Long Beach Realtor Gains National Recognition

On Tuesday, March 27, 2007 Inman News interviewed Mary McKnight, of RSSpieces.com, out of Cape Coral, Florida in their 3 part article 'Blogs rise as glue to real estate social networking'.

Excerpt from the article:

McKnight says that some agents have been really successful in using ActiveRain to boost their rankings, pointing out a Long Beach, CA., Realtor whose site appears in the first 5-7 spots in Google search results for Long Beach real estate. 'Laurie Manny is a good example of someone doing this. Shes able to diversify and leverage her online presence really well,' McKnight pointed out


What does that mean to you, the Long Beach Property Owner?

That means that when you list your Long Beach Property with Laurie Manny you instantly get top Internet exposure by way of her high ranking website LaurieManny.com and by way of her advanced blogging ability and tactics.  

Laurie's vast knowledge of SEO (search engine optimization) will send your Long Beach Property to the top of the search engines.

Example:

Put Wrigley Heights into the Google search engine. There are five positions on page one referencing an assortment of listings and area information that Laurie has written on Wrigley Heights,  an article on the proposed new park RiverLink also by Laurie, another of her consumer articles and another instance of an area listing being promoted; there are also other articles of Lauries appearing on page two.  

You will also find four positions on page one of Google for the search term, Belmont Heights Real Estate, 3 or 4 for Downtown Long Beach Real Estate, and so on. 

90% of todays buyers are finding their next home online, can you afford to not have this kind of exposure when selling your Long Beach Homes?

How many Long Beach Realtors can provide you with this level of exposure, in addition to the traditional methods?  Ask them to prove it!

The benefits to the seller described here enhance Lauries incredible marketing plan for your home, which cant be beaten.

Are you thinking about selling your Long Beach Property?

Call Laurie today for a free consultation.  You will like what you hear.

 




 

 

 




Prudential California Realty
(562) 212-5420
lmanny@socal.rr.com
LONG BEACH CA REAL ESTATE (Lauries Website)
LONG BEACH REAL ESTATE (Lauries Long Beach Blog)

Inman News is THE premiere real estate industry news resource.  A subscription service that presents its articles, via email, to the industry for 24 hours prior to going behind subscription lines.  Inman news provides RSS news feeds to Realtors for consumer use on Realtor websites.

Mary McKnight is Her Royal Highness of the blogging world, blogging since 2000 Mary McKnight is one of the pioneers of the blogging world.  She and her husband own RSSpieces.com out of Cape Coral, Florida.  They provide the most elite blogging platforms in todays market.  Mary McKnight is recognized throughout the blogging world and real estate industry as the number one expert in the field. 

Active Rain  is the number one nationwide real estate industry networking blog site.  Founded by Matt Heaton, Caleb Mardini and Jonathan Washburn out of Seattle Washington.  Active Rain is growing at a most incredible rate and is taking the nation by storm.  Recently recognized by Realtor Magazine as one of the most important tools a Realtor should be using to reach the consumer. Laurie Manny is currently one of 5 nationwide moderators servicing the Active Rain system. 

Direct Quote from Realtor Magazine:
Boost your network by connecting with other practitioners and professionals online. Its a great way to get referrals and advice. Here are a few Web sites that can get you networking fast:

• Active Rain: A free networking site for real estate professionals where members can share ideas, gain referrals, and access or create blogs. Members are categorized by geographic location.

Localism is the consumer side of Active Rain where consumers can access local information, from local Realtors, about their state, county, city and communities. It is a place where a consumer can drop in and get to know their local Realtors for a while before making a decision on whom to develop a relationship with.  Consumers can also access the Active Rain website and read what members of the real estate industry nationwide have to say on a vast variety of issues.

Posted on March 29, 2007 12:48:12 by Laurie.Manny

Long Beach CA Crime Stats are Down

Long Beach CA Police Department Rocks!

Crime down to an all time low in the city!

2006 No murders in the City of Long Beach - East of Cherry Avenue-that's a whole lotta Long Beach folks. 

Murder level dropped to the lowest level since 1971 when they started keeping records:

Serious felonies dropped by 4.3%
Overall crime fell 3.3%
Auto theft fell 12.3%
Garage burglary down 24.7%
Bicycle theft fell 19%
Business burglaries dropped 12%
Rapes increased 28.5% after a drop the prior year of 23.5%
Residential burglary jumped 11.1%

Posted on March 28, 2007 21:51:19 by Laurie.Manny

The Long Beach RiverLink

Have you seen the proposed plan for the land beside the LA River on the West side of Long Beach yet?  It is well thought out, extremely attractive and incredible!  If this plan comes to fruition it will beautify the West Side and increase Long Beach home values substantially. 

This stroke of genius was developed by 606 Studio, Dept. of Landscape Architecture, College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University.  The plan is intended to provide a framework for the city to connect the neighborhoods of the west side of Long Beach, CA with the Los Angeles River. 

The Key Issues prompting this plan include:

• Inadequate amount of outdoor recreation areas
• Loss of neighborhood identity (Residents see Long Beach as a 'City of Neighborhoods )
• Severed connections between city and river (Residents think it is unattractive, too much vandalism, noisy, underutilized and uncomfortable)
• Lack of nature in the urban setting (The Westside is severely lacking in acres of open space, this plan would provide for badly needed open space)
• Perceived unsafe public places (Perception of unsafe areas is high, much more so in the night-time hours)

The Eastside of Long Beach has the bulk of City parks 16.7 acres per 1,000 residents, the Westside has 4.7 acres per 1,000 residents.  Not a very green Westside.

The Goals and Objectives of The Plan include integrating the parks and open space creatively to blend with and enhance the natural heritage and historical design of the neighborhoods, while reconnecting them with the river.  Initial plans include walking and bicycling paths, mass transit use and more.

The strong heritage and historical design of the neighborhoods along the river are to be complimented in the design elements. Some of the design elements being woven into The Plan are:

• Craftsman Style Designs, responding to the history of the Willmore City Neighborhood.
• Art Deco
• Industrial - The City of Long Beach has plans for economic development of the areas affected. 
• Spanish Revival designs responding to the Spanish Revival history of the Wrigley Heights Neighborhood.

The RiverLink concept designates a system of Gateways, Pathways, Connections, and Destinations to direct visitors to and from the Los Angeles River.  The plan includes beautifully designed Gateways (Park Entries) that blend with the design of the area.  The designs are lovely and will be a tremendous addition to the areas.  The Pathways encourage walking and bicycling while providing safe and comfortable paths enhanced by mature trees and landscaping. Stop and rest on one of the many benches along the way and enjoy the beauty of your surroundings.

Proposed RiverLink Spotlighted Sites begin at Long Beach Harbor, at the mouth of the river where an overlook will provide visitors a place to view the new wetland and park areas; then make their way clear up to the City of Paramount:

• Golden Shore Wetlands 6.4 acres
• Drake Greenbelt 31.8 acres
• Magnolia Yards 23.1 acres
• Wrigley Greenbelt 9.8 acres
• Wrigley Heights Park 50.0 acres
• Dominguez Gap Wetlands 49.2 acres
• Deforest Wetlands 33.5 acres
• Deforest Park 23.4 acres

The City of Long Beach hopes to develop the Magnolia Yards area incorporating live/work lofts, developing a warehouse district featuring galleries, small retail shops, and restaurants, creating economic vitality in an underutilized area within walking distance of Downtown Long Beach.  

The proposed Wrigley Heights Park will include Fresh Water Wetlands, an Eco-revelatory Amphitheater, Woodlands, a Playground and mini-park, and a Dog Park among other attractions. 

River overlooks are planned viewing areas of river wildlife along the bike path and will provide access across the river channel.

The City of Long Beach RiverLink plan is a creative redefinition of open and unused space that can be adapted as ephemeral open space patches and is the creation of Edward Anaya - James Chaddick - Jon Loxley and Jeremy Person, whom I would like to personally thank for this stroke of genius.

Posted on March 20, 2007 14:07:13 by Laurie.Manny

Landlords Win in the Sub Prime Implosion

The recent events in the sub-prime market have raised the bar on obtaining financing.  Buyers are most likely  going to have to cough up a few bucks to buy anything, unless they have great credit scores and history.  This is great news for Long Beach landlords.  You are not going to have any problems filling up those vacant Long Beach units.  We may actually have housing shortages in some areas. 

It is natural that tenants become first time home-buyers.  Not right now folks!  Unless they have a decent down payment, its just not going to happen, equating to long term tenants.  With so many foreclosures on the horizon, the displaced owners will require housing, increasing rental housing demands. 

Supply and Demand

When supply is down, demand is up.  Rents are going to begin to increase with the demand for available housing.  Who knows, maybe the rents will actually begin to justify the absurd recent prices on some of the investment properties recently and currently on the market.  It may not be a bad time to look into purchasing a reasonably priced Long Beach Investment Property, if you can find one.

The recent re-development in Downtown Long Beach has created a lot of available but not so affordable housing.  Lets face it folks, if these people cant afford to buy, or are coming out of a foreclosure, they are looking for rentals they can afford.  With more high rise development on the way it raises the question, where is the affordable housing? 

In Downtown Long Beach, affordable rental housing can be found in the Willmore City Historic District and in the East Village Arts District.  Alamitos Beach is still affordable but gets a little pricier, rentals in Belmont Heights and other Long Beach CA Beach Communities have stayed surprisingly reasonable.  The Circle area, Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Wrigley Heights, North Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill and Signal Hill neighborhoods are likely contenders for housing the coming demand.  If you have been contemplating the purchase of Long Beach Income Property, now might be a good time to think about putting that plan into action. 

If you currently own Long Beach units and have been contemplating upgrading them, now is the time.  Upgraded rental units command higher rents and are always in demand. 

Do you have Long Beach Income Property that you would like to sell?  Are your rents anywhere near todays current market?  If not you might want to consider restructuring your business plan and raising your rental income to support your asking price.  Income property sells based on GRM (Gross Rent Multiplier).  In plain English, your rents must support your selling price or your buyer will not be granted a loan.  Sure, you can wait for a buyer with a lot of cash, but you are going to wait a long time.  A buyer with a lot of cash is most likely going to split that cash up and buy multiple units.  If you price your Long Beach property to sell, and your rents support your price, you should be able to sell. 

I am highly experienced in the purchase and sale of Long Beach Income Properties.  Please call if you need any assistance or advice. 

Posted on March 18, 2007 17:46:47 by Laurie.Manny

Rewarding Excellence in Long Beach CA

 LONG BEACH REAL ESTATE

Rewarding Excellence in Long Beach CA

A TRIP TO STAPLES LONG BEACH CA THAT WILL "NEVER" BE FORGOTTEN

As you all know we Long Beach Realtors are a busy bunch and when we need something we generally need it right now.  So it was for me today.  I needed a new day planner right away for my busy Long Beach Real Estate business, so I went to Staple's up at the Long Beach traffic circle on my way into the office.  Now you know that a trip to Staples isn't much different than a trip to the grocery or drug store.  Personally I don't like going into any of these stores because I usually end up leaving with about half of their inventory. 

Upon entering the store I grabbed one of those 10 ton buckets of licorice for the office, found my new day planner and remembered I needed a new head set for my TREO, so I bop on over to the electronics department.  There is a service desk in the electronics department with a Staples employee servicing another customer.  I asked where the headsets were, received an answer and went over to check them out.  None of them indicated they were comparable to a TREO so I head back to the service desk where the customer was no longer apparent.  I asked the Staples employee for assistance, he indicated that he was still working with another customer but would get me help.  He then paged somebody named Larry twice.  I waited, and waited, and waited and I was done.  I told him thanks but it was taking too long, bye bye, and proceeded to the check out counter, a bit ticked off.  Found a mess of other items at the counter that I didn't need, tossed them into my basket as well. 

Just as I finished placing all of my items on the counter the Staples employee who tried to assist me in the electronics department arrives at the checkout counter and whisks all of my items off of the counter while saying, "You are not paying for anything today!" and places my order into bags and hands it to me saying "I am really sorry for the way you were treated here today, I will make it a point for that to never happen again, please accept my apologies".  I was speechless (a rare state for me).  I thanked him and went to leave the store. 

I went back to ask his name, the employee I spoke to told me that Patrick Owens is the stores new manager and that he is wonderful.  Even the employees love this guy!  It's no wonder why.  He gets it!  He easily could have just apologized or given me a 10% discount, but no, he went the whole nine yards.  I am stunned at this level of customer service.  

When we are treated badly we never forget it.  I will never forget Patrick Owens and the way he made up for his inability to service his customer.  I will never forget the look of pain on his face at the failure of the system he managed.  I also know from that look that he finds that level of service unacceptable and will do something about making certain "his" Staples customers are treated better in the future.  He did that today. 

In Patrick Owens I find a kindred spirit.  I completely understand the position he was in today.  The perfectionist, unable to deliver perfection. 

Patrick Owens today you earned a for excellence.

I hope you never lower your standards, and that you influence many others to strive to your standards of excellence. 

Posted on March 09, 2007 17:13:47 by Laurie.Manny