All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Good story Andrew.

Thanks for sharing.

I was finishing the clean up of my profile post the switch over from the old system.

Before explaining the error I ran into a comment about some other profiles people have active.

I have noticed that a number of profiles are poorly formatted. Too much white space. I figured it was because of the way people where editing their profile. Word pasted into the website or similar things can result in extra spacing.

Back to me.

When I edited my profile i was very careful not to put in extra carriage returns as i did not want large gaps between paragraphs. When I hit the update button everything looked fine. Then I moved to the next 'tab' or 'category' to update info there.

What I found was after you hit the update button extra spacing is added to the text in the text boxes where you enter things. It is not even line feeds. These are real spaces. If you save/update more than once the extra spacing is increased. Each save adds more spaces. No only does this make the profiles harder to read it is a bunch of unneeded characters being saved on the server.

If a fix could be made that would be great.

In the mean time a person editing their profile needs to be very careful. If they are the result will look fine. They just need to delete the extra spaces each and every time they change something or do an update.

Once a fix is rolled out people an announcement should be made so people who do have a bit of a problem with their existing profiles can then go back and clean things up.

Given the number of profiles that appear with extra spacing implies the issue is not specific to a browser/operating system combination. Just in case it is unique I offer my system details.

Mac, OSX - 10.4.11 (Tiger), Safari 3.0.4

Please continue the roll out of the Social Networking BP site. It is a great step forward and I want to see it continue to improve. Hence the time I am putting in documenting feedback, bugs and suggestions.

Feedback offered.

I was filling in a bit more of my profile. Still trying to get everything in order.

I filled in a couple of phone numbers and something else on the contact page.

I then went to the next page (next set of info to be completed). The system tried to do a save as I would expect.

2. errors were reported. It seems there is a 14 character limit for phone numbers. While that will let someone in the US put in some useful spacing along with a 10 digit number my phone number is 12 digits without any spacing, '(', ')', '+' or other formatting. Not good. I would prefer to correctly format the string so it shows correctly. More so because some folks in the US might not know what to do if I bunch all the digits together. This is what I am calling a bad assumption. Common for many programmers to forget that there is more than the US model so not completely a surprise.

The 'bug' is the following. I was provided with the error message and the form was returns without all the fields that I had entered now being blank. I find it really annoying to have to retype a bunch of info just because of a mistake. I find it much more user friendly if all the info can be retained and then I can edit it to make any needed corrections. Perfect for anything that was not wrong and even helpful for the fields where there is an error as it saves typing all the characters that are correct.

It puts me off even trying to fill in a form if it keeps flushing what I wrote. In some cases I just leave it all blank rather than fight with a system. Or I put the info in note field so that I can enter the info correctly when the system does not recognize a valid format.

Can the above be added to the list of things that need to be addressed some time in the future?

Alex,

:welcome: to BP.

Good to have you on board.

It sounds like you have invested for a while. When did you get started?

My first RE deal was in San Jose. I also lived in SF while working down in the valley. Cash flow is certainly better out of state. Well done on the 1031. That is how I moved the funds from one of my CA rentals when I pulled out of the Bay Area.

Can you tell us a bit more about your background and what you do outside of RE? It helps people to get to know you and makes you more memorable.

Enjoy the site.

Oh, a request. If you could change your profile setting to public then more people would be able to see your background and otherwise learn about your experience. Some might even want to connect to you as a colleague here on BP. Thanks. It is your choice one way or the other.

Jessica,

:welcome: to BP.

OH can be a great state for investing. Some of the more successful investors on BP are located or are active in the state.

Tell us a bit more about you and your background before RE. Why did you become interested in RE investing? Anything in particular that you bring to the table in terms of special skills, prior experience, qualifications or other things that you feel will help you get started?

Mike,

I am familiar with auctions as a general principal. I have bought and sold things through them.

Maybe this would be best in a new thread. This is pretty far off a basic introduction. If you start a new thread just let me know. Here is some feedback and some questions so you can continue.

First, your description does not sound very compelling. If I had a place to sell I would not contact you based on what you wrote. Very little about what is in it for the seller.

I am also interested in how you build interest. The marketing you would be doing for the owner, etc.

In some ways I am looking for an ad but not one specific to your firm. That would be against the rules. I see you as a bit of a spokesman for a business model I do not use yet so what is the hook that would get me to seriously consider using an auction rather than call a local agent?

I assume you are only able to operate in one state. Is that correct? Does it matter where the property is or where the bidders are located?

If auctions are an alternative way to sell then what makes it a good idea? Are there any conditions that favor an auction? Are there times when it makes more sense to use a normal listing agent? Does the property type or condition matter in an auction?

I know one country where the normal process for selling a home is an auction. People do not list without an auction as a general policy. In another country auctions are common but mostly for properties that need major work or which are being sold by a charity/government entity plus bank repossessions. Few private sales by auction.

Sorry for the late reply.

The questions should be a combination of general questions that you ask every person interviewed and questions that are tailored for the person you are spending time with.

You want to know how they got started, what they did prior, how they learned and other things. Then you want to pick up on what is unique about their experience, the key things that made a difference in their business, what organizations, people, books or other things they have found are great sources or groups to join.

Like dating. You cover some general topics and you cover some things that are really unique to the person you are speaking with.

Listen more than you talk. Make it a conversation and not just a series of questions where the other person feels like they are being interviewed by the police. Note that when they ask about you answer but rather soon after come back to what you want to know.

Try to leave a good impression based on your interest level and not your story. Ask them if you can follow up in 3 or 6 months. You will have learned more and will likely benefit from a new conversation with them. You can update them as to what you have learned and what you have done with your time.

The best source is normally an active apartment owners association or similar. A group that pays a lawyer to keep the forms up to date and consistent with the state regulations.

There also can be a publisher that does the same and is not associated with a specific organization. I used to use one such publisher for my CA property but that was some time ago.

Ask other investors and property managers. If you are going to be a professional property manager look into a trade association or accrediting body that has a CA chapter. They will have great resources.

It might not make sense to be both an agent and a contractor. Many contractors get a lot of referral business from agents. If you are also a licensed agent you will come across as competition.

I would spend some time talking to agents and contractors to see what they need from the opposite profession. I would also go to some investor meetings to see what the investors need. Then decide what sort of business makes the most sense in your local market.

James,

Lets flip this around a bit.

When folks in London talk about house prices they sometimes say the following.

If prices were to fall by X% that means we will be back to April of 2006.

If house prices in certain areas are down by 40% (or some other number) any idea when prices were back at that level as an average for the same community?

Then people in the UK will look at wages. What were wages at the time and what are wages now.

The logic is people can afford a certain amount monthly. If prices are down and wages are the same then a person should be able to buy more house assuming no change in interest rates.

In markets where there are no buyers (DOM comment) it does not help much. It will later when people with real incomes figure out they can live in a nice house for less than it used to cost or still does cost in some other community.

If people are still working the prices will find a level where it makes sense to buy rather than be a renter.