Joseph's Blog

Rethinking Lead Generation

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:07:18 -0500

My goal with this article is to change the way you think about lead generation. Back in the "old days," purchasing real estate leads was a popular strategy. And while a lot of agents still use this approach to real estate lead generation, it is by far NOT the most effective way to go about it.

Think about it for a moment. When you purchase real estate leads, you are basically buying the names and phone numbers of people who (A) don't know you, (B) haven't asked to be contacted by you, and (C) could very well have an agent by the time you contact them.

In other words, you will be cold-calling strangers, in an age when cold calls are dying out. This is not the best way to approach real estate lead generation. When I listed a home on the MLS a few years back, I was annoyed at the number of real estate folks who contacted me each day. "Do you have an agent? Need help selling your home? Can I come over and give you a CMA?" It struck me as both desperate and annoying. There is a better approach to real estate lead generation!

Social Media Impact On Consumers

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:00:47 -0500

According to a new analysis of BIGresearch's Simultaneous Media Usage Survey (SIMM 14-Jun 09) of over 22,000 consumers, social media impacts consumers, which in turn directly impacts marketers, but not all options are the same. Social media users are likely to use more than one platform, some at a higher rate than others. For example, 60.2% of MySpace Users (those who regularly use the application) regularly use Facebook. On the other hand only 24% of Facebook Users utilize MySpace.

                                                     Regularly use the following social media:

USER           Use      Use     Use     Use      Text    Read    Post to
GROUPS        Facebook LinkedIn MySpace Twitter Msg.    Blogs   Blogs
Adults 18+    27.9%    3.3%     11.6%   4.1%     27.3%   10.9%   4.3%
Facebook Users*----     7.7%     24.0%   10.5%    47.5%   20.2%   8.8%
LinkedIn Users 63.4%    ----     24.3%   22.1%    43.3%   29.1%   16.8%
MySpace Users 60.2%    7.6%     ----    14.6%    53.7%   20.5%   11.1%
Twitter Users 72.7%    18.8%    39.4%   ----     56.9%   49.3%   31.0%
Texters        48.5%    5.2%     21.5%   8.3%     ----    17.7%   7.8%
Blog Readers   51.0%    8.6%     20.5%   17.7%    44.0%   ----    34.0%
Blog Posters** 59.0%    13.1%    28.6%   27.9%    50.8%   83.3%   ----

Source: BIGresearch, SIMM 14
*To be read as: 7.7% of Facebook Users regularly use LinkedIn, 24% use MySpace.
**Blog Posters include those who post to blogs and maintain a blog

                Social       Adults
                Media Users*   18+
Male           42.5%         48.7%
Female          57.5%         51.3%
Average Age     38.2          45.1
Average Income $68,311       $66,942

In the next 6 months, plan to buy:
                Social       Adults
                Media Users*   18+
Vacation        30.2%          26.3%
Furniture       17.8%          12.8%
Computer        17.3%          13.2%
TV              15.9%          12.4%
Car/truck       12.7%          10.8%

Source: BIGresearch, SIMM 14
*Social Media includes: Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Texting and Blog Users

When looking specifically at the user of each platform, Facebook users average 37 years old and MySpace users are the youngest at an average age of 33 of those profiled. LinkedIn users have the highest incomes. Social media usage for ethnic groups indexes high across most social medias.

           Facebook   LinkedIn MySpace Twitter Texters   Blog     Blog
           Users      Users     Users     Users              Readers Posters*
Male      40.2%      62.0%     48.4%   50.8%     38.3%    43.8%    47.5%
Female      59.8%      38.0%   51.6%   49.2%     61.7%    56.2%    52.5%
Avg. Age     37.1       40.6     33.0    35.5      36.2    38.3     36.0
Avg. Income $68,523    $96,937   $51,489   $68,740 $69,595 $67,941 $63,131
Hispanic     15.8%      14.9%     26.9%   19.1%     18.0%    17.7%    21.6%
Black        12.1%      11.7%     13.6%   17.0%     15.7%    13.0%    12.9%
Asian        2.9%       4.8%     1.7%    5.4%      2.2%    3.5%     4.4%
White        75.7%      75.3%     64.9%   64.4%     70.2%    71.5%    69.0%

Can the world live with a frugal American consumer?

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 23:00:02 -0600

For all the criticism of Americans and their profligate spending in recent years, it's clear that their appetite kept a lot of people in business. BusinessWeek editor-in-chief Steve Adler moderated a panel at Davos today on the subject of how the world will cope with a new frugality among U.S. consumers.

The impact of the sharp drop in spending has proven devastating to manufacturers. Adler noted that Americans have accounted for nearly a quarter of global consumption in recent years, about three times the level of spending by consumers in China and India combined. Now, the U.S. consumer engine is slowing at a record pace.

The most dire assessment came from Ian Davis, Worldwide Managing Director of McKinsey & Company (U.K.). He noted that "Americans have no option but to be more frugal over the next 10 to 20 years." Along with being cut off from credit, the population is aging and "older consumers don't buy as much." His advice: Look to the East. Big consumer companies in the coming years will be Asia-focused.

But Zhu Min, Group Executive Vice-President of the Bank of China, predicted that it will take many years for Chinese consumers to make up for the gap created by falling U.S. spending. The Chinese currently spend about $1.5 trillion, vs. the $10 trillion normally spent by Americans. Even with 21% annual growth in spending in China, that won't be enough to make up for what Zhu projects to be "a sharp drop in American consumption for three years."

The question is how long Americans will stick to their tighter ways. Will frugality become the "new normal" among Americans, as some people fear?

Richard Haythornthwaite, Chairman of Mastercard Worldwide (U.K.) didn't appear convinced. While the dollar value of sales has dropped sharply, the actual number of transactions has held up surprisingly well. He concluded that "Americans are shopping smarter."

Ken Rosen, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, insisted that the spirit of frugality will last. "We spent money we didn't have on goods we didn't need," he said. Now, American consumers can't refinance their homes or get access to credit-and the situation will only get worse as layoffs escalate. "I'm still worried that the housing market has not stabilized," he added. "The team we had in place over the last eight years dropped the ball ... The free-market fundamentalism we had was a mistake."

The solution? Government spending, according to Yasser El Mallawany, CEO of Egypt's EFG-Hermes Holding. Ideally, he said, infrastructure spending will help to spur growth. The big issue is whether governments will fall back into a pattern of protectionism. That, he asserted, "could bring the world 40 to 50 years backwards."

Will Stimulus Start a Trade War?

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:57:18 -0600

Some commentators and trade experts have expressed concern that the "Buy American" provisions in the stimulus are not only wasteful, but potentially harmful in that they could be a prelude to greater protectionism, both here and abroad.

Steel industry lobbyists seem to have persuaded the House to insert a "Buy American" provision in the stimulus bill it passed last week. This provision requires that preference be given to domestic steel producers in building contracts and other spending. The House bill also requires that the uniforms and other textiles used by the Transportation Security Administration be produced in the United States, and the Senate may broaden such provisions to include many other products.

That might sound reasonable, but history has shown that Buy American provisions can raise the cost and diminish the effect of a spending package. . . . While this is a windfall for a lucky steel company, steel production is capital intensive, and the rule makes less money available for other construction projects that can employ many more workers.

American manufacturers have ample capacity to fill the new orders that will come as a result of the fiscal stimulus. In addition, other countries are watching closely to see if the crisis becomes a general excuse for the United States to block imports and favor domestic firms. General Electric and Caterpillar have opposed the Buy American provision because they fear it will hurt their ability to win contracts abroad.

They're right to be concerned. Once we get through the current economic mess, China, India and other countries are likely to continue their large investments in building projects. If such countries also adopt our preferences for domestic producers, then America will be at a competitive disadvantage in bidding for those contracts.

The Senate's "Buy American" provisions are even worse, and could have significant trade implications while providing minimal offsetting employment benefits, noted trade economists warn. Pascal Lamy, head of the World Trade Organization, has also expressed concern.

Buy local" measures by governments will jeopardise export sector jobs and risk setting the world on a damaging downward spiral of beggar-thy-neighbour protectionism, the head of the World Trade Organisation has warned.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Pascal Lamy, WTO director-general, said pressures for economic nationalism were an inevitable response to the global crisis, but in an integrated world economy such measures were much more dangerous than in the past.

"If you start killing imports, you will kill exports," Mr Lamy said. And since a high proportion of global output depended on international supply chains, shrinking trade flows would have a huge multiplier impact on world production and jobs.

Mr Lamy would not comment directly on the Buy American provisions in the US economic stimulus bill, which potentially could be the subject of WTO litigation, but said that Washington, like other governments, had to abide by its international commitments.

Using Video to Market Real Estate Services

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:10:14 -0600

Using video in today's web 2.0 world to market realtor services and property listings

I wanted to touch upon an area of the web and of search engine functionality that is experiencing rapid growth right now, and that area is in the integration of video. As bandwidth and compression and editing tools become more commonplace and refined, video is now the biggest growth sectors in content online. Have you heard of a little website named YouTube? As the YouTube revolution continues to take over, other mediums suck as Pay-Per-Click could face serious pressure in delivering solid impressions and results, especially. Let's take a look at where video online is at right now in the real estate industry, and hopefully spark a conversation on what is coming around the corner.

Posting Video to the Internet

This is where the YouTube revolution is currently taking hold. Whether posted to a Web 2.0 community like YouTube, or placed elsewhere on the web or on your website, putting video online has many applications. Obviously, you can describe your company or property listings in a more visual and 3-dimentional way than static, or even flash animation way. You can also describe in a personalized way, what that community is like, from one-on-one interviews with residents, to local video footage of town attractions, video again allows for more targeted, promotional, and persuasive content.

Video Podcasting

Video podcasting differs from YouTube and the like in that the content can be delivered and received on a regular basis. The beauty of syndicating the video is in the automation and wide net you can cast out there with your video content. Podcast video feed could be customized from the agent or office feeds to match a subscriber's property search needs. Just as in audio podcasting, individuals can create monthly, or otherwise market trend reports. RSS and syndication programming is also part of the coming revolution of the world wide web and portable, hand-held devices. Sunday Open House listings sent directly to subscriber's cell phones?

Whatever the ultimate direction, you can bet that video is going to be a huge component of whatever web 3.0 entails, and the real estate industry should be especially aware of this emerging medium!

Social Networking

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:09:15 -0600

The primary goal of social media marketing is to stimulate interaction between producer and potential consumers. Using online social networks correctly can help you achieve that goal, but the benefits to participating in them reach well beyond the preferred end result. An interesting tech article in the L.A. Times talks about the the effects of social media networks, applied to the political arena.

One of Barack Obama's technology managers, Scott Goldstein, said that in addition to using online social networks like Facebook to reach out to new potential voters, they also found them helpful "to make sure that we were providing people information on all of these different social networks so that if they never came directly to our website or signed up for our e-mail list they still knew that the campaign was reaching out to them."

So for example, with the simple click of "Become A Fan" or "Add to Friends" on Facebook, thousands of potential voters might have opted into continued communication from the Obama campaign via status updates, events, posted items, etc. It's this type of "passive opt-in" that doesn't sign people up for mailings, doesn't devote them to campaign contributions, but still manages to keep them in the social networking loop of the campaign. Even if they are not interested in making calls on behalf of the campaign, or working at a polling place, the value of these smaller connections cannot be ignored.

It just goes to show you that all the little interactions you have on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Yelp!, and others can add up to something groundbreaking in the end. So don't sweat so much about the big-picture when participating in these networks and get your "hands dirty" on a regular basis. You might be surprised to find a groundswell of support for your business in the end.

The Importance of Social Networking

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:06:54 -0600

Using Facebook To Market Real Estate

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:05:40 -0600

Facebook is becoming one of the most prominent websites on the internet today. With the user base growing and the overall reach surpassing its competitors, Facebook is now a top online destination for real estate consumers and top producing agents alike. Each and every day, real estate brokerages are finding new ways to use Facebook to reach out to existing consumers and to extend their reach to new potential buyers and sellers. Whether they are trying to push featured listings or simply stir up a conversation in their local market, these Facebook real estate innovators are constantly trying to expand their total online presence throught his channel. Opening your door to Facebook will help you accomplish your overall online marketing goals.

It's no secret that your competition is constantly trying to expand their consumer base, whether it be through traditional marketing or giveaway campaigns. And now, through Facebook, they are expanding the reach of their potential consumer base through social menas and therefore have a greater chance of connecting with the dwindling supply of active buyers and sellers in today's market. Facebook's user base and overall reach is growing very rapidly. So here are a few ways in which you should start to use Facebook immediately in order to make sure that you are not left in your market's social networking dust.

Your Facebook Profile

Create one! You may be used to creating identities around your company, or your brokerage, however in Facebook it is more about connecting with the individuals on a personal level rather than professionally through a corporate identity. So don't be afraid to let your professional and personal life shine through in your descriptions and other profile content.

Participating in the Facebook Marketplace

Here is a great place to show off your real estate supply. Facebook has a great housing marketplace to show off properties for sale or rent. Here you can publish all the necessary info need about your properties in hopes that someone looking for what you have to offer could find it right on Facebook!

Social Opportunities with Facebook Photos

Facebook gives its users the ability to publish and unlimited amount of photos for free. All you do is upload them and create albums, Facebook does the rest. To take advantage of this great service and to help you market your real estate supple you should start by creating albums per property. Whether you only have a few pictures of 60, Facebook can occupy them all and gives you an additional chance to let people view what your supply has to offer in visual form. Each individual photo also lets you make tiny captions, this should be used to describe the photo and what your user is viewing. Your photos, if they are interesting, might yield comments from other users. These can be great opportunities to interact with people as entire conversations can be had through photo comments.

Joining and Creating Facebook Groups

Facebook allows individuals that share the same common interest to form groups. If you find groups that pertain to you local area of interest, join up and establish yourself an area expert for that group by simply being an active member of the group. Responding to user comments, sharing news and advice, and simply befriending other group members. Starting your own group is another way to take advantage of the group services Facebook offers. Creating groups like, "First-Time Home Buyers in Salt Lake City" or "Home Sellers in Frisco, Texas" might attract users pertaining to an interest that can really benefit your business. But you have to make sure to update your group and be active with it, even if no one else in the group is. Otherwise, you won't likely get much from it.

Facebook Status Updates

Here is your chance to publish real time personal and professional news. Facebook's status update allow you too publish information and push it to your community in seconds. If you have price reductions or a new listing, the second that news item appears in your professional life you can notify your Facebook friends instantly. Taking advantage of this feature is very beneficial, as when users login, the first thing they are notified of are recent status updates. As with anything, try not to spam people with status updates, as Facebook makes it easy for people to ignore the updates of others who are sending out messages they don't find regularly useful or interesting.

Shooting and Uploading Real Estate-Related Videos

One of the more advanced features Facebook offers is the ability to upload regular and high-def videos. If you have created online slideshows or video tours of your properties you can post and share these with the Facebook community. Or you can sit right in front of your Macbook laptop and discuss real estate topics into the web camera, uploading the video instantly when you are finished using the Facebook video interface. Then Facebook makes it so easy to share the finished video by posting to your profile, sending it to friends, etc.

Understanding Privacy Policies

Facebook is always trying to improve its policy settings for its users, whether a user wants to only be seen by a few friends or the whole Facebook family. Since your main goal for Facebook should be to gain additional reach for your business you would benefit by opening up your facebook profile to all of facebook. If you were to lock it up to only your metro or rural area, you risk the chance of not being seen by the maximum possible community. If you have any information that you would like not seen by some users, we suggest either not adding it to your profile, or exploring the advanced settings of Facebook's privacy settings in order to selectively hide it.

Partner With Other Influencers

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:03:48 -0600

Partner With Other Influencers

Once you are close to becoming a social networking influencer, then you will be taken more seriously by established influencers. Potential partnerships with these users include content authoring (guest posting on another users profile who has influence), cross-promoting (where you both solicit your friends to befriend the other influencer), and specific promotional initiatives sponsored by both parties (like a graphic design contest set up and endorsed by both influencers).

Start Aggressively Marketing Your Social Networking Brand

This is the final stage. When your social networking presence is generating income, and you are ready to go after a much larger audience, the time has come to start exploring aggressive marketing options such as impression-based contextual advertising and cost-per-click based search and contextual advertising. You can even start working your social networking brand into radio, print, and television commercials to increase your profile readership.

So to summarize, these are some great things to keep in mind when you use social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, and other sites to connect with people who may be interested in your sevices now or at some point down the line. Please feel free to comment with any tips you've found useful, and your feedback (it's always welcome with open arms here).

Additional Social Networking Resources

Here are some additional articles on building up your social networking sway that you might find helpful:

Monster.Com's Seven Tips For Social Networking

Tellin It Like It Is' Social Networking Tips For All You Whiners

Peoria Magazine's Social Networking Tips for Businesses

About Real Estate Marketing Blog

Real Estate Marketing Blog provides free marketing advice to Agent Image clients, as well as real estate professionals around the world. Staffed by certified search engine marketing experts, the REMB editorial board maintains its focus on practical, high-quality articles that are written in a simplified manner that doesn't require a PhD to understand. It also encourages participation from its readership

Advanced Social Networking Techniques

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:02:22 -0600

Be Mindful Of Grammar

Unless you are targeting a demographic that does not particularly value traditional English syntax, stick with regular spelling, grammar, and formatting in your social communications. Don't use ALL CAPS in your post titles, or excessive special characters and punctuation. Make sure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors in your original content. This just gives your friends the impression that you are proud of your social presence, and make the effort to present yourself professionally. This will impress many people who are unaccustomed to seeing correct English writing in websites, blogs, email, and social networking profiles.
Don't be afraid to take content that you find fun or stimulating and share it with your social community. YouTube videos are a perfect example of the kind of content that is frequently borrowed and shared amongst social network participants. If you are the first person in your community to share that content, regardless of whether you were the original creator or not, you can gain credibility with your community for being someone who knows where good content is. And that can lead people to be more interested in initiating communication with you, especially when they find something relevant to what you are known to share with the community. So go ahead, dig into the newswires and video websites to find yourself something worth sharing with your friends.

Use Relevant Resources

Engage Social Influencers

Since you aren't a social influencer yet, you might as well see if you can learn something from interacting with one. Ideally, you want to immediately seek out who the influencers are in your community, and start communicating with all of them. Comment on their posts in a meaningful fashion, send them articles you think they might find interesting, ask them questions (people love to be viewed as an authority on matters). If you think they wouldn't mind you asking, see if they will share some tips for using the site. The ultimate goal with this is to make yourself known in a positive light to all the influencers in your community so that down the road you can leverage those initial relationships into rewarding partnerships. You'll know you're gaining traction when influencers start mentioning you in their posts, or use your content as a resource.

Market Your Social Networking Profiles

Don't forget to put your profile URLs on your website, blog, email sig file/stationary, and other profiles. Also put it on your mail stationary, business cards, postcards, flyers, business storefront, bumper stickers, calendars, pens, and any unique promotional items you regularly give out to support your real estate business. This will help drive new and interested parties to your profile who might not have otherwise thought to look you up on these social networks.

Advanced Social Networking Techniques

Those basic steps should really keep you busy for awhile. If you apply these techniques on a daily basis for six months, you're certain to make significant headway towards becoming a social networking influencer. Once you start to gather a following, here are some things you can do to help put yourself over the top.

Tie Your Social Networks Together

This goes back to branding. If you have a presence on several social networks, see if there's any way you can start to get the different networks you're on to start interacting with each other. Make mention of exclusive original content on Facebook from LinkedIn, for example. These kinds of cross-promotions can get your connections even more involved with your brand. If you can successfully get a contact from one social network to also add you on another, that just doubled the potential opportunities for interaction with that person.

Be Authentic......

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:01:05 -0600

Be Authentic

These social networking sites don't cost anything to participate in, and they give you a golden opportunity to draw people into your profile and content through your personality. So put your people skills to work! Show that you're a person, not a business-minded, tech-savvy real estate professional. I you have a hobby you're passionate about, or just have a great sense of humor, don't be afraid to tap into those aspects of yourself through your communications on social networking sites. Respond to status updates of your friends in a genuine manner. The best responses are often received from posts and comments that use humor as the main thing that draws people's attention. And sharing your life passions with the larger community can also be rewarding; people who share your favorite hobbies will appreciate that, may contact you based on that commonality alone, and will definitely be more interested in interacting with you as a result.

Be Active

You have to contribute content to succeed in a social network. So this means you must be a creator as well as a participant. And you'll find that more often than not, you'll need to take initiative to reach out to others in the community. Recommended activities include searching for new friends, sending personal messages along with friend requests, commenting on items your friends post, updating your status and profile, posting new content items yourself, and moderating your profile's comments.

Try and shoot for at least a couple of significant interactions with community members on your various social networking profiles a couple of times a day. That way, your profile will frequently be near the top of the queue of recent status updates when your friends log in and you will maintain high visibility. But just be careful; if you don't have a reason to update your status, or people are turned off by your updates, then they might block your updates from showing in their queue. Or worse yet, "unfriend" you! As a small aside, you also know that if you lose one friend it isn't the end of the world. These things happen as people's interest drifts from one thing or person to another. You should, however, be alarmed if you post something and then notice the next day that a quarter of your friends are missing. That's when it's time to take a close look at your recent interactions and figure out what you might have done to prompt such a response from your community.

Have Fun With It

This one is quite simple. You can't go into any social network to self-promote and expect to get good results. Learn to participate for fun and then the connections you make through them will help you achieve your marketing goals without trying. So for about the first time in recorded history, it pays off in the business world to routinely have a good time. Fun first, business second is a good rule of thumb with social networks. Just make sure not to get too goofy with your posts, unless you want people to think that you are also trying to be a standup comic.

Also Socialize With Quality

While having fun is a key component with social networks, it's also important to not limit yourself to meaningless fluff. Try and engage community members on things that are important to them, as well as topics that are relevant to the real estate field. In order to do this regularly, you'll need to surround yourself on the social network with friends who share your interest in real estate. That shouldn't be very hard to do, considering millions of real estate professionals are online and eager to network.

There are also clever ways in which you can "bait" people who otherwise don't take a great interest in your subject matter to participate in a meaningful fashion. Custom-created polls or quizzes (tools to create both can be found on Facebook and other sites) can be quickly made, distributed, taken, and the results discussed amongst the community. For example, you could make a quiz that asks "Do You Have What It Takes To Buy A Home?" The quiz could be full of questions that test the participants knowledge of the home buying process. If you were an influencer, you might even be able to get people to pre-qualify for you by asking questions about what their ideal home is, their price range, desired neighborhood, etc. This could yield you prospects, and also give you valuable marketing data. So that's a way in which you can leverage your social profile for a quality, real estate-related interaction.

Establish A Social Networking Brand

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:59:01 -0600

Establish A Social Networking Brand

This can be as simple as deciding what your profile name is going to be across all social networks and running with that, or planning out an elaborate branding strategy which includes custom graphics and copywriting for each social networking site. Either way, having some consistency between your various profiles will make it easier for people to connect the dots and track you across these different channels. It also gives you the opportunity to help phrase the conversation in a space that you have carefully created, and that gives off a more professional appearance to potential new friends (and prospects). So take the time and effort to come up with a branding theme that fits your business and personality. It's an important first step!

Choose Your Networks

You should think very strategically about which social networks to opt into. Which networks are most likely to cater to the demographic you are trying to capture? An extreme example: you wouldn't want to routinely post real estate related content on Technorati because no one there will care (unless all of your content has a heavy tech-industry slant to it).

Before you even think about signing up and creating a profile on a social networking site, consider this: Have you spent some time browsing the network; reading the content and the comments, learning about popular sources and players? Do you understand how the site works and the niche it serves? If so, is the site for you?

While all socially driven sites have the same basic elements (reading, submitting, voting, and commenting) not all of them function the same way and they definitely aren't as friendly to real estate professionals. If you don't invest time in determining whether a site is right for you from the start, all your subsequent hard work likely won't pay off.

Also, before you click the "sign up" button, consider this: You've looked at the site and determined that you would be a good fit among the other community members, but have you thought about your goals? Why do you want to sign up with the site and what will you accomplish by doing so? Consider the needs of other users. Sure, it's a social site and every community member is supposed to share content he or she finds interesting, create their own content, etc; but don't forget that you also have to take into account the interests of the masses. A singular opinion that has no crowd-backing will never be successful on a social networking site. Keep your business interests in mind, but judge them within the context of the community's interests and opt into only networks where you think you have something significant (valuable) to offer that could also receive good traction within the community.

Complete Your Profile

A successful profile usually has a lot of information in it. And it all starts with the profile name. Make sure that you choose a name that is easy and memorable. This goes back to your branding. You want people to be able to say your name aloud and recognize it instantly at a glance. You also want something easy to remember so that people can find your profile through the site's search feature or by just adding it to the end of the domain in the browser window. The easier you make it for people to find you again, the better off you'll be...

Profiles are something you should really put the time and thought into doing correctly. Many social community users will review profiles before choosing to "friend you" or instead avoid you like the plague. So the more time and care you take in filling in all the available fields, the more your visitors will be able to know about you. Also, many fields in social networking profiles are searchable (through both the site itself and the search engines), meaning that if you don't fill out all the fields, you might be missing from the search results when otherwise you would be found by someone.

Also make sure to add some unique, interesting content to your profile, along with some quality images that reinforce your branding. If you can upload professional audio and video to the profile, it would be worthwhile to take the time to do that as well. Even if your video is just something relevant you found on YouTube, it's always better to have something stimulating on your profile page than an empty box.

Finally, something to consider when setting up your profile is how are people who are having success with real estate configuring their profiles? Do some research. There might be a setting on their profile that you wouldn't have thought to configure the same way, and it could help make a difference as well.

Choose Who To Engage

The follow up to choosing which networks to participate in is choosing the right people to communicate with within those networks. Since you are a real estate professional, you are going to want to concentrate on locating other people in the industry. Additionally, targeting people who fit a particular demographic for adding as friends can also be helpful in ensuring that the majority of people you communicate with are potential partners and/or clients down the road.

That's not to say you need to start being a snob and rejecting people who don't fit your vision of what an ideal listing client is, for example. But avoiding communication with those who are obviously spam profiles or simply don't fit the description of anyone you'd befriend in real life is just a healthy part of establishing your own specific niche in the larger social community. You'll find that by adding too many friends who aren't on the same page as you, you will dilute the conversation that takes place on your profile with irrelevant messages from people you don't really know or care to hear from on a regular basis. And chances are if you are turned off by their posts, the people who you really want to communicate in a meaningful fashion with will be as well.

Become A Social Networking Influencer

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:56:33 -0600

Now that you understand what a social network is, the real question is: "How do I become a player?" In the social networking realm, people (or brands) that have a high visibility and are followed by large numbers of subscribers are called influencers. Obviously, being popular on social networks to the point where people interested in real estate routinely go to you for advice, information, and entertainment is an enviable position. That puts you in the drivers seat to deliver your marketing message, and leverage your social connections for business purposes. Quite often, business relationships are built through this level of communication.

Okay, so you're sold on the value of these social networks... but it's not as easy as just saying you want to be an influencer. Becoming an influencer something you have to achieve, and as with most things in life, there are no guarantees of success. One thing is for certain, however: you first have to know how to successfully participate in a social network in order to become an influencer. Here are some guidelines to follow when beginning your social networking campaign.

Does Internet Marketing for Real Estate Work Anymore?

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:54:28 -0600

Like most real estate professionals, you are probably ready to put 2008 completely behind you and do great things in 2009 with your real estate business. This is easier said than done of course, but it all starts with confidence in your experience that has helped you weather the storm of ‘08 and, more importantly, a solid marketing strategy that will act as your backbone for the upcoming year.

Hopefully you are one of the wise REALTORS® who has already laid out your marketing plan for this year, or at least the next 6 months. If you are, than this post is more geared for you. If not, then we recommend that you stop everything else you are doing and spend some time planning out your real estate marketing strategy as you have some work to do. If you are planning on going through 2009 blindly again or sticking to your tired, ineffective marketing plan then you very well may not be in this industry come this time next year. We saw it happen to many REALTORS® this past year and with the market being as tough as it has been we would not be surprised to see more experience the same fate.

Let's focus on those of you who have come to realize that marketing is vital, specifically online marketing. By now, as a REALTOR®, you should understand that if you do not have a strong presence on the internet then your prospective clients are being poached by those who do. If you are still questioning this, then we suggest reading why internet marketing for real estate is more important than ever.

Does Internet Marketing for Real Estate Work Anymore?

The answer is, you should know. One of our predictions for 2009 is that online marketers and agencies will be required to deliver an actual, measurable ROI on their marketing campaigns. Whether you are doing your own internet marketing or having a company do it for you, knowing the return on your marketing / advertising is crucial. As long as your ads are generating new customers for equal or less than what you are spending on marketing / advertising, then you should be buying / doing as much of it as possible.

Real Estate Blog Posting Ideas

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:52:36 -0600

Blogging is a wonderful tool for real estate marketing. Not only does it increase your exposure on search engines but you start to build a valuable reputations for yourself as a reliable source and professional.

When it comes to blogging you are bound to develope some writers block now and again. It's important to blog about topics that relate to you industry, neighborhoods, market trends, etc. while keeping it fun and interesting for your readers.

Here is a extensive list of 100 Real Estate Blog Posting Ideas for you to utilize:

Describing Your Neighborhood...

1. Tell a story about your neighborhood.

2. Architecture or housing styles in your area.

3. Attend a public meeting and write about it.

4. Churches - what denominations are in your area, where are they located, when are services.

5. Commentary on local news stories.

6. Commentary on local public policy.

7. Cost of Living Comparison (for different cities or neighborhoods in your local market). Put in a side by side comparison for average price of homes, gas, utilities, etc. Provide proof to your buyers of what they get for their money in one city versus another.

8. Day Care - who provides day care services, what are rates, where are they located, etc.

9. Environmental issues - does your area do something significant to lessen the population's impact on the environment?

10. Guide to dining out - rank all the restaurants in your area (let the restaurants know about your ranking guide and see if you can get a link from the ones you rank highly)

11. Historic buildings - what time periods are represented, where are the historic districts, are there any museums or historical tours?

12. Job market in local area - who employs the most people in your area? What job sectors are considered "growth" industries right now?

13. Lists of local businesses - categorize them based on utility: supermarkets, department stores, hair salons/ barber shops, gas stations, etc.

14. Local Parks - what can you do at each park? Any commentary on which is your favorite and why?

15. Local Schools Ratings - reference online studies that you can find and what you know of the different schools yourself.

16. Market statistics for your area, including average prices and absorption rates

17. New businesses coming to area

18. Places to eat

19. Places to shop

20. Transportation & Parking - Does your area have a good public transportation system? Is it bike friendly? Are the freeways or highways well-connected?

21. Travel tips for visitors to your area (great for out-of-town buyers) - What kinds of items do people frequently forget when traveling to your area?

22. Upcoming sporting events, concerts, shows, etc.

23. Your city council.

24. Local directory of doctors, dentists, hospitals, chiropractors, etc. (also, get these providers to link to your site and add a blurb about their facility and the services they offer)

Buyer And Sellers Resources

25. A closing - what goes into one, how long it takes, what to expect, etc.

26. Avoid Legal Battles when Buying or Selling a Home (a great place to talk about the importance of hiring a professional - You! - and to talk about the protections and responsibilities built in to your state/local real estate contracts)

27. Book review of a real estate related book.

28. Buying a second home or vacation home/condo.

29. Buying your first investment property.

30. Real estate hoaxes and scams.

31. Create a helpful checklist for buyers and sellers.

32. Do and don't list on buying investment properties.

33. Equity stripping scams.

34. Fair housing issues.

35. Final walk through overview.

36. First-time home buyer programs.

37. Home owners associations - how they can impact your long-term expenses.

38. Home prices in local market.

39. How do I price my home right to sell without giving it away?

40. How not to sell a house.

41. How to sell a house.

42. Investment scams.

43. Land lord or tenant issues.

44. List of basic real estate definitions, from A-Z.

45. Local real estate market trends and observations.

46. Over-priced homes - how to identify them.

47. Pet-friendly housing.

48. Property taxes.

49. Real Estate Laws.

50. Senior housing.

51. The home buying process.

52. The home selling process.

53. The pros and cons of buying and owing a timeshare.

54. Things that go wrong with real estate sales.

55. Three Biggest Seller Mistakes (typically, these are Price, Condition, and Marketing - they must price it right, have it in good condition, and market it well - this is where you can talk up how your marketing program beats the competition).

56. Types of mortgages.

57. What you need to know about buying foreclosures.

58. What you should know about home inspections.

59. Women home buyers.

Home Maintenance and Remodeling

60. Building trends.

61. Childproof Home Safety Tips.

62. Decorating ideas.

63. Energy Saving Tips.

64. Fire Safety Tips for your home (also discuss 2 story homes, condos/high-rises, small children, the elderly, etc.).

65. Furniture.

66. Gardening and landscaping.

67. Home maintenance.

68. Home owners insurance.

69. Landscaping can make a difference.

70. Paint and painting.

71. Pest control.

72. Resources and tips for hiring contractors and actually having a good experience (a lot of folks have bad experiences with contractors either not showing up, not finishing the job, not doing work they were already paid for, etc. - you could provide a list of tips and resources, such as your local or state contractors association, referral services, etc.).

73. Simple repairs to help your home show better and sell faster.

74. The importance of safety around swimming pools.

75. Trends in kitchen design.

76. What are the Top 10 Scams of building contractors and how to avoid them?

77. What is curb appeal?

78. What to do about mold - is it really a problem?

79. What to look for when shopping for Energy Saving Appliances.

80. Feng Shui Decorating.

Home Listings

81. Local subdivisions/ farm area prices, solds, actives, pendings, etc.

82. Lofts in the Area.

83. New construction plans in area.

84. Open houses.
85. Advantages of going through a mortgage broker for your next loan as opposed to your local bank (i.e., more options for finding a lender to say yes, potential for better rates, competing lenders so can find the best program for your needs).

Loans And Mortgages

86. Repairing your credit.

87. Credit scores.

88. Dangers of certain types of loans (such as interest only, certain ARMS, etc.), and why they are not for everyone - be careful not to buy more house than you can afford.

89. Interest Rates.

90. Mortgage fraud.

91. Mortgage rate updates.

92. Mortgages news.

Move-Related

93. Bad neighbors - what to do to repair bad relations with them.

94. Good neighbors - how to show them you're appreciative!

95. Home safety.

96. Moving - how to prepare, what to do, etc.

97. Moving resource guide (resources for buyers moving in from out of the area, for local moves, and for sellers moving out - all are potential client bases for you).

98. Moving with children.

99. Moving with pets.

Referrals

100. Detail a lender who does a great job with your clients

List Of Countrywide Foreclosures

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:49:01 -0600

City	Address	County	Type	Contact Name	List Price	Trulia	Zillow
ALCOA	904 FORD STREET, ALCOA TN 37701	BLOUNT	SFR	MIKE DOMINIQUE	$78,900.00 $82,900.00
ANTIOCH	3548 MOUNT VIEW RIDGE DR, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	NELL JONES, NRBA	$125,898.00 $125,900.00
ANTIOCH	83 BENZING ROAD, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	MATILDA CROCKER	$113,900.00
ANTIOCH	625 MOUNT HOOD DR, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	NELL JONES, NRBA	$110,900.00
ANTIOCH	5909 TEEPEE TRACE, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	NELL JONES, NRBA	$185,000.00
ANTIOCH	4812 PEPPERTREE DRIVE, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	MATILDA CROCKER	$123,900.00 $127,900.00
ANTIOCH	472 HICKORY GLADE DR UNIT 87, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	Condo	NELL JONES, NRBA	$68,900.00 $83,900.00
ANTIOCH	3841 PIN HOOK ROAD, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	MATILDA CROCKER	$36,899.00 $39,900.00
ANTIOCH	925 SPLIT OAK DR, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	NELL JONES, NRBA	$106,900.00 $114,900.00
ANTIOCH	6, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	NELL JONES, NRBA	$80,900.00 $89,900.00
ANTIOCH	3335 OAK TREES COURT, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	WILLIAMS & WILL AUCTION	$49,900.00 $58,900.00
ANTIOCH	3044 SUMMERCREST TRAIL, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	MATILDA CROCKER	$189,900.00 $197,900.00
ANTIOCH	135 VALLEY GREEN DR, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	NELL JONES, NRBA	$92,900.00 $100,900.00
ANTIOCH	1345 BELL RD, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	WILLIAMS & WILL AUCTION	$128,898.00 $149,900.00
ANTIOCH	1113 TRACETON CIRCLE, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	CINDY STANTON-FEY	$120,900.00
ANTIOCH	4217 SANDSTONE DRIVE, ANTIOCH TN 37013	DAVIDSON	SFR	MATILDA CROCKER	$142,900.00 $147,900.00
ATOKA	182 POWER LOOP, ATOKA TN 38004	TIPTON	SFR	LARRY MAYALL, NRBA	$92,900.00 $97,900.00
ATOKA	104 STERLING RIDGE DRI, ATOKA TN 38004	TIPTON	SFR	GRETA THOMPSON	$213,900.00 $227,900.00
BARTLETT	2531N FLOWERING TREE COVE, BARTLETT TN 38134	SHELBY	SFR	LARRY MAYALL, NRBA	$89,900.00 $95,900.00
BARTLETT	2607 SATELLITE STREET, BARTLETT TN 38134	SHELBY	SFR	WILLIAMS & WILL AUCTION	$79,899.00 $106,900.00
BARTLETT	3813 GAILYN DR, BARTLETT TN 38135	SHELBY	SFR	LARRY MAYALL, NRBA	$167,900.00
BARTLETT	8069 CLAREDALE DRIVE, BARTLETT TN 38133	SHELBY	SFR	MICKY JACKSON	$154,900.00
BAXTER	429 1ST AVE N, BAXTER TN 38544	PUTNAM	SFR	CAMPANELLI VINCE	$95,900.00
BELL BUCKLE	227 THELMA DRIVE, BELL BUCKLE TN 37020	RUTHERFORD	SFR	CARL HILL	$126,900.00 $130,900.00
BELLE FOREST	404 JUDY LYNN DRIVE, BELLE FOREST TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$68,900.00 $73,900.00
BETHPAGE	499 CHIPMAN ROAD, BETHPAGE TN 37022	SUMNER		PAM TELLER	$62,900.00
BLOUNTVILLE	601 HARR TOWN RD, BLOUNTVILLE TN 37617	SULLIVAN	SFR	DEBRA PERRY, ABR, GRI	$75,900.00
BRENTWOOD	1606 ROBBY COURT, BRENTWOOD TN 37027	WILLIAMSON	SFR	JIM OWENS	$615,900.00 $746,900.00
BRENTWOOD	9174 RADRICK RDG, BRENTWOOD TN 37027	WILLIAMSON	PUD	JIM OWENS	$685,900.00 $696,900.00
BROWNSVILLE	240 COTTONDALE, BROWNSVILLE TN 38012	HAYWOOD	SFR	AKIN, FLOYD	$79,900.00
CALHOUN	2045 COUNTY ROAD 750, CALHOUN TN 37309	MCMINN	SFR	MIKE ROBINSON	$80,900.00 $99,900.00
CARTHAGE	70 JACK HACKETT LN, CARTHAGE TN 37030	SMITH	SFR	STEVE JONES	$41,900.00 $63,900.00
CHAPEL HILL	1705 HORTON CV, CHAPEL HILL TN 37034	MARSHALL	SFR	MISTI GRIGGS	$109,900.00
CHAPMANSBORO	1990 OLD CLARKSVILLE PIKE, CHAPMANSBORO TN 37035	CHEATHAM	SFR	THOMAS TOW	$126,900.00
CHATTANOOGA	925 TALLEY ROAD, CHATTANOOGA TN 37411	HAMILTON	SFR	SHEILA SHIPLEY	$79,900.00
CHATTANOOGA	1007 TUNNEL BLVD, CHATTANOOGA TN 37411	HAMILTON	SFR	BRENDA PARGEON	$15,900.00 $18,900.00
CHATTANOOGA	2200 DOOLITTLE ST, CHATTANOOGA TN 37406	HAMILTON	SFR	BRENDA PARGEON	$61,900.00 $71,900.00
CHATTANOOGA	2520 DOOLITTLE STREET, CHATTANOOGA TN 37406	HAMILTON	SFR	DENA SMITH	$94,500.00
CHATTANOOGA	3516 LAMAR AVE, CHATTANOOGA TN 37415	HAMILTON	SFR	ART CROUCH	$26,900.00 $28,900.00
CHATTANOOGA	415 APPIAN WAY, CHATTANOOGA TN 37415	HAMILTON	SFR	BILL HIXSON	$100,900.00 $101,900.00
CHATTANOOGA	4601 TARPON TRAIL, CHATTANOOGA TN 37416	HAMILTON	SFR	BRENDA PARGEON	$100,900.00
CHATTANOOGA	5514 CLEMONS RD, CHATTANOOGA TN 37412	HAMILTON	SFR	BRENDA PARGEON	$66,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	3805 JOT DRIVE NORTH, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$137,900.00 $141,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	3649 STONEWALL CT, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	THOMAS TOW	$154,900.00 $159,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	3463 ARVIN DRIVE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$82,900.00 $91,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	3430 PEMBROKE ROAD, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$73,900.00 $77,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	3427 SANDPIPER DRIVE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$87,900.00 $92,000.00
CLARKSVILLE	3427 OAK LAWN DR, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$74,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	394 LOUISE LANE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$60,900.00 $63,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	315 BARKWOOD COURT, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$62,900.00 $65,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	636 WOODHAVEN CT, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$63,900.00 $70,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	304 BROOK MEAD DRIVE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	THOMAS TOW	$100,900.00 $106,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	322 LAFAYETTE POINT, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$63,900.00 $66,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	419 HIGH ST, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$59,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	519 MORRISON DR, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$94,900.00 $99,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	528 BUCKEYE LANE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$56,900.00 $67,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	608 PEACHERS MILL RD, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$71,900.00 $75,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	701 ANITA COURT, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MARK CORRADETTI	$69,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	702 CENTRAL AVE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	CHRISTIAN BLACK	$33,900.00 $36,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	703 ANITA CT, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$86,900.00 $91,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	709 KINGSBORY ROAD, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$70,900.00 $79,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	161 TAFT DRIVE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$93,900.00 $98,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	302 BROOK MEADE DR, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	CELESTINE MCNEAL	$99,900.00 $102,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	564 JACQUIE DRIVE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$66,900.00 $70,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	149 MONARCH LANE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MARK CORRADETTI	$72,900.00 $76,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	1039 ROEDEER DRIVE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$87,900.00 $93,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	1044 MERIWETHER RD, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	RUDY VALREY	$146,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	1230 WOODBRIDGE DR, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	CELESTINE MCNEAL	$92,900.00 $97,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	130 WHITEHALL DR, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	KATIE OWEN	$90,900.00 $95,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	1785 FORRESTDALE DR, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$83,900.00 $90,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	134 CUNNINGHAM PLACE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	PAM TELLER	$73,900.00 $77,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	2895 ROME LANE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	RUDY VALREY	$114,500.00
CLARKSVILLE	1675 BRIDGEWOOD ROAD, CLARKSVILLE TN 37040	MONTGOMERY	SFR	THOMAS TOW	$115,900.00 $123,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	179 SARAH ELIZEBETH DR, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$100,899.00 $112,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	1831 PALAMINO DRIVE, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$79,900.00 $83,900.00
CLARKSVILLE	200 AL OERTER DR, CLARKSVILLE TN 37042	MONTGOMERY	SFR	MICHAEL GROVES	$56,900.00 $62,900.00

Big Bailouts, Bigger Bucks

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:45:45 -0600

Whenever I discussed the current bailout situation with people, I find they have a hard time comprehending the actual numbers involved. I needed some way to put this into proper historical perspective.

If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars. People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let's give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.

Research crunched the inflation adjusted numbers. The bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures - combined:

· Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion

· Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion

· Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion

· S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion

· Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion

· The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)

· Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion

· Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

______________________________________________________________________

Whenever I discussed the current bailout situation with people, I find they have a hard time comprehending the actual numbers involved. That became a problem while doing the research for the Bailout Nation book. I needed some way to put this into proper historical perspective.

If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars. People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let's give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.

Jim Bianco of Bianco Research crunched the inflation adjusted numbers. The bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures - combined:

· Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion

· Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion

· Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion

· S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion

· Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion

· The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)

· Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion

· Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

______________________________________________________________________

Bailout or Handout?

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:33:26 -0600

You can tell the feds are bailing out mortgage lenders by the way no one wants to call it a bailout.

President George Bush made that clear last week when he announced his plan to rescue broke borrowers. "A federal bailout of lenders would only encourage a recurrence of the problem," Bush explained.

So this is not a bailout, you see, because it is for the borrowers, not the lenders. And if you believe that, then you'll also believe that the Federal Reserve has been shoving money at the banks by the billions in recent weeks in order to help borrowers, too.

In truth, what Bush has proposed is far worse than a bailout. Federal regulators and policies would supplant market discipline and price signals in the mortgage market. And all because a long-overdue correction in the domestic mortgage-making sector manifested itself this summer.

What is happening with real estate lending now is not unlike the dot-com bust. America survived that bubble. Then, as now, actual income-production became secondary to complicated financial constructs which obscured the underlying business. If there ever was a business. Recall that Enron invented entire energy-trading markets that ultimately dealt in nothing.

The mortgage industry is not quite that far along, but it is close. Although securitization of mortgages has overall been a great boon to both borrowers and lenders, spreading risk and allowing many more mortgages to be issued than otherwise be the case, it has also brought the derivative frenzy and the obsession with yield that has landed us in correction mode.

The very move into the subprime market-make that a stampede-was predicated on the notion that the added risk could spread thinly enough not to matter while collecting the massive bonus of substantially higher interest rate income streams. Those streams could then be further bought and sold, adding yet more margin to the endeavor.

And this worked, to some extent. Countless subprime borrowers got loans and homes and are not now facing foreclosure. This inconvenient bit of information has to be forgotten in the rush to condemn the "excesses" of subprime leading. Still, somewhere along the way, the vital link between a borrower who is making monthly payments and all the wheeling and dealing in securities was broken. Without those payments, you do not have mortgage to buy, sell, or trade. With dot-coms, it was the lack of income-producing products that triggered the correction. In past few weeks lenders-and traders downstream dealing in mortgage derived instruments-have rediscovered that is really does matter who you lend your money to, assuming you want any of it back.

There is another aspect of the current mortgage industry that is often overlooked, and it too is related to income streams. The streams are what lenders want, not the underlying real estate assets. In contrast to years past, there is no Dirk Dastardly down at the bank looking to swindle the widow out of the family farm. The banks do not want to own the assets that they themselves took as collateral for their loans-ever.

The correct federal response to this should be, "Too bad. You broke it, you bought it." Let the realtors, bankers, Wall Street sharpies, and-yes-the borrowers fight it out amongst themselves. Somewhere there is a market-clearing price for these assets.

Of course, the uber-nannies in the Bush Administration can't allow that. Instead they have opted to compound the problem by using federal assets to move in on the private mortgage insurance market and otherwise encouraging banks to forgive bad loans.

Worse, the White House intends to make the Federal Housing Administration the Federal Housing Administration by directly assuming responsibility for 80,000 underwater loans. Look for that number to double once Democrats in Congress are finished bidding it up.

In sum, we have the makings of the financial equivalent of Medicare Part D-a massive federal program in the place of a semi-private sector that more or less works. Not perfectly, but it is better than making Washington largely responsible for credit allocation in America.

The frustrating thing is that the White House and Congress are chomping to act, while the Fed's more targeted response to the credit crunch has just begun. By using the discount window to entice healthy banks to take on some of the rot, an immediate lockdown on all credit seems to have been averted. It will take time to digest the bad loans, and real estate prices might dip in some markets going forward as a result. California, for example, has a consensus 10 to 15 percent overvaluation to work through, and that may take a year or two to correct.

But that process will slam to a halt once Uncle Sucker begins assuming bad loans left and right.

Why Pay for Other People's Greed & Ignorance??

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:27:42 -0600

Originally about the housing bailout that unfairly forced taxpayers to pay the mortgages of people who could not afford the homes that they tried to purchase, this site morphed in late Summer of 2008 into a rallying point against the Wall Street bailout, which unfairly forced taxpayers to pay for bad bets by Wall Street. Even though only a short time has passed since the $850 billion bailout bill was enacted, it is clear that Secretary Paulson's great experiment to save his friends has failed; the credit markets remain frozen and the stock market is down almost 15% since the bailout passed.

Now, at least one presidential candidate wants the government to buy mortgages that it knows are bad from home-borrowers who can't make their payments. This is the ultimate slap in the face to the 99% of Americans out there who either pay their mortgages, rent, or own their homes. It will improperly freeze home prices at their current inflated prices, which are disproportionately high relative to folks' incomes, thereby making it impossible for hard working Americans to afford a home.

Taxpayer outrage at the Wall Street bailout is still a festering wound across America, and now these shameless politicians want you to pay for other people's greed and ignorance.

When you strip away all the BS that the media and the politicians throw at you, it really comes down to one basic fact: it is fundamentally unfair to force responsible Americans to pay for the acts of others who either knew better and took risks anyway, or should have known better and ignored the risks.

Unfortunately, it has become painfully clear that your elected representatives do not care what you think. Accordingly, we urge you -- no, we beg you -- to vote this November (and each November after that) -- against the politicians who voted against your very clearly stated will!!!

Our great country is being held hostage by greedy politicians and their appointees (e.g., Secretary Paulson, Chairman Bernanke) who refuse to listen to the collective voice of the American people.

Because we believe in law, justice, and fairness, we call upon you -- the American voter -- to make your voice heard this November. VOTE THEM OUT!!!

DONT BAIL THEM OUT...........

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:24:14 -0600

Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, odds are that you oppose the recent $750 billion bailout of the banking industry. This is a pretty easy prediction to make because the overwhelming majority of Americans (and more than a few folks from abroad) oppose the Treasury using their tax dollars to pay for the risks taken by big banks and the greed/ignorance of homeborrowers. That our politicians chose to vote against the will of the people is a sad example of how knee-jerk populism can blunt the mind.

As we predicted as clearly and loudly as possible, the bailout has had worse than no effect -- its has sent the markets into a tailspin. This financial freefall was caused in large part by a crisis of confidence, and a huge lurch toward Socialism by a heretofore rabidly capitalistic government does not restore confidence. Who could of predicted that? (Answer: anyone who actually thought about it.)

Which brings us to the critical point at this critical juncture in American history: politicians need to start making economic policy decisions with their brains (or brainpower rented from advisers) rather than with their knees. The bailout law passed via HR 1424 is a painful example of what can happen when politicians simply fail to think, critically or otherwise. The bailout gives the Treasury Secretary unfettered control to distribute $750 billion of taxpayers' money in any way he (or she) sees fit. Congress did not specify how the money must be spent, dictate how the money must be used by aided institutions (e.g., not to pay CEO bonuses), or impose any system of checks and balances. Predictably, banks are using the bailout money to advance their own self-interest (they are, after all, for profit entities) rather than to thaw the credit freeze.

And now more ostensibly private industries are seeking taxpayer assistance (e.g., auto industry, credit card industry, etc.). Stated simply, Congress -- in its rush to judgment -- failed to think through the bases and effects of its actions and, as a result, the law has had unintended (but easily predictable) consequences!

Of course we all want every American to own a home. But if anything has become clear over the past few years, it is that every American is simply not financially prepared to do so. The reality is that some folks must wait and save to purchase a house -- and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Congress, if its members were actually thinking, would impose strict, nationwide, iron-clad 'loan to value' ratios that would require a minimum down payment of 10% on all home loans. This requirement alone would have prevented the housing crisis.

Politicians need to take off their populist blinders and recognize that they are not doing Americans or America any favors by bailing out banks, homeowners, or other industries. Bailouts beget more bailouts; they do not solve the underlying problems. Homeborrowers need to learn that you can't treat your house like a piggy bank and not pay for it in the end. Banks need to learn that their private gains are not subsidized by socialized losses. And the auto industry -- and any other private business seeking government assistance -- needs to learn that taxpayers cannot and should not be paying for your mistakes.

We honestly believe that our President-elect is a brilliant man. Hopefully, his decisions while in office will be guided by that intellect!!!

Feeding your family for 10 dollars a week-FOR REAL!!

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:28:47 -0500

She is very sweet. Almost kind of shy. And she's nervous. She's never been on television before and she didn't expect to be anytime soon.

But what Crissy Thompson didn't count on was that I would meet an acquaintance of hers, and that we would strike up a conversation about coupons, and that this acquaintance would say, "Well my friend who lives in Gainesville, she spends sometimes, like $10 a week on groceries."

"What, for one person?"

"No, she's got three kids and a husband."

Okay, I am so there.

I call Crissy and ask her to let us spend the day with her to see how she shops. She seems a little hesitant but is very nice and agrees. We drive to her house in Gainesville and at her kitchen table we talk about how it all began.

"It got to the point where groceries were going up and paychecks weren't."

Crissy was pregnant with her third child and had reached the point that she was breaking even paying for childcare while she worked. She and her husband agreed it would be best for her to try to stay home with their children but they had to find a way to save money.

The family's grocery bill was $200 to $250 dollars a week. She began clippping coupons, trying to match them up with sales in the weekly fliers from grocery and drug stores. As Crissy's husband Joe puts it, "At first it kind of blew my mind because she'd bring things home and I'd be like is this legit or what? Are we going to get in trouble?"

It was legit alright.

And it took a bit of research and work. It still does.

Crissy says it takes her about an hour a week to get ready for her shopping trip, a trip that takes three to four hours and involves three to seven stores in the area.

She buys two copies of the AJC's daily double Sunday paper, getting four papers, four sets of coupons, for $5. She also goes to her favorite coupon websites (see links).

On the day we're with Crissy, we tell her we just want a sampling of what she does. She tells us we're going to CVS and Publix, two of her favorite stores.

I do coupons every week myself so I was very curious to see how she did it.

At the Publix, Crissy got her best deals with the buy 1, get 1 free items.

Most local grocery stores will let you buy only one item and get it 50% off. If you pair a coupon with that (most grocery stores double coupons up to 50 cents) you can sometimes get the item for free or next to nothing.

What I learned from Crissy is that you can use one coupon per item.

All this time I had misunderstood what it says on each coupon, only one coupon per purchase. I took "purchase" to mean "transaction." It's not.

For example, Crissy grabbed two boxes of cereal that were buy 1, get 1 free. The cereal was $3.79 a box. Crissy had a three dollar coupon for each box of cereal. She made over $2.00 when she pulled those boxes off the shelves. I thought I could only use one coupon, no matter how many boxes or cans or whatever I'd bought. So that's good for me to know.

She didn't buy any produce or meat when we were with her. The best deals that week were elsewhere and she told us she often gets her produce from local farmers at a nearby market where prices are very inexpensive. When we got to checkout her bill was $15.38 and she saved $36.22. Basically she saved two thirds of the bill.

Next we went to CVS in Dawsonville. "The best deals at CVS are coupons and Extra Care Bucks." Crissy explains that the Extra Care Bucks are given to you on specially marked items. You receive the bucks on your receipt and are good on your next purchase.

So Crissy does five separate transactions on this visit. CVS will have several items that are the best deal of the week, where you can essentially get the product for free.

Here's an example from our visit. Adidas deoderant was $4.99 and if you bought it, you'd get back $4.99 in Extra Bucks. They also had some toothbrushes that were $3.99 and you would receive $3.99 back in Extra Bucks. "By splitting it up into several transactions, I can take the extra care bucks I get and use it to pay for the next (items)."

Don't forget, Crissy also had coupons for most of these products. "That's the best when they have anything that's free after the Extra Care Bucks because when you have a coupon you're basically getting paid to buy the product."

Crissy walks through the store, shopping for her items. She advises people not to buy products or clip coupons for items they don't need because then they'll spend more money. However, she says when she can get things for free, she'll buy them and donate the items to a local shelter.

We get to the check out. Crissy does five transactions. She places a few items on the counter and says "This is my first transaction."

This is perfectly okay by the way.

We not only talked to the manager of the store about it, we talked to corporate headquarters in Rhode Island.

Her first total is $1.05. "It would have been $14. I paid $1.05 and I just got money back, Extra Care Bucks."

Then she places the next items on the counter and this time uses the extra care bucks to pay. "It would have been about $25. I just paid $1.61."

This is the way it goes for five transactions. At the end, Crissy has a bag full of household items ranging from toothbrushes to Tums. Her total would have been $140.00. I ask "How much did you pay?" Her answer, "Under five dollars."

I consider myself pretty good with coupons, or at least I did until I met Crissy.

I ask for her help for my purchases. We need some new toothbrushes, I need face cleanser and I would like a certain eye cream that is $20.

By following her directions, looking for items marked with the extra bucks sign, and using my own coupons I make my purchases. I also have $9 in extra bucks already in my wallet. My first purchase is $4 after my extra care bucks and coupons. I receive back $19 in extra bucks.

On my second transaction, the cleanser I buy is free with the purchase of the eye cream, an in store deal. My bill is zero.

I've just purchased $50 worth of products for $4. I practically jump up and down.

Now, this first time Crissy had to tell me what to buy and in what order so I could get the bucks back but I think I'll be quick to catch on in the future.

I got in the car and started calling my girlfriends, my sister and my mother. I was trying to explain to them how it worked and I kept getting frustrated because it's not that easy to explain over the phone and if you don't understand extra bucks.

Crissy says there are deals to be had everywhere. These were just two examples, but pretty impressive ones. She says at Target, you can print their coupons out from their website and use a manufacturer coupon with them, two coupons to buy one product.

Actually her best trip ever was at a Target. Her bill was over $380.00. She paid, get this, two cents. TWO CENTS!!!

I still don't know how she did that one. But even she was proud. She says she kept the receipt for a long time and that everybody heard about that trip.

I ask her about the stigma attached to coupons. I know in my grocery store I never see anyone with coupons besides myself.

Crissy is very matter of fact about it. "That piece of paper is that much money you're keeping in your bank account. No matter what you're income level is, you want to make that dollar go as far as you can and this is just a way to do that. To me personally, when I see someone in the store who has coupons I look at them as a smart shopper."

As for the looks Crissy gets? "When I go I get people behind me who are just glued to the register watching it go down." Other customers have asked her for advice, have exchanged e mails. "The cashier is either completely amazed or they're very offended like I'm stealing from them."

As for people who say coupons are for junk. "Some are junk, so don't clip them. If you buy everything you have a coupon for you're going to end up spending more than you would normally spend and you're going to have things you can't use."

For this stay at home Mom, coupons help the family live a better life. "It's the difference in my children being able to have the things they want and being able to have a decent place to live and get the bills paid."

That's something that is getting more challenging for many people.

Crissy Thompson is very humble about how good she is with coupons. If I tried my hardest, I don't think I could ever do anywhere near the two cent deal at Target.

But because of her, I know I'll be able to save my family even more each month.

Crissy jokes that the coupons are now her hobby, her addiction. Well if you have to be addicted to something, saving money at the grocery store these days is a good problem to have.

New Real Estate Agent Lead Capture Technology

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:10:02 -0500

Here's a cool new technology I read about that will change how real estate agents gather new leads. Basically potential buyers or sellers can connect much faster with real estate agents via cell phone text messaging. Say, for example, you get to a house you're really interested in buying and you want in depth information asap.

You can now send a text message or email directly to the sales agent right away and they'll send you back more detailed information on the spot! This company is taking advantage that everyone now carries cell phones so why not connect buyers with sellers?

It has only been 10 years since www.realtor.com became the starting place for anyone looking to buy, sell, rent, and list properties; in those years the same people began carrying a cell phone with them eighty-plus percent of the time. Now with text messaging growing faster than any other form of communication in the world, the opportunity to capitalize has presented itself.

XAP Realty, a Los Angeles based real estate marketing company has created a lead capture solution to utilize the fact that cell phones are now carried by all buyers. The concept is extremely simple, www.xaprealty.com provides real estate agents, individual sellers, and property management companies with interactive yard and rider signs. The signs allow prospects to request the listing information of a particular property by sending a text message.

The prospect is immediately sent the listing details including: address, price, beds, baths, acreage, MLS#, agent's contact information, and more. Simultaneously, the agent or property manager is sent an email that includes the prospects phone number and the listing that he/she is interested in viewing. The service acts like an on-site assistant, reporting full property details and taking down new lead information 24 hours a day 7 days per week.

XAP Realty benefits realtors by capturing more leads using the non-invasive communication medium of text messaging. XAP Realty saves realtors time and money by providing prospects with the relevant information they need, and reducing materials. Last of all XAP Realty simplifies the process by providing prospects with an effective means of saving the listing information they require, thus making the job easier the realtor.

The question of whether realtors will stay on the cutting edge of technology remains unknown, however, with regards to cell phones XAP Realty interactive signs are already being used in a city near you.

Record Foreclosure Rates Could Mean Cash in Your Pocket

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:07:00 -0500

With the mortgage crisis in full swing, homes are going into foreclosure left and right all across the country. In 2005 there were 850,000 foreclosures, with the number of foreclosures increasing every quarter.

All these foreclosed properties offer you a great investment opportunity. You can scout and buy homes in foreclosure, then keep them as rental properties and collect monthly checks from tenants. Or you can purchase foreclosed properties and flip them, renovating and selling the homes for a profit. The time has never been better to use the real estate market to your advantage.I was recently sent a free copy of a great foreclosure book by a real estate pro by the name of Denise Evans. Her book, The Make Money on Foreclosures Answer Book Practical Answers to More Than 125 Questions on Investing in Foreclosure Property is a straightforward, easy-to-follow guide to making money from foreclosures.

A quick and authoritative reference, the book explains all the elements of the foreclosure process and reveals everything you should keep in mind as you deal with foreclosed properties. The Make Money on Foreclosures Answer Book answers the most common questions about working with foreclosures, covering such topics as:

Finding properties to buy
Borrowing money to fund your purchase
Determining your costs
Buying pre-foreclosures and buying at auction
Buying through a bank or the government
Tax and legal issues
Bankruptcy
Dealing with the property's former owner

How to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac????

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:02:07 -0500

William Poole has long warned that mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had grown so large that they posed a serious threat to the U.S. financial system.

It looks like the former Federal Reserve policymaker had it right. Stocks of both companies are in meltdown mode this week, sending ripples through U.S. markets, on fears that they don't have the capital they'll need to survive rising mortgage defaults.

So let's admit the obvious, Poole suggests: Fannie and Freddie should be nationalized.

In America, nationalization is among the dirtiest of words. It conjures the image of the government grabbing control of private-sector assets.

But Fannie and Freddie, which buy or guarantee mortgages to support the housing market, are strange animals. They are owned by shareholders, but they were chartered by the government, and they've grown to their gargantuan sizes ($843 billion in assets at Fannie, $803 billion at Freddie) because investors worldwide believe their debts have the implicit backing of the U.S. Treasury.

If Fannie and Freddie face a wipeout of their capital because of loan losses, then, Uncle Sam couldn't possibly allow the companies to collapse. So why not just nationalize them now, turning them into full-fledged government agencies and thereby taking away the uncertainty on Wall Street about their ability to continue buying home loans?

Poole, who was president of the Fed's St. Louis branch until he retired in March, said in an interview with Bloomberg News this week that nationalization was "the only practical course" for Fannie and Freddie.

Though he's often labeled a curmudgeon, the 71-year-old Poole isn't alone in his view of what to do with Fannie and Freddie, which combined either own or guarantee a total of $5 trillion of U.S. home loans, nearly half the entire market.

"We have to stop pretending these are private companies," said Christopher Whalen, a managing director at research firm Institutional Risk Analytics.

There has always been an inherent conflict in the structure of Fannie and Freddie, Whalen notes: Their shareholders would reap the benefits if the companies took big risks and won, while it was presumed Uncle Sam would have to pick up the pieces if the companies blundered.

In Washington, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and others want Fannie and Freddie to get back on their feet on their own. But if the companies try to raise massive sums of new capital by issuing stock, they will severely dilute the ownership of their current shareholders (that's a big reason the stocks have nosedived).

And what if, six months from now, the loan losses turn out to be so massive that any additional capital the companies raised in the interim is burned up?

Politically difficult as it may be, Whalen says, if you make Fannie and Freddie government agencies now, "you take a major source of instability out of the market. You don't have to worry about it anymore." That would be one less issue for the housing market, which obviously has plenty.

Given the dilution risks they already face, shareholders of Fannie and Freddie ought to welcome a buyout even at these depressed prices, Whalen says.

In terms of stock market value, all that's left of Fannie and Freddie now is about $18.2 billion, combined. Wall Street wouldn't even notice that amount disappearing from the public market.

Steps To Homeownership

Joseph Goodman*ABR*GRI*SRES* (Century 21) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:23:36 -0500

Think about These Carrots When Buying a Home

No matter what you do, there will always be a lot of things to think about, a lot of issues to consider, and a lot of matters out of your control when buying a home. You've surely asked yourself why do I need a home appraisal? What does that do for me when I want to buy a home? You want to know? We'll tell you, just keep reading.

Get the Right Stuff When You're Buying a Home

When you need a mortgage for your home buying needs from a bank, credit union or lending company, it is more than likely that the lender will want and need a home appraisal before you get any money to buy that home. From the perspective of the lending company, they want to know that if you stop paying your mortgage, they will be able to sell the home and get their money back. The home appraisal will give a baseline price of what the property is worth, and be able to tell you what it should be sold for on today's market.

Are Comparative Market Analysis and an Appraisal the Same Thing When Buying a Home?

Although the results will be complimentary to each other, they are not the same thing. A home appraisal will tell you the approximate market value of the home you're interested in buying, but a comparative market analysis will compare your the home to usually three other similar homes. Based on the comparison, you will have a better idea of where the home you're interested in lies in the grand scheme of things. Also, a comparative market analysis is completed by a real estate agent, whereas an appraisal is completed by a registered appraiser.