Nick's Blog

How to spot a Realtor who has lost touch with the industry and their own business

Nick Ruta — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:16:11 -0600

During my daily 'Expireds Watch' I came across a perfect example of just how inept some Realtors have become within the current world of Real Estate.

This simply blows my mind.

Property Description:

Roomy, updated cape cod home on over an acre. Large ultra modern eat in kitchen. Huge LR/DR area plus extra LR/FR. 1st floor bath & bedroom. Air conditioning and furnace 2 years old. In ground pool off of kitchen. Replacement windows, 2 car detached plus 1 car detached garage, plus an attached carport. Country living at an affordable price.

The home was on the market for 190 Days.

And...*drumroll*... the pictures with the listing at the time it expired:

TADA!!!!

Surely...once it's relisted, they'll add more photos??? The description SCREAMS out in despair for more pictures!!! They MUST get it right second time around??? RIGHT??? Let's see what's there now!!!

24 Hours Later...relisted...by the SAME agent:

WOW...what a change!

Where are the pictures of the LARGE ULTRA MODERN kitchen???? How about the HUGE LIVING ROOM AND DINING ROOM??? Let me see the EXTRA LIVING ROOM AND FAMILY ROOM!?!?!?! What about the 2 DETACHED GARAGES?!?!!?! What about BEDROOMS???? Umm..most people want to see them too, right???

Looks like another 190 days awaits. I tell ya, if it wasn't relisted immediately, it would have been a primary target in my books.

How this type of stuff continues is mind-boggling. Open your eyes if you are looking for new business, especially with expireds. Sometimes all you need to do is look for photos, or should I say, LACK OF PHOTOS!!!

What do you think the first thing to go through the consumer's mind will be when they see this???

'Hmmm...the house must be a total MESS to not show the inside.'

I know I would definitely come to that conclusion and I've heard many people state the same exact thing when they are telling me about properties they have looked through. I can't believe how many experienced agents still let this stuff happen. This example is from someone with close to 30 years in the business. It is quite amazing....and quite sad.

If you can get to a listing like this, before it relists...you've got one helluva advantage right at the door. Explaining the need for photos should be a no-brainer. Documentation is all over the Internet about the importance of photos and Real Estate listings. Find those sources, use them, and wake up these sellers!!!!

Finally, all I can say, from what am seeing in our MLS, I can only assume it's a national example as well. Keep your guns ready, and spot these targets...because you're going to have plenty of opportunities coming your way if this trend continues.

The #2 Reason Your Listing Does Not Sell

Nick Ruta — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:50:04 -0600

That's right, # 2. It's time to focus on what I believe is the SECOND biggest reason homes sit on the market. We all should know what # 1 is, PRICE, and there's already plenty of explanations out there concerning why price is numero uno. Find some of those HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. So instead of shooting a dead horse, I hope to make a case for 2nd place! And who might be the winner of a fabulous NUMBER 2 prize??

MARKETING!!!!

To help you understand the power of reason # 2, let's take a good look at a recent list of expired listings that popped up in the wonderful ole MLS system. This chart will help explain the first of three powerful reasons marketing is so important.

1. PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES - Without a doubt the single biggest reason, outside of price, that your property doesn't move. It should be crystal clear to a trained eye, that within this small list above, there is one shining example of how to almost GUARANTEE your property will generate ZERO interest. I don't even know where to begin when I see this occur, DAILY....but let's try:

You should immediately spot three listings with a whopping 1 picture. I'm sorry, but there are absolutely no excuses for this. NONE. I don't care what the seller says, what the property looks like outside, what the price is, or if inside it looks like World War III just ended. A one picture listing doesn't even compute in the mind of today's online buyer. Your seller needs to understand that fact clearly. When the consumer hits that listing online, on the MLS, wherever, that one picture yells, in their own mind, a HUGE negative word:

If you can't convince the seller to clean up their mess (which is USUALLY the reason for a one picture listing), or at the very least ORGANIZE the mess into a big heap, you should seriously consider whether or not the listing is worth taking in the first place. Even if the place is empty, but a total disaster internally, you still TAKE THE PICTURES. Consumers are more likely to look at the house, even if it's a slop heap...if it has more than one photo. You at least generate the possibility someone will view the home and it's structure with an open mind. They will see the innards, mess and all, damage, etc., and true buyers will envision the house as what it COULD be.

When you show buyers nothing but a single picture, the entire emotional experience, the dreaming about this room and that room, is gone in an instant, and I don't care if you write a 18 paragraph description that could win you a Pulitzer.....no extra photos...and crickets is what you are going to get.

Finally, for the love of Pete don't think that teasing the buyer is smart. That is taking only 5 or 6 pictures hoping to entice someone to see more. Are you kidding me? Those days are over. The mind set of a consumer is they'll get in their GPS enabled car and drive to the listing FIRST before they call you.

Yes they will do that.

TAKE THE PICTURES!!! Nothing disturbs me more when I see a $400,000+ listing with less pictures than a $90,000 listing. If you can't take 20 pictures of a house, what the heck are you doing??? Do you know how to use a digital camera??? A safe number is 15-20, maybe even pushing 30 if the house demands it, specifically via different angles, outside features, etc.

Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer. You would want lots of pictures, wouldn't you?

2. THE MLS IS ALL THAT MATTERS - It strikes me as stunning when I hear other agents state that as long as their listing is in the MLS system, there's no other need for marketing online. Most of the time I find out that they simply have no desire to expand their online exposure or more than likely, literally have NO IDEA how to expand their marketing.

If you're a consumer one of the first questions you should ask your agent BEFORE you list with them, is SHOW ME where my home will appear online once you list it. If the agent cannot sit down at a computer and either show your personally or EMAIL you at least 5 EXTRA sites, outside of the MLS, company website, and national website......you need to move onto another agent.

Here's just a FEW websites you should be in touch with.
(If these don't look familiar, it's time you re-invent yourself.)

It's critical that a listing gets exposure in as many online spots as necessary. If you can't deliver that to the consumer, you're in the wrong business.

3. USING OUTDATED TECHNIQUES - It blows my mind to no end how many agents continue to push for and continue to believe in dated marketing techniques. Newspaper ads still run rampant in the papers, agents are still mailing out 4000+ holiday magnets, and many continue to ignore the need to embrace things like Facebook, blogging, or personal e-marketing. Sure, some of these 'old' techniques still turn up a golden nugget from time to time, but you'll find less of these shining star stories popping up than in years past.

Newspapers are legitimately dying...and i predict that 2009 will be a telling year for their overall decline. Many have already made drastic changes or gone almost completely under. Magazines are starting to turn to digital editions and newspapers have already stopped home delivery in some states. If you're still hooked on newspapers, it's time you wake up.

Sure there are still people who would explode without their daily coffee and back porch relaxing moment with the dead tree in their hands....but anyone younger than 35 still reading the newspaper is an enigma. It is important for you to realize that these younger generations are the people who will be your largest customers in less than 5 years, if not sooner.

Relying on old methods and not expanding your knowledge into the need to be online savvy, into social networks like Facebook, or keeping in touch with your customers with an e-newsletter...not doing those...will eventually put you in line with the dinosaurs.

Adapt or die. It will eventually be that simple and focusing only on marketing the 'old' way will guarantee your eventual extinction.

It may not be sudden, it may not be a killer newspaper asteroid that wipes you out, but it will be a slow menacing walk into the shadows if you don't come out of the dark ages and embrace what's only now just starting to drastically shape this industry.

Hey Realtors - learn to spam on your own and stop asking the company to do it!

Nick Ruta — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:18:24 -0600

I would love to know why so many Realtors feel its "ok" to send flyers, open house notifications, broker's opens, new hire announcements, and other such email nonsense to other Realtors.

Last time I checked, unsolicited email that I or other agents DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY ASK FOR...is lawfully S P A M. The fact the Realtor you are emailing is related to your business field as another licensed Realtor has no bearing on your ability to send people this garbage. The CAN SPAM LAW doesn't recognize that little tidbit so many agents thinks should apply.

"Well they are a Realtor too, they should WANT my emails!!!"

I mean for Pete's sake, am I missing something? I've been to our NAR site, PAR (Pennsylvania Association of Realtors), and every other site I could find....I read the law, their policies...etc. Is there some exception for Realtors spamming other Realtors???

As the company I.T. guy working for our brokerage, it never fails...about once every month or so I get cornered by an agent who gets an emailed flyer or announcement from some other Realtor in our area....and they look at me and say, "Hey...the company should be doing this....for me...for us...." Etc..etc...etc.

It's never, "Hey Nick, can you show me how these people are sending me these announcements? I'd really like to learn how to do this." At least not where I am.

Why is there this unbelievable assumption that the company should be doing the individual marketing of an agent's business, especially when it comes to certain technology? Aren't you all INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS???? The email marketing technology that is available now for your use is MIND-NUMBINGLY easy in many cases and, wake up for this one, isn't made for an entire agency to use in the manner you want it used.....FOR SPAMMING.

These services, when used properly, are MADE FOR INDIVIDUAL USE ONLY. I'll bet many with this mindset think the broker should just have a single staff member post every new listing on Craigslist??? Under one account???

How is this so hard to understand, that in the case of spamming your entire local Realtor MLS membership, it's ILLEGAL without gaining each and every agent's permission??? And cmon, working with these professional email marketing services via their point and click websites, if you use the system correctly, is PAINFULLY easy. Especially if you have 15 minutes to spare, can use a computer mouse, and have the ability to sit at a computer.

Oh...I know...no one has any free time any more. The market is just so busy.

What was I thinking?

What I find staggering about the email flyer mindset that I encounter, is when I explain the CAN-SPAM LAW to the Realtor and how as a company we can't get involved in this effectively, I might as well be speaking in some other language. There is no care or concern for what's right or wrong with spamming...because, "Hey, XYZ Realty and Agent SoandSo is constantly sending me open house and price reductions!! The company needs to be doing this!!!"

NEVER MIND the fact that 99% of these emails are sent out via harvested email lists (that site should be F'ing ILLEGAL) or agents who scour the MLS rosters sucking up all of the publicly printed email addresses. Never ONCE have I received an email from any ‘said' agent in our area because I signed up (OPT-IN) for a list of theirs. NOT ONCE.

...but isn't amazing that when you get the flyer or announcement, at the bottom is some un-subscription request to unsubscribe to the list you are a member of??? WHHHHAT?

How many of you are constantly signing up for email announcements lists from your other Realtors in your area? I bet about .07% of you.

I know for a fact these people and brokers are either buying lists or using some service to proliferate the crap via harvested data. It is truly amazing. Especially when, as the I.T. guy, it gets shoved down my throat that this form of marketing is "NEEDED" and we "HAVE TO BE DOING THIS" as a company.

How am I supposed to sit there and argue can-spam laws when local agents or BROKERS are doing the same nonsense????

How am I supposed to explain how sending emails to other Realtors without their explicit permission is agains the law when sites like this, this, and THIS, are allowed to operate??!?!?

Again...is there a LOOPHOLE in the CAN-SPAM LAW that allows those sites legal rights to do what they do???

Someone, please enlighten me if there is!

It's a true joke and while it's gotten much better over the years, virtually any legitimate service you now see available to agents, legitimate services such as ICONTACT.COM and CONSTANTCONTACT.COM all have STRICT rules against sending email to someone who didn't opt-in to your list.

These services are fantastic, but the proper way to email market is to gather email addresses of people who have specifically requested to receive your email. To provide a method for them to actually want your announcements.

I can sit here and think of a few ways each and every realtor could do this....but of course, that would mean you had to sit and work and create a way to gather permission....

...whoops..I forgot...the market is on fire and there's no time for an agent to do such work.

Just find the I.T. guy and he'll make it all better.

PHILLIES WIN BABY!!! PHILLIES WIN!!!!!!!!!

Nick Ruta — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:40:25 -0500

Have your computer clean itself using CCLEANER!

Nick Ruta — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:41:16 -0500

One of the simplest ways to keep your computer running effectively is to keep it clean of crap files. If you haven't ever heard of the program CCLEANER, go and get yourself a copy now.

GET CCLEANER

Download, install it, and run it. In it's basic form it's a potent system cleaner. Keep in mind it's not a virus or spy ware protector or cleaner. It's primary purpose is to clean system cache, cookies, history, temporary files, and other such important system locations that gather crap files which may slow your PC down. CCLEANER also functions as a basic registry cleaner and has a nice uninstaller tool as well.

But that's not what this blog is about. It's about using the power of CCLEANER to automatically clean your computer without you lifting more than a finger...if at all. Ok..so you downloaded and installed it, right?? If not..go!!

Ok..with it installed, you now have a CCLEANER SHORTCUT icon on the desktop. Follow me.

1. COPY the original shortcut, leaving the original one for running the program manually.

2. RIGHT CLICK the newly copied shortcut, select PROPERTIES from the menu that appears. You now see the below:

3. Click in the TARGET field and place the cursor at the end of the command line, after the quotes.

4. Hit the SPACE BAR and add (as shown below): /AUTORUN

5. Click APPLY and then OK

What you have essentially done by adding /AUTORUN is when you now click that shortcut, CCLEANER runs with all of it's basic cleaning settings. You need to look quickly in your task bar at the bottom right to catch the program running, as you will see nothing else other than the small red CCLEANER icon appear briefly (depending upon how much crap you have to clean it may stay there for a while). What's nice is while it's cleaning, you can go about your business without the program window being open.

So how about automatically cleaning your PC??? That's EAZZZZY!

6. Take that modified shortcut and drag it to your STARTUP FOLDER!!!! (see image below)

Now when you bootup and sign onto your PC, CCLEANER automatically runs and cleans up all of your garbage! It's without a doubt a very nice little way to keep your PC free of crap without lifting a finger.

Another tidbit of information about this AUTORUN feature is that many people have told me that they do not like it when their web history is wiped or their "recently typed URLS" (websites) are cleaned with CCLEANER. To prevent AUTORUN from doing this, simply open the program manually, uncheck the boxes of those items and then perform the Run Cleaner function. When you do that it keeps the settings and future AUTORUNs will use those settings. To get AUTORUN to again clean those features, you must go back and reset those boxes, followed by running the cleaner manually one time. After you close the program, those settings stick.

Finally, for those who really want to go crazy and don't like leaving their PC online, there is a /SHUTDOWN switch as well. Create yourself a icon with /AUTORUN /SHUTDOWN and as soon as the autoclean is finished, your PC shuts down. Get even crazier and add a scheduled task...say 2am!!! At 2am your PC runs CCLEANER and SHUTS DOWN when done!!!

Hope this helps everyone and get those PCs CCLEANED!!!!

Is your company good at hiring AND keeping Generation X and Y agents?

Nick Ruta — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:16:40 -0500

I recently read a great blog post by technology expert Matthew Ferrara titled: "Five Reasons Realtors are Losing Market Share"

Matt makes an argument that many Realtors in today's market are disconnected from today's consumer. He points out five key statistics in his blog that may be to blame for this overall issue:

88% of REALTORS own a computer. 97% of Gen Y have computers.

93% of REALTORS have a cell phone. 94% of Gen Y have a cell phone.

23% of REALTORS sent text messages at least once a day. 68% of Gen Y text message daily.

14% of REALTORS have used IM "infrequently." 76% of Gen Y use IM every day. 15% are logged in 24/7.

1% of REALTORS use pod-casts regularly. 49% of Gen Y download pod-casts regularly.

The statistics are telling, but overall he points finally to the fact that most Realtors, whose average age is now their mid-fifties, aren't adapting to the needs of what is soon to be coming...and that is a major wave of "first time" Y buyers and "move up" X buyers. Buyers who expect instant communication and speedy replies and whose information demand has the possibility to bury any agent who can't keep up.

Matt's blog is a good one, and I agree with his major stance on the issue, but I also think there's an unseen aspect to what many are failing to realize is going on and what really needs to be looked at, especially for the future:

I think it's important to note that in order for "Real Estate" to catch up to what Generation X and Y are bringing to the table, Brokers need to be hiring the X's and the Y's, and finding out how best to train them as sound and professional agents. Agents who can make it, who can motivate their own minds, and become successful, not only for themselves, but for the companies and franchises they work for.

X and Y agents would have NO problems keeping up with needs of X and Y consumers. Quite frankly because they easily understand the overall fact of technology today and how it is mandatory to survive in the business world.

Unfortunately, the recruitment of young people in this business is dying in my eyes and right now, it's simply not happening to any great degree, at least in our neck of the woods. It's not due to a lack of recruiting attempts, believe me. Over the past 5-6 years I did see quite a few young people enter the business, even a few recently...but sadly, virtually all of them have ended up leaving due to not having the motivation or the ability to generate enough business.

We live in a time of expensive EVERYTHING. More so now than ever before people need stability, especially with income, and especially if you are a 20 or 30 something trying to make it out in the world. If those X's and Y's trying to become a Realtor don't have a stable cash reserve or a spouse who can support them, at least initially, they are usually doomed within 2-3 months as a Realtor. Bills and life responsibilities don't stop in a down market, let alone any market. New agents, especially young tech savvy ones, without a monstrous circle of influence and absolutely phenomenal sales skill usually cannot find a strong way to compete in today's business world of Real Estate. Sure, there are always a few exceptions here and there, but it sure isn't the majority in my opinion.

The agents that are surviving, in our market, are mainly the ones that have been at this business for many many years, who I see continue to tap their R&R (repeat and referral) business. They may not be keeping up with the latest technology, but they have the experience and skills that are key to keeping the growing market fear off the table with a old or new client.

Overall I do agree intensely with Matt's post, but in the same breath I don't see how the industry as a whole is going to manage to revitalize this career field without young tech savvy blood. Again, as Matt states, the average age of a Realtor is roughly 50+ years old....the key question the entire industry needs to ask is how do we change that?

If motivated young new people don't enter this business to affect that statistic of age, we're looking at a major dying off of not only agents, but entire franchises and companies who sooner or later will have to face the fact that there's no agents left in their company.

So I pose a final question...is your company managing to hire these young fresh 20 and 30 something X and Y agents? And more importantly are you keeping them? Are they becoming successful? Or are they being stampeded out of the business due to lack of experience?

As a X'er myself, making my way in this Real Estate world...I'm all ears.

How to remove wine or strawberry stains from a granite countertop!

Nick Ruta — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:48:16 -0500

Late last night, to the horror of my eyes, I discovered that our beautiful new kitchen granite countertop had somehow become stained in multiple areas with what appeared to be some form of red color!

It took me a few minutes to calm down, but I realized that the previous day we had strawberry dessert with our dinner. Somehow the darn mess must have eluded my wife and I once we cleaned up and went to bed. So, there, in front of my eyes, roughly 24 hours later stood this bright red cluster of red spots sunken into our beautiful new kitchen counter, hideously laughing at me as I attempted all I knew trying to clean the redness away.

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, we attempted to use managed to even budge the stain away. The professional granite cleaner, soap and water, and hardcore rubbing of the sponge or towel. NADDA. Hell, I even SPIT on the damn stain. YUCK! (yeah, that didn't work either)

After about 20 minutes of head pounding frustration I thought of only one possibility, GOOGLE. I went ballistic online searching for tips on cleaning granite, specifically stains related to wine or fruit.

What I found was astounding, and it worked like a CHAMP!!

What could this miracle cleaning cure be you ask????

PLASTER OF PARIS (molding plaster) and BLEACH

THAT"S IT!!! Simply mix a little bit of the Plaster of Paris, available at any hardware store, with a little bit of bleach until you get a good paste. You don't want the paste too watery and you don't want it too thick. A little runny will do, but not so thin it doesn't scoop up with a spoon. I'd recommend using an old glass dish for mixing, as you can easily clean it afterwords with warm water, even if the plaster hardens.

***IMPORTANT!!!! DO NOT THROW THE UNUSED PLASTER MIX DOWN THE DRAIN OR TOILET. I highly recommend just dumping it into a garbage can bag or tossing it some other way that doesn't not involve your plumbing.***

Once you have enough to cover your stain, just plop some on and wait approximately 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take a very wet sponge and wipe away the hardened plaster. I held my breath during the first application, but I must admit, this literally cleaned up everything!!! One of our stains took 3 applications to get up, but low and behold eventually the red stain was gone!!!

There you have it!!! According to what I read this works great on wine stains and fruit stains. Hopefully this comes in handy for anyone who may have an unfortunate granite countertop spill of this nature to deal with. The sheer ease of cleaning it was astounding and I would have never guessed it would work!

How to switch to Windows Vista and love It!

Nick Ruta — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:28:54 -0500

I finally took the plunge about 2 months ago and upgraded my personal home desktop computer to Windows Vista. The term "upgrade" isn't entirely accurate in this case though, as I actually built myself a new computer. While my existing PC was almost 5 years old, a Windows XP monster of a machine, and more than sufficient for all of my basic needs, I really was overdue, especially as an I.T. professional who prides himself on staying in touch with all the latest techie stuff.

Buying a new computer from a major dealer isn't an option for me, as I pride myself in building my own, part by part. Building a PC from scratch is definitely not for everyone, but I've always done so and this time was going to be no different. Personally, it's a hobby I enjoy, and more importantly, I love knowing exactly what is being placed inside my PC in case something goes wrong.

So..Being in the I.T. field I figured I finally better see first hand what all the hub-bub was about concerning Vista, as well as put the system through my own tech-gauntlet to see if all the of the negative hype was truly justified.

I'm happy to report that my Vista experience has been phenomenal.

This new behemoth of a machine literally blows through anything I throw at it, specifically multiple tasks. The bootup time is lightening fast, the slick nature of the visuals is extremely impressive, and the overall aspect of the changes definitely raised my eyebrows.

I sat and wondered, "how can this be? shouldn't it have crashed or screwed up something by now??"

I mean we all probably have seen the numerous negative reviews online, the many personal comments from people we know who have "tried it", or read the magazine articles comparing Vista to Microsoft's horrid Windows ME operating system. You start to wonder at this point, am I just a lucky one?

Frankly...I don't think I was lucky. I just think I was smarter than the average retail company or user....and I think my method of building a system from scratch proves why it's been so bad for Vista and for so many others.

Ya see I researched. I read. I scoured the online forums and websites trying to figure out how to avoid such a potential disaster with Vista. How? Simple, very simple:

I specifically built my machine with known VISTA compatible parts. That's right, I sought out and made sure to buy parts that were Vista Certified. One other MAJOR key so many manufacturers get wrong with Vista is MEMORY.

Windows Vista is a HOG, a GIANT 800lb PIG, when it comes to system resources. I am constantly amazed when I run across a laptop or personal computer of someone who bought a shiny new Vista computer, only to discover it shipped with 512MB of MEMORY. 512MB!?!?!? Windows VISTA?!?!!?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? 512MB?!?!?! WINDOWS VISTA?!?!?!

Companies SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED to manufacture and sell Vista machines with less than 2GB. That's right, 2 GIGA-BYTES!!!!! It's a travesty that Vista machines are being sold with less.

I literally just worked on a laptop, manufactured by a major brand name, that only had 512MB of memory. IN-SANE. I turned that thing on and I might as well have come back 24 hours later, as that's when the desktop would come up. Disgusting.

So, to come full circle, what should you be concerned about if you are considering an upgrade to Vista? Maybe your XP machine has seen it's day, maybe you just need a new toy, or maybe you just have no other choice?

Here's a few simple hints on how to properly convert yourself to the "Vista Experience":

1. CHANGE IS HERE - You must first accept the fact that Windows Vista is going to be a change from what you have been used to. It's not entirely different than previous version of Windows, but believe me...it's different in ways that will drive you loony if you are not prepared. For example: the START BUTTON is gone, replaced by a simple logo. Windows Explorer looks eerily like Apple's OS. Catch my drift? Little nuances like that will unglue your brain if you are not willing to accept that Microsoft changed a few things here and there. Overall, if you face that fact, and enjoy learning something new, you will find Vista quite appealing.

2. MEMORY...REPEAT AFTER ME...MEMORY....2 GIGA-BYTES OR MORE OF MEMORY!!! If you want any chance at a successful experience with Vista, throw as much memory as you can at it. 2GB, 3GB, or even 4GB. The sheer performance increase going from 512MB or even 1GB to 2GB or more is astounding.

3. FORGET ABOUT UPGRADING an old machine, including a fairly new Windows XP Machine. Save yourself a headache and don't attempt an upgrade. Either buy a new machine or, if you are a techie, build your own. First off, upgrading a machine is sometimes a death sentence. There's too many intangibles that could render your PC useless or you may fudge the upgrade and wipe everything....I've seen it, believe me. Personally, I think this is the # 1 reason Vista failed at launch. Too many people thought they could upgrade an old PC with a shiny new version of Vista and didn't realize their HARDWARE was outdated or didn't have enough MEAT to properly run Vista (the way it was meant to run). If your XP machines does what you need it to do and is fast enough for you, STICK WITH IT. If you still want to upgrade, trust me, give the old XP machine to a family member and buy a new computer that's already Vista ready.

4. PROCESSOR(CPU) - Get yourself a QUAD-CORE processor. You future proof yourself, even if only for a few years, and you WILL notice the difference while multi-tasking. Having multiple windows, browsers, programs, etc, will be almost instant. If you can only find a DUAL-CORE cpu, that's ok too, but again, shoot for a PC with integrated QUAD-CORE technology.

5. VIDEO CARD - If you want all the shiny bells and whistles, make sure the PC has video that can handle the Vista Aero Interface. While they do sell Vista in a "BASIC" version....ask yourself, why the heck even upgrade? If you want the true VISTA experience, make sure the video solution for the PC can handle Vista's slick new interface.

Other key items which may not be entirely necessary to enjoy the Vista experience would be a nice decent sized hard drive for all of your data, maybe a 19 inch or higher LCD monitor, and why not a cool surround sound set of speakers? While not entirely necessary, you can truly benefit from such additional considerations.

There you have it. If you do your homework, whether you build your own machine or buy from a vendor, make sure to feed Windows Vista LOTS of memory. Also, prepare yourself for some "change" and a bit of a minor learning curve in getting used to the new features. But once you do, moving over to Vista is quite a refreshing breath of fresh air. It's been a great experience for me so far and I would recommend Vista to anyone.

How my summer has been...what about you?

Nick Ruta — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:36:43 -0500

This pretty much sums up the last few months in my world....

Things can only get better....right?

778 Lahr Rd Bushkill Twp PA 18064 (Nazareth School District)

Nick Ruta — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:51:43 -0500

778 Lahr Rd Bushkill Twp PA 18064

778 Lahr Rd Bushkill Center Road, Nazareth, PA 18064 View Map

5 bedroom 3.5 bath Bushkill Twp. home in Jacobsburg Manor Estates ~ min. from 33/78. Arched entry, paver sidewalk, prof. landscape. Two story foyer, hardwood floors throughout most of the main areas both upstairs and down, full open staircase. Wainscot, tray ceilings, jack and jill bath, jacuzzi tub in master suite bath, fireplace in FR, upgraded granite counters and plenty of cabinets w/island all set off by stainless steel appliances. The daylight/walkout basement has the studs in place for you to finish at your convenience.

Details

Asking Price:

$540,000

MLS:

313295

Sq. Feet:

3455

Lot Size:

43560

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

Garage Size:

Subdivision:

Jacobsburg Manor Estates

Year Built:

2005

Property Amenities

Contact Info

Nick Ruta
Realtor

Cell 267-933-3018
Email | Website

4235 Crosswinds Drive Bethlehem Twp PA 18045

Nick Ruta — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:00:02 -0500

4235 Crosswinds Drive Bethlehem Twp 18045

4235 Crosswinds Drive, Easton, PA 18045 View Map

When you entering the grand foyer, you will be overtaken by the grandeur and beauty of this home. This impressive center hall colonial was the builder's model and has numerous upgrades. On the first level, not only do you have the traditional rooms, but there is also a solarium off of the living room and morning room off of the kitchen. The master suite includes a bonus room, large closets and master bath with skylights. This center hall Colonial is located in Lake View Estates minutes from 22 and 33 making for an easy commute to NJ and NYC. 1.5% buyer's incentive toward closing costs.

Details

Asking Price:

$518,000

MLS:

309739

Sq. Feet:

3851

Lot Size:

29185

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

Garage Size:

Year Built:

2003

Property Amenities

Contact Info

Nick Ruta
Realtor

Cell 267-933-3018
Email | Website

5556 Reid Lane Allentown PA 18104 (Parkland School District)

Nick Ruta — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:26:28 -0500

Treetop Estates

5556 Reid Lane, Allentown, PA 18104 View Map

Found within a distinctive new community with mature trees and a gentle sloping landscape, the home stands out with great curb appeal with a beautiful pillared front. The interior of the home is pleasing with large entertaining rooms including an open living & dining room & an open family room & kitchen. The kitchen of the home is expansive with hardwood flooring, upgraded birch cabinetry & an attractive built-in desk. The kitchen flows nicely into the family room with stylish accents including a raised ceiling & a modern gas fireplace. Also found on the 1st level, is a private study/office with brand new Berber carpeting & decorative glass double doors. Upstairs, the master bedroom is very spacious with a large walk-in closet & an attached bath with his & her sinks & a make-up vanity. There are an additional three bedrooms w/ ceiling fans & another full bath with his & her sinks.

Details

Asking Price:

$364,900

MLS:

308867

Sq. Feet:

2652

Lot Size:

9148

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

# of Floors:

Garage Size:

Subdivision:

Treetop Estates

Year Built:

2003

Property Amenities

Contact Info

Nick Ruta
Realtor

Cell 267-933-3018
Email | Website

Return to Abandonment

Nick Ruta — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:16:10 -0500

a·ban·don - to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert: to abandon one's farm; to abandon a child; to abandon a sinking ship.

While I haven't abandoned any ships lately, it's been roughly 3 months since my last entry here on Active Rain. After initially tearing into my new found passion of blogging, I believe I blew my "blogging gasket".

Too much, too soon, and I think I tried to drink the AR juice too fast.

My summer kicked off with an immense amount of non-real estate related issues popping up and there simply has not been enough time in any given day to sit back and blog. Anyone else have this happen? Maybe I got to overzealous, maybe I burnt myself out, or maybe even it was just inevitable to have outside personal tasks keep me occupied and mentally drained.

I'm sure we've all been there.

Here I am now, trying to get back on the horse. I'm hoping in the following days I can share a personal story, real estate related, to one of the most shocking things I've had to go through - an abandoned apartment unit of mine. What a friggin disaster....more to follow later.

Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania Market Update Report - March 2008

Nick Ruta — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:28:13 -0500

CLICK BELOW TO SEE FULL REPORT

Bethlehem Pennsylvania breaks into the top 100 places to live and launch!

Nick Ruta — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 01:16:32 -0500

CNN's Fortune Small Business is proud to present the top 100 places to "live and launch", a 2008 study by Fortune to find towns with the best mix of business advantages and lifestyle appeal. I'm proud to say that our own Lehigh Valley city of Bethlehem comes in at number 58! Below is the full summary of Bethlehem's synopsis and you can see the entire TOP 100 list HERE.

OFFICIAL BETHLEHEM PENNSYLVANIA WEBSITE!

Click Click Click...your hard drive just went to computer heaven, with ALL of your data.

Nick Ruta — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:06:40 -0500

Before I begin, we need to have a quick lesson on what a hard drive is.

For the second time in as many weeks I've had the sad privilege of working on a computer in which the internal hard drive has failed. Not just your simple 'unable to boot into Windows' failure, I'm talking total loss of all data.

Yup, you hit the power button, the computer seems to be ok, and then...it happens...the computer attempts to boot up from the internal hard drive, which holds all of your precious information, photos, documents, and key financial information. Instead of showing you the usual loadup process followed by a little white pointer, your mouse, you are greated with strange error messages, a black screen, and if you listen closely, the feignt sound of a repetative clicking, CLICK...CLICK...CLICK...coming from somewhere deep inside the bowels of your PC.

Again, you listen closely...CLICK...CLICK...CLICK...

To the average person it may not entirely be clear what's wrong, but, to a seasoned PC technician...you get twitchy. If the actual user of this PC is hovering over your shoulder as you start initial troubleshooting, you immediately start to sweat, not just a normal sweat, but the cold irratating nervous sweat. Because you know the following question is going to detirmine exactly how explosive the situation may become:

"Umm...this isn't too good, I think your drive has failed....do you have your important data backed up?"

At this particular moment an awkward silence tends to split the hair on the back of your neck. That's followed by the usual, "Uhh, no, not really, but you can save my stuff right?"

Sadly...no, no I cannot. What follows sometimes is simple frustration, while other times it could lead to utter heartbreak and furious anger. I've been there, done that. It sucks, with a capital S. In most cases there's truly nothing that can be done outside of paying expensive data recovery services. Even then, there's no guarantee.

The HARD DRIVE is the single most active piece of hardware in your PC. It has continuously moving parts and most people do not realize just how precious this single item is. While I've seen some drives last YEARS, it's usually not a matter of IF, it's pretty much a matter of WHEN the drive fails.

I cannot stress this enough, and that's the fact that if your PC has ANYTHING sensitive, personal, or critically important to you....YOU NEED TO BE BACKING IT UP.

The options are many and you really need to have something in place. Personally, I started using an online service called CARBONITE. I love it and would HIGHLY recommend it. If storing your data online isn't something you are comfortable with, you need to be using your computer's CD/DVD Recorder, an external hard drive, or something as simple as a USB flash drive for the small concerns.

When it comes to losing data forever, nothing hurts more than when photos are lost. Especially ones of the kids, family, or something personal. If you have such photos, stored on your PC, with no backup, for Pete's sake, get your butt over to one of these websites: Google PicasaWeb Albums, SmugMug, or Photobucket.

Believe me when I say this, hard drive failure happens. You need to be ready. Don't end up losing everything.

VIEW A VIDEO OF THE "CLICK OF DEATH"...something you NEVER want to hear.

RENTAL WITH OPTION TO BUY! 1420 Church Lane, Forks Township PA 18040

Nick Ruta — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:08:53 -0500

1420 Church Lane, Easton PA (will consider rent with option)

1420 Church Lane, Easton, PA 18040 View Map

Renovated Ranch in Forks Twp. 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths & 2 car garage just waiting for a new owner. This Ranch has been remodeled and still has loads of potential. New carpet, new hardwood floors and a Modern Kitchen. A full basement (unfinished) gives the new owner plenty of options for the future. Lot will be seeded. Owner will install central air with full price offer.

OWNER WILL CONSIDER RENT WITH OPTION TO BUY - $1500 / Month.

Details

Asking Price:

$279,900

MLS:

292055

Sq. Feet:

1700

Lot Size:

25461

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

# of Floors:

Garage Size:

Year Built:

1960

Property Amenities

Contact Info

Nick Ruta
Realtor

Cell 267-933-3018
Email | Website

Are you enhancing your listings on Zillow for FREE? Why NOT?

Nick Ruta — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:30:17 -0500

I'm curious how many people have taken the time to update and enhance their listings on Zillow? With so many sites now feeding listing data into Zillow it's imperative, in my opinion, to keep the information correct. Specifically your own listings. If you don't enhance your listings, which again can be done FOR FREE, do you at least check on whether or not the info is correct? If not, I would love to know why.

I know Zillow is a mixed bag with some people, but I still think you should be on top of your listing data, wherever it is. Especially considering Zillow is no schlep when it comes to website hits or traffic. Stats continue to show Zillow and Realtor.COM are quite closely ranked, with a constant fluctuating gap.

The reason I bring this up is I recently found a home, that should have been listed as a 3 bedroom ranch, showing up as a 32 bedroom ranch. I also found a listing that showed 24800 square feet instead of the obvious 2480. Skimming through the site, there's a number of things I catch from time to time. Considering the amount of data Zillow chews on, I can somewhat understand the problems. 70,000,000 tax records? New feeds everyday? Yes, Houston, we will have a problem from time to time.

So, do you update your information? Are you aware you can? If you don't update it, I'd love to know why? It's such a simple task and I would find it hard to believe you wouldn't take the time to do so. Especially if you are Mr. 32 bedroom ranch!

Below are three basic screenshots of the free access you get yourself and what you can do with the listings. All the info can be updated, photos can be added, descriptions, tours, etc.

RENTAL - 4687 Steuben Rd Lower Nazareth 18020 - 4 Bedroom Colonial

Nick Ruta — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:50:04 -0500

RENTAL - 4687 Steuben Rd Lower Nazareth 18020

4687 Steuben Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18020 View Map

Nazareth school district colonial. Convenient location close to 191, 22, and 78. Half acre lot. 4 Bedroom, 2 1/2 bath. Fully carpeted. Full Basement. 2 car attached garage. Wooden deck off breakfast nook. Tenant responsible for all utilities.

PROPERTY IS CURRENTLY TENANT OCCUPIED. 24 HOUR NOTICE REQUIRED.

Details

Asking Price:

$2,100

MLS:

302454

Sq. Feet:

2240

Lot Size:

.64 Acres

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

2 1/2

# of Floors:

Garage Size:

Year Built:

1989

Property Amenities

Contact Info

Nick Ruta
Realtor

Cell 267-933-3018
Email | Website

The house is perfect but the kitchen is a total disaster. How do you handle it?

Nick Ruta — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:56 -0500

Two years ago my wife and I bought our first home together. A 1960 split level with a large front and back yard, garage, hardwood floors throughout, and all of it placed into a beautiful surrounding community. We have access to a local bike path directly from our back yard and our neighbors turned out to be great. Everyone takes care of their property in our neighborhood and my wife and I could easily picture raising a family in the area.

The only major issue with the house was the fact that it's immediately obvious that no one updated the kitchen. EVER. First off, the walls are PINK...second, a cringing fake brick paneling lines the counter-top area. When you step into this kitchen, you step back at least 40 years. I'm talking the original 1960 range, wall oven, counter-top, and horribly outdated kitchen cabinets. Here, this picture doesn't do it justice, but you'll get the "idea." (how about that oh so nice light?)

Mind you my wife and I were coming from a very nice 2 bedroom apartment with a modern kitchen, brand new oven, dishwasher, disposal, and very large amounts of cabinet space.

This was none of that....no dishwasher, no disposal. Let me say that again...NO DISHWASHER. I have to stress that because after living with a dishwasher practically my entire life...to now go without, ugh...it hurt to think about. My wife was right there with me. BUT...even with all of that, we were sold on the house. At the time, 2 years ago, I thought I had a decent idea of what a new kitchen would be...it can't be that bad? Few thousand here for the appliances, cabinets? Counter-top? Bah..couple thousand maybe. We can handle that.

Soo....with our future ideas and dreams, my wife and I negotiated a decent price with our Realtor....and bought the house.

Now, fast forward two years.....

My wife and I still love our house, but the "DISHWASHER WARS" have reached a new level of insanity and every other night it's "No...it's YOUR TURN!! I WASHED THEM LAST NIGHT!" "Nuh uh!! I DID...You DO THE DISHES!"

Get the picture? Don't get me started on the fact we had to shut the gas valve off to the oven due to it leaking while we cooked.

Anyway...so we knew it was finally time to start shopping a kitchen makeover. We made a few calls, and over came the companies and contractors. What now follows is one of the single most rude awakenings I've ever had in regards to a home improvement, my wife included.

Quote # 1 - Company Kitchen Magic: Cabinets & Countertop Only: $19,000. That's no flooring, no painting, no plumbing, no electric...NOTHING but installing new cabinets and a counter-top.

Quote # 2- General Contractor #1: Estimated cost after a walk-through and basic design layout: $28,000, give or take a few thousand depending upon what "comes up". This includes flooring, walls, paint, back-splash, etc.

Quote # 3- General Contractor #2: First 5 minutes he spews: "There's really no way I can do this kitchen for anything less than $35,000". Umm..can you say NEXT! Oh yeah, he also wanted $5,000 to cut a hole in a wall.

Quote # 4- Home Depot: Custom American Standard Kitchen Cabinets with a mocha glaze - $7,000. Corian Counter-top, $3,200. Can you believe a GRANITE counter-top of our choice comes to $3,600. How in Pete's sake can there ONLY be a $400 difference between PLASTIC and STONE? Anyway, basically $10,000 for the cabinets and counter. NO cabinet installation either.

Needless to say my wife and I have been in utter shock and awe about this and it's been quite trying to determine how we plan on proceeding. We absolutely did not expect this and have been struggling recently with decisions on what to do. If we wait...with the current trend in price increases with virtually everything, will it be even more ridiculous? If we spend all this money on a kitchen, will there even be a resale value increase?

Those are questions my wife and I will need to answer, but my question to all of you is, how do you handle a client who may stumble into this situation? What would you have told me and my wife? Would you buy the house yourself? Would you have negotiated more? Or would you have simply recommended to keep searching for a home with a more modern kitchen? Obviously if someone is loaded with cash, this isn't an issue...but from an average middle class first time home buyer's financial standpoint, I have to admit at times I sit and wonder if we made a mistake.

I'm very eager to hear some input on this as well as any thoughts and ideas on how you would handle a client ready to buy a home caught in this situation.

How NOT to write a late night blog that contains a LOT of details and info.

Nick Ruta — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:11:24 -0500

There I was last night, typing up my latest blog entry for Active Rain. Posting away, writing up my extensively detailed next rambling.

I spent a good 30 minutes tweaking, adding pictures, correcting my dumb spelling mistakes...all the while NEVER saving a draft once.

Ok..phew...all done...POST DRAFT....submit!

INTERNAL SERVER ERROR 500!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

BACK! BACK! BACK!!!.....BACK YOU DUMB WEB BROWSER!!!

Too late...lost forever. While I will not sit here and place blame on Active Rain, cmon guys...what's up? That's the second time in a week I saw that error. Are we growing too big for our britches? Time for some more computing power?

Aye...and to think I am usually very good about copying and pasting the text into my clipboard before submitting such a large masterpiece.

For those of you reading this...learn from my lesson and type up your long blogs in WORD or something else local, where you can easily save it. I wouldn't use your web browser for extensively large blog entries or ones with great amount of detail due to this risk. As a last resort, if you care to use the browser for a large blog:

SELECT ALL, CTRL+C

If it blows up on you, at least you can paste the text into a local document and save yourself the loss.

So I lost out on a listing last week...and then did a /facepalm 6 days later.

Nick Ruta — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:05:57 -0500

That's right...utter failure. "Sorry, we went with another agent and didn't quite feel confident in your services."

You've seen it, you've experienced it, and I'm sure you've overcome it.

Well, last week the best we had wasn't good enough when trying to get a listing. While losing in anything, especially business, is never fun, I'm always willing to be humble and step aside when bested. You take your losses and simply move on. It's a fact that you need to realize real quick in this industry or you'll never make it.

Those of you who have read my profile most likely know that I'm in this business with family at my side. My Brother with 4 years under his belt and my father Sam Ruta, 30 years experience and successful broker of a 9 office Coldwell Banker franchise, gave, in my opinion, an outstanding presentation of our services to a prospective seller. I'm talking top notch company presentation on Sam's part, followed by my detailed marketing plan which included the use of Real Estate Shows using 80 pictures I took of their property (that's right 80!!!) and a complete overview of the extensive Internet Marketing we offer. I was even ready with FULL MOTION VIDEO for Youtube and other uses.

Everything went well, the sellers seemed to love our presentation, were severely impressed by our marketing plan, and I fully expected to return the following morning to wrap it all up and get the deal. Why didn't we get the deal over that night? They already had a commitment with another competing agent. So...ok..we'll wait kindly. It's a wrap, there's just no way we can blow this.

Yet blow it we did, still completely unsure of how...but we lost it. Early the next morning Sam got a call, we had lost the listing to another agent indeed due to reasons I don't even want to get into. (it's a whole other post) So, when I heard the news I shook my head, took my lumps and threw up my hands.

But....I know you are wondering, and it's probably eating you...."Nick, what in the heck is a /facepalm"

Anyone that has ever played World of Warcraft would know this term quite well....but for those of you who are n00bs, let me explain the overall point of that expression in great detail:

Immediately after losing the listing I kept a watchful eye out for the property to pop up in the MLS system. I just had to see who we lost to. Literally a day after we got the call stating we were not chosen, the listing appeared....

...ugh it pains me to say this, with TWO LESS bedrooms and showing ZERO BATHROOMS.

WHHATT?? Ok I thought, it must be an error and this person will correct it asap.

Nope, many hours go by that day. (oh you bet I was checking)
TWO days go by. (Gotta be kidding...)
THREE DAYS go by. (UNBELIEVABLE!)

I couldn't believe it. How do you NOT catch this as a professional agent? It's a $600,000 listing!!!

On day FOUR the listing was corrected in the MLS. But in my opinion, the magic time had almost gone entirely by. It's extremely important to get your listing in correctly ON DAY ONE to set off all of the immediate auto-prospecting flags which generate emails to every client who may be looking for such properties. Also, anyone searching for that property criteria NEVER SAW IT for THREE FULL DAYS. 3 FULL DAYS that listing was basically unknown in the MLS.

The situation gets better.

Today, 6 days later, I humored myself and looked up the listing again, this time on the agent's actual company website.

Again, we're now 6 days into this since the listing appeared in the MLS. When I found the listing on their own company website, which by the way is a member of a LARGE national franchise, the listing has ZERO PHOTOS. 6 days later...NO PHOTOS.

It's coming people...it's coming....brace yourself...

So next I dig out the agent's personal website information and go surfing for it. Surely this agent wouldn't fudge the listing on their own website???? 6 Days LATER? So I find the agent's site, find the listing, and attempt to view more than the front shot of the house, and am greeted with a POP-UP WINDOW that explains I need to give up all my personal information before viewing any more pictures. That's right....

YOU CANNOT VIEW ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS WITHOUT SIGNING INTO THEIR SITE.

Are you kidding me? I'm not stupid, and either is today's consumer...I'll find it elsewhere online!!! Consumers of today WILL NOT give up personal information to look at information they can find on 27 other websites. I'll look for the listing on a competitor site and find the pictures that way you dolt!!!!

Lastly...I looked up the listing on Trulia, Google, etc., you know, the big boys in the game now. Well, guess where the listing points the consumer if they want more information????

BACK TO THE AGENT WEBSITE WHERE I HAVE TO SIGN IN TO SEE PICTURES!??!?!

Enough said...here it is...in all it's glory...

Coldwell Banker Heritage Real Estate is Proud to Sponsor the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs!

Nick Ruta — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:56:47 -0500

Beginning this year our brokerage, Coldwell Banker Heritage Real Estate, will be proud sponsors of the new Philadelphia Phillies Triple A affiliate minor league baseball team, The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs!

I know exactly what you are thinking....WHAT in the heck is an IRON PIG??

From the Official Iron Pigs Website FAQ:

How was the team name selected and what is an IronPig? The team name, selected by a public vote from the community, was derived from "Pig Iron" -- the raw iron melted down to make the steel that was once the leading industry here in the Lehigh Valley.

Visit the Official Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs Website For More Information!

Get Your Hats and Shirts Today at the Iron Pigs Online Store!

Coldwell Banker Heritage Real Estate
is looking forward to a great inaugural season from our hometown IRON PIGS!

780 Cornwallis Drive Forks Township PA 18040

Nick Ruta — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:07:21 -0500

780 Cornwallis Dr Forks Twp, PA 18040

780 Cornwallis Drive, Easton, PA 18040 View Map

***HOME CURRENTLY VACANT*** Original owners very sad to leave, but must. Home is in absolutely mint condition inside and out and has been kept this way since new. Don't miss a unique opportunity to own a lovely with easy access to all major routes for commuters. Being near Forks Community Park is great for kids. You will love the open concept kitchen, breakfast area and family room with raised hearth brick FP and newer Pella door leading to large deck and picturesque grounds, 16 x 30 Olympic in ground pool and tree lined rear yard offering a quiet serene atmosphere. Inside you'll find a formal LR, large DR with bump out, huge kitchen with abundance of cabinets, breakfast bar, center island, and large breakfast area. Lots of upgrades including newer ceramic floors in foyer, kitchen and all baths, sky lite & vaulted ceiling in master bath, turned staircase with large 2nd floor landing. Econo. gas heat and C/A and a two car gar. SELLERS OFFERING FREE 12 MONTH HOME WARRANTY. REPAINTING AND WALLPAPER REMOVAL CURRENTLY BEING DONE!

Details

Asking Price:

$339,900

MLS:

297466

Sq. Feet:

2208

Lot Size:

12480

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

2 & 1/

# of Floors:

Garage Size:

Subdivision:

Sullivans March

Year Built:

1993

Property Amenities

Contact Info

Nick Ruta
Realtor

Main 610-791-3557 x480
Cell 267-933-3018
Email | Website

Why you should be using your MLS Auto-Prospecting for EXPIREDS!

Nick Ruta — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:14:28 -0500

We've all heard it before...PROSPECT, PROSPECT, PROSPECT. When you get into this business, it's your LIFEBLOOD of survival. Well one of the ways a lot of people get their start is to go after expired listings. What happens though??? I'll tell ya and I'll bet you know exactly what I am about to say, as you probably DO IT!!!

Most people sit their butt down at the MLS website site, logon, fumble with their morning coffee, and start searching...digging through queries, looking at the latest expireds on a daily hot-sheet, or just stumbling across the red flagged listings while doing other things.

Why WASTE YOUR TIME with that? Why not have a system setup that simply emails YOU expired listings EVERYDAY???

If you are one of the lucky few with an MLS system that has an Auto-Prospecting system, let me guess, you use it for clients 100% of the time...right? And I bet you only use it to send clients prospective properties?? Right??

"Well DUHHHH Nick, what else would I use it for?"

EXPIREDS!!! THAT'S WHAT!!!!

Follow me here: (screen-shot example from my MLS system is below)

1. Go into your MLS Auto-Prospecting System
2. Put YOURSELF in it as a contact. That's right...YOU!
3. When using an email address, you may want to use a secondary one to keep the confusion down.
4. Setup your Auto-Prospecting Search Criteria (to keep your results reasonable, I recommend using your primary coverage area / town / city)
5. For listing STATUS, hopefully you have EXPIRED as a choice.
6. Choose EXPIRED and pick a current start date and pick an end date, let's say Dec 31st, 2008.

THAT'S IT! Save the criteria and let the wonder begin. What you essentially just did was setup an automatic email with a DAILY feed to YOU anytime a listing that meets your criteria expires!!!

HOW SWEET IS THAT!!!??!?!

Now with your morning Wheaties you can read your email (cmon, you know you read it before taking a shower) and see any expireds that happened at 3:07am while you were snoozing!! You've just gotten the jump on the normal crowd who goes into the office and logs in to the MLS to look at hot-sheets and expired print outs of everything from the entire MLS. BLAH..who needs all that!!! Not ME!!!

What you do indeed now need, is to GET THOSE EXPIREDS!!