Keeping Your Email Squeaky Clean

Just a real quick cool technology heads up for you. Do you still use Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express or some other computer-based email program? If so, there's another application available to help you deal with the evil "Spam." It goes by the name of MailWasher. It's a free download (HERE). And it basically offers you another way to filter your emails, saying "yes" to the good and "no" to the bad. Currently, over 8 million people are said to be using MailWasher. Lots of great testimonials on their site. Check it out. And may your email box continue to remain squeaky clean.

Negotiating for the Future

I just read a great, forward-looking essay by Saul Klein on inman.com entitled: "2015: Real estate agent of the future." (View it yourself HERE.) And I'm just wanting to carry on the conversation in this post for the sake of Sugar Pine Realty agents in the Mother Lode especially (but, of course, anyone from anywhere can tune in and follow along if they like). Klein talks about a handful of skills that will be crucial for the real estate professional of the future to master. Here are the five: 1. generational communication; 2. negotiation; 3. technology; 4. online social media and 5. writing. As I see it four of the five areas highlighted have to do with the ability to touch and stay in touch with an audience via the internet, ipod, hand-held - you name it. But the negotiation skill (#2) has to do with the bare bones buying and selling process itself. I was able to talk with a couple of Sugar Pine Realty agents and get their input on this whole area of negotiating. In our discussion they mentioned a number of things which I've whittled down and made into a sort of action list for quick and practical application. I call it:

NEGOTIATION HOT TIPS

(1) Create a winning situation for your client.
(2) Remember it's not about you, it's about them (your buyer or seller).
(3) Never show anger or become upset with your people.
(4) Point out the positives in a deal (versus negatives).
(5) Use buzz words/phrases honestly that encourage the process (ie. this house is worth every penny that they're asking for).
(6) Understand that both sides are in this thing to make it happen (when you come to a road block, ask: "What would make this deal happen for you?).
(7) Take the extra step to bring everybody back to the table when things fall apart.
(8) Return phone calls within 24 hours as standard practice (can make or break negotiation if you don't).
(9) Listen, listen and then listen some more (shows the focus is on the good will of the client and nothing less).

Of course, there's so much more to negotiation and the negotiating process. The bottom line is: how are you doing at it (or how have you done)? Do you see negotiating as a weakness or a strengh of yours? And if you see it as a weakness, what can you do to improve? Your answers to these questions and you're implementing of the quick list above will go far to keeping you in the real estate business both today and tomorrow.

A Visit to Lake Tulloch

Nestled in the lower Sierra foothills (right off of O'Byrnes Ferry Road) is one of most beautiful pieces of property you'll ever come across. I'm talking about the Copperopolis / Lake Tulloch area (on the way to Sonora and Yosemite). I just visited there today (a business trip you might say) and I was able to chronicle the trip on my camera. Having been known to film while driving before in the snow (click here to see) it came to be so much easier this time on dry roads. You'll notice the first picture above is of the Lake Tulloch Bridge looking up to the Table Mountain Range. The second picture is looking across the lake at Table Mountain itself. Finally, you'll notice some videos below including the one while driving (I can't believe it myself that I didn't go off the side of the road right into the lake). There are homes and property available for purchase in this wonderful Mother Lode setting (as you've now seen). You'll want to visit sugarpinerealty.com to do a search or schedule a showing. Of course, don't hesitate to give us a call at our Sugar Pine Realty - Lake Tulloch office: 209-785-5757. We'll be happy to help you. Here to serve all your real estate needs.

Presidential Inaugurations: Past and Present

A rather fascinating NBC news report on presidential inaugurations below (includes clips of Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton & more):

How to Get Eaten By An Alligator and Like It

I know, I know. You're probably thinking I used the title to sucker you in, but really I didn't. The fact is I've been thinking about how a lot of people are just down these days with the stock market plunge and businesses closing and the downturn in the housing market and 401k's being turned into 201k's, etc. And so I came up with the analogy of being eaten by an alligator 'cuz that's the worst possible thing I could think of that could happen that even comes close to what many people are dealing with right now. And so the bottom line of it all: What are ya gonna do when you find yourself being chomped on by a Leviathan? Well, there are two choices: (1) You can either hate what's happening (the crocodile swallowing process) or (2) You can put it in cruise control. Now give me a chance to finish before you blow me off. What I'm talking about when I say "put it in cruise control" is nothing less than frame of mind. When we check out and give in we empower our alligator, whatever it is. But when we keep our heads, remain optimistic, stay engaged and look for the way out, we just might find it. And how do you know if your alligator doesn't have an allergy to _______ (put your name in the blank) and won't spit you back out, after all? Put it in cruise control. (Thanks to @accesssonora for his input.)

Lake Tulloch Area Real Estate End-Of-Year Stats

I've got the end-of-year Lake Tulloch area residential sales statistics for you today in four clickable graphs. As usual, the first three graphs cover the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The first graph spells out the Residential Unit Sales. The second graph highlights Residential Sales Volume. And the third graph shows Residential Average Sales Price. And finally the fourth graph focuses on the price range breakdown of Residential Units Sold through the end of last year. Before you click on the graphs, here are some of the numbers in simple black and white...

Total Residential Unit Sales:

Dec 2008 = 62

Dec 2007 = 57

Jan-Dec 2008 = 659

Jan-Dec 2007 = 743

Total Residential Sales Volume:

Dec 2008 = $16,830,825

Dec 2007 = $24,064,481

Total Residential Sales Volume:

Jan-Dec 2008 = $221,654,746

Jan-Dec 2007 = $323,283,726

For more market information and help with buying or selling, contact your Sugar Pine Realty Lake Tulloch / Copperopolis real estate professional today. Call 209-785-5757. (The data used in this post comes from the Calaveras Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.)

Total Residential Unit Sales:

Total Residential Volume Sales:

Total Residential Average Sale Price:

Residential Market Facts & Figures:

New Technology on the Horizon

Just a real quick post (not quite a microblog/tweet) about Apple's new Mac Book Wheel Laptop coming out that will replace the keyboard. I've got the video embed to a newscast below that will fill you in on all the specifics. Any thoughts on this new technology?


Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

You might be a tweet-a-holic if... (12 signs)

So you're a part of the online community called twitter. Hmm? Yeah? And you're finally getting pretty good at tweeting and replies and DM's and making url's tiny, etc. Right? But now there's something else that's happened that you weren't really expecting - and you didn't even know the potential existed that this could happen to you, quite frankly. And the truth is you've never been one given to addictions (like some other people you know) except now it's you that's gotten hooked. It's you! And you're addicted to/can't live without twitter. (Is there a 12-step program somewhere to help?) And you just might be a tweet-a-holic if...

#1: Your last intimate conversation with your husband/wife was about your latest tweet.

#2: You're referring to/thinking of people by their tweet names instead of their real names.

#3: You're thinking about your next tweet(s) while you're jogging/exercising.

#4: You're writing down future tweets during a seminar at work.

#5: You're neglecting other important duties because you're tweeting so much.

#6: Your emails are now done in tweet format (140 characters or less, lower case, etc.).

#7: You're very concerned with how many are following you versus how many are following somebody else.

#8: You get semi-depressed when someone unfollows you or when no one replies to your short, pithy tweet/saying.

#9: You are elated/your ego gets a boost when someone with more followers follows you first.

#10: The thought of going without twitter for even just one single, solitary day (check out @tweetfast) causes you to go into a withdrawal ("please, when/where can I get my next twitter fix?").

#11: You've become a twitter evangelist - everyone you know you introduce them to twitter/tweeting.

#12: The bulk of your conversations when you're not on twitter are about: _________ (fill in the blank). (Three choices: a. twitter; b. twitter; c. twitter).

So what do you think?...have anymore "you might be a tweet-a-holic if's" to contribute?...send them my way...I might add to post?...oops There I go again showing signs of my own addiction?! ;)

Mother Lode Real Estate "Must Reads" for January

This blog post is the third in a continuing monthly series where I'll pass on some information of interest that you may not get the opportunity to see otherwise. Take a moment to check out the four articles below. Of course, there's a lot of talk of the use of social media (online communication sites). You'll especially want to make sure to read article #3. The author spent a lot of time developing her thoughts on the way certain contemporary buyers think. It's good insight.

Communication Ain’t What it Used to Be by Teresa Boardman (on agentgenius.com). Great thoughts on how we communicate with each other and the importance of finding out what communication type your consumers prefer.

Five Tools to Grow Your Real Estate Business in 2009 by Stephen Jagger (on geekestate blog). This article highlights some cost effective ways (both on and offline) to make sure people know about you and what you have to offer as a real estate professional.

Ten Reasons Real Estate Buyers Want to Low Ball, Steal the House, and Stick It to the Seller by Janet Guilbault. Great thoughts on the misguided thinking of some homebuyers and how the problems with our economy have played a role in promoting it.

Finding Tweighbors on Twitter by NikNik (on mytechopinion.com). Good information on the importance of developing your tweet network beyond just fellow realtors and how to do it. Includes explanations on and uses of Twellohood, TwitterLocal and Twitter Search.

(The author of the Sugar Pine Realty blog does not necessarily endorse or disapprove of the thoughts included via the above links.)

Mother Lode Real Estate Stats (end of year)

The final Mother Lode market numbers for the year are in. To start I have December 2008 compared to December 2007 here: CLICK HERE. Along with that you'll find the year-to-year comparison for twelve months (Jan-Dec) of 2008 versus twelve months (Jan-Dec) of 2007: CLICK HERE. You'll also notice the graphs including the Mother Lode Residential Unit Sales through December 2008 graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 1 on the above left) along with the Mother Lode Residential Volume Sales graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 2 on the right) and the Mother Lode Residential Average Sales Price graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 3 on the left), respectively. (The data used comes from the Tuolumne Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.) As usual, I also have some of the numbers in black and white here:

UNIT SALES: Dec 08 = 40; Dec 07 = 38; +5%

VOL SALES: Dec 08 = $10,267,000; Dec 07 = $12,147,955; -15%

AVG SALES PRICE: Dec 08 = $256,675; Dec 07 = $319,683; -20%

Watch for Calaveras MLS stats to be posted soon.