A Word from our Sponsor-IMOS

IMOS is pleased to sponsor REBSEA once again. We believe that the value offered by REBSEA to real estate professionals is identical with our corporate philosophy of helping loan officers be better equipped and more knowledgeable in their approach to holding themselves out online.

As IMOS is not exactly a household name in the mortgage industry (yet) I should probably introduce you our most popular service: the IMOS auto-quoting application. Our web based software application helps hundreds of loan originators nationwide connect with home owners and home buyers. IMOS automates the loan officers mortgage ‘quote responses’ to perspective online consumers in mortgage spaces like the Zillow mortgage Market. The consumer puts in their loan search criteria and IMOS provides the loan officer’s pricing relative to the consumer’s criteria in real time.

Additionally, IMOS allows the loan officer greater flexibility than other – our settings allow you to quote only the specific loan products and pricing to the online consumers that meet their ideal criteria. By filtering for the ‘ideal customer’ in IMOS the loan officer controls the credit scores, income, loan to value ratios, and other parameters that will generate a quote response. In short: – the loan officer quotes only to the customers that they want to work with!

IMOS is committed to helping loan officers originate more business. Our application is simple and transparent – designed to provide time savings and profitability. IMOS combines flat-fee, unlimited, quoting at the lowest rate in the industry. That’s the way it should be – that’s IMOS!

Thank you again for putting on REBSEA. We look forward to another spectacular event!

Sincerely,

Adam L. Stein

http://www.imosonline.com

A word from one of our Sponsors: Old Republic Title

Why is Old Republic Title a sponsor for REBarCamp?  I am sure to many people the answer is easy, “They are just trying to market themselves”.  Well we contend that this is only half true!  Yes, we do want to take advantage of every opportunity to showcase our company, however we also believe the in benefits and “teachings” of the unconference!

Seattle is a mecca for the latest and greatest technology.  The people here not only expect it to be used in their daily interactions, they demand it!  We want to be able to have all the information we need at our fingertips and this includes people who are in the market to buy, sell or refi.  If you have not been able to keep tabs on the latest trends in marketing, be sure to come and “unlearn” at the “unconference”.

One of the great benefits of social media marketing is that you can do a lot of it for no cost.  In today’s economy not everyone has the resources to publish weekly circular ads, print 100’s of property flyers, etc.  However, making QR code flyers, or having flyers texted to potential buyers, or loading a full MLS search engine on your Facebook page can all be done for pennies.

We know this is important to you and that’s why it’s important to us.  We desire to work alongside you and your business to help make you a leader in your market area.

So RSVP now [please see note below] for the RE:BarCamp Seattle and be sure to stop by and see your friends at Old Republic, where our experience is your advantage. 

EDITORS NOTE:  We are no longer accepting RSVPs since we are at capacity but we do have a waiting list.

A Word from one of our Sponsors: Bing

Who Will Own Real Estate Search?

Recently, Google announced that they’ll no longer support viewing property listings on Google Maps. Okay, good discussion topic since Google’s mission is to organize the world’s data and I guess real estate isn’t in the mix. At least not for now. Which raises the question about Real Estate and maps together as one and the happy mediums in which they get displayed. First off, I’m betting the real estate companies around the world are cheering about this news. That industry is superstitious to the nth degree about how multiple listing services (MLS) are used since that is their sacred cow for which they generate revenue. Which leads me to my conspiracy theories as to why they really took it down…and, perhaps why Bing never started in the first place. Just a reminder, these are just stupid theories I came up with.

Conspiracy Theory #1 – They finally violated some MLS rules about having to give credit and reference to the original seller brokerage since they were receiving data from all kinds of places.

Conspiracy Theory #2 – They’re trying to break into the enterprise business, no one is willing to pay them for what they’re historically given away for free and real estate sites have been abusing the free maps for years so they see upside and a potential revenue stream (they are trying to diversify that single source of income).

Conspiracy Theory #3 – The real estate market sucks so bad that not even Google is making money monetizing online visitors with conversion revenue sharing.

Conspiracy Theory #4 – It was becoming too much overhead to try to accommodate the business of real estate tools and it’s better left to the developers in that field. So, build a better platform.

So, map lovers, is there such a thing as too much data? Is it possible that we’ve finally found the end of what can be mapped onto a single experience? Are we saying that maps have a limited value for viewing data geographically and at the end of the day there’s just too much information and the search algorithms are too complex? Hmm. Unlikely.

Bing has this concept of “Collections” now called “My Places” that allows anyone to specify locations on a map (Google has something similar) and share the list with anyone via an email links A good percentage of collections are real estate agents who didn’t have the right tools from their brokerage to share data with consumers. I hired a wonderful agent (Babbs Weissman of Windermere) to help me find a house in Seattle and the tools she’s using to share properties with me are pretty rudimentary, the interface is list-based, and the map is an afterthought. So, I can’t find the “map all listings at once” function in the case that I want to see where they are in proximity to each other (or my office and other places I care about). So, even the tools that are available to agents have much left to be desired.

I’ve seen some wicked cool sites built with maps – John L. Scott is still my favorite – it’s fast and has a polygon drawing tool (neighborhood wizard) for specifying random areas along with different property attributes. I used to like Houston Association of Realtors (until the removed all the local information overlays – now the UX is complicated). I do like Zillow (neighborhood boundaries) and Windermere (HUGE MAP!) to round out the top 3. I don’t just like them because they use Bing (believe it or not). I like them because they provide tools and use hyper-local information.

At the end of the day, there’s plenty of work to be done in real estate. Plenty. Lots of UX work. Lots of data presentation work. Plenty of tools to be built for realtors and consumers. Bing Maps never stepped into the market and instead invested in building a platform that allowed our partners to get innovative with their data. The tools we provided complimented with the moved to Azure CDN (for performance) and Bird’s Eye Imagery and our slant on non-competitive customer markets allowed us to focus our attention elsewhere and gain inroads in the real estate enterprise market. I’ve seen a lot of innovation around Google’s Maps platform and there is healthy competition in the maps space.

Follow me @ChrisPendleton, ^CP

Note: my views do not represent Microsoft or Bing and are my own personal perspectives.
Chris Pendleton
Sr. Program Manager Lead, Bing Mobile
Microsoft Corporation

A Word from One of Our Sponsors: Rhonda Porter aka The Mortgage Porter

I admit I feel kind of funny writing a sponsor post for Seattle reBarCamp but I won’t have time on the day of the event to participate in the Sponsor Spotlight Sessions…so I’m taking advantage of this opportunity. 

This is my second year as a sponsor and third year as a volunteer for Seattle reBarCamp…as  you can probably tell, I’m hooked on this event.  From January to March, it sometimes feels like planning a barcamp could be a full time job, but it’s not.  So here goes my shameless plug….

I have been a mortgage originator at Mortgage Master Service Corporation since April 1, 2000.  Our company is a family (my in-laws) owned correspondent lender who’s been around since the mid-70s.  Correspondent lenders are kind of like a combo between a mortgage broker and a bank.   I have the ability to work with and price several different wholesale lenders and banks, like a broker.  Our transactions are underwritten, loan docs are drawn and the transaction is funded all at our main office in Kent.  I would say this is like a bank but many large banks have processing and underwriting centers that are not local.   I feel like I’m spoiled working with the same underwriter for the past 10 years!  

Before I was in lending, I managed a title and escrow branch in Federal Way.  It was amazing to me how many clients I signed who either were not aware of their loan program and/or were unhappy with their mortgage originator.   It’s crucial to me that my clients are happy with me from start to finish as my business is completely referral or by consumers who seek me out because of the advice and information I provide on my blog, The Mortgage Porter.   This May will mark my 25th anniversary in the real estate industry!

I’m honored to have been relied on as a resource by the press and to have received awards.  Last year I was extremely humbled when I was invited to participate on a panel about mortgage origination and securitization at the Lusk Center for Real Estate for USC. 

The largest compliment I can receive is the chance to work with you on your next mortgage transaction.  I am licensed to originate residential mortgages as long as the home is located in Washington State.   We have conventional, FHA (including 203k), VA, USDA and jumbo loans available.

I look forward to seeing everyone on March 3 at the Seattle Center – this event is going to be over the top!   And I’m so proud to be a part of it.

Please follow me on Twitter and fan me on Facebook. 

Disclosure time:  RhondaPorter’s  NMLS License # MLO-121324

All New: Sponsor Spotlight Sessions!

Hello BarCamp’ers!

Can you believe it is only 13 days until RE BarCamp Seattle??  WOW!

The #rebcsea planning committee is putting the final touches on plans for the upcoming event… and wanted to let you know about a couple of updates and a brand new addition to our day!!

After much deliberation and conversation, the committee has decided to forgo a ‘bling/giveaway’ this year… Our non-profit partner, Solid Ground, is in tremendous need of assistance this year – and our community at large needs food more than you, our dearest participant, need another mug, t-shirt, or keychain.   The committee trusts that you will agree.

In lieu of honoring our sponsors with their names on ‘bling’ the plan is to enhance their vendor table display area, as well as host a special “Sponsor Spotlight Session Track” to spread the word about their products, tools, resources!

Many of our sponsors will be hosting drawings, giving out their very own bling, and sharing how they may be able to fulfill your business plans and visions!   

We encourage you to stop by these Spotlight Sessions and the vendor area to say “hello and thank you” to the peeps in the room.   They keep the event FREE… and allow us to donate to our community in need!

The committee looks forward to seeing you all in less than TWO WEEK! 

psssttttt…. 
Have you put on your thinking cap yet?
Any idea about WHAT you want to SHARE? 
How about what you want to LEARN? 
It is never too early to start getting your thoughts together… 
#justsayin

A Word From Our Sponsor EZ2 Inspect: Kill the “DEAL KILLER”

Kill the “DEAL KILLER”

By: Farren West

During my eleven years inspecting homes, condos, and septic systems there has been one thing abundantly clear, Realtors don’t know what they’re selling. What the heck does that mean?

Ok allow me to elaborate. When a Realtor lists a home for sale, they know the proximity the property is to schools and how many houses have sold in this area for X price in the last 6 month.  But, they may not have any idea about the shape and condition of the house.

Maybe they ask their client “Hey Frank, you got anything wrong with your house?”  Frank answers, “Heck no this house is great,I’ve been living here 22 years with no problems”. In reality Frank has done 20 different home improvement projects and doesn’t have a clue what he is doing.

And now you are about to put a home on the market not knowing if there water in the crawlspace. Rats living in the attic.  Rotting tiles in the bathroom or whether there are electrical safety hazards that would scare off a potential buyer.

So here’s my suggestion -  Kill the “DEAL KILLER”. Eliminate the reason the potential buyer would walk from the home. You worked your tail off to get a buyer now don’t lose them. In a quick survey to Realtors in the Pacific Northwest, we found there are two main reasons why a buyer fails to purchase the home: (1) the Financing Contingency i.e. can’t get a loan, and (2) items found during the Home Inspection process.

You can eliminate the Financing Contingency issue by making sure the client is pre-qualified; this for the most has become the norm in the industry.

The other deal killer is the Inspection Contingency, which can be a bit more difficult to eliminate. Here’s the scenario: you talked your client into painting, purchasing carpet, beautifying the front yard, cleaning the house, etc.  Now you come to him and say “we should get your home Pre-Inspected so we can address any ‘Red Flags’ before they become deal killers”, in order to eliminate this potential “DEAL Killer” before it becomes an actual deal killer.

Unfortunately, many sellers balk at the idea of spending another $400 – $500 for a pre-inspection on a home they believe is in great shape.  So the house gets listed with what could be a ticking “Time Bomb” (aka “DEAL KILLER”) that could have been addressed or eliminated before going on the market.

Well, at EZ2Inspect.com we think we have a solution for you and it’s not going to cost you or your client $400 – $500.  It’s an easy to follow guide, DVD and checklist to “Sell your House FAST, Sell your House SMART”.

We have taken 30+ years’ worth of experience from a group of inspectors, contractors, investors and experienced realtors to build a system which nearly any “Do It Yourself” handy homeowner can follow.

Our system includes an easy to follow guide with 50+ photos from actual inspections, a quick checklist to ensure you hit the big points when inspecting, a home maintenance CD covering 250 different home repair projects and a DVD of me walking you through the home inspection process. I know…pure magic.

We are releasing our first guide, “Sell your Condo FAST, Sell your Condo SMART”, which focuses on preparing your condo listing for sale. We will be releasing our home version in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

You can see FREE videos on different sections of the condo inspection process at EZ2Inspect.com and you can also download a Free TOP 10 Checklist

If you have questions, comments, concerns, I would love to hear them at [email protected] 1.855.238.8934 visit us in the Sponsor Spotlight Room at RE BarCamp Seattle. We are a locally based company all the way in Clearview, Washington. This is our official coming out party, come by and say hello, give a hi-five, maybe a cheer!

Things We Love

It’s Valentine’s Day and we can’t think of a better time to share some of the things we adore and love.

We love our volunteers. Our volunteers all have full time “day jobs” and have dedicated countless hours of their time brainstorming, researching and planning to make the 2011 Seattle reBarCamp worth attending and participating.   As one of the volunteers, I can tell you it’s been a lot of fun working with this amazing group…and there is a lot of work that take place “behind the scenes”.   Please take a moment and check out our volunteers on the right sidebar and show them some love.

We love our sponsors.   Let’s face it, without their financial support, this event would not be free to attend.  Not only is this year’s event back at the NW Rooms of the Seattle Center, because of all of our sponsors, we will be able to make a nice donation to a great local charity, Solid Ground.    We love that too!

We love you.  Seattle reBarCamp returns to Seattle for the fourth time on March 3 because of you!  Thanks so much for tweeting about the event and using #rebcsea and for promoting us with  your blog post and on Facebook.   We have almost 600 people signed up to participate at this one of a kind event from all over the west coast.   For some it will be their first reBarCamp experience and others are returning.   Not only will there be a lot of peer to peer learning and sharing taking place, many will be networking and developing new relationships that will last beyond reBarCamp.

We look forward to seeing you all participating in the sessions and to making it a great day.

RE Bar Camp Sponsor | MyMortgageGuyDan.com

“Un Learn, Un Conference, Un Real”

Over the past two years, I’ve seen a total paradigm shift in how agents are marketing, and more importantly, how I market to generate business online as a Seattle FHA mortgage banker.  I went from being a 100% referral based lender (database and realtor referrals) to a 90% in-bound marketing business owner.  Yes, I still get referrals to work with real estate agent’s clients, but today, I am generating the majority of my business online through my blog/website, social media, and YouTube, as well as helping my real estate agents do the same.

I am really excited this year to be a part of Seattle RE Bar Camp 2011 both as a sponsor and attendee.  I have never attended a RE Bar Camp, but over the past two years, I’ve learned a lot about why they call it an “unconference”.   I think that today, more than ever, the “unconference” approach suits our industry perfectly – learning from people who are currently implementing.

With the recent shift and current changes that we are going through, one can argue that you can throw-out a lot of what you have learned in the past, or what “worked” for you in the past out the window… I think too much focus has been place on the shift in the market, that many agents and brokers have lost tabs on the major shift that has taken place in marketing.
 
 

So what do I expect to get out of RE Bar Camp 2011? I am excited to meet new people, run into a “game-changer” or two, and learn a few new strategies that I can start to implement into my business. I especially hope to take away a few tips on improving my wordpress blog’s SEO, as well as gathering some tips on improving my conversion with my video home tour blogs.

When I am not working with my Team on mortgage applications in process, I spend a lot of my time helping my agents grow and optimize their business as we move into uncharted Web 2.0-3.0 waters.  I host a monthly Coffee With Keller Meet-up for real estate agents where we discuss how to implement similar topics and strategies you will see at RE Bar Camp.  Every 3 months I host an event for Seattle area real estate agents called Agent Online REvolution.  This is an event where I Skype in some of our industries top coaches and tech leaders to talk about new strategies in our industry and how to both implement and optimizes them to get more listings, buyers, and eventually more online market share!

You can follow me on Facebook at both:
Dan Keller | MyMortgageGuyDan(dot)com
Agent Online REvolution

Connect with me online at
www.mymortgageguydan.com

Follow me at: @dankellermtg

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