Fort Meade - USNA - Andrews AFB: August 2007

Who would do such a thing... buy a house without seeing it?  Well, I have three stories for you about people who did exactly that.

A few years ago, one of my Crofton MD seller-clients was retiring and investing her nest egg in a home thousands of miles away in Canada - without seeing it, unless the magazine ad counts.  That was before the Internet, and she relied on phone conversations with and photos from the seller.  I thought she was very naive, and her family thought she must have lost her marbles, but that's what she did.  I never heard if her dreams were fulfilled or it turned out poorly.

More recently, a Crofton MD attorney contacted me to list a property for one of his clients in nearby Prince George's County.  He was very adamant that a quick sale would be much more important to his client than top dollar, so I recommended pricing the property $100,000 lower than others in the area.  That was a significant difference, making the property about 30-35% below others in the area.  (No, that photo is not the actual house!  It wasn't quite that bad.)

But the condition was horrible, cosmetically and structurally, with a homeless man occupying the storage shed.  It was unlikely a homebuyer would purchase this property with all its problems at any price, in spite of the fact it was a sellers' market at the time.  I felt we had to appeal to investors, with a property like this.

The strategy worked, because we had a full-price cash non-contingent contract in hand from a real estate broker and experienced investor within an hour of the property going in the MLS.  I presented the contract to the attorney and seller immediately, and it was ratified within hours before a lockbox even went on the property.  I do know the ending in this case:  it was a win-win situation for the seller, whose problem was quickly solved, and the buyer who flipped the property at top dollar a few months later, after it was completely renovated.

Then there is the recent story about a fellow in New Jersey who bought a home for $2.6 million without first seeing it.  Apparently he lived next door to this property, and bought it at a foreclosure sale without bothering to take a look inside.  It turns out that his neighbors were not very good housekeepers, and they had a lot of animals.  While the buyer was on vacation, authorities entered the property on a tip from a delivery truck driver who noticed a strange smell at the house.  They found 23 dead animals, other starving animals, and...  Well, you can use your imagination or read the story in its entirety. 

The buyer must have paid cash, because I doubt he could have gotten a loan if anyone had appraised the property.  I'm guessing this fifteen minutes of fame is not something the buyer expected when he made this real estate investment!  What do you think?

There could be a lot of good blog material in this last story, so you might want to bookmark it for future reference: 

1. Why you should always hire a home inspector,
2. An appraiser can protect you from making a big mistake,
3. There's a buyer for every property,
4. You may not know the neighbors as well as you think you do,
5. Don't overpay for a home 

Have a good weekend, and sell a house!  (But be sure to show it to the buyers first.)  'Hope you enjoyed these stories.

Copyright 2007.  Margaret Woda.  All rights reserved.

Just a little food for thought:  FOLLOW THE MONEY!

In a Seller's Market, listing is the name of the game.  In a Buyer's Market, selling is the name of the game.  It's as simple as that. 

A Buyer's Market, like we're experiencing today, is a good time for agents to target renters, investors, relocation...  for NON-CONTINGENT BUYERS!  They are money in your pocket (assuming you have an exclusive buyer-broker contract), because they control the market right now.   Send mailings to apartment complexes, to "residents" of homes owned by absentee owners you identify through public records, hold home-buyer seminars, and contact local real estate investors (check the tax records to identify individuals who own multiple properties in your market).  Focus your farm mailings on attracting buyers right now, rather than sellers.  (You might get both - a buyer wuth a home to sell.)  Buyers are the name of the game in a Buyer's Market! (That's why they call it a Buyer's Market.)

Of course some listings will sell, but...  A Buyer's Market is no time to invest your limited resources in FSBO's, expireds, and other listing efforts, just so you can invest more of your limited resources, i.e. time and money, trying to keep your angry and frustrated sellers happy - maybe for months on end - without a sale.  Now don't get me wrong - if a listing falls in your lap, take it!  I'm just talking about the highest and best use of your prospecting time.

You want to work smarter, not harder.  That's why knowing WHO and WHEN are just as important as knowing HOW.

Ahhhh... the good ol' days...   Who doesn't think fondly of them?   Happy memories of growing up, friends, family, and even some "things" - old photographs, that souvenir from the high school prom, or trophies from our glory days.

In real estate, I probably qualify as well as anybody to talk about the good ol' days, starting as a property manager in 1967 and getting licensed in 1973.  But I can assure you that life as a real estate agent is much better today.  

There is one thing I do miss, but I do NOT miss these things even a little bit: 

• Weekly MLS books - They've been replaced with up-to-the-minute computerized listings, accessible to the public as well as agents.
• Picking up keys at listing offices (and returning them) - Lockboxes are so much more convenient.
• Driving across town to deliver offers on property - Now I can fax them.
• Missed messages - No more, because I have voice mail.
• Pay phones - To say that cell phones are more convenient is an understatement.
• Map books- The better way to find an address is my new GPS system.
• Typewriters - 'So much easier to correct typos on a computer and send correspondence via email.
• Adding machines - Financial calculators handle more complex problems.
• Carbon paper - Now we just print extras, instead of pressing hard with the pen to show on three copies.
• Rolls of film (and getting them developed)- Ahhh, the joy of digital photography!
• Black and white copies - Beautiful color property brochures on glossy paper, from our own printers.
• Dot matrix printers- Professional looking documents printed with laser or inkjet printers.
• DOS computer language - MS Windows is so much more user-friendly.
• Index cards- Computerized databases synced between our computers, PDA's, and cell phones.
• Cold calling and door knocking - These staples of real estate prospecting have been replaced by mailing programs and Internet lead generation.

Photo is an IBM Selectric - the Cadillac of typewriters.

The one thing I DO miss, however, is OFFICE SYNERGY!

With more and more agents working at home, instead of the office, the camaraderie is just not the same.  I've worked in offices with 100 or more agents, and known them all - we brainstormed together, partied together, and collaborated on community projects during the holidays and throughout the year. 

But now, with all but a handful of agents working from home, I don't know most of the people in my 20-agent office.  They come in long enough to drop off paperwork and pick up checks.  I may not miss the tools we used in real estate in decades past, but I DO miss the office synergy of those good ol' days.  I miss building and decorating floats for holiday parades, sponsoring community events for kids, even touring homes together.  Those are some of the things that made real estate a fun career for me.

Surely my area is not the only one where this situation exists, in these days of laptops and call-forwarding.  If your office has a lot of work-from-home agents, what have you done to build and maintain the feeling of an office community?  That synergy IS worth saving from the good ol' days of real estate!

IS THERE A MAGIC FORMULA FOR SELECTING A FARM? 

Of course there is a magic formula!  That's one of the reasons why some agents' farms are more successful than others.  You just can't expect to earn a living by mailing to 250 homes with a 2% turnover rate.  "I live here, so I farm here" is NOT the magic formula!

Quickly, let's define farm, so we're all on the same page.  For the purpose of this discussion, we'll use this definition:  A FARM IS A MARKET NICHE to whom you will target market - 'could be based on geography, a hobby, a profession, or any number of other things.  

The MAGIC FORMULA begins with some preliminary calculations to determine how many households to target in your farm or market niche.  The easiest to evaluate is a potential geographic farm, so I'll use that in my examples (in italics).  However, the same formula applies to any farm or market niche:

1. Make sure that no single agent has a 25-30% market share in any farm or market niche you are considering.  If one does, STOP NOW.  Don't bother to proceed.  Move on to another area.
2. Determine the average days on market in any area you are considering.  STOP NOW, if typical "days on market" are 200, or even 100.  Move on...
3. Establish your goal, i.e. how much money you want to earn.  (I want to earn $500,000 next year in my market niche)
4. Estimate the average commission for each transaction.  ($5,000 per side)
5. Translate the above information into how many transactions you must close to achieve your goal.  (I must close 100 transactions, which means I must identify a source of 50 listings - assuming that each of my sellers will also buy a home.)
6. Evaluate any market niche you are considering to identify the turnover rate, i.e. percentage of households that sell in a year. (For the sake of this example, let's assume that about 5% of the homes sell each year.)
7. Calculate the number of households to target by multiplying the number of transactions (#5 above) by the turnover rate (#6 above)  (50 listings divided by 5% turnover rate = 1000 households).
8. GET REAL!  No one lists all the homes in their market, so now you need to estimate your market share.  (If you think one in four listings, i.e. 25% market share, is a challenging but reachable goal, multiply the number of households by four)

The magic answer to your magic formula is...  drum roll please...  4000 HOUSEHOLDS in your farm or market niche will be necessary to achieve your goal, in this example.  (Note, I am not proposing you farm 4000 households, I'm saying that's the conclusion in this example!)

TOO MANY?  You're not willing to pay for the marketing pieces, postage and advertising to reach that many households?  Start over now by evaluating another potential farm or market niche, applying the same formula.  

You my conclude that your expectations are unrealistic, and reconsider your goal.  Or you may cut the number of households in half by choosing a farm or market niche at double the price range (and commission) or double the turnover rate.  Do this exercise as many times as necessary, until the numbers make sense for you to proceed with creating your farm or market niche.  Just remember, you and your farm should have a common bond such as geography, hobby, profession, language...  In my community, the numbers just aren't there to justify a mailing program, so I don't do one.

Farming is a huge commitment that requires significant expense and effort, so any mistake at this stage can be very costly, as well as ineffective. Investing time up-front to evaluate your farm BEFORE you begin could save you time, money, and disappointment in the long haul.  If you're not prepared, there's no point in even starting a mailing program.

I have found that the mind will absorb only what the butt can endure, and you will be spending a lot of time at your computer working this Magic Formula.  Therefore, I'll save additional information about successful farming for another post later this week.

After 40 years in this business, I am still learning new tricks and remembering old ones.  One of the many gems I took away from the Hobbs Herder Gateway this week was this expanded definition of a farm, although my "magic formula" is a little different than theirs.  To all you folks who are comfortable with what you already know and cynical about real estate seminars, I assure you that I will more than recoup the investment within a month, and keep profiting forever after.  THAT is the magic formula for succeeding in this business since 1967. 

Do you ever take past clients for granted?  I confess, I'm embarrassed to admit it, I sometimes do.  (But that's going to change in the next few days because I'm going to reach out and "hug" my past clients!)

That realization is just one of the many "lightbulb moments" I experienced this week when I attended HobbsHerder Gateway.  Nothing new, in this case, just a blunt reminder that I need to make a change in my mailings to past clients.  Besides, I promised Sally Cheeseman that my next blog post would be a short one - I can do it, I can do it, I can do it...

Yes, I think of my past clients - every time I drive past their street.  Of course, I remember their kids and pets and hobbies and dreams.  I get a warm fuzzy feeling about them every time I stick a mailing label on a postcard to them.   (I know, I know, I should have someone else doing that - another topic, another day)  But, now that I think about it, how are my past clients supposed to know how often I think about them and how much I care about them when many of their mailings look like those to every stranger on my mailing list?  Even though I call them periodically, they may perceive from my impersonal mailings that I take them for granted; if so, they could be vulnerable to courting from other real estate agents - oh my, oh my!

Starting this week: I'm going to send them something that acknowledges them as valued past clients.  Not only that, I subscribed to a service that will facilitate periodically leaving a voice mail message from me that says something to the effect of "I think about you every time I'm in your neighborhood and just want to let you know."  Now there's no risk that more than a month or two will go by without them hearing my voice.     

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Relocating to the Baltimore-Washington area?  Check out Your Relocation Package for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

Find a Home and learn about Real Estate Market Conditions in Odenton and Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  Check out Today's Rates, use the free Mortgage Calculator, and watch a brief video about the Power of RE/MAX.  These consumer-friendly real estate tools are provided by Margaret Woda for you to use at your own pace. 

When you're ready to go from "just browsing" to "let's get serious", contact Margaret online or call her at RE/MAX Vision in Crofton Maryland. 410-451-1900 

ADVICE FOR NEW AGENTS:

In my market area, we have a formula that works very well for everyone involved in an Agent Open House Tours - listing agents, open house guests and our home seller clients, not to mention the eventual buyers who are the real target of our efforts.

Jessica Pineda inspired this post when she wrote about her disappointing First Open House, and asked for feedback from ActiveRainers about holding listings open for brokers and agents.  She got lots of it, with a gold star and about 40 comments so far.  (Congratulations, Jessica!)  When my comment on her post became way too long - long enough, in fact, for a blog of its own - I just decided to put this topic on my blog "to do" list.  Jessica, I hope you and a few other agents find this information helpful.

Why hold an Agent Open House?  In this market, with so much unsold housing inventory, agents are struggling to get showings on their listings - let alone offers.  By holding an agent open house, you are making it easy for other agents to preview your listing, which hopefully will increase the likelihood of your listing being shown rather than another property the buyer's agent has not seen (perhaps one listed with a "limited service" broker who doesn't charge enough to cover the expense of marketing like this). 

Another benefit of the Agent Open House is that it will help demonstrate your VALUE to your poor frustrated seller clients, who will see that you are working hard to accomplish a sale for their home, and not just leaving it to luck.  I've sold many a home only after seeing it at an Agent Open House, and I'm sure that most experienced agents who were around in the last buyer's market can tell you the same thing. 

Okay, assuming you're convinced you want to take on this project, what's involved?

A successful agent open house tour requires a lot of preparation and some financial investment by a LEADER and three or four PARTICIPATING AGENTS who are affiliated with different offices and have nearby listings.  If you're really lucky, you have an assistant who can handle the logistics for you so you can continue your work of listing and selling homes.

LEADER:

1. Preview properties near the listing you wish to hold open, and select some that are listed with other offices, in Open House condition.  If you include homes listed with five different offices, presumably at least some agents will come from each office.
2. IF there are several qualifying homes, contact the listing agents and obtain preliminary commitments from them, including a consensus regarding the date and time.  Be sure to explain what your expectations are for them, based upon this checklist.
3. Collect pro-rated $$$ from participating agents IN ADVANCE so that a drawing for a $100 gas card or restaurant gift certificate can be used as added incentive to attract attendees.  Until you have the $$$, you don't really have a FIRM commitment from the participating agent.  You can make it easy for them, if you want, by having them Paypal the money to you.  With five participating agents, that would be just $20 each.
4. Purchase the gas card or gift certificate now, because you're going to be very busy as the date gets closer for the Agent Open House Tour.
5. Determine the order in which you want the houses to be viewed, based on the most convenient route for guests.  I have found it easier to just make an executive decision on this, and not seek input from the participating agents.  Of course, if you get unsolicited input, you'll want to consider it as you make your plans.
6. Assign responsibilities to each participating agent, based upon the order of homes.  For example, House #1 - Yummy Appetizer; House #2 - Salad; House #3 - Main Course; House #4 - Alternate Main Course; House # 5 - Dessert AND responsibility for collecting business cards (initialled by the participating agent at each house) from the guests and handling the drawing when Open House tour is completed.  Note:  If one of the homes sells before the event, one of the main courses will not be missed.
7. Design a flyer to promote the agent open house, including information about the $100 drawing and listing the properties in order, including  photo, the MLS #, price and directions from House #1 to House #2, etc.  Be sure to include a statement that participating home sellers and prospective buyers are welcome. 
8. Distribute a digital copy of the flyer to participating agents so each may print and distribute copies to their office and their sphere of influence.  (Call to confirm they received it.)
9. Phone participating agents a day or two before the event to confirm property is still available and they still plan to participate.
10. Assuming the leader is also one of the participating agents, you will have the additional tasks on their "to-do" list.
11. At the conclusion of the Agent Open House Tour, collect all the business cards at the last house (If your listing is the last house, all the better!) and draw a winner.
12. Immediately notify the winner - he/she might still be in the area and come back to pick it up.
13. Make a broadcast phone call (if you don't know what that is, watch for my post on the topic in the coming weeks) or send emails to all the guests who attended the Agent Open House, thanking them for coming and attaching another copy of the flier to help them remember all the properties they visited and notifying them who won the drawing. 
14. Thank all the participating agents, and ask for their feedback to help you with planning future Agent Open Houses.

PARTICIPATING AGENTS:

1. Promptly accept or reject invitation to participate in the Agent Open House Tour and WRITE IT IN YOUR PLANNER or on your calendar now, including week-before and day-before reminders.
2. Contact your client to invite their participation in the event and explain the following benefits:  increased exposure of their property to agents in five local offices; feedback from unbiased agents in their marketplace; no cost to them because you (or your assistant) will provide food, set-up, and clean up (unless, of course, they want to do this - some sellers may appreciate the opportunity to "do something" to help sell their home).   
3. Explain to your client that they will want to have their home showing its best the day of the home tour, with a freshly manicured yard, beds made, clean kitchen and baths, clutter out of sight...
4. Once your clients understand what is involved, obtain their permission to include their home in the tour. "In writing" is always a good idea.  I learned this lesson by having a few homeowners tempted to back out at the last moment.
5. Send your $$$ to the Leader, as your contribution for the drawing.  This is your FIRM commitment to participate in the event.  Until you send this in, you are at risk of another nearby listing agent taking your place on the tour.
6. When you receive a digital copy of the flyer, print enough copies for everyone in your office and neighboring branches of your company - AND DO IT!  Distribute them, that is.  You may wish to distribute them to neighbors of your listing, as well - that's optional.
7. Make feedback forms (soliciting opinions about price, condition, recommendations, etc.) and property flyers to have available at the property for guests.  Be sure to ask agents, on the form, if they are currently working with a buyer that might be a "match" for this property.
8. Purchase or prepare the food for your stop on the tour.  Be sure to take serving pieces, plates, napkins, beverages, ice, cups, and TRASH BAGS.  In good weather, I also take a folding table, chairs, and a cooler to set up in the yard, rather than inside.
9. Arrive at the property early enough to make sure owner has adequately prepared the property for showing, including lights turned on, curtains open, pets confined, etc. 
10. Strategically place Open House signs to help guests find your property AND get a little extra visibility in the neighborhood.
11. Require guests to give you a completed feedback sheet in exchange for your initials on the back of their business card.  (Agents will take this card to each house, and turn it in at the last house for the drawing.) 
12. Leave a note at the property thanking the home owner for having the house ready for Open House and telling them how many people came.
13. Contact your clients within 24 hours to share the agent feedback with them and discuss how you and they might address the feedback (price adjustment, neutralize a room, make repairs, etc.) 

I've been following this routine for years with Agent Open Houses, and I never realized how long this list would be!  Surely no sellers could possibly appreciate how much work and expense is involved.  Maybe we should share this information with them as part of our follow-up - to help them appreciate the VALUE of a good listing agent (one of my pet peeves, in case you didn't know).  In fact, I think it could be considered another ingredient in The Art of Marketing YOU.

If this is a new formula for you, I would love for you to come back and post in the comments after you try it. You might find a shortcut or better way of handling some things on this list that would help me and others.  And, of course, we all like to hear success stories, if a sale should result from your Agent Open House Tour.

Your real estate connection for Anne Arundel County, Maryland - Home of Fort George G. Meade, Northrop Grumman, BWI and the U.S. Naval Academy 

Have you ever heard of GRIST?  Don't feel too bad - I never did either, until I read that the University of Maryland has been named to their Top 15 Green Colleges and Universities.  That caught my eye!

According to the GRIST website, it is environmental news and commentary - with personality!  Frankly, it's refreshing to see their approach to a topic that could be very dull.

Regarding the University of Maryland, GRIST reports that "Students at this College Park campus recently sent a loud-and-clear message about sustainability: some 91 percent of undergrads voted to raise student fees in order to pay for clean energy, when tuition and fees are already at record highs. If implemented, the fee increase would eventually raise enough money to make UM the largest higher-ed purchaser of renewable energy in the U.S. UM -- one of the many schools committed to going carbon neutral -- is also doing what it can to reduce energy use: a combined heat-and-power plant completed in 2003 received the U.S. EPA's Energy Star award, and motion sensors that automatically shut down unused office equipment are currently undergoing testing."

GRIST senior editor Lisa Hymas indicated that they "researched, asked experts, and consulted other rankings to get a broad picture of green activities on campuses." Based on the online comments, however, some colleges and universities that are excluded from the list are taking exception.  That's one of the beauties of blogging - the opportunity for feedback from readers!

The University of Maryland is the only Flagship of any State Higher Education System listed by GRIST.  Others are:

1. College of the Atlantic
2. Middlebury College
3. EARTH University
4. The Evergreen State College
5. Oberlin College
6. Harvard
7. University of Britich Columbia
8. California State University, Chico
9. Tufts University
10. Leeds University
11. Green Mountain College
12. Yale University
13. Aquinas College
14. Glasgow University

Photo:  UMD Photo Gallery

For additional information about some of Maryland's sustainability successes: 

• Greening the Campus, the World
• Campus Sustainability
• Complete list of GRIST picks, including Runners-up and a brief description of each institution.

______________________________________

Relocating to the Baltimore-Washington area?  Check out Your Relocation Package for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

Find a Home and learn about Real Estate Market Conditions in Odenton and Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  Check out Today's Rates, use the free Mortgage Calculator, and watch a brief video about the Power of RE/MAX.  These consumer-friendly real estate tools are provided by Margaret Woda for you to use at your own pace. 

When you're ready to go from "just browsing" to "let's get serious", contact Margaret online or call her at RE/MAX Vision in Crofton Maryland. 410-451-1900 

About ten years ago, I asked the selling agent at a settlement on one of my listings how he found such a GREAT interest rate for his client.  He passed me a business card for Chris Washburn at FNMC, a division of National City Mortgage Company (NCMC). 

When I called Chris a few days later, he immediately asked if I am related to Tim Woda - and that's a question I never know how to answer, since Tim was my "wild one" and I'm not always certain it is a good idea to claim him as my son.  As I hesitated slightly, Chris said "I went to high school with Tim."  Boy, did that make me feel old! 

But soon after, I sent a buyer to Chris - and I've been doing that ever since.  In all these years, he has  been consistently honest, hard-working, great with my clients, and never disappointed either my clients or me with rate, service, timeliness or anything else.  Not even once!  It's not surprising to me that he is not only a top producer for FNMC, but now a Vice President.  Since I have witnessed some NCMC-bashing on ActiveRain in recent weeks, with Chris's permission, I am going to share with you the email he sent out today:

Unfortunately I'm wasting your time with another email saying we are fine.  I feel like my job has become a PR officer rather than a loan officer, as a lot of my competition has stooped to sending misleading emails about the state of National City.  I've worked hard for 15 years to build confidence in both me and National City and can't believe some of the emails I've seen from prominent managers of competing mortgage companies.  They should be embarrassed!

Like I've said before, we are backed by a 140 Billion Dollar bank that is picking up market share in these difficult times.  Just last week I helped 2 different realtors whose mortgage transactions fell apart the day of settlement, rescued them and settled them within a week.  We are fine and this market is a huge opportunity for any good mortgage company to grow their market share while some of the brokers and weaker competition struggle.

National City, like any prudent bank in this environment, has limited its exposure to brokers.  The bank suspended dealing with brokers on most loan products.  They also merged our 2nd trust department, called National Home Equity, to the mortgage company (NCMC) - and with this merger, some lost their jobs.  Again, our second trust department has been merged with the mortgage company, which has no relevance to me or your business.  The "retail" operation, who I work for, is doing great and we plan on having another strong month this month.

Anyway, sorry to waste you time addressing rumors and my competition's attempt to discredit all of our hard work.  After getting 10 calls in the last 2 days about us "going out of business", I had to send this out.  I do appreciate everyone thinking of me and sending the emails demonstrating how some of my competition is only focused on spreading mistruths.  My focus is helping you to be successful through creating referrals and happy customers.  Many of you are the best in your offices and I intend to work very hard to keep you there.  The market is going to be tough for a while as the mortgage industry's changes play out on the housing market. 

You need to work with the best, and I'll challenge anyone to find anyone better than us.

Thanks again for the business and looking forward to working hard for you!

Chris
Christopher Washburn
Vice President
FNMC, A Division of National City Mortgage
7852 Walker Drive #400
Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
Office (301) 220-1000 X232 
Email  Chris.Washburn@NCMC.com

I have complete confidence in Chris, and I have no reason to suspect that he is any less than 100% honest about this, based upon the integrity he has demonstrated during the past ten years.  I sincerely hope that ActiveRainers will not participate in speculating about the downfall of ANY LENDER.  It is irresponsible, in my opinion.  If you see that happening, please object in the comments of the post, as well as making direct contact with the individual.

Copyright 2007.  Margaret Woda.  All rights reserved.

CROFTON MD REAL ESTATE: For referrals to Crofton MD or anywhere in the D.C.-Baltimore-Annapolis triangle, contact Margaret Woda at RE/MAX Vision in Crofton MD.  (410) 451-1900.

Okay, I've been doing this ActiveRain thing for several months, now, and I've developed some routines.  Let's share, because I could probably learn from YOUR ideas, and somebody might like mine.  What do you think?  Wanna play?  I'll start with Associates and My Home:

Associates - I organized my Associates into Realtors, Lenders, Stagers, Title Companies, Home Inspectors, Vendors, Appraisers and Web Design/SEO, instead of letting them just fall into the default Associates.  Now, when I add a new Associate, I just click on the appropriate box and add a comment - often as simple as "Georgia referrals" or maybe something like "REO expert".

If you receive a notice that I named you as an Associate, that was my invitation for you to play in the sandbox with me.  I want you to be my friend.  (I'll read your posts first when I sign in to Active Rain and, if you are a REALTOR, you're more likely to get a referral from me in your area than someone on my company roster, who I don't know.)  If you don't want to play - i.e., you never reciprocate by commenting on my posts - I'll get the message eventually and delete you from my Associates, because I will want to add new people.

As far as I can tell, Associates are people YOU pick, and Associations are people who picked you.  If anyone knows anything different, please correct me.

My Home - For several months, that log of comments on My Home just kept growing and growing and growing.  But then I realized there was a better way to use it - as a "to-do" list. 

When I see a notice that someone else commented on one of my blogs, I click on that comment and acknowledge any new comments for that post, provided there are at least three - and then DELETE notices about them on the My Home log.  If there is "only" one new comment on a particular blog, I usually save it on My Home until there are more.  As long as it is on My Home, I know this comment has not yet been acknowledged by me.  If you have commented on one of my posts, and not yet been acknowledged, please know you are not forgotten! 

As to the list of my own comments, I delete all past ones at the beginning of each new day.  If I have time for ActiveRain on any given day, achieving the magic "10" is not usually an issue for me, since I try to reciprocate comments (i.e., if you comment on my blog, I'll try to comment on your blog), and I always read new posts by my Associates.  These friends invevitably inspire new comments with their brilliance!  You know who you are, so I won't make you blush by listing you here.  However, if you are struggling to make ten comments in a day, the record of your comments on My Home might be a good way for you to keep count.

Okay, tag, you're it!  I hope you will share your ActiveRain shortcuts or organizing routines in your comment so we can learn from each other.  If you have already posted them as a blog, I invite you to put a link to that post in your comment.

Copyright 2007.  All rights reserved.  Margaret Woda

CROFTON MD REAL ESTATE: For referrals to Crofton MD or anywhere in the D.C.-Baltimore-Annapolis triangle, contact Margaret Woda at RE/MAX Vision in Crofton MD.  (410) 451-1900.     

Reaching 50,000 points is a lot like celebrating a birthday.  The points, like years, just add up, and before you know it... there you are celebrating a milestone with the people who helped you get there.

Apathy marked my early days on ActiveRain.  I don't even remember accepting Carolyn Nelson's invitation to join, but apparently I did on August 29 of last year.   I have no recollection of why or how I re-discovered ActiveRain more than six months later, or what motivated me to post my first market report in mid-March.  But I would not be writing this today if it weren't for Carolyn - so a big thank you!

Talk about doing this ActiveRain thing ALL WRONG!  In the next 30 days after that, I posted six blogs, made a total of 9 comments, and invited 3 people who accepted my invitation.  Then a consumer contacted me directly through ActiveRain to list her house...  Who knew I might actually generate business through this new "hobby" of blogging!  That was probably my lightbulb moment, and Jackie Boock was the seller who triggered it.  Thank you, Jackie!  My life has not been the same since then.

In April, I set a goal of getting to Page One for Maryland agents by reading and commenting, learning and posting, and inviting other people to join ActiveRain.  I found myself consistently drawn to blogs by the same people, whose content was rich with information and personality.  Pretty soon, we seemed to develop a mutual admiration society as I commented on their blogs and they commented on mine...

• Jim Crawford, for example, in the RE/MAX ActiveRain Bloggers,  - a Group that I regularly post to and read.
• Pat Kennedy, a D.C. licensee - someone I NEED for D.C. referrals, who inspired me to create BuyCrofton.com with her outside blog, Housepat.com.
• Lenn Harley, a Maryland/Virginia agent who sold one of my listings about 10 years ago.  We renewed our acquaintance and I felt honored to receive her invitation to the Homefinders.com Group.
• Nestor and Katerina Gasset, a Florida team who commented on some of my localism posts, I reciprocated, and now barely a day goes by when we don't read and comment on each other's blogs.  In fact, we're planning a joint marketing effort that we'll tell you about as it gets closer.
• Sally Cheeseman, an Hawaii agent who invited me to join her Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul Group, one of my favorites.  Sally inspired me to participate in my first contest, and my Legacy post for that contest didn't even place but it was featured in another group and named in the Week in Review.  I think this helped me to appreciate the value of belonging to different Groups, with different constituents.
• Karen Hurst, a Rhode Island agent who founded the Real Estate Rookie Group and invited me to join.  I confess that this Group has been one of my greatest joys.  I treasure the opportunity to help new agents, and so many have contacted me directly after reading one of my blogs. 

The list goes on and on...  I could not possibly mention all the people that have enhanced my ActiveRain experience.  You know who you are.  Thank you!

If you're reading this, and you kinda "blew it" with ActiveRain like I did in the beginning, you can see that a late start is okay.  Who knows...  you, too, might reach this milestone and others.  All you have to do is get started.  

Will there be another 50,000 points for me?  Well, maybe so, if the birthday analogy holds true.  Those years just keep adding up, and I suspect I'll keep blogging and commenting.  ActiveRain has become part of my daily routine, and one of the highlights of each day. 

Copyright 2007.  Margaret Woda.  All rights reserved.

CROFTON MD REAL ESTATE: For referrals to Crofton MD or anywhere in the D.C.-Baltimore-Annapolis triangle, contact Margaret Woda at RE/MAX Vision in Crofton MD.  (410) 451-1900.