Today's Hot New Listings!

Details 281455 (New) - 232  Wimberly Dr, Trussville, AL - $379,900

Details 281466 (New) - 5  Plymouth Rock Dr, Trussville, AL - $395,000

Mike Carraway
Broker
Access Realty
office:  205-833-6300
Fax:  205-833-3350
email:  mikec@carrawayrealty.com
Website:  www.Access1000.com

Bernice Ross. Phd at NAR Convention

Bernice was at one of the booths on the expo floor showing off a couple of her good books, "Who's the best person to sell my house", and another about the commission discounters and the dangers of falling into that trap. Her website is RealEstateCoach.com.

I thought I had recorded a podcast with her but for some reason it's not in my mp3 player. I'll have another crack at it today.

David Knox at NAR

Here's a shot of myself and David Knox of David Knox Productions. His most recent project, Real Estate LIVE! is highly recommended by the author of this blog.

I have seen and reviewed all of the dvd's in the series and they are EXCELLENT! Listen in as I interview David... Click Here for the Podcast or MP3

Also - you can go to David's website: www.DavidKnox.com and get lot's of free stuff PLUS the conference material!

More Images from NAR/San Francisco

This is yet another image from our "wine tour" taken in the cellars of a Sebastiani Winery...

This is the main entrance to the convention area

Day 3 of the NAR Convention

Well, we've been here since Wednesday afternoon and here's a few of the more exciting things we've done and seen...
A WILD ASS cab ride over the top of Nob Hill - I thought I was in a roller coaster. Had gto strap in, hold on, and close my eyes. The driver thought it was "fun".
Fisherman's wharf and a ride in a horse drawn carraige - nice.
Lunch from the top of the Nordstrun's building at Cafe Bistro - terrific view and excellent food.
Last Night - Wolfgang Puck's restaurant, Postrio's, excellent food, service and atmosphere...$140 for 2 dinners.
TODAY - Seminar with David Knox, then another seminar - Real Estate in 2010. I'm looking forward to both and I'll be interviewing David Knox for this evening's podcast. Check back in later.

Podcast from NAR Convention

This is another podcast from the National Association of Realtors Convention. Just after 3pm PDT, we had endured 3 seminars beginning at 9am and were ready for some reflection, relaxation, and adult beverages :-).

Click Here!

The Golden Gate Bridge

photo of the "group"

1st Podcast from the NAR Convention - Wine Country

Here's my first recorded podcast from today - Sonoma Valley on a wine tour. Pretty cool and you also get a "secret" url to order wine direct:

Click Here!

Todays's HOT NEW Listings

Details 278399 (New) - 123  Deer Run Ln, Trussville, AL - $324,900

Details 278430 (New) - 7545  Surrey Ln, Clay, AL - $329,900

Details 278348 (New) - 8609  Highlands Trc, Trussville, AL - $331,000

Mike Carraway

office:  205-833-6300
Fax:  205-833-3350
email:  mikec@carrawayrealty.com
Website:  www.Access1000.com

Today's HOT New Listings

Details 278234 (New) - 203  Oak St, Trussville, AL - $309,900

Details 278126 (New) - 328  Palace Dr, Trussville, AL - $399,900

Details 278154 (New) - 800  Wear Dr, Birmingham, AL - $835,000

email:  mikec@carrawayrealty.com
Website:  www.Access1000.com

Today's HOT New Listing

Details 276454 (New) - 8497  Carrington Lake Cove, Trussville, AL - $389,900

email:  mikec@carrawayrealty.com
Website:  www.Access1000.com

Todays's HOT Listing:

 

Details 275986 (New) - 3140  Smith Sims Rd, Trussville, AL - $324,900

email:  mikec@carrawayrealty.com
Website:  www.Access1000.com

Today's HOT Listing:

 

Details 275809 (New) - 7759  Peppertree Highland Cir, Trussville, AL - $449,900

Updates in a Podcast

Fianlly got this up...NAR convention update, blog update, RSS feeds for real estate, and more CLICK HERE

Today's HOT NEW Listings!

----------------------------------------------
The following are the links to the selected listings.

Details 272627, 700 OLD TRAIL RD, BIRMINGHAM, AL - $339,000.00
Details 273077, 501 VALLEY DR, BIRMINGHAM, AL - $349,900.00
Details 273908, 108 MUNGER CIR, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $329,900.00
Details 273573, 5251 OLD MILL RUN, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $359,900.00
Details 272935, 5868 CARRINGTON LN, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $369,900.00
Details 273239, 6259 KIDRON PL, BIRMINGHAM, AL - $379,900.00
Details 272972, 6621 MAPLEWOOD COVE, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $449,000.00
Details 273806, 5280 LAKESIDE TERR, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $459,900.00

Or Click Here to go view all listings at once.

If your email program doesn't support an HTML url, then copy and paste the following
address to your browser's address box:

http://bhammls.net/BAARReports/listings.asp?ID=I2045093

REALTORS: REAL-Service REAL-Expertise.
You can also visit http://www.Access1000.com to perform your own property search.

New Things coming SOON!

It's been a while since I've posted any podcasts or updates...but there is a reason. Sometimes you just need to step back and look at what's happening in the industry, in tech developments, and legislation, and then see how it's all going to inter-relate. That's what I've been doing for the past few months.

The real estate business is about to undergo some big changes so to help everyone get out there where it's going, I am setting up a new site: ListandLast.com

RSS feeds, Podcasting, e-books for consumers, DVD Listing presentations, handy tools and more will all be included on this site.

By the way, a side note: The state of Alabama has just passed a "minimum services" law which basically outlaws a so called "low service listing". Developing...

Wired Mag needs to get a grip

The latest issue of Wired Magazine has an article about real estate agents that is mind boggling. The article correctly indicates that real estate agents realize a higher price on their own homes when they sell, but then goes on to incorrectly conclude that the reason for this is that agents intentionally try to get their sellers to accepts lower offers, while "holding out" for better offers on their own homes.
HOGWASH!
They should have done just a wee bit more research into the "hows and whys" before jumping to errouneous conclusions.
The fact is, real estate agents work with motivated buyers day in and day out and know exactly what they are looking for. When an agent puts their own house on the market, they have already done the things that they know buyers will be looking for in a home. Most sellers, on the other hand, cannot understand why they should sink an additional $5,000 to $10,000 into a home they are about to sell and move out of. Instead, the seller wants to offer "carpet and paint allowances". Failing to do this cheap, simple work BEFORE putting a home on the market will impact the sales price by 3-8%. Doing the work FIRST allows a seller to realize a higher price, much quicker.
I think the National Association of Realtors deserves an apology from Wired Mag. Developing...

Where's my offer?

A seller puts their home on the market and then waits for the offers. BUT - they don't come. In fact 40 or 50 people look at their home and nothing happens. No one has any NEGATIVE feedback, everyone says "it's a nice house", but no one makes an offer.
What's wrong?
Simple - the home is competeing against other homes that offer more for the same money. People are looking at this home and then looking at other homes and saying, "the other homes are a better buy". There is only one way to fix this problem...
Lower the price. Once YOUR home is the best buy among a group of similarly priced homes, you'll get an offer. Just because you want to get more, doesn't mean someone will pay more.

Lowball Buyers...FORGETABOUTIT

Here's today's mp3 clip on what happens when you lowball a seller...Click Here

Death of a House Sale...

The biggest pitfall there is.
If yu want your home to sell fast and for the most money, there is just ONE BIG THING. That's it. That one big thing is PRICE. Price it too high and no one will make an offer. Price it too low and you'll get lots of offers. Which situation would you rather be in?
Most seller find it hard to be the lowest priced home in their neighborhood. However, in every instance when a seller has agreed with me to price the home just below the market value, we have always realized a higher than list price sales price. Why?
Simple. The lower price increases the demand and the activity on the home and you have more than one buyer wanting the house. With multiple offers, the seller has more negotiating power and can deal with just the buyer that wants to pay more than any one else. Result? House sells quicker and for higher price.

Access Realty World News - - 2

apparently the podcasting cvommunity missed this one so I had to repost it.
Mortgage brokers suck and will get you in trouble. Listen here----> Click here

Get the 24/Hour Hotline - NOW

Have had a lot of requests for this link - here it is again...
Click here

Access Realty World News - Mortgage pitfalls

You can get burned along with your agent if you don't keep an eye out for those "shifty-eyed" mortgage brokers... Listen to the first real produced version of Access Realty World News-----> Click Here

Eliminate the Barriers..Get it SOLD!

One of the key things in selling a home is to make it EASY to buy. The way to do that is to remove all of the barriers to ownership. In this quick MP3 file, you'll discover just how to do it...Click Here

Setting up that 24/Hour HOTLINE

I've had several requests to post the link for the 24/Hour hotline system so here it is: Agent Freedom
It's pretty self explanatory and easy to set up with a wealth of cool features.

Radio Transmitters Really WORK!

We've been using these little transmitters, also known as "Talking House" transmitters for years. Nothing like a point of sale meassage to get a buyers juices flowing! Listen here...Click here

How the new Web Tools enhance selling

These days, it takes more than just sticking up a sign and running an ad to get a house sold. It takes building your own mailing list of people who want to see the house. How do you do that? Listen and see! Click Here!

Selling High - Always

Why oh why can't people get it? Selling high in the real estate world is as easy as selling high in the stock market. There's really no difference. While we could all buy high and then wait till we're 90, that's not the way that the "insider's" do it.
Listen to this mp3 audio file to get more...
Click Here