Looking Out From the Garage: October 2007

Tomorrow is Halloween.  Don't drive.  Seriously, the scariest thing in Atlanta tomorrow will be the traffic. 

It won't be bad in the morning, but coming home will NOT be fun.  After about 2:00, until around 9:00, the highways and side streets will be crazy.  It won't just be the little pirates and ghosts running around collecting candy, either.  It is the same every year. 

There are the adult parties, the kid parties, the trick or treating and then that special something else... people go nuts. 

Mark my words.  Take off early (I'm thinking just before lunch) and go home.  Dress your little goblin (take that whatever way you want), and then kick back and throw some candy around.  Don't even try to go out for a pizza if you don't have to.  

Be safe out there... 

What? Only 10 posts this time? What's up, Lane?

Well, I have just about caught up. After the ten I present today, the posts are from the Blog Anthology. Going forward, I will try to summarize every two weeks or so. I was just a slacker for the last few months.

As we left off in the last blog anthology post, I had mentioned building a car-hobby centric subdivision around road racing, rock crawling or drag racing. Well... Are there any developers out there that want to go after an untapped market and build a community that offers something different? We already know that a Unique Selling Proposition can overcome broader market trends. Calling one developer.. you don't know who you are yet.

Everyone is talking about coaching... so I will too. Brittany, Owen, Kiefer and Paris... give me a call. Not only will I give you some good coaching, but I can sell you a house. And I obviously can't screw you up much more...

Countrywide Mortgage is up to its armpits in the sub-prime mortgage junk. So, the CEO tried to lay out a case as to why the government should bail them out. I'm not a fan. Where does this guy get his data?

There is a saying that is too prevalent in this industry. And I don't like it. So, what happens when I disagree with something? (everyone together) I write a post laying out a case against it... Buyer are liars... or not so much.

Three of my favorite words... and it isn't location, location, location... along with my former profession. Free, Free, FREE... Nifty open source photo editor.

Market Update for Gwinnett County, August 2007. I also announced a change in the timing because of the data not being released fast enough for me.

The Army Corps of Engineers is really getting under my skin. I haven't washed my truck in months. I don't water my yard. So, I wrote about the effects of Lake Lanier On droughts and mussels.

Back to the California "Bubble blog" guy, and his claim that housing is not as good of an investment as stocks... Off to the spreadsheet. I was truly SHOCKED by the data. What is a better investment?

I am going to be doing advertising for this site and my "new site" pretty soon, so I wanted to know, Does advertising need to be "good" to be effective?

Finally for this installment... I went Wandering through the DoJ website. For all of the complaining that they do about the NAR and disclosure in the real estate injury, they don't disclose some very important facts themselves. I think someone there got a crappy agent and now has a bit of a bent to beat up on the rest of us.

I can't believe that I have had to write 7 of these. Ok, I knew how many posts I had, but until I started reading through everything to get this anthology done, it really didn't hit me how much material there was here.

There is no doubt that the majority of the country is in a buyer's market. We certainly are here in most of the sub-markets and micro-markets here around Atlanta. But, What is a Buyer's Market?

So, since we talked about buyer's markets, it's only fair to cover a seller's market. What is a Seller's Market?

I get a couple of different updates from the NAR. Sometimes these lead to blog posts as I wonder what they are talking about, break news, or just try to explain what one might hear about on the news later. What are we doing here? Looking at the housing landscape... talks a bit about what the fallout should and shouldn't be over the sub-prime mortgage meltdown.

Here is one of the worst kept secrets around. I'm building a new website. In Shhh... Can you keep a secret? I kind of break the news... even though I had mentioned it previously in a more limited way. I'd still love your comments and feedback about the new site.

I'm up around 100 blog posts on this site. I have copied ALL of these over to the new website. I have also put other content I have produced onto the new site. Can I call a moving company for content? is just a little blurb about the site, Joomla (the Content Management System) and building a site.

Bubble bloggers are having a great popularity these days. So, I wrote The sky is falling... and the bubble is coming. I just wanted to put a little different spin on the Nightline story about one of the most widely read bubble bloggers.

Another bonus for having a blog is that I get to talk about properties. My first property blog is about a Tuscany condo in Midtown Atlanta. BTW, I think we are going to have a multi-unit open house on Nov. 11th. Stay tuned, I'm working on something else to do in conjunction with that open house that is unheard of here in Atlanta.

It can be odd where one finds inspiration. For this post, an old pick-up truck heater and an Alaskan writer named Satch Carlson got me writing. Nothing, nothing, nothing... Jet blast!

I like to get out a camp a little. So, I was Looking forward to a little camping! and SFWDA Dixie Run. I was also trying to see if anyone would offer up a camper... nobody did.

I'm a Libertarian, and so when I read about things like Imputed income, I get a little antsy, and a bit miffed. If you don't know what that is, you need to read the post. If you have an idea, but don't know why I would be miffed... read... and if you still don't know, please make a comment.

I enjoy NASCAR racing. And it served as Lane's "Crazy Idea of the Day" on Oct. 8th.

The NAR is catching on to the fact that buyers want big garages. How soon before everyone else figures out It's about the garage!?

I think that one of the coolest things in private sector research is the X Prize. Read to find out what it is and why it is so cool.

Since I went camping, I had to report on the trip. Ahh, relaxed... ok, sorta relaxed gives a little rundown on the trip... with no camper.

There are golf communities, equestrian communities and even tennis communities. Why not a racing or rock crawling community? Actually, there are a couple of racing communities as well as racing "country clubs" spread around the country. I tossed out some opinions in If you lived here, you'd be rock crawling/drag racing/road racing now...

Sixth part? Yep.

My "other" post on September 11th was P is for Pictures. With the importance of the internet for consumers looking for homes, the presentation is more important than ever before. Previously, I showed bad pictures... this time I went for the good ones.

A lot of people on Active Rain thought I was going to have a problem with Q... Q is for Quit Claim. It was easy. When reviewing the title history, seeing a Quit Claim Deed doesn't have to mean there is a problem. Often it just means that a good closing attorney wanted to make sure there wasn't a problem in the future.

Not every real estate agent is a REALTOR(R). Unfortunately, the words have become interchangeable... even inside the industry. R is for REALTOR(R). I outlined the differences.

For my consumer blog, I called in an expert to handle S is for Staging. Angel Walker agreed to help me out and made a GREAT post. Staging isn't new, but many of us in the industry have a new found respect for the results staging can bring.

As with the rest of the world, T is for Technology. There are a LOT of technologies that buyers, sellers and agents are bombarded with every day.

I am not a "half-measures" person. I believe that doing it means doing it right... and doing it up! I don't like things that are wimpy. If you want to have a great kitchen, make it a GREAT kitchen. If you are going to have a garage, make it a killer garage. U is for Ultimate. Everybody has a different definition, what's yours?

Here I sit, writing for "virtual" subscribers, from my "virtual" office. How could I write anything different than V is for Virtual.

Some say that negotiating is a contact sport. There can only be one winner in any contest. Take no prisoners. Give no quarter. But, as often is the case, it isn't over until it is over, and the very people you just beat up get to hold the cards again. In real estate, W is for Win... and Win.

I knew what I was going to write about when I got to X before I had even figured out what I would write for D. This was one of my favorite posts. I think it is important, and despite my often flippant attitude and writing style, I tried to treat this with a little more respect. X is for... (that doesn't mean there was NO room for humor).

I interupted my A-Z series to bring in the Market Update for Gwinnett County, August 2007.

Despite the name, Y is for Youth, this post is about ethics and honesty... and Jimmie Johnson bashing (indirectly, since he seems to be the NASCAR cheater without remorse).

Z is for... (surprise)

Finally done with the A-Z series, I went back to talking and thinking of garage stuff. Where is the cool garage stuff? is as much about the search as it is about the results. But, every garage needs some fluff... really cool fluff.

So, that was kind of expensive. So, Now let's try some cool garage stuff that won't break the bank. Northern Tool and Harbor Freight provided some of the inspiration. Whirlpool gave some as well. We can't all spring for $3400 fridges.

Since I was on a roll, I found some More Groovy Cool Garage Stuff... This more about environment and decor. But, the "man pit" doesn't have to be ALL about work.

One thing I want to add for Active Rain, this blog anthology is doing several things.  

• Forcing me to look over my old posts to see what I've written about and what I need to write more about... or less. 
  
• Let's me add a contextual, keyword rich group of posts.  Always good for SEO.
• Allows my readers to see what they might have missed that would be interesting to them. 
  

I'll be doing one for my A/R member's only posts in the future.  

Part V... will it ever end?

On my "other" blog, at Active Rain, I had written a post about generating ideas for blog posts. Well, one of those ideas was to do an A-Z series. So, I did.

A is for Appraisal covers the basics about Appraisals, CMAs, CMSs and BPOs. They all have different methodology, but the goal is the same... figuring out the value of a property.

One of the items that WILL be more utilized is the buyer's agency agreement. I cover why in B is for Buyer's Agent. Many states will be requiring agency agreements with buyers, as they have with sellers for years.

Not all sales are all cash, as-is and without any reservations. So, C is for Contingency.

Getting a property inspected, checking future zoning or verifying value would all be D is for Due Diligence.

E is for Ethics is about exactly that. Good ethics are paramount in the real estate industry. An agent without a positive ethical grounding is just about worthless. But, ethics aren't the only thing.

Everybody wants a deal. Barely a day goes by that I don't have a call about foreclosures. After all, they should be a good deal, right? Sometimes they are. Sometimes... not so much. F is for Foreclosure.

Would I be a "garage-loving" agent if I didn't write G is for Garage?

In most states, an owner's primary residences carries financial and legal protections. Much of this is covered in H is for Homestead.

Every once in a while I write something short. I is for Inspection is my short post.

I had this friend. She bought me a Christmas present for the employee party where we worked. I wrote a blog post 20 years later... Obviously it begins with J... but I'll let it be a surprise.

K is for Knock-down. Boy, there are a lot of angles one could look at this subject from. I picked one...

I love garages. But, I also really love industrial style lofts. L is for Loft talks about a loft that I "followed" for a while. Interesting changes.

Car people stay on top of their scheduled maintenance for their cars. M is for Maintenance tells why homes need the same attention.

It might have been a lame stretch, but N is for Numbers. I hear a lot of agents saying that they aren't really "number people", but it just isn't true...

I'm preparing to have an O is for Open House for the property at the Tuscany. I blogged about advantages and disadvantages of an open house in this post.

I took a break on Sept. 11th to write about what happened for my wife and I on that day in 2001. It was a normal day...

Part IV. Lots of posts...

This time we'll start with It's time for the IRS to GO! I'm a supporter of the FairTax, so I laid out the case in response to the news story about the guy that caught Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run. Fun, huh?

If you don't know, I created a Local Real Estate Forum for Buyers, Sellers, Investors, FSBOs and others. I wish I could say that it is bustling with activity, but it isn't. I'm always looking to change that. Another feature that I have added is individual subdivision areas. With this, your neighborhood (if it is around Gwinnett County, GA) can have a private forum... no one that hasn't been granted permission will be able to even see it is there.

I dived deeper into the FairTax, Since I previously brought up the FairTax... more specifically regarding real estate. Keep in mind that this is based on my understanding of the plan.

July 2007 Market Report for Gwinnett County. How did I do on my predictions?

There are simply things that I am not allowed to actually talk about as a licensed real estate agent. Fair Housing laws mean that people have to go elsewhere for Answers to questions I can't answer.

The next part of my Real Estate Investing Series is Real Estate Investing 202 - Buy and Hold Strategies. If I recall correctly, it deals with buy and hold strategies.

The MacDaddy of my Real Estate Investing Series has been Real Estate Investing 301 - Advanced Strategies. I have received scores of calls on this one. Don't call my office... I'm not there. Emailing me is MUCH better. Of course, the NCNDA will be the first thing we go over...

Are we our own worst enemy? Sometimes I think so. While this is primarily aimed at those in the real estate business, there might be a few things that others can carry away from it.

I don't really like "business school speak." Words like product and inventory have their place, but it isn't in front of consumers when talking about their food, homes, cars or financial planning. Wouldn't you love to own this wonderful INVENTORY?

I write a lot it seems. How many blog posts do I need for a book?

As part of my forum project, I created an Atlanta Area Motorsports Calendar. If you have an event (pro or amateur), meeting or other type of event just let me know. I'll post it up. This is a link to the release.

Want to sell your home to an investor? It might not be all it's cracked up to be. "We Buy Ugly Homes" might also make something you think of as an ugly offer. But, there are advantages, too. Read on...

I had to revisit the 200 level classes in my Real Estate Investing Series. In Real Estate Investing 203 - Shifting Classes and Uses, I explored increasing investment value through changes in zoning or usage.

Always willing to play for a while, I tossed up A little more Moab, with a few friends. I love that place... and I need to get my Jeep done so I can go back. Buy a house.

I don't think the offer is good any more, but I asked Are you a first time home buyer willing to be on TV?

I got to thinking after responding to a post, and I thought I would expand upon that and write a whole new post. 

Gayle Rogers points out the drawbacks of a company website for real estate practitioners in her post Websites that Your Company Provides.  She outlines her experience with building the SEO and traffic for a site, only to abandon it when she changed brokers.  I think that many of us have been there.  I know that I was.  This was my reply:

There is a path, and a few of the stops along the path are:

• company branded site and email (www.LBailey.C21nwr.com and LBailey@c21nwr.com)
• Personally branded, but company templated site (www.LaneGetsResults.com and LBailey@C21nwr.com)
• Our name as a domain (www.LaneBailey.com and Lane@LaneBailey.com)
• Separate domain which would be more directed towards our niche, and could be sold upon retirement (www.GarageHomesUSA.com and Lane@LaneBailey.com)

>>Please note, in the actual comment, all of the links were dead to make sure that no one could say I was just self promoting<<

It seems that these are the steps most of us go through in order to get to the final goal, a site that resonates well with out consumers, and can be a stand alone business when we decide not to be in it any more. 

So, what could I add?

Every broker that tries to recruit me tells me about their fabulous website, and all of the cool things that are going to happen as soon as I join their firm.  Most will even give me a FREE site, much like the first example.  But, if I were to leave, the traffic that I generate with my marketing (postcards, business cards, ads, etc.) will all go to the brokerage.  The site is also LOADED with the broker's branding.  So, in effect they are giving me a free site and I am building their brand.  

On to the second example.  I thought the first address was clunky, and it was.  So, like many agents, I transitioned to a catchy name.  But, I didn't actually change the site.  So, I am still building my broker's brand as much as my own (if not more).  But, at least now I own the domain name and can take it with me.  However, because of the platform, I couldn't have the domain in my email address.  

Iteration three.  I bought my name.  I will never let it go, because I think that in this business I need to own my name.  I can use it for my email, and there are a tremendous number of benefits that come with owning a domain that includes mail.  I use disposable and trackable email addresses (ePro folks will understand this.. but I haven't taken the course).  There are also ways to use third level domains and other tweaks (955Juniper2324.LaneBailey.com is a third level domain).  This is where many agents settle, and there is nothing wrong with that.  It is a nice place to retire. 

But then there is number four.  I didn't understand this, even though I read Millionaire Real Estate Agent.  But, if I ever want to pass the business along, or sell it, it is MUCH more marketable if the domain and the business aren't quite as tied to me.  So, concentrating on my niche, I came up with a name that would mean more to clients.  My name (even though I like it) doesn't mean anything more to them than what I provide.  So, if I pass this along to my kids, or sell it outright, the business can survive without people asking who I am.  

My advice to rookies is to just start out with the fourth one.  Get the third if you can, but if you can't you'll be ok.  Tie your website to your business, not to yourself.