: January 2008

It's been estimated that 2,000,000 homes will go into foreclosure this year. That's a mind numbing number. At last week's California Association of REALTORS® January business meetings, DRE commissioner Jeff Davi told us about the Consumer Home Mortgage Information page. Not only will you find information useful to California homeowners, but you should be able to get some good information regardless of where you live.

The page offers help for purchasing and owning a home, obtaining a mortgage, filing a complaint and much more. If you think you may be facing foreclosure, I urge you to visit HUD's Tips For Avoiding Foreclosure. There's a link from the prior website directly to it.

In many cases, if you communicate with your lender rather than avoid them, you may be able to work out an arrangement that will allow you to save your home. That's a win-win in my book.

Tom Plant, Murrieta Real Estate Expert – GRI, e-PRO – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – 951.907.9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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I've been in Indian Wells all week, on the outskirts of Palm Springs. Today I drove to El Paseo and spent about an hour strolling. It reminded me a lot of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Ritzy shops, salons and restaurants every where you turn. If you're ever in the area, it's a great place to pass some time. Not only that, it's a mere hour and a half from Murrieta.

Tom Plant, Murrieta Real Estate Expert – GRI, e-PRO – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – 951.907.9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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Yes indeed, that's Kathy McGraw. Kathy and I don't live terribly far from each other and have corresponded several times, but yesterday she took up my invitation to have lunch with me in Indian Wells. I have been so blessed to meet so many of my blogging buddies this year!

I was waiting for Kathy in front of the gorgeous Hyatt Grand Champions

when she called me. She was in front of the conference center. She spotted me and we went in and had lunch and a good visit. The photo of us, by the way, was taken by Steve Goddard, who is running unopposed for C.A.R. president-elect for 2009. Kathy and I spent the hour talking about active rain (of course), business and life in general. I'm sure our paths will cross again.

The meetings here are going well. I'll finish up by sharing a photo of the Renaissance Esmerelda, where most of the sessions are being held.

EDIT: Kathy did not like the picture... I have "played" with it.

Tom Plant, Murrieta Real Estate Expert – GRI, e-PRO – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – 951.907.9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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The California Association of REALTORS® January business meetings are underway in Indian Wells, just outside of Palm Springs. Local Association directors and association executives are gathered here in this majestic desert setting until Saturday to assess the state of our real estate market and prepare for our future. Our MLS working group has been investigating the possibility of a statewide database of property information. This could eventually lead to a statewide MLS, and as you might imagine, this has been a hot button topic.

This morning I attended a session led by CAR's new online training programs manager, Chris Tellez.

His session was called Podcasting 101... For REALTORS® and what he said made a lot of sense to me. It's a very cheap cost effective means of promoting your brand and your properties. I was one of the lucky few to win a copy of Butch Grimes' book Podcasting For Real Estate Professionals. It should take you an hour or two to do a 10 - 15 minute podcast with a minimum investment. As with blogging. Consistency is key.

Chris will do a session this afternoon on emerging real estate technologies and I'll fill you in on what he has to share.

Tom Plant, Murrieta Real Estate Expert – GRI, e-PRO – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – 951.907.9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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As you may have gathered by now, I'm a huge fan of Inman News' Real Estate Connect. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of Joining Bob Stewart and Joel Burslem as Fran White graciously and professionally hosted a look back at what we took away from New York and what we hope to learn this July in San Francisco. You can read her post and listen to the show here.

I promise to post more about the New York Connect from the copious notes I took. In the meantime, Take Bob's advice to heart. I hope to see you in the City By The Bay.

Tom Plant, Murrieta Real Estate Expert – GRI, e-PRO – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – 951.907.9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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It's a wintry morning in Murrieta. The mercury dropped to 25 overnight. Fortunately it doesn't get that cold that often here. Last year we had a nearly two week stretch of sub 30 nights that wreaked havoc on the tropical foliage.

I love this time of year. The air is crisp and the sky is crystal clear. Rain is in the forecast for this week, and as we're in a drought, any we get will be welcome.

Tuesday I'll head off to Indian Wells for the California Association of REALTORS® business meetings. One of the things I love about living in the Temecula Valley is the small town feeling you get, but still having the proximity of Palm Springs, San Diego and Los Angeles. Ain't life grand?

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor and privilege to show you the beautiful Temecula Valley. My goal is to over-deliver on what I promise.

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Joey Aszterbaum is a hell of a guy. You can't help but love him. Each month he hosts a Real Agent Help breakfast at Mimi's in Hemet. I attended yesterday, and reconnected with fellow rainers Joey, John Occhi and Heidi Gray. One of my favorite people in the world, Judee Edgerton from American Home Shield was there, too. If you're looking for a home warranty, Judee will treat you like gold. Well heck, she'll treat you like gold anyway.

After enjoying a good breakfast, Joey introduced us to Doak Belt of Innovative Wealth Solutions, who spoke on financial planning and real estate. Doak is bright and articulate and I would certainly recommend him if you're looking for help planning your financial future.

We'll do it again on Valentine's day. If you're in the area, I hope you'll attend.

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor and privilege to show you the beautiful Temecula Valley. My goal is to over-deliver on what I promise.

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Last Christmas, we were invited to potluck with our friends in Quail Valley. Everyone agreed on a ham, so I headed over to Honeycutt Farms. I had stopped in once to try their split pea soup (delicious!), but hadn't yet tried their ham. It was a hit! Everyone loved it, there were plenty of leftovers, and I made an incredibly tasty black bean soup with the bone.

Debbie and I went back to try their breakfast a few weeks later and it was absolutely delicious. Their bacon, sausage and ham with eggs and biscuit breakfast is guaranteed to satisfy any hunger pangs you might have. They're also open for lunch and dinner. If you're looking for down home cooking at very reasonable prices, you've got to check them out.

I introduced myself to owner Cheryl Dorfner. She told me the restaurant has been in business for 17 years (one of Murrieta's oldest) and that she bought it seven years ago. When I went in this morning, two members of the Murrieta Police Department were enjoying breakfast there. I say that's a good omen!

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor and privilege to show you the beautiful Temecula Valley. My goal is to over-deliver on what I promise.

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I'm going to let my camera do the talking here. New York is such a visually engaging city. Here are some of the images I was able to capture during an incredible four day stay.

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor and privilege to show you the beautiful Temecula Valley. My goal is to over-deliver on what I promise.

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Okay, so the image is a bit blurry. Remember my camera broke the first night. I had to resort to using my camcorder for still photos. Wednesday morning at 9, Bloggers Connect kicked off with the first of six blogging sessions. The first session was called Avoid The Content Brick Wall: Ideas For Fresh And Frequent Blogging. Jessica Swesey from Inman moderated the panel comprised of Douglas Heddings senior VP of Prudential Douglas Elliman, Kris Berg, Broker Associate with Prudential California Realty, Jeff Corbett, author of The XBroker Blog and Dan Green, Chief Blogging Officer of Bring the Blog.

Messages during the session included:

1. Rember who you're speaking to. Don't forget the consumer.
2. Try topics like "how to take advantage of a buyers' market" and "how to market your property more effectively".
3. Do posts on quality of life and the neighborhoods you serve.
4. Blog in plain English terms. Headlines and what you see on The Today Show are what's on your clients' mind.
5. Read other blogs and link to them. Check your feed reader for stats.
6. Place an "ask the broker" button on your site.
7. Comment threads can be a source for blog topics.
8. Create a random thoughts file. Write your ideas down. Carry a notepad.
9. Keep it fresh and relevant.
10. You have a nanosecond to engage your readers.
    
11. Your titles should be SEO optimized or"cutesy".
12. Write about neighborhoods consistently.
13. Your readers must trust you.
14. Employ a guest post from passionate consumers.

And those are just the highlights from the first session of day 1. There were 120 speakers over two and a half days. Needless to say, I've got much more to share.

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor and privilege to show you the beautiful Temecula Valley. My goal is to over-deliver on what I promise.

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