Matthew Zgonc, Realtor, CFS, CVS

Many of the Realtors on Active Rain saw the 60 Minutes interview on a place called Weston Ranch, in Southwest Stockton. This place also happens to be part of the Manteca Unified School District and was a prime attraction in the late 1990s for the Bay Area Commuter. With that said, why is it the highest foreclosure area in the country? The answer is very simple. It is called Greed. Some people want everything instantaneously without having to wait or save up for it.

Many people were getting into these homes for 400-600K when the market was hot and then borrowed against their equity. While this is not a problem with qualified home buyers, the issue was that many of these people could not get a store credit card because they did not have the credit or the income to afford these houses. I know many people blame the banks and mortgage companies, but people have to remember that these people were not tricked into these loans. The people that took these loans fall into 3 categories: speculators, flippers, and consumers.

What was not stated on 60 Minutes was that a lot of these homes were sold to the first two categories while at the peak of the market. Although there are cases of the consumer that purchased an Interest Only Loan and were almost guaranteed that they would be able to refinance out of the loan after 2-3 years when the prepayment penalty was up. Unfortunately the market conditions forced the bottom to drop and their house was worth less than $100-200K less than what they paid for them.

I was just checking out this area with a client and saw that most of these houses are selling for the low 200K's which sold for almost double that 2-3 years ago. It is no wonder that people are walking away from these homes. Because of situations like Weston Ranch that is why I will not put a person in a home that they cannot afford.

I have heard many realtors talk about blogging and how many of them see it as an annoyance and almost a waste of time. I also know that there are many different networks that you can blog to and join that can be productive or antiproductive to your business. The question I pose to all the realtors out there is it worth it?

My answer to this is absolutely.

I have been blogging on Active Rain since the middle of October, and am located in Modesto, where foreclosures are at an all time high. Since that time I have had many people list with me and buy with me based upon seeing my name on search engines. My website is fairly new, so generally that means it will not show well on search engines for a while, but I am finding my name on higher pages, due to credible blog sites, such as Active Rain. Why is this important? Because by blogging you are continually updating your website and your results. Without doing this, your site will lose ranking among the search engines.

Now I now many of you don't have time to do a blog daily, but if you just blog a few times per week, it will help the spiders pick up the new and original data that is streaming to your site. Without that your page can become stagnant. The best way to let people know that you are out there is to share it with others. I have a favorite saying that a secret realtor is an out of business realtor. Besides it can show people that you are competent and know what you are talking about.

In many areas, such as Florida, California and Seattle, mortages obtained during the height of the sub-prime loan debacle are higher than what the home is currently worth in todays market. So what can be done about it? First of all, there is hope out there for people who are being over-taxed.

If you are in any other state than California, than the advice I give may not be totally accurate and I would suggest that you contact your local tax board or county assessor's office on how to deal with this.

In the Modesto California, area, we can appeal the old assessment to the county assessor's office if we feel that we are being over-taxed. By having our homes re-assessed/appraised, and showing comps from the neighborhood, one can show the tax man how off they are. As a homeowner, I know that I do not want to be over-taxed for a property that I have, and neither should anyone else.

Remember, there is hope out there.

Communication can be either our greatest allies or our largest enemy when it comes to real estate. An agent or even a client that does not effectively communicate their needs or wants will find that they have great difficulty when facing challenges with transactions.

Everyone knows what commuication is, but why do people have a hard time relaying the information to others. Well it is very easy.....fear. People fear rejection, conflict, loss of listing, etc. Disapproval or disagreements can be communicated in a very positive manner, in which everyone still feels safe to approach the other person. In real estate, communication is essentially important. It is important because if your client does not hear from you, they will jump ship and go elsewhere.

I read on another blog on AR about realtors being as loyal to consumers as they are to them. Without effective communication, one side or the other will lose interest in the other. It is therefore, essential to make sure that the customer feels appreciated and known that you have their best interest in mind. This has to be geniune. If you do not have that approach and are looking for the biggest commission check, then you should really find another career, because you won't last too long in real estate.

As a realtor I find that without effective communication, deals will die and you will be left without any clients to do business with. When communication the following things are important to use to be effective. Without being effective, communication is just noise.

1. Be direct. Even if it is bad news, be honest and don't beat around the bush. Although it should be done tactfully.

2. Be honest. This is one where realtors get a bad rap. Honest communication=effective communication.

3. Be clear. Miscommunication happens when people expect one thing and get another, by being clear, people will know what they are getting ahead of time.

4. Be appropriate. Use lingo and pacing that is appropriate for the person you are dealing with.

Good luck. I hope this helps a little bit.

Photographs are extremely important to help draw people in to see your listing when selling a house. Many people elect to have professional photographers take these pictures, but many realtors cannot afford to pay for this type of service. What is a realtor or consumer to do?

First the realtor needs to have a camera that is made specifically for wide-angled pictures or have a lens that does that. From a previous blog I found that most people like the D40 from Nikon. Although many other cameras can serve the same purpose and have as good picture quality. The settings need to be on the best quality pictures if you choose to take your own photographs. The wide-angled lens makes the rooms look a lot larger than they actually are, and makes people want to go see the house. Most realtors realize that it does not look as good in person, so the pictures and the room need to look absolutely fantastic in the pictures.

Next, the photograph needs to have a purpose. You would not believe how many listings of houses out there where a picture is taken of a toilet. That is a waste of a picture of the bathroom. If they need to declutter, make sure that it is done prior to taking pictures. Otherwise it is wasted. In addition you want to select picutres that flatter the area. Don't show a picture of a torn-up back yard and have that as your focus. Focus on the positive attributes of the house.

Finally, make sure that the photographs have the right lighting. Many times I use wax paper to help with the glare of the flash and make sure the right amount of light is used. If I don't have to use a flash, then I try to have all the lights on to give me the best looking picture possible.

These are just a few hints for consumers and realtors trying to take their own pictures. The key thing is to make sure that the pictures look professional. Otherwise people (agents and buyers) will not bother wasting their time to go out and look at your listing.