Are You Better Than Average? - 12/24/09 01:13 PM
 
It's December, and in between the various holidays-Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, and here in the north central region of Pennsylvania where I live "Hunting Season"-if you are in real estate, you should be taking stock of 2009 and formulating your written plans for 2010. In a well managed company, a broker or manager meets with you and assists you in setting goals, and keeping on track. In reality, for most agents, you are on your own. Even agents with managers who do this often report it is simply a perfunctory: "You're going to make 2010 better, right?"
Well, for real estate … (0 comments)

Teaching Technology One Step at a Time - 12/11/09 07:18 AM
I've had some interesting results, and good feedback, from two courses I teach-one for agents and one for appraisers. The appraisal one I just did at the Triple Play REALTORS® Convention in Atlantic City-and it is titled: "Technology and the Appraiser-or even a Geezer can become a Geek". Thankfully, the appraisers realized I was referring to their demographic-they are typically the most experienced, and older, REALTORS®, per NAR stats. The agent one is called: "Real Estate Services in a Cyber World". I've had some great feedback, which is always gratifying when you write and teach your own stuff. My approach is … (0 comments)

Have Yourself a GREEN Christmas - 12/10/09 08:00 PM
GREEN, as we know, is a hot topic these days among consumers and REALTORS® alike.  As a GREEN Instructor, I think about GREEN a lot. This time of year, we think about decorating our homes, enjoying the holidays with friends and family-and some of us think about being GREEN.  Despite what you might have heard elsewhere, most ‘experts', including one I heard on NPR about a week ago, agree that natural trees are better. Here's one link to go into detail: http://environment.about.com/od/greenchristmas/a/christmas_trees.htm At the end of the day, artificial trees are made from plastics, some of which not only take eons … (0 comments)

Atlantic City & Appraisers - 12/10/09 10:41 AM
I'm in a class, doing this live, at the Triple Play Convention (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania REALTORS(R)) in Atlantic City. Today's topic is Appraisers and Technology and we are having fun! Someone asked 'how do you create a blog?' and I said: "It's easy--watch!"
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