Getting a loan is about to get harder

So says Dan Green.

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May 30, 2008 | Filed Under General Real Estate | Leave a Comment 

One thing that absolutely must be fixed on the new Realtor.com

Spell “separate” correctly, for goodness sakes. I guess that’s why it’s a beta.

Even spell check would have caught this

Also, in the message sent to the Realtor, why have pre-written text advertising to the Realtor?

May 30, 2008 | Filed Under Technology | 1 Comment 

How much do I charge for sending out a referral?

Karma. Just (hopefully good) Karma.

I don’t like the feeling when I pay a referral fee (although they do pay the bills occasionally), so I don’t want to transfer that same ill feeling to another agent.

Inspiration for this post - Ardell’s STOP TAKING MOENY FOR REFERRALS!!!

Related reading -

Transparency in real estate fees (or why do I hate referral fees)

Go to Hell, relo company

May 29, 2008 | Filed Under General Real Estate | 7 Comments 

Negotiate anything

Even real estate contracts.

If more Realtors and buyers and sellers could or would recognize these simple facts, we would all be better off.

Good negotiations are not personal. When buyers and sellers focus on what the other person is getting, negotiations deteriorate.

I remember the conversation during the hot market about how the “seller shouldn’t make that much!” quite well - and each time it was irrelevant, but important to the buyer to have - if only to work through it.

Focus on what matters. Standing on principle and positions is a failing stance.

May 28, 2008 | Filed Under Buyers, General Real Estate, Sellers | 1 Comment 

What the DOJ-NAR settlement means for me

Probably very little.

My thoughts on the DOJ -v- NAR settlement, at the prodding of a reader (thank you!) specifically regarding this article in the Washington Post -

Justice Department officials and others who have tracked the case said the agreement will result in more choices and better service for consumers, as well as lower costs because of competition over commissions. Many online firms offer savings because they provide limited services.

To start -

1) What business does the government have in regulating free enterprise?

2) Nothing is preventing others from starting their own MLS.

3) I’d like to know how much this investigation/suit/settlement cost the taxpayers.

4) Anyone who thinks the Realtor business isn’t competitive doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

Download the proposed settlement here.

The Real Estate Bloggers write what I was thinking:

The amazing thing about monopoly and governmental lawsuits against companies over the issues of technology is that by the time the slow gears of justice run their course, the battle has long been over.

This is the case of the NAR. The opening of the MLS systems to online and virtual real estate companies has long been over. The bigger battle will be the viability of maintaining an expensive MLS in the age of Trulias and Zillows.

Zillow and Trulia and Cyberhomes and Roost, etc. didn’t exist in 2004.

And the XBroker wrote the headline I wish I’d written - DOJ vs NAR Lawsuit Turned Into an Exercise in Irrelevancy

Where will we go from here? Realtors will keep competing, buyers will keep searching online, sellers will still think that print advertising works (it does, but not to sell houses), and technology will continue to change at a pace much faster than behemoths like the NAR or the incompetents within our federal government can handle.

Innovation was just fine before the government stepped in, thank you.

Next up - the DOJ should go after Google for having the most dominant search engine.

——————

More coverage:

Agent Genius

Joe at Sellsius provides a legal perspective

An MLS perspective by Michael Wurzer

Bloodhound

Redfin

Tech Crunch

May 28, 2008 | Filed Under General Real Estate | 11 Comments 

Tracking Gen Y in real estate

Gen Y and the Baby Boomers are among the “next big thing” regarding real estate for the foreseeable future. Understanding markets’ specific cultures, intricacies and idiosyncrasies is crucial to business success.

Thanks to Read Write Web’s recent post of OPML files for focused on Gen Y, I did some market research this weekend. Among my findings are these nuggets:

From SheGeeks:

There’s way too much hype being placed on Generation Y. Sure we’re savvy, but we’re also clueless and most of us don’t care to do the research. We’re waiting for these things to come to us while early adopters are going to them. We’re (sic) weren’t the first on the web, though we pretend to be.

How Tabbed Browsing Changed the Way I think

Amanda: No, I was watching The Office and [NEW TAB] did you see that post on TC? I can’t believe that [NEW TAB] lol Amy you know I don’t watch sports. Anyway, I think that we should check out OM this weekend. Does that work for [NEW TAB]

Brazen Careerist:

In the middle of a marketing presentation, I was talking about integrating Social Media into a pretty large company’s summer marketing and branding plans. I was trying to explain why they needed to blog, be on Twitter and integrate their plan to make seamless integrations between platforms. While spitting this out, I came to the conclusion that Gen-Y, or 16-25 year olds in this case, loves getting brand information from a person. We like connecting and building trust with a live human being who has likes and dislikes and tells it how it is. (bolding mine)

Employee Revolution:

Gen Y is an internet culture. We go to freerice.com and think we’re really making a difference.

…

The real movement leaders for most of today’s environmental and social initiatives are Generation X and the Baby Boomers. But they’re marketing to Generation Y. So while many of us are getting involved, nobody has stepped up and led. And that makes me wonder when somebody finally will.

I’m still trying to figure out how best to use this “new” insight and target this market, but they likely will be among the next wave of homebuyers and sellers. Attracting them is key.

May 27, 2008 | Filed Under Marketing | 1 Comment 

Take Charlottesville’s Art In Place to a different place

Why not take the City’s Art in Place program to a different level? Like - here for example?

Just a thought.

May 26, 2008 | Filed Under sideblog | Leave a Comment 

Could this be part of the future of transportation?

Just wondering if this could work in the Charlottesville/Central Virginia area.

I still think that an implementation of this type of system is among the best I’ve seen.

May 26, 2008 | Filed Under Politics, Transportation | Leave a Comment 

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