Text Me Directly From This Blog!

You no longer have to pick up your phone or open up a new IM or compose an email to contact me. Though contacting me those ways works well, you now have the option to text me directly from this blog!

If you look to the right of each page, you'll see the heading "Text me right now". Underneath the heading, you'll see this widget:

Just type in your cell phone number and text message and click the red button that says "Send TXT Message". I'll get the text right away and will respond as soon as possible (typically within 15 minutes).

Note: Though this widget has been tested extensively by the company that makes it, it's still new. If you experience any problems with the widget or don't hear back from me after sending me a text, please call, email or IM me to let me know. 

Thanks to Lani from AG for the heads up on the widget

Accepted Into Virginia Leadership Academy, Class of 2009

It is an honor to announce that the Virginia Association of REALTORS® has accepted me into the Virginia Leadership Academy, Class of 2009. This is a huge honor because only 22 members across Virginia were selected.

In addition to being focused on providing clients with the best possible service as their Loudoun County Real Estate Consultant and REALTOR®, I'm also focused on being involved on the local and state (and soon national) level. There are a lot of changes and improvements that need to be made within the real estate industry for the benefit of real estate professionals and consumers alike. The Virginia Leadership Academy will open up many doors that will enable me to be a part of making those changes.

Post Article on Consumers and Agents Connecting Online Features Danilo Bogdanovic

The Washington Post ran an article in their Real Estate section today entitled "Making Connections – Web 2.0 Creates New Ways For Agents, Home Shoppers To Find Each Other." The article on "Real Estate Agent Hunting 2.0" talks about how more and more home buyers and sellers are using the internet and social media/social networking to help find and connect with a real estate agent that works best for them.

With the rise in use of "Web 2.0," platforms such as personal real estate blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Trulia and others are becoming a valuable tool in helping consumers find and learn about agents. Consumers are "interviewing" agents online prior to interviewing them in person to determine whether the agent is a good fit for them or not.

Blogs and social networks help determine things such as an agent's credibility, real estate knowledge, track record and personality. These are all key components in the decision making process a consumer goes through when choosing an agent to work with.

Here's what Bob Carney's client had to say in the article:

"I'd been told to never pick a Realtor out of a hat, but I feel like Bob was recommended to us out of the comments on the Internet," she said. "I just remember reading Bob and going 'Oh, yeah. He's the one.' "

And here's what my clients had to say:

"It came down to these other two agents. I didn't know anything about them," Shields said. Bogdanovic "was the only one you could get a personality from."

Helping consumers get a better idea of an agent's professional as well as personal experience and personality is why there are widgets for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Trulia and others on the side of many blogs and profiles (including this blog and my profiles). Another useful tool is an agent's About Page on their blog(s).

Though there is no substitute for interviewing an agent in person, consumers can get a good idea of an agent's track record, experience, skill set and personality through their online presence and what search results come from "googling" their name. This will help determine whether they even want to take the time to interview them in person in the first place.

The article features people such as Bob Carney, an agent and blogger in Frederick; Steve Schultz, senior director of product and business development for Yahoo Real Estate; Jonathan Washburn, CEO of ActiveRain, Frank Borges Llosa of Frankly Realty and FranklyMLS.com and myself. It's flattering and an honor to be included in the same article as them, all of which are very respected and have "been around the block" when it comes to real estate and social media.

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Links to my profiles/about page:

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Trulia

FranklyMLS.com

Inman

About Page

Want To Write A “Lowball” Offer?

There’s a great article that ran this past Saturday in the Washington Post entitled "Playing Lowball – From the Reasonable To the Ridiculous, A Guide To Small Offers". It goes over tips on how and when lowball offers are appropriate and best submitted by buyers. It also goes over tips on how to deal with lowball offers if you’re a seller.

If you missed the article, click here.

(Thank you Renae for interviewing and quoting me in the article)

Washington Post Article on Luxury Foreclosures Features Danilo Bogdanovic

Reuters Story on Million Dollar Foreclosures Features Arko and Bogdanovic

Andy Sullivan of Reuters interviewed us back in January for a story about homes priced over $1Million going into foreclosure.  What he wrote about is still applicable today and maybe even more so.