I've just completed updating my pages on Face Book, Linked in and Active Rain, as well as posting my new blog at http://LakeConroe411.com which is in Montgomery County, TX.

I just returned from an Allen Hainge CyberStar Summit, in Scottsdale, AZ.  What an amazing time of sharing and networking. Allen's CyberStars are a group of 200+ real estate brokers and agents from across the country, that must meet his by-invitation only criteria. You may visit http://AFHSeminars.com to learn more about the qualifications.

The sharing of techincal expertise and marketing methods were absolutely amazing. One of the things that I will share in this post is the importantance of social networking.

Social networking gives you the ability to connect with people you may have lost touch with, or people who may have a solution for your marketing or tech issues and many other things.

Be sure to visit http://linkedin.com and http://facebook.com to see how it may benefit you.

I'm trying to get organized and stay on top of my blogging. There have been some exciting things going on so stay tuned.  I'll get this up and going very soon.

Updates on Texas too. 

Seems like everywhere I turn now, agents are telling "war stories" of how things have gone terribly wrong during a transaction. Everything from parties to the deal failing to disclose everything to out and out lies.

I recently had a conversation with a real estate coach that had just returned from a speaking engagement for a large real estate firm. Some of the statistics he quoted were astounding to me. He asked the audience of over 100 agents one question: "How many of you have been in the real estate business full-time for three years or longer"? How many would you guess? 20 or 30? How about 3! I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned I would want someone with experience and a track record that could help me with a large number of solutions gained from 1000's of transactions.

This may sound self serving, and in a way it is. After 34 years of satisfactorly helping home buyers, owners and investors reach their goals, I am happy to say there have only been a few minor complaints that I have learned from over the years. Relying upon experience in this market place is the key to getting your property sold or buying a home or investment at the right price.

Evidence of how the Santa Rosa, California real estate market is changing was clearly evidenced yesterday. I previewed homes on the Bay Area Real Estate brokers tour. Of eleven properties previewed, 6 properties had been professionally staged. Also, many incentives to view particular properties were promoted. Free Car wash certificates when you viewed a specific property, free cookies, Full lunches with gourmet sandwiches, cookies and bottled water, Gift certificates to restaurants & retailers as well as other promotions were offered to get the properties viewed. So the shift seems to be towards staging, (decluttering, pretty arrangements and accessories, furniture settings, art work, and new paint) to fully showcase the property for sale. Brokers are pulling out all the stops to get their customers homes shown. They are using every promotion and marketing strategy to obtain the best results for their sellers.

Be sure to choose a professional that has years of experience and written marketing and promotion plan that will showcase your property and make it a stand out from all the others. There is more competition to get the highest price within the least amount of time. Choose your professionals wisely.

The local Santa Rosa, CA, newspaper "The Press Democrat" recently wrote an article saying that several real estate markets had been identified as least likely to encounter a real estate "bubble". College Station, TX and Houston, TX showed being undervalued by 24% and 16% respectively.

Be careful when evaluating real estate outside your own areas of knowledge. Be sure you are working with an experienced Realtor who has an established network in place to provide all the neccessary support required when investing out of your area.

I fell in love with Texas, about two years ago on a trip to see some relatives in College Station. Brenda, my fiance and I stayed in Montgomery, TX very near Lake Conroe. Other than business trips over the years to Dallas and Ft. Worth, I had never seen Texas.

While Brenda was visiting her grandchildren in College Station, I became a kid in a candy store. I drove the entire area, spoke with real estate agents, toured open houses and drove the beautiful areas in Houston and the surrounding areas. I did not want to leave with out securing our future with Texas real estate. In July of 2005, I purchased a modest home in April Sound. April Sound is a gated secure community with many amenities and close to the kids and many of our new found friends. It is not our ultimate home in Texas, but it assures us, our place in Texas.

I did the research and educated myself to become familiar with the area and the peoples serving it. I am now a Texas resident as well as a California Resident.

Having been a Real Estate broker in California for over 30 years, I recognized the investment opportunities that were readily available and I knew I wanted to be a Texas Real Estate broker. I fell in love with the design and style of the Texas homes and communities and investment properties.  After completing more than 225 mandated hours of continuing education, on June 1, 2006, I passed the Texas Real Estate brokers exam. My Texas Brokers License Number is 0556143.