Real Estate Appraiser Tips » Appraiser Blogging Strategies

Real Estate Appraiser Blogging Tip: Easily Resize Images Online For Your Blog

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:53:26 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ - Real Estate Appraiser Blogging Tip: Easily Resize Images Online For Your Blog

Danny with www.90secondtips.com has a helpful tip for bloggers today on a Great Web Based Image resizer and pixel manager. Check out this video below:

Check Out Danny’s other Video Tips @ http://www.youtube.com/90secondtips

Home Appraiser Tips: Scatter Graphs With Subdivision Entrance Created From Ryan Lundquist Video Tutorial

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:24:33 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ - Home Appraiser Tips: Scatter Graphs With Subdivision Entrance I Created From Ryan Lundquist Video Tutorial

On Tuesday, Tips recommended readers tune into Sacramento Appraisal Blog and Ryan Lundquist’s over 10 minute video tutorial on creating scatter graphs: Real Estate Appraiser Tips: Ryan Lundquist Video On Creating Scatter Graph Charts In Gnumeric . In case you missed it, Ryan’s video is below. Tips then posted “Scatter Graphs I Created From Ryan Lundquist Gnumeric Video Tutorial” with 2 charts created from the tutorial. Here are 2 more scatter graphs I created based on his tutorial below AND learning how to add the subdivision entrance sign without the graph background.

To create charts with an image within the graph area, there are 2 extra steps. First, you need an image to use that will also allow the sales price dots to show up. In this image, I used SnagIt’s Editor, Color Effects, Histo-Contrast -100%, see before and after photos before.

Second, within Gnumeric, in the “Grid1″ section under “Fill”, choose “Image”. Select your image to use!

Hope This Helps!

Bill

Birmingham Appraiser Tom Horn: My First WordPress WordCamp Birmingham Experience

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 04:56:50 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ - Birmingham Appraiser Tom Horn: My First WordPress WordCamp Birmingham Experience!

Tom Horn, SRA, Birmingham AL Appraiser, talks about his experience at the recent “WordCamp” held in Birmingham. Check out Tom’s post below! Tom has several interesting posts about the housing market he serves and I’m taking notes on the style he uses to communicate with locals.

Ryan Lundquist Sacramento Appraisal Blog 15 Minute Training On Appraiser Blogging Tips

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:02:26 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ – Ryan Lundquist Sacramento Appraisal Blog 15 Minute Training On Appraiser Blogging Tips!

On YouTube, Ryan adds:

“I wanted to share some things I’ve learned along the way about blogging for my company. This “video” is really an audio post and I talk about why blogging in business is important, practical tips for writing a blog post, and some important reminders to consider also.

I’d love to hear about your blog and what you are doing to generate relationship and business. Comments are welcome below.”

Ryan’s Contact Information Is Below.

Home Appraiser Blogging Tip: Use Fotobabble.com To Add Voice Descriptions To Your Photos

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:37:02 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ – Home Appraiser Blogging Tip: Use Fotobabble.com To Add Voice Descriptions To Your Photos.

This past weekend, I had some extra time to spend online and discovered a way to enhance my blog reader’s experience by adding “voice” to my images or photos. See my attempt below with the housing chart. It’s very simple to use and I think you have about 30 seconds to record your description. Once created, it’s very easy to share your fotobabble on your blog via embed code and or share on sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc..

Home Appraiser Bloggers Tip: Post About Local Housing Opportunities, Especially Videos

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:09:14 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.com/ – Home Appraiser Bloggers Tip: Post About Local Housing Opportunities, Especially Videos

This morning, I found this helpful video topic:

The link is: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4320471/top-10-real-estate-investments-/

So, I sent this information to a couple of appraisers that I know blog in these markets to help their businesses get found in Google. Durham NC or Durham, North Carolina is on the list and in the video. I would setup my blog post and use the title: “Durham NC Appraisers Blog: NC In Top 10 Real Estate Investments List, See Video”. I would add a little commentary, add graphic and add above link to graphic to make it click able like this below:

Bill Cobb

Tags: Appraiser Blogging, Home Appraiser Blogging, Home Appraiser Blogs, Real Estate Appraiser Blogging

Home Appraiser Bloggers: Here Are The July 2010 Charts To Be Blogging About

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:22:30 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ – Home Appraiser Bloggers: Here Are The July 2010 Charts To Be Blogging About!

Here’s the home appraiser blogging strategy: Go To Mortgage News Daily’s July Existing Home Sales: Recap and Charts, choose 2 to 3 of these charts, right click on them and save to desktop. Then, import them into your blog post, talk about the NAR’s July 2010 numbers and compare those numbers to how your local housing market is performing. I did this earlier this morning on my Appraisal Blog here before I knew about these charts. In fact, if an appraiser blogger works 3 primary counties, they could create 3 separate blog post regarding these national numbers comparing them to each local county, properly tagging the title for being found for that county. Remember to give credit where credit is due, ie., links back to those that fed you this information as I did above for Mortgage News Daily and their Home Sales Post. Food For Thought! Bill

Tags: Real Estate Appraiser Blogging, Appraiser Blogging, Real Estate Blogging

Steve Garfield Interview On How To Be A Good Video Blogger?

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:31:51 +0000

http://www.wordpresssocratestheme.com/ – Steve Garfield Interview On How To Be A Good Video Blogger?

Jim Kukral interviews Steve Garfield about how to be a good video blogger. Good tips and tricks for starting in online video.

Home Appraisers Opportunity To Blog: 10 Most Recession-Proof U.S. Cities

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:35:01 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ - Real Estate Appraiser Tips! Here’s The Home Appraiser’s Opportunity To Blog If You Service One Of These 10 Most Recession-Proof U.S. Cities

CNNMoney.com reports,

“The most recession-proof cities didn’t see home prices surge in the first place, says the MetroMonitor, a quarterly report released by Brookings Institute’s Metropolitan Policy Program.

MetroMonitor identified 21 large metro areas that have enjoyed robust economies and stable labor and housing markets in the last few years.

“Most of these cities have some general characteristics in common,” says Howard Weil, author of the report and a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program. “They didn’t experience huge housing bubbles followed by a crash, and their economies weren’t rooted in the auto industry.”

The top 10 stable cities identified by MetroMonitor are:

1. Albany, N.Y.
2. Augusta, Ga.
3. Austin, Texas
4. Baton Rouge, La.
5. Buffalo, N.Y.
6. Columbia, S.C.
7. Dallas
8. Des Moines, Iowa
9. El Paso, Texas
10. Honolulu“

Ten important real estate charts showing no recovery in 2010 And Responsible Home Appraiser Blogging

http://realestateappraisertips.info/ — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 05:40:14 +0000

http://www.realestateappraisertips.info/ - Real Estate Appraiser Tips! Home Appraisers: Ten important real estate charts showing no recovery in 2010…And Responsible Appraiser Blogging!

The 2010 Theme of Real Estate Appraiser Tips Continues to be “Becoming Your Housing Market’s Local Trust Agent!” I read the new post, Ten important real estate charts showing no recovery in 2010 at Dr. Housing Bubble with this theme in mind. Follow me here as I remind home appraisers that have chosen to become bloggers to be accurate and truthful in their reporting of the markets they serve. Why go there? Because Inman News did with “Facebook’s Real-World Implications” with the quote from J. Walker Smith being,

“The outrage simmering beneath the surface is not to be underestimated,” Smith said. People feel they were “cheated” and “conned” by bankers, mortgage lenders and politicians, among others, and that those “betrayals” have gone unpunished, he said.” You can add Home Appraisers to the list as well. Not all home appraisers, but enough to have helped contribute to some of this mayhem.

Dr. Housing Bubble both asks some probing questions and brings out some important points about not only the California market, but the U.S. housing market by stating:

“The housing market has been turned upside down with unprecedented amounts of government intervention that even the seasonal pattern has changed. Keep in mind that spring and summer are usually the most optimistic selling times in any given year but this year with the tax credit ending and the Federal Reserve done buying up mortgage backed securities, the housing market will face weaker conditions in summer. The amount of noise floating out in the current market is deafening.

How is it possible to have a market that is getting better when unemployment in many top housing bubble states remains at peak levels? In California unemployment remains at 12.6 percent (a modern record high) and we have over 100,000 unemployed Californians that have now exhausted a stunning 99 weeks of unemployment benefits. This is happening all over the country. There was a recent article showing that 40 percent of those employed nationwide are currently working at low paying service sector jobs. Will these people bring on housing boom 2.0 with Wal-Mart wages? Today we’ll be looking at 10 charts that show us a very clear picture of the nationwide housing market. What we find is the housing market is anything but steady. From Alt-A and option ARMs to strategic defaults we are dealing with trends we have never seen before.“

I’d highly recommend reading this article and studying these charts, here!. So, why did I bring up responsible home appraiser blogging? For the same reason Dr. Housing Bubble brought up the question about what housing recovery in the midst of modern high unemployment? Each of our housing markets are “local”, meaning each is different. Some are performing better than others. Some of us have more positive news to report. However, our “local markets” function within the large national economic trends patterns within our Country. If you study these ten charts, you’ll discover some challenges still facing each of our markets. Remember these charts, patterns and challenges in your reporting so as to become that local Trust Agent. Appraisers are supposed to be independent and unbiased in their reporting. My experience with some Realtors, on the other hand, is that they tend to view the market with rose-colored glasses, list homes at what the sellers want to get that listing instead of what the market will support. So, if local home appraisers can create their public platform (via blogging, video marketing and speaking at local meetings) and become a local trust agent informant of their market, they can win over attention and trust.

One Example Of How Real Estate Professionals Lost Their Credibility In The Past 5 Years.

Remember that Inman News article I noted above, “Facebook’s Real-World Implications” with the quote from J. Walker Smith about outrage. Let me to tell you why there should be some outrage in my local housing market.

In my market, pricing is fairly conservative when it comes to residential investment properties. The lower the investment, the greater the ROI. In California however, it’s the reverse where investment properties are or were very expensive with a lower ROI. So, what did some of my market’s local “real estate professionals” do beginning in 2005? They courted California investors with the sales pitch that they could buy lower priced condos, townhomes and multi-family properties and earn a similar ROI. In other words, they could pay $140K for a fourplex and earn the same rent as spending $400K on a 4 plex in California. Or, a local real estate developer would buy a set of apartments, perform a condo conversion and sell the condos to naive California investors for say $130K and with the hope of reselling them in 1 to 2 years for a profit, all the while collecting rental income and in 2 years being in a better tax situation at resale time.

This seemed like a brilliant idea at the time, pretty savvy marketing. I performed a few of these multi-family appraisals early on into this scheme and when I would ask the lender for the borrower’s name, that was subject to change during the process. I knew then that something was really fishy about this situation. And then, the local “real estate professionals” began raising prices in a “war zone” market. That’s when I got out and lost all respect for the agents and appraisers involved. What followed was this agent/investor selling numerous of their families 4 plex units for $20K to $40K above market. How? Because of appraisers that went along with the fraud, ignored dozens of MLS solds and used these private 4 plex sales to California investors as comps. The situation became so fraudulent that a local agent/investor sold 8 4 plexes for more than $100K above market value each. That’s major fraud in the 800K range. How? Because this investor and lender hired the “hired gun” out-of-town appraisers to make these deals happen. It would be accurate here for me to state that many if not most of these deals have already ended up in foreclosure with California investors being taken advantage of.

Those condos that were sold to local professionals, as well as California professionals, looking to turn them for a profit? Some did early on and some did not. I’ve performed 3 REO appraisals on those and watched the values in one particular development decline. Not decline because of the national economic market downturn, but decline because of the hype that the developer and developer’s representatives used to market this sham. Some of that marketing had to be online.

As home appraisers, decision makers put stock in what we as valuation experts state publicly, online and on paper. Be careful out there in your reporting.