photo credit: docpop

The housing market has sunk and the financial market is on the verge of collapse, jobs are scares, and we have an administration racing to see how fast they can bankrupt us, these are strange days indeed. However, people still want to own homes, people still want to invest and be prosperous, so how do we do that when banks arent lending and we will soon be handing all our profits over to the government?

One answer is that if you plan to buy a home to live there and raise a family there, maybe stay there for ten years or more, and your life is stable in that sense, its okay for those people to buy a home, those with a long term plan. Keeping in mind that your home will probable loose value for several years, but if you're there for the long term you can ride out the storm.

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Posted in Press Room, Giving Back, Buyer Resources, GenX GenY, Online Education, Metro Brokers Agents

photo credit: chimpasaurus

Remember the days when you came to America and you could just claim a stake in a piece of property and it was yours? Well, I guess none of us actually remember those days, but we remember learning about it in history class. They even made a movie about it with Tom Cruise, Far and Away. There was a large race, and the first one to that parcel of land gets it. Dont we wish it was that way today? Well some people think that it should be that way, and they even push the envelope.

These people are squatting in, not just a house and land, but mansions. How about that? I guess if youre going to squat you may as well do it up right, right? There is a case in Seattle where a real estate agent was preparing for an open house to sell a $3.3 million mansion and was amazed to find out there were perfect strangers living there. Squatters! How funny to see this in todays society.

The real estate agent selling the house said it was entertaining, but the story of our mansion squatters ended when police retook control of the house for the bank that owned it. The fiasco cost his client, the bank, $35,000, not so funny now. The squatting team tried to claim three new mansions on the Eastside. Police say so far no one has moved into any of the houses.

The bank securely attached notes to the front door of all the mansions, "ordering anyone claiming ownership to surrender possession within three days." Also, threatening "judicial proceedings" against anyone who doesnt comply. Maybe we can hold a race for squatters, the first one to break a law goes to jail.

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Posted in Education And Training, Press Room, Giving Back, GenX GenY, Online Education

photo credit: jacksnell

Every once in a while technology jumps forward and we all get to look on with chagrined amazement. Back in the 80s Star Wars gave us a glimpse into the future and we were all simply amazed. Dumb struck, we all looked at the screen with hopes of our own space ship in the near future, at least I did anyway. Apple Corporation has certainly given us a technological jump or two in the last decade. Looking at the iPhone and iPad, and even the iMac, it really feels as though we are in the new millennium, but our cars still have wheels. No floating around for us yet.

Well, one of those technology jumps forward is here. Its not ready for the public as of yet, but wow, its cool looking. I think it has a little ways to go, but it looks like well be floating around before you know it. This is almost better than one of those futurist sci-fi movies. The movements are what make this thing so cool. It looks like magic.

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Posted in Technology And You, Marketing, Press Room, Buyer Resources, GenX GenY, Online Education

photo credit: Mystery in the mail

It is predicted that housing prices will drop a startling 30% by 2014. When the appraised values are so much lower than the market rates, it lowers the housing prices, and it will continue to lower prices. If you are in an area where there are a lot of short sales and foreclosures, it is likely that your property has lost value, and will continue to lose value in the coming years.

Before you sell, go to the county property appraisals office and make sure you know what your property is really worth, and make sure you know the prices your area. You may be able to forecast where your market is heading.

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Posted in Education And Training, Press Room, Movers and Shakers, Giving Back, Online Education, Metro Brokers Agents

Inman Real Estate Connect, San Francisco 2010; Mr. Guest on how technology has changed the face of the real estate work flow and experience. We need to get back to the business of actually showing properties and selling real estate.

Tom Guest: My thoughts are in the old days we used to have a real state book we would open up, we go and show properties and everybody were dependent on us. What I see now is that there is so much technology out there that I am just absolutely amazed its almost like you could do a full time job with just technology and do nothing else we wouldnt have time for real estate but you would have a lot of fun going through all these applications all these programs and all those research and you go through all these broker matrixes and you will not be an expert on everything real estate because you dont have the time. So my thought is, is that...

Mark Eibner: Get an assistant?

Tom Guest: You have to have an assistant but you have to take time to actually do the business of showing properties listing properties and going out there and doing the nuts and bolts and I guess you could supplement that with transaction broker have somebody be there for you getting assistant do that for you, you have somebody who is a lead assistant have somebody who does your Internet for you but there is so much more to doing nowadays that used to be really easy the old days where you would just go out so properties everybody was dependent upon but now they are not dependent on you so its a whole new world that I am just amazed not to be kept we could do it, we would have to do in the course of the day everyone in the US like with all the technology thats available

Mark Eibner: Absolutely great.

Tom Guest: Im amazed.

Mark Eibner: Thanks Tom. Tom Guest President Elect 2011 Metro Brokers, chow.

Tom Guest: Chow

Posted in Industry Events, Technology And You, Marketing, Press Room, Movers and Shakers, Industry Leadership, Giving Back, MBI News, Online Education, Metro Brokers Offices, Metro Brokers Agents, Metro Brokers Staff