With winter slowly melting away, eHow asked me to do a quick vlog for sellers who are prepping their homes for the traditional high season in real estate: Spring & Summer! De-clutter, de-personalize, stage & match your decor with your house style. Good luck! 

 

According to the National Association of Realtor's latest info from Oct 2011, there are 1,024,669 Realtors in the United States.  Seems like a substantial number but let's not kid ourselves folks! A lot of these peeps are part timers. And many of these are older agents trying to catch up to real estate in 2012. (Average age of a realtor is 56, while the average home buyer is 31.)   It's often quoted amongst us real estate professionals that 80% of the business is done by 20% of the agents. If you happen to be that 20%, then good for you. You may skip this video!  

But if you are just eking out a living in real estate, you wanna promote yourself differently in 2012.  Ditch those cheesy calendars & tacky magnets. I've never heard of a seller who decided to list their house with an agent because they found her name on a Safeway shopping cart (aka "cartvertising"...yes, it's a real thing!).  Watch my new video for eHow for some promotion suggestions.   It's a new year, try something new!

Stop moonlighting at other jobs to make ends meet. Commit to going full force hocking homes! I know you can do it! Have a prosperous exciting 2012! 

Alvin in San Francisco has a staging dilemma. Mom wants to decorate it for families....but it is a modern sleek loft!? My response may be caustic, but I say it with love. Really I do! 

EXCERPT:
And if you don’t mind me saying Alvin, it’s time to stop being a mama’s boy! This is your property. You bought it. You own it. You’re selling it. You are a grown ass man who can stick up for himself.

Say, “Mom, I love you but your staging advice, albeit well intentioned, is without  taste.” Go ahead, stab her in the heart!

Read the rest here.

Nowadays, in this economy, to sell a listing you've got to be a pornographer. Sell that fantasy! Buyers are visual creatures!  As my fellow agent & real estate TV Host of 365 Realtor  Nicole Martin loves to joke:  "Real estate is the finest form of prostitution."  LOL! 

Am I being salacious to just get more web hits? Hell yeah.   Hey, if the revered Inman News can do it, so can I! Here is their article published yesterday  titled "Selling House Porn to Gen X & Y" by Candy Evans. Selling homes is like selling sex, indeed...not that I would know.

XXX...er, i mean, xoxo,
Herman

Outdated headshot = Outdated business.  You are the face of your business, so get real photoshoot  with a local photographer. FYI: glamour shots and Sears booth do not count!
PS: I just had mine shot by longtime friend and nationally published photographer Billy Winters. 

Why do some  real estate agents have some many darn acronyms after their names?....and frankly, does anyone really care?!

Find out why over accessorizing is a no-no for outfits AND your home decor!

Some realtors put "Call for Price" on their advertisements!  Are they hiding something or just creating buzz?

Does your realtor get business by having people sit on their face?