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Are we thinking big enough? What about smart pets or smart food? What smart features are you looking for in a new home? #thehelpfulagent #smarthome #houseexpert #home #house #listreports #smartproducts #homeowner #realestate #realestateagent #smarthome
Are you considering getting a smart lock for your home? You’re not alone. A good portion of homeowners are thinking about adding these smart devices to their doors.
#smart #tech #HouseExpert #RealEstateAgent #RealEstate #ListReports #themoreyouknow
Register for the Florida Realtor Convention-attend Global meetings, learn about new ways to find buyers & sellers, new laws, attend ReBar camp, network with Realtors from around the state, visit the expo & see new products and maybe even meet me-Ryan Serhant!! As I say, “Expansion. Always, in all ways!”
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Tuesday, August 20-Sunday, August 25th, 2019
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Hope to see you there!!
On January 24th, 2018, the Pinellas International Council will co-host this class with the Asian Real Estate Association of America, Partnered with Bailey Glasser LLP:
“Leverage Social Media For Success & To Connect With International Clients.”
~~Registration is required, however, PIC Members are Free. Others $15. ~~ Please Go to PinellasRealtor.org, Education and Events Calendar.
Jan 24th, 2018 11:30-3:30pm held at Pinellas Realtor Organization, 4590 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater, Florida
https://www.calendarwiz.com/calendars/popup.php?op=view&id=118909966&crd=pro
- Why LinkedIn, Facebook, WeChat and other communication apps are essential for professionals
- How People are using the Platforms
- How to maximize these tools for lead generation
- How to Optimize your entire profile
- Connection strategies
- The power of referrals and recommendations
- The importance of LinkedIn and Facebook Groups
- Advanced Search Techniques
- Content Tips
- AND MUCH MORE…..
- LUNCH will be provided.
Seating is limited, so you must register ahead of time. Thank you! Hope to see you there!
This is a great little chart to help both when buying or selling a Smart Home to ensure that everyone reaps the benefits. Sometimes information regarding the manuals or which items you have in the home can be lost in the complicated process of purchasing or selling a home. Easy to print or save to your computer. Thank you Florida Realtors for putting this together. Very much appreciated!
These are some of the best “Smart Home” devices that may help to sell your home or increase the selling price of your home. Some may even help to lower the cost of your homeowner’s insurance. Worth checking out. Let me know what you think or which ones you’ve utilized.
539 Baywood Dr S, Dunedin
HARRISBURG, Penn. – Nov. 1, 2016 – For the third year in a row, the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®(PAR) created a Ratings System Report Card on websites that allows users to review real estate agents.
from http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.
“Among both consumers and Realtors, there is a belief that real estate practitioners do not operate with uniformly high levels of ‘professionalism’ – though there is not a single accepted definition of that term,” the authors noted. PAR says it created “a rating system that rates the evaluation systems themselves.”
To create the report card, PAR says it spent time debating the criteria to use to keep it objective and useful. Overall, it focused on how a rating system handled an agent’s education, knowledge and communication skills with clients. It also considered the format of the reviews and the questions it asked. Finally, PAR judged “honesty” by looking at the way a review was created, including “who could create reviews, if they could be challenged and what sort of advertising was displayed on the site.”
PAR says it judged nine websites that review agents on a 0-10 scale, with 0 being the worst and 10 being the best. Overall, one website – RealSatisfied – led the list with a maximum score of 10. The lowest score of 5 went to two websites: HomeLight and Yelp.
Agent review websites ranked by score
- RealSatisfied (score: 10)
- realtor.com (score: 9.5)
- RatedAgent (score: 9)
- QSC (score: 8.5)
- Zillow (score: 7, tied with Trulia)
- Trulia (score: 7, tied with Zillow)
- Stik (score: 6.5)
- Yelp (score: 5, tied with HomeLight)
- HomeLight (score: 5, tied with Yelp)
PAR created a side-by-side comparison chart of each website and its ratings, along with a one-page description of each website’s pros and cons.
© 2016 Florida Realtors® http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article
What: The National Association of REALTORS® 2016 Annual Conference and Expo
When: November 4-7, 2016
Where: Orange County Convention Center West, Orlando FL
Network with Realtors from across the USA and from around the world. Learn about the latest products, technologies and legal issues. Take classes. Be aware of the latest scams-protect yourself and your clients. Join in on meetings. Find out about the best marketing tools. What do buyers and sellers want these days in a home and in their agent? See what benefits NAR has for its members. Expand your mind and have fun!
Hope to see you there!
Spending the day w/Deborah Boza-Valledor teaching Transnational Referral Certification (TRC), Proxio, and Marketing Yourself Globally! Priceless!
We are talking about Deborah Boza-Valledor, the COO of the greater Miami Association of Realtors and Beaches, who was awarded the 2015 CIPS Instructor of the Year Award for her teaching excellence in the field of International Real Estate by NAR.
The Pinellas International Council (PIC) has put together an exciting International Day with Deborah. The Date is April 15th, so it’s Tax Day. You should have either filed your taxes or requested an extension! So come spend the with us!!.
Hold on to your seats – here comes Deborah, a whirlwind in action! Practice your shorthand as you will be given innumerable and priceless tips and ideas by this dynamic presenter! Brought to you by the Pinellas International Council, your $20 fee includes three classes (and lunch!) by one of the most well-respected national international real estate presenters, Deborah Boza-Valledor. Take your international real estate career to the next level with Deborah. This day promises to be highly informative, fast-paced and one of a kind.
1. Transnational Referral Certification You will to learn how to make and receive compensated referrals using a proven system so that you can integrate international referrals into your business plan. Upon completion of this course, you will be given the opportunity to become certified and included in the World Properties TRC database for a fee. Click here for additional information about the TRC certification. You will learn how to: * Integrate international referrals * Increase your income * Market yourself worldwide as “TRC” * Be part of a searchable database.
2. Proxio Enjoy your complimentary lunch while learning about Proxio – a real estate platform that provides global marketing and networking services that empower you to market yourself and your listings worldwide in 19 languages and 55 currencies. Real estate professionals use Proxio’s online services to promote and translate listings, build business networks, and search for properties that meet client’s criteria – across geographic and cultural borders. By connecting the sources of real estate supply and demand in an efficient manner, Proxio enables real estate professionals to reach a global audience and close more transactions.
3. Marketing Yourself Globally Identifying and marketing your personal brand is an essential core competency for managing and sustaining a successful real estate career. Empower yourself by knowing what you have to offer, what you want and how to ask for it. Learn tips of the trade from Deborah about how to position yourself worldwide as the “expert” in real estate. Don’t neglect the rest of the world – you could be missing out on tons of sales.
SCHEDULE: 9:00 a.m. to noon: Transnational Referral Certification Noon to 12:30 p.m.: Break 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.: Proxio (Lunch and Learn) 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Break 2:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m.: Marketing Yourself Globally
INSTRUCTOR: Deborah Boza-Valledor Deborah calls herself an “Island Girl” as she was born in Key West to a Cuban father and a Bahamian mother, and grandparents from the Spanish Canary Islands. Deborah is a REALTOR® and licensed instructor as well as an avid blogger and coffee drinker. She currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer of the REALTOR® Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches. Deborah has served as a Director of the National Association of REALTORS® and as the International Regional Coordinator for North America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
REGISTRATION: Pinellas International Council (PIC) Members: $20: Click here to register.
PRO Members ($25): Click here to register.
Non-PRO Members ($30): Click here to register.
Architects, developers, and designers are moving past green homes and open floor plans. Here’s what trend-conscious buyers need to know.
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Much of the hype around healthy living these days centers on whether you’ve eliminated gluten from your diet or walked 10,000 steps today. But lasting health benefits may be better derived from fundamental changes in how we live. That’s the tack savvy building and design professionals are taking as they draw on technological advances and changing demographics to create a new vision for the home. It’s not enough to just be green anymore; tomorrow’s homes—both single-family and multifamily buildings—will be more sustainable and resilient to natural disasters. And we’re moving beyond open floor plans. Flexible spaces are giving way to homes that can accommodate multiple generations, communal gatherings, and universal design. These preferences will influence the size of homes and how they look—and function—outside and inside. In addition, they reflect where homes are built, as an increasing number of buyers—from millennials to boomers—want to shorten their commutes and walk more. You can become an expert resource for buyers and sellers by tuning into the forward-thinking trends that design and architectural pros are buzzing about.
While suburbia isn’t dead or dying, it’s clear that a groundswell of home buyers is heading downtown. For some, that means a dense urban metropolis like New York or Chicago where work, home, and retail are at their doorstep. But for others, what’s appealing is a suburb with a downtown core that offers walkability such as Highland Park, Ill., or Clayton, Mo. Even a more rural outpost like bucolic Red Hook, N.Y., with its robust town center, fits the bill.
The common denominator: People of all ages are tired of their car-centric lives and care less about square footage than finding a home in a location that’s compatible with their interests and values, says Bruce D. Snider, a building designer and architectural writer based in Belfast, Maine.
Healthier, Smarter Materials
The construction of houses and multifamily buildings is evolving. Designers and architects are seeking to make buildings that are weather-resilient, sustainable, safer, and primed for the latest technology.
- Well buildings: Green buildings that steer clear of harmful paints and adhesives and highlight water conservation are well-regarded, but the newer focus is on design that enhances the quality of life for occupants. “Biophilic” planning involves placing windows to showcase outdoor greenery and doors that strive for seamlessness between the great outdoors and a home’s interior. An emphasis on natural light, along with LEDs controlled by dimmers and in colors that can be changed for nighttime and gray days, simulates circadian rhythms in the body to improve sleep patterns, another boon for healthfulness. Upcoming software will harvest daylight to provide more natural light since some multifamily building codes dictate smaller glass expanses and restrict certain lightbulb types, says sustainability consultant Brian Lomel, cochair of the Urban Land Institute’s South Florida Building Healthy Places Committee. In areas with small yards, pocket gardens are popular, and more rooftops will be planted on multifamily buildings and townhouses. And look for more landscapes with trees featuring interesting branch structures, even without blooms or berries, says Betsy Williamson with Williamson Chong Architects in Toronto.
- Less maintenance: Whether it’s due to the financial burden or the lengthy time commitment of tending to yards and repairs, consumers are eager for materials and systems that are more durable and require less maintenance than in the past. “Many boomers and their offspring are less inclined to mow lawns and perform other tasks,” says architect Duo Dickinson, author of Staying Put (The Taunton Press, 2011). At Aventura ParkSquare, realistic-looking artificial turf will be installed, which will help conserve water. Other systems and materials there will need to be replaced less often. Individuals like mason and builder Clay Chapman of Atlanta’s Hope for Architecture also focus on materials with greater longevity, which is influencing the thinking of both design professionals and home owners. “Hand-built brick walls are labor-intensive but will last for centuries rather than for just one home owner,” he says. Architect Jon Handley of Pulltab in New York concurs. “The best way to be green is to build with quality that lasts,” he says.
- Weather and energy: Communities on the forefront of energy and weather efficiency are setting guidelines for better waterproofing and strategically placed insulation. “The goal is to go beyond what’s required, not use energy at all and get off the grid,” says Philadelphia developer Nino Cutrufello. Going the energy-efficient route can be less costly than adding features such as solar panels and geothermal heating, he says. Structures are also being better designed to withstand severe weather. Aventura ParkSquare, outside Miami, is being designed to include well-insulated windows that block harmful ultraviolet rays, says principal Victor Ballestas. In parts of California where fires have raged, noncombustible concrete tiles, brick, and composites that imitate wood are favored, says New York architect Chris Garvin.
- Healthfulness: Encouraging healthy living goes beyond including bicycle racks and gyms in multifamily buildings, Lomel says. To build Aventura ParkSquare, a community within a community, its developer Integra Investments heeded ideas from “Fit City Miami,” a collaborative effort with ULI to incorporate The American Institute of Architects’ “Active Design” guidelines. Results at the condominium development are retail options such as a boot camp and yoga studio, restaurants with rooftop gardens for growing produce, medical offices, an assisted-living facility, wider sidewalks, and a 131-unit condo building with glass-enclosed stairways to encourage walking rather than riding in enclosed elevators, says Ballestas. ULI’s South Florida group will showcase the project as a case study for healthy-living initiatives, Lomel says.
- Smarter technology: Managing power needs will continue to be huge as more home owners seek to stay connected 24/7. Forward-thinking techies will develop more robust wireless hubs to provide power from a central source and make it easier and less costly to control everything from one app on a smart phone, says Garvin. Already, developers like Washington, D.C.’s EYA are bringing on board an automation consultant.
A Greater Sense of Belonging
The size and layout of single-family homes, condos, and rentals are being reconfigured with an eye toward fostering community and adapting to space challenges and changing demographics.
- Seed to feed: Don’t call it a garden: Edible landscaping is appearing in single-family yards and multifamily building rooftops. Lomel predicts consumer and developer interest will lead to demand for organic gardening consultants. “They’ll satisfy people’s food-growing needs rather than [feature] nonedible plant materials,” he says. Communal space for cooking and dining are expected to be part of more development projects. “People want that sense of connection,” Garvin says. An even bigger trend is the “agrihood,” which makes a farm a key amenity in a residential development. Developer and architect Matthew “Quint” Redmond of AgriNetx in Golden, Colo., conceived the idea back in 2003, but the recession stalled construction. Ground will be broken this fall for his newest—Adams Crossing in Brighton, Colo., which will include 438 residential units on 101 acres with about half the land devoted to farms. Redmond says his two prime buyer targets are “boomers who would rather work in orchards than play golf and millennials who don’t want to live in a cubicle as their parents did.” Many sites are former golf courses, and he expects more little-used courses to be transformed.
- Multigenerational togetherness: Multiple generations living together isn’t new; cultural traditions, economic pressures, and elderly and child care needs have long made such arrangements desirable for some. In the past, families had little choice but to offer up a spare bedroom when they needed to share their space. But architects are dreaming up new options for the 21st century family. Designer Marianne Cusato became an early proponent for planning ahead with her “New Economy” house; its first-floor suite with a private entry offers independence for older adults and boomerang children. EYA is designing townhouses with private quarters on one floor that can be converted to other uses as needs change.
- Open plans on a smaller scale: Open floor plans still dominate, but to differentiate smaller spaces, designer Seth Grizzle of Graypants in Seattle likes to add whimsy, reflecting the desire for customized spaces. “People want a fun edge that makes them smile, and they’ll give up space to get some uniqueness,” he says. Examples can include a door that becomes a bookshelf, a phone charging station in a desk, or a softly glowing wall lit from behind. In multifamily buildings, developers are including larger shared and mixed-use spaces to make up for smaller-sized dwelling units. David Baker Architects’ 1178 Folsom Street building in San Francisco will include units that average just 290 square feet but have access to large common areas such as a rooftop deck and ground-level retail. Sarah Barnard, a designer in Santa Monica, Calif., sees the trend mushrooming as millennials shift from renting to buying. “They’re a generation that is less materialistic and more concerned about the environment and that has a debt burden, so they have less to spend,” she says.
- Universal design: A recent AIA Home Design Trends Survey found respondents were interested in having greater accessibility inside their homes including wider hallways and more visible handrails. Yet, many still resist features, such as grab bars in showers and bathtubs, that signal that residents are aging. Future designs are expected to incorporate such adaptations in more subtle, creative ways. As the built environment evolves, how it looks will reflect a more contemporary sensibility.”We won’t look to the past. Modern design is the future,” Williamson says. “All this amazing technology and other changes go part and parcel with much more forward-looking designs.”
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