The purpose of this blog will be to discuss issues related to photographing real estate properties that are for sale.  Topics will include equipment and lighting, common problems encountered in photographing interior and exterior real estate scenes, the purpose of photography as a part of the sales process, and how best to utilize photography.  I will also discuss the different types of presentation formats (stills, virtual tours, videos) that can be used and how best to use them to advantage. 04/12/2008

You can't take your clients for granted.  Sometimes real estate agents aren't realizing the time and the effort spent in photographing virtual home tours.  I'm always checking what agents are doing on the internet, I sometimes wonder how in the world real estate agents can let some of the photography I've seen represent them and their clients on line.  When I spend as much time and effort as I do in finding clients, I don't want anything to cause my client to doubt any of my work. I'm gonna provide the best photography I can.  When its time to photograph that virtual home tour, I want to make sure that everything is right.  I once drove an hour, only to find that because I was rushed, and didn't check, that when I got to my shoot I didn't have a camera to shoot with.  I now make sure I ... 04/01/2008

We hear a lot about setting goals and how powerful they can be in our lives. It stands to reason that if you want to own a home of your own then setting a goal to make that a reality will make that happen more quickly and more surely than if you merely wish for it or think about it every now and then. Here are 5 tips that will greatly increase your chances of living in the home of your dreams much sooner than you thought possible.   First, and most important, you have got to write your goal down and be very specific what you're after. Don't just write; "I want to own a home.". Instead write; "I want to own a 2200 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage home with a fireplace and a large, wooded lot.". Being specific lets your mind's eye see you goal and focus on achieving it.You... 03/31/2008

That could be because copper theft has reached epidemic proportions in many states including Tennessee.I personally have been witness to two instances. One was a house I was showing and when we walked around back, the basement door had been kicked open, the copper water pipes cut loose with the water still on. Not surprisingly water was all over the basement and flowing out the door into the yard. In my second instance I sold a house in a somewhat remote location. It was a foreclosure so naturally it was vacant. Before the closing thieves again kicked in the door but this time they went up, into the attic and cut all the electrical wiring loose. $8,000 dollars in damages for about 50 bucks worth of scrap copper.Thankfully my Tennessee Association of Realtors is doing something about it ... 03/18/2008

Home Sales Report Beginning 02/01/2008, Ending 02/29/2008  Single-Family Unit Sales by Price  BedroomsOther StatisticsPrice2-34+Condos SoldResidential ActiveCondos ActiveTotals11750116711713,4461,992Average Price (in thousands $)71.8155.0303.0169.5264.9224.9Median Price (in thousands $)62.5145.0240.0147.5194.9189.9Sum Price (in thousands $)8,398.777,633.250,602.419,834.23,561,884.6447,965.4$0 - $19,99914000341$20,000 - $29,99912720940$30,000 - $39,9991010101560$40,000 - $49,9991615002064$50,000 - $59,999416202596$60,000 - $69,9996151432719$70,000 - $79,99910193337629$80,000 - $89,9999171343046$90,000 - $99,9997270544042$100,000 - $119,9991056417803162$120,000 - $139,9996557201,056211$140,000 - $159,99956711181,014174$160,000 - $179,9994571711958235$180,000 - $199,999233159957146$200,000... 03/18/2008

More than ever people are going to the internet for the information they're looking for, late at night they're searching for those properties with images that define what their dreams are.  "Nearly three out of four homebuyers now use the Internet as a tool when searching for a home, and those who use the Internet are more likely to use real estate professionals, according to a new survey by the National Association of Realtors®".The agents job is to provide answers to those dreams, with professional images that look like their dream - when you pick-up a "House & Homes" magazine you only see perfect images, they plan it that way - just the way that potential clients plan their dreams! When you provide those perfect images, when these clients find you -  then these are the clients you wa... 03/04/2008

Wow! This writer has obviously done her homework on ways to prevent plagiarizers from lifting your content and passing it off as their own.Besides the basic Google Alerts and Copyscape, she offers 98 others tips and techniques to make sure your original content stays your own. For example: "62. Cut your images up: Turn one image into two or more segmented pieces, and it will be harder for a thief to save.""81. Blogstamp: Get certified timestamps to prove when you created your content with Blogstamp."Don't miss this timely, informative, and well written article on how to protect yourself and your material from, the writer's words, "internet slime".      02/29/2008

Home Sales Report Beginning 01/01/2008, Ending 01/31/2008 Single-Family Unit Sales by PriceBedroomsOther StatisticsPrice2-34+Condos SoldResidential ActiveCondos ActiveTotals1114121619913,3122,003Average Price (in thousands $)86.4161.8285.8173.3259.6231.1Median Price (in thousands $)66.0144.0218.0149.9194.9194.9Sum Price (in thousands $)9,586.166,662.046,018.917,153.13,455,814.8462,863.9$0 - $19,99911510331$20,000 - $29,9998510930$30,000 - $39,999128101620$40,000 - $49,999711102083$50,000 - $59,9991012202654$60,000 - $69,9991292034323$70,000 - $79,9996172239323$80,000 - $89,9992140439947$90,000 - $99,9999193443236$100,000 - $119,999935818783164$120,000 - $139,99976513171,088200$140,000 - $159,9998481311992177$160,000 - $179,999232910941247$180,000 - $199,999328137941142$200,000 - $249,99... 02/28/2008

With the Tennessee vs. Auburn game approaching this evening, I must admit I'm in a bit of a quandary.  Which team do I pull for?  I know many people in this area would inform me, politely I'm sure, that clearly there is only one choice.  I was born in Opelika, AL which is the town closest to Auburn University.  It being my father's alma mater, I still proudly wear my War Eagle sweatshirt.  To make things even tougher, my alma mater is what Volunteers would call the "other" UT.  So, can I don that bright orange or is the Texas burnt orange still in my veins?  Well...I never thought I would say it, but I'm pretty darn close to rooting for this one.  Of course I must claim this is only safe to say as long as the match up is not Tennessee vs. Texas.  What kind of fan would I be otherwise? ... 02/24/2008

I'm sure the recent lawsuit filed against the Miami Realtor-Blogger has us all thinking more about what we write and maybe wondering if we're maybe crossing some unknown or unseen 'line' that could land us in court.A great article/blog written by Geanne Rosenberg, a Professor at City University of New York can go a long way towards helping you practice safe blogging and hopefully help you stay out of court.Here's Professor Rosenberg's 10 rules for safe blogging: "1. Check your facts.2. Avoid virtual vendettas.3. Obey the law.4. Weigh promises.5. Reveal secrets selectively.6. Consider what you copy.7. Learn recording limits.8. Don't abuse anonymity.9. Shun conflicts of interest.10. Seek legal advice."Each one is divided into an interactive module with links, videos, and other helpful inf... 02/05/2008

Whenever you submit an offer on behalf of a customer or buyer client, have you thought of writing a cover letter to go along with your offer to give the sellers some idea of what your buyer is about, why they want to buy the seller's house, and any other information that might cause the sellers to see the buyers as real people instead of just a couple of names on a piece of paper?This also works if you're representing a seller and present a counter offer back to a buyer.I've been doing that in some situations for many years now and usually with very good results. Writing an appealing cover letter with your offer can help it be accepted especially if there's competition.Case in point; I wrote an offer this past December for a very nice young lady in her late twenties who is a Knox County... 01/31/2008

Knoxville, Tennessee is one of the best places to live in the country 1st - 2006 Best Places for Recent College Graduates to live            (Economic Research Institute)3rd - 2006 Best Metro Area for Building Personal Wealth             (Salary.com)5th - 2006 Best Places for Business and Careers            (Forbes Magazine)9th - 2006 Hottest City for Business            (Expansion Management Magazine)10th - Included in 2005 Ten Best Places to retire             (CNNMoney.com)12th - 2005 Most Secure Place to Live, Large Metro Area              (FarmersInsurance.com) 01/26/2008

The long awaited 2007 Sales Report for the greater Knoxville Tennessee area is finally available. It shows the numbers for the greater Knoxville area were't too shabby at all. Sales volume declined 10.8% overall but average sales prices increased the usual 3-5% coming in a 4.4% for 2007.Days on market increased 9 days from 83 in 2006 to 92 in 2007. 2008 has already started out pretty strong for January so I look for 2008 to be somewhere between 2006 and 2006.Stay tuned.Sales Report Beginning 01/01/2007, Ending 12/31/2007 Single-Family Unit Sales - Residential Other Statistics BedroomsPrice Class2 orLess34 orMoreCondoSoldResidentialActiveCondoActive$0 - $19,999503230240$20,000 - $29,999906050660$30,000 - $39,9991391151901160$40,000 - $49,9991631342551563$50,000 - $59,9991621662131993$60,... 01/19/2008

See all of Knoxville & Farragut Tennessee sales statistics at KnoxvilleMLS.comSales Report Beginning 11/01/2007, Ending 11/30/2007 Single-Family Unit Sales - Residential Other Statistics BedroomsPrice Class2 orLess34 orMoreCondoSoldResidentialActiveCondoActive$0 - $19,9992100280$20,000 - $29,99910810510$30,000 - $39,999108001300$40,000 - $49,9991010011735$50,000 - $59,9991417102135$60,000 - $69,99916143125216$70,000 - $79,9996170230724$80,000 - $89,99911206434940$90,000 - $99,99912355533324$100,000 - $119,9991252613619121$120,000 - $139,99912651120913174$140,000 - $159,9996721111840150$160,000 - $179,999555179806188$180,000 - $199,9994511213758136$200,000 - $249,99945533131348227$250,000 - $299,99973432101172179$300,000 - $399,9992294261219245$400,000 - $499,99901515260782$500,000 or Ov... 01/01/2008

That doesn't mean you have to use "fire sale" pricing or give all your equity to ensure that your home sells in today's market. What it does mean is that you have to be priced competatively with similiar homes that have actually sold and closed in the past few months. There are lots of buyers out there looking right now in most areas, but those buyers are very, very savvy for the most part and they know just about as much about pricing for what they're looking for as most Realtors do.Case in point. I recently sold a house to some buyers that put an offer in on another home in the same neighborhood as the one they ultimately bought, about the same square footage and other amentiites BUT the big difference was the one they settled on and bought was not only priced to sell but in almost 'm... 12/26/2007

Each year the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveys thousands of homebuyers to see what they bought, what they want to buy, and what features are important to them on their new home purchase. The 2007 Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences is now available. NAR members can buy this survey for $50.00; the price for non-members is $125.00.Here's a few of the highlights:The typical home purchased during the 2007 survey period was 12 years old, had 1840 square feet, 3 bedrooms, and 2 baths.First time buyers not surprisingly purchased smaller and older homes that repeat buyers and were more likely to purchase in a central or urban city area. More than 80% of the homes had central air conditioning and garages and less than half had a basement.More than 90% were satisfied with th... 12/05/2007

One of my fellow Realtors moved recently and while packing she came across some old advertising materials from 1990. A local, 'shopper' type weekly newspaper likes to run lots of speciality inserts from wedding guides to seasonal cookbooks. This publication my friend found was a recipe collection of Realtor contributed recipes. I ran a couple of nice recipes I had submitted plus the following one: "Recipe for a Successful Home Sale195 pounds of Jim Lee, Realtor (remember, this was 17 years ago) ;-)85 professional Realty Executives Agents1 Large bunch of qualified buyersCup of Nationwide referralsBox of effective advertisingPackage of satisfied customers for more referralsLarge can of salesmanship2 Cups of financing knowledgePinch of aggressivenessAdd lots of follow up from listing to cl... 11/26/2007

Sales Report Beginning 10/01/2007, Ending 10/31/2007 Single-Family Unit Sales - Residential Other Statistics BedroomsPrice Class2 orLess34 orMoreCondoSoldResidentialActiveCondoActive$0 - $19,9997400220$20,000 - $29,99917110490$30,000 - $39,9991115501150$40,000 - $49,9991318201766$50,000 - $59,9991610202154$60,000 - $69,99919214227418$70,000 - $79,99915232232025$80,000 - $89,9999311435441$90,000 - $99,99912343934022$100,000 - $119,9991449615617136$120,000 - $139,99911811212939180$140,000 - $159,9994711125870135$160,000 - $179,9996761012807188$180,000 - $199,999154195796153$200,000 - $249,99966331171396233$250,000 - $299,9994594391200193$300,000 - $399,9991353031284257$400,000 - $499,9991720362376$500,000 or Over09294106629Totals167661231122114631696Average Price(in Thousands $)89.3172.23... 11/19/2007

 The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in , to memorialize the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter.  To mark or symbolize the coveted harvest, Govenor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving for the settlers.  The colonist celebrated it as what we know as a tradition English harvest and    invited the local Wampanoag Indians.All of the colonies celebrated Thanksgiving, however not at the same time until October 1777.  George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday, in 1789.  Many states observed a Thanksgiving holiday, however it was Sarah J. Hale (a poet and editor) who began lobbying for a national Thanksgiving holiday.  It was during the civial war, President Abraham Lincoln began looking for ways to unite the nation and dis... 11/16/2007

You may have brought your child to one of those "Breakfast with Santa" affairs in a mall or other local event but I'll bet you've never had breakfast with Mr. Claus and had live penguins waddling around or a real, non-stuffed giraffe peering down at you.       Knoxville's world class Zoo is holding their first "Breakfast with Santa" event on December 8th at 9:30 am. The price includes; a personal visit to Santa's lap, a hearty breakfast, live entertainment, games, crafts, and a special gift from ol Santa.Call (865) 637-5331 ext. 300 or visit the zoo's ticket office to reserve your child's spot. Seating is of course limited; Santa's lap is only so big you know. ;-) 11/11/2007