Club Chaos Agents - All Things Hollish, Wacked, and Jacked

If you think that the phrase Super Bowl® is in the public domain, think again. The mark is owned by the NFL and its use is strictly monitored and controlled by the football confederation.

Most real estate agents probably don’t think this topic has any application to the business of selling properties. After all, we don’t hawk pizza or televisions or beer.

But using the phrase to promote a commercial endeavor, such as a “Super Bowl® Open House” probably requires a license from the NFL.

Fair use of the expression is likely limited to stories about the game itself. For instance, if you are writing about events during the game or even a journalistic diatribe about fair use of the mark!

Would the NFL issue a cease and desist order to an agent for violating the trademark? Probably not, but the law is the law and if we profess to follow the rules then we should willingly comply with them.

As we plan our “Big Game” parties and celebrations, we must keep in mind that fun is fun, but business is business.

And the two shall not mix!

Disclaimer: The writer is neither an attorney nor an expert on trademark issues. The content contained hereinis only the opinion of the writer. When dealing with any legal issue, always seek the advice of an attorney.

The requirements for real estate licensure vary from state to state. In many jurisdictions, getting a real estate license is a lot easier than getting one to cut hair.

Many suggest that the standard be raised and that more education should be demanded in order to sell real estate.

And while some decry this as a “protectionist” attitude from incumbent agents in order to eliminate competition, I see it differently.

Due to the changes in the actual practice in real estate sales and the ever increasing threat of litigation, strengthening of the licensure process would serve to protect the licensee as well as the public.

The ability to get a license quickly and easily is not a boon. It is a curse.

How much better would it be to send a newly licensed agent into the real world educated and informed?

The agent would benefit as much as anyone.

And be better equipped to serve the public.

There was a time when the MLS was king. Multiple Listing Services fulfilled a specific void in data aggregation and provided a unique source of information that was easily shared by real estate professionals.

Each MLS has its own propriety system for the collection and dissemination of data. In some places, such as Atlanta Georgia, different MLS services compete for membership.

But the simple fact of the matter is that the advent and general acceptance of the Internet as THE venue for information service has rendered the MLS as obsolete. As a matter of fact, even the large aggregator sites should consider their days as numbered.

As search engines become more and more sophisticated, the individual platform will ultimately yield to the enormity of the Internet as a single connected entity that can be indexed and searched at will without the need for third party intervention.

I am seriously considering “going it alone” without an MLS and retaining complete control of my data and content.

It may seem radical now.

By the end of the decade it will be the norm.

Some things should be common sense. If someone tells you that business is slow, or that they are having trouble making ends meet, the best response may NOT be something along the lines of “oh really? I am having my best year ever.”

How much better would it be to say something like “I’m doing okay, is there anything I can do to help you get things going again?”

People that are hurting need support and not a reinforcement of their failures. Not everyone has adapted quickly enough to the current market to maintain the same level of business as in the past.

There are ways to help that may be mutually beneficial. Could an experienced agent be a useful addition to your team? Is there some way that your combination of lead generation and another agent’s people skills be a profitable match?

Empathy can only take you so far. Working towards a real solution can take you the rest of the way!

And it could be both cathartic and lucrative!

The woodpile and the furnace grate
Await the tardy guest waylaid.
Is Winter past or only late…
Asleep, to stir another day?
              (R Weisser 2012) 

It seems as if we haven’t has any Winter at all this year here in Newnan Georgia.

As a matter of fact, even though it’s still January, the yellow bells and jonquils are already blooming.

And although we enjoy a relatively mild climate here in the Southeast, we do occasionally get a real taste of Winter, as these photographs from previous years will attest!

Here's wishing you snow if you want it, and sunshine and warm breezes if you don't!

Let me state up front that I could not work for me. After doing things my way for so many years I have become somewhat set in my ways.

I have always taken pride in the fact that I have the ability to put on so many different hats to get the job done. And I have always been reticent when it comes to paying for something that I can do myself.

But there are some days when I wish I could tell the “boss” to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.

I am my own harshest critic. I demand a lot and my expectations are high. When I fall short I have a hard time letting go.

No one is perfect. We all make mistakes.

Easier said than accepted!

I remember the first time I ever …

Saw a color TV. It was at my great-uncle’s house. I was told that he was very wealthy!

Used a touch-tone phone. We all marveled at the fact that we no longer had to “dial” the phone number.

Ate my first piece of shrimp. I was eighteen years old. Back in those days, we didn’t get around much, and shrimp was not as readily available as it is today.

Warmed food in a microwave oven. We take it for granted now, but it was quite a revolution back in the day!

Used my first computer. It was an IBM 360 and I used a keypunch to enter my program via a cardreader.

Bought my first house. It was 1979 and was much easier than I thought that it would be. I saved up my down-payment and after signing a few papers, I had a brand new home with an FHA 245 negative amortization but fully assumable loan.

Was I apprehensive about taking the plunge and buying a house? Actually, not at all. Owning a home was the American Dream and although I was relatively naïve about the process, I have never looked back.

In the ensuing six years I purchased four different homes. I actually enjoyed moving in those days. Then I settled down and stayed in a house until it was owned free and clear.

There is nothing frightening about buying a house. You have to live somewhere anyway, so why not have complete control of your residential destiny?

As far as I am concerned, nothing matches the self-satisfaction that results from owning your own home.

Is it still the American Dream?

That’s up for each individual to decide.

But to me, the notion of living in a house that belongs to someone else is a nightmare!

If I were elected President of the United States the first thing I would do is press Congress into passing a law that would ban all importation of petroleum in ten years.

Ten years doesn’t seem like that long of a time. But it was more than enough time to initiate a space program and send men to the moon and return them safely with 1960’s technology.

How were we able to do it? The space program became a NATIONAL PRIORITY. The brightest and the best minds were assembled and funding was provided with one sole purpose:

Get the job done!

There are many cheaper, cleaner, and more readily available sources of energy than petroleum. The only thing standing in the way of energy independence is powerful lobbying from big oil and a lack of determination to wean ourselves from fossil fuels.

It should be a national priority. It can be done. I would love to see it happen during my lifetime!

And I pray that it will! 

I am by nature a very curious person. So when there is an occurrence that seems out of the ordinary I naturally want to know WHY!

One of the anomalies that I question is the sudden spurt of calls from a particular area in the country or about a subject related to real estate.

My first guess is that I am returning very high for a very specific search query which immediately results in an unusual amount of traffic directed towards that region or topic.

But trying to duplicate the exact long-tailed search string that might have been entered by a information seeking web surfer can be a very daunting task. And it is rarely a successful endeavor.

The best way to get to the bottom of the matter is to check hits from “referrals” to your site. A referral is simply a clicked hyperlink that that brings a web surfer to your site. Many times you will find a link that has been recently added that drives a sudden influx of traffic. But the most important referrals are those from search engines.

Referrals from search engines will contain the associated search string that was used to locate your site. Or if you use Google Analytics, the keywords will be ranked for you and presented in a very easy to interpret report!

Understanding what is working and why it works is the key to understanding SEO and site ranking. Once you know what is working you can make the necessary changes to transform the “spurt” into a free flowing river of traffic.

It takes some effort.

But it sure is worth it!

I get calls from potential buyers every day that would like to explore the opportunity of purchasing a home.

But the vast majority of these would-be home buyers are not qualified to obtain a loan. Many have either low credit scores, little or no down-payment money, or a combination of both.

Somewhere along the paradigm shift to a high technology society the basic principles of finance have been relegated to a low priority.

The average consumer is more concerned about having the latest and greatest gizmo or whirligig than securing a roof over their head. I have encountered families with monthly wireless expenses which exceed $600.

If you throw cable or satellite into the mix, many are paying more for technology services than they are any other single household expense.

Discretionary spending is directed towards upgrades and faster speeds. Apparently as a culture, we need to be entertained at higher and higher rates of data transfer each and every day.

As a result of this cultural swing saving money for the purchase of a home or controlling one’s income to debt ratio is not nearly as important as being able to watch a video or making birds angry.

With record low interest rates and great prices, nearly anyone can afford a house in today’s market.

It just takes a little financial discipline and a determination to “set aside” a little every month!