Florida Real Estate Blog

Top 10 Reasons Not to Wallpaper (As Seen on the MLS)

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:32:50 -0500

This is by no means a new topic, but I've decided to put a new 'spin' on it and, hopefully, further make my point with the aid of a few visuals. The following list was created by me but the photos, and this post, are part of my "As Seen on the MLS" series which is aimed at educating buyers and sellers everywhere.

10. It's not as easy to wallpaper as it is to paint.

9. Painting over wallpaper simply doesn't look professional.

8. You're renting and you want to get your entire security deposit returned.

7. Wallpapered doors and ceilings are not fun to replace and/or repair.

6. The buyers may want to use the baby's room as their office.

5. The buyers will want to use the office as their baby's room.

4. The buyers have two boys and you have two girls.

3. You are into pastels and the buyer is a fan of earth tones.

2. What looks like "the latest" style today will look dated in a few years.

1. The offer amount will reflect the buyers' estimated effort & cost to remove, repair & repaint the room(s).

The Lazy Agent Series: #5

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:31:25 -0500

Do not attempt to adjust your computer monitor! The latest addition to "The Lazy Agent Series" was selected because it is an example of why it is not only important to proofread your MLS listings for accuracy but also for the quality of the photos uploaded. I can only hope that this agent possibly did not realize that the resolution of the photo was too low and had they seen how the photo looked on the MLS, they would have returned to the property to take better quality photos. Apparently, the seller did not see the photo either.

Anyone new to digital photography should consider spending time learning the basics as it can make the learning curve a little less frustrating. Kodak offers tips on digital photography and cnet offers an online course on digital photography basics.

The Lazy Agent Scale: (not so bad) 1....2....3....4....5....6....7....8....9....10 (worst)

As Seen on the MLS: #1

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:24:22 -0500

Some photos I come across on the MLS don't quite fit into "The Lazy Agent Series" I started last week but are interesting and educational in their own unique way so I've decided to name this new series of posts "As Seen on the MLS". Maybe it's just me, but I've always believed that part of my duty when I'm the listing agent is to advise sellers on matters that may affect them or the sale of their property somehow. Many sellers don't realize how the photos of their property on the MLS can sometimes help or hurt them in any number of ways.

Looking at these photos, can you find reasons why a listing agent may want to think twice about including them?

There's no rating system for this series, but comments are always welcome.

Sit, doggie, sit!

The Hunter:

Trampoline Man:

The Lazy Agent Series: #4

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:26:21 -0500

Today's selection for "The Lazy Agent Series" was chosen because it left me wondering "How hard could it have been to move a few items before taking the picture?". Don't get me wrong... I wouldn't expect any agent to start acting like wife and real estate agent, Carolyn, did in the movie "American Beauty" when she went on a cleaning spree of her listing just before her open house. However, there are times when taking a minute or two to just move a few items out of the way can make a huge difference in how a property is presented to prospective buyers and whether the property is appealing enough to make a buyer want to take the next step... make an appointment to see it in person.

The Lazy Agent Scale: (not so bad) 1....2....3....4....5....6....7....8....9....10 (worst)

The Lazy Agent Series: #3

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:17:12 -0500

In keeping with the title of "The Lazy Agent Series" , I found this example that at first blush may not appear too terrible, until you notice (among other things) the date imprinted by the camera on the photo and then check the MLS info only to find that the house was built several years after that date.

I know this series is probably being read much more by ActiveRain members than sellers, but I think it's important that sellers realize how important the marketing of their home is, how it is possible that it can affect their bottom line and that they should be comfortable with what an agent's marketing plan includes (or doesn't include) before they hire them. Perhaps they should even insist that the marketing plan and its timeline be part of the listing agreement - before they sign on the dotted line and put the sale of what is likely their biggest investment in the hands of just any agent, relatives and friends included.

Anyone got a spare set of sunglasses?

The Lazy Agent Scale: (not so bad) 1....2....3....4....5....6....7....8....9....10 (worst)

The Lazy Agent Series: #2

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:20:06 -0500

Yesterday I introduced "The Lazy Agent Series" and it seemed to strike a nerve with those who commented. I suspect this is because those of us who work with buyers are forever frustrated by the quality of what we find on the MLS. In a few of my 'old' posts, I'd given examples of funny typos in listings and showed a funny example of "before & after" photo editing and have even blogged about how the MLS is the best under-used marketing vehicle we have as real estate agents.

For those of you who wondered whether one of the items on yesterday's photo was a puppy head, please read one of my last comments (my reply to Carole Cohen) as I think I solved the question. As for today's installment in this series, well... I'll let the photo speak for itself. I only ask that you take a good look at it before you brush it off as just any ol' example. I assure you, it is not.

It's voting time again. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being "not so bad" to 10 being "the worst", how would you rate this photo, keeping in mind the title of this series (The Lazy Agent).

The Lazy Agent Series: Just The Facts, Ma'am

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:06:46 -0500

Seeing new & used cars that are marketed better than some homes on the MLS is frustrating for both real estate agents and buyers. This post is a slight departure from my previous two entries for "The Lazy Agent Series" but it's to bring home a point. That point being that, time and again, studies have shown that the number one thing buyers want to see are photos... lots of them! Knowing this (or even just putting yourself in a buyer's shoes), why do so many listings in MLSs throughout the country offer no photo or even just one photo? I decided to get some real, hard facts for this post, so this morning I searched the MLS for single-family homes in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Here's what I found:

Total # of Listings: 2,186
Listings with NO photos: 313 (14.3% or 1 in 7)
Listings with just 1 photo: 235 (10.8% or 1 in 9)

This means that out of 2,186 listings, 548 of them had no photo or just one photo. That's a whopping 25% or 1 in 4 listings! The Southeast Florida MLS allows us to upload up to 16 photos and, yet, this is what we see in 1 out of 7 listings:

If you can relate to this and would like it to change, albeit slowly, consider writing a blog post of your own showing the numbers that you find in your area and then including a link to your post in a comment below. Perhaps the more sellers get 'wind' of how lousy their homes are being marketed, the more photos we'll start to see! Wouldn't that be nice?

The Lazy Agent Series: #1

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:48:22 -0500

I'm sure all of us have our pet peeves about the MLS and what we see (or don't see) on it. I'm starting a series of posts which I've decided to title "The Lazy Agent" to illustrate some of the things that I see on the MLS that just make me shake my head and think to myself "What were they thinking?". I hope you'll come along with me for the ride. I promise it'll be an interesting, if not funny (albeit sad) one.

Below is a photo I found recenlty that just makes you wonder why the agent bothered to not only take it in the first place, but to actually include it with the listing.

Let's take a vote. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being "not so bad" to 10 being "the worst", how would you rate this photo, keeping in mind the title of this series (The Lazy Agent).

Florida Vacation Home Rental and Ownership

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:34:59 -0500

In recent years there has been a surge in the number of people purchasing a second home to be used as a vacation home. The majority of Florida vacation homes are located near lakes or along coastal areas such as the hundreds of miles along Florida's coastline. Some people have purchased second homes to be near other family members (especially children or grandchildren). According to the reports I've read, this is in large part thanks to the baby-boomer generation and low interest rates.

Buying a second home for many people sometimes means taking on a second mortgage and some opt to treat the vacation property as an investment by renting it out part of the year. Dozens of websites dedicated to assist you in finding renters for your second home have popped up on the Internet. Owning a vacation home does not come without additional responsibilities so be sure you do some research to know what you can expect.

If you're looking for a vacation home to rent be sure to check our Vacation Rentals Directory to search for any listings in the area you'll be traveling to!

Vacation Home Rentals - an ActiveRain Group Invitation

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 06:25:12 -0500

Are you going on vacation and need a place to stay but you don't want to stay in a hotel? Are you a real estate agent or property manager with any vacation rental listings or do you own a vacation rental that you'd like to advertise here to the public and our colleagues? If so, please join one of ActiveRain's newest groups:

Vacation Home Rentals

This group is intended to be a "Vacation Rentals Directory" where you can find vacation homes, beach houses, cabin rentals and villa rentals throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Do you need help putting your vacation rental listing together - photos and all - in a neat little package which you can place on ActiveRain as a blog post? Here are a couple of resources to help you do that: vflyer and postlets.

ActiveRain Week in Review - 1/1 to 1/7... The First Week in 2007 Edition

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 12:13:15 -0600

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Regional & Local Content
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Monika McGillicuddy gives us a glimpse into the "best of the best" of her southern New Hampshire communities.
Ann Cummings, another member from NH, also published a photo-filled post on Exeter, NH.

Mitchell Hall provided us with a truly awesome example of a combination neighborhood guide and market report for Greenwich Village in NYC.
Elaine Reese gives us the low-down on Powell, OH - a golfing community.

janeAnne Narrin, one of ActiveRain's eco-friendly Realtors, offers up an image of Elvis seen in a Diner near Asheville, NC.
Carole Cohen ("3C") is intrigued by builders who help revitalize neighborhoods such as those in Cleveland, OH.
Bryant Tutas gave us a taste of what central Florida market conditions have been like in recent years and how Mother Nature can have an effect on those market conditions.
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ActiveRain Community / Localism.com
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Maureen Francis asked us to vote for the Most Memorable Post of 2006 and although there was only one winner, there were 10 honorable mentions.

Linda Davis (a.k.a. "Carnac from Connecticut") wrote what will likely be one of the most (if not the most) memorable posts of 2007 with her "2007 ActiveRain Predictions".
Craig Schiller shows us how we can stand out in 'the Rain' and take what we've learned to Localism.com.

Mark Flanders explains how you can put Localism.com to work for you.

Matt Heaton updated us on points, dashboard changes, and other stuff...
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Great Educational and Marketing Posts
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Angus Woodbury ("Moo") inspires us to take the long way home.

Don Fabrizio-Garcia continued his series on various mistakes sellers can make when selling their home, this time focusing on exclusions.
Jeff Belonger provides us with a good primer on how we can improve our People Skills in his 2-part series.

I can tell that George Souto is a "glass half full" kind of person by reading his post: "The Word that Salespeople Should Love to Hear... NO!!!"
Lenn Harley showed us how to handle the "agent telephone interview".

Gabriel Silverstein asks the question we each have to answer for ourselves: "Is an IDX link bad for lead generation?"
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Technology, Blogging, SEO and more
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Ines Hegedus-Garcia wraps up the popular series of posts on reviews of the Realty Blogging book.

Brian Brady provided us with the highlights of the first Arizona Real Estate Bloggers Round Table.
Mark Flanders offers up some SEO tips for your ActiveRain blog.

Chris Griffith pushes us to take the tech plunge with 10 cutting edge ideas for the real estate industry.
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Our Humorous Side
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Kristal Kraft shares more of her awesome photographs and pleads with the "Snow God" to stop the madness.

If you haven't already met The Codgers... now is the time to do so! Their brand of humor is like no other here on ActiveRain.
Rich Jacobson shows us an example of a home stager's nightmare!
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Other Notable Posts
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Angus Woodbury shared his personal story with us on the "life of an unrepresented buyer" - complete with all the bumps along the road.
Mariana Wagner continued her informative series on the Realtor Code of Ethics - this time focusing on OPM - Other People's Money.
Jeff Turner shows us that we can gain universal wisdom by paying a visit to the refrigerator door. My apologies to ActiveRain's home stagers and virtual tour vendors... I know how you dislike the "refrigerator file".

Check Your Credit Reports

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 18:15:57 -0600

Thanks to federal regulations, we can now get a free copy of our credit reports once a year from all three of the top credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. To learn more, visit AnnualCreditReport.com.

Your credit report contains valuable information and experts suggest that we check ours at least once per year. Credit reports sometimes have incorrect data and it's important to remember that this is information which mortgage lenders and credit card companies rely on when deciding how much of a credit line to give you and also what interest rate to offer you. You can request your free credit report online, by phone or via mail. The website offers a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page which answers many questions or concerns.

Google Understands Logo Design... and its visitors!

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:13:24 -0600

I think most would agree that logos are an important part of a business. Take Google, for example. I can recall when it started gaining in popularity several years ago, one of the things that attracted people to their search engine was its simplicity... a fresh, crisp, clean homepage that wasn't loaded up with ads, little flashy things, and other bells & whistles that scream "look here, look over here". It was a plain and simple search engine that just seemed to ask the obvious... "what are you looking to find?... enter it here". Over the years they haven't changed their tune.

Let's examine their logo and how it represents their company and it's homepage. First, the font style is "Book Antiqua" which isn't particularly fancy. Next, the colors... they're primary colors. So both the font style and colors are rather plain and simple and reflects their "just the facts" style of homepage. Of course, there is an artistic, "with it" look about the logo because it also includes the drop shadow effect and the gel design (droplet-like elements and reflection effects). Of course, just to keep things fresh and delight visitors every so often, Google has it's very own logo designer, Dennis Hwang, who regularly comes up with simple, yet creative logos throughout the year. So what do you think? Have the designers of Google's logo done a good job with the logo design? Does it reflect what site visitors expect from them?

What does your company's logo reflect about your company or try to instill in customers/clients? Does it work for you? What are some examples of logos (real estate or otherwise) that you believe do a good job of reflecting what the company is about?

Just for fun, see a great collection of fake Google logos.

Inspiration for this post came from Jeff Belonger's post: Marketing... Good or Bad.

HGTVs Dream Home Giveaway

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 04:25:22 -0600

For anyone who has followed HGTV's Dream Home Giveaway year-after-year, the introduction of the home, it's location and other prizes is something we look forward to. This year is no different. The location is Winter Park, Colorado which is 67 miles northwest of Denver, offers plenty of activities and, per Wikipedia, "is completely snow-covered for about six months a year".

After taking the virtual tour, I guess I'd better learn to love snow because I intend to win this fully-furnished custom home, the GMC Acadia (a crossover SUV in case you're reading this, Teresa) and the $250K! Uh-oh... then I guess I shouldn't have posted this!

If you were to pick the location of your dream home, where would that be and why?

ActiveRain - The Early Days (July 11-15)

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 12:13:53 -0600

This is week two of our stroll through ActiveRain's Blog Archives...

Above are some of the "Faces of ActiveRain" that make up the community, contribute and share their knowledge! (Hover over each thumbnail photo to see their name. Each one is mentioned in this post.)

7/11/06 -

After being inspired by a post Kristal Kraft wrote in which she mentions the mistake some blogging newbies make in stuffing keywords into the tags section, technology strategist Jason Ungos wrote a post on "Blogging and Tagging Effectively" -- well worth reading, as was his follow up post the next day, "Effective Blog Tagging". He also has a great real estate technology blog outside of ActiveRain filled with good information.

Ben Wiseley, the somewhat camera shy ActiveRain programmer, provides two links to great articles on social software that make for interesting reading... even if only to skim through. That I'm aware of, the mysterious Ben hasn't stuck his head out from behind his book yet, but I'm hoping he'll make a showing someday... unlike Wilson, the neighbor on the TV show 'Home Improvement' who never allowed viewers to see his mouth.

Doug and Kathie Whitehouse asked a question that was undoubtedly on many ActiveRainer's minds... What are the long term goals of the site?

Charles (another camera shy member), who writes on behalf of his wife, Jacqulyn Richey, provides some good information about "Real Estate Websites and Copyright Infringement".

Kim Hughes, a virtual assistant to some well known top producers throughout the country and one of the first VA's to join ActiveRain helps you answer the question "Do You Need a Real Estate Virtual Assistant?" and if your answer is 'yes', read her list of "What to Look for In a Virtual Assistant". If you're looking for one, there are almost 90 real estate virtual assistants here on ActiveRain.

7/12/06 -

Bryant Tutas (a.k.a. Broker Bryant) wrote about range pricing. This post is still generating comments long after it was published!

If you read blog posts on ActiveRain regularly, you're bound to notice that every so often a theme appears around the same subject. The first of these "themes" seems to have appeared less than two weeks after the introduction of blogging on ActiveRain. Doug and Kathie Whitehouse wrote "Photos vs. No Photos" and Kristal Kraft further validates their stance in her post, "Photos are of Utmost Importance" while Ben Kakimoto follows up the next day with "Speaking of Listing Photos...". This theme conveniently offers me the opportunity for a shameless plug for the ActiveRain MLS Issues group, which I founded. If you have written any post(s) dealing with the MLS or MLS-related issues, I hope you will join the group and add your post to our collection.

R.J. Paperman wrote a series of posts titled "Learn How To Better Utilize Your Computer" where some members may find useful information relating to e-mails, Internet security and search engine placement. Here are Part 2a, Part 2b and Part 3 in the series.

7/13/06 -

Mollie Wasserman tries to provide some perspective to today's home sellers in "Pricing Your Home to Sell in a Softer Market". Some of you may recognize Mollie as the author of "The Real Estate Internet Warning" which you can view about midway down her homepage and use as long as you give her credit (see bottom of homepage).

Angus Woodbury (a.k.a. "Moo") obtained his Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) designation so he can mooove his listings faster and for more money. Did you know that over 200 home stagers are members of ActiveRain?

7/14/06 -

Mark Flanders, one of many loan officers on ActiveRain, offers up a great list of "Do's and Don'ts While Your Loan is in Progress".

Donna Harris (another Realtor with the ASP designation) asks "How many homes is too many to view at a time?" and gets a variety of answers.

7/15/06 -

For anyone who desires to increase the amount of comments on their blog, Bill French suggests you listen to the "voice of the customer" and provides some good resources.

Paul Sullins offers up some good advice on "Improving Your Blog Entries". Paul passed away unexpectedly on August 2nd (at age 45) while going beyond the call of duty on behalf of a customer, which is what makes his last blog entry (written the day before he died) a bit prophetic and makes me wish he'd taken the last sentence of it ("Stay COOL!") to heart. It came as no surprise to me when I read that at the time of his death, Paul was the current "Realtor of the Year" for the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors.

By mid-July, the number of consumer-oriented blog posts had increased quite a bit. If ActiveRainers want to see an example of a consumer-oriented blog filled with lots of local content, a visit to Lawrence Yerkes' blog, titled "For the Southern New Jersey Region and Beyond!" is a must. Another good example is Linda Slocum's "Santa Clarita Real Estate News and Updates".

That's it for this edition. If you missed the first edition of "ActiveRain - The Early Days", I invite you to read that one, too. Please remember that if I did not include you/your post here, it's very possible you may find you/your post will be mentioned in an upcoming edition.

...and if you are not a member of ActiveRain yet, what are you waiting for?...

Click here to sign up today! Membership has it's privileges!

ActiveRain - The Early Days (July 1-10, 2006)

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:12:04 -0600

For sometime now, I've been wanting to go through ActiveRain's blog archives to see what members where writing about since before I joined in late August. I decided to get started this past weekend and I've decided to share my findings with you in a series of posts. I guess you could say it's and "oldies but goodies" blog carnival of sorts. So come along for the ride... it should be an interesting one!

These are some of the "Faces of ActiveRain" that make up the community, contribute and share their knowledge! (Hover over each thumbnail photo to see their name. Each one is mentioned in this post.)

>>> If you are not a member yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to sign up today! Membership has it's privileges! <<<

7/01/06 -

Matt wrote about the "power of the blogosphere", alerting us to the fact that one of ActiveRain's members, Stan Mackey, had essentially obtained Internet celebrity status for having listed Robert Scoble's house in Bothell, WA, which Stan blogged about the next day on BloggingSeattle as well as on ActiveRain the day after that (where I got a kick out of his expression "all web hell broke loose"). For those of you who don't recognize the name Robert Scoble, he's one of the authors of a book titled "Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers".

7/02/06 -

Gene Dexter wrote a humorous piece titled "Tales from the Fixer Market" that's worth reading... and don't skip the comments!
Matt asked the question "Why advertise the competition?", listed three possible explanations and debated the reason behind each one. His post makes for interesting reading for anyone who's thinking about including Google's AdSense ads in their website or blog.

7/06/06 -

In his excellent "Don't Save... Invest!" post, Trent Yeo urges people to build their wealth through real estate investments. Sound advice that we should all heed.

7/07/06 -

A new blog is born when Sue Melhorn takes the plunge and writes a post titled "My First Blog" in which she gives an example from her own life where change can lead to great things. Well done, Sue!

7/08/06 -

In what was among the first consumer blog posts on ActiveRain that describe a particular area of the country, Michelle Sotelo explained why she "Loves living in the Pacific NW"... and very well, I might add.
Margaret Rome explained how nothing gets her creative juices flowing faster than the "Unique Challenge" of marketing what many would consider an "impossible" listing. Several ActiveRain members shared their suggestions with her and contest winners were announced.
Matt... one of the brains behind ActiveRain... whose nickname while growing up was "mouse"... reveals to us his other passion besides ActiveRain (and his wife, Lydia, of course). Who'd a thought? I guess we'd better bone up on his hobby if we ever want bonus points. Just kidding, Matt! LOL! :-)

7/09/06 -

We start to see more consumer blog posts designed to "sell" prospective buyers on the particular agent's slice of paradise. Posts were written about the New Hampshire Seacoast, Northwest Arkansas, eastern North Carolina (and two posts about New Bern, NC, in particular).
Our illustrious Kristal Kraft shares some of her favorite Realtor toys with us. Oh, goodie!
I learned that before Mary McKnight came along, members could rely on Bill French to learn about things such as podcasting, RSS, as well as the pros and cons of duplicate blog content.
Ken and Mary Deshaies write about how the increase in second homeowners is causing a decrease in affordable housing for the working class... an important issue popping up in many resort-town areas around the country.

7/10/06 -

Rory Siems blogs about how Internet-based home valuation services such as Zillow cannot put a price on a great view. Just another reason why real 'live' agents are the key to correct pricing!
Don Lantier attempts to clarify things in "Condo or Townhome?" and Broker Bryant chimes in with comments!
More consumer blog posts relating to cities, this time about Jacksonville, FL and Fredricksburg, VA.

Of course, I could not include every post in this summary so if I did not include you/your post here, it's very possible you may find you/your post will be mentioned in an upcoming edition.

Stay tuned for more snippets from "ActiveRain - The Early Days".

Eco-Friendly Agents

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 06:28:07 -0600

Are you an eco-friendly agent?

Among other things, Eco-Friendly Real Estate Agents:

Include as many photos as their MLS will allow
Have a virtual tour of their listings available
Provide good directions to the property
Include a floorplan whenever possible

If listing agents took the time to properly market their listings, buyers would be better able to narrow down the homes they'd want to see. This saves everyone time and gas (less pollution), and doesn't inconvenience the seller with home showings to buyers that perhaps would have known it was not the home they're looking for had they seen more photos or a virtual tour ahead of time. Agents who work with buyers would be better equipped to decide which homes to show to their customers/clients and may lead to less of a need to preview homes in person. Agents would also be able to come up with more accurate home value estimates (CMA's) because the additional data, which includes photos of comparables, would make it easier. Of course, appraisers would benefit as well.

In my experience, I've seen used cars that are marketed better than most properties I see listed on the MLS. On the other hand, most new home builders know how to properly market their inventory. New home builders include a wealth of information about each of their homes on full-color brochures with multiple photos (or artist's renderings), a floorplan, a siteplan, a location map, and their websites sometimes even offer aerial photos and a virtual tour. You could say that agents who market their listings the same way new home builders do are "eco-friendly". Sellers should take this into consideration when deciding which real estate broker they choose to market what is likely their biggest investment.

Are you an Eco-Friendly Real Estate Agent? If not, start thinking green.

It's good for the environment and will make you a better professional!

Think globally, act locally. Think Green!

What You Get For $200K

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:28:39 -0600

Many of you have probably seen HGTV's show called "What You Get For The Money" at some point. I watch it whenever I can and always find it interesting to see what you can get in different parts of the U.S. for the same amount of money.

So I was curious to see how my newest listing stacked up against others around the U.S. priced more-or-less the same. To quench my curiosity, I went on Realtor.com and searched for 10 condos/townhomes priced in the mid-to-high $190's mostly in cities that are just outside of major cities throughout the country. To make it more visually appealing and get a true sense of how places compare, I only picked "showcase" listings with several photos. It's amazing to me that for essentially the same money, what you get can vary from a 1-BR/1-BA 445 sq. ft. condo to a 3-BR/2-BA/1-CG 1918 sq. ft. townhouse!

Here's what I found (note: the first one is my listing):

Sunrise, FL (outside Fort Lauderdale) - $197,000
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, 1154 sq. ft. Condo
Brookline, MA (outside Boston) - $199,900
1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, 445 sq. ft. Condo
Cary, NC (outside Raleigh) - $195,900
3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, 1918 sq. ft. Townhouse
Fort Worth, TX (outside Dallas) - $193,900
3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, 1939 sq. ft Townhouse
St. Paul, MN (next to Minneapolis) - $199,000
1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, 778 sq. ft. Condo
Lakewood, CO (outside Denver) - $195,000
2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, 1320 sq. ft. Condo
Scottsdale, AZ (outside Phoenix) - $199,900
1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom Condo
Lake Forest Park, WA (outside Seattle) - $199,950
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, 847 sq. ft. Condo
Sacramento, CA - $199,000
1 Bedroom, 1.5 Bathrooms, 1125 sq. ft. Condo
Honolulu, Hawaii - $199,900
1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, 588 sq. ft. Condo

Are you as surprised as I am that you get a slightly bigger place in Honolulu, HI than in Brookline, MA for about the same money? NC & TX are looking very appealing for anyone considering leaving a high-priced area. You definitely get more for your money there! Since I'm not too familiar with most of the areas listed in the examples above, I realize that I may be comparing apples with oranges in some cases, but it was an interesting exercise nonetheless.

Florida Schools & Education

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:41:11 -0600

Here are some helpful links to resources that provide detailed information on both public and private schools (including higher education) throughout the state of Florida. Please note that these websites are maintained by the Florida Department of Education:

Florida Public Schools (includes FCAT scores and current year's school grades)
Florida Private Schools (search by district; includes a School Choice Options booklet in .pdf)
Florida Colleges and Universities (includes Quick Facts)

Florida Home Inspections

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:27:53 -0600

Whether it's a previously owned home or new construction, I always highly recommend to home buyers I work with that they have a professional home inspection performed.

If you are buying a home in Florida and are in need of locating a qualified home inspector, here are a couple of resources that may help you in your decision making process:

American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) - Florida Home Inspectors
National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI) - Florida Home Inspectors

Membership to either of these associations is voluntary. If you've received a referral of a home inspector or company that is not listed in either of these sites it does not necessarily mean that they are not professional or qualified.

Florida Economy & Real Estate

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 10:36:17 -0600

Did you know that if Florida were an independent country, it would rank as the world's 15th largest economy? The gross state product reached an unprecedented $594 billion last year and real estate activity accounted for 44% of that total ($263 billion).

Real property... building it and buying it... directly provides jobs for 769,000 Floridians. That impact outpaces the contributions of other Florida industries — including tourism, which contributed an estimated $62 billion to Florida's economy in 2005.

Florida State Facts

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 16:21:48 -0600

Florida Capital: Tallahassee
Number of Counties: 67
Florida became the 27th state of the U.S. in 1845.
Florida Population: 15,982,378 (2000 Census),
approximately 1,000-1,200 people move to Florida every day!
Florida is the 4th most populated state in the U.S.
Florida's Major Industries: tourism is first, followed by agriculture,
then banking, electronics, plastics, construction, and real estate.
Florida has 1197 miles of coastline and 663 miles of beaches.
The highest point in Florida is Britton Hill which is located in Lakewood, FL
(Walton County) and is Florida's highest elevation at 345 feet above sea level.
Florida's geographic center is 12 miles NW of Brooksville, FL (Hernando County).
The St. Johns River is the longest river in Florida, measuring 273 miles.
Lake Okeechobee is the largest lake in Florida at 700 square miles.

Tamarac, Florida Information

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 21:00:35 -0500

The City of Tamarac covers 12 square miles, was incorporated in 1963 and has a population of just over 55,000 (per the 2000 Census).

Tamarac, which originally drew many retirees, has experienced a considerable change in demographics over the past 15 years, with more younger families moving in. Some of the larger communities in Tamarac include Woodmont, The Woodlands, Kings Point and The Mainlands. In recent years, Tamarac has experienced an increase in both residential and commercial development.

For over 32 years, the city has also been home to University Hospital and Medical Center. Tamarac was a winner of the national "Livable Communities for All Ages" award in 2005 and has proudly earned the National Arbor Day Foundation's annual "Tree City USA" designation 14 times.

Sunrise, Florida Information

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:52:33 -0500

The City of Sunrise covers 22 square miles, has a population of 90,000 and is conveniently located in the heart of the tri-county area with easy access to all major highways in Broward County.

The City of Sunrise is home to Sawgrass Mills (Florida's largest retail and entertainment complex) as well as the Bank Atlantic Center - the second largest arena in the country and home to the NHL's Florida Panthers ice hockey team.

Some of the larger communities in Sunrise include the Residences of Sawgrass Mills, Welleby and Sunrise Golf Village. Two communities currently under construction are Artesia and Tao. Sunrise offers several amenities, including a world-class tennis club, golf courses, a soccer club, playgrounds and municipal swimming pools. Come see the lifestyle Sunrise can offer you!

Weston, Florida Information

South Florida Real Estate • Leanne Paynter (HomesCo.com) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:43:43 -0500

The City of Weston covers 24 square miles and was incorporated in 1996, making it one of the youngest cities in Broward County. Weston has a population estimated at 62,243 in 2003 and as the western-most city in central Broward County it's nestled on the edge of Florida's Everglades.

Weston is a master planned community and much of the city was developed by Arvida which designed it to provide residents with a "hometown" feel complete with bike and walking trails. Some of the larger communities in Weston include Bonaventure, Country Isles, Savanna, The Falls, The Lakes, and Weston Hills. Weston residents enjoy one of Broward County's best school systems and have access to some of the best healthcare with Cleveland Clinic Hospital and Miami Children's Hospital (Dan Marino Center).

One of Weston's "hot spots" is Weston Town Center with its bell tower, restaurants, shops, and a social and cultural events gathering area. Many cultural events arts festivals take place year-round in or near Weston. Come see why so many love to call Weston home!