Just read this blog post entitled, No, There's No Bubble In Canada Real Estate.  I've heard the Canada didn't experience the massive fluctuations in the housing market that the U.S. and California have.  I guess there are two sides to every story.  While I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, because I don't live there, this looks like many homes for sale in San Diego.

We've all seen the million dollar homes that look like...well, homes that shouldn't be priced at a million dollars.  I guess there are spots everywhere that reflect these economic times.

Jim Adams - CEO

NewHomesDirectory.com (NHD) is proud to announce new strategies and partnerships with popular U.S. real estate and classified networks that are significantly benefiting all U.S. new home builders and developers that have listings on the NHD website.  For the past 3 months, we've been beta testing these networks with a small group of builders, both national and local.  The results have been exceptional.

NHD has increased staffing and is now posting builder and developer communities to Trulia, Zillow, CraigsList, Backpage, and the Oodle Network to name a few.    

Trulia and Zillow have become powerhouses in the real estate space with 5.5 million and 8.9 million monthly visitors respectively.  Our beta group is kicking off with Trulia beginning Nov. 1, 2009, and with Zillow on Dec. 1, 2009.

With the real estate downturn, more and more consumers are searching classified websites like CraigsList (50.4m), Backpage (2m), and the Oodle Network* (950k), looking for real estate bargains.  We've had a BETA group of builders we've been working with and classified sites has proven to be extremely beneficial.

* The Ooodle network powers classified ads for sites such as Walmart.com, FOX, Local.com, Cox Communications, Comcast, AOL, Yellow Pages, Lycos, Military.com and a myriad of local newspaper and TV sites.

Our goal is to drive qualified traffic to the builders on NHD.  I know builders are struggling with a smaller amount of resources than in times past - fewer personnel and fewer dollars.  We want to make it easy for marketers to get their community listings in as many qualified places as possible.  These new partnerships meets that goal.

So now, not only will builders and developers have strong listing positions on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, through NHD, but now they will have strong listing positions in many of the other new homes and real estate websites where consumers are shopping for homes.

Sincerely,

Jim Adams - CEO
New Homes Directory .com
www.JimAdams.me

It’s been almost four months since we officially began upgrading the EpconCommunities.com website.  We’ve spent hundreds of hours building the Epcon Communities website into an enterprise level application that can compete with competitor websites. The first two months, we spent approximately 160 hours on debugging malfunctioning parts of the site. The last two months, we’ve spent approximately 140 hours upgrading the database, optimizing the website for search engines, and modifying the user interface.

Significant changes to the search engine optimization include:

• Proper title tags
• Proper description tags
• Site crawl ability (bottom footer links)
• Outside link additions. A community blog is written each day on the New Home Directory Home Buyers Blog with links to that community. To date, the NHD staff writer has written 91 different community blog stories.

Significant changes to the user interface include:

• The tab link to the newly developed Epcon.TV site
• Streamlining the Community Search path – Communities Tab. Now there is just one search instead of 4 ways to search (that didn’t work anyway☺)
• The display of Geo-Mapping on the specific state pages
• The customized Epcon mapping pin on the community map
• The display of community listings under the community map
• The addition of HD Video graphic for each community
• The display of a Google map on each Community Directions page
  

Significant changes to the database include added fields for:

• Address
• City
• Zip
• Phone Number
• Min-Max Bedrooms
• Min-Max Bathrooms
• Min-Max Square Footage
• Min-Max Price
• Latitude – Longitude for the mapping function
• The HD Video link
• Customized auto-responses for both email sign up forms
  

What all this means is that all critical SEO and content generation on EpconCommunities.com is completely commanded and controlled by the management console.  All parts of the website now work in sync with each other.  When a new community is added to the website, all parts of the website are updated with it including the location pins in the maps. The cost of maintenance has drastically dropped due to the added automation.

Epcon.TV now has over 120 HD videos representing each of the co-op participating communities.  Epcon Communities is leading the building industry in rich video content.  There is no other builder nationwide with a full-blown TV channel dedicated to video media. Congratulations!

If anyone has any questions about any of the modification made to the site, please contact me and let's chat.  The SEO still has a ways to go but getting the main pages listed in the Google search results is a start.  Very few of the pages were found prior to our work.  Now you can search State new homes (e.g. Ohio new homes) and the Epcon Communites state page is appearing on pages 2-3.  

Sincerely,

Jim Adams - CEO
New Homes Directory .com

The nation's number one for sale attached homebuilder has announced they've combined forces with the Susan G. Komen Foundation with "Condos for a Cure".

For every home sold in October, in the six participating central Ohio neighborhoods, Epcon Communities will donate $1,000 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The six participating Epcon neighborhoods include The Woods at Hayden Run in Hillard, OH, the Village of North Falls in Powell, OH, Cobblestone Village in Gahanna, OH, The Woods at Sugar Run in New Albany, OH, Canterbury Woods in Westerville, OH, and The Villas at Glenealy in Dublin, Ohio.

An open house will be hosted by Epcon Communities on Sunday October 25, 2009 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at The Woods at Sugar Run located at 5545 Armstead Avenue, New Albany, Ohio.  Cancer survivor Kelly Daum will share her personal fight with the attendees. Not only will representatives from Komen Columbus be in attendance, but Tim Maurer of Mukha Salon & Day Spa will be present in order to discuss ways women can take care of themselves while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.   

“We are proud to join Susan G. Komen in their fight against breast cancer” said Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Nanette Overly.  Overly went on to say “it is difficult to find anyone whose life has not in some way by this disease; either by a friend, neighbor, spouse, mother, sister, daughter or coworker.  Condos for a Cure provide a way for Epcon Communities to help in this fight.

Nanette Overly, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Epcon Communities said “We are proud to join Susan G. Komen in their fight against breast cancer. It is difficult to find anyone whose life has not in some way by this disease; either by a friend, neighbor, spouse, mother, sister, daughter or coworker.  Condos for a Cure provide a way for Epcon Communities to help in this fight."

Chase Blackburn, a native of Marysville Ohio and linebacker for the NY Giants has lead the effort to organize donations from his teammates of items to be auctioned at the October 25th event.  “Chase has gone out of his way to do whatever he can to support this event and raise money for the fight.   His generosity along with the generosity of the players is making a difference in the lives of those courageous champions touched by this disease” said Overly. 

In addition to the cleats, players have donated gloves, wristbands, hats and programs.  Each item has been worn during a game and autographed.  Items from pro bowlers Antonio Pierce, Shawn O’Haro, Osi Umenyiora and Zak Deossie are included in the auction.  The silent auction is from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Here is a list of players participating in this event:

Chase Blackburn 2 pairs 2 gloves 1 hat 1 towel
Antonio Pierce  (pro Bowler)
Shawn O'Haro  (pro bowler)
Osi Umenyiora  (pro Bowler)
Justin Tuck
Domenik Hixon  (from Columbus, played at Akron)
Ahmad Bradshaw
Mario Manningham
Zak Deossie  (pro bowler)
Johnathan Goff
Clint Sintim
Hakeem Hicks
Will Beatty
Gartrell Johnson

If you need any more information about this event please contact Epcon Communities at 614-761-1010.

Fantastic work Nanette and Epcon Communities! I'll be participating in the silent auction.

Jim Adams - CEO
New Homes Directory .com

For Immediate Release:

LASSO DATA SYSTEMS AND NEWHOMESDIRECTORY.COM ANNOUNCE MARKETING AND SALES ALLIANCE PARTNERSHIP

NewHomesDirectory.com services will be sold exclusively throughout Canada by Lasso Data Systems. Site draws targeted home buying traffic direct to homebuilder websites.

September 9, 2009 – Lasso Data Systems, a premier developer of customer‐relationship management, CRM software for homebuilders and developers globally, today announced a partnership with NewHomesDirectory.com to sell the site’s internet directory services to its clients throughout North America, with an exclusive reseller agreement for homebuilders in Canada. NewHomesDirectory.com is a leading‐edge developer of revolutionary internet applications for real estate sales and marketing, including one of the top online directories devoted to connecting consumers with new home builders and developers in their area.

The partnership marks the first time NewHomesDirectory.com has made its products available outside the United States, with initially six major directories available through the site serving regions within British Columbia (Vancouver), Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton), Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa) and Quebec (Montreal). Other internet marketing products available from NewHomesDirectory.com include NHDBuzz.com, a portal enabling builders to post press releases on their projects free of charge, and NewHomesDirectory.TV, which offers high‐definition video profiles of new home communities.

“NewHomesDirectory.com and Lasso both play critical roles in the new home sales process,” said Jim Adams, CEO of NewHomesDirectory.com. “NewHomesDirectory.com drives high quality traffic to builder websites, while historically Lasso’s focus has been on CRM solutions, invaluable technology for builders who want to properly manage and close the leads generated from that traffic. This is an attractive proposition for builders because Lasso’s partnership with NHD will help Canadian homebuilders to reach more interested buyers and to manage their prospect database. By taking advantage of NewHomesDirectory.com through Lasso, Canadian homebuilders can now connect with the thousands of consumers searching for new homes throughout Canada and generate some of the most qualified leads available to sales agents.”

The NewHomesDirectory.com partnership marks a new stage in the growth of Lasso Data Systems, moving forward in supporting its customers not just with CRM technology solutions but with proactive online marketing and sales strategies that include directory services and consumer traffic, website and search engine optimization (SEO), plus lead intelligence & nurturing. The new marketing offerings will be offered both in addition to and separate from Lasso’s core CRM solution.

“Working together with Jim Adams and the team at NewHomesDirectory.com is a natural extension of the missions of both companies,” explained Dave Clements, CEO of Lasso Data Systems. “With more than eighty percent of homebuyers starting their research online, we hope to strengthen the value and the connection we offer homebuilders and developers by providing targeted traffic, innovative online marketing services and a CRM solution custom built for the real estate industry.

NewHomesDirectory.com provides a clean and easy to navigate information source for consumers that is also an extremely economical way for builders to generate revenue through precise and targeted online traffic.”

About Lasso Data Systems
Lasso Data Systems Inc. is the leading developer of innovative “on‐demand” CRM real estate software for new home builders and developers. Lasso, used for residential developments globally, helps real estate developers, builders and sales agencies sell their developments faster and easier with controlled sales velocity. The company’s software manages potential homebuyers online from interest list to occupancy including sales, inventory and contract management. Lasso works equally well for diverse developments from urban high‐rise to suburban townhomes, single and master planned communities, golf, mountain and ocean resorts and condo‐hotels. Lasso, deployed on over 1,000 projects globally, is designed for ease of use, rapid deployment and pay by usage to maximize each client’s ROI and reduce their technology and financial risk. Lasso is a privately held company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada. www.lassodatasystems.com

About NewHomesDirectory.com
Founded in 2001 by CEO Jim Adams, NewHomesDirectory.com is an online directory devoted to connecting consumers with new home builders and developers in their area. Unlike other real estate listing sites, NewHomesDirectory.com links potential buyers directly to a home builder’s community webpage, delivering traffic to builders instead of acting as an intermediary clearinghouse for leads. The company is also a leading‐edge developer of revolutionary internet applications for real estate sales and marketing, including NHDBuzz.com, a press release hosting site for real estate companies featuring the latest industry news; the New Homes Professional Network at LinkedIn.com, providing networking opportunities and discussion of the latest trends for real estate sales and marketing professionals; and a high‐definition video hosting site that will aid builders in producing and spotlighting video profiles of their latest communities, including soundtracks provided by some of today’s hottest music artists.

Contacts:
Dave Clements, CEO Lasso Data Systems Inc.
1.866.526.9955 Ext: 8565 dclements@lassodatasystems.com

Jim Adams, CEO NewHomesDirectory.com
619.252.1010 jadams@newhomesdirectory.com

Columbus, OH - The largest city in both population and area, Columbus is the Ohio state capital.  With classic older suburbs to restored classic neighborhoods, Columbus affords a variety of lifestyles through a variety of communities located here.  As a major commercial, distribution, and cultural center and home to Ohio State University, Columbus is a great place to live whether you’re just starting out, raising a family or enjoying your retirement.  Columbus was voted “Best Place to Raise a Family” in 2009, by Business Week.  

The Columbus New Homes Directory is excited to serve the home buyers of Columbus Ohio.  The Directory is designed to be a simple and easy to use resource for finding Columbus homes for sale, new home builders, and new home communities in Columbus, Ohio.  The Columbus New Homes Directory is the easiest place for home buyers to find new homes in Columbus Ohio, and the most efficient means for Columbus new home builders to connect with Columbus home buyers.

Charlotte, NC – As the nation's second largest financial center, Charlotte's a magnet for progressive growth and smart development.  Combined with Charlotte’s not-to-be-missed cultural, entertainment, sporting, and historical mainstays you'll be a fan of this winning city in no time.  Beyond the Charlotte skyline, lie historical and visually stunning neighborhoods. Stroll through Charlotte’s most diverse streetcar-era neighborhoods, where buildings range from vintage factories to grand Southern estates.  With the excitement of a cosmopolitan city and the ease of Southern charm, Charlotte presents a unique atmosphere where big city style meets down-home appeal.

The Charlotte New Homes Directory is proud to now serve the Charlotte real estate market.  With simplicity and easy of navigation in mind, home buyers can easily find Charlotte homes for sale, new home communities in Charlotte, North Carolina, and new homebuilders building in that market.  Just click on Regions, Builders, or Price and quickly find new homes, new condos, and master planned communities.

Raleigh, NC – Blessed with beautiful residential areas, expansive parks, and historic buildings, the city of Raleigh exudes southern charm.  The city has an excellent array of local parks and lakes, easy access to the ocean and the mountains, and a moderate climate, all of which encourage year-round outdoor activities.  Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina has prospered as an education, government, and research and development center. Along with Durham and Chapel Hill, it is the largest city of an area in central North Carolina known as the Research Triangle.  Altogether, Raleigh's North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University in Durham form the nucleus of the Research Triangle.  

The Raleigh New Homes Directory is designed to be the most simple, easy to use real estate resource on the web, for finding Raleigh homes for sale, new home builders, and new home communities in Raleigh, North Carolina. You may search for new homes and new condos in Raleigh by Price, Location, Builders, and by Master Planned Community by just clicking the links.

Pittsburgh, PA - Nestled among the forested hills of southwestern Pennsylvania at the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers form the Ohio River, Pittsburgh is a city of skyscrapers, parks, fountains, more than 700 bridges, and neighborhoods with a vibrant cultural life. The city has over 70 miles of urban riverfront, more than any other inland port city in America. The second-largest city in the state, it is the center of an urban industrial complex that includes several neighboring cities. There are more than 150 industrial research laboratories in the area. The transformation of Pittsburgh from an industrial center to a leader in science and technology and the success of its rehabilitation efforts make it a top technology market.

The Pittsburgh New Homes Directory is happy to serve the consumers of Pittsburgh.  When looking for Pittsburgh homes for sale, new home builders, and new home communities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, NHD is the quickest way to click and find new homes and new condos by price, location, and builder.

New Homes Directory .com provides home searchers current and relevant information about new homes for sale and is the most efficient means for new home builders to get results promoting their new home communities online.

When it comes to checking in for a boarding pass, I'm obsessive.  I purchased Apple's iPhone so I could get my boarding pass when I'm mobile.  I set my alarm and jump to it at the 24 hour prior mark.  So on May 29th, at 12:30p, sitting in Cakebread Winery in Napa, my alarm went off and I began my obsessive ritual - being first.  I went to Southwest.com and tried checking in.  I received a message saying I could not get my boarding pass due to Southwest rules and policies.  My wife successfully obtained her boarding pass.  Resistant to the idea that Southwest would not let me get my boarding pass, I exhausted the better part of my battery, pelting the boarding pass page over and over again.  After 20 minutes I gave up.

Upon entering the Oakland Airport, I tried to login at the kiosk - same error message.  So I proceeded to stand in the 15 minute line only to ask the counter attendant why I couldn't login.  The woman said 'I don't know what the problem is'.  Pressed for time, I accepted the answer, believing this was a temporary glitch.

However, when I tried to check in for my PCBC trip from San Diego to San Francisco, I got the same error.  So I called 800-IFly-SWA.  My first attempt was met with the same 'I don't know', and 'there's nothing we can do'.  So I hung up and called back hoping to get a person more interested in solving my problem.  My second attempt, a woman took this dilemma up to her supervisor.  She said they found the problem in the system and I should be able to check in now.  After waiting 20 minutes with no success, I called back a third time.  This time I was resolved to find answers.  I really didn't want to change carriers.  My third attempt was similar to the first two.  'I don't know' and 'there's nothing we can do here' continued resonating.  I asked to speak with the supervisor.  Same answers.  I told the supervisor there must be someone in the organization who knows what the problem is.

After 15 minutes of politely pressing, she relinquished the customer care number.  Fearing the transfer, transfer, transfer routine, I asked if they would in fact be able to help me.  The supervisor said 'I don't know'.  She gave me the number 214-792-4223.  I called that number and of course got a busy signal.  Are you kidding me, I thought.  So I Googled the Southwest customer care number.  Not on the Southwest.com website, but some obscure website I can't even remember I got the number 214-792-4000.  

So I called.  I told the woman answering the phone my problem and she said I should find out if I'm on the terrorist watch list.  She transferred me to another line and of course, I got the voice mail of a woman named Caroline. You know how the story goes right?

Much to my surprise, I received a call back from Caroline within ninety minutes.  Asking the pointed questions, she told me I was in fact on the terrorist watch list.  I had left a significant amount of information on the voicemail about myself.  She apologized and said she was shocked, given my history and frequency of travel with Southwest.  Apparently there is someone in America with my name that is suspect.  

She fixed the problem, checked me in herself, and said to call her directly if any issues arise in the future.  She quickly and happily solved my problem - I love that.  So now I'm off the watch list:)

If you find yourself in this predicament, call 214-792-4000.

This experience has led me to look deeper at the consequences of I don't know.  I don't have time to post it now but stay tuned. (Updated: June 19th, 2009 - I got the time.)

Jim Adams - CEO
New Homes Directory.com

While the Internet has brought about the most convenient way of communicating, it has also brought more noise and distractions than we could ever have imagined.  In spite of being more efficient and getting things done faster, it seems we are busier than ever.  I’m busy.  The people I do business with are busy.  I rarely even pick up the phone and call a business associate out of the blue.  I email them and ask for a time to chat.

As convenient as Social media communication is, the number of social media profiles has gotten out of hand.  I have a blog, a Jim Adams Twitter account, a Facebook account, a LinkedIn account, a MySpace page, a Flickr account, and a Jim Adams Google profile.  

How do you share all your accounts with your friends and colleagues?  
This is not going to work.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/newhomesdirectory
http://Blog.NewHomesDirectory.com/
http://twitter.com/Jim_Adams
http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Homes-Directorycom/46112714186
http://www.YouTube.com/NewHomesDirectory
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24860369@N02/
http://www.MySpace.com/newhomesdirectory

The .ME domain is the answer.  I’ve purchased plain business cards with one thing on it – JimAdams.me.

GoDaddy is promoting the .ME domain as a personal domain used for personal blogs, etc.  I am using the .ME domain to display all my social media profiles.  Each social media account is represented by the appropriate icon, with a link to that profile.  No more having all those crazy links in my email signature.  Just ‘Visit me socially at Jim Adams .me’.  No more sending a chotic number social media links to my friends and colleagues – Just JimAdams.me.

I’ve purchased the .ME domain for my entire family.  It’s the future of personalized calling cards.

Jim Adams - CEO
New Homes Directory.com

Just read in USA Today that Google is taking another step in taking over the world - offering another FREE service to make our lives better.  Vincent Paquet, a senior Google product manager said within the next few weeks, Google voice will be available.

How it's supposed to work: Sign up for a new Google phone number (free) and then assign your phone number(s) to it.  Give out your Google phone number and when someone calls, all phone numbers associated with your Google number will ring.  Can't get to the call? No worries, the voice mail picks up and then the voice message is converted to email, and it will show up in your Gmail account. It works like the service GoSolo.com but with a local number and it's free for calls within the continental U.S.  Internationals calls will come with an insignificant cost.

Google voice will also offer conference calling.

Check out voice.google.com

Jim Adams - CEO
New Homes Directory.com

Here I am, on a Southwest flight that left from Baltimore at 10:15a EST on Friday, March 13, going to San Diego.  It's 10:37a and I'm blogging from 35,000 feet.  The Southwest flight I'm on is one of two aircraft testing inflight Wi-Fi.  And guess what?  It works.  Apparently there are two aircraft that have no regular city to city schedules.  The aircraft I'm on now does not travel just from Baltimore to San Diego and back, so during the testing phase you just have to get lucky to get on one of the flights.  So is my luck!  And St. Patty's day is right around the corner:)

Note: Southwest won't allow heavy video downloads or VOIP service, and don't count on tech support.

I've gone from liking Southwest to loving Southwest.  Now I don't have to worry about all the work time lost traveling. Love it, love it, love it.

11:57a EST Update:  I just uploaded a 14MB video to YouTube, then watched it with no problem. Jim Adams first pitch, Padres vs. Cubs, June 4th, 2008.

I've been online 1:20 so far with no interruptions and excellent speed both up and down. 

A speed test from SpeedTest.net recorded speeds of 2.8MB down and 166kb up from a MO ping site.  DSLReports.com recorded 2.8MB down and 215kb up from a Chicago ping site.

My only concern so far is my battery life.  No too shabby.  If this is what we have to look forward to, we're in great shape.

Jim Adams - CEO
New Homes Directory.com