If you asked me on any day before October 21st about Twitter, I would tell you what my opinion was:
"Twitter is a news feed. It's great for news, PR and corporate entities. It's not worth a Real Estate Agent's time to be on there unless they are researching opinions, ect. Interactions are weak, it's like having coffee pot conversations on the net. Pretty useless interactions, good to have your blog automate postings to it."
That doesn't mean you should go and sign up for Twitter without a plan just yet. I wanted to give you a game plan. Twitter just became relevant (to me) but it's still a place where time can be wasted in the bunches!
When you tweet use key words - Atlanta Real Estate for example- there's a new SEO component to tweeting. I expect less relevant content and more keyword loading.
Be mindful of who you follow and who follows you - there's a blogroll of sorts - which essentially means that there are links that link to you and who you follow. So if MadCrazyMan is following you, you may get a link on his page, but if you are following him... then guess what you might have a link back to him. Think about a client viewing your twitter account and seeing a link to MadCrazyMan...
Start using #group functions - so you can be in all the relevant conversations.
Make sure your TWEETS are content based to maximize them - the now age old adage of bringing value.
On Monday, my real estate office had an event called Callapalooza. We had free food and sponsors put up prizes including a 42" TV. The event was a great success in my mind and there was a buzz in the air. We took some market share by doing this. Let's not get too hung up on the fact that one commission check usually can buy two 42" TVs.
AHA's!
An AHA! is where you are doing something or seeing something and you think "AHA! I've got it." The "AHA" that the agenst got is that the PHONE WORKS (as long as you operate it properly). Several agents found out on Monday after being nearly forced to make phone calls that when you dial the numbers on the phone sometims someone will answer. You can then talk to them about Real Estate and sometimes get business!!!
Out of 20 people we had 98 appointments! Many of those appointsments (mine included) were same day so folks could have been calling all day for more appointments!
What I love is that it shows what Keller Williams is SUPPOSED to be about! 20 competitor helping each other achieve their goals!
Hamilton Mill in Dacula, GA is still on of the most sought after neighborhoods in Gwinnett County. With 97 Hamilton Mill Homes For Sale, there's a lot to choose from.
There's quite a bit of activity but if you know me, let's just get to the facts....
Average Pending / Under Contract Home for Sale is $317K
Since June, 28 homes have sold.
List Price of Homes that sold: $310K On Average
Sale Price: $295K
Only 91 Days on Market.
ONLY 2 SHORT SALES SOLD DURING THIS TIME!
A few other things is that most of the short sales are listed by agents who haven't closed 1 short sale... ever. In fact, there are numerous listings that are short sales but have incorrect wording putting the agent and home owner at risk!
The deals are outstanding and inventory is moving. This is a great time to move up or move in!
I'm really not sure what goes on in the CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) class. I've heard the class is excellent. So good in fact, that some agents I know are taking it twice. I think that's just great. I really wish I had time to go, however, I'm pretty busy managing 30 or so short sales at time. Those pesky closings get into the way.
In all seriousness, I'm for education and I'm one the biggest proponents of it, considering how there is almost no actual education given to Reatlors coming into the business, let alone something that would discuss the properties that are available in this current market.
My question is why do the people that take this class feel like their ultimate argument on the phone can be ended with "I'm a CDPE!" In fact, let's cover what I have heard from folks just this past week.
Agent: "Are you going to submit my offer directly to the bank?"
ME: "No, I will submit the offer to the owner first."
Agent: "You must submit the offer to the bank!"
ME: "... I'll need to submit it to the owner first."
Agent: "WELL I'M A CDPE AND I KNOW HOW TO DO THESE SHORT SALES!"
Agent: "I'd like to offer $125K"
ME: "The bank approval was for $135K."
Agent: "Just submit the offer to the bank and let's see what we get."
ME: "I'll submit the offer to my seller, who most likely will counter you to $135K since that's what was approved."
Agent: "I'M CDPE!"
Agent: "... what do you think about Bank of America."
ME: "they are slow, hard to deal with, but I prefer them over some others."
Agent: "I avoid them."
ME: "You can refer them to me if you like. I'll send you a referral check in 9 months when we are done." *laughs*
Agent: "I'm CDPE, I can handle them."
Oddly the only thing I can think of when people say those things is the scene from Point Break where Keanu Reeves says, "I'm an FBI agent." My thoughts run from sarcasm to sadness. CDPE is great for getting yourself up to speed on the current properties of the market, but if you haven't closed at least 5 of these, then you really shouldn't be spouting off at anyone.
Foreclosures in Barrow & Jackson Counties rose in September. Barrow County topped 205 for the month of September making it the third highest month ever. Year to date in Barrow County, there's been 1,595 foreclosure actions. Cities like Winder are noticing the inventory increase.
In Jackson County, the new monthly record is now set at 150 for September. Total foreclosures for the year in Jackson is up to 1,053, already more than all of last year.
I've been working internet leads for over 7 Years. I can remember starting with HomeGain when sitting in front of computer was about all it took to talk to a live body. Who can forget Advance Access? Their templates are still the same! Whatever works for you, I guess.
A few months back there was a particular agent that came out and said that the "back to basics" message was dead. The "List to Last" mantra was tired. The Millionaire Real Estate Agent Model, Leads, Listings and Leverage... old hat. I wonder what that agent is doing now? Probably doing well ... as a speaker or trainer but I doubt they are selling much real estate.
Let me get back to the topic. Doing internet leads for 7 years gives me a certain degree of comfort on the subject. See you get to talk to eager clients and help them find a home. This is really an awesome concept. Most of the internet buyers I have helped (well over 100) I've had great experiences walking them through the process.
Unfortunately, there's this little thing called conversion ration. See, I had to call and TALK TO about 25 folks for that to pan out into a closing. My numbers may be bad, I'm really a better rambler than I am a salesperson. In any case, out of 100 leads, I might talk to 25 with one closing. Those are loose numbers. What about the closings, on average the internet buyer is 8 months out.
I love these, because my nature is to nurture, but in the industry, these type of leads, while pure gold is called C or D leads (8 to 12 months, will by sometime leads).
I know, I hooked you with the goofy title, but here's the punchline. Internet leads are GRAVY! You can generate a ton of interenet leads for free you just need one thing! LISTINGS! Funny how that works. What are buyers looking for on the internet.... one guess ... LISTINGS. Do you think they care about how many followers you have on Twitter? So are you better off working C and D leads or are you better working the leads that call or email off of specific listings? My stats say the latter.
Oh, and the Biscuit is the Listing! If you price it right, you get one sale. In this market I can generate 5 qualified buyers. If I want internet leads, I just need to market the listings... Funny how that works.
I now have over 30 short sale listings and more buyers than I can handle vs the previous 7 years with 1 to 5 listings and having to call 100 people a day.
I've been doing this so long, in my opinion the wrong way. I can't believe all this time I've been working the gravy when THERE WAS A BISCUIT UNDER THERE THE WHOLE TIME!
If you're in Real Estate at all, then you know that the Residential market has nearly bottomed. Don't get me wrong, it'll be there for a few years. Short Sales and foreclosures are here to stay. If you are in Gwinnett County then you know there's been a fun ride of highs and lows in every neighborhood.
Commercial Real Estate is expected to see the same roller coaster, but even more intense in the next few quarters.
Despite a pick up in sales, commercial real estate prices posted a record drop in the second quarter, according to an index developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Real Estate.
With an 18.1 percent drop, the index, which tracks commercial property sold by major institutional investors, is now down 22 percent year-to-date, 32 percent from a year ago and down 39 percent from its mid-2007 peak, according to the report released on Monday.
"The big news this quarter is not just the magnitude of the drop, but the fact that transaction volume actually increased in the presence of this decline, the first volume increase since last summer," David Geltner, director of research at MIT/CRE, said in a statement.
"Perhaps most important, the supply-side index of the prices property owners are willing to sell at plunged a record 18.5 percent, suggesting a degree of 'capitulation' that may help to finally bring market prices to a bottom. The decline in nominal terms is far greater than the 27 percent drop the in the previous major commercial property downturn in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Adjusting for inflation, both periods are now tied at a 41 percent decline. The downturn in commercial real estate, as marked by the index, also is greater than the collapse in U.S. housing prices, which are off 30 percent, the report said. The 18.1 percent decline was the steepest in the index's 25 year history, far greater than the former record -- a 10.6 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Gwinnett Daily Post wrote a small article today about the Squillance family and how more and more people are deciding to make the move to a "active" adult community. While these are popular in Florida there are very few communities like this in the Metro Atlanta area. The most popular community, Village At Deaton Creek, is not only the most popular Active Adult Community, but it's the most popular, best selling community in Georgia, period.
"It was very, very easy for me (to leave)," Squillace said. "It was more difficult for my wife."
So he and his wife Elayne sold their home in the Connemara subdivision in Snellville and moved to Hoschton. There, they settled in The Village At Deaton Creek, a subdivision for senior lifestyles, leaving behind the home in which they resided for more than 20 years and put three kids through Brookwood High School.
Their friends at Connemara threw them a going away party and joked about how far away they were moving. But it's a trek more and more people their age are making. As the population ages - the Atlanta Regional Commission's Lifelong Communities Study says that by 2030, 20 to 23 percent of the metro area's population will be over age 60 - those people are also becoming more active. And moving to places where others are active as well.
Squillace is 66 and says, "I've never been as busy as I am since I retired. It's actually not a joke. People have asked me to do things and I haven't had time."
This is not your father's retirement. Squillace stays busy with projects, trips, children and grandchildren. But he also stays active with bocce, senior tennis, bowling and trivia. Then there's softball. A self-professed softball fanatic, Squillace is not just a player in his league (a pitcher, of course) - he's the commissioner. And the league isn't just some pick-up deal. The teams are sponsored - just like you'd see in little league. "It's great," Squillace said of the softball. "It's people the same age getting out and still having fun. It's done socially as much as competitively. But it is competitive."
So you are home in Gwinnett County (the leading county for foreclosures in Georgia) from work relaxing watching re-runs of Friends and suddenly your front door is kicked open and a big burly man with a gun comes in, points the gun at you and claims that he's the sheriff. Sound like something out of the show COPS or maybe a move starring Johnny Depp, but no, it's actually becoming a common occurence in homes all over Georgia.
90 Days Notice will now have to be given before proceeding,
Tenants with WRITTEN AGREEMENTS will be given the option to stay in the property as long as the lease is not significantly different than current market rent.
Tenants still have to move out in the case of the new owner wanting to use the home as a personal residence or if there is no written lease agreement. Tenants still can be evicted in the event they violate their written lease agreement.
So fast forward to the first Tuesday of next month.
This new act has the following potential impact on investors:
Auction buyers now have to account for renters as part of their investment process, eviction, legal fees or keeping them.
Auction buyer have to determine fair market value of the rent.
The difficulty will be getting written lease agreements before the auction date from the people getting foreclosed. ...
Blog about the Suburbs of Atlanta, including Suwanee, Buford, Alpharetta, Roswell, Duluth, Dacula, Hoschton, Lawrenceville, Snellville and more. Also concerning real estate practices.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
If you asked me on any day before October 21st about Twitter, I would tell you what my opinion was:
On Monday, my
I've been working internet leads for over 7 Years. I can remember starting with HomeGain when sitting in front of computer was about all it took to talk to a live body. Who can forget Advance Access? Their templates are still the same! Whatever works for you, I guess. 
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