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Speed-dating lessons for real estate agents Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, February 9, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-287929p1.html" target=blank>Stopwatch image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

Last weekend I attended an event designed to teach people how to be good at meeting people and dating. I was the official photographer, which is the same as being the official observer.

There are some similarities between online dating and online marketing, and some of the tips the daters got for interacting with total strangers on a first date work for meeting buyers or sellers for the first time.  more...

Inside the short-sale machine Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, February 2, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-655852p1.html">Bad robot image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

Working full time on a 100 percent commission basis is not for wimps. The cost of health insurance alone is enough to send most sane people screaming into the night.

I can do it, and have survived the crash of the housing market, yet there are still times when some of the big banks make me want to cry.  more...

Pinterest: an Internet pinup board Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, January 26, 2012.
Pinterest screenshot.

Over the holidays I joined Pinterest even though I had been warned about how addictive it is. The site has been around since 2010 but has recently experienced explosive growth.

Pinterest is a social site but it is a little different in that it is more about collecting and curating than about content generation. As a serial blogger, it is a welcome break.  more...

10 winning traits for real estate agents Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, January 19, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-292820p1.html" target=blank>Arrow target image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

Every January I write articles about how to become a real estate agent, and I post the articles to my blog. The article usually gets a lot of traffic and always starts a conversation.

The articles are an alternative to the Department of Commerce site, where it is hard to find anything that resembles useful information, or to the local brokerages and real estate schools that use the information to recruit agents.  more...

Stop blaming 'the other agent' Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, January 12, 2012.
Image via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-185902p1.html">Blaj Gabriel</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

There are incompetent real estate agents of all stripes and, yes, we need to "raise the bar."

But we also need to stop assuming that other agents are incompetent as soon as there is the slightest problem with a real estate transaction.

We need to stop telling the world that real estate agents are incompetent because we are making it hard for competent agents to do their jobs.  more...

It's time for digital decluttering and unloading 'stuff' Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, January 5, 2012.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-74301p1.html" target=blank>Mouse and filing cabinet image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

It started in 2010 when my water heater blew up and flooded the basement. That is when I first started to realize that I have way too much stuff, and that is slowing me down. I spent hours cleaning and getting rid of stuff.

When I hear my young first-time homebuyers, who wonder how they will fill all the rooms in a large house, I tell them about how we all start out with a little but end up with piles of stuff -- and how it tends to expand to fill up the space we have.  more...

5 real estate resolutions for 2012 Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, December 22, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-825580p1.html">2012 umbrella image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

2012 is almost here and we all want to hit the ground running. We have had some really lean years in the real estate business, and 2012 looks promising, with lower unemployment rates that could lead to more homebuying activity.

Activity has really picked up in my area and I anticipate a good first quarter. Here are some New Year's resolutions for my business in 2012:  more...

The fine line between customer service and disservice Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, December 15, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-85598p1.html">Long line image</a> via Shutterstock.com.

As a consumer I have learned to accept lousy service, and most of the time I don't even notice it. Complaining is a waste of time. I just keep my expectations low. Companies that claim to provide excellent service are often the biggest disappointments. They raise my expectations and then fail to deliver.

Sometimes the reason for poor customer service is because the company or "brand" has decided what it stands for and what constitutes customer service, and it isn't always what I am looking for.  more...

Making ends meet in real estate: Think outside the industry Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, December 8, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-743086p1.html" target=blank>Chalkboard image</a> via Shutterstock.

At the end of last year I made some predictions for 2011 and they were mostly right. There wasn't much change from the 2010 housing market.

2012 will be more of the same.

We tend to look forward to the new year and we plan to succeed. After having the worst year of my real estate career in 2011, I am confident that 2012 will be better. When I look back I may decide that 2011 was one of the best years of my life.  more...

Real estate agents: Stick with what you know Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, December 1, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-709372p1.html" target=blank>Business advice image</a> via Shutterstock.

Why do agents recommend short sales? The short answer is because we are in the business of selling real estate and it is always in our best interest to sell something.

I should just say yes when someone wants to sell, but when the property is distressed, so is the owner -- and the owner may not have explored all of the options before calling me to ask about a short sale. Some agents are taught to recommend a short sale as an alternative to foreclosure.  more...

20 lessons learned in 6 years of real estate blogging Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, November 17, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-291880p1.html" target=blank>Irena Misevic</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com" target=blank>Shutterstock</a>

I started my business blog six years ago last October, but more importantly I kept at it and am fast approaching 2,500 posts. From the very start, my approach to blogging has been different.

When I started the St. Paul Real Estate blog, I had to explain what a blog is.  more...

Join a neighborhood group, but for the right reasons Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, November 10, 2011.
Image via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-842983p1.html">deepadesigns</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>

The idea that a real estate agent should start a neighborhood group or website in their community has been popular since the late 1990s. When I first started selling real estate, there were neighborhood websites that agents could buy and then sponsor a neighborhood.

The neighborhood websites depended on agents and neighbors contributing fresh content. Local businesses could advertise on them, and the local real estate agents would supposedly prosper as the neighborhood expert.  more...

Know when to say no to real estate commission discussions Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, November 3, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-91282p1.html" target=blank>Dmitriy Shironosov</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com" target=blank>Shutterstock</a>

When I was taking classes to get my real estate license, I was reminded over and over again that it is against the law for real estate licensees to discuss commissions with competitors. We were told that discussing commissions with our competitors could be a violation of the Sherman Antitrust act, and brokers used to be afraid -- paranoid, even.

The idea behind the law was to foster competition in the marketplace. If all of the brokerages got together and decided what to charge and then charged that amount to consumers, there would be restricted competition -- we could, as a group, work to block others from introducing lower-cost business models. The Department of Justice has had the National Association of Realtors in its sights for years.  more...

Real estate agents: Can you find yourself on the Web? Premium Content

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, October 27, 2011.
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-77552p1.html " target=blank>Tatiana Popova</a>/<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com" target=blank>Shutterstock</a>

A couple of weeks ago I received a direct message through Twitter from a local colleague who wanted a list of iPad apps that Realtors use or can use on the job. He wanted a list of at least 10.

The list was too long to send through Twitter and I could not find his email address in my database because we have never communicated by email.  more...

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