ar: Make Mistakes, and Make Mistakes Often
- 06/24/10 01:25 PM
Make Mistakes, and Make Mistakes Often This quote, from Doug Devitre, says a mouthful.
Don’t be misled by what may be your first, and incorrect, impression of this statement.
Doug Devitre is a well known national speaker and instructor on Social Media, Blogging, technology, and other real-estate related topics. He spoke today at our North San Diego County Association of REALTORS membership meeting on social media, covering a range of tools and tips. If you haven’t heard Doug talk, you should.
Doug’s advice early on in the talk for folks getting started, or already involved, in social media was “MAKE … (33 comments)
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ar: A Chicken or Egg Question??
- 06/20/10 12:51 PM
I have a chicken or egg question for you.
Which comes first, your post or the title?
Do you tend to write posts and then try to come up with a catchy title that will attract readers?
Or do you develop a title, or perhaps just have one pop into your head, and then develop a post around the title?
We all know a title is important - for SEO purposes, and for grabbing readers' attention - and sometimes it's easy to create one that works well. Other times, it may not be so simple, perhaps because of … (25 comments)
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ar: Two Learning Opportunities | Short Sales and Foreclosures (REOs) | Southern California CRS
- 06/14/10 04:09 AM
Short Sales and Foreclosures - Learning Opportunities in Southern California
The Southern California Chapter of CRS (Certified Residential Specialists) is offering two learning opportunities in the Southern California region in June and July. These classes are open to all, not just CRSs and Chapter members.
JUNE 16 - SHORT SALE 201 Southwest Riverside Association of REALTORS in Murrieta from 9 am until 4 pm. This hands-on workshop taught by short sale expert Sherman Smith will teach you everything you need to know about listing and selling short sales, including how to assemble the right short sale package.
You will walk … (5 comments)
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ar: Why I Hate Social Media! And You Probably Do Too But Won't Admit it! (A REVISIT)
- 05/25/10 11:38 AM
I wrote this about 9 months ago, and Bob Stewart thought it deserved another visit. I like sharing my opinions so I can't say I disagree.
I reread it, and I don't see that my thinking has changed.
I enjoyed writing this - the reality as well as the sarcasm - and hope you find it worthy of a read, whether you agree or not. After all, we're both entitled to our opinions. I would be curious about what YOU think.
I really do see the value of social media, otherwise I wouldn't be there in spades. But there is some stuff … (188 comments)
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ar: Living in an ERUV | First Time Buyer Requirement
- 05/23/10 09:33 AM
Living in an ERUV We can often learn a great deal from our buyer clients when helping them find a home that meets their particular needs and wants. Usually, I think, we know the neighborhoods we work in (or should) but sometimes the requirements are a bit more unusual and we discover things we might not have otherwise known.
I had some clients back in the Boston area a couple of years before I relocated to California who were searching for their first home. We spent quite a bit of time talking about what they were looking for, and where they wanted … (8 comments)
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ar: CRS 206 Technology Class | San Diego CA | May 27 and 28, 2010
- 05/22/10 08:01 AM
CRS 206 Technology Class in San Diego CA May 27 and 28, 2010
The Southern California Chapter of CRS (Certified Residential Specialists) is pleased to co-sponsor the CRS 206 Technology class with the San Diego Association of REALTORS (SDAR).
The class will be held next Thursday and Friday, May 27 and 28 at SDAR Offices at 4845 Ronson Court in San Diego (858) 715-8000.
Mark Porter will be the instructor.
Don't miss your chance to get the lowdown on the latest in technology and how you can and should use it in your business. Plus get 1 step closer to … (3 comments)
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ar: I am an ActiveRain RainMaker | a.k.a. Why YOU Should Be a RainMaker
- 05/20/10 03:57 AM
This may be shameless self-promotion, and a plug for ActiveRain.
I don't care...it's reality
And if you have any interest in growing your business YOU should be reading this AND taking these points to heart.
Don't believe it? Call me and we'll talk.
I am a RainMaker and I have no reservations about it whatsoever.
Here's WHY you should becomoe a Rainmaker, too!
CONSUMERS CAN READ YOUR POSTS There are about 2.5 million unique visitors to AR monthly. If you are a RainMaker you can tap into this traffic. If you are not, only AR members can read your … (63 comments)
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ar: What You Should Know about the New GFE and HUD-1 Forms
- 05/18/10 05:24 PM
What You Should Know about the New GFE and HUD-1 Forms One of the more interesting sessions at NAR on day 2 last week, surprisingly, was a session on RESPA, specifically the new GFE (Good Faith Estimate) and HUD-1 Forms. Phillip Schulman, Esq., conducted the session with plenty of specific things to know and a fair bit of humor.
The main components of these documents include:
New GFE (Good Faith Estimate) Controversial YSP (Yield Spread Premium) Tolerance limitations (Zero, 10%, No Tolerance) New HUD-1 (now 3 pages) Average Charges The irony, of course, is the intent was to simplify, yet … (33 comments)
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ar: RainCamp LIVE in Los Angeles, CA May 15, 2010
- 05/15/10 10:39 AM
RainCamp LIVE in Los Angeles The excitement has been brewing for a few weeks and the day finally arrived. Having heard so much about RainCamp I was pretty stoked to be able to attend, especially since I had to be in LA the day before (after the week in DC for NAR and CRS) for my daughter's graduation.
It's been great fun to actually meet some folks I have been following and have gotten to know but had never met - Kat De Long, Tony and Suzanne Marriott, Stewart Penn, Cheryl Johnson, Michelle Minch, Carla Muss-Jacobs, to name just a few - … (44 comments)
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ar: Fair Housing – Issues and Testing: Learnings from NAR Midyear Meetings 2010
- 05/14/10 12:55 PM
Fair Housing - Issues and Testing Everyone is, or should be, aware of the fair housing laws and the protections they provide against discrimination. But because not every pays attention, either through lack of knowledge, or intentionally ignoring them, testing is conducted throughout the country in most large cities and smaller communities, and even some rural areas.
The NAR session on the Fair Housing laws and testing was pretty interesting and worth sharing. Here are some of my top learnings from this meeting
Fair housing discrimination occurs in three major areas: (1) ACCESS - email, phone calls, appointments, how people … (48 comments)
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ar: Blogging, NAR Meetings, Referrals and Such – It’s ALL About the Relationships
- 05/11/10 11:04 AM
There was a mini-meet-up of AR bloggers yesterday in Washington, DC. - I got together with Margaret Rome (Baltimore, MD), Jay and Monika McGillicuddy (New Hampshire), Pat Kennedy (Washington, DC) and Emily Link (Thousand Oaks, CA). Most of us were in town for the NAR and CRS meetings, but Margaret decided to come visit because, well, she could and she wanted to.
You can read about it in posts by Pat Kennedy and Emily Link.
This is soon to be followed by a more formal, planned gathering tomorrow night at Yanni's Greek Taverna at 3500 Connecticut Avenue, NW at 6:30 … (65 comments)
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ar: NAR and CRS Meetings in Washington, DC - May 10 - 16, 2010
- 05/08/10 01:56 PM
I'm heading off tomorrow morning early out of LAX for the NAR and CRS Meetings in Washington, DC beginning Monday May 10.
Anyone else heading that way for part or all of the week?
If you are, let me know. I would love to meet up with as many AR folks as I can, given the time constraints.
I'll be attending the midyear NAR meetings for the first time, as part of my role as President-Elect for the Southern California Chapter of CRS (Certified Residential Specialists), through Wednesday. The CRS meetings start on Thursday and run through Sunday.
… (22 comments)
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ar: Google and My Life: Or is it "Google IS My Life?" Is it Yours?
- 05/05/10 02:34 PM
GOOGLE is an amazing company
Few would dispute that GOOGLE has taken over the Internet (the world?) with a host of applications for personal and business use (about 2 dozen I believe), plus being the biggest search engine around. Last data I saw we are talking almost 300,000,000 searches per day.
GOOGLE IS my life it seems these days.
OK, I don't depend on it, per se. But there isn't much in my life that I can't learn about, check on, verify, look up, or learn from GOOGLE. At least if I choose to do so. GOOGLE GETS me to … (9 comments)
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ar: Yellow Flower Fields Forever in Carlsbad CA
- 04/18/10 04:53 PM
We have had an abundance of rain this winter and spring...a real blessing for drought ravaged Southern Califiornia.
While we still have the Stage 2 drought warnings in place, with mandatory water conservation, from what I have heard we have made subtantial progress against the drought that has plagued us for a number of years.
The abundant water seems to have brought out the flowers, especially fields of these yellow ones.
I'm not sure what they are, but they cover large areas on the hills and along the roadways, their brilliant color blowing in the coastal breeze. They're quite dramatic … (7 comments)
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ar: Do You Help Other Bloggers? Shouldn't You?
- 04/13/10 02:22 AM
ActiveRain is a fabulous community of folks, ‘bout 180,000 of them.
Anyone who has spent any time here beyond just creating a profile would likely agree.
Despite nastiness, griping, flaming, and plagiarism from time to time, the AR community gets along pretty darn well. Friendships are forged, referrals are made, and gatherings take place (here's a step back in time with some SoCal Rainers from 2007 at Crystal Cove in Orange County CA; and a larger event in Long Beach CA to celebrate the 1-year anniversary).
Most of us started out knowing little to nothing about blogging- what works, what doesn't, … (103 comments)
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ar: Nudity on the Walls - Can it Stay or Should it Go?
- 04/11/10 01:35 AM
It's time for some audience participation, so don't be shy.
There are naked people on the walls in some homes.
I'm not referring to pages of skin mags plastered on the walls, although I've seen that in a couple of bedrooms, but to framed and unframed paintings or drawings...perhaps realistic but more often modern, impressionistic or abstract.
Nudity on the walls - can it stay or should it go? I am an art enthusiast, and my wife and I have collected a fair number of works of art, a number of which are etchings or paintings of nudes. I've seen more … (93 comments)
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ar: Happy Easter from Carlsbad California
- 04/03/10 03:38 PM
We have regular visitors to our back yard - rabbits are around pretty much all year, but the ducks return every year in March and hang out until June or so. They seem to enjoy the resort feel of our yard, including swimming in the spool.
We caught this pic of all of them the other day - it seemed to be a good idea for an Easter card.
Have a wonderful Easter, no matter how you celebrate, or even if you don't.
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If I can provide more … (10 comments)
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ar: Compliments? Critiques? Criticism? Copying?
- 04/02/10 09:36 AM
Such is the nature of commenting on AR, or anywhere on-line where comments are allowed.
What comments do YOU put out there?
Compliments?
Critiques?
Criticism?
Chastising?
Copying?
Do you put thought into your comments? Or just respond impulsively?
Commenting affords you, the reader, the opportunity to share your thoughts on what you have read, provide feedback to the writer, and enhance the conversation. Assuming you have read it.
Some folks clearly don't, but simply jump in...perhaps because of time constraints, laziness, a desire to just put their thoughts out there, or maybe to be nice to someone they know or … (30 comments)
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ar: Molly the Barn Owl - Live Stream with Babies in San Marcos California 92078
- 04/01/10 06:44 PM
This live stream of Molly the Owl (in San Marcos, CA) hatching her babies has been great fun to watch. There are a ton of followers and quite a social stream too.
Keep it open so you can watch when you have time off and on when working at your computer. You can also watch it on your iPhone.
Here's the link to the full show
Free TV : Ustream ********************************
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If I can provide more information about San Marcos real estate and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise … (3 comments)
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ar: So How Did YOU Get to be the Listing Agent??
- 03/30/10 03:02 AM
So How DID You Get to be the Listing Agent?
An innocent question, with many possible answers.
I suspect we all feel we deserve the listings we get because of our expertise - years of knowledge and experience, familiarity with the local market conditions, the ability to demonstrate our value as an agent, our thorough and convincing market analysis, the diverse marketing targeted to the particular home, the chemistry and the rapport, and so on.
We compete with others and come out on top. Not always, of course. And perhaps then we wonder - how did YOU become the listing agent?
… (44 comments)
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Make Mistakes, and Make Mistakes Often This quote, from Doug Devitre, says a mouthful.
;)
;)
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