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

Keyword Tools for Your Blog

Brad Andersohn (Zillow - Outreach Manager) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:26:11 -0500

Back in the day, a few of us discovered a really cool tool from Google known as "The Wonder Wheel" which helped members with keyword selection for their SEO friendly blog posts. Now that the Wonder Wheel is gone, I get literally hundreds of requests from members looking for good alternatives to enhance and better the "Keyword" content on their blogs, sites, posts, and blog titles.

Understanding The Importance of Keyword Searches:

Search engines like Google focus on returning the best quality and "Best Available" SERP's (Search Engine Results Pages) It's all based on what "Keywords" or phrases are being typed into the Search box. Search engines simply want to return the best available matching content based on both short-tail and long-tail keyword searches.

The two things people search most are: the item, the person, the company, the thing or service, and then a geographic or what many refer to as a "hyper-local" location. Having this knowledge about search engines and keywords is the first step, the next steps will hopefully help remove the guessing game of...

"What are people looking for and typing in the search box of search engines?"

No pun intended (well, maybe a little...) SEARCH NO MORE! While we can never really be 100% certain of what people are searching and the exact keywords or terms they're using, these keyword tools will help you not only define what IS being searched on the web, but how and what keywords to be using when creating and refining your blog titles and blog content.

Keyword Tools for Your Blog

Introducing Google's Keyword Tool:

In the "Keyword Search" we typed "Real Estate in San Francisco" which seems like a pretty reasonable search that most web surfers would type if interested in looking at Real Estate in San Francisco. Interestingly the "Keyword Tool" came back showing that there is a larger percentage of people searching San Francisco Apartments which might make sense considering the space and demographic of San Francisco.

Maybe creating a Blog post with the Title "San Francisco Apartments" and then provide content on how those living in "San Francisco Apartments" could qualify for a great loan, with great rates, and possibly become first time buyers and first time homeowners. Would this be a worthy option and idea worth trying? This is just a sample of how you can use these Keyword tools to better your content, your traffic, and hopefully your business.

How should I use the Keyword Tool for keyword ideas?

Search for specific keyword ideas that are related to your business, product, or service. Or you can search a URL containing content relative to your specific niche, business, or service. You can also go straight to filtering out specific keyword categories. Use one or the other or both of them together; the keyword tool is very flexible and intuitive depending on how you choose to use it. Go ahead and try this:

Use the Advanced options to refine your search, for example, by county, city, or neighborhood.
Check or Un-check the keyword match type check boxes to refine your search.
Select the Columns button above the results table to customize the columns you see in the results.

Give the Google Keyword Tool a Try

Check out the Google Keyword Toolbox

Soovle Is Another Great Keyword Tool

Soovle.com search multiple sites and returns most searched results on multiple platforms of your choosing. You can select from up to 15 sites at one time to get the most poplar searched "Keywords" or related "Phrases" on those individual sites. Here are the results as I started typing the keywords "Real Estate" when suddenly I realized that if I stopped typing, the Soovle tool kicked in and started solving...

I was personally pretty excited to see that on the Yahoo site, "Zillow Real Estate" was a pretty popular search by consumers and Internet surfers. (I do hope you have a profile setup on our site for those visitors to view)

Go Ahead, Take Soovle For A Spin

SEOBOOK Keyword Suggestion Tools

SEOBOOKS Keyword suggestion tool cross-references Wordtracker.com, Google, and others. It displays links to related search results, semantically related phrases, and offers a new CVS exporting option which rocks. SEOBooks combined with Google Insights will provide you with a wealth of FREE data and information to set you on your way using "Keywords" effectively in your online marketing, advertising, and blogging endeavors going forward.

Check out SEOBooks, you won't be disappointed.

"The objective of a business website or blog is to attract potential buyers and convert them into paying customers. Keywords can help. Use appropriate keywords on your site and you’ll attract visitors who want to buy the types of products you offer." Source: Wordtracker

"Hover your mouse above for hidden message"

I'm always looking to provide better, faster, more efficient, and cost effective ways to help get the job done, but I'm only one grain of sand on a very large beach. If you find this content useful and worthy, take a second to reblog it. You can help spread the ActiveRain love across larger beaches much faster, and by doing so, you're helping to take the" "keyword" message further and make the process easier and better for those that might be following you or your blogs. Thanks. :-)

Tutorials | Training | Mobile | Widgets

"May this blog be just one more planted seed of wisdom that helps you or your business blossom today!"

Just Because Wells Fargo Has a Small Title Company Doesn't Mean It Should Use It

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:07:28 -0500

This is not the first time it has happened. Unfortunately, it won't be the last. And it wouldn't be nearly so much fun if every time I called the Wells Fargo office in Des Moines I wasn't disconnected after holding. If you don't know your party's extension, press 2. And you're zapped into voice mail hell or hung up on -- one or the other.

But I stop to consider the fact those employees at Wells Fargo in Des Moines had to get out of bed in Des Moines. I try to have empathy for them. It's 28 degrees in Des Moines this morning. Probably has snow on the ground. I'm a short sale agent in Sacramento, typing at my keyboard in my robe. Our high today will be in the 60s. I can be compassionate.

The problem started a few weeks back when we received short sale approval from the first lender at Wells Fargo. We have been waiting for the approval from the second lender and kept getting the run around. Wells Fargo said it had a title issue it was working on. I kept asking for clarity and an explanation. Finally, a negotiator disclosed there was a third deed of trust showing up in their search. He told us Wells Fargo had ordered the reconveyance and had sent the reconveyance last December to a lawyer in California to record.

Why did he think this even though it wasn't true? Because Wells Fargo owns a small title company that couldn't find its plant with two flashlights and a map. Of course, in California, we pull a preliminary title report on every file. Our prelim did not reflect a third deed of trust. We ordered the recon from Placer Title and sent it to Wells Fargo. The problem was Wells Fargo did not understand that our recons in California do not contain the name of the beneficiary.

There are 3 parties to a deed of trust. You've got your trustor (the borrower), the beneficiary (the lender) and the trustee (with power of sale). The reconveyance references the Book and Page number of the original deed of trust that it reconveys. Since the recon did not name the third lender in big fat bold letters, Wells Fargo ignored the recon.

Now, right here, you've got to wonder what kind of lawyer Wells Fargo employs in California. What kind of lawyer would receive a document for recordation in December and, come February, still not record it? I'd say it's the kind of lawyer who is lying on the beach somewhere in Hawaii or maybe scooting around in a golf cart in Arizona.

I obtained a copy of the original deed of trust, packaged it with the preliminary title report and the recorded reconveyance and sent it to Wells Fargo. Followed up a week later, and still received the same message. Yup, the recon was sent to California for recordation. Makes you wanna grab the guy by his tie and pull his face up close to yours so you can stare into those beady little vacant eyes and beat him on the head with your shoe.

Which is what I did yesterday. This morning when I called the supervisor at 6 AM, she told me the issue had finally been resolved and the file is now moving forward for approval. Ya gotta love a Wells Fargo short sale.

---

Certified HAFA Specialist

My Sacramento Real Estate Listings

Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.

Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.

Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.

The phrase “Super Bowl®” and fair use within a commercial enterprise.

Richard Weisser Coweta Fayette Real Estate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:05 -0500

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.

All content, including text, original art, photographs and images, is the exclusive property of Coweta Fayette Real Estate, Inc., and may not be used without the expressed written permission of Coweta Fayette Real Estate Better Homes and Gardens Metro Brokers, Newnan Georgia. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted, Copyright 2003-2009. Richard Weisser REOS, E-Pro. licensed Auctioneer. 770-827-6225.
Learn more about Coweta County and Fayette County Georgia Real Estate, and to search the entire Georgia MLS for free with no registration required visit CowetaFayetteRealEstate.com! Photos of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. North Georgia Photos.

North Georgia Photos

What Do You Do When that BPO on Your Short Sale Comes in Too High?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:04:46 -0500

Whenever I list a short sale in the Sacramento area, I run the comparable sales two different ways. And I often get two different answers. When that happens, I know I might have a problem with the BPO. That's because it's tough to say which way of running the comps a BPO agent might use. I can tell you there is not enough money in doing a BPO for a BPO agent to run the comps more than one way.

So, the question is which do they use? You can't second-guess that. But if I were to guess, I'd say they take the path of least resistance. The easiest way to run the comps is to go to Realist and click on the button that says run the comps. You don't even have to delete homes if you're too lazy to remove the ones that don't belong in the neighborhood. You can just leave them all there and click "generate comps report."

The program will automatically pull the last 20 sales and average the per-square-foot cost based on the subject property. It's not the most ideal way to look at comparable sales, but it is one method. It's also fast. If you're lucky, you'll find homes on the same street and maybe even with the same square footage. You can hit pay dirt that way. But if you're not lucky, this down-and-dirty way to analyze the comps is crap. Or, a BPO agent can search within a 1/4- to 1/2-mile radius of the property, but that method can overlap neighborhoods and boundary lines.

A better way, of course, is to run a map search of the neighborhood and narrow the results. Look only at homes of similar size, condition and configuration. That type of analyzation will tell you how much a buyer is likely to pay. But it is unlikely to be the way the BPO agent will pull the comps. And therein lies the problem. So, what do you do when the BPO is out of whack?

A Sacramento short sale agent can disagree with the BPO agent and submit her own comps, along with an explanation. Sometimes, that's enough to get the bank to agree to consider the buyer's offer.

A buyer can increase her price slightly but not all the way to the amount the bank demands. Just so you know, banks don't always ask for the amount of the BPO. Sometimes, banks ask for more in the event of negotiation, and sometimes they ask for more just for the hell of it, so they can they show the investor they tried.

A buyer can pay for her own appraisal and submit it to the short sale bank. She might end up paying for two appraisals because her own bank will probably use a different appraiser.

Or, a buyer can agree to the bank's demands, wait for the short sale approval letter, and then take her chances with her own bank's appraiser. If that bank appraises the home for less, then the buyer can petition the short sale bank for a price reduction. The bank will agree because if it disagrees, and the home is sold to somebody else, that next buyer will probably get the same appraisal.

If you choose the last option to fight that over-inflated BPO, here's a tip: Study the pending sales. Those pending sales will become your comps. And remember, the old comps will go away if they sold more than 3 months ago. If you are near the end of the month when this happens, that time can be in your favor.

---

Certified HAFA Specialist

My Sacramento Real Estate Listings

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.

Are the requirements for real estate licensure sufficient to protect the LICENSEE?

Richard Weisser Coweta Fayette Real Estate — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:02:43 -0500

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.

North Georgia Photos

Proof that Bank of America Listens to Short Sale Agents

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:04:47 -0500

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. There is very little in between. Especially when it comes to short sales. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I close a lot of short sales. Our market is inundated with short sales. I've been specializing in short sales for 6 or 7 years now. As a result, I close a lot of Bank of America short sales.

In fact, I am very familiar with how Bank of America processes its short sales. I do whatever it takes to help Bank of America. Not because I am a stockholder and not because I have any great affinity for big banks but because helping Bank of America helps my clients. It helps my clients to close escrow.

When I receive a survey from Bank of America, I complete it and return it. Because if I don't, I'm not helping anybody. And there is no way I want to be part of the problem. I am greatly amused at the way Bank of America structures its surveys. It removes much of the feedback that could be helpful; it's geared toward positive comments. But I don't complain because up until lately I haven't had very many Bank of America short sale rejected.

Last month I had 2 Bank of America short sales declined because the sellers were current. That was unusual. But what was odder was there was no place on the survey form to check a bullet point that explained why. Being current on the mortgage was not an option for rejection. Neither was there an option for the number reason for a declined file -- the mere fact the buyer got tired of waiting for approval and split.

I mentioned that fault in the comments at the end of the survey. Sure enough, the next survey received listed 10 or 12 possible reasons for rejection instead of four. I was elated. Bank of America listened.

Then, yesterday, I discussed a common problem with a representative from the Bank of America Social Media Team. That's because I had to escalate a HAFA short sale file that is presently with UTLS. The negotiator was playing the HUD game. This is when the negotiator picks up the file to find one small fault so she can send an email about it and go back to watching General Hospital on her cell phone.

The latest demand was to change the property tax proration by 5 cents to match the tax proration on the worksheet. The representative from Bank of America said she would note this procedure and try to get it changed. She agreed that the negotiator should review the entire file and not piecemeal corrections. The bigger problem with this particular short sale is the BPO had expired and nobody at UTLS noticed it. It expired quite a while ago.

No sooner did I hang up the phone than I received a ding in my email from Bank of America. It had changed the worksheet counter by increasing the sales price. The negotiator based it on the existing BPO and market conditions, he said. What? The market in Sacramento is falling. Just then my phone rang. Before I could fire off an email message, it was the negotiator saying he simply wanted to keep the file active and not let it decline. I could reject the worksheet and counter, which I did.

I have great hopes that we'll see more improvement at Bank of America. Now, if we can just get them to stop putting a hold on the initiation of Equator files for HAFA review. It promised last year to stop doing that, but I've yet to see it. I wonder how long it will continue this practice after HAFA expires in December?

---

Certified HAFA Specialist

My Sacramento Real Estate Listings

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.

You Can't Stop People From Killing Themselves

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:44:21 -0500

You can't stop people from killing themselves. I'm not going all Kevorkian here. I'm actually thinking about the story in the Sacramento Bee this morning about protecting people from themselves.

Not to try to understand how newspapers work, but I imagine the Sac Bee had an editorial meeting about how to run the story about preventing people from killing themselves at railroad crossings. We had a tragedy at Sacramento light rail on Saturday. A family of three, including a toddler, were killed when the train struck their SUV at a railroad crossing. Authorities say the SUV driver was trying to drive around the gate arm. The family rejects this theory.

As a result, the Bee ran a story about gate jumping. The reporter who wrote the story about risk-takers who try to jump the train will now have to monitor a live chat and address community concerns. It's a touchy situation. Whether this driver was at fault doesn't negate the fact that many drivers apparently try to jump the train. Part of the solution offered is to install double gates so drivers can't get around them no matter what.

How far do we go to protect people from harming themselves? You would think a simple stop, do not cross, would do the trick. Stop in the name of love, before you break my heart. Stop, only YOU can prevent forest fires. Except today you've gotta get your smokey on to get the message across. I saw that billboard at the downtown Sacramento mall and thought, oh, give me a break. Get your smokey on? You can tell I'm an old cranky person.

Cranky enough that I don't purposely try to alienate myself when working with other people. Sometimes, I see agents sabotage their own efforts. Especially in a multiple-offer situation. Earlier this week, I received 4 or 5 offers for a short sale. Short sale offers carry requirements and not all of them were met. But, still, I sent every offer as it arrived to the seller, like I am required to do. If agents were testy or argumentative, I passed along that information to the seller as well.

I believe we can protect other people only so much. Somewhere along the line people might want to take responsibility for their own actions. Sellers don't always choose the highest offer. Sellers choose the buyer and the buyer's agent with whom they want to spend 2 to 4 months in escrow.

---

Certified HAFA Specialist

My Sacramento Real Estate Listings

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.

Is the end of the MLS as we know it in sight?

Richard Weisser Coweta Fayette Real Estate — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:56:15 -0500

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.

North Georgia Photos

Should You Sell That Short Sale to an Investor or a First Time Home Buyer?

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:29:53 -0500

I was all primed to write about investors who are buying short sales this morning when I received an email from a buyer's agent who is representing herself. She's trying to buy a short sale in Elk Grove. I have to share this. The agent said she was withdrawing an offer she made yesterday that was too low. I had asked her to bump it up to meet the comps. She said, "According to Zillow.com, it is worth $XXX." As a licensed real estate agent, she has world class tools at her disposal to help her to determine market value but this agent relies on a worthless website such as Zillow? See, this is part of what's wrong with the Sacramento real estate market.

The other part is our local real estate market is exploding at the moment. We've got investors and buyers fighting over the same Sacramento-area properties. The reason is simple. Investors can get positive cash flow because of today's prices and historically low interest rates. This means an investor can collect more in rent than she pays for a mortgage payment. Many renters should be home buyers because it's costing them more to rent than to own.

Much of the inventory available for sale is a short sale. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I carry a large inventory of short sale listings. My goal is to put that short sale into escrow and close it. To accomplish that goal, I help my sellers to choose the best short sale offer. Is that an offer from an investor or a home buyer, in other words, an owner occupant? Which is the best buyer?

Most of the time, sellers prefer to choose the offer from the owner occupant. Why would they do that when the investor can wait forever and the first-time home buyer typically cannot? Because there are problems with offers from investors. For starters, if the short sale home is occupied by the seller and a Notice of Default has been filed, investor buyers must comply with the Home Equity Sales Act. Many of them don't and have never heard of this law. But if they don't comply, the seller can rescind the transaction 2 years later -- after the seller restores credit from the short sale.

Another problem is some investors want to hold title as an LLC, and short sale banks don't like to accept offers from an LLC. Additionally, some investors want to flip the property. Many short sale approval letters restrict flipping for 90 to 120 days. If that's the goal, the buyer will cancel upon short sale approval. And not to mention, sometimes the buyer's agent is acting as principal and, when that happens, the banks don't always allow the agent to receive a commission. These types of offers magically vanish when agents discover they are stiffed.

But aside from all of that, who is more motivated to wait for short sale approval? Who is more motivated to increase the sales price if the short sale bank demands it? Who is emotionally connected to the home, enough to jump through qualifying hoops the bank throws into the air? Which type of buyer does a seller feel attracted to? Mr. Money Banks who wants to rent out his home and retire with a big, fat, 401K? Or, Miss FHA first-time home buyer?

I'm not even going to talk about the investor who is trying to cancel one of my short sales because another came back on the market that caught his eye . . .

---

Certified HAFA Specialist

My Sacramento Real Estate Listings

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.

When someone says that they are hungry, never complain that you are too full!

Richard Weisser Coweta Fayette Real Estate — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:58:44 -0500

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!

North Georgia Photos

Top FREE Image and Photo Editing Sites

Brad Andersohn (Zillow - Outreach Manager) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:18:42 -0500

There is so much concern and “Buzz” about Google shutting down Picnik.com, I decided to provide you with some alternative tools for editing and customizing your graphics, photos, and images. While Picnik.com will be shutting down in April 2012, here are some other options you have available immediately.

FotoFlexer – Create some dazzling photo and image effects in your browser for FREE. Use Animations, resizing, coloring, contrast and more. Take a look at These 5 Demo’s for a quick tour of what FotoFlexer has to offer, you’ll love some of these cool features. Smart Scissor is a favorite feature.

Pixlr – and for Picnik users, try Pixlr Express. You’ll love the Editor, the Pixlr-o-matic, the Pixlr Grabber for Firefox and Chrome browsers, and the Pixlr Imm.io hosting, all of which are very robust and user friendly cool features.

LunaPic – This site will rock your world! Lunapic offers more choices and options for photo editing and custom effects than some of the paid software applications I’ve purchased and used in the past. Use vignettes, color bars, animated imaging, picture frames, retro color, collages, custom text, reflection animations, slide shows, and a ton more. One of the most feature rich FREE online editors available. You’re gonna love this site.

FreeOnlinePhotoEditor – A really simple and easy to use photo and image editor for those “quick fix and gotta go” graphics. Very basic but simple and fast. Some of the other online photo and image tools include: OnlinePhotoTool.com: Online photo editor, Automatically resize your images when sending it by email, Create an Image from your RSS feed, Create Image from your Tweet and Twitter account, and Create, save and email screenshots.

BeFunky - Be Funky lets you do some pretty amazing things with your photos and graphics. Most of the features and tools are focused on creating cool, fun, and funky effects and artwork. The site’s name says it. Some of the effects available would take hours to create in Photoshop or other high end and costly photo/image editors.

Definitely worthy of a visit and tour.

Photoshop.com – That’s right, you can use Photoshop online and for FREE. You’ll need to register, but I promise it will be worth it. The Photoshop tools are powerful and very easy to use. Be prepared to spend a little time here, you’ll be amazed at what they have to offer and allow you to do online for free. I’m not going to lie, this is one of my favorites and my personal replacement for Picnik.com closing down.

GIMP – GIMP is very similar to Adobe Photoshop except that GIMP is FREE. It does require you to download the software but one huge benefit to that is it will never be bought and shut down on you. It is a very powerful and feature intense program so unless you’re really experienced with editing and graphic design, or you have more time than it takes to close a short sale, you may want to stick with one of the others.

I personally like to use GIMP for graphic design more than image or photo editing.

Combine all these together and you’ll have more FREE editing tools and features than you’ll ever need or use and absolutely FREE. Take a few moments to review each site, bookmark them, then give each one a try to see which one(s) best meet your photo and image editing needs. Enjoy!

Tutorials | Training | Mobile | Widgets

"May this blog be just one more planted seed of wisdom that helps you or your business blossom today!"

California Short Sale Sellers Should Check the TAP Program for Cash

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:11:34 -0500

A producer from KCRA-TV Channel 3 is coming to my house tomorrow. She wants to film a quick news segment about short sales. She is certainly coming to the right place. Because one of the things she wants me to talk about is the importance of hiring a short sale expert vs. a regular real estate agent. I've been mulling this over as my first inclination is to say a seller should hire a short sale specialist because we know stuff other agents don't know. Like what stuff, you might ask?

Well, yesterday a seller called me from Rocklin. He asked me questions about a Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale. Then he asked me questions about a Fannie Mae HAFA short sale. I answered them, and that's when I discovered he is 3 weeks away from a public auction and his home is on the market. This seller is very unhappy that his agent put him in this position because she did not have the answers he needed when he needed them.

He said she went to a conference to get answers but returned with none. She put him in a Fannie Mae HAFA without qualifying him, and he lost a lot of time because he did not qualify from inception. He asked if I had heard of this group of real estate agents out of Elk Grove. I'll never say anything bad about another agent. I told him he needs to talk with his agent about his problems. In fact, he should follow his agent's advice because I can't interfere (it's against the Code of Ethics) and he should try to close his escrow with his existing agent.

I believe if an agent is going to set herself out there as a Sacramento short sale agent, she should stay on top of the short sale business. She should know answers. She should be prepared to advise clients on all short sale programs. For example, sellers in California can apply for $5,000 in cash if they meet income guidelines and their lender participates. This program is the TAP, Transition Allowance Program, and it's part of the Keep Your Home California Program. Except you don't keep your home. You sell it as a short sale.

Some of the major lenders I've worked with who participate in this program in California are:

CalVet (CA Department of Veteran Affairs)
Guild Mortgage
GMAC Mortgage
Central Mortgage
Everbank
Flagstar Bank
Saxon Bank
US Bank

If your household income is below $90,100, as a seller of a short sale in Sacramento County (each county has different income requirements), you might qualify for TAP. That's money that can help a seller to pay for moving expenses, a security deposit and first month's rent for a new place. The seller must occupy the present home as a principal residence, produce a documented hardship and be in imminent danger of foreclosure or in foreclosure. It's not a loan, either. It's cash in hand at closing. You can use it for anything.

The TAP program began on February 7, 2011 and runs for 3 years. If you are in the middle of a short sale in Sacramento and you qualify for this program, you should contact TAP. And then ask yourself: why didn't my agent tell me about this? Probably because you didn't hire a Sacramento short sale agent. You probably hired a regular agent. And therein lies part of the difference.

---

Certified HAFA Specialist

My Sacramento Real Estate Listings

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.

When you don’t have a real Winter this year, you have to look back!

Richard Weisser Coweta Fayette Real Estate — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:21:23 -0500

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!

North Georgia Photos

Feng Shui Workshop February 19th, 2012 at 7pm with Feng Shui Expert Laura Cerrano

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:36:59 -0500

Feng Shui Workshop February 19th, 2012 at 7pm with Feng Shui Expert Laura Cerrano

Certified Feng Shui Expert Laura Cerrano

The Art of Feng Shui Workshop

Certified Feng Shui Expert Laura Cerrano of Feng Shui Long Island and Feng Shui Manhattan will discuss the deeper meanings of Feng Shui by unfolding the history, various methods, teaching you how to incorporate this practice into your daily routine, and share simple tips and stories from clients who live the lifestyle of Feng Shui. To clarify other thoughts about Feng Shui, there will be a question and answer session at the end of the workshop. There will also be a Raffle for a Feng Shui Prize!

Mystic Warrior

10 Wall St. Huntington, N.Y.

(631) 547-8418

*Please Call Mystic Warrior to Register for the Workshop*

Date: February 19th, 2012

Time: 7:00pm

Cost: $30.00

Feng Shui LI

*Carole Provenzale has been a Certified Feng Shui Consultant since graduating from the Country's very first School for Feng Shui Studies that was licensed and accredited in 1997. Carole provides on site Feng Shui Consultations Long Island NY, Queens New York and New York City -Hamptons NY.

New York City Feng Shui Manhattan

New York Feng Shui Manhattan New York City Manhattan NYC Consultant Laura Cerrano is a Second Generation Certified Feng Shui Consultant who has trained with Feng Shui Long Island and Masters from across the Country including Shamans to incorporate Native American beliefs and Space Clearings into her Feng Shui Consulting Firm, Feng Shui Manhattan New York City NY. After co-consulting on site for many years Laura began her own business in 2000 and has a strong client base in New York City, New York, Long Island NY, Queens, Brooklyn, New Jersey and the rest of the New York Tri-State area.

Goodbye Leopard, Hello Lion for This Sacramento Short Sale Agent

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:57:30 -0500

It's time for this short sale agent to change again. It's difficult to embrace change but to stay ahead of the competition, we need to do it. It's time to say goodbye to my Mac Pro and Leopard OS and hello to my new Mac Pro and Lion OS X. I can't believe I let Snow Leopard sneak in there on my laptop.

It was only 4 years ago that I bought my previous Mac Pro desktop. It had a 232 GB hard drive. I thought that would last me forever. Ha. What a joke. I have used about 85% of it. My computer would no longer do a restart without a shut down first. Plus, I was two operating systems behind. As a result, it just made sense to pop for a new computer.

Besides, buying an Apple product is so much fun. Those sneaky Apple people, making shopping a joy. Those guys are brilliant.

I upgraded the memory to twice what I think I might need. Also, doubled the hard drive from 1 TB to 2 TB. The difference in disk space will probably be laughable a few years from now, but at the moment, it's really significant. I've got a 2 x 2.4 GHz Quad-Core, which is super fast.

Will all of this make me a better Sacramento short sale agent? Probably not. But it will make me much happier. I love efficiency. Although, it may take me months to figure out everything this computer can do. If you have tips, I'd love to hear them.

---

Certified HAFA Specialist

My Sacramento Real Estate Listings

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.