Month: February 2008 (page 5 of 8)

February 18, 2008

Three important real estate questions for an early Monday morning

by Greg Swann

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Another killer day yesterday, almost 1,600 unique visitors on a Sunday. We’d have been lucky to have half this on a Sunday two months ago — and we were doing great then!

Just everyday content — lender stuff, Realtor stuff and the long tail. But here are three interesting questions to ask yourself this morning:

1. In the greatest real estate agent in the world contest, how did Greg Boser get to be number one — for now?

2. Why is Eric Blackwell going to win the contest in the end?

3. If you have a geographical listing farm, how can you dominate every possible search term referring to that farm with multiple page one entries?

Eric already figured out the answer to question number one, and he may or may not share his results with you.

I think he’s pledged to tell you the answer to question number two, once he wins the contest.

For the answer to question number three, you’ll have to come to Unchained. As before, I’m not terribly interested in being your buddy, and I for damned sure don’t want to be your wet nurse. But we have some brand new ideas about driving traffic — just the kind of seeing around corners ideas you expect from BloodhoundBlog. If you’re in business to make money, we’re going to show you a better way to be found by your clients — and a better way of working with them once they find you.

Technorati Tags: blogging, real estate, real estate marketing

February 17, 2008

Just as a reminder, the theme song for the upcoming BloodhoundBlog Unchained Social Media Marketing Conference is “I won’t back down” by Tom Petty

by Greg Swann

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Oh, good grief.

Normally, when the RE.net goes through one of these public breast-beating episodes, I just stay out of it. I don’t read the posts, first because they’re stupid and comical, and second because there’s nothing that I’m going to say that’s not going to fan the flames. The arguments always turn on the Fallacies Tu Quoque and Two Wrongs Make a Right, as do all appeals to the mob, and people running in mobs are just an embarrassment to the idea of being a human being.

This is unintentionally hilarious, though, so I thought I’d quote it. If you don’t know what’s going on, I promise you it does not matter.

I’m going to leave my opinions out of the discussion in order to leave more space for these people to see the error of their ways, apologize profusely, and re-enter our community in a constructive manner.

Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Greg Swann, founder of BloodhoundBlog, which is justifiably famous for telling the straight truth, and this seems like an apposite moment to remind you that the theme song for the upcoming BloodhoundBlog Unchained Social Media Marketing Conference is “I won’t back down” by Tom Petty.

Here are the Heartbreakers performing that song at the Super Bowl:

If you’re looking for buddies — kindly folks who will forgive all your short-comings, at least until it becomes expedient to turn on you — this is probably not the place for you. If your plan is to commit egregious acts of cupidity or stupidity and somehow escape withering criticism — change the channel. If you entertain a Romper-Room-like dream of playing placidly with all the other special kids on the short bus — you’re on the wrong bus.

If, on the other hand, you want to learn how to organize your working life so that you never again have to take shit from morons, you’ve come to the right place. We are all about the ninety-and-nine here, and we are all about the work — deploying better ideas to do our work better, faster and more profitably. I don’t go out of my way Read more

February 17, 2008

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

by Greg Swann

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

We have 18 entries on the short list this week, out of a long list of 74 posts.

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

Ahem: Please don’t spam all your friends to come and vote for you. First, what we’re interested in is what is popular among people who would have been voting anyway. And second, I’ll eliminate you for cheating. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

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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“Brian Boero — Partial vision Partial vision“,
“Brian Brady — Are You Blogging For Speed? Are You Blogging For Speed?“,
“Dan Green — Ignoring Adjectives How Ignoring Adjectives Can Improve Your Understanding Of Mortgages“,
“Dan Green — Mortgage Rates Why Mortgage Rates Don’t Look Like They’re Coming Back Down Any Time Soon“,
“Geno Petro — She tried to make me buy a rehab She tried to make me buy a rehab…“,
“Harvey Edgecombe — Barack Obama versus the US Economy Barack Obama versus the US Economy“,
“Jay Thompson — Dale Stinton Stops By NARWisdom.com NAR CEO Dale Stinton Stops By NARWisdom.com“,
“Kris Berg — A lesson in push(y) marketing. A lesson in push(y) marketing.“,
“Kris Berg — In sickness or in health In sickness or in health – It’s viral.“,
“Mike Farmer — Due Diligence and Real Estate Due Diligence and Real Estate“,
“Mike Farmer — The Religion (Tyranny) of Niceness The Religion (Tyranny) of Niceness“,
“Mike Price — Armchair Quarterbacking Real Estate 2.0 Armchair Quarterbacking Real Estate 2.0“,
“Morgan Brown — McCain’s Mum on Mortgage Reform McCain’s Mum on Mortgage Reform“,
“Morgan Brown — New conforming limits New conforming limits – what will it do to jumbo loan rates?“,
“Nick Bostic — Save the World (and some money) Save the World (and some money)“,
“Teri Lussier — The training of the shrewd The training of the shrewd“,
“Todd Carpenter — Why Google Page Rank Matters Perception Is Reality, Why Google Page Rank Matters“,
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February 17, 2008

Highly linked

by Richard Riccelli

Marketing Provocateur

Daniel Gross writing in Slate on how things got so, well, unchained. Key bit:

And so, since the bubble popped and home prices ceased to rise, desperate players in the market have taken a series of actions intended to delay price discovery in housing. Rather than cut prices, sellers began to throw in free cars or other inducements to buyers who paid the asking price. Brokers reduced their commissions. Builders started including all sorts of extras (fancy kitchens, pools, etc.) for no additional price. Every link in the chain sacrificed margins and profits rather than cut prices.

While I know most of you looking in are industry professionals, I found the writing crisp, the thinking clear, and the piece instructive reading for the rest of us in the run up to BloodhoundBlog Unchained on May 18th.

February 17, 2008

The Religion (Tyranny) of Niceness

by Mike Farmer

Real Estate Broker

The forms of tyranny we’re most familiar with are the examples of power and ruthlessness over the more genteel and non-violent. Countries without wide acceptance of rule of law and binding constitutions usually fall under the control of the most vicious and powerful gang.

But here in US, we’re more civilized, we fall under the control of niceness, PC and the egalitarian urge toward mediocrity. Many can hardly wait for those who rise to fall, those who succeed to fail, those who achieve to lose and those who speak a raw truth to be silenced. Pleasantville is home town and the middle is a feel-good state of mind.

However, even in Pleasantville the human trait for dominance exists and niceness is a large, sharp sword in the hands of those who would control through kindness. Those who fail the test of kindness are enemies of the state (of mind). Those who are most kind are the leaders – their subjects strive to be more kind and they hate the unkind. Who are the unkind? Well, that’s usually decided by the leaders of the kind and depends on alliances.

The irony is that the kind can be unkind if it’s for the greater good of the kind, because niceness is subjective and must be determined by the wisdom of the leaders of the kind. Usually the unkind are those who think and act differently than the kind. If the kind believe that group support of self-esteem is more important than honesty, then those who say anything detrimental to the self-esteem of a member of the kind is unkind and therefore not nice, an enemy to be destroyed, even if they are destroyed by unkindness. It’s for the greater good of the kind.

Who doesn’t want to be kind? The number of kind is many because kindness is a virtue and niceness is the religion of the kind. Sometimes the unkind have done nothing but speak their minds, yet in speaking they’ve crossed the line of acceptable honesty and violated the code of kindness and therefore a legitimate target for unkindness for the sake of survival of Read more

February 16, 2008

Thanks to BloodhoundBlog’s readers for being a part of our biggest week ever

by Greg Swann

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

We’ve been doing very well since the start of the year, but this week just ending was the biggest ever in the history of BloodhoundBlog.

Our file server crashed for over four hours this evening or we would have broken 14,000 hard clicks for the week. Our main readership comes to us by RSS and email subscriptions, but hard clicks are often the source of new subscribers. We had two days this week where BloodhoundBlog scored over 2,500 unique visitors, more than double what we were doing at the end of last year.

What was the huge controversy that brought all this traffic? You guessed it: Conforming loan rates.

This was a big week for us, too, because we were finally able to launch BloodhoundBlog Unchained. There are a million Realtors and a million lenders out there who need to find a way to blend their traditional marketing into the Web 2.0 world, and we’re grateful that we have the platform and the opportunity to teach what we know — even as we are learning everything we can.

How did BloodhoundBlog get this big, this fast? We’ve never cared about traffic, and because of that we’ve never cowered or catered or kow-towed to anyone — and we never will. Speaking only for myself, I have never cared about being popular — very much the contrary! What I do care about is telling the truth — completely. That we are where we are is as much a testament to your integrity as it is to ours. For this I am very grateful.

But hang on tight. We’re in for a hell of a ride — and we’re just getting started.

Technorati Tags: blogging, real estate, real estate marketing

February 16, 2008

Be Polite and Kind. To Everyone.

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

I don’t think it is right to attack people who have a social personality. All harsh attacks should be reserved for those to be_polite_and_kind exhibit anti-social traits. Whatever is necessary to expose them and render those people impotent is not only alright, it is vital for the survival of society. But to attack the personality of someone because they hold a different viewpoint or propose ideas that one does not agree with is an attack on the social fabric that binds groups together and therefore the group itself. The fact that someone is more intelligent than another (and would therefore have superior powers of observation) is seldom (never?) a reason to treat the other person with rudeness. We are all here together. It is good that we have differing views. That is what makes communication interesting.

The blogosphere is a community. It is a group.

February 15, 2008

Unchained Pioneers: Podcast with Brad Coy and Andy Kaufman on how they hope to benefit by coming to BloodhoundBlog Unchained

by Brian Brady

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

I had a great talk with Social Media Marketing pioneers Andy Kaufman and Brad Coy this afternoon. They were among the first folks to register for BloodhoundBlog Unchained. If you click on the podcast linked below, they’ll tell you in their own words the benefits they hope to bring home from their trip to Phoenix.

Technorati Tags: blogging, real estate, real estate marketing, real estate training, technology

February 15, 2008

City of Los Angeles Tenant Relocation Assistance

by Cheryl Johnson

Real Estate Broker, Investor

Rent Control took effect in the City of Los Angeles in 1979. In February, 1986, provision for tenant relocation assistance was added by amendment. For the purpose of relocation assistance, the ordinance recognizes two categories of tenants: Eligible – which is basically everyone, and Qualified – which is any tenant with one or more minor children, or over age 62, or disabled.

The original amendment mandated that when a landlord evicted a tenant for the landlord’s own occupancy, an eligible tenant would receive $1,000, and a qualified tenant would receive $2,500. The payment is per entire household, not to each person in the household. If the eviction is for non-payment of rent or other breach of contract, relocation assistance doesn’t apply.

The relocation assistance amount was increased over the years, with the change taking effect July 1 of each year. In July 2005, the amount due to eligible tenants was up to 3,200, and the amount due to qualified tenants was $8,000. On July 1, 2006 the amounts increased to $3,450 and $8,550.

Remember the real estate market in late 2006 and early 2007? It was still pretty hot, Developers bought up aging apartment buildings, paid the tenants the required relocation, then tore the apartment buildings down to build condos.

On April 11, 2007, in emergency session, the city council voted in new relocation assistance amounts, effective immediately: For eligible tenants, $6,810 if they have lived in the unit less than 3 years, $9,040 if they have lived in the unit more than 3 years, For qualified tenants: $,14,850 if they have lived in the unit less than 3 years, $17,080 if they have lived in the unit over 3 years. The city council figured that’ll make the developers think twice before throwing any more tenants out on the street.

I can’t speak for developers, but I can remember when first time home buyers would consider a duplex or triplex as their first property purchase, with the intention of living in one unit, and letting the rents from the other unit(s) help with the mortgage payment. These new relocation amounts pretty much shut down that particular little niche.

Council members Read more

February 15, 2008

Las Vegas Strippers Now Have A Prayer

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

This one is just for me. Maybe all of them are when it comes right down to it. But if my mission here was to help other agents have a more productive career I don’t see (even if this post isn’t written yet) how that will be accomplished by this particular post. I’ve been meaning to write this post for a couple of weeks and have kept putting it off. Of all the things in the world (and especially the real estate world) to write about this is what I use my time and energy writing about? Seems so.

Las Vegas strippers now have help. That is right – for those of you who like to closely follow the legal gyrations (not just the physical ones) regarding how strippers get paid – this post is going to make you feel better. A lot better. Due to a Nevada Supreme Court ruling, Mick Rusing can now bring a class action lawsuit against Las Vegas strip clubs on behalf of strippers. Scroll down just a bit on this page and check the lawyer’s credentials. This guy is the real deal. Quite an impressive resume. The legal maneuvers on this one have been going on a while.

Las Vegas club owners may need to change how they do business. Me? I haven’t been in a strip club since my future brother in law arranged for my bachelor party at one about 26 years ago. But if Mick wins and I can be sure that the girls get to keep all of the money, well that just might change things. I’ll have to check with my wife.

DON'T PAY STRIPPERS

February 15, 2008

The Results: Cautiously REALLY optimistic…

by Eric Blackwell

The Real Estate Group, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake VA

Our brokerage has been trying a NEW twist on a very old marketing method over the past several months. Integrated Voice Response is one thing. I have been doing that since before it was cool…(can you say Dialogic boards in the early 90’s?) and it has come and gone three times since then. I am NOT a fan of plain old vanilla call this # and punch in a code, although in some areas it can work. This new version was the old IVR on steroids and with some interesting twists.

Mind you, that my control group for this experiment was someone simply putting a cell phone # on a rider on a sign. And we are now seeing SIGNIFICANTLY better results than the control group with our method.

Here’s what we have done and where I think the distinctions are… Before we begin…no I am not posting brand names or anything of the sort. If you want to know, drop me a line. I will be glad to share. But I am NOT in the ad copy writing business for any firms. This is simply reporting results on a marketing CONCEPT.

#1) Instead of “codes” our system uses the street addresses to access the data – This seems to provide a significantly higher call rate.

#2) Our system pulls its data DIRECTLY from the MLS / IDX data downloaded every night. This has a HUGE advantage in that the use rate by agents in our office is MUCH higher -since all they have to do is put the sign out to get exposure.

#3) Our system puts english and spanish options up together without agents having to record a thing. We have 120 some odd agents…only 4 or 5 habla espanol…I imagine this is even more important in other parts of the country than Louisville, but it is important HERE as well. Reports back from our native spanish speakers really liked the quality…(was a concern for us)

#4) We tried riders on signs, but have found that a separate signs work better. (Note: I will edit this post in a bit with an Read more

February 15, 2008

The training of the shrewd

by Teri Lussier

Rust Belt Realtor

Wearing an outrageous Cosby sweater and sitting at a space age desk. Hand gestures that would appear to be practiced from the Floyd Wickman How-to series. I cringed when I saw the video. Andy Kaufman blogged about it, looking for the RE.net responses, my first thought was “Are you kiddin’ me?” Is the information dated? Is it relevant? Does it have a place in real estate today?

I think the truth is not what I want it to be.

Like it or not, I think Saul’s basic message is still relevant for many in the real estate world. A basic, gentle message about basic marketing, given by someone in a sweater similar to one of TV’s most beloved dads, well, that’s a comfort to many. I think Saul may understand his market better than I first gave him credit for.

A top producing agent in my office has listings because of the little boxes of mints with her picture and contact info printed on the box. Really. A top producing agent in a neighboring county wears a Carhartt jacket, a John Deere cap, jeans, and steel toed work boots on listing appointments. He lists and sells farms.

Where are you spending your time and money? Is it reaching the people you want to reach? Spending time online without really understanding why you are there is as effective as showing up to list a pig farm in your Jimmy Choos. Honey, those shoes are real purty, now how you gonna slog through the pig slop?

I learned a lot by watching Saul’s video. I learned that there is still a place for it. I learned that whatever you do, you have be smart about it, think about it, consider who you are marketing to and what is the most effective way to reach them. Maybe Saul is doing just that. So who are you marketing to? Anyone who reads the message? Do you carefully select your market and tailor the message to them, or do they select you, and once you’ve been selected, do you adjust the message to whoever keeps showing up in your Google analytics? Are you looking to dominate one market, or to get a piece of any market Read more

February 14, 2008

We’re finally ready to start selling BloodhoundBlog Unchained tickets — and you can get yours at the special Guerrilla price

by Greg Swann

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

We finally sorted out the details on the venue for BloodhoundBlog Unchained. We’re going to be at The Heard Museum Event Center in Downtown Phoenix on May 18-20th, 2008. Note the slight date change; that was a wrinkle in our negotiations.

The facility itself is beyond cool — a vast Phoenix mansion converted to a world-renowned museum of Native American culture and history — along with a spacious conference center and break-out rooms. Docent-guided tours of the museum will be available after conference hours.

But the big news today is that we’re finally able to start selling tickets for the event. And to reward the true Guerrillas who have hung in here with us through three months of arm-wrestling, we’re offering the full package — a $350 value — for $149.

That’s a limited-time offer, needless to say. We have limited seating, so we want to make sure the grunts on the ground get first crack at availability. By the time the corporate weenies pull out their gold cards, the price of admission will be quite a bit higher.

So: Get busy. Everything Unchained will be happening at the BloodhoundBlog Unchained weblog. If you go there now, you can click on the PayPal button to make sure that there will be a seat for you at BloodhoundBlog Unchained.

Technorati Tags: blogging, real estate, real estate marketing

February 14, 2008

Choosing second-best could get you the best possible home

by Greg Swann

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link):

Choosing second-best could get you the best possible home

Last week we talked about how, even with so many unsold properties, multiple buyers can somehow land simultaneously on the one property on the market that approaches perfection.

This is perfectly natural human behavior, if you think about it. Who hasn’t thumped a melon? Who hasn’t reached into the back of the cooler for the fresher milk? Who buys the brown ground beef when there’s redder meat available. We were not just born to shop, we will perish if we don’t learn to shop wisely and well.

It’s no different for houses. You have a certain amount of money available, and a certain selection available to you for that money. It’s completely natural that you would shop until you find the home that is far and away better than your other choices.

And it’s perfectly natural that other buyers would come to the same evaluation of the available inventory. They wold have bought the same melon as you, except you got there first.

But there’s still an important difference. A good melon is as good as it’s going to get, and a bad melon cannot get better. But a house can almost always be improved.

Here’s a melon-improvement strategy for financially-savvy home shoppers.

That home you fell in love with is almost certainly a production home — a tract home. Yes, it’s in great shape, and it’s staged to perfection. But guess what? There are three more almost exactly like it for sale on the same street. They’re not as clean, not as nicely-decorated, not as well-marketed — but that works to your advantage.

The difference between your dream home and what looks to you like a bad melon is really just a matter of money. If you put that money into the bad melon, it will be as good or better than your dream home.

So, rather than competing for the best house and paying top dollar, you can use it as leverage to get a lower price and seller concessions on a home that could be even Read more

February 14, 2008

For Greg – My Take On Politics and Real Estate

by Mike Farmer

Real Estate Broker

The fascination I have for politics is perverse, akin to the irresistible urge some have to watch Jerry Springer or to view the gory details of a hatchet murder. I’m serious about politics but cynicism has kinked my perception of candidates clawing and spinning their way to the top. We all are at fault for making the presidential race a spectator sport, and we are all at fault for allowing our government to become a feeding trough for special interests.

Republicans or Democrats, it seems to make little difference nowadays which pork-maker you choose, except in how it affects our special interests. Gone, it also seems, are the days people chose a president to lead our nation and protect our constitution, to secure our borders, to ensure adequate policing for the safety of citizens and to ensure rational judgment in courts of law. Now we choose according to special interests and how any certain gang in office will legislate to empower our special interest. We’ve become a balkanized nation and government has become the big daddy provider lording over the factions, pulling strings to create a power base. The candidate who can manipulate the most factions wins.

I have to believe that the loud voices of extremism that have taken over politics (because fanatics are more active than moderate, more sensible folk) have drowned out voices that are tired of speaking. That’s my take.

However, I think the game still has to be played, because the results of apathy are too serious to ignore. I’m a free-marketer, someone who believes in a limited government bound by the Constitution. I think a government unharnessed has the natural tendency to grab more and more power until it controls everything – that’s the nature of the beast and history has shown this over and over.

What does this have to do with real estate? Well, forget about current campaign issues for a minute and consider the bigger picture of a growing nation that’s evolving in the private sector from centralization to de-centralization – there is a movement from large metropolitan areas, a spreading out that technology has Read more

Month: February 2008 (page 5 of 8)

Three important real estate questions for an early Monday morning

by Greg Swann

Just as a reminder, the theme song for the upcoming BloodhoundBlog Unchained Social Media Marketing Conference is “I won’t back down” by Tom Petty

by Greg Swann

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

by Greg Swann

Highly linked

by Richard Riccelli

The Religion (Tyranny) of Niceness

by Mike Farmer

Thanks to BloodhoundBlog’s readers for being a part of our biggest week ever

by Greg Swann

Be Polite and Kind. To Everyone.

by Russell Shaw

Unchained Pioneers: Podcast with Brad Coy and Andy Kaufman on how they hope to benefit by coming to BloodhoundBlog Unchained

by Brian Brady

City of Los Angeles Tenant Relocation Assistance

by Cheryl Johnson

Las Vegas Strippers Now Have A Prayer

by Russell Shaw

The Results: Cautiously REALLY optimistic…

by Eric Blackwell

The training of the shrewd

by Teri Lussier

We’re finally ready to start selling BloodhoundBlog Unchained tickets — and you can get yours at the special Guerrilla price

by Greg Swann

Choosing second-best could get you the best possible home

by Greg Swann

For Greg – My Take On Politics and Real Estate

by Mike Farmer

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