Real Estate Solutions

Howdy Friends!

If you’ve come here to view a slice of life in Ledyard, then you meant to visit my Simply Ledyard blog.

This Real Estate Blog is more a view of the inside of my desk drawers and my laptop where I’ve stashed 30 years of great ideas about the real estate business.  My hope is that those of you that stop by will find some ideas and solutions that inspire you and maybe even help take your real estate business to the next level.

Blogging from my IPad

I'm a proud IPad owner. I've had this wonderful device since my CyberProfessional family presented it to me for my 60th birthday a few weeks ago. I really haven't had the proper time to play with it but have big plans for it this weekend. Today I'm trying out blogging from the road through the TypePad app. Consider this my beta test.

60 Websites in 60 Minutes

I’ve been selling real estate in Eastern Connecticut for over 33 years. I’ve had good success, sold a bunch of houses, won some awards, and as a result have been invited to speak at a number of real estate events including RE/MAX International Conventions, Inman Connect and regional conferences.

Lots of speakers at conventions and conferences will tell you how to sell real estate and use technology in your business. Unfortunately, many speakers have never actually sold real estate. I’m not a professional speaker and I didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night but I do sell real estate and use technology in my business just like you.

About a year ago, I created a presentation called “60 Websites in 60 Minutes”. After delivering the session at Triple Play in New Jersey, someone in the audience asked me where they could go to discover my other “finds”. Although I post many of them here, it occurred to me that Facebook was a natural place to post my favorites including those I use in my “60 in 60” presentation. And so my 60 Websites in 60 Minutes Facebook page was born. I hope you’ll stop by, like it, and learn some cool stuff.

60 Websites in 60 Minutes

I’ll be doing some real estate technology sessions next week for the good folks at RE/MAX Landmark in Stoughton MA. Here is a sneak peek of my presentation.

60 Websites In 60 Minutes

View more presentations from Linda Davis.

Google Maps for Real Estate

Did you know that Real Estate listings can be found by going to Google Maps , finding a location, and clicking on the "More" button in the upper right corner of the map page.  Select "Real Estate" and an overlay of properties for sale will appear on your Google map as well as a search window to the left letting you select "For Sale", "For Rent" and "Foreclosure" property types.

Try it out!  Click on "More" in the upper right corner to enable REAL ESTATE.

P.S. While you are at it, don’t forget to fill out your Google Profile.

Could your cell phone cost you a listing?

I took a listing last week on a very nice home in the area. The seller explained that he had interviewed another agent but decided he wasn’t comfortable working with him. It seems the agent was holding his cell phone during the meeting with the potential seller and glanced down at the phone several times during the appointment. The seller felt that his behavior was unprofessional. 

My seller was right. He expected to receive the full attention of the agent but didn’t get it. Glancing a few times at a cell phone seems like such a little thing but in this case it was enough to matter.

I have a few personal rules I follow when I’m meeting with sellers. Even in the worst of homes, I find something to complement the seller on. I try not to talk about myself too much and I never carry my phone into an appointment. If my competition had the same policy, he would have had the listing.

Facebook for Real Estate

The lesson: spend your time coming up with better ideas, not with more (faux) followers.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Since I wrote the post My Facebook Experiment, I've jumped to over 1100 fans. Instead of inviting (faux) followers, I've followed Seth Godin's advice and provided good content. It works.

The Mortgage Reports by Dan Green

I try to be a valuable resource for my clients and am always looking for information to share with them in my weekly email newsletter. The Mortgage Reports by Loan Officer Dan Green is a must-have for agents who want to stay current on mortgage markets and guideline changes. I often share his info with my clients including his recent post about the interest rate spread between 15 and 30 year fixed mortgages.

It's a good time to look at the 15-year fixed rate mortgages.

As compared to 30-year fixed rates, the relative discount for "going 15" is big. Interest rate spreads between the benchmark borrowing products haven't been this high since 2004.

via themortgagereports.com

Big Huge Labs for Real Estate

Big Huge Labs is one of my favorite places to visit when I’m feeling creative. As their website shouts out, “Helping you do cool stuff with your digital photos since 2005.

At Big Huge Labs you will find online photo toys which give you the ability to make calendars, cubes, badges, slide shows and magazine covers from your own digital photos. One of my favorites is the Motivator toy which lets you create a poster with a humorous or inspirational message. I created my twitter background, seen below,  using Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker.

There are plenty of useful real estate applications at BigHugeLabs. Just use your imagination!

Facebook Resources

There is no question that Facebook is my favorite social networking site. Sure, I play on the rest, but Facebook is where I’ve been best able to engage real people in my community. Without ever sending out an invitation, I was able to go from 12 fans to over 1000 in just a few weeks.My best advice about creating a Facebook Page?  Provide good content.

You’ll find the technology you need to get started by visiting the links below:

Facebook Resource List.

Mashable’s Guidebook 

Building Your First Page 

All Facebook  

Inside Facebook 

Custom Facebook Pages

60 Websites in 60 Minutes

I won big in Atlantic City in December but it had nothing to do with gambling. I presented 60 websites in 60 minutes at Triple Play, a fantastic convention put on by the combined efforts of the Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey Association of Realtors. I won some great friends and new ideas for future 60 in 60 presentations as the audience share some of their own favorites.

Triple Play - 60 in 60

View more presentations from Linda Davis.