Atlanta Real Estate Blog by Janet D. Patrick

LISTING: 1Bedroom / 1Bath Condo $119,900 in Buckhead by Lindberg Station and GA 400

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:47:42 -0500

CLICK TO WATCH THE VIRTUAL TOUR:

1 Bedroom / 1 Bath Condo – Buckhead / Lindberg

Located in the Piedmont Heights Community by Lindberg Station and GA 400
(photos are below, scroll down to view)

* Sought after Buckhead / Lindberg area ¼ mile from GA 400
* Top floor unit, Largest 1 bedroom floor-plan in the complex
* Hardwood floors, new carpeting, new paint, walk-in closet, French doors to sunroom
* Owner is a non-smoker and has no pets, move-in ready
* EXCELLENT location - walk to shopping, restaurants, and MARTA
* Ample, well lit parking for you and your guests
* Quiet, gated community with lots of dog-walks and green space
* Tennis court, swimming pool, clubhouse gym
* Well managed Home Owner’s Association and nicely maintained grounds

Listed at $119,900
706 Summit North Drive
Atlanta, GA 30324

FMLS # 3682905
Agents... Lockbox accessible, go and show!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS PROPERTY?

Please contact me:

JANET D. PATRICK, REALTOR®
Atlanta Area Specialist, Member of The Austin Team
Agents of the Year, EVERY year from 1997 - 2008

COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL
Coldwell Banker The Condo Store
900 Peachtree Street
Atlanta , GA 30309

770-314-2918 Direct
404-292-6636 Office
404-292-5411 FAX

E-mail: MyRealtor@JanetPatrick.com
Web: www.JanetPatrick.com

LISTING: 1Bedroom / 1Bath Condo $89,900 in Sandy Springs by the Prado

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:41:37 -0500

CLICK TO WATCH THE VIRTUAL TOUR:

1 Bedroom / 1 Bath Condo - Sandy Springs

Located in the Round Hill Community by The Prado
(photos are below, scroll down to view)

* Sought after Sandy Springs area 1/2 mile south of I-285 just inside the perimeter off Roswell Road
* Hardwood floors, new carpeting, new paint, crown molding
* 6x6 storage unit included!
* Ample, well lit parking
* Quiet community with lots of green space
* Nicely maintained grounds and HOA

Listed at $89,900
5400 Roswell Road, Unit G2
Atlanta, GA 30342

* Owner is a non-smoker and has no pets
* Move-in ready, unit is now vacant!
* EXCELLENT location - walk to shopping, restaurants, and MARTA
* Park either in front or in back of your unit - plenty of well maintained spaces for you and your guests
* Established community with lots of trees, greenery, and sidewalks

CLICK HERE to view the FMLS listing, # 3566006
Agents... Unit is vacant – please go and show!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS PROPERTY?

Please contact me:

JANET D. PATRICK, REALTOR®
Atlanta Area Specialist

COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL
Coldwell Banker The Condo Store

770-314-2918 Direct
404-292-6636 Office
404-292-5411 FAX

E-mail: MyRealtor@JanetPatrick.com
www.JanetPatrick.com

Eight Ways (and more) to Simplify Your Life

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 11:14:06 -0600

I came across THIS article from 1998 today by Robin Sharma called "Eight Ways To Simplify Your Life and Have More Fun" - a brief summary is below but you can click the link (in all caps) for details:

1. Find work that you love

2. Go on a "news fast"

3. Learn to say no

4. Connect with nature

5. Laugh daily

6. Sell your TV

7. Be silent

8. Eat less

I'd like to add a few to the list that I've implemented on my own through the years that have helped me greatly:

1. HAVE LITTLE TO NO DRY CLEANING OR IRONING.

I make a VERY conscience effort to buy only machine-washable clothes so I curb my dry-cleaning bill and don't have yet ANOTHER errand to have to run by dropping it off & picking it up. I like to buy solid, earth-tone clothes that are wrinkle resistant so I can just take them out of the dryer immediately and usually not even need to crack out the ironing board!

Having nothing but solid, earth-tone clothes to chose from in my closet almost ALWAYS guarantees that as long as I've got something clean - it will all match. Doesn't create a big to-do of "what am I going to wear?" It also makes it easy when it comes time to do laundry - one load for darks, one load for lights. No big whoop.

I add color to my wardrobe with scarves around my neck, headbands in my hair, cool shoes, or fun jewelry. Of course - it's hard to say NO clothes that need to be dry-cleaned and that's o.k. If I only have to drop a few items off at the dry-cleaners twice a year that's still a HUGE improvement!

2. STOP DOING DISHES!

I live alone so this is probably MUCH easier for me than for couples with kids, but I realized one day that I had all these dishes, glasses, silverware stacking up in my sink and eventually loading my dishwasher down and that it was ridiculous since I'm single.

So what I did was, I sold all of my nice dishes, cups and silverware on E-bay. I don't do much entertaining in my home, so I went to the thrift store and bought one plate, one bowl, one coffee mug, and one set of flatware. Now when I use any of it, I immediately rinse it out, dry it w/ a towel, and put it back in the cabinet.

Now I never have dishes piling up in the sink - I never have to load or unload the dishwasher! In fact, I haven't run my dishwasher in years!

3. TAKE A BREAK!

I had to *make* myself travel in 2006 and it was WONDERFUL! I realized in the autumn of 2005 that I hadn't taken a real vacation in maybe 5+ years. So I decided to change that all around. In 2006 I took short, affordable weekend getaway vacations in Manhattan, Chicago, Savanah Georgia, downtown Atlanta, and Hike Inn by Amicolola Falls in the North Georgia Mountains.

I think that the reason I hadn't taken a break was because I had this idea that I couldn't miss work and that I couldn't afford to take a 'real' vacation. Leaving town on a Thursday night gets the travel time out of the way and seeing a new city over Friday and Saturday is usually enough time for me to be happy and feel like I've had time away from the day-to-day. Then using Sunday morning as travel back time and Sunday evening to get caught up on laundry and hang out on the sofa a bit makes you feel like you weren't gone forever and gives you plenty of time to readjust your head so you can get back to work on Monday morning.

What a great way to recharge!

I would LOVE to hear input from everyone on how YOU simplify your life and make things easier for yourself!

Do You Have An Office or Do You Work at Home?

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:58:49 -0600

I've been contemplating signing a lease on an executive office for awhile now... however - I had a very good trusted friend and mentor (my father) tell me that he thought it was SUCH a bad idea that he's now decided he can't even talk with me about it anymore. He said I'm spending too much money w/ not enough return.

But I just CAN'T stay motivated and focused at home. I live in a small 2 bedroom condo and have basically set up shop in my bedroom where, in the past, I surfed the internet only for fun and responded to personal E-mails, checked movie times, found recipies, etc...

I've found myself slipping into bad habits of staying up late, waking up late, not getting dressed until 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, etc... NOT GOOD!!!

So I've decided to accept my weakness (the inability to effectively work from home) and I signed a 6 month lease at $300 a month starting January 1st in a brand new executive suites office complex a short bike-ride from home.

It's not a HUGE amount of money - even though I agree that EVERY bit counts... and it's not for a huge amount of time (a six month lease is almost unheard of in commercial leasing!)

Anywhoo... My dad DID make a good point of say that if I can't get motivated and put my big girl britches on and just get out of bed every morning and do what I'm supposed to do - why would spending $300 a month on an office where I have no more accountability at make any difference? (This executive office isn't in my broker's building).

I think that actually spending the extra money WILL be the motivation that I need. I'll have to justify paying for the office in my own head SOMEhow, ya' know? I think it'll be good for me to have a place to put all my stuff and actually have an office to go to though. I've been self-employed before but I had an office to go to. Working out of my home is just TOO distracting for me and I think I'll know if leasing an office was a good idea or not in 6 months. It won't kill me and it just might make things a LOT better for me. Worse case scenario - I spend $1,800 and learn a good lesson.

So now I'm curious as to how everyone else does it?!! WHAT DO YOU DO?

ARTICLE: Creative Realtors Turn To YouTube

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 12:22:38 -0600

I've been thinking of posting real estate videos to YouTube for quite some time now but just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. YouTube is a FREE service and I can do the video myself... other than my time - it's virtually FREE!

So today I came across an excellent article over on ContraCostaTimes.com that has made me add one more thing to my goals for 2007 - start hosting video tours for listings over on YouTube

CLICK HERE to read the article yourself.

I'm curious if any of you have every posted a self-guided video tour of a listing before? Any tips for us newbies? I've been reading other info. on the internet and I'm thinking that once I finally get in gear next month and do this I might write my own how-to. Or at least a good list of things to avoid. heh!

My newsletter update & free newsletter template for YOU!

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 13:42:37 -0600

As many of you know - I just started printing an 8-page newsletter every month and mailing them out to about 200 people. My first edition went out in October and I am VERY happy to say that I already found a client as a direct result of my newsletter - the closing scheduled for this Tuesday!!!

My parent's neighbors are a really sweet couple whom I've known for years so of course, they are on my mailing list. They had a friend who decided to buy a home in the Atlanta metro area and they handed him my newsletter. The first time I met with him, he had my newsletter in hand and had written notes all over it. ha!

The software I use to do my newsletter with is Microsoft Publisher - I print my newsletter on an 11x17 paper I buy and then bring to OfficeMax for them to print (they don't carry this color in 11x17). They print the newsletter front & back in black ink only, collate the sheets, then fold them in half to 8-1/2x11.

I pick them up, fold them in half again (to 5-1/2x8-1/2 mailing size), run labels from my mailing list on my home computer, put the labels on along with the circle sealer labels for mailing and add postage.

For 200 finished sets of newsletters it costs me around $1.10 each.

I am more than happy to add you to my mailing list if you'll just send me your contact info so you can see what the finished newsletter looks like and if you'd like a copy of the Microsoft Publisher template, I am more than happy to share that with you as well - just send me an E-mail at MyRealtor@JanetPatrick.com and I'll send it to you that way. You'll have to tweak several things, but at least you'll have the shell to start working with & not have to reinvent the wheel from scratch.

Even though this is a time consuming project each month - I *do* think it's worth it because it's an excellent way to keep your name, face, phone number, and logo in front of your sphere of influence TWELVE times a year. Plus - you never know who they're going to pass your info. along to. It's probably easier for friends & family to pass on a newsletter than to keep up w/ your business cards & pass those along.

I hear a lot of people talk about how sending out a newsletter via E-mail ONLY is the way to go, but I disagree. You don't even know if the recipients spam-filter is blocking your message or not. When I get online newsletters I rarely read them and I definitely do NOT hold on to them - I delete them even if I do read a portion of the stuff inside.

With a PAPER newsletter - they can put it on the coffee table until they're ready to read it. They can pass it on to other people. I know we all get junk-mail in the mailbox as well as our E-mail accounts, but I at least LOOK at everything before I recycle or shred it if it comes in my physical mailbox - it's already physically IN MY HAND anyways. Many times I just delete things in my E-mail if it doesn't look like something I'm interested in.

ok, well... I was just excited about the SPEEDY return on investment and wanted to share!

Mistakes That Can Turn a Flip into a Flop

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 12:57:42 -0600

I took THIS from REALTOR.org - something I stumbled upon that was written back in October - but I thought it was good information:

MISTAKES THAT CAN TURN A FLIP INTO A FLOP

Your goal may be to build wealth quickly by buying and selling properties. But the reality is that flipping properties is a tough business. Here are 10 mistakes that could turn a flip into a flop.

Liar loans. "Lying on a mortgage application is a federal crime," says Joseph Falk of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. "It includes bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud and potentially a host of state offenses. This can result in jail time."

Overpaying. No matter how promising the property, the bottom line is trump.

Lacking cash. Desperation makes investors do crazy things. When you act in haste, you're more likely to make poor decisions.

Quitting your day job. A steady source of cash staves off desperation.

Hiring unlicensed contractors. Not only do they present an insurance risk, but worse yet, often they don’t get the job done.

Buying sight unseen. You can bet it will be uglier than the seller said it was.

Buying property far, far away. Even the tiniest repair can mushroom into a crisis.

Buying too many properties too fast. Too much money, too little time.

Underestimating remodeling costs. There’s no such thing as a cheap and easy fix.

Having a poor exit strategy. Running out of cash and living on credit cards doesn’t work.

Source: USA Today, Noelle Knox (10/23/2006)

I'd like to add the comment that watching TV shows about how quick & easy it is to flip houses does NOT help people either. Do NOT consider these shows any kind of study guide! ha!

What to expect at Closing and why to buy Title Insurance

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:47:19 -0600

Thought this might be of use to newer agents or seasoned agents working with new buyers. A client of mine has his closing scheduled for this Friday and he is a first time home buyer.

As a courtesy, I sent him an E-mail with links to information describing the closing process and why to buy Title Insurance so I thought I'd share it with all of you here. I'll copy & paste an excerpt below of the E-mail I sent him. You are more than welcome to copy & paste this yourself.

If you know of an even better resource to pass on to 1st time buyers, please post your thoughts or links.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

Click on the terms in all caps for an explanation of what happens at CLOSING and the definition and purpose of TITLE INSURANCE.

CLICK HERE for a more in-depth outline of four of the major documents involved at closing in addition to the purchase agreement (contract).

CLICK HERE for a more in-depth explanation of Title Insurance.

Multiple holiday parties and what to wear

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 12:48:36 -0600

Amazing that it's only December 2nd but that holiday parties are already here!!!

I just realized that even thought it's only the 2nd, I've already had many holiday party invites this year and that it is *possible* that some of the same people might be at some of these parties so now I'm thinking... DAMN! I've got to have at LEAST three really sharp outfits to wear! ha! ha! ha!

I hate shopping - especially for clothes... it reminds me of how I've not been working out the way I should. heh! But I also hate to spend money on stuff. I have NO problem blowing crazy money on an awesome top floor hotel room overlooking everything while on vacation - but an outfit I'll only have the opportunity to wear a couple of times before donating it?

I've thought about going to the consignment shop so I don't have to spend top retail money on a new outfit. But then that whole, "I hate shopping" thing kicks in and what if they don't have a whole lot of selection in my size? I've wasted a trip to a store that netted me nothing and then I've got to wind up going to the 'sure thing' store at the mall I was dreading going to in the first place. ha!

I've almost decided to get a really sharp black pant-suit and wear it to ALL the parties, but just change the blouse I wear each time!!! AAAHHHhhhhhh!!!!! Men have it so easy! All they really have to do is wear a different tie!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

;-)

Century 21 Network INTRODUCTIONS

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:58:34 -0600

Hello everyone and thank you for joining the Century 21 Network group!

GROUP DESCRIPTION:

This group is for Century 21 real estate agents and brokers to meet & greet, exchange thoughts and ideas, and network for referrals!

Start a new topic if you can't find what you're looking for or post to an ongoing conversation. This is a group where we can collectively pool our thoughts, opinions, questions and answers about real estate and those of us within the Century 21 umbrella.

Thought I'd start things off with an introduction thread. :D

My name is Janet D. Patrick and I'm with Century 21 Ann Boggs & Associates in Duluth, Georgia which is about 30-45 minutes north of downtown Atlanta. I focus much of my business in the Atlanta Metro area but of course, go where the clients take me! I got my real estate license earlier this year and thus far have been working exclusively with buyers (residential and commercial) but have been thinking that a goal for 2007 will be to work more listings.

I love the ActiveRain network and have found it to be an *excellent* resource when trying to figure out how everyone else does things. I've also been able to make some REAL connections with people.

You can view my website and learn even more about me by CLICKING HERE.

Please tell us a little about yourself and invite a fellow Century 21 friend to join!

Atlanta Real Estate Q & A - START HERE!

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:27:38 -0600

GROUP INTRODUCTION:

Have a question about Atlanta area real estate? Wanna' talk about what's going on in your neighborhood or the one down the street or across town? Curious about something you read in the paper or online and want to know more? Looking for a real estate agent? Need an Atlanta area referal? LOOK NO FURTHER! Post it here and let's talk! This group is for anyone interested in talking Atlanta Real Estate! Start a new topic if you can't find what you're looking for - post to an ongoing converstation. This is a group where we can collectively pool our thoughts, opinions, questions and answers about real estate and the things that effect it in the Atlanta area.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 15:58:14 -0600

Just wanted to say what I'm cyber-thankful for... ACTIVERAIN.COM!!!

and of course, all the people who make it such an EXCELLENT resource!

Thanks to ALL OF YOU who contribute to this very educational and insightful community. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Janet D. Patrick

RESOURCE: Electronic signatures and EchoSign.com

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 16:11:41 -0600

A good friend of mine just sent me a link to this website www.EchoSign.com

I took this from their website, "...EchoSign makes getting customer contracts, purchase orders, quotes and insertion orders signed as easy as getting them out. Want to know if your customer’s reviewed it? EchoSign let’s you know that, whose signed, when and let's you send reminders until it’s done.."

I haven't used them yet but I'm wondering if this would be legal to create a binding contract for real estate? Is that something that is determined state by state?

This would kick SERIOUS ass if I could start using E-signatures *especially* for people moving to Atlanta from out of state!

Any input you can offer on this or any other similar product / service / method would be greatly appreciated!

Janet D. Patrick

My class on internet marketing, social networking, blogging, and netiquette

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:14:18 -0600

As a result of all the talking about Active Rain I've been doing to other agents and brokers, my success in gaining business through the internet, and basically just because I'm an internet nerd - I've been asked to give a talk to a group of agents on internet marketing, social networking sites, blogging, and netiquette.

I'M SO EXCITED!

It's not until March, so I'm only in the very early stages of compiling my outline & gathering information - which has been fun AND scary. It's making me realize how much I know and how clueless I am at the same time! ha!

I'll keep you all posted & hopefully post my lesson materials soon.

My Personal Newsletter v/s Pre-Printed Magazines and Newsletters

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 10:25:26 -0600

Two months ago I started my own 8-page newsletter. I am personally responsible for the design, layout, content, folding, labeling, stamping, and dropping it off at the post office. After two months I've realized that it actually DOES take quite a bit of time to do it right. However, I'm very happy with the results and have already begun to reap the benefits.

After it's all said and done, it costs me $1.12 per copy (paper, printing at Office Max, labels, postage, etc) Of course, that price does not include my time. I haven't been keeping track of how long it takes me but it's at LEAST a day & 1/2 after it's all said and done!!!

Like I said - I'm VERY happy with the results and the ability to make it personal and speak directly to the people I work with EVERY month, including relevant monthly sales numbers pertaining to the counties they live in but I can see this snowballing as my database grows (currently at 200 recipients) and as the spring approaches and I'm much busier.

So I came across THIS website today advertising a monthly 12-page, customizable home improvement, glossy "magazine" that you can send your clients once a month for $1.39 per copy (if you're mailing to 200 addresses). It's called "Your Home and Lifestyle" and it would cost me $54 more per month but I'm SURE a day & 1/2 of my time is WELL worth that! ha!

After looking at THIER CURRENT ISSUE I'm not so sure I like the content. It looks more like a catalog than a serious, informative real estate magazine and I have NO desire to push retail crap on my clients – though the gifts stuff might be because it’s a December issue... For comparative purposes, THIS is a copy of my current newsletter issue (it's a PDF and might take a while to load).

Plus (and this is huge, kids) I feel weird giving some other company access to my database. It's MY responsibility to protect those names & addresses from possible spam or otherwise unsolicited mail and I have NO control over that once I've submitted everyone's info. to another company. I feel like I should get permission from each and every person before doing something like that, but how the hell do you ask 200 people in a way that doesn't make me come across as a flake?!! ha!

So my question to everyone reading this is, WHAT DO YOU DO?!! Any suggestions for me? I’d *really* like to find a way to outsource this task but not at the risk of upsetting my clients or simply clogging their mailboxes with fluff rather than real content.

I’m pretty much thinking I’ll continue what I’m doing for now but keep researching what’s available out there, then try to find a way to be o.k. with the turning over the database thing…

ARTICLE: CNN-Money.com's Top 10 Cities:Where To Buy Now

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 17:09:14 -0500

THIS ARTICLE predicts that PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLORIDA is the number one city to buy in right now.

Living in ATLANTA, Panama City Beach has always been THE place to go for spring break and summer vacation so I've been down there alot over the years and I've seen almost as much change there as I have here in Atlanta. In fact, MY PARENTS bought a place down there right on the beach maybe 20 years ago. They could tell you better than I could how all the growth has changed things.

But is this STILL the #1 place in America to 'Buy Now'?!! Kinda' seems like if you're looking at this from an investment standpoint the hub-ub would've been maybe three years ago when construction was just getting crazy and prices were reasonable. Not to say this is Las Vegas kinda' pricing, but I can tell you that in the past twenty years their condo in Panama City Beach has appreciated MUCH more than their home in the Atlanta suburbs. I just wonder what the next 20 years will do to both property values?

Which brings me to Atlanta. We come in at #10 on the list. SWEET! ha! Of course - I'll be sharing this info. with everyone I talk to!

;-)

RESOURCE: Free WiFi Hotspot Locator

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:16:06 -0500

I have a lunch meeting with a client tomorrow and want to bring my laptop. It's in an area of town that I don't visit on a weekly basis, so I'm not sure where to tell him to meet me at because I'll want to use a free WiFi connection.

So I did a Google search and found THIS website called www.jiwire.com

WOO-WHOO!

It allows you to search by zip code - PERFECT! Problem solved.

MAN, DO I LOVE THIS WHOLE 'TECHNOLOGY' THING! Heh!

DISCUSSION: My ActiveRain Profile, Networking, and Referrals

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 13:52:04 -0500

Someone asked me recently why I have so many different Associates categories (on the left of everyone's profile) - see the screen-shot example below.

When I see a real estate agent who is active and posts intelligent, quality blog entries and comments on other blogs and who has what I consider to be a professional profile and website, I link or 'associate' with with them because you never know when you might have a lead who's looking to move to another state. That's why I have them categorized by state - so I'll easily be able to look at the people I've interacted with in that state to make my decision on who I'll send the referral to.

I also have a Century 21 category and an Atlanta Area Agents cateory. I'm with Century 21 and I'm in the Atlanta area. It only makes sense to me to be able to quickly click on the "Blog Posts" button under these categories to read what everyone's writing about in these two VERY relevant areas to me.

The other two categories I have that I click on a lot are the Mortgage Lenders and Education / Coaching categories. I like to know what's going on, ya' know?

That's one of the main reasons I use Active Rain - to network with other agents and people in the real estate industry. Is this overkill? I don't think so - I think it's smart and I'm sure I'll be adding more and more categories every week.

Now I'd like to know if Active Rain has a PayPal "Donate Here" button anywhere?!! ha! LOVE this service!!!

BUSTED: Pinnacle Development Partners, LLC

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:31:36 -0500

Pinnacle Development Partners, LLC are apparently doing some funky things here in Atlanta ACCORDING TO THE SEC.

Looks like THEIR WEBSITE has basically been shut down. You can read an article w/ details about it HERE.

Is it just me, or does Atlanta seem to be a hotbed for corruption, mortgage fraud and general craziness?!!

QUESTION: Atlanta Metro Area Counties

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 22:16:57 -0500

I have a question for anyone who can answer it!

I'm trying to determine the CORRECT number of official counties in the Atlanta Metro Area.

Wikipedia shows twenty-eight counties listed as SEEN HERE.

The Atlanta Board of Realtors mentions fourteen counties as SEEN HERE.

I've always thought the Atlanta Metro area was more like 28 or so, but the Wikipedia list doesn't have Hall County included which is puzzling to me.

I've tried to find the official list but I'm not sure where to look after Googling this stuff for quite some time now.

CAN ANYONE HELP ME? Thanks in advance for taking the time to read & respond!

ONLINE NETWORKING: What works for me

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:54:32 -0500

Someone asked me this evening what my opinion is on which online networking site to find actual business contacts through as well as real estate referrals.

For me I like to create and maintain (daily, weekly, or monthly) a profile on at least five different networks mainly because I’m an internet nerd and I honestly enjoy the online interaction. I get to talk to people from all over the world about all kinds of things and while not all of it is about “business” per se, it is all very educational.

I have profiles on several different websites. I think I've just been testing the waters to see which ones I like the best and which one(s) actually work in generating business. The ones I’m currently using are ActiveRain, Tribe.net, StumbleUpon, MySpace, City-Data.com, SkyscraperPage.com and that’s the exact order I’d put them in as far as activity level from other users and real-world networking I’ve been able to do. I found my first two clients through Tribe.net and StumbleUpon and found out about ActiveRain through MySpace.

As far as being able to network with other agents for out of state referrals? ActiveRain seems to be the best since it's specifically geared towards the real estate industry and has a ranking system which gives users an incentive to participate.

Tribe.net – The main problem is it was originally targeted towards the Burner Community - creative people who like to catch stuff on fire and watch it burn. Ha! (seriously). They are simply looking for a fun, SOCIAL interaction - not business. The business tribes have started coming around, but it's taking longer for them to pan out I think - and if a discussion group has a moderator who's not active, the group is easily overtaken by spam and scammers – there’s really no checks & balances from the powers that be at Tribe.net and the users don’t care enough to black-list anyone which would be difficult at best anyway since most of the profiles are not set up with a person’s real name or photo.

But I’ve met MANY friends through Tribe.net over the past three years that I’ve used the service. I’m VERY happy with my ~social~ experience there and I found my second client there. It’s just not what I’d call the sharpest tool in the box for driving business.

StumbleUpon is a whole different creature. It’s a toolbar that you install but they really don’t want you to create a profile specifically to market your business because the toolbar is supposed to be used for “channel surfing” where you give websites a ‘thumbs-up’ if you like it or a ‘thumbs-down’ if you don’t and their technology learns the sites you like so when you click on the “STUMBLE” button – eventually all you ever see are websites that are similar to the ones you like. It is also a way to bookmark and blog about the sites you like. I keep a link to my website on the first page of my StumbleUpon blog because it receives about 2,250 hits every month and winds up driving a lot of traffic to my business website. In fact, I found my very first client through StumbleUpon!

MySpace is good sometimes. That's how I first heard about ActiveRain. I think it was initially created w/ the intent of independent musicians being able to showcase their bands – so it's mostly young people who're there strictly for the social interaction as well. Though lots of new political and business profiles have been created there over the last year, the ability to seriously market your business aspect of MySpace seems to be picking up. I’ve found that the groups over on MySpace are about as inactive as the groups on Tribe.net.

City-Data.com is a gold mine of buyers asking questions about the cities they’re about to pack up and move in to. But the people who run the site are HARD CORE about not wanting you to advertise directly in the threads so you have to send private messages to people and many times you get no response because I believe many people only create an account long enough so they can ask one or two questions, get their answers and never log back in. The site allows you to create and populate your profile nicely, but then they don’t allow you to link to it because to VIEW a profile – you have to create your own profile. POOPERS! I haven’t been using that site for long and it’s already generated several pipeline possibilities for me but we’ll see how it all pans out over the next 6 to 9 months.

SkyscraperPage.com is a great way to cyber-meet architects, engineers, developers, and urban planners. It’s how I first found out about the Urban Land Institute. If you live in an area with skyscrapers and often have clients looking for high-rise condos – I’d say this is a very cool site to check in on at least once a month and catch up on the threads and pop in every now & then to the chat rooms – very interesting conversations from people all over the world.

IN SUMMARY: By far Active Rain seems to be the place I've really been focusing my efforts as of late because I’m getting the most immediate and ‘real’ return on what I put into it (finding other Agents to use for out of state referrals and actually meeting people in ‘meatspace’).

GOING FORWARD: Some other sites I’m considering setting up shop on (eventually) are Blogger.com, Doostang.com, LinkedIn.com, NeighborWork.com, OpenBC.com, Orkut.com, Refernet.net, Ryze.com, Yahoo! 360, YouTube.com

CLICK HERE for a list of social networking sites (including the ones I just mentioned that aren't highlighted) as complied by Wikipedia.

FUN STUFF: Oktoberfest in Helen, Georgia

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:19:13 -0500

I'll be visiting HELEN, GEORGIA in two weeks for their OKTOBERFEST month-long party. I've never been but I'm sure it's probably pretty similar to the ST. PATRICK'S DAY FESTIVAL in SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. I did that for the first time this year too and had a ~blast~.

Looking very forward to having a great time w/ my friends & family! Will report back in 2 weeks.

TOOL: Lighting for your For Sale signs

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 13:11:14 -0500

In the October issue of Georgia Realtor magazine I saw a blurb about a new product that hasn't quite made it to market yet.

EXCERPT:

"...FocusOn, a patent-pending solid-state lighting product designed to illuminate "For Sale" signs at night so

that home sales continue after dark. The FocusOn operates on 4 D-cell batteries, lighting both sides of the

sign. Using a microprocessor controlled timer, the lights operate for 4 hours per night for more than 30 days on

one set of batteries. The unit is encased in a water proof cylinder that is secured to the horizontal sign support

with a clamp channel and plastic tie straps..."

The company developing this tool is called Cyberlus and their website is CYBERLUX.COM though when I logged on I couldn't find any information about this product at all. So I called them and they sent me a spec sheet. It's in a power point file so I'm not sure how to link it here but if you'd like a copy, just send me an e-mail and I'll forward it to you. They said they'd be getting the spec sheet posted to their website soon.

REVIEW: OfficeMax

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:27:36 -0500

This past weekend, I shopped getting my first newsletter printed. I went to FedEx/Kinkos and Office Depot in Peachtree Corners.

The guy at Kinkos stressed me out so bad. He was all jacked up on Mountain Dew or something and couldn't calm down long enough for me to feel like he was completely in control of himself. (Heh!) He finally admitted to me that he wasn't sure how to convert my Microsoft Publisher file to a PDF file so that they could print the pages in the correct order.

So I went down the street to Office Depot. Apparently, only one employee knows how to cut the copiers on there and unfortunately for me - that one person was not working the day I needed help.

So today I went a little further down the street to OFFICEMAX on Peachtree Parkway in Norcross where I met Nadia and Jin. THEY WERE SO AWESOME! Nadia (the Print & Document Services Supervisor) knew *exactly* how to convert my memory stick files properly so much so - that it wasn't even a point of our discussion. She and Jin (the Print & Document Services Manager) made suggestions to me about the kind of paper to use and patiently went over with me the whole 'color v/s black & white' thing and it all REALLY helped my newsletter to look even more professional than the spit-balling ideas I came to them with.

Just a shout out to people who KNOW what they're doing and DO A GREAT JOB at it!

WOOT!

REVIEW: CE Class "In Depth Contract" by Howell M. Haunson

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 23:31:31 -0500

I attended a continuing education class today hosted by ERA Buckhead Realty and held at their Southlake Parkway location in Morrow, Georgia. The title of the class was "In Depth Contract" and the speaker was closing attorney Howell M. Haunson.

I attended a HUD statement class given by Mr. Haunson maybe a month ago and got a lot out of it. This class was JUST as informative and he's really a great speaker - not just because he's a likeable guy but because he's so experienced and educated and tells it like it is in a real-world way. He always provides very helpful handouts as well.

This guy really is a rock star. HA!

If you get a chance to attend any of his classes or speaking engagements - I'd encourage new and seasoned agents and brokers alike to take advantage of the expertise he's willing to openly share.