Erica Bates

As I was working on a few things last night I had CNN on in the background, as well as TweetDeck (my preferred Twitter platform). CNN was cutting back and forth from a few stories to Sarah Palin's speech. I try not to mix business/pleasure/politics, but is that even possible sometimes? The Newscaster comes back on at the end of the speech and then zooms in on his screen to see what the most recent Tweets are regarding the speech, etc. Being that it was CNN - there were mostly negative comments/tweets regarding the speech and the former Governor of Alaska - just before they cut to commercial, the newscaster says if anyone out there has anything positive to say, Tweet it now. OKAY first let me mention how dramatically different our News Media operates now that there is such a HUGE social media presence, and I love that! It is "real-time" news from real people across the world! As my husband walks into the office, CNN comes back from commercial and they zoom again right to their computer screen where the Tweets are just flying by. Next thing I know, as my little avatar and name appear (for 2 different tweets), the reporter says "okay, here are a few positive ones" referring to my tweets! My husband couldn't believe it, and boy am I glad he saw it with his own eyes, or wouldn't have believed it! I'm probably blowing this out of proportion a tiny bit since I'm fairly new to Twitter, but it just goes to show what a small world we all live in. Social Media is a part of life, and as a Realtor it is a great tool to get to know people w/ similar interests that I wouldn't have been able to before. So I've enjoyed my 15 milli-second of fame, and I'm going to continue to Tweet up a storm - you never know where my next Tweet will end up.

In the current economy and state of the market, it requires all of us to work and try harder to get things done. I am learning that there are a lot of people in the real estate industry (and society in general) that do not like this, and must be used to the days of old. I have to say, I have only been in the industry for 3-4 years and I never experienced the "crazy days" I hear about of multiple offers, minimal DOM, and overpriced properties flying off the shelves. In some ways I think this is an advantage for me, that I never got a taste of the "golden era" in the early stages of my career. I am realizing though, there are a lot of people out there that bend the rules or forget their Realtor Code of Ethics from time to time in this new era - when the going gets tough, the tough get lazy? Of course it is easier to make up rules as one goes or not follow rules that one used to follow in the "busy" days, but that does not do a thing for the industry as a whole.

When looking for a new product or service, I would like to think of myself as an educated consumer, and I do the research. It is important to me that I am not "rewarding bad behavior" so to speak. It is important to me mostly because there are so many people in society that ARE rewarded for bad behavior and that is not doing anything good for us a collaborative group. Money can be funny, and in this economy when there are many people struggling to make ends meet, greed often trump ethics. Some of the latest news headlines are great examples of this.

When looking for a Realtor or real estate company to promote your needs (whether buying or selling), beware of anything that is "too good to be true" as we all know, most times it usually is. Make sure you are working with a licensed REALTOR who is held to the higher standard, Code of Ethics. In this day and age we all need to act as educated consumers; working and trying hard to get things done.

This is a hectic time in the market with the incentives being offered for first time homebuyers - and by hectic I mean there is a lot of confusion involved (more than the typical first time buyer transaction). I have found it incredibly important right now that my first time buyer clients work with a mortgage broker or banker that can walk them through the different scenarios that work best for them. I have dealt w/ some bankers right now who are not up to speed w/ the new incentives, and I'm sorry, in this market it is MOST important to be on the ball.

Experience, sensitivity and intelligence are the most important characteristics I tell my buyer clients while looking for bankers and mortgage brokers.