The inaugural Virtual Real Estate Barcamp will take place on Tuesday and it is already receiving a lot of very exciting posts from those in the social media circles.

I'm not one of them.

Don't get me wrong I adore the Barcamp concept - after all I was part of the committee that brought a Barcamp to the Buckeye State and have already signed on to do the same in 2010. I drove to Indianapolis earlier this month to take part in their great event and am excited to take part in the REBCNY that "opens" Inman in January.

But, I've also sat through numerous "chat" sessions as I watched Barcamps being staged across the country thanks to the folks at Dakno. Bobby and Brad Carroll have done a marvelous job with getting these events out to the masses - and I give them as much credit with the cultish growth of the event as the wonderful folks that make it happen in every city. They are carrying the idea to the masses over the Internet and spawning ideas from coast-to-coast about bringing these to "my city" with each airing.

So I'm becoming a big to a Barcamp Ho.

But, yet, I find myself very disinterested in the entire concept of the Virtual Real Estate Barcamp. To steal a line from the famous Sarah Cooper, "Barcamp is the one place where looking at your phone and acting like a geek - isn't treated like a geek."

While setting up and hosting Real Estate Barcamp Ohio, I've made some connections that have led to referrals and become great connections for my real estate career. On top of that, I've had great conversations that were never expected. How could I explain having lunch with Ryan Crozier in the quaintest little Spanish restaurant in suburban Indianapolis explaining how I've closed 60% of my business this year from the Web. It was a conversation that was started because of a twitter comment in a session I was leading and grew from there.

The "biggest" part of barcamp - to me - is the social interaction that we gain from learning about the future of our industry from those that are doing the work - not selling it. It is about the time spent in the lobby learning that little trick that you didn't know about that makes your Web site pop and get an increase in traffic or response rates.

So don't mind me if I miss the social part of this social media experience.

Photograph by Andrew de la Muerta and used with permission.

There seems to be a new cell phone phishing scam making its way around the real estate circles thanks to an agent in the greater San Diego area.

There have been four people that have reported receiving the exact same text that asks for naughty pictures to be sent via text as he's going to be working late in the office.

So far, there isn't anything to say whether we are dealing with a pervert or a malicious scammer. But just err on the side of caution and don't respond to the text messages.

If you have had contact from him, I'd suggest heading over to Sarah Cooper's facebook page so that an accurate tally of how many people were affected can be compiled.

good luck and "happy" texting!

The blog formerly known as Sadie's Take on Delaware will be hosting this week's Real Estate Carnival.

If you've never entered a carnival this is a great way to get some outside link love for your blog, nominate your favorite post that was written this week and you'll have a chance to be featured on the Web site and shared around the world.

As of this writing I have 15 nominated posts and the judging begins tonight and the winner's will be announced tommorow on Twitter (I'm @realtortoby) and later on my blog and the Carnival's official blog.

Submit your best blog post of the week here

As we were winding down Real Estate Barcamp Ohio 2009, one of the topics was on building your online brand. And since the organizer (me) failed to have a moderator lead it, I ended up being the discussion moderator.

Amazingly, a great online brand marketing moment had just occurred a few minutes before ... and I missed the chance to share it with my people.

We had two classes running concurrently. One was an agent that had stressed to the planning committee - how do I get referral business out of this event? The other stressed to us that he understood the situation was a non-selling event and that he wasn't pitching anything.

Which one do you think created the unique marketing opportunity? Both.

The agent that wanted referrals put together what was described later as "The best presentation ... ever!" and I know that he got at least one agent asking for his business card because "I have family in ..."

The other agent's moderated session came across as a sales pitch and he received a lot of flack in the room and on the Internet. Was it intentional? No, I'm sure it wasn't. However, his online brand took a major hit because the perception of the hundreds that were in the room and watching live on Dakno.tv.com saw them violating a "cardinal" rule of Barcamp Ohio. Will they use this company in the future? Maybe, but they've now got a strike against them before they even step to the plate.

How does that translate to your everyday real estate agent? People want to know more about your personality, not you personally. They don't want to know that you've got a hang-nail, but they do want to know that you care about your community and being part of it.

They want to find a consistent message - even if they don't know they do - about your services. If you are talking about how condos are a bad investment in one post and then offering a post on how great they are in another, the become "confused" about who you are. And when everyone knows 2,000 REALTORS®, or so it often seems, we can't afford any reason for them to say "no" to us.

You do not have to be a "brand stickler" and focus on your brand to the "nth" degree, but you need to be conscience of it and use it to enhance who you are - not to give them another reason to say "no".

You've made the committment to attend Real Estate Barcamp Ohio 2009, but are still deciding whether you want to stay at the Hyatt on Capitol Square.

Well, we are planning on the party - err ... networking - to go long into the night on Wednesday for the Welcome Party and the whole show starts pretty early on Thursday morning.

So we'd suggest even those living on the outskirts to take advantage and get away for a night for the low cost of $99 per person ... pile four in the room for only $32.25 each!

We are so excited about the Hyatt on Capitol Square that we are giving away a free night! Let me repeat that, a FREE NIGHT!

Just be registered to stay at the hotel, using the easy online reservation form, by August 5 and you'll be entered into a drawing that will have one night of your stay covered for free!

You don't have to pay for the room when you reserve, just get your name on the books at the Hyatt and we'll get the sheets turned down for you!

Have you been watching the Real Estate Barcamps on Dakno and wondering when one would be coming to the Great Lakes.

Well if you missed Chicago's event, then you need to come to Columbus, Ohio on August 19-20 for the infamous Real Estate Barcamp Ohio 2009!

The free event will be held only steps away from the State House Rotunda at the Hyatt on Capitol Square in downtown Columbus.

The event will begin on August 19 with registration running from 4:45 - 5:45, the Photowalk from 6-7:30 p.m. and the Welcome Networking event from 7-10 p.m.

On August 20, registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and runtil until 9:30 a.m. The welcome will be from 9-9:30 and the Barcamp will run from 10 - 5:30 and will be followed by the infamous Beer N Bloggers event at 6 p.m. at the Hyatt on Capitol Square's infamous Darby Patio.

RSVP today! for your chance to get a T-shirt and be elgible for a free door prize!

A freind-of-a-friend sent me a CMA request on New Year's Eve.

Unfortunately, it was in Fort Myers, Florida. Well, short of hopping on a plane and enjoying the warm weather, I'm going to be referring this one out. I immediately head to Twitter and post

"Real Estate agent in Fort Myers? Contact me via DM"

And I chilled for a bit. Went had the morning coffee, worked a bit and soon realized ... that I had to check on those direct messages.

Hmm ... not a single one. Logged on to Active Rain, and found the amazing Chris Elizabeth Griffith (@Twitterzilla) and worked out a potential referral with an agent from her office.

What happened on Twitter? This was my first attempt to do "blatant" business ... and it was a classic "fail whale".

I have a friend that is claiming to be getting six-to-eight leads a month off Twitter. He's not sharing names and closings, and I'm not buying it.

Are you getting business from Twitter?

Follow me on Twitter if you are really bored.

“Would you recommend your company as a great place to work?” the LinkedIn poll recently asked me.

I quickly answered “yes without a doubt” thinking it would be split pretty evenly amongst the results. However, with 23,268 responses the results were a runaway. Seventy percent responded “yes without a doubt” while only 15 percent answered either “no probably not” or “no definitely not”.

The question to you is: How would you have answered that question?

The greatest thing about being in real estate for me is that I’m an independent contractor – I earn my keep every single day. Didn’t make my calls today? Well that’s my problem. I don’t care if Susie in accounting didn’t make her calls – actually in a sick-twisted way, I would prefer she keep it that way.

But one thing that always amazes me is how many people don’t like who they work for. Maybe it’s their nature or maybe it’s the market. A 99% commission split with $1 desk fee would sometimes feel like too much in this economy. But, there are others I know that are generally unhappy with their organization. Why? Reasons I’ll never understand.

I remember walking into my first broker’s office – even took my wife with me as moral support – to tell him I was joining Keller Williams. He didn’t even try to keep me, and basically wished me best-of-luck and we parted ways. It cost me about $70 to change my license with the Ohio Department of Commerce and to transfer within the Delaware County Board of REALTORS® but it was pretty painless.

So why are you working for a brokerage you don’t enjoy, don’t like, or worst of all doesn’t give you the support you need?

That my friend is for you to decide.

Photo by Luis Lopez and used with permission.

Columbus and Central Ohio Multiple Listing Service announced its November 2008 numbers on Monday and they continued to slump.

The sold listings were off by more-than 26% while the average sales price was down by 16%.

Of all the numbers, one of the most interesting is that the days on market has fallen by 18% - or 21 days - compared to November last year.

Year-to-date, the numbers continue to be off our pace from 2007. However, they are not nearly as extreme as Novembers. Average sales price is down less than 5% while the number of sold listings is down by just over 13%.

Why the sharp drop in November?

• Calm of the storm is one idea. We saw such a rapid adjustment to the market that the majority of buyer's may have been on the sideline in October and November - which doesn't bode well for the December numbers as well.
• Another idea, is that the presidential election had a major impact. People were more interested in talking about politics and the fate of the United States presidential campaign than buying and selling real estate.

What does that mean for the future?

Well, in December I think the numbers will continue to be sharply off compared to 2007. But, the current interest rates appear to be creating an up-tick in the market. If, and a big if, buyer confidence begins to return then we could see a bounce back in the first quarter of 2009.

 

 

Welcome home to 15947 Needles Road in beautiful southeast Delaware County. This home is located about half-way between Sunbury and Johnstown about two miles south of State Route 37. You'll be the first to live in this 2,493 square foot 3-bedroom and 2-1/2 bathroom cape cod. The home was built in 2005 and has a lot of upgrades! From the stainless steel dishwasher to the cabinets to the countertop and the beautiful deck. Sitting on 1.999 acres this home has a well and private septic system and is forced air propane heat with central air conditioning. The two-car garage is side load with openers.