Top real estate posts of the day for 10/30/2009

1) What’s happening with the $8000 homebuyer credit? – There is a lot going on in Washington right now with the tax credit, and while the Senate looks to have their favorite plan, any plan has to pass both the House and Senate before it has a chance to become law.

2) Tax credit update – is expanding it a good thing? – If the tax credit is expanded to include more people is it a good thing. I don’t think so, but what do I know.

3) Top 40 real estate resources and sites – While all of these sites may not like real estate related sites, if you are a real estate agent into blogging and technology they are all sites you want sitting in your RSS feeds.

4) What’s all the hype about “short-sales”? – This video explains what a short sale is, while I do not agree with everything he says, I do agree that designations for short sales are pure bs and a way for people to profit from the latest trend. The thing I really disagree with is I believe Matt sounds like he may be to quick to believe banks. They do not want to send it to foreclosure and are using the threat of doing so as a negotiating tool more often than not.

5) What’s the benefit of doing a short sale?Short sales are not going anywhere, so what are the benefits of doing a short sale? Here is a good list of benefits to the homeowner and the bank.

6) Google made a big real estate move today – Listings can now be viewed in Google Maps. No, I do not think this is the end of the world as we know it like some do, I think its another great service from a company that “gets it.”

7) 5 ways Twitter jump-started my business – I think he really nails down one of the best features of Twitter and doesn’t even realize it. Twitter is an amazing tool for learning and expanding your knowledge on any topic you may be interested in.

8 ) Zip home hunter report for the third quarter – Want to know where you have to bid over asking price and what markets are cold right now? This is your resource. (H/T Heather Barr).

9) The FHA 90-day seasoning rule – Recent changes in the seasoning rule have been very confusing and few people really understand them, here is a great resource that explains it the best I have seen yet.

10) The paralyzing effect of analyzing Web 2.0 – Great video from Matt Dollinger on how you need to do what you need to do to bring you business and schedule time accordingly.

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First-time home buyer credit likely to be extended and/or expanded

Video 30: The first-time home buyer tax credit is very likely to be extended and maybe even expanded. While I do not think the first-time tax credit should be extended, I certainly and not going to discourage buyers from using it. For more information you can leave a comment or e-mail me Dean Ouellette.

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Top real estate posts of the day for 10/29/2009

1) Mortgage rate predictions – I have been watching this poll for a while now and with 67% believing rates will increase over the next month this is the highest percentage of people I can remember agreeing on anything in this poll. This means rates are probably going up.

2) Realtor.com redesigns home page – Sure it looks better, but that doesn’t mean I am going to start going there.

3) 7 bad writing habits you learned in school – Bloggers may want to read this. There is a reason I gave up writing and moved to video, because I know I am not a great writer.

4) A world without the MLS: It exists – Walking neighborhoods to find listings, no one place to search for homes, listing a house with more than one broker? What is this, France or something?

5) Quality content plus site navigation = Success – Site navigation is very important, it has to be easy for users to get around your site without thinking or they will find another site they can easily navigate.

6) Want to know how to influence buyer and seller behavior? – Interesting posts, but It feels to salesmanish for me.  I know, I should work on that.

7) Extend the home buyer tax credit – Here is an opinion in favor of extending….

8 ) Please do NOT extend the $8,000 tax credit – And here is an opinion opposing….  Should it be extended? Here is my opinion on extending the tax credit

9) Tricks for buying a home at the bottom from the Today Show – This video from the Today Show gives advice on buying a home. The questions that come to mind are we really at the bottom of the market? And she states buying a foreclosure can be a great deal, and while that is true, that does not mean you are going to get it a lot under asking price.

10) Why a Realtor vs. for sale by owner – Brad does a video on why you should consider using a Realtor vs. for sale by owner.

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Top real estate posts of the day 10/28/2009

1) Realtors under attack and fighting back – It’s something I don’t think about much, but probably should. How safe are we when we go show houses to strangers.

2) How to Stumble Upon to improve your blogging – Stumble Upon is something I used to use a lot, but have not in a while. After reading this I am inspired to download it again and start over.

3) Trulia’s balancing act: considering the needs of all our our users – Trulia admits that real estate agents are not their top priority, that should upset some agents. My personally I am fine with that, everyone has to know their audience and what they are trying to achieve and Trulia appears to know theirs.

4) Brokers: Take your time with mobile – Great point, being first to market is not always a great idea if you mess it up. If you put out garbage it is not to inspire many to download your next version, they will more than likely just delete it and forget about you.

5)  Mortgage applications decrease – Could it be seasonal, could it be because of the end of the first-time home buyer tax credit ending? Either way adjusted applications were down 12% from last week.

6) Applying for a mortgage – required documents – Although this post was written to target Boise Idaho borrowers, the information in it is generally standard information.

7) Tips for buying a fixer-upper home – This advice is not only good for investors, but agents who may be working with a first-time investor should also pay attention. If you are new, not only should you get an inspection, but you should also get a contractor to walk through to help you with a budget.

8 ) Looking for the housing bottom? These stats say it was back in February 2009 – It is amazing, seems like every time you turn on the tube and they are talking about housing it is about the bottom that is coming, yet every report out there has housing prices increasing since somewhere between February and April of 2009. It is going to be interesting to watch what happens to the market in the next year to see if this rebound will continue or if another big dip some are predicting is coming. My best guess is we stay somewhat flat.

9) Breaking: Senate Democrats reach deal on homebuyer tax credit – I first heard two weeks ago from a friend of mine who works for a US Senator in DC that a deal was coming to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit. It appears what that deal is changes on a regular basis, but it appears something is coming. That does not mean it is a good thing, but something appears to be coming indeed.

10) You are viewing someone else’s home, it’s not yours yet – This is one we have all probably seen before, and it’s not pretty.

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Top real estate posts of the day

1) Inflation is both overstated and understated. Mortgage rates lose and win. – OK so I like to know if inflation is going up or down and what that means to me. If you want more information than that, like how its calculated and how it may be a misrepresentation, Dan Green is your man. Conclusion, inflation is not as bad as some on Wall Street think.

2)How long does it take to close a loan? – According to this post, the guys at Academy Mortgage are closing FHA loans in 10 days, guaranteed.  I am not sure this one passes the smell test.

3) Can I get a house in Phoenix for less than a car – OK so I can buy a house for less that $28k, but what if the buyer is like me and won’t spend more than $10k on a depreciating asset like a car?  Well the pickings are slimmer.

4) Don’t SPAM your old friends – So I have to admit I have not spent a lot of time really on Facebook, but now that I am working on that, it is good to know little tricks like this. How to turn off notifications of sending your friends acceptances to all your friends.

5) Work expands to time allotted – Another killer video by Tom Ferry, I know time allotment is one of my biggest problems, that is not allotting time for not working.

6) REALTOR 2.0: Getting started in social media – NAR’s social media guru Todd Carpenter gives some advice on how to get started in social media. This is a good starting point for those just dipping their toes in the social media ocean.

7) Decision on extending the first-time home buyer tax credit could come this week – Will it be extended? Will it be slowly phased out? Will income levels to qualify be raised? With the deadline coming soon we will find out shortly. Do I think the first-time tax credit should be extended?

8) While waiting for new FHA rules on condos, anticipation mounts – New FHA rules are coming for condos including the elimination of spot approvals. This means the while unit must be approved for FHA. This will not effect luxury condos as condo units over $346k (in Phoenix) do not qualify for FHA funding anyways.

9) Office supplies, task management and more with a web 2.0 flare – This post gives you a bunch of tools you can use from creating business cards, to creating to-do lists, on-line marketing and free conference calling.

Starting today I am going to try to have a video post of the day. Some days will be hard because there are not enough of us video bloggers out there yet to have something every day unless I have a video from Ian Watt or myself, but I am going to try to have one each day.

10) Charlottesville and Albemarle – Real Estate Anecdotes and anomalies – Jim Duncan does a good job showing how you can do video and keep it on a local topic, I may be borrowing some of this stuff for an upcoming webisode.

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Top 5 real estate posts of the day for 10/21/2009

1) A bit about a taboo subject – Interesting post should make for good discussion on commission splits.

2) Top nine things I learned at BlogWorld – We look forward to the longer posts Rob. And Daniel had his own version of 5 things he learned from BlogWorld, obviously he learned to use pictures of people who make him look good.

3) Make sure your home looks as good as your photos – Good point, not only get great photos taken, but then make sure the home looks that good when it comes time to show.

4) Transactions vs. having a business – Chris Johnson is becoming a must read blogger. Another great one on customer service and having a business.

5) The First Time Home Buyer tax credit and tax return audits – Really? Using it could cause an audit?

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Top 5 real estate posts of the day for 10/16/2009

1) Branding is the name of the game as both Jay Thompson and Tom Ferry discuss it this morning.

2) It’s time to end the first time home buyer tax credit – I agree, but according to a friend of mine who works on the Hill, looks like a 6-month extension is coming next week.

3) Improve your real estate sales in any market – Nothing groundbreaking, but a great reminder of what we should be doing.

4) Estimate to extend the home buyer tax credit? 16.7 billion what a bargain – What’s a few more billions.

5) Is there any such thing as a bad listing? – Interesting take, not sure I agree 100%, but understand where he is coming from.

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Top 5 real estate posts of the day for 10/8/2009

1) We suck less? – Tired of lenders and their minutia? This column is a must read. An honest loan officer.

2) What say you? Is this good advertising? – NAR advertising for an extension of the homebuyer tax credit. I have a different opinion on should the tax credit be extended?

3) 5 things that don’t control mortgage rates – I usually respect Dan Green’s opinion greatly, but I am not so sure about number 5.

4) Turning leads into clients – Maybe the one thing most real estate agents struggle with the most.

5) The fallacy of Zillow, Trulia and the online listing aggregators – Exhibit #63 on why you should not trust them for your house search information. 

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Should the $8000 first-time home buyers tax credit be renewed?

Video 18: The $8000 first-time home buyer tax credit is about to expire, should it be renewed? Watch the video to hear my thoughs and let me know yours. Leave a comment or e-mail me your thoughts Dean Ouellette.

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Today’s top 5 real estate posts of the day for 10/6/2009

1) White Hose Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on extending the First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit – Will it be extended? Read Jay’s post and see if you can figure it out.

2) I swear I was only looking at Realtor.com – Porn ads on the Realtor’s website?

3) Barcamp or bored camp? – What do barcamps need to do so they do not become stagnant.

4) How to buy a bank-owned home – WOW this is dead on!!! Great job Kris!

5) REBlog World is coming up: 10 reasons to go – If you go look me up, I will be there.

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