Matt Stigliano

Download the complete slideshow from the Xplode website.

Friendship and Family - Community Amongst Realtors® and Punks.

Punk was not a mainstream movement. Disregarding the commercial system of the music industry, punk had to find it's own way to build both fans and a distribution network for their music. In order to sustain their own survival, punks had to build friendship and family amongst themselves, their fans, and the various related industries (record stores, promoters and venues, college radio, etc.).

With real estate, we are constantly building community; whether amongst our peers and the related industries or our clients and residents of the local area. In order to succeed and excel in our industry we must network, build trust, and become the center of a community that values what we have to offer.

Our need and desire to build this community spirit is vital to our industry and our careers.

For punk rock, this sense of friendship and family was deeply rooted in protectionism. As the "odd" kids in music, punk stood out like a sore thumb and as is the case with many things that disassociate with the mainstream, punk had no choice but to band together and support each other. For real estate, I think it's less about protectionism and more about a desire to build a better industry. Although we all function under the banner of independent contractor and are free to conduct business how we wish, there is a common thread that binds us all together as an industry.

The foundation of all we do.

The spirit of friendship and family in our industry comes in many forms, but it is the core foundation of much of what we do. Sharing new ideas or discussing thoughts and concepts of real estate, blogging about the latest laws or changes in the mortgage industry, calling an agent when they have a good week or a bad week, helping the families of agents when disaster strikes, reaching out to another agent to say thanks for a referral...I could go on and on with examples of how we are a community. We function as friends, family, and peers. In order to improve our industry we must always continue and expand upon this key fact.

It may seem rather obvious that this is true and we all function under this theory, but the purpose of this section is to reinforce this fact and have a reference point for all my other points. Without the sense of friendship and family keeping us tied together, we lose the foundation of all other concepts of real estate in regards to punk rock.

This post is meant to explore some of the ideas in my presentation, "Punk Rock and the New Agent" from Xplode Austin and is part of a series covering each of my slides in the presentation one at a time.

What does punk rock have to do with real estate?

I was honored to be given a chance to present at Xplode in Austin this week and as promised, I wanted to cover my slides a bit more in depth. The conference was geared around real estate technology, but with so many great speakers covering so many aspects of the technology we use (or should be using), I thought I would go at things from a different angle and speak about some of the lessons I learned from my music career and my love of music growing up, particularly punk rock.

Punk rock represented a certain freedom to me and many of the attitudes and skills that small punk rock bands employed gave me a lot of ideas when I was first starting out as a new agent. I had little money, but plenty of time on my hands, so I had to think creatively about my career, my brand, and how to xplode my business.

If you missed Xplode Austin or it was too far away for you to travel to, don't worry - Xplode is heading out on a 2011 tour and new cities are being announced. A day jam-packed with great speakers, new information, opportunities for networking, and a huge dose of fun and rock and roll.

Punk Rock and the New Agent - Slide Breakdown

Friendship and Family - Punk Rock and the New Agent

Scott Cummins of Cornertston Mortgage

I recently worked on a transaction with Scott Cummins of Cornerstone Mortgage and it went smoothly - closing two weeks early! I've had the pleasure of working with Scott before and have always found him to be a knowledgeable, honest, and reliable lender in San Antonio. He's become one of my favorite resources when I have mortgage questions. He takes great care of his clients and helps them understand the sometimes confusing world of home loans...he's especially great with first time home buyers - both of the times I worked with him, it was with first time home buyers and they walked away with a much better understanding of the loan process than I've seen with some other lenders.

Scott is also great with his Realtors® - we all have horror stories of chasing after a lender, trying to get information from them and banging our head against the wall as we wait on hold. Not so with Scott Cummins and Cornerstone Mortgage. Fast, efficient, and always ready to provide the answers and information we need. That's a huge bonus to agents, there is nothing more frustrating than not having answers from the lender when you need them.

So next time you're thinking about home loans in San Antonio, give Scott Cummins of Cornerstone Mortgage a call at (210) 340-4994.

Disclosure: CMP.ly - 0

Can a buyer searching the internet find your home?

We all want the most exposure for our homes when we put them on the market for sale and the internet is king these days - depending on which report you read, anywhere from 80-90% of buyers start their home search on the internet. No one seems to be denying that or shouting from the rooftops that the internet doesn't matter when selling your home.

There are so many sites out there that list properties and that can be found by search engines. So how does a Realtor® market your San Antonio home and make sure your home is being found by buyers? Each agent does it differently and although there are some basics that you should get from any agent, there are some that have more than just the basic marketing tools up their sleeves.

Introducing San Antonio single property websites.

The first thing most home sellers do is google their own home when it goes on the market. I love when my clients do, because they're never disappointed with the results. In addition to the multitude of sites that list their homes for sale; my clients will also find results for my various blogs (including ActiveRain and RErockstar.com), YouTube, and my latest endeavor to push my client's homes to the top of the rankings: single property websites. Single property websites are nothing new and Realtors® have been using them for years. What makes this new addition to my marketing tool-kit for your San Antonio home special is how they are built and maintained. Single property websites are often generated via various companies and real estate related websites. While they can be useful, the canned nature of them can often lead to very bland results (same with many of the canned agent sites). With these new single property websites for my San Antonio home seller clients, I am working to change San Antonio real estate for the better.

One of the biggest benefits of these single property websites is better Google search rankings (through the diligent use of SEO - search engine optimization) for you and your home. By combining detailed property information, maps, photos, videos, local area information, neighborhood information, and much more; these websites will give potential buyers a more complete picture of the home for sale and help them make the decision to call their agent and view your home in person.

See what a single property website looks like - 19311 Terra Brook, San Antonio 78255

Looking to sell your home in San Antonio? Contact Matt Stigliano with RE/MAX Access.

Want to join me at BlogWorld 2010?

Once again, I will be joining both the real estate industry and the blogging ranks at Blog World and New Media Expo and part of my fantastic trip? An opportunity to meet some of you. Izea has provided me with eight (8) Exhibitor Passes to do with what I please. Although I considered running some fancy contest, I decided on the more simple route; give them away for FREE!

Want to get your hands on one of these passes that will allow you access to Friday and Saturday's Exhibition Hall as well as Saturday's Networking Reception?

Details on how to receive a FREE pass to BlogWorld 2010!

photo courtesy of Ed Bierman