There’s always something to howl about.

Category: Marketing (page 102 of 191)

The Odysseus Medal competition — Voting for the People’s Choice Award is open

Fifteen nominees this week, although ten are from BloodhoundBlog contributors, writing either at BHB or at their home weblogs. I don’t know what to do about this. I don’t think I’m being biased. The one thing I could suggest is that y’all nominate more posts from a broader range of sources.

Vote for the People’s Choice Award here. You can use the voting interface to see each nominated post, so comparison is easy.

Voting runs through to 12 Noon MST Monday. I’ll announce the winners of this week’s awards soon thereafter.

Here is this week’s short-list of Odysseus Medal nominees:

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“Kris Berg — Boomerang
Warning: Boomerang may cause injury to others“,
“Geno Petro — Big, hungry beast Big, Hungry Beast“,
“Kris Berg — Trulia Make checks payable to Trulia.com“,
“Jim Watkins — True equity True Equity – In the Real Estate Sense“,
“Joel Burslem — Facebook Advertising Your Real Estate Business on Facebook“,
“Jillayne Schlicke — HR 3915 Mortgage Brokers and Loan Originators Should Support HR3915“,
“Steve Leung — Reverse offer Considering the Reverse Offer“,
“Kevin Boer — Curbed Curbed.com = HomeGain Redux; Is History Repeating Itself? Will Curbed.com Start Selling Leads?“,
“Sean Broderick — Rubik’s Cube Reasons Come First“,
“Brian Brady — HR 3915 HR 3915: Open Letter to Senator Dodd from a Veteran Mortgage Originator“,
“Kris Berg — SEO Chasing My Long Tail – My Truth About SEO“,
“Geno Petro — First in, last out First In, Last Out“,
“Jim Duncan — Green building Green building will soon be invisible“,
“Kris Berg — Snowboarding I may see you on the way down
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    Deadline for next week’s competition is Sunday at 12 Noon MST. You can nominate your own weblog entry or any post you admire here.

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  • A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Undermining the arguments in support of the status quo

    Part V: Why arguments for the current method of compensating real estate agents and against divorcing the real estate commissions must fail

    As I write this, the National Association of Realtors is preparing for its annual convention, to be held this year in America’s playground, Las Vegas, Nevada. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the NAR, so that milestone will be part of this year’s festivities. Can you guess what won’t be on the program?

    You guessed it. Not one session or event will be devoted to an earnest discussion of divorcing the real estate commissions, reconfiguring the way we account for funds at Close of Escrow so that sellers pay only their own agents and buyers pay for their own representation. I think it would be accurate to say that the NAR likes things the way they are, but it would probably be still more accurate to say that divorcing the commissions is not even on the NAR’s radar.

    Why not? That’s for you to decide, but the most common “yeah, but” objection you will hear to divorcing the commissions, among real estate professionals, is, “Yeah, but buyers don’t even care who pays the commission.”

    I wrote this series of essays so you would know why it is important for the real estate commissions to be divorced. But assuming I have failed in this objective, let me endeavor now to help you understand why this matters:

    In our current buyer’s market, some sellers are offering 4%, 5%, even 6% buyer’s agent’s commissions. Some new home builders are offering 8%, 12%, 16%. The highest buyer’s agent’s commission I have heard so far is 20%.

    You as the buyer bring or borrow every dollar that gets paid to anyone in a normal real estate transaction, so it is possible that you could end up writing a mortgage check every month with twenty cents of every dollar going to cover what you unwittingly paid for “your” agent. That’s twenty cents of every dollar of principal payment, but also twenty cents of every dollar of interest — and taxes, and insurance and private mortgage insurance.

    If buyer Read more

    Agents Using the term “MLS” in Their URL

    The following email was sent to me by Steve Westmark. I posted about Steve and the Minneapolis MLS back in April. Seems the Chicago MLS got the same Stupid Factoryidea but has now changed their mind. Or should that be “minds”? Or “numb skulls”?

    I really do not understand how any association that is supposed to have been formed for the benefit of Realtors can possibly come up with some of the retarded gibberish that some of them do come up with. I fully understand that it isn’t polite to poke fun at retarded people but in cases like this I just can’t help it. What tortured logic makes it alright for Homegain – and others like them – to use the term MLS in their URLs but not alright for an agent to do it? Is it that the dimwits who sat on that board thought it might be a lot easier to push those local agents around than it would be to push the attorneys who work for Homegain around? Homegain would have been willing to litigate until they won, the local agents were not.

    I would also have been willing to litigate and I would not have just fired a few emails back and forth. In addition, I would have waged a local and national PR battle (for starters, naming all the names of the spineless and mindless dolts that passed such a ruling) that would have had them playing defense – not me.

    (why yes, I do write this sort of post to make good friends with the various boards of directors around the country:-)

    _________

    —– Original Message —–

    From: Bryan VantHof

    To: steve@stevewestmark.com

    Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 3:45 PM
    Subject: Fwd: Update on Chicago area use of MLS in URL’s

    Steve,
    Thought you might find this interesting. Thanks. Bryan Vant Hof – fishMLS Realty

    ———- Forwarded message ———-
    From: Gene Carey < Gene@view-mls-homes.com>
    Date: Oct 15, 2007 4:11 PM
    Subject: Update on Chicago area use of MLS in URL’s
    To: bvanthof@fishmls.com

    Bryan,

    Just wanted to give you an update on Chicago areas plans to start fining agents who use MLS in their domain names. After sending them some very extensive emails threatening lawsuits Read more

    A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Cataloging benefits — starting with a complete catalog of available homes

    Part IV: Divorcing the real estate commissions will result in benefits not just for buyers but also for their agents and for the real estate market as a whole

    The National Association of Realtors is embroiled right now in a protracted anti-trust suit brought by the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. The case in a nutshell: The NAR has been attempting to use MLS rules to stifle lower-priced competition.

    Recall that the NAR is a conspiracy against consumers. Its purpose is artificially to limit access to real estate representation, so that consumers will have to pay more than they might otherwise for real estate advice. The cause of action in the DOJ/FTC suit is a move by old-line brokers against young-turk brokers within the NAR. The trade organization stands accused of deliberately frustrating the objectives of its own members.

    What is the essential data field in an MLS system — do you remember? It’s the co-broke. Everything else is just details. Every true MLS system exists so that real estate brokers can communicate — in presumptive secrecy — how much they will pay when a co-operating broker procures a buyer for a particular listing.

    Can you think of one simple thing the NAR could do to make the DOJ/FTC anti-trust suit go away in an instant?

    How about… divorcing the real estate commissions…?

    Do you think that might work?

    Remember that the MLS system is a vestigial engine of sub-agency, designed from the outset to advance the home seller’s interests — at the expense of the home buyer’s interests.

    If we were to divorce the real estate commissions, the co-broke field would go away and with it the entire edifice of the top-secret MLS system.

    Does this mean homes would no longer be listed? Of course not. But home listing would become a free-market business — with no anti-consumer rules on what material facts can and cannot be disclosed to buyers.

    Without doubt there will be a shake-out period, with conflicts among vendors, errors of judgement, etc. — just as in any competitive marketplace. This will occasion much lamentation — before, during and after — starting Read more

    Birthing BloodhoundBlog.TV in time for the NAR Convention

    We’re going to do the first run of a BloodhoundBlog.TV taping this Sunday night. My own life is a blur, but events are ganging up on me. I expect to have video posted by Monday early morning, before I take off for Las Vegas.

    Cathy won’t be with me, alas. Her pneumonia might or might not be better, but the doctor is forbidding her to fly in any case.

    I can’t speak for the others here, but I’m stocking up on MREs and pea-shooters for the NAR Convention next week. If you’re going, take your webcam and let me know you have it with you. We’ll do some interviews once you drag your tired carcass back to your suite.

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    A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: We’re just sitting here at the closing table, watching the money flow

    Part III: The who-pays-whom of real estate is not as simple as you might have thought…

    All right, let’s go buy a house. I want to talk about the flow of money in a real estate transaction, and there is no better way of understanding that flow than wading right out into the middle of it all.

    So let’s buy a house for $100,000. Where I live, in Phoenix, a hundred grand will get you a grungy dump. Where I grew up, in downstate Illinois, a hundred-thousand dollar house will put you among the diamond-crusted elite. Either way, it doesn’t matter. We’re not buying this house to live in it, but just so we can see who gets paid and how.

    I want for us to buy this house with 100% financing — nothing down! — even though that kind of loan isn’t as easy to get as it used to be. Even better, I want you to take 3% of the purchase price as a concession from the seller to defray your closing costs. You’re going to have to put down an earnest deposit to show that you’re serious, but I like $500 for a house this cheap. Not only that, but, since there is going to be money left over from the closing costs concession, you’re actually going to get your $500 back at Close of Escrow.

    Isn’t that cool? You just took possession of a $100,000 asset for not one red cent out-of-pocket. You bought a house for nothing. This is not a fantasy. I’ve done this for dozens of clients. But before you get on the phone to all your friends, telling them about your amazing financial skills, stop and think for a minute.

    Did you just buy a house for nothing, or did you buy it by promising to make monthly payments for up to thirty — or forty — or fifty — years for principle, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA fees and private mortgage insurance?

    Your lender pushed $100,000 onto the closing table, but he did it on the strength of your promise to pay all that money back and then some. Read more

    Don’t Be Like The Part Timer Queen- You’re Embarassing To The Industry!

    please don't be this personThe line was only two people deep at the UPS Store the other day but it seemed to take forever!  I had simply made four copies and wanted nothing more than to slap a dollar on the counter, holler “keep the change, no receipt, thank you” and walk out.  Here in Austin, the service isn’t always at the speed of light because people take the time to say hello and ask about family (we’re convinced we’re a small town despite the continuing population boom).  I felt validated in my hurry hurry attitude because I was on my way to mass and didn’t want to be late, so COME ON, MOVE IT!

    Regardless of my toe tapping, the last woman in front of me didn’t even notice the overly emphasized sighs as she put her chest on the counter.  Yes, her chest- her very padded push up bra that was very stressed out to be a part of her wardrobe held her business up to the counter.  I think she was trying to impress the 17 year old cashier (who wasn’t impressed with the cougar chick).  After several more minutes of waiting, waiting, waiting, she finally cashed out.  Hooray, this is it, I’m almost out of here!

    But no.  “Hey, if you ever have any odd requests, here’s my card.”  The guy asked “so what do you do?”  She did the hair flip over the shoulder with her mane of 80’s hair band blonde mess and said, “I’m so glad you asked!  I’m a licensed massage therapist and so is my husband!  If you are ever stressed out or know anyone who is, I’m great with my hands…”  Eww.  He didn’t act grossed out, what a gentleman.  “Great, I’ll pass this along.”  She picked up her purse and I inched forward, knowing I was already late for mass.

    “Oh, and my husband is an EMT and I also sell jewelry- perfect for the upcoming holidays!”  She offered a little high pitched giggle as she hoisted her over-stressed boulder holder up some more.  “Cool.  Okay, have a great day.”  And then came the kicker that I had clenched Read more

    Web 2.0 is dead, Web 3.0 is on its deathbed…

    R.I.P. WEB 2.0- WE BARELY KNEW YOU

    If you haven’t been following the rhetoric on tech sites such as Mashable, you should get started.  Many people are just grasping the concept of Web 2.0 but did you know it’s already dead?  So, we move on from shiny badges and transparent speech and move to Web 3.0 with network integration.  That’s the ticket (to steal a line from Jeff)!

    But wait, that ship is already leaving the dock!  Just as you grasp Web 2.0, Web FOUR POINT OH is born!!!  Get ready tech nerds and noobs alike- the competition is cut throat to find the perfect mathematical equation to apply all of this new data. 

    Who do you suspect is at the starting line while most people didn’t know a race was even on?  Let us know in the comments!

    Table for twenty, please — it’s a big party

    We’re adding another hound-dog today, Eric Bramlett, a real estate broker from Austin. That makes nineteen in the list of frequent contributors, and, while I don’t have specific plans for a twentieth, I expect to see that slot filled shortly.

    Here’s the scoop on Eric:

    Eric Bramlett is the broker and co-owner of One Source Realty in Austin, TX. An active voice in the RE.net, he has also written for Broker Agent News. His interests include SEO/SEM, blogging and web design.

    Eric has been howling at the gate for a few days, so I’m just going to turn loose of him and see where he runs.

    There was a time when I wondered if we might someday all get together in one spot, all the BloodhoundBloggers at one table. Now all I can do is imagine the hell we’d make of some poor waitperson’s life…

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    A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Will the necessity of negotiating their buyer’s agent’s compensation make buyers more practical?

    Part II: How buyers can finally take a seat at the grown-up’s table

    When a potential home-seller calls me to set up a listing appointment, very often the first question I will hear is, “How much do you charge?” A motivated seller is done with the house, and now all that matters is money. Sellers — usually — are practical, phlegmatic and open — if not at first then eventually — to logical persuasion.

    Buyers, on the other hand, are giddy and emotional and mercurial and fun. They are on a safari to capture something big and exciting, and mere matters of finance are the farthest thing from their minds. This applies even to move-up buyers, people who are also selling their current home to buy the next one. On Friday evening, meeting about the house they are selling, they are coldly rational. On Saturday morning, shopping for the new house, they are swept away by their emotions.

    Why do sellers pay the buyer’s agent’s commission, with or without sub-agency? Because it works. Buyers get to look at houses “for free.” The agent will set up searches “for free,” driving the buyers from house to house “for free.” And when it comes time to write a contract, the more the buyers pay for the home, the more the buyer’s agent will get paid. The seller is paying a percentage of the sales price, so the buyer’s agent’s pecuniary interest is aligned with that of the seller, not the buyers, his nominal clients. But — what the heck? — it’s all being done “for free.”

    In the feast of residential real estate, buyers sit at the kiddie table and they don’t even know it. If a buyer even thinks to ask who is paying for all these free gifts of information, transportation and advice, the buyer’s agent will blow him off by saying, “Oh, the seller pays me.” We like to think we are smart shoppers, suspicious if not outright cynical, but no one ever thinks to ask, “The seller pays you for what?”

    There’s more. Since the advent of buyer brokerage, the claim has been that Read more

    New self-promo play at Trulia.com: Like Realtor.com, but cheaper

    The details are here. This was to have been news tomorrow, but Trulia broke its own embargo. Unlike the last round of upgrades, this release is all about milking cash from Realtors in the best Realtor.com tradition. Perfectly understandable as a means of making money, but hardly earth-shaking. I would have more readily welcomed actual functionality, rather than just pay for play. The good news is, buying leads on Trulia.com is a lot cheaper than buying leads elsewhere. This argues to me that selling leads is a business ripe for disintermediation. If so, that day cannot come soon enough.

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    A consumer’s guide to the divorced real estate commission: Why buyers and sellers each paying for their own representation is the most significant reform that can be made today in residential real estate

    Part I: How we got into this mess in the first place

    Can we be straight with each other? I’m not a soft and subtle kind of guy, and my working assumption is that you are sick to death of being hustled — handled — lied to. We yammer all day about transparency, but if transparency is something other than old wine in a new bottle, it’s time we told the truth, don’t you think?

    So let’s start here: The National Association of Realtors, which celebrates its 100th birthday this year, is a vast and largely successful conspiracy against consumers by real estate brokers. By brokers, mind you, not agents, although agents are not without sin. The purpose of the National Association of Realtors is to limit — artificially, by fiat of law — the number of people to whom you might turn for help in effecting a real estate transaction. Before the NAR got real estate licensing laws passed, you could have worked with anyone: A friend, a relative, the local beautician or insurance agent. But because of real estate licensing laws, your choices are limited either to real estate brokers and their agents or attorneys. No one else can represent you in a real estate transaction, accepting compensation for their efforts, without breaking the law.

    Why did the NAR do this? So that it might artificially raise the price you are obliged to pay for real estate representation. This is the conspiracy against the consumer, and it has been largely successful for the real estate brokers. The real estate licensing laws are written in such a way that the secondary victims of the NAR conspiracy are real estate agents — who fail in massive numbers — but they’re on their own today. What we are talking about, in the broadest possible terms, is how the residential real estate industry can be reformed so that it is not a conspiracy against the consumer.

    I would warn you against rebuttals that take the form of, “Yeah, but.” The “yeah” concedes the point, and the “but” seeks to muddy the waters. So brokers will read this Read more