Are you heading out to San Francisco for ReBarCamp and the Inman Real Estate Connect? Interested in meeting some Trulians? Well, were just as interested in meeting you too. There will be plenty of opportunity for us to “connect”.

Here are a few ways we can make it happen:

1. ReBarCamp - Trulia is hosting the 1 year anniversary of REBCSF at our Trulia headquarters located at 208 Utah Street in Potrero Hill. We’ll have multiple rooms and floors available for all the campers to network, have group discussions and for presentations. Finding a Trulian will be quite easy. Many of us will be wearing our signature green Trulia t-shirts. Naturally, we’ll be engaging as many people as we can but if you see one that you haven’t met yet, just say hello - we’ll be happy to get to know you.

2. Inman Connect - Trulians will be out in full force during connect. In addition to the many meetings we have already scheduled, you can see some of our top stars on various panels.

Wednesday August 5th 12- 12:45 am

Online Ad-Spend Triage: Where – or if – to Spend Your Money Online
The number of places to advertise real estate listings, technology or services online is staggering. Learn how to evaluate your options and make smart decisions.

Sean Black, VP of Sales, Trulia
Alex Chang, CEO, Roost.com
Tom Tognoli, Founder, COO, VP and Managing Officer of Intero Saratoga, Intero

Thursday August 6th 8:30-9:00 am

Listings, Leads and Vision. What’s the Ideal Online Real Estate Business Model?

15 years after the first listing went online, the online real estate code remains un-cracked. Two leaders - one with roots going back ten years, the other a Web 2.0 darling - debate the best way to create value online.

Sami Inkinen, Co-Founder & COO, Trulia

Louis Cammarosano, General Manager, HomeGain

Thursday August 6th 1-2 pm

Providing MLS Members a Mountain of Benefits on a Mole-hill Budget

How are the leading MLS CEOs providing their members extra value while keeping their costs in check? With member revenue down, what are you doing to create new revenue streams while providing new benefits? Learn new technologies/innovations that can be leveraged to create additional member value. We’ll also discuss how your MLS can provide valuable marketing exposure & reporting at no cost and key business decisions that MLSs should make differently to help their membership succeed in these challenging times.

Sami Inkinen, Trulia Co-Founder and COO

Meet the Leaders - Thursday August 6th 12:30-1:30 pm

Pete Flint, CEO, Trulia

Steven Berkowitz, CEO and Director, Move® and REALTOR.com®
Sherry Chris, President & CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC
Constance Freedman, Managing Director, Second Century Ventures; VP of Strategic Investments, NAR / Second Century Ventures
Glenn Kelman, CEO & President, Redfin
Alfred Lin, Chairman, COO & CFO, Zappos.com
Spencer Rascoff, COO, Zillow.com
Rick Sharga, Senior Vice President, RealtyTrac
Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research, Hitwise; Author, Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why it Matters

The Speed of Real Time Communication Using Social Media

Next week will be extremely fast paced with a million things going on. We’re looking forward to seeing lot’s of old friends and excited to make some new ones too. We’ll be engaging in many face to face meetings and sessions at the events. These real life conversations are where meaningful relationships and trust are built. Out of these moments, some great images and videos are captured. For those unable to physically attend, we plan on sharing some of the sights and sounds virtually as they happen using various social media tools and sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Hope you enjoy!

If you want to meet up/ tweetup, here are some easy ways to contact us:

Trulia on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/trulia - Become a fan and leave us a note

Rudy Bachraty on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/rudybachraty - Friend me and send me a message

Rudy Bachraty on Twitter - http://twitter.com/trulia - Follow me and send me a tweet

Pete Flint on Twitter - http://twitter.com/peteflint - Follow Pete and send him a tweet

Pierre Calzadilla on Twitter -http://twitter.com/nypierre -

Sean Black on Twitter -http://twitter.com/salessushi

Heather Fernandez on Twitter - http://twitter.com/heathermirj

To follow all of our LIVE updates during REBCSF and Inman, search these handles & tags on Search.Twitter or your favorite Twitter client such as Tweetdeck:

@peteflint

@trulia

@nypierre

@salessushi

@heathermirj

#rebcsf

#icsf

When the opportunity arises, I will be LIVESTREAMING on QIK - http://qik.com/rudy

…and uploading some event pictures LIVE to our Trulia Flickr account

Have suggestions on who we should meet and what we should ask them? Please share below…..

See you next week!

Buyers-mark your calendars-now!

The first time homebuyer tax credit ends November 30, 2009.  That means in order for buyers to qualify for up to $8,000 tax credit, the property much be purchased and closed on or before the end of November.

Keep in mind that most real estate transactions today require 30-45-60 days to close- so don’t delay getting the process started. And remember if you are focused on purchasing a foreclosed or short sale property- the timeframes are much longer.

• The first time homebuyer program is limited to 10% (maximum of $8,000.) on the purchase of your primary residence.
• Income limits apply- individuals up to $75,000 and couples $150,000.
• Eligibility- first time homebuyers or anybody whose has not owned a principal residence in the last 3 years.

For more detailed information- click here.

A lot of buyers in metro Cincinnati, West Chester and Mason real estate market have already taken advantage of the tax credit.  Personally, I am hoping lawmakers decide to extend the program.

Still have questions- call or email with questions.

Related articles:  Are You Ready to Buy a Short Sale?;  National Association of Realtors Links

Have you seen the video from John Oliver of The Daily Show where he talks about Timothy Geithner? You must. Case/Shiller’s own Bob Shiller adds his thoughts to the housing situation Geithner was in…..you just have to see it…..

In CNET’S recent post, Sites that get your home ready to sell, columnist Don Resinger states that Trulia Voices Q&A real estate community is, “… one of the best advice pages for anyone looking to sell a house….” Selling a home is not a simple task, especially for first time home sellers. There are many steps involved. When they start to think about selling their home, naturally, they’ll have questions. So it makes sense for homeowners to do their homework. They may not know exactly where to start so looking for advice and opinions in online real estate communities like Trulia Voices is a natural fit.

Don Says:

“Although its competitors, like Realtor.com, focus on listing available properties, Trulia, which also lists properties, has one of the best advice pages on the Web for anyone looking to sell a house. So, while it might not seem like a site designed specifically for sellers, it does a great job of attracting them.

The first thing you’ll notice on Trulia’s “Advice” page is a handy question box, which allows you to ask real estate experts any question you might have on the subject of buying and selling real estate. You can also read blog entries made by other members of the Trulia community. If you’re still looking for a real estate agent, Trulia will match you up with one. Simply put, Trulia’s “Advice” page is full-featured. It’s worth trying out when you get ready to sell.”

Working with our Trulia Voices community on a daily basis, we are finding that both home sellers and home buyers are using Trulia Voices Q&A and Trulia Blogs for more than just research and advice. Consumers are also searching for their next real estate agent and are using our Find a Pro real estate directory to help them make a match. By reading the answers real estate professionals provide, reading their blog posts and by looking over their profile or real estate resume as I like to call it, consumers can get a better understanding of how certain agents think, how professional they are and whether or not the can trust them to help them with their home buying or selling needs. As our community continues to grow, so will the connections made between home sellers, home buyers and real estate professionals. Very exciting indeed.

Thanks Don and CNET for the support!

Driving around looking at homes-one thing catches my eye.  The lush green grass and flowers blooming everywhere.

It may be a slower real estate market, but sellers in West Chester, Liberty Township, Fairfield and greater Cincinnati are enjoying a rest from hauling out sprinklers to keep the grass green.  The flip side of all this wet weather is the need to keep up with the constantly growing grass and never ending weeds.

Take a good look at your “real estate” as you drive down the street and make sure your property has curb appeal.  Buyers notice messy yards long before their car hits the driveway…and based on the exterior “look” there’s a good chance they’re  making assumptions about the inside.

Don’t lose the buyers before they walk through the door.  Need help preparing for getting your property on the market- call or email.

The mortgage industry has been under siege to provide homebuyers better information when it comes financing loans.

In 2008 amendments to Home Ownership & Equity Protection Act (HOEPA) and the Housing Economic Recovery Act (HERA) were passed by the Congress and the Federal Reserve Board published regulations under the Truth in Lending Act (also known as ”Truth in Confusion Act” by many).

The impact of HERA (effective July 30, 2009) may impact future closings because of the timeframe requirements. The intent - to keep buyers informed about any impact on APR (annual percentage rate).  The outcome may be many closings delayed by three days because the lender did not provide updated information to the borrower in a timely manner,

So you have sold your home (this only impacts transactions after July 30th) and expect to close August 28th.  You, the buyers, agents and title company sit down at the closing table….and because proper documentation was not provided to the buyer 3 days earlier- the closing will not happen on August 28th.

The greater Cincinnati market prefers “round table closings” - where all the parties sit together and sign paperwork.  In light of the new regulations, all parties might be better off with “escrow closings”. 
Escrow Closings - the seller signs all their documents at their convenience and the buyer will sign theirs.  The lender is advised that all documents are executed and funding/disbursements can happen.  Escrow closings are easier in 2 ways:

1. All the parties can sign when it is convenient for them (still within contract dates)
2. No dry closings (dry = no funds disbursed) because all the paperwork has been completed and submitted to the lender.

The downside of escrow closings is the cost.  Since the title company has to manage different parties at different times- their costs increase.  However to be fair the Cincinnati market has been sliding along with title companies willing to accommodate different schedules for both parties and not charging for the services.

In today’s transactions many of the contracts have the same date for closing and occupancy and considering what it costs to have a moving van parked out front for three days or pay contract penalties for not closing on time- the few extra dollars for escrow closings may save money in the long run.

Let me know what you think. 

PC Mag names Trulia in their Top 100 Websites of 2009! It’s a great compliment to be mentioned along with so many other great companies such as Craigslist, Wikipedia, Yelp, TechCrunch, Engadget, Lifehacker, CNET, Amazon, DIGG, The New York Times and more. Kudos to the entire Trulia team for all your hard work, creativity and dedication.

According to PC Mag:

“Deciding upon our list of 100 sites is a months-long process. We solicited Web site nominations from every corner of the Web—PCMag and AppScout readers, Twitter followers, Facebook friends, our own staff, and more. A small committee of our own experts then evaluated each nominated site one by one, judging it according to its content quality, design and originality, to arrive at our two lists of 50 Web sites”

Thanks PC Mag!

UrbanCincy.com recently posted a story about how much fun it is to shop at  Findlay Market. 

It was a great reminder about this and so many other places in Cincinnati that we used to visit on a regular basis.  For us Findlay market was a requirement at least once if not twice a month.  Unfortunately it has been too long since our last visit and the “meat rubs” are running out.

Now it is our turn to help the market by casting your vote for Findlay Market.  Local Harvest is sponsoring a contest to select the best farmer’s market- so vote now. 

Vote for Findlay Market.

Trulia’s HARcamp Re-cap

Visionary HAR President & CEO Bob Hale and Rudy Bachraty

Last week I had the pleasure of participating in HAR’s first ever Digital Media Summer Camp in Houston, Texas. As a sponsor of the event, Trulia was happy to support the Houston Association of Realtors social media education efforts. They have a well organized social media program and lots of interest from their agent members = a good formula for becoming a tech savvy real estate agent.

The audience listening in on our Social Media Style panel.

@kenbrand, @trulia, @dannyfrank, @askozzie, @sarabonert, @respres, @amysmytheharris

Social Media Style panel: Ken Brand dropping some knowledge

250 attendees received Trulia notebooks and pens and Paul Chaney gave away some copies of his new social media book - The Digital Handshake

Name those feet….

Suzie Hale took some notes in her Trulia notebook - very cool.

Awesome finally meeting Stephanie Edwards-Mussa f2f.

Amy Smythe -Harris was an awesome moderator and Facebook presenter.

Bobby Bryant a.ka. Mr Scrubs…..

Jay Thompson the Phoenix Real Estate Guy caught Jaywalking

Quote of the Conference:

Nancy Furst - “I DESIRE to INSPIRE before I EXPIRE”

Many thanks to Danny Frank for asking us to be a part of the event and to everyone at HAR for being such gracious hosts. It was truly an amazing experience to be a part of.

Most buyers think the hardest part of real estate is finding the “perfect home”!

Truthfully the most difficult part of any real estate transaction is the time between signing the contract and closing.

Honestly there’re a lot of hurdles to jump before you get the keys.

Buyers can avoid some (but not all) of the stress by listening and following the timeline dictated by the contract.  Some of the biggest pitfalls happen when buyers:

• Don’t have adequate funds in checking account to cover earnest money
• Fail to follow up with lender after loan application. Lenders usually require additional information or documentation and with all of today’s privacy rules may not contact your agent.  YOU- need to stay in the “loan loop”
•  Home inspections timelines are part of the contract.  Any changed to the contract dates should be negotiated and signed off by sellers and buyers.  Failure to inspect and submit addendum for “fixes” in a timely manner often leads to problems down the road.
• Purchase Home Owners or Hazard Insurance-lenders require borrowers purchase a one year policy of home owner’s insurance covering damage to structure.  This has to be purchased prior to closing.  Many buyers wait until the morning of the closing or confuse the insurance policy with a “Home Warranty” or “Title Insurance”.
• Plan ahead and transfer all the utilities to your name for the date of occupancy.  (Some utilities still require a human to come down to the office and apply for service.)
• Make sure you understand the reasons why you should purchase title insurance (available at closing)
• Finally- the cashiers or certified check for closing should be made out to the buyers- who then sign over funds at closing. 

According to data from the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati, 1312 single family homes and condos (for Hamilton, Clermont, Warren and Butler Counties)  have gone pending (under contract but not yet closed) so there are a lot a buyers working through contract to closing.

Jumping the real estate hurdles is easy if you plan ahead and keep pace.

If you need help getting to the finish line or would like to share your experiences- feel free to comment or email.