Real Estate websites , Realtors & you………

The answer to whatever thought or question this headline may have evoked is most likely YES, please do. There was a time when much of the value a real estate professional brought to the table was proprietary inventory information. Someone forgot to bar the barn doors because not only is every form of information out there for those with any type of Google savvy but it’s out there and moving very fast in every direction, unmanaged and in many cases very inaccurate. Today’s Realtor embraces your research and input to dovetail their own expertise to represent clients with the depth of knowledge required to do so in a land mine latent landscape.
Most real estate search sites pull preprogrammed data from the MLS and or public records. The data can be limited, out of date and work from undefined standards. From a Realtor with boots on the ground please let me express to you some of my favorites in no particular order. The Colorado Association of Realtors has an incredible site up under www.REColorado.com . This site is very clean and crisp with extras such as map tools and customized views. What I like most about this site is that it is the most accurate out there. The information given to this site is complete and is managed by the MLS which governs the criteria that Realtors must follow when presenting a property to the public. I am of course partial to our site; www.PerformanceBrokersCO.com . The searches are top shelf but the stand outs here are the free apps, maps, market stats and reports. The focus is very local with in-depth school data, entertaining blogs and yes it’s free! www.Realtor.com is another quality site brought to you by the National Association of Realtors. This information is reliable and comes with all the bells and whistles. Once your eyes get used to some of the clutter and advertising you will find it very useful.
Knowledge is always a good thing when accurate, relevant and used in conjunction with an experienced professional. Your Realtor will appreciate your research.

Heather Baird 720.201.4187
Lifelong resident of Evergreen with Deep Roots in its development and growth; real estate legal office experience and numerous years as a house hold name in our real estate market

Sean Endsley 303.895.4663
Mountain Metro Association of Realtors board member, Former Sotheby’s franchise owner, U.S. Marine and current marketing expert.

Howdy guys, thank you for stopping by our area and real estate blog. Thankfully we have been fortunate enough to gain a cordial and data hungry following. We have appreciated your e mails and comments, Thank You. In response we put up a new page! Under the Area Info tab on the menu bar please click on the “Market Statistics”. This is a great resource generously provided by Land Title. There contact data can be found in our preferred services section. Just click on your area of interest to view some great sold stats or click the link above the map to view stats on our market as a whole.
Of course we will keep the “Altos Research” down load up. Just sign up for your seven page report abundant with graphs and charts. You will be e mailed weekly reports without worry of a third party hounding you. If you live in Conifer, Baily, Littleton, Golden, Morrison, Lakewood or Arvada let me know if you need a specific report. You are of course welcome to contact us. We love to discuss the market.
Attention real-estate professionals & appraisers feel free to visit or contact us.

Yea data ! Sean

Making an Offer vs.
“Make Us an Offer” – Seller Initiated aka Reverse offer

In this challenging market real estate professionals, sellers,
buyers and any others vested interests should be thinking out of the box.  What I am seeing on the national news and here
on Colorado’s Front Range first hand is that Inventory is high so there for competition
for sellers is fierce. The economy is not at its peak so there for resources
are stretched and lending has been a bit more of a challenge.  The gap between buyers and sellers has seemed
to have widened because of constraints and the differing perceptions of the
market. The country’s big picture differs from Evergreens market but I’ll blog
about  that and “shadow markets” some
other time. I would have predicted that the “market” would have corrected all
of this but those pesky logistics seem to have gotten in the way.  The bell curve has gone towards short sales.  I have done these but the pain for both the
buyer and seller tend to be great and I already have too much grey hair to
negotiate transactions that drag on for months with a low success rate with
sellers wringing their hands and buyers running out of steam after jumping through
endless hoops and dealing with poor bank communication. Here at Performance
brokers we have an expert;  Yvette Putt yvette@performancebrokersco.com .  I
like to deal with more positive solutions like trades and seller intiated
offers. I’ll blog about trades later also.

Some of the things I like about “Reverse offers” are:

1) The seller
can generate attention and stand out in a crowd by submitting an offer.

2) The seller
can test the waters and get an insight to what number the market would support
for their home. Though the sample may be small they don’t have to show their
hand to the market prematurely. They can of course make more than one offer but
I don’t recommend doing so at one time. They may legally obligate their home to
more than one party.

3) “A call to
action”. Issues such as contingencies’, time lines, price, lease
considerations, and due diligence issues can and probably should be addressed before
the offer which would serve as a punctuation mark so that both parties can move
forward with plans allowing more certainty in their lives.

4) Buyers may
engage in a “private negotiation” with seller for variables that are not known
or available to the rest of the market.

5) Buyers can
ask questions about the variables on the contract. Those in the industry know
that the devil is in the details and there are tens of other major variables
besides price.

6) The seller
should offer a PRICE that would motivate the buyer towards the offer. The buyer
would be exposed to an invitation only deal.

One concern
for the seller is projecting desperation. This is a possible perception but
most educated buyers will see this stratagem as proactive and creative by
another party in a competitive market who just may have a bit more savvy than
the average bear. This method has a high probability of getting both the buyer
and seller closest to what they need and when they need it with the least
amount of brain damage.

I’’m all for getting people in the homes they want….Sean

Comparing a real estate agent/licensee and Realtors® is an apples and oranges scenario.  Realtors® have an established Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, as set forth by the National Association of Realtors®,  which Realtors® have taken a pledge to adhere to and serve the public at a higher level than non-Realtor agents.  This code can be reviewed at www.realtor.org/mempolweb.nsf/pages/code.  This is a very important distinction  for the consumer to be aware of as a difference between Realtors® and licensees.

Now Realtors® have a new and very powerful tool in their box to help serve the public in their real estate needs.  The Realtor® Property Resource (RPR) functions for Realtors® much like the MLS does for all Realtors® and participating licensees.  The RPR has been created and coordinated by the National Association of Realtors®, and for the use of Realtors® only.  This provides Realtors® across the country access to all MLS data bases throughout the entire United States.  As a result this has volumes of data  than could be found on any other site, public or private, anywhere in the country.

What value is this to the public?  Put in the capable and trained hands of Realtors®, the public can be provided with information about properties across the country.  Examples would be you are moving out of state and want to know more about your target area say in Cleveland.  RPR enables your local Realtor® listing your home here to provide you with volumes of information on the target area including real estate data, neighborhood data, mapping data, and much more.  If your friend or relative is moving across town to a new are out of the local MLS area, your Realtor® can research information on the new area.  If you want to simply compare markets or homes in different geographical locations anywhere in the U.S., your local Realtor® can get the information you are looking for – via RPR.  The possibilities are indeed endless, using your local Realtor® to access the information via RPR.

The National Association of Realtors® *(NAR) is a “watchdog” on the real estate industry nationally, not only on the Realtor® members, but on the industry as a whole, and how the public is affected by various aspects that occur.  One of the NAR’s  prime directives is to influence Congress to protect Homeowner’s rights.  A couple of very important examples of the vigilance of the NAR is the current and very serious fight about to be mounted on the mortgage interest deduction for homeowners, as it applies to Federal taxes, as well as the mounting fight on the elimination of Capital Gains, again as it applies to Federal taxes.

The Colorado Association of Realtors® (CAR) is the real estate industry’s State component of these same roles.  The CAR, and all State Associations, are also charged with continuing education policies, and management the Code of Ethics within the Colorado Realtor® ranks, as set forth by the NAR.   The Mountain Metro Association of Realtors®, the local Realtor® association, is the grass roots entity of the state and national associations, charged with the same responsibilities locally.

Being a Realtor® is not cheap, with each Realtor® and Broker individually committing hundreds of dollars each year to supporting all the above important functions, and so much more.    Just as important, Realtors® care.  Realtors® are also neighbors, friends, parents, and a large part of and participant in the community, just like yourself.  Realtors® consistently and continually give back to community, and for the same reason I read, or work out, or spend time with my family.  I strive to be the best I can be as a person.  Being a Realtor® is a big step in this direction.  If you need a real estate professional, I highly recommend using a Realtor®.  If you make your living from real estate and are not a Realtor® I recommend becoming one.  The rewards you will receive are worth what it takes to carry the Realtor® designation

Article written for Canyon Currier by Sean Endsley

In today’s Internet world of cell phones, text messages, and instant messaging, it’s no wonder yet another tool is emerging, the QR Code. Of course, it would stand for “Quick Response.” Everything is about fast information today, and the QR Code for real estate is no exception.

The image in this article is an actual qr code for the website that generated it at Kaywa.com. Any person with a cell phone that has the qr code reader software installed can shoot a picture of that image and they will be taken to the website for that code.

Explaining it a bit better, you’ll need a web-enabled phone. That’s becoming much more common these days. There will be even more soon, as the cell providers are upgrading their networks and offering web access at lower rates. Once you have the software on the phone, you can shoot a picture of these qr codes wherever you see them. They are appearing in print ads, on brochures and many other places. When you scan one, you are taken to the web page the marketer wants you to see. Of course, it will be optimized for viewing on a cell phone.

View our QR code:

3.5 x 5 in

Dont have a QR code app ? Download from here: http://www.performancebrokersco.com/apps_maps.html

THX for reading, we all of real-estate needs on task.

Real Estate Video Marketing

Video is one of the most viral forms of marketing. As websites like YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler and WellcomeMat continue to make video sharing easier for users, video marketing continues to see rapid expansion and popularity in just about every industry.

The real estate industry, in particular, has been one of the industries best positioned to take advantage of the viral effects of real estate video marketing. The main reasoning behind this is that real estate transactions are highly emotional decisions. For these types of decisions to be made, homebuyers, sellers and investors need to know and see everything about the property they are interested in.

Real Estate videos help buyers, sellers and investors to make more emotional connections with properties and the agents and brokerages that represent them. Mere text or photos, on their own, do not do justice to just about any property.

Effective Ways to Use Real Estate Videos

One of the greatest things about video is that there is a lot of room for creativity. Smart marketers know that people do not want to see commercials, as we all get enough of those on television. Instead they focus their real estate video marketing efforts on creating fun, engaging, and interesting videos.       See our Example at http://www.stonepinehillestate.com/video.html