Facebook for Real Estate? Check out Roost Social Media Toolkit

Looking for new ways to connect with folks in your community? You've probably heard of this thing called Facebook. They even made a movie about it.

But did you know there is a firm in the real estate space that offers not only free webinars but also a free "social media toolkit" for your use?

If you're interested in using Facebook for your real estate business, check out all that Roost has to offer. Starting today and running through the month of February, Roost is offering 20 FREE webinars, conducted by those who really know real estate. For a list of webinar offerings, click here. You'll notice they're very targeted in terms of topic and audience, so regardless of your breadth or depth of Facebook knowledge, you'll likely find something that interests you. And did I mention they're FREE?

Note: We are not affiliated with Roost, nor do we get paid for promoting them. We just like what they do.

Online research for the Maryland real estate professional

The following is a guest post from our Title Searcher / Educational Coordinator Michelle Fine.

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There was a time in the not too distant past when obtaining any information regarding a property required going to the Land Records Department at the Circuit Courthouse and doing research. This often entailed looking through books and pulling oversized plats out of cabinets.

Today in Maryland (and several other states), we have a much more modern option. Most documents regarding real estate properties are now available online, and in just a few moments and with a few clicks, you can do what formerly took hours.

Your first stop when trying to glean information about a property is State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT): On this site, you can look up your property by address, or Tax ID #. It’s simple to use, and requires no use of a password or user name. Here you can locate:

1. the property;
2. who owns it;
3. whether it's owner occupied;
4. the seller's mailing address;
5. the dimensions of both the land and the dwelling ;
6. whether it appears on a plat (and if so, a plat reference);
7. approximate age of the dwelling;
8. assessed value and how that assessment is being phased in; and
9. a history of recent transactions.

Your second stop is Maryland Land Records. This site does require a user name and password to access, but you can easily request one and usually receive confirmation within an hour. With the Liber and Folio that you have gleaned from SDAT you can look up the current title Deed, and with the seller's names, you can research Deeds of Trust, Mortgages, and other liens that have occurred while they have been in title. This is an invaluable tool both for listing and selling agents to make sure that they are aware of precisely who is in title, the description of the property including whether it is Leasehold or Fee Simple and whether it is on a plat or has a metes and bounds description, and an idea of what is owed on the property, including any Condominium or HOA liens.

Your third stop (assuming that the deed reflects that the property is located on a subdivision plat) is the Maryland Plat site. The site requires a usernameand password, but contact us if you need one and we can help you out. Here you can locate your particular lot and see its shape and relation to the community as a whole. The plat customarily provides any building restriction lines, and some easements that impact the property.

There are also a few other sites that we as title professionals use to fully research a property and the parties.

Maryland Judiciary website: Search for docket entries in most state Circuit and District Courts for liens and judgments filed against the parties.

Maryland State Department Database – Corporations and other entities: This is used to check to make sure that an entity selling or buying a property exists to do business in the State of Maryland, and that they are in good standing.

Pacer access to MD Bankruptcy Courts: (this site does require a fee for use): This site is used to check for bankruptcies against the parties involved in the transaction.

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Too much information? Send us an email at info[at]MASettlement[dot]com and we'll do the research for you!

Blogs We Like

To write stuff, you need to read stuff (unless you're Snooki). Our goal is always to provide you with real estate information you can use in your business today, whether it's so you can provide your clients with the latest in title-impacting legislative changes, or new technology to get you in front of new clients. To bring you the best, we read the best. Here is but a sample of what we read:

1000 Watt Consulting Blog: Real estate marketing company 1000 Watt Consulting writes about the latest trends and products in real estate today.

Chris Brogan: While not real estate specific, Chris blogs daily about marketing, technology and progressive business practices.

DSNews.com: The leading source of breaking news and up-to-date information for the mortgage default servicing industry.

The Mortgage Reports: Loan officer extraordinaire Dan Green blogs daily about the latest in mortgage rates, programs and real estate trends.

naked capitalism: A compilation of articles and links about the mortgage industry.

The Notorious R.O.B. and 7DS Perspectives Blog: Real estate consultant Rob Hahn writes long, thought-provoking (and often controversial) posts on all things real estate.

The Phoenix Real Estate Guy: If you're going to read one "broker blog," read Jay Thompson's witty, informational and from-the-gut take on real estate.

Seth Godin's Blog: Best-selling author Godin writes daily quips on business, marketing and new media.

Speaking of Real Estate: Brought to you by the editors of REALTOR® magazine, this blog includes real estate stories as they’re developing and gives the reader the opportunity to provide input.

What about you? What do you read? We'd love to add to our library.

Tech Tip: Get your email when you want it!

We've all been there.

An email arrives in your bloated inbox that you know you will have to address, but not until next week.

Or, you've just sent an email out to someone who should respond to you in one week. You want to make sure you're reminded to follow up in case they don't.

Your options have historically been to:

- Keep it in your inbox in the hopes of reviewing it next week.
- Add it as an item in your calendar.
- Add it as a "to-do" item in a tasking program.
- Set up a separate "hold" or "follow-up" mailbox to review later.
- Tie a string around your finger.
- Forget about it.

Until now.

With Laytr and NudgeMail, you can simply forward any email to a date in the future and you'll get it at that time. It's simple, easy, and a great way to keep your inbox at zero by putting in front of you only what you need to handle today.

Try it now! If you're getting this post via email, forward it to Dec.21@laytr.com or Dec.21@nudgemail.com, and put off reading it for a week. Don't worry, I'll never know. :)

Zillow.com Launches Real Estate Agent "Ratings and Reviews"

Zillow.com, home of the Zestimate, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, and many other online real estate resources, yesterday launched a "Ratings and Reviews" system for real estate professionals.

This new tool will allow consumers to review and rate real estate agents with whom they've previously worked. Zillow believes this will help potential buyers and sellers in selecting an agent that fits their individual needs, AND will help great real estate agents. Details on the program (with a TON of commentary) can be found here.

What do you think? Is this good for the industry? Good for consumers? For agents?

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!

Tech Tips: Posterous.com

Have you thought about blogging, but are a little intimidated by the setup process? Not sure which platform to select? Maybe you just want a place to very quickly add photos while on the go?

www.Posterous.com is a great place to start!

Here are some of the great benefits of using Posterous either as your first blog platform, or (if you're already blogging) another place to collect your thoughts, photos and videos in one place:

- To start, all you have to do is send an email to post@posterous.com. THAT'S IT!

- Easily add text posts by emailing your blog posts to post@posterous.com.

- Easily add photos via email.

- Take videos with your Blackberry, iPhone (or other smartphone) and send straight to Posterous for easy processing and posting.

- Link to your Twitter or Facebook account.

- Very quickly host "discussions" where you can post a question and allow your readers to "discuss" the question via the comments.

Feel free to check out my Posterous account if you want to see how I use it. I keep it light (for the most part) and typically post photos. I have it linked to my Twitter account so each time I post to Posterous, a "tweet" gets sent out notifying my Twitter followers of the new post.

Call or email if I can help you set up your Posterous account today!

Thursday Blog Scan

Real Estate Agents:

Some great discussion going on out there on the interwebs. Are you reading? Thinking? Commenting? Three highlights, by topic:

Agency: Jim Duncan’s Real Central VA blog and Ardell DellaLoggia’s Rain City Guide blog.

Technology: (IDX Scraping v. Indexing discussion): Agent Genius (where story broke) and Realtor.org’s Speaking of Real Estate blog.

Ethics: VARBuzz.com discussion on blog comments and liability.

You are not too old for Facebook! (Social Media is not defined by age)

Did you know that the largest growing demographic in social media is the “34- to 49 years of age? Women aged 55 and older are the largest growing group among bloggers. According to a recent study completed by Nielsen's Social Media and Blogging is now the fourth most popular activity on the internet. The reason this is happening is because Social Media is less about technology than it is about a new way to create and build relationships. Technology tends to be a barrier for a lot of people, but the reality is that if you can send an email you can be part of the Social Media phenomenon. How many times have you had a great story that you wanted to share? Social media has created instant publishing and consumption for stories. For example, I was traveling a major road on my way to an appointment and listening to the radio for the latest news, traffic, etc. when I received a traffic alert from a friend via Twitter. This allowed me to alter my course and stay on time for my appointment. The entire time the local radio station never mentioned this complete road closure. Everyone has been caught in unexpected traffic from time to time, which caused you to be late, right? The person you are meeting with will say they understand, but do they really?

People are investing a lot more time on the internet these days. According to Nielsen's people are averaging 3 hours 10 minutes per person on Facebook alone. That is up 566% from the same time last year. [ I am not certain that I spend that much time on Facebook, but I can tell you that I find myself investing more time on Facebook and less time watching TV. Could Social Media replace traditional forms of media like TV? My behavior has been changed. Interacting with friends and family members is always better than the TV. I have reconnected with friends from elementary school to college and it is like we never missed a beat. When it comes to social media you can be as engaged as you want to be and it is at no cost. Business-minded folks have said for years "that you can't make money by watching TV reruns." Professionally, I have made great connections with past colleagues and I have been introduced to some of my best new customers by using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Web 2.0 is changing our lives by building and rekindling relationships. This is just the beginning...

Source:
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf

Why Should a Title Company be on Twitter?

I admit, I started tweeting because it was novel, fun and the real estate industry was embracing it in spades. Then, almost mid-tweet, it occurred to me that this thing called Twitter may have some legs, and more importantly some utility to a title company. Keeping in mind that as an industry we are part (mostly, really) business-to-business and part business-to-consumer, I thought I'd break down exactly how a title company can benefit from actively using Twitter:

Subject Matter Knowledge: In short, getting into the heads of real estate agents! What are the concerns that many share in the industry? What kind of technology are folks turning to? What blogs are agents creating, reading and commenting on? Sure, real estate is local and provincial, but the biggest challenges and solutions are universal. Twitter allows me to listen in on a conversation between real estate agents and walk away with a much better understanding of their challenges. How can that not make me a better title guy?

Virtual Handshake: I find myself getting to know individual real estate agents on a level I wouldn't otherwise. Through Twitter, I learned of Real Estate Bar Camp Virginia 2009 (REBCVA) taking place in Fredericksburg, VA next week. Forget the fact that without Twitter I wouldn't have learned of the event, I will walk into the Monday evening Happy Hour knowing that Heather Elias REALLY likes coffee, Rob Hahn is a Jets fan, and Matt Wilkins prefers The Simpsons to The Family guy. While I wholeheartedly agree with Heather yet take issue with Rob and Matt, it's nice walking into a setting with some common ground. I already know something about these folks, and am genuinely excited to meet them!

Cross-Platform Marketing: This is the obvious one, but worth mentioning. As a title company, do you have a website? A blog? A Facebook page? Do you want more people going to those sites? With enough real Twitter followers, you can drive traffic to your other content. Obviously this comes at a price...the more you are pushing your product or service, the less people will be interested in you.

Lead Generation: I am not talking about leads for a title transaction (yet). Instead, I am talking about someone looking for a mortgage or a real estate agent, and being able to refer that lead to those loan officers and real estate agents in my network. Where I am a resource or a referral source for my clients, I am of value. Twitter enables that platform.

Chatting with Other Title Guys: Am I the only one seeing an increase in refinance orders? Are these funding delays by Lender X specific to my region, or is everyone experiencing them? How are others handling it? Through Twitter, I learn (almost in real time) what others in the industry are experiencing.

Keeping in Touch With the Team: There are about 5-6 of us who utilize Twitter regularly. I've found it a great way to know who is where, and what they have going on. I was once in a client's parking lot, ready to leave when I got a tweet from a TSR telling me she was still in the office. Since I do not want to miss an opportunity to meet with members of my sales team face to face, I was able to catch up. Without Twitter, I wouldn't have known she was still there.

Bonus (The Open House): So let's say I'm a conveyancing attorney in Massachusetts (technically, I am...just not a practicing one) and I am, as always, looking to get a leg up on my competition. As I am driving to the grocery store to run some errands, I get this tweet on my cell phone.

Whether Ms. Buckley is an existing client or one I have been trying to get business from, could I make an impression by stopping in with a (RESPA compliant) snack tray and some drinks? Offer to help? Let some of my friends know about the open house? This tool allows me to jump at an opportunity I may not otherwise know about.

I have not even mentioned utilizing Twitter as a Customer Service Channel in the same vein as Frank Eliason from Comcast, as I am not sure there are enough of our customers on Twitter (yet!), but I fully expect that to change in coming months.

Like anything, Twitter is but a tool; one tool of many in the marketing toolbox. Without the right sales approach and fundamental operational excellence, Twitter will do nothing to make us a better title company. But assuming we are otherwise running well and efficiently, Twitter helps open a door into our operation and likewise open doors into our clients' needs and wants.

Follow the company and team on Twitter: @MASettlement, @DerekMassey, @DanielColeman, @HarryYazbek, @LynnHenley, @DBHolland and @SusanLloydOC

Generation G

Author and Speaker extraordinaire Jeffrey Gitomer says that "everything being equal people want to do business with their friends and everything being unequal people still want to do business with their friends." Jeffrey is telling us that if you want to make more money you should make more friends. So the question becomes “how do you make more friends?” The most overlooked rules in life are "play nice" and "share". Playing nicely with others and sharing can be a challenge not only for children, but for adults as well. Play nice and share because you value their friendship not because you want something from them.

Where are your friends playing these days? The internet! To be more exact, they are playing on the new and improved Web 2.0 version. Remember when you had an Atari and everyone else had the Nintendo? Well it is time for you to once again put down your joystick and pick up the control pad. Get on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, read a blog, post a comment, or write a blog. Now is the time because Web 2.0 is still new to a lot of people.

I recently came across two related articles about what is known as Generation “G”. You have heard about the Baby Boomers and Generation "X". Let me introduce you to the generation that is not defined by the year in which they were born. This new generation is a mix of all generations known as Generation "G". What is Generation "G" and how do you market to them?

According to TrendWatching.com, Generation G:

Captures the growing importance of 'generosity' as a leading societal and business mindset. As consumers are disgusted with greed and its current dire consequences for the economy—and while that same upheaval has them longing more than ever for institutions that care—the need for more generosity beautifully coincides with the ongoing (and pre-recession) emergence of an online-fueled culture of individuals who share, give, engage, create and collaborate in large numbers.

Copyblogger’s Brian Clark takes the concept a step further and discusses how to market to this generation. While he is speaking mainly to online marketers, this still applies for this in the real estate space:

But here’s the win-win-win-win that results when you give away valuable content in a smart way. Not only do you get attention, and not only are you viewed as generous, you’re viewed as a subject matter expert who demonstrates expertise instead of simply claiming it. You’re building authority with prospects while kicking in the reciprocity effect, so they in turn amplify your authority by talking about you to others. The same process will result in the 4th “win” - Google viewing you as an authority and ranking you high in the search results (more on this in the near future). If you’ve managed to attract attention from prospective customers or clients who view you as a generous expert, AND you’ve got great search results, you’re way ahead of the vast majority of your competition. And yet, you can take it even further thanks to social networking.

How do we apply this to real estate or the title industry?

• Create content that consumers and real estate professionals can call upon 24/7 to help them with whatever issue they have.
• Ensure “Salespeople” are resources, equipped with the knowledge and willingness to help on transactions they are not going to profit on.
• Create hotlines and helpdesk email platforms (manned by real people) to take in questions and answer them timely.
• Be where the people are, namely Facebook and Twitter.
• Where proper and legal, bring service failure resolution out into the open so people can see how it happened, and what you did to fix it.
  

Running a business with transparency, honesty and integrity is not a novel concept. The novelty resides in the fact that these current times demand it, and the current technology not only allows for it, but supports and encourages it!

We're on Facebook!

Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services now has a Facebook page. Please stop in and become a fan!

Thank you Devin Holland (our Salisbury and Ocean City, MD Title Service Rep) for spearheading this little project.

Inbox Zero

I can't stand a cluttered email inbox. Or a cluttered desk, table or credenza. OK, so I don't even have a credenza, it just sounds classy to say. Fortunately, with less paper, physical clutter is less prominent, and I can more easily maintain a neat desk, table, and (fictitious) credenza.

But what about the email inbox?

Several years ago, I was given Gina Trapani's Lifehacker book by my father. Within those pages I found the system I still use today, The Trusted Trio. Click the link for the full blog article.

I've added some modifications:

• I replaced "Follow Up" with "Action" mostly because it appears alphabetically at the top of my Outlook list. Also, because it sounds better to Act then to Follow Up.
• I allow for 2 transitory/temporary folders. When I was transitioning from NH to MD, I started keeping a emails in a separate Mid-Atlantic folder so as to not confuse the 2 companies.
• I have a folder called "My Team" with subfolders for each Leader. This is handy during Guided Coaching sessions to monitor progress on certain strategies and gameplans.

The single greatest concept I learned from this book is this: applications today allow you to search contents easily. You don't need separate files to keep things organized, like a physical filing cabinet. Unlike traditional/physical storage systems, less division is better with electronic files.