A Property That Makes You Say "Wow!"

Regular readers know that I've never used this blog to talk about a property on the market. The fact that my blog is all about real estate may or may not be relevant to some of you. Nonetheless...

Once in a while, I have the opportunity to walk into a space that demands attention. And that's what happened when I walked into 13261 Venice Blvd. This newly constructed work/live/play space offers the perfect blend of contemporary detail, intelligent use of space & the little things -- like the lit outdoor shower off the bedroom -- that makes you say "Wow!"

In the spirit of full disclosure, this is not one of my listings, but it is a unique property that's well worth a visit. From the high ceilings to the poured terrazzo floors to the plasma TV and fireplace, this is simply a great space. Kudos to 78 Design Group for bringing their unique mix of contemporary style and brilliant attention to detail together to create an amazing property that some lucky person will actually get to call home!

L.A. Times -- Stuck In The Past (...and trying to stick it to me!)

I had a bizarre conversation with an L.A. Times advertising rep today. And that in itself probably wouldn't be very interesting. But the nature of the conversation underscores how difficult it can sometimes be for a real estate agent to provide a higher level of service -- even if you're deeply committed to doing so.

My conversation with this particular ad rep was about an upcoming free seminar that I've put together. The seminar is designed to help people wo want to sell their homes or investment property and minimize their capital gains tax exposure. If you've been a homeowner even for a short period of time in the Southern California real estate market, chances are that your property has appreciated considerably. I thought that putting together a panel of experts (a CPA, real estate attorney, private annuity trust expert, etc.) would be a great way to share some successful strategies designed to minimize or at least defer your capital gains tax liability when you sell your property.

I wanted to advertise this free seminar with a full-page ad in the L.A. Times Saturday Real Estate insert. When I explained to the Times ad rep what I wanted to do, they first checked with their editor and then informed me that my ad would cost almost ten times the "normal agent price" for a full-page ad -- because I wasn't using the ad to advertise my listings. And this is when our conversation became very interesting -- and very animated.

I patiently (well kinda) explained to the Times ad rep that the notion of agents paying to advertise property listings was soon to be a thing of the past. After all, homebuyers today can find property listings anywhere -- realtor.com, MLS web sites, agent web sites, broker web sites...even latimes.com (a website on which this ad rep even tried to sell me an "enhanced online listings package"). But pay to run a print ad just to show your listings? Those days are soon to be gone. It's why newspapers across America are running far less real estate print advertising today than they used to.

I went on to explain that since listings are available to everyone everywhere, and agents were no longer the "keepers of information", we had to transform ourselves to "providers of amazing service" if we were going to be successful in differentiating ourselves from the other million agents in our marketplace (see the Manifesto below for more thoughts on this concept).

One of the "value-added services" that I wanted to provide the homeowners in my market was a free seminar that wasn't designed to sell anything -- but simply to provide useful information to homeowners interested in attending. Fuhgeddaboutit. The LA Times wasn't having it -- at least not unless I wanted to pay ten times the normal ad rate for that section of the paper!

And so...my free seminar will go on as scheduled...without an ad in the L.A. Times. The seminar is entitled Tax Savings & Financial Strategies for Home Sellers, and we'll be presenting a great panel of experts on Thursday March 16, from 7 - 9PM at the Courtyard Marriott in Marina Del Rey. You can email me for further information at jon@jonstrum.com if you're interested in attending.

As for the Times? I guess they'd like to keep real estate agents as simple "listers of property" and outdated "keepers of information" so that their business reporters can periodically write articles pointing out how today's real estate commissions are simply too high. Because when an agent tries to deliver real added value to the marketplace, the L.A. Times provides him with nothing more than a 10x financial penalty to promote interest in the event -- and that's not playing fair.