Here is an interesting article that I found on ZDNet.

Agents and the Industry need to carefully read the last two paragraphs.

The first 48 page edition of your dual Northern Rivers & Mid North Coast realestateworld.com.au publication has now been successfully distributed to over 440 separate distribution points from Tweed Heads to Kempsey with positive feedback from all the new advertising agents.

I have also been informed by our distributors that by the end of July we will have a total of 152 distribution points on the Mid North Coast alone.

To support the launch in the Mid North Coast a consumer radio campaign promoting both the new realestateworld.com.au publication and supporting website went to air this week on 2MC Radio. In the next couple of weeks the publication will also be broadcasting “Live Reads” to further enhance the popularity of the publication in the region.

This week saw the announcement from realestateworld.com.au that all offices listing with the website will automatically have their listings appear in the new property search on Google. I can tell you that in 24 hours of the Google site going live the realestateworld.com.au website received an 80% increase in unique browsers. Does your current listing site upload to Google?

Offices using Renet, Port Plus, Inhabit and Hubonline can now upload directly to realestateworld.com.au. If you are not currently listing on the fastest growing real estate website in NSW simply contact us on 1300 137 161 for listing details.

Those offices that are not advertising and would like to be included in the Mid North Coast realestateworld.com.au publication can contact realestateworld.com.au on 02 9724 6999.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.”

~Charles Swindoll~

Google today announced the addition of a real estate search feature to Google Maps in Australia. The new feature allows real estate agents, franchise groups and portals alike to upload their listings directly to Google Maps at no cost, making them more easily discoverable by the millions of Google Maps users in Australia.

Increasingly, people are starting their search for a new home online – Nielsen research shows that 87% of Australian home buyers use the internet to research properties*. Google saw more than 35% growth in real estate-related searches from Jan/Feb 2008 to Jan/Feb 2009**.

“We know that many Australian home buyers already use Google Maps to help their house-buying and renting decisions, especially driving directions and Street View, and by making real estate listings available right in Google Maps we can drive qualified buyers directly to listings,” says Andrew Foster, product manager, Google.

“It’s a simple and free way for real estate companies to make their listings even more discoverable, and have them seen on an easy-to-navigate map.”

Real estate agents can visit maps.google.com.au/realestate to find out more information about how to work with Google to have their listings appear on Google Maps.

The new feature lets potential home buyers enter a city or suburb and see available listings represented by markers or small circles on the map. They can then refine their search by price, type of property, bedrooms, bathrooms, and parking. The map will automatically update with relevant listings when panned or zoomed to another suburb, and when the search criteria is changed. Clicking on a marker or a small circle will provide more information about the listing, as well as the contact details of the listing agent and a link to their website.

Agents who use Red Square or subscribe to realestateworld.com.au will automatically have their listings uploaded to Google on a daily basis.

For more information see http://maps.google.com.au/help/maps/realestate/

Under the Property Stock and Business Agents Act 2002, licensee’s records in relation to the handling of trust money must be audited by a person qualified to act as an auditor.

You must submit an audit report to the Office of Fair Trading, if you received or held trust money during the financial year ending 30 June 2009 and are:

a licensee

a former licensee, or

a personal representative of a licensee.

In most cases, it is the licensed corporation that receives and is responsible for trust funds. Therefore, in most cases, a trust account audit must be lodged by the licensed corporation. However, if an individual licensee receives and is responsible for trust money, then a trust account audit must be lodged by the individual licensee.

If a licensed corporation or an individual licensee has not held any trust money during 2008/09, then a statutory declaration must be lodged declaring this.

Every licensee, both corporations and individuals, must lodge either a trust account audit or a statutory declaration.

Completed audits and statutory declarations must be lodged with the Commissioner for Fair Trading no later than 30 September 2009. If a trust account audit is not lodged by the due date, a licensee is regarded as a disqualified person and their licence would not be renewed until such time as the audit was lodged.

Additionally, the failure to lodge an audit when required can result in the imposition of monetary penalties and/or prosecution action being taken by the Office of Fair Trading.

Documentation available online only

Audit documentation relating to the 2008/2009 financial year will not be mailed to licensees. The required documentation should be downloaded from the Fair Trading website.

Go to the Trust account audit requirements page to access audit and statutory declaration documentation as well as for information to assist in the preparation of audit reports.

Source: Fair Trading Property Industry news

uSocial a social media marketing company is offering a new paid service allowing organisations to buy Twitter followers.

The uSocial service will guarantee you a slew of new followers in the time stated or we’ll provide you with a further 20% at no charge.

Packages start at around $AUD110.00 for 1000 followers. Interesting concept but how qualified will the followers be for a particular market or product.

For more information see www.usocial.net/twitter_marketing/