Get information including green fees, yardages and directions to all area public golf courses courtesy of stltoday.com.
St. Louis golf course map, 2011
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
St. Louis golf course map, 2011
Get information including green fees, yardages and directions to all area public golf courses courtesy of stltoday.com.
St. Louis golf course map, 2011
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
Monday, May 2, 2011
New Listing - 4906 Hummelsheim
Just Listed
4906 Hummelsheim Avenue, Affton, MO 63123
3 Bed, 2.5 Bath
2 car garage
Updated kitchen and baths
Finished basement
Click for Property Details
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
4906 Hummelsheim Avenue, Affton, MO 63123
3 Bed, 2.5 Bath
2 car garage
Updated kitchen and baths
Finished basement
Click for Property Details
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
QR Codes in Real Estate Marketing
Quick poll:
1) Have you ever heard of/seen something called a QR code?
2) Do you currently use a QR code reader on your smart phone?
3) Would you utilize QR codes when looking for your next house?
A QR code, short for Quick Response, is a type of two-dimensional barcode. First developed in Japan to track inventories, the technology is quickly gaining ground here in the states through a wide variety of applications. Not the least of which is mobile marketing, essentially a quick and convenient way to transfer information from a print advertisement to your mobile phone using the device's camera. Whether you know of them or not, you're likely to see more in the near future as marketers here in the US begin to find more uses for the technology.
As this recent trend makes its way into the world of real estate, agents like this one (doing the double thumb point to myself) are looking for ways to implement the technology that will add value to the home buying/selling experience. Some of the ways I've seen them used in real estate marketing are on flyers leading the customer to a listing's information page, or even business cards leading to an agent's personal website. Another use, that I find particularly useful, is on a yard sign in front of a listing that will direct the buyer to a webpage with additional information, pictures or a virtual tour. I do think you will begin to see more and more of these to advertise listings, but I also realize that not every buyer has the capability to read the codes on their phone. Therefore, I think it will be a while (if ever) that they make some of the traditional forms of marketing, such as, the "24 hour voice recording" obsolete.
Would you find these uses for QR codes helpful? Or do you have other ideas? I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tips For Home Buyers #3
Check your cellular phone coverage.
Imagine you just closed on a new home and have been handed the keys. Maybe the moving van is out front and you're starting to unpack some boxes. You couldn't be more excited. Perhaps you want to share your excitement, so you call a friend or loved one.
But wait a minute. What? This can't be. Nooooooooo!
Not a pleasant time discover that you receive little or no signal on your cell phone at the new house. I recommend checking to make sure you get decent reception at any house you're considering before signing a contract. To some, this may only be a minor factor in choosing the right house. But, if you're like me and don't use a landline, it could be something you need to seriously consider.
It only takes a second, so next time you're at a showing or open house, make sure to check how many bars your getting while walking through the house.
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
Imagine you just closed on a new home and have been handed the keys. Maybe the moving van is out front and you're starting to unpack some boxes. You couldn't be more excited. Perhaps you want to share your excitement, so you call a friend or loved one.
But wait a minute. What? This can't be. Nooooooooo!
Not a pleasant time discover that you receive little or no signal on your cell phone at the new house. I recommend checking to make sure you get decent reception at any house you're considering before signing a contract. To some, this may only be a minor factor in choosing the right house. But, if you're like me and don't use a landline, it could be something you need to seriously consider.
It only takes a second, so next time you're at a showing or open house, make sure to check how many bars your getting while walking through the house.
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Did That Tweet Just Cost You Money?
We all have those social networking friends that feel the need to tell you every last detail of their personal life via Facebook, Blogs, Twitter, Foursquare etc. Someone you may hardly know in "real" life is willing to tell you everything from intimate personal relationship details to which type of mustard they just bought. For them, their life is an open book and I commend them for it. I really do. I can't open myself up like that. (Although, I must admit that I'm thankful for the ability to discreetly hide the news feeds of some individuals' posts.) But sometimes that openness can come at a cost. Literally, a monetary cost.
A letter in the March 2011 issue of REALTOR magazine reminded me of a story a fellow agent recently told me. In both cases, a home buyer posted details of a real estate transaction that they were actively negotiating. In the magazine story, the buyer indicated how strongly they wanted the house and even what they were willing to pay for it. The seller was somehow made aware of this, which obviously compromised the buyer's negotiating position costing them money on the deal as a result.
As Realtors, one of our most sacred responsibilities to clients is to protect their interests in contract negotiations. This includes their motivation for selling/buying, how badly they want to deal to get done and how much they are willing to accept/pay. Although the importance of keeping those cards close to your chest may be obvious to agents and most clients, perhaps we can do a better job at educating clients to the potential dangers of making such knowledge public, even when they think it's just their "friends" that they're telling.
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
A letter in the March 2011 issue of REALTOR magazine reminded me of a story a fellow agent recently told me. In both cases, a home buyer posted details of a real estate transaction that they were actively negotiating. In the magazine story, the buyer indicated how strongly they wanted the house and even what they were willing to pay for it. The seller was somehow made aware of this, which obviously compromised the buyer's negotiating position costing them money on the deal as a result.
As Realtors, one of our most sacred responsibilities to clients is to protect their interests in contract negotiations. This includes their motivation for selling/buying, how badly they want to deal to get done and how much they are willing to accept/pay. Although the importance of keeping those cards close to your chest may be obvious to agents and most clients, perhaps we can do a better job at educating clients to the potential dangers of making such knowledge public, even when they think it's just their "friends" that they're telling.
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
6417 January Virtual Tour
For more information on this listing, or any other in the St. Louis area, visit www.MikeCromie.com.
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tips For Home Buyers #2
Follow the home inspector around your house.
This tip can be especially helpful to first-time home buyers. Or for that matter, anyone that's unfamiliar with the various systems used to run a home. It's a great way to get acquainted with your new purchase.
Although not necessary, I often recommend to my clients that they be present during the home inspection and to feel free to ask questions. A good inspector will educate you about the home you're under contract to buy and should encourage any questions you have. After all, this is what you hired them to do. Their job is to inspect the home's structure, test all of it's systems, point out potentially hazardous situations and discover latent defects. But in the process, by following them through the house, you can discover the location and function of many of the home's mechanical, electrical and structural elements.
A complete home inspection will take anywhere from 3-6 hours, depending on the size of the home (Although, some of the time will be spent in areas that you most likely won't want to go, or shouldn't for safety reasons, such as the roof, attic or crawl space). This might seem like a long time to follow someone around your house, but may come in handy down the road. I'm sure even the most novice of home buyers know how to flip a breaker switch or even change their furnace filter. But, can you locate your main water supply shut off in the event of a leak? Or do you know how to determine when your brick needs tuckpointing? Or how to adjust the temperature on your water heater? These are just some of the nice tidbits you can gain from being present and curious at the time of inspection.
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
This tip can be especially helpful to first-time home buyers. Or for that matter, anyone that's unfamiliar with the various systems used to run a home. It's a great way to get acquainted with your new purchase.
Although not necessary, I often recommend to my clients that they be present during the home inspection and to feel free to ask questions. A good inspector will educate you about the home you're under contract to buy and should encourage any questions you have. After all, this is what you hired them to do. Their job is to inspect the home's structure, test all of it's systems, point out potentially hazardous situations and discover latent defects. But in the process, by following them through the house, you can discover the location and function of many of the home's mechanical, electrical and structural elements.
A complete home inspection will take anywhere from 3-6 hours, depending on the size of the home (Although, some of the time will be spent in areas that you most likely won't want to go, or shouldn't for safety reasons, such as the roof, attic or crawl space). This might seem like a long time to follow someone around your house, but may come in handy down the road. I'm sure even the most novice of home buyers know how to flip a breaker switch or even change their furnace filter. But, can you locate your main water supply shut off in the event of a leak? Or do you know how to determine when your brick needs tuckpointing? Or how to adjust the temperature on your water heater? These are just some of the nice tidbits you can gain from being present and curious at the time of inspection.
Posted by Mike Cromie on Beyond Realty - St. Louis Real Estate Blog.
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