I am gearing up for a better bubbleinfo.com experience in 2012, and could use your help!
How would you like to see this blog improve?
Content
What topics need more coverage? More regional posts, or keep it local? More stories from the field? More videos, or less? Too many posts? More statistics? Reader Forums? Q&As?
What would you like to learn the most about in 2012?
High Tech
Is a mobile app needed? Utilize other internet tools, graphics, etc.?
Attitude
Too fast or slow? Too grumpy or sarcastic? Need more light-hearted fun?
Other Experiences
The Blog Talk Radio program is starting in January. What else – Seminars? Parties? Do you want to connect to other readers?
Using JtR as Your Realtor
Are you here because you are buying and/or selling? Are you considering using Jim the Realtor to help you? What would convince you that I’m the best agent for you?
What Frustrates You about Bubbleinfo? What is Best About It?
Other Ideas or Feedback?
I appreciate your loyal readership and participation – leave any comments to help us all get more out of this experience. Thank you, and happy holidays!
Other than the radio program.
Stick with the way you’re doing things. You shouldn’t mess with perfection. 😉
Jim , I appreciate your website and thank you for raising awareness of the R.E. scene. More videos of available product may increase business . Happy Holidays..
As real estate blogs go its not too bad already. As to what would make me use your services? I dunno, maybe move countrys?
You seem to find the right articles and videos to always keep me coming back. I think you missed your true calling. I read other realtor blogs,most blogs in general, and they are just boring. Thanks for the daily lifts. Merry Christmas to you and the family. Keep up the good work.
Jeff H
I’m not sure I could come up with many new ideas. I like it alot in its’ current form. Attitude is perfect.
Having links to redfin, realtor.com, zillow, etc. for the properties you video would be nice.
Maps, in general, are always good things to have, too. Presenting more map-based information might be nice. What exactly do YOU mean by NCC? May be different from someone else’s perception.
Oh, and more contests. Love the contests.
More Tebow!
My only suggestion would be adding in quick shots/links to recently closed sales when discussing the video of a current subject/listing.
Will be using JTR for sure on any residential investment property in NCC.
Keep it honest and real. If the property is overpriced, say so! If something stinks, point it out. Keeping it real and honest is why I first began reading this blog. Too much of San Diego is still overpriced when viewed in the longer term.
The honesty keeps me coming back. The no-BS approach is refreshing. The mix of areas and properties is good, not all big bombers and not all REO fixers, Vista to RSF.
Remember what they said in vaudeville — leave ’em wanting more.
I would like to have you allow to keep rather than block the bloggers that disagree with you for a more lively discussions.
Thinking like a buyer (not a blog commenter or blogger), more videos of for-sale properties with honest assessments of what is right or wrong with them (like you do for many already) give me more comfort to buy with you. Which, after all, is what you want, right… more buyers to use you as their agent?
Personally, I skip any post that is political or sports related. If I wanted opinion on those, I’d go to a sports or politics blog.
I think discussions of the macro environment would be best relegated to whether they will have a meaningful impact on local sales, prices, or volume. I especially liked your discourse on how the shrinking maxi-conforming limits pushed a bunch of people to buy in a specific price range (pulling some demand forward); very thoughtful, out of the box thinking on a specific time frame and price range.
I give your site a very high score, which is why I keep coming back to read.
Chuck
Chuck
I thought I was going to add a lot of suggestions but your faithful crowd has already weighed-in nicely. Keep it real and honest – as you currently do. Stay local because this really is a unique, discrete market with appeal outside of the local population.
San Diego County is an isolated urban island with global appeal so discretionary dollars at the mid and high ends continue to flow to attractive locations. I have witnessed Japanese nationals buying houses for cash so that their children could live-and-walk near SDSU. I’ve seen Argentinian silver barons purchase adjoining houses in Coronado for cash. Etc, etc. Notwithstanding other high-end venues such as South Coastal France, Switzerland, Pacific islands – only here in the US do we have the historically generational constancy and safety so many with assets crave. And among all other cities in the US, San Diego, on balance, reigns supreme. I mean, really…can you stand the stench and pretension of New York and LA? Thought so….
Thanks everyone for the comments!
Jbird – I only block people who take pot shots at me or my people – and that includes the carpet-bombing of general and vague theories whose only intention is to disrupt my business. It had gotten out of hand, and I’m not going to put up with it.
If people want to have a civil, fact-based discussion, there’s no problem.
I cleared all those who were blocked, so feel free.
Jim you are you and that happens to be a well informed and well spoken broker that should only change what Jim feels comfortable in changing. I love the mix of videos, news clips, statistics, commentary and the tell it like it needs to be told (especially to sellers) attitude. YOU ARE THE MAN! Will definitely refer anyone I know to you even though I live and operate in the Daytona Beach area. Cheers, Jack
11.Thinking like a buyer (not a blog commenter or blogger), more videos of for-sale properties with honest assessments of what is right or wrong with them (like you do for many already) give me more comfort to buy with you. Which, after all, is what you want, right… more buyers to use you as their agent?
Yes, and it’s a concern that I’m trying to balance.
I want to give the potential new clients a sense of what to expect here, and then re-direct to the other website that has 90+ videos so far.
Why did I separate?
1. Because if the hot buys are displayed publically, I could be creating competition for my own buyers.
2. It has become painfully clear that people are happy to enjoy free data here, and then use it in their own pursuits with another realtor.
I hope that potential clients will get the idea of what to expect, and then contact me to show them houses in person, or direct to other website for more investigation.
Local coverage is great. More from the the SD metro area would be interesting. That area just seems to provide more colorful posts.
Could there really be too many posts from JTR??? And as for attitude, keep the sarcasm going, it is what makes you, you.
Mobile app would be cool but only if it could provide something unique beyond the website.
Looking forward to the blog talk radio. Please make it a podcast or easily downloadable. Rich Toscano as a guest, would be great.
A redfin.com link for the properties you talk about would help give a better context. Not everyone is familiar with north SD.
What they all said. Really, you keep me coming back for the great mix of local knowledge put in a wider context, a perfect mix.
What I would really like is for you to expand your brokerage or at least have affiliates in other markets who are reliably trustworthy. I wish I was moving to SD, but I’m not, so I want JtR-like service elsewhere!
Hi Jim, Long time reader of your blog. Thanks for all the great stuff and thanks for the reminder to contribute back.
Content:
– Really appreciate insights on what make good real estate broker, the hijinks that go on in the industry can be very hard to see from the outside and I feel like you have a lot of great advice and concrete examples of how thing can be fraudulent or even just incompetent like poor pricing. Also very interesting to hear hight lights of funding opportunities through Vetrans or FHA. Overall love the from the trenches analysis of what is going on.
– Really enjoy the house tours and the humorous comments that are included. Don’t make them too long, but really fun to tour houses with you
– Statistics are good but best when you’re highlighting stuff that is really interesting or you’ve got a particular insight on.
– The remodeling tips are also very interesting. Highlighting quality businesses and products is really appreciated from the donut places to the quality home builders.
High Tech:
– Tend to read your blog from work and home so don’t need any app. Would be nice to have links from your blogs directly to the zillow or listing agent website for reference.
Attitude:
– Overall attitude is great and really makes the blog. Calling it crazy when it seems crazy and quality when it is quality is much appreciated. I thought the side pieces on things like flooring and design were really great and on topic. Like the slightly sarcastic no-nonsense approach. Great approachable style watching your videos I feel like I’m there and we’re going out for a beer on the beach afterward.
Using JTR:
– Considering buying but up north from where JTR operates. I know exactly who I would recommend to friends in San Diego though! Would actually be great to feature agents from other places in california that you have confidence in. Something like Angie’s list for realtors. It is such a big purchase and having quality representation to guide through the process is worth every penny.
Frustrations:
– Not many. Lots more frustrations with the market overall. Might be interesting to have a few more lower cost properties. The bank of america REO videos were pretty hilarious and make me feel a lot better about spending more money for a better house.
Happy holidays and good luck in 2012,
-Charlie
I love your blog. The candor of your evaluations of houses is what keeps me coming back. I’ve learned a great deal from you about what are current expectations for finishing, when floor plans and colors start to look dated, when traffic noise is an issue, what is happening with pricing trends, what to think about water features, and many other issues.
I wonder if it would be possible to interview random neighbors in a neighborhood and see what they have to say. You will probably get the “good” fairly easily. Getting into the negatives will be harder.
It would also be interesting to get a range of responses to traffic noise. Obviously many people have chosen to live in fairly high noise areas. Why? Maybe you could do a traffic noise special. (I hate traffic noise by the way.)
I fully understand the difficulty with the following, but would it be possible to occasionally get direct information about what potential buyers have said about a house? Not as an “every episode” thing, but just now and then. My guess is that it would help sellers to hear buyers say what they notice in a house. Not all prospective buyers are worth listening to, but some are.
Are you able to get information on which HOA’s are good and which ones have problems? In my experience, HOA’s vary a great deal in quality and in basic sanity. I’ve seen situations that make me think that HOA’s may be the worst idea on the planet – – like a small town government run by small minded people with no real fiscal sense and way too much time on their hands. Other times, the HOA works efficiently and unobtrusively in the background.
How about quick follow-ups in which you go back and interview the buyers of interesting or unusual houses and get their perspectives after they’ve lived with the house a while? One question would be, what happened to things that were a concern to you? I notice that we (humans) have a great capacity to end up “liking” what we have committed to, even when it is imperfect. We do this, I suspect, because otherwise more of us would go crazy over the imperfection of the world!
In any case, I’ll say again, I really like your video blog for its honesty, insight and credibility. Keep up the good work.
Louie
Jim:
Its great already. I would suggest you pan a little slower, or try to be steadier with the cam. I actually found myself getting nauseous on some of the videos. Perhaps a mono-pod to steady the camera. No fast pans! Otherwise, you are excellent. As to whether I would use you, heck you already helped us by a great home a year ago. We hope to stay there a long time, but we certainly tell others about you and your great staff, and the blog, all the time.
I have been meaning to try one of the camera balancers – maybe Santa is reading?
Jim, I think your blog is great already. Just keep it honest and real. I would use you as a realtor if I had 500k saved up. Maybe Santa is listening…
Just don’t stop doing what you’re doing, Jim!
Jim,
Your blog has been really informative. The videos are really good and your commentary and experience is the best part with objective assessments of the pros and cons of the property and local market.
Some more videos of other areas in San Diego might be nice and your comments about those areas. Perhaps there would be other people who would use you as well if there were areas outside NCC that you covered. You have done that in years past at times.
Don`t fix something that isn`t broken. Well, not enough ice cream trucks lately and the contests have been too difficult for me to win.
More from the the SD metro area would be interesting. That area just seems to provide more colorful posts.
True, plus I love it for it’s central location and have a lot of experience from working in the big Mission Valley office that is now Prudential. I dig the old Spanish look, and it’s only in the SD Metro area that you find them, besides Oceanside.
Would actually be great to feature agents from other places in california that you have confidence in.
I am sorely lacking in referral agents, and wish there were more of them doing blogs and videos.
I would have to hang out with out-of-town agents to really know what they’re about, but I rarely leave town!
Jim, I enjoy and learn from your home tour videos and comments throughout. Your narrative is informative, helpful and witty– it’s the best part. The length of the videos is good. I am a daily reader, and although I don’t often comment myself, I learn a lot from the comments of your other readers. As an owner of both a residence and an investment property, your tips on property upgrades and selling points (staging, pricing, repairs, etc.) are incredibly valuable to me. It is always interesting to hear your comments during videos on factors that affect (positively or negatively) resale value, such as traffic sounds, environmental risks, “view premium,” etc. Your best posts this year were the series on the retiree who listed his “top wishes” and the comment discussion that resulted and the post recently on factors that comprise a good property (i.e. one story, close to walking trails, south-facing, etc.) Please keep up the great work, and thank you. I wear my JtR t-shirt with pride!
Blogs are hard to read on phones, but maybe if it’s just the radio shows and video it’d be useful?
Another suggestions. Have the site detect device/browser type (i.e. HTTP_USER_AGENT) and send appropriately formatted site for that devices (i.e. m.bubbleinfo.com for mobile phones).
Currently, the site is not bad on mobile devices but could be better with formatting optimizing for them.
IMHO this is more important then a mobile app.
Jim and the Klinge Realty folks recently sold our home and helped us buy our new one. I don’t know how many digits there are on the face of the Klinge Realty team’s clock to keep up with the ever increasing demands of what it takes to succeed in this market, but its more than most of us spend or have to make it all happen. We just hung on for the ride that Jim and Donna took us through for 8 weeks ending in simultaneous closings by some act of god. And thats just the business end of realty. This blog is a second job for Jim, job well done and happy holidays. My only input is that my internal clock for video content maxes out at about 5 mins. Keep it all real and regional.
More of the Statler and Waldorf style commentary.
Do not bother with an app; it ain’t worth your distraction.
Lots more real estate porn; every Friday maybe?
Don’t change what you are doing; it is awesome already.
Maybe ask your completed buyers if you can release their private videos to the public as a group. That way we can see their decision making process.
Add a google map page where all of your listings are shown, one where all your videos are located, and one where all the houses you helped buy are. The API is relatively easy to do and you can continually add to it.
I like the blog, but I would like to see more on lower priced homes (<$500,000) in decent locations. What about some mid century modern? Some of it is reall cool.
We bought more than 3 years ago & have no plans to sell. I don’t know how many of your visitors realize how much goes into maintaining a Blog at the level you have, and I hope your viewer count & business reflect the professionalism & consistency of your efforts.
I check in because the site’s informative (fact based)and shares interesting stories (business & personality-driven) with pictures/videos I’d otherwise miss. Your offerings show why you’re deserving of buyer/seller respect/trust – honest, hard working, always personable. The site’s fine as it is. It’s reflective of who you are, what you believe market participants would do well to consider & especially, your go-to-work ethic.
I agree with everything that Doug wrote in comment #35.
Unless you move your business or I win the lottery, I’ll be a freeloader. Sorry.
I first “met” you online at Calculated Risk back in the days where a post never got more than 50 comments 😆 and over at Rob’s blog so I check in from time to time. I like your style, honesty, and humor and you help me learn more about this confusing economy and real estate. I wish I could send some business your way to show my appreciation but all I can send you is my thanks and good wishes for your continued success.
1) I would make Friday a theme day…Rush Limbaugh has his “open line friday”…something like that. Someone mentioned RE pr0n day.
2) Instead of just a radio show, try also doing justin.tv and make some video out of it too. You can live stream and archive.
3) Been loving your specials on home improvement. I’d like to see that continue, as we intend to remodel soon. Also, some of the interviewees are accessible by comments, while others were not (the kitchen remodelers). That is a bit frustrating as sometimes, there are questions that people have.
Jim,
First of all – Thank you. I am in Los Angeles, so not likely to buy a house down there, although if I were, I’d call you first! I greatly appreciate your candor. I’ve been tentatively looking for a house in the beach cities. I regularly find your posts insightful and helpful as I gingerly step in this arena. Even though I am not looking in SD, I still watch some of your walk through videos. They give me insight on how different aspects of a house affect its value.
We don’t need no stinkin’ app. 🙂 I mostly view this on a laptop, but the blog works just fine from Safari on my iPad. It drives me nuts that every site wants an app and then hounds me about it every time I go to their site from my iPad.
I’m amazed at the quantity of posts that you produce (and maintain quality) compared to other blogs. I do bypass some posts… (local SD homes and news I’ve seen elsewhere) I check up on you every week or two and there are always a few posts of interest. I tend to be interested in posts on the “state of the housing market” and all the things that affect it (monetary, political, fraud, etc) on a broader scale than SD, since I don’t live there. However, I do watch some of the local color videos.
I’d say you have a good attitude. I like a little sarcasm. I also greatly appreciate what seems to be a very straightforward and honest opinion about what you feel is happening. If I had to pick one best trait, that it is. I can get the news (which all seems biased one way or another) at any number of sites, but the local, feet on the ground opinion is invaluable.
I can’t say I’ve ever been frustrated by anything with Bubbleinfo.
Thanks!
–Melissa
P.S. Remember the stories a year or so ago on CNN about how by now we’d have a housing shortage? Might be fun to find those again.