Sellsius real estate marketing, social media, tech, web 2.0 advert blog

Twitter Search Widget: Looking for a House on Twitter

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) February 8th, 2010 in Cool Tools. Comments

To make a Twitter search widget read this post.

Technorati Tags: twitter, twitter search widget, cool tools

Curbed Hiring Interns (Please RT)

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) February 7th, 2010 in bloggers. Comments

curbed intern blog

New York City blog buds at Curbed are looking for interns:

Are you an eager, perhaps college-age person who happens to read and enjoy Curbed on a daily basis? (Note: enjoyment not required.) If so, this opportunity may be for you. We’re looking for interns with journalism in their blood to join our merry band ASAP. Responsibilities may include (a) attending long, boring meetings from which you may be required to file entertaining and witty reports; (b) dashing from Curbed HQ to the scene of breaking news with camera in hand; and (c) undertaking onerous, occasionally terrible research projects. The pay shall be zero dollars. Timing’s very flexible, but Tuesday availability is a bonus. Interested persons should send an email to interns@curbed.com with a brief description of yourself and your interest in the gig. No attachments, please. If we like what we see, we’ll get back to you quickly. Thanks.

If you get the gig, come by my office for a story.

Shark Tank Nubrella: Hands Free Umbrella Will Not Invert in Wind

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) February 6th, 2010 in Cool New Products. Comments

nubrella

Nubrella, a hands free umbrella which will not invert in the wind, made its TV appearance on Shark Tank, a show where folks present new products hoping to get an investment from one of the sharks, which include Robert Herjavec, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran (my favorite), Kevin Harrington, and Daymond John.

I was impressed with the new hands free umbrella, Nubrella. Given that folks are on cell phones all the time and need two hands to tweet or text message, the Nubrella is a great product. Also great for the disabled.

Every shark turned the Nubrella down, except for Daymond John of FUBU and Kevin Harrington of infomercial fame.

Hey Daymond and Kevin, you could also offer companies the Nubrella as a great place to stick their logo — on the back, which is now black. Companies wanting to stand out from the crowd would defintely get noticed on the Nubrella.

Good luck folks.

Technorati Tags: nubrella, shark tank, fubu, daymond john

Suffolk Passes Law Requiring Co-op Boards to Give Reasons for Buyer Rejection

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) February 5th, 2010 in Co-op. Comments

suffolk coop buyer disclosure

It has long been the law in New York that co-op boards could reject potential buyers without disclosing the reason. This is very frustrating to buyers and sellers… and real estate agents.

As a lawyer, I had a way to get the Board to disclose the reason for the rejection– by claiming discrimination to the NYC Commission of Human Rights– this forced the co-op board to appear and disclose the reasons. It is a clever tactic (given you sense discrimination by asking the buyer to tell you what questions they were asked during the interview).

Some time later, New York tried to change the law requiring co-op boards to give reasons for rejection. The law did not pass. But it now seems the armor has been pierced…

Suffolk Now Mandates Full Disclosure By Co-op Boards

Apparently, Suffolk County has changed the law in Suffolk. If a co-op board rejects a buyer, they must now disclose the reasons why. This is a big deal.

According to Habitat:

The Long Island country now requires cooperative apartment boards to reveal in writing their reasons for turning down potential residents. Board members could be brought to account more easily in discrimination lawsuits, and be held personally liable. Entitled “A Local Law Requiring Fairness in Cooperative Home Ownership” (Intro. Resolution Number 1763-2009, Local Law Number 36-2009), it also requires that co-op boards provide the same application to all applicants, along with information on the relevant Fair Housing and anti-discrimination laws. Once an applicant turns in an application, the board must acknowledge within 10 days that it has received it, and must inform the applicant whether the application is complete or not. The board must come to its decision to approve or deny the completed application within 45 days.

This is amazing…. if enforceable, given the New York case law allowing Boards to be silent.

Here is where it started back in August 28, 2009: (click images to enlarge)

Curiously, I also found this discussion on 1545-2009 from the Ways and Means Committee in July 2009 (click images to enlarge)

Interestingly, a Realtor attended and made this comment:

I will be calling some lawyers in Suffolk to get their take on this.

Co-ops to Give Reasons for Rejecting a Buyer?

Technorati Tags: co-op, buyer rejection disclosure, new yrok co-op, suffolk co-op

How to Control Birds (and Bird Poop): Bird-B-Gone

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) February 4th, 2010 in Marketing tips. Comments

bird car

Does your home, boat, or business property have problems with birds and their little droppings?

Too many birds can lower property values…. crap. Cleaning bird poop is also a pain… and has health risks. There might be a solution.

bird house

Bird-B-Gone products supposedly get rid of birds without terminating them.

According to the website:

Bird•B•Gone products carry the longest industry guarantees, and are made in the United States. Our products are humane and safe for birds and the environment. We provide first-rate customer service and support, and measure our success by the success of our customers.

bird b gone 2

They offer many products, which include:

Bird Spikes

bird spike

Solar Deterrent

solar bird repeller

Scent (Avian Plus)

(”small wall mounted unit that emits a non-toxic, non-allergenic scent into the air that is pleasing to humans, and unbearable to birds.”)

bird control scent

Bird Spiders (for boats)

boat bird spider

… and many more… for pest bird problems.

Frequently Asked Questions here.

The City of Newport Beach used their plastic bird spikes on the main lifeguard station in Newport Beach California.

FREE SHIPPING FOR FEBRUARY

They have free shipping for February.

Connect with Bird-B-Gone on Facebook and Twitter.

products bird control

If their products work, share it with your clients (or use it yourself). They claim to have many clients.

Anyone use Bird-B-Gone? Let me know the real poop.

Bank of America Offering iPoster as Interactive Real Estate Touch Screen Kiosk

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) February 3rd, 2010 in Marketing tips. Comments

iposter bank of america

Bank of America iPoster

The Bank of America has been creating alliances with real estate brokers by getting them to join their Preferred Real Estate Broker Network, AT NO COST. Here’s a broker in New York.

In the Network, the Bank claims “real estate brokers can market their listings to the Bank of America customer base of over 58 million potential buyers and sellers at bankofamerica.com.”

iPoster

Apparently, there is a new way to get greater exposure of a broker’s real estate listings — it’s called the iPoster, an “interactive touch-screen kiosk in 6,109 banking centers that allows customers to research property listings“, as well as current mortgage rates and information on their Alliance agents, which may include Spanish speaking real estate professionals.

Is any real estate broker or agent doing business with Bank of America and appearing on the iPoster? Any leads from it? I have yet to see an iPoster.

[Interestingly, Bank of America offers online consumers home value and blog posts from Cyberhomes.]

Technorati Tags: iposter, bank of america, real estate marketing

Get Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn Updates in One Email: Nutshell Mail

Published by Joseph Ferrara (2) February 2nd, 2010 in Cool Tools. Comments

nutshell

If it’s a hassle to check into your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts various times a day, try Nutshell Mail, which will send updates from any, or all, accounts in a SINGLE email.

You can choose what gets sent from each account and how often during the day you get the email.

Customize Your Facebook Notices: (click image to enlarge) Sections, Friends, Filters and Pages