[photopress:blogging101.gif,thumb,alignright]I’ve been asked to run some blog classes over at BRIO.  Apprently they’ve already set one up, and all RE professionals are invited.  Everything’s happening so fast and the first one is on Thursday morning September 6, at 10:00 a.m., right after the holiday weekend.

I looked over Dustin’s format, but while Dustin is my Blogging Guru, there’s not much I can use there.  It won’t include an overview of what a blog is.  It will get straight to the point.  Blog now!  LOL.  Clearly I don’t want it to be like some of the Web 2.0 classes I’ve been to, where the instructor spends most of the time talking about the days before faxes, and ends with “and now we’re at Web 2.0 thanks for coming”.   It also won’t be about what blogs are.  It will be a “getting started right now” seminar, much like Project Blogger that produced Kevin’s Blog.  (Kev was on the news in Miami today – his blog is gangbusters).

I’ve been wanting to take Jillayne’s class, but better I don’t until after I set up my format.  I don’t want to “plagerize”.  So it will be my view of Blogging and Web 2.0 and strictly from an agent’s perspective.  So while it may be more rudimentary than some of the other classes, I’m hoping that will be an advantage as it also won’t be over anyone’s head.  I can send them to Jillanye’s and Dustin’s classes for a broader perspective.  Mine will just get them up and running fast and give more tips on some of the pitfalls, like managing comments.  Or maybe that will be a follow up class after they’ve set up their blogs and written 20 or more posts. 

So Dustin and Russ and Jillayne and now me. RCG seems to be doing more than their fair share of hosting classes on blogging. No cost and no credit hours.  Just a sharing of ideas.  Most of my agents have expressed an interest in setting up or improving their blogs.  Clearly this is a good time for agents to start one, as we have more time in in winter to work on it than we do from January 15th through July.

Personally I thought the Inman Podcast was too much talk about us.  Maybe I’ll do a Podcast of my class and I’m planning to set it up more like a workshop.  R.S.V.P. if you’re interested in the comments below or email me, so we know how many to plan for.  Some have already signed up and I think we’re limiting it to 12 people.  But there will be more classes, I’m sure.  I’ll need to have at least 25 of them just to train my own agents.

One of the reasons I accepted BRIO’s offer is because there are Geeky Boys there who know how to Podcast.  Dustin?  Jillayne?  Are there any podcasts of your classes available online that I can view beforehand?

[photopress:cards.jpg,thumb,alignright]The other day when I wrote this article regarding “THE” Valuation Tool, I was talking about the one in my head.

When training new agents I give these instructions.  Go to Broker’s Open Houses and Sunday Open Houses and vacant properties.  Keep a three ring binder and put a printout of each property you visit in the binder.  As you go through each property DON’T write down how you “feel” about the house and it’s asthetics (it takes a while to break that habit, BTW).

Answer these three questions at each house and write your answers on the printout in your binder:

Will it sell? 

When will it sell?

Will they need to have a price reduction before it sells?

You don’t have to be an agent to practice the art of valuing homes or to perfect the “Valuation Tool” in your head.  You just have to remember to step away from the computer at least 30% of the time.  Data only goes so far.  You have to stand on the land and walk through the house to truly establish the basis for valuation.

I chose “a house of cards” for the photo here, and this particular mish-mash of card formations, in the hopes that “a picture speaks a thousand words”.  The big tower of cards, when valuing real estate, is somewhat interdepending on the smaller tower, and the ones scattered around the table are also somewhat dependent on the cards as a whole.  If you can buy this house with a view in Kirkland for X than this house in Woodinville can’t be Y and this condo in Redmond can’t be T.  Everything values off everything else, until it doesn’t.  These are called market areas. 

Sultan’s values are not dependent on downtown Bellevue.  Shoreline’s values are not dependent on Federal Way.  King County, for valuation purposes, is not a “market segment”.  Market segments are created by buyer consumers and not sellers or agents.  If enough buyers are ready to pay X here vs. X there, than that becomes market value.  If no buyers consider Federal Way vs. Redmond, than those two areas are not interdependent as to value.

I tell the agents that when they look at their binder and their answers are 75% correct, they should throw a party.  I also tell them to NEVER, EVER give up the binder until they can do those calculations on “auto-pilot” in their head.

So why the big Herbal Essence YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

I took an agent out to do this exercise on Sunday.  I walked through one property listed at just under $1.6 million.  I said this will be gone by Friday.  Today is Friday.  SOLD STRIP IS UP!  The one I said wouldn’t sell is not sold.  The one I was iffy about…have to go check that one, but I don’t think it will be sold until after the 20th, if then, so I’ll go check it at month end.  I expect it to be sold by month end.  I gave the listing agent a couple of things to do so it would sell by month end, I’ll go back and see if it’s sold.  If it isn’t sold, I’ll go see if they did the few little things I told them to do.  Price was right.  Shouldn’t need a price reduction.  Just a couple of showing condition tweaks.  Without those tweaks it could sell for $150,000 less.  We’ll see what happens.

It is a fabulous exercise to predict and stay on top of home values.  Anyone can do it.  You don’t have to be an agent and it’s great fun.  I highly recommend it for anyone considering buying or selling property in the next three years.  Get started now.  It takes some longer than others, but it’s aways a fabulous undertaking for anyone interested in property valuations.