Vintage Real Estate Ads for "Up and Coming" Neighborhoods?

Madison Monroe represents some property in New Town in Staunton, Va., I think about it a lot. The south side of Beverley St. has a neighborhood that is often referred to as the Stafford block. Traditionally, it's the "black neighborhood," but I like to think of it as an up and coming neighborhood. The truth is that it is not an all-black neighborhood. In fact, it's one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Staunton, and I like it a lot. I almost moved there myself, but I was looking for one of those insane deals you hear about people getting on places they live.

But there are deals too good to be true on the Stafford block, and there are some great people on the block, and there's a community garden, and a kids' playground, and all sorts of street fairs and stuff. I love it. Plus, there are some artists living there. It's great, and it's close to downtown. And did I mention cheap?

So, I've been thinking a long time about this because Agent Genius published an article about revisiting strategies of the old days, and I was wondering how to apply that. It wouldn't work with the apartments or condos, I don't think, but it could totally work for a neighborhood that's making a comeback as a cool place to live.

I remember living on the border of Berkeley and Oakland in California, and the people who were moving in were changing those neighborhoods for the better (IMHO), and they were looking for things no one had demanded for a long time in those spots. I think those folks would be receptive to the aesthetic and message of a vintage campaign to move a neighborhood back up to where it may belong. . . to have people care about it and invest in it again.

Maybe we'll see a lot more of this as the suburbs start dying, and the neighborhoods downtown start thriving again.Will we advertise the downtown neighborhoods to the people who used to live in the suburbs the same way we sold them on the suburbs? Probably. Look for similarities. The demographics haven't changed that much.

The Think Little Workshop

We did this thing called the Think Little Workshop at the Queen City Marketplace over the weekend. Different people talked about different things on a panel of sorts, and we all networked, might seem pretty standard. Maybe it was in a lot of ways, but I don't think we bored anyone, and I hope we stayed on message.

The message: It's time to stop thinking like some billion-dollar company or government plan is going to make a drastic change in your life; it's time to to think about your own life and business on your own scale; to think little.

My portion of this and why we hosted it at the Queen City Marketplace was about thinking little in real estate. This has been a difficult thing for me ponder because real estate comes in the size you get it. Sure, you can spend a lot of money and split lots and convert uses, but basically, once you get the real estate you can't move it shrink it or do much to it to change it drastically, especially in this economy and if you weren't born a millionaire.


I enjoyed this workshop a great deal, and I hope that other people did, too. It was a massive turnout, over 70 people, and the news channel and the newspaper were there to report on it. Some great publicity for Queen City Marketplace and for the Jack Morgan as realty person brands. It was also wonderful to engage people about their businesses. I want to do more of that. It's one of the reasons I love this industry so much.

I want to more of these kinds of workshops or seminars. I think they're great networking opportunities for everyone involved, and they keep me creative about what I'm doing.

I Totally Saw This Coming!

Realtor Mag ran an article this month about QR codes. I'm glad it's finally catching on in the US, but I just have to say that I thought this was a good idea ages ago. . . long before I dreamed that I would have anything to do with real estate.
But hey, I'm glad the industry is keeping up with the times while driving technology in a way.

Plus, the article is quite good.

Augmenting Your Real(i)ty

I've been into QR Codes for a long time, and I've thought that they would be a great way for Realty peeps to get their brands and messages out.

In Staunton, I want to have every one of our properties to have one of these codes on them. The idea is that people with smart phones and people sophisticated enough to be in the know, will scan these codes to find out more about the spaces to which they're affixed. This one, for example, takes you to a page on our website for the Stratton Building. My office is in the Stratton Building, and we have some really premium office space still available here. When someone scans this QR, they will get a couple photos and a little information about the building, including how to get in touch with us.

Singlehandedly, Madison Monroe Properties will propel the Virginia real estate industry into the 21st century, augmenting all Virginians' reality wherever they go.

Making a Face Movie on Picasa for Real Estate

Realty people seem obsessed with their faces. So, I've decided to take it to the next level with a Face Movie from Picasa. It's the easiest thing in the world to make. Will this help my business? Should I put my face on my business card?

Matt Talhelm Is Going to Interview ME!

Matt Talhelm is going to interview me about the Queen City Marketplace in Staunton. Good thing I'm great on TV. I'm going to talk about how it's a perfect way to start a business with a minimum amount of risk and built-in retail team and a wonderful way to have a downtown presence for a small business that's previously been run online or at home or is just starting out.

I'm also going to talk about how it's an awesome addition to Staunton on a block that's seen a tremendous amount of growth and increase in foot traffic.
The Queen City Marketplace is going to be huge for this town.
I've met Matt Talhelm a few times, and he's a really nice person and a talented television personality.

Rock and Roll Holidays in Staunton

This year's theme for the Holiday Season in Staunton is "Rock and Roll," which I think is pretty awesome since I'm in a rock and roll band. Storefronts downtown are decorating in the theme, so the whole town has guitars and records in every window. It's sweet.

Mostly, people have been thinking 1950's rock and roll, and I think that's funny because every time someone mentions the fifties, I think of Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran and maybe Buddy Holly. Everyone else thinks of Elvis, I guess. Elvis is everywhere. And I love Elvis. But Elvis is not the only thing going, people. Neither is the fifties. Elvis had his biggest commercial successes in the sixties, BTW.

Marden Press installed a John and Yoko with a little Christmas lyric by the duo. Everyone loves John Lennon. Shanti Yoga put a giant picture of Kurt Cobain in the their window; nice! But my favorite is David Bowie in the Baja Bean's back office window. I don't even know if this was part of the holiday decorations or just there because someone likes David Bowie in a suit.

I love this about Staunton. We have an organization called SDDA that helps businesses downtown market their services and work cooperatively with one another and the city and its departments. Business development is an extremely important component of our community. This rock and roll holiday theme is one of those times when everyone has fun, and I hope people come to Staunton to enjoy our huge parade and the windows (most are more elaborate than the ones I've pictured here). . . and rock and roll.

Some Jargon

Half of learning a new business is learning that business's argot. If you have a great memory, it's a piece of cake to remember it all, but sometimes, if you're like me, a cheat-sheet comes in handy.

Luckily, About.com has an awesome little article on some of the calculations that realty people have to know to get by. Some of them are totally new to me, but I'm glad that this is here so that I can look it up any time someone throws a term at me I'm not completely sure about.

The photo above was swiped from a real estate site. I hate images like that, leaving nothing at all to the imagination and treating the customer like they're stupid. Derping around on the internet, looking at real estate sites, you'll find countless images like this one. It's probably big business making such drivel. I don't want to ever do something like that in this business. I want to treat the people I work with like humans who deserve all the respect and benefits ascribed to that species.