by Brian Brady
Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL
I’m a newbie to the world of Facebook but an old salt at social networking sites. I’ve been on LinkedIn since 2004, MySpace since 2005, and Active Rain since 2006. Facebook is my network du l’an for 2007.
It all started with my need to meet people in the San Diego area. I moved here as a mortgage sales executive in 2003 to be RIF’d after a merger in early 2005. Faced with the prospect of earning a living for my family, I turned to my first love; originating loans. In many respects, I’m only a third year originator.
My goal: to build a phat Rolodex, and fast.
I turned to the budding social networks to meet REALTORs and key referring influencers. I think Jeff Corbett got me on Facebook. I see a few of you there now. Facebook is a unique social utility because it lets independent software developers offer applications. One of those applications is a listing bot called Cribfinders. From the Cribfinders home page on Facebook:
Did you know?
* Your properties appear on your profile after adding them to CribFinder
* Updates appear on your newsfeed when you add or comment on photos (even your own!)
* You can track how many times your properties are viewed
* You can add your profile to our (searchable) realtor database
* You can add as many properties as you want
* You can get links to your “Cribs” and display them OFF of facebook
I added that application on my Facebook page and started searching around, I came upon this listing and clicked through to the REALTOR. He and I led parallel lives (both lived in Phoenix and moved to San Diego). I called him and spoke to him for 10-15 minutes and we have a connection. I have always maintained that the loan originator with the most friends wins the game so I like to make friends.
I noticed one hound using that application and wondered if others will. Comments about Cribfinders?
Eric W. Gage says:
Welcome to Facebook! I use all those sites that you mention plus some and by far Facebook outshines them all! I have gotten quite a few messages through the Houston Real Estate Group on Facebook. I hope to see you around there!
November 14, 2007 — 7:45 pm
Sean M. Broderick, CCIM says:
Brian..
You’re in my LinkedIn network and I didn’t even know it.. congrats on the award, well deserved..
November 14, 2007 — 8:01 pm
Geno Petro says:
B.B. Congrats on the ‘O’ medal. Gonna check out the crib…finders.
November 14, 2007 — 8:33 pm
Tracey Lee says:
Thanks for the tip on Facebook!
November 15, 2007 — 8:09 am
Andy Kaufman says:
Hi Brian- Yeah, Facebook is really the “shiny object” at the moment. I haven’t had a chance to check out Cribfinders, but I really like the Neighborhoods App. built by Point2.
November 15, 2007 — 12:16 pm
Bob in San Diego says:
Brian,
I’ve been meaning to check out Facebook and that Crib’s plugin(?) sounds like a really neat addition. Thanks for the great tip!
November 15, 2007 — 1:46 pm
Adam says:
Thanks for the post, Brian.
I’m one of the developers of Cribfinder.
We’re excited about the launch, and have over 400 Realtors online in just a few weeks!
We hope to improve the speed of online communication between buyers and sellers through facebook’s network.
November 15, 2007 — 11:20 pm
Arlington Virginia Condos — Jay says:
I wish I had more time to explore Fbook. It’s killing me that somebody is probably getting the big head start on wielding RE influence in my markets….
jay
November 16, 2007 — 8:07 pm
Jenine From ActiveRain says:
Thanks for the useful tip Brian. There has been alot of news from Facebook, especially with the Beacon program. Another real estate app I found on Facebook is LivePads. Glenn Roberts from Inman actually did a story on it. The app is at http://apps.facebook.com/livepads
I also like to read the blog they have running. I have used many of the tools they showcase there to add some pizazz to my site. Clients love the functionality of my site..I’d recommend people check that out to enhance their site. The blog is http://www.livepads1.com.
Thanks again for sharing and hope you don’t mind me sharing this info for other realtors.
Jenine
November 17, 2007 — 1:04 pm
Ann Cummings says:
Brian – thanks for the info on Cribfinders. I hadn’t heard about that until I followed a link from one of your other posts over to this one. I’ll be checking it out, and the links that Jenine provided, too.
December 30, 2007 — 6:44 am
Sue says:
Pretty new to facebook, but we’re friend there! I have to look for this crib addition. Its hard trying to everywhere!
September 1, 2008 — 8:27 am