It's Back to School!

And I've been working furiously this week to get prepared! This week I've been shifting to newer, cooler business tools.

I'm trying to complete my shift from aol (home since 1993--that's a long time....) to gmail. Shifted my blog locus from Active Rain (the original blog platform for real estate) to Blogger. Staying with CoolerEmail for my e-newsletter. So here's the summary:

My best email remains Kennedy@MaureenKennedy.Net. MaureenKennedy@aol.com will continue to work for a long time (and no need to send to both, folks--both flow through to my Blackberry immediately).

Check out my new gorgeous Piedmont blog format at http://piedmonthouseandhome.blogspot.com/ or, to keep it simple, http://tinyurl.com/PiedmontHome.

All past e-newsletter articles continue to reside at my blog (and I've been up til 2 am these last few nights cutting and pasting everything to the new site). So if you know someone who's interested in moving to town, tell them to check out the archive or subscribe!

I now have four Google websites you or your friends and colleagues may find useful--just email me and I'll give you the links. They collect resources I've delivered to clients in various less ecofriendly ways over the years. They include:

Piedmont Information (links, photos, documents,school info, factsheets, resources for buyers)
Marketing Samples for Piedmont Sellers (case studies, ideas, background and resources for sellers)
Renovation Resources (energy and water efficiency incentives and rebates, eco-tips, Cost vs. Value reports, vendor lists, build-it-green ideas,links)
Distressed Sales in Piedmont (Q&As on taxation, legal liability, and so on for owners struggling to meet their payments)

Separately, I regularly offer buyers:

An email list of Sunday open houses delivered to their desktop every Saturday morning; automatic e-notifications every time a property meeting their parameters hits the market; a review of typical buyer costs for homes at various price points; a memo outlining strategies buyers can use to increase the chances their offer will be accepted; a table identifying East Bay public schools with high API scores, with click-thrus to sites with more information about those neighborhoods; a list of four deeply experienced lenders to call for financing ideas and insight; and a package of buyer factsheets from the National Association of Realtors.

My website (still www.MaureenKennedy.Net) allows buyers and sellers to organize e-notifications of new listings on their own, and includes a form to request an analysis of the current value of your home.

Bottom line: Jazzier presence, clearly organized information, and a seamless transition.

And don't forget that I'm never too busy for your referrals!