Advanced Access February 2006 Newsletter

February 2006 Newsletter

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
- Michael Altshuler

Southern California Fires Surround Advanced Access Headquarters

Advanced Access management and employees beginning the work week on Monday, February 6th, were greeted by a giant plume of black, billowing smoke from the nearby Anaheim Hills area, as a suspicious pre-dawn hillside fire forced the mandatory evacuation of some 2,100 residential homes, schools, and businesses earlier this week.

By mid-week end, approximately 1,967 firefighters from 17 agencies had contained 41% of the fire – backed by 190 trucks, six planes and seven helicopters -- which had consumed over 10,854 acres of the bordering Cleveland National Forest on the flanks of Sierra Peak, near the communities of Anaheim and the city of Orange here in Southern California. The estimated cost of the fire was projected at approximately $7.1 million, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Although the fire presented numerous problems to commuters, schools, and raised public safety issues, the Advanced Access headquarters were considered in a quite large “safe” zone, and senior management and employees were able to come and go in order to cover their scheduled shifts and conduct daily business uninterrupted.

Pungent smoke stained the skies brown from the unburned natural fuel located in the nearby canyons for miles across the Los Angeles metropolitan region, and ash fell like snow in many portions of the area. “Red Flag Warnings,” which signify a potential high fire danger, were posted for much of the region – from Santa Barbara County south to the U.S.-Mexico border. Firefighters, with the aid of aircraft making retardant and water drops were able to contain much of the flames to the rugged land east of the Orange County homes and State Route #241, near the Imperial #91 East freeway.

Aided by 60-mph winds, temperatures in the high 80’s, and an unseasonable dry winter, the fire has been aided by the seasonal Santa Ana winds. Residents of local communities were evacuating with family valuables and possessions, pets, and various items of worth until they received the “all-clear” signal from local fire officials. The Santa Ana winds, which reduce humidity and dry-out vegetation, have often played a role in disastrous wildfires that plague the Southern California landscape. In 2003, wind-driven wildfires destroyed more than 3,600 homes and killed 22 people in Southern California.

Advanced Access Responds Quickly To City of Anaheim Power Outage

The City of Anaheim, California, experienced a brief power outage on Tuesday, February 14^th, at approximately 4:08 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The Department of Public Utilities announced that a motor vehicle had been involved in an accident and had struck and knocked-down a utility pole, which eventually disrupted service for some 2,100 residents and businesses located in the Anaheim Hills area, north of the 91-Riverside Freeway and also to the south in the Canyon Rim vicinity.

While our Customer Support team was temporarily unavailable due to the outage, our emergency battery back-up system engaged immediately, ensuring uninterrupted service for all Advanced Access Websites. In addition, members of the Advanced Access Information Technology Department immediately enacted emergency procedures to enable the back-up generator system to further ensure that all information, data, and services that are crucial to some 30,000 clients was properly saved should the outage last for an extended period of time, the back-up generator system was up within 25-minutes and prepared to complete the move to its state-of-the-art auxiliary power system. The Advanced Access staff is well-versed in these emergency procedures, and often drills to make sure that uninterrupted service is provided throughout the country in times of emergency scenarios.

At approximately 4:58 p.m., which was about 43-minutes after the outage occurred, city officials reported that 90% of all electrical service was fully restored to the affected areas including the offices of Advanced Access, with the remaining service completely restored at about 3:59 a.m. this morning, February 15^th.

Home Buyer & Seller Survey Shows Rising Use of Internet, Reliance on Agents

Technology is transforming how Americans buy and sell homes in unexpected ways, including how they work with real estate agents and brokers, according to one of the largest surveys of real estate consumers ever conducted. The study was released January 17, 2006 by the National Association of REALTORS®.

Nine out of 10 home buyers use a real estate agent in the search process, but use of the Internet to search for a home has risen dramatically over time, increasing from only 2 percent of buyers in 1995 to 77 percent in 2005; it was 74 percent in 2004. The next largest source of information for buyers is a yard sign, mentioned by 71 percent of buyers.

When asked where they first learned about the home purchased, 24 percent of buyers identified the Internet, up strongly from 15 percent in 2004 and only 2 percent in 1997. Although most buyers use an agent to complete the transaction, 36 first learn about the home they buy from a real estate agent and 15 percent from yard signs; five other categories were 7 percent or less.

The 2005 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, based on more than 7,800 responses to a questionnaire mailed to a large national sample of consumers located through county deed records, is the latest in a series of surveys evaluating demographics, marketing and other characteristics of home buyers and sellers.

NAR President Thomas M. Stevens from Vienna, Va., said the findings underscore the complexity of the home-buying process. “Buyers who use the Internet in searching for a home are more likely to use a real estate agent than non-Internet users, and consumers rely on professionals to provide context, negotiate the transaction and help with the paperwork,” said Stevens, senior vice president of NRT Inc.

“The real estate industry today bears little resemblance to the way we did business 10 years ago. It is hard to find another industry that has adopted technology so readily to its customers,” Stevens said. “Realtors® have invested a lot of time and money in building information technology, and because of these efforts, more consumers than ever are using the Internet in their home search.”

The survey shows 81 percent of buyers who use the Internet to search for a home purchase through a real estate agent, while 63 percent of non-Internet users buy through an agent, non-Internet users are more likely to purchase directly from a builder or an owner they knew in advance of the transaction.

The median home price for sellers who use an agent is 16.0 percent higher than a home sold directly by an owner; $230,000 vs. $198,200; there were no significant differences between the types of homes sold. “While many unrepresented sellers are motivated to save on paying a commission, we think the price difference speaks for itself,” Stevens said. “Owners without professional assistance also have problems in understanding and completing paperwork, prepping the home for sale, getting the right price and selling within the time planned.”

Survey data don’t explain the price difference, but Stevens offered some context. “Agents know best how to prepare a home and maximize value, agents provide broader exposure to the market and are more likely to generate multiple bids, and the portion of sales that are between private parties are likely to be at a lower price than those on the open market.”

“The housing market today contrasts sharply with predictions a decade ago that the Internet would ‘disintermediate’ real estate agents, including speculation that NAR membership would fall in half. In reality, it’s grown dramatically – selling real estate is not like selling a book or buying an airline ticket,” he said.

Realtor.com was the most popular Internet resource, used by 54 percent of buyers, followed by multiple listing service (MLS) Web sites, 50 percent, real estate company sites, 38 percent, real estate agent Web sites, 31 percent, and local newspaper sites, 15 percent; other categories were smaller.

Married couples make up the largest share of the housing market, accounting for 61 percent of transactions. Single women purchase 21 percent of homes while single men account for 9 percent. Unmarried couples were 7 percent of the market, and 2 percent were listed as other. In 2004, single women were 18 percent of buyers and single men were 8 percent.

Four out of ten respondents are first-time buyers, a finding that is consistent for more than a decade. The median age of entry-level buyers is 32 years, also typical over time, and the household income was $57,200. They made a down payment of 2 percent on a home costing $150,000, but 43 percent purchased with no money down. Of first-time buyers who made a down payment, 23 percent received a gift from a friend or relative.

The typical repeat buyer is 46 years old and had a household income of $83,200. They placed a down payment of 21 percent on a home costing $235,000, but 11 percent of repeat buyers paid cash for their home. In all, 94 percent of buyers and sellers believe their home purchase is a good financial investment.

The most important factors in choosing a location to purchase a home are neighborhood quality, cited by 68 percent, close to a job or school, 43 percent, close to family or friends, 36 percent, and the school district itself, 23 percent; seven other categories were under 20 percent.

NAR mailed an eight-page questionnaire to a national sample of 145,000 home buyers and sellers, based on county records, who purchased their homes between August 2004 and July 2005. It generated 7,813 usable responses; the response rate was 5.4 percent.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Advanced Access SALES TEAM MARKETING TIP
By Larry Lokker, Advanced Access National Speaker/Western Regional Sales Manager

I see hundreds of Real Estate agents’ Websites every week. Normally I see is a variety of designs, styles, colors, and real estate content. Most Websites now offer consumers the ability to search the MLS for potential listings in which the client might be interested, which is important to include in a comprehensive real estate resource.

Real estate information aside, what makes your Website stand out? Too often, agents just follow the crowd, placing a head shot and a picture of a house on the site, along with the requisite real estate information. Instead, why not take advantage of all the flexibility offered by Advanced Access, and include graphics to showcase your community or demonstrate how potential consumers can relate to you and the services that you offer. How are you unique? Is it your charity work? Are you involved with youth activities? Do you belong to a club or an organization? People don’t want to buy a home from a Website; they want to buy from a real person. Don’t be afraid to show your audience that you are multidimensional. In addition to providing important real estate guidance, your Website should reach out to others to build trust or create bonds within the community you serve.

Here are a few examples: One client I know displays the term “Semper Fi” on the top of his Website. This will certainly catch the eye of anyone who is or has been in the military. Another woman posed with her dog in her homepage photo. Images of yourself with neighbors, animals, or even your own family are always well-received and make it much easier for consumers to relate to you as a real person. If you participate in local events, be sure to document your involvement with a picture of yourself near places of interest or other landmarks, with community leaders and other participants.

When you humanize your Website, your visitors will relate to you more easily, and therefore be more likely to choose you over the competition!

Larry Lokker is the National Speaker and Western Regional Sales Manager for Advanced Access. He travels throughout the country making educational and informative presentations at conventions, Association trade shows, tech expos and office meetings. His presentations range from 20-minutes to 2-hours, and cover a wide range of current topics to meet your Internet Marketing needs. To find out more about Larry Lokker, you can visit his Website at www.LarryLokker.com, or contact Larry about scheduling a visit at your next office meeting or perhaps a speaking engagement at your State or local tradeshow or convention. Send Larry an e-mail Larry@LarryLokker.com, or call him on his Direct Line at (714) 273-5614.

Advanced Access Trade Show & Convention Schedule

This is the beginning of our annual Convention and Trade Show Season for Advanced Access Sales Representatives, so why not stop-by and visit our staff when they visit your part of the country. Bring a friend, and if they sign-up for our products and services, you will receive a FREE MONTH OF HOSTING! The following appearances have been scheduled:

February 20-22 - Keller Williams 2006 Family Reunion
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino - Las Vegas, NV

February 27 – March 2 - 2006 RE/MAX International Convention
MGM Grand - Las Vegas, NV

March 3 - Weichert 2005 Annual Awards Celebration
The Music Center - Strathmore, MD

March 16 - The 5th Annual Technology Fair & Trade Show
Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® - Cary, NC

March 19-21 - Prudential Real Estate 2006 Sales Convention
San Antonio Convention Center - San Antonio, TX

Advanced Access Featured Client – Debbie Ferrari

HISTORY & HER START IN THE INDUSTRY

Debbie Ferrari, (www.DebbieFerrari.com), (yes, she IS distantly related to THAT Ferrari) was born in Upland, California, and was active in sports during her schooling there. Ten years after high school, in 1977, she entered real estate and began the six-day-a-week training that won her a Brown Belt in Kung Fu San Soo, the martial arts style Steven Segal uses. Today, as a Prudential California Realty Broker-Associate, she exhibits that same tenacity in keeping her 1,000-page Website #1 among REALTORS® on Google and AOL in Orange County, ahead of some 18,000 other county REALTORS® for the past four years. Her efforts have earned her numerous recognition and honors for her leadership in Web marketing all across the country.
Debbie has been deeply involved in 1031 Property Exchange since the 70’s and is Vice President of the National Council of Exchangers. Debbie has been a Certified Equity Marketing Specialist (EMS) for many years, and one of the few equity professionals qualified to moderate 1031 property exchanges at official NCE meetings. She also holds the rare RRS, “Recreation and Resort Specialist” designation, bestowed by the Worldwide Recreation and Resort Sales Council. The RRS identifies a REALTOR® qualified to serve consumers undertaking investments in vacation, recreation and resort properties, and second homes.

Starting in 1996, Debbie had one of the first REALTOR® Websites in the United States and was one of the early advertisers in nationally famous realty sites including www.IRED.COM, www.Reals.com, www.relibrary.com, www.RealEstateABC.com and dozens of others. As a result, the media discovered her and ever since she has enjoyed almost monthly exposure in national, regional and local print and on-line publications. In February, 2006, Fortune Magazine quoted her regarding the real estate bubble/non-bubble debate.

She holds the prestigious e-PRO designation from the National Association of REALTOR® and the e-Certification from Prudential California Realty. She is regarded as one of the leading Web REALTORS® in the country.

Her Google-ranked PR6 Website gets nearly 50,000 visitors a month; she has 10,000 consumer buyers actively listed in her private MLS search service, and sends out 2,700 e-mails a day to the ones who asked to receive new listings that match their search parameters. She gets 98% of her sales from Website leads and normally has about 20 transactions a year in a coastal area where the median home price is $800,000.

In September 2002, Debbie was inducted into Allen F. Hainge’s CyberStars™ which is an elite group of leading real estate professionals from around the country. The CyberStars™ are an active referral group, sending buyers and sellers to other agents they know will handle the referral well, thus greatly benefiting consumers. Debbie has also been honored by the National Association of REALTORS® in their prestigious "Meet Today's REALTOR®” section. NAR also singled out Debbie and ran her photo in their Special December 1997, "Technology" Issue.

HER MARKET – ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA –

Debbie’s territory is mostly along the south Orange County coast, located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Proud of her Native California heritage, Debbie’s first few realty years were in the burgeoning San Bernardino, Upland, Palm Springs area. In 1983 she moved to the coastal city of San Clemente, working for a number of smaller agencies that were subsequently swallowed up by larger ones. Today, she’s a nationally known Prudential California Broker-Associate based in Orange County, specializing in higher end homes of the South County area, including San Clemente, Dana Point, Capistrano Beach, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, Aliso Viejo and more.

A firm believer in giving back to the community, Debbie has been honored many times for her community service, most recently for her work on helping raise $200,000 for a huge statue and park honoring the U.S. Marines in nearby Camp Pendleton and everywhere.

Debbie says, “I invite all agents to get involved in their local community projects, especially ones of non-profit groups. They struggle so hard to raise just a few dollars and so it means so much to them when outside people pitch-in and use corporate or area-wide savvy to help them out.”

WHY Advanced Access? –

Debbie Ferrari says: “For years it was a struggle to keep my Website high-up on the search engines. I kept noticing that many of the sites that STAYED at the top and competed strongest with mine, were sites of AdvancedAccess.com. I always say if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. And so I gave my custom site over to Advanced Access which has now hosted it for many years. Maintaining a custom site is very hard to do. But if you’re in the market to have a custom site, you could not find a better host and site manager than Advanced Access. They’re reliable (my site NEVER goes down), their tech people know what they’re doing, they have great graphic artists, and their frequent marketing tips newsletters are constantly helping me do a better job on-line. I just cannot tell you enough about how much BETTER they are than other firms who design agent web sites.”

THE FORUMS –

“Whenever I need to know about something very important that is going on regarding the Internet or new real estate laws, scandals, bubbles, Washington monkey business, or whatever, I go log in at the Advanced Access Forum. There is ALWAYS an answer there. Plus, if I just post a query, five or six people will give me an answer almost immediately. What a great tool the forum is and I cannot understand why more agents don’t use it.”

THE FINAL WORD –

“My business is wholly based around my web marketing. The most important factor is how my site gets found on the Web, and hopefully I have both bought links on the right portals and directories so that people will be sent to my site, and optimized my site well enough for the search engines to continue giving it top ranking.”

“You will hear some self-styled “gurus” telling you that it is a waste of time to try to get your site high up on the organic search engine results pages (SERPS). But don’t listen to them. They often work for Website design firms whose pretty agent sites that they sell, do poorly on organic searches anyway, so naturally they will say that. Even if it takes you years to keep adding useful content that truly SERVES your Website visitors, never give up doing that. Why? Because eventually, just as I did, your site CAN come up high enough on engines for your city, and thus brings you tons of leads, and resulting sales that are truly pleasing.”

“Never use tricks or cheating in trying to get your Website listed higher, even though some Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms who call you constantly may promise you the world. Engines eventually find out cheaters and they can then penalize your site or ban it. Also, never steal text, images, formats, or concepts from other agent’s sites. That is stealing! Even the words on another site, which may look simplistic to you, may have been carefully constructed to appeal to search engines and thus are proprietary; in other words, not for YOU to take. Do your own work.”

Featured Advanced Access Employee – Shai Cohen

This month we are featuring Shai Cohen, from our Programming and Product Development Department. Shai started with Advanced Access just a few months ago, but he immediately felt at home here and quickly became an important part of the Programming team.

Shai has spent equal parts of his life in California and Israel and holds a Dual Citizenship in both countries. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Shai moved to the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles area with his family at age 3 ½. Shai graduated from Calabasas High School and studied Economics at California State University at Northridge. After completing his schooling in California, Shai moved back to Israel in 1994, and spent ten years in the Middle East. In August of 2004, Shai moved back to California.

Shai is part of a very large, extended family, most of whom still reside in Israel. He grew up with his parents, Ether and Jack, and his sister Orit. Now that he’s back, in California, Shai misses seeing Orit’s three beautiful children - Ariel, Ofir and Ronny. Family is very important to Shai, and with 70 first cousins (his mom has 12 brothers and sisters) he spends a lot of his time keeping in touch with everyone.

During his time in Israel, Shai met his wife Naomi, and they have been married for just over one year. Naomi is English (Shai loves the accent!) and has a keen wit that keeps Shai on his toes. Shai brought her over to California in 2004.

Prior to Shai’s career in programming, he worked in a variety of jobs. Some of Shai’s favorites included being the “balloon guy” at TGI Friday’s and Red Robin, a Special Olympics Coach, and a performer for birthday parties. He describes one of his party appearances, saying “I once appeared as Big Bird at a birthday party for one of the L.A. Laker’s kids. They nicknamed me “Just Bird” because I was hardly “Big” next to them.”

Perhaps Shai’s varied job experiences prior to his tenure here at Advanced Access prepared him for the creative team atmosphere in the programming department. Shai’s supervisor, Michael Wachala, Director of Internet Technology, comments about Shai’s performance on the job. “Shai’s breadth of experience and his positive attitude have made him a great addition to the Advanced Access Development team. His attention to detail and strong desire to produce the highest quality products helps us to ensure that Advanced Access will be producing the highest quality products now and into the future. Shai has great sense of humor and is an outstanding team player. We look forward to the future having Shai on our team.”

Shai loves the family aspect of Advanced Access, and enjoys working with his colleagues in Product Development and Programming. Shai is serious about his java and is the designated coffee maker for his department members. In his spare time, Shai enjoys playing racquetball, cycling and of course, playing computer games.

Shai is well-liked and respected by his colleagues and friends at Advanced Access, who enjoy working with him tremendously.

The Lighter Side of Valentine’s Day

I just had a dream about it

A young woman was taking an afternoon nap. After she woke up, she told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's day. What do you think it means?"

"You'll know tonight." he said.

That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--only to find a book entitled "The meaning of dreams".

Economist Valentines

Top economist Valentine's Day cards

4. You raise my interest rate thirty basis points without a corresponding drop off in consumer enthusiasm.

3. Let's raise housing starts together.

2. You stoke the animal spirits of my market.

1. Despite your decade of inflation, I still love you.

January 2006 | Back to Main Page | March 2006