Trulia Self Marketing Launch
June 19th, 2008 by "Chief Arachnid" Kevin
Have you ever thought about advertising your services via Google AdWords and wondered to yourself if the viewing eyeballs would really be targeted, potential customers?
Have no fear! … Trulia self-marketing program is here! Like Google’s advertising system, Trulia will display your ad more often using an algorithm based on relevancy, in this case Trulia uses location. Post an ad and you’ll ONLY be exposed to real estate professionals and people searching for property in your local area. Now that’s a pretty targeted audience for a real estate investor!
“So, what’s the cost”, you say? This is the good part — Trulia is providing incentive to real estate pros to use the system by temporarily (we’re not sure how long) offering unlimited feature use AND a fixed monthly fee of $39 ($348 if you pay for a year up front).
I’ve got to cut this post short … to go find my checkbook!
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Aerial Photography Goes Helicam!
May 26th, 2008 by "Chief Deal Weaver" Richard
Don’t ask me how I ended up there, but it turns out that www.skyflyphotography.com offer a pretty cool service for people wanting aerial photography of their real estate - this works especially well for developers or investors with property in a challenging location, where regular earth-bound photos simply can’t get the money shot they’re seeking.
Enter David Webber and his radio-controlled helicopter; for around $350, he’ll zip his camera up into the startosphere and zoom in on that special location requiring an aerial image. David is based in Washington state, but he tells me that you can find your local ‘pilot’ at: http://www.rcapa.net/info/members/
He describes his service like this: “Our helicam system is fluid, once airborne, unlike a mast or balloon, we can move around in the air to capture your property, project or event from many different angles. This enables us to capture your vision in the best possible light. The helicam can also shoot in locations that a mast or balloon can not shoot from, such as, steep grades, over water and over obstructions.”
…… interesting stuff. Heck, how cool would it be if he could do the aerial version of Google’s StreetView application?! Even better, imagine if you could use his chopper to view property you’re interested in and be able to guide the flight right from your computer - sounds a little far-fetched, but so did satellite images a few years ago!
We wish David huge success with his business and hope you’ll check out his site.
Over and out…..
Richard 
Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment » | Trackback URL
Feds To Unleash Their Own Pre-foreclosure Law….
May 23rd, 2008 by "Chief Deal Weaver" Richard
Back to Inman News again:
You’ve probably gotten wind of the Federal Government toying with the idea of doing their own, nationwide version of the new “Foreclosure Rescue Scam” laws, which have surfaced in several states over the last twelve months. Well…….. it’s a-comin’!
Head on over to their article from today:
http://www.inman.com/news/2008/05/23/new-washington-law-targets-foreclosure-scams
Please read my comment at the bottom of the article and make a point of doing your own - let’s see if we can get across the point that this new law, if it further restricts investors from working with distressed homeowners, will exacerbate the negative influence upon the real estate market.
Happy Memorial Weekend!
Richard
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Could The Internet Be The Demise Of The MLS?
May 21st, 2008 by "Chief Deal Weaver" Richard
If there is one thing that Realtors have tried to keep all to themselves, it ’s the MLS - last bastion of their profession, the remaining shred of exclusivity that is gradually (rapidly?) slipping through their fingers as fresh new public sites like www.Zillow.com and www.Trulia.com offer the house-buying public equal information, with some very cool applications to boot.
I was highly entertained to read one of today’s posts on InmanNews:
http://www.inman.com/news/2008/05/21/editorial-internet-killed-mls#comment-5143
The poor, short-sighted National Association of Realtors is now the recipient of some serious biting in the butt; a result of their effort to cling onto their treasured MLS. How about some transparency and freedom of information? Isn’t there a saying about all ships rising with the tide? The public has spoken and the times they are a-changin’. I wonder if they can retain what’s left of their public perception and really open things up, especially comps (which of course, are public information anyway) - I think the world would appreciate the gesture!
What say you guys??
Oh, and here’s another issue: Has Craig’s List become the MLS? Last time I looked, it was hard to find a FSBO amongst all the Realtor’s listings… maybe we shouldn’t go there!
Happy investing,
Richard
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Forget Flipping Houses…. How About Billboards?
May 17th, 2008 by "Chief Deal Weaver" Richard
You’ve seen them looming above you as you drive in and out of town and I’m sure you’ve often wondered what kind of money-maker they are. Billboards represent yet another avenue to profit in real estate and it sounds like they’re still as atttractive to advertisers as ever, especially for online businesses; “Hmmmm, maybe we should get that Times Square Black Widow Network billboard after all!”
I noticed a brief but informative article at NuWire Investor today:
It’ll give you a good overview of the business and might encourage you to add this to your quiver of investing strategies. I’ve always been intrigued and never one to pass up on an extra ‘value play’, when analysing a property - might be worth a closer look!?
Yours with gusto,
Richard
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It’s Called a Community Manager
May 13th, 2008 by "Chief Arachnid" Kevin
Business guru Tim Sanders sent a shout out to the world, asking for help in recruiting a contractor. Specifically, he’s looking for;
“… a social networking superstar to help me generate traffic to my existing properties, as well as establish myself on Facebook, MySpace, etc.”
Additionally, the successful candidate will be able to help Tim increase his traffic and reach significantly.
The role Tim is describing is called a “Community Manager” (or a “Social Network Manager” or a “Social Media Manager” or …) The challenge he faces is that with this is a new role didn’t really exist, in the context of today’s expectations, just 18 months ago. Because of this newness, there isn’t an established pool of these young professionals just hanging around the watercooler waiting for their local headhunter to call.
IN FACT, Black Widow Network is ALSO looking for such a person. I suspect that every up and coming niche social network and social media pro (and that’s a big group people), will also need such assistance. What to do, what to do?
Our answer? … We’re going to grow our own. Take a young (read, no fear of social networking), energetic (read, long hours), business/marketing major (read, they already see themselves on the fast track), and teach them the skills they need to succeed.
So, if you know TWO people like this, send them our way. Mr. Sanders and I would be most appreciative.
Note to Tim: We’re trying to put together a side event, and possibly a session at the upcoming Podcamp 3 in Boston (with the kind help of founders Chris Brogan and Christopher Penn) around this exact topic. Nothing definitive to report yet, but we’re excited about the opportunity. We figure that putting a bunch of like minded people with these same challenges together can’t be a bad thing. We’d love to see you there!
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So What Are YOU Doing With YOUR Rebate Check?
May 7th, 2008 by "Chief Deal Weaver" Richard
Over the next few weeks our warm-hearted government is sending out the much anticipated IRS rebate checks, up to $600 per individual and $1200 for married couples. I’ve been thinking really, REALLY hard about what I’m going to do with said windfall - buy some new wheels for the mountain bike, turbo-charge the laptop, add to my growing pile of real estate courses, hmmm, the possibilities are endless.
Then I started to think about return on investment and it hit home with me, just how highly leveraged we can be with real estate. I love the idea of using a miniscule amount of money to control a significant asset and make a profit that dwarfs the small chunk we used to get in. Every option deal I’ve ever done was with just ten bucks and if I’d have done these deals within a self-directed IRA, the profits I made on each deal would have gone back into my IRA, with no tax consequences……. thank you Uncle Sam! When you see that official looking envelope between the Spring Cabela’s catalog and the slew of bills in your mail box, that’s your opportunity to find out how much you can make those funds blossom and contribute to your bottom line. This is a mindset and an attitude and one that we want our members to embrace. Go on, take the road less traveled and challenge yourself to see what you can do with it…. you’ll be glad you did!
Onward!
Richard
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Castle For Sale….Includes Moat And Drawbridge.
May 4th, 2008 by "Chief Deal Weaver" Richard
I think we mentioned to you that we were puting together a list of the top blogs for real estate folks - this collection of brilliance will be ready for your perusal in short order. I was cruising through the list this morning and saw the following post:
http://360digest.com/2008/05/02/unusual-homes-on-evening-magazine/
…featuring a house in Winthrop WA, which looks just like a castle: check it out. I also liked the old bank turned into a house…… hope their guests enjoy sleeping in the vault!
Enjoy,
Richard
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Video For Real Estate Investors
May 3rd, 2008 by "Chief Deal Weaver" Richard
Real estate investors throughout the country should be taking it upon themselves to get up-to-speed with making their own videos for both YouTube (do a search on youTube for ‘Real Estate Investing’ and check out the results) and for their own sites/blogs. There’s a great blog post on Joel Burslem’s site today:
http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/video-advertising-to-dominate-online-ads
He goes into some of the neat platforms and applications available to us when getting our videos out there - good stuff and another stark reminder that things are changing pretty fast on the marketing front. Head on over to Best Buy and get hooked up!
Richard
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Careful Who You Talk To……
April 27th, 2008 by "Chief Deal Weaver" Richard
So we were in Cincinnati a week ago, looking at a large apartment complex and there came a point when we paused in one of the parking lots, to go over the exterior work needing to be done. Here I was, stood with eleven other people who were giving their insights into the property and the local market, when it ocurred to me that these folks were all wearing ‘rose-colored lenses’. There was the investor who brought the deal to us and her buyer’s broker, plus the listing broker, three lenders, a contractor and two potential property management companies - quite the entourage! Sure, they all had some genuine knowledge of the local scoop, but at the same time, they all stood to gain if we went ahead with the deal.
This lead me to realize just how critical it is to be selective about who you are talking to when doing your due diligence. It was important to meet with the aforementioned cast of characters, but to really get to the nitty gritty and understand the local environment fully, we’d have to dig a little deeper and speak with some impartial people, such as tenants of the building, the local police, local gas station owner, meter readers and the like. Next time you’re investigating a town you’re not too familiar with, take the time to think hard about who you should be listening to, this way, you’re going into a deal with your eyes wide open and have put yourself in a much stronger descision-making position.
May the force be with you (local police force, that is).
Regards,
Richard
Posted in Multi-Family Housing | 1 Comment » | Trackback URL
