Over the years, Dave and I have tossed ideas back and forth.  He’s asked me for opinions.  I’ve asked him for some.  He’s interviewed me when he was working on podcasts.  I’ve provided him with settings when he worked on creating videos for his web sites.  It’s been a good relationship for both of us.  Now I feel like I’ve taken advantage of him.

I’ve always been one that didn’t want to use a template site that looked like everyone elses.  So, I created my own for property management and added widgets and other tools to it over time.  I know enough about coding to be dangerous but not enough to make the site “all it could be.”  Dave came to me and asked if I would be interested in a template site that he would create and give away to property managers.  Since I had been spending a lot of time working on my web site when a new home was added or leased, and internet explorer changed again, I was ready for something new so I talked with Dave about his ideas. 

Dave worked on creating his template using my information as his subject matter.  We talked, he tweaked.  We talked some more, and he tweaked some more and then…. I had a new and improved property management web site for A Vantage Properties. 

Now my A Vantage Properties web site looks good no matter what web browser you use – YEAH!  To add or remove a property only takes a few minutes and a few clicks which is such a great time saver.  Dave even created “help” videos to walk people through on how to make changes to some of the different parts of the site.  I love being able to have rolling pictures in the header showcasing the homes I have available and / or leased.  I enjoy the ability to have a map showing where in the metro area the homes are that I have available. 

Thank you Dave Dugdale and Pick Rent for providing me with tools to stream line my day and web work.  It is greatly appreciated! 

So do you want to see what great widgets are available to you to use a property manager too?  Visit http://www.pickrent.com/widgets/tools.cfm so you can see what tools may be available for you.

Well yesterday I was catching up on some of my Inman News reading and read an article about someone, Sarah Stelmok, that had this happen to her but she followed through with conversting with the rental scammer.  This morning I visited her site and read the dialogue between her and the scammer.  It is very similar in syntax to the emails that have been forwarded to me in the past by others that have been almost “duped” by other scammers.  For that reason, I wanted to add a link to her web site so others could read the dialogue that occured over a period of 3 weeks.  It’s just another tool to look for when the price is too good to be true on a home for lease.

This first link is the beginning of Sarah’s conversation with “Mr. Richie” as she first inquired about the home.  http://sarahiouslyspeaking.com/2009/06/internet-real-estate-scam-update/ 

This second link is more details about how “Mr. Richie” was working to get Sarah to forward funds to him via Western Union, what the application looked like, and when she finally let him know that she was the one that owned the property.  http://sarahiouslyspeaking.com/2009/06/internet-real-estate-scam-update-2/