Archive for April, 2008
NAR’s TREC – What is it?
· CommentsTREC – Sounds like something run by someone named Jean Luc Picard or one of the Vulcans. But, of course it isn’t. Actually, it’s a gateway national MLS consumer tool well, it’s supposed to be an information-rich national property database intended for use by REALTORS®.
The acronym stands for The Real Estate Channel, and there’s an Interim Report out about it that was prepared by the Presidential Advisory Group that is putting the project together. Before you pass it by as another one of the thousands of real estate information sites, think about some of the possibilities.
The Advisory Group’s report states that there isn’t good, trustworthy real estate information that can be easily accessed. I don’t think anyone can argue with that. The group also said that “Without convenient, immediate access to information to analyze/interpret for their clients and customers, REALTORS® will no longer be at the center of real estate transactions.” I don’t really agree with that conclusion.
I do see all the consumer-oriented informational websites adding confusion to the process of analyzing real estate market information. Without consistent and accurate information on those sites, it goes back to the REALTOR® to sort things out.
Even if all consumers believed that they could get all the accurate information they wanted from the Internet, agents are still going to be the best resource for negotiating, winding through the quagmire of paperwork, anticipating and heading off glitches in the process, etc.
But, imagine yourself in the position of having the definitive information – the accurate information. Imagine the information being in a form that you can get to easily and quickly. Imagine that the information has already been “analyzed and categorized” so that an advanced degree isn’t required to understand it.
While we’re at it, imagine that this system does promote the setting of standards so that the information is consistent across the country. Then, imagine that consumers looked to the real estate agents to provide this Rosetta Stone* of the real estate industry.
Pretty interesting picture, isn’t it? And, I’m sure that this project will generate quite a bit of discussion over time. One comment I saw online was a derisive comment about the system being national. The idea was that since real estate is local, why would an agent need a national system? Well, because there are agents all over the country. Duh. I think that’s a sign of that knee-jerk “Oh, this must be a stupid idea” reaction.
Can NAR pull this off? I don’t know, but I think it will be interesting to see what happens!
__________
*a clue, breakthrough, or discovery that provides crucial knowledge for the solving of a puzzle or problem
More and more of the agents I talk to have listings in areas that attract overseas buyers. Most of the time an agent looking for an international audience is in a resort location, or they live in a city that’s easily reachable on international flights.
Atlanta, for example, isn’t really a resort town, but it is easy for international travelers to reach. For example, a number of years ago a friend of mine worked in an art gallery in Atlanta. Sir Elton John stopped in one day. I’m not sure if he still lives in Atlanta, but he’s an example of the type of person who might be looking for luxury real estate in the states.
In case you’re interested, Elton John purchased some tens of thousands of dollars worth of paintings when he was at the gallery. My friend was pretty amazed when he mentioned to his companion that the art would really brighten up his closet. . .
In any event, I’ve rarely heard any mention of using Craig’s List to reach an international audience. Take a look at the real estate listings in London and Berlin, for example. Most of them are in English (yes, the London listings are all in English), and many are from the US and other countries.
I know there is controversy over whether Craig’s List is useful for advertising real estate. If anyone has an opinion, especially about international listings, please let us know!
Free Chat for Your Real Estate Website
· CommentsGoogle Does It Again
Some days it seems like keeping up with all the Google toys could turn into a full-time job! The latest thing I’ve come across is a free online chat facility that is driven by Google Talk.
Google Talk is Google’s version of Instant Messaging. I’ve never used it because I started using Yahoo’s IM and just never worried about other messaging systems. Google Talk gives you access to instant messaging, PC to PC voice calls, file transfers and GMail Notifications. And they’ve fairly recently added Chatback.
The Chatback icon is what you’re seeing over to the right. You’re shown as Available any time you are logged into Google Talk.
I tried it out just talking to myself. Yes, it seems that not only do I talk to myself using voice, but now I can even talk to myself online. That’s the only way I tested it and it seemed to work fine. If someone has a minute, try clicking on the chat – I’d like to see how it works when I’m not talking to myself.
Trying It Out
If you want to try it out, here’s what you need to do:
-
Download Google Talk
-
Get the Chatback code by clicking on the link under “Chatback” on the page where you downloaded Google Talk
-
Put the HTML code on your website
-
Login to Google Talk
When a visitor on your website clicks to chat with you, you’ll get a pop up window on your monitor that has an amazingly long link on it. When you click on that link, a browser window will open with a link you must click to initiate the chat from your side. A chat window will open on your monitor and you’re ready to sell a house!
I’m writing this late on Tuesday, April 15, 2008. And, you know what day that is, right? Due to some fiddling around with a new CPA, tax time got a tad bit delayed this year, and I ended up spending a lot more time today worrying about it than I wanted. And, the bottom line numbers were not as advantageous as I’d hoped.
So, since I’m still rather grumpy, there will be no typical whimsy in this post. If I wrote about something that bugged me today, I’d probably be taken away by the people from that three letter agency. But, I did come across an issue that I’d like some feedback on, and today would be a good time to ask.
Do you ever find that the more people who become involved in a real estate transaction, the more complicated it gets?
If you do, have you seen the article at Inman about a new site called Fairclosingcosts.com? This site is being developed so that home buyers and real estate and mortgage professionals can comparison shop for title insurance, appraisers, home inspectors, surveyors and termite companies.
The founder wants to be the “Zillow” for settlement services. Their website isn’t fully active yet, but there is a call for service providers to start signing up:
“We invite you to learn more about participating in America’s first, one-stop online shopping directory empowering borrowers to find information regarding low-cost settlement services providers anywhere in the United States.”
What do you think?
- Does this seem to you like a way of encouraging consumers going to the lowest bidder, not necessarily the best provider?
- And, my experience has been that the closing process goes so much smoother when the parties involved have worked together before. I don’t think anyone should have an unfair advantage by insisting on the service providers to be used. But, if I have trusted the agent, then I’ve always thought it would make sense to work with providers they know and can vouch for.
- Does it seem like the real estate industry has just too many people finding ways to get involved? There are a lot of other industries that could be set up so providers compete.
So, what do you think? Is this really a bad idea or am I just being grouchy?
The mortgage and finance issues facing your clients are getting more complex all the time. Given the mess so many mortgages are in now, the lenders are naturally changing the rules and tightening requirements.
One way to keep your visitors coming back is to provide them with good information and easy to use tools related to the mortgage industry. You can find several things for your website or blog at MortgageLoan.com.
I’ve used average rate widgets from BankRate, but I wasn’t familiar with MortgageLoan.com until recently. They have quite a few mortgage widgets that might be of interest to your prospects and clients, including:
- A 20 in one calculator that can help answer questions such as, “Should I pay points to lower my interest rate?” and “What if I pay more each month?”
- National rate averages
- State rate averages
- A finance glossary
- News stories
The widgets are easy to use. All you need to do is copy the code from a pop-up box and add it to your real estate web site or blog. The widgets can be customized to blend into your site with the color controls that can be set before the code is generated. You can also utilize an RSS Feed of current stories and articles that is updated regularly.
Overall, I was impressed with the number of tools that are available. And, I like the look of the site. I saw a Google ad on one page, but overall, the site is very clean. When contrasted to the Bankrate site, it’s a nice change.
