Jason O'Neil
By Jason O’Neil
Last month I had the privilege of going to Nashville’s RE Bar Camp. The event was exciting, informative and inspirational. But beyond the unrestricted walls of the camp, I found more inspiration — in a real bar.
The night before the event, I took my brother out for a couple of rounds at one of Nashville’s most famous watering holes, Tootsie’s. If you don’t know Tootsie’s or have never been, let me start by saying it is one of the best places to watch or perform country music in Nashville, which itself is ground-zero for country music. The likes of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Bomshel, and countless other country legends have passed through Tootsie’s on their way to stardom.
The evening was about more than the music: It was about the talent, the untold stories, and roads less traveled of these up and coming musicians. Tootsie’s is but an intersection in the artists’ paths to stardom. The female lead singer of the band performing upstairs that Tuesday night had the audience in her grasp, belting out high and low notes, her band jamming to some of the most famous and difficult songs to sing and play. She was good, maybe one of the best I’ve heard. I wandered downstairs and that band was equally as good. I wondered, “How could such talent not have a label? Why play in bars for tips?” Continue reading »
By G. M. Filisko, contributing writer, HouseLogic
Have you met your prospecting goals for the month? Drop in on potential clients and customers and encourage them to tackle minor but money-saving or big-impact home upgrades over Memorial Day weekend.
Show them how with the May “Weekend Warrior” bundle now available at the REALTOR® Content Resource, the new tool brought to you by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, where your NAR membership entitles you to download free homeownership content in your consumer Web site, blog, or e-newsletter.
The “Weekend Warrior” bundle includes tips on projects sellers can conquer in just a weekend like saving energy on water heaters. Here are just a few of the tips available now at the REALTOR® Content Resource:
Turn down the temperature. Many water heaters come from the factory with the temperature set needlessly high. For every 10 degrees sellers turn it down, they’ll save 3 percent to 5 percent on their bill, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). A setting between 120-140 degrees is plenty hot for most uses. But sellers shouldn’t go below 120 degrees, which could lead to the unsafe growth of bacteria inside the tank.
Install low-flow fixtures. One of the surest ways to cut hot water costs is to use less of it. According to ACEEE, a family of four uses 700 gallons of hot water per week. By installing low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators, which cost as little as $10-$20 each, sellers can cut hot water consumption by 25 percent to 60 percent. These devices are easy to install and will save 14,000 gallons of hot water annually, plus the energy it takes to heat it. By cutting water consumption in half, sellers will save more than $200 annually.
Demonstrate your knowledge as an expert on home value by using these tips to educate sellers about this relatively easy—but money-saving—upgrade to their home. If sellers have already made changes to their water heater, share tips on exterior lighting, inspecting and maintaining their garage, and fast gutter fixes, all of which are also part of the “Weekend Warrior” bundle.
The REALTOR® Content Resource, the new tool brought to you by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, is an exclusive, free benefit for NAR members. HouseLogic is the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS’® no-topic-left-uncovered consumer Web site geared to helping home owners make smart decisions to maintain, protect, and increase the value of their home.
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I recently blogged about this and I think it was very necessary to share with YPN. Yes, it’s kind of lame to Google yourself. Yes some people look at it as being egotistical. But there are several reasons to do it.
If you are anything like me, you occasionally Google yourself. I really have no reason to do it but for some reason it makes me feel cool. I like reading all the info on the Internet and also I like to make sure it’s accurate.
When I first got my license, I was so excited to see my name listed as “Brooke Wolford”, REALTOR(R). So I decided to Google myself. Low and behold, there is another Brooke Wolford. She’s an actress… I guess if that’s what you call a porn star. I was horrified. I also found out that there is a “Wolford” lingerie line. Besides that, there were pages upon pages about the porn star and this lingerie line and not too much info about me.
Since then I have done a lot of research and managed to get my name planted on to every possible real estate Web site, every social networking site, and I try to update my blogs every day. I have also had the opportunity to make sure that the information listed on Web sites is accurate. One Web site had me listed as a commercial agent working out of the Duluth, Minn. area… it was a little off considering I mainly deal with residential and the city of Duluth is four hours away from me. Continue reading »
About 200 young real estate professionals attended the REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo networking event at The Gibson on May 13 in Washington, D.C. The event, “Speaking Easy with YPN,” was sponsored by the REALTORS® Political Action Committee and the REALTOR® Party.
YPNers had the opportunity to meet with NAR leadership and mingle with other young professionals from throughout the country. Several YPN members also took part in committee meetings and events during the week.
Midyear was particularly significant for YPN this year as its Advisory Board received official Subcommittee status (under the Communications Committee) by NAR’s Board of Directors.
For more information on how to get involved with YPN, or how to start a chapter in your area, visit www.realtor.org/ypn.
Jeremy Williams
By Jeremy Williams
Like all marketing in any business, especially as a practitioner working within a competitive market, your marketing must be effective. One of the most important factors in marketing, as a REALTOR(R), is visibility. It amazes me that so many agents have Twitter accounts, but they have not taken the time to advertise that they utilize Twitter on either their Web site or blog.
Twitter is a powerful social networking tool that can be used to communicate information relevant to listings, services offered or market information to real estate practitioners and the general public. Notice I have in the sidebar of my blog a widget with my Twitter feed (see http://ne-houston-real-estate.williams4yourhome.com). The Twitter feed on my blog serves two purposes. First, it notifies visitors to my blog that I have a Twitter account. If a visitor to my site clicked on anything within the feed, they would be taken to the Twitter site and if they have an account click to “follow.” Second, the Twitter feed showcases my latest Tweets with pertinent information tying back into my listings, services offered and market information. Twitter is a powerful marketing and networking tool if used properly. You might Google “Twitter etiquette” as that can be a whole separate topic.
Here is how to add a Twitter feed to your blog or Web site: Continue reading »
Brandon Rodriguez
By Brandon Rodriguez
Barriers are never good when selling a house. I know that all the good agents know this and have instructed to their clients the harm this can cause. However, the barriers are still up.
One weekend, I scheduled property to show for a client. The list was ready and the phone calls to our Centralized Showing System were being made. Mind you, I had at least 11 to show at the request of the client. These are real scenarios and my personal thoughts behind them.
House 1 – “Can only show between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. with a one-hour notice.”
My Thought: This is a four-hour window. You might think to yourself, “Brandon, there is a good reason for this.” The seller (insert your reason here). In a buyers market, this four-hour window will not get the seller many showings. Buyers are working people who usually have jobs between these hours. Buyers will only see homes when it is convenient for them. “Well, if they love the house, they will make time.” Not so. They will move on to the next house and forget “the home they loved.”
House 2 – Day one listed the property for $400,000 and day three listed property for $415,000. Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
Preconceived notions I had of an NAR committee aside, this would be my third Midyear and my first year serving on any committee, and I was bound and determined to make the best of it.
I was appointed to the Equal Opportunity/Diversity Committee, and my knee-jerk reaction was essentially a surprise-surprise-throw-the-asiandude-on-the-most-predictable-committee-possible one. Even better: There were a total of two conference calls before what was supposed to be pivotal rulings at Midyear. How anything can be both “pivotal” but get allocated such little time to discuss, was beyond me. We were to have an open REALTOR(R) forum — where outreach to under-represented REALTORS(R) was to be discussed — and a formal committee meeting where those solutions would be refined into a cute NAR package. Visions of REALTOR(R) whine-fests were filling my head; cynicism was setting in.
I’ll admit it: I was totally wrong. The need for outreach, education, cultivation and training of leadership of YPN, GLBT, Asian, Hispanic, African American, and handicapped practitioners was discussed in the forum. Actual solutions were determined. Past-President Charles McMillan let it be known that the road to national involvement doesn’t necessarily mean 20 years of million-dollar production and political back-scratching. The red tape is gone; and it’s up to those with the desire to see change, to facilitate it. It was pretty clear that the EOC was passed trying to diversify NAR, frankly there are plenty of under-represented agents making money in this business. What we need is to stop the brain-drain by keeping their talent and knowledgebase within the NAR fold, rather than starting their own segmented groups. They need to be elevated and recognized, become representations of NAR membership and becoming advocates of NAR. Continue reading »
Hello, YPNers!
I’m looking for clever prospecting ideas, and I want to hear from you. What’s your best marketing strategy for reaching out to new customers? Do you sponsor an event to lure buyers and sellers, or maybe you have a creative giveaway that you send clients to stay top-of-mind? How do you gain more clients through your marketing?
Some of the best ideas submitted will be featured in an upcoming slideshow at REALTOR® Magazine online.
Submit your clever prospecting idea to Melissa Dittmann Tracey at mtracey@realtors.org, along with information about your prospecting idea, your name, company, and city.
Just-released, free customizable content widgets available at the REALTOR® Content Resource, powered by NAR’s consumer Web site HouseLogic, let you easily incorporate homeownership content into your Web site or blog.
Customize the size and shape of the widgets, and take advantage of hundreds of articles written by premier journalists on such topics as home improvement and maintenance, landscaping, pest control, energy efficiency, tax credits and deductions, finance, insurance, and building a community.
The widget content updates automatically in real time, so there’s no need to refresh or re-import it.
Choose from three widget sizes and display up to four articles at a time. With just a few keystrokes, you’ll have imported the content you need to show clients your mission is to help them protect their most important investment.
The REALTOR® Content Resource, powered by HouseLogic, is an exclusive, free benefit for NAR members. HouseLogic is the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS’® no-topic-left-uncovered consumer Web site geared to helping homeowners make smart decisions to maintain, protect, and increase the value of their home.
Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
As I flew home from the Midyear Meetings, quite a few things were rolling through my head.
Like, why did the engines just get really quiet? I apologize, self-preservation mode there for a second. Now back to our originally scheduled programming.
This year’s Midyear was my induction into a national event — and I must say, I’m quite impressed. A lot of the preconceived notions were born out to be untrue.
1. Erica Christoffer — the wonderful person behind this site — does exist. I had begun to think she was a computer. But, I met her and hugged her so she is real — though I didn’t check her neck so a cyborg isn’t out of the realm.
2. NAR is out to get me. I know, I know, all the conspiracy theorists out there are going to hate me. There has been a lot of “us vs. them” talk amongst agents when it comes to NAR. I found it to blatantly not be true. Every staffer I spoke with was open honest and truly out to do the best for the REALTOR(R) Party.
3. NAR will never change. An organization the size of NAR takes time to move and change course. However, you are going to be hearing a lot about fair-housing and the inclusion of sexual orientation to the list. We are leading the charge and I know at least one agent has been called back to D.C. next week to make this change at the federal government. Continue reading »
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