Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired Design

So, this past Sunday afternoon and I held an open house at my charming Fountain Square listing. I was pleasantly surprised with the turnout on that cold, wintry day- unhappy with the fact that it has started to flurry again; I'm definitely ready for spring! Had good traffic through the open house- approx 6 groups of potential buyers through the front door- 1 20-somethings couple relocating from Wisconsin to our beautiful city, 1 group of 4 adults, a Fountain Square neighbor and 1 family of 3, and another group or 2.

It always amazes me the different types of people that appear interested in certain homes. There are the young professionals, the retirees, the first-time homebuyers, the "right-sizers", those that are fervent about a neighborhood or area, historic home aficionados, and those that are "just looking". I definitely understand the "just looking" type of people- I've been "just looking" at homes since I was about 12 years old. I used to spend Sunday afternoons with my mom "just looking" at homes in my hometown of Goshen, IN. It was a great way to pass the time while Dad was at the golf course! I guess I was destined to get into real estate. I do find open houses a great way to get some candid feedback on a home. And today, the feedback has been relatively positive. The passers-through seem to like the colors, the hardwood floors and décor (which is good as all of these are relatively new), some noted that the fact there was not a garage was a turnoff- and I accept that. There were also comments about how large the home was, the "walk ability" of Fountain Square, and the proximity to Downtown.

 I like open houses for the fact that they are a fairly non-evasive, leisurely way for potential buyers to come through a house. And I HAVE sold listings as a direct result of an open house; in fact I've sold 3 that way. As well as I've started working with new buyers as a result of an open house. Open houses are also a good way for buyers to "pre-screen" Realtors and find that certain agent that they just click with. As a licensed Realtor, I want to build and maintain and relationship with my clients, that is hard to do if there are no commonalities among the parties. Now, do I expect to become best friends with everyone of my clients- NO, but I do intend to maintain a good working relationship, and continue in a trusted advisor role throughout many years to come. So, if you are thinking about whether or not it is the time to buy, I'd encourage you to start going to open houses in neighborhoods that you are interested in, interview agents to find a good fit, and start talking with a mortgage lender to get preapproved- you never know when the house you walk into might be the ONE! And in case you haven't heard- it IS a good time to buy!

Brian Tracy. Kevin Eikenberry. Tony Scelzo. CJ McClanahan.  Four of the most expressive, forward-thinking minds all together in one place- The Ritz Charles in Carmel, IN.  I must say that I just finished up an extraordinary evening.  An evening that will stick with me for a lifetime- and hopefully made an impact on all of the people in the room.   I've had the honor of listening to, being instructed by, and conversating with Tony Scelzo, Kevin Eickenberry and CJ McClanahan; this was the first opportunity I'd had to hear Brian  Tracy speak- and what an opportunity it was. For the last several months I'd heard`Tony speak about Brian Tracy this, and Brian Tracy that- know I have a better understanding of who Brian Tracy is.  Take a high school drop out, little or no chance for advancement, and a drive to get to a better place- and you get a man who has been known for a long while as the formost speaker in the United States, if not the World.  This is someone worth listening to.

Today's talk was on self-improvement, looking further into your inner self than most people find comfortable, and understanding that most of how you advance is because of WHAT you do, and HOW you do it.  Looking for opportunities to succeed, rather than reasons why something won't work; investing in yourself, your education, your skills, to get ahead financially, in relationships, in life.

Those that continually educate themselves are proven to steadily increase their income.  Learn more about your current skills, or learn a new skill, and you will be needed and wanted by someone who is willing to pay you for it.  But, you may ask yourself, how do I have time to learn a new skill, to hone my current skills, when all I do is work, work, work?  Well, in steps iLearningGloabal.tv- a state of the art website designed to help you learn, to hone your skills, to expand your mind.  This incredible website delivers high definition, full screen, non-buffered video directly to your computer screen, allowing you to view the best speakers in the world, at the touch of a button.  These videos relate to a wide variety of business strategies, instructed by the people that KNOW business. 

I am confidant that I will learn more through using this website over the next year, than I ever could have hoped to learn from listening to "CD's on tape", going to seminars, or reading a book.  The videos are presented in 7 to 12 minute formats that are strong on content, high in motivation and hugely educational.  This website is taking off at phenomenal rate, so great that Brian Tracy has taken on a role as Chief Learning Officer and came to the Indianapolis area to speak to a room of 600 people about how this website can change their lives- by expanding their minds and building wealth.

Whether or not you see the income potential in this product, you are going to find the educational aspects impossible to beat.  So make a decision now to expand your mind and take a look at iLearningGlobal.tv.

IAR (Indiana Association of REALTORS) just finished up their winter conference.  Very aptly named since Indianapolis received 5+ inches of snow the second day of the event!  Overall, this was a very well run, and well attended event.  Over 500 REALTORS from throughout the state attended the event, which included classes on technology, short sales, the economy, marketing, the coolest tools available, etc.  There were many great speakers, including Marki Lemons, short sale guru, and Michael Tchong, ubertrends specialist. There was also time for some social interaction at the Inauguration Banquet on Monday night, and the legislative reception and Young Professionals in Real Estate event on Tuesday evening.  This is the 2nd conference that I've attended, and I would highly recommend it to the other Indiana REALTORS out there.  It is a great time to learn more about IAR, about the bills at the state house that need our attention, what other REALTORS are doing to keep up with the ever-changing real estate climate, and to network with others that love this profession!  A new website was also unveiled- touting the volunteer spirit that many REALTORS have throughout the state.  A great thing to see that so many REALTORS really do GIVE BACK to their communities!

While I was in the audience as an attendee of the conference, I was also there as an independant consultant with Connective Mobile.  Connective Mobile is an Indianapolis-based technology company with a focus on text-message marketing.  We were able to assist the IAR staff with a texting service that welcomed attendees to the event, reminded them of the schedule of events, and alerted them to changes in times and/or rooms.  In addition to event marketing, Connective Mobile also offers a marketing service for listings which allows a potential buyer to recieve information on a listing sent directly to their cell phone.  Just one more way to add a bit of technology to your marketing plan!

I encourage more REALTORS to join the event this fall, and to become more in tune with the great technology tools available to them and their clients!

ok, I have a question out there for all of you (which is probably most of us) that have been in a short sale scenario.  I have the opportunity to pick up a very nice listing in my area, that values out in the $180-195K range.  Here is the problem:  shortly after my clients purchased the home, their business went south and they had to file bankruptcy.  They never re-affirmed their mortgage- they have been paying their mortgage for the last year or so, to the bank, but are not getting any credit for the payments, so they are pretty much renting the house from the bank.  I've been told by a bankruptcy attorney that the house should still be in their names and they have the ability to sell it, since the bank has not followed through on the foreclosure proceedings, however I am pretty confidant that it will be a short sale- so my question is this- should I call the bank (lender) and review the situation with them at the time I take the listing (as I would in more "straight forward" short sale scenarios) or should I wait until we get an offer on the property.  The last thing I want to do is freak the bank out that the clients will be leaving the house and have the bank evict them before we find them suitable rental housing.  Just not 100% sure on how to handle this scenario...  would love any input you might have!

Greetings to all of my tech-savvy colleagues, and those wishing to be more tech-savvy in 2009!  I wanted to introduce to you a great way to connect with prospective buyers in a way that many, especially those in the younger generation, prefer to communicate- which is through text messaging!  I began using this "mobile marketing real estate" system in mid 2008 as a "beta" test.  The founders of this company were also clients of mine (I listed and sold a property they owned), and I jumped on board- along with others in my company- to see how this new system would work.  I'm pleased to report that TEXTING as a RE marketing tool is getting to be a stronger and stronger medium.  According to an article in INMAN NEWS in May of 08 "one in 5 US consumers has interest in using TEXT MESSAGING to purchase goods or services". This number is sure to grow as more and more people, of various age ranges, are turning to texting as a preferred source of instant communication, especially for quick answers to uncomplicated questions.  This sytem does just that for buyers. In brief, agents can subscribe to the service for a low monthly fee to include unlimited amount of listings.  A sign is placed in front of each listing, prompting potential buyers to "text" for more information on the house, or to listen to a voice-over description of the home via a 1-800 number (this service was added to help agents that were unsure of texting, as well as buyers who don't text, another option to get information about the listing).  Each step prompts them to connect directly to an agent.  There are various things that the prospective buyer can do- including requesting an email package (ie listing sheet with photos) sent directly to them!  You can really do away with flyer boxes all together, if you so choose.  I have become a believer in the system, and my sellers (both tech-savvy and not) definitely perk up when I introduce this system to them!  This may be a great marketing tool to assist you in procuring more buyers AND sellers in 2009!  If you have any questions, I'd be happy to discuss them with you!  Here's to a profitable and 2009!  Cheers!