Photos from the First REBarCamp Denver 2009

REBar Camp Denver Welcomes Joshua Dorkin Founder of Bigger Pockets

Anyone who has been active on the Internet and in real estate has stumbled upon, tripped over and most likely become a part of the popular site called, Bigger Pockets.  I know myself it was impossible to navigate anywhere without seeing this site.  Imagine my surprise when I received a call one day from Joshua Dorkin the founder.  Come to find out, Joshua lives in Washington Park, just a mere few blocks from my office!  It was a delightful realization once again demonstrating how small our world really is!

Now a year later I have the pleasure to introducing Joshua Dorkin to the REBC site.  Let’s hear more about him and his creation…

You run a very successful Real Estate website called “BiggerPockets,” what inspired you to start this site?

I had spent time as a real estate agent in Los Angeles and was actively investing in real estate when I started BiggerPockets.  At the time, there were a few websites focused on investors, but I felt like they were all focused on trying to sell me something.  I felt that there was a need for a website where people could find good, quality information about buying and investing in real estate, where they didn’t have to worry about the ulterior motives of those providing the information to them.

I hate sales pitches, and feel like many of the real estate “experts/gurus” were taking advantage (and continue to do so)  of people who are desperate for quality information.  They sell you a bit of information, only to upsell you more detailed information with the ultimate goal of selling you once again.  It is BIG business.  It happens in the investing space, the real estate sales space, and in the real estate tech space.

BiggerPockets was built to bypass that business model.  Our goal was to provide that info directly to the end user so they can use their hard worked money for actual real estate dealings instead of investing in educational upsells.  Since then, the site has expanded to cater to not only investors, but professionals and others as well, but the initial intent was to build this platform free of pitches, and that vision continues today.

As the name says, we can all have Bigger Pockets if we work together to share our communal knowledge and experience with one another.

Tell us in a few words what the site is about:

BiggerPockets is a real estate social network and information resource portal focused on helping real estate professionals, investors, homeowners, and aficionados in their real estate education, networking, deal making, and marketing.  The ultimate goal of the site is to help these people in their day to day real estate-related tasks and activities.

Who can join BiggerPockets?  What benefits will they receive from being a part of this network.

Anyone and everyone can join the site, but those people who will find it useful are people working in real estate and real estate related businesses, investors, homeowners, renters, etc . . . so, basically anyone and everyone.

The reasons to join the site are many.  One of the things that makes our site different is that we aren’t interested in allowing BiggerPockets to become a virtual flea market.  We could just allow people to constantly pitch one another, but they don’t want that.

While the marketing opportunities on the site are many, what you’ll find on most other sites are people constantly pitching their services to you, especially when you’re not looking to be sold anything.  e.g. Ask a question on these other sites about mortgages and 10 lenders solicit your business. On the other hand, when you ask a question on BiggerPockets, you’ll get people actually answering your question.  We do have many places on the site where you can solicit deals, partners, business, referrals, etc., but if people are just looking for help, then they should get it instead of having dozens of people trying to pull at them from different directions.

That said, when members are looking to do deals, find partners, market their services, etc. they know that there is a vast community of people who can easily find and work with them.

Our site ranks for thousands of keywords and phrases and is SEO optimized.  Look for almost anything in real estate on the search engines, and you’ll end up at BiggerPockets.  That visibility is extremely helpful for those people who take advantage of our site by becoming active participants.

Obviously BiggerPockets is an example of social media in action.  What 3 things would you recommend a newcomer to your site do first?

The first thing I’d recommend a newcomer to do on BiggerPockets is spend some time navigating the site.  As almost all information on the site is also available to non-members, everyone can benefit from the great information contained within our forums, blogs, official blog, article directory, etc.   What I find interesting is that a vast percentage of members do spend a good amount of time on the site before joining.  I love reading their introductions, where they tell us how they felt compelled to join after spending so much of their time just peering in from the outside.

The most important thing a new member can do is to fill in their profile completely and truthfully.  By filling in your background, goals, haves, wants, etc., you help others to get to know you better.  Networking is much easier online when people can easily find out more about who you are.

Once you’ve got your profile set up, jump on our forums and write your introduction post.  The forums are truly the hub of the community, and by introducing yourself, you can tell people a little more about who you are, and why you’ve decided to join up. The intro will begin your visibility on the site.

Finally, start participating.  Share your questions and insight on the forums, get involved in our Bulletins platform (social news), write your own blog or get involved in the discussion on the blog of others, attend local events, join some groups that interest you, post your property listings, and so on.  As you participate more, people will begin to get to know you better, and as a result, you’ll notice your visibility on the site will increase as well.

People will have different reasons for using BiggerPockets, but despite differing backgrounds, careers, and sub-interests within the realm of real estate, everyone can find a place on our network.  We just ask that you respect your fellow members and  our rules & guidelines, and you’ll find that BiggerPockets is the ultimate online real estate destination.

You can find Joshua blogging on BiggerPockets.

REBC – John Skrabec of Live Urban Is Coming with His Associates!

When the message went out that REBarCamp was in need of a few sponsors, the guys at Live Urban stepped forth to lend a hand.  It is with great pleasure I introduce John Skrabec, Broker/owner of one of Denver’s boutique real estate offices.

A Colorado native, Broker/Owner John Skrabec grew up in Denver. Along with business partner and Managing Broker/Owner Mark White, he founded LIVE Urban Real Estate in 2006. He’s renovated four homes in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood, where he lives now, and is active in his neighborhood organization. John stays busy experimenting in the kitchen, skiing at Winter Park, scooting on his Vespa, and trying to keep up with his eleven-year old son Anten.

How long have you been in the real estate industry?  What did you do before?

Being a creative soul at heart, I started my career as a budding architect, earning degrees from CU-Boulder in environmental design and marketing. After years in the creative arts, I needed to flex my “entrepreneurial muscles” and founded Cactus Marketing Communications, a full-service ad agency. During that time, I was elected President of Denver’s Advertising Federation as well as President of the Colorado Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

After a decade of success in advertising, marketing and design, I decided to apply my marketing knowledge and business experience to real estate. Following my love of historic properties, I began a career as a Realtor in the urban neighborhoods of Denver, where I have been working with buyers and sellers all over the city for over eight years. For the last five years, I’ve also earned recognition in the Denver Board of Realtor’s Roundtable.

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

LIVE Urban Real Estate is a full-service real estate brokerage with a focus on the diverse and vibrant urban neighborhoods of Denver. We love this city as much as you do. With unique backgrounds, valuable real estate experience and a love for city life, our team of 41 real estate brokers are determined to craft a unique standard of service in real estate. Mark White and I started the company in 2006.

Whether you are buying or selling, our brokers specialize in urban-oriented, residential properties and have exceptional market knowledge of Denver’s classic neighborhoods and up-and-coming hot spots. We have unique insights into the most sought-after urban communities that blend friendly neighbors with thriving small business – because we live there ourselves.

Are you involved in social media? How do you use social media to leverage your business?

Yes, we’re beginning to use social media for marketing purposes within the context of an office wide ‘New Media Initiative’. Not only does the office have its own Facebook and Twitter presence, all our brokers are strongly encouraged to participate in Facebook and Twitter, sharing the latest real estate news, new listing and open house announcements, topical items of interest, etc. We have a office-wide group blog at http://blog.liveurbandenver.com where all agents participate in the discussion. All brokers are also encourage to regularly participate and post information on Zillow, Trulia and Active Rain.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

I believe we’re savvy marketers, who take an out-of-the-box approach to real estate marketing and promotion to serve our clients and brokers. With a commitment to breakthrough marketing, growing brand awareness and up-to-the-minute productivitiy resources, it all means results for our agents. Our brokers are supported with Free Marketing Consultations, E-Marketing Systems, Targeted Direct Mail, Cutting-Edge E-Contract Software, Virtual File Management, a Personalized Web Presence and more.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

Yes, I’ll be attending, along with several of my colleagues from LIVE Urban Real Estate. At this time, I’ll need to pass on the opportunity to present. Thanks for asking!

How can we contact you?

John@LIveUrbanDenver.com

Change in Location!

The location for REBarCamp has been changed!  The new location is at 2105 Decatur Street, Denver, CO.

The DPPA Event Center offers our group more space and abundant parking (Bronco Stadium Parking).

Please make this change in your calendar for May 22, 2009.

Map of New Location and Driving Directions from DIA

Short Sale Management Experts Embrace Social Media to Get

Short sales have become the deals we love to hate. They have become so prevalent in our market there is absolutely no way to ignore them any longer.  So in an effort to bring everyone up to speed on the aspects of Short Sales and how to make them work RE BarCamp will be bringing specialists in who will share their knowledge and give us tips for making Short Sales a success in our business.

Today we welcome Tara N. Rogers, President/CEO of RealtyTMS a national Short Sale Management  Company.

How has Social Media enhanced your business?
Social  Media has provided us a great way to get and stay connected to the real estate community and to share our expertise with  REALTORS® all over.  We sponsored Brad Hanks’ “Expose Yourself! Social Media Technology” CE Class at the Colorado Association of  REALTORS® State Convention last fall.  It helped us understand the value of staying connected and sharing insight with others in the industry and also gave us the tools to be able to gain knowledge from others as well.

Tell us about your business and how you are able to assist REALTORS ® in theirs.

RealtyTMS, Inc. provides administrative support to REALTORS® along with technology integration (online access to their transaction).  This allows REALTORS® to focus more on business-building activities such as lead generation, networking, marketing, and lead conversion rather than on managing time-consuming deadlines and paperwork associated with real estate transactions.

Describe your day to us, what do you do?

For me, each day is different.  As President and CEO I wear many hats from networking, presenting at brokerages, attending classes for further education, hosting and teaching classes on short sales for  REALTORS®, managing our workforce, and meeting with current and potential shareholders in our company.  We have a team of Transaction Management Specialists and Assistants that manage the Listings, Transactions, and Short Sales for  REALTORS®.  They work diligently throughout the day, contacting lenders regarding the progress of a short sale, inputting listings onto the web and creating flyers, and managing the dates, deadlines, and paperwork for transactions.

Tell us about your short sale close ratio.

We have a very high success rate in getting short sales to approval.  The only ones that do not come together successfully are those in which there are too many judgments or liens on the property or the buyer decided not to wait for approval or could not get financing to come together after approval.  Unfortunately, in the case of the latter, unless we can get it under contract again quickly, it will be difficult to get the bank to move the foreclosure sale date.  We do have a list of real estate investors that we send out any short sales that have been approved by the lender but the buyer has fallen off.   This can assist the Realtor in getting a new contract on it.  The great thing about what we do, is that we help the Realtor by taking on all of the administrative challenges associated with short sales so that they can focus on what they do best, marketing the property and getting it under contract.

What 4 or 5 questions should we as REALTORS® be prepared to ask a buyer/seller?

1. Are you behind in your mortgage payments and if so, how far?
2. have you received a Notice of Election and Demand?
3. Have you discussed a loan modification with your lender?
4. Have you considered renting your home?
5. Have you considered getting a roommate in the short term to help make payments?
6. Are you in are going to be in Bankruptcy?

For a Buyer:

1. Are you willing to wait (possibly 6 months or more)?
2. Are you pre-approved?
3. Do you have a Pre-Approval Letter?
4. Do you have proof of funds
5. Are you really willing to wait?

Are you coming to RE Bar Camp?  If so, would you be willing to share your insight on short sales with us?

Yes, I will be attending and I am very excited as this looks like it will be a fantastic event!  I would be happy to share our insight and expertise on short sales.  We have a great class we teach on the 7 Keys To Successful Short Sales.  We’d be happy to present this and also have some agents that can attest to their short sales experience.  I would also be available for anyone who wanted to know more about our Listing and Transaction Management services too.

Tara N. Rogers can be reached at RealtyTMS

Susan Stewart of Stewart Title Utilizes Social Media for Business

Social Media is impacting businesses of all kinds. Susan Stewart who works Stewart Title has embraced social media as a way to increase her sphere.  Susan so impressed me with her enthusiasm and her willingness to spread the word. Susan is now teaching social media classes in Metro Denver.

How long have you been in the Title Business?

7 years

What did you do before?

Banking & College

We just meet last month at a Tweet Up. I was very impressed with your enthusiasm for social media. What attracted you to start utilizing social media?

Recommended by some of my clients to start engaging in it. Then realized the power of the networking sphere you have through this online world and its fun too.

What has it done for your business?

Given me credibility & strength, known as an innovator and trusted business partner with resources to help agents achieve results.

Assuming you have had enough experience using a variety of platforms, which social network is your favorite? And why?

Facebook, its the easiest/user friendliest, and lots of fun!

Are you coming to REBarCamp Denver?

Absolutely

What do you hope to gain by attending?

Broader understanding of the social media world, and how knowledgeable the Denver real estate industry is. And to network and connect with others interested in growing their social media marketing platforms.

Who do you think should come to REBarCamp?

Everyone in the real estate industry interested in learning how to utilize these social media tools to grow their networks and business.

Would you like to teach a topic?

I would love to offer any help in the intro social media cafe area, which can help newbie’s get started by getting any of their social media sites profiles set up and started.

REBarCamp Theme Song

It all started just over a year ago, when Andy Kaufman began kicking around the idea of replicating a silicon valley event for the real estate industry.

Now with 5 amazing events successfully completed and more than that on the drawing board, RE BarCamps have become a phenomenon in the real estate industry. They are free, informative and speak to the need of the attendees. How refreshing!

On May 22 RE BarCamp convenes in Denver, we too shall ROCK!

Will you be there?

Video Credit goes to the Real Estate Zebra, Daniel Rothamel song by Neil Diamond, starring many people who believed it possible and made it come true.

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