Disruptive RE Broker

I haven’t read much about Jason’s new project, but from what I have read this project is something that is going to get sold to one of the search players. Mahalo will be like a directory search engine and will serve the big boys well if they are able to build and maintain a useful directory.

Google uses dmoz as a directory. Yahoo has a directory. MSN has various directories but guess what? They all suck. Dmoz is corrupt and good sites never get in unless you have seo connections. Yahoo charges sites to get listed and quality doesn’t matter and MSN’s directories are just a big mess.

If my assumptions are correct Mahalo will be the nets directory or eventually Google’s directory after they buy it. Google surely isn’t going to hire in-house people to search and incorporate good sites. Much better to buy a directory.

I think this adds up, but what do I know? Probably nothing. However, I often find myself reading Jason’s posts thinking that we think alike on many topics.

We shall see. You heard it here first. (I think!)

It’s coming. I just got word from an inside source that Realtor.com is changing and they are going to be launching a service where agents can create a video clip (think youtube) and advertise themselves and their listings.

Realtor.com will also be allowing agents to have 25 photos rather than the 6 image max now.

Its a start.

Came back from Vegas and I am bogged with work. Back to blog by midweek. Much to say.

My birthday is here and my amazing girlfriend is taking me to Vegas. I love Vegas. We will still be providing for service in all states we serve so have a great weekend

View: RI FLAT FEE MLS, MA FLAT FEE MLS

Wish me luck.

I have been spending some time looking into “associations” and I found some interesting facts that pertain to the United States. Information can be found by going to caionline.org

Check out these impressive facts and figures.

More than 1.7 million Americans serve on a community association board, with close to 400,000 participating as committee members. Assuming the average board or committee member spends just one hour a week on association business—and for most it’s much more than that—these volunteer leaders dedicate more than 110 million hours of service to their communities every year.

The estimated real estate value of all homes in community associations approaches $4 trillion, approximately 20% of the value of all U.S. residential real estate.

The total annual operating revenue for all community associations in the U.S. is more than $41 billion. Most of this is spent in associations’ local economies for goods and services. Community association boards also maintain investment accounts of more than $35 billion for the long-term maintenance and replacement of commonly held property.

Community associations can range in size from as small as a two-unit condominium or cooperative to large-scale planned communities with more than 20,000 units. Some of the largest community-managed associations in the United States include Columbia, MD; Reston, VA; Valencia, CA; Summerlin, NV; and Highlands Ranch in Highlands, CO.

So I know this Broker, here in Boston, who told me in Jan that he was not allowing his agents to show Entry Only listings anymore. He thought this would stop them from getting listed or something. Sorry, some people cannot afford full service but still need to sell. Anyways, before he made this decision he was doing well with about 16 agents in his office. Solid number of buyers and about 2-3 listings per agent every 50 days or so.

Well, things have changed. He now only has 4 agents and is struggling to attract agents and buyers alike. Agents were pissed because they just want to sell homes. He tells buyer’s that they will not show limited service listings to them and they walk out.

Guess what? The brokers really nice condo is on the market and I have heard he is in tough financial times. Maybe there’s more to the story but I remember when he told me he was no longer showing limited service listings. I felt bad for him.

I was thinking about doing a Dump of the Week feature on this blog but now that Redfin got fined $50,000 for Sweet Digs blog posts I am reconsidering. It may turn into a headache but I am not sure.

Everyone is going bonkers over this twitter thingy. I remember looking at Twitter when they had the dripping logo and was called Twatter or something.

I do not belong to Twitter because it is kinda creepy -isn’t it like a stalking tool? Not sure I want people to know what I am doing.

Although I do not have a Twitter account I have been thinking about the service and I feel it can serve as a replacement for the VM. Perhaps it can be a tool for kids and teenies. It’s really a dream for parents. Sign your kid up and make them post what they are doing as the do things. No need to call home little Bobby just twitter our activities and I will check them out throughout the day.

Does this make sense? How about Twitter Alert. When a child is in trouble they can alert the Police who can be scanning their Twitter Logs.

So to make Twitter useful the need to allow users to set up rooms. One room for family, one for emergency, one for business, one for shady rings etc.

This might sound dumb, but I am not sure cause I don’t use the service. Any thoughts?

So that infamous 60 minutes pissed off NAR so bad that sent out a mass email the day after. I deleted the email but it was complete damage control. NAR was exposed and Redfin is not making friends. Sure they love the pub but man they are pissing people off. 60 minutes is great at what they do. SPIN. I wonder if anyone involved new what to expect after they cut up the show. I’d be interested in knowing. How much was taking out of context?

Anyone know about this?

Also, I just read the Redfin was fined $50000 for creating some sort of property reviews site. This is bs but they are not making friends. Agents are going to keep at Redfin. Here in Boston, agents will make life hell for them.

Redfin, wake up, switch up how you are doing things. You will not survive in Massachusetts if you piss off agents. You are making too many enemies. I know this market and I know how agents can be.

I am writing to say you are without a clue. I understand you are comping a home and trying to get a listing, but I cannot tell you what the neighboring house that is pending is going to sell for. Do you not care about ethical standards? Of course not, you skimmed past that section when getting your license. Was I wrong for not disclosing this info to you? At any rate, you are a bitch!

Don’t call my office again and act like you own the world. Hope you loose the listing.

This is an absolute real estate rant day. All brokers have them and today is mine. Since I started this new venture I have noticed that we are really helping people solve a major problem. They are so happy that we offer such a service but as much as they love the service we are never really appreciated. We have helped hundreds of sellers in a short period of time but only a few say or send a thank you email after they close. From time to time we ask for testimonials but for some reason they do not want to be bothered.

Now, I know every broker feels this way, but what’s the reason?

Did you show the buyers 50 homes in two weeks?

Did you find a property that wasn’t yet listed.

Did you stage their home because it looked like shit and got it sold after 3 other agents failed?

Let’s hear it in the comments. Yeah, I know, it’s BS.

In March, one of my sellers decided to cancel her listing. The listing was attracting buyers but a deal just didn’t happen. Agents would come to her house and tell them she needed a full service agent to get it sold. At first she didn’t believe them but after they said all she would do for them they started to think she could produce for them. She said mailers, color ads, showcased website, ads online, open houses with refreshments and balloons etc.

Guess what? They are going on the 44th day without an offer and my past seller was burned. This broker has done nothing for the seller and I am really pissed. I am not mad because I lost the listing because we get paid upfront for services but I am pissed that this broker lied. Why lie? Why make my service look bad? She also solicited my seller every five min because she had a better offering. Sure, my new service is not for everyone but it works just the same. We give the exposure, we give great service and we put in writing exactly what we do. We never lie. We tell it like it is and I guess some people don’t like that.

If you are a traditional selling agent. Be real. Don’t lie. Back what you say. You not only lost trust in your seller but you mad your company look really bad.

Oh, and one more thing… I just noticed you just raised the buyer agent commission. What’s the point? Market to Buyers - not Agents. Liar.

I blog to get things off my chest and have discussion. I enjoy hearing from those who comment (numbers have been slipping). Do you blog for business or to gain insight into business?

I guess the RI Statewide MLS is trying to connect with members. They have started a blog but it is kind of lame. I hope it will get better. They should ask readers what they think about the RI Statewide MLS system and how they can make it better. I personally think the system needs a lot of work.

If you are an adwords buyer you have got to check out Audio Ads. This is impressive and it will most likely change radio ads as we know it. I just watched the demo and it was impressive. If you are looking to spend over $1000 per week on audio ads go for it. If you go for audio ads remember that it will not work unless you are commited to running spots often.