Raining Updates: Ads on RCG, Contributing Update, Footer Candy, New Feed, Email Tools, the HUGE list of RCG plugins and more!

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Dustin Luther

There are so many updates to give, I decided to record a video to describe them all:

In the video, I talk about a number of changes and updates I’ve made to RCG recently including:

Rain Drop Ads on RCG… and if you’re one of the first five who signs up, then I’m willing to offer you a particularly good deal!
New page on how to get involved in becoming a contributor to RCG
Update to the theme by putting the active contributor information at the footer
Added MyBlogLog widget to the footer (as well as a few buttons)
Switched the main RCG feed over to Feedburner
Made it easier to email articles to others. Look for the “Email this Post” prompt at the bottom of every post
Speaking of email, you can know subscribe to RCG by email
Cleaned up the categories and hopefully made them more useful

And finally, because I haven’t done this in a while, I thought I’d list out all the plugins I’m currently using on Rain City Guide.

Plugin	Description
Akismet	Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not. By Matt Mullenweg.
All in One SEO Pack	Out-of-the-box SEO for your WordPress blog. By Michael Torbert.
Exclude Pages from Navigation	Provides a checkbox on the editing page which you can check to exclude pages from the primary navigation. By Simon Wheatley.
FeedBurner FeedSmith	Originally authored by Steve Smith, this plugin detects all ways to access your original WordPress feeds and redirects them to your FeedBurner feed so you can track every possible subscriber. By FeedBurner.
Get Recent Comments	Display the most recent comments or trackbacks with your own formatting in the sidebar. By Krischan Jodies.
Google XML Sitemaps	This plugin will generate a sitemaps.org compatible sitemap of your WordPress blog which is supported by Ask.com, Google, MSN Search and YAHOO. By Arne Brachhold.
Maintenance Mode	Adds a splash page to your blog that lets visitors know your blog is down for maintenance. By Michael Wöhrer.
Photopress	Photopress adds some image handling tools to WordPress, including a popup upload and browse tool, a random image template function, and a simple album. By Isaac Wedin.
Post-Plugin Library	Does nothing by itself but supplies common code for the Similar Posts, Recent Posts, Random Posts, and Recent Comments plugins. By Rob Marsh, SJ.
Register Plus	WordPress 2.5+ ONLY. Enhance your Registration Page. Add Custom Logo, Password Field, Invitation Codes, Disclaimer, Captcha Validation, Email Validation, User Moderation, Profile Fields and more. By Skullbit.
RSS Footer	Allows you to add a line of content to the end of your RSS feed articles. By Joost de Valk.
Seesmic	Enables Seesmic video in wordpress. By Seesmic Inc.
Similar Posts	Displays a highly configurable list of related posts. By Rob Marsh, SJ.
Subscribe To Comments	Allows readers to receive notifications of new comments that are posted to an entry. By Mark Jaquith.
WordPress.com Stats	Tracks views, post/page views, referrers, and clicks. Requires a WordPress.com API key. By Andy Skelton.
WordPress Database Backup	On-demand backup of your WordPress database. By Austin Matzko.
wp-cache	Very fast cache module. By Ricardo Galli Granada.
WP-EMail	Allows people to recommand/send your WordPress blog’s post/page to a friend. By Lester ‘GaMerZ’ Chan.
WP Ajax Edit Comments	Allows users and admin to edit their comments inline. Admin and editors can edit all comments. By Ronald Huereca.
WP Status Notifier	Sends email notification of posts pending review. By iDope.

With the exception of just one plugin that will remain nameless for now, that’s the full list. If you have any questions about why or how I use any of the plugins, feel free to ask away!

UPDATE:

I JUST realized I also forgot to mention the “new” RCG search box. I added a Google custom search box that searches not just RCG, but contributor websites and blogs as well. It’s pretty slick and I was even able to integrate it with the site so that the search shows up on right on the page.

Kids and Foreclosure

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Rhonda Porter

This morning I received an email of a poem that my niece wrote for a school assignment she read to her classmates.

Just Maybe

I came home from school to a notice on the door.

It’s not the first time, it’s been happening more and more.

This time it’s our water, last month the gas

Who knows what it’ll be next time, the money just doesn’t last.

This month we’ll make the car payment, we’ll hold off on cable for now.

Next month, we’ll work on credit cards, it’s hard, we’ll have to figure out how.

Maybe that will be enough to save the house. Just maybe.

Don’t cry, honey, and don’t answer the phone.

Maybe I can get a second job, or maybe a family loan.

I can sell my pet hamster, one less mouth to feed.

I will baby-sit, mow lawns, go without, whatever you need.

Don’t worry, she says, tears on her face,

You shouldn’t have to struggle to save this place.

Maybe that will be enough to save the house. Just maybe.

I came home from school to moving trucks outside.

My belongings in boxes, my tears I try to hide.

We tried in vain, and tried so hard

New house, new school, new friendships to start.

I’m nervous and scared, but cover it with a smile

I’ll be back on my feet, but it may take awhile.

Just wasn’t enough to save the house. Just wasn’t.

by Shayann ~ 16 years old

Her words touch me…yes, she’s my sweetie-pie and I’m so sorry that her family lost their home last year. I wonder how many other classmates of Shayann and kids like her are feeling the pain of foreclosure.

Short Sale Listings: Leaving Out Key Details Is Like Telling A Lie..

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Courtney Cooper

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[Editors note: It’s always exciting to introduce a new author to RCG… and today I’m especially excited to introduce Courtney Cooper of Cooper Jacobs as the newest RCG contributor! Far from a newbie, she’s been running an entertaining blog on ActiveRain for over a year now (and racked up tens of thousands of points in the process!), so I’m pretty sure she’ll have no problem making her impact on the RCG community. Welcome Courtney! ~Dustin]

Hello RCG!

Thanks Dustin and ARDELL for the encouragement! I am a huge fan of RCG and look forward to what lies ahead!

Pushing openness with short sale listings…

A lot has been written on Rain City Guide and elsewhere about short sales in the Seattle area, but 2008 had me working with far more buyers than sellers and one sentence kept popping up: “that house is a short sale

Sunday Night Stats

Posted on February 1, 2009 by ARDELL

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As of tonight, prices are showing at down 5% in January vs. the 4th quarter median price per square foot in the graph below. That would take prices back to the 2nd quarter of 2005 at $185 MPPSF (vs $195 4th quarter median). That would also be 20% under peak price of $230. ($230 minus 20% – $184)

I expect the median for the 1st quarter to be higher than that, and the median for the second quarter to be higher than the first. Not by a lot. But clearly there are more people out to buy property in the last week to ten days, than we have seen for the 6 to 8 weeks prior.

Given Friday was the end of the month, I don’t want to post the January stats yet, as some sales will be recorded by the agents during the coming week. That could affect the median pricing somewhat, but as of now, January prices are down, and fairly significantly.

Good for buyers…not so good for sellers.

For now, stick a big red dot on the chart below at $185 MPPSF. That’s where we are as of tonight for MPPSF, King County, Residential vs. Condo.

No stats in any of my posts are compiled or published by NWMLS. All are hand calculated by ARDELL (required disclosure)

mppsf

Click here for previous Sunday Night Stat posts

Virtual Discrimination by Real Estate Brokers

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Jim Reppond

A real estate broker who operates in 23 states has filed a complaint with Federal authorities against the local MLS for “restraint of trade” practices, according to Inman News. Ryan Gehris, who is a broker of record for flat-fee real estate company Housepad.com in 10 of those states, alleges that the North Carolina MLS’s requirement to physically attend specific MLS orientation classes discriminates against non-traditional web-based brokerages. I think he has a point.

Do I have to be here?

While I can see an argument for the advantages of attending specific events, I think that the mandatory requirement of attendance takes it too far. I think of it like networking – It makes sense to do it, but if you don’t it’s your business that is likely to suffer and that’s your choice.

In this age of WebEx, Skype or UStream.TV online meetings, it just isn’t necessary to physically go somewhere for most types of training, especially computer training. And the cost and time concerns associated with attending far away events can make it prohibitive, especially for agents that have other obligations and commitments.

The spokesperson for the MLS said the training is “not intended to be a burden to participants and is required because of the substantial changes in technology.” But if people can get a college degree with online training, it’s hard to imagine why basic MLS user training requires someone’s physical presence to be effective.

The real reason may be that the MLS would like to make it hard for non-brick-and-mortar business models because they do not like the competition. I say let their business model succeed or fail on it’s own merits, not because of discriminatory road blocks put in their way.

Rain City Guide Eastside MeetUp

Posted on January 29, 2009 by ARDELL

We’re planning a Rain City Guide “Meet Up” at Crossroads in Bellevue on February 4th at 6:30 p.m.

I know Rhonda, Jillayne and I will be there. Possibly Robbie and/or Galen, and others from RCG.

Pretty informal, as most “MeetUps” are. No pre-planned “agenda” unless someone wants to submit a few topics they would like covered.

I picked Crossroads vs. “a pub”, as I don’t like to encourage drinking and driving. It will be in the food court area, so people coming from work can grab a bite to eat.

Hope you can make it, and we will post a reminder the day before or day of “the event”. Anyone from RCG who is planning to attend should send me an email. It would be nice if readers could RSVP in the comments here, so I could “reserve” tables as needed, but RSVP is not required.

We’ve never done one of these before (or I haven’t) so if anyone has any suggestions based on their previous experience at “MeetUps”, advices would be much appreciated.

Should builders and banks receive an excise tax exemption as WA State faces a budget deficit?

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Jillayne Schlicke

House Bill 1495 has been introduced into the legislature and is now in committee. In these times filled with hope, I am hoping this bill dies or at least comes out looking substantially different. Let’s take a look.

AN ACT Relating to real estate excise tax exemptions to stabilize neighborhoods…

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
The legislature finds that there is a substantial inventory of unsold or foreclosed vacant homes on the market that is driving property values down and destabilizing neighborhoods. These homes also present an opportunity to provide affordable homes to low-income families, addressing some of the unmet need for affordable housing in the state of Washington. The legislature also finds that providing targeted incentives to housing developers will stimulate the sale of these vacant homes to low-income buyers now and stabilize neighborhoods affected by this growing inventory. The legislature intends to provide such incentives through excise tax relief on sales of homes to low-income first-time homebuyers.

I’ve been asking Realtors in all my classes to begin watching the percentage of financially distressed sellers with homes for sale in their market area. Agents can do an MLS keyword search using terms such as “short sale,

How to stop escrow madness in an instant

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Tim

The most wonderful, beautiful and innocent thing stopped the frenzy, processes and insanity of end of month escrow transactions in an instant. That thing was the glow of a sharply dressed very elderly woman who happened to find her way to our office and came to our front reception counter and said,

“Hi, can you help me, I’m lost and I can’t find my way home.”

In the midst of all the domestic and world issues, real estate problems, war conflicts, economic woes, layoffs, stock market crashes, corruptness of Bank and Investment CEO’s, politicians and everything else that batters our minds; for me, it all became meaningless and subordinate to this gracious lady and her memory ailment. At that point I didn’t care about anything but her and helping her find her way home, which I did.

Escrow. You just never know what each day will bring.

And the Fed…

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Rhonda Porter

With the Fed’s key rates all ready at a rock bottom 0-0.25%, no one anticipates rates to be lowered. Any reaction will be from the release of their announcement which is anytime.

Dan Green, one of my favorite mortgage bloggers, is documenting the impact of today’s Fed announcement to mortgage rates via Twitter. Check it out.

I’ll update this post in a few moments with my two cents following the FOMC announcement.

Update 11:20 am.

The Fed leaves the Funds Rate unchanged stating that “the economy has weakened furthe”r since their last meeting in December. They also reaffirmed their committment to continue buying mortgage backed securities:

“The Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote the resumption of sustainable economic growth and to preserve price stability. The focus of the Committee’s policy is to support the functioning of financial markets and stimulate the economy through open market operations and other measures that are likely to keep the size of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet at a high level. The Federal Reserve continues to purchase large quantities of agency debt and mortgage-backed securities to provide support to the mortgage and housing markets, and it stands ready to expand the quantity of such purchases and the duration of the purchase program as conditions warrant.”

Click here for today’s FOMC Statement and be sure to follow Dan Green’s reporting on the reaction of mortgage backed securities.

2009 $8,000 "1st time" buyer credit

Posted on January 28, 2009 by ARDELL

IMPORTANT UPDATE! Bill signed on 2/17/2009.

Original post below:

Back in October, I wrote this post about the repayment feature of the 2008 $7,500 1st time buyer “credit”, including this link to more information as to who qualifies, and the terms of the “credit”.

Yesterday on Twitter I noticed Ryan Hukill’s post referencing Kenneth Harney’s article suggesting that:

“… Congress might be on the verge of transforming it into a true tax credit — one that never has to be paid back…” for purchases made on or after 1/1/2009.

I personally don’t see how changing the repayment terms for people who bought houses last year can be part of a “stimulus” package. Posting this so that people who are eligible for the credit are aware that there may be a change in the repayment feature. (update: Apparently Obama agreed with me, as there does not appear to be a change in the repayment feature for homes bought from 4/9/08 through 12/31/08 and the 2008 $7,500 Loan/Credit.)