"Money for Tough Times"
Realtor (10/09) Vol. 42, No. 9, P. 10; Freedman, Robert

The U.S. Small Business Administration has clarified that individual real estate practitioners and brokers are eligible for the agency's loans, which should be helpful during these tough economic times. According to analysts with the National Association of REALTORS, America's Recovery Capital (ARC) loans, Section 7(a) loans, and Section 504 loans are the three types of small-business loans that real estate practitioners and brokers will want to apply for. An initiative of the Obama administration's economic stimulus package, the ARC program offers no-interest, no-fee, deferred-payment short-term loans of up to $35,000 that can be used to make payments on or replace existing business debt. Under the 7(a) Guaranty Loan Program, individual practitioners can use money from participating lenders for working capital or debt replacement. Intended for long-term needs, the maximum loan amount is $2 million. And the 504 Loan Program, facilitated through community agencies, is ideal for individual practitioners who are expanding their business and need to pay for fixed assets.
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"The Confident Rookie Series: Let Your Seller Prospect Talk & Get Comfy With Your Commission"
Realty Times (09/30/09) Allan, Jennifer

Rookie real estate agents generally are nervous about their first listing appointment, but there are some measures they can take to make it a good experience for themselves and their careers. Experts encourage them to let the seller do nearly all of the talking, which helps them learn about the seller's motivation and gather information about the home that will be used to set the asking price. Sellers also are impressed when someone really listens to what they have to say. Additionally, new agents need to be comfortable discussing their commission fees. They should also be confident that they are worth the fee so that they can convince the seller. Finally, they should be willing to go beyond expectations for their first few listings, spending money on various forms of marketing and spending as much time and effort as necessary to set an appropriate asking price. Experts say such a strategy will impress clients and give them an opportunity to test different listing techniques.
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"How Real Estate Agents Can Take Their Business From Local to National"
RISMedia (09/23/09) Minton, Rob

Real estate agents working in small markets, where it is difficult to generate leads, should consider taking their business national by marketing in USA Today and other national publications with huge numbers of subscribers. Given that many readers will not be looking to move to the agent's market, he or she should gear the marketing toward investors -- which also means offering property management services. While property management is a big undertaking, agents will reap the benefits of monthly management income. In addition, they could include a clause in the contract giving them the ability to sell the managed properties and pocket full commissions. If agents do not want to offer property management services themselves, they can refer clients to a property management company. Although they will not benefit from the management income and listings, they still will achieve the goal of national expansion.
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"Knoxville REALTORS Use Tweets, Status Updates to Sell Homes"
WBIR-TV (Knoxville, TN) (09/28/09) Haynes, Beth

Knoxville, Tenn.-based Slyman Real Estate is among the many U.S. residential property brokerages turning to social media outlets to help them sell homes. Laura Slyman and her team of agents have been using Facebook since last year and added Twitter to their marketing repertoire just a couple of months ago. Twitter is used to simply post short descriptions of home listings, while the company uses Facebook to broadcast video and a virtual tour. According to Slyman, hits on the sites are generating business for the brokerage. "Last night, I had a seller post online that her house had had 17 showings in 22 days. And she had a result of 2 offers," she recounts. "Immediately, people started commenting on her status saying, 'Congratulations,' and then another saying, 'Who's your real estate agent?'"
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"The Web Your Way: 7 Real Estate Tools"
Inman News (09/25/09) Ferrara, Joseph

Real estate professionals have access to several Web-based tools to improve efficiency, such as Hyperwords, a free Firefox add-on that lets users highlight text and right click for search, shop, social media, translation and share commands. Cooliris, meanwhile, allows users to place their mouse over a link and view a preview so that they take the time to click only on links that appear worthwhile. At the same time, MyDropcard allows users to send business cards to someone's e-mail address via cell phone text message. Other useful tools include SlyDial, which takes users directly to a person's voicemail so they do not have to speak to them directly; FastStoneCapture.org, which allows users to take a screenshot with a single click, then resize, annotate, and watermark images; Add to Search Bar, a Firefox add-on that allows users to add multiple search engines to a single search box; and Vingo, which converts the user's voice to text for text messaging, Facebook and Twitter updates, and e-mails.
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"Portland REALTOR Turns to Bike Sales"
OregonLive.com (09/23/09) Frank, Ryan

Portland, Ore.-based real estate broker Kirsten Kaufman is known as the "Bike REALTOR," gearing her marketing toward people interested in neighborhoods where biking is practical. In an analysis of home sales in 15 metro areas and Walk Score walkability levels, Portland-based economist Joe Cortright found that walkability scores and higher home values were directly related in 13 of the markets. Additionally, Cortright determined that every one-point increase in the Walk Score resulted in a $700 to $3,000 gain in home values. Kaufman says, "I started doing focus groups by showing homes by bike to cycling advocates. All of the feedback I got was positive. Once I actively stared marketing to people who want to drive less, my business increased." However, Kaufman notes that it is not always feasible to bike. For instance, she drives when she knows she will be showing numerous properties in the area in a single day.
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"Web Marketing Latest Trend in Real Estate"
C & G News (09/23/09) Buchanan, Christa

The Internet has dramatically changed the way REALTORS conduct business, as more and more buyers begin home searches online and have access to everything from property photos to school statistics. David Reese of Real Estate One in Troy, Mich., says the Web has made it easy for buyers to weed out homes they would not want to visit in person. Sellers, meanwhile, should ensure their agents use more than one Multiple Listing Service site, YouTube, Craigslist and other sites to maximize exposure. "Now, because of the amount of information available to the public at large, the expectations and level of information required is much greater than it's ever been," Reese remarks. "We understand that the public expects a level of service and information that exceeds what they can access themselves." To meet client demand, Realtors need to constantly expand their expertise, taking courses on short sales or foreclosures, for instance; respond in a more timely manner; and arm themselves with such technology tools as digital cameras and PDAs.
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"Census Defines Eau Claire County"
Leader-Telegram (09/28/09)

The results of a recent Census Bureau study reaffirmed certain assumptions about living in Wisconsin's Eau Claire County. Median wages in the county lag behind state and U.S. averages at all levels. On average, though, Eau Claire's homes cost less and consequently have lower mortgages. Nearly 20 percent of the jobs in the county are connected to health care. The presence of college students, meanwhile, puts Eau Claire's median age more than three years lower than the national average. The research further shows that although Eau Claire County is considered part of a metropolitan area, the region lacks the level of traffic congestion seen in larger metro areas. The average commute time for Eau Claire County workers is 18.1 minutes, which is more than eight minutes less than the U.S. average. In other findings, nearly 80 percent of Eau Claire workers' jobs are in the county versus the national average of 72.6 percent. Finally, just more than 70 percent of county residents were born in Wisconsin, compared with about 59 percent nationwide who live in the state where they were born.
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"Tours of Green, Renewable Homes Coming This Weekend"
Wausau Daily Herald (WI) (09/29/09)

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association is set to sponsor its annual Wisconsin Solar Tour this weekend, which will spotlight homes and businesses that are energy efficient, sustainable or powered with renewable energies. Organizers are expecting a big turnout as an increasing number of residents statewide are expressing interest in making energy efficiency upgrades to their residences. Many are looking to alternative energy, in particular. In addition to the normal grants bestowed by Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is offering additional tax incentives -- typically up to 30 percent -- to people undertaking such projects. Home tours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3.
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"Housing Crisis Might Affect Crime Rates"
Channel 3000 Madison (Wis.) (09/30/09)

The housing market in southern Wisconsin looks to be on the road to recovery. However, many developers and owners are still having to pull out all stops just to make their monthly mortgage payments. John Murray, of the Sun Prairie City Council, notes, "Condominiums got built over in Sun Prairie, as they did in a number of communities, and that forced landlords with the intention of selling them to essentially have to rent them." He further laments that some owners have not just lowered their prices, but also their standards. Nancy Jensen of the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin blames the housing crisis for leading to such problems. She remarks, "There may be as many as 6,000 condos in this area . . . that have not been able to sell. It's a casualty of the economy." Jensen adds that the surplus creates a sort of "ghost market" whereby a group of rentals are not meant to be rentals and become difficult to track and regulate. Jensen concludes, "Owners may have bought [properties] speculating, and they didn't sell them. And the market softened, and now they can't sell them. That is an open invitation to criminal behavior, and that is a problem."
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"Change the Way Local Governments Are Funded"
Milwaukee Small Business Times (09/24/09) Ruzicka, Mike

Mike Ruzicka, president of the Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS (GMAR), writes that the budgets of both Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker highlight the need for better financing options for local governments statewide. He states, "REALTORS are never happy with increases in property taxes, because they directly impact a buyer's ability to purchase a home. The mayor and county executive have made some hard decisions in prioritizing their respective programs and services that are funded for 2010 in the face of cuts in state shared revenue." With regard to Barrett's budget, GMAR hopes the common council can improve upon the mayor's proposal, save taxpayers even more money and preserve core services by continuing to look for efficiencies in their operations. At the county level, GMAR's leadership is urging Milwaukee County board members to "find better ways to fund county services without increasing the overall levy more than the county executive's proposal." Ruzicka concludes by stating that GMAR supports the Wisconsin Way's initiative to provide a comprehensive evaluation of current government financing and offer sensible alternatives that will help homeowners. GMAR is a 4,000-member professional association whose mission is to provide information, services and products that help members assist their clients in the home buying and selling process.
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"Riverside a Work in Progress"
Wausau Daily Herald (WI) (09/27/09) Halter, Nick

In Wausau, Wis., local leaders say continued development in the riverfront area north of downtown is moving in the right direction. The goal is for the blighted area on the east side of the Wisconsin River to be developed into apartments, condominiums, restaurants, bars and retail stores. According to Community Development Director Ann Werth and other city officials, the 17 acres of land between Bridge Street and the Eye Clinic of Wisconsin could be used to make Wausau's riverfront attractive and give downtown a sorely needed residential sector. For now, the city is marketing the property to make it as appealing as possible. Werth states, "You have to continue to market. We have a treasure right here because we have a stretch that is undeveloped on the Wisconsin River . . . things take time. But it will happen."
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"Home Prices Rose in Most Major Cities in July"
Baltimore Sun (09/30/09)

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities rose 1.2 percent in July. Residential property prices still are down 13.3 percent from the same month of last year, but the annual declines have braked in all 20 cities for the sixth consecutive month. Home prices started to rebound in June, after declining for three years, in a trend that should help stem the tide of foreclosures and contribute to economic recovery.
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"Homeowners Try to Save Their Dreams"
San Francisco Chronicle (09/28/09) P. A1; Said, Carolyn

Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America (NACA), a nonprofit based in Massachusetts, has attracted over 180,000 struggling homeowners to foreclosure-prevention events -- which some liken to bread lines during the Great Depression -- in Cleveland, Chicago and other cities. NACA Chief Executive Bruce Marks says his organization has legally binding agreements with all major mortgage servicers, and lenders send numerous representatives to the events to sit down with borrowers, most of whom leave with 30-year, low interest mortgages and principal reductions. "Obama pleads, begs and bribes the servicers and that doesn't work," Marks says. "We go to CEOs' homes and hold them personally responsible for the devastation they're causing."
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