Written by Tal Ariel who was previously HomeGain’s AIMS (Advanced Internet Marketing Solution) Product Manager.

Many of the agents subscribing to the AIMS program have enjoyed success, some closing as many as five contracts in their first six months.

Some of those who were less successful initially and decided to cancel actually came back after enough time was given for their leads to pan out.

As with any product or idea, there are bound to be obstacles and problems, both for the customer and the provider.

Interestingly, the biggest obstacles thus far with our AIMS product have nothing to do with features, functionality, guarantee fulfillment or customer service.

Rather it has been the MLS boards’ rules and regulations around IDX that often prevent an interested and willing agent from signing up.

Usually this is due to several possible issues:

• Brokers-only boards – there are the MLS boards that do not allow their agent members to get their own IDX feed from a 3rd party IDX provider. Instead they Continue reading this post

Dear Matt,

I currently pay for driving visits to my web site (with the BuyerLink program), but have a limited budget. Are there any free ways I can get more visits to my web site in addition to what I do with HomeGain?

- Sally Dalhgren, Minnesota (real estate agent)

Dear Sally,

What you’re referring to is Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the art of making your site more findable by the search engines (and therefore getting free traffic!).

While you could get a 4-year degree in SEO and still not know everything there it to know, one of the easiest things to do is improve your site HTML tags. Continue reading this post

1. Rents will rise

Due to tightening credit, many prospective homeowners will stop their home searches and stay in their rentals. Defaulting and near defaulting homeowners will look to rent driving up demand, vacancy rates and rents.

2. The 30 year mortgage will become popular again

The proliferation of three year interest only adjustable rate mortgages (ARMS) over the past three years has exposed that such loans don’t foster homeownership, but rather defaults. The realization that taking out an interest only ARM is not buying a home but rather “renting” from a bank without the protection of a lease agreement or statute (why is there a tax break for this type of speculation but not for rent payments?) will lead to the return of the 30 year fixed mortgage.

3. Fallout from the sub-prime crisis will have broad economic and social impacts

In many areas where foreclosures are high, urban blight and crime will take hold. The mess left behind of boarded up homes by defaulting home owners and lenders apathetic about these assets will create “no go zones” in the areas hit hardest. Continue reading this post

Leading real estate services company flexes its marketing muscle with new advertising campaign; enlists ad agency powerhouse, A Man and His Monkey

Emeryville, CA (HomeGain Press) JANUARY 7, 2008 – HomeGain.com, a commonly accepted authority of real estate marketing tactics by real estate professionals nationwide, today announced a major new “gorilla marketing” campaign

The new marketing campaign features the HomeGain Gorilla (pictured here) and was created by Madison Avenue Agency, A Man and His Monkey.

The ads will be initially launched across the Google Content Network, a network that features some of the best known and most heavily trafficked real estate sites, including: Continue reading this post

One of the first questions a prospective home buyer or seller asks an agent is “How long will it take to sell (and close) my home” or “how long will it take for me to buy a home and move?”

One of our jobs as a real estate agent / Realtor® is to help our clients get in sync with the market.

They look to us to help them determine when they need to list their property, or start shopping for a new home, in order for them to meet their time frame for moving.

Setting expectations as best we can helps us to not “over promise” and “under deliver.”

Unfortunately, the real estate market is out of our control, and one of our biggest challenges is that our clients’ success depends on the market, and not always our service.

At HomeGain, we track the time it takes for our home buyers and sellers to close, from the time they come on the site and complete a profile to the time they actually close, and of course are able to move.

The National Association of Realtors® recently reported there is an average home listing time of 10.8 months. Continue reading this post

Toni Coursey has found her niche as a real estate agent in Arizona.

A paralegal for nearly 10 years she is skilled with contracts and negotiating. A real estate agent for six years, she’s personable, professional and tactical about her marketing practices.

“I knew coming into this industry that I would need to use technology to connect with people initially before a face-to-face opportunity,” stated Toni. “It was really a matter of trying a few marketing and lead generation programs to see what worked best for me.”

An AgentEvaluator™ member since June 2006, Toni closed five deals this year with one pending next month as a result of her HomeGain leads (to make a total of 31 closed homes in 2007), and had 18 active listings as of last month.

“At first, I was disappointed with the results Continue reading this post