San Antonio's Rockstar Turned Realtor®

REbarcamp Austin - Thursday March 11th - Who Will Be There?

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:22:37 -0600

March 11, 2010 - REbarcamp comes to Austin

If you've followed REbarcamp news in the past, you'll know that these events have proven to be fun, educational, and often quite inspiring. On Thursday March 11th, REbarcamp invades Austin. This will be my first live REbarcamp event (I have attended Virtual REbarcamp in the past). I'm hoping many of you will be there and from the attendee list I have seen, I've got a lot of hands to shake and hellos to say.

I spoke with one of my friends from AgentGenius who has an interest in doing a session and let me tell you, if the session happens, you'll want to be there! Then again, you'll want to be at all of them anyway!

I look forward to it and can't wait to see what Austin has to offer at their first REbarcamp.

Make sure you're on the look at for the RE/MAX Access crew - me, Sheila and Kristin Moran, and Jeanna Martinez have all signed up to attend and can't wait to say hello.

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Friends or Acquaintances? Which Do You Seek From Your Clients?

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:45:52 -0600

photo courtesy of StuSeeger

Are online friends your friends?

Last week I wrote a post at AgentGenius about connecting with clients and consumers on a more meaningful basis than just business. That article, prompted a response by AgentGenius writer Ken Montville, "Your Client Doesn’t Care: A Contrarian View" about how the consumer doesn't care for your friendship - they just want a great real estate agent.

He's right, most consumers want to hire the best real estate professional the world has ever seen and little more. But during that time, they have a basic human need - that of connection. They don't necessarily want to be your best friend, but a great acquaintance will have more value than a stranger who happens to be the greatest real estate agent in the world.

Read the full article at AgentGenius - "Why Can’t We Be Friends? The Lost Art Of Acquaintances."

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Tap2Track for iPhone - Track Your Mileage For Tax Purposes

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:59:46 -0600

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

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

I see a lot of new faces. (Why I need to be more active.)

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:36:42 -0600

photo courtesy of peyri

Why subscribe to a quiet blog?

Some of you may remember me lamenting about my blog's status as a "ghost town" and really not much has changed on that front. I've been busy as you can imagine with my own site and blog, RErockstar.com, which has been going great. When I logged in to ActiveRain today, I did notice there were quite a few new subscribers to my blog, which intrigued me a bit. Who are these people and why did they pick a quiet blog to follow? Seems like an interesting choice to me.

I do intend to get my ActiveRain schedule a little more fixed in the coming weeks, but as of yet, haven't solidified my plans for it. Just thought I'd give you an update in case you were a subscriber or had just recently subscribed.

In the meantime, feel free to check out one of my other blogs: RErockstar.com, I saw it in San Antonio., or AgentGenius - The Stigliano Chronicles.

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Update on Sea World San Antonio's Latest Addition

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:07:51 -0600

Video released.

Now that Takara and her calf have had some time to rest, it looks like they're ready to enjoy their time at Sea World San Antonio. Like most animals bonding with their mothers, the new calf has a lot to learn and it looks like Takara is ready for the task. I can't wait to get over to San Antonio and see the latest addition to Sea World.

To the new calf: I welcome you to San Antonio and hope you have a wonderful time in our city. Although you won't be able to stroll the Riverwalk (and if you could it would be kind of freaky), we've got a great city full of fun - and you're now part of it!

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Sometimes You Just Have To Blog About It

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:29:42 -0600

It wasn't easy.

I wrote a post about a week ago (Wednesday, January 6, 2010 to be exact) and just clicked publish on it this morning. It wasn't easy to write. It was even harder to publish. It needed to be written though and I feel the world needed to see it. Especially the real estate world. I'm not going to cut and paste it here (you can click the graphic below to read the whole post) and I think AgentGenius deserves all the credit for giving me the opportunity to post it. Lani and Benn has been instrumental in my life as a Realtor®, but they've also been instrumental as friends.

I don't want to write a million word essay about the post, so I'll just leave you to decide if you want to read it.

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Sea World San Antonio Welcomes New Killer Whale!

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:23:44 -0600

photo courtesy of jeku arce

Sea World San Antonio has a new Shamu.

Look out Shamu, you've got competition! Sea World San Antonio announced the birth of a new killer whale calf by Takara, an 18 year old Orca. My wife can't get enough of Sea World (map), but I have yet to visit (for some reason, I've been out of town every time we've had visitors that she went there with), but with an announcement like this, I feel a certain pride in San Antonio and the Sea World staff. Breeding any large animal in captivity is typically not an easy feat, but Sea World has been rather successful in their efforts with killer whales, which are truly magnificent to watch (I've seen them in San Diego). Amazing intelligence, agility, and understanding of their surroundings, it should be interesting to watch the new calf grow up through the years.

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Action/Reaction and the Principals of How We Treat Prospetive Clients

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:15:48 -0600

photo courtesy of eflon

You'll need to do some homework.

In order for this post to make much sense, you'll need to read up first. Please read Larry and Sheila Agranoff's post "Should We Even Respond To This One?" (a featured post from 12/21/09) - if you're not a member of ActiveRain, the post will not come up for you as it is marked "Members Only." Be sure to read through the comments as this is what my post is based on.

So what would you do?

I hope you left a comment while you over there, but let me ask you this: did any of the comments you read through rub you the wrong way? Do you think the commentors made excellent points or not? Would you respond? If so, how?

As I read the comments last night (I just re-read them this morning), I actually felt a little disheartened. A few notes... First, I'm not here to tell anyone how to run their business or act like I know it all. Second, I don't know the prospective client and any of the details of any other contact with them, I also don't know the Agranoffs, so I'm not sure what they're all about either. Third, many of you have years more experience than me and I recognize I can sometimes be a bit idealistic. Fourth, I am in no way implying that any particular comment is the problem or that Larry and Sheila shouldn't have posted this, in fact I'm thrilled that they posted it. And lastly, I know there are times when it's best to walk away (I just had to do it recently). Okay, now my disclosures are out of the way, let's get into it, shall we?

As you can see from my comment on the post, I don't think the answer is to cut off communication or end any dealings with the prospective client. I'd even add a bit to my comment in terms that, I would probably see if they'd like to sit down and discuss real estate and their experiences (perhaps over a cup of coffee in a location other than an office). I love to hear the consumers point of view and at one point in my life as I have pointed out many times on this blog, I disliked all Realtors®. It only took one bad experience. It also only took one good experience and a memory of a prior good experience to bring me back and wind up becoming one myself.

Realtors® (and non-Realtor® agents as well) and the industry have a bad rap with some segments of the population. We know this as fact. The National Association of Realtors® pours a lot of money into trying to change that perception. We fight it everyday in our business. We talk about it here and on blogs all across the internet. We'd be foolish to deny that a rift sometimes exists and sometimes that rift seems a bit more like the Grand Canyon.

So (based on the post alone and no other knowledge of what has transpired between the two parties), we have a case of a prospective client who most likely has had some bad experiences with agents in the past and thinks we're all the same. Are we all the same? Do you run your business like I do? Do you think and say the same things Larry and Sheila do? The answer is probably yes and no. We might agree on this or that, but have a complete opposite approach to something else. As long as we're within the letter of the law, we can do our business how we please (and how it pleases our clients).

What disheartened me the most I think is the willingness of many of the commentors to make a judgment to get out rather than discuss anything with the home buyer. I'm not dumb enough to think that every consumer will be won over by your explanations of why you're different from the other agents they have had experiences with, but I'm also passionate enough to give a damn about what they think. I think we could all benefit from seeing this as opportunity, and not just for our own pockets, but for the overall standing of our industry with the public. Sure, the efforts may crash and burn, but they also might just work.

The part that I disagree with most is the "answer with silence" style answers. As if the public don't already think we're impossible to get a hold of and never return our calls. This is a huge issue with consumers and I know we all miss a call here or there or perhaps even don't answer an email, but the more we do it, the more this perception will stick with us and tarnish our profession. The consumer of today wants it now and it doesn't always happen that way, so I predict this will continue to be an issue no matter what we do to adapt our habits and make ourselves available or educate the consumer about how we operate (how do you tell a consumer how the industry operates, when we are all so different?).

We preach every day about educating our clients, yet in these comments, very few spoke of educating. (By the way, we talk about educating clients so much at times, that I wonder if the consumer thinks we think they're all completely in the dark when it comes to real estate. Not true, but based on some of the things I read about client education, I might get that idea. I guess that's another post for another day.) The prospective client in question (again, based only on the knowledge I garnered from the post) seems to definitely have had some problems with agents in the past. So what's our answer to that? Don't respond? I say, speak to them, show them, help them understand the differences between the apparently incompetent agents they've dealt with in the past and you. Treat them well. Perhaps it will still not be enough and it will turn into a nightmare - if that's the case, then you may need to reconsider continuing down the client-agent relationship path, but to throw in the towel before it has even started? I just don't see it as sensible or helpful to you or the industry as a whole.

I'd love to see Larry and Sheila post this again quietly in six month or a year from now. No fanfare, no mention of it being a repost, just throw it up on their blog as if they wrote it in 2010. But I'd like to see one difference. I'd like to see them make it a public post. I'd be willing to bet that some of the comments might not be the same. Even though we all know it's not hard for a consumer to sign up as a member on ActiveRain so that they can read everything, I often wonder if some members forget that fact, as it seems "Members Only" posts tend to take on a different tone at times.

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

It's Like A Ghost Town Over Here

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:19:00 -0600

photo courtesy of Mispahn

No one ever said blogging was easy.

I haven't posted here tons recently. For a guy who managed to dive right in to blogging, I feel like I've neglected my ActiveRain blog a lot recently. Sure, there's been holiday parties, me tearing an ear drum, me pulling a muscle in my back, and the usual things that get in the way of our blogging activities (we call them "life"); but none of that usually stops me. To be technical, none of that has stopped me either.

Lately, I've been concentrating a lot of my writing efforts onto my main site, www.RErockstar.com (as well as my simple as could be San Antonio photo blog using posterous). I've also been plotting and scheming for 2010 and where I want my site to go and how I want my business to grow. So here ActiveRain sits, collecting a bit of dust.

I still love ActiveRain and what it is, but lately I'm finding that it's not as consumer-centric as I'd like. Granted, my posts vary from consumer-based, to agent-based, to fun and goofy at times, so the consistency is not quite there in one firm category; but I'm not seeing the numbers I would like to out of ActiveRain (my outside blog rarely turns up in Google, which concerns me and when compared to my main site, the numbers look even worse). So, I'm going to step away from the keyboard for short spurts as I work out what direction this blog should take.

That doesn't mean I won't post, it just means that this place may continue to seem like a ghost town as I revamp all my decision making in preparation for the coming year. I want 2010 to be my break-through year. The one that you always look back on and say "that was the year I really started to become a real estate agent."

In the meantime, I will continue to visit and read as much as I can. There is no doubt that there are some great writers out here and way more knowledge that should ever be contained in one place. Keep doing what you're doing and enjoy your time. I hope you all have built great business plans for next year and I can't wait to see what the market will be like through 2010.

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

FHA Loans To Become More Expensive For Home Buyers?

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:19:27 -0600

FHA Loan Changes - Good Idea?

Yesterday, I re-blogged a post about FHA loans, originally written by Ken Cook, one of the lenders I really trust when it comes to FHA information and advice. I had read his article with great interest, as any change in any lender's rules, regulations, or requirements - directly affects me and my clients.

I'm not a mortgage wizard, which is why I surround myself with the best lenders I can find - so that when I do have questions or my clients need more explanation of a mortgage issue, I can get them the answers or at least have them chat with the lenders I know. I do try and stay up to speed on all the issues though and the new ideas about what to do with FHA loans in order to refill the coffers of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's FHA funds were the subject of Ken's post.

The problem is simple; with foreclosure rates skyrocketing, the FHA has had to pay out more and more insurance claims to the mortgage companies. Part of every FHA loan is the mortgage insurance premium (both upfront and monthly). The upfront mortgage insurance premium is paid (who would have guessed?) upfront at closing. However, it is possible to roll that premium into your financing (so many people don't actually bring that cash to the closing table). The monthly mortgage insurance premium is a monthly fee tacked onto your your mortgage payment. Like other insurances, you're paying today, in case something goes wrong tomorrow. In the event a home buyer defaults on their loan and the house is foreclosed on, the lender gets paid out of the FHA funds that are built up through the collected of these mortgage insurance premiums.

Now that we have that FHA primer out of the way (there's a lot more to it, but I didn't want to write a full post on how FHA works - we have other issues to discuss today). On December 3, 2009, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan appeared before the House Committee on Financial Services and announced that FHA's funds were getting uncomfortably low (they had dropped to 0.53% of outstanding loans, well below the 2% required by federal law). After looking at some of the ideas that have been tossed around to cure the problem, I spent some time thinking about what's good and bad about those suggestions.

I would write it all out here, but the fact is, it's a rather long post (something you should be used to by now). I think it might be one of my top 5 posts of all time. I hope you'll take the time to read it and weigh in with your opinions. I just spoke with a friend of mine who disagrees with me completely, so this could be interesting. So, here you go...enjoy:

"An Open Letter To HUD About FHA Loans" at RErockstar.com

photo courtesy of Caitlinator

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Foreseeably Harder Approvals: FHA gets tough

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:01:29 -0600

Thanks Ken!

As usual, Ken Cook, does a great job breaking down some of the latest expected changes to FHA loans. I find it shocking that everyone ran around saying we need to help clear the inventory by extending and expanding the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and now they're thinking about making it tougher to buy a home. So which is it? I thought it was odd when they raised FHA down payment requirements from 3% to 3.5% while saying they needed to get the housing market moving again. A jump from 3.5% to 5% will most certainly eliminate a larger pool of ready, willing, and able buyers.

Although the theory of "having some skin in the game" is a commonly accepted idea, this reeks of an attempt by Secretary Donovan to save himself at the expense of home buyers and possibly the housing market recovery. When the federally mandated reserves started to slip, we should have been talking about solutions, not when they are 1.47% below where they should (the law requires the FHA insurance pool to be maintained at 2%, Secretary Donovan reported it was at 0.53%). Maybe we should have learned a lesson from the banks that didn't notice how low their reserves were getting before then announced (seemingly overnight in many cases) that they were broke.

How does someone not notice these things? Ugh.

Thanks again Ken!

Via Ken Cook, FHA Home Loans 678-439-8683:

For many years home mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have made home ownership possible for millions of home owners. During the "boom" FHA loans lost a lot of ground in the marketplace because non-conforming loans were often easier to get and cost the borrower less scrutiny and often less out of pocket. (More on Examiner.com from my article this morning.)

Welcome the day when Housing and Urban Development Secretary (HUD) Shaun Donovan stood in front of Congress and reported the reserves of the FHA insurance pool to be only .53% - far below the federally mandated, by law, 2% reserves. As you may imagine Mr. Donovan, in an effort to save his job, is now scrambling for good ideas to get those reserves back to the minimum legal level. Let us all observe as the fireman tries to put out a big fire while his own pants are on fire.

Here are some of the recommendations thus far:

Raise the required minimum down payment from 3.5% to 5%

Lower the maximum seller contribution from 6% to 3%

Establish a required minimum credit score

Eliminate the ability to finance the Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) into the loan

Raise the cost of FHA mortgage insurance (higher premiums)

Currently it is much more difficult to be approved for a home loan, purchase or refinance, than it was two years ago or even six months ago. Mortgage brokers are not dropping like flies they have already dropped like flies and the remaining small percentage are having great difficulty getting loans underwritten and closed when they involve lower credit, lower income borrowers. Mid-level lenders are now the ones who are disappearing as they still lose warehouse lines of credit at an astonishing rate. This week saw the demise of LendAmerica.

Judging from the applications I have accepted and closed over the last few months these changes will absolutely impact at least 25% of the borrowers who have successfully purchased or refinanced their homes in the last few months. In fact I have two borrowers today who easily qualify who will likely not qualify if these changes are made. Considering I'm one out of tens of thousands go ahead and do the math.

Just wait ... it's not only FHA - it's Fannie, then Freddie and Ginnie. We predicted it a few months ago that it would not be long until buyers would need a minimum of 5% down, a minimum of a 640 credit score and rates would start to rise.

Are you ready to pay attention even if you don't get CEs for participating in the conference calls? If I were an agent I would be - I would want to be ahead of the curve!

Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Why Twitter's One-Click ReTweet Feature Is Absolute Garbage.

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:13:39 -0600

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.

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

ActiveRain Brings The Press To My Door - Keep Blogging And They Will Find You

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:55:11 -0600

image courtesy of my Twitter account and @LaniAR's tweets

ActiveRain helps me get quoted.

Late last week I received a call from California. I had no idea what was waiting for me on the other end of the phone. It was Jenna V. Loceff. She explained she was a reporter for the North Bay Business Journal and wanted to speak with me a bit about social media and real estate. In researching her article, Jenna, had a few mentions of Flickr and while googling away, she came across my article, "A stern warning (or lack thereof) - Flickr is watching you." She asked me quite a few questions and I explained the whole story of what happened between myself and Flickr. We then spent a few minutes talking about real estate and social media in general and parted ways.

On Monday morning, my tweet stream lit up with congratulations and links. I wasn't even 100% sure what everyone was talking about and then, once the sleep cleared from my head, I remembered that Jenna had told me the article would be published on Monday. I found the link in my Twitter stream and clicked on it. There I was. Quoted. The best part is that the article focuses on California, but here I am, all the way in San Antonio being quoted. The article is an interesting find, regardless of my appearance as well. Just look at the chart within the article to see what I mean.

You can read the entire article, "Residential Real Estate: Agents, brokers venture into social networking" online. Stop by and leave some comments. Who knows, Jenna might find you next.

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Trulia Voices - As A Real Estate Agent Do You Ever Consider How Late You Are?

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:31:24 -0600

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. **

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

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Looking For Homes In San Antonio? Real Estate Search With No Registration Required.

Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access - San Antonio Real Estate Rockstar) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:47:48 -0600

San Antonio home buyers can search without registration.

I made the decision awhile ago to remove all registration from my San Antonio real estate search page on RErockstar.com. Real estate agents have varying opinions on these sorts of decisions, but I thought this was the best way to provide a service to San Antonio residents looking for homes.

Many real estate search sites have some form of registration, whether forced or what me often call "nagging" (where the site reminds you to register every so often, but allows you to continue even if you don't).

Why not require registration for a real estate search site?

For me, the question came up in a discussion with some fellow agents. I had tried full registration and even the nag option, but always was slightly uncomfortable with both. When I've been looking for homes in the past for myself, I was always quick to click off a site that was asking for registration. When I moved to San Antonio, I searched on sites without registration, but when I was ready to commit, I then performed a search for real estate agents.

When I found a Realtor® I liked and felt I was comfortable with, then I moved over to his website's real estate search as well as received emails from them about houses I might not have seen. Through that combination of efforts, the three of us (my wife included) were able to well define what we were looking for in a home and we were able to purchase one over the course of a weekend of looking.

So go ahead, search to your heart's delight.

My San Antonio real estate search page is free for all to use with no required registration. I think you'll find it very easy to use and a great tool to help you find your next home in San Antonio. If you have questions, feel free to contact me and I can help you set up your searches. Take it for a test drive and come back again and again. When you're ready to get serious about your search, give me a call and let's sit down and discuss your needs...then the fun begins.

photo courtesy of JohnHallAssociates

Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | RE/MAX Access | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com

"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."

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