Mr. Willie Williams
We started the Blog Finder Series in April to help identify new and interesting blogs online. Well, this blog is a little different because it found us. Red Carpet Keim Will Cooperate is a brand spanking new blog with posts covering first time home buyers, cheap homes, foreclosures & distressed property in Inkster, Michigan, a suburb just outside of Detroit. The blog may be new but Realtors Willie Williams and his wife Ernestine have 50 years (you got that right) in the industry. They started blogging at the behest of their daughter Sandra, who lives in California. It was Sandra who got us interested in her dad.
She posted this novel link to us on the blog which immediately caught our attention. It seems her dad was at NARdiGras and Sandra thought it would be neat if we could find him and surprise him. Sandra had put out the link and we made a connection with her. And you never know where a blog connection leads. We exchanged emails and explained that while we were not at NARdiGras, we’d still like to meet her father. Sandra gave us his cell phone number. Well we did meet Mr. Williams, via telephone on Saturday. We spoke at length and learned about him, his business, his blog and, of course, NARdiGras. As a veteran in the real estate market, he shared his insights with us.
Here’s some of what Mr. Williams shared with us:
In his market, the consumer is woefully misinformed and at great risk of manipulation. He told us Michigan ranks 6th nationwide in mortgage fraud and Wayne County (covering Detroit & Dearborn) is #1. He is witness to companies and individuals confidently pitching all the get rich quick ideas, running from house flipping, no money down, get money back at closing, along with risky mortgage products to make them all work. It’s no wonder Willie spends a good bit of his time trying to save people from foreclosure. He says that while the general market is slack, the Fannie Mae REPOs provide a brisk & steady flow of business. But Willie Williams is one of the good guys and he is doing what he can to educate consumers. Willie said many consumers “don’t even recognize fraud”. He gives away copies of David Soble’s Getting Out of Foreclosure. He also advises clients interested in real estate investing to visit FlippingFrenzy.com to learn the truth. His blog has an extensive & useful set of Foreclosure Tools links.
As for the industry, he sees the market slowdown as a way to weed out the order takers and newcomers who entered the business to capitalize on the peak market to make easy money. He says they are not prepared for the “reality of the valley” which requires hard work. He advises those looking to enter real estate to start with a small firm to get better supervision and education. Willie Williams is big on education, including educating salespersons. The public, he says, still see real estate professionals as the stereotypical “used car” salespeople. It is the duty of the industry to dispel that notion by being honest with clients.
As for buyers and the internet, at this point, Willie says they mainly want information. The problem is converting information seekers into clients. Another problem is many buyers expect brokers to get them “a good deal”.
As for using blogging as a promotional tool, Sandra exposed the real estate company to the use of blogging versus using a traditional website and is encouraging her father to embrace the new technology. Willie Williams knows he’s not too old to learn.
We asked about NARdiGras to which Willie replied, “I feel like a kid in a candy store”. We asked him to report back to us on any candy he found interesting, and not the stuff they give out at the booths.
We asked about New Orleans and the extent of the rebuild after Katrina. He said the trip from the airport revealed only some signs of damage. He was planning to visit the 9th Ward to see conditions there. We asked about Ernestine and he told us she was working on some renovations with Rebuild America.
Update: After seeing more of the city and visiting the 9th Ward, they reported the damage is widespread throughout New Orleans. “Many high end properties were destroyed and many people still have not returned to begin work on their homes. It’s going to be a long process to bring the city back”. They were confident it would rebound so long as relief efforts continued. Here are some photographs taken by Ernestine and Willie.
These are Realtors working to repair this home.
Thank you Willie and Ernestine (and Sandra) for sharing with us. Dear readers, please give Willie & Ernestine another surprise by stopping by their blog to say hello. As we all know, there’s nothing like a few comments on your blog to start your day.
