iPod Touch - Too Cool

My Website on my iPod Touch
Originally uploaded by David A. Davison

WOW! Has it been a long time since I posted or what?

I got an iPod Touch from Dana this year, and it is the coolest iPod ever. I'm in the process of getting all of my information from my Palm Pilot moved over to it. The Safari web browser is incredible.

I'm sure I'll be posting more about this in the near future.

Have a safe and happy New Years!

First Snow Of The Year

I knew we were supposed to get some snow, but how great is this? Kyle had the day off, the dogs were happy to have company all day playing with them, and we are able to get in and out of the driveway without having to shovel too much. Now this is how winter is supposed to feel. I even had a nice hot meal waiting for Dana when she got home from work. Hey, I love to cook anyway.

I spent part of the day today watching "Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares" on BBC America. I love that show! What a motivator. It's amazing that when people actually listen to him the progress the make in turning their failing businesses around. Too bad he's not a licensed Real Estate Broker, that would be a show worth seeing (Donkey! Your business is in the shit, get out there and knock on some doors and don't come back until you have a listing appointment or buyer!).

RealtorTech is still up and running with no reported issues. New invites for additional users will be going out later this week (yes, folks at Exit Realty Central will be in this round as well as a few loan officers and title agents).

If I've never told you before, my wife is quite a good singer. I can't carry a tune to save my life, but Dana has a great voice. Her home office is about 15 feet from mine, and she's singing along with iTunes as I type this. It is such a joy to hear her and know she has her mind off of things long enough to get caught up in music like that. I'm so glad I bought her an iPod last year for Christmas! She has talent. When I'm motivated to play my guitar, I usually turn it up too loud and hear Dana and Kyle shout "Turn that damn thing down". Oh, to be a frustrated amateur musician! At least the dogs enjoy my talent.

RealtorTech Is Alive & Well!

My social networking site for real estate professionals, RealtorTech, is up and running with no reported issues. I have 2 users added with several other invites out there waiting for a response. But so far, so good. (click to enlarge screen shot)

As I sit here listening to Frank Sinatra on my iPod and checking the site I can't help but wonder if I build this site, will they come? I know ours is an extremely competitive industry. I talked with a friend today at my former brokerage about the current and future markets, and that in the very near future, technology is going to have a MAJOR impact on this business no matter what your past successes have been. One major area is going to be print advertising. It's slowly on it's way out.

So, will my site be a stepping stone to the future, or another site that is ahead of its time and dies a slow death because of lack of understanding? I'm not sure, but it's sure going to be exciting to find out! As Frank would say, "I did it my way".

Beta Testing My Own Social Networking Site

It's Sunday once again, and it's cold and crappy outside. Perfect weather to get some coding done and try some new technologies.

I've started my own social networking site for Realtors called RealtorTech and over the next few weeks I will be inviting several local Realtors to help me put it through it's paces, find bugs, and make improvements. I've been on Active Rain for some time, but the problem with it is that it's not local. I've made some friends and gotten some ideas, but I like the idea of a local site where people can share ideas, thoughts, and have meet-ups in person. No one was doing that here that I could find, so I did it myself.

If you are a real estate professional or someone involved in real estate transactions and would like to help me beta test the system, I will send you an invitation to join my network.

It's fun, it's free, and it's a chance to learn about technology without being a geek. Also a great way to promote your properties to other active, local agents!

OpenOffice.org Just Keeps Getting Better!

It's been a while since I posted about OpenOffice.org (and NeoOffice.org for you fortunate Mac users out there!) and I got an email today that just proves you don't have to shell out big bucks for an office software suite.

OpenOffice.org just went live with their OpenOffice.org Community Forum page and it's great! I poked around on it for a while, and have to say, for a free product this site is pretty impressive. One more reason to "Stop Paying The Bill".

I won't bore you with my take on the site, I just invite you to click on the link above and see it for yourself. I've been using these products for years now and love them.

Enjoy!

Sunday

Got the rest of the leaves cleaned up yesterday with Kyle's help. We did have to break down and buy a new battery for the tractor ($49.00) but that's OK.

Not much else happening other than finishing off the rest of the Thanksgiving leftovers, I'm glad that's almost over.

Click here to see Apple's Small Business Tip of the week!

Week-end Again!

Too much going on and not enough time to get it done.

We had a small amount of snow yesterday morning, and I have say, I'm actually looking forward to some more of it. I went out to chop the rest of the leaves yesterday and the tractor had a dead battery. It was down so low it wouldn't start with jumper cables. So, I had to charge it for a few hours before it finally started. Now the back yard is covered in leaves again, but Kyle and I are going to take care of them today.

I just uploaded a bunch of photos to my FLICKR site for those of you interested in seeing them. Click here to see them.

Seems like Sunday already, but I'm glad it isn't. We have 2 days to get a lot of things done and we are staying home all day today, which is something we seem to never do. Dana is working inside, Kyle and I are working outside. We should all be nice and crabby by dinner time, ha-ha.



Kyle & Holly bust a move!

Monday

Still feeling a bit under the weather and feeling like I'm not getting enough sleep, even though I slept over 10 hours. No amount of coffee and vitamins seem to help.

I took this photo of Kyle while driving to dinner the other night, hope you enjoy it. And be sure to click here to see Apples small business quick tip of the week. (Click photo to enlarge)

New Monitor

I love my Macintosh as you know and recently added a 22" Samsung SyncMaster 226BW Wide Screen monitor. Here's what my work area looks like now:
(click to enlarge)

Dana is Home!

Dana returned home from a short trip to visit family in Phoenix. The flight there was fine, but she went through hell getting home. Her flight from Phoenix to Dallas had problems after they were in the air for a few minutes and had to return (they lost the navigation system). Nothing scary for her, but I would have been in a mild panic.

Getting home was trying, but we were all glad to see her today! Her brother and his family took her to her first NHL hockey game while she was there, so now she has an interest in seeing the Dayton Bombers play a few games this season, which is great! Kyle and I love watching the Bombers. So much more fun than football.

I finally turned the furnace on for the first time this year this morning. It was cold and I knew Kyle would complain about the temperature. I just wish the leaves would finally finish falling so I could get them chopped up once and for all.

Be sure to click here to see the Apple's Small Business quick tip of the week video. I know you should all be using Macs, but you don't know it yet!

1984 Apple's Macintosh Commercial

I know this is an Apple Commercial, but it reminds me of a National Association of Realtors convention. Suddenly, someone throws technology out to the masses and says "You don't have to be mediocre!". Oh, how I just wish they would embrace it.

Where Did The Week-End Go?

This week-end seemed to fly by. We started Saturday morning off with the Octoberfest parade here in town. Kyle was in the Junior High Band playing in his second parade and seemed to enjoy it. Then it was off to Fairborn to visit Dana's father and have lunch at one of our favorite Chinese places (see photo - don't know why Kyle is frowning). We then went with him to the Tile Store. It's a store that sells nothing but tile. I was interested for about 5 minutes then found a comfortable chair to sit in. Then it was off to visit my dad and take him out to dinner.

My policy of not working on Sundays is paying off by taking a much deserved break to spend time with my family and not let cell phone calls interrupt the day. We enjoyed time together and got some more work done around the house as well. I am getting Dana's motorcycle ready to put it up for sale, so if yo know anyone interested in a Suzuki Savage 650, have I got a deal for them!

We also got caught up on some sleep, which is always in short supply around our home. It was wonderful, and the cooler weather made it more enjoyable.

Enjoy your week!

Much Needed Re-Charge

Did something for myself this week-end, I took it off! No phones, no email, no meetings. It was a much needed re-charge of my batteries and I suggest everyone do this for themselves once in a while.

I got the brush pile from the back of our property loaded up and hauled away. I put a new battery in my motorcycle (which it badly needed) and started to work polishing it up and cleaning the chrome. I didn't even think about business. It's got me thinking, I deserve a life too. So, starting tomorrow:

My normal business hours are 10:00 am until 6:00 pm, with evening & Saturday hours available by appointment only. No Sunday hours. Calls to me after 6:00 pm will be returned the following business day.

I usually work through lunch, so I'm putting in the full 8 hour day. Since I don't typically do open houses (they are a complete waste of time) I've decided to take Sundays off and shut the cell off on Saturday afternoon when my last appointment is finished.

Will I lose out on business? Probably not. I will work with clients that are willing to work with me and respect that I have a life as well. Life is too short not to enjoy it.

I love being self employed!

Comic Life Part 1

Finally spent some time last night playing with some of the software I have loaded on my Mac and came up with this creation.

Thanks to my good friends Jeff & Sue Garber for appreciating my sense of humor and being such good sports.

(Click to enlarge)

Talk Nerdy To Me

Today when Kyle got home from school, he asked me about 802.11 wireless and what the differences were. He actually has a good understanding of it, which impressed me and we had a nice little conversation about it.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it?

How to Build a Laser Listener

Not sure how well this works, but it might be a good project for Kyle and I to try some week-end.

Housing Market Warming Up

Home sales statewide showed an increase during the month of July compared to June, with sales similar to those of a year ago. Favorable interest rates and a correction in prices have helped as well as a supply of housing in all price categories according to The Ohio Association of Realtors.

Locally, the Greater Dayton area shows January - July 2007 sales as:

2006 - 8,351
2007 - 8,257
Change is -3.2%

Average home sale prices for our area were reported as:

2006 - $136,765
2007 - $135,602
Change is -.09 %

The Greater Dayton area faired well compared to other communities in Ohio. Only Zainesville showed an increase in the number of units sold and an increased sale price.

So what does all this mean? It means that people are still buying and selling homes in this market, regardless of what the media may be telling you. A properly priced home will move in this market, so if you are considering buying or selling, there's never been a better time.

Real Estate Education 101

Dual Agencies and why consumers should avoid them:

According to the Consumer Guide to Agency Relationships, a Dual Agency exists when the same agent and brokerage who represent the seller also represents they buyer. When a brokerage and its agents become dual agents, they must maintain a neutral position in the transaction. They may not advocate the position of one client over the best interests of the other client, or disclose any confidential information to the other party without written consent.

Sounds simple enough. Yet, the entire reason for obtaining the services of a Realtor is to protect your interests in any real estate transaction and get you the best deal possible. How can someone have a neutral position in a deal and still claim to be protecting your best interests? They can't, it's a huge conflict of interest. Someone, usually the buyer is going to feel taken advantage of in these deals since the agent works on commission.

I advertise that I don't do dual agency relationships for this very reason, and I never will. I don't understand why the state even allows them. Yes, every other Realtor out there (well, there are a few exceptions) will tell you why dual agencies are great. But the ultimate reason they do so is to capture the entire commission plain and simple. They can argue with me all they want about the benefits to their clients, but it ultimately comes down to money in their pocket, not yours.

Yes, I will show someone a property I have listed if they call and want to see it. But I make it very clear from the beginning that if they have an interest in purchasing the property after seeing it, that they will have to work with another agent to represent them.

If you work with an agent that performs dual agencies, you are doing a huge dis-service to yourself in what is probably the single largest investment transaction you will ever perform.

Protect your interests and just say "No" to dual agency agreements.

Vintage Computer Feastival 2006

For those of you over the age of 35, how many of these old vintage machines do you recognize? Makes me wish I had never sold my old Commodore Amiga 500!

Exit Realty Central - Fairborn Office

This is the Fairborn office where I work (when not working at home).

Exit Realty Central will also be opening a new office in Beavercreek in early October. If you're in need of a Realtor, or a Realtor in need of a new home, I'd love to show you around and what we have to offer. No matter what your needs are, contacting me may be the most profitable thing you do all day.