Recent Discussions

<p> Share your views about Facebook and how you use it as a social media mareketer. </p>

<p> Share your social media success stories. </p>

<p>It seems something called barracuda is bouncing my emails...any suggestions? (They are just bouncing my RealTown address)</p> <p>Thanks,,,,</p> <p>Carole B Mackler REALTOR&nbsp; 928-274-2325</p> <p>Sedona Realty&nbsp;<a href="mailto:--Carole@Sedona.net">--Carole@Sedona.net</a> and <a href="mailto:Carole@CaroleMackler.com">Carole@CaroleMackler.com</a></p>

<p> I just returned from the NAR National Convention in San Diego, California. This convention had a feel of celebration. I believe that&#39;s because every one of the 19,000 attendees is a survivor of the past three years of the worst economic and Real Estate crisis this country has seen in 80 years. </p> <p> For me the experience was one of confirmation of what I believe to be the future of the Real Estate Industry. Two years ago I conceived of a brand new business model. The business model is a National Internet Based Real Estate Brokerage, where the Realtors® work out of their home offices, and as a result the Broker has no Brick and Mortar expense. In return the Realtor® keeps 100% of his or her commission and just pays the Broker a small association fee each month, thereby creating a profit for the Broker, rather than an expense. </p> <p> Two years ago, when we first rolled out our business model in Washington D.C. at the Mid Year NAR Convention, the word &quot;Virtual&quot; was absolute poison. Brokers and Realtors® would come to our booth and literally run when they heard the word VIRTUAL. What a change just two years has made! </p> <p> This year at the NAR National Convention in San Diego, the word VIRTUAL was the most exciting idea being discussed. We literally had hundreds of Brokers come by our booth to learn how we created a VIRTUAL environment for the Realtors® and Brokers so successfully. I suspect in the coming year we will see hundreds of Brokerages recreating themselves under a VIRTUAL banner. </p> <p> Even the Realtors® this year jumped all over the VIRTUAL business model. We had literally thousands of Realtors® come by the booth because they have realized that they can now command 100% of their commissions, and that is now the accepted standard. </p> <p> Furthermore, what we heard from every Realtor® is the reason they don&#39;t go to an office, and the reason they don&#39;t care about an office environment is boiled down to one word: DISTRACTION!!!! </p> <p> The top producers think that when they go into an office environment, they become distracted from being productive. We heard this comment universally from almost every Realtor®. Realtors® insight into their most fruitful working conditions has been an unanticipated end result of this business model. </p> <p> So, after this year&#39;s convention I feel that my original business model was not only accepted by both the Brokers and Realtors®, but that I was no longer this strange Broker that lived out there in some mysterious VIRTUAL never-land. </p> <p> The VIRTUAL CULTURE is not only the future of the industry, but a huge favor to all the Brokers who are struggling to keep their doors open, now that even brand new Realtors® expect to keep 100% of their commissions. </p> <p> I&#39;m not this crazy man after all. This new business model has legs, and it will continue to expand and grow. It will, in the process, make the Brokers of our industry financially healthy once again. It will also allow the Realtors® to truly be independent contractors who are allowed to keep all of what they have earned. </p> <p> The VIRTUAL CULTURE is a WIN WIN WIN for the Broker, the Realtor® and the Consumer. </p> <p> <a href="http://joinallisonjames.com">Click here is see our new Recruiting initiative</a> </p> <p> </p> <p> James A. Crumbaugh III is CEO of Allison James Estates and Homes and may be reached at <a href="mailto:jcrumbaugh@allisonjames.net">jcrumbaugh@allisonjames.net</a> </p>

<p> <span style="font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; color: #334455; font-size: 9pt"><o:p> </o:p></span> </p> <p> <span style="font-family: &quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; color: #111111; font-size: 9pt">Does anyone know how to put the e-mail and phone functions of the Blackberry Curve on vacation mode?? Then how to turn it off after vacation?? Thanks. <o:p></o:p></span> </p> <p> </p>

<p>Our MLS Comittee is reviewing how listings with forgivable loans, grants or income requirements are entered into the MLS. The biggest question is &quot;At what list price should they be listed at?&quot;&nbsp; An example: a property is listed at $75,000 but there is a forgivable loan of $30,000 over a 10 year period and the requirement is that the homebuyer is at or below 80% of the areas median income. The argument is that if I was a buyer with cash it would cost me $105,000 to purchase the house, so shouldn't it be listed at $105,000.</p> <p>Cindy Pelz, RCE</p> <p>Executive Officer</p> <p>Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p> Last week i got a call from Reply.com. I was sold on trying quality leads from this company at $54/lead no strings attached, return within 3 days if they were invalid. I explained to the sales rep that i was not interested on long term relationships, i explained that i was looking for high quality prospects ready to buy or sell within 90 days. They told me i could cancel at any time if i didn&#39;t like the product. </p> <p> Very quickly i realized these leads were no better than any other internet leads i will get on my website.. actually out of 8 they sent all bogus numbers, bogus names and emails. </p> <p> I called within 3 days to cancel. Now they are dripping me with bad leads they want to bill me for and demand a 30 day notice (in the meantime they will continue to drip me for obvious rea$ons), and they DO NOT TAKE the leads back based on their criteria. </p> <p> I am in a predicament here, i am going on vacation and these people are bombarding me with useless leads. Anyone out there had any dealings with this company? any suggestions? </p> <p> Thank you in advance. </p> <p> Marina </p>

<p> What are you doing to keep up? </p> <p> <img hspace="10" height="300" align="absmiddle" width="432" vspace="10" src="http://www.realtown.com/members/Israel/files/websitesevolvedad3(2).jpg" alt="website eveoled has yours" /> </p>

<p>I am representing the sesller , and on closing day the buyer's lawyer noticed that the survey did not have all buildings etc. on it, which , as time was of the esssence, The seller agreed take 400$ off his cheque and I agreed to take off 400 - the selling agent also agreed, and then changed his mind 2 days later.&nbsp; That selling agent has gone back on his word, which is not professional conduct.&nbsp; Then I call the surveyor to whom the buyers lawyer inquired about cost of survey to, and the survey has not been ordered yet, and the cost as been changed from 1200 to 900, as the surveyors got the property mixed up with another one.&nbsp; The $1200. has been deducted from the Sellers cheque on closing for this survey, which is costing less than predicted.&nbsp; Can the seller demand proof that a survey was indeed done?&nbsp; Can he get a rebate ?</p>

<p> <strong>Google Business Directory Listings - Another way to get FREE Traffic and Rankings in Google</strong><br /> <br /> As time goes by most people realize that the &quot;Yellow Pages&quot; business model is becoming outdated and a vast majority of people are using Google to find things that 5 years ago and more would have come from a phone book.<br /> <br /> Google too has also realized this and they have created a Google Business Directory to list professional services in including doctors, dentists and real estate agents and brokers.<br /> <br /> It is essential for real estate agents, brokers and mortgage lenders to take advantage of this new resource and use it as a way to not only build more inbound links to your website but also as a way to bring in more phone calls and business.<br /> <br /> The part which makes this even more compelling is the fact that Google brings up the directory listings in the top of the search results page and most times the Google business directory listings come up above the organic search results.<br /> <br /> No longer do you have to spend thousands of dollars to optimize a website when you can submit yourself into the Google business directory and get top search engine rankings.<br /> <br /> There are some tricks to knowing how to do it so that you come up on the top of the list, but if you can be listed in the top 10 you are going to get some great traffic and leads from clients who need the help of a real estate agent and broker. Even if you do not come up on the top 10 you are still building inbound links to your website, being listed on Google Maps and helping yourself get more exposure.<br /> <br /> As someone who has set up thousands of Google Adwords pay-per-click search engine accounts I can tell you that between 10-15% of real estate related searches being done are people actually looking to make contact with an agent or broker. If you can be listed on the top of the page your chances of being the person they contact is much greater. </p> <p> Google brings up the Local Business Directory Listings when someone types in &quot;san diego rael estate agent&quot; &quot;austin real estate broker&quot; &quot;la jolla real estate agent&quot; etc.... basically whenever soneone is looking for an agent or broker for the name of the city. This means that the traffic is very targeted and the scope of the listings is now also starting to come up under &quot;real estate for sale&quot; type searches in some markets which means even more FREE traffic and exposure.<br /> <br /> Google also provides free traffic statistics and information on how many views and visits your Google Directory Listing is getting so you can see the results first hand. I have personally generated thousands of visitors and lots of business from being listed in the Google Directory for &quot;vacation rentals&quot; here in San Diego which has been absolutely free.<br /> <br /> After setting up hundreds of these listings the average real estate agent will generate about 300-500 impressions and up to 75-200 free website visits per month. The Local Google Directory Listings bring up the agent / broker phone number in the top of the page so clients can call you direct and do not have to visit your website to get contact information.<br /> <br /> There are many ways to get listed in Google and get traffic from Google and the Business Directory Listings are one of the fastest and cheapest ways to do so.<br /> <br /> The Google Business Directory Listings are free to set up although if you wish to hire a consultant the costs normally range from $150 - $200 to guarantee a top 10 ranking. Many SEO experts are now seeing the power of these listings and offering the set up services to their clients. Knowing a few optimization secrets always helps keep you ahead of the pack. One of those secrets is to add as much content as possible and include videos in the set up since they allow space for up to 5 videos. (another reason to set up and get going on Youtube.com)<br /> <br /> The Google Business Directory Listings can be set up and activated within 24 hours and once acitivated it normally takes 3-4 weeks for top placement.<br /> <br /> If you have questions or need help setting up listings in the Google Local Business Directory you can email me at <a href="mailto:getinfo@san.rr.com"><font color="#1C4D90">getinfo@san.rr.com</font></a><br /> <br /> By getting yourself indexed in as many places possible in Google you can not only get more phone calls and visitors but also help your own websites rank much higher in the search results.<br /> <br /> Using the free resources that Google provides such as Google Business Directory Listings, Profile Pages and websites are all resources that agents should be taking advantage of to stay ahead of the pack to increase exposure, website rankings and traffic.<br /> <br /> So go set up a Google account (if you do not already have one) and get started using this extremely valuable free resource and start bringing in more traffic, leads and phone calls to your business.<br /> <br /> The fact is that buyers and sellers know the Internet is extremely important for getting exposure for a listing and if you can show them you are using it effectively it will help you bring in more business, and sell more homes. </p> <p> Google is the &quot;yellow pages&quot; of the 21st century and the sooner you take advantage of this program the better! </p> <p> Best wishes to your success! </p> <p> Sean Callahan<br /> (858) 731-7278<br /> <a href="mailto:getinfo@san.rr.com">getinfo@san.rr.com</a> </p> <p> <a href="http://www.realestatemarketingnerds.com"><font color="#1C4D90">www.realestatemarketingnerds.com</font></a><br /> <a href="http://www.realestatemarketingnerds.info">www.realestatemarketingnerds.info</a><br /> <a href="http://www.recessionproofhomebiz.com">www.recessionproofhomebiz.com</a><br /> <a href="http://www.socalbeachmag.net">www.socalbeachmag.net</a> </p> <p> </p>

<div class="body"> <p> Help! </p> <p> My computers now have Vista (which I actually like) and Microsoft has replaced Outlook Express with a new program called Windows Live Mail. I have never used Outlook. The e-PRO course uses Outlook in the training modules. How do I handle those questions? </p> <p> Thanks for your help, </p> <p> Linda Eaton </p> </div>

<p> I have 2 files with SLS as the 2nd lienholder. My experience with both of them have been nothing but a nightmare. Their timeline isn&#39;t the problem. But what they&#39;re asking is way above what anyone would be able to come up with (I&#39;m talking about the difference between what the 1st is willing to pay and what SLS wants to net). </p> <p> If anyone has experience with SLS, is there a &quot;special&quot; way to deal with them? They are HARDBALL. In the end, do they step down a notch and finally take a more reasonable payoff? </p> <p> In all respects, I understand they are just doing their job and trying to get as much as they can for themselves/their investors, but it seems they are a bit far off. Their favorite line seems to be &quot;then just take this to sale.&quot; This is a major bluff, correct? </p>

<p> Hi All, </p> <p> I&#39;m considering signing up for Docusign. Looks like a great tool to simplify and speed up the process of document processing. I don&#39;t think this is a replacement for face to face communication in all circumstances but it would be nice to use in many cases. </p> <p> If you have experience using Docusign (good or bad) would you mind sharing? </p> <p> Thanks! </p> <p> Rick Tibbitts </p>

<p> In the last 60 days we doubled our business!!!!!!!!! </p>

<p> I had a situation arise last week where the buyers had requested a survey , and on closing day, their lawyer (buyers lawyer) brought to their attention the fact that no house nor garage etc. were on the survey, that it was an R-plan only. They were getting title insurance anyway, but they insisted that they get a brand new survey. Cost was going to be 1200 .00 - The seller and the listing and the selling agent all agreed to contribute 400.00 to cover cost for buyers of this survey. This cost was from a phone call to the surveyors , who as I found out today, got the subject property mixed up with another property down the road farther. The cost will now be around 900.00 . Secondly, the survey has not been ordered yet by the buyers lawyer., nor the buyers. Now that the 1200.00 has been deducted for the cost of this new survey, and it will be less, and also assuming that they may just pocket the $1200.00 and not get a survey. What re-course do we have in this case? Is this not fraud? I called the sellers lawyer. He said nothing was in writing, but that an :abatement&quot; was done. As real estate professionals, we have to have everything in writing, why do they not need to?? HELP?? </p>