The first week in October is rich with development opportunities and events for California REALTORS.  The CAR Expo, Tech Tuesday, and RE BarCamp SV are all being held in San Jose from October 5^th-October 9^th.   Here are further details on all of these great business opportunities:

California REALTOR Expo 2009:

The California Association of REALTORS Annual Trade Show and educational summit (CAR Expo 2009) runs from Wednesday, October 7^th – Friday October 9^th at the San Jose Convention Center.  The event is California’s largest real estate trade show and draws “thousands of California’s key franchise executives, top producers and movers and shakers every year for educational networking, and professional development opportunities”.  The Expo website If you are interested in learning, getting a pulse on the trends impacting real estate today, and networking with agents and real estate influentials from all over the state, the CAR Expo is the place to be.

• Conference Website:  http://expo.car.org
• Dates:  October 6-8, 2009
• Registration:   http://expo.car.org/register.html
• Twitter Account:  @CAREALTORS
• Twitter Event Hashtag:  #CARExpo

Tech Tuesday:

This is a CAR sponsored, day long technology training preceding the official CAR Expo and is chalk full of technology training and tips to help REALTORS in their business.  Tech Tuesday sessions include:

• Text, Tweet, and Sell:  A Dialogue on Tech’s Possibilities for Today’s Agents
• The Benefits of Blogging
• Media is the New Marketing:  How to Attract the Right Attention
• Best Practices for Building an Online Presence
• Social Media and Social Networking:  A Guide for REALTORS

Further details on Tech Tuesday can be found here:

• Conference Website: Tech Tuesday
• Date:  Tuesday, October 6^th, 2009
• Registration:  http://expo.car.org/register.html
• Twitter Event Hashtag:  #TTCarExpo

If you are attending Tech Tuesday, be sure to join in on the Tweetup (a meet-up promoted on Twitter) at Tanq Bar (San Jose Marriott – within walking distance of the San Jose Convention Center) starting at 5:15 pm.  Come mingle with fellow Tech Tuesday attendees over a drink (everyone is responsible for their own food/drinks).  It’s free to attend and Tech Tuesday attendance is not required to join the Tweetup.  More info and RSVP list is here at Twtvite.

RE BarCamp Silicon Valley:

On Monday, October 5^th in downtown San Jose, there is a free, day-long event, that attracts the most progressive of Realtors.  RE Bar Camp was born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment.  There is no set schedule or topics.  Instead, the day is shaped by the passionate real estate professionals who gather and discuss how technology and social media can benefit the real estate business.  Any forward thinking REALTOR who is interested in applying technology to their business should attend.  It is an outstanding way to network with industry elite and become engaged in discussions that can truly transform your business.  The event is free, but you do have to RSVP here to attend.

• Conference Website:  www.rebarcamp.com/siliconvalley
• Date:  Monday, October 5, 2009 8:30 am-4:30 pm
• Registration:  http://rebarcamp.com/siliconvalley/?page_id=6
• Twitter Hashtag:  #REBCSV

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The Federal Government, in an effort to stimulate the economy, enacted a first time home buyer tax credit earlier this year that would give homebuyers up to $8,000 to help offset the costs of purchasing a home. Many REALTORS and homebuyers alike, have asked for the refund to be “given back” during the close of escrow. Since the program is a “tax credit” the money comes back from the government when the new homeowner files their income tax return as opposed to receiving the money at the close of escrow. Escrow officers want their clients to know this ahead of time to help avoid frustration when a buyer thinks they will receive an additional $8000 to help them close their escrow.

To help avoid confusion, here is more information about the tax credit and the form that needs to be filled out in order to apply for the tax credit.

The credit:

• Applies to purchases that close after April 8, 2008, and before Dec. 1, 2009.
• Applies only to homes used as a taxpayer’s principal residence.
• Reduces a taxpayer’s tax bill or increases his or her refund, dollar for dollar.
• Is fully refundable, meaning the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax owed.
• The credit is claimed using Form 5405.

This year, qualifying taxpayers who buy a home before Dec. 1, 2009, can claim the credit on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns. They do not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their main home for 36 months after the purchase date. They can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately.

The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000 or $150,000 for joint filers.

For purposes of the credit, you are considered to be a first-time homebuyer if you, and your spouse if you are married, did not own any other main home during the three-year period ending on the date of purchase.

The IRS has a new YouTube video $8000 Tax Credit Explained and other resources that provide details about the tax credit.

This is not intended as legal or tax advice. To fully understand the tax credit and apply successfully for the refund, please consult a tax professional.

Every Tuesday, here at the American Trust Escrow blog, we post Technology Tips designed to help you, the REALTOR®, grow your business, keep up to date on the latest technologies, and move you forward into the new era of real estate.

As the internet becomes an ever increasing part of the business of selling real estate, it is important for Realtors to keep an eye on how they are being perceived online.  With at least 84% of real estate clients using the internet (according to NAR), it is a safe bet that the people you are working with look for you online.  I’d go as far as to say that every client you are working with Google’s you.  What do they see?

Google yourself and find out.

Google Alerts

Now that you know what is out there about you, would you like to be able to automatically keep up with what is being said about you on the internet?  Google has a simple (and free) tool called Google Alerts that let’s you monitor yourself (or anything else of interest to you) on the internet.

You can set up Google alerts so that any time your name appears on the internet, you get an email.  It’s easy.  Here is how:

1.  Go to Google Alerts:  www.google.com/alerts
2.  Fill in the Form to tell Google what you want to track:

In this example, I’m telling Google to search the internet for:

• Search Term:  My name “stacey harmon”.  VERY IMPORTANT DETAIL THAT MATTERS - You want to put your name in quotes.  This way, Google will only send you alerts when your full name appears, otherwise, it will send you an alert any time either your first name OR your last name appears on the web (and this can become very annoying).
• Type:  “Comprehensive” vs. a simple search of my name in blogs, or web pages, or videos.  Comprehensive means I want to receive an alert any time my name shows up in any of those places.
• How often:  You can choose to receive an email alert “once a day”, “once a week” or “as-it-happens”.  I’ve chosen “as-it-happens” because I want to know as soon as something is posted on the internet about me.
• Your Email:  Enter the email address you want to have the alert sent to.  It doesn’t have to be a gmail account, although if you have a gmail account, it makes it simpler to manage multiple Google alerts that you set up.

3.   Select “Create Alert” and you will see this message:

4.  Go to your email and click on the blue link after “Verify this Google Alert request” in the verification email that was sent to you:

You are now confirmed and will receive an email anytime your name (as you typed it in the Google alert) appears on the internet.

Google Alert Considerations:

• You Have a Common Name: If you have a common name, you will receive alerts anytime that your name appears on the internet and it might not be content related to you.  For example, there is a woman named Stacey Harmon Deckard who lives in Indiana.  Sometimes her name will appear on the web and I will receive an alert with information about her because my Google alert searches for the term “Stacey harmon”.
• Name Commonly Misspelled? If your name is hard to spell, or commonly misspelled, consider setting up a separate Google alert for the misspelling of your name as well.  For example, people commonly spell my name “stacy” (without the “e”) so I also have a Google alert for “Stacy Harmon” so that if people reference me in a blog and spell my name incorrectly, it will come up in my google alerts.

Google alerts are a simple and easy way to follow the conversation about yourself online and in social media.  Go set one up today and start tracking how you appear on the web!

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The term REO stands for Real Estate Owned properties.  These are properties that are owned by a bank or lender and are for sale to the public. These properties were reverted back to the bank after the homeowner was foreclosed upon.  If the home fails to sell at auction, the bank will put up the property up for sale through a Realtor much in the same way a homeowner lists their property for sale with a Realtor when selling their home.  The key difference with REO listings is that the bank (or lender) is the seller verses the homeowner as the seller in a traditional listing.

REO properties are a hot commodity right now as roughly half of the foreclosures going to auction are reverting to REOs. More and more people are seeing that they can get a great price on an REO property and still enjoy a buying process that is very similar to buying a home in the traditional fashion.  However, because the property is owned by the bank or lender, in an REO purchase transaction, there are a few differences in the escrow process from a traditional home purchase transaction.

REO listings offer viewings and inspections just like traditional home buying; the big difference is really in the often rock bottom price and the closing procedures. This is because banks are not in the business of owning Real Estate; their interest is to resell the property as quickly as possible to avoid further risk exposure.  As a result, REOs come with a very strict and tight escrow timeline. Most REOs have a 30 day closing, in some states it can be 45 days, and either way banks are not willing to be flexible.

There are a lot of REO properties available right now so if you’re ready to buy and looking for a deal, now is a great time to consider an REO purchase. Your Realtor can advise you on the opportunities and your American Trust Escrow officer can walk you through a detailed explanation of the REO escrow process.

Interested in what you are reading? To automatically receive these Escrow Tips in your email box, subscribe to these articles at the top right corner of this site (www.ateblog.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.

Every Tuesday, here at the American Trust Escrow blog, we post Technology Tips designed to help you, the REALTOR®, grow your business, keep up to date on the latest technologies, and move you forward into the new era of real estate.

Have you ever noticed that little orange icon that appears on web pages and blogs everywhere?  (If you haven’t, after reading this post, you will – trust me!).  Are you curious what it is?  That icon is the symbol and the cornerstone technology that has enabled the explosion of blogging and transformed how information is consumed in a web 2.0 world.  And, it is called RSS.  My personal journey into social media started the day I discovered RSS.  Understanding RSS is what allowed all kinds of doors to open for me in social media and the web 2.0 world.  My hope is that it will for you, too.

The stage has been set for this post.  In previous weeks I have defined “blog”, and discussed in detail the concepts of web 2.0 and social media, and discussed how these pertain to real estate.  If these concepts are still new to you, it will be helpful to review my post on blogs as a basis for learning the power of RSS.

So then, what is RSS?

Most literally, RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication.   But, this is such a bland definition, and one that is generally irrelevant to understanding the true meaning of RSS.   Following are 3 different (outstanding) sources who have a slightly different take on how to describe and understand RSS.  Go with the one that resonates best for you:

If you are a visual learner, here is the Common Craft video explaining RSS in plain English and points out that RSS is “like Netflix compared to the video store”:

Interested in a straightforward, practical explanation of RSS?   A great working explanation of RSS is provided by ProBlogger Darren Rowse who explains RSS as:

RSS is a technology that is being used by millions of web users around the world to keep track of their favorite websites.

In the ‘old days’ of the web to keep track of updates on a website you had to ‘bookmark’ websites in your browser and manually return to them on a regular basis to see what had been added.

The problems with bookmarking

• You as the web surfer had to do all the work
• It can get complicated when you are trying to track many websites at once
• You miss information when you forget to check your bookmarks
• You end up seeing the same information over and over again on sites that don’t update very often

RSS Changes Everything

What if you could tell a website to let you know every time that they update? In a sense, this is what RSS does for you.

RSS flips things around a little and is a technology that provides you with a method of getting relevant and up to date information sent to you for you to read in your own time. It saves you time and helps you to get the information you want quickly after it was published.

I find the ‘subscription’ description helpful. It’s like subscribing to a magazine that is delivered to you periodically but instead of it coming in your physical mail box each month when the magazine is published it is delivered to your ‘RSS Reader’ every time your favorite website updates.

Let me say right up front that I’m not the most technically savvy guy going around – but even I can use RSS. At first I found it a little strange to make the change from bookmarking to RSS but I found that when I started that I just couldn’t stop.

Still a little foggy on RSS?  Here is “The Oprah Way” of explaining RSS, courtesy of Stephanie Quilao who explains RSS “The Oprah Way” in her great, non-technical post (read her full article here):

So, to make RSS much easier to understand, in Oprah speak, RSS stands for: I’m “Ready for Some Stories”. It is a way online for you to get a quick list of the latest story headlines from all your favorite websites and blogs all in one place. How cool is that?

Suppose you have 50 sites and blogs that you like to visit regularly. Going to visit each website and blog everyday could take you hours. With RSS, you can “subscribe” to a website or blog, and get “fed” all the new headlines from all of these 50 sites and blogs in one list, and see what’s going on in minutes instead of hours. What a time saver!

So, how does this all relate to real estate?

Are you interested in offering creative ways to gain more exposure for your clients?  Or maybe you are you interested in simply expanding your knowledge base of what you can do for your clients.  How about syndicating your listings information out to the internet?  Maybe you just want to stay on top of what is going on, or learn from others.  As Keller Williams Simi Valley, California agent Ted Mackel points out in the following video, these are just some of the benefits that RSS has afforded his real estate business.  Ted created this video as part of a 2008 MyTechOpinion.com contest asking for submissions from real estate folks about which technology has impacted your business the most.  Take a look:

You too can benefit from the power of RSS.  As a first step, I suggest signing up for a Google account (if you don’t already have one) and sign up for their feed reader.  Then, every time you see that RSS logo out on the web on a site that interests you, add that site to your reader.  It will open all kinds of doors for you in this internet and social media world and help you to better serve your clients as social media becomes an ever increasing part of real estate.

Interested in what you are reading? To automatically receive these Tuesday Technology Tips in your email box, subscribe to these articles at the top right corner of this site (www.ATEBlog.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.

If you are either in the process of buying or selling a foreclosure property, understanding the basic terms associated with the process will help you ask appropriate questions of your REALTOR, the escrow officer, the lender and/or other parties involved in the transaction. This can expedite the timeframe of the process for everyone involved.

Below are the most common terms used in connection with the foreclosure process:

A Deed of Trust:

A Deed of Trust is the security for your loan. It is the document that is recorded in the public records.

A deed of trust contains three parties:

• The Trustor, which is the borrower
• The Trustee, which is an entity that holds “bare or legal” title
• The Beneficiary, which is the lender

The deed of trust is an instrument that identifies the following:

• Original loan amount
• Legal description of the property being used as security for the mortgage
• The parties
• Inception and maturity date of the loan
• Provisions of the mortgage and requirements
• Late fees
• Legal procedures
• Acceleration and alienation clauses
• Riders, if any, regarding such clauses as prepayment penalties or terms of an adjustable rate mortgage

Notice of Default:

Lenders file in the public records where the property is located a public notice called the Notice of Default. It states that the borrower is in default, behind in the mortgage payments, and if the payments are not paid up, the lender will seize the home. In California, lenders typically do not file a Notice of Default until the borrower is at least 60 days behind in making payments. Lenders must then wait 90 days. During that 90-day period, the borrower has the right to make up the back payments and reinstate the loan. After 90 days, the lender is required to publish a notice in the newspaper for 20 days and then may sell the property to the highest acceptable bidder on the courthouse steps. If no acceptable bid is received, the trustee then conveys the property to the lender.

Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure:

A potential option taken by a mortgagor (a borrower) to avoid foreclosure under which the mortgagor deeds the collateral property (the home) back to the mortgagee (the lender) in exchange for the release of all obligations under the mortgage.

Foreclosure:

Legal proceeding by which a borrower’s rights to a mortgaged property may be extinguished if the borrower fails to live up to the obligations agreed to in the loan contract. The lender may then declare the entire debt due and owing and may seek to satisfy it by foreclosing. Foreclosure is commonly by a court-decreed sale of the property to the highest bidder, who is often the lender.

As we all know, foreclosures continue to be in the news and continue to dominate the market. This means that REALTORS, struggling homeowners, and potential buyers need to have information about the process and terms of foreclosure in order to make important decisions about the sale or purchase of a property. Knowing the terminology is an important step in that process.

Interested in what you are reading? To automatically receive these Escrow Tips in your email box, subscribe to these articles at the top right corner of this site (www.ateblog.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.

Every Tuesday, here at the American Trust Escrow blog, we post Technology Tips designed to help you, the REALTOR®, grow your business, keep up to date on the latest technologies, and move you forward into the new era of real estate.

Are you texting yet?  If not, it’s time to get on board!

Why Text Message?

Text messaging provides a great, and increasingly common way for you to communicate with your clients and for them to communicate with you.  Maybe you want to confirm a showing with them, send them a quick message about a listing, or they want to let you know they are running late.

Texting can be very beneficial.  Here are a few reasons why:

• Time saver:  Texting tends to get right to the point (who wants to type out a bunch of pleasantries and small talk?).  A simple “be there soon” gets the message across quickly and succinctly alleviating the need to call and explain the situation.  Text messaging can also eliminate the need to carry on a long-winded conversation with someone.
• It’s Easier:  It is easier to simply read a message on their phone rather than have to call into a voice mail system to retrieve messages.
• Less Intrusive:  Texting can be a discreet form of communication especially when you or your client are in a situation where phone calls are inappropriate.  Texting provides a more subtle, less intrusive option than talking on the phone or in person.
• Not a Harsh Interruption:  Texting is far more subtle than a phone ringing (which would you rather have happen in a movie theater, for example).  The phone can be set to silent and the person can still read a new text message that comes in without the need to have the phone ring, or call into voice mail to hear what you are trying to communicate.

Considerations:

• Texting isn’t free.  Check with your cell phone provider for how much texting you have on your plan.  Do you have a limited number of text messages per month?  What is the charge if you go over your limit?  Generally it is about .10 – .15 cents per text which may not seem like a lot, but can add up quickly.  It may be more cost effective to switch to an unlimited texting plan with your cell phone provider.  Either way, it is something to watch out for.
• It is against the law to text while driving in California.  Don’t do it.
• Understanding texting will help you to understand Twitter.  Twitter is basically broadcast texting (you send one message, and multiple people can see it).  If you are comfortable with texting, you will be more likely to understand and be comfortable with Twitter.  And Twitter is starting to make a splash in the real estate world (more information on this coming in future posts).

Texting Vocabulary

You aren’t the only one who wonders what all those abbreviated words mean.  Texting has, in essence, a language of its own.  Brevity reigns in the texting world and in order to be able to decipher messages and send quick replies, you should know the common shorthand.  Here is a guide to some of the most common you will find in the texting and Twitter world:

2gtbt – too good to be true
2nite – tonight
b4n – bye for now
btw -  by the way
cu -  see you (as in cu l8r)
eod – end of day
f2f  -  face to face
ftr -  for the record
ftw – for the win
fwiw -  for what its worth
fyi – for your information
gtg – got to go
imo/imho – in my opinion/in my humble opinion
irl – in real life (often used in Twitter to reference meeting someone irl)
jk – just kidding
l8r – later
lmao/lmfao – laugh my a** off/laugh my f*** a** off (not the most charming of text abbreviations but very commonly used in conversational social media)
lol – laughing out loud
nbd – no big deal
oh – overheard
omg – oh my god
pls  – please
rotfl – rolling on the floor laughing
re – regarding.  Can also mean “real estate” depending on context.
thx – thanks
ttyl – talk to you later
ty – thank you
wOOt – hooray/congratulations
ur – your
yw – your welcome

:)  -  happy face for humor, laughter, friendliness, sarcasm
:D  – super happy/toothy smile, broad smile, etc.
:(  -  sad face for sadness, anger, upset
;)  – wink
:/  – wry face
:P  – tongue out for just kidding
((hug)) -  a hug
{{{{hug}}}}  – really big hug
<g> – grin
<3   – heart on its side to show love.  Ex: I <3 re = I love real estate

ALL CAPS = Yelling

Also remember that Google is your friend.  If you run across a text shorthand that you don’t know, just put it into Google and you are certain to get an answer.  You can also check out this Lingo 2 Word Translator.

Now that you have the benefits and terminology to successfully text, it’s time to give it a try. TTYL! :)

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Demystifying the escrow process for buyers is part of our goal here at American Trust Escrow.  One of the ways we accomplish this is by providing buyer’s a detailed opening package. This package contains a particular form called a Vesting Form that is integral to the escrow process and to the buyer’s future interest in the property. Simply put, it requires the buyer to outline how they will hold title to their new property.

The vesting of a title should be given special consideration because it specifies who is responsible for the costs, benefits, and transferability of a property. The value of real property is significant and with a little forethought, conflict can be avoided down the road with partners, creditors, spouses and/or heirs, as well as the Internal Revenue Service.

The most common forms of holding title include:

1. Sole Ownership

   1. As a single man or woman
   2. As a Married man or woman
   3. As a registered domestic partner, man or woman.

2. Co-ownership

   1. Community property, which is the presumed form for married couples. This entitles each party to equal parts of the property.
   2. Community property with rights of survivorship, which automatically transfers the property to the survivor in the face of a death.

3. Joint Tenancy

   1. This includes equal interests with rights of survivorship, but where the partners aren’t necessarily married.

4. Tenancy in Common

   1. In this form, the parties’ interests are broken up, and the costs and benefits are then divided as such.

It’s important to remember that the form of title that you choose has inheritance and/or tax implications. Your escrow officer at American Trust Escrow is more than happy to explain the differences between the various manners in which title can be held. However, it is beyond our scope to actually recommend what would be best for a buyer. For that, the buyer should consult an attorney, CPA or estate planner who is more familiar with the buyer’s specific situation.  Research and clear communication with one of these resources will help make the transaction a smooth success.

Interested in what you are reading? To automatically receive these Escrow Tips in your email box, subscribe to these articles at the top right corner of this site (www.ateblog.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.

Every Tuesday, here at the American Trust Escrow blog, we post Technology Tips designed to help you, the REALTOR®, grow your business, keep up to date on the latest technologies, and move you forward into the new era of real estate.

If you are one of the 250 Million Facebook users, and you also have an iPhone, then last Thursday’s release of the Facebook 3.0 application for iPhone was an event you should pay attention to.  Apple approved the long awaited update to the Facebook application for the iPhone, giving users huge functionality improvements over the prior Facebook application.

For those who are using Facebook from your computer, this updated iPhone application extends the functionality you experience on your computer to your iPhone so you can keep current, interact, and connect from the field. And, as we all all know, the busy Realtor has a hard time finding the time to sit in front of their computer.  Now it is easier than ever to keep up from the road.

A full list of functionality improvements are available here at Facebook.com.  Some of the more functional ones for REALTORS on the go who are interested in using social media to build their business include:

• See your friends birthdays: For years, the personal touch of sending a birthday card has been a successful relationship building strategy. With the new iPhone application, you can easily see upcoming birthdays of your Facebook friends (have you friended any of your clients or prospects yet?) and wish them a happy birthday from the road.
• Call your friends from within the Facebook application: If your friend has their phone number in their profile, you can tap the number to call them without having to type in the number or look them up in contacts.
• Make friend requests: Are you at a party and meet someone who you want to friend on Facebook? No need to take their card and wait until you get home, now you you can look them up and send a friend request from the party.
• Like posts and photos: A cornerstone of social media success is engaging others. The new Facebook application makes it as simple to “like” posts and photos from your phone as it is from your computer. This allows you to effectively give quick feedback to your friends posts without having to be back at your office or home computer.
• Create shortcuts to your favorite friends and pages: If you are interested in keeping up with a particular client who is your friend on Facebook, you can now create a shortcut button that takes you directly to that individual users profile.

This list just scratches the surface of enhanced features.  So, head to the App Store from your iPhone and download the Facebook 3.0 application (by the way, the application is free), or download it here from your computer and synchronize your iPhone with your computer.  It is a huge improvement in functionality and usability.  Give it a try!

Interested in what you are reading? To automatically receive these Tuesday Technology Tips in your email box, subscribe to these articles at the top right corner of this site (www.ATEBlog.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.