Perhaps this is just a harbinger of things to come.

I just received a spam from one of the local real estate schools:

PreLicense: Only $199 with coupon at www.bobwoodonline.com !
No Contracts, No Commitments, Don’t Have To Place Your License with Bob Wood.
Also Includes Books!!! Low Price Guarantee!
Now Registering For January Session… Tell A Friend!

This particular school has had a reputation of “growing” their own agents – hence the disclaimer about placing your license with the school’s broker. (At one time, they wanted a five-year contract in return for attending the school.)

Since this was the third spam that I have received today from the email firm that sent me this email (of which I used the “unsubscribe” button at the bottom of the said previous emails) I had to blacklist their entire server. On top of everything else… it was the ugliest. The html code was very messy and displayed all over the place.

But I digress…

Maybe the public is getting the idea that becoming a real estate agent during a slow real estate market is not a recipe to “get rich quick”. Actually, becoming a real estate agent during any market is not such a recipe.

The statistics bear me out. The failure rate is legendary. None of my previous clients who subsequently went to school and passed their state exams are active agents… and there are many of them. I used to shrug it off and say, “I guess they figured if Doug can do it… anyone can!”

So… if you were thinking about getting your real estate license, at least the cost to play just went down… if only a little.

Blog Buzz, Real Estate News | No Comments »

In the spirit of today’s election, may I make a recommendation to you?

Get Mozilla’s Firefox browser.

I have been using Firefox for a few years, and I must admit – I hate it when I have to switch over to Internet Explorer to log into either of our listing services.

Firefox has been gaining popularity for some time, as it is an open source program that allows developers from all over the world to participate in creating added functionality.

In addition to blocking pop-up ads (my initial reason for switching to Firefox) I love the way Firefox allows you to open up web pages in tabs, versus new windows. Switching between tabs is more intuitive than switching between windows – and easier, too.

But that is just the beginning of what Firefox will do for you.

I won’t even try to explain the features or add-ons, as this post would go on and on and on…

This website is created using an open source program and add-ons, and is best viewed using Firefox.

Once you download and install Firefox – you’ll see why it is the clear winner.

Technology | No Comments »

In our effort to keep Atlanta sellers and buyers in touch with our local real estate statistics and trends, here are the latest figures courtesy of HousingTracker.net:

Atlanta Area News, Real Estate News, Trends | No Comments »

When I first got into real estate, I couldn’t help but admire the top agents in the field. To me, they were the leaders – the movers – the shakers.

You see their smiling faces in their real estate ads, on billboards, on real estate signs, on bus stop benches, on their cars, and even on the advertising plates in shopping carts at the grocery store.

It’s easy to be impressed by all of this when you’re a rookie agent in an ocean of other Realtors. I was so impressed – I even went to work for one of them. I wanted to know how to get to the “big time”.

Allow me to share some of my observations.

The first item on the agenda is to become “larger than life”. To be a top agent, you must look successful. You must drive an expensive car. You must dress in expensive clothes. You must wear expensive watches and jewelry. And you need to get a professional portrait to use in every conceivable way… touched up, if necessary.

Ok, now you’ve got your professional image in order.

Next, you need to get listings. Lots of them. But how do you compete against the other area agents? That’s easy. Remember the saying, “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance – baffle them with BS”? That’s the ticket.

(more…)

Blog Buzz, Mythbusters | 4 Comments »

Hold on to your hats, folks… the ride is just beginning. Georgia has experienced a high foreclosure rate for several years, and the rate continues to increase.

With one new foreclosure filing for every 195 households, the rate has increased 3.5 percent from the second quarter – and a 41.4 percent increase over the third quarter of 2005.

This represents a total of 15,841 filings in the third quarter – an average of over 5000 a month. And with more than a trillion dollars in adjustable rate mortgages due to adjust in the next 15 months, the worst is yet to come.

Since the local real estate market has softened, investors are not quick to jump on these foreclosures. This tends to depress the market even further.

We have been advising our investment clients to stay away from areas of high foreclosure activity, as the appreciation rates in many of these areas is nearly non-existent.

For example, a client recently wanted to sell her home in such an area. She purchased the property for $112,000 three years prior, and although we put it under contract for $116,900 – we could not get it appraised for more than $115,000. Why? All the foreclosures in the area.

So you think foreclosures don’t affect you? Think again.

Atlanta Area News, Real Estate News | No Comments »