Your Face on Facebook

 Posted by at 7:24 am
Jun 142011
 

I’ve reported before: I’m not anti-Facebook, but I’m also not a huge fan, either.  Yes, I have a page. But I do not use that page to discuss my business or my clients. I’m also fairly sure the world isn’t all that interested in my daily activities, what I had for breakfast and any other personal drama. I don’t fault the developers of Facebook for making this possible. My larger “complaint” is with users who somewhat blindly accept the technology without understanding the ramifications of what they do and say. Here’s an article reprinted (with permission) from a weekly newsletter published by Oakley Signs and Graphics. If it doesn’t scare you it ought to make you nervous.

Privacy Alert: Facebook Photo Tagging

Opt-out of Facebook’s face-recognition software now.

Recently Facebook began using a face-recognition algorhythm to try and “find” you in photos your friends have taken and posted online. Once Facebook thinks it’s found you, it recommends your friend “tag” you in the photo. Being tagged in a photo associates your name with the photo (and even links to your Facebook page, once tagged).

This might not sound like a big deal… until a friend happens to upload a candid picture of you unwinding that you’d rather not have pasted all over the internet.

The good news? You can opt-out of this setting. For a video tutorial on how to turn this “feature” off, check out this original article by Whitson Gordon on Lifehacker.com:

http://lifehacker.com/5809657/how-to-stop-facebook-from-automatically-tagging-you-in-photos

(end of article)

Ironically today’s Bangor Daily News is carrying a story about a scam in Maine involving somebody who seems to have a fair amount of personal information about the people he’s calling… Gee, I wonder where he’s getting it?

 Education, Real Estate Business  No Responses »

Sales Strategy Workshop

 Posted by at 6:28 am
Feb 282011
 

Here’s a course I’ll be offering soon through the Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative… on March 22nd so register soon!

Do you need to be more persuasive? The techniques you will learn have been applied in situations including advertising, public speaking, customer service, and even parenting. This is an action-packed and information-crammed program that’s fun to boot! You’ll learn, for example, that cows don’t give milk, you have actually have to take it! Or at least you need to know some basic techniques for getting those cows to yield the precious fluid. We won’t be milking cows, but we will be learning techniques to increase the returns from our sales and influencing efforts. Register online or call PVAEC at 564-6525.

 Education  No Responses »

Designated Broker Course Coming Soon!

 Posted by at 6:17 am
Feb 222011
 

“I felt extremely comfortable asking questions in relation to the material presented. I have experience teaching/instructing and receiving such in six years of college. I have no issue stating that this instructor is among the top three I have had.”

I’ll be teaching a designated broker course starting on April 6th at the Ramada Inn, 357 Odlin Road, Bangor.

Here’s the official description:

This 45 hour course covers all the educational requirements that are necessary to apply for a Broker license. To qualify for the Broker license the applicant must apply to the Maine Real Estate Commission and show proof of having passed the Designated Broker course. The applicant must have been licensed as an Associate Broker for 2 years within the 5 years immediately preceding the date of application submitted to the Commission.

There is No State Exam required after passing this course.

Designated Brokers/Brokers, if you would like to take this course as a refresher, this course has been approved for 18 clock hours of continuing education credit by the Maine Real Estate Commission.

 Preregister by calling the Arthur Gary School of Real Estate at 856-1712 or visiting the website.

 Education  No Responses »

Associate Broker Course — one week later!

 Posted by at 5:42 pm
Feb 012011
 

Thanks to Mother Nature, the Associate Broker course scheduled to start tomorrow will be delayed by one week and start on February 9th. That’s great news for procrastinators! There’s still time to sign up! If you’re currently holding a Sales Agent License, check to see when it expires and remember: you need to take this course before that happens!  Call the Arthur Gary School of Real Estate (856-1712) and join this illustrious group!

 Education  No Responses »

Associate Broker Course Starting Soon…

 Posted by at 7:24 am
Jan 202011
 

“Walter is an excellent instructor! The class was informative, interesting, and often fun! I looked forward to coming each week!”

This is the 60 hour course required of all licensed Sales Agents in order to continue practicing after Sales Agent licensing period.  (A sales agent license can’t be renewed–you must qualify for an Associate Broker License.) The fact  it’s required doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! There’s a course starting in Bangor on February 2nd — register while there’s till room! Call Stacy or Shelli at the school (856-1712) or visit the Arthur Gary School website for complete information. Sales agent and broker classes are also coming!

 Education  No Responses »

Sim-ul-tan-e-ous-ly

 Posted by at 10:02 am
Jan 162011
 

Two posts in a row that aren’t about real estate? This article was in  the last issue of my MoosePrint Newsletter… I got such great feedback on it I decided to add it here!

One day last year I was working with a second grader listening to her read. Dakota is a young scholar you quickly learn to admire. She works hard at learning. She was reading along and suddenly stopped dead. “I’ll never get that word,” she said.

 “Oh yes you will,” I countered. We both worked pretty hard, a syllable at a time. Simultaneously is a pretty big word for a second grader, but she finally got it. Of course then we had to work on the meaning, so I patted her on the arm with both hands “at the same time.” For some reason, the word and her accomplishment became big. When I would see her in passing I would look at her. Her brow would furrow as she concentrated and said “Sim-ul-tan-e-ous-ly.” Sometimes we would share the word with another teacher. “Dakota knows a big word!”

This fall Dakota came to visit the Grange Hall as part of the “Words for Thirds” program. The Grange I belong to gives every third grader in three school districts their own personal dictionary. One of my greater pleasures in life is getting to do those presentations. We talk about the grange, some history, and how to use a dictionary. Towards the end I ask the kids to share one thing they’ve learned. After a few kids gave the usual answers I called on Dakota who had been sitting patiently with her hand held high. She stood up, puffed out her chest and said, “Least year I learned the word sim-ul-tan-e-ous-ly. It means at the same time.”

This is one of those stories that no matter where you end it, it’s a great story. But the story isn’t over yet. Last week I was at school and walked by Dakota’s classroom while the kids were getting ready for lunch. She spotted me, ran out into the hall and grabbed me. “Mr. Boomsma, come in here. I want to show you something.”

I pretended to let her drag me into the room and waited patiently for her to return with her “show and tell.” She returned with one of her classmates in tow and pushed her friend in front of me. “Ok,” Dakota said. “Tell him.”

Her classmate looked quite serious and a bit hesitant, but after a moment of obvious concentration she said, “Sim-ul-tan-eous-ly!” I looked at Dakota to see her ear to ear grin. “I taught her that!”

 While I was confirming that Dakota’s friend knew what the word meant she was off to find another classmate. When she returned she informed me that she was teaching everyone in the class “her” word.

It is a pretty big word, even for a third-grader. As I’ve told the story, at least one person saw a parallel to the story of Johnny Appleseed. It’s also a great Christmas story. Heck—it’s just a good story. Hard-earned accomplishments are the best. And sharing makes them even better.

 Education, Just for Fun  No Responses »

Shall We Do Some Classing?

 Posted by at 9:08 am
Jan 092011
 

Okay… This really isn’t going to have much to do with real estate.  Maybe.

I’m not particularly given to making New Year’s Resolutions, but if I were one for this year would have been “to write more.” I’ve been tempted to think that means I should be issuing a warning:

Warning! I’m a writer. Anything you do or say may be used in a future article.

My colleagues and clients do offer an abundance of topics and stories, but this morning I feel the need to rant and rave over a comment published by an alleged educational expert. He announced that he’d recently experienced some “learnings.”  This led me to spend some time wondering, “What the heck is a learning?”

I’ve begrudgingly accepted that some of my instructor colleagues are doing “trainings.” I suspect they mean they are conducting classes.

I’ve yet to hear any students announce they are going to a training to get a learning. (It gives me some comfort that my grammar checker wants me to change a lot of what I’ve written.)

I might start classing and seminaring.  I do, after all, understand the need and opportunity for growth and change. And it might actually be pretty cool to be the first instructor to offer seminaring.

I also understand the need for accuracy in communication.  That’s one reason I decided to do a writing.

No, I am not this intense about it.

Wait! I can make this have something to do with real estate. Let’s say you are in the market to buy a house… and let’s say we find one you like. When we head back to the office, we are not going there to write a contract. We are going to write an offer to purchase. In fact, it’s important to understand when and how that offer might become a contract. (The answer might surprise you.) This is just one of the learnings you’ll get if you come to one of my trainings!

 Buying Real Estate, Education, Just for Fun  No Responses »

Fall 2010 Courses

 Posted by at 7:21 am
Aug 152010
 

The Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative Catalog will be out soon! I’ll be offering three courses this fall. For detailed information, course schedule and to register online, visit the PVAEC website. (As of this writing, the fall courses hadn’t been listed yet.) You can also call the office at 564-6525. The Fall Brochure should be out soon and will include the following:

Sales and Influencing Strategies Workshop

Do you need to be more persuasive?  The techniques you will learn have been applied in situations including advertising, public speaking, customer service and even parenting.  This is an action-packed and information-crammed program that’s fun to boot!  You’ll learn, for example, that cows don’t give milk; you actually have to take it!  Or at least you need to know some basic techniques for getting those cows to yield the precious fluid.  We won’t be milking cows, but we will be learning techniques to increase the returns from our sales and influencing efforts.

9/28/2010 , Tuesday from  6:30 – 8:30 pm at SeDoMoCha in Dover Foxcroft

 Brainpower… Discovering Your Mental Abilities

 Mental patterns and routines allow us to take in, categorize and handle great amounts of information, but they also account for most of our “stupid mistakes.” With awareness, we can manage the process and increase mental flexibility. After experiencing first-hand the flexibility and potential of the mind, participants learn how they can develop important mental skills such as fact-finding, problem-solving, and “happying.”

 9/14/2010, Tuesday from 6:30-9:00 at  SeDoMoCha in Dover Foxcroft

Ten Dating Rules to Help Your Job Search

The idea of having a new job is exciting. For most folks the idea of finding that new job is dreadful. This fun seminar will ask you to make job searching a bit more fun by using a few basic marketing principles. You’ll learn how to turn your job search into a program and how a properly designed resume will help you answer tough interview questions. High School Seniors welcome and encouraged to come!

 10/12/2010, Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:30 at SeDoMoCha in Dover Foxcroft.

Each of these courses has a minimum enrollment, so don’t procrastinate registering!

 Community Info, Education  No Responses »

Real Estate Courses Starting Soon

 Posted by at 5:16 am
Aug 062010
 

Fall is, of course, back to school season! And once again, I’ll be teaching several prelicensing courses for the Arthur Gary School of Real Estate.

The Sales Agent Course is for those who are brave enough to consider getting into the business of real estate. Actually, many recent students have said they believe a down market is the best time for a number of reasons. There’s less competition as others drop out, there’s a slower pace that accomodates learning… 

If you think you might be interested, there’s more course information at the Arthur Gary School of Real Estate website and licensing information at the Maine Real Estate Commission website. The course I’ll be teaching in Bangor starts on September 16th, so register at the Arthur Gary site or by calling the school (207) 856-1712 soon.

Folks who are already licensed know (but probably need to be reminded!) they need to complete the Associate Broker Course within two years of becoming licensed. The Associate Broker Course I’ll be teaching in Bangor starts on Wednesday, September 22nd, so register at the Arthur Gary site or by calling the school (207) 856-1712 soon.

 Education, Real Estate Business  No Responses »

You Don’t Know!

 Posted by at 7:05 am
Jul 262010
 

One of my favorite sayings is “You don’t know what you don’t know.” I suppose it sounds like a keen grasp of the obvious, but there’s some real insight beneath the obvious. When you decide to buy (or sell) real estate, one of the hazards is that you don’t know what you don’t know.

Most buyers are anxioius to look at property. You might be surprised at how many calls I get from people who’ve driven by one of my listings and and they want to know if I can show it to them–as if buying property is just about looking at it. One thing those buyers don’t know is that they are skipping a very important step in the process of buying real estate.

A frequent topic on “how to buy real estate” sites is how (and why) to “hire” an agent to represent you. While most buyers seem to get anxious to look at property and skip that step, there are at least a couple of reasons you should consider teaming up with your own agent early in the process. The major one is that “you don’t know what you don’t know.”

Therefore you ought to hire your agent because of his or her training, knowledge, experience, problem-solving ability, connections, and ability to communicate. There’s more, but those are some of the more important reasons.

Determining that agent’s depth of knowledge can be a challenge–after all, how do you determine whether or not the agent knows what you don’t? Here’s a couple of questions you might consider:

  • What’s the most recent continuing education course you took and what did you learn from it?
  • What’s the biggest mistake you see most home buyers making and how do you prevent it?
  • How do you keep informed about what’s going on in the real estate world?
  • How’s the market in… (area or community)?

You’ll of course want to listen carefully to see how confident the answers are… and understand that some questions are best answered, “I don’t know and will have to look into it.” The business of real estate is anything but simple. Listen for thoughtful answers and expect some to require some research. This is not an area that lends itself to “snow jobs.” Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know!

 Buying Real Estate, Education  1 Response »
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