Real Estate Agent Extinction Can be Prevented & Heads Up on a New Realtor Scam

Agent extinction is not inevitable — if you're on top of your game                             
                     

Troy Palmquist, who is licensed in 4 states and a broker in 3, wrote a great piece about agent extinction and how to avoid it. He says No robot, algorithm or flashy new platform can replace good, old-fashioned, human interaction. It’s that plain and simple. But it’s up to us to ensure we don’t get left behind.

Be the best you can be. It’s crucial to continually take the steps to become as highly skilled and highly trained as you can. Know your markets backward and forward.

Know your clients’ needs backwards and forwards. Be like a fighter pilot: You need to use your heightened situational awareness, knowledge, networking and multitasking skills at full throttle during every transaction. He does a whole Top Gun thing for us Gen Xers.. It's a great piece, the lesson to learn is that technology is transforming every industry including ours and we need to stay sharp to survive. Nurture your sphere of influence, and master your CRM.

New text and email 'gift card' scam targets agents directly

Real estate con artists are impersonating popular real estate agents online and then asking their colleagues to purchase gift cards on their behalf. We've seen these sent in our own broker's name since last summer, but Arkansas Attorney General released a report about a new wave of these scammers going after Realtors. The fraudsters will seek to gain your trust by impersonating popular agents or brokers online. 

Through emails and texts, the conmen will reach out to that agents colleagues listed on the website with requests to purchase gift cards worth hundreds of dollars — some have even gone so far as to say that they were “closing gifts for clients” and that would be paid back by the brokerage. The Arkansas state report has also seen scammers target agents and homebuyers with emails telling them that their payment method has suddenly changed.

The original 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' house is taking in visitors

The spooky, Victorian house that was used in the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is inviting fans to an overnight screening of the film. The property is in Kingland Texas, and is the setting for the Sawyer family to carry out its cannibalistic attack on the lost hitchhikers. March 29th and 30th, you can join horror actor Kenny Caperton for the scariest sleepover of your life. Caperton, by the way, owns a life-sized replica of the Mike Myers house, so it will be worth the price of admission. Visitors will sleep on air mattresses, view the film, enjoy a barbecue and play trivia and board games with a horror theme. Tickets range from $350 to $400.  https://www.myershousenc.com/onsetcinema

John Travolta sells Los Angeles estate to record exec Scooter Braun    

Actor John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston sold their longtime Los Angeles family home to record executive Scooter Braun for $18 million. The Los Angeles Times reported that it was an off-market deal. That is not uncommon when it comes to celebrities and millionaires. 

The 2.35-acre Brentwood estate was built in 1949, has a 9,100-square-foot main house, a guardhouse, two garages, a tennis court and a swimming pool. It had been the couple’s family home since the 1990s, the two-story main residence has 10 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and views of Laurel Canyon.

Braun also owns the compound next door.. and while he might not be a household name, his record company, RBMG Records, counts Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande among its clients...