Hugo's Blog

The message was ominous, Immediate Attention Required! Approaching Storage Quota Limit! said my e-mail service.

At first I thought it was a Spam attack. I've been hit before as hundreds of messages streamed into my In Box and were then filtered to my Spam Folder. When this happens, I find it fun to watch the number count grow in dark black as dozen after dozen of notes pour in offering me the latest cure for baldness, obesity, lack of energy, too much energy and/or male enhancement. Then, after the attack is done I'll finally receive the similar ominous message warning me that I've received too much e-mail and I need to do some cleaning.

This time was different, the warning didn't come from illicit pranksters in some far off country fishing for my credit card number or an alleged "hottie who thinks I'm cute and wants to meet."

Instead, the overflow of data came from fellow REALTORS who had been instructed to e-mail offers to my address for an aggressively priced home our company has for sale.

The problem wasn't the number of offers being received but with the size of the files. In some cases, I received e-mail attachment of 14 Megabytes (MB) or higher. It almost seemed as if agents had scanned contracts page by page (our average offer is 20 pages) in high resolution and sent them to me.

This, compounded by the myriad of offers received and my usual busy e-mail traffic caused the flashing lights, the dire warnings and a frustrated agent.

Now, without getting too technical let me explain the file size problem. A 20 page document (if scanned correctly) should average about 2 MB. This, I've found, is the optimum file size that most computers and e-mail systems can handle. Some will argue that modern e-mail systems can digest much larger file sizes without a care. But seeing as I deal with countless documents streaming to through the internet, I have found that nimble file sizes tend to work best in our industry.

Warning: Science and Data Content (For the Geek in You)

Wikipedia describes a byte as: A byte (pronounced) is a unit of information storage representing the smallest addressable element for a given computer architecture

A Megabye in turn is defined as: a SI-multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission and is equal to 106 (1000000) bytes.

10 to the 6th power? That's a lot of 1 and 0s!

I'm sure the technophiles will challenge my rudimentary descriptions here.

My point is that when agents send offers via e-mail please be mindful of the file size that you're sending. If you're sending anything over 2.5 MB you may want to forewarn the recipient that you're trying to squeeze a watermelon through a keyhole.

Now about that "hottie"......

I commend bloggers. I believe that on-line journals are a powerful new tool (in any industry) that helps us teach, commiserate, laugh and debate.

So, when I enter a blogging environment and I look for commentary that can help me gain insight on a topic, I hope that the posting will be on point. Lately though, I have found that many companies, brokers, agents and/or affiliates are using blogging for blatant advertising purposes.

I am not naive. I know that we all write and post to gain an audience. And audience that may potentially use our services.

But most real bloggers take the time to think of who they are writing to and post pieces that propagate knowledge. Their write ups are not loud annoying neon-like signs that say "buy from me, buy from me, buy from me."

Am I the only one? Is the bait and switch acceptable? How can the blogging community address this?

44 offers over the course of four days.

That's a new record for me and I am still a little shocked by it but its a sign of the times where homes are flying of the shelves if they are priced and marketed correctly.

Many years ago when I entered the industry working with multiple-offers and/or multiple-escrows at any given time was standard practice. At the height of things (as a full time transaction coordinator) I managed approximately 35 escrows at one time and I blame that era for a few pre-mature gray hairs.

For me, I handled multiple things with a combination of a written down grid (in the style of HOUSE''s diagnosing white board) and an internalized timeline in my head. I remember having developed an encyclopedic knowledge of my files in my brain that helped me sort through the hundreds of people and vendors involved in the sale.

I would have conversations in myself outlining when things would need to happen before closing and how I could overcome them. People in the office knew I was stressed if they found me talking to myself with my fingers in the air attempting to corral all the thoughts into one plan of action.

The rush of dealing with a myriad of tasks at one point was a rush that I am glad to be re-living. Its as close to a contact sport as you're going to have in real estate.

So for you...what are the most escrows/offers you have worked on at one time? How do you decipher through them all? Do you love it...or loathe it.

We put the property on the market at 12:35 pm. We  have had 36 phone calls in the last two hours and the first offer just came in.

On Monday, the clients rushed to the home in the late afternoon because we "knew" it was going to go fast. We wrote the offer on the hood of the car with the light fading fast and my lap tops battery running low.

Nearly every listing or offer we have out there right now is involved in a "multiple counter offer" situation and buyer's are starting to feel the stress of loosing out on good homes if they don't act quickly.

It just turned on a dime it seems and I have to ponder....did it just turn to a seller's market?

Sure this is Southern California but perhaps you're feeling something else. But I'd like to get an idea of what you're experiencing and do you think this will turn back soon the other way.

Why the fluke? Is it here to stay.

Our front desk admin popped into my office announcing that my 4:00 p.m. agent interview had arrived. She had a Cheshire cat grin on her face and I knew that I was going to meet someone interesting.

When I turned the corner onto our front desk lobby I was greeted by a "well-proportioned" woman who had chosen a crimson colored mini-skirt and a low cut white top for our first business meeting. In my practice of discussing career goals with people I take great efforts to side step first impressions and use our talk as an opportunity to delve in the personality and priorities of the person in front of me.

I escorted this potential associate into our conference room, thanked her for her time, opened my Franklin Covey (for note taking) and began to explain the process of affiliation with our brokerage. As she shifted and adjusted in her seat it became obvious that the amount of fabric on her person limited her ability to place herself in a professional stance.

I could not help at that point to ask the question: "Do you consider a listing appointment to be a job interview and if so what do you feel a consumer's expectation of the REALTOR should be?"

To this she answered (I paraphrase because its been some time): "Of course its an interview and besides expecting the agent to be knoweledgeable the public expects them to be professional and trust worthy."

Good point and great answer. It seemed ironic though, considering the source of the opinion.

In all, I found that her business plans and ours were not compatible and she was not asked back for a second interview. The issue that the conversation raised (and this is not the only such interview I've experienced like this) is the definition of professional wear as a real estate professional.

I think we all know that looking presentable is a necessary minimum standard for agents, but specifically for women in and/or entering the industry, does dressing "sexy" help you or hurt you in the field? Where do you draw the line in your personal choice of clothing? Have you ever gained or lost a listing because of what you wore? What is your experiencing interacting with other women when one is dressed provocatively?

Well I've been fishing and researching around the internet for a few weeks looking for some inspiration. You see, my site www.hugotorres.com has been in desperate need of revamping.

So I began the process by looking outside of the real estate world to see how other industries showcase their wares and services. My search (partly because of my love for photography) brought me to www.theresaminnette.com

Her lay out scheme (in my opinion) is tasteful, bold and interesting and I have used its concept of using the entire screen as a visual play area for visitors. I am still a little shy about the use of flash on a website but for the purpose of showcasing photos it works great for her.

I am still slowly laying things out but I would love your comments and critiques. I appreciate any/all the feedback I receive.