Lane's Blog - Looking out from the garage

Blog Anthology, Posts dated 7/6-7/12

2008-07-26T13:59:20Z

What? Only 6 posts this week?

Yep... I'm a slacker.

And it all started with Drifting off on a Sunday... You know. I just couldn't help it. I was thinking about how much fun it is to drift... off. And the next thing I knew there were videos.

On July 7th I posted on my "other blog" the news that I had moved to Diamond Dwellings. And it has been a BUSY 2 1/2 weeks since then. The news had been hinted at and teased, so Finally! And the winner is...

Lots, and I really mean LOTS of consumers want to know if this is really the time to buy, update, or sit tight. And despite the constant droning of the NAR and their "Now is the time to buy" campaign, it isn't the same for everyone. So, should you Add on or get out?

I seem to like to work out in the open. And, when we finally started putting together the site for a condo in The Tuscany, I did that out in the open as well. Building a property site... is the post announcing the sneak peak.

Because I was a customer of Atlanta Dwellings TV (Now ReelDwellings.tv) before coming to Diamond Dwellings, I took part in a video promo that they did for an announcement. Afterwards, I was able to grab lunch with Doug Hurst from SoftRealty IDX and Matt Fagioli of Diamond Dwellings. We spoke on Property Searches and Cool toys...

Just about anyone that knows me knows that I love to tell a story. It comes from my dad. He didn't just "tell me something"... he had to tell a story. Telling a story with a point was a hallmark of my dad. I seem to do it a lot with my blog.

A new twist on the old brokerage, from RE Connect

2008-07-26T13:43:46Z

A new twist on an old idea.

That pretty much sums up Diamond Dwellings. We are taking the traditional real estate business model and turning it on its bead, but at the same time, we aren't changing it at all.

Real estate has always been about knowing the market, and the market leaders have always been the ones that understood their environment. And while it is always about houses and neighborhoods and communities, it has also always been about knowing the people and the personality of a certain area.

For a while that seemed to drop to the wayside as agents got tied up in the World part of the World Wide Web. Many of us forgot that we needed to know our community and not worry so much about the rest of the planet. And that doesn't mean ignoring the world... it just means keeping in mind that in one way, the needs of the client around the corner, and the potential client from somewhere else both need an agent that really knows the area... the personality and the people.

They need the local expert... the market leader.

As I return from the Inman connect, I am awash in ideas and concepts and new ways to apply what I already know. I'm actually sitting on my flight back to Atlanta... somewhere over Kansas or Oklahoma... writing this on my phone. And despite the new technologies and products and applications... I kept seeing the conversation coming back to real estate being about the same thing it always was about.

One of the panelists recalled his father, a long time agent. He knew everyone, and was a walking Rolodex. He saw his job as connecting people that needed each other. Before FaceBook and LinkedIn, he was THE social network. The difference now is that we have a wider network and high tech tools.

In another session, we talked about social networking and our place in it. Again, it seems that online social networks are just a tool to connect with people, and help those that have complimentary needs to find each other.

Almost everywhere I turned, I saw this theme play out. Old school is cool... but with a twist.

Internet sites, blogging, social networking, text messaging, online forums and all of these other Web 2.0 features only help us do what we do better. And they don't replace things like knowing the market, the neighborhoods, trends, people and how to connect on a personal level.

If I haven't said it enough, earlier this month I moved to Diamond Dwellings. A large part of the reason is because of the application of technologies. But another part is that it is a brokerage that gets the basic idea that real estate is about talking with people, not to people.

Of course, there is another reason, too... and I saw this exemplified throughout Inman. Teamwork. Elevating all of us.

We are now ready to launch the franchise model across the country. It is going to be something else. I could to write a book to tell about all of the cool ways we have to deliver a better consumer experience, as well as a better agent experience.

My final reflection is a contrast. During Inman Connect, Better Homes & Gardens Realty was re-launched by Realogy. They were talking to brokers with hundreds of agents. They sponsored all sorts of events and sessions. I would guess that they spent ten if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and will no doubt have an amazing result.

On the other hand, Matt Fagioli and I were chatting up agents and brokers we knew from across the country. We had some T-shirts and stuff. We talked one on one and in small groups. We talked with one person shops and small boutique brokers.

And no matter how big Realogy is, they can't really do what we can do... We are counting on building a network where every agent and broker is an integral part. It isn't about churning up as meany people as the company can find. It is about getting a few dedicated and like-minded people... and helping them with the tools that they need to be great... every single one.

Small is the new big.

Diamond Dwellings, ActiveRain and Localism...

2008-07-23T17:43:32Z

Let me start by saying this is an ad... Of sorts. It is also a roadmap to where a lot of bloggers and real estate marketers think online real estate promotion is going...

Localism and Local Content

Just like Localism, Diamond Dwellings is based on hyper-local content... blogging and covering a community. The community may be geographic or demographic, or both. But, the basic concept is that in order to be the Local Expert, one needs to bite off an appropriately sized area of which to be the local expert. I've written about this before, and it has been covered by ActiveRich and ActiveBrad as well...

I can't own Atlanta...

It would take some serious mojo to own the phrase "atlanta real estate" in the search engines. But, even if I could do it, it is just too much. I can't possibly know the whole Atlanta market. It is thousands of square miles. Even on a light traffic day, it can take 90 minutes to drive across. And it spreads in a lot of directions. There are entire ZIP codes I have never been in... I am not the expert.

I can't know Gwinnett County...

Now, I can make a case that I can own a demographic within the county, but I can't really effectively cover every house in every corner of the whole county. I do understand the homes in Gwinnett that have 4 car garages and bigger... and there are about 175 of them on the market right now. But, there are about 10,000 homes for sale in Gwinnett... I can't know all of them.

But, we've been here before...

What it comes down to is that the goals of Localism and the goal of Diamond Dwellings is to present consumers with a Local Expert. Someone that knows the homes for sale. Knows the market trends. Knows the best restaurants. Knows the local events. Knows the community.

But there is another component here... and it has really been brought to the forefront while I have been here in San Francisco for Inman Connect and RE Bar Camp.

Sharing...

It is one of the greatest aspects of Active|Rain. I have seen an incredible amount of information freely and gladly given by market leading experts. I has been going on here at A|R, and it has been going on here at Connect and REBC. There is a different type of community being built.

It is a community being built on sharing information, techniques and experiences to make each of us better.

The way it normally is...

In most real estate offices, every agent is effectively competing with every other agent. There isn't a good reason to share with and build the performance of the other agents in the office... in fact, there is reason not to.

But...

In the business model we are building for Diamond Dwellings, the agents work certain areas to be the local expert... and we don't need four local experts in a particular community. So, there isn't a disincentive to share, and more opportunity to learn. It is a flat out different way to approach the real estate office... team work.

I wanted to keep this short... so I'm not even touching the blogging aspect, the vertical integration of content and the team blogging involved... all of these make the web presence more powerful and can help to build a better experience for the consumer.

If it sounds like something you would be interested in... we are almost ready to roll it out.

And we are talking about it over breakfast at Inman on Friday, July 25th...

If you are here at Inman, find me and I'll have you an invitation. You can go to our special site and sign up for an invitation, too.

If you aren't here at Inman and are curious, give me a call or shoot me an email.

You don't have to be a broker to participate in this. Are building a system from the ground up that will allow agents to participate too.

It is really cool.

First evening in San Francisco

2008-07-22T08:33:54Z

Yesterday was pretty chewed up with travel and getting things ready for RE Bar Camp and The Inman Connect. Both of these are real estate technology events this week in San Francisco. Since I am with a brokerage that leverages Web 2.0 technologies, it is only fitting that I be here for these great events.

Honestly, I really don’t have much to add, so I’m going to just toss out my “Twitterstream” of events leading up to being here…

	LaneBailey at the hotel palomar… any other inman people here? about 2 hours ago from Ping.fm
	LaneBailey have I mentioned that I hate waiting for luggage. about 3 hours ago from Ping.fm
	LaneBailey on the ground at SFO. waiting to get off the plane. about 3 hours ago from Ping.fm
	LaneBailey sitting in the Sojourner’s café on concourse D at ATL about 10 hours ago from Ping.fm
	LaneBailey getting an earlier flight… woo hoo. about 10 hours ago from Ping.fm
	LaneBailey testing from my phone. leaving the ATL soon. about 14 hours ago from Ping.fm
	LaneBailey @susie104 Twitter can’t find you. about 14 hours ago from web in reply to susie104
	LaneBailey 2 hours until I leave for a broker meeting and the airport. I have 4 hours worth of work to do. about 15 hours ago from Ping.fm

As an update, I am posting this here on Tuesday morning. My son usually wakes me up around 8:00am... Eastern Time. So, by 5:30 local time I had to get up and find something to do... Blogging it is.

Market update for Gwinnett County, July 2008

2008-07-20T09:24:37Z

Following the lead of last months market report, here is the report for July, 2008.

| View | Visit GarageHomesUSA

I'm actually a bit surprised at how much stronger the numbers for May turned out v. the preliminary figures. They ended up blowing past my predictions. I'm hopeful for June's final numbers. Those won't be available until a few days into August.

I hope that the new format brings out more information in a more digestible format.

A couple more social networking sites...

2008-07-19T21:54:34Z

Like there aren't enough sites on the plate already.

Yoono... This is actually an add-on for FireFox. It is an organizational tool for SN (Social Networking). I need to play with it some more in order to really pass a judgement.
Plurk... Like Twitter... and updates Twitter, Facebook and other sites... BrightKite, too. Right now, the drawback is that it broadcasts, but doesn't recieve.
Brightkite... Another micro-blogging platform like Twitter... but adds location into the mix. I might try to take advantage of this during Inman... You could literally find me from my updates.
Ping.fm... This might be the platform of choice for Inman. I can update all of my SN places, and do it via email. I know that I can get emails out without a good internet connection.
FriendFeed... I'm finding it a little clunky, but it does broadcast and collect over a pantload of SN sites. What I like is that blog posts, flickr photos and Twitter updates are all here. I don't like the presentation.

And then there are things that are completely different...

Slideshare... Embeded Powerpoints are what is happening... but I have set a couple of the aggregators (Plurk and Ping.fm) to broadcast when I put a new one up. Maybe I can get Magtoo on there too...
Pandora Radio... Just music to listen to. All kinds of music. Free. I like free.
Plaxo... I'm not thrilled yet... especially since they want $50 for me to upgrade after 30 days. I'll play in their sandbox a little, though.

So, that is my most recent update.

And don't forget, I'll be posting updates to Twitter from Inman and RE Bar Camp... and photos from the Trulia, Zillow and A|R parties to Flickr. We'll see what sort of trouble there is...

IRS will be looking at us...

2008-07-18T19:54:57Z

If you get the REALTOR Magazine Daily News, you might have seen the story: IRS Gets Picky About Who's a Real Estate Pro.

This is interesting...

Licensed real estate agents and brokers do not always qualify for real estate professional status under the new rules, which mandate that individuals spend no less than 750 hours on qualified real estate activities: developing, redeveloping, constructing, reconstructing, acquiring, converting, renting, operating, managing, leasing, or selling property.

So... how is this going to effect the industry? Is this a big deal?

Let's face facts, the barrier to entry is pretty low in real estate. It is an easy business to get in, and it carries a little more "legitimacy" than starting a lot of different "home businesses". And there are a plethora of benefits to owning a business when it comes to tax treatment. My accountant told me that if I didn't already have a business (or three) that I should start one.

However, there are a lot of agents that are part time and only occasionally get involved in a transaction. And I would bet that a fair number of these agents are utilizing the tax benefits of owning a small business... and if they are losing those benefits... might they drop their licenses?

Could be... For some, it may not make sense to keep their license active. For others, it still might... But I think this might lead to an erosion of real estate agents in the market.

For agents, I don't think it is going to be a big deal. That erosion was taking place anyway... and those agents probably would have fallen by the wayside before long.

I think the biggest thing is that this open the door for individual agents to have to document how many hours they spend in "qualified real estate activities"... and the next question is "what will the IRS define as 'qualified real estate activities'"? Of course, I am a FairTaxer... That would solve this problem as well as a few others.

Investors are a different story...

I'm not going to go into that in this post, but it looks like real estate investors might be looking at a tougher road... Just what we need right now when real estate investors are more important than ever.

Source.

Blog Anthology, Posts dated 6/29-7/5

2008-07-18T17:13:16Z

Yes I know that for 7 months i have been posting up car videos... or at least racing videos... but this time I posted up a group of music videos for Video Sunday. Remember when...?

If you look at the toolbar of my LaneBailey.com blog, you will see that I added a New Featured Listings Page to the blogsite. You can now track some of the coolest listings... and their webpages.

Cha-cha-changes are brewing at LaneBailey.com and GarageHomesUSA.com. After joining Diamond Dwellings, I will be taking on a new blog after Inman Connect in July. And I will be slightly re-tasking these portals.

I have had to field some new questions on an old subject lately, and thought it might be a good time to post up Buyer's Agency - Revisited to help those that may be thinking about buying a property. You need to understand this concept... VERY important.

Embrace Change! There is just all of this talk about change... and of course it's all about me moving to a new brokerage with an exciting new business model... Yep.

I know that this is the longest post I have put up... and the least likely to be read. But, it also has the most important content and EVERY American should know this. Declare YOUR Independence! Possibly the best part is that I linked the names of each signer with their bio on Wikipedia.

Real Estate and beer... yep, I compared them. I also have compared this business to food. Feel free to toss challenges at me. I might not take them, but I bet that they will spawn some great ideas.

Living in the past...

2008-07-18T16:50:26Z

As I sit here on a Friday morning, watching my son ice skate with his friend, Zachary, I am stricken with a point.

Some things from the past are best left there...

In this particular situation, it is the music. I think that we are running through the K-tel Worst of the 80s CD. Of course, when this was new music, I had my parachute pants and Member's Only jacket... But that was then, this is now.

I see some of that in a lot of life's aspects. People fear change, especially change that doesn't sound good... like their home's value depreciating.

However, unlike music, where we can live in the past... we have to be realistic with home valuation... and I'm not just talking about sellers.

Of course, sellers need to be realistic when pricing their home to sell... This isn't 2005. There aren't a line of buyers for every property. Right now in Gwinnett County, there are almost 10,000 homes for sale. I only expect to see 800 of them get sold in July... and only about 1 of every 3 or 4 will sell during its listing period. Pricing for the market today is essential.

Buyers aren't off the hook either. I had a call from a buyer's agent yesterday. I have a condo listed in Midtown, and despite it being offered at the lowest price/square foot in the complex for a 1 bedroom, he wanted to offer substantially less... Just because. Would the offer fly? No. In fact, most of the time I hear these things, I hear the same thing... "If I can get it at that price, cool... If not, I'll just find another place to make that kind of offer on." So, if you are just trolling for a bargain, don't get offended when the sellers don't bite.

Both buyers and sellers need to be realistic. I see too many of both looking for the one in a million seller/buyer that will accept/pay whatever it takes to get/get rid of a certain property.

It doesn't fly...

Live in the now. Price and offer based on the conditions now... and here. I don't care if there are developers in __{fill in blank}__ that are perfectly willing to accept 27.8% of the list. And I don't care if there were people bidding 800% over list for properties "just like this" in __{fill in another blank}__. That isn't here, and that isn't now.

This is going on your permanent record...

2008-07-17T21:36:29Z

Do you remember that from school? That may have been the second scariest thing the Principal could say to us... and I heard it a few times...

But, come on...

Does my broker care that I put a harmless garden snake in the desk of my 4th grade teacher, Miss Bottomly (I'm not making that name up...)? Or was the record not so permanent? To hear Dr. Green... that episode would haunt me for the rest of my life.

In 7th grade, I had a serious school skipping problem. Keep in mind that I carried an A average... with my lowest grade being an A... I still skipped 2 days a week for 2 months before the school figured out a pattern. I could have skipped three, but that seemed too much to me. You'd think that any kid that was absent every Tuesday and Wednesday for eight weeks would trigger an alarm somewhere... a phone call home? No, my Dad busted me.

As a high school senior, I again had a little issue with attendence. I went sailing with my Jeff out on the Chesapeake Bay. May was a beautiful month... I didn't have any tests... We had a great time sailing. But the kicker was that I needed a note. So, I wrote one and signed my own name. I suppose there is an advantage to having the same name as good ol' Dad. I was not asked if it was me... just asked for my Dad's phone number to verify. My Dad, living in MN with a phone number in MN just assumed that the person that called him must be an idiot... calling from VA to ask if he wrote the note for me that morning. 1983. Doubtful that my Dad had that kind of call forwarding available. I had a little "splainin;" to do when I got home. I graduated with honors.

None of those things seemed to stick to my "permanent record"

And now... Another generation of the "permanent record" is about ready to launch. I've been told that as a Pre-K student, my son is to be at school five days a week. He can't miss more that like 8 days per semester without danger of failing... He's 4. Is he going to miss an important World History test? It will be worse next year with Kindergarten. And I want to take him out of school for a week to go to Moab, UT. He will learn WAY more during a week of fourwheeling that he would at school. Dinosaur tracks. Ancient art. Sandstone. Jeeps. Steep hills. Or should I say: Paleontology, Anthropology, Geology, Physics, Geography.

I guess I'll risk it...

The world has a LOT of incredible lessons to teach. The Georgia Aquarium. The World Of Coca-Cola. The Atlanta Zoo. The Atlanta Botanical Gardens. The Georgia Railway Museum. Stone Mountain Park. Cloudland Canyon. Amicalola Falls. I could go on for quite a while... there are thousands of places to have fun and learn in North Georgia... or Utah... or Michigan... or anywhere else.

Take a day...

And take your kid out to learn something and have fun. Get a dent in that permanent record.

*** The Gwinnett County Schools and the NEA did NOT approve this message. ***

Inman Connect and RE Bar Camp... IN!

2008-07-17T09:27:53Z

I've said it before... I'm in. Matt, Nick and a few more of the crew from Diamond Dwellings are coming out to learn and be social. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this.

I'm bringing a camera (still and video...) and 5Gs of memory... and a laptop to download every night so that I don't run out of room for evidence pictures. After all, I want to be able to blackmail share the fun with everyone.

I will also be bringing my smartphone... and updating to Twitter as often as I can think about it. I may also try posting a bunch of the updates as a blog post... but that is a completely different thing. Feel free to follow the Twitter updates... live @LaneBailey.

If you are going, and Twittering or blogging about it, let me know. Feel free to leave a link and/or your Twitter ID.

Now, for my "pre-Inman battlecry..."

BART shows the last train out of the airport at 11:53pm on Monday... I arrive at 11:59pm. I don't think I'm going to make the train. So, if anyone else is looking at the same situation, shoot me a message. Let's get the party started early... we'll split a cab. If we get a half dozen or so, we can get a stretch limo... It'll be cheaper than a cab... and more fun.

So, bottom line...

Follow me on Twitter for updates... @LaneBailey
If you are coming in late Monday night... let's split a cab
If you are going to be Twittering or blogging, leave a track here so that people can find you and follow
Look for me there. I'll be doing everything social... and A|R gatherings, too
RE Bar Camp and Connect

See you in San Francisco... If you aren't there, that doesn't mean you can't learn and join the fun, too.

Where is a 14 year old when you need one...

2008-07-15T21:35:27Z

This is kind of a combination of two ideas.

Idea A

A friend of mine is looking for a new job. She had NO idea that a company interviewer might think to look at her presence on MySpace or FaceBook or another social media site. Don't worry, she doesn't have any skeletons out there, like some i've heard of... but she doesn't have anything else, either.

And the compounding problem is that she isn't sure how to build a good profile for those types of sites (I actually recommended FaceBook and LinkedIn to start with). Simply put, she wants to control what shows up from a Google search of her name and location, not let t be random and certainly not let it be bad.

Her teenager on staff isn't into social media... there has to be one, right? So, she is going to have to muddle through it on her own. It would just be so much more efficient to be able to have a reasonably priced, original social media package tailored to her needs...

I want 10% of the company.

Idea B

This one is less easy. It might actually take a developer.

Can someone please develop an app that gives me a "Social Media Dashboard" that controls all of the major sites I am on? I could go one place and have all of the feeds and mails and pictures and everything in the one spot to respond to and disseminate. It would be SO much easier than hitting a pile of sites. I would be willing to see ads while I organize my junk.

Omnipresent... Social Networking...

2008-07-13T10:08:49Z

It starts with putting yourself out there...

A few months ago, I had a post about My Social Networking Strategy (not linked as it was Member's Only). In the post, I laid out the different portals i was going to leverage for Social Networking. If you don't have a plan... you are driving without directions.

About a week later, I went into depth with all of my Social Media Portals. So many Social Networks... I'll show you mine Basically, it is a list of all of the Social Media sites in which I have a membership. I actually skipped a BUNCH of automotive forums. Highlights are below...

YouTube. User: LaneOnRock. My channel has almost nothing to do with real estate... but there are some fun videos. I need to spend some more time surfing videos... and I'm going to call it work ;^D

del.icio.us. User: LaneBailey. This is the one I am starting to dig in to. It has a lot of potential. I have loaded a few hundred links on here and they are all over the place from real estate to cars.

Twitter. User: LaneBailey. I am on here each day, but it is at odd times. I have both of my blogs feeding public posts here. This also holds a lot of promise...

WellcomeMat. User: Lane Bailey. I don't have any videos up here, but I will in the next few weeks.

Linked-In. User: Lane Bailey. This is one of the Social Networks that I will be more active in over the next few months.

MySpace. User: Lane Bailey/GeorgiaGarageHomes. I joined here a long time ago, and had been posting my blogs there. Now I have a widget with my LaneBailey blog on it.

FaceBook. Use Lane Bailey. I joined here a few months ago, and have NOT really leveraged this site. I do have a blog widget there.

These aren't all of the networks I am part of, but a good selection of the "normal" ones.

Ok, so you said it before... Why again?

A couple of reasons. First, there are a lot of new people around here. As well as a lot of "old pros" that are getting into the Social Marketing aspect. I wanted to "tickle" those that might be interested in connecting... and since Inman is in about a week, I wanted to make sure that all of my friends had another opportunity to find me there... nothing like shaking hands with some of the folks that have been commenting and been commented on.

Also, this week I got a powerful reminder of how far the reach of these networks can be. Despite the fact that three of the networks that I mentioned were all but abandoned, I got contacts through them from old friends (ok, it isn't nice to call my friends old... ;^). I got a message from a friend on MySpace. I got a message from a friend on FaceBook. I ran across a friend on LinkedIn.

The cool part is that all of my friends are connected with other friends that I haven't seen or talked with in a long time. And I am connected with some that they've lost touch with.

Some might be in the market for a home. Some might be in real estate and interested in Diamond Dwellings. If so, that's cool. If not, I had the opportunity to reconnect with a long lost friend. It is an absolute winning proposition.

The execution of the plan has to change...

My final thought is that the plan needed a change. I know that I need to maintain my profiles more actively. I was forced to go into all of these sites and update information because of the change to Diamond Dwellings Realty. And it seems that as soon as I did... I saw a direct and positive result. So, I can't leave these sites alone for months at a time. I have to be efficient about updating and working within the platforms... but I have to work in the platforms.

I'd love for you to connect with me through these portals. Follow my Inman updates on Twitter and my blogs. If you are going to be there... say hello. If you are a long lost friend from school or where ever, and you live in San Francisco... I'm going to be there from July 21 - 25. Shoot me a message and let's catch up.

Blog Anthology, Posts dated 6/22-6/28

2008-07-12T09:37:14Z

I have gotten behind on my Anthologies again... Sorry. Maybe I can get caught up before Inman. And if you are going to Inman, let me know. I'll also be at RE Bar Camp.

I thought long and hard... before I posted about Scott Kalitta. For Sunday, I posted the video from his crash. The drag racing world... the racing world... the world lost a hero a few weeks ago.

Politics creep into my sites every once in a while. I am kind of opinionated... But, the thing we need more of is common sense. And humor. Yep, Congress is helping... has one video clip of each.

A while back I did a popular series calling Into the Mailbag. I thought I would reprise it for a couple of posts. Not into the mailbag... Sellers and Not into the mailbag... Buyers cover questions that consumers SHOULD be asking... but don't really want the answers to.

One day a year I am a gauranteed slacker. So it's... was my day.

As mentioned here, I had the iTeam in one of my listings shooting a story about Showhomes. Is your home a Showhome? was the post on LaneBailey.com about the event. And I still don't know when it will air...

I have gotten a lot of accolades for a property site I did. It was pretty easy to make it look good... it's a 6600 sf executive home. I had a pretty good budget to work with for things like photography and video. But what about the Scalability of the concept. Can it be done with a 966 sf condo and a much smaller budget?

Social Media Anti-Marketing...

2008-07-12T09:05:47Z

This is not hard core real estate talk... it is not real estate talk AT ALL...

My wife has been an avid scrapbooker. In fact, she was a Creative Memories Consultant (dealer) for a few years. It is quite fair to say that she really enjoys scrapbooking. And it has been a marvelous hobby for her.

But I just gave her a new hobby... not replacing scrapbooking, but as a wonderful companion. It is virtual scrapbooking of sorts.

My wife is now a blogger...

She doesn't write about real estate, law (her field), politics or any other "external" subject. She is blogging about the family. The intended audience is our family and friends. My Mother is in Virginia. My cousins are in Ohio and Maryland. My wife's parents are here in Atlanta, but other family is in Ohio and Indiana. We have friends all over the country. Some of them like to follow the adventures of HockeyBoy and his sidekick BubbleMonster... and so using the blog, they can...

I'm not going to give away the address... It is a private site. We don't have it indexed by Google... so you have to know where it is to find it. If we were a little more paranoid, we would password protect it, but we wanted to be able to tell people that they could look.

And we want those that are close to us to be able to see what we are up to whenever they want.

And the tech doesn't stop...

I am trying to teach my Mother about RSS feeds. We set up one for my Mother-in-Law... ok, my wife did. My Mom just made it her home page. But, at some point when I get up to Hampton, VA, I'll set up an RSS for her. But, we have made the feed available so that those friends that want to know what is going on can see the posts right away. We also have open comments so that we can share with them, and they can share with us. In fact, we have "Author" accounts set up fro a few family members... they just haven't figured out how to take advantage of them yet.

I'm not trolling for friends here...

I'm just offering up an option for those that might want to take advantage of it. And, if really pressed, it is also a good way to play and learn about a CMS (Content Management System). We are using WordPress2.5, but could have done it in any blog software. We even could have done it in Joomla or Drupal... but chose WP because it is easier and suits my wife's style more. There was another (very minor) consideration. My wife wanted to learn WordPress for work. And I was pretty familiar with it.

So, if you are wondering about running a blog outside of the A|R platform, and have far flung family to share something with... or even another type of purpose, this might be an option for you. I have always enjoyed finding better ways to motivate myself to learn about new applications.

The most importnat thing is to have fun... and share it. In this day of digital still and video (we have LOADS of both on the site), it is an easy, cheap and effective way to share the big and little events. And honestly, the little events seem to be the most popular with the Moms.

I just had a thoughts... Localism to the extreme...

Final note, unrelated to the rest of the post. I recently got a contact from a friend from High School that I hadn't seen in 25 years (yes, I am THAT old). So, just to give Google a little to talk about, Phoebus High School, Kecoughtan High School, Menchville High School, Hampton, Newport News, VA, Virginia. I have friends in and from all of those places.

Pulled the trigger on the OB

2008-07-08T15:13:50Z

I have been looking at that little tidbit on my ToDo list for a few days now... and so I finally pulled the trigger for the outside blog.

GwinnettGarageGuy

Hit it up, take a look.

I haven't really had the time to tweak it out, with the change to Diamond Dwellings and prepping for the trip to San Francisco for Inman. But, I did manage to toss up a header image (very easy... sized in Gimp). I also kicked up a VERY old picture... because I could.

If you haven't done an outside blog, you are missing out. A|R has a very powerful platform, and Google likes it. It couldn't be much easier. And with the upcoming roll-out of the new Localism... the timing couldn't be better. Get in front of the wave.

Just do it.

I'm going to Inman!

2008-07-08T00:31:37Z

Just nailed the air travel tonight...

I will be flying out to SFO on Monday, July 21st, and attending the RE Bar Camp and Bloggers Connect. I will be flying back to ATL on July 25th.

I'm really stoked. I went to my first NAR Convention last November. I had the opportunity to meet up with a bunch of folks from A|R. Some I knew previously, and some I have only known since. But, it is a GREAT thing to get to know the people behind the blogs.

This time, I'll also get to talk with people about Diamond Dwellings.

Look me up.

EDIT*** I'm hitting the ground around midnight on Monday night (they say 11:59pm). It looks like BART won't be running then... and cabs are not cheap. So, if anyone will be landing at a similar time, we can hook up and split a ride. BTW, it would be cheaper to get a stretch limo for 8 of us than for 2 to split a cab...

I just can't help myself...

What If? a different way to sell your home...

2008-07-08T00:20:51Z

Maybe for free... Maybe for $999.

The simple fact is that not all sellers NEED a real estate agent. I have some folks I working with right now that have moved 38 times in 30 years. They have bought and sold 38 different homes in 30 years. In real estate terms, they have transacted 76 sides. Breaking it down, they have 2.5 sides per year for 30 years. There are full time agents in the business that haven't done 76 sides... or even 2.5 sides a year for a long stretch.

They don't need an agent.

Ok, I'll admit that they actually like to work with an agent because it is more efficient for them, but there are other sellers that don't need an agent. And having the option of getting into the MLS and getting a solid launch when they are selling their home is great.

What If?

How about sitting down with an agent and having an honest conversation about selling your home?

The program is $999, but we offer a few different ways to recapture that fee. We also offer the option to convert the listing to a full service listing if that is what you decide you need. Want to talk about it? Give me a call. Shoot me an email.

What If? you had options?

Teasing and hinting and everything but saying...

2008-07-08T00:02:54Z

I joined Diamond Dwellings Realty today. Matt Fagioli and Diamond Dwellings are a finalist for the Inman Innovators Award for a Brokerage or Franchise. Pretty cool.

After talking with Matt over the last few weeks, he has gotten me incredibly excited about the possibilities for this brokerage model. It is designed from the ground up for blogging and technology centric agents and brokers.

I have talked in the last few weeks about the power of blogging in attracting consumers, and we are supercharging that with team and network blogging. Instead of a bunch of agents posting solely to their own blog, we are going to build a network where agents can draw on content from other agents, as well as share their content with other affiliated agents. However, the focus will remain hyper-local blogging.

How can I use syndicated content, or syndicate MY content and still be hyper-local?

Easy... even in a hyper-local blog, there is room for a great article about pricing or presentation. There is strategy that transcends boundaries. And, as a blogger, it is nice to know that I can catch a break on my blogging. Producing top quality content is tough. I know that I can't hit a home run every day. And I can take a vacation.

There are a bunch of other things that make now the right time for this brokerage model... and I'll be talking about them, as will Matt.

We are also rolling out a group for those that are interested in Hyper-Local Blogging strategies, Web 2.0 technologies and brokerage models.

Join us at Diamond Dwellings - The next level

It isn't going to be just for affiliates and others in the diamond Dwellings system. It is for anyone interested in making business from blogging about real estate in their area.

Come on down and join us.

Speak the language of your target market

2008-07-06T10:54:34Z

In 1997, Pat Johnson and I delivered a Jeep to Salt Lake City, UT. On the way, we stopped in Moab, UT for a few days. That was the first of several trips back to Moab. But, on that first trip, we met a waiter at the Moab Brewery. It was completely unexpected, and took a while to take root, but had a very important marketing message.

He had come from Califormia to Moab because he was a mountain biker and had a goal of biking in the 2000 Olympics. As he took our order, he seemed to be just a CA surf/waiter/biker dude. Nice guy... able to tell Pat about the various micro-brews that they restuarant offered.

Moab is an interesting town. It is surrounded by National Parks and National Forest. The area is incredible in its scenery and its uniqueness. The "Slickrock" is a draw for Jeepers and mountain bikers from around the world. Movies are filmed there, and have been for decades. During the winter, most of the tourists are from outside of the US.

So, as we enjoyed our dinner, along with a Dead Horse Ale, we were treated to a different side of this waiter. As he approached and interected with different tables and groups, he spoke different languages. And he spoke them well. French, German, Japanese, Italian. Surfing/Biker dude was not what he first appeared.

So, as dinner was getting done, we asked him about his languages. He told us that when he came to Moab to bike and train, he had never waited a table, and never spoke another language. But, he needed a job. And then he learned from another guy that some of the international tourists would tip better if you spoke their language. Others would hire him as a guide on the bike trails.

So he spoke seven languages. In two years he learned 5 languages fluently, and 2 more enough to get by on the trail and in the restuarant. And he was making a very good living and had friends all over the world... from waiting tables and guiding tourists on mountain bikes.

I have no idea if there was even a mountain biking competition in the 2000 Olympics... it was a demonstration event at the 1996 Olympics here in Atlanta.

And this doesn't have to do with speaking a foreign language... it has to do with understanding the desires of youe consumers. And meeting those needs and desires. I'm sure that few of the Japanese visitors to Moab went excepted to find a bike guide that spoke their language fluently... nor many of the Russians.

Let's contrast this...

Yesterday I pulled a political ad from my mailbox. A local candidate left a leaflet... completely in Spanish. The only English on it was the campaign headquarters address. It isn't a problem to target market your audience... but there aren't many "Spanish only" speakers in this neighborhood. There are a few people that speak Spanish... but they also speak English. In fact, there are probably a lot more people that can't read the flier that this candidate distributed.

Instead of knowing the target market, and understanding their needs, this candidate chose to speak the wrong language... and lose the message.

Speak the language of your target market... Whether it is knowing about golf in a country club community, or cars to a garage based demographic, understand them and their needs.

Embrace the change...

2008-07-05T23:39:50Z

Embrace change...

I was looking for the clip in Wayne's World where Rob Lowe's character asks Garth (Dana Carvey) what he thinks of the changes to Wayne's World as it goes corporate. In the clip, Garth replies to Rob Lowe, "Change? We fear change." I see that as all too true. But, change is here to stay.

It is a constant.

Don't fear the change.

Embrace the change.

Momentum is a mightly tool... and a terrible handicap. When we encounter a ledge in the trail, keeping momentum can propel us over the obstacle. But, when we are stuck in the mud, the momentum is gone. And now, it must be created.

When the trail is slick, momentum keeps us on the same path... even when we really want to change directions.

Embrace the changes, and harness your own momentum. Don't fear the change, and don't let the momentum carry you too far down the wrong path.

Real Estate and Restaurants...

2008-07-05T17:10:23Z

Does it seem odd to compare the disparate industries?

Real Estate and Restaurants...

It is actually more of a contrast... There is something that the real estate industry, from the giant franchises all of the way down to hyper-local "Mom and Pop" shops, could learn. And it comes from all sorts of restaurant models.

I love McDonald's...

It isn't that I think that the food is amazing (ok, I DO have a weakness for the Bacon and Egg Breakfast Bagel)... no, it is more about the fact that I can drive ANYwhere in the United States, from Lilburn, GA, to Moab, UT, or St. Paul, MN, and I know that I can get a 1/4 Pounder Value meal... and it will be the same. (although the Bagel isn't available everywhere). It will be made the same way. The french fries will be cooked in the same oil and taste the same. It is always the same. Every time. Always.

I love Chili's...

The food is much better... especially the chicken fingers. A Skillett Queso appetizer and then their chicken fingers... Very Nice! And, while not as widespread as McDonald's, I know that I will probably be able to find on most places... but not Moab, UT. But, the point is that there is pretty good food, it is at a pretty good price, and it is pretty much the same anywhere I go. It is actually MORE consistent than McDonald's, but less widespread.

I LOVE Moe's...

Even Matt Fagioli at Diamond Dwellings knows (after ONE lunch) that I like a Joey Bag of Donuts with just Steak, Cheese and Rice (I don't know where the name comes from, but it is a burrito). But I can't get one in many places outside of the Atlanta area... although they are in Hampton, VA now. But, my Mom called me the other to ask what it was I ate there because my stepfather wanted to try it.

And I love Fuji Ya...

Sushi and Hibachi. Steak and Shrimp... bring it on. Can't forget the Nigiri Maguro. Wasabi. Oh yeah.. and the fried rice. Better food and better price that Benihana. And there is only one location. And there is another Japanese place that is closer to us, and the food is lousy. But, Fuji Ya always seems to deliver the promised goods.

Real Estate, Lane, Real Estate... Remember?

I sure do. McDonald's is like many discounters. You know what you are going to get going in. MLS, in a bag and you are out of there. Don't ask the person at the counter what is good.

Chili's is what the big franchise companies WANT to be. But they fail. And they fail because of the business model most of the owners operate with. The local operators want to fill out the desks, so they take anyone with a pulse and they don't make them live up to the standards of the company. The franchisee makes money with desk fees... not closed sales. Not happy consumers/clients... desk fees for agents. And there is NO standardization.

Moe's is closer to where the big guys started. They are small enough that the "home office" still can see what is going on, even though they don't have a procedure for everything (like McDonald's), most of the people on the floor have been trained by the people that started the place. Many regional brokerages are like Moe's. They haven't grown to where they need to have a checklist for the staff to use to get something out of the freezer.

And then the local "Mom and Pop" shops... Even the big name franchises, as well as the "not a name brand" brokerages, are in this boat. There are some GREAT ones. Excellent service and a wonderful experience... and then there are some that I wouldn't send an out of work politician.

So, what is a consumer to do?

That is the problem. I know about Fuji Ya because I've been there. And I have been to enough of the "less than great" places to know where I want to go... and I still experiment with new places. But for a real estate consumer, there isn't that same opportunity. We eat a few times a day, every day. But most people only buy or sell a home a few times in their lives. So, it is tough to build that experience database. And getting a great experience from Brand R in Philly doesn't mean that Brand R is going to deliver in Atlanta...

Blogging, though, has become a great tool. Consumers can look over the writings of an agent and/or brokerage and see who they are. Of course, there still is a need to talk to them to find out if they match what they write... but the list can be shorter... and probably high in quality.

Thanks for sticking around through a LONG post.

Changing Brokerages? Focus? Just Keeping Up?

2008-07-05T14:45:03Z

If you are, you might not have thought about something that is VERY important... Social media and online ads... the old ones.

That's right. I sat down and started looking at everywhere I had promoted myself... and the list started to get long. And when I ran a search in Google, I started noticing that there were other places I had self-promoted and forgotten about.

Now, the problem is that most state Real Estate Commsiions require us to disclose our brokerage name and contact info for any advertisements we place. And, if we change companies or the contact information changes, we might find ourselves running afoul of those rules. And we don't want to run afoul of REC rules!

So, I decided that I needed to do a little house cleaning and preparation.

Housecleaning...

Two years or three years ago (or more!), I didn't have a blog. A year ago I wasn't targeting my marketing efforts to the level I am now. So, looking back on those ads, they often don't mention my blog, or my website. I started with a company designed site, and then went to a private domain running the company site... and then to a seperate domain... and then a completely different site (keeping all of the others active with mentions of my primary sites).

So, the second step is to go over the content of each of these ads to update contact info and make sure they are still on target.

Preparation...

Did you notice that the previous step was the second? There is a first step. You need to know where you are promoting yourself.

As mentioned, I ran a Google search for me. And then I broke out the spreadsheet software and started trying to figure out how to edit all of those old ads. Usernames, passwords and any other information I needed to access the data and change it.

Even if you aren't changing brokers...

Think about it for a minute. Do you have ANY idea of all of the places you have a presence? Do you remember what all of the ads say? How many profiles do you have on social media sites? MySpace, FaceBook, RealEstateWebmasters, Kudzu, LinkedIn... getting the idea?

I've found 100 ads and profiles so far. The vast majority of them are almost abandoned... but I still have info there. And much of it is terribly old...

Mission Impossible?

2008-07-04T23:43:30Z

Mr. Bailey, you did a pretty fair job creating a listing blog for a listing that was almost $1m.

So now we have a challenge for you...

Your mission, should you decide to accepti it is to take a more normal priced property... priced under $200k, and create a similar type of marketing product. No big budget. No Jack Nicklaus designed Golf Course and Country Club. No tennis courts...

So, follow along while we build a WordPress2.5 blog for a 1BR with a Den condo unit in the Tuscany Condos in mid-town Atlanta. Instead of a $969,000 executive home, we will look for a way to bring excitement for a condo priced at $198,888.

It is going to take several posts, and several days to get it all together.

The first step will be to settle on a domain name. As soon as I have the domain set up, I'll give the address here in a member's only post (the only reason it will be member's only is that I don't want it indexed by Google until it has some of the content loaded).

Of course, through it all, I would love to have suggestions, critiques, and impressions. The goal is to create a marketing tool for clients that is a step above.

Why share?

There are a couple of reasons...

Even though there are over 51,000 real estate agents on A|R, and even though there are over 2300 of them right here in GA... there are really only a few that I am actually going to ever compete with.
There is plenty of business for those of us that are motivated.
Despite the numbers I quoted above, there are really only about 300 agents in the entire state that are actually active on A|R... and as a team we can dominate the market.
I have learned SO much on A|R, that passing this along (almost all of which was gleaned or born here) is barely scratching the surface.
I know that the interaction with other agents AND consumers while building this property blog will raise my game.
Finally, only a few agents will ever go to these lengths to promote a listing.

Let's do this...

***Added***

Also of interest:

What does today REALLY mean?

2008-07-04T13:41:11Z

There is a lot of talk about fireworks and hot dogs and parades on the 4th of July... but there is a deeper meaning and much of it has been forgotten or pushed to the back burner.

Today is Independence Day!

We are celebrating the 232nd Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Despite military actions actually starting in 1775, in 1776, we declared our independence from Great Britain. That wouldn't be cemeted until the finish of the War of 1812, although the hostilities died down from 1789 to 1812...

But, the point is that we fough our Revolutionary War for 14 years... and then had a reprise 23 years later to fight again for a few years.

But now...

There are a few things to keep in mind as we enjoy our Independence Day.

Would the American Society today be able to accept the hardships and pain of birthing our nation as it did 230+ years ago? Or have we become a bunch of wimps unwilling to stand for what we want?
At no point during our War of Independence were there a majority of citizens that were in favor of the revolution... until it was all but a done deal (everyone wants to join a winner)... and yet, the men that hatched this plan and launched this great country were LEADERS. They didn't follow the polls and see what the voters might think.
Would the current crop of politicians have the guts to stand up against the polls to do what they think is right? Could they take a wildly unpopular stand to press for freedom?

On my LaneBailey.com blog today, I reprinted the Declaration of Independence. I also listed all of the signers, and linked to their Wiki Biographies. And there is a link to the Snopes article about the signers and the actual hardships they may or may not have endured.

And finally...

As we wander into election season, take a moment to read the Declaration of Independence... and the US Constitution. Look at the political rivals. See who stands up to the ideals of our Forefathers. If you find yourself with a little time, you might also want to check out Alexis de Tocqueville and his book Democracy in America.

Tocqueville speculates on the future of democracy in the United States, discussing possible threats to democracy and possible dangers of democracy. These include his belief that democracy has a tendency to degenerate into "soft despotism" as well as the risk of developing a tyranny of the majority. .

The bold is mine. This is a quote derived from the Wikipedia entry linked earlier.

Enjoy this most important day!