Have you ever been at one office and needed a file from your computer or an external hard drive. The Pogoplug makes this possible and it is only $99 and has NO MONTHLY FEES!!! All that you do is plug in the Pogoplug to the wall outlet for power, plug an internet cable from your router into the Pogoplug, and the USB from the external memory device with the files/pictures/pdf's etc. into the second slot on the Pogoplug and you are done. Go to MyPogoplug.com and sign in with your "secret" code in the box and you are connected. You can even view the files from your IPhone.

Your computer does not even have to be on!!! It is not connected to your computer and it can even be in a different room! This is very cool...it is like having your own "cloud" that you can share with others in your office or even clients.

Screen shots from my IPhone are below...............

You can view files, download files, even do a slideshow!! Check it out Agents...this one is for you!!

There are many things that we as Real Estate agents can do to help our customers, and hopefully to turn them into long term Clients. One thing that I found very helpful is that I wrote some HTML pages on my website that help customers and clients when they are in Aiken from out of town with their accommodations and dining needs. The screen shot of my website (www.jackrothhomes.com) below from my IPhone shows 10 of the 26 restaurants in Downtown Aiken. If you "click" the phone number on the IPhone it calls the restaurant, if you "click" the website, it goes to the website and you can see the restaurants menus!

The same holds true for the Accommodations tab on my website, you can click the phone number to make reservations or click the website for pricing and room availabilities.

Making strangers feel comfortable is what it is all about in the Real Estate World and any small thing that we can do to help them while they are visiting is appreciated.

The Handiest Real Estate Tape Measure

The Bosch Digital Laser Rangefinder Model DLR165K

Digitally finds length, area, volume, continuous length and even indirect length. Displays measurements in feet and inches, decimal feet and metric units.
No more tape Measure - Say Hello to the " Rangefinder "

This is one of those nifty new gadget tools that actually works better than expected - and it quickly becomes a tool that you can't do without. The accuracy is amazing and performs as advertised. It works great outdoors in place of a 165-foot tape and makes measuring home interior layouts a breeze. The DLR165K automatically calculates the height of an object by using the Pythagorean Theorem.

44 Equestrian Developments In Aiken, S.C.!

It is hard to believe it but Aiken, SC currently has 44 equestrian developments and more are on the way!  Aiken is truly a city with a love for horses without any comparison that I know of, particularly in the South. These neighborhoods range in size from 200 acres to 4000 acres.

The lot sizes vary from 2 acres up to over 20 acres and the prices vary from $8,000 per acre up to $40,000 per acre. Some of the properties have dedicated green space that encompasses riding trails for horses and carriages in the woods, along rivers and creeks and some are even around lakes.

Many of these communities have amenities for show jumping, cross country, dressage and steeplechase.

Six of these developments have regulation size polo fields, three of them have covered arenas large enough for indoor polo and some even have swimming pools, clubhouses, golf courses, community barns, fitness centers and tennis courts.  

Three have exercise tracks for horses ranging in lengths from ½ mile up to a full mile complete with starting gates!

So if you love horses and are looking for a great city to live in, Aiken is the place to be!

High Gas Prices Could Help Realtors!

With the sudden increase in gas prices, it seems that there is a way for Realtors to take advantage of this situation.  Nine out of 10 home buyers supposedly use a real estate agent in the search process, but use of the Internet to search for a home has risen dramatically over time, increasing from only 2 percent of buyers in 1995 to 77 percent in 2005 and 74 percent in 2004. If approximately 80% of all people seeking real estate went on-line in 2006, then the number now should be approaching 90%, particularly with these outrageous gas prices.

A person searching for real estate might see an ad for a place in the paper or learn about it from a real estate agent. That might spur an online search to learn more about it, and quite possibly save a trip across town when the searcher finds the house or apartment isn't for him. Or the online search might reveal a similar place nearby, but offered at a lower price. With the internet offering the opportunity of remote inspection of properties, one would expect the internet to help reduce search costs by eliminating places that otherwise would require physical inspection. Therefore, one would expect that real estate buyers would rely heavily upon online information and, possibly, use it to substitute for traditional means of finding out about a place to live, such as a newspaper or a real estate agent.

The best way to circumvent this is to make sure that your website prescence is current, accurate, easy to manuever and easy to understand. Put as much information as possible on your website and keep all links minimal. If you don't have a personal website, start the process, the time is now!

Two Aikenites Chosen to Represent the USA in Olympics

Heidi White and Phillip Dutton, each with farms in Aiken, SC have been selected to represent the United States in Hong Kong for the 2008 Olympics next month.

Heidi and Northern Spy, known around the barn as "Farley," heard today (July 13, 2008) that they are leaving for England tomorrow. Heidi had this to say about her selection to the Beijing Olympics. "Farley is a phenomenal horse and I am just the luckiest person," she said.

Phillip Dutton, a native Australian and Connaught, The Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by Bruce Duchossois of Aiken were also chosen to be on the team.

Ten Reasons for all Real Estate Agents to use an IPhone

Of the many tools that Real Estate agents have at their disposal, none is more valuable than the mobile cell phone. These devices have gotten to be even more valuable lately with the advent of the smartphones, Blackberry's, Treo's and IPhones. I would like to recommend the Apple IPhone and the soon to be released (July 11^th) 3G IPhone. I will outline what I consider the top ten reasons to purchase one of these devices and how I believe that it can make us all more productive agents.

10) If you are not currently an A T & T user, the new IPhone 3G will only cost you $199 plus tax etc., considerably less than the previous price of $399.

9)  The Iphone uses Safari to surf the internet and it is very handy to have your entire database of contacts accessible anywhere...we use Top Producer and it works fine.

8)  You can access your local Government website to see tax records and plats at any property that you are showing (provided that you have cell coverage).

7)  The new 3G IPhone uses 3 different ways to access the internet. Edge Technology (A T & T's slowest), 3G (A T & T's newest and much faster technology, and of course Wi-Fi, (the fastest) that is now even available in all Starbucks.

6)  YouTube is included on all IPhones and YouTube even allows Real Estate advertising videos!

5)  Intellicast is a web based weather site that shows live radar maps of your location.

4)  Local MLS websites are available to you without having to go into your office or having to bother office staff. CMA's on the spot!

3)  You can pull up your own company website and look up info, pictures and prices on in-house properties.

2)  The 2 meg camera takes beautiful pictures which you can email anywhere at the touch of a button.

 1)  The built-in mapping program is now even better with GPS. You can have the phone locate you on a Google map, search for an address of a property, and it will map out a turn by turn list of list of directions from wherever you are at any location.

  Once again, a lot of technology for $199. If everyone on your team has one, then you can all talk to each other for free using mobile to mobile minutes!

Check it out!!!

If you love antique farm and garden tractors, hit and miss engines, farm equipment, vintage cars and

trucks, demonstrations of antique threshing machines and working hay baling, an operating steam

powered saw mill, blacksmithing, as well as chain saw art, then you need to be sure to visit the Aiken Farm Fest.

The following pictures are from the City of Aiken Beach Blast

The cars were supplied by the Aiken Horsepower Association. A local car club that showcases beautiful vintage cars in the CSRA.

The Organization of Aiken Horsepower Association

When formed, the Aiken, SC area was in dire need of an organization for vehicle aficionados to meet to converse with others about their accomplishments and catastrophes concerning their pride and joys. Aiken Horsepower Association was the answer to this problem.

4^th of July Swim Time

It's time to hit the surf

Fritz the Giant Schnauzer (a.k.a. The Gentle Giant) is one of Aiken, South Carolina's most recent additions to the Giant Schnauzer menagerie. He is the newest of three Giant Schnauzers in Aiken. They are sadly, all males and also all are fixed or as they are referred to in the equestrian city of Aiken...they are geldings!

Surf's Up