| |
housefront: Generation 2.0 Names - 04/15/08 11:21 AM
Photo by: Jennifer Marr 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 … (5 comments)
|
housefront: Home prices fall…property taxes fall? - 04/09/08 05:49 PM
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) … (3 comments)
|
housefront: Texting Messaging Gone Wrong: Spam - 03/13/08 02:39 PM
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 … (7 comments)
|
housefront: Search Real Estate Smarter/Faster via Your Browser - 02/26/08 02:17 PM
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 … (0 comments)
|
housefront: The Proof is in the Puddin’ – HouseAds helps Agents - 02/11/08 03:05 PM
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 … (0 comments)
|
housefront: Smartphone Envy? - 01/24/08 02:19 PM
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 … (11 comments)
|
housefront: iPhone update - 01/23/08 03:23 PM
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). … (9 comments)
|
housefront: Hot Properties – Joel McHale, Jack Black, Burt Reynolds, Stevie Nicks, Jesse Metcalfe, Lauren Conrad, and Suzanne Somers - 01/14/08 04:29 PM
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 … (5 comments)
|
housefront: Best Texting ideas of ‘07 - 01/10/08 04:32 PM
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 … (15 comments)
|
housefront: Top 2007 Tools and Tips for Real Estate Pro’s - 01/08/08 03:28 PM
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 … (2 comments)
|
housefront: Hot Properties – 2007’s Hottest - 01/07/08 05:29 PM
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 … (4 comments)
|
housefront: Happy Hour: Relax it’s Friday - 01/04/08 12:14 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
As a lot of you already know HouseFront is a relatively new company, launching in April of ’07 and growing at a steady pace ever since. As the company grows older, we are upgraded to the finger finer things in corporate life.
Case in point, the finger massager. No corporate office should go without it, especially if you’re using a cre8txt keyboard like we are. With HouseFront’s text messaging service (Text any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873) we are all really busy texters meaning our hands cramp up sometimes (ask any texter and I’m sure … (3 comments)
|
housefront: Best Phones of ‘07 - 01/03/08 02:17 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
There are a multitude of different phones and carriers to pick from in today’s mobile world. Cutting through the clutter is Consumers Reports annual best cell phone report, breaking it down by phone, smartphone, and carrier. Here’s a brief list of those that topped the charts in each category.
Top Phones in 2007:
1. T-Mobile’s Motorola V195
2. At&T’s Samsung Sync SGH-A707
3. AT&T’s Sony Ericsson W810i
Top Smartphone in 2007: 1. Apple iPhone (surprised?)
2. Palm Treo 755p
3. Samsung BlackJack
Top Carriers in 2007:
(based on call quality, dropped calls, … (17 comments)
|
housefront: It’s like having two me’s - 12/21/07 01:43 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
There’s only so much time in a day, and only so much you can get done, you only have two hands…right? Well now you don’t have to worry about finding a third hand or hiring a personal assistant (which most of us can’t afford anyways). Sunday thinks they have the perfect solution.
Sunday is a virtual personal assistant. The company boasts 24/7 service on anything that can be done remotely. Here’s the scenario, you’re swamped at work and need to get reservations at an exclusive restaurant along with a couple of movie tickets but … (9 comments)
|
housefront: Mom’s go high-tech - 12/20/07 03:45 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
When I was a kid the rules for toys were no small parts, hard objects, or sharp pointy things. Today, parents have so much more to worry about. With so many toys imported from other countries and the variable standards of safety, it’s no wonder potentially harmful toys are popping up. From easily dislodged parts, to toxins ranging from Lead and GHB; toys are being recalled by the millions. With no government intervention insight, consumer advocacy groups are arming themselves with knowledge.
Two such groups are MomsRising.org and Heathlytoys.org collaborating to keep parents informed of potentially … (5 comments)
|
housefront: Landlines Fall to Cell Phones - 12/19/07 01:01 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
The end is near, for landline phones that is. Consumers have always spent more money on landline phone service, but experts predict that’s about to change. In 2001, consumers spent about three times more annually on landline phones than cell phones. Six years later, it’s almost neck and neck, with cell phones expected to cost consumers more annually than landlines.
Many saw this change coming when in 2006 consumers spent $542 (annually) on landlines and $524 on cell phone service. While the numbers are still out for 2007, it isn’t hard to believe cell phones are now king … (8 comments)
|
housefront: Texting Plans, Scam or Value? - 12/18/07 02:17 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
It’s been 15 years now since text messaging first started (see Text Messaging Turns 15) and the number of text sent per user has grown substantially each year. With the increase in texting, many wireless customers are looking towards subscription plans to help keep costs down, by the end of 2006, 50 percent of wireless customers were subscribing to a text messaging plan. With half of all cell users purchasing a texting plan, the question becomes, pay per text or buy a bulk plan?
Text Messaging Plans
When looking to buy a plan cell providers offer … (6 comments)
|
housefront: Hot Properties – Malibu’s Most Wanted, General Hospital, Malcolm in the Middle and Blink-182 - 12/17/07 04:33 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
It's Monday......time for some Hot Properties.....enjoy.
Frankie Muniz Frankie Muniz who is most notably known for starring in Fox’s Malcolm in the Middle is no stranger to real estate, having bought and sold two previous homes by the age of 19. Muniz has now put his current and third home on the market. With around 2,000 sq. ft. the home features five bedrooms and four bathrooms, the master bedroom comes complete with two walk in closest and an infinity tube in the bathroom. Sitting on .17 of an acre the property manages to fit in … (4 comments)
|
housefront: Polly want a Ringtone? - 12/14/07 01:35 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
It's Friday, and this is a funny story so I thought I'd share it with everyone...have a great weekend.
Stuart McNae of West Yorks, UK, owns a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot; who’s exactly training who has yet to be determined. Stuart’s parrot has found a new game he loves to play by learning his owner’s ringtones. Once Stuart leaves the room, the bird mimics the current ringtone and Stuart comes darting in to answer his phone, only to find the bird delightfully laughing in joy as the phone was never really ringing.
Trying to out-think … (3 comments)
|
housefront: Text Thursday: Having a Party - 12/13/07 02:36 PM
By: Chris Brubaker
When planning a quick get together or a birthday bash using online invitation systems help automate the invitation process. One such company making it even easier to plan those holiday parties this season is Evite, an online party planner allowing users send out and respond to events via text messaging.
Evite works by sending emails to guests, allowing them to respond back if they are attending or not through a linked webpage. Evite Mobile has now made the process even simpler, allowing everyone to receive and respond to party invitations via text messaging. Creating an event is … (4 comments)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stephen Joos & Chris Brubaker- HouseFront
Denver,
CO
More about me…
HouseFront
Office Phone: (303) 623-5500
Email Me
 Links
Archives
|
;)
;)
