Taking it to the streets -- more on mobile

The Breakaway Brokerage: Part 5

BY INMAN NEWS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2013.

Inman News®

Joel Burslem

By JOEL BURSLEM

The first part of this postcovered the strategic opportunities for brokers to reach out to mobile users. We talked about the types of mobile users, where they sit in the funnel, and gave some broad ideas for how and where to engage them.

This week, I want to get more tactical and offer tangible ways to focus your mobile efforts in three main areas: the mobile Web, native applications and mobile marketing.

Mobile Web

Every broker should be optimizing their site for mobile browsers. After a few years spent monitoring analytics accounts for major brokerages around the country, one thing is clear: Mobile Web traffic -- those visitors coming to broker websites from smartphone or tablet devices -- has steadily marched upwards. I suspect your numbers are no different.

Scratching below the surface, what's also interesting is where that traffic is heading. Here's a hint: It's probably not your home page.

Tame your cloud storage services

Attachments.me connects Gmail to Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive and Box

BY TOM FLANAGAN, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013. Inman News®

Cloud storage image via Shutterstock.

Cloud storage services are fantastic. They enable us to access our files across multiple devices and increase our productivity. But managing different cloud storage services independently can be frustrating. Like many real estate pros, I have files stored in Dropbox and Google Drive. If I want to share photos from my Dropbox account with a client or colleague, the task has to be executed via Dropbox. In other words, I have to launch Dropbox and share the photos from the application. The more cloud storage services I utilize, the more challenging streamlining my data becomes. Attachments.me is an app that connects Gmail with Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive and Box. The app makes it super easy to search and share attachments from these cloud storage services directly through Gmail.

9 ways to better market your properties

Hot tips from Real Estate Connect NYC

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2013.

Inman News®

Homes for sale image via Shutterstock.

Every Real Estate Connect conference is packed with plenty of hot tips, strategies and new apps. Here's a quick rundown of some of the coolest apps and strategies from last month's Real Estate Connect in New York City. Which of these will you implement in your business?

1. Is your website responsive?

The latest programming languages allow your website to automatically adjust to the size of the screen on which the site is being viewed (i.e., be "responsive). The software detects the device your Web visitor is using and then automatically adjusts to fit the screen. If you are considering a new website, WordPress is one of the most widely used platforms for achieving this goal.

Your paperless office may soon be printing plastic

Only time will tell if 3-D printing has real estate applications

BY GAHLORD DEWALD, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013.

Inman News®

The Makerbot Replicator 2 Desktop 3-D Printer. Image via Makerbot.com

It seems like 2013 is gearing up to be the year of 3-D printing among the tech set. Let's spend a few minutes looking at this technology -- also known as "additive manufacturing" -- and what sort of impact it might have.
3-D printing technology enables you to make a physical object out of plastic from a computer file. It is to industrial design what the ink jet printer is to graphic design.
So, in the same way that you might use an ink jet printer to print off a couple of brochures or sell sheets or other business collateral, you might use a 3-D printer to "print" off an object -- a keychain fob, an action figure, a spare plastic part for something, and so on.
First off, let's be very clear and honest: 3-D printing is extremely cool, but it's also a long way from mainstream. There are significant constraints on what this technology can do today.

The printers build up objects a layer at a time, which are limited in size and also in complexity or "resolution." The resulting objects are prone to deformities and defects, and will often require some degree of hand finishing to be considered of decent quality.

But in the same way that the capabilities of desktop printers have advanced radically, I suspect that 3-D printing will also improve rapidly should a market become apparent. What we see today with hobbyist 3-D printing will morph into something more polished and useful over time.
Let's examine the technology in terms of time frame.

6 ways to increase your chances of being audited

Real Estate Tax Talk

BY STEPHEN FISHMAN, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013.

Inman News®

Audit image via Shutterstock.

Now that we've entered the tax filing season, many taxpayers' thoughts naturally turn to the subject of IRS audits. What are the chances you'll be audited by the IRS? It depends.

The overall audit rate is low. In 2012 only 0.94 percent of all individual taxpayers with incomes under $200,000 were audited. Taxpayers with incomes of $200,000 to $1 million were audited at a 3.7 percent rate.

Radian mortgage insurance now available through Mortgagebot

Customers can now order PMI directly from loan origination system

BY INMAN NEWS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012.

Inman News®

Mortgage insurance from Philadelphia-based Radian Guaranty Inc. is now available through a loan origination system from mortgage and consumer lending technology company Mortgagebot.

Financial technology firm D+H acquired Mequon, Wis.-based Mortgagebot in April 2011. The company counts more than 1,300 banks and credit unions nationwide as clients.

Radian Guaranty Inc., a private mortgage insurance and risk management provider, is a subsidiary of Radian Group Inc. Mortgagebot has now completely integrated Radian's mortgage insurance offerings into its Web-based Mortgagebot EnterpriseLOS, allowing customers of both companies to order Radian mortgage insurance directly from the platform.

"This is exciting news because it’s one more way Radian is working to accomplish one of our top priorities -- making it easier than ever to do business with us," said Brien McMahon, Radian’s chief franchise officer, in a statement.

Should lockboxes be mandatory?

NAR revisiting rule governing 'optional' MLS, association services

BY MATT CARTER, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012.

Inman News®

Lockbox image via SentriLock LLC

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct that while some Realtor associations and MLSs want all of their members to pay for lockbox services, those members would not be required to use the devices. The subhead of the story as originally published stated that the NAR policy under review prohibits MLSs and associations from requiring the use of lockboxes. The policy only prohibits MLSs and associations from requiring that members pay for lockbox services.   

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The National Association of Realtors is considering whether multiple listing services and Realtor associations will be allowed to require that their members pay for some services that are now considered optional, such as lockboxes.

At least three MLSs have notified NAR of their desire to require all of their subscribers to pay for lockbox services, citing security issues when members don't use the devices, and potential cost savings from universal member participation.

A policy adopted by NAR in 1996 to curb potential abuses of authority by MLSs and local Realtor associations limits the services that can be included in member dues. Products and services are defined as either "core," "basic" or "optional."

Realty One Group now a franchisor

California broker Barbara Baker is first to affiliate with company

BY PAUL HAGEY, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012 Inman News®

Real estate brokerage Realty One Group Inc. has entered the franchising business with Temecula, Calif.-based broker Barbara Baker affiliating with the company as Realty One Group Southwest.
Currently, Realty One Group Southwest has between 15 and 20 agents, and expects to grow to between 50 and 75 by year's end, Baker said.
Based in Las Vegas, Realty One Group operates 15 brokerage offices with more than 4,000 agents in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California.
In August, CEO Kuba Jewgieniew announced that the company would develop a franchise system as the next step in the company's plans to expand nationwide and become a publicly traded company.
With Baker on board, Realty One Group's new franchising arm, Irvine, Calif.-based Realty One Group Affiliates Inc., now has its first franchisee.

'Nudge' real estate marketing tool now incorporates photos

Version 2.0 of 1000watt app allows updates directly from Instagram

BY INMAN NEWS, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012.

Inman News®

Nudge, the Web-based app from real estate marketing firm 1000watt Consulting that allows real estate pros to create clear, straightforward ads in a short amount of time, now incorporates photos.
The app was designed to be a streamlined, simple real estate marketing alternative to the sometimes difficult-to-relate-to marketing reports full of text, charts and graphs, said 1000watt partner Marc Davison, who helped design the app.
With the release of Nudge 2.0, users can now update photos directly from Instagram, or from their desktop, and create straightforward ads akin to those from big-brand ads like Groupon, Davison said.
The first iteration of the app, released in April, had 10 clip art-like interactive images that users could modify to indicate broad market conditions such as whether inventory was up or down.
Users would adjust the art in its predetermined settings, give it a title, include some text (450-character max) and then send it out over email, embed it on their website or share it via social media.
Now, while retaining many of the app's former characteristics, Nudge allows real estate pros to add their own images and includes a streamlined design, Davison said. In a nutshell, he said, it's now become a marketing tool that allows users to create a marketing piece with "a nice image, simple text and a call to action."

"Marketing should have a soft touch," Davison said. "A Groupon comes every day for one cool thing," and Nudge makes it easy for real estate pros do to the same thing, he said.

Screen shot of part of a Nudge piece made by Fort Worth, Texas-based Fischer Real Estate Services. See the full version here.
"(N)udge makes digital marketing easier," wrote Jack Miller, the chief technology officer of the Austin, Texas, real estate firm The GoodLife Team, in a Facebook comment posted today. "We did some tests with it in the earlier version, and I'm very excited about the creative possibilities with it now with the photo tools. Cool stuff."
Nikki Beauchamp, an agent with Warburg Realty Partnership Ltd., indicated that she was excited by Nudge's ability to allow her to market differently than she usually does. "I like sharing my photos various places," she said in a Facebook comment today. "But very exciting to be able to use as a more general marketing touch other than 'here's new data.'"
1000watt charges individual agents $149 per year for access to platform. Brokerages, regardless of the number of agents they have, can purchase the service for a flat fee of $1,000 per month.

Don't 'date' the real estate ingrate

How to spot would-be clients you should drop like a hot potato

BY ALISHA ALWAY BRAATZ, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012.

Inman News®

Date image via Shutterstock.

I recently heard a radio host reading a piece on the subject, "Who not to date -- ever." It was so funny, and right on, that I tried to Google it for my husband to read.

Turns out there are millions of results for that search term. I never did find the right one. But after reading through the first 10 or so entries, I concluded that trillions of people the world over hate a nag, a know-it-all, and a money-grubber.

The stereotypes were spot-on, and it got me thinking about our real estate clientele. Because, you have to admit, courting a client is a lot like dating -- minus the butterflies, romance and tequila shots.

We dedicate weekends to these people, buy them steak dinners and have their number on speed dial. We practice making small talk in the rearview mirror on the way to pick them up. We dress to impress. We wash the car. And we never pass gas or burp in front of them (I hope!).

5 ways to achieve top producer's mindset

The SLAM model for real estate success

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2012 Inman News®

Vince Lombardi painting by Daniel A. Moore via Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

Editor's note: This is the last in a five-part series. See Part 1,Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

Top performers in virtually all industries share one common trait: a positive mindset. You can have the best systems, and understand how to apply leverage and attraction, but it is your mindset that will ultimately make or break your success.

How to attract higher-quality buyer, seller clients

The SLAM model for real estate success

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012 Inman News®

Contemplation image via Shutterstock.

Editor's note: This is Part 4 in a five-part series. See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Would you like to double your income without doubling your work? Once you have mastered systems and leverage in the SLAM (systems, leverage, attraction, mindset) model, increasing your income shifts to being more heavily influenced by factors outside real estate.

Have you ever noticed that when you plan an extended vacation your business suddenly picks up? The principles of attraction explain why this is the case. Rather than allowing this system to work haphazardly in your business, being intentional about its use can produce amazing results. The six steps described below are the foundation for attracting the real estate business that you have always dreamed of having.

MRIS going it alone in NeighborCity copyright suit

MLS won't take money it requested from NAR to help pay for legal battle

BY ANDREA V. BRAMBILA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2012 Inman News®

Lone rider image via Shutterstock.

Mid-Atlantic multiple listing service Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. (MRIS) has decided not to accept financial support it requested from the National Association of Realtors for its copyright infringement suit against the operator of real estate search portal and referral site NeighborCity.com.

In a complaint filed March 28, MRIS alleged NeighborCity's owner and operator, American Home Realty Network Inc., reproduced, displayed and distributed copyrighted listing content, including photographs, without authorization and violated copyright laws through "the creation of unauthorized derivative works incorporating the MRIS database."

St. Paul, Minn.-based Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota Inc. (NorthstarMLS) made similar allegations against San Francisco-based American Home Realty Network in a complaint filed April 18.

The lawsuits were filed not long after American Home Realty Network, which is licensed as a brokerage in California, updated profile pages for 850,000 agents on NeighborCity.com that feature agent scores and performance metrics based on their transaction history.

Who got rich off of Trulia IPO?

Co-founders Pete Flint and Sami Inkinen top the chart

BY INMAN NEWS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 Inman News®

Trulia co-founders Pete Flint (wielding gavel) and Sami Inkinen (under the 'a' in Trulia) at the New York Stock Exchange Thursday. Photo credit: Ben Hider/NYSE Euronext.

Editor's note: This story has been updated.

Trulia Inc. co-founders Peter Flint, 37, and Sami Inkinen, 36, cashed in on stock worth $3.88 million and $3.56 million, respectively, during Trulia's initial public offering.

Both Flint and Inkinen held on to about 10 times as many shares as they sold, as the company they founded in 2004 finished its first day of trading Thursday with a market capitalization in excess of $500 million.

Flint continues to lead the company as CEO. Inkinen shed his role as president with the company in March and remains on the board of directors.

Trulia ups IPO share price to $17

Shares begin trading under 'TRLA' ticker tomorrow

BY INMAN NEWS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 Inman News®

Wll Street bull image via Shutterstock.

Real estate search website Trulia Inc. has priced an initial public offering of stock in the company at $17 per share, clearing the way for public trading of company common stock on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning under the ticker "TRLA."

At $17 a share  -- $1 above the previously announced expected range -- the IPO of 6 million shares will raise $102 million before expenses. San Francisco-based Trulia is selling 5 million shares valued at $85 million, and a number of existing shareholders including co-founders Sami Inkinen and Pete Flint are collectively putting up 1 million shares valued at $17 million.

Trulia stands to raise an additional $15.3 million if underwriters exercise an option to purchase 900,000 more shares in the next 30 days, bringing the value of shares the company is hoping to sell at $100.3 million before expenses.

Forms auto-populate, but can agents explain them?

As industry moves to paperless, agents must understand contract provisions

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012.

Inman News®

Robot wielding pen image via Shutterstock.

As the industry moves to becoming paperless, the new technologies are exacerbating a problem that has existed for years: agents failing to make sure their clients understand the contracts they are signing. Are you taking the necessary steps to protect your clients?

Your clients have found the perfect house but there are already two offers on it. They're in a hurry to submit an offer, so you take out your iPad, pop open the zipForms version of your purchase contract, and auto-fill the contract. The buyers digitally sign the contract, you obtain their deposit check, and you email the offer to the listing agent. The entire process took a little over five minutes -- isn't technology grand?

I have been interviewing managers and broker-owners regarding the major challenges they're facing with new agents. Every broker and manager I have spoken with has cited the same problem: A substantial proportion of all agents have failed to master the fundamentals of the business.

5 Steps to Reconnecting With Past Clients

by Matthew Collis  September 11, 2012

As you may already know, keeping in touch with past clients is an essential ingredient to building referrals and generating repeat business.

Once you’ve helped your client purchase or sell his home, and the transaction is complete, you need to continue the relationship-building process if you want referrals to flow your way and clients to come back to use your services time and again.

Remember, it takes five times the amount of time and money to acquire a new client than to retain an existing one. The business you receive from past clients in the form of referrals and repeat transactions is “low-hanging fruit” compared to the business you get from having to prospect, advertise and cold call.

Consider this: The National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that among sellers, a whopping 85 percent said that they would definitely or probably use their real estate agent again or recommend them to others.

Homebuyers pay for 'raids' on Fannie and Freddie

Commentary: Mortgage surcharges let lawmakers keep pledges not to raise taxes

BY KEN HARNEY, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 Inman News®

Chest of money image via Shutterstock.

There's an ominous trend taking shape below the headlines in Washington this political season that anyone involved in home sales, financing or building should keep an eye on.

It's called raiding the cookie jar of the helpless: squeezing more money for federal purposes out of the home lending process without calling it a "tax" by jacking up fees at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

After a raid, consumers purchasing homes or refinancing end up paying relatively small amounts extra in mortgage fees -- adding anywhere between one-eighth and one-quarter of a percent onto their loan rates. Hardly anyone's the wiser because the surcharges show up nowhere in the process.

But with 60 percent-plus of all new mortgages now being funded by Fannie and Freddie, the extra amounts raised by mortgage fees rapidly can total into the tens of billions of dollars over extended periods.

The danger of new fees tacked onto conventional mortgages stems from two developments: first is the looming "fiscal cliff" facing the federal government by year-end, when Bush-era tax cuts expire and disastrous cuts in spending kick in.

Second, there is a perception on Capitol Hill -- a correct one -- that the two giant companies now under government control have no one left to protect them from financial assaults. That means they are fair game when revenues need to be raised without violating no-new-taxes pledges.

Why your listings don't rank

How to get search engines to see your pages and rank them higher

BY GAHLORD DEWALD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 Inman News®

Ski lift image via Shutterstock.

A reader emailed recently wondering why search engines find property listings on some websites and not on others.

Even more vexing, sometimes search engines treat different listings on the same site inconsistently -- one listing on Craigslist will show up in search results, and another listing won't. Why is that?

Search is one of those arcane arts of the Web. Agents and brokers -- who once provided a fairly hefty subsidy of local newspapers through their advertising -- now spend a great deal of time and money getting properties and sites to show up in search engine results.

And that's probably a good thing. If someone is is paying to have their house listed, and one of the promises made by the agent involves marketing the property, then doing a bit of online marketing via search engines is in order. But hopefully you'll get the property sold before you have to boost its ranking on a head term.

Social media marketing is passive prospecting

Don't let the fear of rejection stop you from asking for business

BY DAVID FLETCHER, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 Inman News®

Boy fishing image via Shutterstock.

I'm getting so many "tips" on how to use social media, I am getting a truth ache.

Our salaried friends can become addicted to social media, have fun with it, build their lives around it. Try every tip or trick in the book, because it doesn't affect their household income. As commission-only real estate agents, we don't have that luxury.

We need to understand that social media marketing is an important but passiveprospecting tool. Social media is a "hope so, think so, maybe so" prospecting tool. It can be effective, but it calls for focused discernment on our part.