Your relationship with Instagram needn't be exclusive

 

Realtor Notebook

BY TERESA BOARDMAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013.

Inman News®

The honeymoon is over image via Shutterstock.

I followed with interest the confusing changes to Instagram's terms of service that, for a while at least, seemed to indicate that parent company Facebook was claiming the right to license all public Instagram photos for commercial uses, including advertising.

The resulting outcry led Instagram to issue an apology and announce that it was going back to the original terms of use that they have had since they started up in 2010.

Over the years there have been rumors about Google+ owning my content, and Facebook owning it, and then Pinterest came along and staked a claim to it as well. 

I will admit that on those rare occasions when I do read terms of service, I rarely understand them completely. They are usually huge and complicated, but I am told that I have to agree to them before I get to use something that I want to use.

StreetAdvisor signs up 2 Re/Max affiliates

Brokerages are latest to integrate neighborhood reviews into their own websites

BY INMAN NEWS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012.

Inman News®

Two large Re/Max franchises -- including the largest Re/Max franchise in the world, Denver area-based Re/Max Alliance -- are the latest brokerages to brand neighborhood info site StreetAdvisor's local reviews and highlight their agents as prominent local experts via the site.

By licensing its social-engineered review platform, brokerages can integrate StreetAdvisor's consumer neighborhood reviews and local "expert" Q&As. create a page highlighting their agents as neighborhood experts and promote their reviews, and display StreetAdvisor content fenced to their location and to their agents, said StreetAdvisor co-founder Adam Spencer.

StreetAdvisor launched its "Pro" white-label product in November, with New York-based Houlihan Lawrence and Cincinnati-based Comey and Shepherd Realtors as its first customers.

Get the upper hand on clutter

Realtor Notebook

BY TERESA BOARDMAN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012.

Inman News®

Photo of a Tokyo family's possessions from "Material World: A Global Family Portrait" Sierra Club Books.

I have spent a lot of time in the past year getting rid of stuff. By stuff, I mean things that I bought or was given that I no longer use, or never used at all.

There is a lot less stuff in my home now than there was at the beginning of the year. The less I have, the more convinced I become that having less is better.

Most people have clothes that they have outgrown, knickknacks that they hate, and items that they bought for the kitchen that just didn't work out. Friends and relatives give us gifts that we don't know what to do with. But we can't bring ourselves to get rid of them, and over the years it accumulates. We own things that we have forgotten about.

Connecticut real estate broker, trainer and Inman Real Estate Connect ambassador Linda Davis started a group on Facebook for people who want to de-clutter. As a Realtor, Linda worked with people who have to deal with a lot of stuff when they move. The experience started her on a journey to get rid of clutter.

Davis encourages people to remove a little clutter from their lives each day. Hundreds have joined her group, actively participating and encouraging each other to keep going. The group has changed lives. Each day Linda photographs something that she got rid of, and asks us what WE got rid of. Just one thing at a time makes the process less overwhelming.

Don't let expertise cost you listings

Conflict resolution in real estate

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012.

Inman News®

Lecturing mom image via Shutterstock.

Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series. Read Part 1.

Eric Berne's "The Games People Play" has powerful implications for how you conduct your real estate business, especially when it comes to the issue of resolving conflict. The question is, "Which games are you playing?"

Berne identified three different styles in which you can approach a "transaction" (i.e., a communication between two different people.) The three different approaches are "Adult," "Parent" and "Child."

Challenges are most easily resolved when both parties in the communication/negotiation approach it from an "Adult-Adult" approach. Part 1 identified what happens when the seller elects to respond to an "Adult" communication from his agent with a "Child" response. The example below illustrates what happens when the Agent acts as the "Adult" and the client acts as the "Parent."

Sally Agent: "John, properties with amenities similar to yours in this area have closed and qualified for a loan at $124 to $158 per square foot. The properties that have closed for more than $150 per square foot were all built in the last five years. Properties built 15 years ago have been selling for $135 to $145 per square foot."

New-home sales up 17.2 percent from a year ago

Supply of new homes steady at 4.8 months in October

BY INMAN NEWS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012.

Inman News®

New homes image via Shutterstock.

Sales of new single-family homes dipped 0.3 percent from September to October but were up 17.2 percent from a year ago, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

The median sales price of new homes sold in October was $237,700, 5.7 percent above last October's level, but a 4.2 percent dip from September.

The Census Bureau says that the estimated 147,000 new homes for sale at the end of October represented a 4.8-month supply at the current seasonally adjusted rate of 368,000 sales per year. That's up slightly from 4.7 months in September but down from 6.1 months a year ago.

Buying a house with resale in mind

4 factors that will make profiting more likely

BY DIAN HYMER, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012.

Inman News®

Curb appeal image via Shutterstock.

At the end of the 1970s, '80s and '90s, homeowners in many areas cashed in big profits when they sold. This enabled them to trade up to a bigger home, sometimes in a better neighborhood.

Homeowners used their homes as piggy banks through the use of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) to buy cars, pay for vacations and medical bills, renovate their homes, and pay for college educations and retirement.

The recent housing recession brought a halt to this as home values dropped 30 percent or more, depending on location, wiping out equity for some and leaving many who bought with a low cash down payment with negative equity. More than 24 percent of homeowners in the U.S. today have a mortgage value that exceeds the market value of their homes.

7 customs to know before taking on foreign clients

Cultural differences in real estate

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012.

Inman News®

Businessman image via Shutterstock.

Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series. Read Part 1.

Working with global clients can become a highly profitable niche for your real estate business provided you are curious about your clients' culture and you stay away from the pitfalls that can undermine your success.

Part 1 of this series outlined two important pitfalls to avoid when working with global clients: discussing anything about them or their transactions and avoiding questions about their profession or how much they earn. Here are seven additional pitfalls to avoid.

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.

6 ways agents can boost productivity

The SLAM model for real estate success

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2012  Inman News®

Smokestacks image via Shutterstock.

Editor's note: This is the first of a four-part series.

What does it take to succeed in real estate? Whether you are a 40-year veteran or a brand-new agent, your success or failure in the real estate industry essentially boils down to four critical elements: systems, leverage, attraction and mindset -- also known as SLAM.

Systems

Regardless of how experienced an agent is, strong systems form the foundation upon which successful real estate careers are built. Agents who have strong systems have more time to spend with buyers and sellers, which normally translates into more deals. The key areas where agents need systems include:

Real estate industry is shifting to paperless and mobile

New tech from Real Estate Connect

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012.

Inman News®

Mobile phone image via Shutterstock.

Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series.

Real estate's movers, shakers and innovators once again convened in San Francisco for this summer's Real Estate Connect searching for the newest tools and strategies to give them a competitive edge.

A visit to Start-Up Alley is always one of the highlights of attending Connect. While many companies who launch at Start-Up Alley never become viable, others such as Zillow and Trulia have become superstars. Below you'll find a rundown of some of the best tools and systems that may very well be the superstars of tomorrow.

Mobile transaction management

If you haven't shifted to being paperless and mobile, it's only a matter of time before the entire real estate industry makes this move. The three key players at Connect in this area were Cartavi.com, DotLoop.com and REPREE.com.

Cartavi launched its transaction management program at last year's event. This year it launched a brand-new app making Cartavi the only transaction management program currently available on the iPad, iPhone, Android and Android tablets. Cartavi has both a free and a premium version. Both versions are integrated with DocuSign; however, there is a separate fee for using the DocuSign system.

3 cool mobile apps for real estate agents

Tools from Real Estate Connect SF

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 Inman News®

aTablet computing image via Shutterstock.

Mobile technologies are completely transforming how consumers experience the real estate transaction. As always, Real Estate Connect highlighted a number of new apps that can help you organize your real estate business as well as the other areas in your life as well.

Are you someone who suffers from "shiny app syndrome"? Even though you have plenty of apps on your mobile devices, you're always on the hunt for the next new app that will entertain or amuse, or help you grow your business. On the other hand, if you haven't jumped on the app bandwagon, don't wait -- and here's why.

Rather than sitting at their computers to search properties online, today's consumers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to view real estate-related searches. IDX searches are a great case in point.

There are 48 million IDX page views per week. Five million page views originate from the Safari mobile browser (1.2 million from iPhones and 3.8 million from iPads.) Contrast this with only 42,000 page views from the BlackBerry. As a result, the first step in creating your personal mobile strategy is to make sure that your website is optimized for mobile.

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.

5 steps to a more mobile-friendly website

Give potential real estate clients what they want, when they want it

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 Inman News®

Searching real estate listings on smartphoneimage via Shutterstock.

Shifts in mobile technology are driving fundamental changes in terms of how real estate will be conducted in the future. What can you do as an individual agent to be prepared to cope with this onslaught of change?

At Real Estate Connect last month, Brian Boero, partner at 1000Watt Consulting, likened where we are with mobile to where the Web was in 1997. We're aware of it as a tool. We know the impact it will have on our business will be huge, even though very few people have figured out how to integrate mobile into their marketing strategy. In fact, 23 percent of the traffic to brokerage sites originates on a mobile device.

Although most brokerages have a website, very few have optimized their sites for maximum functionality on mobile devices.

If you have your own website and want to provide a great mobile experience to potential clients, take the following steps to make your website more mobile-friendly.

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.

Tax clock is ticking for underwater homeowners

Real estate tax talk

BY STEPHEN FISHMAN, FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2012.

Inman News®

Elated man image via Shutterstock.

Ordinarily, if all or part of a home loan is forgiven by the lender, either in a short sale or foreclosure, the amount forgiven is taxable income. Thus, for example, a homeowner who had $100,000 in mortgage debt forgiven through a short sale would have to pay income tax on the $100,000.

However, Congress adopted the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 to save millions of underwater homeowners from this tax disaster. Under the Act, homeowners can exclude from their taxable income up to $2 million of debt forgiven on their principal residence during 2007 through 2012. The Act applies to debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as forgiven in connection with a foreclosure.

But the Mortgage Debt Relief Act expires on January 1, 2013. Any mortgage debt forgiven after that date will be fully taxable, unless the Act is extended. To avoid this deadline, a home must not only be sold before the deadline, but the lender must formally forgive the loan in a letter issued before January 1, 2013.

Will the Mortgage Debt Relief Act be extended past 2012? No one knows. In its 2013 budget, the Obama Administration asked that the Act be extended for two years. Several bills have been pending in Congress to extend it as well, but so far nothing has happened. No one has any idea what Congress will do, and it likely won't act until after the election on November 8, if then. It may depend on who wins the election.

Homeowners who want to take advantage of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act must sell their homes before the end of the year. It may already be too late for most homeowners, since short sales often take many months to complete. But some homeowners may be able to complete a short sale before the deadline if they act now -- it all depends on the property and lenders involved. There will likely be a deluge of sellers trying to meet the end of year deadline.

5 ways seasonal marketing is good for business

Sell real estate clients on listings, lifestyle

BY BERNICE ROSS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012 Inman News®

Oak tree in autumn image via Shutterstock.

It's hot and muggy, lots of folks are on vacation, and it's tempting to head to the beach or the pool instead of work. But fall is only four weeks away, and with it, fall selling season begins in earnest. This is your last chance to meet the production goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year.

If you want to kick up your production now and throughout the fall, here are five ways to capitalize on this great time of year.

3 Web tools that can make an agent's job easier

School your sellers on intricacies of moving, dangers of overpricing

BY BERNICE ROSS, MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012 Inman News®

Agent offers three real estate choices image via Shutterstock.

While everyone is wild about apps these days, some of the most useful tools for your real estate business continue to be ordinary websites. In fact, many older sites are still rich with resources to make your job easier.

Here are three resources that can help you with your business.

Monsterdaata.com
Monsterdaata.com is an old site that has a wealth of resources on it from the California Association of Realtors. While much of the data on this site hasn't been kept completely up to date (e.g., the census data is based on the 2000 census), there are numerous resources that are still quite useful. Here are three examples: