Mike Lefebvre

The Trustees of Reservations wrap up their Summer in the Valley photo contest this month (contest ends September 21st). Categories for entries include: Plantlife, Wlidlife, Family and Friends, Scenics, From the Past and New Discoveries. Quoting from the official rules:

From June 21 – September 21, visit any of The Trustees properties in the Charles River Valley and submit your best photos in six categories. Prizes will be awarded to winners in each category. A Best in Show winner will receive a grand prize. For more information, ask a ranger at a nearby Trustees reservation for the contest rules and entry form, or click here to download the entry form (pdf).

The Best in Show winner will receive a Trustees membership, plus a winter share of locally grown produce from Powisset Farm. Category winners will receive Trustees gear. Contest open to Trustees members and nonmembers.

Winning photographs will be selected in each of the categories below, plus a Best in Show winner will be chosen.Winning photographs will be displayed online at www.thetrustees.org and at the Rocky Woods Visitor Center in Medfield, September 27 and 28 before being displayed at the Medfield Library for the month of October and the Dover Public Library in November. The Best in Show winner will receive a Trustees membership and a winter share of produce at Powisset Farm. All category winners will receive prizes, while all contestants will share in the fun of exploring some of the most beautiful areas in the Charles River Valley.

For complete details on "getting your camera on" and entering this contest, please visit the official Trustees of Reservations rules page. Good luck!

The folks over at MyTechOpinion.com has asked the RE.net to talk about what technology has had the biggest impact on their real estate business. They have poised the question in the form of a little contest over at their site and I would strongly encourage everyone to jump over there and see some of the really, really cool things that others are doing with technology in the real estate industry.

The video above is my little story of how technology has given me a little boost in my first year in the real estate business (first year selling real etate, I've been appraising real estate for the last 6+ years).

And I would be remiss if I didn't give mad props to my peeps at ActiveRain for being the first ones to officially encourage this kind of behavior from me. It was ActiveRain who sent me to NYC to hang with Seth Godin for the day. A day I will never forget. Thanks ActiveRain!

So please check out some of the tools and tricks our colleagues are incorporating into their real estate business, and above all TRY SOMETHING NEW! I had no idea how to make a video when I got my Mac in January of this year. Trial and (lots and lots and lots of) error, folks! Good luck and please share with me any cool gadgets, sites and tools you come across. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a sucker for this technology stuff....

I have a soft spot for FSBO's. Before I was selling real estate, and I was simply appraising it, my wife and I sold our very first home all by ourselves in West Roxbury, MA. The buyer who ended up purchasing the home told us she had an agent representing her. But considering she found out about the open house from an ad in the Boston Globe, she came to the open house unaccompanied, and her "phantom" agent never so much as contacted us, we told her we were not willing to pay her "agent" a commission. She agreed. Bought the house and we saved $21,250 in commissions. See why I have a soft spot for FSBO's?

But once in awhile I come across a FSBO who just doesn't get it. Like this thread I commented on over at Trulia Voices earlier today. This seller in Cambridge was asking why there might not be much activity on his seemingly decent-sounding listing. A few of us chimed in with some ideas, and then along came "Kevin", a home seller in Needham. His advice for the Cambridge home seller was this:

Well, I did a little research, found out the specific home that "Kevin" so triumphantly listed and sold all by his lonesome and saved so much money on. I couldn't help but reply with my findings:

Like I said, I DO have a soft spot for FSBO's and I'm ALL ABOUT people saving money. What I don't have much tolerance for is stupidity and arrogance. This guy was proudly waving his FSBO flag, trying to show us all how smart he was, when in fact the market stats tell us that he would have most likely pocketed close to $7,000 more if he listed with a real estate professional. I know from personal experience that this isn't always the case, but isn't it ironic that the FSBO who most likely left a good chuck of change on the table is the first one to spout off? That's why I couldn't resist with my rebuttal.

So sellers, whether you're FSBOing or listing with an agent, remember this simple fact when selling your house.

It's all about the net.