Teen's webcam messages comfort family after his death. | Scene On 7

Teen's webcam messages comfort family after his death. Scene On 7


Do you believe in God?

I do.

KD's Real Estate Blog: Real Estate Syndication

KD's Real Estate Blog: Real Estate Syndication: Real Estate Syndication, "Distribution Trumps Destination" so says Saul Klien in this fantastic video that explains real estate syndication ...

How to setup and run Synergy - YouTube

How to setup and run Synergy - YouTube One of my favorite teachers runs a YouTube Channel at AllAroundNewsTv run by a young man we know as Ben. Ben sounds like he's 12 years old or younger, and he's one of the most helpful instructors online. From installing RAM to setting up and running Synergy, Ben is my techspert.

Go Ben!

And after a little troubleshooting I was able to get Synergy up and running between the Dell running Windows XP and my HP running Windows 7. After I got the names straight I still had to fix a version incompatibly issue, but by downloading the same version on both machines, it worked, and it works, and it's awesomely handy to have two computers you can control with one keyboard and one mouse.

I got my Synergy Download at cnet http://download.cnet.com/Synergy/3000-2072_4-10714570.html be carefull not to download their toolbar.

Tiny Home on Brooks Lake

Thinking about reducing your footprint? Maybe you long for a tiny home like the ones you've been reading about, maybe you want one like the one you read about in Walden Pond. Whether you're looking for a writer's retreat or just a quiet cozy cottage this 1BR/1BA ~800SF tiny home may well fit the bill. On Lake Brooks in Rutherfordton, NC 28018 MLS# 37210 it's for sale. Google if you will:  166 Navaho Trail, Rutherford NC 28018 for more information. Or take the visual tour: http://youtu.be/QHPvszEesRU

Messages

I found this Facebook Message I posted on a seller's wall some time ago, and it's still true today except that I've hung my license with United Country and am back in business. Here's what I said: In commercial real estate there's a concept called the rate of absorption/ absorption rate. When you look at it, you say, there are... for instance in Golden Valley's case: In October, there were are 206 properties for sale. In the area, properties sale at a rate of about 10 each year, that means there is more than 20 years of inventory on the market. The more the inventory the lower the prices - supply and demand. We don't use the absorption in residential real estate, but the concept makes clear the idea of supply and demand. My best advice to you is to pull your property off the market until things start moving. Right now you're in competition with foreclosures and sellers/investors who are willing to take a loss. At this time, although I hold a Broker's license I am not representing sellers. I am working full-time marketing, with The Real Estate Book, and know nearly every agent in Rutherford County. I don't know who your agent is, but like as not, it's not lack of effort that's kept your property from selling, it's a tough market. Look at your lot as a long term investment. Will Rogers said: Don't wait to buy land, buy land and wait.Land is a solid investment in the changing fortunes of time. If you simply can't keep it, offer it to your friends and family, surely someone would love to take over your payments.If you want to profit - wait, wait, wait.

iPhone 4S Battery Problems May Be a Bug with iOS Location Services

Have you been complaining about your iPhone's battery life? Location services may be the culprit. See this article, by LifeHacker for information on how to turn the feature off. iPhone 4S Battery Problems May Be a Bug with iOS Location Services

2011 Real Estate Report - Bostic, NC 28018

Kathy from over at GV Estates called me for a recap of the year's real estate transactions and I'd tossed my paper report (index cards), so had to do a recap, but everyone's interested in these statistics so I'll share them. Unfortunately, numbers tell a painful truth.

Data From the Rutherford County MLS: October 1, 2010 – October 1, 2011
Over the course of the year: 224 properties were on the market 41 sold

Bostic Statistics
Homes: 30 sold  DOM (Days on Market) high 636 / 24 low
Land: 10 sold DOM -  high 556 / 69 low (4 lots sold for less than $20, 000)
Commercial 1 sold (the old Fire Department Bldg on the Bostic Sunshine Highway)

Of those 41 properties: a total of 4 sold for more than tax value.
Two DWMHs (1 with owner financing), one 3BR/3BA custom home on `5 acres,  one groomed and maintained ~14 acre tract sold for more than tax value, and one log home sold for only $500.00 under tax value.
From REALTOR.com
AS of October 2011: 53 homes on the market, 8 mobile homes, 3 farms, and 89 parcels.

United Country Real Estate Has an Agent in Bostic, NC 28018

In case you haven't heard, I'm back in real estate. I haven't contacted everyone because I've been busy setting things up, and in a small community news travels fast anyway. But I'm back and thrilled, and having a ball building some inventory for the next upward swing of the real estate cycle, and that shift is due about any time now... isn't it? Some folks say we have lots of time, and if that's the case I'll have one heck of a system put together when it arrives. See me soon on YouTube!

My honor boxes arrived on Thursday evening, they were shipped to the office on a 'big' truck and I was really glad they arrived before the fall season got well underway here in the Golden Valley NC area. I'd made arrangements with a couple of local merchants to place the boxes with the Real Estate Book boxes already on location.

And now, I'd like to shout out to: Becky's Country Store and Grill on Hwy 226 between Polkville and Golden Valley, NC. Thank you Becky for allowing me to place a box at your store. Becky's is one of the stores featured on my GoldenValleyNC.com merchant's page. She's a fixture in the valley.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Beckys-Country-Store-Grill/153226071366869

And there's one at Toney's Store! Thank you Vanda McCurry for allowing me to place a box at your store on the Bostic Sunshine Highway where you have your store and grill. Here's another store that's featured on the GoldenValleyNC.com merchant's page. Toney's, is a fixture in Sunshine.

God Bless America

Now that my boxes are in place and filled with United Country Sampler magazines, I can get to work on some other things. I am working with the United Country - Country Lanes Real Estate office in GreenHill - but don't even ask if I'm driving over there, cause I'm not. I have a lovely home office and meet clients at our merchant's places of business.

Since the origin of GoldenValleyNC.com in 2005 we've promoted area merchants. I like to think we're helping the local economy, and while it's a small thing to do over the long haul we've had thousands of visitors, so a little more publicity never hurts. Inclusion on the Merchants Page is free, we do ask for a link back if the merchant has a web page. See Merchants at: GoldenValleyNC.com

It was not my intention not to put a stand with all of our merchants. It'll be a happy day when I can order some more boxes. Send me some buyers and I'll get it done!

If you didn't know you can join Golden Valley on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Golden-Valley/104422519892  we'd love to see you there.

But for now, please accept a sincere thank you from Karen's Corner for our area stores, merchants, hair dressers, community clubs and associations, churches, the Golden Valley Crusaders, Sunshine Seniors, Washburn Community Outreach, Fairview Mountain Ministries, Camp McCall and the Cherry Mountain Fire Department. We live better lives because of you.

Forgot someone? Add your business. Post a comment - please!

Treehouse Homes

Yahoo has published a blog post with amazing treehouses and it's amazing. http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/amazing-treehouse-homes.html  The other day a friend asked, "What happened to your treehouse?" And I had to say I found out if we built a treehouse on our property and put in electricity and water and a bathroom the bank would consider it to be improved property and it would be hard for us to get a construction loan. That and we never had time to build anything, much less anything nice.

I am, however, a great lover of tree houses, and I love to look at them. These Yahoo's put together are some of the best, I'm convinced, in the world.

Market Watch Reports

Market Watch reports that some 60,000 real estate practitioners, Market Leader customers, got good news. Market Leader has acquired RealEstate.com http://www.marketwatch.com/story/market-leader-acquires-realestatecom-2011-09-21 RealEstate.com has become an increasingly popular domain as more clients turn to the Internet for real estate information. This acquisition will bring in more than 250 brokerage firms and hundreds of domains.

In another unrelated post MarketWtch reports Real Estate Video On Demand Network has begun testing.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/real-estate-video-on-demand-network-begins-testing-to-go-live-2011-09-19 RealBiz Media is testing in the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. markets expecting to go live in early October. They intend to  run about a thousand residential listings in each city, charging about $35.00 per month (this will depend on the supply and demand) to run Home Tours in 15 - 20 second videos on the cable platform.

"This technology allows automatic distribution to Franchise Corporations, MLS Associations and Search Engines like You Tube, Social Networks and TV." realbiz360.com Taking visual tours to what may soon become, the next level.

Foreclosures Now Take 20 Months | RISMedia

Remember North Carolina is a non-judicial state Foreclosures Now Take 20 Months RISMedia

While it does take longer to foreclose in NC than it used to, it's still not taking 20 months. Non-judicial foreclosures don't have to go through the court. Rather a Notice of Default can be recorded and a Notice of Sale mailed to the homeowner and an eviction notice posted. The property then proceeds to be sold on the courthouse steps, and the highest bidder becomes the new owner. Usually banks buy back their foreclosures, so they can sell them and recover their investments. This keeps the titles clear and gives others an opportunity to purchase the property. If the bank acquires the property they'll soon list it for sale with a real esate firm. These firms may be said to handle REO or Real Estate Owned properties. Different states have different procedures and different lenders manage things differently, too.

If you want to find out about foreclosures in your county, you can go to the courthouse to the local clerk of court's office and ask where the foreclosure notices are kept. These are public record.

The New Search Happens Everywhere | The Real Estate Book Blog

See what's new with the Real Estate Book. The New Search Happens Everywhere The Real Estate Book Blog

Hey - You Called Me

6 Reasons The Guy Who's Fixing Your Computer Hates You Cracked.com I have become one of those people who comes over and fixes your computer for free, but I really try not to be. That's because when I log into your system and see a Windows update waiting to install and start to install it and you yell - "No, I don't want to update!" I want to pull out a hank of my hair. I should pull out a hank of your hair, or just go home. But, no, I try to explain. Updates are necessary to the operating health of your system and that NOT UPDATING will cause your machine to run slow because the "install updates" program is running continually. Not Updating is NOT AN OPTION. If you don't want to update and you don't want any changes to your system then let it run slow and deal with that. It's your choice. Don't tell me something's wrong with the machine, cause it's not the machine. The machine is fine.

It also really gripes me when I hear that you've told your other friend who is good with computers that I installed the 4 toolbars that are running in your browser. These are the free toolbars you got when you did the Express rather than the Advanced install on your free downloads. I swear, it wasn't me.

All this and more you'll find in the aforementioned article, 6 reasons....

Yes, Hackers got into your system and downloaded the toolbars - or - maybe it was that other friend, the other friend who is good with computers, yeah that's it, has to be.

If you're the friend who is good with computers, you'll love this. If not... not so much.

Real Estate Investing - What's a Good Deal?

Investing in Real Estate - What is a "Good Deal?" Zillow Blog - Real Estate Market Stats, Celebrity Real Estate, and Zillow News

This Blog Post by Internet Giant Zillow takes a look at real estate investing. A chart included in the article discusses Cash on Cash Returns.

Run the numbers, do the math, is it a good deal? You tell me.

Message from Karen

The Humorist Ogden Nash penned, “You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone,” and it comes to mind this morning as I’m trying to think of a way to tell you what you already know.

Steve Crowley, owner of The Real Estate Book and I have come to a mutual decision. It’s time for us to part company. We work together just swell, it’s nothing like that; it’s just this sluggish economy. It’s not that we wouldn’t like to continue our work together; it’s that the time has come to face facts. Things aren’t going to turn around suddenly this winter. Therefore we have to do what we have to do.

Steve will take over the book and I’ll throw myself fully into real estate and we’ll move forward together. I’ll introduce him to the few of you he doesn’t already know. He’ll take over The Real Estate Book accounts and I’ll come around in a week or two with my new business cards. With Steve at the helm it’ll be smooth sailing. And as always, if I may be of service, you just let me know. I’ve enjoyed working with you. I’ll miss bringing your books around, and I’ll miss you.

But let’s dig in and hang on. Just this week Robert Kiyosaki of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” held a live seminar on Facebook and his advice is: Invest your money in real estate – right now – right now! He says, You can’t afford to wait. Millions will be made by savvy investors. Take your money out of the systems that are not paying you and invest in property that will pay you There has NEVER been a better time to buy.

Robert Kiyosaki leads the field and I’m betting things are going to turn around. Hang in there. Make the tough decisions, do what you have to do. We’ll pull through this and pull through it better together than apart.

Shooting the Moon

Night Photography Lesson - Shooting the Moon I stumbled upon this fantastic website when I googled night photography. The other night I drove up Biggerstaff Mountain in the boo dark, dodging deer and unidentified green and yellow eyes on the road-side. I had a carload of revelers with me, coming home from Tracy's birthday party dinner at Tuscany, she, Mary, Angela and I were full of pasta and I had to be careful on the curves.

When we got to the top and parked the car in the middle of the road on Mountain Lookout, I fetched my Sony Cybershot from the back of the Explorer, set up and took a few pictures. Man it was beautiful, the valley was filled with soft moonlight, a few sparse lights twinkled in the valley, Lissenberry Mountain looked purplish and ethereal against the skyline. I shot several pictures and saw clouds scuttling across the sky, I waited, with the valley in the foreground, the mountain in the background, the full moon glowing in the night sky and clouds! It was the shot of a lifetime. Too bad I hadn't set my camera properly.

Next time I'll be prepared.

Organizing, Editing, Sharing Photos

One of the many challenges today's real estate practitioner faces is how to organize, manage and share all of those pictures da-da-dah-dah enter Zoner.com Zoner Photo Studio PRO This presents some serious options for the serious amateur photographer. Not quite up to Photoshop, but need some of the features? For less than $100.00, Zoner may have the fixes and shareware you need.

Geo-tagging support for mapping, also supports GPS map data.

Zillow Widgets for your Blog or Webpage

The really cool thing about Zillow Widgets is, you can co-brand them. Not to mention their ease of use. Don't know how to add a widget? Get thy self to Zillow Accademy or Active Rain University and learn how, now. http://www.zillow.com/webtools/widgets/

There's some really cool stuff available - get yours.

Deficiency Judgments: State by State Guide | How To Avoid a Judgment

Tim and Julie Harris of Harris Real Estate University are all over the Internet with their articles on short sales and foreclosures. This article about Deficiency Judgments: State by State Guide How To Avoid a Judgment explains that in North Carolina deficiency judgments are not allowed in non-judicial procedures. Furthermore, in judicial cases the deficiency may be limited to fair market value. Note the non-committal word "may" as in -- may be limited.

So, what's the deal? In all seriousness, each bank has their own foreclosure process, each lender has their own legal staff, and will seek what remedy is available under the law. For the time being, we're all left guessing.

‪Virtual Desktops‬‏ - YouTube

Why would you want more than one desktop? What if you wanted to keep your Real Fast Forms open while you popped back over to the MLS to get some numbers? With Windows 7 this is easy enough to do by opening two programs on one desktop, but supposing you've working with two monitors and you want to keep the whole desktop with your set up?

Chris Pirillo, the lockergnome, shows you how. I'm always comfortable opening Pirillo videos, He mentions Spaces and Beryl, but there's one he doesn't mention, Dexpot, free for non-cometcial use.

Real Estate Agents Face Rising Costs

A Post in philly.com by Alan J Heavens, Inqirer Real Estate Writer claims that "Eight out of 10 real estate agents are independent contractors, not salaried or commissioned employees." Many real estate agents are small businesses, facing costs and uncertainties

In the small Western Carolina Board of REALTORS, where I'm a member, that figure is closer to ten out of ten agents. There are a couple of agents who also work as employees, but all of our local real estate agents are paid on a 1099 and not a 1040.

This means agents are responsible for the entire tax burden. There is no employer to share federal taxes with; agent's pay their own SE or self employment tax. Agents are responsible for their own benefit packages, if they can afford one, and they are responsible for maintaining records and filing taxes just the same as any other small business.

The IRS has put together some great material for small businesses, including some excellent videos and they even host a Small Business/Self-Employed VIRTUAL Tax Workshop.

As the cost of doing business rises, and uncertain times loom, you can't afford not to understand the tax ramifications of working as a 1099 Contract Laborer. And heed the advice I give to all new agents. When you get a check, set aside at least 15% for taxes. You'll be glad you did.

Scientific Advertising

Seth Godin writes that no one should work in marketing without having read Scientific Advertising by Claud Hopkins. This book, published in 1923 is still considered to be a fundamental, ground zero, must read. Advertising 101 - produce measurable results. You'll find the book at the above link. Out of print, and past it's copyright, Ian Dewar put this together for general use. Thank you Mr. Dewar.

Instant Professional Online Forms For Your Website - FormExperts.com

A snippit of online buzz was given to FormExperts.com by Ruth A. Gabbard, of Gabbard Hawaii Properties - Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii

Ruth recommended Instant Professional Online Forms For Your Website - FormExperts.com she says they pay, "Only $47.00 a year and it's totally customizable to look like your website. You can create an unlimited number of forms and it includes autoresponders, custom landing pages (or you can direct it to another page on your website), and tracking. They also have a free 10 day trial."

I made a note that I found Ruth on the Agent2Agent Referral Network (Refer a Great Agent)
beautifulhawaiihomes.com/agent2agent/form.html (probably one of Ruth's forms).

It got my attention. I copied and pasted it into my June Stickies document as worth mentioning.

Also I saw a recommendation for blog material - biggerpickets.com (for real estate investors). And for Jonathan Streeter's "In the Loop" at imintheloop.us and social marketing. And for negotiating tips see http://www.karrass.com/.

Good stuff.

Get Your Business on the Web with Bill Swanson

Bill Swanson asks you to think about what kind of site you need.

Tuesday, May 26 2011, Isothermal Community College's Small Business Department featured a "Soup to nuts seminar to get your business up-and-running on the Internet".  Bill Swanson with Exacting Design, from High Point, NC came in to present the program.

If you weren't there, you missed a great opportunity to quiz a webmaster, who knows great web design and a good deal about SEO (search engine optimization).

Isothermal Community College's small business department has been offering seminars like this to the public absolutely free. Please call them at 828-286-3636 # 229 and get on their mailing list.

If you'd like to take a look at one of Swanson's high priority sites, click over and visit motivational speaker, Kelly Swanson. She happens to be Bill's wife.

Seth's Blog: A marketing lesson from the apocalypse

You know, I follow Seth Godin, and if you have any marketing to do, you should follow him, too. Seth's Blog: A marketing lesson from the apocalypse

How can people follow the doomsayers, time and time again? The world is coming to an end, next Saturday.

I love the story of the Prophet who took his people into the mountains to wait and pray for the return of Jesus. The deadline came and went. The Prophet appeared before his confused and unsettled audience. He held up his hands and cried out, "Praise be to God, because of our obedience, by our prayers, the earth has been spared."

Don't think because some thing's not true, it can't be marketed. That happens all the time. It's not the kind of marketing that wins friends, but it is the kind that influences people.

While it's great to be able to think fast, especially in a tight spot, it's better to make decisions that keep you out of a tight spot.

And the doomsayers? Well, they're not always wrong. The real estate bubble burst.

Seth's Blog

If you haven't heard of Seth Godin, you probably haven't heard of Linchpin, you haven't heard of the Purple Cow, you haven't heard of a Meatball Sunday and you're missing out on Seth's Blog. Anyone and everyone who uses the Internet for sales, marketing, anything other than email needs to read Seth's Blog. If you haven't subscribed to it, you haven't got RSS feeds set up for your homepage, and you don't know what Squidoo or landing pages are, Seth can help you with that. If you don't care, if you don't know, and you don't want to know, nobody can help you. Good luck with that.

101 Marketing Charts and Graphs

Check out this SlideShare Presentation from Hubspot:

101 Marketing Charts and Graphs

View more presentations from HubSpot Internet Marketing.

Zillow Buys Real Estate Listings Creation And Distribution Tool Postlets

Zillow Buys Real Estate Listings Creation And Distribution Tool Postlets

I just fouind out about this today. Did you know? Have you even ever used Postlets? Ah, well. Score another for Zillow.

HOW TO: Spread Your Business Footprint Around the Web

Write once, publish EVERYWHERE. In this article, Mashable's put together a great piece on HOW TO: Spread Your Business Footprint Around the Web The more places you are, the more likely it is that you will be found. A scatter-gun approach seems to be best just now. As more and more people turn to the web, connectivity is growing in leaps and bounds. SEO is changing more rapidly than it can be mastered. Be out there, be EVERYWHERE. Spread it around.

Real estate agents: Plug in to Gen X, Gen Y buyers' preferences | Inman News

Inman News published this great article -- are you ready? Real estate agents: Plug in to Gen X, Gen Y buyers' preferences Inman News

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/April---May-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=h6g-oZ5pHrg

Constant Contact Newsletter for the Real Estate Book. http://myemail.constantcontact.com/April---May-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=h6g-oZ5pHrg This is the April - May Newsletter, missed it? You can catch it here. Constant Contact is a first rate mass email program, whether you're emailing a few contacts every month or thousands Constant Contact does the job. There's a built in data base and you have list options. Interested? Call Karen for the best deals going. Sometimes there's even a free trial. Guaranteed user friendly.

Brian Rathbone at Fireside Books



Brian Rathbone



Brian Rathbone hosted a writer's workshop at the Forest City, NC Fireside Books store on March 12, 2011 and spoke to a group of writers about the pros and cons, the ins and outs, of publishing. He shared his experiences by telling the story about how he self published his trilogy "The Dawning of Power" as a trade paperback and as an audio book.

"I couldn't present a business case to a publisher, " Rathbone says, "I didn't have an audience. No one knew who I was." Brian got busy. Following a natural inclination toward technology this self confessed computer geek started exploring options. Podcasting grabbed his attention and through BlogTalk Radio and other outlets he began to produce and put up podcasts.

He published the first book in "The Dawning of Power" as a free download, using a marketing method known to insiders as Freemium, giving away the first book and charging a nominal fee for the second and third books. In addition he published the trilogy, in one volume which is for sale as an  audio book, again for a few dollars. He's also had the book printed, publishing the book in trade paperback. And had the 1,000 books he ordered delivered. They arrived shrink wrapped on a pallet, but that's another story.

Rathbone willingly shares his adventures, paving the way for future writers who might use his experience to avoid some of the pitfalls, some of the difficulties of writing, publishing, receiving, warehousing, marketing, and distributing books without the benefit of a publishing house.

In the last ten years, marketing and distribution has fallen more heavily on the shoulders of the writers, even with traditional publishing methods. Today writers are largely responsible for creating their own buzz. That's one thing Rathbone says he wishes he had done. He wishes he had created more buzz BEFORE his book came out. He says these days, "Writers spend an equal amount of time writing and marketing; you have to view the author as a commercial artist."

Using high tech techniques to come from behind, Rathbone has made every effort to build buzz and it worked. Follow Brian on Twitter. With more than 17,000 Twitter followers and thousands of book downloads, you can't say: no one knows who Brian Rathbone is. He has found an audience, one he built bit by bit using social media marketing to find, mine, and fill his niche as a new fantasy fiction author. Even so, he says, he's essentially, in as far as a publisher is concerned, a One Trick Pony, with one podcast, one book, one website. But that's not exactly the case. These days publishers are approaching him.

What's next for Rathbone, who wants more than anything to earn his living as an author? Book number two is in the works.

And now for the finale...
Rathbone dropped a lot of technical tips, shared a lot of links to freeware that he's used to publish, and shares his experience freely. Yes, his books have ISBN numbers, he bought a batch of ten, and used nearly all of them. You can hear more about that and listen to the entire Fireside podcast at Fireside Writer's Workshop but be warned, it's 2.5 hours You can also visit Brian at his New Fantasy Fiction web page and while you're there download his trilogy, "The Dawning of Power".

Brian's Link List:

Twitter Anyone? Follow Brian: http://twitter.com/brianrathbone

EPub Editor: http://code.google.com/p/sigil/

EPub Manager: http://calibre-ebook.com/

Auto Recorder and Editor: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/  (use BETA 1.3.12 or later)

Spoken Word Normalizer (sorta) Evens out voices at different volume levels
http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator

Transfer Files to Webservers: http://filezilla-project.org/

Can't Afford Photoshop? Try gimp: http://www.gimp.org/

Record Skype Audio Calls: http://scribie.com/free-skype-recorder MP3 Converter

Run Report to see how well you target terms. Run one free report a day or $80.00 Month
http://www.seomoz.org/

Brian uses the free Rank Checker and SEO for Firefox add-ons. Track search rank, page rank, backlinks, etc from within Firefox. http://www.seobook.com/

Track usage of your website and blogs. More powerful and useful that you might imagine
http://www.google.com/analytics/

Shorten links for Twitter with the added benefit of tracking how many clicks the link gets
http://bit.ly/




And don't forget to visit Brian's free fantasy ebook page: http://www.brianrathbone.com/free-fantasy-ebook.html  
And a huge debt of gratitude to Fireside Books, we love you!

USGS Topographical Maps - Topographic Maps - United States Geological Survey

I have 4 Bumpy maps. These are maps that show the topography of our area and North, South, East and West. The maps I have came from an Office Supply in Morganton that's since gone out of business. USGS Topographical Maps - Topographic Maps - United States Geological Survey The maps are available here, and for those of you who want to learn more about the area, and answer the burning questions -- What Mountain am I looking at? What mountain is that?

I don't know about you, but I like to know. So here's a nice little link for bumpy maps of Western North Carolina and you'll find, Golden Valley, Sunshine, Duncan's Creek, Whitesides, and much more.

Why Use Social Media?

"You want to grow your business? You get in front of more people." Theresa Barnabei shares her experience in business and social media. From the Superior School of Real Estate.

Real Estate Industry Watch, Tim and Julie Harris Interview

Real Estate Industry Watch, Tim and Julie Harris Interview from Real Estate Insider News.

Agents who will become the "Hope for Homeowners" will make a difference to their sellers and buyers in these difficult times and will stay in business in 2011. Tim and Julie Harris, former RE/MAX agents have gone full time into real estate training and coaching. You can link to their website here and check out some of their free training videos.

A tax deductions checklist for real estate professionals | Inman News

A tax deductions checklist for real estate professionals Inman News Steven Fishman, tax expert, attorney and author of 18 books gives tax advice to real estate professionals in this timely article publisned by Inman.

78% of U.S. Homeowners Describe Home as the BEST Investment They Ever Made

In the previous post NAR's Lawrence Yun announces that home ownership os not for everyone, Trulia releases a blog post: 78% of U.S. Homeowners Describe Home as the BEST Investment They Ever Made

NAR Chief Economist Releases Podcast 2-8-2011

On February 8, 2011 NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun released a podcast discussing the problems in the world (Egypt) and further, addressing how they're expected to impact the US economy, this year and into the future. In closing he says: Home ownership, it's not for everyone....

And I think the inevitable has arrived; indeed, home ownership is NOT for everyone. Trying to put every American who wanted a home into a home, so they could live: The American Dream, created not the whole economic crises, but certainly a huge portion of it.

But don't take my word for it, here is Lawrence Yun, listen to the February 8th podcast.

Showing Property -- A Safety Measure

Never go out with a client you don't feel safe with. That said, a chat with a REALTOR reminded me this morning that REALTORS will need to take extra measures to be safe out there this year. And here's an affordable solution. Moby! see: moby for realtors www.mymoby.com - your personal safety service Preset Moby to give you a call at a specified time. Program your smart phone to be really smart -- and safe. Best of all, the Lite plan is free. To give your friends or family a call, to let them know something could be wrong... no charge. 24/7 security monitoring less than $10.00 a month. So, be safe and be smart and at least have a look at Moby. No charge!

Good Pictures and Virtual Tours Help Sell Homes in Today’s Market | RISMedia

This RISMedia piece, has a lot of photographer's tips in it, and has a link to a Virtual Tour firm I saved a link to this morning from Kim Komando's newsletter. Good Pictures and Virtual Tours Help Sell Homes in Today’s Market RISMedia

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/February-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=J0SiXCumwv4

The Real Estate Book of the Southern Foothills of North Carolina

Ad copy is due Tuesday, February 1, 2010. In this month's newsletter you'll find that and more.

Hey - Riddle me this: Once it's spent it's gone FOREVER....

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/February-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=J0SiXCumwv4

Seth's Blog: The inevitable decline due to clutter

Subscribed to Set's Blog yet? Seth's Blog: The inevitable decline due to clutter In another short post Seth tackles the idea of clutter, in this case media clutter, where less really is more.

I'm going through my inbox this morning. I've been decluttering for nearly an hour and a half. That's because I've subscribed to too many interesting sites. I'm bombarded with information that actually deserves my attention, things I'm interested in, but Holy Cow, an hour and a half, every Saturday? This has got to stop.

1. No more going back to read articles, I think I might be interested in.

2. I will cancel some subscriptions and some group memberships.

3. This year, less is more.

Too much time is spent on activities like cleaning up my cluttered inbox. It's Saturday. If I didn't read and respond during the week -- it shall be deleted. If you sent me something and I didn't respond, I hope you understand. I really need to clean the bathroom, change the litter box, and run trash to the recycle center.

How much time do you spend decluttering your inbox?

JPEGsnoop | Download JPEGsnoop software for free at SourceForge.net

Ever heard of EXIF data in jpegs? Me neither. Did you know a whole lot more than your picture is recorded in your digital data file and is attached to your picture? Kim Komando posted a great article about this on her website. You'll find it here. Reviewing and removing EXIF data See if this is something you need to be concerned about. You'll find the software to read and remove EXIF data here. JPEGsnoop Download JPEGsnoop software for free at SourceForge.net

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/January-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=1c54W0_TsGQ

Sorry, I didn't double check my post to make sure my newsletter posted here. Here's a quick URL, the Broker Sherpa video is included.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/January-Copy-Due.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=1c54W0_TsGQ

2010-2011 Costs Vs. Value: Home & Design: REALTOR Magazine

Every year the National Association of REALTORS in cooperation with Remodeling Magazine (a trade publication) brings us the Cost vs. Value Report. Would it surprise you to know that the expense of remodeling is rarely recovered when a home is sold? 2010-2011 Costs Vs. Value: Home & Design: REALTOR Magazine

For your sellers who wanted to remodel and are having second thoughts about whether or not to tackle a project, you have to ask. Will the home sell at all without an updated kitchen? Is a bank going to loan money on this house?How much will it cost to replace that rotten deck out back? Remember, buyer's always think it will cost more to finish a project than it will, and sellers think it will cost less than it does.