Real Opinionated--Active Rain Edition

Stagers: A Little Help Please

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:18:35 -0500

My wife is a Real Estate Agent with me. We're a team. She's already a great decorator, and she's decided that she wants to seek out some education that would help her learn about staging. She enrolled in the Realtor ASP course, which is the 2 day course from Barb Schwartz. Since she does intend to offer this service to our clients, we were wondering what other training she should seek out. Your most excellent professional advice is much appreciated.

Any ideas?

Top 4 Counter-Intuitive Real Estate Truths

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 18:31:16 -0500

I call them “Counter-intuitive” because, when put in similar circumstances, most consumers make the wrong choice. Common sense almost always leads you in the right direction. The following are a few examples of when it’s not best to follow your gut:

1) Starting with a lower price just might net you more money. Most folks want to start at a higher price and lower the asking price when there’s little or no interest. I can appreciate your strategy. You want to make as much money as possible, and you think there’s a chance that somebody just might buy your home if it’s only 1% or 2% overpriced. Wrong. In this market, if you’re 2% overpriced nobody will even look at your home. Starting with a lower asking price is key for generating buzz about your home, and just might end up in a bidding war that nets you more than what you wanted to start with. Even if it doesn’t, at least your home will sell.

2) Staging is expensive, but you’ll most likely make a profit on it. When asked whether or not they would be willing to spend roughly 1% of the home’s value on staging, most home owners will tell you no. On a $300K house, that’s $3000. It’s a lot of money. However, it’s also less than your first price cut will be. And, the $3000 spent is likely to make you $10K, $15K, or more in net profit at the end of the day. Simply put, staged homes sell faster and for more money.

3) Conducting business with family is a bad idea. Just because cousin Earl is a Realtor doesn’t mean that you should choose him to sell your home. Why not? Because he knows you. You eat Thanksgiving dinner together. Surely you won’t mind if he blows off the open house to go play golf, right? Or worse yet, what if he caves in to your absurd pricing strategy because he doesn’t want you to throw sweet potatoes at him during your next holiday gathering. You need a professional, objective Realtor who will look out for your best interests, even if you don’t want to hear the truth.

4) Selling FSBO will not save you money. After it’s all said and done, it will probably cost you money. You’ll start with a price that’s too high, and probably for a good reason. Since you don’t know what the home is worth, you’ll take the amount that you bought it for, add $50K for good measure, and then total up all of the money that you spent on upgrades and viola! Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. I wish it did.

Then, when nobody is interested, you’ll end up lowering your price into oblivion. I’ve seen it a thousand times.

The items might seem contrary to common sense, but they are absolutely true. Being “street smart” doesn’t always help you get your home sold after all.

Visit the original article here.

The Mortgage Implosion: A Buyers Perspective

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:37:08 -0500

Warning: This post is intended to start a dialog on the topic for the general edification of everyone involved. I’m not billing myself as an expert on the subject.

I’ve been the recipient of much love from Google as of late for the search terms “Mortgage Implosion.” What people really want to know about is the trouble with subprime lenders of late. Frankly, when the whole thing went down, I had no idea what was going on. That’s one of the main reasons why I brought on the Mortgage Godess….to explain it to me and everybody else. She broke it down Barney style. Now I’ve pretty much got the hang of it. Here’s what it means to the potential home buyer:

1) You can still buy a house. There’s no need to panic. There are still houses for sale, and there are still ways to get into them. There are many great first time home buyers programs out there that can even help you if you don’t have much of a down payment. Certain municipalities will even give you a grant for the down payment. I know…

2) Down payment required. I said there are great programs available if you don’t have much of a down payment. However, most experts agree that having no down payment is a dog that won’t hunt, so to speak. The whole “subprime mortgage thing” was a case of lenders approving loans for people with no money and sometimes bad credit to boot. As hard as it is to believe, people with bad credit and no money sometimes default on their mortgages. They’ve since learned their lesson, and it won’t be happening again any time soon. You probably need at least 3% down for most programs. Start saving.

I can see the mortgage brokers circling already, so a quick caveat. That doesn’t mean that there is no such thing as a no money down loan for somebody with bad credit…it just means that you probably can’t get one on terms favorable to you….which begs the question “Could you ever get a no money down load with bad credit on terms favorable to you?” Probably not, I suspect. That’s why there are so many foreclosures.

3) Fix your credit first. The better your credit, the better your chances of getting a mortgage product that you can live with. If your credit score is lower than dirt, you’re probably going to want to work on that before you apply for a mortgage. I can work with the Mortgage Godess and we can get you on a plan to be kicking butt and taking names within a year or two. It’s just a matter of knowing what to fix, really.

What it really all means is that we’re going “old school” for a while on mortgage loans. You will have to prove that you make a certain amount of money, and you will be approved for a mortgage that constitutes no more than a certain percentage of your income.

So, that’s my extremely amateur analysis of the mortgage implosion, and what it means to potential home buyers. If somebody cares to color my conjecture with a little actual knowledge, feel free to fire away. This is why I keep an expert on staff. Leah to the rescue!

Peep the original story, yo!

Consumer Oriented Real Estate Carnival: General Wiggles Presiding

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:24:22 -0500

Hello. I’m General Wiggles, and I’ve been asked to preside over the very important “Consumer Oriented Real Estate Carnival” for this week. To the left, you can see a picture of me when I was Airman Wiggles, some time ago. I’m quite scary, mind you.

Let me begin by saying that, despite the casualties, we are winning the war against consumer ignorance in the Real Estate blogosphere. So, square yourself away, strap your boots on, and grab some ammunition. It’s time for war, blogging style!

Every good army needs a private or two. Otherwise, who would we have to sweep the steps? I hope you don’t think General Wiggles is going to do it? I think not. Our privates for this week are Nigel Swaby with his post entitled “Deadlines in Real Estate You Can’t Afford to Miss,” and Dan Melson who writes “Misplaced Improvements in Real Estate.“

And who, exactly, is supposed to ensure that the Privates are sweeping the steps as ordered? Why, the Sergeant of Course. Our hard-charging Sergeant First Class is Brian Brady, guest writing on the Long Beach Real Estate Blog. His post entitled “How to Get the Best Home Loan: Neatness Counts” was truly promotion worthy.

Maureen Francis weighs in with her post named “Ten Tips For First Time Michigan Home Sellers” and gets Commissioned as a Lieutenant in this man’s Army. Try not to hurt anybody, L.T.

And, last but not least, our company commander for the day: the Silicon Valley Blogger writes a fantastic post entitled “Proof that Buying A House is Impossible In Some Local Real Estate Markets.” So, next time you see the Major in Public, call the room to attention and make sure your gig line is straight, or you’ll be pushing the earth until I’m tired.

Dismissed!

Developing the Value Added Proposition

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 08:22:49 -0500

I assume (probably shouldn't) that the value of utilizing a Realtor is self evident. I know that's a long row to hoe, but let's just agree that people should utilize Realtors for every transaction for the sake of argument.

Why should they choose you? I'm asking myself the same question as I write this. Yes, I have the MLS and can find any property listed on it in a matter of seconds. Yes, I have lock boxes and a cool lock box opener that I often pretend to be a secret decoder ring. Yes, I have a web site and access to Realtor.com. But doesn't everybody? Aren't these the basic tenets of our profession?

I know, I know. Some Real Estate agents don't exactly inspire confidence, and just because you have access to the MLS doesn't mean that you necessarily use it correctly. But let's assume that most of the agents out there can use the MLS correctly. Is my success or failure in this business to be attributed to sheer luck, or do I have something to offer that can give me a competitive advantage over the rest of you?

I have a blog. Well, there's a start. When I think about blogging, I think about transparency. Some people think it's over rated, and I can see where they're coming from. But being transparent has to be helpful in terms of endearing myself to potential client, right? It also proves I'm not a complete idiot, or at the very worst I am an idiot with acceptable grammar and spelling. One downfall to being transparent is that people can see both the good and the bad in me, so it's almost a wash for all of my effort.

I have a few college degrees. Of course, they're all in Criminal Justice. That won't help me much in my chosen profession. On the up side, it does prove that I have the constitution to stick with a task for several years, but my potential clients are probably hoping that it won't take that long to get their house sold. Again, probably a wash.

I'm a Veteran. Which, in and of itself, means nothing more than that I was 1) without any promising prospects for employment out of high school, 2) willing to get shot at and 3) foolish enough to think that I wouldn't get hurt. Of course, it could also mean that I am loyal, hard-working, and principled, but that would be one heck of a generalization considering the armed forces is pretty much like any other cross section of society: Some heroes, some normal folks, and some scum bags under the same roof. I do know a thing or two about military housing, housing allowances, and the rules for procuring housing as a military member. One point me.

I'm an interrogator and hostage negotiator. I like this one, because I know how relatively few people have ever completed this type of training. Still, I can see the look of concern on people's faces when I tell them about this unique qualification. They're imagining me hooking some poor foreign national up to a car battery ( I assure you, that's not how I roll). Still, it's useful once I get a potential deal to the negotiating table. Another point for me.

I have a wife who's a lot smarter than me. And she's cute, too. This is probably my greatest value added proposition. Two Realtors for the price of one, anybody?

Still, I'm feeling like I need to widen the gap between me and the competition. I haven't said anything of great and lasting consequence here, so I'm asking you:

How did you set yourself apart from the competition?

Homestead Exemptions are Not an Answer

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 07:17:34 -0500

Active rain note: this article was written for the consumer on my Real Opinionated blog, so forgive some of the simplistic explanation.

Governor Christ is a Tampa native, so we try to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to policy initiatives. His most recent crusade is to try to make housing more affordable to the common folk (an initiative which we support fully), but he may be going about it the wrong way.

One of his ideas is to increase the homestead exemption in Florida to $50K. For those of you who don’t know, a homestead exemption is a benefit of owning in home by which the taxable value of your primary residence is depreciated (or lowered) for the purpose of figuring your annual tax bill. For instance, the current homestead exemption in Florida is $25K. My home has a taxable value of $250K. Because my home is my primary residence, the homestead exemption applies and my taxable value is lowered to $225K. Thus, I pay less in taxes. Pretty cool, right?

There’s only one problem: There are two main factors that determine how much you pay in taxes. One is the taxable value of your home. The other is the millage rate.

What the heck is a millage rate? The term “millage” comes from a latin word (we’ve had lots of those lately) per mille meaning, literally, “for every thousand.” Basically, the number represents how many dollars you pay in taxes for every thousand dollars of assessed value for your home. In Hillsborough County, it’s pretty close to 22 dollars per every thousand dollars of assessed value. You get the point.

So, let’s say that Pasco County needs $1 Billion to fund it’s operations next year. If they don’t get $1 Billion, things stop working. People stop getting paid. Bad things happen. Believe me when I say that Pasco County WILL get their $1 Billion. So, if the Governor lowers the taxable value of every homesteaded property in the State, what’s to stop the Pasco County Commission from raising the millage rate to recover the difference?

I do like the idea of doing away with property tax altogether. News today indicated that the Florida House of Representatives have passed legislation that will put the option on the table to replace the property tax system with an additional sales tax in Florida. I like the idea, and here’s why:

When property taxes are rolled out, the homeowners of our community are solely responsible for paying their tax. It’s a fair system. I have no basic problem with it. However, a great deal of the dollars spent in Florida are spent by our Northern friends who like to come and vacation, lay out on our beaches, and spend their hard earned cash on our mojitos. It seems as if it would be most beneficial to me to pass off the burden of paying my property tax, at least in part, to those good folks.

Also, under the current system those who rent rather than buy have basically no obligation to help support the building of roads and the funding of schools, regardless of the fact that they use both. The sales tax alternative would get these people involved.

Windward Homes Not Blogger Friendly

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:17:19 -0500

As part of my effort to inform the consumer in the Greater Tampa Bay area, I routinely write reviews of new home communities. My wife writes informational posts about individual builders and the products that they offer. I assume that it is my first ammendment right to offer commentary about any product that I feel like commenting on as long as I don't engage in libel of any form. However, we recognize that it is up to the judgement of the builder whether or not we display photos of their properties. It is, until they sell it, their property.

I contacted the good folks over at Windward homes to let them know that I intended to write a post about their new homes in Longleaf, a new home community in Pasco County just west of the Suncoast Parkway. I was instructed to contact the Marketing Manager of the Tampa office. Let's just call her Sharon.

Usually, builders will do almost anything to get good, positive publicity. I expected that Windward homes would be no different. I was shocked when Sharon wouldn't allow me to use the photos of their beautiful model home in Longleaf because "she doesn't like blogs." That's right folks, you heard it correctly. Windward homes' top marketing executive in the Tampa Bay area doesn't like blogs. If I would put it on a static website, she would have no problem with it.

I assumed that it was a mistake at first. Surely Sharon wouldn't knowingly alienate a growing, tech-savvy, and increasingly wealthy portion of the population (bloggers). Also, with recent studies indicating that many thousands of Realtors intend to use a blog as a part of their marketing strategy for 2007, Windward couldn't possibly take such an exclusive stance, could they? I'm assuming, of course, that they would like to cooperate with Realtors. I may be wrong.

Sure enough. I was informed that unless I would essentially submit my writings for approval by a Windward marketing executive I would not be allowed to utilize the photos of their model home. Further, I was asked to disable the comment feature on my post so that consumers (my audience) could not offer comment on the Windward product. Normally the fact that people are willing to discuss your product indicates that you have a product worth discussing. Sharon didn't think so. Big mistake, folks.

Of course, the tragic truth is that by this time tomorrow I'll be showing up on top of Google word searches for "Windward Homes Long Leaf." That's the amazing thing about blogs (apparently they don't teach that in marketing training yet). The link could have lead to a glowing review of a superior product that Windward offers. Instead, it will lead to this statement of disappointment, and the increasingly tech-savvy consumer (up to 80% of new home buyers begin their search online) will understand exactly where I'm coming from. Bummer. It could have been a great relationship.

Three Questions: Drew Meyers on Zillow

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:04:07 -0500

In the inaugural edition of our new interview series entitled “Three Questions,” Real Opinionated has sought out a man who is undeniably at the forefront of web 2.0 innovation. Welcome Drew Meyers, Community Relations Specialist from Zillow.com. No, he’s not the founder of Zillow. But he does know what he’s talking about, and we happen to have access to him. Sorry I don’t roll in higher Zillow circles.

Zillow has been taking a beating of late from some prominent bloggers, so we thought we might give Drew the opportunity to show up and “keep it real” without any interference. His answers have not been edited in any way, shape, or form.

Once and for all, what is Zillow’s intent as it pertains to the new features recently rolled out and how does it affect the web-savvy Realtor?

Zillow is an online real estate community with the goal of helping consumers find answers to their real estate questions. A year ago, we launched with Zestimates to give people a starting point to answer “what’s this home worth?” Other questions we’ve begun to help people ask and find answers for: “what remodels or additions have been done to this home?”; “which homes are for sale and by whom?”; and which owners might be willing to move for the right price?”. With Home Q&A, we’re trying to open up more and more valuable information on homes for everyone to see. We’ve given home buyers the ability to ask questions about a home before they buy; questions such as: ‘Is there a “secret” route downtown that avoids traffic?’ or ‘How old is the roof?’ For instance, check this conversation and this one for two good examples.

At the same time, we’re giving agents an open forum to share their knowledge, and market themselves for free. Every contribution to Zillow links back to an agent’s profile page (with contact information, photos, active listings or links to their Web site), and agent answers are called out with an “agent” badge. The more an agent contributes, the more opportunity they have to impress one Zillow’s 4 million+ monthly users.

Additionally, Zillow launched EZ Ads; a self-service ad platform for agents, mortgage brokers, or other real estate professionals to easily and affordably buy ads targeted to specific ZIP code searches. Zillow is a media business, we make our money via advertising. EZ Ads demonstrates that.

More....

4 Ways to Bring in the Blog Traffic

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 11:05:13 -0500

You’ve spent hour upon hour developing a hip, relevant body of work (your blog) which defines your professional skill set and separates you from your competitors. You’ve gone through the painstaking process of learning to write with your “voice” so your potential clients will learn to identify with you and trust you through your writing. Now, you’ve just got to get people to show up.

Sure, google will send some people your way. Maybe lots of people, if you’re doing it correctly. But still, there has to be some way to get those sedentary, non-internet types to show up on your blog. After all, it would be most expensive to produce a one hundred page brochure to mail to them, and it probably still wouldn’t have as much good information as your blog.

So, we’re working on developing this idea of “mutually supportive marketing” which is probably not much of an idea at all, and more of a regurgitation of something smart that a marketing guru has already said. It’s new to us, and that’s good enough. Here are four things that we’re doing to try to get new readers to show up and be overwhelmed by the mushy information goodness of our blog:

See The Rest Of This Article Here:

Highlighting Unethical Behavior is Not An Attack...

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:13:50 -0500

....It's a public service.

Let me be the first to assure you that if I catch somebody stealing content that was the fruit of my intellectual labor, dressing it up slightly, and reposting it as their own, I will expose their complete and total lack of integrity for the entire world to see. I will do so in a very prolific fashion, and I will make my efforts plain for everybody to see. Call it an attack if you like, I call it a retaliation.

Furthermore, I will generate links to the moron that tried to steal my content so that the entire blogosphere can see what I'm talking about, and I will call a dog a dog. Some people seem to think that the world is all fluffy bunnies and elves dancing in the sunshine, and that these problems will correct themselves. I happen to know better.

I can tell you what most certainly will correct the problem: If the offending party is sent a very potent and focused message about why his behavior is unacceptable and if the general public further acknowledges that it is never acceptable to steal the intellectual property of another for personal gain. Sometimes, in order to prove a point, somebody must be taken to task.

I went through basic training, as did so many other AR writers. So, I can understand first hand the value of "speaking loudly enough so that everybody can hear you." That way, some other poor "uneducated" fool won't make the same mistake.

P.S. the image on this post is property of the United States Air Force and used by permission. Since your tax dollars pay for their creation, Anybody can use Air Force images so long as it's not a corporate advertisement and the use of the image does not discredit the United States Air Force. FYI.

ISO: Our First Outside Contributor

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:29:26 -0500

Hello everybody! We've got an announcement to make. We're hiring...uhm, sort of. Here's the deal:

My clients and readers are emailing me a ton of questions about the subprime lending implosion and all of the associated nonsense. Now, I'm admittedly not a mortgage expert. I could make comment on the situation in the subprime mortgage market, but I don't feel comfortable discussing it in great detail. So, with that being said, I'm looking for somebody to guest write an occasional post about the mortgage industry on Real Opinionated, our offsite Tampa Real Estate blog.

The ideal situation would be to employ a Tampa mortgage broker for the purpose of this endeavor. Eventually, we'll add title agents from Tampa who can contribute and build a sort of e-coalition which should make us all rich. If we can't find anybody from Tampa, we'll use whoever we can. Any takers?

Pay: All the love and affection you can handle, and a permanent link on our blogroll.

Experience: Uhm....just know what you're talking about.

Skills: Ability to form complete sentences.

I recognize that Active Rain is a huge talent pool of great writers. We only need an occasional post from somebody...maybe once a week or once every two weeks.

10 Random Facts About Me: 9 of Them True

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 19:52:50 -0500

It's a game. Try to guess which one isn't true. The first one to guess it correctly can have 1000 of my points. The Rain Gods will see to it....

10) I am equally proficient with all of the following: handguns, paint brushes, a piano, a claymore mine, a guitar, and an assault rifle.

9) I once wrote a 15 page love letter to my wife in Iambic Pentameter.

8) I once went for 4 days with no food in Iraq.

7) I once went for 63 days with no shower, also in Iraq.

6) I have three college degrees, none of them pertaining to Real Estate.

5) I build flower bouquets in my spare time and sell them on Ebay.

4) I have written a full-length novel.

3) I played College Baseball.

2) I was one of the only soldiers in Iraq in March of 2003 that though the war was a bad idea.

1) I scored a 1480 on my SAT.

Feel free to reply with 10 facts about yourself, 9 of them true. We'll all get to know each other. And remember, first to guess mine correctly gets 1000 of my points.

Real Opinionated Gets Reprimanded

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:26:58 -0500

I received the following email from a fellow blogger and soon to be Tomato Blog man, Daniel Bates:

…..I noticed in two of your articles that I read that you hinted that Realtors would not show a property if the commission was low or non-existant. You may want to check your Realtor bi-laws, if you are a member, because when you sign that agency contract to represent a buyer you are required to look after THEIR best interest, not YOURS. I know the Tampa market is a rough one, because my sister and brother-in-law own Kingfisher Development there. And I also know you have kids to feed, we all do, but feeding those kids isn’t your clients problem. Showing a FSBO with no kind of stated broker protection isn’t my first choice of activities on a Saturday afternoon either, but if it’s what your client wants it is what they should get. It’s your job to negotiate your pay if the client wants to make an offer. Again, just friendly advice, Realtors have a hard enough time getting people to trust them, you may just want to take a moment and think about the kind of image you are sending out to potential customers…..

Real Opinionated Response:

We welcome dissenting opinions here on Real Opinionated. It’s how we roll. However, I feel as if I need to address this one.

See the Real Opinionated Response here:

Top 10 Ways You Know the Real Estate Market is Slow

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 16:37:16 -0600

10. Even Realtors tell you the market is slow.

9. If Realtors have time to write multiple blogs per day.

8. If top producing Agents AND their assistants play golf together.

7. If you walk into your Realtors office and he immediately knows where your file is.

6. If you ask to see more than 3 properties and your Realtor doesn’t throw you out on the curb.

5. If your Realtor calls YOU and asks to schedule an open house.

See the top 5 on RealOpinionated.com

Just a joke...just a joke.

Give me a break....I just launched the site and need some traffic.....

Your Home, Your Equity

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 15:54:39 -0600

A little stop motion experiment from the Greene camp. A work in progress.

The Real Estate Ref

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 15:44:19 -0600

Here's one of my latest videos called "The Real Estate Ref." Pretty funny stuff, we think. And yes, that's me in the zebra suit.

Fun on a "Rainy" Day

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:13:08 -0600

Click Here to view our new animated commercial.

This is our new stop motion commercial that we did today. It was raining outside, and I couldn't get any other work done, so I spent an hour or so putting this together. It's just silly, so enjoy.

Rainers: Start Using the "F" Word

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:38:48 -0600

Seems to be a lot of hurt feelings on Active Rain lately. People are criticizing other people, giving unwanted advice, and making snide comments at a fever pitch. Here's why I think it happens:

Real Estate Agents are competitive by nature. I can certainly relate. At times, I'm the worst offender. You don't want to be second best at anything, right? You want to have the most featured posts, the most points, and win the most Active Rain Contests out of all of your peers. But, let's not forget why we started blogging in the first place. In my opinion, there are two good reasons why I blog:

1) To get business: Hey, I have bills to pay too. If I could figure out a cheaper way to outrank the big corporations in google I most certainly would, but blogging is the best thing I've come up with so far.

2) Because it's fun!

*gasp*

Did he just say the "F" word?

You had better believe it, hot pants. Blogging is fun. I like meeting new people. I like casting my opinion about as if it were a football from one blog to another. I like the fact that I can be completely over-the-top dumb with my posts and still get people to read my blog.

So, ask yourself the following question: "Do I take myself too seriously?" Does it hurt my feelings when people don't agree with every word that I say? Am I member of the "blogging etiquette" posse that points out grammatical errors and poor commenting form? Because, seriously, I don't want to hear about it. I do this because it helps me relieve stress at the end of the day, and not because I want or need your approval.

I just might make a comment or two that adds nothing of value to the topic, simply to say hello to a friend. Or, I might drop a smilee in response to their post. Deal with it.

Furthermore, think of what the consumer might think if they happen upon our correspondence here in this (quite public) venue. Would your hot-headed remarks be viewed a righteous indignation, or simply as unprofessionally idle chatter.

For the most party, Rainers are my peeps. We get along pretty well, don't we? If you lived in Tampa, we could all go have a mojito together and dance the night away. So, don't get mad at me. Just relax. At the end of the day, nobody on this blog is Ted Copple. We're all just trying to add something interesting to the great dialog that is life. Give each other a break.

Active Rain Lives Up to Its Word!

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:23:49 -0600

Here's a (damn sexy) photo of me with my fresh, new copy of Purple Cow. It just arrived in the mail. I'm happy to say that, after my post was featured this week, it must have been sent out immediately. Thanks Jonathan!

I wish I could tell you that it would make me a better blogger or that I'll read it from cover to cover, but the truth is that it has way too many big words for me to feel comfortable with it. Next time I get a featured post, send me a dictionary!

P.S. I had three featured posts this week. Does that mean that I can get a copy of the Long Tail also?

Blogging Missionary: Top 5 Ways to Spread the "Gospel"

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 02:39:10 -0600

I recently wrote a post called "Preach, Preacher!" In the post, listed an action plan for my blog, my goals, and how I intended to reach them. Plus, I added a little rhetoric, just for fun. But now, the more I think about it, the more I feel like I can expand upon that theme. Here's my second offering.

Missionary: (Wikipedia)traditionally defined as a propagator of religion (or blogging in this case) who works to convert those outside that community; someone who proselytizes.

I submit that each and every one of us is called to expand the Real Estate blogging network and to proselytize the unbelievers who would say that blogging is a waste of time. But why?

Why should I care if others blog? Well, first of all it would expand the popularity of your blog. The new folks, not knowing many people, would probably link to you. That might not make a difference at first, but after a while they will gain in popularity and their links will gain in value. Secondly, since blogging is a relatively new phenomenon in Real Estate, you will shortly enjoy the benefits of being a "blogging elder." Out of the millions of Realtors in this country, there are just under 18,000 signed up for this site. We think that's a pretty accurate representation of how many Realtors are blogging. So, building the medium of blogging builds your authority on the subject, something that could fairly easily be commercialized by a savvy entrepreneur. Finally, if your broker is writing a blog, he'll get off of your back about writing blogs by default.

So, Reverend Greene, how do I win blogging converts?

1) Lead by example: Make blogging an essential part of your business plan. Do it every day. Write interesting articles and pass them around the office. The "heathens" (those who don't blog) will read and be interested.

2) Ask and ye shall receive. Ask a knowledgeable agent to sit for an interview to be posted on your blog. Then, when they ask curiously about who will read it, tell them about the thousands of people who read you on a regular basis. Try to stay away from the technical mumbo jumbo about SEO and keywords for now. We don't want to short circuit their brains. We're just luring them in here.

3) Turn water into wine. The "heathens" will see your blogging efforts as a waste of time until you start posting escrow checks on the bulletin boards. Seriously, next time you score a deal from blogging, photocopy the check and pin it to the board. In bright red marker, write "Blogging pays the bills" across the top. You'll sign up five new converts before lunch.

4) Raise the dead. Your broker will be skeptical, until you single-handedly pull your company to the top of the search engines in a relatively short period of time. You see, the broker has been wasting a fortune on adwords trying to keep his site on top, and you just blew him away with organic search engine placement as a result of a free blog from wordpress. One look at your success and he'll be on active rain in no time.

5) Walk on water. Have you clients write testimonials about how great you are, and about how they trusted you so much more as a result of your blog. Have them explain how they felt like they've known you for years as a result of the information that you post every day online, and keep track of the referrals that they send you. As this number grows, so will the number of bloggers in your office. I promise.

Information Overload...or..."Thanks for the info, who are you?"

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:11:06 -0600

The image to the left is a technologically enhanced scan of the human brain. You may notice the different "pretty" colors. Please note the following:

1) The blue areas: These are the areas of normal brain activity caused by reading the user-friendly and informative articles written by such experts as Teresa Boardman and Broker Bryant.

2) The yellow areas: These are areas of gray matter mush created by reading article after article of MLS statistics posted to Active Rain without so much as a pretty picture to look at.

This rather severe and problematic diagnosis is knows as Informationus Overloaditis and has only one cure: Quality Content.

If you want to get featured on Active Rain...If you want to make a lasting impression here....Please, I beg of you, consider the following points:

Blogging is a social medium: The idea is, at it's grass roots, to develop relationships with other people. In a perfect world, you would develop a readership who would love you, cherish your opinions, and seek out your advice. This is how we get clients from blogging. In order to develop said readership, there are a couple of things that you must do:

1) Win their minds: For this purpose, your statistics are perfect. Everybody loves a good brain workout. Trying to wrap my mind around what all of those numbers mean and how it applies to my business is great fun....for about 5 minutes. And then I have to.....

2) Win their hearts: Because, at the end of the day, nobody gives a crap about your stats unless they value you as a person. You must, therefore, offer something of yourself in your posting. Sure, it took you thirty minutes to dig up those stats and post them here, but honestly. I could train a chimpanzee to do that in a few weeks. Trust me. I just trained them to write this post (I'm in the Bahamas with the Tropicana Bikini team as we speak). But I digress....

If you want people to value your writing and return time after time to your blog, you have to offer something interesting. If not, you run the risk of being viewed as an information depository rather than a human being. And I, while trying to read your posts, end up like the poor fellow above. Some commentary to go along with those stats would do nicely. Tell us about yourself. Play nicely with the other people who blog here. If you can't do that, do me a favor and at least copy and paste the following picture so I'll have something to give me that warm and tingly feeling I'm looking for. Thanks very kindly.

For Clarification of what I'm talking about, visit this Real Estate Tomato Article

*Update: After further consideration, I'd like to ammend my original train of thought on this post. Stats are not evil. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I sometimes want to read statistical based posts. They give me fodder for blogging. However, I think I like them better when they're in table format. And, I still think they should have pretty pictures. But, it's just my opinion.

Confused

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:57:04 -0600

I'm increasingly impressed with the user interface and how it has changed over the recent months here at Active Rain...

It's probably the only reason why I'm blogging here again. The site reminds me more and more of a Real Estate version of Digg every day. But still, I have one important and lingering question:

Seeing as how I recently had a featured post, I'll be expecting my copy of Purple Cow in the mail from Jonathan. But, how in the heck do I update my address on profile?

You see, Real Estate has been very good to me, slow market and all, and we just bought a new house.

Somebody help a brotha out!

"Preach, Preacher!"

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:18:13 -0600

I have a calling in life. I’ve been ordained by the blogging gods as a blogging evangelist…to spread the good news of the truth about blogging: That even though you are smaller, have no permanent marketing personnel, and have a minimal advertising budget by comparison, you can compete with the big boys in the Real Estate World.

But How, Reverend Greene? Because of the great equalizer of internet marketing, the blog. Because, no matter how many marketing dollars they spend, they can never have a grass roots knowledge of your turf like you do. Because you write quality, readable content (don’t you?) every day about your little nook and cranny of Anytown, USA. Because Google is not a respecter of men, that it should play favorites. Somebody give me an AMEN!

I have a dream! That one day corporate America will have to seek ME out and ask how I became so dominant in my area. I have a dream that one day I too will be able to afford television commercials because of the revenue I have generated with my blogging efforts. Can I get an amen!

Here’s how I’m gonna get there (you can join me if you like):

1) I’ll write quality content. I’m not talking about writing posts that show nothing but pictures of my listings or charts and graphs with minimal consumer impact. I’m talking about writing articles that people can use to change their lives. Informative, pointed, and useable.

2) I’ll endeavor to get better at my craft. The status quo is my enemy. I want to be the absolute best in the world, at least between highway 52 and highway 56 in Land O Lakes, Fl. Anybody who would attempt to out write me will have their work cut out for them. I’ll read articles about writing headlines, perfecting my content, and learning to use proper grammar.

3) I’ll dominate my chosen keywords in Google. I will sit down and choose several keywords that I would like to dominate. Then, I’ll write keyword-rich content, and I’ll write it often. I’ll do this every day, not stopping until I’m number one in Google. I’ll save my money, because I won’t need adwords any more. Touch your neighbor and say “Gimme some Google!”

4) I’ll find my voice. I’ll write how I talk. I’ll let my readers get to know me by writing from a place of honesty and concern. I won’t hold back my personality. I’ll be as funny as possible without compromising my content. Once I’m successful, I might even get myself featured on Active Rain (dare to dream)!

And then, having done all, I’ll stand. The ups and downs of the market will have no effect upon me. My loyal readers will send me a steady flow of business because of the bond that we’ve developed…because they know me. And we’ll rejoice on that day, my wife spending the escrow checks at DSW in perfect joy. Can I get an amen!

HSBC Beefs Up Collections Force

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 07:42:15 -0600

Seems like HSBC, a London based home loan lender, doesn't have enough people to process all of the foreclosures of late. So, they've beefed up, adding over 400 new collections agents who have been given "special training" to help recover some of the company's losses.

Marlin Jenkins (name changed for privacy) of Land O Lakes had the following comment: "I missed a mortgage payment, and all of the sudden seven ninjas in black robes fast-roped into my second story bedroom window and started tossing shuriken at my dog. It was ugly."

more here....

The Urban Ninja Guide to Home Selling

Jonathan Greene (Team Greene Realty) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 18:48:03 -0600

A great home seller is always present, although nobody really ever sees him. He's Shinobi, walking silently on the ceiling while the unsuspecting buyer walks about in the house. He quietly throws shuriken of good will towards the buyer while lurking in the shadows. How can this be, you ask? How can a seller always be present?

Thoughtfulness. Planning. Effort. Imagination. These are qualities that allow you to be present, even when you're out at the mall or on the pier eating a corndog (yes, ninjas eat corndogs). They allow you to know that you're effecting events that are transpiring in your home, and they give you a greater chance of selling your house. So, with no further ado, here is a ninja's practical guide to selling a house:

Continued....