Dear Mr. North Dakota homeseller,

First of all, thanks for taking the time to write in. I know you probably were hoping to hear from an agent in your area. I mean, I couldn’t find the town you’re talking about with a flashlight and a compass even if you dropped me in downtown. Is it near Wahpeton High?

To be honest, you receiving an answer from a qualified agent is less important than my quest to lead Trulia Voices in “most first answers.” I’m like what the UPI guys used to say about the AP, back when there was a UPI … “AP’s motto: get it first, get it fast, get it corrected.”

But I digress.

I see you’re asking why your home hasn’t sold. Since you have it listed currently, the person you should be asking is your agent. I’m really not supposed to get in the middle. But this is on the Internet so rules don’t really matter do they?

Clearly the problem is with your living room. If you have a living room. I can’t be certain. I’ve never seen your house. Heck, I’ve never seen your city. But that’s not important right now.

I also think there’s a problem with your price, at least according to what I’m seeing on Zillow. (By the way, if you’re home is one of the unzillowables, please blink twice.)

What I would do if I were you is demand your agent spend as much money as possible advertising in homes magazines. This really doesn’t work, but that’s not important. It’s not my money I’m trying to spend. I’m just trying to answer quick and make sure everyone knows I’m a national expert, not just your area specialist. That’s very important. I think.

If that doesn’t work, make sure to give me a call so I can refer you back to someone else in your city. Again, this really isn’t going to benefit you all that much but this way I can ask for a nifty referral fee for all the hard work I’ve put into this answer.

Oh, and if nothing else works, make sure the lights are on when someone comes to look. And bake some cookies. Maybe even send some to my office. I like cookies.

Well, thanks again for the e-mail. Best of luck with that sale.  I have to run and see how far I moved on the scoreboard with this first answer.

See ya!

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Greg was the first to post the news, courtesy of the Nashville Tennesean:

Gov. Phil Bredesen has signed a bill reinstating a ban on cash rebates for home sales and other real estate transactions, despite opposition from consumer advocates and federal antitrust officials.

The good news is somewhere there’s a lawyer or two who will make some money when this new law is challenged in court. And it will be. Make no mistake.

Regardless of whether the law stands, it’s a Pyrrhic victory at best. Victory over those dastardly companies with alternate business models will come with a steep price in public relations.

I’m not a purveyor of the rebate model but I’m also not an opponent. I’m confident enough in the service I provide that I don’t feel I need to pay my clients to work with me. And so I do not and have not viewed real estate models based on a rebate as a threat.

Even if they were, however, the solution isn’t legislation. If the whims of the market are such that such a model were to become dominant, I would have the choice either to adapt or change careers. So be it. By working to ban the rebate model, all the good folks at the Tennessee Association of REALTORS has done is give that particular more credence and legitimacy than it may deserve.

Rebate models only are profitable when business is performed in bulk because of the considerable overhead involved in real estate. Rare is the month where another check is not being sent somewhere to cover board dues, MLS access, website access, marketing or whatever else may arise.

We’re not in a market where bulk exists. Even if we were, if the best response TAR can come up with is to attempt to eliminate its competition through legislation, the group clearly is in dire straits.

Survive or fail on the service you provide. Don’t make yourselves look foolish asking for government protection of your business.

More reading:

DOJ + Protectionism = More Bad Publicity for Realtors

Technorati Tags: Phoenix real estate, real estate marketing, commissions, disintermediation

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I’ve never been a fan of template agent websites. I always believed organic, independently developed sites were the best bet as they provided the best opportunity to reflect your business and your personality.

Having said that, I just plunked down the cash to upgrade the Point-2-Agent site to Professional level, primarily because the prices go up tomorrow and also because there’s a satisfaction guarantee at the end of five months’ time.

Why? Because in a short couple of months and with little effort I’ve already generated a couple of solid leads off the site. Because I’m still fighting SERP battles with Google as it reads my main site and my blog as two different sites. Because when it comes to my web marketing strategy, which is my primary marketing strategy, I’m putting as many oars in the water as possible.

Realtor.Com was the first major investment outside my websites. Sellers have loved the enhanced listings but I can’t say as I’ve seen any massive flood of leads coming through. My two niche sites, ArrowheadRanchLiving.com and WestbrookVillageRealEstate.com have performed somewhat better.

Zillow’s led to one lead, Century 21 LeadRouter has generated one lead and Localism and/or Active Rain has generated a couple.

Where I ultimately want to be is a much more simplified approach, but that won’t happen until I work out some the constant SERP issues with Google. In the interim, we’ll keep working with a little bit of us all over the Internet. One advantage is my sellers can’t say their homes aren’t marketed … 12 separate websites for each listing, and counting.

There are worse plans.

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Once reliable Hostcentric has turned the science of domain hosting into a game of Russian roulette. Will my sites be working when I go to them? Will I be able to receive my e-mail? How long will this outage be, three minutes or three hours?

I’m done. D-U-N.

If anyone would like to suggest a reliable host, I’m all ears.

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Redfin’s hubris reached a new level yesterday, claiming one of Century 21’s new ads targeted the Seattle-based internet real estate company directly.

Oddly enough, I don’t hear the word “Redfin” at any point in the ad. I suppose it could happen if you played the ad backward, but I highly doubt that as well.

Redfin’s primary strength has been an inscrutable sense for public relations. But this one’s such a severe stretch, I’ll be amazed if Glenn doesn’t end up on the 15-day disabled list with a torn hamstring.

There are many companies who rely heavily on the Internet for their business. There are many agents, including some who are dodging the urge to purchase a gold coat, who do the same. What separates these companies and agents from Redfin, aside from the chutzpah to keep asking for venture capital? We show properties to our clients. And we don’t collect an upfront, four-figure fee for taking a listing (or, more correctly, for entering a listing in the MLS after the client completes the paperwork themselves.)

Century 21’s new ads are varied but the message has little to do with what’s being said. It is all about the gold coats. People recognize the coats. Think it’s a silly notion? Think about Jack-in-the-Box. Not only was “Jack Back” but Jack was everywhere. The best marketing icons live on long after someone had the silly idea to retire them.

(Want further evidence of the power of marketing? Finish this sentence: “two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese …”)

Redfin’s post seemed reminiscent of a B-list celebrity appearing on the Surreal Life or other such shows. The 15 minutes (13 minutes in Redfin’s case, courtesy of 60 Minutes) is over … the quest to squeeze another couple of minutes’ notice out of an apathetic public continues.

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