San Antonio's Rockstar Turned Realtor®

Having trouble tracking mileage?

I download the Tap2Track app for the iPhone after realizing how sloppy my travel records were.  We all know it's important to track our mileage for tax purposes, but most of us don't keep the best records of them.

Tap2Track is from Intuit, the makes of TurboTax and Quicken, and has literally saved me hundreds of dollars already.  It's simple to use (just look at the giant "start" button) and because it's GPS based, saves a lot of the time and hassle of more traditional mileage apps that require you to type in every address manually.

You can easily replicate frequently made trips, edit your trips (sometimes the GPS is a little off), and see how much in tax savings you've already generated.  When setting a trip, you can even select it as a round trip, so you don't have to go back and reset it as a new trip each direction.

Simple and effective.

Once you have your mileage tracked, you can easily view your monthly mileage history and send all of your information via email in an importable format for your tax consultant or any program that will import from a CSV file (most applications can handle CSV - Excel, Open Office, TurboTax, Quicken, etc.)

I don't usually tout any apps that cost (I like free apps as much as possible), but this is one iPhone app that I use regularly and is well worth every penny ($3.99 was the price last time I looked).  I hope some of you can find it useful as well.

Disclosure of Material Connection: http://cmp.ly/0/g5qhi6

photo courtesy of BenedictFrancis

I'm unhappy with Twitter.

Twitter recently introduced a new feature - a one click retweet feature.  For those that have been using programs like TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop, this is nothing new.  I've long hoped Twitter would create a one-click feature for retweeting, as I do quite a bit of it on my RErockstar Twitter account.  I use retweets to pass on interesting information, follow up on someone's comment, and share real estate news with my fellow agents and San Antonio locals.

A few days ago, I tried the retweet feature.  I clicked the button and expected to see a message box appear with the familiar "RT @so-and-so blah blah blah" which I would then add a bit of thought to.  Instead, it just sent out the retweet.  It shared the information I thought was interesting, but didn't give me a chance to add my own thoughts.  Although it is sometimes hard to add in comments (usually placed between [ and ] to make it know that you're saying that) because of the 140 character limit, I do try to make comments as often as possible.  I want people to know why I choose to share this with them.  Otherwise I might as well just be broadcasting anything and everything.  That's not social in my view and the point of Twitter is to draw in a social element to the internet.

Imagine if I stood on a busy street corner and everytime someone walked by I told them something someone else had said to me.  "I'm free after 3:30."  " Agreeing with me is probably more reason to see a shrink." "Is it new or is it the one from the '80s?" "That's my usual spot on Wednesdays. I heard they might build one out in Helotes!"  (All of these were actual things said to me today.)  Would anyone walking down that street care?  Would any of my friends that passed by care?  I doubt it.

That's what the one-click retweet feature is like to me.  Senseless noise with no social interaction.  If you wish to retweet something I said, please add something to the conversation.  I'll appreciate it so much more.

An unpopular thought.

I've never been know as one to shy away from speaking my mind and this time I wonder what the reaction will be.  I'm not here to tell you how to run your business, but I still feel the need to speak up.  At Trulia Voices there is constant controversy over what is the "best" or "right" way to respond to questions.  I have plenty of opinions about that, but you'd probably be shocked to hear some of them.  I'm not as single minded as you may think.

When you join, what do you do?

When you first joined Trulia (much as I did), you probably clicked around the site and began to see what was out there.  I saw a lot of interesting things that I thought I could use to help build my business.  One of the things I enjoyed the thought of was Trulia Voices.  A way for end users to get some ideas or help.  An opportunity for agents to get in front of buyers and sellers and begin building relationships - social media 101.

Most agents seem to gravitate towards Trulia Voices much like I did.  And when you first get there, you wonder - who can I help?  You're eager, you're excited, and ready to take on the world of Trulia's visitors hungry for your knowledge.

So you start answering questions.  You reply to 3 or 4 in your first sitting.  You hope to see a reply from the visitor who asked the question or better yet, receive a phone call as you're still typing.  You pour your heart and soul into an answer and you know you've written a masterpiece.

Tick, tock.  Tick, tock.

You're late.  You've been waiting for a reply or a phone call and nothing has arrived.  It's quiet.  Know why?  That question was asked a month ago, two months ago, a year ago.  It's old news.  A dead topic.  A lost cause.  But you just brought it back to life and to the top of the list...so another agent jumps on it and answers it.  They give their pitch for business (a whole other topic that is hotly debated on Trulia) and...guess what?  Rinse and repeat.

I did it too when I first started.  But I've learned that to use Trulia to it's fullest, you need to be talking to people who are here.  Internet users tend to move quickly, from site to site.  Sure they might come back, sure another person might read the question and find your answer interesting, but you're late to the party and it shows.

That's not to say you can't participate and some questions deserve follow up years after they were written (after all, the laws change from time to time, so updating those questions is a great idea).  I think if we work harder to provide pertinent content in the "here and now" instead of building our answer counts, we can actually make Trulia a better place.  Yes, I'm idealistic.  Nothing wrong with that in my book.  When you do answer an old question, think about writing an answer, not a sales pitch...that answer will sit there forever (and be linked back to your profile where users can learn more about you without the "call me" answer).

If we work to bring more timely info to Trulia users, we can bring more users to Trulia who come to rely on agent expertise, not your advertisement.

That's my two cents.

This post was inspired by a recent rash of answers to an older question here in San Antonio and an agent's comment asking if this was indeed an old topic.  Just got me thinking.

photo courtesy of imagesbyk2 Photography

** This post was originally written on August 6, 2009 over at my Trulia blog (which I don't use very often), but I thought it beared repeating as I am beginning to see many of the same things happening.  I know I'll never stop them, but if I can change one agent's mind about how they're going about using Trulia Voices, I'll be a happy man. **

photo courtesy of roomjosh

It's just a stupid game.

Fans of Foursquare probably can tell you that it's a bit addictive.  The thrill of unlocking a badge or ousting someone as Mayor of your favorite restaurant can make you want to pull your cell phone and drain your batteries more than many of the social media products and sites.  If you're not familiar with Foursquare, head on over to their site and get an idea of what it's all about.  Then head over to my profile on Foursquare and become my friend.

Once you've checked it out for a bit and started to check in here and there, perhaps it's time to "think outside the square" and read some of the less obvious reasons Foursquare is more than just a stupid game.  My most recent article at AgentGenius, goes over some of the thoughts I've been having about it.  Do you have more ideas to contribute?

Read "Why Wasting Your Time With Foursquare Is Good" part of The Stigliano Chronicles at AgentGenius

Now this is something you don't want to miss.

JCKC Radio is having a big show this week.  A radio show by our very own Jason Crouch and Ken Cook (and featuring regulars like Jeremy Blanton and Mike Mueller), I usually try and catch the show each week to see what they're up to.  This week, though, I can't make it and I will have to listen to it on the archived recording.

I say "have to" as their guest this week is Chris Brogan.  If you don't know who he is, you're missing out.  I had a chance to have a brief chat with Chris at BlogWorld Expo and he will blow your mind.  The best part?  He's as down to earth as could be and loves to talk.

Tune in this week, even if you never return as a regular listener.  A chance to have a bit of interaction (make sure you join the chat room, the hosts read from it during the show and often will ask your questions to their guests) with Chris Brogan is well worth the hour of your time.  Even if you don't interact with him, just hearing what he has to say will make you think.

Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate builds an app for everyone.

I'm a RE/MAX agent, so it might seem surprising to hear me extol the virtues of another real estate franchise, but this is one I can't ignore.  The Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate App for iPhone is simply one of the best real estate apps out there.  Sure, there are plenty of useful ones, but nothing that personalizes the experience quite like this.

So, you're out looking at homes and you want to remember the details of each one?  As they say, "There's an app for that."

Just whip out your iPhone and click on this app and you'll be prepared to make great use of your time.  You can take snapshots of the home you're viewing, make an album out of it, rate it, take notes, categorize it, and even share the photos as you take them (to Facebook or send them as email).  So far it just sounds like a fancy photo organizer, right?

Location, location, location services.

By utilizing the iPhone's GPS-based location services, this app tags the photos based on your location and then allows you to view neighborhood data in reference to this particular home.  Check out home values (sales activity and price trends), community information (demographics, crime, housing stability, housing inventory, and work force data), school information (broken down by elementary, middle, high, adult, private, and Catholic), and find points of interest (eating and drinking, shopping, recreation, and banks).  I toyed around with my zip code and found most of the information to be excellent (sometimes sources of data for apps seem shaky at best, but not with this app).

Consumer education and resources.

The two buttons at the bottom probably weren't going to be too exciting I thought.  Just some bland basic info about remodeling and a few brief bits about some real estate education topics.  I actually found them to be a well written resource of information that consumers want to know.

Excellent.

Well done Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate.  Best part of it all, the app is absolutely free and available to anyone with an iPhone.  I'll be recommending it to all my clients to use.  Anything that helps make sense of all the data you're bombarded with while searching for a home is an excellent idea and I applaud them for creating this app.  My assumption is that the other brokers are scrambling to get similar branded apps out to the market place.  Until then, thanks Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate.

The Realtors® Property Resource is coming.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, let's get you up to speed first.  Check out these articles (and the articles they reference) for some great information about the Realtors® Property Resource (RPR) and what it potentially means to your business.  You might want to grab a few extra cups of coffee before you click - this is pretty heavy stuff and the analysis and information might require some serious caffeine.

Breaking News: NAR/RPR + Cyberhomes = written by Jim Duncan

The Coming Civil War in Real Estate: The RPR Saga Begins written by Rob Hahn

Feeling up to speed now?

(You're not alone if you feel a bit bombarded with a lot of information in one go.  The RPR is big stuff and until it's fully released to be toyed with, I think I'll wait to truly pass judgment on it.)

RPR and your referral network.

We all strive to build a healthy referral network of Realtors® across the country.  We make friends, comment on their blogs, chat with them about the latest issues...much like our clients getting to know us, we want these agents to trust us enough with their clients who are moving to our market areas.

Referrals are big business.  There is a reason ActiveRain has a referral network link on "Your Home."  I've seen referral fees swing from free to 50% (several ActiveRain referrals that I've seen come through the wire have been at 50% - no thanks).  From what I've seen the typical amount is closer to 20-30% for a referring agent.

So how does the Realtor® Property Resource affect referrals?

It's just a theory of mine, but let's look at an example.  I used to live in Philadelphia, PA.  Since coming to ActiveRain, I've become friends with the Somers Team, Christopher and Stephanie, in Philadelphia.  We often comment on each others blogs (they better comment on this one!) and I love talking to them because a) they're smart Realtors® and b) they remind me of my former home and the places I used to go in the city.  I would gladly refer business to the two of them if a client in San Antonio wanted to move to Philadelphia.  I would feel safe in knowing they'd do the best for my clients.  That's what referrals are built on.

Let's say I have a San Antonio-based client that wants to move to Philadelphia.  "Great," I tell them, "I'm from there and know some excellent agents that work in that specific neighborhood.  Let me give them a call and have you speak with them."  The connection is made and my client loves Christopher and Stephanie.  We've got a referral on our hands.  I speak with Chris and he agrees to pay me 25% when my client closes their transaction.  We sign a referral agreement and everything works out wonderfully.  The Somers search their local MLS for properties matching my client's needs, negotiate the contract, and handle the closing.  I get a check for 25% from Chris and everyone is happy, including my client who received excellent care from The Somers Team.

* As a side note I would like to add that I have a specific policy of who I send referrals to and how much I would ask as a referral fee.  All the numbers in this article are just there for arguments sake.  I would work out any arrangements personally between myself and The Somers Team and this is no way implies that I feel Chris owes me 25% of anything.

So there are three basic (overly-simplified for the sake of this example) steps to what Christopher and Stephanie did for my client:

• Find them a list of properties via their MLS
• Make an offer on a home and negotiate the contract
• Take the contract through to a successful closing

But wait...thanks to the Realtors® Property Resource (RPR) I can eliminate one of these three.  With my client still in San Antonio, we can begin compiling a list of homes that they would like to see.  Chris doesn't need to search his MLS for my client.  In addition, I can provide my client with all sorts of data on the Philadelphia market and more specifically the neighborhood they are interested in.  My client comes to Chris well informed and ready to make an offer.

In the past, we were paid referrals almost as a "thank you" more than anything else.  We didn't do a ton of work to get that referral fee, just picked up the phone and called on one of our trusted friends (you do know the people you're sending referrals to I would hope).  Now, with the Realtors® Property Resource, we can do some of the work before we even pick up the phone to speak with the local agent we're going to refer to.

So, following that logic, if I did little in the past and got paid 25% from Christopher and Stephanie, now that I've done part of the work for them, can't I then command a larger percentage referral fee?  Perhaps I should charge them 40% from now on.  Maybe even 50%.

Of course, I don't agree to that logic, but I bet plenty will.  The "if I'm doing the work, I deserve a bigger cut" mentality will appear in no time after RPR is launched.  We're all looking for ways to make more money, so why not right here under our noses?

My thinking follows more along the lines of yes, I will do research for my soon to be out of state client.  Yes, I will pull properties  from the Realtors® Property Resource for them to get a better understanding of their new local neighborhoods.  Yes, I will refer that client to someone who I have built a trusting relationship with.  No, I will not ask for a larger referral fee than I would have in the first place.  Sure, I've done some more work than I used to, but the fact remains that the agent I referred the business to is a local expert and I am not.

I value the abilities of the Realtors® I refer to and asking them for a higher referral fee just because I ran some property searches (admit it, searching for property is pretty easy - it's getting down to the right house for the client that takes a bit more work) seems like a ridiculous idea.  I won't let greed rule the day when it comes to the Realtors® Property Resource (RPR), but will use it to help clients be prepared for their possible move to a new location.

Stay tuned for more news on the Realtors® Property Resource as it becomes available.  I am chomping at the bit to get my hands on it and mess around with it.  Hear that NAR?  I'm ready for some demo time.

photo courtesy of Shot_by_Cam

photo courtesy of jonrawlinson

If you didn't catch the Twitter news...

I won.  I am heading to REBlogworld and Blogworld this month!  Guy Kawasaki confirmed in yesterday over at Alltop's Holy Kaw!, as you can guess, I'm really excited and as promised, I will absorb as much as I possibly can so that I can come back full of new ideas and helpful tips.  Congratulations also go out to @keepingupwmom and @mrsnatalie for their winning efforts.  I look forward to getting a chance to say hello to them as well.  Of course, I also look forward to meeting many of the names and faces I feel like I know so well.

Thanks again to everyone at ActiveRain that helped me as well as Brad Andersohn and Bob Stewart for their support.  I know Bob initially was hesitant to feature my post about it (he's got to be careful to be impartial in things like this), but in the end he caved and did anyway.  I appreciate them doing that for me as it did propel me from a position far away from the lead to the lead (which I then lost over the next day when I actually spent the day thinking the contest was over - I got my days mixed up).

I also will be writing a blog about my experience through the contest on Twitter, which you should look for soon.  Unfortunately, it probably won't be today as I have several other blog posts to write.  This week has been an incredible one for me and several good things have happened.

Gulp.

So it appears that I will be appearing at this workshop to pass on some of my thoughts on Twitter.  Yikes!  This series of workshops/classes that RE/MAX Access has been doing have been a great success and I'm proud to be a) a part of the office, and b) part of this particular workshop.

I hope to see a lot of new faces and have some fun.  Bring your questions and we'll do our best to answer them.  Don't forget your laptop!  Things are best when learned hands on.

photo courtesy of Flickr and their TOS

Flickr won't tolerate you and your real estate ways.

Flickr, the widely popular photo sharing service, is not going to let you abuse them anymore.  By abuse, I mean use them for commercial purposes.  It states in their terms of service that you won't use the site for commercial purposes, but I never really caught onto that.  Until recently.  Seems my content violated their terms of service (it was commercial in nature, no doubt about that) and they closed my account with even a warning.  Because there was no warning, I spent time emailing customer support and asking their Twitter account (@flickr) for help, advice, or at least an answer.  The only way to contact Flickr support is via email and the last time I had a problem (about 6 months ago)...well, I still haven't heard back from them.

While I respect Flickr's right to set rules and use them to control the site, I am not a huge fan of the way they handle it.  Without warning, my account is gone.  A PRO account (paid).  Gone, canceled, terminated, and deleted.  It's only $25, but I'm a little peeved that they were able to cancel my account and keep my money.  I spoke with Emily at customer support today and while I appreciated her taking the time to answer my questions, I felt that the robotic answers made Flickr's responses seem harsh and out of touch with the internet's customer service oriented push.

In asking about how they define commercial purposes, I was met with little more than a link: http://www.flickr.com/guidelines.gne

"Flickr is for personal use only. If we find you selling products, services, or yourself through your photostream, we will terminate your account."

So I ask the real estate agent public - how do you use Flickr?  I definitely stepped over the boundaries in using Flickr, of that there is no doubt (I admit, I rarely read a site's TOS).  How about those of you that have photo blogs?  Is your use of photos to showcase your town a commercial use?  When I asked Flickr support, they didn't have much of a solid answer other than the link above.  In addition, when you lose your account, you lose your username.  Gone forever.  Have you branded your Flickr page with a name you commonly use (such as my "rerockstar")?  What do you do when that is locked out forever?  I have a lot of unanswered questions thanks to Flickr support.

If we can't use Flickr to host "commercial" content, how can we search for Creative Commons licensing for "commercial" use?  It seems a bit awkward to me.  Admittedly, I'm just a bit bitter now, since I will have to go back through all my photos and recreate some blog pieces as well as all of my slide shows (which are the core of my Neighborhoods section on my site).

Next time you upload a photo to Flickr, think about it - is this for commercial use?  If it is, you may find yourself staring at the photo above - all over your blog and without your former username.

**UPDATE** This whole situation has garnered some attention on Twitter and other blogs.  Although I know I'll never get my account back, it's nice to see some support and discussion on this ruling by Flickr.  Check out Aaron Hockley's article, "Flickr Permanently Deletes Yet Another User Without Warning on Social Photo Talk.