One of the things that excited me most when I heard the 3G upgrade was coming for OS3 was the rumor that we'd be able to tether our iPhones to our computers for wireless internet connectivity.  I've had an air card for a few years, but the idea of being able to deactivate that and just use my iPhone's internet connection of course excites me, because it equates to more money in my pocket.  Needless to say, I was highly disappointed to learn after the upgrade that AT&T wasn't offering tethering as an option 'yet.'

Well, there is now a work-around.  I actually just did this and am now posting this blog post without the use of my standard office internet connection, but rather with the connection my laptop is borrowing from my iPhone.  Follow this link to an article at pcmag.com, which will walk you through setting up iPhone internet tethering on your 3G.  Once you're done, please come back here and let us know that you successfully pulled it off!

DISCLAIMER: As you'll read in the article, nobody knows if AT&T will charge extra for this or, if they do, how much it will cost, so use it at your own risk!

By the way, what's up with the spellchecker telling me "internet" isn't a word?

A few people have emailed me this weekend, asking how to upgrade their iPhones to the new 3.0 Operating System, which Apple just released early last week, so I thought I'd provide a quick run-down on the easy steps to upgrade.  Just have your iPhone, your computer, and your iPhone cable ready. 

• First, open your iTunes on your computer and click the 'Help' tab at the top, then go to 'Check for Updates' to verify that you have the latest version of iTunes on your computer.  If you're up-to-date, great!  If not, go ahead and update it now.
• Next, with iTunes already open, plug your iPhone into your computer.  It may take a minute, but once your iPhone shows up in the list on the left side of your iTunes screen, click on it.  This will bring up your iPhone's control screen.  In the middle of the summary page, you'll see a button that says 'Check for Update.'  Click that button and wait.  It will either tell you that your version is current, or that you need to upgrade. 

From there, it's easy, just follow the prompts on the screen as it automatically walks you through the upgrading of your iPhone's OS.

Once it's done, go exploring and check out all the nice little extras you just go for free!

Questions, or problems?  Post them here!

So, as I type this, my trusty iPhone is under the knife.  It's getting the new 3.0 Operating System installed and, needless to say, I'm WAY excited.  I know, say it, I'm a geek.  So, I wanted to post a quick run-down of the new features that iPhone users will gain by taking advantage of this FREE upgrade.  All you have to do is hook your phone up to your computer and let iTunes upgrade.  Here's what I copied from the screen as my phone updates:

iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update

This update contains over 100 new features, including the following:

• Cut, Copy & Paste with shake to undo
• Landscape keyboard in key applications
• Enhanced Messages application- Send and receive photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS* - Forward and delete single or multiple messages
• Added search feature in Mail, Calendar, Notes and iPod
• Spotlight search across iPhone
• Support for CalDAV and subscriptions in Calendar
• Improvements to Safari - Performance - HTML 5 support - HTTP Streaming audio and video - Auto-fill usernames and passwords
• New Voice Memos application
• Sync Notes with a Mac or PC via iTunes
• Internet Tethering over USB and Bluetooth*
• Browse and download movies, TV shows, and audiobooks from the iTunes Store**
• Stereo Bluetooth***
• Wi-Fi auto login
• Enhanced Stocks application
• More Parental Control options for Apps, Music, Movies and TV Shows
• iTunes account creation and login**
• YouTube account login and access to subscriptions, ratings and favorites**
• Shake to shuffle
• New languages, dictionaries, and keyboards
• Find my iPhone and Remote Wipe via MobileMe (subscription required)**
• Support for more Exchange policies
• Create and send Exchange meeting invitations
• Search mail on server (Exchange Server 2007 and supported IMAP servers)
• Search LDAP company directory
• VPN on demand and VPN proxy support
• Encrypted configuration profiles
• Encrypted iTunes backups
• 1,000 new developer APIs, including: - In App Purchases - Apple Push Notification Service - Accessories support - Peer to Peer Connectivity - Embedded Maps - iPod Library Access
• Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPhone
• iPhone 3G
• iPhone 3G S

* Compatible only with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S and requires support from your wireless provider.

** Not available in all regions or in all languages.

*** Compatible only with iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S.

Granted, some of these features are pretty much no-brainers and should have been thought of in the beginning, but some of them are nice upgrades also. 

Which new features have you most excited about this upgrade??

 UPDATE: Here's a screenshot of the landscape keyboard:

And a screenshot of the new spotlight search feature in action:

The 'LISTING OF THE WEEK', located at 11665 Marbella Dr, is one of our beautiful listings, and will be open to the public today and tomorrow from 2 to 5. Here are some pictures to whet your appetite:

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This post was originally written and posted at our Edmond and Oklahoma City real estate blog.

One of the most used features of my iPhone might well be the camera. While the experts will tell you the camera on the iPhone is lacking (and it is in some ways), it's far better than they'd have you believe.  In fact, I frequently get comments like 'Wow, you took that with your phone?'

The convenience of always having my iPhone in my pocket has provided far more opportunity for capturing those unexpected moments with my wife & kids, in addition to taking listing pics on the fly and posting them for immediate marketing exposure, or capturing funny or interesting things I see when showing homes and sharing them with my followers and friends.

I recently stumbled across a pretty detailed write-up of tips for maximizing your iPhone camera's abilities. Using a little thought and experimenting with different techniques, you'll be surprised what you can do with that handy little camera phone.

One tip I'll add as well, which was shared with me by a good friend and fellow tech-junkie not too long ago is this; when you're taking a picture, put your finger or thumb on the shutter button and hold it there until you've steadied the camera and you're ready for the picture to be taken, then just release.  This helps you eliminate blurry pics by reducing the amount of movement when you're ready to snap your pic.

Happy shooting!!

UPDATE: Special thanks to my friend Douglas for sharing a link to some further proof of the abilities of an iPhone camera.

Being a huge tech junkie, I always enjoy new gadgets, especially if they have some useful function that helps me with my day-to-day real estate work, and I'm always looking for the latest and greatest iPhone apps.

Well, Zillow just launched a new app that appears to have some useful functions.  Now, I'm not a big fan of Zillow's 'Zestimates' because I've found major variances between their numbers and the real numbers in my market, both for the plus and the minus.  I've seen houses over-zestimated by $50K and I've seen other under-zestimated by $50K, so I wouldn't advise anyone to use Zillow's numbers as a guide to determining the value of a home they're thinking about buying or selling, but this new app does show you some public record information about most given properties, based on your GPS location.

So, let's say you're driving down the street and you're curious when a particular home last sold, or how much it sold for... you can find that out immediately with this app.  You can also find out the asking price of a house that's for sale as you drive by.

I haven't had a chance to fully test this app, so I'm not making any claims yet, but it's worth the money (FREE) to download it and see if it's useful to you in any way.  Here are a few screenshots that show the map view and what it looks like if you tap on a house:

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In case you missed it, the latest real estate statistics have been published for the OKC Metro, including such areas as Edmond, Deer Creek, Moore, Norman, Piedmont, Yukon and beyond.  Judge for yourself, but I'd say there are some very positive indicators of where we've been and where we're going, with sales up and inventory levels down.

With the flurry of activity our team - and almost every other agent we've talked to lately - is experiencing, I fully expect that April's numbers will be even more impressive.  Stay tuned!

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WARNING: RANT AHEAD!!

From time to time, I come to the conclusion that I've found the floor of incompetence in our industry, but then - to my amazement - someone comes along that shows me that there's actually a basement below that floor.  It's times like these that I'm ashamed to be considered in the 'same profession' as many of my colleagues.  I'm then left wondering, 'Can I change the title and image associated with what I do?'  The answer is Yes of course, but only a little bit at a time.  Can I truly exile myself from that negative image, though?  I pride myself on working hard to stand out in the sea of Realtors as one of the best, and my clients will tell you that I do so quite well, but to the average consumer, we're all the same, which is why I get so frustrated with some of the things I see almost daily.

Case in point; like many Realtors in today's changing world, I'm heavily plugged into social media platforms as a means of building relationships with colleagues and clients. In fact, I use it so much that I find myself actually selling homes and setting up showings via Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms on a daily basis.  When it comes to social media, the average consumer gets it, but there's a huge void within the Realtor community between those who get it and those who don't have a clue. Take a look at the image below then, before reading any further, please take a second to evaluate what's wrong with this picture:

 

The first question that came to my mind when I read the response to my query for more information was "What is the primary job of the listing agent?"  There are many tasks involved with our job, but what is our primary purpose when we list a home?  IMO, it's to get buyers through the door.  Sure, there's far more to it than just that, but through many varied means of marketing, we must get qualified buyers to see the homes we list.  Advice, contract negotiations, etc mean nothing if you can't get your listing seen.  The more who see them, the more likely it is to sell, and the more likely it is to sell for a higher price, rather than a lower one, right?  We must capitalize on EVERY opportunity to show off our listings, and when someone starts asking questions, we better be able to answer.

Next question, if you're posting your listings online, should those 'online fliers' be treated with any more/less care than a real flier you hand to someone, or an ad in the paper? If an agent saw your listing on a flier and called for information, would you say 'I don't know, call my assistant?'  What if it was an unrepresented buyer calling?

How can a homeowner honestly expect their agent to sell their house, if he/she doesn't even take the time to know what they're selling, or at the very least to take the time to find the information that's requested?  I simply asked for an address or MLS number, so I could look it up myself and possibly schedule it as a part of my clients' home tour tomorrow morning.  Who's job is it to know the listing, the agent or their assistant?  Furthermore, who's job is it to get the information from that person, mine or theirs?

Most importantly, did this agent just display to the world (possible future clients) that he/she is willing to go above and beyond to get her client's home sold?

In this market, we Realtors must be FAR more proactive than we ever have been before.  When we list homes, we have to pursue the qualified buyers, and the agents who are working with those qualified buyers. We can't sit back and expect someone else to do all the work, can we?

 

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I posted some information yesterday that's blowing the socks off of the people who get it, but maybe I wasn't clear enough in my initial post to help enough people 'GET IT.'

I'll try to be more direct:

If you or your client qualify for the New $8K Home Buyer Tax Credit, you/they can claim it on their 2008 (last year's) tax return and GET THE MONEY NOW, BEFORE BUYING A HOUSE.  This means, that money can be used toward down-payment and/or closing costs.

Did everyone get that?  GET THE MONEY BEFORE BUYING A HOUSE!

Now, there are some caveats to this deal, so make sure you read all the details and check with your CPA to get clarification on the advantages and disadvantages to this approach.  I'm not a Tax Pro, so make sure you cover yourself by checking with your Tax Pro on this BEFORE taking any action!

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