Advanced Access February 2004 Newsletter

February 2004 Newsletter

“If music be the food of love, play on.”
- Shakespeare

AA Attends Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago

In December 2003, AA representatives Kristina Morrison and Lindsay Connell traveled to the windy city to attend the Search Engine Strategies 2003 Conference & Expo. Organized by recognized search authority Danny Sullivan, the Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo 2004 provided us an opportunity to learn about the new trends in search engine marketing from top experts in the field and from the search engine companies themselves. It was a unique setting to network with fellow marketers and search engine industry professionals.

“The knowledge and experience we gained at the search engine conference was instrumental in our mission to educate our clients in cutting edge techniques for Internet Marketing.” reported Kristina Morrison, CEO of Advanced Access. “We’re currently putting the finishing touches on a comprehensive Internet Marketing - Search Engine Guide with the latest information gained from our attendance at this conference. This Guide will be available online soon in our clients’ Virtual Office.”

Some of the subjects included in the guide will be:

· Paid Advertising Gains Momentum

· Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing

· The recent Google Update and how it affects real estate

· Internet Marketing Resources

· Which Search Engine is the Most Popular

· Pay Per Click and Paid Inclusion – the Future of the Internet

· Link Popularity vs. Link Analysis – What Works?

· What Authoritative Sites Should Be Included?

· Measuring Success

Be on the lookout for the upcoming Search Engine Guide, with an expected release date by the end of February. When it’s released, the Search Engine Guide will be found in your Virtual Office – Support Center.

Advanced Access Strategic Partner Update

Advanced Access staff has been working quietly behind the scenes to strengthen and enlarge its Strategic Partner Program. With the unveiling of the “next generation of Website technology,” featuring “FLEX Design,” Advanced Access has recommitted itself to a more complete Strategic Partner Program.

Modern-day REALTORS^® are more and more becoming dependent upon newer technology to enhance their real estate skills, and the need for an accessible, flexible and versatile Website is a piece of technology that a professional real estate agent must be able to utilize in today’s market. The recent introduction of Classic Package 3.0™ combines the elements of technology into the real estate professional’s everyday business along with providing Internet strategies for the complete benefit of the consumer.

Advanced Access is privileged to share the benefits of cutting edge technology with its valued clients through strategic partnerships with a variety of software, Internet companies and vendors that can provide additional services and features that further enhance your professional Website. Some of these elements that make up an on-line environment include IDX, VOW Solutions, virtual tours, the latest listings, mortgage rates, community profiles, free reports, school information, and much, much more.

Recent additions to the Strategic Partner Program include the following:

Allen F. Hainge CYBERSTARS^®-- Advanced Access demonstrates its serious commitment to the real estate professional with a newly formed association with the CYBERSTARS^® program. Each Allen F. Hainge CYBERSTAR^® is a leading sales associate in his or her marketplace. Each uses today's technology to the fullest and many will share various tips & techniques that will help increase your income. The partnership allows both parties to promote the other’s involvement and total worth to professionals in the real estate industry.

Frog Pond Group – Frog Pond Group is a full-service speaker’s bureau that represents speakers, trainers & consultants and as an on-line information source provides a collection of technology, business, and management, legal & marketing free reprintable articles. Frog Pond Group is the premier Internet-based “knowledge provider” for the Real Estate Industry. It is the source of free reprintable articles™ authored by nationally recognized experts for use in real estate publications.

Prudential Real Estate Network – The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., consists of companies that are selected based upon outstanding performance records, high levels of customer service and shared business values. Upon joining The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., companies are provided with many benefits, including access to a free and private Website that links sales professionals to a “24/7” resource, and increased media exposure through an advertising campaign that encompasses some of America's most watched networks and print media. The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates Inc. is also the largest real estate advertiser in The Wall Street Journal.

RealtyURLS – RealtyURLS is a unique way to promote your Website URL to those who may be in the market to utilize your real estate talents. RealtyURLS give you a competitive advantage over business rivals by advertising on your own vehicle and becoming a “moving and mobile” bulletin board 24-hours a day, seven days a week! RealtyURLS mount to your car, truck or van, where they put your Website or e-mail address, company name of slogan in front of the driving public every day of the week.

RealEstate ABC –One of the finest Real Estate Websites utilized throughout the country that provides a myriad of industry information for the consumer and real estate professional. Providing a real and candid look into how the industry of real estate really works, “The ABC’s of Real Estate” was first launched on the Internet in March 1998 as a south Orange County real estate site. The site has emerged as a leader providing information to both homebuyers and sellers, and has earned a solid reputation among consumers, the media, and real estate Web professionals.

VisualTour.com – VisualTour.com is a privately held corporation that creates software and Internet back-end services that enable Real Estate professionals to create their own virtual tours of various inventories.

REALTOR^® ASSOCIATIONS –Forming partnerships and agreements with some of the leading Real Estate Associations throughout the country, they promote our products, programs and services and provide affordable discounts to all members in good standing, in addition to enhancing the technological services, as well as providing valuable revenue enhancement services on behalf of the entire membership. Agreements to date have been established with the following Association on behalf of their members:

Florida Association of REALTORS^®, (FAR)
Illinois Association of REALTORS^®, (IAR)
North Carolina Association of REALTORS^®, (NCAR) -
Real Estate Business Resources, (REBR), a wholly—owned subsidiary of the Kansas Association of REALTORS^®, (KAR)

NAR Reports Housing Affordability Improves
(from REALTOR® Magazine Online)

A seasonal decline in home prices and rising family income led to improved housing affordability conditions in the fourth quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

NAR's composite Housing Affordability Index was 139.2 during the fourth quarter of 2003, up 2.6 percentage points from 136.6 reported in the third quarter; it was 1.1 points below the same period a year earlier when it stood at 140.3.

The index shows the nation's typical household had 139.2 percent of the income needed to purchase a home at the fourth quarter median existing-home price, which was $171,600. This index measures affordability factors for all homebuyers making a 20 percent down payment, with an index of 100 defined as the point where a median-income family has the exact amount of income needed to purchase a median-priced existing home. The fourth-quarter median family income was projected to be $53,996.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said the seasonal decline in the median home price results from a normal shift in the market. "There's usually a higher ratio of singles and childless couples purchasing in the fourth quarter, and they generally buy more moderately priced homes," he said. "This means fourth quarter median prices experience a seasonal dip from the third quarter. Even so, the median price is 6.6 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2002 and the buying power is strong because the typical family could afford a home costing $238,900 – well above the median price."

NAR President Walt McDonald, broker-owner of Walt McDonald Real Estate in Riverside, California, said affordability conditions are projected to remain favorable this year. "Although mortgage interest rates are expected to rise, particularly in the second half of the year, general affordability conditions should be favorable in most of the country throughout 2004," he said. "The rate of home price appreciation is expected to slow to about 4.6 percent this year, while disposable income should rise about 4.6 percent and offset most of the effects of rising mortgage interest rates."

According to the Federal Housing Finance Board, the average effective mortgage interest rate for existing homes was 5.83 percent during the fourth quarter, up from 5.66 percent in the third quarter; it was 6.11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2002. This is a weighted average interest rate between fixed and adjustable loans, including the cost of points, and represents a true bottom-line mortgage cost.

Affordability for first-time homebuyers also improved, rising in the fourth quarter to 79.9 from a reading of 78.6 in the third quarter; it was 1.5 points below the fourth quarter 2002 index.

The association's First-Time Homebuyer Affordability Index shows a typical first-time buyer household, aged 25 to 44, with an income of $30,436, had 79.9 percent of the income needed to purchase a typical starter home with a 10 percent down payment. The median starter home price was $145,900, during the fourth quarter.

"The index shows the typical first-time buyer could afford a home costing $116,600, which is below the median price in most metropolitan areas," McDonald said. "The interesting thing is first-time buyers account for four out of ten transactions, so they're finding ways to do it – either with a small starter house, a condo, or some kind of sharing arrangement."

We wish all of our clients a SUCCESSFUL and PRODUCTIVE season.

Don’t Miss Valuable Info in our Weekly Marketing Tips

Here at Advanced Access we are committed to providing you with the tools you need to make the most of your website. To keep you current with the latest trends in Internet marketing, we send you a marketing tip EVERY WEEK via e-mail, with innovative new ideas to help you guarantee the highest exposure possible for your website.

Since the release of our revolutionary new “Flex Design” Classic Package 3.0, we have devoted the last few marketing tips to answer frequently asked questions about some of the new features and options this package provides.

Most of you are busy professionals; and we know it’s hard to find the time to read our marketing tips regularly. If you find yourself too busy to read our marketing tips every week, we keep them on file for you here.

New “Flex-Designs” Added Every Week to Classic 3.0

Our Product Development Department has continued to work on NEW enhancements, features, and short-cuts, based on your comments and feedback. More NEW Flex-Design Styles are being added to the collection WEEKLY! Now you have more choices for the look and feel of your website, and you can tailor it completely to your own specifications. And, and as you know, each one of our styles is completely customizable…from the colors and graphics to the type and style of the navigational buttons.

NEW company-oriented designs have also been added to our repertoire of home page styles, including Weichert Realtors, RE/MAX, Realty World, and ERA.

Here’s what long-time AA client Robin McCleary had to say about the new 3.0 program:

“As a customer who has been with you for years, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the new website design and all of its capabilities. Having the ability to create and change text, photos, colors, and data myself makes the process so much more enjoyable for a control freak such as me!

While I did not have to devote the endless hours to create the website from scratch, you have given me the tools to build a website that reflects my personality and caters to my clientele. It doesn't look like just another cookie-cutter lifeless website!

I also want to commend all of your customer service people. I don't know what you are feeding them over there, but keep it up! They are always very friendly, amazingly patient, and helpful. Due to my endless phone calls to learn how to tweak particular tools and designs, I think that I have spoken to just about every one of your customer service employees and the consistency of their helpfulness and good-nature is impressive.”

We at Advanced Access would like to thank you sincerely for your GREAT ideas, comments, and suggestions for the new Classic Package 3.0. We appreciate your patience as the volume in our Customer Support Center increased substantially during the past few months. We know you appreciate the new features, benefits and capabilities of our NEW 3.0 program.

For continuing updates on new releases (nearly every day there is something new to report!) please log in to the Advanced Access Forums, located in your Support Center. If you have a suggestion for us, please feel free to add it to the 'Wish List' section as well.

Employee News: Several Newly Engaged Couples at AA

Love seems to be in the air here at Advanced Access. During the past few months we've seen more engagements and weddings among our staff than we have in years. We thought it would be nice during the month of Valentine’s Day to give you some news about our happy couples.

Jamie LeBlanc and Casey Griswold – A Christmas Morning Surprise

Jamie (our efficient and talented Human Resources Manager and Trainer) and Casey (our superstar Marketing Room Manager) met nearly 4 years ago, when Jamie was working as an Office Administrator and Casey called in regarding employment. After his interview, Casey turned down the job offer but called Jamie a few days later to ask her out on a date. When Jamie mentioned the fact that she had two daughters (and no babysitter,) Casey told Jamie that he loved kids and to bring them along. On their first date, Jamie knew Casey was a good catch when he spent all of his time watching her daughters play on the play equipment at McDonalds. As a single mother, Jamie was touched by Casey’s devotion to her children and realized she had found exactly what she was looking for in a mate. The two have been together ever since their first date.

When Casey proposed on Christmas morning, he got down on one knee with the girls standing right next to him. As Jamie says, “How could I say no to all three of them?” The couple is planning a wedding in Lake Tahoe, California with family and friends for June of 2005.

Tricia Colagrossi and Bret McCarroll - Ring in the New Year (Literally)

Tricia Colagrossi, who works with Advanced Access on our fabulous Inside Sales Team, and Bret McCarroll, met a year ago while Tricia was shopping at the mall – one of her favorite pastimes. Tricia had been dating and playing the field for several years so she knew exactly what she was looking for in a future husband and her expectations were high. While Bret met her requirements in nearly every respect, there still remained a few obstacles for the couple to overcome. Bret is an animal lover and owns, as Tricia describes him, a “big hairy dog” named Cody to whom Tricia is extremely allergic. The couple worked out the canine situation, and now they enjoy going to the beach together, riding their bikes along the beautiful California coastline, or taking Bret’s boat out for a spin. Bret recently started racing motocross on the weekends, and it looks as if the motorcycle track will be their new ‘home away from home.’ In fact, after Bret proposed, Tricia presented him with an engagement gift as well – a new motorcycle!

Tricia and Bret celebrated the New Year in Rio de Janeiro, where Bret popped the question at the Corcovado, the famous Christ Statue overlooking the city. The couple is now busily planning the big event which is set to be held on October 10, 2004.

Kristina Morrison and Justin Davis – A Mountaintop Proposal

Our very own AA leaders, CEO (Kristina) and President (Justin) have been a couple for over three years, but they kept it secret for awhile first. Here’s their story…in 1999, Kristi was in need of some reliable people to rent rooms in her newly purchased home. Justin and his good friend both moved into Kristi’s house and rented her spare bedrooms. Kristi and Justin were both seeing other people at the time, but eventually the attraction between the two roommates grew, and the couple started dating in November of 2000. They kept it very quiet at first, but in time their co-workers, family and friends caught on to the fact they were dating and the two have been together ever since. Kristi and Justin enjoy working out at the gym together, taking their two golden retrievers to the dog park, and fixing up the home they recently purchased together.

On the couple’s 3 year anniversary, November 4, 2003, Justin proposed to Kristi along Mist Trail at Vernal Falls in beautiful Yosemite Valley, just as the sun dipped below the mountains. They are currently planning a “destination wedding” set for September 4, 2004 in Telluride, Colorado. In October, they will have a reception for family and friends back in California.

Melissa Stevens and Josh Wagner – Mom knew they were a Match

At her previous job, Melissa Stevens, one of our efficient Design Specialists, worked with a woman she admired and respected, Barbara Wagner. Barbara tried for months to set up Melissa with her son, Josh. She thought Josh and Melissa were perfect for each other. However, neither Josh nor Melissa was too keen on the idea, and they both tried everything they could think of to make excuses. On the 4^th of July last year, Barbara convinced Melissa to come over to her house for a holiday celebration dinner. To Melissa’s surprise (and Josh’s too) they ended up together for dinner along with Josh’s parents. Even more surprising was the fact that they liked each other and decided to go out for drinks after dinner. Since that night they have been together and now they are engaged. The only one who wasn’t surprised was Barbara! She’s still saying “I told you so.”

Josh is currently finishing up his degree in San Diego where he is studying corporate law. After he graduates at the end of this term, he will be taking his bar exam. The couple is planning a wedding for the spring of 2005 back home in Central Illinois.

Jeff Menendez and Sarah Medeiros – Serenaded his Bride-to-be

Jeff Menendez, one of our talented Customer Support representatives, met his fiancée Sarah at church. Sarah works at Starbucks and is currently a Marketing Major at Fullerton College.

Jeff and Sarah were friends for many years, but in 2002 they started seeing each other more often. Jeff knew right away that Sarah was the woman he was looking for and made his feelings known. At first Sarah was uncertain, but within weeks she realized that she also had feelings for him and they decided to start dating.

Since then the couple has gone on 2 mission trips together including El Salvador and Panama. They knew from the beginning of their dating relationship that they were meant for each other. Jeff planned to propose to Sarah on Valentine’s Day, but he heard through friends she already suspected. So, Jeff arranged for Sarah’s mother to have lunch with her on February 12. Jeff, who was dressed in a tuxedo with a guitar in hand, walked into the restaurant singing "All I want is you" from U2. Sarah was completely stunned. After he finished singing, Jeff got down on one knee and proposed. The couple is planning to be married in August of this year.

Congratulations to all our newly engaged couples!

January 2004 | Back to Main Page | March 2004