05.01.09 Updates New Features

Greetings once again, its your friendly neighborhood systems engineer reporting on the newest feature additions to AgentNation.

You may have noticed that you can comment on Activities now. We think this will be fun and help keep you in the loop.

We have also implemented the capability for you to see the friends of your friends. To do this simply click on Network, and click on the link labeled "Friends" under each persons name. AgentNation is about relationships, we hope this feature helps you to connect with colleagues and find friends across the globe.

One really minor change we made addressed a slight quirk withe the Facebook section of your Profile. On certain occasions it would complain, we have taken care of that now.

There were lots of little things we did in addition to all the above to make AgentNation faster than ever.

Finally, I hope everyone enjoys these new features, we will continue to add new tools about every week or two, so if you have any suggestions, please share. We love pony requests!

Hope everyone gets to enjoy the May flowers!

Preview of AgentNation and beta info.

If you are interested in participating as a beta tester e-mail JTurner@AgentNation.com with your information. We are looking for a number of Agents to load their listings and provide feedback about the processes and functionality.

Beta Testing Has Begun

Agent Nation has begun beta testing. Utilizing a group of professionals in the real estate industry across the nation, Agent Nation will work to identify current strengths and accept any suggestions from actual users of the network. Feedback to date has been positive as we make minor changes based on user interaction. We want to thank the individuals that have taken the time to join the beta group and provide ideas for this exciting professional network connecting agents to opportunity. We look forward to the full launch to occur soon!

Photo Taking Tips

We all know how important it is to take photos of your listings. Statistics show that listings without images on line receive fewer views than those listings with not only photos, but virtual tours. You do not need the most expensive or state of the art photography equipment to take great photos of your listings. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Show Natural Light

Dark house pictures are always annoying, and buyers want to see natural light. You can always turn on a lamp or two to create artificial illumination, but natural sunlight makes for better pictures and will show buyers just what they are missing. Before taking pictures of your home for sale, open the blinds, remove the curtains, and let the sunlight in! Just make sure that you're always taking pictures with the light behind you to avoid glare.

Minimize Furniture

A cluttered house is almost as obnoxious as a dark house, so even if your home for sale often looks like a museum, move the furniture for pictures. The living room, for example, should contain only a couch, a love seat, a coffee table and an entertainment center to be entirely effective. Move everything else into another room while you shoot, if not for later showings. Furthermore, a room with a color theme will always photograph better than one without.

Show Off Your Yard

As well as taking pictures of the interior of your home for sale, consider taking a few shots of the front and back yards. Prospective buyers will want to see what you've done with the landscaping, and those with children will feel better knowing there's a place for the kids to play. House pictures should be as well-rounded as possible. Furthermore, make sure you snap photos of unique landscaping, such as a deck or pool.

Clear the Clutter

No one wants to see last night's pizza boxes in pictures of your home for sale, nor do they want to know that you have six-inch-thick mold growing on your bathroom sink. Before you start to take house pictures, hire a maid or learn how to clean up yourself to avoid the embarrassment (and lack of buyers) that is certain to ensue if you don't.

Avoid Corners

People don't want to see the corners of your bedrooms, living room or kitchen; instead, the want to see the entire room, or as much of it as you can fit in one shot. Standing in door ways to get the majority of the room in your house pictures is the way to go. If that doesn't work, open a window and snap the shot from outside.

Get Close-Ups

In addition to taking the room-at-a-glance shots (see above), your home for sale should also showcase close-ups of the important stuff. The sink and appliances, for example, and the shower in the master bath are appropriate. I'm not saying that buyers want to see the individual rings on your stovetop burners, but be realistic and liberal with the camera.

Get on Board!

According to a survey by California based staffing firm Accountemps, Keeping employees up to speed may be the best way to boost their moods during hard times. The survey polled 150 senior executives from the nations 1,000 largest companies, and nearly half of all respondents said that better company-wide communication is the best remedy for low morale. Thirty-three said a lack of open, honest communication in the workplace had the most negative effect on workers' attitudes.

Happiness Runs In A Circular Motion

A study published in BMJ, a British medical journal, indicates that people to which you are connected have a lot to do with your happiness. The research is the latest investigation into how our social connections-neighbors, friends, family, co-workers, fellow congregants at church and other associates-affect us. The premise is that we live in a social environment that shapes what we do and how we think and feel. The primary finding of the study indicates that people who are surrounded by happy people are more likely to be happy themselves.

Go Green with a Virtual Assistant

Go Green! It is a term we hear constantly in the media and on the streets. It is a responsibility of which to be proud! In today’s society we are hearing more and more about the affect of our actions on the earth and that we must take action now in order to save the earth for future generations.

As research has shown we have a small window to make a difference and we need to act now. We live in a society that does not look into the future, we live in the present. This is a known fact. So, if we are a society that does indeed in live the present, then we need to challenge ourselves to begin looking into the future, if not for us but for our children and our children’s children.

By just making a few changes in our life style we can each make a difference and if each one of us just choose one or two things to help the global warming problem can you imagine what a difference we can make together? HUGE! So, take a few minutes to visit the following links to see how you and your family can begin the process of Going Green.

By teaching the children of today, they will develop compassion to make it a priority to keep our earth safe for future generations.

Interesting fact:

Virtual Assistants are going green everyday! How do we do this?

* We do not pollute our air with carbon monoxide
* Spend less money on gas
* Save trees by using electronic files as opposed to paper files
* Use artificial lighting
* Use recycled materials
* Travel is not expected

The next step you can take in your effort to go green is to go virtual as well!