Archive for April, 2008

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Smile You Are On Candid Camera

Posted by Larry Cragun No Comments »

Well, not Candid Camera…. But when you post an article it ends up on NeighborhoodsUndressed.com. Below is a copy of what is there now. The last 20 articles appear in order beginning with most recent. It can take an hour or so to feed over there.

 

A tip: Figure out if there is a popular local major blog (such as a TV Channel or newspaper) look for an opportunity to have them feed yours. We have several blogs that have that happening. Lar

New to the Blog world - Hello~ my name is Lisa Corelli and I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest since I was a small child. I currently live in Puyallup WA. and have been here in Pierce County since 1999. In 2000 I set out

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The Things I Learned At Arbor Day, the Birds and the Bears and the Bees - Issaquah Highlands celebrated Arbor Day last Saturday April 26th. Many people worked very hard to bring the event to pass. If you don’t know what Arbor Day is, it is a day to rejoice in trees,

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Great Gig Harbor Photos - I’ve posted several photos of Gig Harbor in the past several months, including many of these. I don’t think you can ever get enough of the beautiful Gig Harbor photographs, so here are some of

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Gig Harbor’s best Landscaper/Excavator (I think) - I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m not a super handy guy. I drive a big truck to try and make myself feel tough, but really I’m not. I own a few tools, some I even know their

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Nordstrom Store at the Tacoma Mall - Nordstrom is building a brand new store next to their current location at the Tacoma Mall. It will be bigger and more updated then their current store, which is still open while the new one is under

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Northwest Denver Downzoned! How do I feel about it? - As you may have heard, the Denver City Council had a marathon session on Monday night – rumor has it that it finally broke up at 3am! I say “rumor” because I gave up around 9pm – I’m a

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Free cone today at Gig Harbor’s new Ben and Jerry’s! - Sorry it’s last minute, but I didn’t hear about this until just recently. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream shops across the nation are giving away free ice cream cones today, and asking for

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Tips for Selecting an Agent or Realtor - Is your agent a residential expert? How well does the agent know the neighborhoods? To fill the specific residential needs of home buyers and sellers, I would recommend selecting an agent that is familiar

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This is Bear Country - I am told a couple of our nearby neighbors are joining me in an interview to be published in the June Issue of Seattle Magazine. We have posted a few articles on http://IssaquahUndressed.com/ and

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Spyder Lake Winery - Peach is in - Spring is here and the wine is beginning to flow. A couple of weeks ago the winery bottled its batch of Peach wine for the season. I was lucky enough to know the day it was happening and got to taste it

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Fortune Telling & Real Estate - Most of us have heard of the 16th Century Pharmacist/seer Nostradamus who has been credited with the prediction of wars, Hitler, natural disasters, etc.. Unfortunately (or fortunately) he didn’t

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Puyallup, Construction at 136th Street Nears Completion! - 122nd Ave. at 136th St., South Hill, Puyallup, Wa. The intersection at 136th St and 122nd Ave. E. is nearly complete. We have all had a love/hate relationship with this corner. We love it because it means

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In Honor Of Taj and Almos’ - Taj and Almos’ are the awesome young Tigers at the Issaquah Cougar Mountain Zoo. If you haven’t seen them,it’s a

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Tacoma Dome - Here is a picture of the Tacoma Dome just off of the freeway as you enter

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What Are Homes In Issaquah Highlands Really Selling For? - We are posting the closed homes, what they sold for vs what the lising price was on a map for your convenience. We find that this method is easier than reading a spreadsheet. We use a different icon for

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Is The Sunny Weather Getting You Down? - Well do I have good news for you then. We took these photos 2 days ago at nearby Snoqualmie Pass. Eat you hearts out snow birds. Tags:

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Good to tour Gig Harbor again - It’s interesting when you live in an area how easy it is to forget what makes it special. You tend to get into your little routine, travelling the same routes, doing the same things, seeing the same

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Puyallup River - Puyallup River, Downtown Puyallup, Wa. Puyallup River Walking Trail, downtown Puyallup, Wa. This is the Puyallup River at the little park on East Main. We have a walking path there now and a place to get

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Port Orchard Home Sales Excelling - Each week I track the real estate market in Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, and the Key Peninsula. I like to look at how many homes were listed for sale, and how many homes received acceptable offers and are

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Kenmore Open Houses 4/26-4/27 - Here are the published open houses in the City of Kenmore, WA for this weekend. Simply click on the picture and you’ll be taken to a detaled map that provides you with some basic information about

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Too Much Business - Too Many Businesses

Posted by Larry Cragun No Comments »

Last year we attributed over 4 million in transactions and listings to our blog efforts. This is while running a mortgage company and building the blog network. Not all were leads that came in by phone call, some by using the blog as a conversation piece, and from off the brochure we produced. You are sitting on a gold mine. Are you using it?

 

Sadly, we wasted many leads that checked into our premium search. I recently did a follow up phone call to about a dozen of them and found they had been expecting me to contact them and didn’t wait for me, they went elsewhere. As your blog gets to the point it is getting several visitors a day, an advanced search is recommended. We use HomeQuest, a great tool, which is only available in about 6 markets.

 

To both help the network and not waste leads, Kathleen and I have aligned ourselves with the DiBello Group. It has immediate benefits to us and potential benefits for you directly, if you desire. To us, they will be managing all of our buyers. We will be promoting our real estate practice in a way there will be a seamless transition from our blogs to the DiBello staff.

 

The DiBello Group, Sam and Renee founders, have had a TV Show they are considering reviving. It could be syndicated in your market. They also have an outstanding Home Buyers class. It is both on line and in classes. In our market they have been the competition to copy, as many have. Yet even with the market as it is, they have several classes running in our market each week.

 

The online classes are designed to convert the student to use the DiBellos. We are working with them to modify the classes to be used as a lead generator for you if you desire. Unlike a “lead” per se – the on line system notifies Sam, who is the teacher on line, that they are on the fourth lesson. He then calls and makes sure they are ready and willing to sign a buyers agency agreement. That is where you would get involved. You would be working with people qualified and committed.

 

You can get a sample of the classes by clicking this link and entering the SEMINARS section:

http://www.thedibellogroup.com/index.html?PHPSESSID=416a992f958e97d4d94fbbb3a541002a

 

The immediate benefit of this arrangement is more of my time spent on the undressed network. The seminars we are working on for you. You might let me know if you are interested.