Why we support Real Estate BarCamps

On September 12th from 12PM to 5PM, the Hilton Suites Ocean City Oceanfront will be host to the second Real Estate BarCamp, Ocean City Maryland. And Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services will be participating by sponsoring and attending. This will be the 9th RE BarCamp we sponsor.

So why do we do it?

• The attendees are as passionate about brokerage and agency as we are about title. It's a perfect match.
• We believe that technology can make the entire real estate process more seamless, less clumsy, and more user-friendly. The focus is always on the buyer and seller.
• RE BarCamp fosters discussion, and discussion fosters relationships. Very few venues in the real estate space offer this type of interaction.
• Many of the techniques and strategies utilized by agents and brokers can be applied directly to our business.
• We get to meet agents face-to-face that we only previously knew online.
• It's more than just a little fun!

Have you thought about attending one, but didn't want to commit an entire workday? Are you attending the MAR Annual Conference and Tradeshow in September? Have you ever wanted to visit Ocean City, MD in September, perhaps the best time of year to be there?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, click here to get on this list. We'll see you on September 12th!

Virtual Real Estate BarCamp: Brief Recap

Yesterday marked the second installment of Jim Cronin and Real Estate Tomato's Virtual Real Estate BarCamp, prominently held in a computer near you. Across the country, 1000's of real estate agents and professionals logged into various webinars to see presentations by some of the best in the RE.net space. Here are a few I was able to attend (at least in part) and at least one takeaway from each.

Sherry Chris on Next Generation Brokerages

Sherry talked about the brokerage of the future. Sherry sees less physical office space, more technology, and is committed to helping agents generate leads and convert them. She cited NAR's statistic that 80% of people who list their home do not use the REALTOR(r) who sold it to them. Sherry and BHG's vision on Next Generation real estate can be found here.

Jeff Turner on Listening with Intent

Jeff provided the group with some great Twitter tools to allow you really listen to see who is saying what about a particular topic, including TweetGrid and Twazzup. I learned that "retweeting" later allows you reach a different group of people, and thereby makes you a better listener.

Jay Thompson on Getting Your Blog On

This was the most topical for me, as I am struggling to blog consistently. Jay talked about what to blog about, when to blog, and most importantly to focus more on consistent, passionate content than search engine optimization (SEO). Jay's presentation can be found here.

Rob Hahn on Social Media Heresies

Rob's premise was simple yet powerful: focus on making a better product or providing a better service, and let your fans use social media for you. He cited Apple as a company that does nothing directly in the social media space, but is obviously highly successful and relies heavily on its customers to market for them. Rob's entire presentation can be found here.

Keep an eye on the Virtual Real Estate BarCamp website (or the regular Real Estate BarCamp site) if this stuff interests you and you want to attend one yourself. Lots of knowledge, no cost!

October Events

We have a busy month ahead. Here are just a few of the things we've got on tap in October:

Week of October 5th

10/8 (8AM - 4PM): Real Estate BarCamp: Lynchburg - We will be sponsoring and attending this "un-conference" in historic Lynchburg, VA where a lucky attendee will win an Amazon Kindle e-reader (courtesy of Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services).

10/8 (10:30AM - 1:30PM): Short Sale Strategies Class in Crofton, MD. Providing 3 MD continuing education credits.

Week of October 12th

10/12 (3PM - 4:30PM): "To Tweet or Not to Tweet" Webinar hosted by Derek Massey. Details to follow, but this will be an interactive webinar where Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services President Derek Massey will discuss Twitter, how to use it, how not to use it, and offer some strategies for meeting and staying connected with new people.

10/13 (7:30AM - 6PM): Northern Virginia Association of REALTORs (NVAR) Convention and Trade Show. Several Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services team players will be in attendance to meet and network with Northern Virginia real estate professionals and learn what's new.

10/15 (10AM - 1PM): Title Insurance Class in Westminster, MD. Providing 3 MD continuing education credits.

Week of October 19th

10/22 (7AM - 7PM): Greater Baltimore Board of REALTORS (GBBR) REALTOR Fair. We will be exhibiting at this, GBBR's biggest networking event of the year. Stop by the booth, say hello, and get your Nintendo Wii fix!

10/22 (10:30AM - 1PM): Contracts to Closing Class in Crofton, MD. Providing 2.5 MD continuing education credits.

10/22 (12PM - 1PM): Short Sale Update Lunch and Learn in Leesburg, VA.

Week of October 26th

10/27 (9AM - 4PM): Real Estate BarCamp: DC. We will be attending and sponsoring this "un-conference" which will be taking place in Herndon, VA at the NVAR building.

10/29 (10AM - 12PM): Contract Review Class in Westminster, MD. Providing 2 MD continuing education credits.

If you have any questions or want additional information on any of these events, shoot us an email at infoMASettlementcom or comment below.

Top 10 Reasons to attend a Real Estate Bar Camp

As I’ve mentioned a few times in past posts, we have become involved in the Real Estate Bar Camp movement. As defined by its website, RE Bar Camp is “an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees.”

Having attended one and signed up for another (Philly, May 27th), here is my stab at the Top 10 Reasons to attend an RE Bar Camp in your area:

1. You will witness real estate experts sharing the secrets of their success. To everyone. For free.

2. You will definitely learn about one new social media site you didn’t know before.

3. You will probably get to meet Jeff Turner.

4. If you are brand new to this social media thing, you will be embraced (Caveat: just bring an open mind with you).

5. If you are a super tech geek black-belt ninja, you will still learn something new.

6. If you have been following people on Twitter who are also attending, you will find 99% of them to be just as great face to face.

7. The pre-event happy hour (sometimes called Beer for Bloggers) is where the real networking and discussion happens.

8. You will learn what whuffie and YEO are. And why both will help your business.

9. You will interact with people. Not brands, speakers, companies, sales pitches, awards or agendas. Real ideas, real people.

10. You will meet real estate agents who love what they do and are proud to be agents.