House's Blog

Generation 2.0 Names

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:21:39 -0700

Usually we talk about some cool new text messaging company or system, but today we’ve caught wind of an interesting new trend with Generation X. Baby names inspired by texting and web 2.0.

Yep, you read that right, a study by McCrindle Research on the top 10 baby names in Australia found an interesting trend among Generation X. They found that parents are now opting to give their new babies names that are unique and stand out, especially in the online world; using such things as phonetic spellings, hyphens, and apostrophes. The spellings for these common names are coming from new forms of communication such as text messaging. Who knew that when you sent the message “jzn, were u @?”, that a few years later you might actually meet a “Jzn” (sounds like Jason).

Social analyst Mark McCindle of McCindle Research explains one reason for the increase in texting-inspired names as individuality. Parents wanting their kids to be unique offline and online, often only picking names that have domain names available or “Google well”. In light of this new trend, I put together a list for all of you soon to be parents looking for a “unique” name for your kid:

Web 2.0 Inspired

Yadel

Avazzy

Trilith

Texting Inspired

Jzn (Jason)

Jaymz (James)

Suzi (Short of Sussan)

Got any more web like or texting-inspired names?

HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.

Denver Real Estate

Home prices fall…property taxes fall?

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:49:01 -0700

By: Chris Brubaker

Put simply, no.

Property tax law varies from state to state, but general assumptions can be made throughout the nation. As property values fall, some homeowners might assume their taxes will go down with it. This is generally not the case, while your taxes may go down a little, they won’t be plummeting at the same rate your home value is.

Here’s an explanation why. Property tax is based on county need and home value; road repair, libraries, schools, and fire departments all need money to operate (no matter how much your home is valued at) which is where your property tax dollars step in. Each year these different organizations estimate how much money they need in the coming year (the exact percent increase is usually capped by voters), that number is then divided among the properties in the county. Again, that’s very simplified.

Your home’s value comes into play when the assessor sets the tax rate based on how much all the homes in your county are worth against how much money is needed by public services. Aubrey Cohen of the SeattlePI puts it best:

“…if a library district needs $100,000 this year and its district has a total property value of $100 million, its tax rate will be $1 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, meaning a bill of $200 on a $200,000 home.”

Here’s where it all comes together, and why home values don’t mean lower taxes:

“If [the library] needs the same amount of money next year, but values declined 10 percent, the assessor would raise the tax rate to $1.11 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.”

Meaning your house is worth less but you still have to pay the same amount (or more) to keep public services up and running. One way your taxes could decline is if your particular neighborhood was hit hard with falling prices and others stayed steady or increased. Your home’s value against others in your county is the determining factor in how your property tax fluctuates.

While Cohen’s example is targeted at Seattle’s tax code, his points are still well received and generally universal. If you thought the lowering of your home’s value was bad and looked for lower taxes to be your silver lining, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it’s probably not the case and can even be the opposite.

View the SeattlePI Article

Denver Real Estate

Texting Messaging Gone Wrong: Scams

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:29:03 -0700

By: Chris Brubaker

Finishing our two part series on Texting Gone Wrong is scams. Last week we talked about spamming and the negative affects it has on the texting industry (Text Spam). This week we're focusing on texting scams and shady business practices.

Premium Texting

What does text messaging cost? Usually around $0.15 to $0.20 per message sent or received. What if the next time you looked at your bill you saw a message that cost $0.50 or $1.25. This type of SMS is usually labeled as a "Premium Text Message". Services such as your daily horoscope, weather, sports scores or more can cost upwards of a dollar per text, be careful of these services when you sign up.

Monthly Fee's

Want a free ringtone, or wallpaper? Simply text the number 1 to 55555.

Advertisements like that are one of the many ways companies get you on premium text messaging rates. If you're not careful, these very same ads can also charge a per month fee on top of premium texting fees, hitting you twice with expensive hidden charges.

Scams

Both premium texting and the monthly fees that companies try to pass on to consumers are usually hidden in fine print at the bottom of ads, mixed in with legal jargon to better disguise the charges. Making matters worse are service providers, officially putting the burden on the consumer to cancel or deactivate these services/charges once they are discovered. If you can't remember where or what you signed up for it can be a long cumbersome process, not to mention these companies don't want to be found or make it easy for you to cancel.

It is illegal for companies not to display pricing information if they themselves charge anything for their service besides standard texting fees. "My child did it" is not an excuse carriers or these companies accept, so be weary of those commercials you see on TV with fun animations and the words "TEXT to ####" running across the screen as those are the pinnacle of overcharging for texts. Look before you leap text at the fine print at the bottom of the screen and you might save yourself a couple of bucks.

Bob Sullivan of The Red Tape Chronicles equates the rise in SMS scams to the problem telecoms had in the 90's with 1-900 numbers. If carriers don't keep these companies in check texting could go the way of the 900 number, riddled with scams and sneaky services charges.

HouseFront's SMS service is completely free of charge, Text any address to ‘HOUSE' or 46873 and only standard text messaging rates apply. Companies like HouseFront offer consumers innovative text messaging services that provide convenience and access to information while on the go. Spamming and texting scams effect consumers trust in text messaging, dwindling innovation and use.

For a great list of innovative (spam/scam free) texting companies check out our Text Thursday Series.

Denver Real Estate

Mobile Real Estate Search

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:20:23 -0700

By: Chris Brubaker

Wifi, WiMax, Bluetooth, GSM, our world is becoming ever increasingly wireless. At the end of 2007, experts estimated there were 3 Billion people with mobile phones, and predicted by 2009 that number would reach 4 Billion. Being wireless and having access to information on the go is becoming easier and more essential than ever.

One growing sector of wireless is mobile search, quickly becoming an important tool. Nielsen reports that in the third quarter of 2007 the US had 46 million people using search functionality on their mobile phone. The two most popular search methods include voice (dialing 411) closely followed by SMS (text message searching).

With 80% of consumers starting their home search online, it is important to note that homebuyers are also engaging offline. 100% of consumers go out into their market at some point to look at individual homes or particular neighborhoods. Getting in front of consumers who are out and about is invaluable. Mobile search offers real estate professionals the means to stay top of mind with consumers while they are out house hunting.

HouseFront has been offering consumers one of the only mobile real estate search services via text message (text any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873) since early 2007. By the end of that year, HouseAds was launched, offering real estate professionals access to mobile advertising and the ability to get in front of consumers via mobile real estate search. For more information on this growing market segment check out HouseAds.

Denver Real Estate

Hot Properties – Movie Producer Gilbert Adler and Rocker Richie Sambora

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:49:01 -0700

By: Chris Brubaker

This isn’t the longest list we’ve ever had but none the less it’s Monday and it’s time for some celeb real estate news, enjoy this week’s Hot Properties.

Gilbert Adler

You may not have heard of Glibert Alder specifically but I’m sure you’ve seen his work. Alder has produced a great deal of Hollywood hits spanning his career, noting more recent films such as Superman Returns, Constantine, Starsky and Hutch, House on Haunted Hill, and even producing some TV shows such as HBO’s Tales from the Crypt. Gilbert is making the Hot Properties list this week for putting his Beverly Hills home on the market.

The home features around 6,000 sq. ft. with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. The property sits on 1.59 acres of land with ocean views and a private sun deck. The home is located within a private gated community where such celebrates as John Stamos and Mischa Barton also reside.

Gilber Adler’s Home For Sale

Richie Sambora

Bon Jovi’s lead guitarist, co-songwriter, Richie Sambora has been making some notable real estate purchases within the past few months. Back in December of 2007 Sambora bought a 5,500 sq. ft. home from fellow rock star Slash in the San Fernando Valley area, more recently Sambora has purchased another new home in Calabasas from baseball star Randy Wolf (San Diego Padres).

Sambora’s most recent home features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a ballroom style entrance with double oak stairs, a media room and of course a game room. The large mansion though sits on less than 1 acre of land.

Richie Sambora’s New Home

Richie Sambora’s other recent purchase

To catch up on all celebrity real estate news check out our other Hot Property Series.

Denver Real Estate

281,000,000,000 Gigabytes

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:48:11 -0700

By: Chris Brubaker

Have you ever wondered how much information is on the WWW?

Well a study by IDC tried to answer that question, using a complex formula they put together an estimation as to how much information is on the Internet. What they came up with is that in 2007 there were 281 Billion gigabytes of information on the Internet. That breaks out to 45 gigabytes per person (worldwide).

Not only are there 281 Billion gigabytes (or 281 Exabytes) of information on the Internet but there is more information on the Internet than there is digital storage in the world. By 2011, the study estimates that only half of all information on the Internet will be stored…(yeah, I KNOW). That leaves the rest floating around in cyber space. How’s that possible? Well here’s the way some experts break it down:

In New York City there are more cars than parking spaces, but it’s not always a problem because there are always some cars being used and driving around, thus freeing up space for those that need to park. This is the same way the Internet’s information works (in a very simple form), as some of the information is always being used and “in transit”, freeing up room for information to be stored. In other words, there is going to be a lot of information in the future just simply being transmitted over the Internet (movies, TV, music), not necessarily stored all at the same time.

As I post this blog today I’d just like to point out that I contributed 28 KB of information (with this blog) to the Internet. I’m quite proud of myself. Let me know what you think about all this, post a comment and add to my information contribution.

[Ars Technica]

Looking for interesting sometimes humors blogs to read on Friday, check out our Happy Hour Blogs.

Denver Real Estate

Texting Messaging Gone Wrong: Spam

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:39:26 -0700

By: Chris Brubaker

In this two part series, I’m going to talk about two key problems in the SMS (text messaging) industry affecting growth and innovation; spam and shady business practices.

Spam

Let’s first start out with some numbers. In 2006, 800 million spam text messages were sent, in 2007 that number increased to 1.1 billion and is expected to reach 1.5 billion this year. That calculates out to six unsolicited text messages per cell phone user in the US. The worst part is, it’s not an even distribution, some users get no spam and others a ton.

Obviously, service providers have it in their best interest to block spam messages, especially with messaging rates at $0.15 per message. Verizon reports that it blocks over 200 million spam messages a month (A MONTH!), at current rates that saves consumers $30 million in would be text messages. Without some kind of a text-messaging plan, spam messages can hurt your pocket book. As carriers increase messaging prices, every bit of spam hurts the text messaging industry that much more (turning consumers off to the technology).

Privacy

Text spam also affects companies looking to add SMS functionality to their product line because of increased privacy concerns. For example, HouseFront created the real estate industries first SMS property search (text any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873). HouseFront never sends unsolicited messages, and never sells or gives out user’s information. Consumers who have experienced spam are weary of trying new texting services, and offering up their cell phone number. The less spam consumers receive the more emphasis you can expect to see on services like HouseFront’s.

To view safe, spam free text messaging services check out our Text Thursday Blog, offering up great companies that provide SMS services (like ours) free of charge.

Denver Real Estate

Hot Properties – Celebrity Shack, Sean Hayes, Frank Sinatra Jr, and Teir Polo

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:48:12 -0700

By: Chris Brubaker

Charlie Sheen, Katey Sagal, Kristie Alley’s Home for Sale

No, they aren’t all living under one roof but it’s almost like they were, with all three of these celebrities at one point owning this mansion. Kristie Alley lived in the home in 1997 when she sold it to Katey Sagal, who then proceeded to sell the home seven years later to Charlie Sheen. Sheen only held the home for two years when it was sold off to its current owner, who is now selling the home again only two years after buying it (Phew!). With such a rich history, it only seems right for the home to go to another who’s who in Hollywood, keeping its celebrity home status alive.

As for the home itself, it features almost 9,000 sq. ft. with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The mansion sports a recording studio, media room, wine cellar, gourmet kitchen, along with his and her baths in the master suite. The outside property features a pool, fountains and a guesthouse with gardens.

Celebrity House For Sale

Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes is most notably known for his role as Jack on NBC’s hit show Will and Grace. Mr. Hayes has recently decided to put his Los Angeles home on the market. The house was purchased by Sean in 2001, and features 5,765 sq. ft. with four bedrooms and five bathrooms. The home sits on .46 of an acre and contains a separate guesthouse and pool out back.

Sean Hayes’ House For Sale

Frank Sinatra Jr.

Everyone has heard of Frank Sinatra, a little less known though is his son Frank Sinatra Jr. (who is also a singer). Sinatra Jr. has recently purchased a new property, adding to his long list of real estate transactions. His new property is 7,000 sq. ft. with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The home also contains a chef’s kitchen, media room, office (with separate entrance), and here’s the real kick in the head kicker an elevator that leads to a three car garage. Outside, the home sits on .35 of an acre with a pool, spa, waterfalls and patio with a fireplace.

Frank Sinatra Jr’s House

Teri Polo

Teri Polo’s got quite a Hollywood rap sheet, appearing in many hit television shows (The West Wing, The Practice, Frasier) and a couple break out roles in movies (Meet the Parents). With a thriving career, Polo is moving out and presumably moving up; putting her Manhattan Beach home on the market. The home has over 3,000 sq. ft. of room, with five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Inside the house are cherry wood archways, plank beams, a chef’s kitchen and a fireplace in the living room and master suite. While the home has more than enough room to stretch your arms out, the property itself only sits on .10 of an acre, leaving only enough room out back for a fire pit.

Teri Polo’s House For Sale.

To catch up on all the celebrity real estate news check out our Hot Properties section of the blog.

Denver Real Estate

MoonFront Closer to Reality

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:09:44 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Back in September 2007, HouseFront announced an initiative to become the real estate industries first moon property search and valuation tool, changing our name to MoonFront (name change still pending). We also announced a competition that is set to run through 2025, where the first person to search a property on the moon by texting any address to ‘HOUSE' or 46873 would garner top prizes (HouseFront changes name to MoonFront).

We placed such a long shelf life on our competition because until recently there was no cell phone signal that reached the moon. Well, we hear that NASA has officially announced their intention to build MoonLite; a link between astronauts at the lunar base station and Earth. The system will have the blazing fast speeds of 3Kbps download and 2Kbps upload; making it possible for astronauts to check the value of their lunar base station on HouseFront via text message.

NASA plans to have the system up and running by 2012, in light of this news HouseFront has decided to move up the MoonFront competition to 2013 as surely someone will have won the competition by then. Good luck everyone.

Denver Real Estate

Search Real Estate Smarter/Faster via Your Browser

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:17:50 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Searching the Internet, we all do it every day. Whether you're looking for real estate or a Betty Crocker cookie recipe, the best (only) way to find things on the Internet is to search... Who wants to type in www anyways? I use Firefox as my default browser, and love using the built in Google search bar. Instead of having to leave the page I'm on, I simply type what I'm looking for and I'm brought right to my search results, couldn't be quicker.

Here at HouseFront we've brought that same quick search ability to the real estate game. Using either Internet Explorer or Firefox (the two most popular browsers on the Internet), you can now optimize your real estate search experience. The following tutorial explains how to add real estate search to your Firefox or Internet Explorer search bar.

Adding Real Estate Search:

Firefox

1. Navigate to HouseFront.com

2. Click on the Google logo next to your search bar (Google is the default search for FireFox)

3. You will see the option to "Add HouseFront Search", clicking that will add the ability to quickly look up properties without having to navigate to HouseFront.com. Instead, you will be taken directly to the property details page of the address you searched.

Internet Explorer
1. Adding real estate search to your Internet Explorer search bar is almost identical, except you click the magnifying glass (in the top right corner) and then pick the option "Add Search Providers", you will then see the option for HouseFront Search.

Adding HouseFront Search allows you to look up detailed property information on over 100 million homes instantly, no matter where you are on the web...who could ask for more; give it a try, let us know what you think.

Denver Real Estate

Hot Properties – Dan Aykroyd, Jessica Alba, Rupert Murdoch, Wilmer Valderrama

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:45:45 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Were baaaaack...I know it's been a while since we've had a Hot Properties blog but we've been working extra hard in 2008 to bring everyone a bunch of new features. While I'm not going to release what those are today rest assured you will be razzled and dazzled when they launch. Jumping headfirst back into that thing we all can't get enough of, celebrity real estate news, we've got some big names, Dan Aykroyd (again), Jessica Alba, Wilmer Valderrama, and the all-powerful Rupert Murdoch.

Dan Aykroyd

We last saw Mr. Aykroyd back at the beginning of the year (Hot Properties 1-2-08) when he placed his home at 7780 Woodrow Wilson Drive on the market (the home has since sold). Aykroyd is now looking to sell off the last of his Los Angeles homes. Co-owning the home with his brother since 1988, the home features 4,176 sq. ft. with a grand staircase, large well light rooms and terraces on all upstairs bedrooms. Sitting on just 0.4 acres the home is accompanied by a two-story guesthouse.

Dan Aykroyd's Home For Sale

Jessica Alba

Hollywood movie star Jessica Alba recently purchased a new home in Beverly Hills. She's upgrading from a 2,286 sq. ft. home to her new place which features 4,686 sq. ft., and plenty of room for her baby due this year. As for the new home, it features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a giant 14 person formal dining room, and a master suite complete with dual closets, fireplace, and steam shower.

Jessica Alba's New House

Rupert Murdoch

Media man Rupert Murdoch has been trying to sell off his approximately 8,000 sq. ft. mansion for almost eight months now (I guess all that advertising on Fox News hasn't gotten him anywhere...). Eager to get rid of the property Murdoch has recently decided to drop the selling price by $2 million. Although that price drop still doesn't help get me any closer to buying the property, only time will tell if it sparks any interest from the multi-million dollar real estate community.

Rupert Murdoch's Home For Sale

Wilmer Valderrama

Known to most as Fez (from That 70's Show), Wilmer Valderrama has sold off one of his properties that had been on the market since the summer of '07. Valderrama's home featured 4,822 sq. ft. with five bedrooms and bathrooms, private tennis court, pool, pool house, and a gym. It is also noted that Wilmer never considered this one of his primary residences, and it is rumored that he mainly lives at his 1880 Wells Drive home (Wilmer owns upwards of seven properties at any given time).

Wilmer Valderrama's Sold Home
Wilmer Valderrama's Current Home

Denver Real Estate

The Proof is in the Puddin’ – HouseAds helps Agents

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:05:56 -0800

By: Stephen Joos

As many of you know, in late 2007 we launched HouseAds, a Google like bidding model for real estate advertising on the mobile phone and HouseFront.com. We weren’t too sure how Real Estate Professionals would take to this new model as most advertising programs required contracts, monthly fees, and minimum ad spends, but we have had a great response from the real estate community.

Before HouseAds went live, we contacted a few different real estate agents across the country to beta test our advertising system. One of our beta testers was our regular blogger, Chris Brubaker’s mom, Mindy Brubaker. (Go ahead and get those ‘Mom’ jokes out of your system… I know I did.) She was one of the first to try out HouseAds, and when the beta expired, she decided to continue advertising with us.

We are writing on her today because she’s one of our highest converters… Her current click through rate is 22%! For a little comparison, the industry standard is under 1%.
When we asked Mindy about her advertisement, she said this:

“…people have been clicking on my ad and that’s great. But what I’ve really noticed is an increased interest by customers. I’ve about doubled my call volume from people looking for more information on properties in my area, I’ll take a call any day over a click, but without the ad I wouldn’t have received the call. Clicks can really turn into something else…”

In addition to advertising through her Pay per Click ad, Mindy also advertises via SMS, effectively targeting a younger, first time home buyer market. No one’s ever said too much exposure is a bad thing.

For more information on HouseFront’s real estate advertising system, visit HouseAds. For our loyal blog readers, we will match your first $50 in ad spend with us. Enter the code HOUSE50 on the billing page.

Denver Real Estate

United Way - Texting to Fight Childhood Obesity in America

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:41:04 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Let’s just start with this, 1 and 3 kids in America are obese. I really should just end the blog with that. That is crazy people. Even worse, this is the first time in US history that the younger generation might not outlive their parents!

I bring this up today because this is all being brought to light by the good people at United Way, the NFL, Mobile Accord (our sister company), and the Mobile Giving Foundation, who are launching a campaign during the Super Bowl this weekend to fight against childhood obesity. The Super Bowl commercial is an animated 10-second ad featuring Tom Brady, that in the end invites everyone to participate in preventing childhood obesity by text message donating. Anyone in the US can simply text “FIT” to the number 864833 (spells United) to donate $5.00 to the United Way and their youth fitness programs across the US (your donation will be tacked on to your cell phone bill at the end of the month). You can text in up to five times donating a total of $25 bucks.

Along with helping fight against childhood obesity, this will mark the first time a major large scale mobile giving campaign is launched in the US. In support of this effort, multiple carriers have written off their messaging costs, allowing United Way to receive as many donations as possible.

The United Way campaign will start with their Super Bowl commercial and will run through the summer, allowing everyone across the US to do something about childhood obesity.

Text “FIT” to UNITED (864833)

Denver Real Estate

Landing a Date

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:16:01 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Do you have a map? I just keep on getting lost in your eyes...

How many times have you heard that (or used it). Get rid of those old, hardly ever worked pick up lines with MotoFlirt.

Here's the scenario, you're sitting in traffic on the way home listening to music, minding your own business. Out of the corner of your eye you see an attractive honey looking over at you, you make eye contact and she gives a quick smile. Now's your chance to use one of your best cheesy pick up lines...but you're in a car. Normally the only way to strike up a conversation would be to yell loudly waving your hands in a crazy fashion out the window at her.

In steps MotoFlirt (currently only in the UK..again). Just get the license plate number and you can send a text message to her, by typing the message and plate number to MotoFlirts system. If she's also on MotoFlirt she'd receive the text message you sent and have the option to respond back if she's interested.

Talk about no pressure dating, if she's not interested then you'll probably hear screeching tires, if she is interested then CHA CHING, MotoFlirt!

With the average commute time in the US being 25 minutes (twice a day) and over 100 million single people, this type of service could be a no brainer here. It'll be interesting to see if MotoFlirt makes its way across the pond.

Denver Real Estate

Smartphone Envy?

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:19:13 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Receiving email on your cell phone was once reserved for those with data plans and smartphones. Not any longer. One company getting rid of smart phone envy is teleflip with FlipMail. Plain and simple it allows you to send and receive email on your cell phone through text messaging.

I know what most of you are probably thinking, you receive 200+ spam messages a day and 200 emails would equal 200+ text messages...ouch. Rest assured the company has a work around for you. Instead of receiving every message, you get to specify the email addresses of the people you would like to get a text message/email from, say your boss, a client, or your family and friends.

You even have control over how much of the message is sent to you, FlipMail only allows 120 characters of a message through at a time; but you can specify the max amount of texts your willing to receive per email from 1 to 10. You really don't have to worry about being over texted with FlipMail, they've put a lot of safeguards in place to allow their users complete control.

Besides being able to receive emails, you can even respond back and send out new emails to people through text messaging, so if you're in the market for a smartphone simply to get email on the go you might want to check out FlipMail, it's a great alternative.

[flipMail via teleflip]

Denver Real Estate

iPhone update

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:23:21 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

As most already know, HouseFront created a web widget specifically for the iPhone (http://iphone.housefront.com/). Allowing users the ability to quickly search a property without having to wait and navigate through our full website at HouseFront.com. If you didn't already know Apple had their bi-annual conference about a week ago and has since updated the iPhone's software to 1.1.3.

Here at HouseFront we are taking advantage of some of those new features, the key one being the ability to put web apps on your iPhones home screen (a full tutorial of the new features can be found here: Apple iPhone). When you're on HouseFront's iPhone widget and you click the + button to add our site as a short cut you will notice we have created an icon that will display instead of a screenshot.

Here's what it looks like:

Give it a try add HouseFront's real estate search widget to your iPhones home screen.

Denver Real Estate

Do Homes Near Schools Sell for More or Less?

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:25:35 -0800

By: Chad Hartley
Chad Hartley is our guest blogger today; he’s the founder of Land Elements, a land use information and consulting firm specializing in site evaluation strategies for clients worldwide. You’ll see him check in here occasionally at the HouseFront Blog.

Marc, a friend of mine, recently mentioned houses located near schools sell at a higher price than other homes in the same neighborhood. At first his reasoning made sense to me. There seems to be a perceived value and a certain sense of nostalgia when families live close enough to walk their children to school in this day and age. Marc told me schools are increasingly becoming hubs of the community, often used for neighborhood and civic meetings during evenings and weekends. He argued that there is economic value in living near centers of activity. In addition, schools are usually an indicator of neighborhood stability and can provide areas of open space and recreation for nearby residents. All of these points seemed to make sense.

To test Marc’s theory our company, Land Elements, Inc., performed an analysis to determine if the sales of single-family residential homes near schools actually sell at a higher price than others in the same neighborhood. Selling prices per square foot were calculated for homes within eleven (11) sub-market areas in the greater Tucson, AZ metropolitan area. Sales data were gathered from the Pima County Assessor’s office for qualified sales transactions for single-family sales recorded within 2006. The analysis was based on the following qualifications:

· Only sales greater than $10,000 were used to help eliminate non-arm’s length transactions
· All sales between known related parties were not included
· Both median and average sales price per square foot were calculated to find potential anomalies and provide an accurate analysis of the sales data
· Sales data are for Single Family residential properties only (according to the Pima County Assessor office)

Homes Near Schools Actually Do Sell For Less
Based on the analysis for all of Pima County, living within a quarter-mile of any school actually adversely affects the selling price of a home. The average sales price for the entire market area decreased by an average of $10 per square foot when located within a quarter mile from any type of school. That means, on average, a typical 2,500 square foot home located within 1/4 mile of a school sells for $25,000 less than an identical home located at least a quarter mile away from the same school. This represents a 6% average reduction in price.

Tucson, AZ Single Family Residential Average Selling Price per Square Foot (2006)*

Tucson, AZ Comparison of Single Family Residential Homes within ¼ mile of a school*

What’s Going On?
One possible cause for the lower sales price for single family homes near schools is that some schools can be located on relatively busy streets (collector or minor arterials). Prospective buyers of single family homes might place a higher value in living on a quiet residential street rather than confronting after school traffic, buses, and the overall busier streets near schools.

Another possibility is many prospective home buyers do not want kids ‘hanging out’, riding skateboards, or taking part in other non-productive activities near their house after school. Although the analysis did not differentiate between elementary, middle, and high schools, it would be interesting to see if sales prices near high schools decreased at a greater rate than other types of schools.

For more information on Land Elements, visit LandElementsInc.com

Denver Real Estate

RSS via SMS

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:30:09 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Google Reader, My Yahoo, FeedDemon, Bloglines, NewsGator. These are a few of the more popular RSS readers on the net. RSS = Real Simple Syndication, in other words a way for you to get the latest updates from your favorite blog or news site without having to go to each site. RSS feeds allow you to get all of your information in one spot (using sites/programs like the ones listed above). This year there’s a new player that just entered the game, Pingie.

Launched on January 1 of this year, Pingie is adding a mobile twist to RSS. By creating an account on their site you can easily add RSS feeds that will be sent to your phone via text message. So when your favorite site (*cough HouseFront) publishes an update, the posts are directly sent to your phone, allowing you to stay on top of important info when your away. The system’s message is brief and straight to the point displaying the title and subject of the new post.

Pingie doesn’t seem to work with Craigslist, which would be sweet for that new sofa I’m looking for, but keeping up to date with HouseFront is easy, simply Add to Pingie.

** Update: Pingie doesn’t seem to be working, but we still think its a great idea. Hopefully they’ll be back up soon.

Denver Real Estate

Moldy Ethics

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:44:35 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Photo Courtesy of shay coh

Aspergillus, Basidiospores, Chaetomiu, Curvularia, Stachybotrys and Torula. Six words you do not want to hear a home inspector rattle off as he’s going down a list of issues found with your newly purchased home.

This happened to two families in Greenville, South Carolina. When the mold was first discovered, the home was occupied by George Leventis’ family, who’s wife and two young daughters had become seriously ill from living in the mold infested home. The cost of removing the mold was so high the family was forced to flee the home and have the property foreclosed on.

The next family to move in were the Browns, who purchased the home out of foreclosure from the bank. The Browns would soon learn of the dark secret the home was hiding by finding a secret room with a note in it left by the Leventis family. The note read:

“Hello. If you’re reading this, then you found the secret room. I owned this house for a short while and it was discovered to have a serious mold problem. One that actually made my children very sick to the point that we had to move out.”

The Leventis were left with a tough decision; stay in the home and pay for mold removal (of which would cost more than the property is worth), or try to sell the home and move out, right after they had moved in. Both decisions seemed unfair, what would you do?

Well, the Leventis decided to sue Fannie Mae*, Century 21 Flynn & Youngblood, and Realtor Sue Bakx to get their money back from the home, claiming all parties knew about the mold problem and still sold the home without any regard. Sue Bakx’s Lawyer reports that the home was sold “as is” claiming responsibility of the homebuyer to have it inspected thoroughly (the family had the home inspected, but mold checks are not part of a routine inspection).

*Fannie Mae was dropped from the lawsuit after they bought back the home from the Leventis at the same price they paid.

Moral of the Story

Consumers

When looking into a home be sure and have all of your ducks in a row. Be wary of homes sold “as is”, do not let a “good deal” get in the way of a smart buy.

Real Estate Professionals

Most real estate professionals follow a code of ethics, the most popular being the National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics (seen here: Code of Ethics). Article 2 of this code states:

“A realtor must avoid exaggerations, and must not misrepresent or conceal pertinent facts regarding the property in a transaction. They are not required to discover hidden defects, to disclose confidential facts, or to advise on matters outside the scope of their real estate license.”

But within that same article it states:

“Realtors are obligated to discover and disclose adverse facts about a property which are reasonably apparent to someone with real estate expertise.”

If in fact Century 21 Flynn & Youngblood and Sue Bakx’s knew of the mold infestation, should they have disclosed this problem to the homebuyers, even if they were selling the home as is

For more information on mold in homes, check out the EPA’s guide to mold.

[Link to Story]

Denver Real Estate

Hot Properties – Joel McHale, Jack Black, Burt Reynolds, Stevie Nicks, Jesse Metcalfe, Lauren Conrad, and Suzanne Somers

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:29:21 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Alright, we’re back on track after a couple of weeks of playing catch up and wrapping up the best blogs of 2007. Here’s all the celebrity real estate news you can handle.

Joel McHale

Joel McHale has been host of E!’s hit show The Soup since its launch in 2004. The show has been gaining popularity since its launch and Joel has decided go ahead and upgrade his home with the show’s success. Officially selling his current residence that he bought in 2004, the home features three bedrooms and only one full bath. With 1,634 sq. ft. the house has hardwood floors, a breakfast room, dining room and living room with fireplace.

Joel McHale’s House For Sale

Jack Black

Jack Black’s been in way to many movies to mention, but is most notably known for his outrageous antics in his band Tenacious D and in movies such as Orange County and Nacho Libre. Black has had a number of different homes in the L.A. area and is slowing selling them off to where he is now down to only one home. Back in September of ’07 Black sold a 1,959 sq. ft. house (seen here: Jack Black’s Sold Home #1) for around 1 million. Most recently, Black has sold his home on Beach Wood Dr, which features three bedrooms, three bathrooms, along with a media room and gym. With Blacks most recent sale, he’s now left with only one home in the L.A. area, however with 2,766 sq. ft. and about an acre of land it is the largest of his three homes.

Jack Black’s Sold Home #1

Jack Black’s Sold Home #2

Jack Black’s House

Burt Reynolds

The legendary actor Burt Reynolds is trying to sell his mansion of a property in Florida, and as such has significantly reduced his asking price for the home. The waterfront property sitting on three acres of land features five bedrooms and seven baths in a little over 12,000 sq. ft. The home also comes complete with a billiards room, theater room, private dock, and a two bedroom detached guesthouse.

Burt Reynolds Florida Home For Sale

Stevie Nicks

Solo Artist and former Fleetwood Mac band member Stevie Nicks has sold off her home in Paradise Valley, AZ. Stevie’s 7,299 sq. ft. home sits on 1.078 acres of land, with twelve bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The home also boasts two master bathrooms, a hot tub and mountain views.

Stevie Nicks’ Sold Home

Jesse Metcalfe

Desperate Housewives actor Jesse Metcalfe has decided to sell his home. With almost 4,000 sq. ft. the home has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, an office, media room and gym. The property also claims a great view of the Hollywood sign (you know the big one that sits up on a hill).

Jesse Metcalfe’s Home For Sale

Lauren Conrad

Lauren Conrad one of MTV’s biggest reality show stars (see Laguna Beach and The Hills) is moving into a fancy new home. With over 3,000 sq. ft. the home features three bedrooms, two baths, and a pool out back with a Spanish style feel. Notably the new home might be seen on TV as MTV’s reality show The Hills continues to follow Conrad and her friends around next season.

Lauren Conrad’s New Home

Suzanne Somers

Suzanne Somers made news in the summer of 2007 when her home was completely wiped out in the fires that struck southern California (see Four Days Later). Many expected her to sell the property after the devastating loss, but instead she has decided to sell off her giant property in Palm Springs. The home sits on 64 acres of land with ten bedrooms and nine bathrooms. The property also features a few guest homes each designed with a different theme, an amphitheater, a lap pool and of course the all but necessary carousel.

Suzanne Somers Home For Sale

-L.A. Times Hot Property

-The Real Estalker

-Big Time Listings

Denver Real Estate

The Happiest Hours of ‘07

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:14:42 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

Who doesn’t love Fridays, it’s the end of the week, and time to kick back and relax. Finishing our 2007 roundup of blogs is our Happy Hour series, where we write about the funny, unusually and often offbeat stories.

HouseFront changes name to MoonFront

Following a slew of press releases regarding competitions to get to the moon, we decided it was only right to look towards the future of real estate and change our name.

HouseFront Acquires Facebook

In a move that stunned many, we at HouseFront decided that Facebook looked like a great investment. To see all the details of the acquisition check out our blog post.

The New Cubicle

You’ve all heard the rumors about the new age web 2.0 style offices, well I’m here to tell you HouseFront is no different. Just as our company innovated real estate search with our mobile text messaging service (text any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873), we are out innovating the office environment. Our first change was to get rid of all cubicles and create an open, friendly environment. Read our post on The New Cubicle to see exactly how we are changing the way our people work.

Better than Sliced Bread

While browsing the Internet I ran across this little gem of a company. They will/are totally revolutionizing the theme park experience. Instead of standing in line for three hours, you can simply use your cell phone and text message yourself into a virtual line. Brilliant, I know. The only problem…it’s only in the UK right now. I’ve got my fingers crossed that they’ll soon make it across the pond to a theme park near me.

Tanks, Tanks-A-Lot

What do you normally do at a company fun day, go to a park, have a potluck, maybe play paintball if you’re lucky? Well the folks over in the UK (yeah again the Brits get all the good stuff) get to drive over cars in a 56-ton military tank. If you’re looking for a fun weekend or company outing one company Tanks-A-Lot offers packages allowing regular civilians the opportunity to drive an assortment of different military vehicles. Nothing says teamwork like crushing metal beneath your tanks treads.

Don’t forget to check back at the end of every week for some other weird, funny or unusually story to kick back and relax with, in HouseFront’s Happy Hour Blog.

Denver Real Estate

Best Texting ideas of ‘07

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:32:37 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

As texting expands to the masses, more companies are integrating text messaging. In our series Text Thursday, we highlight unique companies which provide useful ways to use your text messages. Continuing our week of wrap-ups we’ve put together some of the more creative ways companies are using text messaging. All services we mention are free to consumers, so give them a try.

HouseFront

(Well of course we’re going to put us first) It’s been a year of growth for us here at HouseFront, launching in April of 2007 with our website HouseFront.com and our text messaging service (Text any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873). We’ve got over 100 million homes in our database providing consumers and real estate professionals with information while on the go. There are a multitude of different features and advantages to using HouseFront’s texting service. Say the home for sale that you’re looking at is out of informational flyers, text the address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873 and bam you’ve got all the information right on your cell phone (and the property is saved online at HouseFront.com for later review). Give it a try and let us know what you think, we’re always looking for feedback from users. [link]

MocaPay

It’s got an interesting name, but an even more interesting idea behind it. MocaPay looks to replace credit cards with your cell phone. The process works like an ATM but without the cash, you first text message your four digit pin to MocaPay, who will then respond with a transaction code that you provide to the store as your form of payment. Check out our blog for a more detailed look at the new company. [link]

Texting Pizza

My most favorite dish of all time has gone high tech. Papa John’s now allows pizza lovers everywhere to order pizza by text message. Creating up to four favorite pizza combinations online allows you to quickly order pizza from anywhere with the touch of a few buttons. We have now officially entered the 21^st century people. [link]

Joopz

As text messaging becomes more accepted by individuals of all ages, its business use is expanding. Joopz is one company looking to push texting into the business environment. The company’s software allows you to sync with outlook or run as a separate program on your desktop, allowing you send texts from your computer to all your contacts. Joopz makes it fast and easy to send out messages, no longer having to type with your thumbs on a small phone keypad. [link]

Mosio

Mosio is a new company looking to connect individuals on the go with those at their computer. The site, which launched this year is building a community where users can text message (or email if you have a blackberry or iPhone) a question into the site and have it answered by people on their computer connected to the Internet. If you’re sitting at a restaurant and want to know the playing times for local movies, ask Mosio and you’ll get a response in no time. [link]

As we continue our Text Thursday series into 2008, expect to see many more great new uses for text messaging, along with expanded features from companies already offering great text messaging features.

Denver Real Estate

2007 Mobile Real Estate Roundup

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:26:04 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

The world of real estate is fast paced and always on the move. That’s why today we’ve highlighted some of our best blogs that reflect the mobile aspect of real estate.

Best Phones of ‘07

Most agents would consider their mobile phone an extension of their body, one of the most important tools they have. In this blog post, we reviewed Consumer Reports list of top cell phones and carriers, helping real estate pros and consumer alike sort through the mess that is the wireless world.

The iPhone

In the mobile world, it’s impossible to think about 2007 and not remember the hype that was the iPhone (before and after launch). While some may not think it’s the best phone all around, they do recognize how it has and will change the industry. For real estate professionals we wrote a blog (A Tool for Realtors) about how you can use the iPhones latest technology to your advantage.

Many companies are seeing the potential of the iPhone and creating websites specifically designed to fit the phones screen size and unique interface. HouseFront is no different, being as mobile centric as we are we created the first real estate search web application for the iPhone. You can read about it in these two blog posts HouseFront and Apple, sitting in a tree…, HouseFront and the iPhone, officially a couple. To view our iPhone web application point your iPhone’s Safari browser to http://iPhone.HouseFront.com.

Text Messaging

The star of the mobile world right now is text messaging, being adopted by many at an amazing pace. We’ve been keeping everyone up to date all year about text messaging and its many benefits and uses. In December of 2007, text messaging had officially been around for 15 years; in Text Messaging Turns 15 we wrote about the history of texting and how it’s grown to become what it is today.

Further cementing it’s place in history, 2007 was the year mobile phones cost more annually than landlines (Landlines Fall to Cell Phones). As texting expands to more than just tweens and college students, learning to type a conversation in just 160 characters can be a problem. That’s why we put together the blog Talking Text explaining some of the more commonly used terms when texting to clients, colleagues, or friends.

Finally, text messaging isn’t just for simple communication, it can be used in business and advertising. In Mktg w/ txt Msg (Marketing with Text Messaging), we wrote about how different industries can be successful in marketing to consumers through text messaging. In our blog, It’s a Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile World, we wrote about how HouseAds (HouseFront’s newly launched advertising system) is leading the way in mobile advertising for real estate professionals, being the first company to offer real estate advertising via text messaging.

2007 was a year of incredible growth in the mobile sector, and 2008 is expected to be no different as more real estate professionals realize the advantages of reaching consumers while on the go.

Denver Real Estate

Top 2007 Tools and Tips for Real Estate Pro’s

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:28:57 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

All through ’07 we wrote on a multitude of different topics that mattered to real estate professionals, so today we’ve compiled a list of our top articles.

Real Estate Lock Box – Friend or Foe

In this blog post, we took on the challenge of comparing and looking at the different options real estate agents have in regards to lock boxes. All agents deal with them, making this a hot topic. The main two competitors in the area of lock boxes seem to be the GE Supra iBox and the Sentirlock. Check out the article if you’re interested in the different features they offer.

The Battle Continues, Video vs. Photo

Since the very first homes started to appear online, photos and slide shows were placed beside the descriptions allowing potential homebuyers to see the property. As the Internet has grown, a new medium has cropped up challenging photo as the dominate way to display homes online. Read on to see which choice is the best pick.

Landing Page Effectiveness

As most real estate pros already know the search for homes starts on the Internet, with Pay-Per-Click being one of the most popular forms of advertising to consumers. While it may seem like a straightforward marketing tool, there is thought that needs to go into an effective pay-per-click strategy. One of which is to use a landing page or not. Our article goes into detail on the advantages and disadvantages of both. Helping you make an informed decision when it comes time to create those pay-per-click ads.

Moving On

In our blog post titled “Moving On” we put together a resource list for consumers and real estate professionals, looking at all the options for moving. The post looks at and compares the different options, such as renting a truck, hiring a professional crew, or using those new companies that provide storage containers (PODS or 1-800-PACK-RAT).

Creative Mortgages, helpful or harmful? Part 1.

Creative Mortgages, helpful or harmful? Part 2.

With the housing market in shambles and the impending ARM mortgage doom upon us, there are many questions consumers and real estate pros have for the mortgage industry. During the height of the housing bubble, companies were offering crazy mortgage programs just to get people into homes (whether or not they could really afford it). Now, that the dust has settled many are looking back and wondering how it got so bad; one of the reasons is lack of knowledge. That’s why we put together this two part series explaining the differences between some of the more popular mortgage programs.

While those aren’t all of our articles targeted at real estate pro’s here’s a few that you might also want to check out.

Getting Foreclosure Help

Is it freezing in here or is that just talk?

Want a Piggyback ride? Too Bad. FICO says “NO!”

HouseAds- Connect with Buyers and Sellers in Real Time

Fraud at CAMB

Colorado Association of Mortgage Brokers- Reverse Mortgages

Home Ownership Tax Benefits – Mortgage Interest Deduction

The Bite: Apple iWork.

Apple- Real Estate Takes a Bite

Denver Real Estate

Hot Properties – 2007’s Hottest

Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront (HouseFront) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:29:46 -0800

By: Chris Brubaker

From Britney Spears to Paris Hilton, it’s been a year of wild shenanigans’ and high profile real estate news. We’ve rounded up the best of the best in Hot Property news from 2007, so here’s a look back.

Paris Hilton

Paris decides to sell her place in the summer of 2007 in order to upgrade to a larger home. The cause for the move? Paris needed room for her shoe collection, and was rumored to have mentioned having a child in the near future.

Paris Hilton’s Old Home

Paris Hilton’s Current Home

Britney Spears

Britney has been in the news more than the weather, and I’m sure most of you know it hasn’t been flattering. In the fall of 2007 (around the same time as her MTV Music Awards performance) Britney sold her home, and moved into another property. The catch was she didn’t “purchase” the property she was leasing it for six months with the option to buy if she liked the area and the home.

Britney Spears Old Home

Britney Spears House

Michael Vick

It hasn’t been a good year for this once proud NFL superstar, getting convicted on dog fighting charges and being sued by multiple parties. The pro athlete has officially entered jail after being sentenced to 23 months in prison…and what of his real estate? Well, Vick has sold off both the dog fighting property and his main residence as he won’t need either while in federal prison.

Michael Vick’s Dog Fighting Property

Michael Vick’s House

Tom Cruise

Tom decided this year to become a full-fledged homeowner, officially buying a home. Before his purchase, Cruise had been renting a mansion in California to the tune of $100,000 a month. His new place…right down the street from his rental. I guess he liked the area and decided renting a home at $100,000 a month wasn’t the best investment he could make.

Tom Cruise’s Old Rental

Tom Cruise’s House

Matthew McConaughey

Hollywood’s favorite bachelor Matthew McConaughey decided to take the plunge this year…into home ownership. Previously living in an RV on the Malibu Coast, McConaughey purchased a home not far from the ocean.

Matthew McConaughey’s House

Kanye West

Controversial R&B singer Kanye West made waves this year in real estate, as rumors swirled on the Internet of a possible purchase of a 22-acre lot (owned by Tyler Perry) in the ultra exclusive neighborhood of Beverly Ridge Estates (nothing ever came of that rumor). While West didn’t purchase that large lot he did put one of his homes on the market.

Tyler Perry’s Lot

Kanye West’s Home For Sale

The above-mentioned real estate transactions weren’t the only news this year, but with so much going on we couldn’t go back and review everything that happened, so here’s a rundown of other noteworthy celebrity real estate news.

Wayne Gretzky’s House	Magic Johnson’s Vacation Home	Jerry Rice’s Home For Sale
Shaquille O’Neal’s Home For Sale	Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s Home For Sale	Will Farrell’s House
Tony Danza’s Home For Sale	Marilyn Manson’s Home For Sale	Danny Bonaduce’s Home For Sale
Christina Aguilera’s House	Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s House	Denis Richards House
Madonna’s House	Tobey Maguire’s House	Tommy Lee’s House