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Sonora, CA Real Estate News

By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
(click image to enlarge, then in new browser tab or window click again) (Feel free to embed this infographic: Copy and paste the html code below to your website or blog) Source: Infographic courtesy of Sugar Pine Realty You might also be interested in: Recipe For A Real Estate Recovery [infographic] Real Estate Across the Generations + 4 Needs of Seniors [infographic]
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
Well, I'm not really quitting, but I have been thinking about the challenges bloggers face that sometimes make them quit. Maybe you've thought these things, maybe you haven't. Regardless, I've added a little "twist." In parentheses I offer my response to each point. They're meant to be a challenge / call to action, food for thought to spend a few moments considering. And so here we go with... 7 Reasons Why I'm Quitting Blogging... 1. It's hard (anything worthwhile is) 2. It's time consuming (go to McDonald's if you want fast food) 3. It makes me think (it's a good thing to have your brain stretched once in a while beyond playing video games) 4. It challenges me to keep going (too many quitters in life) 5. I've run out of things to say (happens even to the big boys) 6. There isn't any R...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
There is an art to writing headlines / titles that capture attention. If you want to get somebody to click on that link, if you want to get people to stop and linger awhile, you need to think through the design of your headline / title to draw them in.   The same thing is true when it comes naming boards on Pinterest. A "board" on Pinterest (for those of you that don't know) is a grouping or category of "pins." And "pins" are just pictures from around the web (and Pinterest itself, too) that people post (pin!) to their "boards." I have included a screenshot (above) of some of my Pinterest boards so that you can see what I'm talking about (click screenshot to enlarge). They are also a good example of how to name a Pinterest board. If you'll notice the top row going across from left to r...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
We've all run out of gas before. Whether it's with our car or our physical body (includes mental and emotional exhaustion, too, etc.), we've been on "E" (empty) at one time or another. (Maybe you're there right now?) And one of the main reasons a person runs out of gas is because he/she forgets to take time for a fill up at the gas station. Right? (It doesn't get more complicated than that.) And sometimes we just drive by the gas station thinking, "I've got enough gas to make it. I can put it off." And then we drive by the next gas station. And the next gas station. And the next gas station. And then it happens. (Cough. Cough. Engine grinding to a stop sound here.) And maybe we don't even have a gas can with us either? (Ouch.) So what do you do when you're out of gas? Well, of course, ...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
I've got the latest Mother Lode market numbers for you to look at today. To begin with, you'll notice the overall sales picture including all sales classes. CLICK HERE to view August 2012 compared to August 2011. CLICK HERE to view January-August 2012 compared to January-August 2011. You'll also want to notice the graphs including the Mother Lode Residential Unit Sales through August 2012 graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 1 on above left) along with the Mother Lode Residential Volume Sales graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 2 on the right) and the Mother Lode Residential Average Sales Price graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 3 on the left below), respectively. (The data used comes from the Tuolumne Multiple Listing Service...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
(If you can't see this video, click here.)
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
We are seeing some amazing things happening in our day as real estate agents put the latest technology to use in the service of home buyers and sellers. Case in point: Dean Ouellette shares the following on the Phoenix Real Estate Guy blog... I was recently in San Francisco speaking at a conference. While in another session at the conference I received a text message from an investor client of mine wondering if I could check an MLS number for him. While sitting in the session I was able to pull up the listing, run comps and shoot him over the comps with an estimated retail value. My investor asked me to submit an offer, I wrote it on my iPad, sent it to Docusign for electronic signatures and about 15 minutes after he asked me to write the offer he had it in his email inbox to sign. Wit...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
(Warning: Fun blog post coming.)PRESIDENT OBAMA'S TWITTER FOLLOWERS BOGUS? It was recently discovered that close to 70% of Barack Obama's Twitter followers are fake. So, of the 19 million Twitter followers of the President, 13 million plus are bogus. Now I wanted to see this for myself. So I went to the Status People website which measures fake followers. Actually, it will give a breakdown of Twitter followers on any Twitter account in three categories: "Fake," "Inactive" and "Good." Just type in the Twitter name (BarackObama) and voila. Here's what I found on the President: 35% Fake; 36% Inactive; 29% Good. (see clickable thumbnail above) And so it was true that Barack Obama only has approximately 30% genuine Twitter followers. And it seems that the close to 70% (at least at the time ...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
(click image to enlarge, then in new browser tab or window click again) (Feel free to embed this infographic: Copy and paste the html code below to your website or blog) Source: Infographic courtesy of Sugar Pine Realty 10 Mistakes People Make with Politics (plus 1 bonus): 1. Stick to one party affiliation no matter what 2. Don't research the issues on their own or those who are running for office 3. Refuse to listen to someone with a different point of view 4. Hide their head in the sand 5. Believe the news media 6. Believe the polls 7. Vote like their parents 8. Vote like their friends 9. Forget that absolute power corrupts absolutely 10. Become overly consumed with it BONUS Abandon the process (don't vote) You might also be interested in: 10 Mistakes People Make Creating Infographic...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
The fact is, if you want to get more engagement via social media, you need to share images (pictures). I want to show you how easy it is to add a quote to an image so you can post it to Facebook or upload it to Pinterest (and beyond). One way to do it is by using the Draw program in OpenOffice. (To download OpenOffice for free, click here.) Here’s how to use the OpenOffice Draw program to add a quote to an image... How to Add a Quote to An Image to Upload to Facebook and Pinterest: 1. Choose an image. (I like to use: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images) 2. Save image to computer. 3. Choose a quote. (I like to use: http://www.brainyquote.com) 4. Copy and paste (or type) quote to your word processor. 5. Open OpenOffice Draw. 6. From the upper Menu bar, choose Insert > Picture > From...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
Have you ever lied? (You're lying right now if you said, "No.") Have you ever been lied to? (Some of you are thinking, "Every time I listen to the Evening News"?) The fact is lying is as old as our first parents (Adam and Eve if you forgot). And maybe if they had the following list they may not have fallen for the Serpent's whopper (and we wouldn't be in such a mess)... (click image to enlarge, then in new browser tab or window click again) (Feel free to embed this infographic: Copy and paste the html code below to your website or blog) Source: Infographic courtesy of Sugar Pine Realty 7 Clues That Somebody's Lying: 1. He tends away from eye contact 2. He tries to change the subject 3. He's unusually adamant about innocence 4. He has a mannerism that gives him away 5. His story just do...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
It's a fact that we would rather be around an unselfish person than a selfish person. And so if we're in the people business (and most of us are unless we live in a convent or monastery), it necessarily makes sense that we strive for unselfishness ~ and for the purposes of making a living, too. (It isn't a selfish thing to want to feed yourself and your family.) This is not an easy task for the majority of us (I'm talking about making a choice against selfishness). We are "schooled" to be selfish. I mean, we've heard it in advertising: "YOU deserve a break today." (McDonald's) "L'Eggo (let go) of MY Eggo (waffle)." (To watch the 1972 commercial, click here.) "It could be YOU." (The Lottery) "He who dies with the most toys, wins." (That last quote really makes the point of the foolishne...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
(click image to enlarge, then in new browser tab or window click again) (Feel free to embed this infographic: Copy and paste the html code below to your website or blog) Source: Infographic courtesy of Sugar Pine Realty 7 Keys to Your Blogging Success: B-e yourself. Ask, "What am 'I' passionate about?" and write about that. L-earn from others. I keep my eye on @sethgodin, @problogger, @copyblogger, @chrisbrogan. O-rganize approach. Have a plan. 3 posts a week? Write 20 minutes a day? Morning or evening person? G-ather tools. Check out aminstitute.com to optimize headline or inboundwriter.com to optimize content. G-arner attention. Share via social media. Read / comment on other blogs. Promote others' stuff. E-voke emotion. Respond to a controversy. Stir up the pot (with "reason"). Apol...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
Why is that we're always trying to be somebody else? I mean, we're born. We go to kindergarten. (I know there's a little bit that goes on between being born and going to kindergarten.) And then it happens. We want to be "like Johnny" or "like Karen" (or like whoever it may be that happens to be in our class that's quote "popular" at the time). And then time goes by and we get older. Our horizons enlarge. And that thing that happened to us in kindergarten happens again. It stays with us (many of us). We want to be like the guitar player in the rock band or the soccer player who scored the winning goal or the model on the cover of Vogue or the Miss (pick your state) on the pageant stage ~ or it's somebody else. And all the while and down through the years (and day after day after day aft...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
Lightning fast post meant to make you think... 10 Mistakes People Make that Costs Them Retweets on Twitter (plus 1 bonus): (what might you add to the list?) 1. Craft boring tweets versus compelling "headlines." 2. Create status quo content (on their blogs) and gain a lousy reputation because of it. 3. Forget that the greater the size of the audience, the greater the chance of retweets (build your followership). 4. Don't participate in chats. 5. Neglect retweeting others. 6. Neglect including relevant hashtags. 7. Are a poor speller. 8. Use obscenities. 9. Don't tweet regularly. 10. Forget to team up (make a pact with 3 or 4: you retweet them, they retweet you). BONUS Abbreviate "pls RT" instead of spelling it out, "please retweet." You might also be interested in: 9 Tweeting No No’s (T...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
I've got the latest Mother Lode market numbers for you to look at today. To begin with, you'll notice the overall sales picture including all sales classes. CLICK HERE to view July 2012 compared to July 2011. CLICK HERE to view January-July 2012 compared to January-July 2011. You'll also want to notice the graphs including the Mother Lode Residential Unit Sales through June 2012 graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 1 on above left) along with the Mother Lode Residential Volume Sales graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 2 on the right) and the Mother Lode Residential Average Sales Price graph versus the previous five years (clickable picture 3 on the left below), respectively. (The data used comes from the Tuolumne Multiple Listing Service and is de...
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
(click image to enlarge, then in new browser tab or window click again) 10 Mistakes People Make When They Want to Make (More) Money: 1. Neglect family. 2. Burn the candle at both ends (become a work-a-holic). 3. Compromise their integrity. 4. Undermine others. 5. Mismanage what money they do have (gambling, lottery). 6. Pay under the table. 7. Conceal the source of incoming money (money laundering). 8. Cheat on (or don't report) taxes. 9. Present themselves as someone they're not (lie on resume). 10. Steal someone else's idea (includes plagiarism). BONUS: Make money an idol (all they care about). You might also be interested in: 3 Lessons from a Sunken Ship [infographic] How to Create a Simple Infographic and Give That Old Blog Post New Life
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By Mother Lode, Real Estate Master
(Real Living Sugar Pine Realty)
What "mood" are you in right now? (Be honest.) Dictionary.com defines mood as: "a state or quality of feeling at a particular time." And so moods have a lot to do with feelings. (The argument could be made that moods have everything to do with feelings.) And at any given time we can feel one way or another. Right? We can feel happy or we can feel sad. We can feel silly or we can feel serious. We can feel hopeful or we can feel not so hopeful. We can feel secure or we can feel insecure. It could be just about any type of feeling that we're having at any given time and depending on the circumstances we find ourselves in. (It's true.) And some people respond to their circumstances like a thermometer. When their circumstances heat up, so do they. Their (personal) temperature rises (figurat...
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