When I first saw Glympse in the Play store, I discounted it as another “wanna be” social service that lets users see where other users are… pretty lame (I thought). My thinking was so wrong; it is a completely different service than I thought it was with many uses. My use is primarily for real estate but it could be a must-have app for everyone.

Disclaimer #1: I know it’s a noun and not a verb but I will be using Glympse incorrectly as a verb, like it or not.

A question often asked by everyone is “where are you” or “where were you”, when you were expected. Anticipating that question, you can “Glympse” them ahead of time. For real estate agents, that means alerting purchasers to your location if they get to your office or a home showing early. In addition to sending a “Glympse”, you can also add a note to “text” them simultaneously.

Parents can allow licensed children to use the car “provided you Glympse me for the duration, so I know where you are for safteys sake . The kids can leave their phone somewhere but knowing teenagers, that’s not likely.

While out enjoying a pleasure trip or experience, you can Glympse your journey. Glympse your bicycle trip, kayaking adventure or walking excursion to friends and social networks.

You’ve been kidnapped and are in the trunk of a beige 1974 Cadillac on your way to a river (OK not probable but possible… maybe I watch too much TV). You “Glympse” the police department so they can follow you before you’re swimming with the fishes.

Disclaimer #2: There might be millions of real estate agents worldwide and maybe hundreds of thousands in the United States… I really don’t know so I will just say “a ton”.

I should also mention a perfect use for many agents… safety. There are a ton of real estate agents in the United States . Most list and sell real estate safely day in and day out but every once in a while, you’ll hear about the robbery or murder of an innocent REALTOR who was only trying to facilitate the sale of a home. There are many safety tips that real estate agents follow to minimize the risk to our safety and Glympse gives us one more tool. When starting a home tour with a new client or when meeting someone for the first time at a remote location, an agent can “Glympse” their location ahead of time to a significant other, a fellow agent or the Broker for an hour or two and have some confidence that at least someone knows where they are and can follow their movements onscreen.

I’m a real estate agent not a technology reviewer but I have technology training in my background  and I love online applications especially real estate specific productivity sites including the social networking sites and CRMs. I am SO INCREDIBLY pleased that online apps have replaced software (mostly) and now I can choose any platform instead of only windows on a PC. In my mind (ten years ago) Mac people were weirdos fighting against the norm and now I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a mac and that IS the norm.

I was recently asked “Where will my home be advertised?” and I realized I have so many places I promote myself and the homes that I list for sale that I thought I would share some of them here. Come join me on any of my social sites, business or personal!

The search feature on my web site where this blog post can also be found:
http://homesearch.fairfaxcountyvirginiahomes.com/idx/search.cfm?cid=53002 (Cost $)

My mobile MLS search tool for iPhone and Android
http://fairfaxcountyvirginiahomes.idxre.com/idx/mobile/index.cfm?cid=53002 (Cost $)

My profile on realtor.com
http://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/Roy-Kohn_Burke_VA_16595_144594635 (Cost $)

My profile on Zillow
http://www.zillow.com/myzillow/Profile.htm (Some free, some cost $) by the way… if you’re a former client and would be so kind as to rate me, you can do that here: http://www.zillow.com/reviews/write?s=X1-ZUz3tu7xuykikp_5jgqr … Thank you!

Yahoo profile (same as Zillow, same ownership)
http://realestate.yahoo.com/agent-profile;_ylt=Ao95yTLmit6rn71uCwLfmdhm47Qs?agentid=2112376&requestid=lpb

I advertise regularly on Cragslist. Here’s an ad (for as long as this link is live) (FREE)
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/reb/3102544402.html

Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/roykohn (FREE)

Facebook Business Page
https://www.facebook.com/northernvirginiarealestate (FREE)

Personal Facebook (where real estate does bleed through)
https://www.facebook.com/roykohn (FREE)

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/roykohn?feature=mhee (FREE)

PropertyTube (like YouTube for real estate)
http://www.propertytube.com/us/channel/roy-kohn-united-states-2682#.T-o-p7VDxWw (FREE)

LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/royko (Free and Cost $)

Foursquare
https://foursquare.com/roykohn (FREE)

Google Plus business
https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117796435411174543812/117796435411174543812/posts (FREE)
I’m having trouble with Google plus because I have 4 accounts. It’s still growing and I plan to merge them when Google Plus matures.

Market Leader is a website system that requires registration which allows one to use this great home searching tool. (Very expensive)

Here’s my personal Market Leader Account at http://www.searchfairfaxcountyhomes.com/
Here’s my Market Leader account with my RE/MAX office http://roy.allegiancehomes.com/

There’s also: Flickr, Yelp, militarybyowner, Trulia, Listing Book, RE/MAX website, and dozens of others including a major player that charges me a lot of money for the people that come through it but it is very popular, so… to benefit my clients, I do maintain a presence there. I will share it with you after we start looking at homes or get yours listed if the curiosity is killing you

I’m very excited to have sold a home in South Run in a very short amount of time. I wish I could take all the credit by pointing out my mad skills as a real estate agent and aggressive marketing but the sellers share in the success. They insisted on a higher price than I would have liked but they did have an exceptionally fine home to sell. Despite the opinion of real estate agents in general, we do not KNOW for sure what’s going to happen. Market knowledge and past experience guide us but there is no absolute certainty. One of my weaknesses and strengths is trusting my clients. Not the wild “I want to win the lottery” dream price but when they are well thought out have a rationale, I’m fine sharing my opinion but still shooting for their goal.

We listed the home for $62,000 higher than any other recent comparable sold home and got a full price offer within two days of actually listing the house for sale. We did have a couple of weeks to pre-market the home online, get professional photographs taken and a video completed, which can be seen here.

If you live in South Run you should know that now there’s such a great comp and more coming, that your home may be worth more. I think this sale is the highest price home sale in the South Run subdivision in the last six or seven years! Since this home went under contract, even the conservative agents who normally work in South Run have started listing homes much higher than they have in the past. One at just under $900K and another at $914K (and some change). The market has been booming for the last year or so and it’s fantastic to see it in the price range I seem to find myself in these days!

Market Snapshot

South Run is in a very popular subdivision in Fairfax Station.  South Run residents have easy access to the trails surrounding Burke Lake. The Schools are Sangster Elementary and Lake Braddock Secondary School. If you’d like to see what else is available in Fairfax Station, click the following link: http://blog.fairfaxcountyvirginiahomes.com/fairfax-station-real-estate/ If you need a real estate agent to list your Fairfax County home or need a buyers agent for your next purchase, please consider me. I would value and honor your trust!

YES, I work there too!
I just got an email from buyers who have decided to look in a different area than the one they instructed me to help them with. They went on to say that they’ve initiated a relationship with a different agent. Because they didn’t share this new direction with me, I had no idea they decided to look in Woodbridge. They mistakenly thought that I only worked in Burke and in order to look in Woodbridge, they would need a Woodbridge agent. I work in Woodbridge!!!  Woodbridge is only 10 minutes away after all! This is one of the reasons being a real estate agent can be such a difficult profession. It’s hard to earn a living when you work free of charge. We don’t earn one penny until we go to settlement after helping you purchase or sell your home.

Consumers can be educated but may also be overwhelmed. I once heard a story about an agent losing a listing to a 2′nd agent, when asked why they decided to hire the 2′nd agent, the seller said “The agent told me he would put it in the MLS” … Every single real estate agent puts their listings in the MLS but the losing agent didn’t say that specifically and it changed the outcome.

Drawing from one of my recent transactions, here is an example of a good experience. I listed a home in Alexandria and gave a little bit of a break on the commission with the understanding that they would let me help them buy a home just over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Maryland. During the listing period and subsequent sale, they had a change of heart and decided to buy in Charlottesville, Virginia. I had never been there and would’ve been hard pressed to find it on a map but these folks knew the deal and trusted me to help them find a home. We went on a couple of house hunting trips (a two hour drive from Burke) before we found the perfect home. I quickly learned about the house and neighborhood and we were able to negotiate an excellent deal. These clients have allowed me to help them sell two homes and buy two others in Virginia. They honor me with their trust and loyalty and I value them greatly.

With computers and GPS, the days of the “neighborhood specialist” who only works in one subdivision are a thing of the past. I’ve helped people buy and sell homes all over Northern Virginia and Maryland. These days, most of my business is in Fairfax County, Arlington and Alexandria but I’ve sold homes in Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Purcellville, Leesburg, Poolesville, Crofton, Annapolis, Columbia, Elkridge, Ellicott City, Mt Airy… everywhere! Once we find a house of interest, that’s when I become highly knowledgeable about that specific house and neighborhood and truly become, “The Neighborhood Specialist”. If I can drive there and access information through the use of technology, I happily work there!

Below are screenshots of many of my listings and sales. Pictured first is most of Northern Virginia

Next, just a couple more that didn’t fit on the above screenshot

and finally, where I started so many years ago with Shannon and Luchs in Maryland and I still list and sell several each year.

RE/MAX Agent Survey Reveals Rising Prices, Strong Demand.

This agent survey is from RE/MAX real estate agents nationwide. Northern Virginia has been experiencing a shortage of inventory and increasing prices for over a year now.

It’s not unusual while showing, selecting and writing offers on homes to be in competition with other offers. Even when full price or higher are offered, it’s a battle to win. Sometimes you have to be creative and add some details to make your offer more attractive.

I thought I’d share just a handful of unique procedures I follow and various ways I market your home when you trust me enough to list it with me. These ongoing posts will be tagged as “Marketing” on the bottom right side.

Price and location sell the house. Everyone has heard this statement before. I find that a buyer always researches these things before ever deciding to see your home. The price is why your home shows up in their search in the first place, the pictures help them identify the acceptability and perceived value of the choice and finally the map search helps them decide if there are any geographical deal breakers. If the price, value and location seem OK they usually schedule a viewing.

You can’t do anything about the location but you can show the home in the very best light possible. I am a very good real estate agent. I am NOT a good photographer. There is a huge difference between my pictures and a professional photographer’s. The expensive lesson that taught me this was when I bought a Nikon SLR and thought that it would pay for itself by just taking my own pictures of the next four homes I would list. At the time I didn’t realize there were other things I would desperately need.

• A wide angle lens, purchased separately will always show more house. This lens is more expensive than the camera.
• A tripod will eliminate the possibility of blurring and if several shots are taken with a variety of settings from the same exact location, the photos can be merged and processed.
• Digital photo processing brings out the absolute best picture possible.

Professional photography is always the very first thing I schedule. I like to have the pictures available before or at the same time the house is first listed so that no viewing is wasted. There’s always a large group of real estate agents and buyers who are looking for new inventory, every single day and if a home is listed with poor quality photos or no photos at all, they sometimes never come back for a second look. If the photos look good they will also “View Map” and using Google or similar, look at the “Birds Eye” view and “Street View” if available. Viewing photographs is the very first point at which a potential buyer sees your home and seeing them helps buyers decide whether or not they want to visit your home in person.

• RE/MAX Allegiance is the World’s Number One Selling RE/MAX Company
• RE/MAX Associates average more sales than other real estate agents.
• RE/MAX Associates have more real estate sales experience than other real estate agents.
• RE/MAX has the most productive sales force in real estate.
• Billions of dollars have been spent promoting the RE/MAX brand and agents.
• RE/MAX is the most recognized name in real estate.
• No name in real estate is better known than RE/MAX.
• RE/MAX dominated national TV advertising in 2011, reaching more viewers than all other real estate brands combined.
• RE/MAX dominates national real estate TV advertising.
• When consumers find real estate online, “remax” is the most used search term among real estate brokerages.
• remax.com is the most visited real estate franchise Web site.
• RE/MAX is in more countries than any other real estate brand.
• RE/MAX agents make up less than 2 percent of real estate agents, but account for more than 12 percent of all agents’ sales.
• RE/MAX offers support and services not available at other real estate companies.
• RE/MAX leads the industry in professional designations.
• RE/MAX has helped millions of families buy or sell a home.
• Each year, RE/MAX agents help hundreds of thousands of families buy or sell a home.

To the above list I would add:

• RE/MAX Allegiance is the largest RE/MAX franchise on the planet.
• and Roy Kohn is the best real estate agent on the planet – (OK… I made the stuff up about me but I am an excellent REALTOR)

The ability to search for homes in the DC Metropolitan area (Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia) is provided by the same state of the art company that provides the search function on my full site. It’s very fast and accurate.

Currently in place in order of importance to you, is the ability to:

• Search for every listed home, regardless of broker
• Search for all upcoming open houses (more available as you get closer to the weekend)
• “Top Picks” which are the preformatted searches already created on my full site (e.g. All Burke Single Family $500K-$600K)
• “Featured Listings” a detailed list of homes listed by me (by the way, I need more if you know of anyone interested in selling)
• My contact data and the ability to push a button to call or email me if you have a question or just want to say “Hi!”

The ability to search for homes based on your physical location will be coming soon, so stay tuned! I’m rarely as excited as when I’ve got some great new tool or technology to share with people. This is so useful, I use it myself when I’m out with clients because it’s much faster than logging into the actual MLS to do a price or availability  check on a home we pass by.

Please let me know what you think and any other enhancements you’d like to see integrated into the new mobile site. you can find the site from your mobile phone at SoldSurfer.com or by scanning the QR code below.

It’s my job to be the neighborhood expert. When I list a home for sale or identify a potential home for a purchaser, I make it a priority to quickly become an expert in that community. The Market Snapshot report arms you with the local knowledge you need as a consumer and gives you the market insights you crave.

The Market Snapshot will show you:

• Average days on market
• Selling vs asking price
• Asking and sold prices
• Amount of available  inventory
• Community and school information

Market Snapshot’s “Market Data Display” puts you in the driver’s seat of your own local information locomotive. View the freshest neighborhood data on your screen. Once requested and published, it’s full steam ahead – the data will automatically be updated for you, so you won’t have to go back and redo your work or make a new request. From the moment you sign up and start receiving reports, you can also reference all your past reports for contrast.

See the latest local market trends, and get the inside scoop on what’s happening in your favorite neighborhoods.  Here is the actual sample report for Burke, VA. The Market Snapshot is available from my main menu above or by clicking this link  or you can sign up for it on my Facebook page