Vision Real Estate

one of the fastest growing companies in Marin

is pleased to announce

the opening

Sweeping views and very private, this is truly a “house of dreams.” Rebuilt and expanded with a highly sought-after open “loft-like” design for entertaining and relaxing within. Excellent Chefs Kitchen of the highest standards, walk-out garden and terraces with views! A double lot with pathways and gardens to discover. Main floor library, 2 guest suites, very large master bedroom with sitting room and a luxurious bathroom. The nighttime views are unforgettable. Only minutes to San Francisco.

David Gowan

Sotheby’s International Realty

415.772.8450

www.davidgowan.com

"I have moved offices–joining Sotheby’s International Real Estate, after 14 years as a top producer at TRI-Coldwell Banker. I know the wider exposure and far-reaching, national and international aspects of Sotheby’s will bring my clients even more success."

Rare 1935 Spanish Mediterranean in the Monterey style with panoramic views in best location. Designed as a house and built as two legal units. Wonderfully large rooms with great details and numerous french doors to access the gardens/patios surround, completely detached. Great light, updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances and breakfast room, 3-4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 fireplaces and garage parking.

David Gowan

Sotheby’s International Realty

415.772.8450

www.davidgowan.com

"I have moved offices–joining Sotheby’s International Real Estate, after 14 years as a top producer at TRI-Coldwell Banker. I know the wider exposure and far-reaching, national and international aspects of Sotheby’s will bring my clients even more success."

The Ultimate Beach Party Patio!
Turnkey oceanfront home. 4 bedroom, 3 bath, remodeled, outdoor fireplace, spa, bbq, sand pit, fire pit and direct steps to the beach.
Offered “Designer Furnished” $3,950,000

Sheela Hunt
(805) 698-3767 cell • (805) 565-8864 office
sheela@villagesite.com
15 Years of Real Estate Experience
Full Time Realtor in Montecito & Santa Barbara
See virtual tours for these properties at: www.SheelaHunt.com

Resort Style Living in Montecito!
Cheery and spacious Montecito home, 4 bedrooms plus office, 5 1/2 baths, pool and tennis court on near an acre.
Offered at $4,295,000

Sheela Hunt
(805) 698-3767 cell • (805) 565-8864 office
sheela@villagesite.com
15 Years of Real Estate Experience
Full Time Realtor in Montecito & Santa Barbara
See virtual tours for these properties at: www.SheelaHunt.com

Aspen Realty and RE/MAX Realty Today announced that they will merge companies this month.  The two locally owned firms represent one of Lake Tahoe’s longest established Real Estate companies and an affiliation with one of the largest real estate networks in the world.

Aspen Realty was originally founded in 1973 by David Kurtzman, Alberta Crook and LJ Logan. Today, only Kurtzman remains as Aspen’s Owner/Broker. RE/MAX Realty Today was opened in 2004 and is owned by business partners Jesse Chamberlain and Mark Heckert.  Kurtzman, Chamberlain and Heckert will be partners in the newly merged company which will be called RE/MAX Realty Today and located in the former Aspen Realty building located at 2568 Lake Tahoe Blvd in South Lake Tahoe, CA . A second office is located at 237 Tramway in the upper Kingsbury Summit Village area of Stateline, Nevada. Daily management of the company will shift to Chamberlain and Heckert.

“It has been a great 35 year experience and I look forward to the opportunities created by the merger,” stated Kurtzman.

Nationally, RE/MAX International was recently ranked the nation’s number one real estate franchise and the number ten franchise overall according to Entrepreneur Magazine. RE/MAX has held the honor of the top real estate franchise for eight of the past ten years. Currently, there are approximately 120,000 RE/MAX agents and more than 7000 offices worldwide in 65 countries.

Locally, the new RE/MAX Realty Today will have approximately 30 experienced agents in California and Nevada. With millions of visitors and thousands of leads generated, Remax.com is the second most visited real estate website on the internet (realtor.com is first).  Agents will benefit from the strength of the RE/MAX internet presence which will offer an opportunity for more referrals and is viewed as a clear edge in the increasingly competitive real estate market. In addition, RE/MAX University is one of the industry’s most sophisticated educational resources, offering courses via the Internet, broadcasts into the homes and offices via satellite television and an extensive online multimedia library. Sales associates have the opportunity to receive advanced designations and specialized real estate training without leaving the office or home.

Community involvement is highly valued at all levels of the RE/MAX organization and has been a part of the Aspen Realty culture from the beginning. On a local level, members of each company have been affiliated with many organizations and volunteer opportunities including the Association of Realtors, Chamber of Commerce, School and College Boards, various service clubs, youth sports and other activities. Nationally RE/MAX is a co-sponsor of the Breast Cancer Survivor Recognition Program and is the official Real Estate sponsor of the Children’s Miracle Network. 

“We’re very excited,” said Chamberlain, “Aspen has 35 years of experience in the local market and it will be a very positive influence to us as a team.”

Currently, both offices are preparing for the consolidation with the merger expected to be complete this week.
 
  

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Inman News

RealtyTrac has debuted a new contact and lead management system for real estate brokers and agents using the company’s online service to connect with consumers.

The technology, designed in partnership with SharperAgent, aims to help agents manage their client communication and marketing efforts so they can convert leads into closed transactions.

As many brokers and agents face tough market conditions, the need to not let consumer inquiries go unattended is significant.

The lead management system includes a library of more than 2,000 marketing pieces, such as newsletters, greeting cards, fliers, postcards, guides and brochures; automated electronic marketing campaigns designed to frequently connect with current consumers and future prospects; custom functionality that automatically places leads into campaigns based on specified criteria; and the ability to market via online and offline methods.

The RealtyTrac Lead Management System is integrated into the Agent Dashboard for those agents already using the company’s marketing and lead systems.

RealtyTrac tracks foreclosure properties and information and offers marketing tools and services to real estate practitioners working in the space. The company publishes a national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, for-sale-by-owner, resale and new construction properties.

SharperAgent provides marketing services and coaching to real estate and mortgage practitioners.

As real estate brokerages continue to fight through the slow market, many will become (or already are) obsessive about their Web traffic and site visitor stats. The new mantra in real estate marketing and advertising is if you don’t know your ROI you just wasted your money.

VisiStat, a company that tracks Web stats for brokers, just unleashed a report for 2007, which gives an overview of what, where and how real estate consumers are searching online.

While the report doesn’t drill too deeply into specifics, the overview as a snapshot is interesting:

–Peak hour for consumers to be on real estate Web sites was 9 p.m., while peak day was Monday and peak month was March.

–Overall traffic growth from 2006 was 36.8 percent. (Note: A recent comScore report of real estate Web traffic also showed a year-over-year increase. See more on that here.)

–62.2 percent landed on real estate sites by typing in the URL; 23.6 percent got there by search and 16.2 percent by referral links.

Stats are based on a measure of VisiStat’s clients’ sites.

Have any Inman News readers discovered any new tools for measuring and tracking Web activity? If so, please share in the comments section.

Connor MacIvor Interview comments: If I could sum this interview up, it would be with the phrase ‘Connor Macivor bleeds trust!’ Connor is the type of person who raises your spirits by the infectious’ nature of his positive attitude. Honestly, a call or an email from Connor will improve my day. He wears honor, hustle, heart, accountability and reliability on his sleeve. And by the way folks, Connor’s sharing of knowledge isn’t remotely calculated; however, with a business- blog he’s able to put the nature of how he serves a client on display for all to see. He is the definition of transparency, which allows Connor Macivor to demonstrate one of the many ways Business- blogging can serve as a powerful marketing tool. For his effort, Connor and his wife Paris are seeing great new business opportunities… so please read on.

Q: "Can you describe your business?"
A: "We are not geographic farmers. We farm by employer. We founded our business where I worked for 17 years, at the LAPD. We have expanded it to serve all law enforcement agencies and the military as well [see lapd911.com, lasd911.com, chp911.com, usmc911.com, navy911.com, army911.com, usaf911.com, uscg911.com, ocsd911.com and it goes on and on."

Q: "How did you get into the business?"
A: "We were actually taken advantage of when we purchased our first home, back in 1996. In order to figure out how I was taken advantage of, this human lie detector, I went to Real Estate school at night and worked LAPD during the day. After obtaining my real estate license I was able to get the agent to come clean. I then was asked by some of the police partners I had at LAPD if I could help them buy and sell real estate."

Q: "When did you first establish a web presence?"
A: "Near the beginning [2004] we had a very simple site built. With a domain name that I thought was pretty fitting of who we were. About 3 months after the website was working, just up not obtaining any leads, we were hit with an 8 million dollar lawsuit for having “a deceptively similar trademark”. Never appreciating the value of doing research before you purchase a URL, this happened to be a strange circumstance by someone else that was working the same Non-geographical farm, so it was not like we wanted to be Microsoft and sell software and computer stuff – Microsoft would have a great case as they did (recent past). This was entirely different and what I call the price of doing business. But the experience was invaluable. It saved our marriage and put us on the map with the police department and our business blossomed. So instead of killing us it made us very strong. So hence the True Federal Registration on Paris911®. Pull one on me once, shame on you. Pull one on me twice, shame on me."

Q: "How about a Blog presence?"
A: "The Blog started after I resigned in March 2007. March 29, 2007, the day I went into Parker Center, handed in my badge and swapped it for a Reserve badge and ID. I went into the building armed and was thinking about walking out unarmed. But as a reserve I did not have to cross that bridge. I started blogging in April, it was a hokey non-personal blog, a free service. I started writing and then found Active Rain and shortly thereafter, Jeff Turner with Real Estate Shows. Enter stage left Chris Frerecks and Kristen Veraldi – and you have history being made."

Q: "Do you have any techniques, strategies or discipline for keeping your Blog content fresh?"
A: "Pictures are worth a thousand words and emotion even more. I have a lot of experiences in Real Estate on a day to day basis that I can share I wake up in the morning and think about what I am going to blog about. Having that thought in the back of my mind, I come up with something interesting. Usually based on the ‘human experience’."

Q: "How are you benefiting from blogging?"
A: "Blogging hits very hard. I can post something and hyperlink the content, to add more value to the blog, not with the intention of tricking search engines, and have it show on Google within several hours. Also when you write enough (142 blog posts on Active Rain), you start to develop a certain personal style. I am unrefined and to the point. I am also a positive and happy realist. I have had comments that people cannot understand how I can be so consistently happy. I am real like everyone else. I just have a rare ability to find the good in everything and to be thankful for it!"

Q: "Why did you choose to pay for a blog solution versus counting on one that is free?"
A: "With the free blogs, try to get someone on the phone when you have a problem. Good Luck. Furthermore, a strange side effect was the conversation that I had with Kristen. She gave me information about Internet blogging amongst other things that made the price worth that alone. I started to look at the Blog as a free bonus. Her information was invaluable and has amplified what I was. Plus look at the other blogs, mine is custom and I can add all of the stuff to it I want. Much Cleaner – and much more effective."

Q: "What value do you see in the Social Networks like Active rain for your business?"
A: "Social Networks and Active Rain have been great to our business and my Internet presence. We are blessed to have come across it. I will continue to blog there due to the huge amount of information that I get on a daily basis. The experience on the Rain is fantastic. You can search for a topic that you are having trouble with and you will find someone that has the solution. If you cannot find it then you just ask and to you it will be given. Very helpful people. You just to step around some of the inflated egos. But that is what we do in the Real Estate business as well!!!"

Q: "Are there differences between the value of Social Networks and having your own blogging voice?"
A: "I think my own blogging voice is different. I write things in my own blog that I would never write on Active Rain. I would be offending those others that have a transactional approach to their business. I am all about the relationship and the experience. I actually am interested in finding out how someone ticks. I also would never write on Active Rain for people to wait to buy real estate. I would not write not to wait either. But on my own blog, I am absolutely out side the box. Uncensored and straight from the mind of a 17 year police veteran. I have had my share of close calls with death knocking on my door. 4 ambulance rides that were touch and go. Fear has its place, but that place is under lock and key. You only should use fear when you have no other options, but scared people do some really crazy and dangerous things. Scared people have been known to kill millions, a scared person did so in the middle of the 1930’s and 40’s. So I reserve fear for a time when I have no other choices. Never forget: a scared man dies a thousand deaths, a brave man dies but once. I cannot take credit for that one, but my Dad did!

Q: "Has blogging shown a return for your Real Estate Business?"
A: "I have leads that are generated from my blogging. I have developed some really great relationships with those people that read me. I am also very honored when someone takes the time to see what I think. I am pretty ignorant and I have no ego to bruise. I also know that without my strong belief system I would be worthless as a Husband, Father, Servant or Realtor."

Q: "If so, can you site any specific examples?"
A: "I had a couple in here two days ago that were speaking with Paris and I. After we were finished the wife asked us if we wondered where they found us. They were not law enforcement, fire department, teachers, federal or military, so we were curious. She told us that she found us on the web and found my blog (that was the one that Chris and Kristen built). She was hooked and read and read, citing some pretty embarrassing examples of how to the point I can be, but she told me she had never seen a Realtor wear so much truth on his sleeve. We were both honored by their comment and by being given a chance to earn their trust."