Scott Newman's (scottnewman325) Blog

Purchasing real estate is one of the biggest decisions a person can make personally and financially.  During this time of economic hardship buying a home has become a very difficult task as the American dream of owning your own home has been crippled by the economic crisis. The biggest obstacle t...

Purchasing real estate is one of the biggest decisions a person can make personally and financially.  During this time of economic hardship buying a home has become a very difficult task as the American dream of owning your own home has been crippled by the economic crisis. The biggest obstacle t...

This was a guest blog post I was asked to do for the Chicago Association of Realtor's blog.If you’re new to the business or haven’t closed a lot of deals, you still have the most important thing that consumers want--information. Try sharing your knowledge about the industry with your Facebook fri...

The next time you go to open your mouth to answer a client's question regarding where interest rates are headed- STOP.  Now, before you open it again consider this- if you advised them about it you represented yourself as an expert and are opening yourself up to lawsuits galore.Consider the compl...

All of you RE pros out there who closely follow the economics of our business, put your money where your mouth is and sound off about where you practice and when the bottom will occur.   I'm Scott Newman, owner of Newman Realty.  I practice RE in Chicago and I think our market will bottom out som...

I'm adding a few, please keep it going with your additions:   1) Require a minimum of an associate's degree to practice real estate 2) Require specific education requirements for the specifc type of RE you practice (REO, residential, commercial, etc) 3) Require agents and brokers to take and pass...

This was pointed out to me by a fellow agent lately and it was so simple and full of common sense I just had to share it:   The next time you think about listing your property for $149,999 or $199,900 or whatever version of this late-night infomercial trick you normally follow- DON'T, and here's ...

Ok so you’re on Google Ad-Words and now you’re looking to move beyond that into other pay-per-click advertising methods but you’ve overwhelmed by the choices and the range of pricing and options out there.  Sound like you?  Read on…Here is a breakdown of the sites I think are worthwhile:1) Facebo...

The advice given is meant to be candid and takes into account that not all agents are as honest as they should be.  I am in no way condoning illegal or un-ethical behavior but, as in every industry, you have to know how to get things done and that is the idea behind this post.1) Get pre-approved ...

I have worked in many different areas of Chicago in many different capacities- rekeying foreclosures, typing up BPO's, all the way up to running my own brokerage- so I know the view I have is a unique one.I have also visited, and know well, many part of the country most effected by the current ma...