Today seems to be the day to post links to other blogs. I found this interesting video on ActiveRain, a web community for Realtors and people interested in real estate. Most people know I’m tech challenged, but there’s no escaping that the tools are changing. I find that more fun, rather than less, and I think that its a benefit to us all, on balance. The video is an interesting way to show the development of current technology, although it makes me feel bad for being such a slow adopter!
April 12, 2007...3:19 pm
Web 2.0 to Web 3.0
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8 Comments
April 12, 2007 at 4:40 pm
yup, for sure. People are already using the wikipedia in massive artificial intelligence projects.
An incredible concept really, when you think about it.
April 12, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Rob,
a little OT question for you?
What if someone has a buying agent, but decides she does not want his services anymore?
Can that person just go with someone else? What is the best way to go in your opinion?
April 12, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I only wish the Real Estate world would catch up to the Digital world. I’ve hacked together a Mashup of Real Estate listings from Craigslist, with a map from Google in about an hour (hense the numerous bugs)… Imaging what I could do with MLS data… imagine…
Check it out http://streetlight.ca/ and let me know what you think…
April 12, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Curious:
You can end the relationship. You are the principal, they are the agent. You decide when it ends. If you’ve got a written service agreement read it carefully to see if there is a cancellation penalty of some sort.
The best way to go? That’s a tough question, because there are two issues. I’d recommend cancelling the relationship in writing, and having the notice dated. Unless a written service agreement specifies another method, fax, email or hand deliver the notice to the agent. If that’s difficult, send it to his broker’s office. Keep a copy. That’s the simple nuts and bolts.
Should you end the relationship? That’s a different question.
If the agent has not done a reasonable job of what they promised, its fair to end the relationship and move on.
If you just can’t get along with the agent, you probably learn that early, and its fair to end the relationship.
If the agent has invested a lot of time and effort to help you solve your problem I think you should respect that, and try various alternatives before cancelling the relationship.
If another agent is inducing you to breach the agency relationship, take a good look at what’s going on.
Is it fair to take advantage of a service and then not pay for it? It can be tough to draw the line. Agents are paid for success, not for the hours spent trying to achieve it. Still, its a 100% commission business. Don’t take an agent’s paycheque lightly.
The best thing to do, of course, is pick the right agent first. Check out this post from Kris Berg, an Arizona Realtor, for some guidelines: http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=1289
Also read the Blue Agency Brochure. You should have received one already from your Realtor, but if not, there’s a link to it here: http://www.myiq.ca/downloads/realtor.pdf
You can also get it directly from link on the right hand side of the page.
April 12, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Ed Danger:
The snapshot shows a bunch of listings, but when you get to the page its just a map. I’m not sure if its working, but the snapshot looks similar to the map function in MLXchange.
April 13, 2007 at 9:26 am
Looks good Ed. Google Maps is very powerful, and a great tool for something like Real Estate.
I think craigslist already uses its own version for rentals.
April 13, 2007 at 9:39 am
“I’m not sure if its working, but the snapshot looks similar to the map function in MLXchange.”
Rob, can you post your username and password for MLXchange so we can see that too?
April 13, 2007 at 10:44 am
|Anybody in RE in vancouver needs to know about Vanmap. http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/vanmap/