In case you missed all the fun, last week I hosted a virtual real estate discussion in the Redhead Lounge. This second installment includes the same illustrious crew: Brandie Young, Ken Brand and Paula Henry, as well as two party crashers, Joe Loomer and Tanya Nouwens. These leaders in marketing and real estate were asked to answer questions in ten words or less, in between karaoke numbers and shooters. Grant Hammond, the bouncer on duty, had his work cut out for him. They have imparted some great words of wisdom, but watch what happens when I ply them with booze and become the master puppeteer!

 GBB: Hey guys, who’s buying? KB: Loomer is. Here’s his wallet – I moonlight as a pickpocket.  Paula provided a distraction by slapping Joe upside his head. GBB: Speaking of team work…do y’all think it’s advisable to have a business partner? KB: Everyone should have a trusted working partner.  Someone who can cover their business….  Most don’t need a partner/split … I’ve rarely seen a partnership work, except with spouses. PH: Yeah, long term business relationships rarely last. GBB: Two words: Bill and Hillary.  JL: That’s three words in Georgia. BY: I love having a partner…each of us morphs naturally into a role with the client, with one being the one that must, at times, bring some order to the relationship…GBB: Brandie,  I’m not sure anyone will bring you to order if you don’t slow down on those margaritas. BY:You’re right – the salt is giving me kankles. JL:What in the hell are kankles? Do we need to call an exterminator? BY: Bloated ankles, dufus. Get your hand off my Swedish meatballs… JL: I will if you will.

GBB: Come to order, delinquents. Hey, look who just walked in – Tanya Nouwens. You’re late, put a buck in my money jar. TN: But I drove in from Canada… GBB:Hey, there will be no cryin’ for you Argentina. Try driving across Los Angeles! So give us some advice, Tanya: Should agents who are resistant to texting start doing so? TN: Yes, because it makes us seem 10 years younger than we really are.  And it’s way less expensive than cosmetic surgery. GH:Did you say sexting? Hell yes! GBB: Grant, stop stalking us and go back to your post at the door. PH: Clients who text expect to be answered in the same manner; besides it’s quick and efficient. GBB: So you ladies think we need to be technologically current…  I carry a Smith and Wesson – does that count?

GBB: What is the most important quality about a house?  JL: If the bar is stocked.  Oh, you mean buying one? The honesty in the disclosure statement and the state of repair. PH: Location. Duh. Now stop bothering me. I’m warming up my pipes for my real estate karaoke song. I plan to rock the joint with “Our House.” GBB: Did you say “Outhouse?”  You’re slurring. You’ll be rockin’ with only two stumps if you touch my money jar again. KB: Whatever my clients think is most important about a house is most important to me. GBB: Good answer, Ken, but I didn’t ask you, so put a buck in the jar. And what’s your real estate karaoke song, tonight?” KB: Brandie and I are doing a duet of “Sugar Shack.” JL:Ken, you’re making a bold assumption that Brandie can walk on those meadow muffins that are squeezing out of her shoes. Gwen, shoot her in the kankles before she lifts off!

GBB:  Ken, while you buy another round with Joe’s money, maybe Tanya can tell us what issue worries her clients the most. Tanya? TN: That they won’t get the value out of their property that they have already attributed to it based on a scientific study consisting of talking with their neighbors and friends and consulting Uncle Edward who used to sell real estate in the area in 1958. PH: Boy, you’re a chatty l’il thing…but I agree. They are concerned about whether or not they’re paying or receiving the best price. GBB: So we all agree on something? JL: My clients also worry about inspections…and the smells emanating from garage freezers. GBB:Zip it, Loomer. 

GBB: What troubles you the most about the loan process? BY: There’s no rigor.  The underwriters have way too much power.  The lenders are still in panic mode. KB: You’d be in panic mode, too, if you could see your kankles from where I’m sitting! BY: Don’t make me hurt you, Ken. GBB: Joe, any loan process woes? JL: Buyers who arrive “pre-qualified” by internet or out of town lenders. Gwen, let’s team up for “House of the Rising Sun.”  GBB:  No, you’ll hog the microphone. KB: If you don’t pre-prepare your clients for the often bumpy and anger inspiring process in getting a loan, you’ll get blamed… GBB:  That’s why I pack a Smith and Wesson. 

GBB: Okay, here is my rapid fire finale: Ken, wake up – your ankle monitor is beeping! What musical instrument would most help you in real estate?  KB: If I had the Pied Piper’s magic flute, that’d be cool. GBB: Brandie, when is dress important? BY: Always.  Ladies!  The two most important things: manicured nails and shoes that are not destroyed.  It’s the little things. JL: Unlike your ankles… GBB: Brandie, I don’t think Joe can breathe with your IPhone in his esophagus. Paula, you’re on deck with “Homeward Bound,” but before your vocals shatter the neon Bud sign, when do you think agents should present an offer in person? JL (interrupts): When the client is super freakin hot. GBB: We’re cutting you off, Joe. Paula? PH: If there are multiple offers on a great non-bank owned property.  GBB: No wonder you have your own team. I only have two hamsters and a ferret named “W.” 

GBB: Tanya, What is the best housewarming gift for a client? TN: A house. GBB: That was a good answer for someone with a cocktail napkin on her head.  You’re new at The Redhead, so you get a bonus question: What is the biggest hindrance to closing a deal? TN: Egos. GBB: You clever l’il Canadian – I love brevity! KB: That’s what Loomer’s wife says. GBB: Joe, I noticed that Grant is cutting off your oxygen. Before you pass out, can you tell me the most difficult aspect of a real estate deal? JL: Negotiating repairs or dealing with uneducated agents. That, and they rescinded the “shooting idiots” law in Georgia. GBB: And what’s your must successful means of advertising? The Playgirl spread I did, yeah, that’s how I roll.  (Collective groans) 

GBB: Last call, folks. Where’s Brandie? KB: (Bleary eyed and unfazed by his karaoke partner’s disappearance.) Grant bounced her and called the cops five minutes ago for stapling her business cards all over the piano. TN: She sure is a marketing wizard. GBB (yells across the bar to Grant):  Hey Hammerin’ Hammond -  you like your job too much! GH:  Yeah, I believe Forest Gump best described my feelings here with the whole box of chocolates thing. GBB: So where’s Brandie? PH: Forget that miscreant!  More importantly…where’s Waldo? JL: Probably in the cell next to Brandie.  ( They all jump on stage and do a fabulous rendition of “Take me Home.”  They dedicate their song to Brandie as she sobers up in L.A.’s luxurious County Lockup.)

Thanks to my colleagues for their valuable input and their willingness to participate in virtual mayhem. Ken Brand, a veteran in real estate, is the Real Estate Sales Manager of Prudential Gary Green Realtors  in Woodlands, Texas. Paul Henry is the dynamo leader of the top notch Henry Group at Red Door Real Estate in Indianapolis. Brandie Young is a San Francisco marketing guru, trail blazer and founder of consulting firm MarketingTBD. Tanya Nouwens  has combined 29 years of Montreal real estate experience with the home staging experience of Ready, Set…Sold! Inc to form a Canadian power team.  Joe Loomer  is Assistant Team Leader at Keller Williams Realty Augusta Partners and author of the wise and witty blog, Fruit of the Loomer.  Grant Hammond, our “bouncer,” just joined us. He is an award winning  Nashville real estate market expert. Los Angeles host and blogger Gwen Banta  can be found at www.L.A.Homesite.com, or checking coats at The Redhead Lounge - tips welcome.

Is it not amazing how you start out on one simple path and end up going in a completely different direction?   I’m referring to my last sarcastic post about staying away from Commercial Real Estate.  I think my intent was to encourage people to look at Commercial Real Estate in different ways and look at it as an opportunity. 

I have been asked many many times over the years, “so, how do you get into commercial or how do I do both residential and commercial?”  Some may debate the correct answers to this question.  Some of the answers may seem obvious or redundant.  I decided to make up a good basic list.

Property Information and Research:

• GIS geographic information system Here is a nice county example.
• County records that are online and public information.
• Tax and assessment info through county and city.
• Your Local MLS plus regional Commercial MLS. Most provide free access.
• Loopnet, Costar, Commercial IQ.  The old standbys.  Find what’s out there.
• Web sites of brokers in your market. Most have their listings available.
• Commercialsource.com Commercial property search for every state and city from the National Association of Realtors.

Niches you can dominate with lots of data and industry connections to help:

• Multi-family
• Retail
• Warehouse/Industrial
• Property management
• Green
• Investment

Education and Resources Available:

• CCIM 101
• National Association of Realtors intro to Commercial Real Estate
• Research the top 5 firms in your market
• Mentors. Contact them and ask for meeting- they are more hungry for talent than you could ever imagine.  They want to get next to people who are trying to create business. Send them an e-mail to introduce yourself. Start with, “I would like to possibly send biz to you”. What are they going to say?  NO.

Learn These Terms and Find the Forms:

• Exclusive Tenant Rep. Agreement
• Exclusive Buyer’s Rep. Agreement
• Exclusive Listing Sale and Lease Agreement
• Letter of Intent
• Purchase Contract
• Master Leases
• Representations & Warranties of Seller
• Zoning/Governmental Approval

Most all forms are online and were created and or maintained by a state commercial board.  The cost is surprisingly affordable.  I have forms that are used throughout my entire state.

Social or Online Commercial Real Estate Networks- Get Connected and Learn:

• Bigger Pockets
• Crepig.com
• Realtors’ Commercial Alliance
• Real Share Conferences
• LinkedIn has over 1100 Commercial Real Estate Groups

What do you have that they don’t?  Simple:

Your connection to the street and your community. Your database it is your gold mine.  Think of everyone in your database that has a connection to a business owner, property owner, restaurateur etc. Ask them, who are you doing real estate business with now?  Who is their go to Commercial Real Estate person?  I bet if you ask, they won’t have a name or they probably haven’t done any biz with whoever they may think of in a LONG time.

Referral business- how much money are you passing up by not thinking Commercial Real Estate?

Here is one last big thought:

You don’t need a special license to sell, practice, refer, learn, get into, look at, buy, own, rehab, lease, or just make money in Commercial Real Estate.

What’s holding you back?  What are you doing now to get your piece of the Commercial Real Estate business?

As my real estate licensing test date approaches, so does responsibility and opportunity. I think I’ve got a few things going for me. They would include an advertising background, a great company to work for, and of course, getting inside information from the Agent Genius crew.

Wait. What kind of information?

Well, I get inside information from you. You, the people who are reading this right now and will hopefully leave a comment to provide even more inside information. I appreciate the insight you give. You’re the “in” crowd and your opinion is extremely valuable to me. I was blessed with the opportunity to be a part of this community and get to know some pretty awesome people. So, now that I’ve got you guys, my online real estate network, how do I establish that network locally? What sort of relationships do you have or lack with other real estate agents in your area?

What We’re Really Talking About is Networking With Realtors

About these relationships and networking… how does it work in the real estate community? Now, I’ve got my ideas, but I’d like to hear it from you all. In most cases, you can’t generalize the relationships because they aren’t all the same.

Take advertising agencies for example. One client needs branding and three local shops want to win the business. The agencies are competitors but it usually doesn’t go any farther than that. They don’t really have to work with each other. In real estate, three or more agents may interview the same seller, trying to win the business – in this case, the listing. They too, are competitors. But, the difference is that they will probably work together again at some point. Agent A has a listing that Agent B’s client loves and there you have it, together again.

When it Comes to Real Estate Peers, Do You Bump Knuckles or Go About Your Business?

If you sit and think about it, you’ve probably got a favorite real estate agent to work with. There are probably a few you dread working with as well. Do you avoid them at networking events or do you nod, smile, and move on?

Let’s face it. There’s a good chance in this business that the agents in one area are going to work with each other at some point. So, how do I become that agent that everyone loves to work with? Or, do I even want that? I imagine it definitely beats having people dread working with me. I’d take the warm fuzzies over that any day.

So, what have you done to establish a network offline, in your community? Perhaps a better question is, what have you not done to ensure that your network is healthy?

Let me know what works in the comments. And while you’re here, thanks!

And by the way, I passed the exam today! Praise the Lord that’s over… But, more on that later!

What Is It?

Essentially what it does is create a bookmark that you can use to open a drop down toolbox in your browser.  It connects to your VFlyer account and gives you the pertinent info for all the listings you have, as well as the html code they generate for their fliers!  Now, when I go to post my newest property ads on Craigslist or my blog, all I have to do is open the backpack and drag the data into Craigslist, my blog, eBay, or Backpage.com!  No more copying from one page to another, time is saved, and I’m a happy guy!  Not only that, but backpack also records when I last posted a property, so if I decide to post a property ad more than once, I can see exactly when I last posted the information as well!

If you use VFlyer, adding backpack is an absolute MUST!  It’s free with your account, and takes maybe a half second to add to your bookmarks toolbar.  If you’re not using VFlyer, it’s still worth a look because it makes Craigslist posting so much easier!

I was going to put together a nifty tutorial on how to use it, but VFlyer has already done that (seriously, I feel like they thought of it all on this one!):

(please note that I don’t work for these guys, I’m not being paid to shill for them, I’m just very impressed with the service!)

note from editor: Agent Genius is not affiliated with VFlyer

Where the Status Quo Fails

In the previous post on this topic, I made the point that when it comes to single property websites the magic lies in the user interface. More than any other real estate marketing method that agent currently use, this medium provides the prospective buyer with the most complete 360 degree view of the property: Photos, Video, Information, Tools – All under one roof. But even if one fully agrees with me on those points, the question then becomes: What’s wrong with the current “breed” of  products that offer single property websites?

I have used most single property website solutions available to agents and in my opinion, they are relatively cheap & simple to put together but also inflexible & proprietary. In my opinion,  current solutions for single property sites fail because they focus exclusively on syndication. They promise (and deliver) a product that can be put together in mere minutes for a few bucks which will then put your listing information on a bazillion aggregators (Zillow, Trulia etc). But wait, there’s more: They will even give you the code to place ads on classified sites. Cut, Paste, Publish.

I know that sounds like perfection – It did to me, too. Until I looked at the stats. Based on the weekly stats provided by those same aggregators, the property appeared to a large number of people, but the number that actually click to reach your single property site is extremely close to zero. Which is awesome: Zillow gets to sell adspace based on pageviews generated by your listing , you get to cheer them on. “But what about classified ads” – you ask – “they’re so easy and they look so good.”  Those damned stats again! It turns out that our classified ads auto-generated from Postlets get zero clickbacks to your single property sites because they contain zero links! They do include the agent information but in our three years of experience using them and placing ads twice weekly on every listing we sell, very few people have picked up the phone or emailed us from these ads.

Their inefficiency points to a deeper problem: These sites and their classified ads all have that same mass produced look. And because they are not flexible, there is nothing you can do about it. You can’t inject your personality, your knowledge or your genius into it to make it effective. I prefer Artisanal Marketing.

The New Breed

When building a single property website, I want it to become part of our short term and long term marketing strategy. In the short term, I want to help my Seller by inviting all prospective buyers looking in that area to visit “our storefront”. While there I want to offer them the best user experience and the most complete information I can so the prospective buyer can make an educated decision on whether this home is a fit for them. In the long term, while the property has sold or expired, I want it to generate business for me in the future. The more I kept searching for a platform to deliver this, the clearer it became that it had to be self-hosted Wordpress.

In this post, I want to go over some of the new concepts that we’re incorporating in our Wordpress-based single property websites. (In the next one, we’ll go over some of the nuts and bolts, so this post doesn’t fatten to War and Peace levels).

1. Offer all listings available for sale in that neighborhood in your single property website.

Extensive Analytics of our Houston Real Estate website show that literally thousands of visitors every month come to our site by searching for a property address on Google, Bing and Yahoo. While you let that sink in, let me take it a little further: The visitors that find us this way, stick around double the time on our site compared to those that searched common keywords. And before you jump out of your chair ready to tell me I’m doing my Seller a disservice, I want to tell you you’ve got the flow of traffic wrong. If you offer all listings available for sale in the neighborhood, a prospective buyer googling another property for sale, would land on your single property website and if you do your job right, they will stop and see what your listing has to offer. And if someone comes to your site and decide to see what else is available in the neighborhood, wouldn’t you rather they do that on your site? It’s not like this information is not available to them in a bazillion other sites so hiding the obvious truth is no service to your Seller, either. Instead, ask yourself this question: What are you doing in your marketing to differentiate your listing from others? Does your copy paint a perfect picture? Do your photos dazzle? Can  they find all the school information in just one click?

2. Once the listing has sold or expired, switch the front page to the neighborhood page

The only thing worse than not being found, is to be found then disappoint your visitors. By far, the most challenging issue to me was how to make the site relevant past the sale or expiration of that listing. Picture this – a prospective buyer is looking for a property in a neighborhood and they land on your single property website for a listing that has sold already. What if, you could let those visitors know that the listing has sold but here’s what else is available in that neighborhood that might interest them. Now take that and multiply it by the number of neighborhoods that you have sold properties in the last 3 years. It’s an impressive number of sites, isn’t it? An impressive number that could be generating new prospects for you all the time. Now I don’t want you to think these will be lead generating machines – they don’t generate enough traffic to be that. But when you consider that you could have 30+ sites that you have generated in the normal course of marketing your listings over the years, isn’t it plausible that they could generate 10-15 leads for you in a year that you wouldn’t otherwise generate if you just purged the site? Lets be conservative and suppose two of those leads convert to sales, isn’t that a nice addition to your bottom like for something you are doing anyway?

4. Make your single property website front page a slideshow of impressive, large photos (and nothing else)

If it’s true that photography is the language of real estate, I want our marketing to speak in bold, confident tones. So in the front page of our single property sites, we offer a slideshow of 850px wide professional photos of the property on a timer, to immediately capture the attention of prospective buyers. We purposefully put nothing else on the page as to not cause any distractions. Just a link to the contact page just below the fold.

3. Create each site on its own domain

On this topic, there was quite a bit of pushback from people that know a thing or two about SEO at ReBarcamp. Currently we’re purchasing the domain name for each site and installing a separate instance of Wordpress in this standalone site. During our discussion in the panel at#REBCATX , Drew suggested that from an SEO perspective, it would be better to create a page on your existing site then point the domain name of the new listing to that page. That way you don’t start over but use some of the Google juice your site has already built up. My issue with that idea is that by creating a simple page on your site, you don’t get the same client experience that a full blown site would offer. If you install a separate instance of Worpress in a new directory within your site, the implementation is not for the faint at heart. So at this point I’m sticking to my story, but I am open to opinions from SEO experts.

4. Search engine optimize every page to increase long tail visits

This is where Wordpress absolutely shines. You can easily optimize your site for search engines by adding local information like common cross streets, venues, school names etc to ensure that your site occupies the first spot. And if done right, it always does.

Next – I will go over how to put new breed WP-based single property site together in 30 min or less.

Google Maps Mania

You can also use Google Maps to create your own maps of your local community, the sky is the limit for content.

Many of the maps are very local specific.  Here a are a few of the more interesting ones:

• New York City Live Music Map
• New Orleans Murder Map
• DC’s Snow Plow Response to Snowmaggedon
• Black Collar Crime (committed by someone affiliated with a religious institution)
• Historical San Francisco
• Chicago Wine Shops
• Celebrity Sightings in Toronto
• Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (one of my favorite songs, song inlcuded)
• Phoenix Food Map
• Coral Gables Coffee and Cupcakes (this one is by me)

Bonus: Lord of the Rings Map (for geeks like me)

I bet with a little searching, you will find more than one map for your blog readers.  If you create maps, submit them to GoogleMapsMania for added exposure.

Have a favorite Google Map? Post it in the comments below….

I’ve seen some interesting blog posts over the last few days that discuss how mortgage lenders participating in short sales determine the value of a property.

First off, so that it doesn’t seem like I am speaking a foreign tongue, I am going to provide a little dictionary definition for novice short sale agents. The bank determines the value of the property using something called a “B.P.O.” which stands for Broker Price Opinion.

To determine this value, the mortgage lender hires a licensed real estate agent. Agents are paid anywhere from $50 to $100 for this service. The service usually requires the agent to visit the property and to provide the lien holder with three ACTIVE and three SOLD listings (within the last 60-90 days) in order to determine the value of the subject property.

In contrast with the BPO, a buyer—when purchasing a property—obtains an appraisal from a licensed appraiser who does a significantly more complete and thorough analysis of the property and the comparable sold properties in the area. Because the appraisal is more thorough than the BPO and because it is completed by a licensed appraiser, the cost for this is greater—usually beginning at over $300.00.

In determining whether the short sale transaction will be approved, the results of the BPO are one of the most significant components of the short sale package—and the one over which the listing agent has the least control. After all, a listing agent can control what items are sent to the bank, when they are sent, and where they are sent. However, the listing agent cannot control the price determination made in the BPO.

If an agent comes from another area of the city in order to prepare the BPO, he or she may not have all the latest information about problems and issues that may be occurring with the subject property or in the subject neighborhood. Additionally, agents who make an appointment to view the property in order to prepare the BPO and are unable to obtain access probably get pretty darn frustrated. After all, if you drove 20 miles to view a property and the key was not in the lockbox or there was no one at the property to open the door, you would be frustrated as well!

Here’s what you need to do.

As short sale listing agents, I always say that our role is to be available to open the door for the BPO and to be available to answer any questions and provide any information as needed. This is a vital component of the short sale transaction. The BPO is ultimately returned to the bank and whether or not the short sale offer is accepted is based (in large part) on the results of that BPO.

So, if you are a lazy listing agent who has little interest in your deal closing successfully, that’s cool. Don’t go to meet the agent preparing the BPO. But, if you want to be a super successful short sale listing agent and see more closings than ever before, get out of bed and go meet the agent at the door!

It may be a little harder to get up early this week (because the time just changed), but if you attend the BPO, it’ll make your short sale transaction go sailing along quite smoothly.