Live in the heart of the city

Memphis is not as old as some of the other famous Southern towns or even some of its less famous suburbs.  Antebellum homes are pretty rare.  It was a pleasure to work with Shelley and Mike on the purchase of  a circa 1854 home in the Uptown neighborhood.

Stacey Wiedower tells the story of Mike and Shelley’s move from New Mexico/Wyoming to inner city Memphis in her feature article in today’s Commercial Appeal.

I love working with buyers and sellers of unusual and historic properties in Downtown, Midtown, and East Memphis.  Contact me if I can help you.

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit Joe Spake's Weblog where it was originally published.

Will the Nineteenth Century Club fall victim to the track hoes?

Nineteenth Century Club

The Nineteenth Century Club is a philanthropic and cultural women’s organization.  The organization bought the magnificent house at 1433 Union Avenue in 1926.  The mansion was originally built for Rowland J. Darnell in 1909 and was one of many mansions that lined the stretch of  in Midtown. Now it’s the last one standing, the next door neighbor of Taco Bell.  The area is now home to fast food joints, strip shopping centers, and modern office buildings and retail.

The property is for sale for  $1.5 Million.  I know many of us would hate to see the building demolished, so let’s hope an angel arrives in time with the ideas and money to save this house from the wrecking ball.  If you are, or know such a person, there are plenty of us who will happily help you will all necessary due diligence.

An estate sale was held last weekend, and I was able to get  photos of some of the interior details.

There must be someone in the world who has the resources to preserve this property. Let’s do everything we can to help make that happen.

Note:  I get most of my historical  Memphis architecture information from Memphis – an Architectural Guide, by Eugene J. Hohnson and Robert D. Russell ( 1990 – University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN), which has now become rather hard to find, as evidenced by this Amazon link

Memphis: An Architectural Guide

Price: $59.95

(1 customer reviews)

7 used & new available from $59.95

 affiliate link

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MS FrontPage?  Say What?

Websites were the new shiny toys when I got into real estate back in 1996. I was kind of a techie back then, and even though I started my business web presence with a templated, low functioning website, I yearned to design one of my own.  So I designed my first version of spake.com sometime in early 1988 in Microsoft FrontPage 97.  [Disclaimer:  I am currently affiliated with Revid Realty and not any of the companies show in these ancient screen shots.]

spake.com - late 1998 - First screenshot from Way Back Machine

I had no talent for design, but not many others did either.  I just wanted and efficient site that would bring business my way.  Even though the last version of FrontPage was 2003, I think, I hung in there with it until just this month, when I cut over to the WordPress platform.   Here is a short trip down Memory Lane:

spake.com in 2003

spake.com - 2006

I don’t have the very last FrontPage version, but this is the last capture from the Way Back Machine (2009)

spake.com -2009

The all new and improved spake.com is up and running.  Check it out!

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Probably the coolest of the new features for Facebook Business (fan) Pages is the ability to control post identity preference.  As a page admin, you can now post as the page, or as yourself.

As you can see above, I have used this handy new feature to post as my Memphis Page, and as myself  (Joe Spake).  This feature will allow you and other page admins to personalize posts, rather than the page logo image filling the page wall every time you post or comment.  So how do you make this work for your page?

First go to your business page.  You will prompted to upgrade.  Do it.  All pages will be automatically upgraded around the first of March, 2011, anyway.  The page will have a different look, similar to the new look of personal profiles, and most of the admin features will be in different places.  To set the identity preference, click the Edit Page button at the top right of your page.  Click on the Your Settings link on the top left.  Uncheck the Posting Preferences box and read the explanation.  [While you are there, notice that you can now get email notification when someone posts to your page - a great new feature.]

Once you have unchecked the box, your posts to the page will be by you and not by the page.  If there are multiple admins, each will have to do this to enable the functionality for themselves.  To post as the page again, go back to the page wall, and click the link on the right Use Facebook as [name of your page].  Of course, if you leave the box checked, you will always post as the page for posts to the page.

This is a great opportunity to show that you are actively participating on your own page, making comments, and engaging with page visitors.  Give it a try!

Related articles

• Essential Guide To Facebook Page Changes [SCREENSHOTS] (marismith.com)
• Post on Facebook page as yourself (aaronfulkerson.com)
• Facebook Pages Redesign (marketingconversation.com)

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit Joe Spake's Weblog where it was originally published.

In my prior post about RSS, we introduced the concept of RSS and RSS readers.  Hopefully, you have had a chance to look at the Google Reader, and perhaps you are starting to develop an interesting list of subscriptions.  In this post we will look at some business possibilities for your RSS subscriptions:

Personal knowledge

Want to sound like you know what you are talking about in a discussion of current events?  Want an edge in a debate about industry specific topics.  Want to share what the thought leaders are talking about or  be the person who always has the most interesting stories?  Have that knowledge served up to you 24/7 – just subscribe to the right stuff.

Here are a few examples:

Interesting and unusual  stories:  Try MentalFloss, The Smoking Gun, Neatorama, and LifeHacker.

Keep up with the thought leaders:  Brian Solis, Chris Brogan, and Seth Godin, just to name a few.

News (local to worldwide) :  From Fox to Al Jazeera, you can subscribe to any spin on the news that interests you.  Just Google what you are looking for

Profession Specific:  In my case, it’s Real Estate:  Check out some of the better and more famous real estate bloggers:  Jim Klinge, Missy Caulk,  and Tom Royce,  to learn about good real estate blogging.  Check  Agent Genius,  Agency Logic and Housing Wire for real estate news.   Search [your profession] +[ blogs]  (without brackets) to get started with a list for your industry.

Technology:  Tech Crunch and Mashable.

Get the picture?  There are millions of feeds out there.  Don’t just use my example list.  Always be on the lookout for good content.   One great source is the links posted by your Twitter and Facebook friends.

Content to share

In a short time you will have the best of the Internet served up to you.  You will be smarter for it.  But what else will you do with all this interesting  and useful content?  Share it!  Tweet links to the great posts.  Post useful links on your Facebook page.  Refer to links and content in your blog posts.  Create your own RSS feeds of interesting posts from others with Delicious (see my Delicious post), Friendfeed or LifeStream.  Remember that what you share on the internet raises your credibility and clout.

Managing your valuable time

Just because you subscribe to a feed doesn’t mean you have to read everything in it everyday.  Some of the larger sites feed hundreds of items a day.  Learn how to use your reader (remember I like Google Reader) to categorize, sort, and prioritize your feeds, and quickly save and share useful posts.  Learn the shortcuts, and don’t be afraid to delete unread feeds if time doesn’t permit you to look them over.

Happy reading.  I guarantee you will feel a lot smarter in no time.  Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog and Memphis Real Estate Buzz.

Related articles

• Getting the hottest news with RSS – Part 1 (joespakeblog.com)
• Subscribe to Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog (memphisrealestatebuzz.com)
• NewsRack RSS Reader Now Available In The Mac App Store (macstories.net)
• How To Use Google Reader As A Bookmarking Service (e1evation.com)

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit Joe Spake's Weblog where it was originally published.

More and more  small and sole proprietor businesses are realizing the importance of a presence on Facebook through a Facebook business page.  Those who create pages want to  induce “likes” to raise their status, their credibility, and to get their message out to as many people as possible -because everyone just loves to hear you go on about how cool you are and how good your business is to work with, right?   Well, people who really really like you personally may be willing to spend their valuable time visiting your Facebook page, see a continuous stream of self-promotion and advertisements.      Funny thing about social media and Facebook, it’s as easy for your Likers to un-like you as it was to like you in the first place.

For small business, social media is about 2-way communication, engagement, not advertising.  People who are likely to be active in social media do not want to be advertised to.   So how do you do a  business page that is engaging,  yet still lets people know about your business?  Simple.  Make it interesting.  Sorry to break it to you, but your real estate listings, the number of new clients you added this month, or tedious stats about your industry don’t interest me.  And when you think about it they don’t interest very many others except your relatives, raving fans, or folks that have lots of time on their hands.  So why not do a few things to make your business page more interesting:

Remember that Content is King

Share some interesting stories on your business page

1. Unusual and wacky stuff: Everyone likes a bit of humor and weird stuff periodically.  Visit Mental Floss and NeatORama for unusual content
2. Pass along some wisdom from the gurus:  Seth Godin and Chris Brogan are interesting, but there are many others.
3. Local news and happenings:   your local newspaper, TV stations,  radio stations, and chamber of commerce all have websites.  Post interesting local content: interesting events, places to go, etc.

Add some pictures and videos

1. Always have a camera and compact video camera with you.
2. Post some pictures that have general interest to your target audience- maybe  neighborhood activities, or the opening of the new Wal-mart,  one of your interesting clients in real life, and a few irresistible samples of your work..
3. Video can be fun.  If your business is locally oriented, do some neighborhood tours with commentary through the windshield of your car (usually best to have someone else drive for you); video neighborhood and community events, and other things that make your town unique.  Video cameras are cheap, and you can do just about anything you will need to with a Flip or Kodak Zi8

ENGAGE!!!!

Monitor your page.  Thank people for their comments on all the interesting content you have produced.  Encourage them to post something on the same theme.  Be friendly.  Be nice.  The world is watching.

Analytics

Facebook pages have incredible, free analytics called Insights. Quickly monitor demographics, likes,  and interests of your page visitors.  Are you hitting your target demographic?  What is interesting to them?   Correct as necessary.

Related articles

• FaceBook Marketing for the Self Employed (slideshare.com)
• 5 Steps to Maximizing Your Facebook Real Estate Business Page (mykwblog.wordpress.com)
• What Cool Apps Can I Add to My Facebook Page? (blogs.constantcontact.com)
• How Do I Get People to “Like” My Facebook Page? (blogs.constantcontact.com)
• So You Have a Facebook Page … Now What? (blogs.constantcontact.com)

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit Joe Spake's Weblog where it was originally published.

According to the Calculated Risk Blog, there is a strong  inverse relationship between the percentage of 24-34 year olds living at home vs. the under 35 homeownership rate. Economist Tom Lawler says this steep growth in grown-ups living with their parents suggests a pent up demand for housing units when the the employment picture improves. Some of that demand, of course, will be for rentals.  Let’s hope that is the reason and solution and staying at home with the parents until middle age won’t become a lasting trend.

Since the 24-34 age group makes up a significant portion of my real estate buyer business (and since my family is directly impacted by this statistic), I hope that, as the economy improves and jobs become more stable and abundant, more and more of that demographic will be willing to leave the nest.

Here is Tom Lawler’s Graph:

via Calculated Risk Blog

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit Joe Spake's Weblog where it was originally published.

Image via Wikipedia

Jim Dickinson got a lot of criticism a few years back for referring to Beale Street as a “city-owned liquor mall”. And now that Performa Entertainment, who managed the historic entertainment district since is re-birth in the early 1980′s, is out of the picture, Mayor Wharton, according to the Commercial Appeal, has put the option of selling Beale Street on the table.

Wharton says:  ”This is not the artificial river they ran through San Antonio. This is the real thing.  Beale Street is not Bourbon Street.   Beale Street is not Fifth Avenue.  Beale Street is Beale Street.”   I guess that depends on what you mean by “real” and your definition of Beale Street.

Joni Mitchell painted a memorable picture of the street at the depths of its decline, in her song “Furry Sings the Blues”.  Many of us are old enough to remember the latter days of Beale, perhaps making the rounds of the pawn shops to choose our first guitar.

No matter how you feel about Beale Street: tourist trap, historical treasure, signature Memphis destination, or liquor mall, the bottom line is if the district is not profitable, it will go the way of the pyramid, Overton Square, and the plethora of empty and boarded up buildings in Downtown and around Memphis.

If the street is put up for sale, it’s going to be interesting to see what potential buyers come forward.  Will the current merchants be interested in purchasing their spaces?  It would be good for the street’s future to have locals with a vested interest in the street’s success.  Or will the district be sold to an entertainment conglomerate like CKx Inc., parent company of Elvis Presley Enterprises?  Or maybe Foreign investors?
Stay tuned.

Related articles

• Walking in Memphis – Memphis, TN (travelpod.com)
• Letter: A grim scene on Beale Street (commercialappeal.com)
• Memphis can sell Beale Street entertainment district, Mayor Wharton suggests (commercialappeal.com)
• Margie Goldsmith: Visiting the Memphis Kings: Elvis and Dr. Martin Luther King (huffingtonpost.com)

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit Joe Spake's Weblog where it was originally published.

RE-Post (sort of) – from 10/15/2010

I lost the original post asking for your help in filling in some Midtown Memphis Neighborhoods when I had to do a major server change.  So, in the meantime I have updated it some.  Click on the map for details.  Your continued input on neighborhoods not already highlighted will be appreciated.

View Midtown Memphis Neighborhoods in a larger map

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View Washington Bottoms in a larger map

After many news stories, blog posts and neighborhood protests, Mayor Wharton, on Thursday, announced that demolition of the abandoned apartment buildings and houses in the Washington Bottoms area would proceed with haste.

One of many dilapidated buildings in the area

Briefly, this large piece of Midtown property, roughly bounded by Poplar on the north, Cleveland on the west, McNeil on the east and Court on the south, was purchased by developers with fabulous plans of revitalizing the area with a big box store (Target.  Target?), other retail, and some nice housing.  The developer WSG knocked down a few structures, then abanonded the remaining buildings to vandals, neglect and fire.  WSG defaulted on their loan and was foreclosed by mortgage holder, Lehman Brothers, also in financial trouble, who erected a shabby fence around the property and continued the neglect.  More details in Bianca Phillips’ story in the Flyer.

Track hoe ready to get to work

Today the gates bear the sign of  Memphis Wrecking Company.  We will be watching the progress of the demolition and restoration of the property.  Hopefully we will see a nice green space until developers make their next move.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Demolition begins at site of failed 28-acre Midtown Memphis development (commercialappeal.com)
• Another Midtown abandoned-building fire causes major damage (commercialappeal.com)
• Abandoned Midtown buildings to be demolished in area plagued by arson (commercialappeal.com)

Thanks for reading this post. If you would like to see more articles like this, please come visit Joe Spake's Weblog where it was originally published.