Need an Qualified Expert on Health Insurance? I have just the guy for you...... Thom is a great guy that I've come to know in one of my business networking groups.  He is extremely knowledgeable in his field, and on top of that he's good peeps.  As a businessperson, he has my trust and respect. He's always right on top of the new health care laws and requirements, and can really help you make the best decisions for your money. Here's his bio: Thomas Nial holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Management degree and is a Chartered Financial Consultant. Thomas formerly held positions such as Director of Sales for Loantoolbox.com, West Coast sales Manager for CareerBuilder.com, and General Manager for Life Alert Emergency Response Corporation. His interests are corporate benefit planning,... 12/19/2010

What Type Of Market Are We In? The Numbers Tell All. I often hear from clients and associates the BIG question, “what type of market are we in”?  Many times I say we are in a stable market but that Ventura County is in a declining market. We’ll the numbers tell the story.   This is a complete detail run of the Conejo Valley of Ventura County. It encompasses cities of Agoura, Oak Park, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park. It consists of mostly Ventura County but some are bordering Los Angeles County.      2009                                                    2010             Median Square Footage                         Median Square Footage      1981 square feet                                     1946 square feet      Days on Market                                    Day... 12/15/2010

You've more than likely heard about search engine results pages' "local listings." These can be a terrific means for your real estate website to get found by local prospects when they're looking to buy or sell a home. Local listings are great because they more than likely allow you to include a direct link to your real estate website or a specific page within it, as well as your physical address and the phone number and e-mail address you wish prospects to use to contact you. Here's how to get listed: Go to the Big Three (search engines): Google, Bing/MSN and Yahoo!) and follow their instructions on how to register in their directory (Google's is Google Places, for example). Then promote your listing. You do this by submitting your listing to several directories. You can do this manuall... 12/10/2010

The above picture was  NOT  photo-shopped, but taken on a job site of a Client's home where Platinum Home Staging, Inc.  has been brought in to "save the day".  You see, these Home Owners thought they would save a little money by not hiring a Professional to help over see the Interior Remodel of their newly purchased home.  They instead hired a "contractor" and felt that they would save a lot of money by overseeing the project themselves.  This "contractor" does not warrant a capital  "C"  in our humble opinion by what his company, sub-contractors and tradespeople have done to this couple and their beautiful Hidden Valley home. Even if you are a smoker yourself;  NEVER should anyone you hire EVER be smoking in your home at ANY time unless you've offered them a cigar and good glass of c... 12/08/2010

though I was not around on this particular day it is always one of the attacks that sticks out in my mind. When I visited Hawaii in 1975 I was enthralled almost an entire day by the grounds of all the ships remembered. It fastcinated me what happened.   My heart goes out to those that were affected by a loss, or losses, of those that were around in that time.   These pics came out today courtesy of the AP Associated Press and it just struck me to share.                                                                   12/07/2010

It's tough to find good keywords for a real estate website, keywords that are used often by people looking for a Realtor or a home in your selling area, but not too often (you want keywords that are popular but not too much so -- too much competition). Here are some tips to help you find keywords for your RE website. Your first step is to head to Google's Keyword Research tool. The tool is free to use. Then start typing in keywords you think your target market uses. "Homes for sale Venice" is one, for example, but you'll see that that it is a highly competitive keyword, meaning it will be difficult -- although not impossible -- to get a page you optimize with those keywords to appear in the first couple of search results pages. But dig down a bit. Think about what kind of client you're ... 12/07/2010

We create and optimize websites, so we've seen some pretty poor ones in our time. Here are some of the top mistakes we've found in real estate websites: An outdated website You know the ones, the sites that look as if they haven't been touched since the 1990s. Sites that scroll (no internal links), flashing buttons, no access to MLS listings, etc. Instead, you should keep your site fresh, updating and overhauling it completely at least every five years or so. No one to call You'd be surprised -- we were at first -- about how many Realtors and other realty professionals neglect to place something as "no duh!" on their sites as contact information. In addition, while not as bad as not giving information at all about how to contact you, is burying contact information on your site. The best... 12/02/2010

Bottle of wine? They drink it and recycle the bottle.. Gift Certificate? They use it up and forget about it... Poinsettia? Well, it eventually dies... THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX! (Or what's ACTUALLY inside the BEAUTIFUL gift box!) Here's a great idea for a special custom gift that your client or loved one will remember forever! Embroidery Creations carries a luscious selection of warm, cozy bathrobes and throws that they will embroidery a name or monogram on, AND create a custom label for you that your client will look at everyday! Soft, warm, luscious. Did I say Luscious?? This has proven to be a wonderful gift my clients talk about for years! Check out my friend and client's website, EmbroideryCreations.biz. You will find a great selection of robes, throws, baby blankets, etc that can be c... 12/01/2010

Video marketing can be a terrific way to get more visitors to your real estate website. Why? YouTube.com, the premier video sharing site, is increasingly showing its SEO muscle, bringing more traffic to those who post videos there. What's more, videos often are viewed more often than a website's content is read, according to SEO news sources, which report that 67 percent of a website's visitors will choose to look at a video rather than read a site's text. Real estate already uses video really well via video home tours. But you can take your video marketing up a notch, and watch it work hard to get you site visitors. Another great thing about videos, is that they brand you as an expert. Post videos of you talking about your area's real estate market, how foreclosures are faring, how to ... 11/30/2010

Uncle Same Wants You~Your Fee's May Be Next! Are you a real estate agent, doctor, lawyer, or contractor? Does your company sell any service or expertise?  How would you like the federal government to come in and tell you that next year, regardless of the scope of work that you performed for a client and regardless of how much experience or education you have, you must charge every client the same amount? Could this really happen in America and in your home town?  If it can happen in one industry, could yours be next? Well, if you assist homebuyers, and homeowners obtain Conforming & Jumbo Loans, thanks to a component of the Dodd-Frank Bill, the federal government will dictate how much loan originators will be allowed to make. As a result of this new bill, many loan officers and lenders... 11/29/2010

We are lucky here in the Conejo Valley communities of Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Agoura Hills California, to have brilliant and breath-taking colder-weather roses in bloom. It's been pretty cold the last couple of nights - temps down in the high-30's - so take just a little time to think about your beautiful California rose bushes now. When to prune: Prune them in end of January or up to first week of March depending on the weather. There are many warm spells that occur in Winter that could resprout the roses prematurely if you prune them now. The resprouting followed by the rainy winter days could spell mildew and rust the entire next year. When I know for sure the rains wouldn't be too much in the next ten days in late winter, that's the time I would prune them... 11/28/2010

Single Family Homes in the Conejo Valley communities of Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park and Agoura Hills, California: 839 Current Listings Total ************************************************** 674 Single Family Homes: Averages: 4-Bedrooms, 3-Baths, 2684 S.F. Average List Price $1,149,114  Days on Market 109 Median: 4-Bedrooms, 3-Baths, 2187 S.f. Median List Price $636,000  Days on Market 79 *********************************************** 195 Attached Homes: Average: 2-Bedrooms, 2 1/4 Baths, 1326 S.F., Average List Price $346,949, Days on Market 95 Median: 2-Bedrooms, 2- Baths, 1240 S.F., Median List Price $300,000, 68 Days on Market ****************************************** Are you looking for that perfect home in the Conejo Valley? Contact Kathy Smiley for an in-dept... 11/28/2010

Many SEO practitioners, RealtyTech Inc. included, recommend that their clients use what is known as article marketing to be ranked high in what is called "organic" search results. Organic results are those listings you see on a results page that are not PPC (pay-per-click) ads. PPC ads are those at the top and right hand side of a search results page and are usually highlighted or of a different color than the other results. Those "other" results are the organic results. *Want more info on PPC ads? Check out our other blogs on PPC ads* How to conduct a PPC campaign for your real estate website How you can write PPC ads that get results Organic in this case means "free," in that the websites that show up in organic results did not pay for those results; they got there using "organic" SEO... 11/23/2010

Attn All Parents: Even with all the budget cuts and stress our local governments are going through, our local Conejo Valley California Schools are among the best in California. We have some challenges ahead of us, that's for sure, and must dedicate ourselves to protecting and improving education first and foremost. Our school system is one of the many reasons homes in the Conejo Valley have weathered the recession so well. Check out the Conejo Valley Unified School District site for more information about our local schools! Are you looking for a home in the school disctrict of your choice? Search like a Real Estate Pro for Free! Visit my Listing Book website for some great information! Here is the most recent official Conejo Valley School Accountability Report Card. Take a look to get t... 11/22/2010

On the north side of the 101 freeway nestled within the fairways of the North Ranch Country Club is a prestigious tract of estates called Country Club Estates. These magnificent estates are located behind the guard gate off of Lakeview Canyon Rd. and Valley Spring Rd. The Country Club Estates were custom built starting in the early 1990's to present. Streets included in Country Club Estates are: Lakeview Canyon Rd., Country Valley Rd., Brook Meadow Ct., Vista Ridge Lane, Hunter Valley Lane, Windhaven Dr., Summit View Dr., Oak Mirage Pl., Candlecrest Dr., Westbend Rd., Spruce Meadow Place, Meadow Grove Lane, Hunter Valley Lane, Royal Vista Ct., Middlefork Cir., Deerhaven Ct., Spring Forest Lane, Ambercrest Pl. Recorded sales in 2010: 4915 Summit View Dr., 6+5, 6137 sq.ft., 95,242 sq.ft. ... 11/21/2010

My son is going to be 30 on Thanksgiving Day. Can that be so? I can't possibly have a 30-year-old son! Yes, it is so and I must face the fact that time moves forward.... it doesn't stop and wait for me to have a break, a moment of pause, a time to just take a break.... even while I am sleeping time is moving forward and everyone around me is getting older, including me! 30 years ago, when I held my little baby boy in my arms I had all the aspirations a new Mother has.... I just knew my son was going to be President of the United State one day! Together, through the years we've been through Little League Baseball (All-Star Pitcher!), Karate (made it to brown belt), Art Classes (that fizzled out fast), Piano Lessons (he can play "The Entertainer"), Trumpet Lessons (played in band from mid... 11/20/2010

One of the biggest rewards of my job is seeing the faces of my clients when I hand them the keys to their new home. Yesterday was one of those days. As I placed the keys into my client's hand, he held it up into the shimmering light and said, "All that work for these little things?" Yes, all that work! As a conscientious Realtor I pride myself in going above and beyond my client's expectations... in a smart way. The longer I am in this business and the more transactions I close, the more experience I gain. I take something away from every transaction to improve my service in the future. What did I gain from this experience? Real Estate transactions are very stressful. I learned that after I have done everything I can do to the best of my ability I have to release it and not be attached ... 11/20/2010

Now that you've optimized your real estate website for the search engines, it's time to make sure your site converts your visitors into clients. All of the hard work you've performed to make sure your site shows up highly within search results for your local market will go to naught if people visit and then leave. Instead, you want people to take action when they come to your site. Sure, you want them to call you, you want them to set up a meeting to discuss selling their house, but first, you want them to interact with you on your site. By getting your clients to do so, you'll have a better chance of getting that all-important face-to-face soon enough. What do we mean by interact? You want a visitor to join your mailing list, download a free report, subscribe to your newsletter, sign u... 11/18/2010

So the first thing you're probably thinking is: "Oh great, another SEO topic from Rob..." but the fact is, that good SEO is the only thing separating you from the competition when it comes to the search engines. I promise that everything I write is useful information, so please don't shy away just because it's another SEO topic. If you created your real estate website a few years or even just months ago, it's time to make some changes and update it. Google changes its algorithms frequently, and SEO techniques that worked last year may not be as effective today. Here are some ideas you may want to pursue regarding updating your real estate website's SEO- Are you paying close attention to your site's meta title tags? You never want "home" or "listings" to appear in the url of a page on yo... 11/15/2010

Just handled a real estate lease in Ventura County, California for a homeowner whose former tenant was supposed to "take care of the lawn"... Oh, my, did he take care of it, all right! The homeowner agreed (via former agent - not me!) to a reduced rental amount if the tenant did the gardening. ERG! The yard was brown, dry and dead! There were a bunch of wild, ugly pumkin vines (or something squiggly) growing wild and choking everything else out. A wooden playhouse had been chewed to bits by their dog, as well as the sliding door screens and weather-stripping. Once flourishing trellises are now dry, dead wood.. Perfectly nice trees and shrubs are sad, dry, dead or missing entirely... Wooden fencing is falling down from water damage from a faulty spinkler that saturated one spot, day afte... 11/13/2010