Curt Baumgarth: Scottsdale Real Estate

Curt specializes in the Scottsdale area and regardless of where in Scottsdale you are interested in looking, Curt has the local knowledge to give you inside information like a true local.  Sure,  there are plenty of local Scottsdale Realtors and there are plenty of “expert” Realtors – but finding them both in one person isn’t as easy as it sounds. It doesn’t matter if you are buying or selling your home, Curt Baumgarth is someone that you can be sure is local and has enough experience and knowledge to qualify as an “expert”.

Curt Baumgarth: Scottsdale Buyers Agent

Many of the people that Curt has worked with will tell you that Curt not only has local knowledge when it comes to the ins-and-outs that only locals seem to know, but he also has expertise when it comes to real estate law.

Curt has enough experience and knowledge that when it comes to working with him as your buyers agent, you can be sure that even in the stickiest situations – you are well represented when it comes to what is in your best interests.

Curt Baumgarth: Experienced Short Sale Agent

Many people in Arizona are in a situation where they owe more on their house than it is currently worth and a short sale is one of the ways they are looking to make the best of a bad situation.  When short selling your home in Scottsdale, one of the most important decisions a homeowner can make is who to hire as their Realtor to help get the home sold. In Scottsdale, if you are considering short selling your house, be sure you work with a Realtor who has short sale experience and can be there to help answer any questions you have. Curt Baumgarth has experience with short sales.

Curt will let you know what to expect all during the short sale process and is available to answer any questions that you have or concerns that arise along the way.  Curt uses all of the latest tools and technologies when it comes to marketing your home including all of the social media sites like Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and more.

About Curt Baumgarth

Curt has lived in Arizona since 1974 and has two beautiful daughters, ages 13 and 15. He has an MBA from the University of Phoenix and an undergraduate degree from Arizona State University in Sociology.

Before becoming a Real Estate Agent, Curt was in law enforcement and enjoyed serving the local community.

Curt has been involved with various aspects of Real Estate for eight years and with a wide base of experience he is able to leverage his knowledge and love for the Phoenix area to help his clients have a world-class advocate at their side when buying or selling their home.

Curt Baumgarth’s Contact Info

Century 21 All Star Realtors
Real Estate Agent
430 W Warner Rd #122
Tempe, AZ 85284

Curt Baumgarth ‘s profile on Zillow
Curt Baumgarth ‘s profile on Trulia
Curt Baumgarth‘s business card
Curt Baumgarth on Facebook
Curt Baumgarth on Twitter

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’ll cover the following topics:

• FHA loans keep market alive (Seller contributions, down payment grants and gifts)
• VA loans… sometimes the only alternative!
• Foreign Nationals Program
• Declining Markets… how this affects your buyers
• Latest guideline revisions from Fannie and Freddie
• The latest on the Credit crunch

Not only that I’m providing lunch – free! Come hungry – but also come hungry to learn.

Learn more about the Mortgage Seminar for Real Estate Agents.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

DO NOT CHECK EMAIL UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED ONE LARGE TASK FOR THE DAY. DON’T EVEN SNEAK A PEEK AT YOUR INBOX UNTIL YOU’VE CROSSED OFF A BIG TO-DO!!!

Often times, checking our email is not a top priority, but instead, our clever way of looking for something more interesting than the task at hand or our sneaky way of delaying the start of something more important.

It is easy to spend thirty minutes here and twenty minutes there on email, but how much is actually being accomplished when we’re doing that?

We all know the eighty/twenty rule, which states that twenty percent of our efforts produce eighty percent of our results. It’s important to consider that twenty percent of an eight hour day is ninety-six minutes, which is time that easily gets burned clicking around our inbox with our morning cup of coffee!

This week, when you get to the office, knock out one of your biggest to-dos for the day, before checking your email. You will thrive off of the accomplished feeling in knowing it’s only 10:30 and you already finished one large task.

Ok, let’s recap: DO NOT CHECK EMAIL UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED ONE LARGE TASK FOR THE DAY. DON’T EVEN SNEAK A PEEK AT YOUR INBOX UNTIL YOU’VE CROSSED OFF A BIG TO-DO!!! If you want more simple and effective tips to help you manage your time, and maximize your productivity, check out or call 480-688-0920 to find out how you can get yourself organized once and for all!!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Craigslist is fast turning into the red light district of the Internet. As the New York Times reports today:

“Craigslist has become the high-tech 42nd Street, where much of the solicitation takes place now,” said Richard McGuire, Nassau’s assistant chief of detectives. “Technology has worked its way into every profession, including the oldest.”

In July raids, the sheriff of Cook County, Ill., rounded up 43 women working on the streets — and 60 who advertised on Craigslist. In Seattle, a covert police ad on Craigslist in November resulted in the arrests of 71 men, including a bank officer, a construction worker and a surgeon.

And while prostitutes also advertise on other sites, the police here and across the country say Craigslist is by far the favorite. On one recent day, for example, some 9,000 listings were added to the site’s “Erotic Services” category in the New York region alone: Most offered massage and escorts, often hinting at more.

That in essence sums up Craigslist. A microcosm of the Internet. Anything, anywhere, anytime and in anyplace. Click, click, click and you’re there.

So, is there anything wrong with this picture when it comes to Real Estate? Not really. Many agents advertise their listings on Craigslist. It’s great exposure and heck you’ve got to show your clients you’re doing some on-line marketing right?

Depends.

You don’t need a Harvard degree to know that in marketing perception is reality. In most cases the medium used to convey the message defines the messenger. In Real Estate the product is the agent. The house is a by-product. An agent attracts the type of buyer he or she seeks. So, this begs the question: What kind of product are you? Do you want to work with Shrek or Lord Farquaad?

Lani raises the exact same issue on her blog, and I agree with her:

The only problem is that most of us don’t venture past the “housing” section of Craigslist to know that one of the most popular draws of Craigslist is the “personals” section. It is common knowledge that Craigslist’s success began with the “personals” and “for sale” sections. Some of the personals range from questionable to pornographic. Looking to buy a ball-gag wearing bedroom slave? Look no further than the famed Craigslist.

That’s great for those in the market for a slave, but did you even know that the same venue you post clients’ homes on is used for this purpose?

However, she goes a step furtherand wants Craigslist to remove their personals listing or make it somewhat hidden. She even asks why MySpace and other social networking sites get a bad rap on the same issue but Craigslist hasn’t felt the heat.

The main reason why sites like MySpace get pressure is bacause it was a kids hideout until the adults jumped in on it. In late 2004 no one above the age of 35 knew about this underground phenomenon and all of a sudden today we have entire real estate listings on MySpace.

What I’m saying is that a teenage hangout got raided by everyone and anyone trying to cash in on a hip new trend. Craigslist was never a teenage wasteland. From day one it has always been the classified section of the Internet.Young urbanites, more comfortable with a laptop than a newspaper in cities like San Francisco and Seattle used it to find stuff and sell stuff – all for free. You got on, found your stuff and got out. You’re not there trying to make friendships with the guy selling the old BBQ grill.

As you can see MySpace and Craigslist are two different animals. In MySpace you build a community, on Craigslist you try to get a sale out of the community. Kids talk about MySpace in school and everyone wants to be your friend, I’m not sure Craigslist has the same effect. That is why MySpace needs to make sure kids are protected and Craigslist doesn’t. 

Despite the differences authorities are still asking why Craigslist doesn’t self-police or stop allowing such advertisements. Again from the New York Times:

Law enforcement officials ask why Craigslist even includes Erotic Services among its 191 categories. Mr. Buckmaster, the company president, said the site created that category “at the request of our users” for legitimate massage, escorts and exotic dancers.

The bottom line is you use Craigslist at your own risk. In other words Craigslist has no obligation to remove any section of its classifieds. Responsible adults need to teach their kids and neighbors need to warn neighbors. Besides its like getting on the Internet. Once on, you’re really only one typo away from porn.

As far as listing Real Estate, it’s a business decision. More specifically it’s a market positioning decision.Whether you want your face on a sale sign next to the local De Ja Vu Club or not is up to you and maybe based on the house you have to sell. This may get you some additional traffic, but when was the last time traffic paid the bills? Even the massage ladies know that!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

“I like to take a submissive posture with my clients.”

“I am aware that I am your slave, I work for you.”

“I guess selling a house was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.”

A better version is available on Apple Movie Trailers.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Steve will also be handing away some real cool goodies too:

By special arrangement, we’ve been able to get every attendee a free sign-up for a real estate agent website from Point2 Technology. The basic site is free to all, so tomorrow we’ll be making sure we have the sign-up information and your get an invitation by tomorrow evening.

One lucky attendee will get their annual subscription free for a TypePad blog ($50 value), courtesy of Business Blogging Pros and

One attendee will also get a one year free to a Point2 Technology Professional-level subscription ($599 value) courtesy of Point2.

This starts at 3pm (August 28th) at Jobing.com Headquarters Office,
4747 N. 22nd Street, Second Floor Conference Room). I’m planning on attending and hope to see you there.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

As I promised I have posted my Blogging Seminar PowerPoint. Like I said yesterday, this is only a reflection of my personal experience with blogging. It is by no means a blueprint.

It was good to see some veteran bloggers in attendance. I don’t know if they learned anything but Jay Thompson (The Phoenix Real Estate Guy), Calie Waterhouse (Decorated to Sell) and Doreen McPherson stayed for the whole thing. I must add none of them threw any rotten tomatoes. What a relief that was for me! Phew.

There was also another seminar across town yesterday. Steven Groves, Greg Gotcher and Dave Barnhart presented relevant blogging materials and it’s a bummer that we had a clash! I would have enjoyed attending. Maye they’ll share their experience on their blog soon.

Update: Read Calie Waterhouse’s take on the seminar.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

For those of you busy realtors and professionals on the road, this frustration brings up so many different points, but for today, I want to share with you one incredible tool, that takes less than five minutes to begin using, and is FREE!

Can I get a drumroll please…………………………………………..

www.jott.com

Basically, how it works is you call up their phone number and leave a message for yourself or someone else, and that message gets transcribed into an email, and sent to you, or whoever you “jotted” in less than 15 minutes. Now don’t ask me how this works, because that is not my expertise, however, this tool is a fantastic time saver, and stress reliever.

Instead of trying to keep information in our heads to remember for later, (because our brain is for thinking and creating new ideas, and not for storage), leave a message with Jott and then receive an email record of whatever it is you said. And yes, you can “Jott” others. It takes a few minutes at the most to upload your database and then it will ask you, “who do you want to Jott?” and you just say the person’s name, and begin leaving your message.

This is great if you want to confirm a meeting with someone, or have something quick to say, but don’t want to get stuck talking on the phone, but are away from a computer. Also, you get a copy of the email that was sent to someone else. Isn’t that great?

Oh, and the commercial Realtor is getting plenty of sleep! Yep, just another great tool to help us cope with our insanely busy lives. Of course I have many tools for helping people to operate more efficiently, helping their well-being and their bottom line. You can check out my website for more info.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I will say that when we deal with for sale by owners or sellers without agents, we lenders can be forced into a situation where those whom we are arranging the loan for do need some real estate advice. I do not give any real estate advice under any circumstances. However, in the past year I’ve had to deal with several borrowers not using agents for various reasons. A lot of these cases have also involved first time home buyers.

So, in these cases I’ve had to help with setting up escrow, explaining the ten day inspection period, providing referrals for a good home inspector etc. I don’t advise on anything to put on the contract and absolutely do not even suggest anything. I only provide what is really just commonly available information which the borrower could obtain from other sources with a little bit of effort.  It has helped that I’ve worked with fantastic escrow officers on these transactions.

I certainly always recommend that they obtain representation especially when they are first time home buyers. There is no reason why a buyer shouldn’t! However, often times it is because the seller doesn’t want to deal with an agent on either end, so the buyer is forced into an uncomfortable situation especially when they really love the house. In the past few cases things have worked out really well. I’d hate to imagine what it would be like if things had gotten ugly. Thank goodness I only deal with mortgages.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The winning post “The Imperative of Divorced Commissions, Part 2: The Inherent Value of Free“ was written by Jeff Kempe of BloodhoundRealty Blog.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.