Owner: Real Estate Tips and News URL:http://tipsandnews.realtownblogs.com/ Join Date: Tue, 07 Nov 2006 23:29:32 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: News and commentary on the world of real estate. Whether you are a buyer, a seller, or the agent in between, you'll find information you can use. Site statistics:Click here
New NAR President Has A Mission 2006-11-06 01:30:00 Next weekend Pat Vredevoogd-Combs will take over as the President
of the National Association of Realtors®. Surprisingly, The Detroit Free Press had an excellent article about her today. It includes her three goals for her term.
Increasing the nation's stock of affordable housing.
Making health insurance accessible for all Realtors -- 30% of whom are uninsured.
To promote and encourage minority agents and minority home ownership.
It's an interesting article that every Realtor® should read.
Read more:Mission
The Ten Most Dangerous Online Activities 2006-10-26 17:26:00 I'll admit it. I'm a stickler for online security. I also know that most people give very little thought to it. I shudder to think of the number of computers I've seen that haven't had their antivirus software updated since they came out of the box 3 or 4 years ago. When I ask the owners about it, the standard response is, "I thought it just did it automatically."
Protecting your computer has gotten a lot more complicated than just having an up to date antivirus, but it's amazing how many people don't even have that.
There seem to be three different attitude when it comes to security:
I'm doing everything possible to be secure.
I don't have to worry about it, nothing bad will happen to me
I don't know anything about it so I'll just ignore it.
As you can imagine, attitude number 1 is the one you should have.
So is your computer, or your network safe? Despite all the software you have installed, how you, or others on your network, act will answer that
Woe Be Gone, Taxpayers 2006-10-13 00:16:00 This has nothing to do with real estate, but I think it's important enough that I'm posting it anyway.
Woe Be Gone, Taxpayers
"A Prairie Home Companion," creator Garrison Keillor’s paean to rustic simplicity and old-time music, vaulted from its weekly slot on National Public Radio to big screens throughout the United States, Canada and Europe last summer — and was recently released for home video. Cruising on gentle reviews, the Robert Altman film promises to turn a pretty penny for investors, who will likewise cash in on the hit soundtrack and slew of other spin-off merchandise. But woe is to anyone who dares suggest ending taxpayer subsidies to Mr. Keillor’s gourmet meal ticket.
Some 4 million listeners tune in weekly to "A Prairie Home Companion," and the film of the same name captures much of the humor and eclectic — often exhilarating — music that’s made the show among the most popular aired on public radio. Indeed, there is much t
Laptop Safety and You 2006-09-23 16:58:00 No, this isn't another article on how to keep your laptop from being stolen, or preventing people from gaining access to your information while you have that cup of coffee at Starbucks. This time it's all about not getting burned.
In what has becoming an alarmingly frequent occurrence, another laptop computer has gone up in flames. This time it happened at the Yahoo research center in Santa Clara, CA. The fire forced the evacuation of the building for 45 minutes.
It's not just Dell computers that are going up in flames. A few days ago, while getting on a flight at Los Angeles International Airport, a businessman's IBM ThinkPad started smoking. He ran out of the jetway and threw it down in the boarding lounge just before it burst into flames. A couple weeks ago an Apple laptop burst into flames during a conference in Japan.
I realize how important lap tops are in the real estate business, and in life in general. For many of you, a laptop is the only computer you use Read more:Laptop
, Safety
How To Make Buyers Fall In Love With Your Home 2006-09-19 17:34:00 As part of the ProBlogger Group Writing Project , Paul over at Stix 'n Brix has written a good article on things to do to help sell your home.
Read more:Buyers
FREE Life Insurance 2006-11-10 02:10:00 Well, it's not exactly free, you do have to sell home warranties to get it. It seems that Warrantech Advantage has a new program that if you sell at least 4 of their home warranties a year, you get a free $10,000 life insurance policy. The more you sell, the more insurance you get, up to $50,000.
This must be getting difficult in the home warranty business when they start offering agents life insurance as an incentive to sell their product. RISMedia has the story but I couldn't find anything about it on Warrantech's website.
Good Advice on Preparing for Winter 2006-11-10 17:40:00 With 4" to 8" of snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, I'm reminded of what I don't like about living in Northern Michigan. Snow and cold can be hard on your body, on your car, and especially your home. Ann Cummings over at Real Estate Ramblings in New Hampshire has some excellent advice for getting your home ready for winter. Take the time to check it out, before the snow flies in your part of the country.
Read more:Good Advice
Changes in Code of Ethics 2006-11-13 23:35:00 The Board of Directors met today at the NAR convention in New Orleans and Jim Lee posted about one change to the Code of Ethics
that I'm glad to see. In regards to presenting a true picture in advertising (Article 12)
Newly adopted is this wording. "Realtors obligation to present a true picture in their advertising and representations to the public includes the URLs and domain names they use, and prohibits Realtors from:
engaging in deceptive or unauthorized framing of real estate brokerage websites;
manipulating (e.g. presenting content developed by others) listing content in any way that produces a deceptive or misleading result; or
deceptively using metatags, keywords, or other devices/methods to direct, drive, or divert Internet traffic, or to otherwise mislead consumers."
While I think this is a great addition to the code, I'm somewhat saddened that it had to be made. I prefer to think that all the Realtors® out there would play by the rules and not be deceptive.
2006-11-15 22:17:00 So you've been at this business awhile. You've survived the first few years, when most agents fail, and have proven that you've got what it takes to make a career out of real estate. So what happens now? People start coming up to you and asking about the business. We both know that people who aren't in real estate think that it's a simple job with big paychecks. They've got the paychecks right, they are big sometimes. But then again, when you calculate the time and expenses you put into getting that check, it's not nearly as much money as everyone thinks.
So what do you tell someone who thinks they've got what it takes? Tell them to go get a copy of this book, Your Succesful Real Estate Career by Kenneth W. Edwards. Amacom just release the updated 5th edition a couple weeks ago and it's a great source of information for anyone who is thinking about a career in real estate.
Dave Liniger, founder of RE/MAX called a previous edition, "A hard-hitting and comprehensi
Choosing A Real Estate Career 2006-11-15 22:17:00 So you've been at this business awhile. You've survived the first few years, when most agents fail, and have proven that you've got what it takes to make a career out of real estate. So what happens now? People start coming up to you and asking about the business. We both know that people who aren't in real estate think that it's a simple job with big paychecks. They've got the paychecks right, they are big sometimes. But then again, when you calculate the time and expenses you put into getting that check, it's not nearly as much money as everyone thinks.
So what do you tell someone who thinks they've got what it takes? Tell them to go get a copy of Your Succesful Real EstateCareer
by Kenneth W. Edwards. Amacom just released the updated 5th edition a couple weeks ago and it's a great source of information for anyone who is thinking about a career in real estate.
Dave Liniger, founder of RE/MAX called a previous edition, "A hard-hitting and comprehensive guide Read more:Real Estate
Marketing to GenXers 2006-11-16 19:51:00 According to NAR...
38% of recent home buyers were under 35 years old
Half of first time home buyers were between 25 and 34 years old
First time home buyers accounted for half of all homes purchased in 2005.
So how do you market to these "GenXer's? You start by understanding them. I you ARE a GenX, you already understand them. They are just like you. However, if you're like me, these "kids" are young enough to be your children, and you don't REALLY understand them. You may think you do, but you don't.
Mariana Wagner from Keller Williams in Colorado Springs has written an excellent article called The Secret Life of a "Generation X" Cosumer... My Story. While everything she points out doesn't apply to every member of this generation, there's enough good stuff there to make it worth the reading. So much of it applies, not only to real estate, but to any business that hopes to market to this group.
Read more:Marketing
Property Specific Sites 2006-11-18 05:56:00 Jonathon Dalton over at Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Blog has decided to enter the realm of property specific websites. And he has entered in a very good way. Check out his blog, his website and his property site and you'll notice that all 3 have the same look and feel. His write up for the property is excellent, going far beyond the bare specifics that are available all over the internet, i.e. x bedrooms, x baths, x garage, x sq ft.
JD's using subdomains from his primary site, so the page is http://8439wemilezola.daltonsazhomes.com/ which may turn out to be hard to advertise. I think it may have been better to purchase the domain "www.8439WEmileZola.com" and than point & mask it to the subdomain but that's just my personal preference.
There's a lot of discussion in the real estate blogosphere about the value of these sites, some people are for them, some are opposed but it's definitely a marketing technique that every agent should consider. The WOW factor is great with sell Read more:Specific
, Sites
Branding Your Blog 2006-11-25 05:35:00 The folks over at RSSPieces had an excellent post today concerning branding your blog. In addition to some great insight into branding, they also link to some very good tools and advice.
Here's a tidbit to wet your appetite.
"Brand out your blog. You’re brand is the sizzle, you are the steak! You might be USDA Prime as a Realtor but if your brand doesn’t convey that on your website, you won’t get conversions. It’s that simple. If you cater to an upscale market, your website needs to reflect “richness” both in graphics and content. If you cater to first time buyers your site needs to be easy to use and very tutorial based. What’s the sizzle in your brand?"
Read the rest of the Ultimate Guide to Branding
a Real Estate Blog.
Got a Phone? Get A Tax Credit 2006-12-01 05:31:00 As you are preparing your taxes this year, don't overlook the federal excise tax refund credit.
What, you've never heard of it? Well the federal excise tax has been charged to you on your phone bill for years. It is an old tax that was assessed on your toll calls based on how far the call was being made and how much time you talked on that call. When phone companies began to offer flat fee phone service, challenges to the excise tax ended up in federal courts in several districts of the country. The challengers pointed out that flat fee phone service had nothing to do with the distance and the length of the phone call. Therefore, the excise tax could not be assessed.
After several trials, losses and appeals, the IRS has finally conceded this argument. Phone companies were given notice to stop assessing the federal excise tax as of Aug 30, 2006. It may have been on your September statement, but it should NOT have been on your October bill.
But, the challengers of the old law also dem
10 Tips For Choosing A Health Club 2007-01-05 23:50:00 It's a new year and if you're like me, you've looked in the mirror and thought, I need to drop a few pounds.
Plenty of people turn to health clubs to help them loss weight. Unfortunately, they often just pick a name out the phone book and plop down their money.
Here's 10 tips for making sure that the weight you lose isn't just from your wallet.
Make sure you talk to your doctor before you start any weight loss program.
If you have more than one health club in your area, don't visit them one after the other. Visit one a day, and make sure you go at the same time that you would be going to workout. That way you'll be able to see how crowded they are at the time you'll want to be using the equipment. overcrowded during that time.
Look the place over closely. Is it clean? What kind of shape is the equipment in?
What kind of training does the staff have? Don't be afraid to ask. Just because they work there doesn't mean they know what they Read more:Health
Daylight Savings Time Comes Early This Year 2007-03-04 06:43:00 Just a reminder that beginning in 2007, you’ll have an extra month to enjoy Daylight
Saving Time (DST). For most of the United States, DST will begin at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and end at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November (this year it’s November 4th). The new start and end dates were set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Moving your clocks ahead on March 11th isn’t the only thing you have to remember. The change in DST impacts many products, not just your PC. Anything with a date setting has the potential to be affected, like cell phones, PDAs, VCRs, clocks, telephones, DVD players, TiVO, and more. Check the manufacturer’s website for device-specific advice. You can find a list of many corporations and their websites at ConsumerAction.gov.
If you’re a PC user, software patches and information are available on Microsoft’s website.
Be sure to check your bank deposits and online payments, since businesses may be affected by the Read more:Savings
, Early
, Daylight Savings
, Daylight Savings Time
REALTORS Fight Governors Proposal for $1.4 Billion Tax Increase 2007-03-13 05:20:00 I wouldn't normally post a press release but this one has the potential to further devastate the economy here in Michigan. Should this bill pass, it's conservatively estimated that it will cost Michigan 19,000 in the first year alone.
If you are a Realtor, these types of things are why you should be supporting you state associations political action fund.
LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Association of REALTORS(R) and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce today unveiled a TV ad addressing Governor Granholm's 2% excise tax on services that will result in a $1.4 billion tax increase on families and job providers. The ad began airing today and highlights just some of the services the administration wants to tax.
"With the housing industry already in trouble, this proposal will make it more expensive to build, buy, or sell a home in Michigan, said Brad Ward, Director of Public Policy and Legal Affairs for the Michigan Association of REALTORS(R). "This proposal will further imp Read more:Governors
, Proposal
REALTORS Fight Governors Proposal for $1.4 Billion Tax Increase 2007-03-12 23:20:00 I wouldn't normally post a press release but this one has the
potential to further devastate the economy here in Michigan.
Should this bill pass, it's conservatively estimated that it will
cost Michigan 19,000 in the first year alone.
If you are a Realtor, these types of things are why you should be
supporting you state associations political action fund.
LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Association of REALTORS(R) and the
Michigan Chamber of Commerce today unveiled a TV ad addressing
Governor Granholm's 2% excise tax on services that will result in
a $1.4 billion tax increase on families and job providers. The ad
began airing today and highlights just some of the services the
administration wants to tax.
"With the housing industry already in trouble, this proposal will
make it more expensive to build, buy, or sell a home in Michigan,
said Brad Ward, Director of Public Policy and Legal Affairs for
the Michigan Association of REALTORS(R). "This proposal will
f Read more:Governors
, Proposal
Daylight Savings Time Comes Early This Year 2007-03-03 23:43:00
Just a reminder that beginning in 2007, you'll have an extra
month to enjoy Daylight
Saving Time (DST). For most of the United
States, DST will begin at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March
and end at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November (this year
it's November 4th). The new start and end dates were set by the
Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Moving your clocks ahead on March 11th isn't the only thing you
have to remember. The change in DST impacts many products, not
just your PC. Anything with a date setting has the potential to
be affected, like cell phones, PDAs, VCRs, clocks, telephones,
DVD players, TiVO, and more. Check the manufacturer's website
for device-specific advice. You can find a list of many
corporations and their websites at ConsumerAction.gov.
If you're a PC user, software patches and information are
available on Microsoft's
website.
Be sure to check your bank deposits and online payments Read more:Savings
, Early
, Daylight Savings
, Daylight Savings Time
10 Tips For Choosing A Health Club 2007-01-05 16:50:00
It's a new year and if you're like me, you've looked in the
mirror and thought, I need to drop a few pounds.
Plenty of people turn to health clubs to help them loss weight.
Unfortunately, they often just pick a name out the phone book and
plop down their money.
Here's 10 tips for making sure that the weight you lose isn't
just from your wallet.
Make sure you talk to your doctor before you start any weight
loss program.
If you have more than one health club in your area, don't
visit them one after the other. Visit one a day, and make sure
you go at the same time that you would be going to workout. That
way you'll be able to see how crowded they are at the time you'll
want to be using the equipment. overcrowded during that time.
Look the place over closely. Is it clean? What kind of shape
is the equipment in?
What kind of training does the staff have? Don't be afraid to
ask. Just because they work there doesn't mean they know Read more:Health
Got a Phone? Get A Tax Credit 2006-11-30 22:31:00
As you are preparing your taxes this year, don't
overlook the federal excise tax refund credit.
What, you've never heard of it? Well the federal
excise tax has been charged to you on your phone bill for years.
It is an old tax that was assessed on your toll calls based on
how far the call was being made and how much time you talked on
that call. When phone companies began to offer flat fee phone
service, challenges to the excise tax ended up in federal courts
in several districts of the country. The challengers pointed out
that flat fee phone service had nothing to do with the distance
and the length of the phone call. Therefore, the excise tax could
not be assessed.
After several trials, losses and appeals, the
IRS has finally conceded this argument. Phone companies were
given notice to stop assessing the federal excise tax as of Aug
30, 2006. It may have been on your September statement, but it
should NOT have been on your October bill.
Bu
Branding Your Blog 2006-11-24 22:35:00 The folks over at RSSPieces
had an excellent post today concerning branding your blog. In
addition to some great insight into branding, they also link to
some very good tools and advice.
Here's a tidbit to wet your appetite.
"Brand out your blog. You're brand is the sizzle,
you are the steak! You might be USDA Prime as a Realtor but if your
brand doesn't convey that on your website, you won't get
conversions. It's that simple. If you cater to an upscale market,
your website needs to reflect "richness" both in graphics and
content. If you cater to first time buyers your site needs to be
easy to use and very tutorial based. What's the sizzle in your
brand?"
Read the rest of the
Ultimate Guide to Branding
a Real Estate Blog.
Property Specific Sites 2006-11-17 22:56:00
Jonathon Dalton over at Phoenix Arizona Real Estate
Blog has decided to enter the realm of
property specific websites. And he has entered in a very good
way. Check out his blog, his website and his property site and
you'll notice that all 3 have the same look and feel. His write up
for the property is excellent, going far beyond the bare specifics
that are available all over the internet, i.e. x bedrooms, x baths,
x garage, x sq ft.
JD's using subdomains from his primary site, so the page is
http://8439wemilezola.daltonsazhomes.com/
which may turn out to be hard to advertise. I think it may have
been better to purchase the domain "www.8439WEmileZola.com" and
than point & mask it to the subdomain but that's just my
personal preference.
There's a lot of discussion in the real estate blogosphere about
the value of these sites, some people are for them, some are
opposed but it's definitely a marketing technique that every agent
should consider. The WOW factor is great wit Read more:Specific
, Sites
Marketing to GenXers 2006-11-16 12:51:00 According to NAR...
38% of recent home buyers were under 35 years old
Half of first time home buyers were between 25 and 34 years
old
First time home buyers accounted for half of all homes
purchased in 2005.
So how do you market to these "GenXer's? You start by
understanding them. I you ARE a GenX, you already understand them.
They are just like you. However, if you're like me, these "kids"
are young enough to be your children, and you don't REALLY
understand them. You may think you do, but you don't.
Mariana Wagner from Keller Williams in Colorado Springs has written
an excellent article called The
Secret Life of a "Generation X" Cosumer... My Story.
While everything she points out doesn't apply to every member of
this generation, there's enough good stuff there to make it worth
the reading. So much of it applies, not only to real estate, but
to any business that hopes to market to this group.
Read more:Marketing
Choosing A Real Estate Career 2006-11-15 15:17:00 So you've been at this business awhile. You've survived the first
few years, when most agents fail, and have proven that you've got
what it takes to make a career out of real estate. So what happens
now? People start coming up to you and asking about the business.
We both know that people who aren't in real estate think that it's
a simple job with big paychecks. They've got the paychecks right,
they are big sometimes. But then again, when you calculate the time
and expenses you put into getting that check, it's not nearly as
much money as everyone thinks.
So what do you tell
someone who thinks they've got what it takes? Tell them to go get a
copy of
Your Succesful Real EstateCareer
by Kenneth W. Edwards. Amacom
just released the updated 5th edition a couple weeks ago and it's a
great source of information for anyone who is thinking about a
career in real estate.
Dave Liniger, founder of RE/MAX called a previous edition, "A
hard-hitting and comprehensive guide for anyone l Read more:Real Estate
Changes in Code of Ethics 2006-11-13 16:35:00 The Board of Directors met today at the NAR convention in New
Orleans and Jim Lee posted about one change
to the Code of Ethics
that I'm glad to see. In regards to
presenting a true picture in advertising (Article 12)
Newly adopted is this wording. "Realtors obligation to
present a true picture in their advertising and representations
to the public includes the URLs and domain names they use, and
prohibits Realtors from:
engaging in deceptive or unauthorized framing of real
estate brokerage websites;
manipulating (e.g. presenting content developed by others)
listing content in any way that produces a deceptive or
misleading result; or
deceptively using metatags, keywords, or other
devices/methods to direct, drive, or divert Internet traffic,
or to otherwise mislead consumers."
While I think this is a great addition to the code, I'm
somewhat saddened that it had to be made. I prefer to think that
all the Realtors® out the
Good Advice on Preparing for Winter 2006-11-10 10:40:00 With 4" to 8" of snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, I'm
reminded of what I don't like about living in Northern Michigan.
Snow and cold can be hard on your body, on your car, and especially
your home. Ann Cummings over at Real Estate Ramblings in New
Hampshire has some excellent advice for
getting your home ready for winter. Take the time to check it
out, before the snow flies in your part of the country.
Read more:Good Advice
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