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Please Stand By – Our Servers Experienced Growing Pains

Ben Rosales, Founder & Publisher
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technical-difficulties.jpg

We’ve had a total of 4 outages over the past month since the beginning of Agent Genius and believe me, the 3rd tier techs have heard each and every time from me, once in the middle of the night- he was not happy.

Today was the straw that broke the camels back with an outage this afternoon that gave way to an authorization to rebuild the server Agent Genius resides on. So we’re now beaming from the server I’ve dubbed ‘Last Chance.’ I can already tell by the load speeds a vast improvement and expect uptime to be just as improved.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience for this small growing pain.

I Shall Call Him… Mini-Me.

Kelley Koehler
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you know you want to do the voice... go ahead.I was talking with my father the other day – a mutual acquaintance had called us both, an agent in a different city who in the course of conversation was bragging about his success, that he had just brought on his second Buyer’s agent.

My father was adamant: he would never want to list his house with someone who separates Buyers and Sellers to different people.  Last time Dad sold a house, he listed with a guy who just lists and lists and lists and passes off all buyers to his team.  Pop’s impression was that his agent listed his house and was never seen from again.  I have a feeling there were major lack of communication issues there, but regardless, that’s how he sees it.

I was trying to explain the division of labor and the reasons behind having a team set up that way, but he wouldn’t hear of it.  No way, he says.  I want to list my house with the people who work with Buyers.  Those are the people who know house values and are more likely to know a large group of Buyers who might want my home.

We didn’t get to finish that conversation, but it was something that got me thinking.  Should we be specialists?  Or more well-rounded?  In a successful growing business, you eventually run into human limits and have to hire help in order to satisfy growing demand.  So does Team Housechick have a listing specialist and buyer specialists?  Or do I create a couple of mini-me’s who can handle either side with ease?  And more importantly, what’s best for the consumer?

(and then – can I hire a dude under team housechick?  what if they turn out to be ill-tempered?  have i limited myself to only half of the agent population?)

Cleaning up Dodge City

John Harper
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I was at the doctor’s yesterday trying to figure out why my right foot has me impersonating Chester. The medical assistant that took all of my vitals was pleasant, so I asked her if she was ready to buy a new home.

No, she replied, but my mother is selling hers. My mother, she continued, is in a tough spot and needs to dump her house and get out of the mortgage before it reARMs at $800 a month more – due in January.

I asked her who they were working with and she advised – the same Realtor and mortgage broker that helped her mother buy the house. She went on to say, that the main problem was “stated income.” Seems that when mom bought the house she was making $40K a year, but the mortgage broker had her put down stated income of $100K.

Now I’m no genius, but that sounds a little illegal, almost like loan fraud – if you get my drift.

The medical assistant went on to say that the mortgage broker was the real estate agent’s boy friend. Well, isn’t that cozy.

I was in disbelief, that the homeowner is using the same agent and boy friend to deal with her current situation since they helped create the mess she is in.

Later, I was reflecting on the homeowner’s lack of integrity in the first place. Why did she allow them to state her income at more than double what it actually was?

It’s interesting to note the daughter’s tone of voice when describing her mother’s attitude. It sounds like the mother is a bit angry with the agent and mortgage broker, but there she is continuing the relationship.

So, while I’m limping around Dodge, it seems to me that Marshall Dillon still has work to do.

Re-Learning Tom Hopkins’ “Unbelievable” Message

Jonathan Dalton
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Yesterday I was in the midst of the particular hell known as the Costco roadshow, standing a few feet away from some fairly horrible dresses for toddlers and a really great five-piece gas fire pit with deep reclining chairs, being ignored by everyone who passed by when I saw a pair of agents who used to work in my office.

As per personal custom if not unwritten NAR rule, the first question I asked was how their business was going. I was assured in no uncertain terms that they had never been busier, to the point they didn’t really have time to chat with those of us trying to gain business at the local Costco.

(For the record, I didn’t expect to get any business from Costco. I was there as a favor to the person in my office who organized the road shows; she left the company a month ago, and I still was there trying to put together a display stand that was one pole short.)

Being the highly if not oversensitive person that I am, I came home and used my Wyldfyre software to determine just how much business these folks had done this year. I wasn’t just being catty – only 92% so – because their primary farm is Westbrook Village, an active adult community I’ve been working to gain a toehold in for about a year (with decent success, I might add.)

(And you may be asking how many parenthetical comments I might be adding before today’s post is done. At which point I’ll tell you the over-under is 15. Consider yourself warned and get some more coffee as needed.)

The grand total? Two closed transactions. Dos. Sh’tayeem.

Remember the scene in American Pie 2 when they discuss then rule of three? (I don’t feel hurt if you don’t remember as the whole movie was utterly forgettable, especially when measured against the too-funny-to-breathe original.) This experience got me to thinking what factor would be appropriate for calculating actual real estate transactions versus what agents will tell each other?

Are sales three times less than people claim? Four? 18?

If anything this whole episode is evidence of the frail state of most real estate agent’s ego, which may or may not be a factor of current market conditions. In boasting of our own success, real or not, we somehow make ourselves feel better by hoping we’ve made the other person feel so bad they leave the business.

Or something like that.

(I wrote this whole post and never got back to the title. Stupid me. So the moral of today’s story is … stick to Tommy Hopkins’ “unbelievable” for an answer of how business if going. You won’t be a miserable liar and the rest of us won’t feel bad.)

Defense!

vickimoore
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You know I love a good debate. I don’t like when it starts with, Sounds like sour grapes from someone who is experiencing disintermediation. Deal with it. Adapt. Quit whining. It made me want to verbally punch him in the face. After days of heated conversation, with many participating voices, I realized by my last lengthy comment that I had much more to say about the topics that were covered. I spent 20 minutes outlining four pages of what will probably end up being food for many blogs. The gist of the argument and retort is one that brings out the defensive lineman in me: the value – or not – that I bring to my clients and profession. I’m sick of defending myself, my industry, and especially my commission. I expect that my statements will do nothing different than in the past which is to create a firestorm of conversation. The more, the better. So stand back. This storm’s been brewing for a long time. There are many services we provide as real estate agents: concrete, educational, emotional, financial, legal, liability, technological.

The most crucial piece that insures the existence of the industry I love may be what I bring to the client who is wrapped in the emotion of purchasing or selling a home. It’s not the building. It’s the dream. It’s the sanctuary. It’s the place where we celebrate, where we congregate, where we love, where we share our lives and create memories. The trauma is what causes us all to regress. It’s the same feeling we get when we go to the dentist, doctor’s office or hospital. We put on the gown and become so vulnerable that it becomes almost unbearable to stay present. Our hands sweat. We tremble. Our blood pressure jumps.

While filling out the loan application for my first house, I couldn’t remember my social security number – I memorized it when I was 15. What the heck was happening? I never believed they would give me the money. I was in so much denial that I didn’t believe it until I walked through the front door. I clearly remember standing in the doorway looking left, looking up and looking right. Just standing there in amazement that I had made this happen and it was mine.

It’s a foreign process where the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. A commitment that will last longer than most marriages. A financial expenditure that can be an enormous risk and an unimaginable reward. The transaction is an emotional one, not practical. We think about this process from our hearts, not from our heads. Oftentimes, buyers are buying the home that reminds them of the one they grew up in. Can I raise my children here? Will we be safe? Am I making the right decision? Sellers are selling the home they raised their children in. When they leave, they leave a piece of themselves. They want to know: Does the buyer love my home? Will they take care of it like I did?

Stress intensifies the fear and personality characteristics. People can become infantile, sarcastic, cunning, needy, insecure, funny, goofy, grumpy, mean, passive-aggressive, even stupid – as in: What’s my social security number??

I become the nanny, mommy, friend – the ultimate supporter. I kiss the boo-boo and encourage them across the finish line. I remind them of their goal when the disappointment is too much. I prepare them for what’s to come, warning them of the pitfalls and traps ahead.

Yesterday I left my clients in the conference room too long while I went to make a copy. They came looking for me. “We missed you.” These are highly educated, intelligent adults. The next time I left the room, I promised I wouldn’t be gone as long as before. That’s regression. That’s insecurity. That requires compassion, empathy and reassurance. That’s real estate.

From Zestimates to Zilloans – Zillow’s Magic Hat Trick

Shailesh Ghimire
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I hear Zillow is venturing into the mortgage world. Zillow insiders have told me that while they can’t divulge the details they have an awesome mortgage in the works. Wow! In fact, I’m going to call it Zilloans.

Ever since I heard about Zilloans, I’ve been fantasizing what it could look like. Mmmmmm……. Now, to be honest, my critical mind says, if their Zestimates can’t be trusted then what makes you think their Zilloans will be any better? But, I digress.

My interest in Zilloans is a bit personal. I’ve been originating home loans for a few years years now. In my years I’ve learned that it takes a lot of skill to do this business well and not screw homeowners out of their dreams. I hope that Zillow understands this part of the mortgage. Also, I hope they understand that the mortgage interest rate is not the deal maker. If Zillow doesn’t understand these two pillars then the whole thing is over before it even begins.

ZilloansSo, given my experience in the home loan business, I wanted to see if I could imagine what Zilloans would look like. I give you three possible scenarios.

1. Could it be?…..The Actual Loan Itself?
With the demise of the subprime market and the collapse of the securities market for exotic loans, the industry is left with Fannie/Freddie, loans, VA/FHA and a few major portfolio lenders. I’m not sure what kind of spin they can put on these vanilla loans that would make it awesome.

I know they won’t be able to tinker with the fundamentals of the loan like Debt to Income Ratios (DTI), credit scores, documentation requirements or down payment. We all know what happened to lenders that played around with the fundamentals.

The other option would be to negotiate variances with the GSE’s on such features as income disclosures for self employed, or, second home purchase standards etc. But, from what I know you’ve got to be willing to take some serious risk and have plenty in the bank to obtain an approval on such variances.

I don’t want to sound like Charles H. Duell, who, as head of the US Patent Office in 1899, said the Patent Office should be closed because “everything that could be invented had been invented”. Still, I’m hard pressed to find ways Zillow could truly distinguish itself when it comes to the actual loan.

2. Could it be?…..The Interest Rate?
Maybe Zillow will have the lowest interest rate on the planet. 2% with no closing costs and all that good stuff. The low cost leader. However, anyone who plays that game will tell you the interest rate game is a tricky one. The margin on this is so small that any deviation can kill you. But the lager question is, since when did having the lowest rate ever differentiate anyone and create a long term business?

That is because the only way the rate card works is through bait and switch. Burn! Not only that, nowadays, this is a legal minefield if there ever was one. Additionally, Zillow surely knows that skilled loan officers across the country know how to sell against the lowest interest rate, so it would be very difficult to see Zilloans surviving with lowest interest rate strategy.

3. Could it be?…..The Online Process of Finding a Lender?
“When banks compete you win”. Really? Or did I miss something here LendingTree? How about Ditech? Or “LieTech” as most everyone says. Ouch! Having said that, being the go-between is probably the strategy most likely to succeed. The sites I’ve mentioned above could definitely use a bit of competition. Furthermore, if Zillow is able to make the loan search process easy and quick for consumers then it could very well gain traction with the consumer

For Zillow, this strategy also has the added benefit of being able to charge the participating lenders a fee. The fee can be a gatekeeper of sorts. But, in the long run Zillow will need to do quality checks with the consumer. They would need to do a Zpinion Request (Opinion Request) and solicit some serious feedback from consumers. If they can pull this off, the online “find a lender” strategy could be truly amazing for them.

These are only three possible ways that Zillow could roll out Zilloans. There are more possibilities involving the mortgage process and also consulting related. However, these functions are already served by the lending institution and it would be redundant for Zillow to provide them.

If you can think of other ways in which Zillow could come up with Zilloans, please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments box below.

Fixing The Agent Headshot Of Death.

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Myphoto

Attempt One

“Look I own a suit”

“You will never find the bodies.”

 

 

 

 

 

Me

Attempt Two

“I’m going to beat cancer”

 

 

 

Holiday Shot

Attempt Three

“I’m out of the office”

 

 

 

SockPuppet

Attempt Four

“I’m out of my mind”

 

 

Finished Headshot 3

Attempt Five

“Not just another suit”

“I work at Prudential Connecticut Realty”

“I take good photos”

“I am Teh Sexy”

 

 

 

It’s the Naked Aggression

April Groves
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Abandoned BuyerIf I had been posting on AG longer, I would ask you all if you have missed me. As I have not, I will just assume that you didn’t notice.

What? You DID notice! How sweet! I have been a bit busy, but I am getting it together.

Did you know that for most folks in the real estate industry (and those related fields) the market is a bit slow? Oh, you hadn’t noticed? Lucky you. Well lots of folks have and it is causing a bit of a buzz. You should check it out and see what all the fuss is about.

Professionals who have been in the business for a while will tell you (correctly) that real estate is a cyclical market, the sky is not falling, we are not headed for nationwide homelessness, and this too will pass. Many of those who jumped into the market because it was hot are not hearing any of that and are heading for the hills. What does that mean for those of us who are not tweaking our resume?

We are practicing the art of Naked Aggression. We are still passionate. We are still working the business plan. We are still planning the marketing. We continue to meet the people. We still get out of bed, take showers, brush our teeth, clean our car in expectation of that client we know will, with any luck, qualify for a loan.

We still smile when it’s not fun. We are still celebrating the industry we are in – because with all its up and downs, assets and short comings it is still ours and we wouldn’t trade it for the world. And when it comes around, and it WILL come around, those who knew it would and continued to do the right things will be in place to do what we have always done – provide exceptional client service to those in the real estate market and make a living doing it.

Let me segue here by saying I don’t even know her, but I love me some Vicki Moore. I have been reading her here on AG in my brief moments of free time saying, “Yes!”

  • She understands the importance of integrity. She understands why it is valuable not just in herself, but in the industry as a whole.
  • I guess some folks can’t read good and think she’s kinda hard…whatever. She’s honest, funny, and understands the business. While others are chomping at the bit to work with clients they have no business working with, Vicki still holds true to her criteria. Why do you need client criteria? Because chasing your tail with a client you can’t service effectively will wear you out physically and financially. The deal will not be great and your reputation will suffer.

It is naked aggression – the willingness to leave it all on the field even when you think the game is a wash (Go Dawgs!). It playing right even when nobody’s watching or buying tickets. It’s being who you are and doing what you do.

MoFuse converts your site to .mobi for FREE

Lani Rosales, Managing Editor & Lead Business Writer
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Mofuse is for WINNERSWhat’s new today? Oh, just a little thing called MOFUSE! Only the coolest new tool around, and guess what? You too can have this tool!

What is this tool, you ask? It is a simple website that in nanoseconds transforms your regular old website (preferably a blog from what I can tell so far) into a .mobi address which means people with an iPhone, Treo or other handheld PDA can see your site! Normally, you’d have to buy a .mobi domain, reformat your entire site to be viewable from a cell phone and hope that your page didn’t look like a big stack of fat legos. Your new website.mobi address is fully editable- you can add your own header, control the colors and even add static pages for cell phone users to view. This really is a tool that simplifies a formerly OVER-COMPLICATED process- hallelujah! My site looks HOT!

Mofuse i currently in beta and is by invitation only. Agent Genius has limited invitations to give out, so drop me a line if you’re interested and I’ll get you an invitation. THIS IS SO COOL!!!

There is a stupid looking button they’ll give you for your site, but we developed our own so you can promote your new mobile site, all you have to do is embed your new .mobi address:

black-mobi.bmp

blue-mobi.bmp

orange-mobi.bmp

pink-mobi.bmp

Stay tuned as Agent Genius goes MOBILE!!!

Sphere Fear Anyone?

John Harper
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genius.jpgLast year, when I was still enamored with ActiveRain, I wrote a post titled “How MLM – MultiLevel Marketing Prepared Me for Real Estate.”

Today, I am reflecting on Sphere Fear.

sphere fearSphere Fear is a permutation of the fear of cold calling. It’s that weasel of a thought in our brains that says – don’t bother your friends by asking for referrals. Or, your friends will hate you if you ask them for referrals. Or, some other idiotic nonsense from that most wonderful aspect of the human psyche – the Inner Critic. Here’s a great book on the subject of how to get this monkey off your back – Soul Without Shame

Now I’m no genius, but I know my friends (I get to choose them) and my friends all want to see me succeed and help me succeed. I feel the same way about them. It is most likely the same with almost everyone.

Why is it then that we have reservations about contacting our sphere of influence and asking for referrals? Are we afraid that people will equate us with telemarketers or worse?

I’m not looking for answers here, I’ve heard them all as I’m sure you have. The critical issue it seems is that real estate is a lead generation business. If we are not actively involved in lead generation, then why are we in this business? Why are we not working this business?

One of the great business books of the last decade is The E-Myth Revisited. The focus of the book is working on your business, instead of working in your business. Working on your business requires objectivity and a love for the truth. Identifying the barriers to our success many times means facing and overcoming our fears, our old beliefs and often our limiting view of ourselves. Every step of the way, the inner critic is going to be fighting us. That rascal’s sole job is to maintain the status quo. It accomplishes this by damning you if you do, or if you don’t.

I heard a story a month or so ago about an agent who informed her dentist that she was going to be looking for a new family dentist. The dentist wanted to know if there was a problem. She informed him that in the ten years that her family of five had been using his services and in spite of the fact that she had recommended his services to dozens of friends – he had never referred one person to her.

The dentist asked her to give him a week. She closed over 20 transactions in the next year referred from that one source. She also talked to her account, financial planner, and everyone else she knew to let them know she was in the referral business – as a giver and a receiver. She now lives referrals and is a mega-agent at Keller Williams.

Here is the point I really want to make – our sphere of influence are the people who will not only be the most forthcoming with referrals, they will also be the people who will support us the most to become experts at asking for referrals and the most forgiving as we learn.

Deep Thoughts By Kelley – First Impressions Count

Kelley Koehler
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“If 70% of buildings were built like most Web sites, most of us would live and work in tents.”

First impressions.

Ever notice that Trulia and Zillow have more or less the same layout on their front page?  And to a lesser degree, also Estately, Cyberhomes, Terabitz, Homes.com, and ol’ Realtor.com?  Notice what they put in their prime screen real estate? 

Then again, they’re not trying to secure buyers and sellers, they’re just providing information, and making money off of ads and off of agents.

HomeGain is different – they put their “pick a REALTOR” feature into the same space as their “find your home value” feature: dead center, just under the top navigation, the prime page real estate for the web viewing eye.  Guess what drives their business model?

Just for kicks, let’s look at that prime real estate on the top 5 Google natural search results for “Tucson Real Estate.”  We’ll blur contact information to protect the innocent.

First up: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mmmm…. love that big block of text where some more immediate WIIFM could be answered.  Is this Arizona real estate or Tucson?  Are only luxury homes served, based on the picture?  (side note: took me 6 clicks to find a real estate search, and then it just fowarded me to our public MLS search.)

Second:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone’s favorite stealth site.  They mention the brokerage in small text at the bottom, and the whois doesn’t list actual people, has a P.O. Box as an address, and the phone numbers in the whois are no longer in service.  But, we do hit a pretty picture right off – good emotional appeal.  The search is odd – I just type in any word?  Okay, how about ‘bedroom?’ 

Third:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, there’s a lot of stuff going on there.  Focus is all about the agent, the team’s designations, contact information.  There are 2 more levels of icons below that first row.  I get the impression there’s a lot of info here for me, but it takes me a while to figure out where everything is.  I’m already overwhelmed with choices and colors.

Fourth:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I searched for Tucson Real Estate.  What the heck is this?  Sports?  Health?  Condominiums?  Ah, there’s the MLS search.  Right below the huge banner ad for condominium homes.  I reloaded the page a couple times to see some other ads.  There are ads just below the side navigation and off to the right as well that keep flashing and flickering.  So very distracting from the reason I came to the page: to find real estate in Tucson. 

And Finally: 

Hang on – is that multiple search options right in prime screen estate?  With a nice picture that could be from a wide variety of price ranges?  Why, I believe it is!  Hold on – is this Arizona or Tucson?  (whoopsie: forgot to black out one of the names there.  Full disclosure, this is my brokerage, Long Realty.)  I still think it is too busy, and the search imposed over the picture is a bit difficult to read.  But there are a lot of things that are right. 

What is your website’s first impression?  Are you spending your prime screen real estate wisely?

Filling the Gap

Ben Rosales, Founder & Publisher
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seriously-shut-up.jpgWhen you’re blogging your number one goal is to capture attention. Once you’ve captured the audience, you must do battle with their individual attention spans. One of the things that drive my batty about blogging is that I will really enjoy a writer’s thought, but what I tend to pass up is the thought that tends to go on and on- to the point of rambling.

I really do enjoy the depth in which many write in blogging and at times it is necessary to paint with very broad brushes, deep rich color, on a canvas the size of Texas- but not every time you write.

My observations of many writers is they have a moment of inspiration so the tendency is to write it all down at one time- but then what? They write nothing for a week. They’re exhausted and depend on the one 6 page long text to carry them through to the next week.

My suggestion is simple. Write in stages- Part I, Part I or simply an ongoing series. Post your posts over a period of days, or every other day. Now, what you have created is a following, and a knowledge that reading you does no require a full pot of coffee, and a sack breakfast lunch and dinner. Your ‘blog’ is just that, a simple blog that fills the gap on a subject that is consistent and being read consistently.

Huh?

vickimoore
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Over the weekend a buyer called to see a property. The dance starts…

Can you show it to me now?

Well, ahhh, I’m on my way to my next appointment.

Oh, well, I have all day.

Oh, well, I don’t.

How did you determine that this is a property of interest for you?

I looked on the internet. I have about a dozen sitting in front of me.

Okay. Have you engaged the services of a realtor advocate? (I like that. Realtor advocate.)

Oh, yeah. I have lots of friends who are realtors. (Duh. Wrong answer.)

Perhaps you should call one of your friends to show you the house.

Well, can’t you show it to me?

Let me tell you how I work. I would like to meet with you for an hour or so to find out what your criteria is. I will research the properties available to determine which homes fit your needs. Then I’ll contact you to show you the selected homes for your consideration. Does that sound like something you’d be interested in?

No. I just want to see that house. (And the twelve others.)

I suggest you call one of your friends.

Well, I didn’t want to bother them. I was just doing my own research. (Huh?)

How about this one…

Can you show me this house?

How did you find it?

On the internet.

Okay. If you’d like to come into the office, I’d be happy to meet with you briefly to discuss your home buying plans.

No. I just want to see this house. (Stranger danger?)

I see. Have you spoken to a lender about getting pre-approved? You’ll —

I have the money.

Well, you’ll need the documentation to provide to the seller when an offer is written.

My sister will get that for me.

Oh, is your sister a mortgage broker?

Yeah, she’s my realtor too, but she lives far away. (Huh?)

You’ll be writing an offer with your sister, correct?

Yeah.

Then your sister will have to show you the house.

Oh.

Or this one…

Blah, blah, blah

But my realtor’s on vacation. Can’t you show it to me?

This one falls into this category and the one I haven’t written yet, “What the hell are they teaching in those buy a foreclosure classes?”

Where can I get a blank contract to write on a house?

A blank contract? What are you going to do with a blank contract?

Well, I want to write an offer on a house.

Okay. You want to do it yourself?

Yeah.

Well, the contracts we use are for licensed realtors. I’m not sure where you can get one. What house are you going to write an offer on?

I’m not sure yet.

What do you mean?

Well, I went to this foreclosure class and they told us all we have to do is write the contract and find the house. We write the offer and we’re done. We’re out of it.

That’s not the way foreclosures work in California. You have to have the cash and pay upfront and the county’s auction.

No, that’s not what they said. See, we find the house and write an offer with an assignee as the purchaser. Then we sell it to an investor.

Sell what to an investor?

The house. The contract.

How are you going to find an investor?

They’re out there.

Why would an investor buy from you?

Because I found the house.

How do you get paid?

By the investor.

How?

Well, they said that Allan Michael bought 5 houses at one time. He went to San Francisco and bought them with $100 in his pocket.

I see. Good luck with that.

How to be a Calendar Genius

Lani Rosales, Managing Editor & Lead Business Writer
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Genius KittehSTEP ONE: get a Jott account (you set it up so that when you call an 800 number, whatever you say is transcribed into an email to you or whoever you choose) and a Google account which gives you Google Calendar aka G-Cal which is set up similarly to Outlook.

STEP TWO: Set up your Jott account to go to your G-Cal.

In two steps, you can be driving on your way to write a contract and without writing anything down, Jott yourself (that’s not a cuss word… see STEP ONE) that Jenny (who you just met at a builder’s office) has a birthday Saturday, you’re invited to the party on Sunday at 5pm and you just scheduled an inspection for Monday at 2:30pm, all between switching lanes- it all gets put on your calendar without pens, date books or even much thought. HOORAY, YOU’RE A CALENDAR GENIUS!

This is my day today…

Ben Rosales, Founder & Publisher
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anger-management-kitteh.jpg

Listing Agents: Where’s The Beef?

Carson Coots
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heres-the-beef.jpgHow do you market yourself to sellers? Do you harp on about your track record, or how you won the gold star award 2 years in a row back in 2002? Do you flash cool agent extensions such as e-Pro, and say that you know how to “harness” the power of the “Internet” (that’s the one with the email..right?)? Do you use clever slogans that rhyme so well they baffle the mind?…

Of course you do! And there is nothing wrong with that. But please, for your own sake, do not stop there. Like any service-based business, you must define deliverables . As an agent, you may not want to do this, but there is real value in eliminating the mystery from your service offerings. What will I get when I hire you to sell my house? People are tired of empty promises, because these days, they are a dime a dozen. “I will work tirelessly to sell your home at the right price”… Well, how? “We use online tools and marketing techniques to effectively market your house”… What tools?

These questions can be answered easily, but you really can’t publish them unless you define real marketing processes and commit to them. Do you always hire a professional photographer? Do you make a 4 page flyer every time? Do you use video or virtual tours? Online listing services and classifieds? Which ones? How many? I could go on and on.

“It depends on price”… This may be true, but even if you define the bare minimum marketing practices, you will go a lot further with potential clients than with nothing at all. When you define expectations, your trust level will skyrocket over your competition and puncture a hole in their hot-air balloon. This is especially true in online marketing, where the customer may not know you. If you have a blog that is helping them get to know you, useful and honest information about local market conditions, as well as a clearly defined list of deliverables you use when listing every home… You may be irresistible. This is before first contact!

Trim the fat and show me the beef!

Check This Out

Ben Rosales, Founder & Publisher
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I was looking around for John Harper a cool image of Einstein (not that anything is wrong with his! *wink*), and while perusing the Internet I came across this image from November 06. Basically, if you stand back from your monitor, you see the image of Einstein in place of the child- absolutely cool. It was worth sharing…

illusion_baby_einstein.jpg

Needed: Facebook Geniuses

John Harper
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facebook real estateThe reason that a Genius has such a limited knowledge of affairs outside of his special talent, is because the controlling influence of so much thought on the one subject allows him little or no time in which to develop those, to him, less important thoughts, and consequently his mind gets our of harmony with them, and they either come to him no more, or come only as a discord. All intelligence and knowledge awaits to be used. – A. Victor Segno “The Law of Mentalism” 1902

Well, I’m no genius, but I disagree with Victor on the first part while in agreement with him on the last. Of course, you see the first assertion proven daily by those addicted to blogging with so little time left for other affairs (guilty). So, I thought I would reach out to the Facebook geniuses out there.

facebook.gifI spent a couple of hours on Facebook the other other day, and boy do I need help. I’d like a couple of things from you Facebook geniuses:

  • Links to pages where you think a real estate agent is effectively using Facebook.
  • Suggestions on how you are using Facebook and what features you think are best.
  • Any results you have seen, that will spur me on

My interest in Facebook is totally self-serving. I heard a story about a Canadian agent whose last $20 million in sales all came from connections made through Facebook. If I locate her Facebook page, I’ll post it here.

So, let’s hear it for: all intelligence and knowledge awaits to be used. And, I am waiting.

The Shifting Real Estate Market Reaches Further Than Just Real Estate

Mariana Wagner
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I just read that 1 Out of 9 Jobs in Colorado are tied to Real Estate.

The Colorado Association of Realtors® released a report in October of this year (2007) that tracked how the Colorado real estate industry impacts the local economy. These results were tracked from Grand Junction to Pueblo, and included the economic impact of real estate in Colorado Springs. They found that approximately 10.8% of the entire region’s earnings were tied (directly or indirectly) to the Real Estate Industry.

Ultimately, the Colorado real estate industry is larger than the Colorado Tourism industry … and that is even considering that we have some of the BEST Winter AND Summer destinations.

Why is this interesting, especially if I do not live in Colorado?

First, this finding will be relatively true regardless of where you live.

Second, with the recent rising foreclosures nationwide and countless mortgage companies closing their doors, this means that there is a huge chunk of people (in addition to the affected home owners) that are going to be directly affected by the shifting real estate market.

In fact, when the sub-prime market collapsed this last summer, about 130,000 relatively high paying finance-related jobs were lost nationwide.

Now, you have to think about this… Not only are real estate agents, lenders and title/escrow companies affected, but so are inspectors, appraisers, landscapers, contractors and other service providers that depend on the real estate and loan market to make a living.

For example: If a home owner wanted to finish out their basement, they would probably hire an electrician, plumber, contractor, drywall installer, painter, carpet installer, etc., and eventually need an inspector. In many cases, the homeowner would take out a home loan (2nd, HELOC…) to get this job done. To do this, they would need the help of a lender (and possibly their assistant) an underwriter and a title/escrow company (and all the people involved on that end). With the restructuring of the loan industry, this homeowner may not be able to get a loan, and therefore could not finish their basement … creating one LESS job for all those people who would have been needed to get that job done.

This example is even in addition to the business that is “lost” when fewer new homes are being built and fewer resale homes are being sold.

And what about super-auxiliary businesses that will be affected? The CAR report also brought up the impact on furniture stores, electronics and appliance stores…

The effects are far reaching, but not bad.

“Not bad? Not bad, you say? What is wrong with you, Mariana? Have you been reading The Secret too many times again? … ’cause you are off your rocker.”

I know you are thinking it, and you may have even made that weird, wincing “I don’t get you” face while you read it. That’s okay. You just need to think it through with me, here… I am not saying that this “shift” is not going to be DIFFICULT for MANY people. But DIFFICULT is not the same as BAD.

The real estate market IS shifting, and not only do I – the Colorado Springs Realtor® need to adjust how I do business, but this adjustment needs to transcend to MANY different professions. This is opening up a whole new opportunity to strengthen my business alliances. If I can help MY landscaper and MY lender and MY roofer and MY carpet installer figure out how to transition along with this market, I know that, in turn, they will help me as well.

So, yes. This shifting real estate market DOES reach further than JUST real estate, and so should you.

The Goodfellas: An Agents Guide to Finding the Perfect Loan Officer

Shailesh Ghimire
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birdsIn the great long food chain that is real estate, agents sit at the top. The mortgage loan officer sits right underneath with a bucket trying to get the agents to drop a few trinkets. While this may sound a bit harsh, it is well known in the industry that any successful mortgage professional will have a handful of very strong Real Estate referral partners. For loan officers this is a very successful and time tested marketing strategy. That is why loan originators love Real Estate agents.

Now sitting at the top of the food chain, Mr. or Mrs. Agent gets lots of calls from lenders. I’m sure you’ve been to lunch or, coffee or, a seminar sponsored by a salivating hungry loan officer. You probably felt good about yourself and liked the attention. However, at the end of the day how do you decide which ones to keep in your wallet and which ones to turn away? Because believe me there are plenty of bad loan officers out there.

Finding a good loan officer to work with is almost like dating to find a partner. While it may not be quite as complicated as dating, when the loan officer puts their best foot forward, you do need to know that the bad foot in the back isn’t going to kick you one day before the transaction is supposed to close?

Agents, fear not. Today, I present to you the five critical factors to evaluate the loan officers knocking on your door. If you do your homework as I’ve outlined below, I’m confident you’ll find a good loan officer who will not only do well with your buyers but may even send you some new buyers all together. Now, isn’t that something!

#1. Service: You hear it every day. In any service based industry. And any loan officer with a brain will repeat it verbatim. “I provide good service.” Blah, blah.. blah. But ask them what good service looks like? Does it have a color? a smell? a logo? because, in my opinion good service will always have a distinct flavor. To toot my own horn, my good service is a black and white faxed weekly status report called a “Details. Details” sheet. Ask any agent I’ve worked with and they’ll tell you exactly what I mean. One agent almost asked my wife out because of this!

#2. Communication: In a way this is a subset of service, but I consider it important enough to give it a separate category. A lot of things happen during the loan process, sometimes unexpected things come up. That is why straight, direct and regular communication with the agent is vital in having a smooth transaction. Any loan officer who lacks this skill is not worthy of your time. When it comes to communication, I also like a professional communicator. I personally frown on E-mails with too many grammatical and spelling mistakes, telephone conversations that feel fishy, and unprofessional phone messages.

#3. Attention to detail: When it comes to lending, the devil is truly in the details. Details such as rent payment method (cash or check), alimony payments, current marital status – can all derail a transaction if the loan officer has not asked the right questions while doing the pre-qualification. When selecting an LO I would ask lots of questions and measure their “anal-ness”. The more the better when it comes to a real estate transaction.

#4. Tech-savvy: In today’s world, as an agent I would like to know if the loan officer has a technology footprint. And how big, deep, wide is this footprint? I’m not talking about just having a Blackberry, an iPod and the cool blue tooth ear piece that makes them look all techie. I’m talking about web presence, CRM systems and the size of their offline marketing universe. I suggest searching the loan officer on Google and see what you find.

#5. Muscle Tenacity: Specifically, brain muscle tenacity. This ties into service a bit too, but what I mean is I don’t like quitters. Will the loan officer go the extra mile? Will they take an easy “no” over a slightly difficult “yes”? For example will they run all the loan scenarios? Can they do a thorough cost benefit analysis on an ARM vs. Fixed rate loan? Can they look at the big picture and propose effective solutions for long term financial success using equity management techniques? If the experience of the past few years teaches us anything, it’s that bad loan officers can bring down Wall Street.

BirdsAny loan officer who rates high on these five factors will prove to be a valuable business partner. In fact, if you’re working with a strong mortgage professional the food chain is a bit different. The loan officer and you can both be at the top, passing trinkets back and forth. Believe me, I’ve passed on a few very lucrative buyers to the agents I work with. The look on their faces is quite breath taking!

Web2.0 Real Estate Reality Check

Ben Rosales, Founder & Publisher
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onlineshopper_500.jpgI’m simply going to break down the anatomy of a real life transaction, my summary may surprise you:

Who shops online?

  • Apparently 88% of consumers shop online for just about everything, including real estate.

When do they shop online?

  • Generally at work. By my own appraisal of my family’s Internet use, we’re using the Internet to Google anything from coffee, restaurants, homes and more. Are we buying? Generally, no. Last year, shopping for my television was a seven month process. My car shopping experience has lasted well over 10 months. Why am I taking so long? I’m a typical procrastinator.

How many folks actually purchase online after shopping there?

  • Great question. Based on my own evaluation of myself, not often.

Why?

  • For my television, I actually had to leave the house- I wanted to see the picture, press the buttons, and decide how it would look on my wall or on my media cabinet.

Did I buy on my first trip?

  • No, I actually bought the very day the sales guy at Fry’s Electronics told me everything I needed to hear- price, quality, and that I was buying a television well under the value I found it for online. He sold me- he closed me, and I let him. Because like most of you, when I’m willing, ready, and able, it simply takes a great closer to box the deal into a pretty package.

What does this have to do with a home sale?

  • Buyers by their very nature are lookie lous. Everyone wants to look at the pretty pictures. Everyone wants to kill that lunch hour; hell, some of them want to kill the whole day, and in between a round of yahoo literati, they take a swing around craigslist, up the road to google, maybe even peruse the all common search phrase ‘search name of city homes‘, they may even pick up the phone and talk to an agent for a minute or less, all while balancing the boss’ needs or answering the other line. The fact is that 88% is just that- a nameless time killer that may or may not be buying sooner than later and at the same time are day dreaming of the new car they’ll search for next.

What’s the point of all of this, and what does it have to do with you?

  • Think back to the last first home buyer you had- remember how afraid they were? How long had they been looking before they hooked up with you? An even better question is- how long had they been thinking about buying? In my experience, the answer more times than not is, “a couple of years.” Other times, the answer has always been, “for a while.” When I would inquire further, I’d ask why they hadn’t purchased sooner (I’m always looking for the answers procrastinating buyers have) and the answer is almost every time an astounding “we didn’t know we could buy.” Credit, leases, income, and more are always in the top three reasons for procrastinating. I’ve met second and third home buyers that fit this same profile, and they’re all simply looking for someone who will relate to them and answer the questions they need answered.

I’m (not) a Realtor by profession, I’m (not even) a real estate agent. Further, I’m (not even) a guy who sells homes- I’m a closer. By knowing my buyers and sellers, I’m the reason they move from Internet entertainment and real estate porn to the closing table. I make their dreams a reality and their fears a thing of the past. I educate, I elevate, I build them into property owners- they are achieving a goal, and even more, they’re living the dream.

I can do what no real estate website in the world can do, I can do more than any a.v.m., I can survive what technology companies cannot. How? By leaving my office and engaging. I will survive down markets, 2.0 or not. Focusing more energy on the state of the real estate union will leave you current on feuds and statistics, but behind on the business of closing.

Web2.0 is only a tool, it is not the answer. 88% of consumers may shop online, but 98% of consumers I meet buy and or sell through me.

Hot Tip For The DOJ

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You'll forget all about conveyance taxes and go about your business.I know the Department of Justice is hot on the trail of inefficiencies and cartels driving up cost of real estate transactions.

So here’s a hot tip for the golden haired MIB’s at the DOJ.

Conveyance Taxes.

Sell a house in my town and the State of Connecticut swoops in with a 0.5% Conveyance Tax, and the Town of Bristol swoops in with a 0.5% Conveyance Tax as well. Bammo, thats 1% of the purchase price in tax.

That 0.5% Bristol tax has been as “an emergency development measure” along with another 10 or so areas in Connecticut that gets magically extended year after year by the Department of Rubber Stamping in Hartford.

I’m not anti-tax by any means. I fully realize we all have to balance a budget. If those taxes disappear, they will have to appear as a budget line somewhere else.

But the Town and the State contribute nothing, NOTHING, to the real estate transaction, while adding thousands of dollars of expenses to it.

I thought the DOJ had a beef with that.

And Another Thing – Busted

vickimoore
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Lani busted me. I put this post on my site and then pulled it when I thought it might be a little much for my public. I thought only John G had seen but obviously not. I spoke to my dearest friend yesterday who thought I should repost it minus the foul language. (My mother’s a truck driver.) After talking with Lani it seems she agreed. I’m new to this blogging thing and haven’t yet determined what posts go where.

If I haven’t said this enough, I think I’m funny. After getting flogged for my sarcastic humor, I went ballistic in black and white. So here’s the cleaner, more professional version.

queen.jpgWarning: If you’re easily offended change the channel. My posts are a monarchy and I’m the queen.

I enjoy a good debate. Several times I’ve been reprimanded online for that passion. You gotta be passionate about something otherwise why bother? If you have a good argument, let’s get it on. If you’re going to personally attack me, you’ll be hanged at the gallows.

Facts: I’m a single woman living in one of the most expensive economies in the country. I support myself in every way. There’s no boyfriend (looking though), no sugar daddy, no family, no trust fund. I pay for every paperclip.

I work my butt (bad word removed) off. If you have any doubt of that, read the comments my clients have posted – in their own words. I’ve worked 7 days straight for the past two weeks (now I’m up to 17 days) to provide my clients with the best real estate services they’ll ever find and myself a roof over my head. My goal is referrals, not the one time deal, slam them into a house and never see them again. Nobody’s going to refer me anything if I’m an idiot with no knowledge or opinion. I have to go out on the line. That’s one of the most valuable services I provide; an educated, knowledgeable and honest opinion with no meaningless rhetoric (bad word removed).

Recently I closed escrow with a great guy. He listened to what I had to say, appreciated and trusted my input. I gained that trust. I didn’t tell him I’m trustworthy, honest. I proved it. During the offer period, we had a conversation about the appliances. He had his own and did not need the ones provided for in the purchase. I suggested that he include them in the contract so that the elderly, ill seller did not have to deal with the inconvenience of having them removed. I further suggested that if he got the property at a good price, it would be worth his time to handle it. I didn’t leave him to deal with it. I found happy takers for the fridge, washer and dryer, and arranged the pickup.

A client I sold a house to six years ago called the other day. I’ve kept in contact with them with phone calls and congratulations on every family milestone. What’s important to them is important to me. I told them that I didn’t have the best of news. They were going to have to work hard to sell their house, price it precisely right, it was going to take time and they would have to exercise a great deal of patience. She said: That’s why I called. I knew you’d be honest with us.

That’s the point. I am honest. You may not want to hear what I have to say but I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it with every fiber. Sure, I’ve been fired by buyers who didn’t hear what they wanted to. I wished them the best. I hope they found a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood and had a wonderful experience with their realtor.

Do you want fabrication (bad word removed) or do you want the truth?

Don’t Look to Your Local REALTOR Association to Save You

Jonathan Dalton
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The theme had come up once at one of my office sales meetings and today again at lunch. Says one title company’s account executive, the time has come for individual REALTORS to write to the Arizona Association of REALTORS and demand they work diligently to counter the negative press about our industry.

Something struck me as wrong about this concept from the get-go, and I finally narrowed it down to a handful of bullet points:

1) Who’s your audience? The local newspapers and television stations aren’t going to care about a poor trade group being ganged up on, especially when they’re the ones doing the ganging up. Misery sells papers but not when trade professionals are involved.

Hell, the Arizona Republic can’t even spot loan fraud exposed in its own story if there’s no angle that blames the real estate industry or investors and not your average homeowner.

2) Who will believe them? NAR has ruined the credibility of an industry with the spin placed on monthly home sales. Now you want the local branch of that association somehow to aid in our effort to regain our credibility?

3) Negative news isn’t necessarily incorrect news. Sales are slow. Prices are dropping. An increasingly large percentage of homes are going into foreclosure. This is reality, negative as it may be.

“It’s always a great time to buy,” the standard slogan of NAR, is wholely inappropriate. This IS a great time to buy for those with the means to purchase a property and hold it for the long term, for those who have real money to use as a down payment. But that doesn’t mean that this is a great time to buy for everyone.

4) You create your own success. Stop pointing fingers – it’s the builders, it’s the mortgage industry, it’s the prices, it’s the bubble bloggers. You fail or succeed on your own merits. Period. If I’m out of this business in a year it’s because I didn’t work hard enough to stay in it. Stop looking for scapegoats.

If you don’t have the number of clients you want, increase your own prospecting efforts. Those that choose not to buy now because of the press or who were looking for reasons not to use a real estate professional because of perception weren’t going to do business with you anyway.

As David Knox says, “Let go.”

Focus on those folks who know the truth behind the mainstream media’s b.s., work to earn their trust and create your own success.

Welcome to Social Media for Real Estate 101: Twitter

Daniel Rothamel
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My post on social media in real estate was pretty well-received, which I was glad to discover. While I was writing the post, it quickly became apparent to me that one post was not going to be anywhere near enough time to cover all the things that I wanted to cover. It was also suggested to me that perhaps readers could benefit from a more in-depth look at social media to go along with my general primer. That is the beauty of social media at work, people. I write one blog post, people make suggestions to me through the comments, Facebook, etc., and here I am writing follow-ups. It’s a beautiful thing.

I am going to treat this series like a class. Here’s the deal: if you read my first post, congratulations! Reading that post means that you have just passed Intro to Social Media for Real Estate. Now we step it up a bit.

Welcome to the first day of Social Media for Real Estate 101. Attendance is completely voluntary (although highly encouraged). There will be homework (although no one will grade it). There will be no tests (sweet!).

Class Session #1: Twitter

For those of you who are thinking, “Twitter? Really? Twitter? You can’t be serious.,” you may want to take a second and go back to the intro post and check out what I had to say there. I’ll repeat some of it here, but you really shouldn’t blow-off Twitter. Plus, you wouldn’t skip the first day of class, would you? On second thought, don’t answer that.

I’m starting with Twitter for a few reasons:

  1. Twitter is simple.
  2. Because Twitter is simple, it is easy to get started.
  3. Twitter is fun and interesting.

As I mentioned in the intro post, Twitter is essentially a micro-blogging platform. The original idea behind Twitter is simply to answer the question, “what are you doing?” and to answer that question in less than 140 characters. If you think that sounds stupid, you would be partly correct. In fact, Twitter is a lot more than just answering that question. A whole lot more. Twitter is really an entire online community of people engaging in constant conversation. These conversations are about all types of things. Topics range from the completely mundane to the totally engrossing.

“Conversations? But I thought Twitter was just micro-blogging.” Again, that is only half-right. Think about it like this. Have you ever been around a group of people and made a statement to get a conversation started (i.e.– “Boy, this weather is great.”)? That is exactly how Twitter is working. You might be making statements, telling people what you are up to, telling people about interesting things you just learned, sharing blog posts and links, etc. All the people who see that have a chance to share and respond. It is like the world’s biggest chat room, and you can be involved in all the conversations.

“I like good conversation. How can I get started?” I’m glad you asked. As I mentioned in the beginning, Twitter is simple and easy to start. All you have to do is go Twitter.com, click “Join” and then pick a Username and password. Simple.

I would suggest that you think carefully about your Username. For my Twitter account, I use RealEstateZebra, for obvious reasons. I also registered an account using my name as the Username– DanielRothamel. While I don’t use the account for anything, it is there if I ever decide to do anything with it, and I know that no one else will hop on Twitter and try to pretend to be me. I have a very unique name, so that works. It may not work for you, but you should still choose a recognizable name that isn’t so outlandish as to offend anyone. DO: “DanRothamel,” “RealEstateDan,” “CvilleDaniel,” etc. DON’T: “DanLovesBeer,” “SexyDan,” “HotLoveDan,” etc. Oh yeah, almost forgot– you probably won’t want to use a name that might misuse the REALTOR trademark. We all know how that goes.

After signing up for your account, you can start writing “tweets” right away. Call them “tweets,” not “twitters.” Here’s why. But before you start tweeting, you are going to want to set up your public profile. Your public profile is what people will see when they click on your username, or visit twitter.com/yourusername.

If you clicked on my link above, you saw my public profile. In the profile, you can share your name, location, links to your website (or blog) and a 160 character description of yourself. In order to update your profile, all you have to do is login to Twitter, and then click on the “settings” link at the top of your homepage. Enter in all of the information that you want and you are done. You can also add a picture to go with your account, and even change the background of your profile page.

While we are on the subject of “settings” you are going to want to take a minute and set your “phone and IM” settings so that you will be able to send tweets and receive updates on your cell phone, and through the IM client of your choice. All of this is explained on the settings page, so take a minute and go through it. Being able to send tweets and receive notices on your phone is quite handy. I honestly don’t use the IM service, but more on that in a minute.

“I haven’t seen anything about other people yet. How am I supposed to converse with others?” Through following. You can use the search function to find other people by keyword. From their profile page, you can click on the “follow” button to follow their tweets. If you really like them, you can even have their tweets sent to your phone. Currently, I am following 30 people. Once you have an account, you can view everyone a person is following or who is following that person. You can also send out invitations to people to ask them to start using Twitter, and then you can follow each other.

“My account is set up, I have a cool pic to go with my username, and I’m set up for mobile, I found a few people I want to follow, can’t I write a tweet already?” Sure! Go for it. The only restriction is that you only have 140 characters to work with (spaces included). Tweet wisely. I also came up with 5 Rules that I think are handy when you are writing a tweet. There are some things you are going to want to take advantage of that will make your life a bit easier when writing a tweet, though. The first is shortening URL’s. At 140 characters long, you don’t want to waste them with over-long links. Use a service like TinyURL to maximize tweet space.

The other thing is to learn how to use the tweet commands. Using “@username” is called a “reply.” When you do this, that person will receive a notification that you have said something to them. Similarly, you are going to want to make your settings such that you are notified when people send an “@” to you. You can also send someone a direct message (it won’t show up in your Twitter stream at all, it will go directly to that person) by using “d username” This is good for private stuff that you don’t want everyone following you to see.

“Is there some way I can write Tweets without having to go to Twitter.com all the time?” There are quite a few ways you can do that. There are programs out there that you can install on your computer and then will sit on your desktop displaying your feed and allowing you to post tweets. There are 3 that I have tried so far:

  1. Snitter (Windows & Mac)– Snitter requires you to download the Adobe AIR before installation. The program seems to work well, and it has plenty of options you can set up. It also has an option to shrink URLs so that you don’t have to visit a separate site. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I am not crazy about its aesthetic design.
  2. Spaz (Windows & Mac)– Another Adobe AIR program. All of the same features as Snitter, but I find it a bit easier to get to all of the options and change the display windows. It doesn’t have as many formatting options, but it looks pretty cool.
  3. Twitterrific (Mac only)– It seems to me that this is what most Mac owners are using, and it was the first program I tried. I like its look and feel, but I have found that Spaz and Snitter are a bit easier to use and are a bit more full-featured.

UPDATE: Review of Twitter apps here.
I already mentioned the mobile text-messaging option, but you can also visit m.twitter.com from your phone and tweet right from there. I have used it often from my Palm, and I like it. You even have an email option– TwitterMail will give you a unique address that you can send emails to. Once you compose and email and send it to that address, it gets posted to your Twitter feed as a tweet. One of the coolest features of the program is that it automatically shortens URLs.

There are also ways to integrate your Twitter feed into your blog or link it to your Facebook account. A quick Google search will yield plenty of Twitter options, and I am sure that there are more to come in the future.

“Okay, Twitter seems kinda cool, but how is it going to help me in the real estate business?” Ah, yes. There it is. The million-dollar “what’s in it for me?” question. Well, I can think at least three simple ways of using Twitter to help your real estate business:

  1. Look at Twitter as an educational resource. If you can find a few people to follow who inspire you and share insight and information that can improve the way you do business, wouldn’t that be great? There are plenty of people on Twitter who do that for other industries, tech and marketing especially. That is why Twitter needs a larger presence from the real estate community. We could all be helping each other professionally.
  2. Use Twitter as a networking resource. There are some really interesting people on Twitter. There are probably some interesting people right in your own city on Twitter. Seek them out, engage them, and increase your network. You can even meet them in real life. At least you know that you have one thing in common right away– Twitter.
  3. You can use Twitter as a way of touching your clients. Invite your clients to use Twitter. They can follow you, you can follow them. You can all exchange information and ideas. You could notify them of new listings, open houses, share links you think they might enjoy or find informative. Basically, you can build your very own Twitter real estate community. If you want, you can even make it private. If you set up a separate account that you only want your clients to have access to, you can simply set the privacy settings so that only people who you approve can view your tweets.

I am sure that once you start using Twitter, you will come up with all kinds of creative and fun ways of using the service. Plus, once you start following people and see all of the cool ways they are using Twitter, you are sure to be inspired. I know that I have been.

Give it a Try

The key thing here is to just give Twitter a chance. It is free, after all. Set up your account, find some people to follow, write some tweets for a few weeks, and see how things go. As you start having some fun with it and get involved in the community, you are sure to uncover new opportunities to use the service to help your business. If nothing else, at least you will have had fun and learned a few new things along the way.

If you have any questions about Twitter after reading this, feel free to ask me. Just send me an email (my address in under my pic in the sidebar). Or here’s an idea– find me on Twitter and send me a tweet!

You Don’t Have to Take my Word for It

If you are still skeptical about using Twitter, I can understand. Here is a sample of what others have said about Twitter:

Web 2.0 and the California Fire Crisis
Twitter for PR Pros
Twitter Makes Guy Kawasaki’s Website Better
Chris Brogan Shares Twitter Advice
The Los Angeles Fire Department Uses Twitter

Next Edition of Social Media for Real Estate 101

I hope that you have enjoyed this look at Twitter and learned a little bit. Hopefully you have been inspired to give it a try, or at least keep and open mind to new types of social media and how they can benefit your real estate business. My Social Media for Real Estate 101 series will continue next time with a look at LinkedIn. Be sure to keep a look out for it!

Class dismissed.

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