BloodhoundBlog

There’s always something to howl about.

Category: Marketing (page 183 of 191)

September 1, 2006

You might think it’s just real estate, you might think it’s just work, but this Labor Day we’re celebrating three labors of love . . .

by

Realtor, Staging Consultant

Author website

Labor Day is a day ostensibly set aside in our nation’s calendar to celebrate America’s workers by… taking off work. This has never made sense to me. Fortunately, Greg is of like mind, and so we celebrate Labor Day by working! We truly love our work, and this year, this week I am blessed with so many reasons to rejoice in the work we do.

I met Jurij and Tatiania in June 2005, as the madly escalating Phoenix housing market was racing through its two-year crescendo. I was representing buyers who were relocating to Phoenix, previewing houses for them, and Jurij and Tatiania were selling a house that had been, at the time, listed for about two months in a market where houses were looking long in the tooth after only two weeks. I was really green in this business last summer, so I couldn’t figure out why their charming house wasn’t moving… and it had already been through two price reductions, when everyone else’s houses were selling for more than asking price.

I ended up finding my clients a house that was much better suited for them, a beautiful old Craftsman bungalow that they are still thrilled about and which should eventually be very profitable for them when the time comes for them to move on. But before we found that one, my clients had me returning to Jurij’s and Tatiania’s house again and again to explore that possibility. Jurij was usually at home when I got there, and during my several visits to photograph and measure his house and yard, we formed a bond over our love of dogs. He has a wonderful, playful old Yellow Lab, Jake, who became my fast friend, and Jurij loved my business card, on which a photograph of our Bloodhound, Odysseus, is prominent where other Realtors typically have glamour shots of themselves.

Jurij and Tatiania’s home languished during last summer’s sizzling market, and then went through another, different, unsuccessful listing… both times, I now understand, without ever having been conscientiously represented, without ever having been actually marketed. At the expiration of their second unsuccessful Read more

September 1, 2006

The custom web site we built to sell your home might not Google well — but it doesn’t have to . . .

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Free the Drones, a saving and investing weblog I read every day, has a post today discussing our practice of building a custom web site for every home we list. I’m thinking that I should write on that one topic at length, because the strategy is more intricate than it might seem at first glance. For now, I want to address the caveats raised by Free the Drones:

When I searched for 1102 West Culver St in Google, the website doesn’t come up in the top 50. In fact, the Bloodhound Realty Blog only comes up at number ten with a mention of the street address in the text. What’s the deal?

The problem is the word “St”, which Google might just as well throw away. Search these three for contrast.

It might be the Google Sandbox

I don’t think there is one. If there is, the penalty is measured in days, not months.

It would be a lot better for [that page’s title] to be “1102 West Culver St., Phoenix, AZ”

Absolutely right. We do it that way now. (This site was built in January.) We do each page within the site with the headline from that page, as well.

What would I do instead? I’d have a subpage about the house on the main Bloodhound Realty site, buy the domain “http://www.1101westculverst.com,” and then do a 301 Redirect, which is a way of sending anyone who types in that web site to the subpage you created. That way you can advertise the house as having its own site, and anyone who tries to go to it will be sent automatically to the place on your site that’s about the house.

This might make sense if you were selling your own home, and if you only had one page of content. We are building canonical web sites about the homes we sell. One of their very important purposes is to capture the listing for that one home again and again, every time it sells.

The caveat is that you’re going to have to do your own advertising – getting people to know about your site through something like Google is Read more

September 1, 2006

Escape clause would help all

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

This is me in today’s Republic (permanent link), another chance at infamy:

Escape clause would help all

Believe it or not, this can be a rabble-rousing column.

Sometimes I write about the perils of dual agency or why the buyer is actually paying for everything in a real estate transaction or why buyers as well as sellers should negotiate their agent’s compensation. While these ideas might seem simple and obvious to you, in fact they are hugely controversial within the real estate industry.

When I write a column like that, my day will be punctuated by testy calls from angry Realtors and brokers.

Oh, well.

The slim justification for our real estate licenses, and the earning power accruing thereto, is service in the public’s interest.

Too much of “the way things have always been done” in real estate strikes me as being of great benefit to the brokers and the agents, but of no benefit – or even of actual harm – to buyers and sellers.

Here’s another one, sure to make the phone lines light up:

There should be a firing clause in every employment agreement.

Brokers want employment agreements because we work “on spec.” That is, we don’t get paid until we produce the agreed-upon results.

That’s a good thing. It keeps Realtors motivated.

But an exclusive employment agreement with no exit clause traps unhappy buyers and sellers with an agent who may not be producing any results or who simply may not be a good fit personally.

This is language that will suffice:

“This agreement will be terminated upon written notice by either party.”

With this clause, the broker can fire the clients, too, if that seems wise. But the important point is that clients can get out of an unhappy situation if they feel this is necessary.

Their goal, as buyers or sellers, is to achieve their real estate objectives. Buyers and sellers are not buying and selling real estate for the benefit of Realtors or brokers.

Giving consumers the power to escape an employment agreement when things just aren’t working out is the best service of their interests.

I am much constrained by the space limits of the newspaper. I wrote here on the Read more

August 31, 2006

Zindicated! Is this Zillowed seller proof of the need for even greater Zillification?

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Frankly, no.

Christine at NY Houses 4 Sale cites a Realty Times article about a seller who immediately pulled his home off the market after a prospective buyer confronted him with a Zestimate $500,000 below his assessed value. His conclusion is that Zillow.com has made his home unmarketable.

My first reaction is simply to say, “Hysterical much?”

I think Zillow.com misleads consumers by implying that its Automated Valuation Method is a valid and useful way of pricing homes, but I can’t believe that there is any report or document produced by Zillow.com that cannot be completely dispensed with by saying, “Are you utterly daft? If you can buy a house in this neighborhood for half-a-million under market, I’ll help you move in. Now get serious or get lost.” On my planet we call that negotiation.

At NY Houses for Sale, Christine writes:

I am sure that soon there will be more and more complaints and I am also sure that as the market continues to change more and more buyers will be “Zillowing” their neighbor, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends houses. Just as I am sure of those things – I am VERY sure that there will be many buyers coming into homes that are listed claiming that they are over priced. But here is my answer.. “The house is NOT over priced – your Zestimate is UNDER priced”.

And all that will be great. Zillow.com wears a media-conferred halo right now. The more people talk about the incredible, obvious, bone-headed mistakes Zillow cannot help but make, the less people will rely on it — or affect to rely on it. At some point Zillow may elect to tell the truth in no uncertain terms about what an AVM can and cannot do — in order to retain at least a shred of credibility.

But as for this seller: Grow up, cowboy. If there were no Zestimates, the buyer would have tried a different lowball tactic. If you want your house to sell, pay $300 for a spot appraisal, price you home at or below it, and leave a copy of the full appraisal report Read more

August 31, 2006

Disintermediation? Defenestration? It’s all good . . .

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

If, like me, you are stuck using Windows because dipsh*t developers write websites that are Microsoft Internet Explorer only — such as the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service’s Tempo system — rejoice in the arrival of Crossover for the Macintosh. It’s a WINE environment that permits you to run a single MS app within your OS-X operating system. Intel Macs only, obviously, and if you need more from the Windows world (poor blighter), you’ll still have to run Parallels or BootCamp. But if you are only one app away from ridding yourself of Windows, hold up your hand and wave bye-bye.

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August 31, 2006

Words, words, words: How evocative listing copy helps to sell homes . . .

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Mike Price at Mike’s Corner is kvetching about clumsy Realtor lingo, and while I’m with him on the main point, I have turf of my own to defend.

Sez Mike:

I’ve often wondered what consumers think when they are subjected to the same goofy tag lines and incomplete sentences that seem to proliferate the inventory of any MLS.

Indeed. It’s possible to overthink this stuff, though. I think most of what passes for experience in residential real estate is nothing more than thoughtless imitation — monkey-see, monkey-do, monkey-don’t-ever-test-the-results. I wrote about tin-eared Realtor marketing last fall, taking particular note of ‘riders’ on real estate signs.

But: I think there is more to this than clumsy cliches versus just-the-facts-ma’am. If that’s the only choice, I’ll take the facts. But my own preference is to express, as best I can, the features of the home as benefits and the benefits as the story of a life enriched and perfected by the home. We call this rhapsodizing, and the listings I like best are for homes about which I can wax rhapsodic at first glance. Most homes don’t seem to glow of their own light at sunset — ain’t that poetic? — but, even then, I’m looking to sell you your life in the home, not the mere details.

In an ARMLS listing, I get exactly 680 characters to do this. We give up space for the address of the home’s custom web site, so, ultimately, I get about 100 words, maybe 110. As you may have noticed, I can write more than 110 words.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

Your Moroccan oasis in the city… The style is Spanish Eclectic, but the details come straight from Marrakech. In the midst of the brutal Phoenix summer, you’ve found a refuge that is… cool, shady, refreshing. From the lush gardens front and back to the interplay of light and shadow in the 1935 residence, from the luxury of the Kitchen, Master Suite and Guest House to the simple understated elegance of the Living Room and Formal Dining Room, from the travertine and hardwood floors to the Moroccan arches, this Read more

August 30, 2006

Making a great deal even better . . .

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Cathy’s clients ended up buying at one of the new home subdivisions I accompanied them to on Sunday. She was tied up today, too, so I went back with them to reserve the lot and go over the contract (more of that tomorrow). I almost never sell builder homes, but this was my second one this week. Go figure.

The price was even sweeter today than it was on Sunday. The builder is trying to close on absolutely every inventory home by the end of the quarter, September 30, so they’re Making Deals, as they say down at the new car dealership. They’re basically giving my buyers a $75,000 upgrade package for free, plus throwing 6% of the purchase price at their down payment. If the Phoenix real estate market gets back to normal soon, they will have a ton of equity fairly quickly. And even if not, this home is an incredible bargain — an unrepeatable opportunity.

Here’s the kicker: The builder’s rep told me in private that the buyer’s agent’s commission is 8%! Unbelievable! I don’t know what builders are like in other markets, but in Phoenix, they leave precious little room for a Realtor to effect any meaningful buyer’s agency. In effect, taking a party to a new home subdivision is a referral, and that could explain why so many builders and Realtors treat it that way. For my part, I’m going to do everything I can to defend and protect my clients’ interests — and that still won’t be very much.

So how much should I get paid for doing not very much work as capably and professionally as I can? Surely not 8%. I won’t even take 3% on new construction. Here’s what I did today: I gave my clients 6% and kept 2% for the brokerage. Even then I’ll make great money for my efforts. But my clients will get an even more incredible bargain…

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August 30, 2006

Upping the stakes on real estate listing marketing: A custom weblog on a custom domain . . .

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

I’m not sure I’m understanding what Jim Kimmons is talking about. He cites an NAR article on building custom web sites on their own domains for listed homes. This we already do, and it knocks the socks off of everyone we deal with. Sockless in the high desert, Jim treads off in a different direction:

I think it’s a great idea, but I do it a bit differently. My custom domain names go to a blog instead of a web site. I’m pretty sure that I, and my clients, gain search engine exposure by using a blog. Also, over time, I can place new posts that will go out as RSS feeds and create new interest and search engine exposure. An interested buyer can subscribe to the blog and watch for price reductions or other announcements.

This is good. This fits nicely with the 4Realization that nothing Googles like a blog. It’s also a nice way to play with graphic ideas until something sings. I don’t love TypePad because of the rassafrassin’ trackbacks, but that’s a detail. I’m going to use WordPress anyway.

The part that I don’t get — and I guess I don’t have to get it — is this: Jim provides a link to an example listing weblog. It’s custom, yes, but the domain name is not property-specific in any way that I can see. I must be missing something.

For my own part, though, I am much enriched even in my bewilderment. There is a WordPress plug-in to make a post sticky — so the introductory matter I would want to stay at the top of the page will stay at the top of the page. A capital-P Page in WordPress is a hybrid construct that can work like a post, like a page full of posts or just like a stand-alone web page. In other words, the idea of WordPress as a Content Management System is easily 4Realized. Setting them up this way is more time-consuming that the procedure Jim describes, but I can leverage the labor from one to the next until I get to something I love. The Read more

August 30, 2006

RealTown: That’s not a feature — that’s a cockroach . . .

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

If a bug is disgusting enough, you’re apt to keep grinding at it with your shoe long after it’s dead. If InternetCrusade has six legs, then The Real Estate Tomato is wearing waffle-stompers. Today Jim Cronin takes on IC’s recent discovery of weblogging, the coolest thing to touch their antennae since Listservs. Here’s a quote from IC’s PR piece in Realtor Magazine On-Line:

There’s no shortage of programs that make it extraordinarily simple to create and update a blog. With no more effort or time than it takes to compose an e-mail, you can have your latest blog entry on the Web. Experiment with different software programs, such as Google’s Blogger or InternetCrusade’s RealTown Blogs, both of which are free.

Jim has much, much more to say, but this bit is particularly funny: As nearly as I can tell, every RSS feed from RealTown is clobbered right now.

Yeah, but it’s free…

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August 29, 2006

Let The Day Begin . . .

by

Realtor, Staging Consultant

Author website

Taking allowance from recent posts here and on other favorite sites that have quoted lyrics, and inspired by having just heard this on the radio, I want to celebrate the joy that is communicated by The Call, in band member, Michael Been’s song Let The Day Begin (covered on The Best of the Call – The Millennium Collection):

Here’s to the babies in a brand new world
Here’s to the beauty of the stars
Here’s to the travellers on the open road
Here’s to the dreamers in the bars
Here’s to the teachers in the crowded rooms
Here’s to the workers in the fields
Here’s to the preachers of the sacred words
Here’s to the drivers at the wheel
Here’s to you my little loves
With blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Here’s to you my little loves
With blessings from above
Now let the day begin
let the day begin

Here’s to the winners of the human race
Here’s to the losers in the game
Here’s to the soldiers of the bitter war
Here’s to the wall that bears their name
Here’s to you my little loves
With blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Here’s to you my little loves
With blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Let the day begin
Let the day start.

Here’s to the doctors and their healing work
Here’s to the loved ones in their care
Here’s to the strangers on the street tonight
Here’s to the lonely everywhere
Here’s to the wisdom from the mouths of babes
Here’s to the lions in the cage
Here’s to the struggles of the silent poor
Here’s to the closing of the age
Here’s to you my little loves
With blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Here’s to you my little loves
With blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Let the day begin
Let the day start.

And isn’t this what most of us are about? Those of us who have jumped on the Real Estate 2.0 bandwagon, blogging and building community and talking about transparency and working always toward the best interest of the client. It’s not just about making our mark in the market, though of course that’s important on so many levels… it’s about doing good first and then doing well as a consequence. So,

Here’s to you Greg
Here’s to Read more

August 29, 2006

Rethinking absolutely everything in real estate . . .

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Jim Cronin is on the verge of something big at The Real Estate Tomato. So is, Eileen Tefft at Rain City Guide, working from a completely different direction. PressReal.com anticipates the demise of the MLS system within months, which seems unlikely to me. But: It remains: These are exciting times to be in real estate. In another post, The Real Estate Tomato solicits testimony on blogging success. I think the best success of real estate weblogging is in this unfiltered, unimpeded exchange of new, better ideas. I come to this banquet every day with my nickel, sometimes just four scuffed pennies. I leave every day stuffed to the gills from a millionaire’s feast. Everything after that is — you guessed it — dessert…

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August 28, 2006

Greg Swann can be an insufferable bastard sometimes — but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong . . .

by

Realtor, Staging Consultant

Author website

Okay. I’ll admit it: Greg is more efficient than I. Of course, that will surprise no one. He is able to communicate great big ideas with an economy of words… prolifically. While I have to sweat out each word, then use too many to get my point across. Sweat might just be the difference. Greg doesn’t sweat the small stuff, but I’m always flitting here and there to make sure I have everything covered. Don’t misunderstand – Greg nails all the detail on his real estate transactions, but that’s because they aren’t small stuff… they’re the kind of stuff that does matter to Greg. Just don’t leave it to him to see that our water bill gets paid! Those are the types of details he won’t sweat. He leaves those to me.

This comes up again and again in our life. Early this morning when we awoke, Greg made a beeline to his iMac, and I dashed outdoors to find out how many feral cats I had trapped during the night. You see, while we’re both great animal lovers, Greg is perfectly satisfied knowing and loving the ones that are known and loved — the ones who have names. While I’m always on the lookout for the nameless ones, the ones who have been lost, neglected, forgotten. So one of the organizations I’m involved with is AZCats, which lends me traps to catch feral cats and helps me to get them spayed or neutered, so I can turn around and release them and care for them (as much as a feral will permit) and know they won’t create even more feral kittens. One who I caught during the night was a kitten, too young to be neutered. So after I rounded up all of the traps and took the older cats to the vet’s, I took the tiny kitten to a neighbor to see whether she would take him in. She did. All this before breakfast. Greg was still sitting, working, writing at his computer when I settled in to work. He wasn’t interested in the kitten; it was just one in Read more

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Inventing Real Estate 2.0

Welcome to BloodhoundBlog, the national real estate industry marketing and technology weblog written by, for and about real estate professionals. Better yet, welcome to the wired world of real estate. We are busily inventing Real Estate 2.0 – technology, marketing, service and salesmanship. Like all Bloodhounds, we are smart, frisky and fiercely independent. We've built a spot on the earth – beloved over all – where each one of us can be who we are, no matter who that might be. We are committed to an idea of excellence that will flush the bums, the con-men and the crybabies out of the real estate industry. If you yearn to have your failures excused, your moral lapses absolved or your boo-boos kissed, seek elsewhere. But if you are sick to death of mediocrity – welcome home. Read all about us, subscribe to our feed and steel yourself for the hunt. We work hard, we play hard, we learn everything we can – and we bow to no one.

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