Jay Thompson's Discussions

Blogging isn't for everyone. I happen to enjoy it. Some find it painful. If you don't enjoy it, you likely won't stick with it.It does take time. But it is clearly a viable way to get prospects, clients and exposure.What to blog about? The list is practically endless. Start by reading other established real estate blogs -- that can give you an idea of what can be done with a blog. If you comment on other agent blogs, and link to them, you can steadily build a readership. I now get more traffic, and better search engine rankings, with my blog than I do with my main website.

" There are some examples of realtor blogs that you can find at the top of realtor.com for inspiration."Those are, for the most part, horrific examples of real estate blogging.

Jesse -Great question! Some will say "Real Estate Only!"I disagree. I happen to think one of the most powerful aspects of real estate blogging is the opportunity to display your personality, and who you are, to anyone that stops by. Real estate is a "people business". People "connect" with an agent for a variety of reasons, not just what they know about real estate.My own blog contains many "off topic" posts, and it is through some of those posts that clients have really connected.Sure, it should be mostly real estate. It's also critical to have a way for people to search for homes -- best if they don't have to leave the blog to do that, but at least have a link to your home search.Start off by reading a LOT. Read a bunch of real estate blogs and get a feel with what you can do. It's OK to use ideas you sess, but don't take actual content! (That's a copyright violation).We get almost all our business from our blog. It's a lot of work (so is any other form of prospecting/marketing), but can be very rewarding -- both personally and profesionally.And good luck!!

mckylie - Hard to say for sure, not knowing anything about the home.Your price reduction was about 5%. There are some parts of the Phoenix metro area where prices did fall that much from March  - now. It's possible you may just be barely keeping up with declining prices. It's *very* dependent on where your home is located.If there are a lot of bank owned homes in your immediate area, that can be a real drag on prices. And some spots of Phoenix have a ton of REO (bank owned) homes. Not only do they tend to pull down prices, but many lenders are aggerssively pricing thier REO properties -- often they get multiple offers very quickly. This means the REOs are commanding a LOT of buyer attention, which pulls their eyes off your property.What part of the Phoenix area are you in?

Hands down, a blog. It does everything you mention, and does it well.

I'm not a fan, at all, of one-stop-shopping in real estate. My forte is helping people buy and sell real estate, it's a full time (and then some) job. I'd rather let the full-time experts in lending, title, etc. do the lending/title work while I focus on the real estate.

Three things sell a home:  Price, location, and condition.There's not much you can do about location. It is what it is.That leaves price and condition. In a market like much of Florida is experiencing, your home needs to be *perfect*. Declutter. Clean (and I mean REALLY clean) everything -- down to the tracks the windows are in.  Paint and carpet are the two greatest things almost any homeowner can do to improve their home for selling.As for price, that can be very tricky. In a declining market, your price reductions may simply be chading the market down. Often the market won't even recognize what seems (and is) drastic to an owner. You need to get current and complete comps. Relying on a website isn't enough.I agree that your home HAS to be in the MLS. The majority of buyers use real estate agents, and the majority of agents only look in the MLS. It *shouldn't* matter, but you could also try incentivizing buyers agents. Offer a bonus, or a co-broke that is higher then typical for your area.You can also incentivize buyers. Offering to help with closing costs is typically much more effective than including goodies like appliances or flat-screen TVs.For marketing material, photos sell. LOTS of photos. The higher quality the better.Good luck, and don't give up!

Buy more servers. Don't you guys have a blank check from the VC's? ;)Always a compromise between data and performance. I don't use the API key (yet) but when I do, I'd use both the 30 day and last update field. They provide valuable information.

And while you're adding servers, can you change that little "chicklet" next to my user name from "Agent" to "Broker". Trulia does it....

Needapool - Generally speaking, "bad credit" and "5 bedroom with a pool in Southern California" are a bad combination.The "credit crisis" that's been occurring over the last couple of years pretty much excludes anyone with bad credit from getting a loan. There may be other options such as a seller carryback (in effect, the home seller provides you the "mortgage"). They will want a significant down payment and will charge a high interest rate, with a possible balloon payment.Speak to a lender. And a local real estate agent.