Every Tuesday, here at the CV Escrow website, 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.

Realtors often ask about IDX, the method and rules that allows for Realtors and brokerages to display the MLS inventory on their websites.  It’s one of the more complex terms in real estate technology and probably one of the least understood.  Why?  First, to most Realtors, the terminology is foreign and vague.  Then each MLS has their own IDX rules that can range from archaic to progressive.  Finally, there are hundreds of choices for IDX vendors whose offerings vary as wildly as their prices.  These variables make it a complex and confusing topic.

However, giving  potential clients access to IDX listing search on your website is an absolute must for any modern brokerage or agent.  So wading through the waters of the process is a necessity.  This post is designed to make it easier to understand.

What does IDX mean?

IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange.  It’s the rules and procedures that allow real estate brokers and agents to display listings from other companies on their website.  Most IDX rules require the broker or agent displaying the listing on their site to display the name of the listing brokerage with the listing.

A key point to remember is that IDX and the underlying rules only apply to brokerages and agent websites.  For example, Zillow does not fall under IDX rules since Zillow is not a brokerage.  Therefore, on non-brokerage and non-agents site such as Zillow, only the listing agent would be able to advertise their property (vs. all listings appearing on Zillow as part of an IDX feed if they were a brokerage).

Vendor Selection:

As an agent there are options on how to present listings on your site, and there are a variety of vendors who offer different IDX solutions.  The different options yield different benefits.  If you listen to real estate search engine consultants speak, you’ll hear terms like Drop-in vs. Built-in.

Drop-In vs. Built-in IDX:

A drop-in IDX solution means that the code to run the search and display any of the listings actually occurs on a different website.  In other words, the code does not live on your site.  The benefits of a drop-in IDX solution include that they are readily available, generally affordable, easy to implement, and can display listing data in a way that is appealing and easy for consumer to use.  However, this solution offers no search engine optimization benefit for your site.  However, for many agents, drop-in IDX solutions can be suitable solutions to displaying listings for the benefits listed above (and search engine benefits can be gained from other web strategies – blogging, for example).  Examples of a drop-in IDX providers are Diverse Solutions and iHomeFinder.

With Built-In IDX, all the listings display right on the agent or brokerage website.  This means that if a search engine finds the page, it will see all the listings and potentially make them searchable.  The more pages that a search engine finds on your site, the easier it is for potential clients to find you on the web.   Very few practical options currently exist for agents right now in regards to built-in IDX (the current leading option is a custom coded website built by a vendor which requires a coder with a specific skill set, and a large sum of money on your part).  However, if you have a Wordpress based blog or website, Listing Press is a new option to consider and more options are in the works.

Map Based Search:

An important question to ask a potential IDX vendor is whether they offer map-based search.  Up until recently most vendors offered IDX search that was based upon the user making selections such as 3 beds, 2 baths, $500,000-$600,000 and a list of options would display.  Now that list can be used in correlation with a map.  So when a potential client sees their options they can also get a good idea of where the home is located, how close it is to parks, schools, the freeway, etc.

Lead Capture System:

The most important item to look at when considering an IDX vendor is their lead capture system.  What’s the point of running a website and paying money to have all the listings on there if you don’t get clients from it?  A good lead capture system will allow a potential client to request information or schedule a showing on every listing.   Also check to see if the vendor offers the ability for users to save listings, receive listing email alerts, and track what has been viewed.

Pricing

IDX pricing can run from $20 / month to more than $100 depending on which solution you choose. Also make sure to ask your MLS if they charge any fees for gaining access to the IDX data.

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.CoachellaValleyEscrow.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.

Every Tuesday, here at the CV Escrow website, 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.

Ring Ring, Ring Ring – Do you hear that? That is the sound of change coming to the way Realtors interact with their clients.  If you haven’t heard, Google is about to launch a new service called simply Voice.

Google Voice will give you a new phone number that allows you to aggregate all your calls to one place.  The system allows you to pick a number in almost any area code in the United States.  As soon as your friends, family, and clients begin to use this number instead of your old number, the capabilities of this new line will match that of the highest end phone systems in offices today.

A few interesting features of the product:

• Find Me - Your clients can dial one number and any phone you select can ring
• Voicemail Transcription - All voicemails will be converted to text and emailed to you.  If you’re in the middle of an important meeting but can view your email, you’ll be able to read what the caller said.
• Call From Your Cell - Blackberry and Google Android phones are already enabled and more are coming soon allowing you to access your Google Voice account from a program running on your phone.
• Ability to Label Calls Spam – Any future time they call they will be sent to voicemail and the message will be marked spam in your Voicemail box
• ListenIn - This feature allows you to screen calls by hearing what a caller is leaving a voicemail about.  If you feel the message is worth responding to immediately, you may at that point pick up the call in the middle of the message.
• Call Record – Allows you to keep a recording of the conversation to remember for the future.  If a client calls and speaks to you about a home they are looking for and you can’t write the info down, just click one button and the whole conversation is there when you get back to the office (callers are notified that you are recording the call).
• Custom Greetings – You can set your Google Voice number to answer with different messages based on if the caller is a client, family member, or friend
• Switch Phones - With one button you can switch the call off your cell and onto your landline to reduce your cell minutes.
• ClickToCall – Don’t want to dial that number in your contact list?  Just hit one button on your computer and the program will dial out to your phone and connect you automatically with the person you are trying to reach.
• Text / SMS - Google Voice numbers are also SMS enabled.  This means your clients can send you text messages even if you don’t have a text plan from your provider.  The messages will be stored in your inbox as a message.  Alternatively you can have the SMS messages forwarded to any number of cell phones you choose.
• Free US Calling - call out to any US number for free.
• Low Cost International Calling - If you have international clients, you can now call them from your cell phone without exorbinant fees (See Here For Rates)

Ready for the best feature? It’s all free!  There is a waiting period before being able to sign up right as the service is still in its final testing phases.  Just sign up by going over to the Google Voice Invite Page.

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.CoachellaValleyEscrow.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.

This is the second article (see the first one here) in our series on the specific terms and phrases you can encounter during a real estate transaction. The language of escrow and the real estate transaction doesn’t need to be a stumbling block; once you know the terms, these words become what they are meant to be – valuable tools to help smooth the road to a successful transaction.

Contingency

This is a clause in the sales contract that says something must happen before the sale goes through. The sale is contingent on this event, in other words. Common contingencies are the arrangement of financing, a successful home inspection or wood pest inspection, or a roofing or sewer report. Negotiate contingencies carefully, as they can cause the failure of a deal.

FIRPTA

The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 is important if you are buying a property from a person or corporation that is not US-resident. It is up to you to find out if the seller is a foreigner. FIRPTA rules state that the buyer must withhold 10% of the realized sale price for tax purposes. A common exception is if you are buying a personal residence for under $300,000. Talk to your broker or escrow officer, who will know all the details.

Cal-FIRPTA

The California version of FIRPTA, this legislation requires the withholding of a percentage of the sales price for most California real estate transactions. Talk to your realtor or escrow officer to get a full explanation of how this law affects your transaction.

Easement

An easement is an allowance, written into the property’s title, for another person or company to have access to a portion of the land for some purpose. Often an easement allows access to power lines or utilities running through the property. A registered easement gives the other party legal access, and restricts what the owner can do on that piece of the property.

Encroachment

An encroachment is any structure or physical thing that intrudes on somebody else’s space. This could be a neighbour’s building or fence encroaching on your land, your building or other structure encroaching on your neighbour, or your structure encroaching on city or state property. Encroachments must be agreed upon before building, resolved if discovered, or removed if objected to.

Watch for more terminology posts in the months ahead.

Every Tuesday, here at the CV Escrow website, 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.

Blogging is the cornerstone of the new media marketing movement, and the promise of business for the Realtor who embraces it is tempting.  This post is designed to give the pros and cons of blogging, and help you decide if blogging is something that you should incorporate into your real estate business.

First, what is blogging?

In February, I did a detailed post answering this very question.  Basically blogging is an on-line journal.  It consists of posts, or articles, that the blog author writes and adds on a regular basis to the blog.  The most current post resides at the top of the blog, and the prior posts move down the page.

Success in blogging results from two things:

1. Providing content of value to your target audience
2. Frequency

What content is of value in real estate?

I view the following topics as good topics for Realtor blogs:

• Market Data: Answer the question, how is the market? This is likely the most common question in real estate and makes for excellent blog post fodder.
• Neighborhood Info: Talking specifically about different neighborhoods and farms will help build your credibility, establish your expertise in an area, and help you with what is called the “long tail” search in Google. When it comes to buying decisions, people are very interested in the nuances of a particular neighborhood. You discuss this in the car with prospects, and you work to show sellers your neighborhood expertise with post cards mailings, and in your listing presentations. Take this information to the web in the form of blog posts.
• Lifestyle Information: Every buyer wants to know what the lifestyle is like in various cities, communities, and neighborhoods, and you as a Realtor are selling not only the houses in a particular area, but you are also selling the lifestyle. Blogging about the events, people, restaurants, schools, and area information are all great topics for a blog and paint a picture about the local lifestyle in the area.
• Transaction Education: For most people, the process of buying a home is complicated and overwhelming. As the Realtor, part of your job is to navigate buyers and sellers through that process. By discussing the process and providing an education on the nuances of the transaction, you have the opportunity to establish your professional credibility and attract buyers and sellers who appreciate the education you are providing them on the process of home buying and selling.
• Competent Advice/Perspective/Interpretation: No doubt about it, there is access these days to almost any information someone could want. The problem is that the amount of information is overwhelming. This presents a blogging opportunity for the Realtor who can provide an interpretation of all the data. From all the stats, what is the most important piece of information for today’s buyer to know? Why is it important for them to know? What is meaningful about that?

And what about frequency of blogging?

How often you blog is going to vary for each Realtor.  I suggest that blogging once or twice a week is a good target.  The key is to do it on a regular basis.  This keeps your blog fresh, reminds people that you are active and current in the market, and helps you with Google.

Blogging has several advantages for the Realtor.

Blogging Pros:

• Establish Your Expertise:  Keep in mind that when you are positioned in the mind of the buyer or seller as THE trusted advisor, you have a client. There is no better way in social media to establish yourself as a trusted advisor than with blogging. Blogging provides you a golden opportunity to establish your real estate expertise. It allows you to express your perspective, your professionalism, and you market knowledge in a way that reflects your tone and personality.
• Google Friendly (Search Engine Optimization – SEO): By definition, blogging is Google friendly. The platform of blogging is designed to be indexed by Google and if you are blogging using words that are relevant to your market (key words), you are helping yourself naturally appear in search results when people search Google for terms that match what you are blogging about. So, for example, if you are frequently blogging about items related to La Quinta real estate, when someone types in “La Quinta real estate” into Google, you are more likely to rise to the top or be on page one.
• Subscribe Feature:  Blogs have the ability to have people subscribe to them so that any content you post is automatically distributed to the reader (vs. them having to come to the site to see new content). When this channel is properly respected (and not abused, which would result in the reader “unsubscribing”), the blogger creates a drip marketing opportunity to all of the readers who are “reminded” of you ever time you post a new blog post.
• Brand Building Opportunity:  Through blog subscribers (as described above) and in the visual design of your blog, you have the opportunity to establish, and extend, your personal brand. What you say on your blog, and how it looks, is a reflection of your professionalism and your personality and gives people an impression about you.
• “Long Tail” Opportunity:  This benefit relates to the opportunity to reach people who are searching for specific terms in Google, vs. broader terms. For example, “La Quinta Real Estate” is a very general term that yields about 1.6 Million results in Google. Compare this to “The Hideaway La Quinta Real Estate” which yields about 8,000 results and you can see that there is a much greater opportunity to be found on the long tail search. Another benefit is that people who search long tail terms tend to be closer to a purchase or sale decision as they have gotten specific in what they are looking for.
• Can be a Lead Generator:  Blogs can generate great leads. When you are effective in articulating your real estate knowledge, answering the questions of your target market, and positioning yourself as a trusted advisor, people will contact you through your blog. Those that do contact you are generally attracted to your perspective and generally stronger leads than you may get off of an ad or other form of marketing. People tend to watch a blog for a while. They will get a feel for you. When they do contact you, it is because they have a feel for who you are and they are interested in working with you.

Blogging Cons:

• Time Consuming:  No doubt about it, blogging is a time consuming endeavor. It takes a commitment from the Realtor. Keeping in mind that frequency is a key element to successful blogging, you really need to view blogging as a strategy that you have a plan for. It takes time to generate good content.
• You Need Average, or Above Average Writing Skills. Blogging is a content driven marketing vehicle. If you are not generating good content, you are not going to get good results. If you do not have the ability to articulate your perspective easily with the written word, blogging will be a challenge for you. There is an alternative – video blogging. With a very affordable piece of equipment called a Flip Video Camera, you can post a video blog instead of writing one. A video blog doesn’t carry the same SEO benefits that the written word does, but it can be a very effective way to articulate your perspective, or actually show your market area. A video blog can also be an efficient use of your time (maybe video tape yourself while you are sitting at an open house and waiting for traffic).
• Several Nuances to Learn:  Although the actual process of posting a blog is not much more difficult than sending an email, to succeed in blogging over time, there are many nuances to learn about the blogging platform. For example, there are better (vs. worse) ways to title your posts so that you rank well in Google and/or capture the attention of your readership. There are best practices to follow in terms of naming your images and inserting links into your posts. Although none of these items are particularly challenging, all of these little items tend to present a learning curve for the Realtor just getting into blogging.
• Becoming Competitive:  Blogging has been popular in real estate for several years now, and in some markets, there are some very established real estate blogs. In these areas, the landscape for blogging is very competitive. You should survey the blogging competition for your market and determine if there is a great opportunity for you there. Even in markets where blogging is very established, there are still ample blogging opportunities on a hyper-local level. You don’t have to blog about Palm Springs. You can blog specifically about Rancho Las Palmas. This would be a hyper-local topic and one where you have a strong chance to stand out and dominate a niche area. Alternatively, you could also define a niche market – maybe foreign buyers or sellers for your area. Or , seniors. Or, first time home buyers. Think about segments that may be under-represented by blogs that are focused on larger areas and geographies and you will find some great blogging opportunities.

I’ve pointed out the reality of the challenges of blogging in an effort to give you a realistic view on what it takes to succeed in blogging.  Blogging may or may not be for you.  But, if you are searching for a new strategy, or you actively farm a geographic area or demographic niche, and plan to be in business for 5 years or more, I suggest you seriously consider establishing a blogging presence.  There is just so much to be gained.  In a future post, I will lay out the leading blogging options for those who would like to pursue a blogging strategy for their real estate business.

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.CoachellaValleyEscrow.com) in the box titled “Subscribe via Email”.

CV Escrow continues our strong commitment to the Desert.  On behalf of everyone in the company I am pleased and proud to announce the opening of a new Palm Springs office.  This addition to our service locations enhances our ability to provide personal service to the area’s real estate community.

Our Office Manager and Escrow Officer is Julie Eckstrom.  She is a SoCal native who has lived and worked in the Coachella Valley since 1985, where she has built many outstanding relationships with area Realtors.  Working in escrow since 1976, her strong skills in project management, in team management and in the technical details of escrow put her in a great position to help Realtors with all of their escrow needs.  “Throughout my career”, Julie noted, “I’ve been fortunate to work on projects and develop expertise in many kinds of escrows including sales, commercial, Indian lease land, loan, REO and short sale transactions.”

Please feel welcome to stop by to see Julie and to share with her your thoughts on how she can help you.  She can be reached at:

CV Escrow, Palm Springs Office (map)
850 N. Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA 92262

Phone: 760.325.7314
Fax:  760.325.7324

Email: jekstrom@coachellavalleyescrow.com

Concurrent closings are a common escrow situation where a client is conducting two real estate deals, and wants them both to close on the same day. It sounds like a simple, straightforward matter of timing; in reality, the request for a concurrent close can be a difficult and stressful affair for all concerned. It’s like trying to line up two flocks of ducks at the same time.

Reasons For Concurrent Closings

A client may ask for concurrent closings for several reasons. Perhaps they are buying a new house, and using the proceeds from selling their current house to pay for it. Perhaps it’s a business deal with a need for close timing. Perhaps they are involved in a 1031 exchange, and the timing of the closings has strong financial implications. For whatever reason, the less time between the closing of the two deals, the more the client benefits.

The challenge in executing a concurrent closing arises because any real estate transaction involves a multitude of agencies and stakeholders. Title agencies must work through the process of transferring title; spouses, business partners, or other parties with an interest in the property need to be consulted; lenders have approval processes that depend on other paperwork being completed in a timely manner. In short, the escrow officer works an impressive feat of organization and coordination in a concurrent close.

It May Be Out Of Escrow’s Hands

The escrow officer is the director of the two transactions. The escrow officer makes sure people have the right information and forms at the right times, follows up to ensure timely completion of the paperwork, and does whatever is necessary to keep things on track. The plain fact is, however, that a concurrent close runs across many desks besides the escrow officer.

There are ways that a buyer can streamline the process, and help bring the timing of two concurrent transactions closer together. The two biggest considerations would be to have the same title company and the same escrow agency handling both transactions. This opens the possibility for workers in the same office to coordinate their efforts, to the buyer’s benefit. Having the same lender will help, too. Keeping the sale and escrow considerations as simple as possible give the transactions a better chance of coming to a concurrent close.

These are some ways to help make two related transactions close on the same day, or close together. However, because of a real estate sale’s inherent complexity and the number of agencies involved, no timing of a concurrent closing can be totally guaranteed.  Dealing with a professional, experienced and skilled escrow company can however help to effectively manage the transaction and meet the closing goals of all involved.