scott hoen: Property Inspection PRIOR to listing! - 09/11/19 03:15 PM
Save time and money by getting a property inspection prior to listing the home!
Real Estate Agents help the listing with staging making everything look great.
The offer comes in and then the BUYER orders a property inspection and UNCOVER items that should have been addressed PRIOR to listing the home.
The SELLER should get their own property inspection to make sure all major items are taken care of and they will then know the little things that they have to address.  Whether fix them or disclose them for the buyer to fix -- you know what is up with an independent opinion on … (2 comments)

scott hoen: Real Estate News You NEED / SHOULD subscribe to! - 08/17/18 04:14 AM
There are Real Estate News Sources that you should subscribe to and stay up-to-date with what is happening with the industry, the market, Buyers and Sellers and all the new Technology tools that you can use to better serve your clients.
Let's start with the list I have and PLEASE let me know via your comments if there are others that you pay attention to regularly.
National Association of Realtors NEWS -- Book Mark the site
https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom
National Association of Realtors - Realtor Magazine
Realtor Magazine
-- Subscribe link for email notifications Subscribe
Inman News
Free notifications and Paid News Service
RISMedia
Great publication and daily information you can use
RISMedia
RealTrends
https://www.realtrends.com/
They provide excellent broker information, … (0 comments)

scott hoen: Property Information Tool for Real Estate Professionals - 10/26/16 08:05 PM
myFirstAm.com
Desktop and Mobile application that provides Real Estate and Mortgage Professionals the convenience all your orders, property profile reports AND Farming  in one place from First American Title Company.
Reach out to your local Title Sales Professional to get an account and get started.  Click here for the registration screen here, too.
Click on this Video Link to Learn about myFirstAm -- Watch this short video describing the benefits of myFirstAm.
… (0 comments)

scott hoen: Real Estate FARMING TOOL -- myFirstAm Allows You To Work Easier - 04/09/16 09:12 AM
Real Estate Farming is so important to our prospecting efforts and to have tools that help you with that process.  Easily identify the area you want to market and use the tools at your disposal.
myFirstAm is a iOS, Android and Desktop application that allows you to do everything Title.  View your orders, perform a property search with all the reports, labels, exporting the file.  Create a farm and narrow your farm down to a select group you want to target with the filter option.
Contact your local First American Title Professional if you want access to a tool that can help you … (3 comments)

scott hoen: How old were you when you purchased your first house? - 06/21/12 02:11 AM
I saw an interesting Facebook post asking the question, “How old were you when you purchased your first house?” Interesting question when you come to think about the demographics of the individuals looking to purchase their first house and the demographics of the Real Estate Professionals who are selling the house.
What is the age of the current first time home buyer and how do they utilize technology? Text and don’t answer their phones? Use Social Media like Facebook to communicate rather than email? Use Instagram or Pinterest with all the photo and video capability? Rely on testimonials, references or referrals from … (5 comments)

scott hoen: iPhone Application for Real Estate Professionals for Property Profiles - AgentFirst and First American Title San Diego, CA - 08/15/10 10:48 AM
First American Title introduces a mobile property profile system for real estate professionals. First American Title's AGENTF1RST* application for the iPhone or iPod Touch puts property information and customer service ordering in the palm of your hands. Real estate professionals (brokers, agents, and lenders) save time by tapping into the nation's largest and most comprehensive real estate information database covering 97% of all U.S. real estate transactions when and where you need it. * Requires an active AgentFirst account to function. May not be available in all areas.
Features:- Access property data (where applicable): property/mailing address data, parcel/tract information, property characteristics, … (0 comments)

scott hoen: Get on the first page of Google for FREE within a couple of weeks! - 12/11/09 11:45 AM
No gimmicks, no tricks, no games -- get on Google for free within weeks! Everyone talks about getting on Google -- Everyone wants to be on the first page of Google in the organic search results.  I found a tool that can do that for you.  I was debating whether or not to post this and only tell my clients or associates about this but this is my way of paying back to everyone that have shared with me their ideas through blogging.
I literally got in the top 5 of Google for my area within a week!  In many cases I … (23 comments)

scott hoen: Cons of Social Media - 10/31/09 06:13 PM
There are Four Important CON's of Social Media. Social Media is even helping websites morph into social media web sites but you have to pay particular attention to the CONS of Social Media as you bring them into your website. 1.  CONtent - It is important to have great compelling content.  Information people can use and not just selling but informative content that your audience would be interested in. 2.  CONsistency - most people are using multiple forms of social media and you must make the commitment to post on the different platforms AND post consistently.  It's OK if not everyday … (6 comments)

scott hoen: FREE Detailed Profile of your Installted Software & Vulnerabilities in your Web Browser - 08/29/09 04:43 AM

I used this application to make sure I have all my software serial numbers prior to me re-installing Windows XP with a clean install.
You have to try this FREE service from Belarc Advisor.  Once you download the small program file, you get a report of your Computer Profile Summary.  The report immediately shares with you at the top is you have any security issues, if your virus protection is up to date and whether or not you have an Microsoft Security updates missing that are critical when using IE.
You will then get a Computer Profile with all the … (2 comments)

scott hoen: FREE Tool to ADD a Watermark to Your Photos in Batch Mode - 08/28/09 07:08 AM
FastStone Photoresizer.  Think about adding a comment, some text or a watermark on photos you might post on your website or a local blog that adds your branding or allows you to get connected
Add a watermark, crop, resize your photos -- a great little application.  Look up all your photos and batch the effort to add a watermark and you can think about the possibilities on how you might want to use this from personal to business.
FastStone Photo Resizeris an image converter / resizer intended to enable users to convert, rename, resize, crop, rotate, change color depth, add text … (16 comments)

scott hoen: Turn PDF's into Word Docs FAST - 08/28/09 06:19 AM
How many times has it happened to you.  You get a PDF file from someone and you can't edit the PDF file.  You might want to make a simple change to use the document.
I found a site called PDF to Word!
I often need to edit PDF files that get sent to me.  Acrobat Professionals touch up text tool can do minor edits, but nothing really big.  Acrobat also exports to Microsoft Word, but does a lousy job at keeping the formatting. 
Check it out
Using the PDF-to-Word conversion technology, you can quickly and easily create editable DOC/RTF files, making it … (9 comments)

scott hoen: 3 Selection Tips -- Computer Shortcut Tip = Selecting Items With List Boxes - 08/08/09 11:18 AM
You probably do all the time -- you make a selection or selections from a list box.
A list box is basically an item by item list.  You have probably seen them when searching the Internet or in a computer program you've used.  A lot of email programs use a list box to display its list of messages.
The first selection tip is when you open the list box or hit the down arrow to display the list box -- press the first character of your search and it will immediately go to that item in the list that starts with … (1 comments)

scott hoen: Capture your current screen or better yet -- the current window. - 08/03/09 07:03 PM
How do you take a quick picture of your screen?
You can use download shareware programs that have a lot of capability but what if you just want to capture the current screen or better yet the current open window?You just tap the PrtScn(print screen) button. This simple action copies a current image onto the clip board of a PC automatically.  The real function of this key is to make a "snapshot" of your screen. If you have some imaging software like Adobe Photoshop (or a good word processor), you can then paste it into there and crop, etc. In fact, … (1 comments)

scott hoen: Free Countdown Clock and Webinar Presentor and Attendee Courtesy - 07/01/09 03:28 AM
Have you ever attended a webinar and them start on time?  There always seems to be technical difficulty by some, whether it be the presenter or the attendee.  I have even fallen into that trap. Some recommendations:
*  Presenters should get on early and set up a countdown clock to display when they are going to start and then start on time at that time.  You are setting up the expectations of the attendees that you will start on time and they will see activity to that that end.
*  Attendees should get on ten to fifteen minutes earlyand be ready … (3 comments)

scott hoen: Link popularity and how to check your site for broken links - 06/23/09 11:49 PM
Everyone talks about search engine optimization and how you can move yourself higher on the list.  One way is to link out to other web sites and have others link to you.  This is commonly known as link popularity but you need to make sure you keep YOUR web site current with the links you have on your web site.  Consumers want community information or school information from your site and therefore, you link out to another site as a new window or many of you link out as a frame on your web site.  How do you know they are … (50 comments)

scott hoen: California Department of Insurance endorses Title Wizard for rate comparisons - 06/08/09 06:05 PM
Title Insurance rates are regulated by most states and their Department of Insurance departments.
A title policy is a title policy, rates are rates and what differentiates a title company is the level of service, support and expertise to close those difficult transactions AND have the financial resources behind them to back up any claim that may be processed.
California's Department of Insurance promotes to the consumer the ability for them to comparison shop for rates.
Commissioner Poizner advises consumers that they have a choice when it comes to which title company to use. Prices can vary and consumers can compare … (0 comments)

scott hoen: Creative idea on sending eMail - 06/06/09 06:53 AM
Think about it -- what do you see in your in-box before you delete that message --
You see the subject line and who it is from.
Sending out periodic emails to your past clients or prospects is important and think about sending out your message with your name and/or company name in the subject line when sending your message.
For example, Scott Hoen at ABC Real Estate wishes your family a Happy Fourth of July Weekend!
They might delete it -- OK -- at least they got your Happy Fourth of July wish and you got a marketing moment or … (9 comments)

scott hoen: Holiday eCampaigns -- An easy way to touch your prospects and contacts - 06/06/09 06:37 AM
Are you communicating with your contact database on a regular bases.  Everyone is capturing and communicating more and more with email and therefore you have a database of contacts and clients that you should be touching regularly. 
Use the Holidays or recognized events throughout the year to reach out and communicate.  Flag Day is coming up in a couple of days.  Do you have a planned communication scheduled to go out.  What about the 4th of July.  I would prepare an email to go out on July 3rd and wish your contacts a Happy Fourth of July weekend.
Use the calendar … (0 comments)

scott hoen: Four Easy Blackberry Shortcuts To Use Immediately To Save Time - 09/28/08 07:29 PM
Practical Tips To the point - When typing and you want to capitalize a letter -- just depress the key or letter your typing a little longer and it turns into a capital letter.
- When at the menu of emails - type T to go to the Top and Type B to go to the bottom
- When at the menu of emails or reading an email -- hit the space bar and you will advance the screen by one page rather than having to scroll through it line by line
- to delete multiple emails at one time - … (9 comments)

scott hoen: Sometimes I write emails ahead of time, but don't wnat to send them until a later date! - 09/26/08 07:48 PM
Sometimes I write out e-mails ahead of time, but don't want to send them until a later date. Is that possible?
Have you ever had the need to just send it later? What am I talking about? Well, e-mails of course! Sometimes situations occur where you need to type an e-mail out right away, but it doesn't actually need to be sent out until a later time. That happens to me all the time. I want to make sure I write the e-mail as soon as possible to ensure that I get all my thoughts written down, but the recipient doesn't … (9 comments)