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Connecticut Real Estate, My view

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:44:03 -0400

Photo Coming Soon!

I remember the days when we used polaroid cameras to take a single photo to display a listing in the local MLS. When one hour photo developing became a reality, I switched to a simple point and shoot film camera and drove to Walmart at least once a week to have the photos developed. We'd mail them into the MLS and someone would scan them for display on the MLS website.

Today digital cameras make a real estate agents life much easier. We shoot a bunch of photos and upload the best ones to the MLS. Simple, yes? End of story.

Not exactly. There are still agents resisting the whole digital photography thing. (Probably the same ones that won't use an electronic lock box but don't start me down that path.) Despite all the statistics about how photos sell houses, there are still homes with one single photo or worse yet, no photo at all. In the past, agents were fined if they didn't post a photo within two days. I'm not sure why that isn't happening now. It should be.

If an agent posts a cute little sign that reads "Photo coming soon", how long is a reasonable time to expect to see a photo? How soon is soon? If I were a seller it wouldn't be soon enough. Just a tip for sellers. If a buyer's agent sees only one photo or no photo, they assume the home isn't photoworthy. And that is not a good thing.

Blog Photo is of my very nice listing on 7 Ferryview Drive in Gales Ferry.

Connecticut Real Estate, My view

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:51:27 -0400

I'm doing just fine. Thank you.

I was flying home last week when the nice lady in the seat next to me asked me why I had been in San Francisco. I told her I was there for a real estate conference. The smile immediately left her face and she said "Oh, you are in real estate. I'm so sorry."

I told her it was ok. Really. I explained that I had been in the real estate business in Eastern Connecticut for 32 years and my business has survived a few declining markets.

Heck, I even got through the 17% interest rates of the late 1970's without going on food stamps. But she wasn't buying it and she asked "So what do you do all day?" It was apparent I wasn't going to convince her that my real estate career was rolling along quite nicely.

Today I got an email from an insurance company stating how real estate agents and mortgage brokers across the nation have turned to selling insurance and would I want to consider becoming an insurance agent. No, I don't think so.

I know there are a few real estate agents that have taken part time jobs in the area and at least one is into multi-level marketing. (Leave me alone please.) Some agents have even quit the business and are working at the area casinos.

Me, I'm doing just fine. I'm selling houses. No, I'm not going to sell as many as in 2004, even though my marketing costs are higher, but I really have nothing to complain about.

Your really don't need to worry about me.

Connecticut Real Estate, My View

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:17:29 -0400

I had an appointment last week on a home that offered no listing or commission opportunity for me. Instead, the owners were just interested to know what their home might be worth. When I pulled up to their home on Ramblewood Drive in Gales Ferry, I was delighted to find out it was a home I had long admired for its lush perennial gardens. When I expressed my interest, the very nice owners gave me the grand tour of the grounds. We talked for quite awhile about hosta and hydrangea and I left with a rose bush cutting and a number of photos. They stopped in the office a few days later for their market analysis and invited me to come back for plant cuttings any time. I promised I'd stop by in the fall to see what their gardens had to offer.

A few days later, I went to a home near the Norwich Golf Course to help a homeowner decide what projects to tackle in case he decides to put his home on the market. As I walked room by room taking notes, I noticed lots of photo equipment. It was obvious this homeowner had more than a passing interest in photography. Having promised myself this year that I will buy a real camera and take some photography classes, I asked the seller a few questions. Ok, maybe more than a few. I left with a number of photography books that the nice seller insisted I borrow for as long as I wanted.

And so I did not list a house on Ramblewood Drive in Gales Ferry or one in Norwich by the golf course, but I did make new friends who were most generous in sharing their passions with me. Real estate is not always about the commissions we make but about the nice people we meet along the way.

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Connecticut Real Estate, My view

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Connecticut Real Estate, My view

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Connecticut Real Estate, My View