Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

Vendor Alley 2023 Gift Guide

Yup, it’s that time of year again! I’ve put together a few on my favorite things that I think anyone would like for the holidays.

Flighty – A new way to track flights. I love this app. It’s so well designed and does a great job of showing detailed flight maps, live tracking and delay forecasting. The notifications are also helpful. But my favorite feature is the Friends tracker (pro version). You can log your friends flight info and it will send you notifications on their flight status. Great when you are traveling with work mates coming in from multiple locations, or family members coming home for the holidays. Plus it syncs with TripIt.

HiRise 3 Deluxe

I’ve linked to many TwelveSouth products before due to their really cool product designs. If you have one of those new iPhones that have a magnetic back you are going to love this. When an iPhone is turned on its side (horizontal) and charging it brings up these cool displays, like an old school alarm clock. At night the color shifts to super chill red. The magnetic charging means no cords to tangle (no more fumbling in the dark for the power cord) and also charges you Apple Watch and your AirPods pros. Nightstand game changer.

Ray Bans | Meta

Okay, hear me out. These are kind of geeky, and might seem pretty creepy to some, but I think they are great. As a creator of all types of content I just love these. These are smart glasses that have a built in camera (both still and video). I bought them because I like go on cruises with my VW Car Club. I can take video without having to grab my phone (which is a bit dangerous) of myself and other cars driving . Check out this Instagram I posted. I can also see them useful at situations like Christmas morning taking video of the kids opening presents and having my hands free. They also work with your phone to take calls, listen to music, send texts. The sound (no ear buds) and microphone work great. Anytime you are taking video a little light in front of the glasses start to flicker to signal that they are on ( I wish this light was red to make it more obvious). They also have built in AI, so you could ask say something like “Hey Meta, write me a poem about my beautiful wife.” Check out this video The Verge did on them to get a better idea.

Double Glasses Case

Okay keeping on the eyeglasses vibe, I wear progressive lenses and like to have sunglasses around too. I used to have two different cases for each. Not any more! I found this case which is really sturdy and allows me to have my reading glasses and sunglasses in one case. It might be a little big for some but this holds my Ray Ban Wayfarers (not the Meta ver.) perfectly. Makes my life so much eaiser. Here’s the version on I bought on Amazon.

YouTube TV and NFL Sunday Ticket

I might be a little late to the party on this whole “cut the cord” movement but I gotta say Google has done a great job. I still get local channels, DVR and all the NFL games on Sunday, so my Seahawks crazy son can watch every game. Too many great features to mention, just go check it out.

The Art of the CMA

Last, but not least, is my book, The Art of the CMA. Can’t think of a perfect gift for your board of directors? Click here and send me a list of their names and I will personalize each copy with a special message and an autograph. Bulk discounts are available!

Hey Sam!

Thank you!

Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all you veterans out there. Including my beautiful mother.

CMLS 2023 Industry Update – VIDEO

CMLS 2023 Industry Update with Greg Robertson and introduction (roast) by Andy Woolley

I know many of you have been asking for this. I’ve been looking for a good quality recording but hadn’t found one with both the introduction and my presentation. Enter, Mike Canova from GAMLS who shared this video with me at the recent RESO Conference. I took the video and edited it a bit by inserting the slides from both presentations. Still blown away how great Andy did on the introduction. Please share and enjoy!

Words can’t hurt?

Driving my daughter to tennis practice today we got to talking about words.

She said that she was always confused by two sayings she heard:

“Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  And another one, “The pen is mightier  than the sword.”

I stared at her, speechless, as she grabbed up her backpack and exited the car.  

“Love you, Dad” she said.  Which made me feel good.

Inman News’ Andrea Brambila is “live on the scene” for the Sitzer | Burnett case

I don’t think they allow phones or recording devices in the courtroom for the Sitzer | Burnett lawsuit but Inman News has sent Andrea to cover the courtroom case and they have posted a website, for “live updates”. I don’t think anyone has as much understanding of the issues more than Andrea so I’m glad they sent her!

You can check the Live Updates site here.

Save the date! NAR NXT Pre-Party

Monday, November 13th (5PM to 8PM)

Join me for cocktails and conversation to kick off the week of NAR NXT! Mingle and enjoy time with real estate tech founders, execs, VCs, and practitioners.

This is a collaboration with Drew Meyers of Geek Estate (GEM), and will be hosted in the work/car studio I share with Dan Woolley. We’ll set up tables, have local brews and a few handles, snacks, cool music, a bubble top hockey table and a few surprises.

Very close to John Wayne Airport (SNA) airport if you are flying in Monday. Or maybe a kicking off point for some of Orange County’s finest restaurants.

Open to GEM members and you pioneers of proptech and organized real estate insiders. More information coming soon.

Help find a cure for pediatric brain cancer

My son Toby is part of CIBACS (Center for International Business and Communication Studies). CIBACS  is partnering with the McKenna Claire Foundation (MCF) to raise funds for both pediatric brain cancer research and CIBACS.  Over the past 11 years, MCF has donated over $144,000 to our local schools in partnership with the Play It Forward Golf Tournament and Golf Ball Drop.  CIBACS will receive 50% of the proceeds for every ball sold by CIBACS students.  The first ball in the hole or closest to the pin will win $2,500!!! All purchased balls will be assigned a number and be part of the helicopter golf ball drop being held just before sunset on Friday, October 20, 2023 at the Tijeras Creek Golf Club.  Balls are $10 each.  The winner does not need to be present to win.   

  1. Head to this link => https://e.givesmart.com/events/x2F/ and click “Enter Here” under the helicopter golf ball drop title
  2. Choose how many golf balls you’d like to buy, Or just make a donation. Remember 1 ball = $10. Hit next below when you finish
  3. Fill out all the information it requires (sorry the form is kinda long we don’t have any control over that), when it  comes to “Student you are supporting”, enter the name “Robertson, Tobias” and under that, the “Teacher & Period” you are supporting is “Boone Period 2 (Juniors)”

Thank you!

Inventor of PDF dies

John Warnock, Inventor of the PDF, Dies at 82

“The PDF was the result of Dr. Warnock’s abiding obsession since graduate school: finding a way to ensure that the graphics displayed on one computer — whether words or images — looked the exact same on another computer, or on a page from a printer, regardless of the manufacturer.

“It had been a holy grail in computer science to figure out how to communicate documents,” he said in a 2019 interview with Oxford University.

Clay Risen, reporting for The New York Times

Hard to think of another industry that has benefited from the PDF more than real estate. From forms to CMAs and everything in between. Thank you John.

Wisdom Load

Wisdom Load is a new consulting company launched by Ohan Antebian. From his website:

“Since 2001, we worked with brokerages, agents, associations, MLSs,  and vendors.  Technically, we have a thorough knowledge of real estate data and most software categories offered to the industry. Business wise, we understand traditional and emerging models as well as the externalities that impact them.”

They got a great testimonial from CRMLS on some recent work. Lets support industry players, drop Ohan a line for you next project.

Sponsored By Paragon Connect