They also have a tool for determining the number of days between two dates -- click here for that calculator, or on the image above for the future date calculator.

(Of course, keep in mind that ultimately you’re responsible for determining timelines correctly, regardless of what the calculator comes up with. )

In the course of researching this month’s real estate email newsletter article I stumbled upon Diana Olick’s Realty Check column on the CNBC site, and I have to say I wish I’d found it long ago.  Each weekday she posts a short, well-researched blurb about some current real estate topic, from recently released housing reports to new legislation, and I found it to be an excellent source of up-to-the-minute real estate information.

One of the things I like about her writing is that she appears to have good insight into the issues and I think she tries to take a fair approach -- she’s not out to spin the pros of real estate and at the same time she’s not someone who despises agents either -- refreshing.   (I get so annoyed with people who act like they’re breaking barriers in the field of honesty, but if you read their stuff it turns out they’re as hopelessly biased as some of the industry ‘shills’ that they can’t stand.)

Anyway, are you tuning into something daily that keeps you on the frontlines of information that your clients may need you to know?  I understand that checking a bunch of blogs every morning can become onerous, but this is one little column that will take you about 90 seconds to read and will almost always impart something worth knowing.  I highly recommend that you give it a whirl.

Do you have potential repeat and referral real estate business in your contact list

If you’re like most real estate agents, the answer is ‘Yes!’  To make it easier for you, we just posted an article on how to EASILY reconnect with those past clients when you think a little too much time has gone by.  You can read it on this page of our ToolsForRealEstate.com website.

Here’s an example:

With gas prices sky high and the green movement gaining ground, this is probably indicative of a trend in neighborhood review criteria that’s going to grow over time.

 VideoAd by Mixpo

Well, confession time here at The Agent Guide headquarters.  We’re in the process of a massive website makeover, including even a domain name change (so that I don’t have to spend the rest of my life explaining on the phone that no, I am not “The Agent Guy”. 

I fell into the well worn trap of stopping a consistent business practice, in this case blogging, because I felt like I was just adding to something that was about to change, and it was tempting to not deal with the old stuff and just wait until the new site was ready.

(Translation:  Until things were ‘perfect‘.)

Dumb mistake!  Not only did traffic to our website drop, but we also lost a level in our site’s Google Page Rank.  Plus, during that month there were a number of useful ideas I wanted to pass on via the blog that I never got to.

So, let’s turn this into something useful for real estate agents.  (Because, let’s face it -- this is classic real estate agent behavior.)

I can’t tell you how many agents I talked to a year ago about putting a ‘subscribe’ box for their email newsletter on their site, and they decided to hold off until their new website finished.  (You know, the one being made by programming experts, that was going to have a member-only password protected client section and the dancing house waltzing across the screen when someone clicked ‘Send’ on a contact form -- that one.)

A year later,  they still have the generic company site, and no subscribe box….

So please, learn from bozos like us:

• When it comes to marketing, done ‘pretty well’ is 1000 times better than ‘nearly perfect, but never completed’.
• If you put a project off until something else is perfect, expect to stumble over its dusty, uncompleted remains sometime next year.
• If you’re posting content online, make it relevant, and make it consistent -- and Google will appreciate you, even if it’s not perfect.

Here’s a thought:  Take 10 minutes today and write down the good marketing ideas you had over the last year that never got executed.  Pick the simplest, least time-consuming one and schedule an hour this week to get it done.

C’mon -- why not fire up Microsoft Word and give it a shot now?

OK, here’s an example of why I believe Zillow’s home value estimates should be used primarily for recreational purposes:

A few days ago a friend called me because his kids are selling their home in one of the cities near Seattle.  It’s been listed in the high $200′s for over a month, down $20K from where it started a few months ago, but it still hasn’t gotten any offers.

Bad Real Estate Decisions are Expensive

Now some serious questions are coming up:  With divorce looming, should they keep it on the market?  Re-list with another agent?  Have one person buy the other out, and if so, what’s a fair price?

If they keep it on, they’ll need to sell quickly.  Should they drop the price and risk coming up short?

Or are they leaving money on the table?  According to Zillow, the property’s worth $21,000 more than the current list price!

Big decisions.  Potentially expensive decisions.

Realistic Comps Are Not Optional

My friend sent me the Zestimate page, and that’s when I found myself fuming.

The property was 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1300 square feet and built in the 1960′s.

Of the four main “comps” (comparable homes, supposedly) listed on the primary page,

- One was 2 bedroom, 1 bath
- One was 3 bedrooms, 2.50 baths, 1500 sq. ft. and built in 1990
- One was 4 bedrooms, 2.75 baths, over 1600 sq. ft and built in 1997

And the fourth one was even bigger.

What is going on?

I did a multiple listing service search and there were six or seven really similar comps from the last three months in that immediate area.  Those showed that the home was not worth $311K, and in fact was much better priced where it was at.

(I realize the fact that it wasn’t selling indicated it still might be high at the current price, but the photos of this home were really sub-par and missed a lot of the desirable features.)

It’s Nothing Personal - It’s the Algorithm

OK, I’m not a programmer - I think it’s the algorithm.

Here’s the thing -- I have nothing against Zillow personally.  (In fact, the more I learn about online-based home valuation, the more I’m convinced of the job security of a good real estate agent.)

But it does really bother me that people make important decisions based on this kind of information.

My friend, who’s a smart, computer-savvy person, was enthused about the higher valuation and pointed out to me that the comps supported the Zestimate.  I had to point out to him that of course they did, since the Zestimate was a product of the comps.

(It’s like taking the average of a bunch of numbers, and then saying that the numbers support the average.)

After all this time, why can’t Zillow at least exclude homes that are clearly so different in age and size that they’ll never provide an accurate reflection on price?

Bottom line:  Crummy comps = crummy numbers = crummy market valuation.

(That holds true for Zillow and agents alike, of course!)

OK, not all of my business photos have turned out as sketchy as the one above.  (Trust me though -- I’ve had some close runner-ups.)

In any case, I ran across some excellent photo tips in Christopher Knight of EzineArticle.com’s blog post on how to take a great business photo.

It’s a short article, but he tells you which direction you should face for a Western audience (something I’d never even considered), and explains exactly how to look at the camera in order to ‘grab’ the viewer.

So enjoy!  (Just click on the hyperlink above to go straight to the article.)

It’s true, there’s a new man in my life.

OK, just kidding.  But meet Jackson, one of my nephew’s miniature donkeys -- just one of many cute reasons why instead of getting extra work done while I visited family in Pennsylvania over the holidays, I ended up sticking with the basics.  (And also didn’t post on here for nearly 3 weeks!)

I know that’s the sign of a good vacation.  But my goal for this year is to post much more regularly.  I’m constantly thinking of useful tips for agents that I could add on here quickly, then getting caught up in other things and not getting around to it.

(And in the blink of an eye, weeks go by…)

Do You Have Leftover Goals From 2007?

Part of the reason I mention this is to ask you -- can you look back at 2007 and see some big plans you had in mind for your real estate business that are still waiting in the wings?  Maybe it was a new client appreciation program, a real estate blog, or an upgrade to your website.

We tend to think that we need to implement massive changes in order to move forward (a new website!  hand-delivered complimentary market analyses for every client!) but the truth is that small increments of improvement made consistently over time generate stronger results, and build better work habits.

Just Do It - Even Just a Little.

So if you haven’t gotten the perfect client perk together yet, keep it on the drawing board -- but call or email them today just to say hi, or to give them the scoop on a listing in their neighborhood.  They might just surprise you by saying they’ve been meaning to contact you because they’re thinking of selling, or they have a friend moving into town.

(And even if they don’t, a friendly ‘hello’ from you beats deafening silence -- as long as you give them plenty of opportunity to get off the phone when they want to.)

By the way, this is the kind of thing I have to remind myself of all the time.  Putting consistency into practice is the big challenge for me, as it is for most entrepreneurs.

But the fact remains:  A little, done occasionally, will build your business faster than those big projects that are so daunting they rarely get completed.

So that’s one of areas I’m working to improve on in 2008.  (I encourage you, if you’re reading this post and see that I waited 3 weeks before posting again, to send me a snipey comment reminding me to stop yakking and to lead by example.)

Here’s why it’s a great resource for you and your real estate clients:

Tons of pertinent, well-researched information.

This site is full of really good tips on things like crime prevention, fire safety, first-aid, personal and vehicle safety -- you name it.   I found myself bookmarking pages right and left (always the sign of a solid, no-fluff website).

Each section drills down to spot-on information.

For example, the first-aid section links to ‘Perilous Partners”, a guide to dealing with 26 common house and yard pests, and ‘Plant Smarts’, a guide to over 30 poisonous plants found in homes and yards.

(Handy guides to have, and a pain to find on your own -- especially if you’re simultaneously trying to pry a brown recluse spider off of your arm.)

A wide variety of topics.

I also found a list of Highway Emergency Assistance Cell Numbers I didn’t even know existed, as well as a state-by-state cell phone driving law list -- always a good one for real estate agents to have on hand.

A little bit of fun.

For a few laughs, don’t miss the Citizen’s Self-Arrest Form.  (For when you commit a crime yourself and want to turn yourself in.)

 P.S.  You may just find yourself forwarding that on to a few of your colleagues after the office Christmas party….