Richmond Hill, ON

2010 Christmas Bird Count in Richmond Hill, ON.

According to the officail Richmond Hill Naturalists website, the 111th Annual Christmas Bird Count is taking place this year on December 18. The Richmond Hill Naturalists are looking for people with bird feeders to open up their back yards for the Bird Counters. Bird Counters would visit volunteering households ONCE between 8am and 4:30pm on December 18. They will check the yard to count all the birds and bird species that may be seen there for just a few minutes – maybe longer if your yard is particularly exciting at that particular moment! You may also choose to count the birds and bird species in your yard yourself on December 18th and report your results.

The Richmond Hill Naturalists are just one group among thousands participating in the Christmas Bird Count throughout the western hemisphere. The count began in 1900 as an alternative to the then-traditional practice of the Christmas Side Hunt, in which sportsmen and women signed on to teams which then went out and vied to see which team could kill the most birds and other animals in the allotted time. An officer of the fledgling Audubon Society, ornithologist Frank Chapman started the new and less lethal tradition of the Bird Census. 27 birdwatchers in 25 cities (including Toronto) participated in that first count; last year more than 50,000 counters in 19 countries from Antarctica to Alaska took part.

Eve Rusakova,

Studio 74, Home Staging Richmond Hill

www.stagingstudio74.com

416-670-8584

info@stagingstudio74.com

Richmond Hill - New Sign Bylaw

The Town of Richmond Hill council passed new sign bylaw 52-09 which came into force and effect on November 9, 2009. The old sign bylaw 258-90 was repealed. The sign bylaw is 40 pages in length.

The Richmond Hill sign bylaw regulates the size, location and number of signs that are permitted on any property, business and/or at special events in the Town of Richmond Hill.

The full text of the new sign bylaw is at the Town of Richmond Hill's website.

Richmond Hill - New Sign Bylaw

Twitter lists are a great way to organize people on Twitter. When you’re following 500+ people on Twitter, it gets a little messy! At that point, it’s very easy to lose track of people you have followed and more importantly, people you should be monitoring and following up with.

I’m going to show you how to create Twitter lists and how to manage them with the least amount of time.

How to Create Twitter Lists

It’s very simple to create and manage Twitter lists. You can create Twitter lists in a few easy steps:

1. Login into Twitter and click “New List” in your sidebar.
2. Choose a name for your list.
3. Write a description for your list.
4. Choose whether you want the list to be public or private: keep in mind that when your list is public, the person added to the list as well as everyone else can see the name of your list and description. Don’t name a list “Annoying People that Don’t Say Yes!!!”

What Lists Should I Create?

• Prospects: place people in this list if there are signs that they are interested in buying or selling a property soon. These are usually cold leads that may not know you yet. For this list of people, keep an eye on what they’re up to. When they mention a tweet about buying or selling property or looking for their next house, approach them in like you would want to be approached: “Hey Lisa. My name is Joe and help people like you buy and sell property in the Toronto area. Can I help?”
• Clients: we all know it’s easier to close previous clients than get new ones. So, pay attention to them for important events in their lives. Are they posting pictures from their daughter’s high school graduation? Are they celebrating at their anniversary dinner? Did they just have a baby? These are all great opportunities to be part of their life and great conversation starters the next time you bump into them. They will love you for the effort you put in and think of you when they think real estate.
• Colleagues: these can be your colleagues from surrounding areas to people you have met at conferences. The way to use this list is of people is to get a better understanding of how others in the industry are using tools online and also to keep in touch as necessary.
• News/Updates: there is a lot of content that is published daily. With Twitter, you have the ability to share it with everyone! The way to use this list is by placing blogs and publications into this list, spotting high quality content and sharing it with your following. This isn’t restricted to newspapers and large blogs. If you have made friends with colleagues from Active Rain, add them in here as well to further share their wisdom.

I Created the Lists. Now What?

In my opinion, if you don’t plan on revisiting the lists, don’t bother creating the lists. The way these lists will work is by coming back every once in a while. You can revisit the lists every couple of days or you can visit the lists daily.

There is always the comment, “I don’t have time to sit on Twitter all day. How am I supposed to manage lists?” The purpose of these lists is to help focus on the people that matter. When revisiting these lists, scan over them to see what is relevant to you and what the action step is.

Examples of action steps are:

• Reach out to comment on the tweet such as a “congratulations”.
• Update client information on database
• Call client to follow up

Your Turn: Have you tried Twitter lists? What did you think? Is it useful or pointless?

There are many opportunities to start conversations with your market on Twitter. To grow your business and to grow your presence online, you need ways to target more prospects online for your real estate business.

Here are three ways to discover more leads and open the floor to your market:

- Monitor keywords. There are keywords that your prospects will include on Twitter which are opportunities that are begging for conversation. Here’s an example:

@Sally says Looked at 4 different houses today and don’t know which one is right for my family.

One way you can start a conversation is by replying; “Buying a home starts with taking off the heels and getting into running shoes, lol. Anyone that really caught your eye?”That’s the way I would start it because I’m playful and attempt to make people laugh; notice the word attempt :/

Use your personality to your advantage and start conversation as if you would offline.

- Follow lists of influential individuals in your city. In every major city, there are individuals that are leaders of the pack online; they have the ability to influence their friends and colleagues. A few ways to determine influential individuals in your city are by simply following conversations; that’s the way I have found interesting people. You can determine if they are influential by a few factors such as follower to following ratio, how often they’re listed in Twitter lists and their level of engagement with others on their Twitter home feed.

There are also Twitter directories, like Twellow, which let you browse through Twitter profiles based on location, interests, etc. I personally like going through individual profiles vs. searching directories because I can get a better vibe of who they are and their activity.

- Leads will come to you. If you’re new to Twitter or haven’t been successful with it with the time you have been trying it, this may seem like a dream. But when you start having conversations without pushing the sale, others will see their friends having engaging conversations with you and get curious. These same people will be inclined to see what the conversation was about and follow you.

Note: It’s important to have a Twitter profile that doesn’t look like spam or cheesy. First impressions are important and Twitter doesn’t change that one bit.

These are a few ways to start conversations online and engage with prospects. I’ll be honest and up front with you: real results will come when you are consistent with your social media efforts. Start adding value for your followers and take these steps to start building a community.

Watch this 19:36 minute video on how you can REALLY start leveraging YouTube for your real estate business: Real Estate Marketing.

Beautiful Freehold townhouse in Richmond Hill at Bayview Avenue and Elgin Mills. Stunning back yard oasis makes this home a dream get away in your own back yard. Offered for Sale for $439,000. One of the best layouts around it boasts a spacious living room dining room with hardwood floors that run straight through to the Kitchen and great room. The Modern Kitchen has loads of cupboard space with an island that houses the sink and breakfast bar. The Kitchen over looks the eating area and great room with gas fireplace. What a great space to make dinner in and watch the kids play at the same time. The main floor also has a 2 piece washroom for your convenience. Upstairs offers a wonderful Master Bedroom with walk in closet and 5 piece Ensuite with separate shower stall and huge corner soaker tub. The generous 2nd bedroom has it's own semi-ensuite to the main bathroom. The 3rd bedroom is the perfect size with lovely window and a good size closet, currently being used as an office space.

The Detached garage has ample room for 2 cars as well as storage space. Additional parking can be had in front of the garage door by parallel parking. Entrance into the backyard is by the privacy gate. The house is only 10 years old and therefore all the major components of the house are in good working order subject to regular wear and tear.

The schools in the area are some of the best in Ontario. Both Bayview Secondary School and St. Robert Catholic High School have been ranked in the top 10 in Ontario. Bayview is currently ranked 3rd in Ontario with a rating for 9.4 out of 10 while St Robert Catholic High School is known for the special programs it offers namely the world renowned International Baccalaureate Program.

This home has been lovingly cared for by the original owner. It includes all appliance, central air conditioner, all electric light fixtures, all California shutters, Hot Tub, and gas hook up for your summer BBQ's. Some other particulars that you may be interested in would be:

$439,000

lot size 21.06 x 99.94

taxes: $3423.80

possession date: End of August or beginning of September 2010 preferred.

This property is also listed on the public website MLS.ca 1929179. Or through my website at www.bettyramsay.com

Betty Ramsay, Broker, Coldwell Banker Terrequity Realty, Brokerage, 10 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, M4G 1E5, 416-366-8800, fax 416-366-8801, bramsay@terrequity.com cell 416-697-1537

This blog is not meant to solicit properties already listed for sale.