BloodhoundBlog

There’s always something to howl about.

Archives (page 222 of 372)

February 16, 2008

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

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

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: , ,

February 16, 2008

Be Polite and Kind. To Everyone.

by

Mega-Producing Realtor

Author website

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_kindexhibit 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

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

Author website

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: , , , ,

February 15, 2008

City of Los Angeles Tenant Relocation Assistance

by

Real Estate Broker, Investor

Author website

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

Mega-Producing Realtor

Author website

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

The Real Estate Group, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake VA

Author website

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

Rust Belt Realtor

Author website

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

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

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: , ,

February 14, 2008

Choosing second-best could get you the best possible home

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

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

Real Estate Broker

Author website

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

February 13, 2008

The Odysseus Medal: Our own style of disintermediation brings us all closer to the liberty that is self-reliance

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

I’m not going to award an Odysseus Medal this week. The Short List candidates were very good, but nothing killed me, and I want for this award to celebrate work that is beyond excellent. But: I do want to cite two Honorable Mentions, two posts that I thought were very good, and which took us in directions we will need to travel as we come more and more to be our own sources of arcane information.

It’s funny actually: Our relationship as webloggers to the mainstream media is very much like our clients’ relationship to us. They want to take on more of the work that was once exclusively ours, just as we seek to take on more of the work that was once hidden behind the walls of print and broadcast outlets.

The two posts I am citing, The Proposed Solutions Are Going To Be Worse Than The Mortgage Crisis by Doug Quance and Barack Obama’s Mortgage Reform Policy by Morgan Brown, illustrate the kind of depth of understanding we can achieve when we apply ourselves. By now it seems likely that our presidential nominees have been chosen, and I look forward to this kind of thoughtful analysis of the real estate and economic implications of the candidates’ proposals.

Black Pearls we have, though, and more than just a few. Choosing one was a problem. The Black Pearl Award this week goes to Jim Cronin for Blogging Etiquette – The Blog Comment Policy – Do You Need One?:

Blogs are meant to be a two-way street.  We are blogging for an audience.  Engaging that audience to participate is a huge part of the the motivation and an element that can define a blog’s success.

So where do you draw the line?

What do you consider acceptable behavior by the audience, on your real estate blog?

For a lot of real estate bloggers, their blog is an extension of their business.  This means that their reputation, credibility, personality, works, message and even their career are potentially on the line with every article published.

What are you doing to protect the above?

The following are a number of items that range from mildly Read more

February 13, 2008

Are You Blogging For Speed?

by

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

Author website

I don’t subscribe to the theory that you will fail if you blog for leads. I blog for leads. Even now, I’m attempting to share some knowledge with my target audience in hopes that one will pick up the phone and say, “I want to do business with you”. Marketing communications (and blogging IS a form of marketing communication), are designed to garner potential customers. Many will proclaim that blogging is different; they are lying by omission. Pour a bunch of liquor in them and ask them why they blog. Eventually, you’ll hear the phrase “to communicate with existing and potential customers” in their response.

Dustin Luther and I discussed this at the Inman Connect NYC Conference, a month ago. If you click the link, and watch the video, I proclaim my “call to action” within 30 seconds. My opening (and concluding) line is, “We gotta get busy“. My theory is simple; in 2-3 years, the big guys will have caught on and beat us at our own game. They have the three important resources that you and I don’t have: time, money, and people.

Does that mean that you should throw in the towel? Absolutely not; quite the contrary. It means EXACTLY what I said; we gotta get busy. You need to be taking action today so that your 2011 is filled with listing appointments, from people whom you’ve met, through your interactive marketing efforts.

I break a lot of rules (or urban myths) because I recognize that my time as “America’s #1 Mortgage Broker” (that’s what Google calls me) is limited. Here are a few things I do to flood my inbox with e-mails and make the phone ring:

1- I syndicate my Mortgage Rates Report on 5-6 different sites. I am constantly being contacted by “experts” who warn me that I’ll be subject to the Google Duplicate Content Penalty. My two responses are:

a- When? If you click the Google Duplicate Content penalty link, you’ll see that the efforts are aimed at search engine spam, namely, Read more

February 13, 2008

Stash that cod-piece: I’m not waxed fruit and you are not a rock star

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

I should probably stop picking on this little nebbish, but he’s such a champion at leading with his chin that I find him hard to resist. His theme? “Rewriting the book on how to kick ass.” I wish I were joking. I’m gonna guess that he wasn’t among the first picked on the ass-kicking team in grammar school, and I’ll bet a large dollar he wasn’t even in huge demand for the coloring-outside-the-lines squad. I just love it, though, that he’s so completely dysclued that his ass-kicking theme song is entitled — wait for it — Unchained. And before you trouble yourselves trying to imagine Kevin Boer and Noah Rosenblatt in day-glo-hued spandex tights with huge cod-pieces — these two being Davison’s envisioned rock stars of real estate — stop for a moment to consider that we are talking about marketing in the world of Web 2.0. Rock stars are all about “Me, ME, MEEEE!!!!” This role belongs to the customer, not the vendor — this according to this same mental midget a few weeks ago. Brian Brady and I are rewriting the book on real estate marketing, an iterative endeavor that will see its next big advance at the real Unchained. But if you want to find a Web 2.0 star, it’s not me or Brian or Kevin or Noah. If I were to pick one person who best expresses what consumers are looking for in a Realtor or a lender, I would pick Dan Melson. There’s is nothing of a rock star in the man, but if “fiduciary” had a face, it would be his — and that comes through in everything he does.

I, very much on the other hand, command attention. The words I, me and mine are sweet on my tongue, and I have to admonish again and again that what I am teaching and what I am doing are two different things. One of the persistent delights of my life is how well Teri Lussier understands this, and how much she is able to pull out of the things I say. Dilberts like Davison live a Read more

February 12, 2008

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

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Late again. Sorry. I’ve had my Mac back since around Noon. Logic board this time, again no charge. In terms of replacement cost, I’ve got about 60% of a new computer for free. The back side is that I’ve never had to live with component failure — nor with the fear of data loss. Until Sunday, I had never backed up a Macintosh in my life. Today I made plans to buy a TimeCapsule.

Anyway, there are 12 entries on the short list this week, out of a long list of 78 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 9 pm MST Wednesday this week. I’ll announce the winners of this week’s awards soon thereafter.

Here is this week’s short-list of Odysseus Medal nominees:

< ?PHP $AltEntries = array ( "Alex Mather -- Improving Zillow's Neighborhood Gift Improving Zillow’s Neighborhood Gift”,
“Bonnie Erickson — MGIC Runs the Gauntlet MGIC Runs the Gauntlet“,
“Carson Coots — How Local Should You Go? How Local Should You Go?“,
“Doug Quance — Proposed Solutions Worse The Proposed Solutions Are Going To Be Worse Than The Mortgage Crisis“,
“Jay Thompson — NAR and Social Media Why the NAR Needs a \”Social Media Director\”“,
“Jim Cronin — Blogging Etiquette Blogging Etiquette – The Blog Comment Policy – Do You Need One?“,
“Jim Cronin — Worrying About SEO Why Worrying About SEO Is Detrimental to Your Real Estate Blog“,
“Kris Berg — I’m too sexy for my blog. I’m too sexy for my blog.“,
“Michael Creel — The Perils of Being a Realtor The Perils of Being a Realtor“,
“Mike Farmer — Fundamental Solutions Folk Music, Blame and Fundamental Solutions“,
“Morgan Brown — Barack Obama’s Mortgage Reform Policy Barack Obama’s Mortgage Reform Policy“,
“Paul Chaney — Becoming a social media leper Becoming a social media leper… many marketers are missing the whole point!“,
);
shuffle($AltEntries);

$radioGroup = “”;
$num = count($AltEntries);
for ($i=0; $i< $num; $i++) { $pieces = explode("\t", $AltEntries[$i]); $radioGroup .= "

  • “;
    $shards = Read more
    • February 12, 2008

    Greatest real estate agent in the Who?

    by

    The Real Estate Group, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake VA

    Author website

    The Setup…

    First of all…You need to visualize my situation. I am sitting in my PJ’s at 4 in the morning. Can’t sleep. Jen (that’d be Mrs. Eric…) is preparing for her Grandmother’s funeral which will take her to Massachusetts. I am contemplating deadlines at work, and issues, and how my four kids are going to survive with me the next three days…oh yeah…and 6 inches of snow and ice fell overnight…splendid.

    So I read Geno’s post about rehabbing and negotiation. (makes me smile–thanks Geno) And then I go to REW and check out the latest. And I visit Morgan’s blog…and find this. Conjured up by our own Mr. Bramlett, no less…

    The Reality

    The reality is that I hate SEO contests. In many cases, they bring out the worst in people and things. Google is not there to be tricked. They just want relevant stuff at the top of their search engine. They are about as much fun as Greg’s having in MacWorld these days. But, I am competitive as all get out and will (out of pride) have to enter this one…

    So…how do I solve the following equation? Enter contest to preserve manhood. Build true online authority (which is what I preach), instead of simply build links. Make new REALTOR friends from around the country. This contest is especially difficult since I do not sell real estate (see bio) and don’t care for the fame or adulation associated with winning…

    Maybe that’s the answer…not caring who gets the credit and focusing on paying it forward? Hmmm…here’s the link to my entry. I will offer ANYONE who offers to help me in a meaningful way a weekly email detailing my thoughts on how things are shaping up and how to BUILD authority and communities rather than be a link scrounge. (Ever notice that the Bloodhound Blog does just fine in the search engines and yet he happily links out to others?) I will also give the top 10 contributors a permanent spot on the post.

    Finally…it looks like Morgan is throwing in a pretty cool prize. A website? Like I said, I don’t need another 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