Combating Internet Comps

I am writing this piece to my REALTOR® friends. I have run into this issue over and over again, and perhaps, it is more problematic in a place like Philadelphia, where one street or two blocks can make a dramatic difference in real estate price and value. You have to know the blocks and streets to understand the pricing.

The issue, which I have run into, is clients/prospects running comps on Internet sites such as Zillow and Trulia. They tell me my judgment is wrong and give me evidence from these sites, which is not valid. The sites are furnishing properties, which are clearly not comps if you know the area. It can pull properties, which are less valuable or more valuable.

Now, I can run a CMA and have done so, but it is expressed that I am perhaps choosing the properties that suit my purpose. Yesterday, I told the client that the only thing I left out were 2 bedroom houses, and that I was showing all other closed properties.

So, I decided to waste some time and played around on the two aforementioned sites. I pulled the two following properties. The values supplied were generated by Trulia.

10XX Mollbore Terrace sold $225,000 10/13/2009
Similarly recently sold homes is $241,500

27xx South 12th Street listed $220,000
Similarly recently sold homes is $145,250

Now, each, of these houses, sit on a cute little square. In reality, the 12th Street property, in terms of land, is a little more valuable. It is closer to stronger neighborhoods. Also, the 12th Street property is larger. Now, I understand the sale price and the listing price being different. The 10XX Mollbore property has higher end finishes. How does Trulia, however, have such a large discrepancy in the "recently sold homes"? The "recently sold homes" should essentially be the same for each property, and they are not. I am looking at over a $90,000 discrepency. To me, it makes all of their statistics suspect.

Now, I have run into this issue more than a few times.

Driving and Walking

I have been wanting to write something on this subject since sometime last week. I know it is in no way related to my self named topics here in this blog, but feel I need a little bit of a rant!

PEOPLE WHAT ARE YOU THINKING AND DOING?!?!?!?!?

How much of a hurry are you in? How distracted are you? REALLY!!!!

This past week, I was almost hit straight on, as a pedestrian, in a relatively empty parking lot. I was walking through the lot, when a woman made a sharp turn in my direction and never looked straight ahead at me. I was really surprised. I saw her, but did not expect her to make that turn into the parking spots like that. She was looking at the stores. She looked at me at the last moment and jerked the wheel. She did not look the least bit phased. I WAS!!!!

As a driver, I saw endlessly stupid and dangerous moves by pedestrians and drivers. I saw more than usual. Is everyone really in that much of a hurry? Is it worth endangering your own life and lives of others just to get somewhere a few moments faster. It is not a good way to get on the six o'clock news.

Please, SLOW DOWN!!!! And use your turn signals.

FACEBOOK Friend Requests and Hackers

I want to start by thanking one of my FACEBOOK friends for posting the names of two people identified as hackers on FACEBOOK and sending friend requests. They are a nuisance, and frankly, I don't get it!

Twice, I have had hackers pop up on FACEBOOK Chat. Both times they told me they were stranded in London, a sad story and needed money. The first one, I thought was my FACEBOOK friend, and I deleted him. Sorry Buddy! The second one had the same story, but they chose someone from my life. First, I have not seen her since 1984. Second, I know enough of about her that she would not be reaching out to me for help from London. Third, it was September, and she has children and would not likely be there at the start of school.

Of course, we have all had the hackers send messages and videos from our accounts. I hope by now, we realize it is the hackers at work. I once deleted another friend due to hackers. It was the first of many notifications that said I was reported for putting up objectionable comments and/or pictures. Sorry to that woman too!

There is another thing for my women FACEBOOK friends to look at. I have a lot of friends on FACEBOOK. Of course, I don't know all or them nor do I communicate with all of them. I was not able to get into my friend requests for several days. It was apparently one of those FACEBOOK problems we all know about and experience. I could address them on my phone, but not on my computer. I waited.

Some time ago, one of my FACEBOOK friends notified a group of us that this one particular man had only women friends, and they were all Realtors. I don't know what that fetish was about. I don't really care what it was about. I simply removed him.

Today, I went through the friend requests, which have built up. There were forty. Out of the forty, there were clearly two men that had no connection to me or a few women, and both had only women friends. I am not telling you not to accept these gentlemen as friends, however, I did not. I just question their motivation.

The other thing that troubles me is a lack of a picture, or some image other than a face. It is FACEBOOK! Generally speaking, I will not accept a request with no picture. If I know you in person, I will, but I will still go to your profile and make sure it is you.

Be careful friends, but don't be frightened! There are great people I meet through this vehicle all of the time!

Driving to Carl Moore's House 102509

Errands 102409

Drive 102309

Philadelphia Rush Hour - 15th & Market Streets

ARV * After Repair Value

I am sure like many other Realtors®, I have been contacted by new investors, who talk the talk "ARV". I don't know about other Realtors®, but it was not part of the lingo in my training. So, after some schooling on my own, it turns out the "ARV" equals the price the property will sell for at the end of rehabilitation.

So, I am continually asked what the "ARV" is. Well, the answer is very difficult to answer. How do I know what will be done with the property? What will the quality of workmanship will be? How long will it take to rehab the property? What will the market conditions will be at that future date? I can only go by two things: first, what are the current comps? And second, in what direction is the neighborhood going? And how much activity is there in that particular neighborhood?

I can talk about the value of the property in terms of the capitalization rate, because I can determine what rents actually are in a particular neighborhood. And I can, therefore, run real numbers to assign value to the property without consideration of comparables, etc..

I have been shown properties purchased along with the "comps" given to arrive at the "ARV" and have found that many times, the comps are not comps. I don't know if the people providing the comps just do not know the areas, or if they are pulling a fast one on an out of town investor. I would guess that both things are happening.

When you are in a city like mine, Philadelphia, values can change dramatically in a block or two. You have to know the neighborhoods to make a good and informed decision. You have to know the neighborhoods to run the comps. If you pick the wrong area by a block or two, value at the end of a rehab can have a very different meaning.

Now, the reason that this term has come to mind today was because an out of town investor wanting to buy a multifamily property in Philadelphia put me in touch with a hard money lender. The lender started speaking about the "ARV" and throwing numbers at me. What I realized was that this person actually knew the values and neighborhoods and was equipped to deal with the meaning of the term. However, much of the time, the "ARV" is presented as a fantasy. A property will be picked and a similar property, which has been rehabbed, in a much better neighborhood will be picked and the buyer/investor will say that the "ARV" is that of the house in the better neighborhood. Well, bad news boys and girls, it won't be. It won't be until the neighborhoods are comparable. Wanting it to be so won't make it so.

Philadelphia is particularly confusing on this basis for many people. You can have the exact same house in several neighborhoods and the price varies by hundreds of thousands of dollars. It all goes back to the basic rule of real estate: location, location, location. Therefore, you must know the neighborhood in order to determine what an "ARV" can even be, but you must also know what the end product will be.

THE ROOF, THE ROOF, THE ROOF IS....... NOT UNDER WARRANTY

Just recently, I have been faced with questions about roof warranties. Of course, previous buyers were concerned about the roof, but either they were assured that they had a new roof, which the home inspector validated, or they needed a re-coating, or they needed a new roof, which the home inspector told them.

Of course, I work in an area with primarily flat roofs and the cost of a new state-of- the-art rubber roof generally runs from $1200 to $2200 for most houses. We are not dealing with $10,000 to $25,000 roofs. When buying a property here, I would always have budgeted money for a new roof, before I would do any work inside. I am always flabbergasted when someone does a rehab on a property and does not put a new roof on the house. It is such a big selling point, and general protection for the property and any work that has been done inside.

It seems, however, that I must be missing some current of conversation on this topic of ROOF WARRANTIES. All of a sudden, there has been a lot of emphasis put on this topic that wasn't there before. Generally, I always thought that the roof warranties did two things. One, forced you to re-coat the roof every three years whether it needed it or not, and two, did not really cover anything. So, I decided to do a little research to get to the bottom of it. See the following links:

NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association) ROOFING WARRANTIES

Is Your Roof Warranty Worth the Paper It’s Written On?

It is as I suspected. The best warranty does not necessarily get you the best roofing materials or roof nor is it a guarantee that you will be covered when you have an event that needs said warranty. It may be that the company offering you the warranty is out of business or the small print in the warranty voids any ability to claim coverage.

Therefore, it would seem that doing the research and getting the best product and the best contractor for your roof and roof work would be the best way to go.

RESULTS: Do You Think You Are Seeing Activity as a Result of the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit?

The results to the poll are as follows:

YES: 3 (27%)
NO: 6 (54%)
MAYBE: 2 (18%)

The comments on my FACEBOOK wall are as follows:

Pam Ziegler Bell, "I voted. I don't know if it's too soon to tell or if it's because I am not sure how it really helps them. Most of them need the money to get to settlement. I am going to try to promote it a little more to see what response I get. What do you think?"

James Baxter, "... I am a Realtor in San Diego. I have been seeing an insane increase in activity since the first of the year. Personally I do not see a relation with the tax credit. But I do see a relation with all time low interest rates and low prices. Homes under 300,000 are on the market for a short time and are getting multiple offers. To me it makes seance. It is at prices people can once again afford."

It would seem in this unscientific poll that the "NO's" have it. I am, however, one of the
"YES" votes. I feel fortunate that I am in one of those markets where things are relatively good, and picking up. And this increase in business is the reason that I have been away from this blog. I am getting lots of calls as a result of the Tax Credit. How many will develop into contracts and closings? I don't know yet; too soon to say. But it seems, at least, here in Philadelphia that things are picking up, properties are moving and there is a lot of interest in buying.

I think any Realtor, Buyer or Seller should make a point to address and take advantage of this Tax Credit, while it is available. If you aren't talking about it, you should be.

RESULTS: Are Properties in Your Market Getting Multiple Offers and Snatched Up?

I will confess that I was hoping to get a bigger response, but I am grateful for the responses I did get.

I put the following call out to Realtors®:

Are properties in your market getting multiple offers and snatched up?

The response was 8 yes (66%) and 4 no (33%). In addition, I received responses on my profile page on FACEBOOK as follows:

• yup! there are at least 4 offers per property
• Not in Charlotte..yet! please send your good fortune our way!
• Yep, especially short sales. I have one now that has 8 offers on it.
• The retail level is returning & competing with the wholesale short sale prices...
• Yes I just had multiple offers on my listing in Des Moines
• only if they are bank owed.
• multiple offers seem to be going in the 250k-350k range as the market is picking up by the day.

Thus, it seems to be looking up for some of us. I don't know what I can attribute it to. I can only speculate. However, hopefully, we are on the way back to business as usual, and it will spread to those areas and locales that are harder hit in the near future.

HACKERS ON FACEBOOK

In the past few days, HACKERS have been out there causing mischief on FACEBOOK.

You get a notification like the following:

So and so just reported your profile as it is in violation of Terms and Conditions! Click for Details


The first time it happened to me, I could not believe it. When I clicked, I could not get to the page and was worried that I would lose my page and all of my FACEBOOK FRIENDS. I know enough people, who have lost their accounts for requesting too many friends too soon or posting too many links or sending too many like messages. So, I wrote to one of the developers on FACEBOOK, but I have not had a response yet.

I removed the friend it came from. I could not have imagined what I did to offend this woman. The only things I had sent out were from my blog and only to those of you who had signed up to be a "reader/fan" of my blog on NetworkedBlogs.

Last night, however, I received another. This time when I clicked through. It said that my "profile picture" was inappropriate as were my comments. I looked at the friend that it came from and just knew that this man did not send a complaint. I have had little contact with him and knew that he had better things to do with his time! Then, another friend wrote to me and said that he got a notice that I had reported him. I received another one this morning and wrote to the friend to tell her about the message.

I posted on my STATUS:

Lauren is SAYING TO THE HACKERS who are saying she is reporting friends for violations of use - I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GRAND TIME! And, oh yeah... get a life too.

I want all of you to know that I am not reporting you. And I now, realize that you are not reporting me. There are bored, little people out there that should put their powers to good, who are just getting a big "Ha!Ha!" out of getting other people upset.

Last year, they were sending videos from your account to your friends. That caper seemed to be cured. This little prank is a little more malicious, but hopefully, FACEBOOK will figure it out and get it rectified sooner than later.

Buyers, The Importance of Getting Pre-Approved for a Mortgage at Present

A lot of Realtors® want you to be pre-approved before they start showing you properties, because they want to make sure that you are a viable candidate to buy a house. Some people, however, are offended that a Realtor® may require this pre-approval, but it is understandable, because they work for free until a deal closes. If they show you houses for two days straight, and you cannot qualify for a mortgage, then it is two days without pay for that person.

But there are other reasons to want to be pre-approved these days. First, the credit requirements are getting tougher. Therefore, it may take a few months to get items on the credit report straightened out or removed. And it will take those months before you can get a pre-approval, and even think about putting an offer in on a house.

Next, what I am finding is that houses are, in the past couple of weeks, selling very quickly. At least, they are selling quickly in the market in which I work. A man asked me at the beginning of the week to set up appointments for today to see four houses. Two of them sold by Tuesday. A third one sold today. On Wednesday, I picked out two more properties for him to see. One of those also sold. Therefore, when it is time to go out and look, you should have your finances ready so that when you find the house you really like, you can make an offer immediately, and it won't slip past you.

There is also a third reason, which is a combination of the above, and the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. If you need to buy before December 1, 2009 to get the $8,000 tax credit, and you need three months to straighten out your credit, and a month to look for a house, and two months to get to the settlement table, you could be looking at a six month period from start to finish. Of course it could be shorter, but it would be better to start, at least, with the financial end so that does not hold you up when you are ready to put an offer in on a house, or prevent you from taking advantage of the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, because you miss the deadline.

Are Properties in Your Market Getting Multiple Offers and Snatched Up?

I watch the news like everyone else... and hear what they are saying about the housing market... but......... over and over again, good houses are getting snatched up in my market quickly. Yes, they are either decent properties with the right price, or ones that are just priced correctly. Either way, I am finding them to be competitive. It is good news for sellers here.

I don't mind showing a prospective buyer without a pre-approval properties at least once, but I am very hesitant to do it now, because if they really like the property, and their paper work is not lined up, and the property goes under contract then every other property thereafter will be a disappointment or a compromise. Thus, I am really encouraging people to get their finances straight, before they go out and look, so that when they see "the property", they can jump on it! It seems, there is no time to waste. And with the tax credit out there for a first time home buyers, it is a really good time to take the leap and buy.

To the other Realtors® out there, I am asking the questions and taking a poll.... Are properties in your market getting multiple offers and snatched up? The poll appears on the right side on the home page of the blog. The poll will be up for two days. Thanks!

Field of Dreams

Of course, the passage I am going to quote has nothing to do with my blog! Something I was reading tonight brought this passage to mind. I have always loved the movie, Field of Dreams, and loved this part....

"Ray, people will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you have a look around," you'll say. "It's only twenty dollars per person." They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it; for it is money they have and peace they lack.

And they'll walk out to the bleachers, and sit in shirt-sleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game, and it'll be as if they'd dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they'll have to brush them away from their faces.

People will come, Ray."

Almost Forgot!

I want to thank all of you, who contributed your words and ideas on the pricing topic!

PRICING for SELLERS

It was not my intent, but most of my articles have been geared to buyers or investors. This post, however, I specifically wanted to gear towards sellers. It is a sensitive subject, but pricing a property, which I am listing, is more important than any marketing I can do, or any service I can provide as a Realtor®/Listing Agent.

Yes, I can do outrageous marketing, but if the property isn't priced correctly, it won't show much, and it won't sell. The bells, whistles, photos, web marketing, print marketing, and videos won't really help anything. It is a difficult sometimes to explain this fact. I can present every comparable property, and still not penetrate what someone's idea of the price of their property should be.

I am talking on this subject with a broad brush, because there are those sellers, who are exceptions to this idea, and who are very realistic. Sometimes, there are those who need an upward adjustment, because they have not been paying attention to where housing prices have gone. However, the difficulty, is not with these properties and sellers, but with the over priced listings/properties and sellers.

So, looking for advice from other Realtors®, I put the word out on FACEBOOK and asked what they say to sellers, when the sellers are unrealistic about pricing their properties. I thought it might be helpful to hear opinions and statements from other Realtors®, in different places in the country, both for myself and for people either selling their property or thinking about selling their property. I received various responses, but they all shared a similar idea, expressed in different ways, and perhaps, hitting different points, as follows:

• Terri Gilgour of Keller Williams Realty, Blue Springs, MO said, "We put the ball in their court and make them figure out how important it is to actually sell it."
• Marcile Warren Sims of Oracle Real Estate LLC, Mobile, AL said, "Let them know that they have to get an appraisal once the offer comes in and it may not appraise and then there will be problems. If they still insist, ask them to have an appraisal done before listing it and that may answer their questions."
• Al Perry of Century 21 Advantage Gold, Philadelphia, PA said, "Given the other options on the market, would you buy your house at this price if you were a buyer?"
• Jude Birch of RE/MAX International, Louisville, KY said, "...RE/MAX Regional Awards this week with David Knox on pricing - he was his usual upbeat self but attacked the changing dreadful market both of us face. He took us through the SELL or STAY thinking he uses all the time...."
• Brian Bundesen, Ann Arbor, Michigan said, "Obviously, you have to be armed with the comparables. You need to be clear as to how an Appraiser will look at the property. Explain that even if you find a buyer willing to pay the sellers price, the house is unlikely to appraise at that price, and the buyer will be unable to secure financing. Then ask the seller what they would do if they were the lender faced with those facts."
• Eric Bouler, New Orleans, LA said, "You are basically unrealistic in your price. It's like selling a 50 cent coke on a cold day for a buck. You will get few buyers. You are hiring me to be an honest broker for you."
• Todd Holloway, Michigan City, IN said, "The question is do they want to sell now? Or are they waiting to realize a preconceive number? If that is the case can you afford to hold on?"

Thus, if there is someone, out there, reading this post, who is thinking about selling their property, what am I and these other Realtors® saying to you? To start, Al Perry is asking if you would pay "your price" for "your property". I think that that is a great questions. Would you? What is your answer? What would you pay for your property?

The other questions and statements are just as relevant. They hit a pretty simple theme:

• How are the comparable properties priced? And what is their condition compared to your property's condition?
  
• Do you want to sell or stay?
• Can you afford not to sell?
• Are you willing to take the risk, if you are lucky enough to get your property under contract, that the property will not appraise?

All of us, Realtors®, want to sell property; that is what we do for a living. If it does not sell, we don't make a living. However, we want to sell it for the best price. It is in our self interest to get the best price as well as your best interest. Therefore, if you are thinking of selling, and seem to disagree with your Realtor®, call another Realtor®, and have them do a CMA (comparable market analysis) for you. If the second or third Realtor®, tells you the same thing, then chances are the price in your head is in excess of where the property should sell. If you still doubt what you are being told, then do what Marcile Warren Sims above suggested, and get an appraisal.

Thank You! And Pricing a Property

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of my FACEBOOK friends for following Bricks, Mortar and Cheesesteaks. Overnight, I have had a great response, and lots of comments on the NetworkedBlogs page. Thank you all!

Over the weekend, I would like to take the opportunity to write a post on PRICING A PROPERTY. Since, the majority of my readers are other Realtors, I am putting the question to you: What do you tell a seller when you think they are being unrealistic about the price they want to put on their property?


I look forward to your responses!

And again, thank you!

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

Here is what you need to know:

1. Who is eligible? First time home buyers with modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less to qualify for the full credit and $150,000 for married couples, who along with their spouse have not owned a principal residence in the past three years.
   
2. When does the purchase need to be made? The home must be purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
   
3. What is the definition of a "First Time Home Buyer"? Someone who hasn't owned a principal residence for three years before buying a house. Owning a vacation home would not count against you. However, if your spouse owned a principal residence in the past three years, you would not qualify.
   
4. What type of purchase is the tax credit good for? A Principal Residence.
   
5. How much is the tax credit? It is 10% of the purchase price, which is capped at $8,000.
   
6. Does it have to be repaid? This Tax credit does not have to be repaid unless you sell your house in the first three years.

If you can qualify based on the above answers, it is a terrific time to buy. If there is any question in your mind about your qualification, call your tax professional for advice.

GOING GREEN

"Green" and "Organic" are words, which you hear quite often these days. I have been wanting to research and write something on the topic of a "GREEN" house or home, but have not had the time to do the research I felt necessary to get to the place I needed to be to write such a post.

A lot of what I have come across is someone trying to sell me something and not just good advice.
Today, however, I was given a gift, and was sent such an article, which I am going to link you to. It is entitled GOING GREEN WITHOUT GOING BROKE! from Safe and Sound Home Inspections. I hope there is a helpful hint here that makes a difference in your pocketbook.

Home Inspections & Home Inspectors

Tonight, I listened to Frank Wible's Real Estate Show on WNJC 1360 AM, Real Estate News Radio. He dealt with the subject of the HOME INSPECTION. I have written about home inspections here before in this blog, and I am sure I will write about it over and over and over again. The guest on the show was Brian Connelly, the owner of Safe and Sound Home Inspections, whom I have had a good experience with on two recent occasions.

The result of the first inspection, with Brian, was for my client to pull out of the contract and re-coup his deposit money. The second inspection resulted in renegotiating the contract and moving forward.

There were several topics that were of interest to me. I may be using the words: "First" and "next", but may actually have them out of sequential order. First, they discussed whether your Realtor should go to the inspection with you or not. I can answer this question. Unless, it is impossible, I like to be there. I have never missed one. In fact, I have attended more than a couple without the client, when the client could not make it. On the show, there was not agreement on the answer to this question. In all fairness, they had valid points on each side of the debate. The answer, for me, however, is that I will be there as long it is humanly possible.

There are several reasons I like to be there. Primarily, I like to get a read on how serious any issue might be. I feel like I may not get that same read from a report. I think it benefits my clients in negotiations for me to know first hand what the issues look like. Also, I want to make sure that estimates will be given for corrections needed. The estimates given for the corrections provide a better ability to negotiate some kind of agreement post inspection with the seller.

Further, I want to be at the inspection to see "how" the home inspector is relating to my client. I have had good experiences and bad experiences on this front. I had one home inspector only point out what was wrong with the property. He really upset my client. It was a beautiful home, and he forgot to mention anything good about it. The house was beautifully finished, and very high end. None of the problems, the home inspector found, were out of the ordinary or shocking. Everything was correctable, and would be able to be dealt with on some equitable basis with the listing agent and seller. But the delivery was such that it really frightened my buyer.

I have worked with one inspector more than a few times, who sits my client down at the end of the inspection and goes through the serious problems he has found, and then follows with everything good and promising about the property. I like this process, because it makes my client face the problems and reality, and then get back to what they loved enough about the house to want to make it their home in the first place.

They also discussed what a buyer should expect from the seller as a result of the home inspection. The answer to this question, in my view is very, very complicated, and I was going to address it tonight, but think now, that I will leave it for another time, because it is a complicated issue at many levels.

I will say, however, there are times when an issue is serious enough, and what I mean by that is "expensive enough to correct" that it does not make sense for the buyer to go through with the deal. What you need to make sure of is that your Realtor includes an inspection contingency in your offer for both home and wood infestation, and perhaps other inspections like Radon, Water, etc.. This offer, when signed and fully executed, will become your Agreement of Sale or Sales Contract. If you prepare your offer with these contingencies, you will be able to re-coup your deposit money if the inspections report something that is too expensive to cure.

Also, make sure when hiring a home inspector that the home inspector is willing to take the risk of giving estimates. Some inspectors are too concerned with the liability associated with giving estimates that they don't or won't give them. If they are not going to give you estimates, pick up the phone and call someone else.

The Very Basics of Social Networking - FACEBOOK

I know this blog is "off topic" for what this blog is entitled, however, I have been getting contacted a lot lately on issues surrounding Social Networking and what to do with a FACEBOOK account. I am probably going to ask more questions here than answer questions.

Social networking is nothing new. The only thing new is the fact that you can do it so easily sitting at your desk and looking at the computer. You no longer have to join organizations, clubs, etc., and go out and take the time to meet people in person. You can now do it all from the comfort of your desk or phone. I think, however, you must give some equality and the same consideration to what you are trying to achieve on the web to what you would do in person.

First, why are you on the web? Why are you on FACEBOOK? What are you looking to get out of it? I am assuming that if you are reading this entry, you are not merely socializing. If you are, my advice to you would be completely different than what is to follow.

Second, the photo... THE PROFILE PICTURE... please, please, please..... put up your photo. If you are trying to connect with people, it is far more effective to have a photo than not. People want to feel like they can connect and know you. It goes back to the old cliche, "a picture is worth a 1000 words". The photo stays in people's memories. When they see a message from you, that photo pops up in their minds. You become a face they know and with whom they feel comfortable. A generic silhouette just does not convey the same thing.

Third, what does your PROFILE PICTURE say? I see all types of photos on FACEBOOK. Some are fun. Some are serious. Some are clearly inappropriate. What are you trying to say? This goes back to the first set of questions. Why are you on FACEBOOK? If you are on FACEBOOK trying to promote yourself as a serious professional, is a shot in a bikini the most appropriate? (I suppose it depends on what you are trying to say, but.... )By the same token, and I know some people will not like this comment, if you are trying to promote yourself as a serious professional, is a shot in a bar, with your children, with the love of your life the best profile picture? There is plenty of room for these pictures in the photo tab to tell a story about yourself, and that is probably the best place for those photos. Let the picture talk about you. How would you dress if you went to a professional organization for a luncheon? I am not saying that it is the way you have to present yourself, but I think you must give it some consideration when picking the photo.

A FACEBOOK friend of mine actually had a profile picture, when we first met, of the back of his head. It was very funny. It caught my attention, and I knew that this would be someone I liked. Thus, I am saying to consider what the photo says, but it is more complicated than putting on a suit and going to Sears portrait gallery for a picture. The formal portrait works for some people, but not everyone. Humor can be as effective as a well taken portrait to get you noticed. You are marketing yourself. Remember that fact.

Then there are a few other things I would like to address: the wall, the email address, the information tab, and manners.

The wall.... be courteous to your friends. I have seen things like pictures posted on peoples' walls that are basically pornographic. I remember seeing one, where the woman, who was a Realtor, had a FACEBOOK friend post a pornographic picture on her wall. Even though I did not know this woman personally, it went against everything else she was presenting about herself. Don't do this kind of thing to your FACEBOOK friends. If you do, expect a complaint and to be deleted and possibly lose your account.

Also, on the wall. Some people will not allow anyone to post anything on their wall..... mmm.... I am not sure I understand this move. You are here trying to connect with people, right? Well, that goes against the "idea" of connecting. Only you can put up things on your wall. Is it just an advertisement? Perhaps someone can answer this question for me.

On the other hand, don't post spam on other people's walls. Don't post your website links, etc.. There are other ways to promote yourself through private messages, fan pages, invites, advertisements, etc.. It is poor form, and personally, I delete your entry immediately. If it is a link to something of mutual interest, etc., that is different.

Email addresses. You should collect them. You should post an email address. FACEBOOK will not allow you to export email addresses, so it takes some effort to collect them. There is a reason you are trying to connect with these people, so keep track of them. I am finding, however, that if someone is not willing to post an email address, I am reluctant to keep them as a friend. I look at their information and try to see what they are trying to sell me. If it is "all a sales pitch", then they will probably go, and be deleted. They are not trying to network with me, they are only trying to sell me. Personally, I am not interested in having this friend.

The information tab. Wow, people are all over the place with this tab. Some people have essentially no information and some people have a biography. I will not guess, which one is correct. What I will say, however, is that if you are using FACEBOOK as a business networking tool, do you really need to list your marital status, your religion and your political views? If it is somewhat connected to what you are doing, then I would say okay. But if it isn't relevant to your business, isn't saying your are there for "networking" enough? I have friends, which are turned off by religious and political statements, and will delete you just because you post these things. You probably would not mention marital status, religion or politics if someone came into your place of business, so why would you post it here? I do know others, however, where it is relevant. They may work with their spouse and want you to connect to the spouse too. They may be politically active and want you to connect with them on that basis. Even religion may be the connection, but give it good consideration. Don't casually give away this information about yourself.

Birthdays are another item that some people delete. I would leave them in. And for the simple reason that it is another chance to connect. Your name pops up on your birthday. People check birthdays and sometimes the date is something meaningful for them. It is just another opportunity to connect. It is another opportunity for you to come to people's minds.

The last item, which I will write about more in the future is manners and etiquette. If you make a connection, there should be a thank you or acknowledgement of that fact. If someone writes to you, respond. Of course, if they are sending you advertisements, applications, etc., do not feel you have to participate in any of these things. But if it is something personal, you should respond. If they are instant messaging you, I would say that you do not have to respond. People cannot demand that you are automatically available, because they are. However, it would be nice to acknowledge in a private message that you were sorry that you missed their instant message.

I want to assure everyone reading this entry that I have made many, many mistakes in this venue. However, I am sharing here what I have learned. And have more to share.

The last thing to remember is to check your FACEBOOK at least in the morning and in the evening. Keep current on what you are doing, or what is the point of doing it at all?