Ubertor Real Estate Blog

What is going to happen? Really?

My business partner Michael Stephenson and our lead programmer are down in San Francisco this week attending Google I/O. Google says it is “Two days of in-depth, technical sessions on how to build the next generation of web applications with Google and open technologies”. Mike was invited to attend the event and will be chatting at the fireside with the Google Engineers on integrating Google’s exciting new applications and technologies to once again redfine the Real Estate Website Space.

Also, tomorrow night is WordPress’s 5th birthday party and Mike will be there. It is being held at 111 Minna Gallery (111 Minna Street, San Francisco, California) and it looks like it is going to be a lot of fun. If your in the area and want to pop by and say hi to Mike, drop him an email (mike /@/ ubertor.com) and I’m sure he would be happy to buy a round of drinks. Click here to get complete details for WordPress’s birthday party.

I love it, do you?

the zoning of a property. My big question is, if the zoning is a plus for the home, why not explain what the zoning means. I see too often in the description of a home that it is xx zoned. But that is all they say. Why not take the time to explain the benefits of that zoning? or link to the cities website that explains the different zoning rules.

I assume that if the Realtor is adding the type of zoning to the listing description that it is a positive thing.
Why not explain it?

Interesting. I heard about this change a little while ago but forgot to check it out. As I understand it the Canadian Real Estate Association is changing the name of the mls.ca website to realtor.ca because it is actually not a true “multiple listing service“.

Question: Are all “real estate agents“… “Realtors“?

Looks like they are upgrading the website along with this change to include Microsoft Virtual Earth maps. It will be interesting to see the site go live on May 28th 2008.

Do you sell homes on the west side of Vancouver? Do you want to? Do you have clients there?

Provident Security is holding a security seminar in their showroom in Kerrisdale on Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00pm. Could be worth checking out if you operate on Vancouver’s west side. Maybe you will pick up a client, learn something new, or network with other agents and home owners.

If you are interested in attending, send Provident and email.

Here is a video of the last seminar that Provident did at the Arbutus Club in April:

- Why do Realtors not post multiple photos?
- Why does the property description not make any sense?
- Where is the property compared to my parents house? my brothers?
- Can the basement be a suite?
- What is the property size?
- Is there an alley?
- Can I make money from the assets of the home?
- Is it livable?
- Is it on a main road?

These are some questions that I ask myself when looking for a home.

Do you answer them in your listing? If you don’t do you think people will contact you….. think again… I just move on. What do other people do?

Thursday, April 17th 2008 is a big day. There are 2 exceptional events happening that if you can make it you should not miss.

1. Orange County, CA - Irvine Marriott - Dustin Luther’s 4Realz Seminar (some seats still available)

2. Seattle, WA - Zillow.com Offices - Reachd.com’s Google Adwords Bootcamp (5 seats still available)

21 Vancouver business owners traveled to New York this past week to meet with the famous marketing guru and best selling author Seth Godin. This intimate private event was setup as an opportunity for Seth to speak with us about marketing and being “remarkable” in all that we do. Plus we all had an opportunity to discuss our businesses with him and get his feedback, ideas, thoughts, etc on our specific businesses and industries.

Lots was gained by this exclusive opportunity. I took tons of notes from the full day event but wanted to point out a couple of things that Seth said that I found really interesting with regard to the real estate market.

First, he mentioned that 91% of real estate agents in the US don’t speak with their client after the closing of the deal. His point was that this is a tragedy and a loss of future opportunity. He talks about how marketing to people is difficult, especially if they are not listening. But past clients are listening and by marketing to them, you will see more results.

Seth also mentioned that if he was a real estate agent he would run a workshop on how to sell your home without a real estate agent. The idea being that it gets a bunch of people interested in selling their homes in a room with you, so that you can show them how much work can and does go into it. He said, some will go ahead and try and sell it themselves, but some will decide that it is too much work. It is an interesting thought.

Lots was gained by this workshop. It was a pleasure meeting Seth and having the opportunity to meet with him in such a small setting. Here are a few photos from the event:

Michael Jagger, Seth Godin and Stephen Jagger

The Group (sorry for the fuzzy photo)

The Vancouver business owners (with 4 New Yorkers) and Seth Godin

Kelvin Humenny of North Vancouver has created inHabit which designs, builds and installs small prefabricated dwellings for art, music, work and living. Could be a good for a place like Whistler or a cabin that is in need of an extra room.