BloodhoundBlog

There’s always something to howl about.

Month: May 2009 (page 5 of 6)

May 8, 2009

Query: Should the Bloodhounds write a book?

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

I can’t believe I’m writing this, at this hour. My weariness from this week hasn’t had a chance to overcome my leftover weariness from last week. Sooner or later I’ll make enough money to check into a rest home!

But: Brian Brady, Richard Riccelli and I have been talking about this all week, and I thought I’d run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.

So:

Should the Bloodhounds write a book?

If so, what book should it be?

I’m the worst anti-dead-tree snob there is, but the Gary Keller books have proved that print still has legs. We want a way to get through to the 99% of agents and Realtors who have but barely dipped a toe into the Web 2.0 waters. It seems clear that we have to carry the word to them in a format they can (literally) grasp.

So how would you advise us? I know what I want, and I know what Brian wants and what Richard wants. What do you want? What would you want if you were a punter on the sidelines wondering if the topics we take up here are worth worrying about? What might you want if you were a consumer, not someone in the real estate business?

I’m interested to hear where your thoughts run.

May 8, 2009

Multiple blog hosting and your files. A Project Bloodhound inquiry for DIY WordPress publishing.

by

Realtor, Urban Jedi

Author website

I’m in need of clarity. Being mostly clueless to the concept of file management and hosting in general has led me here by way of looking to publish more then one blog.  That, and after spending far too much time with “online and phone help” with what should be a simple domain name transfer for Yahoo to Godaddy, I’m at my wits end.   Word to the wise.  If someone offers you a domain name for $1.99, don’t bite.

Here’s the deal. I have a “deluxe hosting account” with Godaddy which runs me, I think, around $6.50 a month and gives me what I need. ( I know your bluehost mediatemple whatever is better and that’s not the fix here ).  Focus.

When I started another blog, I created a new database via my SQL database and now this blog lives in a folder under the main account as well (see below).

hosting-control-center-file-manager-1

So from what I gather, with 25 databases I can run 25 different sites under this one account, right?   The databases (sites) just become sub-files of the main account.  If I’m off, just let me know.

One other thing that puzzles me (utter ignorance) is the file placement in my directory.  I was going by the intructions given to me by the help desk at Godaddy, and what you see is what I ended up with.   Could you all give me a little insight to whether this looks OK or not?

Assuming that everything is set up right so far, my next question would be, what is the advantage of opening up a separate account for a new site?  With each and every domain I purchase, I am offered a free “Economy hosting account”, which of course will not allow you to host WordPress.   To do this, I would need to open another “Deluxe hosting account”.

Any insight here would be appreciated.  I plan on helping my wife with her own site and hosting and I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to get her set up separately or just run hers with mine.

Many thanks. If I get somewhere with this, Read more

May 7, 2009

I received the Nobel Prize in Real Estate Today!

by

Realtor, Tech Connoisseur

Author website

Sorry if I’ve been a bit punchy – I think there’s a 9 hour time difference between Stockholm and Berkeley.. and those guys call on their schedule, so they woke me up in the middle of the night.  This is a picture of my neighbor Albert, and he plays a role in the story … keep reading on.

Albert Ghiorso who discovered more elements than any humanoid in the galaxy

The phone call came early this morning!

I’d heard the rumors, but was thrilled to find out that I received the 2009 Nobel Prize for Real Estate!

It was awarded for two different discoveries:

The Quantum Theory Of Home Buying and
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle of Real Estate

Quantum Theory
After a buyer writes an offer on a home, they either get the house… or they don’t get the house – there is no other state

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
The act of writing an offer on a home changes the home’s final sales price… even if you’re uncertain as to what the other offers are.

If there are multiple offers on a home, and you write a low priced offer, your probability of getting the home is very low. You affect the outcome, because someone who really wants the home will raise their bid and the home sells for a higher price!

And how does Albert Ghiorso fit into the quest for my Unified Real Estate Database Field Theory of Data Integration? He’s my inspiration.

Albert, one of our 90-something year spry neighbors, was co-discoverer of more elements than any other person in the galaxy! Albert’s Wikipedia entry lists the following elements:

* Americium ca. 1945 (element 95)
* Curium in 1944 (element 96)
* Berkelium in 1949 (element 97)
* Californium in 1950 (element 98)
* Einsteinium in 1952 (element 99)
* Fermium in 1953 (element 100)
* Mendelevium in 1955 (element 101)
* Nobelium in 1958-59 (element 102)
* Lawrencium in 1961 (element 103)
* Rutherfordium in 1969 (element 104)
* Dubnium in 1970 (element 105)
* Seaborgium in 1974 (element 106)

Cogito Ergo Blogo in Berkelium Californium Americium

Degrees Of Separation
I looked at the San Francisco Chronicle’s list of Bay Area Nobel Prize winners, and realized I was one or two degrees of separation from several…. one neighbor works with someone who won the award in Read more

May 7, 2009

The Funnel: the Leak in my Marketing Efforts!

by

Realtor, Media Mogul

Author website

Leaks and Managing the Marketing FunnelI’m not cursed with having to get things perfect.  I don’t know if the 70% solution describes me either.  My goal is the 90% or better solution with 20% or less of the effort it may take others to get there.  Tools like engenu warm me to the core!

The Unchained crowd sets a complete new standard for real estate folks I’ve been around.  I have work to do on everything after Unchained.  But, at least I know a bunch of things to do, and who to talk with if I get stuck.  I can’t think of anything more powerful than that.

So, my list includes most everything.  In no particular order, webinars, SEO, engenu sites, focused CPC advertising, social media and what is for me the most fun, the Gonzo, unforgettable marketing.

But that sales funnel management still has me flummoxed.  I don’t give much due to the “automated” touch from a system.  I’m so good at filtering that type of thing, and give it so little credit, that I know that my incredibly smart friends and clients won’t like it either.  The experience from these systems just seems so lacking.  But I won’t argue that they can work successfully for a business.  Maybe I just don’t have the discipline to sustain them properly.

For me, a funnel that integrated with something like facebook might be better.  All I might really need is a periodic reminder to say something to those I’ve forgotten to contact in awhile.  If it automatically tracked who I had been in touch with, it becomes easy to use.  Frankly, that would be a great way to make sure I’m keeping in touch with my friends as well.  Which brings me to the crux of the issue; my clients and associates are a great many of my friends.  I need a reliable approach that treats them that way.

Do I feel like I need to “touch” my clients a dozen times a year?  Maybe not if the times I do engage with them are actually meaningful, memorable or gonzo enough.

Once I get some of the other things done, I won’t be Read more

May 7, 2009

The Seven Deadly Sins of a Business Relationship: How Not to get Jacked around in the New Economy

by

Instigator, anthill kicker.

Author website

We’ve all been there.  We’ve done a deal or two with someone that leaves us invigorated happy and ready to do business again.  We’ve also had one of those deals where everyone feels pissed off, beat up fried and angry.   My mission in life is to identify–in advance– the 5% of my customers that cause 60% of the headaches.

Since forever, I’ve been tagging people with pejoratives du jour in ACT.  The tagged?  Folks that suck my soul dry, whose approbation would be an insult and whose company renders me insane.   I probably have too low of a threshold for idiots, but they get “ID/STATUS= Black hole,” etc.  This keeps me sane.   I had 2 recent deals that were brutally bad.  Not the normal bad, brutal.  Life sucking wastes that I had multiple opportunities to abandon and failed to do so.  Would have been better off watching my kid at the jungle gym…or smacking my toes with a ball-peen hammer.  Both were files & projects I opened in December….and expected to finish in January.    Both are still ‘ongoing,’ swimming in a sea of endless revisions.

Reminds me of the days  when  I was a Realtor® and I’d get investors (and also “investors,” fresh off a Mountain Dew fueled epiphany with Carlton Sheets) saying to me, “Hey, if you list my house for free, I’ll give you all this work in the future…but remember, I expect my flier box to be FULL at all times, ads to be running in the local paper version of part of the Internet, and more.  Oh, by the way I’m a Strong Christian, have you made your decision for Christ?”

Yeah, those transactions were never any fun.

I went through my ACT! 6.0 database in conjunction with my move to Daylite CRM (highly recommended and imperfect, will review in a copula days on my own blog).   I did a search on my PC for my pejoratives.  In a database with 911 valid contacts–(1600 total, but most were web form people that never met me)  only 41 were marked as a jerks/wasteoids/etc.

What do they all have in common?  How are Read more

May 7, 2009

Home Prices and “The Rest of the Story.”

by

Mortgage Officer

Author website

In case you haven’t been able to tell, I’ve been a little frustrated (okay a lot frustrated) with the markets lately.   Why?   Am I asking for bad news?

Nope, I’m looking for straight talk and reality and I don’t believe we’re getting that right now.   I don’t believe that:

  1. That the government is telling us the whole story in terms of the health of the banking world.
  2. That the statistics that supposedly show the market is recovering are truly that.   Since when is a “slowing of the pace of decline” a sign of recovery?   Bad at a slower pace doesn’t mean it’s good.
  3. That the true story on the devastation that the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler is going to mean to our economy is truly being acknowledged and prepared for.   Preparedness is essential and we’re missing the boat on that one.

I’ve spent 20 years trying to help people manage their money and their real estate investments wisely and it’s never been more challenging than it is now.

So, I’m going to keep preaching the world the way I see it.   It isn’t pretty and it isn’t nearly as pretty as the main stream media would like you to believe.

Ask yourself this, when it comes to analyzing and understanding the economy, who would you put more confidence in?   Brian Williams and Katie Couric or Paul Krugman and Nouriel Roubini?

I’ll be on Paul and Nouriel’s side every time.

Tom Vanderwell

U.S. Home Prices May Be Lost for a Generation: John F. Wasik – Bloomberg.com

We might be looking at a lost generation for U.S. home values.

Far too many analysts are calling a bottom to the housing market after home prices in 20 metropolitan areas declined at a slower pace in February, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Index.

Don’t be blinded by the glint of optimism in headlines about rising consumer confidence and slowing price declines. Demographic and market realities tell a more sobering story.

You won’t see a widespread housing rebound in an economy in which 600,000 jobs a month are lost and foreclosures ravage the most overleveraged areas. These are just the visible barriers to a recovery.

Mortgage lending has Read more

May 7, 2009

Stress Tests and Wells Fargo: A Tin Foil Hat Production

by

Real Estate Renaissance Man

Author website

Today the Fed releases the results of the banking industry “stress test.”  You remember this test right?  The Fed created a scenario of economic failure well beyond what is already the worst economic downturn in seventy years.  They then evaluate the banks’ ability to withstand this Armageddon against the Fed’s own made-up base line.  (Let’s not cloud the issue with the idea that the economy is already turning around.)  They then tell the banks which failed the made-up test to take some very not made up actions: increase assets.  How?  Well, that’s the easy part: you can raise private funds (a very tough hill to climb in this credit market), you can accept more TARP funds (that many of them didn’t want in the first place) along with the business stifling, government mandates that go with them, or… you can simply convert the government’s preferred stock into common stock (thus increasing the government’s control of the bank – sometimes to a majority stake).

Interesting results: Bank of America needs roughly 35 billion dollars (despite the $45 billion dollars already given them by the Fed in exchange for preferred stock).  Isn’t this the same bank that took over Countrywide at the Fed’s behest and backing?  It seems that by following the Fed’s request, Bank of America is now more likely to be owned by the Fed.  But let’s leave that bit of conundrum alone.  Let’s take a look at Wells Fargo – by far the strongest of the major banks.  Let me ask you: which was the only major bank to have their results leaked way back on Monday?  Wells Fargo.  Which was the first major bank to ask to return the TARP funds they were forced to accept?  Wells Fargo.  Which is the only major bank not on life support?  Wells Fargo.  When the Fed tested the various banks’ liabilities, which is the only major bank with a portfolio that does not contain 100% financing, option arms and teaser rates?  Wells Fargo.

I don’t know what the Fed’s intent was because I’m not in the group creating the long term plans of this Read more

May 7, 2009

Squeeze more Google SEO Juice from your photos & video

by

Realtor, Tech Connoisseur

Author website

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

True, but if you want Google to wake up and smell the roses (or in my case, espresso).. you need to give them what they want.
Some documents need time stamps – yyyy-mm-dd-hh-mm-ss-what-it-is.xxx implicitly sorts in chronological order. 24 is too intense for me, but a great way to time stamp.

Most articles are best renamed with keywords.  When we travelled to London, I created a PDF of the London Tube, emailed it to my iPhone .Mac account, and had a nice bright scalable map easy to read on my iPhone in dark, cold and wet London.
Here’s the file name I used:

uk_london_tube_map.pdf

I gives me everything I need to find the file on my computer.  Being a digital kind of guy, I use the 2 letter International Internet Codes or State Code as a prefix.

th_bangkok_wat_pho_reclining_buddha_01.jpg

Back in ancient times (i.e. before taking the Bloodhound Unchained class last week), I would have used a more cryptic code, but Greg’s engenu batch creates ALT tags from the file name, so all my file names will now have embedded keywords for SEO juice.

th_bk_wp_reclining_bdh_01.jpg
But the bits are free.. no extra charge for using more of them…though I would like someone to tell me if I need to stay within an XXX character limit.

Adobe Bridge (Mac & Windows) is superb for organizing and renaming photos and movies.

May 7, 2009

Paper is so 20th Century – Think Bits, not Atoms

by

Realtor, Tech Connoisseur

Author website

More and more I simply create Adobe Acrobat files rather than print articles onto …. paper.

I love reading the New York Times .. Sunday print editions… and literally bookmark the page.

Then go to nytimes.com, find the article, use the full version of Adobe Acrobat to “Create PDF from Web Page”.  I rename the page and save it.

By using Acrobat to create the PDF, the link are all active, the page is scalable (I can zoom in), and the PDF almost always looks exactly like the web page.

May 6, 2009

Twitter? I barely even know ‘er.

by

Database Marketing Expert

Author website

More speculation this week surrounds Twitter – word has it Apple’s dangling $700 million in front of them.  Well roll me up in saxony carpet and toss me on down the stairs – but I don’t get it.

If I’m understanding this correctly, the object of Twitter is to get as many complete strangers as possible to “follow” you.  In return, you’ll be a swell guy and follow them back.  The next step is to “Tweet” mindless nonsense so your “followers” can ignore you in 160 characters or less.

Now that’s not to say that everyone’s Tweets are nonsense and ignored.  Only about 99.5% of them.  The other .5% are gems worthy of “Re-Tweeting”.  Huh?  I guess blogging’s become oh-so-2006, which is a bummer because I’m just starting to get the hang of it.

As Twitter-mania spins out of control, we have CNN battling Ashton Kutcher in a race to 1 million followers (which got me thinking, what’s Ted Turner’s commission rate on the $700 million?).  An NBA player is reprimanded by his coach for “Tweeting” during halftime of a game.  Oh the humanity!

I have a lot of questions, and I know that the Bloodhound Nation is the right place to turn for answers:  Is Twitter the new SPAM?  What happens when each of us follows 2,500 people and 2,500 people follow us?  Do we then just hire an assistant to sort through our daily tweets?

If you’re pro-Twitter, I’d love to hear how you’re putting it to work for you.  Are you seeing tangible results?  If so, are they scalable – ie:  will they diminish w/ clutter or do you foresee future success as Twitter grows?  Where does Twitter rank in your Social Media hierarchy?

More importantly, is Twitter a fad?  Apparently Apple doesn’t think so.  Where do you guys see Twitter a couple years down the road?

May 6, 2009

Why Don’t REALTORS Solicit Lenders For Buyers?

by

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

Author website

REALTORS constantly solicit banks and mortgage lenders for REO business.  Why isn’t the producing REALTOR, as a matter of course, soliciting business from loan originators?

I posed this question at Unchained Phoenix ’09 and you would have thought I asked the REALTORs to walk on coals…at first.  A few bright agents listened to my reasoning:

  • I talk to lots of people and do a FAIR job at managing my database.
  • I subscribe to a service that notifies me when a past client’s home is listed (so I can jump on the new loan).
  • I lend nationally although that doesn’t matter.
  • I don’t charge a referral fee for relocating buyers; I just want their new loan.

Agents often consider themselves to be the center of the relationship but most don’t manage that relationship, post-closing, very well:

In finding a real estate professional, 44 percent of buyers were referred by a friend, neighbor or relative, 11 percent used an agent from a previous transaction, 7 percent found an agent on the Internet, 7 percent met at an open house and 6 percent saw contact information on a “for sale” sign. Six other categories accounted for smaller shares each.

The light bulb went off for Cindy DiCianni when I suggested that she look at last year’s business to discover the source city; she helped nine San Diegans settle in Kansas City in 2008.  She promptly added me as a “referral contact” to her database.  Alice Held did the same, promising me an invitation to her Holiday Party.

Teri Lussier asked me about this in an e-mail today:

Lenders court Realtors. Do Realtors court lenders? Often?

Of course we court REALTORs and REALTORs never court us…NEVER.  I think that’s really dumb.  Forget that I’m “just the lender”.  I’m a “person” who has influence.  I’ll most likely encounter a relocation to Dayton (or Kansas City) once every three years.  if you’re tryng to close 24 transactions a year, that means you should market to 75-100 loan originators, around the country.

What would a lender like/need/want in order for me to be their go-to Realtor of choice?

If you’re in San Diego, a monthly phone call wouldn’t hurt.  Read more

May 6, 2009

The Smell of the Grass, The Crack of the Bat, The Bombs Bursting in Air

by

Realtor, Newlywed

Author website

John McGraw and Connie Mack were talking Baseball a while back.

“I’m looking to add some new talent” McGraw told Mack.

“There’s lots of talent around these days” Mack replied.

“Yeah, but none of them have passion for the game anymore. They’re all just Nancy boys,” John said.

“Well, have you looked at that Cowan kid up in the Northwest league?” Connie said.

“Yeah, he looks promising but I wonder if he has the moxie to make it here in the bigs?”

“Why don’t you bring him down here for spring training and see if he can hit the breaking ball?”

McGraw telegraphed Seattle asking to have Cowan sent down to Phoenix for spring training. When he got to Phoenix, Cowan was as wide-eyed as they come. He sure looked out of place down in the valley of the sun. “I’ve never been to big leagues spring training before” he stammered.

“Well, just keep your eyes open and learn” McGraw said. McGraw and Mack put the entire team through their paces. The practices were hard and they were long. The spring sun was a warm and welcome change from the dreary gray skies up in Seattle. Everyone at spring training worked hard and did everything the coaches had them do.

There were some really talented folks. Many veterans were in camp, and they led the way. Years of experience made the veterans both savvy and polished. The rookies listened, and learned from the veterans. Soon it was obvious that McGraw and Mack had built another winner of a team.

McGraw and Mack called for Cowan after practice late one afternoon. “Kid, we like your style. Welcome to the show,” and then they walked away.

Well, that’s not really what happened but it sure would have been cool if it had. While down in Phoenix for Bloodhound Blog Unchained, McGraw I mean Greg, asked me to contribute here at Bloodhound Blog. I feel like a rookie who just got the call up to the ’27 Yankees. The murderers’ row of writing talent here is without equal. I only hope that I can carry the water for the team. What I Read more

May 6, 2009

Meet the new dogs: Six new Bloodhounds to fill out the pack

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

We added six new BloodhoundBlog contributors last Friday at BloodhoundBlog Unchained. Actually, we added seven, but Dave Smith of the Real Estate Blog Lab has elected to take a pass for now to free up time for other projects.

It’s no accident that all of these folks are coming out of Unchained. A year ago, BloodhoundBlog Unchained was something that we did. By now, it’s something that we are. The blog and the events are conjoined, like a two-headed Cerberus, and each generates content and cultivates talent for the other.

One of the things we do here, one of the things we’ve always tried to do, is to make stars of our contributors. In a world without middle-men, the engaging expression of expertise should earn a writer a cachet of authority, and that authority should influence larger and larger audiences. We have built a big megaphone for talking to real estate professionals, and we want to make that megaphone available to the most creative and talented people we can find.

So: Here are the new dogs. I hope you’ll make them feel welcome.

It would be an understatement to say that Ira Serkes was the stand-out student at BloodhoundBlog Unchained. The man is a geyser of fascinating real estate marketing ideas, which he shares with an unrestrained delight. Ira and his wife Carol are Realtors in Berkeley, California. Ira co-authored “Get the Best Deal When Selling Your Home — SF Bay Area Edition” and Nolo Press’s best-selling book “How to Buy a House in California.”

Scott Cowan is a long-time friend of BloodhoundBlog. He organized our invasion of Seattle in February, and, while we were there, he signed on to work as a staffer for BloodhoundBlog in Phoenix. That is, he and Brad Coy served admirably as the Vice Presidents in Charge of Everything Else. Scott sells classic homes in the Tacoma, Gig Harbor, and the Puyallup areas of Washington State. If you want to make his day, ask him about the $8,000 home-buyer credit.

Kerry Melcher may be the most unlikeliest contributor to a weblog that has always endeavored to bring you unlikely contributors. Kerry is Read more

« Older posts Newer posts »

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.

Media Contacts