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Category: Real Estate (page 119 of 266)

May 13, 2008

When the weather in Phoenix is bad…

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

…it’s really bad…

That’s what I woke up to this morning. Windy, cold and spitting rain. I had a home inspection in the nearby foothills and I had to sit through a brief brown-out — a cloud of dust so thick I couldn’t see to drive. The Russian Thistle were on the march — that’s Tumbleweed to you. In all, a brisk and challenging morning.

Is that what you can expect for BloodhoundBlog Unchained, if you’re coming to town this weekend? Not hardly. Sunny and not too terribly hot — for the Phoenix natives. Bring your swim suit. Should be clear and dry — what I think of as Chamber of Commerce weather. The conditions you’ll see this weekend have been selling homes by the dozens in this Valley since 1948.

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May 13, 2008

An Example Of Contrarian Marketing As It Relates To Real Estate

by

Real Estate Broadcaster and Investor

Author website

[With this post, Barry Cunningham will be taking his leave from BloodhoundBlog. Between Real Estate Radio USA and his burgeoning real estate business, Barry feels a need to regroup and redeploy his time. We’ll miss him here, but we’ll always be able to see him on the radio. –GSS]

Real Estate Radio USA | Contrarian Marketing

I wrote an article Sunday that some misunderstood and thought was only based upon shock and awe. A campaign of that nature is merely one of a myriad of ways to be contrarian. Simply put, implementing a marketing campaign of this sort would be defined as that which is contrary to conventional wisdom and normal business practices.

Subsequent to that article I received a ton of emails from real estate agents asking how such a campaign could be implemented and how it could be executed WITHOUT being shocking or offensive.

My reply is that what is shocking and offensive to one, may not be shocking and offensive to another. It all depends upon the niche you are marketing to.

I interviewed Mr. Internet, Michael Russer recently and he told us about a few Realtors that were really doing some neat things in their marketing and their focus.

Jackie Youngblood is a Realtor in Pasco County, Florida that markets to nudists. Yes, her market is people who want to walk around naked and be around others that want to be naked as well.

Obviously, Jackie markets to a specific clientele. Being a nudist is not for everyone.Is her marketing contrarian? I don’t recall seeing many other Realtors marketing their services while being nude in a hot tub with 5 or 6 other nude people. So I’d have to say yes, this is very much contrarian.

Is it shocking or offensive? That would wholly depend upon the person visiting her website, receiving her marketing materials or viewing the properties that she represents. If it is shocking and or offensive then you are most assuredly not the client she is seeking to reach.

Does it make it wrong? Absolutely not! She has found her market. She is a nudist herself, and she is selling homes. More power to her!

Linda Jefferson, is the broker-owner Read more

May 12, 2008

Using YouTube video cameras to create text plus video landing pages

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Hunter Jackson of IBlogColumbia.com wrote to me yesterday about the possibility of doing video testimonials with the RCA Small Wonder, a CMOS-based video camera like the Flip Camera we discussed a few days ago. Like the Flip, the Small Wonder has a built-in USB connector, and it also uses AA batteries for maximum uptime. Some users have had complaints about video quality, especially in low light, but a very cool feature of the Small Wonder is its ability to use 2 GB SD cards for storage. Each card holds up to four hours of video, so you can either just keep shooting, or you can record onto one card while you’re uploading your videos on another.

The cost? Ninety bucks at Amazon.com.

Here is Hunter’s first chapter of a video diary of a home-buyer’s journey through the escrow process:

This works as a blog post, or as a series of posts, but the video can also be blended together with interstitial text to create something like the Realty Reality posts I used to do, but with video instead of photos for the illustrations.

I’m short on time to play with this, but I think this may be a very effective way to integrate video into real estate web sites: Text plus video landing pages.

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May 12, 2008

#1 Myth In Real Estate: Agents Don’t Know Why They’re Failing

by

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

BHB is about excellence. Excellence in service, products we need and/or use, various marketing methods, and how we conduct ourselves during what I’ll laughingly refer to as ‘business hours’. I’ve suspected Greg’s goal of reaching the million agents is gonna be a tall order, ‘cuz 80% of the agents out there would have to move up the ‘I get it’ ladder to have a clue. More simply put, they don’t come here, and probably never will. That said, I also believe there is a relatively large grouping of agents who’ve not learned yet what it takes to become a consistently successful high volume producer. They do business, but realize they could, and should be doing much more.

High volume? Look, you don’t have to close 100 escrows, ok? But an agent who wants to, can make six figures, $100-250,000 or more in nearly any market. This morning I discovered Russ also addressed this topic, but in his own way.

Agents just don’t know what they should be doing with their time.

Or so they would have you believe.

Let’s conduct a short experiment. Think of any past endeavor for which you had more than a passing interest in succeeding. Let’s take a simple one with which most of us can identify — losing weight and/or improving our overall health. How’d ya do?

If you were successful, it’s my guess you know why. Duh. Can’t we then infer if you had failed, 99% of folks would also know exactly why? Am I being too subtle here? When I was the ‘Chubby Little Blonde Guy’ (That oughta date it for you.) I knew exactly what road I’d used to arrive at Chubsville. No self discipline when it came to diet and exercise. Go ahead, write down that Black Pearl. I’ll wait for you.

It takes an IQ of at least 150-180 minimum to understand the dynamics of calories in vs. calories out, plus the added factor of consistent exercise, both aerobic, and anaerobic. Get the right math goin’ for 120 days or so, and pretty soon you’re shoppin’ for clothes that aren’t X-rated. I Read more

May 12, 2008

Are you an investor looking for a rental home that will stay rented? Buy a home that’s worth living in

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link). I wrote this last Tuesday, but it coincides nicely with Barry’s post this morning.

 
Are you an investor looking for a rental home that will stay rented? Buy a home that’s worth living in

I represented tenants for my first two years as a real estate licensee. Working with tenants didn’t pay very well, but it was a good way to get a lot of real estate experience very fast. Gradually I started working with home buyers, and then with home sellers. By now, I only work with tenants as a courtesy. It still doesn’t pay very well.

But in those two years, I saw an awful lot of rental homes. Or, more precisely, a lot of awful rental homes. Again and again, I would find myself wondering why anyone would think a particular house would be appealing to tenants. Not just the condition of the property, often atrocious, but simply the location itself. It’s astounding to me how many vacant rentals are situated nowhere near where tenants might want to live.

In the years since then, I’ve represented a huge number of investors. Market conditions haven’t been kind to them lately, but Phoenix is once again a market ripe for landlords. Prices are low and cash flows are positive. If landlords buy the right properties to use as rentals, the homes should rent quickly and stay rented.

So which homes will work best as rentals?

I’m looking for a home in a built-out suburb. Buckeye is a bargain for owner-occupants, but why would tenants move to a town with no employment base? What I want are jobs, schools, shopping and entertainment, all nearby, with decent freeway and bus access. I want a north-facing home; tenants read their power bills, too.

Am I looking for the cheapest house? No. Price matters, but what matters more is livability. Parents worry about the kids taking a header down the stairs, so I want a single-story home. There has to be at least a little grass in the back yard so toddlers can romp.

Here’s the magic bullet: If Read more

May 12, 2008

How A Realtor Can Work With A Real Estate Investor

by

Real Estate Broadcaster and Investor

Author website

Real Estate Radio USA | Real Estate Investors

It’s no secret to most Realtors that the housing market is in the toilet right now, but there is still a group of aggressive buyers who are still quite active. The Real Estate Investor.

While the mere thought of working with investors causes some Realtors to cringe, it’s time for the vinegar and oil relationship to end.

Investors are willing to work with anyone that can bring them a deal. They use birddogs, postal workers, bankruptcy attorneys, court clerks and yes, they will use the services of a Realtor.

However, the breakdown in communication usually comes when the parameters of a real estate investor are not met. A real estate investor, if they are experienced, will have a very defined set of criteria that must be met if they are going to pull the trigger on a deal.

While condition and neighborhood often are irrelevant, the numbers have to absolutely make sense. Most investors that we work with will not look at any deal unless it either cash flows if it is held or provides for significant return if it is to be re-sold.

Cashflow means the property must provide for at minimum a zero balance after income and expenses are taken into account. That is to say that after the projected rental amount on the property, less expenses can not be a negative number.

Here is a calculator that you can use to determine cash flow BEFORE presenting a deal to an investor. You can obtain market rents very easily without the need of the MLS by simply going to Zilpy. The features on Zilpy are pretty accurate and we have used them to work the numbers on properties we own and properties we have purchased and it has proven to be quite accurate.

On a re-sale deal, the property has to be purchased at a price that is at minimum 60% or belowwhat is perceived to be current market value. Some more aggressive investors will take a deal at 70% below perceived current market value but the pool gets really thin at LTV levels above this number.

Where do you find properties like this to sell Read more

May 12, 2008

Trulia Widgets — a deeper look

by

The Real Estate Group, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake VA

Author website

Why would Eric Bramlett post something like this? Or this? The debate rolls on as to Trulia Widgets and their use as a linkbaiting scheme. They are writing these things because they matter. But it has been said that they don’t matter, that Trulia would still be climbing in the search engines **cough**Google**cough** anyway. So I have undertaken to research a bit more deeply. (Authors Note: In ALL of what I say here, please understand that (on an SEO level), I ADMIRE what Trulia has pulled off here. They have found the soft underbelly and have used it to their advantage. Props to you.)

Here is a very brief overview of my findings: (NOTE: I have more which will continue to come out as time goes on…)

Let’s look at the city of Nashville. And at the term Nashville real estate. Trulia has recently popped up onto the first page (#7 in my datacenter). How did they get there?

The page on Trulia’s site that is #7 on Google is trulia(.)com/TN/nashville/. If you look at Yahoo Site Explorer, you can see that there are 3,800 plus links to Trulia (but all links are not created equal). There are only 108 of those links that are coming to Trulia from outside of Trulia.com. Let’s take a look at two of those links, shall we?

On MOST Trulia widgets there are often three links back to Trulia. Here’s an example. Here’s another. Scroll down on each page to see the Trulia Widgets and find the links. Where do they go? What ANCHOR TEXT do they use?

Typically one links goes to the local site (to compete against the very REALTOR whose site it is on, another link goes to Trulia’s home page and a third goes to their widget page. Hmmm…and if we look at the bottom of the latter two of those pages, where is Trulia pointing all of THAT link love from ALL OVER THE COUNTRY?

nashville2.png

It appears that Trulia is pretty interested in San Fran, San Jose, Phoenix, San Diego..etc etc…Those are some fairly competitive areas, so they funnel some extra strength Read more

May 11, 2008

Number1Expert Re-Launches as Number2Expert

by

Real Estate

Author website

n2elogo.gif

In a surprise move, website template provider Number1Expert has announced plans to rebrand as Number2Expert. This decision came following their inclusion of Trulia widgets on the myhomes.asp pages of all of their client sites. Here’s an example.

When asked about the decision, a spokesman said, “To date, our clients are providing Trulia with over 11,000 links. We live in a web 2.0 World, and transparency is very important. Since we’re effectively promoting Trulia as the #1 real estate expert, we felt it important to re-brand ourselves to more consistently mesh with this strategy.” He then added, “We’re very excited about the new opportunities that will arise with our market position as the Number 2 Experts.

The widgets that Number2Experts places on their template sites have been a hot topic in the RE.net as of late. Demonized by real estate SEO’s, and heralded as powerful, free online tools by others, the real estate world cannot seem to come to a consensus.

Be sure to keep an ear open, and an RSS reader ready for more news to come regarding this intriguing topic.

trulia-awareness-ribbon-180.jpg

May 11, 2008

Updates From the Ivory Tower

by

CEO, PA Association of Realtors

Author website

This week all the elected and paid leaders of the REALTOR® organization will be headed to Washington DC for organizational meetings and visits with Congress.  For all of you NAR malcontents, this would be a perfect time to carry out the hostile take-over of your local and state association of REALTORS®. 

White House

The agenda for the NAR Mid-Year Meeting features two items that I have written about in the past – the announced Upgrade to REALTOR.com’s standard services and the project formerly known as “the gateway.”  Here are a couple of quick updates:

Last week, REALTOR.com released a beta site (http://beta.realtor.com) and the following statement:

The new “Beta” REALTOR.com® website will continue to be enhanced over the next several months.  Early this summer, the new site will replace the current site and will include many new free benefits for your members.  One important FREE benefit on the new REALTOR.com® site is the ability to display up to 4 photos on all basic listings.  Since we already receive multiple photos in the data that you currently provide to REALTOR.com®, there is no action required on your part to provide this new and exciting benefit for your members.  Property photos will continue to be updated as long as the listing remains on the market and is on REALTOR.com®. 

The Gateway…Real Estate Channel…or Library/Archive

The project that is so big and far reaching that NAR is having trouble finding a name to fit will be a major topic of discussion in DC.  For those who have not heard of this, the project originally used the working title “Gateway” and was basically a mash-up all property data in the country.  Then, just a little over a month ago, the name was changed to the “Real Estate Channel” and now it is being referred to as a library or archive of data.  More importantly, NAR has issued a white paper on the..ah…whatchamacallit program that clearly outlines the intent.  A few key points for those who do not wish to click thru to read the white paper: 1) it is NOT an MLS and there will be no offer of compensation or Read more

May 11, 2008

Sometimes Ticking People Off Is Exactly The Intent

by

Real Estate Broadcaster and Investor

Author website

Real Estate Radio USA | Contrarian Marketing

Established in 1965, Benetton is present in 120 countries around the world. It presently has global sales in excess of $2 Billion dollars annually. Yet many in the mainstream find their advertising and marketing strategies downright offensive.

The aim of United Colors of Benetton corporate communication is to create the image of a global enterprise that is modern and projects towards the future and uses distinct imagery and messaging to promote its principal and most important characteristic: uniqueness.

“If your brand is clearly defined enough to have the power to attract enemies, it also has the power to attract raving fans. And the raving fans of your brand are the ones who return again and again. They’re the ones who will tell their friends about you. They’re the ones who will wear your logo. They’re the ones that almost enjoy the annoyance of your brand-haters and will keep coming back for more.”

“So don’t fear the hate. Embrace it. Maybe in your next brainstorming meeting, don’t ask how you can appeal to X. Ask how you can annoy the hell out of Y.” …………………Rick Nobles president of Two West Inc

In marketing conventional wisdom is not always the chosen path. The delivery of a message and its ability to reach the intended audience need not be communicated the same way as your competitors. In fact sometimes it makes sense to completely differentiate yourself. If most of your competitors are turning left, then turn right. If those products or services you seek to overcome are painting there portrait in white, paint yours in black.

There are, as we have been told, two sides to every story and in marketing this could not be more true.

Are you afraid to offend someone with what you marketing materials? Do you shy away from making tough statements in your marketing messages on your collateral media pieces or on your blog or website? Have you received some angry comments or emails from people vehemently opposing or denouncing what you have said? Have you heard from some people that they will absolutely not buy from you or will not use your service or Read more

May 10, 2008

At last, a use for video in real estate that I don’t hate: Using the Flip video camera to collect and post video testimonials

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

One of the the things I like about working with Brian Brady is that, when we’re together, or even when we’re just talking by phone, marketing magic happens. We spark ideas in each other, and marketing strategies emerge that neither one of us had foreseen.

Last week, Brian suggested that I buy a Flip video camera for us to use at Unchained. Fast, easy, fun YouTube videos, like a Polaroid Swinger for the new millennium.

I don’t remember who came up with what, but we worked out a strategy for using the camera to make unique, viral content at the conference. You’ll have to wait until next week to see what we have in mind.

But I got on the net — take note of how real people shop, if you would — and researched cameras and prices. The best instant availability I found was the Flip Ultra with 60 minutes of flash video memory for $135 with tax at Sam’s Club. I bought one for Unchained, set it up and learned how to use it.

The video I showed of Brian last night was shot with the Flip camera, but it’s not as good as a camcorder for mid-range or distant shots. Up close, though, it’s the cat’s pajamas.

And that was something I realized while I was talking: The Flip camera is the absolute most perfect tool for collecting testimonials. Testimonials are credible because they’re not written by you. Video is credible because of its verisimilitude. By asking questions, you can direct a video testimonial to bring out the information you want to convey to other viewers.

You can use Richard Riccelli’s testimonial plot line, for instance: “If you want to get to heaven you have to go through hell” — or — “Given my past negative experiences, I was stunned and amazed by the incredible service I received.”

So I’m standing there in front of a room full of people, realizing that I had just hit upon something new and really cool. The Flip camera is as small as my everyday digital still camera. I can easily wear it on my belt along with the Read more

May 10, 2008

Glenn Kelman Is Speaking at Bloodhound Blog Unchained Social Media Marketing Conference Brought to You By Zillow.com

by

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

Let’s keep our eye on the ball, folks.

Glenn Kelman is coming to Phoenix. Mind you, he has every reason not to come, now. This accomplished young man could be in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Boston, or our nation’s capitol. He could be fighting for scraps, during a difficult real estate market…yet…

Glenn Kelman will be at The Heard Museum, in Phoenix, on May 20, 2008. I’ll speculate as to why; Glenn Kelman is truly UNCHAINED. What exactly does that mean?

If you were at the Mesquite library, yesterday, you already know what that means. It means you don’t have to take crap from a boss, a company, or anybody. In fact, the only crap you’ll have to take is from customers- if you do it right, you won’t have to take crap from them, either. You’ll be marketing your craft so well that you’ll interview your customers; not them you. It means you have the right to thrive and the right to fail in this new brave world. It means you are responsible for your destiny. It means that in a sea of chaos, you find order and take action to benefit your business.

Successful people are action based. Why do you think I goaded Greg Swann into this conference? I wanted to bring together action-based people who recognize the real power of social media marketing. I wanted to mobilize the army of individuals to take responsibility for their future and thrive, not just survive, in the future of real estate and mortgage brokerage.

You wanna get ready for the tesseract? Be counted among the ranks of the guerrillas. Action-based people always get results. Think we’re”disrespectful of tradition”? Head over to the bar and take a poke at us. That’ll make you feel better.

Does Greg Swann’s comment about “kicking Inman’s ass” offend you? Head back to the bar and sing “Glory Days“. We want steely-eyed competitors at UNCHAINED. Competitors who saw the Read more

May 10, 2008

Are There More Than 50 People Blogging In Real Estate?

by

Real Estate Broadcaster and Investor

Author website

Real Estate Radio USA

Yes, I know that there are blogs everywhere in this so called RE.net, Web 2.0 world, but lately it seems like I am walking down the halls of my high school. There’s the cool kids over by Mr. Hannah’s homeroom. Over there in the smoking lounge can be found the punks who always seem to just be hanging out. In the middle of the cafeteria is where the jocks can be found laughing it up.

By the theater lurking in the dark you’ll find the goths and the freaks, and over there, with the saddle shoes and pony tails next to the gummy floor are the gum-clacking gluehead Heathers all talking at the same time with nobody really saying anything.

Lately I have noticed that the cliques in the real estate blogosphere have become much more pronounced and apparently the Web 2.0 Realtor superdelegates seem to think they are speaking for the rest of the common folk. How sad!

Excuse me if I am wrong, but I thought that blogging in real estate was about buying and selling real estate. When did it become the muse of soda jerks who haven’t any real business and spend night and day writing and finger pointing about all that is not real estate?

Do I care, or for that matter, does anybody really care what this blogger is doing or what that blogger said about this guy or that guy…except if it is regarding a technique or strategy to help one another actually sell real estate?

Think about it for a second…the reason each of us took finger to keyboard to dive into this new world was because we thought it would enhance our business? I for one, call it selfish if you want, only intended to blog to attract eyeballs because eyeballs are important to advertisers and advertisers spend money.

Additionally, in learning how to efficiently blog and write, we created a radio show to help promote it. Now we have progressed to the point that we have taken what we have learned and are beginning our foray into a real estate blog to buy and sell houses.

Never did Read more

May 9, 2008

Brian Brady at today’s Unchained preview show: “If your clients are already on LinkedIn, someone else will introduce me to them”

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

As I had mentioned, we did a couple of BloodhoundBlog Unchained preview shows today in Phoenix, one for Realtors and one for lenders.

Tempe Realtor and real estate weblogger Nick Bastian wins the endurance award for attending both sessions. Nick surprised Brian Brady by Twittering about Brian’s discussion of LinkedIn, a piece of which is shown below, while Brian was delivering it.

The events were a big kick for me. I sold a house yesterday, and the buyers (whom we have discussed as the Halversons) dropped by to sign some paperwork. And Cathleen and I listed 14237 North 11th Street in Phoenix early today. The seller is fellow Realtor David Pinelli, who is now working in the equestrian suburbs of Boston, but who until lately was working with Allan Pinel in Palo Alto. David was able to come to the Realtor portion of the presentation this morning, a nice reinforcement of the ideas Cathleen and I have been talking about with him for the past two weeks.

As Brian discusses below, we met a lot of really interesting people who are excited about the potential of blending Social Media Marketing into their buinesses. The whole day was a blast, which makes me think that Unchained is going to be even more fun that I’ve been expecting.

Here’s where I end up: Our belief from the beginning was that the Seven Nights in Ireland style of conference — a vast excuse to behave badly far from home — was not for us. We bet on a real curriculum, a hefty regimen of demanding content, and our experience today shows that that bet will pay off.

I keep getting notes from very smart people whose identies I will keep concealed. The gist of their emails: “Kick Inman’s ass.” It seems like a worthy goal to me. BloodhoundBlog is the home of serious ideas on the RE.net, and BloodhoundBlog Unchained promises to be the locus of serious minds in wired real estate education. I don’t ever want for us to be anywhere but at the head of the pack.

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May 9, 2008

Thinking myself out of business: a lone real estate agent faces the future

by

Real Estate Broker

Author website

loner.jpg Agents get leads from different marketing strategies, both offline and online, but where will most of the leads come from in five years? Looking ahead I’d have to say leads will come mainly from one source — Google.

Unless something changes, Google has the lion’s share of searchers. As more and more home buyers use Google to search for area information and sites where real estate listings can be found, it becomes obvious for listing agents and buyer agents that search placement is, and will be even moreso in the future, vital to success in the real estate business.

Before I go any further, I’ll address opposition to this statement by saying that some agents will continue to be successful using marketing methods outside Google search, but I’m talking about the majority of agents working in the real estate business full time. I’m excluding the mega-agents who attract buyers and sellers through their star status and obviously superior abilities of attraction and promotion — the majority of agents will not be stars. Plus, even the offline efforts that give an agent exposure might be eclipsed after someone gets online to begin searching — an agent’s name might appear in a magazine, or a billboard, or through the mail, or a flyer in a store, or on a “for sale” sign on the street, but when the buyer goes back to their computer to search, another agent who has mastered the art of placement will pop up and lead the buyer in a different direction. I predict the online presence will become more valid in the buyer’s mind than offline presence as consumers learn to trust and depend on the net more and more.

I don’t believe Zillow and Trulia will be major factors in lead generation. If they survive, they will be a draw for those curious about real estate in general, but searchers will be more sophisticated and agents will be smarter about SEO.

It’s my opinion that the majority of agents will need to get good placement on Google in order to be successful. Google placement won’t be the ONLY way to market, just the most effective way 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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