It's hard to keep up with the technology. I want a video blog, but haven't worked up to it yet. Here is an old post I try to keep updated for a KW class.

It all started with MySpace. From there I got invited to ActiveRain. I resisted for quite some time before joining, but I am glad I finally did. Here I learned how to bulk up my website, I learned about SEO and I even got a referral!!! I have 3 websites, my own blog and an active approach to online networking. 

Updated 1/8/2009 - I'm a Facebook fanatic and most recently discovered ning, but I'm not sure what to do with that yet.

Updated 4/30/2009 - Have my own social network at www.SmartGirlsOwn.net and on Twitter frequently now. It's hard, but there's something there. I like how it grabs the Activerain posts and sends info over to Facebook.

Here is a list of free, or almost free, websites that can exhibit your profile, your listings, or are just plain helpful in this business. These are a fraction of the business basics... there are 1000's more. Let me know if there is one you'd like to share!

NEW DISCOVERIES:

www.dakno.tv: Info rich videos about website and web presence, social networking, blogging and SEO. Nice!

www.zipvo.com: A goldmine I haven't tapped into.

www.freeenterprisewarriors.com from Dave Jenks

Submit Your Site:

*www.google.com/addurl - submit your site to Google

http://www.google.com/local/addxplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit - display your business on Google

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/local/business.php - display your business on Yahoo

*https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit - submit your site to Yahoo

*http://search.msn.com.sg/docs/submit.aspx - submit your site to MSN

Listing Syndication:

*www.point2agent.com - Ads, website, virtual tours, PLUS listing placement -- free for 6 months ($9.95 a month thereafter) Great value, and shows up high on Google searches.

www.Trulia.com - post listings, answer questions, blog - definately post your profile here!

http://www.trulia.com/tools/ - Free widgets and cool downloads to place on your website. Beware: all roads lead back to Trulia

www.Zillow.com- free profile and listing ads - can link right to IDX and pull your listings onto your Zillow profile.   

www.1031NetEx.com - free profile and listing ads for investors

www.backpage.com - free ads  

www.craigslist.com - free ads  - if nothing else, post your listings on here and you will see traffic to your site.

www.postlets.com - free ads, free listing placement, and HTML for craigslist, etc.

Social Networking/Blogging:

*www.facebook.com - online networking - just about everyone I know is on here.

*www.twitter.com Update your status and it will update on Facebook, link to ActiveRain and send blog postings to Twitter and Facebook. Link to Blip.fm and send songs to Facebook. It's cool.

www.myspace.com  - online networking and blogging 

http://www.ning.com/ Create your own neighborhood social network for free

*http://activerain.com/action/referrals/sellwithstacey - online networking for Realtors, blogging community. Join Twitter and Facebook - blog on here and reach 100's of people you know and don't know.

http://www.localism.com/ - offshoot of ActiveRain - post listings and news  

www.youtube.com/sellwithstacey - free video hosting

www.linkedin.com - professional online networking

www.realtown.com  - blogging

www.plaxo.com - online networking, connect to all of your online networking sites and contact management

www.wannanetwork.com - online networking for Realtors

www.naymes.com - online networking  

*http://www.blogger.com/ - blogging - can also connect to Twitter.

Helpful: 

www.godaddy.com - domain names ( .info is sometimes cheap)  

www.mlsfinder.com- Wolfnet (NOT FREE - IDX search for website) 

http://www.realbird.com/ - widgets, listing ads

http://www.clearspring.com -widgets  

www.circlepix.com - sometimes can catch good specials - it used ot have a link for free virtual tours, but it's not there anymore.

http://www.eagentc.com/ - If you're at KW, this link is invaluable.

*www.voicecloud.com - voicemail to text transcription - not free, but really cool.

Good Freebies:

*http://www.realestatetechnologyonline.com/widget/ FREE text message widget for your website - VERY cool.

www.flyinside.com - free virtual tours - can connect them to Realtor.com for a measly $25 or to the MLS for $10.

 www.animoto.com - cool virtual tours - you can't use them on the MLS, but they look cool on Facebook.

www.realtyjuggler.com  - database - free 90 day trial ($99 a year thereafter) 

http://www.alamode.com/products/Agent/xsites/Default.aspx - Free real estate websites

www.freebielist.com - free stuff in general  

https://www.lowesrealtorbenefits.com/ - free coupons for Lowes for clients

http://www.mypersonaladvantage.com/about/pricing.aspx - free 30-day trial of drip email marketing campaigns ($9.95 a month thereafter, print and mail is additional cost)

www.verticalresponse.com - 25 free email drips when you sign up.

 www.jott.com - free reminder service, not free anymore, but very helpful.

www.leadtoclose.com - free in beta - lead/contact management 

News/Info:

http://www.morningstarmultimedia.com/html/dlreguide.asp - free marketing guide

http://www.hobbsherder.com/current_enews.asp - free monthly newsletter - marketing help

http://www.rismedia .com/ - real estate news  

http://www.inman.com/news - real estate news  

www.housefront.com - real estate valuation tool for text messaging  

http://www.stumbleupon.com/ - learn more about other websites and promote your own

MORE...  

http://www.zadzoo.com/

https://www.trexglobal.com/partner

http://www.freerealestateads.net/  

http://www.rehablist.com/

http://www.submitawebsite.com/blog/2006/05/use-google-base-to-list-items-in.html

http://www.wordpress.com/

http://www.seodiva.net/

Thanks,

Stacey McCarthy

http://www.bigjoemccarthy.com/

http://www.smartgirlsown.com/

* = personal favorites

The basics of the first-time buyer tax credit before they were revised in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

If you bought your first home last year after April 9, 2009 you are eligible for the lesser of $7500 or 10% of your purchase price in the form of a tax "credit."

You can not have owned a home in the three years previous to the purchase. The credit reduces the tax liability, and if there is a balance after taxes are collected, it is paid out as a refund to the home buyer. The adjusted gross annual income to receive the full credit can be no more than $75,000 for individual, $150,000 for joint filing, and there are reduced credits for first-time home buyers above those income levels.

Read everything about getting the tax credit at Philadelphia and Bucks County Real Estate Blog

Mortgage Rates went up a little, but every little bit counts.

Fixed rate Conventional 30 year mortgage is 5.125% with zero points

Purchases - mortgage amounts of $250,000.00 with credit scores of 720

OR

Fixed rate Government 30 year mortgage is 5.375% with zero points

Purchase - mortgage amounts of $200,000.00 with credit scores of 620

Compliments of:

Lisa Sozio
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
215-801-2949 Tel
Lisa.Sozio@wellsfargo.com                                       

Don't wait for rates to go up. Find your dream home in Northeast Philadelphia or Lower Bucks County.

At last! the much anticipated changes to the the first-time homebuyer tax credit are in.

The most noticable difference from the last $7500 tax credit is that it does not require repayment if the house is not sold within 3 years.

Beginning January 1, 2009 until December 1, 2009 first-time homebuyers will be lucky enough to get this boost from the government.

See the updates in writing here.

Ready to buy? You'd be smart not to wait. After all, it's a buyer's market, rates are down and you're getting a "rebate." Renting just got so much more expensive this year.

Search the MLS and see every home for sale on the Map! www.SmartGirlsOwn.com

Call the McCarthy Group at 215-757-6100 ext. 173

Visit my Philadelphia and Bucks County Real Estate Blog at it's new address:

PhillyandBucksBlog.com 

Featuring Northeast Philadelphia and Lower Bucks County Real Estate. As some of you know I usually blog here at SmartGirlsOwn.info. Although both blogs may at times contain the same info, you will find more info on Philly and Bucks there.

Thanks for your support and, as always, if there's anyone that you would like to refer to me, please give me a call at 215-531-1305 or email me at sellwithstacey@comcast.net.

Q: There is a home for sale on my block in Castor Gardens that says it's a "short sale," and my son would like to buy it. Does that mean it will be a fast settlement, and can my son offer less than the owner is asking?

A: Selling a home through a "short sale" means that the homeowner owes more on his mortgage loan than the price he is realistically able to sell it today. Either the homeowner is behind on his mortgage payments or is facing a hardship and is trying to avoid foreclosure by selling the home. A successful sale of this property would be "shorting" the mortgage lender what is owed on the mortgage. Despite the name "short sale," it is normally not a short process...

Read all here: Real NEastate: Short Sale in Castor Gardens « NEastPhilly.com 

Stacey McCarthy is a real estate agent with the McCarthy Group of Keller Williams Real Esate. Her Real NEastate column appears on NEastPhilly.com every Wednesday.

I recently applied for a job as Real Estate Editor for an online women's magazine. The editor did not think a Realtor would be a good hire for the job and is looking elsewhere.

The editor asked me a couple very thought provoking questions and I thought it would be great to blog the question and answer here.

Q:   I am wondering if you'd mind giving me your opinion on something though - just out of curiosity. I know you created a group on Maven called Smart Women Own Real Estate.  Can you tell me if you believe that is really the case for all smart women?  I'm asking because I'm not sure I agree obviously, but also because of everything that has gone on in the past few years.  For example - a young professional woman who is single and is not intending to live in a particular home or condo for more than 5 years MAX because of life changes she will go through.  Someone who may get married and want to buy a bigger house and need to sell or rent out her current home.  Someone who may want to move to a new city for work.  Would these women be smart to buy real estate considering how long it takes to sell a home these days and how horrible the rental market is to attempt to keep a property as an investment? 

A:   First let me be clear: I don't think anyone can make a sweeping generalization about any subject or any demographic without agreeing that not everyone or everything fits neatly into any generalization. Not everyone (or every women in this case) should or can own real estate. That said, it is a fact that the homebuying public is made up of 20% single women. You can double check this statistic from the National Association of Realtors website. In fact, in their studies they found that more women than men lived alone. Among these, women were more likely than men to own their homes (56% vs. 47%).  

I will try to respond directly to your comments:  

Everything that has gone on in the past few years.We are in the midst of a market correction from extraordinary circumstances. Based on the past few years I wouldn't discount real estate as still being one of the best investments you can make. You can still touch real estate. You can still live in a house. It works for you like no other investment. Your car doesn't appreciate - it depreciates 100% of the time. And stocks can't keep rain off your head unless you're smart enough to buy low, sell high, and then go buy a house (or rent, whichever). At the end of the day, if you own real estate, it's still worth something.  

A young professional woman who is single and is not intending to live in a particular home or condo for more than 5 years MAX because of life changes she will go through? The real cost of renting at $800 a month, with an average 6% increase per year is $126,536 over 10 years without ownership. Owners have the advantage of property tax deductions and mortgage interest write-offs. Owners have the benefit of appreciation potential- it's possible to build equity in 5 years. In Philadelphia, the average five-year annualized appreciation is 6% compared with 3.4% nationally. I would add, you don't ALWAYS control when life changes will take place. When I was 18, I knew what I wanted to be when I "grew up" and I intended to be married by 23. I didn't get married until I was 33 and I've changed careers twice since then.  

Someone who may get married and want to buy a bigger house and need to sell or rent out her current home.  I don't see any reason why this person shouldn't buy if she wanted to. I know women who have had the down payment for their marital home because they bought single.  I am currently selling a duplex for a woman who just had a baby and moved in with her fiance. She lived in that duplex virtually rent-free for seven years and will be getting a check for $12,000 when it closes. You can't compare that to renting in the same 7 years. In that time she took out a home equity loan - you can't get a home equity loan from your rental. This is the reason I love to help single women - there's a payoff for owning. I am currently living with my husband and raising my son in the home I bought single. It has appreciated 17% since 2002 even with the market corrections.  

Someone who may want to move to a new city for work. It would depend on how long she was planning on staying or how stable her job would be. I don't think I would advise someone to buy if their company was planning on relocating them unless they intend to be a landlord. In fact, I have advised to rent first to see if they even like an area in certain cases.  

Would these women be smart to buy real estate considering how long it takes to sell a home these days and how horrible the rental market is to attempt to keep a property as an investment? Philadelphia sale and occupancy rates are much higher than the rest of the country. In fact, Forbes Magazine ranked Philadelphia 4th in best long term housing bets. See: http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/16/cities-ten-homes-forbeslife-cx_mw_1216realestate.html.    

Not all women are smart. Not all smart women can own or should own real estate. Not all of the women who own real estate are smart. Men are smart too. Agree, or disagree on the statement "Smart Girls Own Real Estate," it doesn't change the fact that single women do own real estate. Smart girls own real estate just sounds cooler than single women own real estate : )  

Join my Smart Girls Own Real Estate Group on MavenMagPhiladelphia.com

www.SmartGirlsOwn.com - The Smart Girl's Guide to Real Estate

www.SmartGirlsOwn.net  - Smart Girls Network 

Parkwood Year-End Home Sale Report for 2008


The average sold price was $189,000 in 2008

We are currently back down to 2005 prices in value. 2006 and 2007 were an all time high for Parkwood.

In 2008 home values dropped 3.5% from 2007, which was the highest average sold prices of all time at $196,000.

The number of sales slipped 14% in 2008 with 82 Parkwood homes sold down from 96 in 2007. The highest number of homes sold was in 2004 at 122.

6% of homes that sold last year were forclosures in Parkwood which affected the average value.

Looking forward we should expect home prices in our neighborhood to continue to fall through 2009, stabilizing in 2010. This is due to the projected forclosures this year.

www.BigJoeMcCarthy.com

*This information is based strictly on row homes in Parkwood. No single homes, townhomes, or condos were used in this analysis. Homes sold that were not labled in the Multiple Listing Service as Parkwood were not used in this analysis, so there may be a small margin of error.

Don't Even Think About It
We have had a Holiday present from the government. Yes, the Federal Reserve Board has lowered short term rates close to zero.  Yes, the government continues to facilitate the lowering of rates on mortgages by declaring their intention to support the markets for mortgage by purchasing mortgage-backed securities. However, don't even think about it. As much as we have said that the rates on mortgages must fall in order to facilitate a housing and thus economic rebound, they are not going to zero percent. They are not going to two percent. They are not going to 4%.  Why not?

 
The Fed controls short-term rates. When short-term rates go very low, the threat of long-term inflation increases. And it is this threat of inflation that will keep rates on longer-term loans high. There is no inflationary threat now, but there is the specter of inflation on the long-term horizon. This is especially true because the government is currently spending trillions on fiscal stimulus. In addition, the fact that long-term Treasuries have lowered is a direct result of a flight to safety during a crisis. There is no safer place to put investments than bonds backed by the US government. Mortgages are certainly not considered a safe investment. When the crisis abates, which will be good news, rates on Treasuries will rise. But if the end of the crisis brings a housing recovery, it does not mean that rates on mortgages will rise significantly because they will become a safer investment.

The message? We have the lowest rates in almost half-a century. Don't be waiting for better news!

Current Indices For Adjustable Rate Mortgages
Updated December 19, 2008