Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Twitter ...

I am often asked "what, who, where is Twitter?" "What is it?" "I don't understand it?" "Why do you do it?" Or more commonly I get snickers or snide comments such as, "I tried it and I think it's a waste of time." To each their own, I know Twitter is NOT everyone's cup of tea, but for me ... I personally take great pleasure on my windows of time I spend on Twitter.

As with our Facebook fan page, I source local events and going-ons in Roseville and Rocklin, but I also interact with others. I follow some purely on relationship (usually because I find them funny, sweet or amazing), but others I follow because they enrich my mind whether in real estate, marketing or design. All on the edge material and what's happening RIGHT now.

BUT if interacting is not your forté ... may I suggest making an account just to follow others for the latest news, or your favorite companies. It's an amazing tool and many companies are using it as their sounding board of latest items and updates.

You can even make a RSS feed with your favorite follow!

There is NO right way to use the tool, but there are plenty of wrong ways. Spam and getting followers in masses is generally looked down up by the general "regular" twitter community. If you are just spouting off about your great product and listing off your newest listed home and NEVER interact with others ... you WILL NOT get ANYTHING out of Twitter. Who wants to engage on a one-way street? C'mon put your thinking cap on here, it doesn't take a genius to realize that fact. There has to be balance with the information you put forth, take the time to engage with another or perhaps even push their information forward [called a ReTweet (RT)] I usually keep my personal business to about 20% or less of my tweets, BUT when I do tweet business ... it's usually received well.

If you do take up the twitter to engage and chat with others and listen ... it's amazing what will not only happen to your experience, but your mind will develop and you can meet new people. Who knows where the world can take you. It's the freshest way to meet others and also perhaps network. Take a look at some of the big companies, like Southwest and Starbucks who have used this opportunity to work directly with their consumers. They are a "touchable big brand."

Please of course use safety and be smart about your public matters. Stating your location real time should be used with caution and establishing patterns.

Here are some of the faces I follow on Twitter.

Get your twitter mosaic here.



If ever you want a leg-up on this Twitter world, or you have questions on how it works and how to incorporate twitter into your personal or business platform, write me any time. You will need a logo or avatar or small photo of yourself. Decide how to present yourself ... I encourage a real photo at first ... second get a bio up ... large or small. Third, use the search tool to find locals and/or find people within your trade or profession or interest. "Sacramento Moms" or "Real Estate Roseville" ... start there and start talking using the @ symbol directly in front of their name.

Many of the folks I follow are amazing, local business people. I feel so lucky to know so many exciting, creative and motivated minds. Plus many I have met in real life and now I call friends ...

Sure you might not enjoy the experience, but I see so many asking questions about it, I will be happy to help in any way I can ... plus you can ask me about other forms of social media and tools we help ourselves with our business.

Enjoy your experience wherever you are!
Happy living!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Smart buyer knocking on short sales & REOs

Okay ... so I am on a kick of YouTube-i-cus ...
I love music and it fires me up.

Today is smart "Knocking on Wood" ... because sometimes we need to create your luck to find your treasure these days in real estate and sometimes you have to be knocking in the right place with the right tools.



So a repeating theme lately for Steve is luck created ... he does a great job getting your offer seen, but obviously how the seller proceeds are out of one's direct control. Discuss with Steve, "how can I achieve what I desire in a home both in it's structure and location at "x" price."

Banks don't always respond the way and in a time frame you want them to ... Not all banks work the same, not all short sales execute the same ... also is there more than one bank involved, liens, etc. Also there is that little tidbit with financing called an appraisal too ... Realize this is business and not personal ... if you have that in your head, then you are ahead of many in the home battle. Put your emotions aside and push ahead with a business attitude. Find the home with your mind, heart to solve functionality and life issues, but when it comes to writing the offer ... bust out that business buddy hat and "bring it."

Bank-owned (REO): Some banks take seven days to respond to an offer, others might be same day ...
Short Sale (ss): Some can respond in 30 days, some can be already pre-approved, others can take months and months for just a response and/or approval.

Does "bring your highest and best offer" have you twitching? Keep control, do what your financially comfortable with cross-referenced with is THIS the home for me? Don't let this language set you into a frenzy. It IS scary to not know what's going on and not having an absolute resolve. But answer this: will I be okay the day after the property closes, both emotionally and financially and feel as though I did the right thing?

Remembering what is your "forever house" and what is a "stepping stone" often helps many. Granted you never know what tomorrow or today holds, but keep in mind ... we cannot achieve the world in one day.

Steve has had great luck with bank-owned listings and short sales. More than I could have ever imagined as Steve's RE assistant and marketing gal. I am not shocked, but I feel grateful we continue to thrive in this current real estate environment.

If Steve can help you in any way in your real estate needs or real estate questions ... just knock ...
916-308-2446

What's "the Best" mean anyhow?

It's hard for me not to snicker when I read, "I am the best [ insert profession here ]." What exactly does that mean? When you speak of yourself in such a manner does that really work? I suppose it does because it would naîve of me to not realize it's a Google world. Everyone has their niché and I bet that many like to read such language, but for me it seems like a term that insinuates that you just may not fit your big head through a door. Just sayin' ...



But hey if someone is googling "best+your profession" kudos to you. I like knowing we are great fit for just the right people. I am not sure I want to be the best for everyone. We all have our place and what we are good at and ultimately I feel that makes us better at what we do and how we proceed in life to work effectively ... Ultimately relationships established make business timeless and loyalty happen.

I firmly believe, "best" in any profession or product, resides in a match/fit of personality, working habits or desires fulfilled. For Steve's business, ultimately meshing communication styles and/or in real life (IRL) personality clicks has been our key to successful business relationships, BUT we are not perfect for all and if we only have an email to follow up with you, please know ... email is never a sure thing and can get lost in the mix (yahoo, yahoo, yahoo, yahoo) ... so it's hard when we don't get a phone number to follow up. Sometimes the emails go through, sometimes they don't ... Communication is a two-way street and sometimes it simply isn't going to happen unfortunately.

I mean ... we have a goldfish on our real estate home page, isn't that the universal sign for nice people? ;-) Give Steve a call anytime: 916-308-2446 ... interview him and see if he is your "best" real estate fit. He may not be ... but if our teams seems like a great option, we look forward to meeting you.

Have an amazing week all! Good luck finding your "BEST" in life.

Keeping it real in Roseville ...