and waiting for a potential client to locate you.

Thracian Cliffs would make a great second home spot.

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:59:28 -0500

Just the other day a friend of mine told me that he had bought a second home in another country. It got me to thinking that with the economy the way it is, now might be a great time to invest in an second home overseas. That is what got me drawn to ThracianCliffs.com. If you get a chance, check out the golf property they have to offer.

The Arkansas REALTOR®

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:12:26 -0500

If you are a REALTOR® in the state of Arkansas, then you want to be reading The Arkansas REALTOR®. Ethan Nobles, Media Director for the Arkansas Realtors® Association is the main author for this new blog site and he and his staff are ready to keep you abreast of the happenings in Arkansas. Check out their opening post at

The Arkansas Realtors® Association blog is now open

Property Investing: Is it for you?

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 09:49:22 -0500

Over the last few years, the housing industry has been in turmoil over most of the world, not just here in the US. The great thing in this turmoil is that home prices are lower in most areas that we have seen for some time. Finding a market that will rebound from the hard hit this crisis has dealt is the trick of the trade.

Orlando is one of those markets. Whether you are looking for Condos in Orlando Fl or a single family home in Lake Mary, I am sure that there is something well worth the investment in that area. With that said, these homes and/or condos are not going to come looking for you. You need to get out and check out what Orlando has to offer.

For those of you that do not realize or know this, Orlando is home to the Magic, a NBA franchise. In the outskirts of Orlando is Universal Studios as well as all of the Disney Theme Parks. Orlando is also home to the Predators, an Arena Football team. With attractions like this, investing in a condo, town home, or single family home in the Orlando area would seem to be a smart bet.

And in the meantime....

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:31:07 -0500

The last few months have been a huge whirlwind for me. For all of my friends and followers here in ActiveRain, I have not completely disappeared. Even though I am not posting in the RAIN as much as I have in the past, I am still active. There are now other priorities that now take precendence over blogging.

Recently, I took a huge leap of faith and created a new real estate network to help people dominate google. It seems that most of my time is spent working to make the system the best that it can be, not that it needs to be fixed. What we are doing is adding more and more tools to it to make it better. But, that is another story in itself, as I am not here to promote our site. If you want to know more about it, the email Rich or myself. If that process is to slow for you, then call us in the office at 865-951-0522.

Even though I have been working hard at getting this site to turn magical tricks, my main goal has been on helping people dominate Google. With that said, we have managed to have great success in doing that in conjunction to the platforms our members already use. That in itself takes almost all the time that I have, but it seems that I still have time to write a few articles here and there.

I had to write a tutorial concerning the basics of How to use Positive Real Estate Professionals: A Real Estate Network. However, I enjoyed sharing my knowledge of How to Build a Raised Garden Bed and How to Grow High Producing Tomato Plants with my readers as well. It is such a shame that people tend to have such great knowledge and never share that knowledge.

Below is a list of other articles that I have recently written. Some of them will piss you off, some will make you laugh some will bring a tear to your eye, some you will agree with, and some you will not agree with. If you get a chance, check them out.

Dog Nose Best

Pets have RIGHTs too.

Voting on People’s RIGHTS just ain’t RIGHT.

Indecision is the graveyard of good intentions

Is your website bringing in business?

Do you dominate Google?

Read All About It!!!!

100% Financing is Not For Everyone

Diversification is the KEY

Secure that entrance

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:11:00 -0500

Just the other weekend, I was out riding around and I noticed a lot of the homes in the area that had massive driveways with large lots and no security. Personally, I thought that leaving the access wide open would be a mistake. However, I guess it is up to the homeowner in whether of not they would want to use something like apollo gates.

We came across this one property that had everything gated all the way around the entire property. I thought that this was great until the Realtor had to get out and manually open the gate. If the owner has sprung for an apollo 1500, then the Realtor would not be doing this. Once I witnessed this, it left me with a bad view on the property as every time that I want to leave of I get back, I have to manually open and close the gate. Personally, this can be resolved by using the sliding gate like the apollo 1500 or by using a double sided gate like the apollo 1600, Either way would be better than having to get out and open and shut the gates.

100% Financing Gets a Bum Rap

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:51:04 -0500

So many times i have heard Real Estate professionals dog out the 100% financing programs that are at there today. Most of these same Real Estate professionals are the ones that are screaming for these programs to be removed all together. Truth be known, some of these same professionals are the ones that were gladly helping buyers that were using this product and they were fully aware of it. Point being, it is not the products fault for OUR lack of educations or the lack of educating the buyer.

For the rest of this topic and a more indepth read on my stance on this, please click the link below.

100% Financing is Not For Everyone

New three part series for chosing the perfect FHA Mortgage Loan Officer

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:13:51 -0500

If you have not had the chance to read Fred's 3 part series, I highly recommend it. He brings out some great points in all three of them. As always, i have blocked out the comments so that you may comment to the original author.

Via Fred Chamberlin - Eugene/Springfield's #1 Experienced FHA Mortgage Consultant (Alpine Mortgage Planning - Eugene/Springfield OR):

Thanks everyone that stopped by one of my three websites to see my new header branding me across platforms. Now, I would like to invite you to visit FHA Loans Oregon and take a look at my three part series in how to chose a loan officer. I think you should find it interesting and give you some material to use when referring your clients to the loan officer that will help them through the rigors of an FHA loan.

Not everyone is a perfect loan officer, and I can guarantee that I am not perfect, but I do guarantee that I am always trying to keep my knowledge current, I have never rested on my experience. Please take a look and feel free to leave me a comment. Since Positive Real Estate Professionals automatically posts to there from my websites, you can read it there also. I am hoping that everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Just remember the reason for this holiday to for the rememberance and honor to our Armed Services and our fallen heros.

What does your GIFT say.

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Sat, 23 May 2009 09:50:52 -0500

Over the years of being in a referral based business, I have often thought about what might be the best gift to send to a referral partner. When I first started thinking about it, I thought about pens, pads, a padfolio, a coffee cup, a knife set, and the list continued to grow. All of these items can have your name and contact information on them, but most of them just ends up in a draw somewhere. I wanted something that would not be stuck behind some book. I also wanted something that would be great for my referral partners as well as clients that I had.

Well, I think I have found the perfect product. Can you imagine putting your company logo & a message on MY M&M'S candies. When I first heard about this idea, I was blown away. The more that I thought about it, the more I realized that I do not know a single person that does not like M&M's, so I thought that this would be a great idea.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Where does the time go?

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:55:23 -0500

It has been a while since I have written any post in Active Rain. I seem to be too busy many days and with that, I have hardly been writing post anywhere. So, with that said, I thought that I would share a few articles that I have written on other platforms that I thought you might find useful. Hope that you enjoy them.

Consumer Confidence Is On The Rise Again

Does Your Blog Get You The Exposure That You Need?

Blogging is not just for “Mommy Bloggers” anymore.

To Buy or Rent a Home: That is the question.

Its 10 AM and we are not even in Seattle

How to Grow High Producing Tomato Plants

How to Build a Raised Garden Bed

Michael Vick: Time Served

One Sweet Day

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Sat, 09 May 2009 07:37:12 -0500

This morning I do not have many words to speak. I awoke at 4 am this morning with something weighing heavy on my mind. The only way that I can express this pain is through this song. For those that have followed me for some time, you might actually remember the last time I shared this very song.

To Billy's parents: My thoughts are with you.

Time to plant a garden.

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:07:13 -0500

Tennessee has been garden ready since about the first of April. Over the last three weeks, I have managed to be pulled in to build 2 raised garden beds as well as help plant the Rich's garden. Somehow I always seem to get pulled into doing that. So, if you want to know how to build your own raised beds from a former landscaper, then definitely click the raised garden beds link. Also, you can check out some of the garden pics here.

Paying it forward.

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:56:49 -0500

Paying it forward has always been a big deal to me. With that said, I came across a challenge a week ago and I just had to take the opportunity to join in. Now, it is my turn to have my own challenge. So, without furture ado, please click the link below and read my challenge. I hope that you will participate. I think it will bring a ray of sunshine to a lot of people.

Paying it foward: A challenge to all

Great Business Opportunity

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:49:44 -0500

I am not sure about you but I always like to keep my eyes and ears open to a great business opportunity. Today, I got one sent to me right here on ActiveRain through the contact system. After reading it, I am sure that I definitely want to contact this person and get started today. Here is what I received today.

(Oh, BTW, since you can not hear the sarcasm in my voice, just know that this is a scam and be careful not to fall for it)

Email jessica_johnson20@ymail.com

Dear respectfull one,

Permit me to inform you of my desire of going into business relationship with you after going through your profile.
I am jessica johnson, The first Daughter of late Mr and Mrs Raymond johnson . My father was a very wealthy GOLD and COCOA manchant who based in ABIDJAN The economic capital of cote D Ivoire.

He was poisoned to death by his business associate on one of their business outings. When my mother died on the 21st october 1994 , My father took me so specail because I AM motherless.

Before the death of my father on the 29th November 2006 in a private hospital here in Abidjan , He sincerely called me on his bed side and told me that he had a sum of $10m US dollars (Ten Million US dollars) That he kept in a Bank HERE In ABIDJAN He also used my name to Deposit the money as her first Daughter for next of kin. He also explained to me that it was because of this wealth that he was poisoned by his business assocaites, That I should seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where I will transfer this money and use it for investment purposes, I want you to assist me it for an investment purpose, such as real estate management.

My interested areas of investment are;

REAL ESTATE,HOTELS, PETROLUM INDUSTRY.

(1)To serve as the guardian of this fund since I am a girl of (19)yrs .

(2) To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my Education and to secure a residential permit in your country.

Moreover, I am willing to offer you 15% of the total sum as compensation for your effort /input after the successful transfer of this fund to your nominated account.

Furthermore, you can indicate your option towards assisting me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within 14days,from the day you signify interest to assist me.

Awaiting to hear from you soonest.

Thanks and God bless you as you for your anticipated coperation.

Best Regards,

Miss jessica johnson

Spring Has Blossomed

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:31:25 -0500

Smart Real Estate 101

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:27:20 -0500

Earlier today I wrote a post on one of my other blogs that is entitled To use or not to use? That is the question. The basis behind this post deals with a conversation that I recently held with a potential client that was getting ready to buy his first home. As I typically do, I asked if he was going to be working with a Realtor and if I needed to get their fax number to send a pre-approval letter over. It was at this point that I almost fell out of my chair when he told me that he was going at it on his own.

If you have the chance, swing by and read this article.

What Happened?

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:24:37 -0500

Saturday and Sunday were both great days. One could not have asked for better days. The sun was out, the skys were clear and the tempature ranged from 70 to 80 degrees during the day over the 2 day span. Then, this morning came around and this is what I wake up to?!?!?

And just so you know, it is still coming down, just harder now.

Mystrious Disappearance

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:13:02 -0500

I had a friend of mine from Active Rain contact me the other day asking me why I have not been present here in the Rain. Well, that is the 64 cent question and to find the answers to that and some other questions, you will need to understand what my new focus is.

I am still writing mortgages when necessary and I am still in the Real Estate Industry and will probably be until the day that I die. I am still writing articles like The mystery of gaining and sustaining blog traffic or Renting to Own: Buyer and Seller Perspectives. These are articles that would help most of my readers out.

For the people that read more into it than it is, I am not leaving Active Rain at this time. The network that we have know and grown to love is still a valuable commodity to me and I will remain until that time has passed and not a moment sooner.

Acknowledging The Good Information And Refuting Misinformation

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:54:10 -0500

Over the last year or so, I have had many people ask me about what it takes to make your website attract more consumers. In my personal experience, this is not something that you can obtain over night. There is no 'secret" formula that makes it all work.

With that said, what does make it work is rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty. Finding the right platform for you is the first and foremost key to this venture. Even though FREE sounds great, it might not work for what your needs are and that is definitely something to consider.

If you have not read Rich's article, you need to check it out. If you want to comment about it, then head to his blog as I have blocked out comments here.

Via Rich Dansereau Loan Officer Knoxville TN (Taylor, Bean & Whitaker):

Last week there was a blog (that was subsequently re-blogged) that I read which I felt both hit the nail on the head and also completely missed the mark to the point of misinformation. I will not out of simple respect name the person who wrote the post nor the person who re-blogged it. What I would like to do is give kudos for what I see as the high point of that post while also pointing out the bad information that it incorrectly relayed as fact.

First the good information regards the role of someone who not only designs websites/blogsites as a living but their role as an educator in the use and maintenance of the designed site. In my opinion it is the role of the designer to work with their client to achieve a finished product that satisfies their wishes as far as appearance and functionality. The second part of the designer's role is to educate their client on how the site works, both front end and backend. This would definitely include explaining and educating the client on how to use and maintain the site on their own if that is what they wish. There are of course instances where a client, for whatever reason, does not wish to learn nor be responsible for their site's maintenance and functionality. This is of course the decision of the client. This is the part of that original blog that I whole heartedly agree with.

That original blog and the perpetuating re-blog goes further than this positive explanation of the role of a web designer. I take issue with what I believe to be the bad information in that post. The original post went on to lambast web designers who the author felt were selling a type of snake oil in the guise of known ways to optimize websites/blogsites. In its attack on those web designers who actually take the time to educate themselves on the "magic recipe" it made overreaching generalizations and assertions that were passed off as indisputable fact. I can only surmise that the real information this blog was referring to were the generally proprietary algorithms that are in constant use on the world wide web.

If you consider that at its basic core, everything on the internet is a series of 1 and 0 then the arrangement of them form the basic binary code that governs everything on the internet. The point behind that statement is that this binary code allows for the use of algorithms to govern everything from granting a Google page rank to the popularity of an article in a particular social media. An example of an algorithm and how it can materially affect your website/blogsite can be seen with Reddit.com. Between 2 and 4 weeks ago, Reddit.com made a small but significant change to its algorithm. Previously you did not have to even go into a particular post in order to "upvote" or endorse it. You could basically endorse and article, which helps to increase it popularity and searchability, from the article's title alone. This meant that many of the articles that were becoming popular had never even been read, and Reddit.com ran the risk of being marginalized as a popularity site rather than a content site. Reddit.com recognized this and changed its algorithm. Those wanting to upvote an article now have to go into the article and then back out of it in order to upvote it; an upvote from the title itself now results in the opposite effect, a downvote. This particular change became apparent to regular users of Reddit.com within a matter of days and regular users made the adjustment.

My point in bringing up this change to this particular system is that there are changes such as this one that responsible web designers take the time and make the effort to learn and understand as they do affect web optimization. There is more to optimizing a website than creating a pretty layout and learning the basics about keywords. In the spirit of full disclosure, I do want to let it be know that I co-own and operate R & D Art, a design, hosting, and support service for the way the world communicates today. The real information is the magic recipe that one can only learn from time, effort, and hard work.

John Smoltz is a Red Sox now

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:18:01 -0500

I still can not get use to the fact that John Smoltz has become a Red Sox. When I see him in that uniform, I will not know what to think. it just does not seem right. With that said, change was bound to happen. The uncertainity of his future with the Atlanta Braves had to be a big deciding factor.

I wonder if he is going to move to Boston permantely or if he would retain his Alpharetta, Georgia residence. I also wonder if he would use a realtor like Bushari Group Real Estate to find him a great property in the city, or if he would take his search to the suburbs as he did in Atlanta.

Regardless whether John looks for one of the many Boston Condos or if his search takes him to the suburbs, he is face with the same questions that any other major star has; Do I sell my current residence. The big issue here is that we are generally talking high end property. These properties usually stand the test of the market conditions and finding such a property in the Boston Luxury Real Estate market takes a Realtor that knows their stuff.

All in all, I personally would not sell my home in Alpharetta if I were John. I have seen it and know that it would be hard to replace. Even though he is no longer a Brave, he is great for the City of Atlanta and it's surrounding cities.

Giving back a little

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:47:19 -0500

Today, I thought that I would do something a little different. Today I thought that I would give something to all my readers. I am sure that most of you could use this gift. I am sure that some of you could care less about it. But, with the economy pretty much in the crapper for now, saving a buck or two is the perfect treat.

So, if you are interseted in saving a little money this weekend, then click on the link about to find out how.

I will take two please

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:14:42 -0500

Have you ever been so hungry that you think that you could eat an etire cow? Well, now you have a chance. Can you imagine sitting down to eat and one of these bad boys is dropped if front of you. Let me introduce to you the Fifth Third Burger. The bun is eight inches long and holds 5 1/3 pounds of beef patty, hence the name Fifth Third. Playing second fiddle to the beef is 1 cup of chili, 5 slices of American Cheese, a pouring of nacho cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and Frito's Potato Chips. Now if that is not enough, one can also get a side of jalapenos poured on top.

Now, for the health nut in you, check out these facts:

Firth Third Burger Nutritional Information

Calorie
Total Fat
Sat. Fat
Cholesterol
Sodium
Total Carbs
Protein

4889
299g
199g
744mg
10,887mg
354g
198g

244%
460%
597%
248%
454%
118%
105%

Like I said, I will take 2.

Exit Stage left

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:57:51 -0500

I am sure that many of you will remember the cartoon figure Snagglepuss. He was the one that would always use the clever phrase "Exit Stage Left" when he wanted to get out of a scene. Snagglepuss first appeared on the Quick Draw McGraw Show and then became a regular part of the Yogi Bear Show. As a kid, I always wondered where his exit signs were and how he knew what door to go out of.

Now that I am older, I still wonder where his exit sign were at or at least how he knew which doors to exit out of. With that said, as a branch manager, one of the things that I had to always consider was where my exits where. As a branch manager, I was responsible for the safety of my people and the last thing that I wanted to happen was someone getting hurt because the exits are not clearly marked.

EXIT SIGNS might not seem like a high priority on a branch managers list. Well, frankly it might not be. When I was an Operations Manager, I kept up with it for the branch manager. I guess once I had my own branch, I just kept doing it.

It's been awhile

Danny Thornton (R & D Management) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:53:55 -0500

I have not been around Active Rain much lately. My life has been a hetic whirl wind or one issue or another. So, I thought that I would at least come by and share a few words with you. Here is a song that might help you understand where I am at.