In the News

Claudia Wicks has just been approved to teach the National Association of Realtors SRES Senior Real Estate Specialist designation class!

The Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®) designation is the only one of its kind recognized by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Students who are awarded the SRES designation are specifically trained to understand the distinct real estate goals, concerns, and needs of seniors today. Visit www.seniorsrealestate.com for more information about this NAR designation class.

Real Estate Base Camp founder named Instructor of the Year by SKCAR!

Claudia Wicks will be honored by the Seattle King County Association of Realtors as Instructor of the Year at the 2009 Realtor Awards banquet December 3, 2009, at Seattle's Washington Athletic Club. There will be a silent 'Holiday' Auction and dessert auction to benefit the Seattle-King County Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarships to SKCR members and their families. Visit the banquest registration site to learn more and make reservation online.

Great news: Another Expert Panel!

SAVE THE DATE: Sept 22, 2009 9:00 am – 10:30 am

Back by popular demand: Panel of Industry Experts

Join our second panel of experts as they discuss how to use technology to connect with consumers and win more business!

Hear Matt Heinz, Principal of Heinz Marketing and author of "Move the Mouse to Make Millions" discuss how to use social networks, including Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, etc.

Learn how blogging works from Rhonda Porter, www.MortgagePorter.com one of the top bloggers in the US, who generates 75% of her business from her blog.

David Gibbons, the Director of Community Relations for Zillow, will discuss gadgets and widgets and other tech tools.

This is a rare opportunity to hear industry experts share how to earn more now.

Sponsored by: Seattle King County Association of Realtors and Real Estate Base Camp

Register now: 425-974-1011

Come to Seattle RE BarCamp on Tuesday, September 8
(sponsored in part by Zillow.com)

The second Seattle RE BarCamp is coming up, and if you missed the first one, please don't miss this one. It's a friendly gathering for real estate pros to share information about the industry and the latest technology. Best of all, it's FREE.

Here are the details:

WHO: Real estate professionals in the Seattle area (and gracious influencers coming from across the nation!)

WHAT: RE BarCamp, a gathering of passionate real estate professionals. A casual, open, and fun way to learn about cutting-edge real estate marketing ideas.

WHERE: The Lake Union Armory Building at 860 Terry Ave N Seattle, WA

WHEN: Tuesday, September 8. 8:30 AM - 5 PM (and drinks afterwards!)

WHY: Become a better marketer. Understand brand new technologies like Twitter, Facebook, and blogging. Develop a unique message. Learn from the professional community at large.

COST: FREE! Lunch will be provided, as will a limited amount of t-shirts.

Great news: Clock Hour Special

Mike Carpenter and Elliott Bay Mortgage are sponsoring an "End of Summer Special"

Their sponsorship allows Seattle King County Association of Realtors to offer our Real Estate Base Camp, "Generate New Leads Now- Painless Prospecting!" class for only $10.00 for 3 clock hours. Their generosity is a way to say Thank You to the Realtors for their business and support while providing agents with additional ways to generate new business through this powerful lead generation class.

Instructor: Claudia Wicks

The class will be held: Aug 21st from 9:00 am – noon at the Seattle KC Association of Realtors training room at:

12410 SE 32nd St., Suite 100 Bellevue, WA 98005

Seating is limited, so register now: 425-974-1011

Thanks Mike and the rest of the team at Elliott Bay Mortgage!

Tap into a Panel of Experts to Help You to Reach the Next Wave of Buyers and Sellers - April 29, 2009, 9:00am to 10:30am, Continental breakfast at 8:30am. (Click illustration at left for more information)

It is not who you know, but who knows you! 87% of consumers are online according to a NAR 2008 Buyer & Seller Profile.

The Seattle King County Association of Realtors and Real Estate Base Camp present a panel of experts to demonstrate the technology that today's consumers are using to connect online.

Dan Mc Comb, co-founder of Biznik.com, named Seattle's top 25 most innovative entrepreneurs by the Seattle Business Monthly, will speak on social and business networking, including Facebook and Twitter.

Denise Seavitt, CEO of Seavitt Real Estate, will discuss web marketing and database management.

Rich Jacobson, Community Manager of Active Rain, will cover blogging, localism and community building.

The panel will be moderated by Claudia Wicks, co-founder of Real Estate Base Camp

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to connect online from this top-rated panel. Tap into the next wave of buyers: they're online; are you?

Cost: $10.00 (please bring a can of food for Northwest Harvest)

Location: Seattle KC Association of Realtors

Seating is limited so please register today by calling 425-974-1011

2009 National Real Estate Cyber Convention and Exposition - February 22-28, 2009

The Eight Annual National Real Estate Cyber Convention and Exposition is a FREE virtual event open every year to the entire real estate community world-wide. The Convention featured three major keynote addresses and over 40 nationally recognized real estate trainers, authors and industry leaders. Keynoters this year included:

  • Matthew Ferrara - "Real Estate the Next Generation"

  • Michael Russer - "Drip Marketing Magic"

  • Stefan Swanepoel - "Social Networking- The New Real Estate Phenomenon"

The Real Estate CyberSpace Society's Director, John M. Peckham III, anticipated over 30,000 attendees. It was an exceptional online educational event, complete with a networking lounge and discussion rooms. For highlights of the event, check out our Real Estate Base Camp blog.

The FREE CyberConvention & Expo - Spring Session will be held on April 1, 2009. Register a now!

RE Bar Camp - Feb 13th, 2009 held at Zillow, Seattle, WA

Rich Jacobson, Community Manager - Active Rain, describes REbarcamp as: "A spontaneous growing enterprise of passionate people who are willing to share their knowledge."

The event was hosted at Zillow. Each session was 1 hour long with lively discussions, time for Q/A. Some of the speakers were: Jim Marks- Virtual Results, Panel of Experts on Blogging: Brad Coy from San Francisco, Marlow Harris, Seattle, Rhonda Porter, Seattle and Altos Research. This was a FREE event, packed with innovative information and technological expertise. Do not miss a REbarcamp in your area! For highlights of the event, check out our Real Estate Base Camp blog.

Blood Hound Blog Unchained - Feb. 12th, 2009 held at Zillow, Seattle, WA

Brain Brady and Greg Swann, founders of Blood Hound Blog Unchained, each presented entertaining and very educational sessions. Brian spoke about the 5 Pillars of Smart Marketing. Greg provided a hands-on presentation, demonstrating how he uses engenu, a program he developed to create websites for each listing with multiple photos, neighborhood info, etc.

Greg also developed Scenius. It's a type of ultra-minimal weblog that can be used to echo selected information into other weblogs or web sites. Check out the Blood Hound Blog. It's a great resource, with many talented contributors. For highlights of the event, check out our Real Estate Base Camp blog.

November 2008 - Claudia Wicks has been approved as an instructor for "Harnessing the Power of Skills-Based Performance Management" class. This course counts as a new curriculum course for WCR's Performance Management Network designation and as an ABR elective.

As of October 27, 2008, all Real Estate Base Camp classes have been approved for continuing education (clock hour credits) in the state of Washington.

October 14, 2008 - Claudia Wicks joined the Seattle Chapter of WCR (Women’s Council of Realtors), a network of successful REALTORS® empowering women to exercise their potential as entrepreneurs and  industry leaders. CLick HERE to learn more about WCR.

September 29, 2008 - Real Estate Base Camp founder and President Claudia Wicks was recently named to Stefan Swanepoel's list of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Real Estate for 2008. With 3,460 respondents casting 6,099 votes, the real estate professional community has identified the most influential women in the industry. Click HERE to read the entire story courtesy of Inman News.

March 14, 2008 - Real estate license law reformed

House Bill 2778 (with companion bill SB 6498) was approved overwhelmingly by the House and Senate and was signed by Governor Gregoire, March 14, 2008. This bill modifies RCW 18.85 and:

  • Establishes license definitions for real estate brokers, managing brokers, designated brokers, and firms; replacing the existing licenses for real estate salespersons and associate brokers.
  • Adds several exemptions to real estate licensing.
  • Increases licensing and educational requirements for real estate licensees.
  • Increases supervision and oversight over new licensees by more experienced licensees.
  • Makes various grammatical and clarifying changes.

The bill will take affect in June, 2010. Delay in implementation is due to many rule changes.

This will increase both pre- and post- license educational requirements. We'll keep you posted regarding the new class curriculum requirements.