There’s always something to howl about.

Month: May 2008 (page 8 of 8)

Do You Have Faith? — Belief? — Or Do You KNOW?

Take it from someone who for years did what he thought would produce, but in reality experienced haphazard results. There’s a huge difference in the quality of results (read: success/failure) when the actions taken to produce said results were proceeded by an easily defined thought — followed by a slamdunk belief in said thought — which generates behaviors, followed closely by expectations of successful results. It really comes down to this: We know what we know, and we tend to act on what we know. Not what we hope. Not what we theorize. What we know. If you say you believe something to be true, and you can honestly substitute the word ‘know’ for believe, you’ll succeed.

Make sense?

I understand for most readers, it’s certainly not a new concept. Most of us have heard various versions of this since somewhere in our childhood. Years ago, I experienced a spontaneous breakthrough of clarity. I was talking one day with someone who knew me too well. She compared the difference between my behavior when I strongly believed something to when she felt I knew something to be true. I demurred with much volume and histrionics until she smiled and gave me a few recent and inarguably concrete examples. I hung my head in shame.

She then asked me one of the most important questions I’ve ever had to answer. What methods of acquiring new business was I using knowing it would produce results?

Substitute the word ‘know’ for ‘believe’ and tell me what you think about your goals for this year, if you have them. Do you believe the methods you’re employing to attain them will work, or do you know? And for the record? This isn’t some Kumbaya, rah-rah, ‘ya gotta believe’ crappola for the soft headed out there who need to feel good for an hour or so.

The Point?

What we think of most of the time is what we become. (Paraphrased — hat tip to King Solomon)

If we’re consistently wondering if what we’re doing will produce the results we’re pursuing, we’re on the doubt train headed to who knows where. It’s Read more

The Simple Way To Get Personal Emails From Your Blog’s Readers

Make your email address publicDear real estate agent,

I was reading your blog and wanted to send you a personal note.  I couldn’t find your email address, though.  I followed the link to your Web site and your email wasn’t there, either.  Then, I Googled you.

No dice. 

As a last-ditch effort, I tracked down your broker’s Web site and clicked 12 times to find your agent profile.   I hoped your email address would be published.  It wasn’t.

I eventually picked up the phone to call you.  I asked your assistant for your email address.

Next time, don’t make me jump through hoops to do business with you.

Sincerely,
The guy who was reading your blog

Tom Waits dates for everyman: Glitter and Doom Summer tour will start at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix on June 17-18

I’ve been sitting on Tim Waits tour dates for about a week. I’m glad I did, because the itinerary has been substantially revised from the original announcement. In the new line-up, Phoenix will come first, with two dates at the historic Orpheum Theatre.

Here are all the dates announced so far:

  • Orpheum, Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 9:00 PM, Phoenix
  • Orpheum, Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 9:00 PM, Phoenix
  • Plaza Theatre, Friday, June 20, 2008, 9:00 PM, El Paso
  • Jones Hall, Sunday, June 22, 2008, 9:00 PM, Houston
  • Palladium, Monday, June 23, 2008, 9:00 PM, Dallas
  • Brady Theatre, Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 9:00 PM, Tulsa
  • Fox Theatre, Thursday, June 26, 2008, 9:00 PM, St Louis
  • Ohio Theatre, Saturday, June 28, 2008, 9:00 PM, Columbus
  • Civic Theatre, Sunday, June 29, 2008, 9:00 PM, Knoxville
  • Moran Theatre, Tuesday, July 1, 2008, 9:00 PM, Jacksonville
  • Saenger Theatre, Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 9:00 PM, Mobile
  • Alabama Theatre, Thursday, July 3, 2008, 9:00 PM, Birmingham
  • Fox Theatre, Saturday, July 5, 2008, 9:00 PM, Atlanta

There will be a European leg to the tour, as well, but I haven’t seen any dates for that yet.

And: What does Tom Waits have to do with real estate? If for nothing else, he commands our attention with this perfectly apposite observation: “The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.”

How Do You Spell MLS?

Once, many years ago, I spelled CRB wrong and offended a bunch of brokers who held that designation.  I spelled it “CRS.”  Easy mistake for someone new to the REALTOR® business.  Heck, I hardly knew the difference between an agent and a broker back then, so how was I to understand what a big deal it was to confuse a couple of designations?  Of course, back then there were only a handful of designations – presently we have around 70 designations  that are recognized in the industry.  It must be really tough for a newbie to understand all the alphabet soup today.

It is probably also tough for a newbie to understand what MLS means.  Sure, the easy answer is Multiple Listing Service, but what is the purpose of the MLS?  I think many REALTORS®, and surely most of the general public, believe that the primary purpose of MLS is for collecting property data so it can be efficiently searched/distributed.  Even Wikipedia agrees with this common description of MLS.  Over the years, I have often been asked by sellers why they cannot enter their own listing in the MLS so it can be distributed like other listings.  This post details what I try to explain to these sellers.

Data distribution is certainly an important side function of MLS, but I argue that it is NOT the most important function.  If it were, then we should open up MLS to anyone who wants to enter a listing.  After all, if we had more data (including FSBOs, bank properties and government seizures) it would make data distribution even better. 

mlsTo understand what MLS’s primary function is, you need to go back to the beginning.  The first MLS predates the founding of NAR by more than 20 years.  It goes all the way back to 1887 in San Diego.  Needless to say, that original system was not computer based.  The first computerized MLS came about in 1975.  The public display of listings did not occur until the Internet explosion in the early 1990’s, and REALTOR.com was founded in 1997.

Okay, that’s more background than you probably wanted, Read more

Do you want to make sure your home will sell? Little things matter

This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link). (Incidentally, this kind of previewing is one of the reasons I developed the ideas that led to engenu. You can organize photos and details for a lot of houses into one web site, then you can easily reorganize them by conceptual categories (A-list, possibilities, rejects) as you go along.)

 
Do you want to make sure your home will sell? Little things matter

I tend to do a lot of previewing. I will go into houses alone to take photographs. My buyers and I then use those photos to draft a short-list of homes to view when they’re ready to see for themselves.

Because of this, I get to spend a lot of time alone in homes, looking at absolutely everything, with no distractions.

Here’s what I’ve learned from looking at thousands of homes for sale: Little things matter.

Is the home picked up, or are there clothes, toys and magazines scattered everywhere? Are there dirty breakfast dishes on the kitchen table? Dried up orange juice splotches? Toast crumbs? Are last night’s dirty dishes piled up in the sink?

Is the house clean? Does it look and smell like the cleaning crew just left? If I look for dirt, I can find it. But can I find it easily without having to look?

Is every room of the house packed to the walls with furniture? Are there pictures of every member of the family for three generations tacked all over the walls? Do the kids like dark blue, dark purple, dark black paint?

I can probably guess your religion by the stuff you own and the other stuff you don’t own, but my buyers should never, ever see symbols of your religion in the house. Why? Because it can be subtly off-putting to them without their even knowing why at a conscious level.

Likewise, if they can smell your cat — or the fish you fried for dinner last week — you’ve probably already alienated potential buyers before they have even given your house half a chance. Odors kill sales, so kill those odors now.

Fix any obvious defects. Read more

HR 5830: Here Comes The Bailout Act of 2008

The best thing about being suspicious of politicians is that you learn how they think.  I actually think this is a GOOD idea.  Libertarians will hate it but I think this bill has merit.

Remember my Bailout Post, in March?

I have a little idea about how to save the American real estate market.

Let’s start with the premise that lenders are taking 20-30% hits on short sales. Then, let’s have the US Treasury loan 30% of the balance, of the aggregate debt, to homeowners whom request it, in order to pay down the first mortgage (or second mortgage). If I have $200,000, in aggregate liens against the property, the US Treasury will lend me $60,000, to pay down those aggregate liens, to $140,000. This reduces the lenders exposure.

What type of loan will the Treasury make to homeowners?

The term can be for the lesser of:

1- the remaining term of the first mortgage

2- 65 less the age of the primary borrower.

The interest rate can be the corresponding term treasury rate, plus .5% (for administrative costs). Maybe we can use some of that “yield spread” to coerce a few mortgage brokers to “originate” this government debt (okay, that was completely self-serving). For a 42 year old, with a 27 year term on his first mortgage, the term of this new government loan (in second position) would be 23 years (65-42=23). If a 23 year treasury bond yields 4.1%, than the note rate for the new loan will be 4.6%.

Well, maybe the Members of Congress are reading Bloodhound Blog; it wouldn’t be the first time that happened.  Bryant Tutas reports on HR 5830, on Active Rain:

From what I’ve read, and understand, this Bill will give distressed Homeowners an opportunity to refinance with FHA at 90% of value IF their current Lender will agree to a short payment.

One of the caveats is that the FHA will own a piece of the action. When the borrower sells they will either pay, from any profits, a 3% exit fee (a percentage of the original loan amount) to the FHA or a declining percentage of any net proceeds, attributed to appreciation, Read more

Unchained, unplugged and off the clock…

I can’t think of any better way to make the real estate business rebound than having way too much other work to do. I’ve been writing Unchained content, juggling Unchained details, responding to a bunch of Unchained mail — all while negotiating and planning listings and working with buyers. Next week promises to be enriched with about three weeks’ worth of work, and we top it off with two Unchained preview shows on Friday.

Thus: If you’re in Phoenix on Friday, May 9th, Brian and I will be doing two 2.5 hour Unchained previews at the Mesquite Branch of the Phoenix Public Library (4525 Paradise Village Parkway North, Phoenix, AZ 85032). We’ll be talking to Realtors from 9:30 am to 12 Noon, and to Lenders from 1 pm to 3:30 pm. These two events are free — provided you pay attention — sponsored by Chicago Title and Mortgage Solutions of Arizona. RSVP with Lisa Capes at Chicago Title — 480-695-3136 — if you want to come.

Brian has been flat-out, too, which means he’s been too busy to raise the price for Unchained tickets. We’re still at $199 for all three days, so if you’re coming, you probably ought to commit yourself. Cathy has all the food taken care of, so your lunch and coffee and cookie breaks are on us. She and Brian have a Happy Hour event planned for Monday night, so everyone will have a chance to pick everyone else’s brains. The Radisson Phoenix City Center has a $69/night rack rate for Unchained students, although The Fairfield Inn is the hotel closest to The Heard Museum. Do you crave more details of a practical nature? Click and ye shall find.

Galen Ward owned our minds this week, for good reason, but, if I can, I’d like to turn your attention back to the idea of the unchained epiphany. This has nothing to do with the conference and everything to do with why we’re doing it. Chris Johnson and his wife had a little baby girl named Ruby. I’m sure he’s not busy enough, so I would point him back more than Read more

REALTOR.com to Provide Upgrades for All

Later this month, REALTOR.com will be announcing that many of the Premium Services for agents (services that Premium Subscribers pay for) will soon be available to all REALTORS®.  Services like multiple pictures, for instance, will be available on all listings.  This will provide sellers with better exposure of their property.

This change is actually a major philosophical shift for the largest, most popular real estate site on the web.  Essentially, they will be turning premium services into the new standard services and then developing new premium services.  If successful, the pace of innovation at REALTOR.com should pick up and the site may be morphed from a member nuisance, to a member service.  It is too soon to tell if this change will help REALTOR.com keep up with newer sites like Zillow and Trulia, but this is a positive start to a much needed change.

Want to be the greatest real estate agent in the world? You’ll need a solid plan, a lot of hard work, a little luck — and a web site. For the latter, you can compete for the site Eric Blackwell won in the “Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World” SEO contest.

Eric Blackwell is holding a raffle for the Real Estate Webmasters we site he won in the “Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World” SEO contest.

Tickets are $35 each, four for $100. Proceeds go to the Eco Preservation Society in Costa Rica.

Click over to Eric’s site for all the details.

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Louis Cammarosano to Speak at The BloodhoundBlog Social Media Marketing Conference brought to you by Zillow.com

What do you do with a guy who chooses to fight the lions in THEIR den?

You invite him to speak at the BloodhoundBlog Unchained Social Media Marketing Conference, brought to you by Zillow. That’s what we did and I think you’ll be pleased.

louis cammarosanoLouis Cammarosano, General Manager for Home Gain, has accepted our invitation to be a member of the UNCHAINED faculty. We’ll have him on a panel of “traditional marketing experts”, Tuesday morning for UNCHAINED. Louis will be discussing the evolution of Web marketing and share some of his personal experiences. Louis dipped his toe jumped into the Web 2.0 world earlier this year. In six short months, Louis built Home Gain Blog into a virtual RE.net powerhouse by adding some well-known authors. Google awarded his blog with a Page Rank 7 in its most recent sweep.

Bloodhound readers will recognize Louis from the Bloodhound Blog comments’ threads. He comments about poetry and web marketing. He comments about real estate brokerage . Louis is a bright guy so I’m sure we’ll be impressed with his contribution to UNCHAINED.

I made the comment about Louis walking into the lion’s den but I want to be clear about something; we didn’t invite him so that the Social Media Marketing junkies (like me) can throw tomatoes at the “leads guy”. Quite the contrary. Greg and I recognize that marketing is a mixture of various media. For some, Web 1.0 (or Web 1.5 as they evolve) platforms are VERY effective ways to garner customers. That’s why we’re having this “old skool” panel; it works for many people.

UNCHAINED is about efficacy. It’s an exploration into the evolution of all online marketing platforms to see where they might fit into YOUR personal media mix. We’re honored and grateful to welcome Louis Cammarosano to the UNCHAINED faculty.

P.S.- I was insistent about Louis coming to Phoenix on Monday. I haven’t met the man in person but I’ve had a great phone relationship with him. We’ll be throwing a little happy hour Read more

Is The Growth Of Media Good For Realtors?

New Avenues Of Marketing Exposure Are Exploding In Growth And Cost

Remember when there were only three broadcast television channels? Well, I know some of you – like me – remember. It was a simpler time, back then.

If you wanted to bring a product or service to market, there were limited channels to advertise – and because of this dynamic, the costs to exposure a large part of your audience to your ad was relatively cheap.

Not so, anymore.

Now, when a product or service is brought to market, it almost always has to be targeted to a specific audience – as few entities can afford the blanket coverage of yesteryear. Just take a look at what it costs to market a presidential candidate.

We see this happening in real estate, as well. The avenues where listings can be shown has grown to a visual cacophony. There are virtually thousands of places where buyers can find listings.

Somehow, I don’t see this as a great benefit to Realtors – or the public, in general.

Don’t get me wrong – I do believe that competition is good… and that having more than one way to market listings is good – but at what point does it become more of a hassle than it’s worth?

Would online auctions be better if there were a few dozen Ebay-like sites to buy and sell on? And if so, how would it benefit the people who were trying to buy or sell?

For some reason, I think not.

Oh, Canada! Your Zestimates are baking: Zillow.ca is in the oven

So: My belief would be that, regardless of Trulia.com’s nofollow policy on the listings it solicits from Realtors, brokers and brokerage chains, if you’re building things right at home, you should be able to beat any out-of-town infiltrators on your own listings.

So I looked up “718 West Moreland Street”, which isn’t even my listing, but which I wrote about in my own Trulia post a couple of weeks ago. My links are coming in in positions 1, 2, 3 and 4 and Trulia is at number 6. Your mileage may vary.

Next up, “12214 West Madison Street”, which we listed 13 days ago. The home’s single-property web site comes in first and second. Trulia isn’t there at all yet, but guess who comes in third? Yes, its underdog victorious Zillow.com. I tweaked David Gibbons a couple of days ago about his uncharacteristic silence, but I knew this meant that Zillow had to be working on SEO. With Zillow, you can learn a lot from the questions they won’t answer.

Here’s a third one: “1322 East Vermont Avenue”, which we’ve had listed for about a month. We definitely believe in networked cross-linking on our own sites, so as I look at my results for that search today (all of which might change at any instant), we’re coming in first, second, third, fifth and sixth out of seven hits on google, with the single-property web site again in the dominant position. Trulia.com is in fourth place, behind a weblog post I wrote about the Vermont house on DistinctivePhoenix.com — a PR4 weblog.

Can I call this established? If you’re building your own web sites properly, Trulia.com should not be able to beat you. Any disputes, disclaimers or caveats?

But here’s what’s really interesting: Position number seven is occupied by Zillow.ca. I don’t know how many houses there are in Canada, but it looks like they’re about to get Zestimated.

If a sphinx-like creature, his gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, should like to offer up some details, I’m all ears.

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