A local San Diego brokerage, ARG has announced they are the first broker in San Diego to pull out of listing syndication.

I am not going to go into great detail on this site which is consumer orientated.  If you want to know more please visit an excellent article by Lily Leung with the San Diego Union Tribune.  She has also posted some consumer reaction to the announcement here.

Fred Glick makes several important points in the video below about ARG’s announcement which focus on Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com.

First, that the underlying message is to call the listing agent, no one else will know more about the property or represent you better.  Sounds like dual agency to me.

Second, that the seller should be concerned and not allow his or her listing to be syndicated on Zillow Trulia, or Realtor.com, the three largest consumer real estate sites on the Internet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMQm3ZvVRl4

What are your thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXDMoiEkyuQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q3uJSKBFG8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4uNu7EicIQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cgb-BCh-4g

Been changing a few things, hopefully for the better, on San Diego Lifestyle.  They include:

• Link to Google Chat from website - unfortunately only Flash.
• Cleaned up menu making it easier to find your way around.
• Additional ways to contact me including voice, text, chat, and Skype.
• Finally updated my photograph so people don’t look so surprised when they meet me in real life.

While working this morning at RealtyV2 Headquarters I kept hearing a strange sound like a waterfall.  Finally curiosity overcame my work ethic and I went downstairs to see the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W9zTWXSlVo

Pioneer Lofts, which is a historic building, is 6 stores tall.  I talked with residents that were on the roof deck that stated the water was well above the building height.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ6EojjgXlI

Seems that everyone is on a budget these days and if you have some old counter tops that need to be refinished, check out the $300.oo solution from Rust-Oleum.  Known as Countertop Transformations, it is a really cheap way to make a big difference without the expense of replacement.

Find out more here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZPMbvDsQg

One of the newest tools that I am using is Skype with multi-user conferencing  capabilities.  While the service works best with three or four users, it can do up to 9 users provided everyone is on a good internet connection.  What many people don’t realize is that Skype has partnered with Citrix and you can also share your screen over a Skype call.  While I still use Fuze Meeting, I have found that Skype does a really good job when we need to review a contract, disclosure, or preliminary title report.

Working with Clients from all over the world is easy with Skype and very cost effective.  A quick initial meeting with potential Clients can be done on Skype saving everyone the trouble of a commute and having to all be in the same place.

So now besides my “meet me at Starbucks” you can also set up a Skype video meeting.  Check it out and give me a call someday.

You can reach me at RealtyV2.

Yesterday I was at the San Diego Zoo for the Giant Galapagos Tortoise for  a feeding.  Apparently they only do this for only 3 weeks out of the year and it was really a memorable experience.   The feeding was scheduled for 2:15 p.m.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKks50szsYw

Yesterday we showed you how to log into your complementary Box.net account.  This next video will show you some of the basics of our transaction management system and some features of Box.net.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0gDNldY7co