Our Website Marketing Specialists have been hard at work developing innovative services to boost YOUR success.  ADVANCED ACCESS proudly announced 5 new website marketing services earlier this month that will help increase your Internet presence!

With 80% of all home searches starting on the Internet, you need your website to be at its best. Are you connecting with your online consumers when they arrive at your home page or do you think you can use some improvements? Maybe you feel you have all the right content but you want to attract more buyers and sellers immediately through sponsored search ads but you aren't sure where to start. We have a team of Marketing Specialists ready to help you move forward!  Call us TODAY at 1-800-335-1563 or email NewProducts@AdvancedAccess.com.

Lower home prices are turning potential buyers into active lookers, and sellers are showing more willingness to negotiate, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reports. The trend is expected to inject life into slowing markets.

“Given a positive economic backdrop of lower interest rates and job creation, we expect sales activity to pick up early next year,” says David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist.

Existing-home sales are forecast to be fairly stable in the fourth quarter and sales for all of 2006 are expected to drop 8.9 percent to 6.45 million — the third strongest year after consecutive records in 2004 and 2005. New-home sales are expected to fall 17.3 percent this year to 1.06 million, the fourth highest year on record. Housing starts should be down 10.9 percent to 1.84 million in 2006.

2006 Prices to Increase Slightly

With a recent correction in the market, the national median existing-home price is likely to rise 1.6 percent to $223,000 for all of 2006; it’s anticipated prices will remain slightly below year-ago levels before gaining positive traction in the first quarter of 2007. The median new-home price is projected to decline 0.2 percent to $240,500 — largely the result of builder price cuts to move unsold inventory.

This presents a unique opportunity for buyers. “The supply of homes on the market is the highest we’ve seen in over 13 years, and mortgage interest rates are experiencing an unexpected decline,” says NAR President Thomas M. Stevens from Vienna, Va. “The 30-year fixed rate is hovering around 6.3 percent, and sellers in most of the country are now showing a willingness to negotiate.”

He says that the changing market makes it increasingly important for parties on both sides of the real estate transaction process to have professional representation.

Interest Rates to Rise Next Year

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will probably average 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter but will trend up modestly in 2007.

The unemployment rate should average 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is expected to be 3.4 percent for all of 2006, while growth in the U.S. gross domestic product is forecast at 3.3 percent. Inflation-adjusted disposable personal income is likely to grow 3.4 percent for 2006.

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine [October, 2006] with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.



Daylight Savings - "Fall Back"

It’s Time to Fall Back on Sunday, October 29!

Once again, it’s that time of year - Sunday, October 29, 2006 marks the end of Daylight Savings Time, as observed in most of our states. So be sure to set your clocks BACK one hour at 2:00 a.m. on October 29. The exceptions to the rule are: Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Eastern Time Zone portion of the State of Indiana, and most of Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation.)

Setting our clocks back is an excellent time to think about changing the batteries in our smoke detectors. A working smoke detector greatly increases the chances of surviving a home fire. Although most of us have smoke detectors, a large percentage of those have worn-out or missing batteries. As a safety tip, why not remind yourself and your clients to change the batteries in your smoke detector at the same time you change your clocks.



Convention & Trade Show Schedule

October 17-19, 2006
California REALTOR® Expo 2006
Long Beach Convention Center
Long Beach, CA

October 18, 2006
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Silver Team Conference
The Historic Silver Theater
Silver Spring, MD

October 19, 2006
Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® Annual Tradeshow
Hilton McLean
McLean, VA

October 26, 2006
Greater Baltimore Board of REALTORS® Annual Realtor Fair
Martin's West
Baltimore, MD

November 10-13, 2006
NAR 2006 REALTORS® Conference & Expo
Ernest E. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans, LA

December 5-7, 2006
Triple Play 2006 REALTOR® Convention & Trade Expo
Atlantic City Convention Center
Atlantic City, NJ

We are looking forward to seeing you at any of the events listed above. Be sure to stop by and say hello – we always enjoy talking to our clients across the country. And, if you bring a friend or colleague who may be interested in purchasing a website, we have a special gift for you.



ADVANCED ACCESS Mobile Website Team Appears
In National Featured Speaking Engagements

The ADVANCED ACCESS Mobile Website Team recently made an important stop at the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS^® offices located in Carey, North Carolina, on Wednesday, September 27^th.  Roger Livingston, Regional Sales Manager for ADVANCED ACCESS, presented his popular educational seminar, “Understanding Internet Marketing in a Changing Real Estate Market.” 

Livingston, who serves as the North Carolina Regional Sales Representative for ADVANCED ACCESS, lectures and provides valuable insight on the complete process on finding buyers in today’s market utilizing popular search engines to attract potential clients to your real estate Website.  Approximately 120 real estate agents attended the event, and feedback included one satisfied member stating, “…I was hesitant to attend because the seminar was given by a Website vendor, but I learned a lot and am glad I came!”

Over the past year, Mobile Website Team members have participated in over 50 conventions and trade shows, conducting educational and demonstrative discussions with members of local, state, and national Real Estate organizations. Members of the Mobile Website Team have traveled over 500,000 air miles and visited with over 500,000 agents and REALTORS® nationwide.

ADVANCED ACCESS designed this idea in order to meet the growing demand from agents across the country to be provided with seminars on better ways to increase Internet Website effectiveness.  The ADVANCED ACCESS Mobile Website Team is an innovative concept to provide members of the real estate industry with “real-time” up-to-the-minutes seminars and presentations on the latest news and developments that impact real estate Internet Websites.  Topics can vary, as well as an introduction and demonstration of various ADVANCED ACCESS products, programs and services currently being offered and available.

To find out how members of the ADVANCED ACCESS Mobile Website Team can schedule an appearance in your State or region, contact Maria Valderrama at 1-888-902-4653, Ext. #1008 TODAY!



Featured Client of the Month - Kristin Noll

HISTORY & HER START IN THE INDUSTRY

Kristin Noll, (www.bestmilwaukeehomes.com) was born and raised in the Milwaukee area, and for the most part, grew-up in the general vicinity.  Her parents, John and Patricia played a huge influence on her life, and her mother actually worked for Northwest Mutual Life, a large insurance company as a computer systems analyst.  Kristin credits her mother’s background and influence on her current love for computers and her “techie background in the real estate industry.” 

Kristin was the oldest of three children with two brothers, and as the only girl learned how to defend herself at an early age.  Her brother Mark unfortunately passed away at an early age serving in the naval branch of the military in the Middle East, while brother Sean currently works in the medical electronics industry.

Kristin is currently engaged to her fiancé, Jeremy, and between them have four wonderful children.

After graduating from Shorewood High School with an art scholarship, she attended the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee to earn an interior design degree. In 1988 she was married and planned a life of "at-home Mom" and worked part-time in the restaurant industry. In 1993, her former husband was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and as a result, she had to enter the industry full-time. She was quickly promoted to a management position where she excelled for 3 years. Restaurant work was very unsatisfying and she longed to be in a career that brought her a sense of accomplishment.

A real estate agent and customer suggested that she would be perfect for a possible real estate career. Unsure whether she could be a sales person, she was nevertheless intrigued by the chance to contribute her experience in the service industry to people who needed to find or sell their homes. Thus, Kristin's strong focus on her client's best interests and her desire to become an expert in her field has inspired her title as "real estate consultant". She has never identified herself as being a "real estate salesperson.”

She began her successful career in real estate in earnest in 1997.  She reflected, “…It was around the time that I bought my first house, I simply opened a magazine, no money down, and purchased my first home.  With my second house, I was able to learn first-hand about selling and purchasing a home, and I thought what a cool profession to be in.  I was managing a restaurant at the time, and I had a friend who thought I should look at the real estate industry for a career.  She recommended me to her manager, and that was really the start of my journey into the real estate industry.  I had been in the service industry up to that time, but managing a restaurant was a very hard and time- demanding job and I just knew from the start that I would enjoy the real estate industry much, much more!”

She continued, “…My initial love for houses and architecture in general has always been something that I have enjoyed, and I remember, as a child, visiting open houses was something to do with my parents on Sunday afternoons.  I used to love to visit the various homes, and it was something that really got into my blood at an early age.  I’ve always enjoyed using my creativity, planning and staging design, and ultimately preparing homes to enter the market for sale.  This mindset has always helped me to be a bit ahead of the competition.  One thing that continues to amaze me still today, is the number of professional agents who really don’t know the different homes styles and names of homes, a California bungalow, a Victorian, and such!”

Kristin truly does live her career through her clients, and that too is something she has always been very proud of.  “…I remember attending a real estate seminar at an early stage in my career, and the featured speaker opened his portion of the presentation with a kind of tongue-in-cheek comment about, we are all in the industry because we love people and homes, and everyone laughed!  But I was the only one who didn’t laugh, because I truly DO LOVE BOTH, which is why I became a real estate agent and entered the industry in the first place.”

A year after joining Federated Realty (now Coldwell Banker) and working both jobs full-time, she had saved the funds that she needed to leave the restaurant industry in April 1998. By December of that same year, she was successful enough to be awarded a position in the company's Million Dollar Club. The following year she received the Outstanding First Year Player Award and inclusion in the Premier Club for sales exceeding $3.5 million. In subsequent years she has consistently raised or maintained her sales and achieved Master's Club in 2001 for sales exceeding $6 million. Feeling the need for a change in 2002, she joined the dynamic "new kid on the block," The First Weber Group.

HER IMPRESSION AND REFLECTIONS ON THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

Kristin attributes her success to skills that she learned in the service industry: hard work, follow through, attention to detail, a joy of meeting new people and striving to provide the kind of service that inspires her customer's and client's loyalty. She attends numerous educational classes and seminars to keep on top of the ever-changing industry, and is constantly looking to find bigger and better ways to service her clientele. Understanding that her varied clients have different needs, she went to Chicago in 1999 to train for and receive the Senior Real Estate Specialist designation. In 2002 she received certification as an Accredited Buyer Representative and she was certified as a Relocation Specialist in 2005.

Kristin… commented about the real estate industry.  “…I think that the two things that have changed the most is buyer representation and of course, the Internet.  “…Buyer representation is something I use my ADVANCED ACCESS Website to educate buyers about.  Many people don’t know that they have that option and they don’t know if it is different in other markets around the country.  In Wisconsin, you need to have a formal agreement in order to represent the buyer, and I was the first agent to aggressively market the “buyer agreement” angle in my office.  I certainly want to be their agent rather than a salesperson!  I always felt that one of my strengths has been my ability to guide and teach, and my overall experience that I fell into with a buyer’s mentality.  I feel that one of the most significant changes has been with buyer representation, and I try to educate them on my Website, and more or less inform them of this crucial option!”

She continued, “…the Internet of course has really changed everything within the real estate industry.  Before the MLS had really taken hold of computer technology, I had a program that you had to load onto your computer - this was before we had the current Internet-based MLS systems.  I used to get into them, and wanted to always do more as far as using the data for marketing, advertising, and analyzing what my clients were looking for.  I am very pleased to see the technology catch-up with what Real Estate Consultants ultimately need.  I love ADVANCED ACCESS because they allow you to design and implement your own systems, in terms of what you need and what services you want to take more advantage of over others that are also available, but at perhaps a lesser priority based on the need of the agent.”

Her marketplace is well defined and she is always focused on the services that she needs to provide “…I like to be able to look-up in our system and see what has sold in the client’s specific area in the last 30-day, and provide to my clients a profile.  I try to tie-them in with an on-line appraisal niche that I’ve created, and people have responded very positively to it  I also try to segue them into the site and the services that they are looking for in a professional Real Estate Consultant who will represent them in the buying and selling process now and in the future.  For me, it always has been and will always be about relationships.”

HER OFFICE’S MARKET – Metro and the Greater Milwaukee Country Areas

Kristin and her First Weber Group office, serves the Metro and Greater Milwaukee County area including North Shore, Downtown, Ozaukee County, Waukesha County, Brookfield/Elm Grove, Menomonee Falls, Pewaukee, Lake County, Washington Country including Germantown and Jackson, and surrounding communities.

KRISTIN NOLL TELLS WHY ADVANCED ACCESS? 

“I have always felt and continue to believe, that ADVANCED ACCESS is the best place to be for a real estate professional.  I’ve worked with a lot of Website providers, and I have other Websites that I really don’t use.  These include some freebies; some that I pay for, and I just enjoy playing with them to see what is out there in the Website market.  As I used the ADVANCED ACCESS sites more and more, I got much more support, and the sites were much easier to use than all of the others that I was finding in the marketplace,” Kristin recalls.

She continues, “…When I talk to agents, I show them the differences, and highly recommend ADVANCED ACCESS sites.  The first initial price can always be a shock, but  the other sites have too many add-ons, and when I show other agents that they can end up spending a fortune, as compared to what the actual costs are with ADVANCED ACCESS, it pretty much simplifies the ultimate choice on what product provides the best return on your initial investment.”

Kristin takes great pleasure in relating to other agents that she continues to meet.  “…Almost every agent thinks that he or she makes good money, and some still believe that they don’t really need a real estate Website for their business.  But if you are truly a professional that potential buyers and sellers are seeking out, you know the truth.  And that is, you need to have a Website, you need to have in increased presence on the Internet, and you need to have this as an integral part of your overall business strategy in order to continue to grow and to provide the services that the consumer is looking for in today real estate market.”

THE FINAL WORD 

She continues, “…I give my credit to the ADVANCED ACCESS forums, and the support team on the forums.  I remember when I really began to take my Website seriously after the first year; the very first thing I did was get into and participate in the forum".

Kristin adds, “…I’m a lot like a pit-bull or bulldog – once I get my teeth into something I really never let go!  The forums provided me with a lot of information that I have been able to really, turn around into actual practical information that I have applied to my ADVANCED ACCESS Website.  I have found that clients, the potential customers that you are going to serve, really don’t know what they actually don’t know!  They need to be educated, and every new agent needs to be educated on what services, programs, and features that they need on their site.  ADVANCED ACCESS has been able to teach me, and I have become a much smarter agent because of that unique relationship that they have nurtured among their clients nationwide.  I have been working with several new agents as of late, and I constantly recommend ADVANCED ACCESS as the Website design company and provider of choice.”

“When it comes to ADVANCED ACCESS, I feel confident that my Website would not be what it is today without their education and guidance.  Their templates are better, the campaigns are more complete and innovative in the Intellicards™ system, and they have the most wonderful support staff offered by anyone in the entire industry nationwide.  I had one agent, who wanted to build a mini-site for his builders, and I ended-up building it with my ADVANCED ACCESS Page Manager feature, and then I forwarded it to him to be placed on his I-House site.  You get what you pay for…and with ADVANCED ACCESS, you always seem to pay less and get so much more in return…again, and again, and again!”

Kristin concluded her comments about ADVANCED ACCESS.  “…I have a fellow agent who was getting out of the business – was selling data sheet holders, lock boxes, signs,  the whole business.  She mentioned to me that she was letting her ADVANCED ACCESS site go, and I said no, don’t cancel, SELL the site, because of all the great content and the Internet presence that she has taken time to develop, someone will certainly be interested in acquiring that intellectual property and continuing to use it in the real estate industry.  I think the biggest thing that I appreciate about ADVANCED ACCESS, is that unlike other big companies that sell you something and then leave you entirely on your own to learn how to develop and use their product, they have continued to offer quality support.  It has allowed me to think outside the box, and learn more about how to use their Website on the Internet in a variety of ways and not just one simple strategy.  My Website is more than my business card; it is part of an entire process, which in many ways, is dictated and guided by what my Website identity consists of.  An entire concept, a customer-driven philosophy, which you are able to build your business on for others to see on the Internet.  ADVANCED ACCESS wants to make sure you succeed in the real estate industry.  A Website can be so much more that just a site…and ADVANCED ACCESS recognizes that and helps you develop your business to its true potential.  Being able to integrate a Contact Lead Management program, being able to recognize what my clients need, and making sure that my programs and services are designed and able to meet those needs is what it’s all about!”

“…Just having any old website is like having a beautiful billboard and putting in the middle of the desert, no one will ever see it so it is pointless…but ADVANCED ACCESS helps you to achieve what you need to do to get YOUR website recognized and noticed!”



Featured Employee of the Month - Elizabeth Carapella

Elizabeth Carapella is the administrator for our Human Resources department.  She assists our Office Manager, Jamie Griswold, with the task of hiring the talented members of our staff here at ADVANCED ACCESS.

Elizabeth, or "Liz" as she is known around the office, was born in Puerto Rico.  She attended Escuela Superior Católica de Bayamón for high school and continued with her studies at the University of Puerto Rico earning a Bachelors Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

Elizabeth's family remains in Puerto Rico.  She has one sibling; an older brother, Luis Daniel.  She misses her mother, Carmen, the most.  She is especially fond of her mother's cooking and hopes to visit soon.

Liz lives in Anaheim Hills, California with her husband, Aaron.  Liz and Aaron have been married for two and half years. "We met back in Puerto Rico when he was taking a vacation on a cruise ship and I was working in a restaurant in the tourist area of San Juan.  It was love a first sight.  We had a long distance relationship for a year and half and then got married on January 3, 2004."  Elizabeth is particularly proud of Aaron's devotion to being an advocate for human rights, especially Native American rights since he is part Cherokee.

Before joining ADVANCED ACCESS, Elizabeth worked for Bluegreen Time-share Company as an Exclusive Outbound Specialist, educating the customers about their vacation homes, selling time-shares and using her bilingual skills to translate documents.  Prior to Bluegreen she worked for Borders, and Walt Disney World as Rescue Ranger or "Role Hopper" meaning she was trained in every single operational skill needed for the park.

Liz's favorite part about working for ADVANCED ACCESS is the family atmosphere.  "I love to wake up every morning and be able to work with such a wonderful group of people it just makes my day."  Jamie Griswold, Office Manager for ADVANCED ACCESS, says, "Liz is so friendly, I am grateful to work with her each day.  She has such a positive attitude and contributes a great deal to our family of employees."

Elizabeth says she has three main passions: reading, cooking, and belly dancing.  Liz is also quite the world traveler having visited almost every state in the USA, Canada, the entire Caribbean, and some parts of South America.  In her spare time she also enjoys watching movies.  Her favorites are "Motorcycle Diaries" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

That's not all!  Elizabeth and her husband, Aaron, also own a book business.  She has also been practicing Martial Arts with her Dad since the age of 4 and is a 3rd degree black belt!  Her father owns several Karate studios and schools in Puerto Rico.

We are so glad to have someone as enthusiastic and energetic as Liz on the ADVANCED ACCESS team!