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RISMEDIA, October 31, 2009—Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan called on Congress to approve three important measures to improve housing and the housing market for Americans: extension of the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit for a limited period, extension of higher loan limits for home mortgages, and secure funding …

RISMEDIA, October 31, 2009—Getting your clients to understand that real estate is local was one of the more difficult lessons that real estate professionals have had to preach during the recent housing downturn. As the media continually painted a negative picture of the real estate landscape, perspective buyers and sellers took …

RISMEDIA, October 31, 2009—(MCT)—Many Americans take Social Security early, at age 62, because they really need it. They’re in poor health or unemployed or both. Others take benefits early because they’re worried they’ll lose out on what’s rightfully theirs if benefits are reduced. But few people try to figure out the …

RISMEDIA, October 31, 2009—As real estate data geeks and candy lovers, the folks at Zillow decided to combine their passions and create the inaugural Zillow Trick-or-Treat Housing Index to help city residents determine the best overall neighborhoods to trick-or-treat this Halloween. If you still aren’t sure where you are taking your …

On Tuesday, I attended RE Barcamp DC, in Herndon, VA.  Industry professionals came from all over to gather at the latest installment of RE Barcamp. 

I know that I had a great time, and I’m sure a great time was had by all.  There was a lot of sharing, a lot of learning, and plenty of fun had throughout the day.

One the great things about attending RE Barcamps as the Inman Community Manager is that I get the opporunity to give away great prizes.  This time, the prize was a Free Pass to Connect NYC ’10 in January.  Needless to say, it was a coveted prize.  That makes me kinda like Santa Claus.  It’s a good gig. 

In order to win the prize, I asked the attendees to write a blog post reviewing their experience at RE Barcamp.  Everyone who wrote a post then sent me a link, and the writer of the best blog post would win the free pass.  As I told the attendees, it is a highly subjective contest, so they needed to bring their "A" game.  

Boy did they.

Below is a run-down of all the RE Barcamp DC blogposts that were submitted.  At the end, the winner is revealed.  Let’s take a look, shall we:

1)  Kathy Sperl-Bell, an agent in Delware, shared her experience and compared RE Barcamp DC to her early days in the computer industry.

2)  The next entry comes from Esther Kelly, of Northern Virginia, who came away realizing that RE Barcamps have a vibe of sharing and cooperation that is sometimes missing from the real estate industry.  

3)  While attending RE Barcamp DC, Ray Nelson rediscovered his motivation for using social media to help his real estate business.  

4)  Doug Francis shares the actionable things he learned that he was able to change and improve as a result of his RE Barcamp DC experience.  

5)  Laura Rubinchuk shared the lessons she learned.  If you think social media is anything like acid-wash jeans– think again.  

6)  Tara Christianson was able to conquer her anthropophobia.  

7)  With so much focus on improving the industry for brokers and agents, Danilo Bogdonovich reminds everyone how valuable the RE Barcamp experience can be for clients. 

8)  D’Ann Faught recently broke her ankle skydiving.  This did not dampen her spirits for RE Barcamp DC, however.  She obviously had a great time "hopping around". 

9)  Derek Massey offered some incredibly insightful input and feedback for future RE Barcamps.  

10)  Maryland agent, Ken Montville, shared the rewards he received from interacting with people face-to-face in such an intense learning environment.  

11)  Maya Paveza shared her play-by-play RE Barcamp DC experience.  You’ll come away from it understanding that people don’t go to RE Barcamps for glory.  Maya discovers that it ain’t always glamorous, but it is always rewarding.  

12)  Nannette Saunders shares with us an explanation of Lynchburg Squares, an uproariously fun game that everyone enjoyed.  I gotta admit, I’m a pit partial towards the picture she chose for her post. 

And the winner is. . .

Of all the great blog post wrap-ups that were submitted, there was one very clear winner.  One attendee that answered the call, and brought her "A" game.  Part of my promise was that the winner would be reposted here.  

So, with out further ado, I present to you the RE Barcamp DC wrap-up, er, I mean, "rap-up."  It is an original work (of course), performed by Arlington real estate agent, Jennifer Klaussen.  Enjoy!

You can check out the lyrics to Jennifer’s rap-up at her blog. All of the bloggers did an incredible job, and congratuations to Jennifer. We’ll see you at Connect NYC ’10!

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Click here for a summary of today’s news.

RISMEDIA, October 30, 2009—(MCT/The Wall Street Journal)-The Senate has reached a compromise on extending and expanding the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, a boost the housing industry believes will help it pull out of its two-year-old downturn. 

While its passage remains uncertain, the agreement would extend the existing credit …

RISMEDIA, October 30, 2009—This week’s headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include: free technology resources from NAR’s Right Tools, Right Now initiative, savings of 55% on the 2010 Entertainment Book through the REALTOR Benefits® Program and existing-home sales show big rebound. 

Right Tools, Right Now – FREE Technology Resources 

The Right Tools, …