submitted articles, please review

[webmaster]

Hey guys, I have an agent that has submitted some articles and asked me to post on the site, I am intersted in getting feedback on them before I post. If they are good, I am happy to post them in the articles section. PS if anyone else wants to write helpful articles in exchange for a one way backlink, feel free. I will be asking the webmasters themselves to decide whether they are fit to print.

Article 1

Improving Curb Appeal

by Bob Lipply

What if your real estate agent could give you a fool-proof way to sell your home quickly and get top dollar for it too? Well, nothing is more important in attracting potential buyers to your home than curb appeal. What is curb appeal? Well simply put, it’s that quality that makes a person driving by your house stop and say “Wow!” First impressions do count! If people don’t like the outside they won’t go inside. The view from the street and the picture posted on the internet are the first impressions people will have of your home. There may be many homes for sale in your neighborhood or town and you want people to see yours first.



So here are some tips for you to maximize your curb appeal:

• Do some homework. Take a walk or drive around your neighborhood. Bring a notebook and or a digital camera. Look at the houses. What catches your eye? Which homes stand out? Write down what you like or snap a picture. Then go home and take a long, hard look at your own house. Try to see it with new eyes. Snap a picture and compare it with the others. Make a list of things you would need to do to get your home to the level of the best homes. Set aside some time and a budget for sprucing up your home’s exterior. Either do it yourself or hire some professionals. It will be money well spent.

• Fix or replace whatever’s broken, outdated or ugly. If you hate something, chances are so will someone else. Do you need to paint? Sometimes all you need is a fresh, new color on the front door or shutters to really make your house stand out. Do you need to rent a power washer? Do you need a new roof or new door? How old is the landscaping? If it’s more than 15 yrs old, it‘s probably overgrown. Boring, overgrown and neglected landscapes do nothing for curb appeal.

• Have a major family clean up day. You want your house to sparkle! Wash the windows, polish the doorknobs, sweep the porch, clear the gutters, clean the driveway, mow the lawn, pull the weeds, pick up fallen branches and leaves, trim the shrubs, deadhead the flowers, mulch the beds, edge the flower beds, edge the lawn.

• Now for the fun part, add some decorative touches. The easiest way to decorate the front of your house is with annual flowers. Make sure you have healthy looking flowers around your property. Pick a color scheme that goes with your property. You can borrow ideas from your neighbors, a magazine, or your local nursery or home center. Figure out if you have mostly sun or shade and choose the right flowers for your site. You can plant some in the ground and others in containers. Put some pots on your steps and porch or some large planters by the front door. Plant a window box. Containers are easy to change with the seasons. Just remember to water and fertilize. Other things you can do are to add shutters, porch chair cushions, seasonal decorations, attractive house numbers, a new mailbox, a bird bath, a beautiful wreath, or anything that will make your home look inviting and attractive.

• Don’t forget lighting. Many people can’t check out houses till after dark. Make sure your house stands out at night. Choose an attractive porch light and keep it on. Keep the interior lights on as well. You want your home to be warm and inviting. Try landscape lights, but even better, a spotlight or two aimed at your beautiful landscape or the lovely front door.

Good luck and have fun improving your home's curb appeal. If you follow the important tips above, your home will be a hit with the potential buyers. Most importantly, your home will sell quickly and at the highest market value.





Bob Lipply is a top Real Estate Broker Associate in the Tampa Bay Florida area. He and his team have been helping families get top dollar for their homes with great success. Visit his website at http://www.lipplyrealestate.com for many other valuable selling tips.

[webmaster]

Article 2

Making Relocation an Adventure


by Bob Lipply




Moving to a new home is an exciting experience. When the move means you will be relocating to a new area, the experience becomes an adventure. There won't just be a new house to settle into, but new roads to navigate, new schools to research, new people to meet, new towns to explore -- a whole new world for you and your family. Then there’s the daunting task of packing and organizing the move. One could get pretty overwhelmed in a short period of time. Below are some suggestions and tips to help make your move stress free and maybe even fun.






Where to start for relocation information?



The Chamber of Commerce can be a great place to start. They can answer your general questions and send you a map of the area. Getting information on things to do in the area can generate excitement about your move and get you motivated for this adventure. Find out what the local newspapers are and start having them delivered to your current home. It's a great way to learn what's going on in your new town and get a feel for the new locale. A newspaper is also a way to check local real estate ads to see what's selling. For kids, there may be information on summer camps, sports teams, tennis or swimming lessons. For adults, there may be information on the local music and theater culture.



If you have children, you will most certainly want to research information on the schools. You can start by going to the school board website for links to individual schools. You may want to find out if the schools in the area are rated by a grading system, and take this into consideration. For instance, public schools in Florida are graded according to how well students have mastered the Sunshine State Standards, measured by the FCAT tests. Another thing to take into consideration is if the schools are part of a "Choice System," as opposed to a neighborhood school system. In this case, you are able to choose a school by registering by a certain date. Some schools have waiting lists so it is best to find out all this information in advance. Once you have narrowed the search down to a few schools, start calling the school guidance offices for specific information on registering your child. This will give you time to gather all the school records & medical records you will need for your move.



Once you have decided on a specific neighborhood, see if there is a neighborhood association. Members of these associations are involved in all aspects of the neighborhood including planning and development. They can be really helpful in providing you with information on everything from education to crime rates and neighborhood watch programs. Many neighborhood associations have websites that you can access, as well as newsletters.



Check out the local YMCA. There are usually lots of activities available to families, such as open swim, fitness classes and even child care. Also look into the local libraries for free seminars, book talks and movie nights for teens. Try to enjoy the learning process. Check out the map, make lists of new places to explore and get your bearings well before you move in.






Where to start for the packing and moving process?






The earlier you start getting ready for your move, the better. Planning ahead and making to-do lists can help make the job of packing up and moving smooth instead of stressful.



This is a great time to get rid of all that extra stuff that has been accumulating over the years. Take a look through the basement, the attic, the garage and each closet. Make a list of the things that you no longer need. Be ruthless. If there are clothes, toys, or books that haven't been used in the recent past, it's time to let them go. Consider having a garage sale or selling items on eBay. Donate clothing and toys to a local shelter. Libraries and schools are always happy to accept books, videos and music CD's. This is a great time to declutter and lighten your load.



As soon as you know your approximate moving date, start calling moving companies. It's always a good idea to get estimates from two or three companies. Try to get referrals from friends and neighbors. If you are a member of AAA, consider using their Consumer's Relocation Service to manage the move. Decide which furniture you will be taking with you. It may cost more to move that old couch than to buy a new one, so consider if something is really worth keeping.



It's never too early to start collecting boxes. Some moving companies offer recycled boxes free of charge. Or, place a request on an on-line trading site such as freecycle.org or craigslist.org for free boxes; you may find someone who is looking to get rid of their boxes. Packing boxes slowly, even one or two a day, will help in the long run. Start by packing the things you can live without for several months. Pile up boxes in the room where they belong and label each box. You might consider renting a storage unit to store the boxes until moving day. This is especially valuable if you are in the process of showing your house while it is listed for sale. The less clutter the better!



By starting to declutter and pack up boxes early on, you will feel productive and in control. Keep up the good work and stay upbeat. Congratulations, it's just the beginning of your new adventure!









Bob Lipply is a top Real Estate Broker Associate in the Tampa Bay Florida area. He and his team have been helping families relocate to Florida for many years with great success. Visit his website at http://www.lipplyrealestate.com for many other valuable relocation tips.

Thanks

[Homesurfer]

They sent the same articles to me at realestateabc.com.

I considered them for HomeSurfer.com, since it is "under construction," but not for realestateabc.com.

Beside, Bob already has the articles on his own web site - so if you post it, it will be duplicate content. If he sent the articles to you AND me, he probably sent it to others, as well.

In the end, I decided I'll just write my own (as I have done since the early days of realestateabc.com). I really haven't found anyone whose stuff I liked as much as my own.

Note: I'll be having an SEO section on HomeSurfer.com, and I haven't decided if I'll write it myself or look for someone to write it for me.

[Boston Condo Guy]

There was a recent post (can't recall where) that talked a little bit about duplicate article content. For instance, if this guy has these articles on his site, and he also has you post them here, what is the net result of that? Is that something that you are interested in doing?

[webmaster]

When people ask what needs to happen for me to post articles, I tell them one of my stipulations is that they must be unique, I didnt look far enough into their site to see if the articles were already there, but now that I see that they are, they are not fit for publication as standalone articles on REW

Them being posted here, will make this thread have a partial duplicate content, however I'm not worried about it REW is a forum where many articles are sourced etc, thus is the nature of forums and the people at Google etc know the difference between intentional duplicated content, and this thread (Lets hope they do anyways)

If anything it would be a detriment to him and not us, as we have more authority etc, so Google would choose our page to rank as opposed to theirs meh!

[calzephyr]

some guidance, please -

So I have a nice article that i wrote myself and has been on my site for a few months. Then I decide to post it to "GoArticles" or somesuch site. Before posting it, i change all the specific geographic references to my market and make it general so that any realtor in any market can use it.

My thinking is that other sites will download it and make it part of their site, including the requires one-way links back to my site.

The good news is that 50 people download it and added it to their site and i get 50 one-way links.

The bad news is that something that was unique content to may site is now largely duplicated on 50 other sites.

Does the good outweigh the bad? or have i just shot myself in the foot?

Just wanted to get the opinion of the pros. Thanks for any input.

- Tom

[Homesurfer]

You won't get penalized, but if another bigger-badder-huger-visited, more popular site puts it up, then...

...that site may get the search engine benefits for the aritcle, and you won't.

Not getting a benefit is not the same thing as being penalized.

[Irene M Ward]

When people ask what needs to happen for me to post articles, I tell them one of my stipulations is that they must be unique,

This information is just generic information available on just about any real estate website. I have much of the same information written in my own words on my site and I never thought about duplicating it anywhere because it's already out there - everywhere!

[Homesurfer]

Stock market advice can be boiled down to "buy low, sell high" -- but very many newspapers, journals, web sites, television shows, radio broadcasts,and so on that keep saying it. Sometimes using different words, sometimes in a unique style, and so on.

Today for example, Irene's site has a news feed from Inman News talking about "Home Additions That Stand the Test of Time." You can imagine someone giving similar advice back in the eighties, or the sixties, or the forties, and so on. That advice is out there. It's been out there.

But...

That article is unique. If someone copied it and placed it on their site outside of the RSS feed, it would be "duplicate" content.

Plus, Inman would take corrective action to protect their copyright. The author would probably take corrective action, too.

[Irene M Ward]

Oh, I understand. I was under the assumption that "unique content" meant new and original but under the circumstances, I see that it would be impossible to keep basic information new and original. I stand corrected!

Irene