We assume the earth is always pointing north

Whenever we see a globe or photo of the planet earth, north is always on the top. Yes, in relationship to the sun, the earth spins on its own axis and we dance with the sun. But, in terms of the entire universe... we could actually be upside down. Or, is there an up and down in the universe. We are but a mere speck in the cosmos. Technically, couldn't the globe be upside down and be just as accurate. Do we assume north is "better" than south? hmmm...

Dipping your paws in ink for fingerprints

Most of us would remember if we were convicted of a crime... if we had the mug shot, the fingerprints, the court appearance. Now, I can't say ALL of us would remember... but I'm rather sure most of us!
The real estate Department of Licensing will be requiring all real estate agents current and new to be fingerprinted over the next six years.
This past month I had fingerprints taken as part of my application to get a Coast Guard Captains 50 ton Masters License. I had to get a TWIC card (transportation workers id card). I pressed my little paws onto the fingerprint pad over and over... took so many tries... evidently IO have weak prints. But, I can tel you, even though I am pretty sure I don't have a criminal record that the FBI might find... it still is a bit creepy. Kind of the "Big Brother" government tracking me thing.
And so I wait for ... how long?... to find out that I am cleared.
The fingerprints and FBI check for your real estate license might give you the same creepy feeling. But, you are required nonetheless to have them taken. It's like when you get your license tabs for your car... every so often you have to have an emissions test. The Department of Licensing will notify you on your renewal form if you have to go dip your paws in ink. N0 stress!

Carbon Monoxide Alarms... when required.

During the December 2006 storm in Western Washington over 1000 people were treated at emergency rooms and 8 people died because of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. It is an invisible, odorless and tasteless gas that is caused by all combustion. People did bring charcoal burners into properties. But, if your neighbor does that you could be poisoned by the gas seeping through walls.
The Washington State legislature passed a law in April 2009 requiring CO alarms. The statute requires building code council to adopt rules to require them in all new residential properties.
The statute also says that all owner occupied single family residences legally occupied before this act are exempt.
However, for any owner occupied single family residence that is sold on or after the effective date of this act (July 2009) the seller must equip the residence with CO alarms in accordance with the requirement of the state building code before a buyer can occupy the residence. RCW 19.27.530 (1)b.
In April 2010, there was a proposed change in the law as passed. The change as discussed in HB 2886 which is in committee "removes the statutory requirement for the installation of a carbon monoxide alarm when an owner-occupied, single family residence is sold."
The Bill also extends the date to January 2013 that all existing multi family residential occupancies must have a CO alarm.
It also requires the building council to adopt rules that are consistent with the smoke detectors, when applying for building permit.
But, the proposed change did NOT go through the legislature... maybe the CO alarm companies had a big lobby... because as the way the law is right now over 10,800 alarms will have to be installed per WEEK in Washington state to meet the deadline of July 2011!

So that is the latest on that issue.

Classes in Pierce County this week!

Get yourself into social marketing with classes this week in Pierce County.

Wednesday, Jan 20 at 10 am Get Connected on the Internet at
Home Team NW in Puyallup

Thursday Jan 21 at 9 am Blogging and 1 pm Twitter at
Keller Williams on Tacoma Mall Blvd..


Email Natalie or just show up for any of these classes! You are welcome to come! Get yourself online and connecting this new year! Don't wait.. NOW!
Natalie
clockhoursatgmail.com

There's so much to learn ... I can barely keep up!

This social media revolution is like raising kids. They grow... regardless of what you do they get bigger and change. As a parent I was always trying to catch up with the new lingo, the new toys, the new activities, the new teachers, the new fads. I always felt a little behind the 8 ball. But the more I kept informed, the better relationship I had with my kids.

Its the same for social media. You will never know it all. The guru's that I try to be close to on a regular basis are also learning every day. I think... "Gads, you are brilliant! Look how much you know! You have it.. you can do it all! " .... and then the next time I see them they have taken another leap into some other aspect of the social media world.

So I try to make sure I do something every day. I keep myself on Facebook all the time. Really, I am amazed how many people I communicate with about work! I made appointments, scheduled classes, helped a couple agents with clockhours etc!
I go on Twitter every day. If I do anything I just send a tweet but also make sure I am responding to anything someone tweets about or to me!
I try to write in my blogs or post photos.
I make sure that I tell at least 10 people about my website, a blog or my YouTube channel.

Every day I make an effort to learn something. Today I watched a video about how Steve Jobs is a magnificent presenter. Do I zap my audience with enough visuals and an "ah ha" moment? I saw a 4 minute video on TED talks where a guy explained the power of the internet connections using example of naming the Greenpeace whale "Mister Splashy Pants." (amazing example!) Then, I read Seth Godin's blog and went to links about iPhone apps. He has an app which I need to download that on my iPhone! Then I jumped to Anil Dashes blog about his take on being on the Twitter.com Suggested User List. I learned so much about noise on Twitter and the effect or non effect millions of anonymous followers can have and how important it is to go for your target. Then I followed real estate agent, Rich Jacobson's tweet about how Kitsap Peninsulas sales have climbed a bit. I registered for a Biznik event featuring the author of "Drive" about what motivates us. I clicked on a blog with a photographer takes one photo a day in Seattle... where did he go yesterday? And I either commented or shared what I learned with someone else via email or blog or facebook!

So learn something new online every day... every single day. And then do something every day to connect with people. Because, this keyboard in front of me is my connection to the world like no other tool ever! A television is one way communication. But, the internet and social media tools let me connect back!

But the seller EXPECTS me to put ads in the paper!

I remember in the past century when I would sit at my desk with a pen in hand creatively describing a split level home for an ad in the homes type magazine or the Sunday classifieds. The ad would no show up for days or weeks depending on the medium. Sometimes the office would have a space in the full page ad and I'd throw my listing in at the last minute. The budget for every listing had to include a substantial sum for all the print advertising. I would provide the seller with a nice copy of the ads.

Real estate agents are still doing that today! Instead of using all the free sites available on the web, agents are crafting ads for printed medium. The sellers may have come to "expect" this as marketing for their property, but it is up to the real estate agent to educate sellers about how the market has changed.

This past summer a representative from a homes type magazine sent me information about the advantages of print over online advertising. The full color flyers were artfully done with graphs and pie charts. But, every statistic was from a survey that was more than 3 years old. Back in the year 2006, they have been applicable. But, in that short period websites, blogs, and online classifieds have grown astronomically. Print newspapers and magazines are in trouble because income from reduced readership and advertising does not support the cost of printing.

The most powerful marketing tool a real estate agent has to sell a property is the multiple listing service. We all know that when we look for a property for a buyer that we don't pick up a newspaper or even go to CraigsList.com or Realtor.com. Most properties sell because of the buyer's agent finding the property on the MLS.

But, that is not to say that marketing a property isn't effective. It brings attention to it from prospective buyers and also brings the real estate agent and company brand recognition.

Get that listing posted on as many sites as possible. Many agents use a service that does that or their office takes care of it. Take photos of the listing and even videos. Think outside the box. What can you do to encourage people to look at your photo tour that would make it different from the others? What if you took a photo of your bicycle in front of the house and wrote, "This is my bicycle and, by the way, the house behind it is on the bike trail and listed for $0000!" Be a bit creative so people pass info on your listing to others!

Mos importantly.. FIND you own listings on as many sites as possible. Often agents don't search on sites like CraigsList.com and Zillow.com and see their own listing just as a prospective might. You may need to "claim" it as your listing and post a profile.

Then, print the listing out and show it to your sellers. In many cases, sending the sellers a link is effective if they are connected online.
Go to clockhours.com for more information about real estate classes in Washington state!

How Will your Past Clients Find You?

So let's say that one of your past clients wants to list their home. You sold them the house 5 years ago. Because of a job transfer they want to sell the property. You have moved to another real estate company. They have received a calendar and some postcards from you over the past few years. What is the first thing that they would do to find you? Would they look for that calendar? Did they save the postcards? Do they remember what company you work for?

Yes, you guessed it! They would "google" you. Either on their laptop or cell phone, the past clients would look for you on a search engine.

When was the last time you "googled" yourself? Did you show up on the front page of the search? How can you make sure that you have a presence on the internet? How can you do that without spending money on a geek?

Take Natalie's Clockhour class "Get Connected on the Internet!" She is teaching it all over town... Check out her website www.clockhours.com for the dates of her next class.