I just read a post by a guy named Kevin Tomlinson "I-am-a-Horrible Salesman". In it he speaks of how he hates to be "sold" to, which is something that I think that a lot of us can identify with. However, after reading his post, I think that he might not be all that bad a salesperson at all. I commented on his post that I think that he and a lot of folks are under a mistaken idea that sales people are pushy and/or obnoxious. While this is true of a lot of people who sell things for a living, they tend … (1 comments)
valuelist real estate services: Realtor - St. Louis optimizes their website II
- 04/14/07 04:07 PM
SRRRRRRRCCCCCCHHHHH!! That's the sound of screaming breaks as I slam on them in regards to my SEO. My last post (http://activerain.com/blogsview/72206/Realtor-St-Louis-optimizes)on this topic talked about what I was doing to get my web site to show up on the search engines. On it I complained that it was hard not to get confused with contrasting information from different sources. Well, after spending hours working on linking my site to other sites and exchanging reciprocal links (a SEO approach that was recommended by several people) I found out from some other very reputable people that not only will it not help, that it … (0 comments)
Yesterday I had to go shopping with my girlfriend. She's interviewing for a new job and needed a new outfit for the interview because she's been working out and watching what she ate and damn it, she deserved a new outfit....or two. So, here I was "helping" her while she tried on various articles of clothing. Rather than just stand there, I decided to see if I could find another outfit for her to try on. I figured that it would save some time (I can feel the eyes of the women reading this rolling). I looked around for the spot where they … (6 comments)
valuelist real estate services: You Can't Regulate Stupidity!
- 04/13/07 07:03 AM
Yesterday on NPR I heard a story about a housing advocacy group in Ohio who was dedicating a large amount of money to help bailout people facing foreclosure. In that report a lady cried that her "Mortgage Broker" lied to her and that was why she was in trouble. Well, I wasn't there and I can't tell you if what she is saying is true, but I can tell you that it's federal law that she was disclosed to. She should have received a truth in lending statement which she would have had to sign and a Good Faith Estimate, which she … (20 comments)
You probably have read on line or seen on television the stories about how the internet is doing away with the need for real estate agents. I know that I have. I'm seriously thinking about finding out who it is that does FSBO.com's pr work and hiring them! They seem to be the Johnny Cash of the real estate world, they've been everywhere man! That said, I've been working on my web site as some of you know from my posts and one thing that I've noticed is that, while it is easier to look for homes online now and people are … (4 comments)
When I first got into the mortgage business back in 86', mortgage banking was a somewhat unheard of profession. If I told somebody at a cocktail party what I did, they got a blank look on their face and said, "Huh?" or maybe, "Oh, so you work for a bank?" or something to that effect. Now, if I tell somebody that I'm a mortgage banker they say, "Oh yeah, my cousin Guido, who just got out of prison, does that!" Another fact is that when I first got into the business there were maybe 300 to 400 places where … (3 comments)
Recently I started working on getting my website geared up to be more than just an electronic brochure. In that process I started reading a lot about website optimization. That is, getting your website to turn up higher in the results when people search for it on the web using a search engine such as yahoo.com, MSN or Google. The one thing that I can tell you is that it's damn confusing. Nobody truely seems to know what the rules are and every once in while, the search engines change the rules without telling anybody.Anyway, there are other sources on the … (11 comments)
The last six months have been terrible for my business. After 10 profitable years of being in business, my company had it's first year ever where we ended up in the red. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that from about October on, real estate sucked for me! After doing a bunch of soul searching I decided in January to pick up the pieces, trim some dead wood and refocus on building my business. I took a hard and honest look at what we were doing good and what we were doing bad at. One of … (17 comments)
valuelist real estate services: St. Louis Realtor wondering how you get people to comment on your blog?
- 04/05/07 03:54 PM
I admit, I'm still pretty much a newbie here. That said, I've been working pretty hard to participate on a daily basis if possible. I try to read at least 5 or 6 blogs per day and to comment on most that I read. When I write a post, I attempt to put some work into it and research what I have to say and sight my sources, etc. I also attempt to be at least a little bit witty (maybe that's why I'm not getting that many comments???? hmmm???). Anyway, I noticed something. Some of these posts are poorly written, some … (6 comments)
To those of you who missed my rant about Realtor.com and aren't interested enough to click on this link and go read it http://activerain.com/blogsview/69009/Is-Realtor-com-A, I posted an article the other day about my experience visiting Realtor.com. As I pointed out in that post, I was EXTREMELY disappointed in what I found out. What I found out basically being that the National Association of Realtors had farmed out our "official" website to a company called Move, Inc.. Who in turn was charging an arm and a leg to Realtors to utilize the website for anything other than the most … (0 comments)
Lately I've been working on my website to try and get it search engine optimized and on that note, a special thanks to Karen George, the Arizona Mortgage Lady. She's gone out of her way to provide some very valuable insight into how the search engines work and the importance of content and having your site properly structured in order to appear relevant to the most popular search terms. One of the things that I've learned about the SEO thing is that the search engines give a lot of credence to size. That is the bigger a site is, the more relevant … (41 comments)
Just read the post from a lender offering a .05% credit towards closing costs. This lender says that they are the "ONLY LENDER OFFERING THIS". NOT ANY MORE! Announcing Today! The ValueList .05% credit towards closing costs! As a matter of fact, I'll bump your offer to .06% towards closing costs! Actually, does your borrower need help with their closing costs? Many do and it's nothing new for a lender to offer a credit. I've done it hundreds of times over the years and I'll do it again if need be. The important thing to remember is that there is no … (2 comments)
I heard on the news the other day that existing real estate sales are down this past month after having been up a bit the previous month. I'd have to say that based upon the number of times that my phone rang for showings and for property calls, that those figures were just about right. That there was a bit of a spark last month, then "poof" it was gone. That said, how long is the current lull going to last? One of the featured blogs today asked if we thought that buying real estate was a "buy", a … (6 comments)
valuelist real estate services: Don't Buy Any Snake Oil!
- 03/22/07 05:02 AM
I recently read and commented on a post here on Activerain regarding a mortgage acceleration program that the guy was selling. In the post he spoke authoritatively about how a 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage is a rip-off and that if you end up selling the home or refinancing it before the end of 30 years, that the "effective" interest rate could be as high as 580% on a loan with a stated interest rate of 6%. He showed examples, using selective numbers from an amortization table, that "proved" his point. Several people, including myself, commented on his math and pointed out … (8 comments)
A Blog about real estate and real estate finance by Bob Mitchell who has been in the business since 1984 and who comes at the business from a different angle.
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