Lynnwood Undressed

A friend drops by – Blogging can help your business grow

My Friend Nathan Vorwerk stopped by to see me the other day. I was really glad to see him. Nate is a bright young fellow, a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a degree in finance and a guy who, like many other SPU Alumni, is exploring his options and choosing his own way. Nate took a break from his latest gig and spent a good part of the summer working on cruise ships in Alaska; Everyone should get to do that once in their life.

I met Nathan a couple of years ago by way of an acquaintance who told me Nathan wanted to get into land development and real estate so we chatted some at the time about his options and have kept in touch since. Nathan had some good success in land development before the market turned and we all had to go find something else to do.

Nathan is now working for Northwest Processing Solution a little south of Lynnwood, in Seattle. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure he is working his way into an equity position with the company, which is how it should be for a young man with a lot of talent and drive. NWPSolution as they are called handles Merchant Card Services also known as merchant services or credit card processing services for Businesses, e-commerce sites and Non Profits in Seattle, Bellevue, Washington State and Nationwide.

They can put together online stores for internet sites that sell goods and they can cost effectively perform merchant services by processing batches of credit card receipts for small businesses. Of course they also provide the little slide machines that every store has to have these days.

When a small business starts up, most new owners don’t realize the expense and hassle a credit card processing or merchant services arrangement with a bank can bring on. For most they just assume the bank is where this gets done or they go to COSTCO. Truth is the bank is often just a middle man and an extra expense piled on and Costco is… well, Costco. A company like NWP Solution is a direct source for merchant services that often is the provider to the bank. The difference is that if there is a problem or customer service issue, the bank usually has to call a credit card processing or merchant services company like Northwest Processing Solution or Pinnacle Processing Group for answers which can lead to delays and miscommunication and extra expense. You are usually better off just going direct although your bank would rather you didn’t know that.  So if you need credit card processing or merchant services solutions or if you want to see if NWP Solution can save you some money, give Nathan a call. Here’s the contact info;

There is another reason I am writing this post, which is to prove to Nathan that I can garner some exposure for him and his company within my community of readers, friends and clients and on Google through the power of blogging within a network; Specifically the undressed network of community blogs. I did this last week when writing about Pilates Mill Creek in Mill Creek Town Center a couple miles north of Lynnwood.  You see, as much as I love blogging about people I know or meet, I also sell the blogs to micro businesses as a way for them to communicate regularly with their customers and stakeholders, just like I am communicating with you right now. What’s cool about it is that by blogging about things I come to know about, I am creating an association that makes me relevant in circles on Google I have yet to explore in person.  In other words, by sharing my experiences within my blog, which is within a network, I can climb to the top of the google charts when a search is performed regarding the topic I am writing about. As you look for the topic, you will also find me. So thanks for bearing with me as I run this little experiment. If you’d like to find out more about how it could work for you, call me at the ROCS alliance or find me at www.jimwarner.com and I’ll fill you in on PNW Solution and other Micro Businesses I am working with to create communities of relevance for marketing purposes.

Bailout

Bailout, originally uploaded by Jim Warner, Realtor.

And now for today’s good news… All those shareholders who were afraid they might lose their investment in the banking stocks that have paid them so handsomely over the past ten years of irresponsible lending, can rest easy knowing that the leadership that was supposed to be overseeing the banking industry just decided that the people who just lost their home and their job will now be obliged to cover the loss through higher taxes needed to cover a government bailout. Just a little parting gift from the same leadership that got you into this mess as they and their friends get ready to administer the money being used to float this boat. There’s a reason why the candidates for the Presidency spend a billion dollars trying to get control of the White House and it is not because it’s a dream job. The real prize continues to be the keys to the Treasury and who gets to hold them.

As Barry Goldwater once said… “A government big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away.”

Ronald Reagan later said… “government exists to protect us from each other, where government has gone beyond it’s limits is when it moves to protect us from ourselves.”

And of course… the ten most feared words in the english language are ‘I am from the government and I’m here to help.’ RR

The only way I see being able to pay for this fiasco is to eliminate the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction… You heard it here first!

Thoughts and cartoon courtesy of Steve Manning at rendezvouswithdestiny.blogspot.com

Pickett Street

Pickett Street, originally uploaded by Jim Warner, Realtor.

I have spent a lot of time out and about reading real estate blogs lately. One in particular that I like is the Pickett Street website and blog. Pickett Street Properties is made up of three excellent Realtors with Keller Williams Realty in Bothell – Dennis Pearce, Jesse Moore and Lisa Bender – together they manage to put out a solid piece of work and some quality posts. They recently announced their new map based property search through Diverse Solutions – it is an awesome tool, easy to use and you can save your preferences for automatic updates. There was a particularly timely post by Dennis Pearce regarding his thoughts on where the market is and where it might be headed. I appreciate professionals that take pride in their work and as a Buyer or Seller these days it should be one of the things you look for in selecting your next agent, go see for yourself at Pickett Street. If you get a chance to leave a comment or message be sure and tell ‘em you heard about them from fellow Realtor, Jim Warner over at Lynnwood Undressed.

Black + Pickett Real Estate Group

Black Pickett, originally uploaded by Jim Warner, Realtor.

The ROCS Alliance is pleased to introduce you to the Black + Pickett Real Estate Group of        Keller Williams Realty, Greater Seattle. Jacob Pickett and Alex Black lead a team of seasoned real estate professionals and home staging experts with a rock solid reputation and a track record of success. If you know of someone in the Greater Seattle Area that is struggling to get their home sold, give this Dynamic Duo a call to see how it is they and their team are so successful when others are having such a tough time getting things done. You can expect sound advice, a proven plan of action and deliberate execution and follow through on all aspects of the home sale process. Of course, their priority is to get you the right price in a time frame that makes sense for you with a minimum of inconvenience. In this market, what more could you ask for? If you are looking to buy a home in Seattle they have you covered with a team of agents who specialize in knowing the inside scoop on the most popular neighborhoods. First time buyers, be sure and sign up for your complimentary copy of the best seller ‘Your First Home’ a guide to home ownership. This book couldn’t be more timely. Get on over to Black + Pickett.com to see all the services they offer to meet your real estate needs. You will be glad you came to know them. Tell ‘em fellow Realtor, Jim Warner sent you.

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah Blogging

Courtesy of Walkthetalk.com

A lot of my friends and colleagues are getting an earful these days about the wonders of blogging and all it can do to enrich your life. That’s because I am a salesman and when I get excited about something it is in my nature to go out tell everyone I come in contact with all about “the deal.” As most of you know by now, I am a Realtor here in Lynnwood and I spend a great deal of my time finding deals and then trying to find people who are looking for a deal and then working to get them all in the same room, at the same time to see if we can achieve a meeting of the minds so as to press forward and conduct commerce in one form or another. It’s a great life but as people get busier and busier it gets harder and harder to coordinate, never mind the negative press about the market. As it happens in this wondrous technological age, I can now create a virtual room, so to speak, in which all these facets of the business can come together at the convenience of the participants. Blogging, a term that is shorthand for Web Log, is a form of online diary or chronicle of things going on within a community created and maintained by the blog author and/or other contributors from within the community. Outsiders are allowed to see in via the internet and may join the community and remain a part of it so long as they conduct themselves in accordance with the standards of the community as defined by the community. Anyone abusing the privilege can be easily banished. So blogging is about forming and connecting small communities and each community has it’s own story and personality and eventually, commerce. When conducting commerce, the currency of the realm varies from community to community but they generally take one of three forms: Money, as in ads or goods, Time, as in maintenance and oversight, and Resources, as in content and participation. So it comes as no surprise that businesses have discovered that blogging is a cost effective method of communicating to and with the community of customers they have and, naturally, hope to expand. So while at first glance a blog may look like a random enterprise with very little purpose, look closer and you may find a commonality and dare I say it, a relevance, to the world you inhabit on a daily basis. The internet exposed each of us to millions and billions of people with a few clicks of a mouse, personal information, Spam, ID theft and the convenience of internet commerce all followed. But as was predicted, after spending time in a vast expanse with so much information and background noise going on, sometimes you just want to go back to a quiet community of people with common interests and where you know what to expect and who you’re interacting with. It all becomes manageable again. At the ROCS Alliance we are working on creating and supporting these smaller communities by spreading the word about blogging and helping people figure out ways to make it work for them. Whatever their interests may be. I am Jim Warner, Local Realtor, and you are invited to help write this story.

The Tides, They Are A’Changing

The Tides, They Are A’Changing, originally uploaded by StarrGazr.

There’s a cold wind blowin’ and many things we ought speak of are being left unsaid. I love this country and all that it stands for. I do however, have a growing concern that our leadership, such as it is, has left us ill prepared and uninformed of the brewing economic storm we must all face together. If people who cannot afford their house payments are living on the credit cards in their wallets, what happens when the cards run out and the banks come knocking.

There is much more going on in the banking system and the economy than the people in charge are letting on. We all know it, we can sense it. The concern is palpable in and among the populace. On this election day, think long and hard about your decision and vote your conscience, not your wallet, difficult as that may be.

It is time for every American to take stock of their situation and to take a measure of personal responsibility for contributing to the solution. Small changes can make a big difference. Tough times have always brought out the best in America. It’s time we all pull together and try to make the most of what is sure to be a long hard climb. Don’t look to the government to fix this, that’ll only make it worse.

I’m Jim Warner, Realtor and I take responsibility for this post and the opinion expressed

Blogging for Google and fame

I still remember being at the Washington Realtor Ed Con three years ago and listening to Dustin Luther of Rain City Guide go on and on about the wonders of blogging and how it could really change your world, yadda, yadda yadda. If any of you have had the pleasure of listening to Dustin speak, you ‘ll understand why it took me almost three years to catch up with him. He is a force of nature to be sure. I met Larry Cragun by chance  about five months ago. Larry is the founder of the Undressed Network of Community Blogs and has been in Mortgage and Real Estate for many years. I stumbled upon Larry while scratching my head trying to figure out why people would blog on Active Rain. 102,000 self professed Real Estate Gurus trading cheap shots and meaningless platitudes with each other and not really doing much real estate.  It was to become a defining moment for me as I pressed on in my effort to create the ROCS Alliance. Larry understood that blogging on a network such as AR does a lot for AR, not so much for the blogger. When they created the Undressed Network, they engineered it completely backwards, promoting the blogger first and giving the community blog the googlejuice leverage of the network. People blog for many reasons, to be sure. But for the majority of those blogging regularly it is done specifically to catch the eye of the google gods and get some free advertising in hopes of snagging a weery traveler on the internet highway. There was a period of time when culling anonymous leads from the internet was an exercise that paid handsomely. Kind of like trading beanie babies and Pokemon cards on Ebay back in the late 90’s. As a practicing Realtor, I needed a method of promoting myself and my business of course, but I have always sought to do that by promoting others first. It just seems infinitely more interesting. As it turns out, the Undressed Network gave me a forum and a track to run on. Blogs are for the moment the mechanism by which we are all attempting to reconnect after a ten year run of trying to conduct commerce anonymously on the internet. I don’t know about you, but I am getting more and more leery of giving away my e-mail and personal information while plugging my credit card number into the computer in exchange for whatever it is I want. I understand the convenience and I do it quite often, but I am more and more looking to actually connect with someone who can give me just a little more assistance and reassure me about what I am going to get when the box arrives. Maybe it’s just me, but more and more, what was once considered a pesky salesperson, is now a welcome face who can answer a question or two if need be. This whole thing got so crazy, it seemed for awhile that people were actually heading in the direction of buying and selling real estate on the internet. Find a home here, press the button, find a mortgage here, press the button, turn in all your financials (real or imagined) press the button and voila! You are a proud homeowner. As I survey the carnage that is the current real estate market, I have to think that for many people that model didn’t work out so well. In the process the real estate industry has managed to marginalize itself somewhat by more or less buying into the trend. Now we have a lot of work to do to repair the damage. Blogging, the way it is being done in some circles, is a form of overcompensation. An attempt to regain relevance on the cheap by professing all sorts of expertise in matters that don’t really matter to the consumer. When done properly, real estate blogging can provide a window into the heart and soul of a person and the  community they interact with, making the author much more relevant in the context of providing helpful information upon which to make a buying or selling decision. At the ROCS Alliance we have embraced blogging, not merely as an attempt to cheat the search engines and get free advertising, although admitedly that provides some incentive to keep posting, but as a means of becoming relevant within small communities that we interact with. Hopefully this gives the consumer something to hang their hat on when choosing professional representation. A chance to engage with someone who is actively involved and knowledgeable about the community one is considering becoming a part of. It takes a little work, but blogging makes you smarter. It reconnects you to the community and it once again positions you as a dependable resource. It can make you famous, but more importantly, it makes you relevant once again.

Come see what we’re doing at ROCS – and the Undressed Network - we can help you find yourself and the community you speak for through meaningful blogging.

ROCS – Realty Operating and Control Services - offers Tech Support, Marketing Solutions and Business Development Services to Real Estate Agents and Micro Businesses.

Contact Jim Warner, Realtor – for more information 425-939-1010

It’s a Jungle Out There

It’s a Jungle Out There, originally uploaded by Jim Warner, Realtor.

Realty Operating and Control Services, R.O.C.S., Based in Lynnwood, WA., is a marketing & support services company now offering services to both Real Estate Professionals and direct to Homeowner’s.

Cindy Zetts of the Seattle Times posed a question last month on her blog about whether one should pay a Real Estate agent six percent to sell a home for them. Though there were many arguments both ways on the topic, It came to me that the real question should be, “If I pay six percent, exactly what do I get?”

In this market you might actually want to pay a top real estate agent more than six percent, you would want to pay a bad one, nothing.

What the homeseller has never really been able to clarify is what specifically is being promised for the commission they pay. What is negotiable and what isn’t. What is the mechanism for accountability.

Let’s start with the buyer’s agent portion of the commission. Most Sellers are willing to pay an agent to “bring” them a buyer and would agree to pay market rate for that service because it is pretty cut and dry as to what you get for your money. Currently that rate is about 3% of the sales price locally. To pay less would probably undermine all other efforts expended on your behalf since for now the guy down the street is still willing to pay 3% or more for a buyer.

Next, as we know, the listing Agent and the Brokerage involved in the transaction do have significant overhead, as does any labor intensive business, so that needs to be covered and it takes up about 1% of the Listing Commission. The agent representing you, which means givng you advice, negotiating strongly on your behalf and managing the escrow process to a successful close, needs to get paid for the three to four months they work on your project. That covers another 1%. Which leaves us the marketing expense as a point of negotiation.

In this market, your home has got to stand out. It has to be exposed to as many potential buyers and their agents as is humanly possible. You need to be everywhere on the internet, in print and networked to every possible professional and personal client base available and it needs to be done in a professional manner with precision and accountability.

Good marketing is a mix of science and art. It is way more than a pretty flyer in the box or a free ad on Craigslist. Lousy marketing is both a waste of time and money. Good marketing costs money, sometimes a lot of money. If an agent is expending $1,500 to $3,000 marketing your home, they should rightly expect not only a return of that money, but a return on that money they put at risk. Ususally the return is that last 1% of the commission. You can do the math.

That’s where ROCS fits in. ROCS provides great marketing affordably. We provide it to agents and we provide it to sellers. It costs the same either way and we are accountable to each and every thing we do to market a home. So if you want to negotiate a commission, pay the marketing costs yourself and make the return on the investment by negotiating the last 1%. If you want the agent to pay for the marketing then pay the full commission and demand accountability for exactly what is being done and when. Either way, with maximum exposure taken care of, you get your money’s worth and you and your agent can focus on the remaining issues, price and condition.

Since the market has slowed and many agents are strapped for cash, what are the odds that some might not actually be doing every possible thing that could be done to get your home sold in an effort to save money?. How would you know?

A good agent with a solid and accountable marketing plan and access to client bases that you can’t reach on your own is worth their wieght in gold right now. A gamble on a marginal agent who needs the money and promises to do their best is a pretty risky bet and there are plenty of them out there. An agent who brings in a legitimate third party to do the marketing and properly expose your home is probably heading in the right direction for this market.

You then have the right to negotiate who pays for that service and who benefits from the investment.

Welcome to the representation you deserve in a changing marketplace.

For more information call local Realtor, Jim Warner or visit

www.gorocs.com

Pineapple Express

Pineapple Express, originally uploaded by Jim Warner, Realtor.

If you need a good laugh, leave the kids at home and sneak out for this guilty pleasure. Saw Pineapple Express at the Regal Cinema’s Alderwood Stadium in Lynnwood last night. What A hoot. Pineapple Express is a potent form of Marijuana so you gotta know the story line is a bit risque for the younger set but Seth Rogen and James Franco are off the hook in this spoof.

For those of us who grew up in the seventies and eighties, it’s pretty funny stuff.