Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
Unlike the old playground version of Foursquare, when you had to keep the ball within boundaries, the online/mobile version actually encourages you to venture out and explore new areas and venues…oh, and meet new people.
Foursquare gives you points for every “check-in” you make, and gives you more points for new venues. You also can collect badges, for example: “Super User” for checking in at 50 different venues, “Local” if you check-in to the same place three times in one week, and even a “Crunked” badge for checking-in to four different venues in one night (yes, I have one…call me a social butterfly if you must).
While entertaining to keep track of your friends (i.e. stalk, let’s be honest), the real reason I got hooked on it was when I heard the founder, Dennis Crowley, at Inman Connect in New York talk about the marketing implications of check-ins. For areas that allow billboards, think of the demographic information they can collect when they want to target a certain area for a particular product – they have thousands of check-ins and user information (male/female, age, etc. etc.) to base their decisions on where to spend their marketing dollars.
So how can Foursquare help your real estate business? Continue reading »
Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
“Should NAR include a pro bono provision in REALTOR® code of ethics?”
The question was posed to me recently on Twitter by Sellsius publisher Joseph Ferrarra. It is something Ferrara has been kicking around for a while with “Pro Bono Real Estate Broker?” appearing June 2006 and several other articles including “Should NAR include a pro-bono provision in REALTOR® code of ethics?” on Feb. 24.
I am a huge Ferrarra fan and am honored to have had the opportunity to meet him on a couple of occasions. But, on this occasion I just don’t get it.
There are two key pieces of this discussion that bother me. (1) If you can’t afford to pay a commission on the house, can you afford to maintain the new house? (2) Adding this to the code of ethics doesn’t do anything but give it lip-service.
Don’t get me wrong, pro bono work is extremely noble and can be very rewarding. I strongly believe in giving back to our community – either through volunteering or providing pro bono work for some in the market. However, it all comes back to dollars and cents to me. Real estate is not law. People do not require our services, while everyone may need an attorney at some point in their life. If a buyer is purchasing a starter home, but “can’t” pay my 3 percent commission — so I rebate it back to them. They are essentially getting into the home with 0.5 percent down. Isn’t that the kind of stuff that got the housing market in trouble to begin with? Continue reading »
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
Back in January, I wrote a blog post about a recent dispute I had with another practitioner. At the time, the incident had just happened and it hadn’t been completely resolved. Things are finally getting pieced together.
The whole situation was a hard thing for me to go through. My fellow co-workers had always given me respect and knew that I did things professionally. But in every office there is always the one person that maybe doesn’t share the same opinion as you. In my case, I was the type of person who doesn’t get into all of the drama. But when I started getting e-mails from others in my office, the day after the situation happened, I was floored! But at the same time I did not respond to the e-mails and questions from other people in the office. I felt it was inappropriate to say anything. But at the same time, it was hard for me to hold back the urge to defend myself.
But I still tried to take the high road. This has been a whirl wind experience for me. But from every experience, there are valuable lessons to be learned. Here are some tips to better handle an in office dispute.
- Until the issue is resolved, keep it to yourself.
- Be an adult and try and work it out with the other practitioner.
- If you can’t get the issue resolved between you and the other practitioner, always get your manager involved.
- Make sure you have your facts straight. Speculation doesn’t get you anywhere.
- Try to put yourself in the other persons shoes.
- Don’t let yourself get too worked up. Letting yourself get emotional will only hurt the situation.
- Be willing to comprise, if possible.
- If you are right and you have the facts to back it up, don’t give up!
- Don’t get down on yourself if you’re wrong. We all make mistakes!
Brooke Wolford is a real estate practitioner with Edina Realty, Hastings, Minn. Follow her blog at strugglingrookierealestateagent.blogspot.com.
Jeremy Williams
By Jeremy Williams
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come to you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” Proverbs 6:10-11
When you read these words initially, especially early in the morning without hot coffee flowing through your veins and ZZ Top blowing out your computer speakers, they may seem not so encouraging at first. You think to yourself, you are working harder than ever before in a market environment that has softened over the last couple of years. The results of your closed production are similar or less when compared to the previous year in which you worked less. It won’t hurt for you to take a little rest; kick back in your chair and take a break. Your tired and feeling beat down.
I believe the words from Proverbs warn us from becoming complacent in our businesses. Now is the time to take control and prosper from the hard work and long hours we put into our businesses on a daily basis. Now is the time to wake up from our slumber.
Remember the following things that should help in refocusing your mindset today.
1. The real estate market is cyclical. If you are in a down or soft market, what you do today will benefit you when the market makes an upswing. Continue reading »
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
I am here today to talk to you about the importance of using protection.
Seriously. Protect yourself from viruses and other digitally transmitted diseases. With all the forms of protection out there, it would be a shame for you to be exposed.
I use several [explicative deleted] words to describe computer viruses and hack jobs that are out to destroy my personal information, family photos, and databases of real estate contacts. Here are a few ways to protect yourself and your data:
1. Back up your files, and do it often. You can use a thumb drive, cloud data service, external hard drive, or even the “old-fashioned” way of burning your files to a CD. There are companies out there that will even do it for you. The main thing is to make sure you have a system in place so that you frequently store your data and can recover your files should the worse happen.
2. While you are at it, backup your anti-virus software each day. Your job is (likely) to sell real estate. While you are out there, someone else is sitting in front of a computer. Their job is to invent viruses.
3. Know who your friends are. Sure, you get friend requests every day from people you “kinda” know, and you want to grow your business… but is it safe to friend everyone that asks? No. Put a system in place to screen your friends and be picky about what information you share with them. Continue reading »
Laura Rubinchuk
By Laura Rubinchuk
When I heard about the new FHA DELRAP/HRAP guidelines for condo financing, my gut reaction was, “Well, I might as well go find another job.” Some of the subjective guidelines for the new approval process will greatly affect my market:
-Proximity to a noise (i.e. busy streets, highways)
-Proximity to a gas station
-Percentage of commercial space
And the list goes on, and on… For those of us in a Metropolitan/Urban environment, the whole point of condo living in the city is ease of travel and lifestyle. In the D.C. area, we have numerous major highways that lead into the District, the metro system, etc. and the majority of our high-rise condo buildings are located within blocks of these things.
So tell me how it makes sense to take buildings we’ve been selling for years with spot-approved FHA loans, taunt first-time buyers or other qualified buyers who have the minimum 3.5 percent down-payment, and tell them that because it’s the first of the month of this year, now they have to wait WEEKS to months for a green light on the home they fell in love with, if the seller is willing and/or able to wait at all!
Again, I ask, how does the economy continue to grow if the FHA puts the cabash on condo financing and eliminate the pool of buyers who don’t have the minimum 10 percent down-payment but qualify for the loan? Even funnier, why is the HUD website of approved condo projects only searchable from Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.? Does the site need beauty sleep?
I don’t intend to start a political debate, but I can’t help wondering if the underlying reasons are a bigger concern? Is the FHA running out of money? Are they trying to keep out some buyers so some remain for later in the year?
Laura Rubinchuk, GRI, is a real estate practitioner with Keller Williams Realty in McLean, Va. Visit her blog at www.ArlingtonRealEstateNews.com or her Web site at www.TheLJRGroup.com.
Brian Copeland
By Brian Copeland
In 1982, I faintly remember my mom going to fight at Kmart for the newest batch of Cabbage Patch dolls. It was a big deal. They were the hottest toy. All the little girls (and some boys) wanted one. It was only a few weeks to Christmas. It was a recipe for opportunity or disaster. She could get in the fight, get the doll and have a happy Christmas for her niece or wait until after Christmas, get a new batch, miss the rush but miss the holiday.
Showing houses to buyers over the past few weeks here in Nashville, I kinda get an idea of how mom felt back in 1982. It seems that every house we walk in priced below a certain price is either (1) in multiple offers, (2) a short sale that can’t make the contract deadline or (3) just contracted.
So, where does that leave us, the practitioners, and our buyers today? If they wait for a better inventory, they miss the tax credit. If they go to contract now, they may be making rushed decisions. As great buyer’s agents, it’s our job to guide them to the best decisions possible. Here are a few tips I’ve been working out with my current buyers.
- Pre-counseling is mandatory. In the counseling session, it’s imperative to discuss short sales and foreclosures in depth, giving them every scenario possible. Explain to them the “season” of searching they are in and what to expect between now and April 30. Continue reading »
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
You are a professional now. You dress in business attire during the work week. You have a website that has every home listed in the MLS. Your carefully written bio makes you appear as you are the greatest agent to receive a license. You may even have a killer buyer and seller presentation. However, I would bet that the story being told by your Facebook page does not match your corporate image.
A few months back, I needed to send a referral to an agent in another city for a listing. I found a few good candidates and decided to google their names in an effort to locate their websites. When I did, I ran across one agent’s personal Facebook profile, ranked No. 1 in Google and her website was No. 45. By cruising through what was available to the public, I discovered that she enjoyed drinking from red plastic cups, college sports, and looked stunning in a bikini during a recent trip to Miami. Needless to say, she didn’t get the referral.
She’s probably very good at selling real estate and could have done a very good job. However, the image that her public Facebook profile portrayed of her did not match the values that my clients held. It would be the same as if she went on the listing appointment and said nothing but I enjoy drinking from red plastic cups, college sports, and look at these pictures of me in a bikini… can I list your home?
So how can you avoid this? First, use the privacy controls. Screen your photo gallery and organize your photos intended for your real friends into a list. Next, organize your friends in various lists depending on who they really are to you. Every one of my friends is apart of a list, from those I went to high school with, to the people I work with today. Every list controls the image of that I want to reveal to each group of people. Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
I just upgraded. After pouring over the research… visiting the phones (four times, but who’s counting?), working to get the best deal, and waiting until the price dropped to where I wanted; I did it! Friends and co-workers cheered that I finally moved out of research-mode and into go-mode.
I love my new HTC Hero and all of the Google-fantastic-ness that comes with it. The transition from my Palm OS phone to Google was fairly simple. My Gmail, contacts, and calendar were a no-brainer. After a few days, I had my bookmarks stored, a few essential apps loaded, my music, photos, and social media all set and I was off!
I knew I would love this phone, but a few things pleasantly surprised me:
- Screens – HTC is big on personalization. The Hero has a screen for each part of your life — work, weekend, travel, music, etc. and with the ability to add a different “scene” to each screen. Not a necessity, but I think it’s organizational with a fun twist.
- Facebook integration – I love that my Facebook friend’s information will connect automatically with my Google contacts. Bliss! Plus I get their profile photo, status updates, and whatever contact info they have on Facebook. This rocks for friends that change their e-mail and numbers often. Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
I am loathed to do this, but I’m going to plug a class. If there’s one class or certification training you take this year, make it NAR’s Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) training program.
I must admit, after hearing about it from the kind folks at REBAC, hearing about my own company’s training program, and learning about CDPE, there was a bit of short-sale overload on my part. Then after hearing that it “focuses on buyers” from a fellow agent, I had pretty much ruled out. Everyday, we struggle to find the CE classes with the most value and the first impressions I had of it turned me off. Boy was I ever wrong.
The six or so hours flew right by. The content was not only relevant, but looks to able to transcend the passage of time and legislation. Since it was such a timely subject, interaction was lively, and agents shared stories amongst each other; I left with names and numbers of folks at different banks should my need for them arise. In the end, you leave the class armed with the know-how to become a “resource” for your clients – past, present and future.
The big plus? You have bonafide NAR certification (that still means something guys), and you have access to webinars that will be constantly refreshed to fit the times.
The reality is this: short-sales, foreclosure, distressed properties; we’ll be dealing with these homes for the foreseeable future. Continue reading »
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