"Take the garbage out #5&**!!

I suppose there isn't a parent anywhere that hasn't yelled at their kids to take the garbage out.

I don't do garbage, with 5 kids and a hubby, just not my thing. 

But, today I did, not my house garbage but.......

My computer garbage or Trash.

I deleted over 40,000 emails in my garbage trash can. 

Every Sunday night I clean up my Inbox, and NO I have never gotten to that mythical land call "Inbox 0" but I do feel more organized starting a new week. 

I have a folder for each of my Buyers and Sellers in Ann Arbor. Every bit of communication with my client is dragged into the clients folder. When the transaction is CLOSED or SOLD, I drag it into a folder called PAST Clients. 

In each clients folder there is anywhere from 99 to 598 emails, the most being when it is a Short Sale. 

I regularly delete my Junk Mail but have never really wanted to delete my TRASH because many times if I am searching for something it pops up in TRASH. 

Today I did the dirty deed.

The easiest way to Empty your trash is to sort your emails by FROM. (see the graph below)

The email program you use with sort them alphabetically like: Active Rain Notices, Groupons, Tiger Lead Notice, Face Book, Twitter, Lowes, etc... basically if you hit FROM in Outlook or the Apple Mail Toolbar.

Then you can delete them all at one time. 

Nothing like football to get me into cleaning, except when Michigan is playing. GO BLUE!!

How do you manage your email? 

I feel like Missy the Maid.....

A few months ago, Keller Williams released a new software program called E Edge. It recently won the Innovator Award at Inman Connect in San Francisco.

Included in E Edge is Dot Loop. It is similar to Docu-sign in that it does electronic signatures and is part of the package we pay $15.00 a month for.

I'm sticking with Docu-Sign

I started using docu-sign a year ago and have used it to write an offer for a buyer who lived on a sail boat in California, he loved it.

That was my first experience and he loved the fact he didn't have to pull into shore, find a print store and print and then scan or fax back.

Now a year later I use docu-sign for all of my transactions.

I have found that even more "mature adults" have no issue with it.

It is safe, user friendly and saves me so much time.

Dot Loop which is part of the KW E Edge package does not have the profile sheets for listing contracts set up.

So if I list a home for sale in the Ann Arbor Area, I can do it all in Dot Loop but then have to go over and do the profile sheet in Zip forms.

Now who wants to do that?

Not me!

What's the point if you have to send two different documents to my clients.

I told my Assistant that I would not be switching to Dot Loop. It is frustrating as I send the listing contract to my clients, they sign, we go in, print it off, then Robert has to scan it in, upload to Dot-Loop and turn in the Green Sheet.

But, that is what we have to do as all transactions must be entered into Dot Loop to get paid.

Data Bases

Someone one told me that the best data base is the one you use. I feel the same way about Docu-Sign, I use it and love it.

The First

When I first started using docu-sign, I heard a lot of WOW from REALTORS in other Brokerages that weren't using it but found they loved it.

Recently the listing agent was away planning her daughters wedding, and I told her "if you give me your clients emails I will send them the document to sign" so you don't have to worry about it while out of town." She did and the sellers and buyers were both able to put in writing what we had agreed to verbally on the counter offer. Had she not done that it would have been 3 days before it was signed. That is something I was not willing to take a chance on.

SOLD

Count me SOLD on Docu-sign.Even if I have to pay the $19.95 extra on top of Dot Loop, I am sticking with what has worked and gets the job done.

Disclaimer: "This post is a submission to the DocuSign/ActiveRain Electronic Signature Stories Contest. It's possible I will win a prize for writing this post. You could win a prize too by going to the Contest Announcement and sharing your own story".

Dot Loop is only one of the features of E Edge and the rest of it is AWESOME!

****************************************************

328 Castlebury in Saline Michigan, located in Torwood subdivision is on the market for sale.

Saline Schools in Torwood

328 , Castlebury, Saline, MI 48176 View Map

Former Model,beautiful home with refinished hardwood floors in foyer, kitchen, nook, hall.

10 ft ceilings in Formal living room, first floor study, Great room opens to family room.

Crown molding in formal dining room.

Professional finished LL with bed, bath, rec room, and ex room, for media or work-out room.

Master suite w. corner jacuzzi tub, double vanities and walk in closet.

Private back yard, great landscaping.

Located in highly desirable Torwood.

1000 S. F in LL makes this a really large home.

Details

Asking Price:

279900

MLS:

3105774

Sq. Feet:

3228

Bedrooms:

5

Bathrooms:

5

# of Floors:

2

HOA/Maintenance Fees:

150

Garage Size:

2

Subdivision:

Torwood

Year Built:

1998

Property Amenities

- Range/Oven
- Sink Disposal
- Full Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Washer/Dryer
- Dishwasher
- Fireplace
- Hardwood floors
- Vaulted Ceilings

- Basement
- Deck
- Grass Lawn
- Yard
- Great Room
- Central A/C
- Central Heat
- Walk-in closet

- Family room
- Living room
- Bonus/rec room
- Office/den
- Dining Room
- Breakfast nook
- Laundry area - inside
- Finished Lower Level

Contact Info

Missy Caulk
Associate Broker

Cell 734-216-2822
Dir 734-926-9797
Email | Website

All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.

Beautifully finished and impeccible condition. Newly finished hardwood floors in foyer, kitchen, nook.

You will love the back yard with mature landscaping, refinished deck and perrennial flowers.

If you are looking for a large home, this is IT, professional finished LL, with bed, full bath, work out room. Egress window in the lower level bedroom.

Peaceful Master bedroom retreat with double vanities, corner spa tub and huge walk in closet.

Looking to move and do nothing ? This is the home for you.

Occassionally I run across information on blogs that I feel is important critical to pass along to the Activerain Community.

This is one of the those times.

Lani Rosales, New Media Director on Agent Genius, recently wrote a post on Using Web Images in Your Blog Post from Flickr.

Now I love Flickr and use the:

1) Advanced Search

2) Creative Commons

3) Those images used for Commercial Use  (yes we are commercial)

4) Adapt or Modify Photos.

5) Then I link to the photographer from the post.

Bases Covered, right?

Lani has a fantastic way to protect yourself even further in your WordPress blogs. I'm not going to repost it. It is all over there on Agent Genius with a graph to show you how to do it in the back-end of your wordpress blogs. 

This is an example of a modified photo in Flickr with credit given to the photographer.

Seriously, you want to read it.

We read,worry and obsess so much over SEO,(Search Engine Optimization) but is it necessary?

Here is a fantastic video I found by Matt Cutts, Google WebMaster that cuts to the chase on optimizing your sites.

It was just published in April 2011 so up to date information and hopefully will take your stress level down a few notches.

I've been blogging since 2006 and honestly I have never worried to much about it. I use a few little things to enhance my blog posts and when I teach I share them. Thanks to Karen George who coached a few of us on Activerain, a few months into blogging in the rain I learned a few little techniques and have stuck with them. 

If you haven't read Karen's blog who passed away a few years ago from breast cancer you should read every word she has ever written.Michael her husband now blogs under her profile .

When I teach on blogging, I want folks to walk away with only a few things to make their posts more SEO friendly and that is IT.

• Key Words not too many
• Anchor Text
• Alt Tags
• Call to Action
  

If as Matt Cutts says in his video Google looks at On Page Content and Off Page Links. (backlinks)  If you want to know more about this read Katerina Gasset, a wonderful blogging coach.

Now go have some fun...

4858 Hack Rd. in Saline School District is open on Sunday, April 10, from 2 to 4.

Gorgeous 10 AC parcel with beautiful views of the pastorial country-side.

Hosted by Brent Lauerman, Buyer Agent, Missy Caulk TEAM.

I've been busy.

Restructuring...

If you want to read more, on that topic you can do it on Agent Genius.

In Real Estate there are two sides to our business...

1. Working in the Business
2. Working ON the Business

Here is a little tip I wanted to share with my Activerain buds today. Maureen McCabe wrote on post on Activerain a day or so ago and on Paper.li. Then I read a post on Telivant by Joe Spake on paper.li.

I thought, "I can do this."

Take the time, learn it, do it, Missy.

I've been seeing it for months and just didn't have the time to check it out. Read Maureen's post for more details, but it is basically a Twitter newsfeed converted to a newspaper. 

First you must have groups set up on Twitter. I have all or most of the people I am following assigned to groups. So if you don't yet, then you have to do it first.

So I set up several newspapers which will grab the tweets of people I am following and put them in newpaper format. When your article in pulled, you get a tweet on it. Kool, huh?

Here are the ones I set up:

• One for my Blogging Friends I follow
• One for Technology Tips from people I follow
• One for Ann Arbor
• One for Michigan

Pat Katano set my A2BreakingNews up.

Here's the point of the post, it really wasn't about paper.li. While I was on Twitter I found Who To Follow up at the top. So I clicked it on and based on who I now follow it suggested people I could pull from:

I went to LinkedIn and found a bunch of people I didn't realize I wasn't following. So I added them and then added them to my LISTS so they would show up in one of my Paper.li Newsletters.Now here is the easy part...when you go to WHO TO FOLLOW, and click to LinkedIN you can just add all your connections on LinkedIN as one Twitter saved group.

As a busy Realtor in Ann Arbor, I am all about automating,connecting and staying in touch with my friends. This was sooooooo easy to do and and easy way for me to read the tweets of my buds.

If you don't use Twitter you can also share the Newsletter on Facebook. What an easy way to share with your friends!

Go have fun.

If I am not following you then leave your Twitter handler in the comments and I will follow you and add you to my Blogging Friends, paper.li.

Let me know if you need help, but I don't think you will.

***Hint, Hint...I think Activerain needs a Activerain Paper.li, don't you?****

I had the priviledge of meeting Daniel Rothamel in San Francisco in 2007 at the First ReBar Camp, where I met so many of my Activerain friends and blogging buddies.

Daniel is one of the most ethical, servant orientated people I know.

If you are on Twitter, or Facebook then you probably already know what is going on.

For a detailed, passionate view of what is going on, then I recommend reading the Phoenix Real Estate Guy, Jay Thompson, post The Lones Group v Rothamel: A Case on Destroying Your Online Reputation on it.

But, in essense Daniel is being sued for $75,000 by The Lones Group in Washington, who claims he stole her brand. It was first reported on Inman News yesterday, and since then has been all over Social Media.

I like Dale Chumbleys comment on Inman: Hmmm... I'm from WA. I've attended classes of Denise's. I've never associated her as the Real Estate Zebra. From the moment I first heard of Daniel he's always been the Real Estate Zebra. Has she really trademarked stripes? She is a trainer. Daniel is a Realtor. This thing stinks in my opinion. I believe Todd stated it clearly... The court of opinion is going to rule strongly on this one.

I'm not going to repeat all the story here, as you can read it on both Jay's and Inmans's blogs.

Drew Myers, formally of Zillow wrote a great post on The Lones Group, Trademark Infringement Suit, Lones Group Brand Suicide, and Why SEO Matters

However, I am calling for the Activerain community to get involved, if you know Daniel and want to help him out.

Jay Thompson started a site for Daniel to help raise funds for his legal defense. I know if this was me, or if it was you, we would not have the funds to defend ourselves so I totally support Jay's efforts.

The name of the site is ZebraDefenseFund.com and you can donate from there.

There is also a Facebook Group, Stop the Frivolous Lawsuit against the Real Estate Zebra, set up you can join.

Questions:

• Can you trademark a Zebra or any other animal?
• Can you trademark a color?
• Are you watching your brand?

Over the years, I have taken photos of various zebra's because of my relationship with Daniel, Kari and Lil' Zebra.

Stefan Swanepoel who every year released a new book, analyzing  Real Estate Trends, is the author of a soon to be realeased book, Surviving Your Serengeti.

I was honored to get a pre-launch copy of it for review.

Take the quiz free on Surviving Your Serengeti. Go ahead, it is fun!

Stefan spent his formative years in Africa before coming to America. On a recent trip back to Africa he saw the similarities on how the wild life in Africa corresponded to us in business.

After reading the pre-release copy of Surviving Your Serengeti, and taking the quiz, I had to laugh as I discovered it only confirmed what other personality, motivation tests have taught me.

As a crocodile, my arch type in the book, I came to a greater understanding of why I am not afraid to take on projects, and sometimes most of the time make strategic decisions with limited data.

Each animal has different survival skills and dominance in the wild.

Each of use have different skills we automatically use in our day to day business endeavors.

My entrepreneurial nature affords me the opportunity to be passionate about Ann Arbor Real Estate, and the opportunities available to the Missy Caulk TEAM buyers and sellers. Seeking out opportunities to give our clients the best possible technologies to help our buyers in their Ann Arbor Home Search.

I am always looking for good business books, this one is great! Easy to read and apply.My review on Surviving Your Serengeti is on Barnes and Noble and now on Amazon.

A few years ago at a conference in Michigan, I had the pleasure of hearing Stefan speak and have followed him on  Twitter and Facebook.

 You can order NOW on  Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

If you take the test I would love for you to leave in the comments which animal in the wild you are most like.

***I was not paid to endorse this book, in anyway.***