They do things different in the South

CHECK OUT THIS BLOG. It highlights that they really are different in the South. At least, insofar as Coldwell Banker and their attitude toward the people they represent as sellers.

Seems they decided to run a SALE on the homes they have listed. The pitch to the sellers was that they should, for a limited time, reduce the asking price of their homes by anywhere from 5 to 10%. Just do like they do in retail, and people will flock to your homes for a bargain!

Wow, what's come of the expertise the real estate industy is supposed to have? What's come of fiduciary duties, common sense, and a real desire to do it right from the beginning? I am not perplexed at this "stunt", because all of us who work in real estate now know the difficulties. I am not even surprised by this "stunt." I am, however, angered by it, as it seems that Coldwell Banker in Florida has decided that since their agents didn't do their job right the first time, i.e. list the home at the correct price up front, they'll now backtrack and try to make it right. Oh, and in the meantime, perhaps they'll sell a few homes.....at a discount.

My client's homes are not discountable! They are financially too important, and viscerally not a commodity in the normal sense of the word. Don't bring this "stunt" to my neighborhood. I do all my homework up front, and my sellers depend on me to make the hard decisions then, not in a fire sale later on.

Signs of the times

It's becoming more difficult to utilize Open House and directional signs to help potential buyers find a home. Here in San Marcos the City Council has determined that no signs can be placed, directional or otherwise, on public rights of way. Thus, any sign must be placed on private property, making it much more difficult to see, and also requiring a request from the property owner to actually use the property to place the sign.

It's a sign of the times. Even the cities don't want to be bothered with "written" materials any longer. Their mantra is get your info from the media, i.e. TV or web, and stop using up trees to just get directions.

For me, this is a good thing. Open House signs can be placed by lots of real estate folks who just aren't willing to do much work, but just want a quick fix. By buying and placing lots of signs indiscriminately around a neighborhood, these real estate people are trying to catch a client with some sticky paper.

Well, for me, I think I'll try to actually INVITE people to come to my Open Houses, and I'll give them reason to do so, very good directions, and more. I'll do this with my blog, my web site, my internet presence and acumen, and I think both myself and the buyers will be better off for it.

If you have a similar situation with signage in your area, please let me know what you and others are doing to accommodate the wishes of the community, your sellers, and the buyers.

A tribute to Sir, from Unchained

I wanted to let you know that our adopted dog, Sir, passed away while Beth and I were in Phoenix. He ingested some rocks, got bloat, and then passed away in Beth's care after four long and arduish days.

Because I was at the Bloodhound Unchained conference in Phoenix the whole time, Beth had to care for Sir, cry daily for him, and then ultimately watch him pass....all while I was away. It was, and continues to be, so very hard for her. And for me, being unable to do anything was absolute torture.

But, during my time at the conference, I was befriended by Greg Swann, Cathleen Collins, and Geno Petro, all wonderful people, and truly all I had to keep my sanity and spirit during one very hard week. Greg posted this in his Bloodhound Blog last week, and it means a lot to me.

So read, and see how splendid friendships develop from difficult situations.

Bloodhound Unchained

I spent this past week in Phoenix, Arizona, just a 6 hour drive from my home in San Diego. The reason for my visit was Greg Swann's and Brian Brady's first ever Bloodhound Unchained conference for Social Networking.

They, along with the participants and attendees, succeeded in a way well beyond my expectations, and I'd like to spend just a few minutes telling you why.

First, these guys know what they're doing! Sure, you can write, blog, pontificate all day long, but once you've committed to hanging it all out in front of lots of smart, passionate, opinionated real estate folks, well you've shown your mettle.

Second, the content was fast moving, completely relevant and on topic, and presented in such a way as to be inclusive of everyone's input. We got to interact, disagree, laugh, and muse, all the while we were taking in the rain that poured out onto every table in the room. By the way, the rain was really soup, but you'll have to go to the Bloodhound blog to read about how raining soup impacts your business.

Lastly, for this small note, the embodiment of this conference was the totality of the people I met. I will post about every one of them in the upcoming weeks, sharing with you how they do business, how they live their lives, how they make a difference in their communities, and perhaps why they might be people you will want to meet either online or in person quite soon. Suffice it to say, you must stop what you're doing now and head to www.bloodhoundrealty.com/bloodhoundblog/. Once you're there, read until your eyeballs grow weary, and your head is filled with soup.

Thanks to all of you I met there.