The Seattle Specialist

CB Bain Wants You to Share Listings on Facebook and Twitter

Published July 9, 2009

Coldwell Banker Bain has just added Facebook and Twitter link icons under the photos of their Listing Detail pages so buyers and sellers can easily share listings with their friends. (see their Press Release)

The Twitter post link has the added benefit of “hashtaging” the MLS number. So agents and the public can search to see comments or RTs (re-tweets).

With the rapid growth of these social networks brokerages and agents are making it easier for buyers and sellers to post and share information in places where their friends and family are gathering. I have added a property search feature right inside Facebook for the same reason. People can search for properties without having to go to an outside of Facebook or registering.

There are some exciting developments on the way to enhance the real estate buying and selling process through social media sites. As Facebook,Twitter, and other social media networks continue to grow and dominate the internet you will see more and more of this kind of integration.

Sellers Disclosure Statement changes coming

Published July 7, 2009

As of July 26, 2009, changes to the Seller Disclosure Act will go into effect and will require the use of new forms. The NWMLS (Northwest Multiple Listing Service) is revising and publishing these forms: Form 17 (Seller Disclosure Statement - Improved Property), Form 17C (Seller Disclosure Statement - Unimproved Property), and Form 35 (Inspection Addendum).

Because of the revisions in the Seller Disclosure Act, changes in the language used in the forms was needed to remove redundancy and confusion. Sellers must provide a new version of Form 17 or Form 17C for transactions executed on or after July 26, 2009 in order to avoid disputes regarding the effective delivery of the Form 17.

Here is a summary of the revisions to the new Form 17 and Form 17C (revision date 7/09):

• New question regarding defects in the operation of the “water system” (e.g. pipes, tank, pump, etc.)
• Revised question: “Has the roof leaked” to: “Has the roof leaked within the last five years”
• New question regarding wood burning appliances and whether the appliances are certified as “clean burning appliances.”
• Revised questions in the Environmental section regarding flooding and standing water on the property.
• Revised questions in the Environmental section regarding fill dirt and waste.
• Revised question in the Environmental section to clarify that the seller need only answer yes if there is electrical utility equipment on the property that does not provide service to the property.
• Revised question in the Environmental section regarding radio towers interference with telephone reception.
• New question asking for the contact information for a representative from the homeowner’s association who can provide association documents to the buyer. Please note that the failure of the association to provide requested information does not constitute the seller’s failure to provide Form 17.
• Other revisions to clean up the form.

For more information and to read the Session Law, go to: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1420&year=200

(information obtained from the NWMLS)

The Growing Pains of Roosevelt

Published June 21, 2009

The Roosevelt Neighborhood in Seattle is struggling with a contentious property owner who wants to make some major zoning changes in order to build 16-story apartment buildings along 65th Street that will have a substantial impact on the neighborhood. With North Link Light Rail coming some tough choices are ahead.

Seattle Channel 21 (a service of the City of Seattle) aired a great show/podcast earlier this month on the City Inside/Out program that had a panel discussion with Jim O’Halloran from the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association and the Ed Hewson from the Roosevelt Development Group talk about the pros and cons of this major neighborhood development. It’s a half-hour show. But if you have an interest in the area, or are interested in issues related to growth in Seattle, it’s well worth the time to watch. Here it is:

The Puget Sound Regional Council says between now and the year 2040 1.7 million people will move into the Seattle area. (visualize moving all the people in Portland INTO Seattle). So these types of discussions are going to need to take place in a lot of Seattle neighborhoods over the coming years.

Consulting a Condo Specialist Attorney

Published June 17, 2009

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down and have a long discussion with an attorney who specializes in all-things-condo, Kevin Britt. We both run into similar problems on a regular basis, but from different perspectives. It was great to get his insights on issues and he asking me lots of questions too.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

Kevin did a great job of outlining the details of our discussion, so I will just refer you to his blog:

Assessing the Condominium Market - A Conversation with Jim Reppond

It’s Official - I’m Certified!

Published June 6, 2009

I am now officially certified by the State of Washington to teach a variety of technology and real estate related topics. Agents can receive required clockhours for State approved classes that I teach for the purpose of real estate license renewal. I am not changing my job and I am still a 24/7 active real estate Associate Broker at Coldwell Banker Bain. But as many of you know I have been unofficially teaching and leading classes and seminars for years. And while I have been certified by the University of Cambridge to teach for over 20 years, I have never been certified here in Washington State or for real estate related clockhour classes.

I don’t think this will change much for me. I plan to offer several technology-related courses for agents who want to improve their skills in areas that will enhance their professionalism and help them serve their clients and the public at large better. But I’m pretty busy with my main job of helping buyers and sellers with their real estate goals and plan to stay focused on that as my primary objective.

That being said, let me know if you need someone to teach a class….

What social networks are agents marketing on?

Published May 26, 2009

I’ve been curious which social networking sites agents have been marketing their listings on now that newspapers a starting to disappear. More and more sellers are accepting the internet as the primary marketing avenue to promote their homes. And fewer and fewer sellers are demanding their agents take out ineffective ads in newspapers or magazines as readership has been plummeting.

It’s hard to get accurate data because most sources are trying to promote their own services or have their own agenda. So I thought it was interesting when Top Producer (makers of the most widely used real estate database systems for real estate agents) did their own internal poll. These are a wide range of agents over all geographical and demographic markets. So I think it is probably pretty random sampling.

Here’s some of the results they published on their site.

By far the most popular place to promote listings was Facebook (at 34%), followed by LinkedIn (17%) and Twitter (15%). All other sites ranked in low single digits and only 12% of agents indicated they were not using social media sites at all. Furthermore, only slightly over 3% indicated they did not know what a social networking site was. I bet that is dramatically lower than even six months ago. The poll was taken from around the beginning of April 2009 and these results account for 853 votes to date.

Image by cambodia4kidsorg via Flickr

I think it’s worth noting that Top Producer didn’t bother to consider YouTube or Flickr as a social media websites, which they clearly are. Nor did they consider other internet promotional sites widely used by agents like Craigslist or Zillow. Still, I think this poll speaks volumes about how we agents have changed our marketing in such a short time.

I saw this ad on the TV show In Plain Sight last night, where Coldwell Banker was the “Exclusive Sponsor” (whatever THAT means!). It’s interesting that now just about everyone is coming out with an real estate iPhone Application. Zillow’s iPhone app is ranking in the top twenty downloads of all iPhone apps these days, and I suspect you’ll see more companies come out with these as time goes on.
Coldwell Banker iPhone TV Advertisement

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