Teresa's Blog

Fremont Fair in Seattle's "Center of the Universe"....

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:10:01 -0500

Fremont Fair

An annual event in Seattle’s “FUN”ky “Center of the Universe” community, featuring a parade, eats, drinks, art, music, entertainment, vendors, shopping and more is scheduled for June 20th -21st 2009 –

For details and more information visit Fremont Fair online. A Solid Ground Production & Benefit Event.

2009 Fremont Fair Flyer

Website: Fremont Fair

Bloggers posting for a cause - Earth Day, April 22, 2009 - you in?

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:31:02 -0500

Sharing a bloggers "Call to Action" as “Earth Day” 2009 fast approaches. One way to help raise awareness and focus toward environmental issues is to blog about them.

Is there any place better to get the word out to active bloggers knowledgeable about issues related to living green than ActiveRain? Efficient building design, landscape, energy audits and other green-home topics are just a few possible post ideas.

If you’re interested in joining BloggersUnite for this Earth Day April 22, 2009 event; inspiration, more information, registration and badges are available online. (285 joined this event as of this post) -

This short video below provides some excellent background on Earth Day.

Earth Day Video

Need a "Super Screenshot"? Check this out....

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:37:46 -0500

Super Screenshot (by Contact Sheet).

To capture an image of a website “Super Screenshot” is a handy tool. No registration or software to download and so many possibilities!

It’s almost as easy as typing the URL into the search bar and clicking “go”. Once the Super Screenshot appears, you can change the size, file type or refresh with a click of your mouse.
- right click to save

one Idea for the road though you’ll likely come up with plenty of your own:

Create a gallery for your blog/post or website and link each image to details or more online info - i.e.

· Listing Agents Gallery of Homes –

· An Artists Gallery -

· Business Gallery of Associates –

· A Stagers Mini Portfolio –

Ready to give it a shot? Super Screenshot!

Marketing Real Estate with RealBird

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:07:14 -0500

Real Estate Marketing with RealBird

Real Bird’s initial release of a custom search engine "Search The Real Estate Web" recently got better. A co-branded version for agents is made available as a free service from Real Bird. For details visit the RealBird Blog on the Active Rain Real Estate Network

Visit this link for a live sampling of my co-branded search site provided through RealBird (screenshot below).

Just one of the many useful tools RealBird offers Real Estate Agents including online listing resources, single property sites, widgets, mapping and more.

Offer Your Readers a Seat - & - Feed Them (cute new RSS icons from Smashing Magazine))

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:09:23 -0500

Now you can offer your readers a seat to get fed

Smashing Magazine released another creative icon set that's great for bloggers - my favorites from this collection are the cozy and colorful RSS feed icons in four colors - with that "welcome home" feel -

Download this freebie set at: Smashing Magazine

What Beautiful "Tweeple"! Artful & Fun"twitter mosaic" love it!

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:55:41 -0500

More twitter business: for your twitter business - FREE

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:50:49 -0600

Thanks to Mike Mueller of areweconnected.com and host of the popular “Mike’s Minute” here on Active Rain, I learned about “tweeple pages” a useful twitter tool. Visit Mike’s Minute to learn more about the great features of “tweeple pages”.

Another one of my new favorites: “twitter mosaic” from sxoop.com to creates an awesome mosaic of your twitter friends or followers along with code that can be pasted into your website or blog using your twitter id. Below is what “twitter mosaic” generated with my twitter info. (note: it’s an edited version due to code overload in part because of the link feature described below)

Not only does it arrange your favorite twitter faces beautifully, the mosaic links each to their twitter page. To test the link feature click in the example below.

I love this!

Get your twitter mosaic here.

I previously posted on Active Rain about adding your name to the Tweeter Real Estate Directory on justtweetit.com.

Sharing Twibs.com another directory for business on twitter not specific to the real estate industry but it includes over 5,000 business listings and counting including ESPN, CitySearch, facebook, LinkedIn, Mashable, Technorati, Yahoo Real Estate and others*.

It’s free and simple - once registered you’ll receive an@ message on twitter from twibs.com with a link to manage your listing. There’s a spot for your bio and up to 5 website/blog links in addition to your twitter, LinkedIn, flickr and facebook profile links – what’s not to love about free advertisement?

To add your business visit twibs.com where you can also try their well-organized search options that allowed me to quickly find * Starbucks, MTV, TV Guide, H & R Block, Whole Foods, MS Windows, Amazon and numerous other recognizable people, entities and brands already taking advantage of twibs.com directory.

First time homebuyer credit repayment details worth checking out

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:41:27 -0600

Valuable First time homebuyer Credit Repayment Information

Just visited H&R Block online to review a summary of the new stimulus package. It appears first time homebuyers who qualify for the credit may also have repayment waived after 36 months if they meet other criteria including: the home is still their primary residence and has not been sold. Refer to the stimulus package for details but on first glance, this could be incentive for those who qualify. H&R Block Link –

Go ahead....it's free to Embed

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:53:47 -0600

With Embedit.in you can insert files into your website or blog that otherwise might require opening a separate program, website or window to access.

Example Below - A PDF document (newsletter) uploaded using embedit.in online which generated code that was copied and pasted into a new blog post under the html tab. The result is direct access to the newsletter content without the necessity to open another window or program. Upload files from a URL or your pc.

Viewer features include zooming, full screen and the ability to drag a page within the viewer.

This online utility from increo is available at embedit.in.

Seattle's out to get Invaders!

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:09:48 -0600

Seattle green city partnership

To help maintain and restore the habitat of Seattle’s forested parkland the Seattle green partnership is working to Identify and remove invasive plants and replace them with other native species through active support of volunteers and businesses.

Homeowners – If you’re inspired to adapt the idea in your own landscape design there are resources online to assist you.

Weekly Events – Are you ready to help get the invaders out of your community? Check where Seattle area volunteers plan to be by visiting an online event schedule.

Green Seattle Partnership video below:

Happy Valentine's Day - to All of you! My Traditions! Do You Know How Valentine's Day Began?

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:08:08 -0600

I can't think of a more fitting person to share a Happy Valentine's Greeting here on the Rain than Teri Ellis the "Lady in Red" - enjoy her blog and be sure to visit marti garaughty @"The Art of Marketing You" for February's " Link Love" Challenge. May Love and Chocolate Be Yours!

Via Mesa, Arizona Real Estate *** Teri Ellis, Broker, ABR,CRS,GRI,ePRO,MRE (Homes Arizona Real Estate LLC):

I think I'm the queen of trivia....really, I like some of the fun stuff that either we don't know or forgot. Traditions I have carried on through the years include:

When my children were little, on Valentine's Day, by their dinner plate would be a heart (probably See's Candy) with chocolate.

I would also make sure they each - as well as hubby - would have a red "something." Usually for the guys it was a shirt, and for my daughter, a dress. My daughter continues this trend with her children. Fun memories for her and for me.

Now, as a grandma, they usually receive a Valentine Card from us with some money...they like that part.

Tonight, my husband and I will go to a Valentine's Dance - wearing RED!!!

What are some of your traditions?

Wikipedia reports the following about Valentine's Day.....

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is an occasion celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.^[1] The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.^[2]

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend in average twice as much money as women.^[3]

Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog

Zillow's been talking about me

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:35:55 -0600

Reblogging Chuck Wiiman's post "Zillow's been talking about me" - if you're interested in seeing what they're saying.... this post is for you.

Via Chuck Willman, Arizona Realtor® 480.292.0600 (Gentry Realty):

My neighbor approached me the other day and remarked, "Did you notice what zillow said about us?"

I wasn't aware he was on speaking terms with Zillow... or that my name had somehow been brought up in conversation... so I played along, "No... what's Zillow been saying?"

"Zillow says your house is worth $41k less ever since the bank accepted the offer on that corner house. They say my house is worth $38k less."

OK.

I don't really have a bone to pick with Zillow... but my neighbor is not too happy with them right now.

Knowing I'm an agent, my neighbor wanted my opinion. These are the things I shared:

It's difficult to know exactly what any home is worth right now. In some neighborhoods there are so many bank owned properties that the "new retail" value is the price of the latest sold property... even if it's bank owned.

Zillow provides an approximation of value. They aren't as accurate as a licensed appraiser who will be able to take into account all factors. Sometimes their figures are high... sometimes they are low. Often they won't have some essential information, such as how many beds and baths a home has. However, they are a pretty good gage for a "ball park" figure. They aren't pulling prices out of thin air... they have a methodology and a formula- but a consumer will want "someone in the business" to give them richer information to help judge values.

The values are never written in stone. They change each day... especially as new data arrives. Every sale changes the comparisons.

Has Zillow been talking about you? What do you have to say about them?

-------

Chuck Willman is an Arizona based real estate agent. www.AZvest.com

Seattle Home Show 2009

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:53:00 -0600

February 14th -22nd 2009

Seattle Home Show – begins this week-end and runs through February 22nd at Qwest Field Event Center in Seattle. Visit the Seattle Home Show online for show times and details, to purchase tickets or get recipes which include: Halibut, Corn and Smoked Salmon Chowder from Anthony’s restaurant Chefs Tony Ring and Pat Donahue.

There will be furnished and landscaped model homes at IDEA STREET™, home decorating, building and product displays, seminars, living green ideas.... and a wine tasting section.

Sponsors of the Show are the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Master Builder Association of King and Snohomish Counties.

image created at http://www.wordle.net/ Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States

Ready to Bloom....Northwest Flower and Garden Show

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:08:21 -0600

Seattle - Colorful displays and ideas planted throughout the 2009 Northwest Flower & Garden Show are ready to bloom February 18th -22nd at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

Gardeners are in for a treat at “Sustainable Spaces. Beautiful Places.” the theme of this years show featuring container, organic and edible gardening, shopping, information, tools and seminars in addition to showy displays and family friendly activities.

Discover ways to bring your porch or deck alive with plantings or enhance your homes curb appeal. From lawns to patio gardens, green living to sustainable designs, everything from vegetables to orchids are on the calendar at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show.

Digital Media -....and almost scary search engine capabilites

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:25:02 -0600

Digital media is all-the-buzz with much being written about how even the presidential campaign used social networking to connect with voters. Marketing guru Marti Garaughty touched on the subject in his recent “The Art of Marketing You” group post on the Active Rain network;

“We could all learn a few lessons from his online marketing strategies. Check it out, grab a free copy over at Edelman, Digital Public Affairs….”

- marti garaughty –

I think Marti’s post as well as the article he makes available to download are excellent reads and have no question that the face of business marketing includes at least an element of social media; the likes of twitter and facebook to remain competitive.

If you’ve been on the sidelines wondering how people and business are using networking sites to put themselves and brands “center stage” - live examples could be the best way to find that answer. Providing links (below) to 3 search engines that specifically focus on sifting through internet social circles including blogs and microblogs that may help simplify such a quest.

You can try typing a business or your own name into the search bar and generate results that are incredibly fast. It’s almost scary to see their capabilities in action and reflects just how easy it really is to “follow” online. One consideration when you or your business is out there, they really are – out there.

Three social media search engines (alphabetically):

JungZilla.com

socialmention

twingy

image created at http://www.wordle.net

UPDATED: You Embed Tube - Create an attractive video presentation.

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:13:22 -0600

If you want to try out a video presentation from YouEmbedTube –

Click Here or the title on the player “YouEmbedTube” should direct you to the site - Instructions may be a bit vague so hopefully this will help:

If you have a YouTube channel – you can type your channel name under:

#1. Tags – and proceed to

#2 Quantity – select the number of video to show in the wheel from the drop down list and then….

Click on “Preview” which should generate the images.

The page may take a few minutes to load while it searches for the channel or video but once you see the images….

Click where it says “Get the code right now!” (right side of the images) – this should generate the html code (where the images were)

copy the code below the line . “Direct HTML” to your pc clipboard – to paste into your post. There is alternate java script provided as well but don’t think it will work on AR?

If you don’t have a video channel on YouTube – you can type in key words to identify video you want to display. This might take a visit to YouTube to make some selections.

The example below was generated simply by typing Active Rain – into #1 then selecting 8 from the drop down list under #2, then clicking on “Preview” – TA!DA! The presentation below is what was auto generated. I hope this helps to create something fun.

Are You in the Tweeter Real Estate Directory?

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:04:12 -0600

If you’re in Real Estate and using Twitter….how about adding your name to the Tweeter Real Estate Directory?

There are other Tweeter Directory categories at justtweetit.com as well that might help people find and connect with you online.

sweet tweets! J

p.s. cool microblog and blog search engine….“twingly”

image created at http://www.wordle.net

January 2009 - sharing a post on...."The Law of Attraction"....

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:54:23 -0600

Recently a member of Sta.rt.up.biz (a small business social network) blogged about “The Law of Attraction” and while it was the title that captured my attention….it was the content that made me want to pass it along to anyone here at the Rain interested in a little New Years refresher on the topic - I’ve included a link to the article posted by Sandy Gray at Sta.rtup.biz below. May 2009 be a blessed year for you and yours!

“Attracting Unlimited Customers Using The Law of Attraction”

Posted by Sandy Gray

SUZE ORMAN'S FREE BOOK DOWNLOAD - 1 WEEK ONLY.....

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:54:01 -0600

Coni Otto Blogged about it on Active Rain yesterday - Re-blogging today to remind you that the FREE download offer of Financial Guru Suze Orman's book being launched this week on Oprah expires January 15th so if you want a free copy....what are you waiting for :) I downloaded this morning (PDF File)

HERE from Oprah.com.

Great Find Coni and thanks for sharing with us on Active Rain.

Via Coni Otto - MD/DC Real Estate, MD/DC Relocation, Land, SFamily Homes (Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.):

Hello my Friends - You know I'm ALWAYS LOOKING FOR FREE STUFF FOR MYSELF AND FOR YOU, so I'm watching Oprah today!! Cuz I want to live my Best Life in 2009 and guess what.............. She had Suze Orman on and she was on and wrote a new book and she's giving it to Oprah's viewers for 1 week only....

Just go to http://www.oprah.COM

IT IS AN ACTION PLAN FOR 2009, it's Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan, for free!

not at RE Connect NYC '09? - you can still be INMAN....

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:16:48 -0600

“Rainiers” - If you’re among those of us who are not at “Real Estate Connect New York City 2009”; there are plenty of industry pros in attendance that are working to help keep us informed through video, tweets, podcasts and AR posts. It’s exciting to hear about other “Rainier” experiences while they’re “live” on the road in NYC and I look forward to hearing more about the event in the coming weeks.

InmanNews.com is another resource for Connect NYC ’09 updates including flickr photo links, video, media and the InmanNewsBlog.

Here’s a link to InmanNews.com. If you aren’t already a member you can register for a free at InmanNews http://www.inman.com/user/register

Inman has a different niche than Active Rain and they do provide exceptional Real Estate news, distinguished columnists, industry tools and information.

If you’re in the area on the www – you might also want to check out RealTown to register for a free membership with blog and/or Point2Agent for professional quality Real Estate Broker/Agent website that provides excellent automatic syndication for your listings.

Already an “Inman”? let’s connect

RealTown member? let's connect

Share the love on ActiveRain

Your own marketing ‘Word Clouds”….Awesome FREE online generator

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:20:55 -0600

A free online tag cloud generator from Jonathan Feinberg at wordle.net was all kinds of fun for me today where I saved some images below as screen-shots to share but the site also provides “code” for your results to copy & paste into your website or blog.

Wordle can create typical tag clouds but what sets wordle apart is the ability to select your own words or text, change color schemes, fonts and various other design options. You’ll need java enabled but beyond that I found the application to be pretty simple to “get”.

Tip: Use the “randomize” button to automatically reorder and redesign your word cloud.

A theme of words is one way to personalize a blog post, greeting card, flyer or other marketing piece. You could:

Design an image with names of streets in a town, community landmarks, local attractions or neighborhoods to represent your service area or use words to promote a listing by describing its’ features and highlights. Use an image of blog or network sites on the www.

Decorate a newsletter or website with an image showing your name, company, website, specialties and contact info to help illustrate the character of your business.

Embellish a thank you note or open house invitation with an image illustrating what, where, when –don’t forget to include your name, business, email and contact info.

wordle toy at wordle.net - enjoy! images created at http://www.wordle.net/

images created at http://www.wordle.net/ Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

E-Cycle Washington & US

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:54:15 -0600

E-Cycle Washington – Households, nonprofits and small businesses can recycle televisions, computers, monitors and portable computers FREE - (see restrictions)

Visit 1800recycle.wa.gov to find recycling services for electronic drop off stations in your area or Call 1-800-RECYCLE for more information.

EPA also offers a list of goverment, manufacturer and local resources to help when you want to donate for reuse or recycle old electronic or computer products.

Plastic bags consumed this year:

helping keep it green

New Home for Seattle Thunderbirds Hockey - 2009

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:57:39 -0600

Sold Out Game – Seattle Thunderbirds vs. Everett Silvertips 01/03/2009

Seattle Thunderbirds Hockey Club is set to play for the first time in their new home at ShoWare Center in Kent tonight against the Everett Silvertips in front of a sell out crowd. The new Kent events center hosted a Grand Opening yesterday for the public to tour the entertainment facility for free. The brand new building is reportedly the first of its kind in terms of being Green and will provide a venue for sports, entertainment and other events.

“ShoWare Center is the first sports and entertainment facility in the U.S. to be designed and constructed to LEED® Silver Certification standards”- http://www.showarecenter.com/venue/green_building

Seattle T-Birds Hockey Club website provides information about the inaugural game, their new ShoWare Center home, schedules, players and other news and links that may be especially interesting to hockey fans.

ShoWare Center Address: 625 W James St, Kent, WA 98032

image created at http://www.wordle.net/ Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

:) see you online in 2009!

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:17:15 -0600

see you online in 2009!

Get it Moving.

Teresa Berry (Dream Home Real Estate Inc) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:04:41 -0600

Sharing a brilliant analogy (in my opinion) of the market and one way toward: "Getting the market moving again" - posted by Saul Klein on RealTown - to view the article click the link provided in Saul’s post.

It's a concise quick read- by Blanche Evans - citing Jeremy Conaway on "unclogging" the market - I'd love to know your thoughts if you have a chance to check it out.

Saul is President/CEO, InternetCrusade - http://InternetCrusade.com
CEO, Point2 Technologies http://Point2.com