You will never have to pay to be listed as a top neighbor. Period. That important detail clarified, let's discuss how we arrive at two "top neighbors" for a given region:
Localism is a bustling collection of hyper-local communities, and the top neighbors should reflect those members who are most active. When ranking users in a given region, several factors are considered. To get your foot in the proverbial door, you need to have posted at least one "Localism" article or photo for the region.
The very best way to quickly rise to #1 is to post high-quality local content. Keeping a steady strem of incoming posts and photos will massively tilt the scales in your favor.
What doesn't count toward the top neighbor ranking? ActiveRain points and community sponsorships. The top neighbor spots will always go to the most active members in a region. We want to create a level playing field that encourages the growth of communities — talent and dedication are required to win the day.
Have you ever purchased something that you thought was a really outstanding buy? Then maybe you took it home, or told some of your friends about your great find, and your friends told you what a dumb-a-- you were for buying whatever it was.
Buyer's remorse can happen for any product or service- from a piece of fruit, investment products, or even a house. For big ticket items, I think it's helpful to have a plan of action. So here are a few things you can do to prepare yourself from the negative self-talk you may generate from your own thoughts and negative feedback you may get from friends, relatives and co-workers:
Make a list that describes key features of the item to be purchased.
Add to the list the reasons that you are making the purchase.
When you shop for the item, compare at least two products before making the purchase.
If you have a confidant in whom you value their judgment, ask for their feedback on what you are thinking. Do not let their judgment override your decision.
Now when you make the decision, keep your list handy to help you ward off the demons that may challenge your decision. With a good documented plan, you should feel good about the decision and be able to minimize any thoughts of buyer's remorse.
April 4-5, Open House 12-3 PM - 2903 Zurich, San Antonio TX 78230
Once again I will be holding an open house this weekend at 2903 Zurich in KB Home's Woods Of Alon (just south of Wurzbach on NW Military). There won't be any Spurs players or free ice cream this weekend unfortunately, but I'll be there, so stop on in and say hello. This 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home is situated on a green belt on two sides with great views of the community's lake. A 1.5 story (the Overland floor plan), this home has recently been reduced in price to $335,479 and features laminate wood floors, upgraded kitchen, an additional upstairs bedroom, a spacious game room, and a beautiful porch on the back of the house with mature trees and a great view. To learn more about this house, check out the listing information and stop by to say hello. There is also a one story Lone Star floor plan home available at 2919 Zurich, currently listed at $279,148.
Not the home you're looking for? Search for San Antonio homes for sale:
I'm not much of a basketball fan, I admit. Since I'm from the cold confines of Philadelphia, I'm more of a hockey junkie. Regardless of my feelings however, the Spurs are worshiped out here. Well, now is your chance to meet Matt Bonner. Saturday, March 21, 2009 between 1 and 3 PM, Matt will be hanging out at the H-E-B Alon Market at 8503 NW Military Highway, San Antonio, TX 78230 (map). You can also meet local morning show radio personality, Woody from 94.1 KTFM. Sounds great, right...?
But wait! There's more!
They will also be handing out samples of H-E-B's Creamy Creations ice cream. Since Spring has just arrived and we're already experiencing temperatures in the mid-80s, this weekend would be a perfect opportunity to go grab some ice cream. So now you've got a great Saturday afternoon, right...?
No, its not over yet!
After finishing up over at the H-E-B Alon Market, why not stop by KB Home's Woods Of Alon and say hello to me! I'll be holding an open house at 2903 Zurich, San Antonio, TX 78230 (just head south on NW Military after exiting H-E-B and it will be the development just past the H-E-B on the right - they have a big sign out front). Look for my open house signs and come see me, the house, and learn a bit about the Woods Of Alon. Open house hours are noon-4 PM.
I like peanut butter/chocolate ice cream in case any one was wondering.
I had watched in amazement when Photosynth was first revealed.
For those of you that haven't seen Photosynth before, let's start at the beginning (if you know what we're talking about, skip down a few lines). Photosynth is a project from Microsoft Live Labs that is absolutely mind-numbing. It takes photo viewing and video concepts to a whole new level. Watch this video from YouTube to see the concept and get an idea of what it does and once you've stopped drooling and saying "what the...?," let's get back to business.
What a cool toy.
After someone sent me the link to the video you just watched, I thought about how cool this was, but I didn't consider the potential. I just thought it was a neat "trick" that you could show your friends and toy around with. I'm a Mac user as well, so Photosynth and I weren't made for each other (so far, its not Mac friendly, I'm hoping Microsoft will fix this in the future). Recently I stumbled across an article that said that using VMware Fusion's latest beta along with a Mac running BootCamp was proving successful with Photosynth, so I decided to give it a whirl. Even though I run BootCamp, I find it annoying to have to "boot up" into Windows each time I want to do something, so I just hadn't gotten around to toying with it (although it runs much faster than VMware Fusion does). Sorry about all the geek-speak for those of you that hate that stuff, my apologies to you.
Now that you've seen the future, what are you going to do with it?
Some agents I know had been talking on Twitter about playing around with Photosynth, but since I had yet to play with it, I was too jealous to look at what they were doing. Now that I finally have it up and running though, I decided to take a stab at it and see what I could do. Of course, I picked my favorite open house location, good 'ole 2919 Zurich at Woods Of Alon. The following Photosynth is the result of my experiment.
To me, this is just the beginning.
Imagine the potential of this. Imagine a gorgeously decorated home that you can give a 3-D view of through a truly interactive experience for the user. Not just left and right and up and down of virtual tours, but an experience for the consumer - that the user controls. Different angles, different views, the fine details of a room brought up up close and personal (imagine detailed crown molding that the viewer can zoom in on to see the craftsmanship) I will continue to experiment and report back, but I'd love to see some of your attempts if you decide to dive in.
2903 Zurich has just become available at Woods Of Alon.
"The Overland" floor plan from the Trails Collection of KB Home, this house has the optional fourth bedroom upstairs. A total of four bedrooms and three baths, an open floor plan connecting the kitchen, dining room, and living room in one giant living area, and spectacular views make this an amazing "move-in" ready home in the Woods Of Alon community. Check out the views of the lake available from almost all the downstairs bedrooms (including the master) and relax on the covered patio out back. While sitting out side, enjoy the scenic views of the native trees that KB left behind while building the community (instead of the usual clear cutting of the land before construction). Easy access from this home to the walking trails through the greenbelt that will eventually connect to the Alon Towne Center (HEB, Barnes and Noble and more) with gated access so residents can still enjoy the privacy of a gated community. This gorgeous corner lot backs to the greenbelt in the back of the home and more greenbelt and the lake to the left. If you're looking for more space than 2919 Zurich offers, this is the perfect place for you. Also check out this post for some views of the community.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
