RECR's Blog

Take Time:
Take time to think-
It is the source of all power.

Take time to read-
It is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to play-
It is the source of perpetual youth.

Take time to be quiet-
It is the opportunity to seek God.

Take time to be aware-
It is the opportunity to help others.

Take time to love and be loved-
It is God's greatest gift.

Take time to laugh-
It is the music of the soul.

Take time to be friendly-
It is the road to happiness.

Take time to dream-
It is what the future is made of.

Take time to pray-
It is the greatest power on earth.

Take time to give-
It is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to work-
It is the price of success.

There is a time for everything. . . .

[Ecclesiastes 3:1-8] Holy Bible

If you would like information about www.recr.com, please do not hesitate to contact Clint Miller at 800-977-7058 or 406-329-7652.  Or, contact Clint on Twitter at www.twitter.com/recr.

I was talking with an agent friend of mine over the phone discussing the power of having a home staged to help it sell quickly.  Marti is a big believer is using a home stager for her listings.  She feels that it cleans up the look and gives her listings a much more ‘manicured' look.  Changing the furnishings, painting, etc...all can add loads of ‘appeal' to the listing.  And, having an outside eye look at things is always a good way of making sure that the over-all look that the listing agent or the home owner intended for the home is really the right way to go. 

It was during this conversation that she told me about a listing she had that was perfect in every way...except the yard.  After showing the home numerous times with no offers at all, she decided to do something about it.  She had a landscaping contractor help her with tidying up the outside of the home...laying sod, trimming the yard, even going so far as installing landscape bricks and planting trees. 

I had never heard of this concept before - staging the OUTSIDE of the home in order to help get people inside.  But, shortly after this conversation, this same concept was hammered home when I discovered an article written by David Sobel, VP of Sales for Home Warranty of America www.hwahomewarranty.com.  The article included a detailed list of things that agents or home owners can do to the outside of the home to make the over-all look of the home much more appealing and avoid the potential of having a buyer get turned off just because the outside of the home wasn't up to par.  All of the fixes that are listed in the article are simple, cheap, and will make a world of difference.  The list included:

• Paint or stain the front door and the garage door.  These are the first visuals that a potential buyer will get of the home.  If the doors are metal and are dented, they should be replaced.
• Any old or unused structures (storage sheds, etc) should be removed.  Have the area leveled and then re-sodded so that the yard is seamless.
• Change any out-dated or non-functioning light fixtures on the outside of the home, garage, or yard.
• Fix the driveway.  If it's blacktop, have it professionally filled and sealed.  If it is cement, hire a contractor to fill in cracks and holes.
• Make sure the landscaping bricks are still in the right place.  Bumping them during yard work can shift them out of their proper positions.
• Fill in bare dirt under large shade trees.  Plant shade-tolerant plants or landscape the area with fill chips or bark.
• Put down new bedding material in all landscape and flowerbeds.
• Have the trees and bushes trimmed up. 
• If the house needs painting, have it done professionally.  If that isn't in the cards, have them do touch-up work on the areas that need it badly.
• If the house is sided, have it power-washed to clean and freshen up the look of the walls.
• Make sure the grass looks good.  Keep everything tidy and well groomed.  Keep it as weed-free as possible.  If areas are especially sketchy, have the area seeded or sodded.
• Decks and walkways should be power-washed and stained or painted.  Patio furniture should be in excellent condition.

Staging the home on the outside with help you get more buyers inside.  The appeal that will be generated will dramatically increase the buyer's "want to see more" factor.  Remember, most home buyers can not visualize even the simplest of clean-ups and potential landscape changes.  And, those that can, will be looking for a reduced price and will ask for it based on these ‘outdoor eyesores'.  This will also help you show the property to those that are looking for a complete home and not a fixer-upper and help get the highest dollar for the listing.

If you would like some information on how to get more buyers from www.recr.com, please do not hesitate to contact Clint Miller at 800-977-7058 or 406-329-7652.  Or, contact Clint via Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheRealClint.

Most everyone on the planet has a digital cameranow-a-days.  Many agents use them to post high-quality pics of their listings on the MLS or other various websites to help support those listings on-line.  But, often times, transferring the photos is a tedious and high-maintenance job....until now.

SanDisk, a world leader in the manufacturing of SD cards supported by most digital cameras, now has a new product that takes the mess out of transferring photos to your computer.  TheUltra II SK Plus USB card is the newest innovation in digital photo transfers. 

It's simple.  Take the card out of the camera, flip the USB adapter out...and plug it into your USB port on your computer.  No cords to mess with...no readers or PC adapters required.  The card has a hinged cover that flips over to reveal a USB plug making the downloading process simpler and less time-consuming.

You can check it out by going to www.sandisk.com and searching for the Ultra II SD cards.  They vary in price depending on the memory capability of the card, but for only $70, you get an 8gig card. 

If you would like information on how www.recr.com can get you more buyers to take your listings off of your hands, please contact Clint Miller at 800-977-7058 or 406-329-7652.  Or, notify me on twitter at www.twitter.com/recr.

OK...I saw a story on these guys on CNN other day...and scoffed at it.  Now, Im choking on my own scoff...

Have you checked out www.cuil.com yet?  Cuil was started by a couple of upstarts that used to work at that other huge search engine that everyone is sooo concerned about......(Thier name rhymes with Poogle)  :-)

Cuil is actually an irish word that means knowledge.  And they have a completely unique approach to internet searching.  They rely on CONTENT based searches versus popularity matricies that are so prevelant in today's search engine ranking world.  They claim to have 3x the indexable internet pages of Google...and as many as 10x the pages of MSN...if true, this would make them the largest search engine in the world.

To thier credit, Paul Allen (the guy that started Ancestry.com and now has numerous companies under him including worldhistory.com) just threw out a tweet on Twitter that www.cuil.com was the #7 ranked referrer to his blog yesterday.  They beat out AOL, Live.com, and MSN.com.

Try doing a search on www.cuil.com.  I did it...and my sites still show up top of the list based on CONTENT rather than the matrix.  Im quite happy with them.

If you would like access to additional buyers, please feel free to contact Clint Miller of www.recr.com at 800-977-7058 or 406-329-7652 or contact me on twitter at www.twitter.com/recr.

CAUTION: The following recipe will cause fits of uncontrollable drooling, hunger pains, and the over all need for a good burger.  Other side effects may include the inability to concentrate on tasks, shakes, daydreaming, and the sudden urge to buy the ingredients and make a sudden change in the dinner menu.

BLEU CHEESE STUFFED BURGERS WITH CARMALIZED ONIONS
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Makes 4 burgers

1 pkg of Kaiser rolls*
8 oz (1 tub) of bleu cheese**
1 ½ lbs lean hamburger
1 large sweet white or purple onion

*Use Kaiser rolls instead of regular buns.  For some reason, they just taste better with this recipe.

**If you can, buy fresh bleu cheese from an import market or a deli.  When I buy this stuff, I buy it by the pound.  Its already moldy...It keeps forever.  But, if not, buy an 8oz tub of crumbled bleu cheese from your local Super MegaMart.

Step 1 -- In a large sauté pan, drizzle E.V.O.O. into the bottom of the pan and heat over medium.  Add sliced onion and sauté until they are golden brown.  This should only take a couple minutes and will require fairly constant monitoring and stirring.

Step 2 - Split your burger into 4 equal balls.  On a sheet of wax paper, split 1 ball of burger into two equal halves.  Cover with another sheet of wax paper and mash flat until burger is about ¼ inch thick.  (I use the bottom of a dinner plate for this.  It makes it very even and uniform.)  Make sure you space them far enough apart to account for the meat spreading out.

Step 3 - Put a pile of bleu cheese on top of one of the halves and spread out to cover most of the center of the patty.  (I use a ton of it...but, I love bleu cheese.  Do this to your taste level.)  Cover that pile with the other patty and fold and pinch the edges of the patties back together to form a full burger.  Make sure the edges are sealed all the way around as the cheese will leak out during cooking otherwise.

Step 4 - Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you run out of burger or bleu cheese.

Step 5 - Grill, pan fry, broil...however you want to cook the burgers.  I pan fried mine last time.  Remember, they are very thick and require a longer cook time than most burgers.  Top each burger with a pile of onions and serve with all the usual burger fixin's (except cheese and onion) and enjoy with a good dark beer.  My recommendation is Amber Bock by Michelob (Or any dark local micro-brew.  If you were up here, we'd have Moose Drool!)  ENJOY!!

If you would like information on www.recr.com, please contact Clint Miller at 800-977-7058 or 406-329-7652.  Or, catch me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/recr.

My son just got a new bike!!  And, like any good red-blooded American, I decided I would do a little maintenance on it for him.  But, in order to do that, I needed my handy dandy pliers!  So, I try to get into my tool box...and the lid wasn't working right.  In fact, it wasn't working at all.  Like any good red-blooded American, I forced it open...only to break the spring that hinges the back and provides the tension that holds the lid up. 

Now I have two things to fix. 

I grab my pliers and start working on my son's bike.  (Gotta have your priorities in place...lol)  We spend a few minutes adjusting the seat and making sure the handlebars are straight...and putting on reflectors, etc.  Everything goes smooth as silk...which is good seeing as how the last thing my son needs to hear is how mechanically UNclined his dad really is...

Bike fixed up...I decide to tackle the tool box.  I reach in and start to work on the spring mounting brackets with my needle nose pliers...and I realize that they are not going to fit into the area that I need them to fit into...Thus causing a need for one good red-blooded American to exercise his God given right to go out and purchase more tools!!!  WHOOOPEEE!!!

I head to a local Super MegaMart and work my way through the cosmetics racks, aisles of kitchen gadgets, and miscellaneous snack foods and find the hardware section.  Being more of a hunter than a gatherer, I head right for the pliers section. 

And in the middle of the aisle is this huge cardboard display kiosk with the headline...

"THE LAST PAIR OF PLIERS YOU WILL EVER BUY!" 

Now, Im a bit of an impulsive shopper as it is....so, needless to say, Im interested.  On that display is all of the wonderful facts and figures of what a wonderful product these pliers are and why I should spend 3 times what the store brand charges for the exact same product.  (And, like any good red-blooded American...I bought into it hook, line and sinker!) 

I grab the UltraLux pliers and head for the counter...smiling broadly at the wonderful find.  I pay for my over-priced pliers and head for home.  Once at home, I attack the toolbox like any good person with nearly no idea of what exactly Im doing...and as Im trying to pry the mouting brackets back so I can replace the spring....SNAP!!!

My brand new UltraLux pliers with the super good advertising and eye-catching graphics BREAK INTO TWO SEPERATE PIECES!!!!  I stood there with my jaw in my lap for about 30 seconds...

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks - I just became a statistic!  I bought into a perfect advertising campaign designed specifically for people just like me. 

At that moment, I grabbed a pen and some paper and wrote down all of the things that this kiosk had that made me want to buy those pliers RIGHT NOW!  I sat there and thought about this list and realized that it has all of the aspects of the perfect flyer to market listings!! 

Here is the list that I came up with:

1. Super catchy headline -- This is the fist thing you see.  So, make it something worth reading.  Pick something that will stick in your prospects mind and make them think.  Use words that inspire thought.  "Unlock"  "Finally"  "Now You Can..."  "Discover"  Etc.

2. Show me pictures! -- They say that a picture is worth 1,000 words.  Colorful images and sharp detail is always important when working with graphics.  Sometimes, the best thing is one good picture versus a bunch of various ‘ok' pictures.  Good graphics create a focal point for the eyes.

3. Tailored for me! -- Since this is really what your prospects want to know, you should tailor your flyers specifically to them.  Don't use words like we, us, etc.  Use words that reference your target market.  "you"  "your"  Words like that.  Also, you can make it even more interesting by using simple to follow bullet points listing the benefits of the home.

4. Attention to detail....

• Endorsements are always good.  If you have some you can use...do it. 
• Don't get all mixed up trying to fill every ounce of space on your flyer.  Some open space is a good thing.  It makes the things you do have to say stand out.
• PROOFREAD!!!!  Have someone else do it if you have to...but, do not misspell anything or have even a single comma out of place.  This is your reputation we are talking about.
• Keep your fonts simple and easy to read.  Don't go overboard with the CAPS LOCK button either...If you want to bring something to the prospects attention....underline or bold type it. 
• Dont try to cover up graphics with confusing 3-d texts...it makes for a mess.  Again, simple is best.

If you would like more information on how to get more buyers reading your flyers, please contact Clint Miller at www.recr.com 800-977-7058 or 406-329-7652.