With summertime here, Max decided to hit the surf and cruise around sunny San Diego, California, in a truck that could fit all his surf boards.

By November, when the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Annual Conference is scheduled, Max will be very familiar with the area!

Have you seen Max on the road?

Let us know and you’ll receive a cute and cuddly Max gorilla of your own!

Check San Diego home prices

Learn more about San Diego real estate

Join the San Diego real estate market discussion on HomeGain Nation

Follow Max

A Realtor’s story about how he went from being a skeptic to a raving fan of blogging, online marketing and HomeGain’s AgentView program

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Kinkade of Cherry Creek Professionals Realty in Colorado to get his insight about the AgentView real estate marketing program and how it has increased his ability to connect with new clients and expand his business.

Hear our brief HomeGain Radio Clip:

Highlights: Continue reading this post

Here are some Google Search secrets to help you better find what you’re looking for: (wait, since I’m telling you, they’re no longer secret).

1. Use quotation marks to search for the exact phrase “co-op board rejection”

2. Use the pipe (|) (it’s above the backslash \) for an either/or search (or use the word “or”): fsbo|by owner.

3. Use two periods (..) to find information within a number range, including years: worst housing markets 1980..2006.

4. Use a minus sign (-) to exclude search results: worst housing markets 1980..2006 -best. (since the search without the minus sign usually includes best and worst, use the minus sign if you only want the bad news)

5. Find similar keywords with the tilde (~): ~cheap homes. You get auctions, foreclosures, investors, etc. The tilde is an under-appreciated stroke (which makes it good for passwords)

6. Use the wildcard star (*) if you don’t know the missing word: a man’s home is his *.

7. Get a definitions by typing “define:” before the word: define:foreclosure.

8. Math calculations (hey Realtors, it’s good for figuring a commission): 548,000 x6%.

9. To search a term in a particular blog or website use “site:” before the URL. Useful if a website or blog doesn’t have a search box: site:blog.sellsiusrealestate.com zillow.

10. Type in the area code or zip code to find out the city name: 646. Continue reading this post

We’ve all heard it; “real estate is local”. I’m not so sure.

I believe that all of the different “local” real estate markets are in fact intertwined with one another. While there is not much value in a national average or median real estate price, there is value in national sales volume, national inventory levels and other national housing statistics.

Think of them as a barometer – a measure by which you can assess your local market. Perhaps your market is selling more homes on average at a higher price point than the national average. Perhaps it’s less. Either way, national market statistics matter. You can use this information as part of a general wellness test of your local market. Not to mention that what actually is happening in other local real estate markets can directly affect what happens in your local market.

We in fact just ran into a scenario where a client of ours could only buy a home at a certain price here because the home he owns in Michigan cannot sell for a reasonable price there. They wanted to spend about $600,000, but, bought for $250,000 until the home in Michigan can sell. This is an example of exactly how these markets are intertwined and why in fact real estate is not all local.

To truly understand your local market, you must stay abreast of and understand more than just your neighborhood, town and city market statistics lest someone else who does understand will be the “local expert” instead of you. Continue reading this post

Congratulations to the 17 real estate agents who have earned half a million dollars or more in gross lifetime commissions from HomeGain leads through the AgentEvaluator® marketing program!

We are pleased to recognize these agents for their tremendous success by inducting them into HomeGain’s new Diamond Club.

Diamond Club inductees include (listed alphabetically by last name):

• Jeffrey Bastress, Startpoint Realty in Massachusetts
• Virginia Cheezum, RE/MAX Allegiance in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. areas
• Les Davis, Realty Executives Metro One in Missouri
• Dorothy and David Eiglarsh, The Eiglarsh Team in Florida
• Sheryl Goble, Realty Executives Premiere in Illinois
• Howard Gordon, Broward Brokers Realty Corporation in Florida
• Doug Goss, RE/MAX Real Estate Services in California
• Sharon Kunz, RE/MAX Greater Atlanta in Georgia
• Joseph Niece, Joe Niece Team at RE/MAX Results in Minnesota
• Brenda Porter, Porter and Associates in Nevada
• Barbara Tidwell, Keller Williams Realty in Texas

I spoke with Realtor® Virginia Cheezum, who said: “I am delighted to receive this recognition! I’ve been with HomeGain for many years and it’s become a critical piece of my business. I continue to be impressed and delighted with the quality of leads you provide. You do a magnificent job and provide a valued service.”

Howard Gordon also commented: “I have found HomeGain to be an exceptionally successful way to reach qualified, serious sellers who are seeking to meet with the best real estate professionals they can find. The leads are of high quality and high motivation to list I highly recommend HomeGain to agents wanting more listings.”

In the press release announcing HomeGain’s New Diamond Club members, HomeGain General Manager Louis Cammarosano stated “Unlike the anecdotal evidence of the success of our competitors’ marketing solutions, HomeGain offers concrete proof that our programs result in closed business and in many cases lots of it.”

Over a dozen other real estate agents are quickly approaching the $500k mark. Continue reading this post

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage is  a  product created by Congress in 2008 to provide some liquidity to the struggling home market. The amount you can borrow depends on age, current interest rates, and the appraised value of your home or FHA’s mortgage limits,whichever is less. Generally, the more valuable your home is, the older you are and the lower the interest, the more you can borrow.

1. No payments are necessary as long as the house is your principal residence.
2. No need to repay the loan as long as you or one of the borrowers continues to live in the house
3. You can never owe more than the value of your home at the time you or your heirs sell the home.
4. When you sell your home, you or your estate will repay the cash you received from the reverse mortgage plus interest and fees.
5. The rest is yours.

The Rules Just Changed

More seniors are turning to reverse mortgages to supplement their retirement savings, which have been decimated by market losses. Continue reading this post