A Generational Housing Story

We just put our home on the market. As we were preparing the marketing, the words came to mind, taught to me by Martha Webb through her CHMS Class.

She teaches to always ask a seller, “what made living here special?”

For me, it was the opportunity to live in a house big enough to enjoy three generations living together under one roof for two years.

When we build our 3500 sf home in 2008, we did so with the idea that one of our sets of parents would end up living with us. but sadly that did not work out.

In the mean time, I got a call from my daughter and son-in-law asking to meet with us.

With a 2 year old, they were ready to expand their family but their tiny 900 sf ranch was just too small. Much to their disappointment their house was upside down, they owed too much to try to sell it.

Long story short, we had a great conversation and decided they could move into the 3 bedrooms, 2 bath upstairs of  our home. We wrote a contract with them, they were to pay off their debt year one and then save for a downpayment year two. We also helped them rent their existing house, at a slight loss each month.

It is now two years later, they recently moved into their dream home in West Hartford Connecticut and my daughter is expecting their next child.

What were those two years like? Heaven! Dinner time was always a family affair, kind of big with four adults and one child. We shared cooking and shopping detail. Clean up was always a draw. Gatherings happened all the time with all age groups. It allowed me to get to know many twenty to 35 year olds that I would never have had the pleasure of meeting.

I will miss my grandson coming down to jump on our bed while we drank our morning coffee. My daughter says he doesn’t see us as “grandparents,” but as part of his family.

Did we get in each others way? Sometimes, but my daughter became one of my best friends, and I came to respect and adore my son-in-law. Generational Housing is on the rise and one of the top housing trends for the next ten years.

I know we had the optimal situation with a house big enough. So all those lovely memories are in my house and I hope someone else can enjoy this easy to live in and love . . . home.

Webinar Q & A is as Good as the Presentation

Everyone month, The TechByte offers a free webinar to our database. Why? It hones our skills, allows us to interview people with new products, and makes us stay up to date on this ever changing world of tech.

Recently we did a series of webinar on Working with Buyer and a Tablet and Working with Sellers and a Tablet and at the end we did some crowdsourcing with the group. We aksed them to share some of the apps they just can’t live without.

Here is the list of apps that we presented during the presentation, you can download it here.

But here is a great list of tools that I think you will also enjoy.

Someone asked about what software people use to print from their tablet.

Vickie Stanton offered Print Jinni

David Fauquier offerecd printcentral pro and Kendrick Chiles  and Melinda Gerrara offered Print N Share.

What apps do you use for measuring a house?

Diane Cameron offered DaVinci that she says is excellent. Bernie  Timms offered MagicPlan as another solution. using the camera on your tablet you can take pictures with all of these apps and they turn the photos into a pretty impressive floor plan.

Create a Keyword Marketing Strategy

The Internet has increased the expectation among consumers that your business will have a credible online presence. Prospects you’ve never met are forming opinions about your business at the click of a mouse. Internet first impressions are not just influenced by how your website looks, but also by how often your business appears in searches on their key words and if you have a presence on the more popular real estate sites. Establishing a good reputation, offline and online, is the only way to be truly successful in business.

When consumers are looking online they are using Search Engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. You want to be FOUND by these users . . . your name should appear within the first couple of pages, not only by searching your name, but also by searching common words/phrases that a consumer might search for.

The goal is for your websites to appear on the first page of search results so that YOUR site is one of the sites that consumers will look to for the information they are searching. Your website is probably full of content now and will result in some search results; however, you need to provide custom content in order to appear set apart from other agents. You can increase your presence by concentrating on the words consumers might type in the search engines to find the information you are providing.

Consumers use search engines to find agents and homes. Figure out what they type into the search box and write about that! If you tend to list homes on golf courses… focus on that… write about “Living on a Golf Course” or “Homes for Sale on Golf Courses” or “Golf Courses in MYCITY.”

Creating a Keyword Strategy

How do you figure out which keywords resonate with your clients? How do you know which exact keywords will be most relevant in someones search to find you and your company?

To determine the popularity and competitiveness of certain keywords, use a keyword tool. One of the most popular is  Google’s Keyword Tool. You can use this to help determine the volume of searches on a specific keyword.

Visit  Google’s KeyWord Search here.

What is your target market? Use some of your pages to be a community expert. There are hundreds of agents that will appear on the search engine pages of “Real Estate Agent in Your City, State” but how many agents will appear on Google when consumers search for “Restaurants in MYCITY” or “Foreclosures for sale in MYFARMAREA”

Write content on different subjects and you will be the expert. Not only real estate information, but also about your community. But remember, don’t write about something you don’t want found for (for example, if you don’t care for investment buyers – don’t write “How to Buy an Investment.”)
 

How to Get Coached by the Tech Byte

Who is the real estate agent of tomorrow – Inman Connect – Part 2 & 3

A few days ago I share a short video from Inman Connect on some statistics regarding tomorrow’s real estate agent. I dont’ agree with all of the information but wanted to share a great presentation.

And part three