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December 23, 2007

Spoiler alert: Yet another post about you-know-what

by

Rust Belt Realtor

Author website

Been ruminating my little arse off this week. How about you?

I’m a hyper-local blogger. I’m on the Bloodhound Blog because of a contest Greg and I teamed up to compete in- my being here is kind of a fluke, and frankly the only reason I’m still here is because this is such a great pack of dogs with which to run, at this point I can’t imagine giving up this gig. I have no desire for fame or fortune in the RE.net, best evidenced by the infrequency that I post here. My focus is to build a fantastic and profitable hyper-local weblog. Does hyper-local weblogging work? As someone once said: That’s another post for another day. 

What I do is blog to a very specific group of people. I don’t blog for the RE.net, and if you check your MyBlogLog widget you can confirm that I rarely visit your blog. In my limited time, I visit blogs in Dayton Ohio. Those are the blogs that matter most to me and my local blog. 

I do Twitter though, and from that I’ve met quite a few RE.net bloggers, and I have completely enjoyed making Twitterfriends with each and every one of them. One of my favorites (yeah I got favorites, don’t you?) is Daniel Rothamel. There are very few RE.net bloggers I respect more than Daniel. We’ve had several offline conversations, and that is a RE.net relationship that I value. Earlier last week when he tweeted that he just posted a video, I didn’t hesitate to take a look. I like Daniel’s video. I did then, and I do now. I thought it went well as a link to a post on my home blog, so I added it without hesitation. Then Jeff Brown posted about it and fast forward to all hell breaking loose.

As I said, I don’t spend much time in the RE.net. I had no idea how much hell could actually break loose. At first I simply sat back and watched, taking my place among the elusive ninety and nine. Daniel and I even shared a gentle joke over the fuss. But then, (apparently true to form) I did begin to ruminate and Read more

December 23, 2007

Happy Holidays!

by

Mega-Producing Realtor

Author website

To: All Past, Present and Future Bloodhoundblog Contributers and Readers, who shall be referred to as “BHB Friends” or Happy Holidays“BHBF” for the purpose of this document. This an Official Russell Shaw Non-Denominational,
Holiday Greeting.

Dear Sirs, Madames and respective families, this non-transferable greeting is extended solely for the purpose of creating a feeling of “Joy” and general well being. The afore mentioned “feeling” may be enjoyed by BHBF and their respective “families” at the BHBF’s sole and absolute discretion on or about sundown on the 24th of December 2007 until, on or about sundown on December 26th 2007.

Furthermore this “feeling” is not in any way being extended for any other days including but not limited to; New Years, day or eve, Valentines Day, Easter, Labor Day, The 4th of July, Ground Hogs Day, Memorial Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, any and all religious and or ethnic holidays and or any day weather it be known or unknown that may arise out of any day be it celebratory or just an ordinary day. On said day the afore mentioned group of “BHBF”may refer to Russell Shaw only in reference to said holiday greeting.  This “greeting” is in no way an endorsement of any current or future posts on this or any other blog, or any other business that the “BHBFs” may be involved in at this time or in the future.

Any and all questions or comments arising out of this “Greeting’ should be forwarded to Russell Shaw’s statutory agent, per Russell Shaw’s incorporating documents on file with the Arizona Corporation Commission located in Phoenix, Arizona, for name and address of said agent.

Warmly,

Russell Shaw

P.S. Merry Christmas Everyone!

(I stole this entire idea from my friend, Mad Coyote Joe)

December 23, 2007

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

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

There are 36 entries on the short list this week. That’s a ton, but, even so, it’s less than half of what we started with. Given that it’s a holiday week, there was a lot of great stuff this week. We knew that going in, because both Jeff Kempe and Kris Berg hit home runs at the top of the week. 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 wasn’t warned.

Voting this week will run through to 12 Noon MST Wednesday to leave time between all the Christmas stuff. 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 ( "Dan Green -- Consumer confidence Showing How Consumer Confidence Surveys Lead Economists Astray”,
“Jeff Brown — Market correction The Truth — ‘They’ Don’t Have A Clue When This Correction Will End“,
“Teri Lussier — Selling vacant How to sell a vacant home this winter: Make like a Boy Scout“,
“Geno Petro — Bumper stickers How do I really feel about that, I wonder?“,
“Kris Berg — Prop 91 I’ve got a proposition for you.“,
“Jeff Brown — Bernanke Bernanke Goes To The Statue of Liberty Play — Bank System Scores“,
“Dan Melson — New Fed rules New Proposed Federal Reserve Rules: Is This Supposed to Be Helpful Regulation?“,
“Chris Lengquist — Credit problems Why We As A Nation Have Credit Problems“,
“Kris Berg — Next time There’s always a next time.“,
“Chris McKeever — Your way Your way, isn’t always the best way…“,
“Mike Farmer — Zillow Zillow — Microcosm of A Bigger Problem“,
“Trevor Smith — New Fed rules The One Law to Rule them All“,
“Morgan Brown — Struggling in quicksand Struggling in Quicksand – Why the Government Continues to Exacerbate the Problem“,
“Doug Quance — Musical chairs Musical Chairs With Brokerage Signs“,
“Glenn Kelman — TV tips Eyewitness “Today” Account + Twelve Live TV Tips“,
“Brian Boero — Redfin The school of Redfin, Part II“,
“Andrew Mattie Read more

December 23, 2007

Haiku (is for) for thumbsuckers

by

Chicago Broker Owner Realtor | RE 2.0 Blogger

Author website

Big eyes
Chubby thighs
Cute as a spoon
Carol Boone

The above little mind spill was my first and only critically acclaimed poem (if you consider scribbling on a 6th grade blackboard a literary forum, and being suspended from school the first week back from summer vacation, critical). I quickly chalked the ditty while ninety-and-eight of my classmates went scrambling into the cafeteria for their lunchtime milk and porridge, those teeming, hopeless non-romantics. The unenlightened are so…well, sixth grade.

The words popped into my head like a thumb snap and I felt at once, an uncontainable resolve to share with the world, my self-proclaimed perfect rhyme. She was the most social of all the pre-teen butterflies that term and had, with near lightspeed and between Harvest moons almost, evolved from her caterpillar larval state into the colorful and elusive Carolboonemus Papillionus. I hated her. I loved her. I would eventually do the elementary school equivilant of hard time because of her.

Actually, it was the cigarettes in my knapsack that got me sent away that day but the poem on the chalkboard didn’t help–the Administration wasn’t thrilled with the word thighs, or that I noticed they were in fact, a little chubby, or that I erased the first two (pretty important, apparently) letters of Pythagorean’s Theorem from the afternoon lesson of a higher grade.  And thinking about it now, it’s probably the only reason I even remember that darn postulate with all those right angles and square roots at all.

It was pretty clear from that juncture foward in life that I would never really be corporate (or political) material, no matter well I cleaned up.  My record was blighted early on. Perhaps I should have just begun working on my real estate career right then and there (it was after all, one of the easier tests I’ve ever taken). That, or started honing my free lance jingle writing chops for the likes of Leo Burnett, et al. Either way, one thing would soon become evident to this perennial independent contractor; no matter which way I turned in life, there stood I…straddling that always present line that was drawn by someone else–real, imaginary, or otherwise.

Let me point out that in the vast universe of the written word, Haiku (5-7-5, so what?), limericks and elementary school poetry rank only slightly above the Nursery Rhyme. Maybe below. You can argue if you wish but I stand pretty firm on this point. You Tube, in my opinion, also has to hover somewhere Read more

December 23, 2007

Technology is a TOOL Not a Solution

by

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

Author website

There is a formidable conference, next month, that entertains the marriage of technology and real estate. I’ll be sharing the stage with one of the guys who started the whole RE.net, Dustin Luther. Kris Berg, Jim Duncan, Dan Green, and Jay Thompson, all giants in this space, will be contributing to the collective conversation as featured speakers.

Technology and real estate brokerage is an extraordinary marriage that is approaching its 10th or 15th anniversary, amid a misunderstood and sometimes tumultuous relationship. If you attended one on Dustin Luther’s “Relevance on the Internet” seminars, you might remember his history of the courtship. Dustin explained that the tech guys saw the large margins in our businesses as an opportunity to profit off of market inefficiencies. Of course, when they got their heads under the hood they found that the engine runs a little differently than they thought.

Online mortgage lending seemed to be the easiest way to disintermediate my kind. My kind responded with an explosion of product offerings that made the consumers beg for a helping human hand. Today, as the popularity of the 30 year fixed conforming loan is rising, the opportunity to disintermediate, once again, seems imminent. The need to “de-commoditize” your service offering, as a mortgage adviser, is more prevalent now than ever before. The banks and government are conspiring to limit consumer choices and do away with my kind in a cartel-like affront not seen since James Fisk and Jay Gould tried to corner the gold market, in 1869.

Advise and timely execution is all an independent mortgage originator has to offer, right now. Our “wholesale access” to residential real estate capital is dwindling and the information advantage we hoarded is being liberated by the transparency of information technology. Yet the very tool that contributed to our demise, information technology, can be the most important weapon in our arsenal as we fight our way to survival.

Success in this game will be a migration towards the concept of fiduciary from the bonds of functionary. If the consumer values you as Read more

December 22, 2007

A golden rule for Teri Lussier — and for you

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

My eighth grade civics teacher was a big bear of a man named Russell Hazelton. He was a part-time preacher for a hard-line fundamentalist sect, and he was as dapper a dresser as a big man can get to be on two small salaries. The very first day of class he was deliberately about 90 seconds late. He wanted for everyone to be in the room and settled down so he could stalk into the classroom, turn, look us all over with the two ablative lasers he had for eyes and then bellow, “First impressions… are lasting!”

Was he wrong?

I remember every detail of my first impression of Mr. Hazelton to this very day, 35 years later. He knew exactly what he had to do to start his relationship right with our class, to put everyone on notice that he was in charge. He turned out to be a great teacher, smart, funny, engaging. But no one ever even thought about challenging him for dominance. First impressions are lasting.

Frédéric Bastiat was a French economist. One of his most popular arguments concerns the seen and the unseen. It is easy, of course, to notice what is seen, but you have to train your mind to take note of what could be seen, but isn’t.

Yesterday I stirred up a hornets nest, and I told you in advance what you should expect to see in response:

Regardless of what I say here or elsewhere, the incestuously cliquish part of the RE.net will insist that it is talking only to itself.

There were exceptions, thank goodness, but in the main the clique of big-name real estate webloggers behaved exactly as I expected them to, even though I deliberately built them a graceful exit:

If you find you’ve stepped in shit, admit it at once, clean up what you can and move on.

This is what is seen. What is unseen?

That post got 350 hard clicks yesterday, this in addition to the hundreds of people who would have seen it by RSS and email subscription. Amazingly enough, no one wrote in to say, “I like to be talked down to.” “I Read more

December 21, 2007

Some of the Many Are Consumers

by

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

Author website

I went to a high school run by the Jesuits. Think “Dead Poets Society” with Roman collars. The teachers were a little bit Pope John Paul II, a whole lot of Vince Lombardi, and, as is necessary to the development of young men, a healthy amount of Thomas Jefferson. The Jesuits are often admired for their ability to develop the “whole man”: intellectual, athletic, social, and most importantly, moral.

We were encouraged to be irreverent in the reverence of our school. The very irreverent actions we engaged in were seen by the Jesuits as an exhibition of curiosity. Pranks performed, under the guise of “school spirit”, were not only tolerated but encouraged. When it was suggested that one of our rival’s star basketball players was being bribed to attend a certain college, we waved checks in the stands when he attempted his free throws. Brother John, the Prefect of Discipline, may have handed down the ceremonial J.U.G. that day but the practice of pranks was generally tolerated.

Rarely did our pranks elevate to the status of unconscious insult. I say “rarely” because it did happen, about once a year. When it happened, it was usually the product of a good intention with garnered support from the crowd. In short, we took it just a bit too far without the forethought of the consequences of our actions.

The consequence was much harsher than a JUG; it was a speech attacking our moral fiber by none other than the President of the school. That sage old priest, a modicum of morality, started off the admonishment with a request to “walk a mile in the victims’ moccassins” and ended with the horrendous revelation that we, in our ignorance, injured some (or many) of those without the benefits we had.

Ouch! That admonishment always resulted in a bevy of boys, walking around with humble and contrite hearts, wondering if we would ever amount to the “whole man” St. Ignatius Loyola envisioned.

I’m going to digress from the high school story but I’ll bring it Read more

December 21, 2007

Preliminary NAR Gateway Report released

by

Realtor, Real Estate Ethicist

Author website

Finally. Let the sun shine in.

It’s been talked about for some time, on and off-line.

– One place for Realtors and real estate professionals to search.
– All property information – and standardized data (RETS compliant)
– Offers of compensation may be offered, but will not be required.
– For Realtors, by Realtors (and therein the consumers).

The potential ramifications if this were to get implemented are far and wide.

In all honesty, I have been privileged to have been on this committee, and treasure the conversations I have had and knowledge and relationships I have gained.

Summarizing what we have done down into a three-page report is nearly impossible. There will certainly be questions; ask away.

Without further adieu – here’s the preliminary report (and in PDF format here)

Preliminary Report of the Gateway Presidential Advisory Group December 3, 2007

Vision of the Gateway: The Gateway is the preeminent source of real property information.

Defining principles and characteristics:

The Gateway provides access to a national database of real property information The Gateway gives real estate professionals the best access to real property information needed to serve their clients and customers. The scope of information is unprecedented. The Gateway is based on the collaborative efforts of REALTORS® and real estate industry partners, including MLSs. The Gateway drives development and implementation of data standards and definitions The Gateway’s collective purchasing power
benefits real estate professionals and MLSs. The Gateway expands the scope and content of information available to real estate professionals through MLSs. The Gateway is organic so it can evolve as industry needs change,

Services provided to real estate industry professionals

1.Current and historical data about all real property is immediately and easily available directly from the Gateway or through participants’ service provider of choice.

Properties available for purchase, lease or exchange will be “flagged” according to status (with the owner’s or principal’s consent). Properties listed with brokers are distinguished from unlisted properties on the market (“FSBOs”). The Gateway’s database will include information about all real property in the U.S. Ultimately the Gateway will provide information about real property worldwide. The Gateway facilitates multi-lingual access to real property information.

2.Information available to participants and subscribers is: comprehensive timely Read more

December 20, 2007

Photo snapped of patient’s genitalia during surgery

by

Mega-Producing Realtor

Author website

Click AZ Central to read the full story.

Kate Nolan

The Arizona Republic
Dec. 18, 2007 07:17 PM

A Mayo Clinic Hospital surgeon in training used a cellphone to photograph a patient’s genitals during surgery and now may face disciplinary action and a patient’s attorney. 

Dr. Adam Hansen, chief resident of general surgery at the Phoenix hospital, admitted to Mayo administrators he snapped the photo during a Dec. 11 gallbladder surgery on patient Sean Dubowik, whose penis bears the tattooed slogan, “Hot Rod.”No Photo Available

After Hansen showed the photo to other members of the surgical staff, one phoned a Republic reporter on Monday and left an anonymous message about the incident.

……

Hansen has been placed on administrative leave and is neither seeing nor treating patients.

…..
Dubowik runs a Phoenix topless bar, Centerfolds Cabaret, and said he’d gotten the tattoo on a $1,000 bet.

“It was the most horrible thing I ever went though in my life,” Dubowik said. He said he chose Mayo Clinic for treatment because his mother had five surgeries there.

“They were supposedly the best of the best. I have no complaints about the medical care I was given,” he said.

“But now I feel violated, betrayed and disgusted. I’ve never been in a hospital and (my) first experience is the worst thing ever.”

…..

Dubowik, who had not yet spoken to an attorney Tuesday, said he planned to contact one.

“The longer I sit here the angrier I get,” he said.

___
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
December 20, 2007

I’m making Christmas goodies, so here’s all the stuff I don’t feel like fighting about right now

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

I was on Fox Business Network yesterday bitching about all the ways the U.S. government has interfered with the residential real estate market, resulting in both our recent boom and our current bust. The topic itself is not new to me, but it’s not something I’ve addressed in a full-blown philosophical argument. Surely that would be Quixotic, but when did that ever stop me? But: I’ve been very busy, and I’m about to get a whole lot busier. So last night I set that idea and everything else aside to bake some Christmas cookies. It was fun, it made the house smell good, and it actually brought Cameron out of his cave for a while. As soon as I can clear the decks today, I think I’m going to make fudge. Here’s the thing, and I have to remind myself every year: It’s Christmas. I don’t ever not work, but there ought to be room for play in the working day — at least some working days.

Meanwhile, here’s a bunch of stuff I might-could be dealing with, but ain’t:

Kelman had a post on all the crap he was force-fed prior to going on TV. I’m not picking on the man (for a change), this is a segue: I think we’re fools to buy into that crap. First, the mainstream media, to the extent that it clings to its creepy Vaudeville past, is the enemy of truth. Second, weblogging is the best friend the truth has made so far. The conclusion that I draw from these premises is that, even when we are on their turf, we should still behave our way. I hate everything phony, but even allowing for that, I think we damage our own credibility by playing their game their way. There’s no shortage of commercials on TV, but there’s damn little authenticity.

Zillow had a software release this week. How important was it? Important enough to be released eight days before Christmas, when no one is paying attention. What it amounts to, as far as I can discern from the effusive PR-speak in the press release, is smarter routines Read more

December 20, 2007

Optimization Unchained!

by

The Real Estate Group, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake VA

Author website

The words Search Engine Optimization have been taken to mean everything from “Trickery to get to the top of Google” (untrue and unfair in my opinion) to “Giving Google’s algo what it wants.” (true, but incomplete IMO). It is high time we unchain the term “Optimization.” Time to turn this Optimization dog loose and let him hunt! That’s what he was born and bred to do.
Take a listen to this radio show podcast from one of the Big Dogs on MY porch. (Scroll down to her radio show podcast.) It will be 18 minutes WELL spent. Stephanie Mattingly OPTIMIZES on You Tube and uses that exposure to sell houses for her clients. She also participates in our Blogging Lunches and is starting to work on OPTIMIZING her blog search engine wise as well. I am proud to know her and glad to have her as one of the 120 stellar folks at our office. This is her first full year in the business (as an agent) and make sure to catch how her sales have gone…. Unchained optimization works.


True optimization (Optimization Unchained) involves ALL of the following:

1. Search Engine Optimization–Getting the most from the search engines by giving their algorithms what they want –(looking back at Greg’s recent post–this is the part I agree with Bob Wilson’s comment on) and MORE IMPORTANTLY (looking back at the same post–the part I agree with Seth Godin on..) taking the time to give them the optimized RELEVANCE that they are after so that it is a long term win / win — not short term getting over on them and then them penalizing me. It is a noble profession and I tire of people talking it down and saying that it is less than that. They simply are ignorant or have dealt with unscrupulous people. True professionals in MY profession Optimize.
2. Optimizing Hyperlocal blogging efforts to TRULY connect agents with people and people with agents. We currently have 15 hyperlocal blogs in our office (as part of our blogging lunch group) and if I have my way in 2008 that will be 115. You Read more

December 19, 2007

Shift Happens

by

Commercial Real Estate Broker

Author website

First off, I am feeling a little guilty for not being able to keep up with Greg’s writing production, or Geno’s proclivity for the English language (I am, but a young “padawan” in master Yoda’s presence). That being said, we all have bills to pay and I have been painfully buried in required due diligence that a new listing demands in the midst of the end of the year holiday rush. I know I’m considered the commercial specialist in this forum and may have not been pulling my weight around here as far as my production is concerned, but it has become apparent (at least to me) that the recent slowdown in housing shall inevitably be felt by those businesses (and properties associated with those businesses) most closely tied to the residential markets, especially in the hardest hit residential areas, as referenced in today’s “town hall meeting” with Treasury Secretary Paulson and the Governator in Sacramento:Town Hall Meeting

At a town hall-style event in Van Buskirk Community Center here, Paulson and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger spent more than an hour listening as local officials, loan counselors, community members and borrowers described the troubles they were having getting help from their lenders.

“Unfortunately, there (are) all too many stories like yours in the country,” Paulson told one borrower who said she could no longer refinance her home and would almost certainly lose it. “This is why we’re trying to find solutions.”

What most of us know (but secretly sweep under the rugs in of our minds) is that there is a “spill over” effect from residential to commercial that we hope doesn’t affect our own checking accounts. We’re use to hearing the obvious verification of current events:

That plan came just weeks after Schwarzenegger announced a similar agreement with four lenders he said represented 25 percent of California’s subprime loans. On Tuesday, the governor said three more lenders have joined the voluntary pact, covering about one-third of the state’s most troubled loans.

California is home to the nation’s largest numbers of foreclosures – more than 52,000 so far this year, according to DataQuick.

Paulson promised to investigate the claim of Read more

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Inventing Real Estate 2.0

Welcome to BloodhoundBlog, the national real estate industry marketing and technology weblog written by, for and about real estate professionals. Better yet, welcome to the wired world of real estate. We are busily inventing Real Estate 2.0 – technology, marketing, service and salesmanship. Like all Bloodhounds, we are smart, frisky and fiercely independent. We've built a spot on the earth – beloved over all – where each one of us can be who we are, no matter who that might be. We are committed to an idea of excellence that will flush the bums, the con-men and the crybabies out of the real estate industry. If you yearn to have your failures excused, your moral lapses absolved or your boo-boos kissed, seek elsewhere. But if you are sick to death of mediocrity – welcome home. Read all about us, subscribe to our feed and steel yourself for the hunt. We work hard, we play hard, we learn everything we can – and we bow to no one.

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