"The Five Biggest Mistakes Experienced Agents Make"
Realty Times (05/06/08) Lones, Denise

Experienced real estate agents often neglect to follow up with their contacts, believing that being out in the field with as many buyers and sellers as possible constitutes a busy day. However, experts say agents with automated follow-up systems accomplish more when they complete these tasks on a daily basis. Experts also note that agents without goals tend to get into a routine, which prevents them from moving up a notch to generate more income. To avoid complacency, agents should set goals and stop doing tasks that do not boost business. Additionally, experts say they should hire assistants and outsource various processes instead of trying to do everything by themselves. They should also seek out educational opportunities to enhance their careers, rather than take courses only when they need to renew their licenses. Finally, experts underscore the importance of spending money on marketing upfront, using creative advertisements to differentiate themselves from the competition.
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"Five Ways to Capitalize on Your Affiliated Businesses"
RISMedia (05/05/08) Mandel, Jeff

Panelists in the "Capitalizing on the Value of Your Affiliated Businesses" session at RESPRO's 2008 Annual Conference agreed that real estate professionals need to take advantage of their connections in the insurance, title, and mortgage industries in order to maximize their business in today's market. They noted that consumers increasingly seek information about homeownership and financing, and realty firms can help them navigate these complex processes by leveraging their many resources and offering services that allow them to forge long-term relationships based on trust. Real estate firms that offer such information to consumers tend to create loyal customers. By creating a consolidated group of services, realty firms can better meet the needs of their clients and gain a competitive edge. To capitalize on their affiliated businesses, panelists said firms need to ensure open lines of communication between partners, clarify and distribute the goals and objectives of the partnership, ensure each partner is held accountable and develop performance metrics that focus on customer service and relationship building, among other things.
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"Insider Secrets to Driving Online Video"
Ecommerce-Guide.com (04/21/08) Dreier, Troy

Traffic Geyser co-founder Michael Koenigs says business owners interested in driving traffic to their online videos should take several steps to ensure they rank toward the top of the search engines. Video titles, he says, should include localized keywords and long, specific phrases, as Web surfers using general terms tend not to be serious buyers. Videos should communicate with viewers as friends, not customers. Furthermore, Koenigs underscores the importance of placing banners on the bottom third of the screen so viewers know where they should click next. He also recommends business owners put their Web link at the beginning of the video description because it will be displayed next to the video. Additionally, they can turn to a service like Traffic Geyser, which posts videos on more than two dozen free hosting services and numerous social bookmaking sites, blogs, and podcast directories in a matter of minutes.
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"How to Build an Effective Real Estate Team"
RISMedia (04/30/08) Proctor, Craig

Real estate agents who work long days, are unable to boost production because they cannot handle any more work, and have little time for their personal lives should consider assembling a real estate team. However, top RE/MAX Worldwide producer Craig Proctor says agents should hire only one team member at a time, waiting until their addition is financially justified. He recommends starting with an assistant to take on administrative tasks, such as fielding phone calls, putting up yard signs and filing. REALTORS® should never make a quick hiring decision just to get someone on board and should know what duties they want the assistant to handle beforehand. Clifton Park, N.Y.-based agent Willie Miranda recommends giving interviewees a personality test. Once they are hired, their goals and expectations should be made known upfront. He also suggests that new team members sign independent contract agreements and exit agreements to safeguard leads. Additionally, Miranda notes, "They should meet all of your team's core values: integrity; strong customer service skills; a desire to succeed; and, finally, they must be a team player."
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"Efficient E-mail Use Enables User Productivity"
Processor (04/18/08) Vol. 30, No. 16, Dunn, Darrell

Businesses of all sizes can take several steps to help their employees be more productive when using e-mail. For starters, businesses should develop a formal e-mail policy that addresses the expectations for users with regard to e-mail. For example, the policy should address the practice of storing e-mail messages in personal folders. According to Balaji Srinivasan, director of Exchange product development for Sherpa Software, companies may want to consider a policy that eliminates the use of personal folders, since these folders prevent administrators from knowing that certain messages exist. In addition to developing a formal e-mail policy, businesses should educate their employees about e-mail etiquette, such as including a concise subject line that will give the recipient a clear idea of what the message is about. Employees should also be told to keep their messages as short and as specific as possible, and to not include too many attachments in their e-mails.
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"Death of the Tape Measure"
Arizona Realtor Digest (04/08) Vol. 30, No. 4, P. 6; Peterson, Chandler

Real estate agents should consider trading in their conventional tape measures for a laser model, such as RoboTape or Prexiso. These laser tape measures allow agents to measure room dimensions within an eighth of an inch accuracy by pressing a single button. The lightweight tools also make it easy to measure spacious rooms because they cover hundreds of feet, and one battery provides more than 200 readings. However, agents should not confuse them with sonic tape measures, as their use of sound means objects in a room will reduce accuracy.
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Wisconsin Real Estate News

"The Clock Is Ticking"
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (05/03/08) Cleaver, Joanne

In Wisconsin and elsewhere, agents are being encouraged to key in on those clients who are the most serious about buying or selling. Buyers who think time is on their side can quickly wear out their welcome with brokers. Terry Donahue, a Prudential Absolute REALTOR®, comments, "If you're a good agent, you should be able to help people figure out what they're looking for, narrow it down, and not show them everything in the world. If they just keep looking and looking, you sit them down and say, 'Are you serious about buying a home or do you just want to look at houses?' You've got to figure out if they're real, or if they'll just keep finding reasons not to buy." Getting prequalified is a standard step when house hunting, but REALTORS® commonly report that lending agreements fall through while deals are pending. The tighter the time frame of prequalifying, making an offer and closing on a house, the better the chances that the deal will stick. "If you want it to sell quickly, then you want it priced at X. If they say that they want the highest price, and they don't care how long it takes, you rethink it. I have turned down overpriced listings, absolutely," says Laurie Schubert, an agent with First Realty GMAC in Brookfield, echoing the no-nonsense stance taken by many agents in the Milwaukee metro area.
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"Pea Pod Homes' Color Is Green"
Wisbusiness.com (05/05/08) Ripple, Kyle

Pea Pod Homes LLC of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., believes its focus on green design will help it stand out in the field of prefabricated housing. "Consumers are increasingly asking their home builders for green options in their new construction," according to Mark Rittle, who oversees sales and production for the company. "We hope to provide builders with this energy saving choice in their portfolios." He explains that Pea Pod lowers the cost of heating and cooling its homes through the use of a proprietary circular air flow system. Each house, with an estimated baseline cost of about $119,500, features a "sunspace" on its southern side made up of an outer wall of windows and an inner wall of pine logs. Sunlight passes through the windows and heats up the inner wall, and the air in this sunspace rises to the roof as it warms up. Once the air cools, it comes down the north wall to the space below the dwelling--where it returns to the same temperature as the ground and then repeats the cycle. Meanwhile, the stored energy in the pine logs keeps the home's interior heated at night. In addition to this unique convection system, Pea Pod homes also keep utility costs down by building with structural insulated panels--which expedite the construction process in addition to creating a tighter building envelope. On top of the energy savings, which compensate for a 10-percent higher cost in construction materials, Pea Pod homes are also built in such a way that owners can add on to the residence as their housing needs evolve. The company offers a series of pods that fit easily onto an existing home without the need for an architect.
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"Habitat for Humanity to Build Homes"
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (05/05/08) Umhoefer, Dave

In a project funded and staffed primarily by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a total of eight new Habitat for Humanity houses will start to take shape in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood this week. Hundreds of volunteers will frame the eight two-story homes, with two of the homes' future owners receiving front-door keys during a May 9 ceremony. A total of 10 Habitat homes are set to be built in Harambee by the end of this year. Thrivent Financial, a nonprofit organization based in Appleton, is contributing $689,980 this year to Milwaukee Habitat.
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"Wisconsin-Based Home Improvement Retailer Menards is Developing Homes in Residential Subdivisions"
Wisconsin State Journal (05/05/08)

Menards is developing homes in various residential subdivisions throughout the Midwest. Homes have already been built in Yorkville, Ill., and plans are now on the drawing board for similar projects in Urbana, Ill., and Warsaw, Ind. Specifically, the Eau Claire-based home improvement retailer is actively scouting for new projects around its existing stores. Jamie Radabaugh, director of sales and leasing for the company's property division, notes that the company gets deals on land when it plans stores and then sells the land to residential developers. This could be a first for the industry, reports North American Retail Hardware Association spokesman Scott Wright. He remarks, "I certainly haven't heard of anyone doing anything like that, especially in this economic climate." Menards first built subdivisions years ago in Franklin and Eau Claire, Wis. Menards currently operates a portfolio of about 240 stores in 11 states.
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"Area Home Sales Lag, Listings Grow"
Madison Capital Times (WI) (05/03/08) Richgels, Jeff

Sluggish home sales in Dane County, Wis., did little to discourage would-be sellers from putting their homes on the market during the month of March. According to the REALTORS® Association of South Central Wisconsin, there were 1,495 homes listed for sale for the first time with the South Central Wisconsin Multiple Listing Service, topping the previous all-time March record of 1,487 set in 2007. Still, the 3,682 total new listings in this year's first quarter were 6.1 percent below the same period a year ago. Also, the 4,856 homes up for sale at the end of three-month period were 5.3 percent fewer than the 5,130 tallied as of March 31, 2007. Average sale prices in March were up 1.0 percent over a year earlier.
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"New Apartment Building Planned for East Side"
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (05/02/08) Daykin, Tom

On Milwaukee's east side, a former nursing home will soon be demolished and replaced with a four-story apartment building. Assessment records show that the building was recently sold for $1 million to an investors group affiliated with Wangard Properties. The nursing home closed two years ago. In its place will be a 61-unit apartment building, which will be ready for occupancy by June 2009. Wangard spokesman Evan Zeppos adds that the apartments do not require Common Council zoning permission due to the fact that the site is already zoned for a four-story residential building. Wayne Wiertzema, Wangard executive vice president, states, "Our plan calls for architecture, materials and design to be compatible with the neighborhood."
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More Wisconsin and Midwest Real Estate News

"Cincinnati Agents Stage 'Super Sunday' of Open Houses"
WTOL-TV (05/05/08)

In a marketing ploy that is being executed all around the nation, Cincinnati-area real estate agents on May 4 sponsored a "Super Sunday" open house event. Local practitioners scheduled 2,700 open houses for the afternoon, in an effort to pump some life into the dull housing market.
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"Brownfields of Dreams: Grants and Tax Credits Help Give Them New Life"
Detroit Free Press (05/04/08) Neavling, Steve; Gallagher, John

Hundreds of brownfields situated throughout the Detroit metro area are being cleaned up and put back into productive use, including for affordable housing, thanks largely to tax credits and other aid aimed at revitalizing older urban areas. Brownfields are the subject of the 2008 National Brownfields Conference at Detroit's Cobo Center May 5-8. Among the scheduled activities for the three-day conference are tours of dozens of potential redevelopment sites by thousands of builders and urban planners. Additionally, information on more than 1,000 local brownfield sites will be available to potential investors. John Kerr, director of economic development for the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, states, "It will give Detroit great exposure. It's an excellent opportunity to show experts in the industry what we're doing with brownfield sites." The Environmental Protection Agency awarded grants to a total of 209 communities nationwide worth more than $74 million. Quasi-public boards, such as Detroit's Downtown Development Authority, administer these credits based on various criteria. Once approved, a brownfield project can take a number of forms. While a full-blown toxic cleanup might involve removing hazardous materials to a secure location, less severe forms of blight remediation--such as renovation of an abandoned building--might entail a more general cleanup that could include removal of asbestos in government-approved ways.
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