Ever hear of cash mobs?

In a cash mob, a local store or restaurant is designated by the community as the recipient of a one day promotion where customers spend at least $20, using Twitter and other local media to broadcast the event. Cash mobs can also promote arts events, like youth symphonies, and causes like walk-a-thons. They are an impromptu, viral method for supporting local businesses and institutions, and enhance community spirit because it’s entirely cooperative. All cash mobs need are ringleaders.

You can find out more about cashmobs here:

Using Social Media to Mobilize a Local Community. Explains the history of the flash mob as precursor to cash mob.

How to set up a cashmob from the Cashmob blog. The blog also has a list of local Twitter feeds devoted to Cash Mob promotion.

As community service media, The Breaking News Network supports community organized CashMobs. Here’s how we can help:

We can retweet your cashmob announcements automatically! See our article “Why we want to retweet your tweets and get your word out“, and apply below so you can publicize your cash mob through our community Twitter feeds.

Second, contact us at thebreakingnewsnetwork@gmail.com … we can try to mobilize forces we have in each city to help make your cash mobs a success.

Street Fight is the most authoritative information and analysis about the innovation taking place in local digital advertising and tech. In just six weeks, you can participate directly in the conversation around this rapidly changing sector at Street Fight Summit West, an intensive one-day event taking place on June 5th at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco.

Specifically, we want you there to:

* Discuss the big ideas in hyperlocal with speakers from Yelp, Foursquare, Topix, Patch, Closely, Geoloqi, Swipely, SCVNGR/LevelUp, Group Commerce, Sacramento Press, Placecast, JiWire, and more.

* Network with others to form the partnerships and deals that drive this industry forward. Last year’s Summit included attendees from Tribune, Groupon, Yahoo, Gannett, Digital First, CBS Local Digital Media, Qualcomm, ScoutMob, Esri,News Corp, Retailigence, The Boston Globe, Locu, Reuters, New York Life, Hearst, Gilt Groupe, DataSphere, CityMaps, and many, many more. This year, so far, looks to be similar.

* Have a great time. Apparently, we know how to throw a good event. Last year’s reviews went like this: The “the best collection of brainpower in one room I’ve experienced so far. Great conversations, really good networking.” (Luke Stangel, Tackable). Also: “The caliber of people you had at the conference (conference goers and speakers) was the highest of any I have been at.” (Eli Portnoy, ThinkNear) And there are more, you can read them here.

Who is Street Fight Summit West for? Well, you, of course. Those who will be benefit most include large and small local publishers; location-based startups; big brands that want to craft a locally oriented strategy; daily deal and flash commerce companies; platforms aimed at helping SMBs market online; and anyone who is interested in the future of local online advertising and marketing. Anyone who cares about the rapid pace of innovation taking place in this business.

And we want to help you save. Readers of this post get $100 off the price of admission using the code BREAKINGNEWS. Go to the main conference page for more information and buy your ticket today.

We really appreciate it…

Remember when you called seven or eight months ago and we spoke for a bit?

You said you wanted to list your condo for $425,000, even though I told you that was around 18% over where the market was at that time. It would really have topped out around $350,000…

You insisted that someone would pay that price, since it was, after all, a  “sub-penthouse unit”.

I tried to explain about a buyer’s lender having to have the condo appraised and put a market-based value on it so they’d know exactly how much they’d lend…

Remember I also said that, it’s a 4th floor unit in a 5-story midrise, so calling it a “sub-penthouse” probably wouldn’t fool or impress all that many buyers into adding $75K to the price?

You also thought I should list your condo for a lot less than what I normally charge… You said that all agents & brokers are the same…

Remember, I tried to explain to you that you should do your homework before you sign a listing agreement with anyone and understand exactly what they’d do to market your property and earn their possible paycheck?

Remember I told you that you needed someone who knew how to maximize exposure for your condo and have it really stand out in this market to attract a qualified buyer?

Remember how I stressed the importance of proper pricing & offering a competitive commission to buyers’ agents and…..

Remember you thought that none of that was all that important? You just wanted to list it high and not pay much of a commission?

Remember, I told you that you’d probably be better off talking with someone else & having them list your condo, since I don’t overprice my listings, insult buyers’ agents, compromise my integrity or reputation, or put my clients in harm’s way?

Great! So you do remember me…

It’s funny. Just a couple weeks ago, your neighbor called me. Yes, the nice woman from two doors down in #415… We met & had a nice conversation and she really “got it”.

Sure, she understood the obvious stuff, but really was excited to learn about how a lot of the things she’d never have thought of made so much sense, as well. And the technology stuff blew her mind!

She knew about your condo and was very concerned about a unit in the building being on the market for seven or eight months with no action. I explained to her that she really didn’t need to worry since yours was never really “on the market” at all. In fact, it was nowhere near “the market”.

I hope you don’t mind…we kidded a bit at your expense, saying that DOM really didn’t mean “Days-On-Market” in your case. It was more like “Dreaming-Of-Moving”! Your neighbor even surprised me when she said you probably wouldn’t have to worry about paying ANY commission. Who knew she was SO funny?!

Oh, how we laughed!!! But, I’m getting off the subject…

Long story short, when I showed her the reality of all the comparable condos that were “on the market” and recently sold, we agreed it should probably sell for about $340,000. (By the way, that’s right around the value of yours now. It’s basically the same unit, square footage, floor plan, etc…)

Well, we listed it pretty aggressively at $345,000. We put it “on the market” with a competitive co-broke commission to buyers’ agents to keep them interested as well…since there are so many units listed out there and buyers’ agents are an important piece of the pie, so to speak!

Wouldn’t you know it, in just two days, we accepted a strong offer within inches of our full asking price with great terms! Turns out, the appraiser put the same # on the unit we’d agreed to with the buyer!

I just wanted to let you & your agent know…Oh, it’s the second agent now?! Hmmm…

Well, anyway, your “sub-penthouse” had a surge of showings last week at it’s current price and it actually helped to sell your neighbor’s “4th floor” unit two doors down. Just in case you were wondering where all the business cards came from… We have the same ones.

My client & I were laughing about something or other a few days back & after a while, she mentioned she’d seen you in the elevator a few times and you always seemed grumpy. I hope everything is alright.

Anyway, you should really stop by #415 & say goodbye…She’s moving out tomorrow, you know.

Again…

Thanks for overpricing your condo. It helped me sell your neighbor’s in less than a week!

(Feel free to substitute the words, “House”, “Home”, or “Townhome” in the above narrative…as this scenario transpires in all categories!)

Editor’s note:

This newbie tutorial for Empire Avenue was prepared by one of its stars Cyndee Haydon, who manages Breaking Pinellas News.com.

At first glance, Empire Avenue (“EA”) looks like a stock market of personality, where shares of individuals are traded as commodities. The idea of putting oneself “into play” didn’t make sense at first, so during my first year I lay fallow. Last week, Cyndee showed me there was a lot of good will inherent in building networks within EA because the networks were based on individuals with incipient value, albeit in virtual currency, called Eaves. Participants can use the currency to “share” influence and create quid pro quo opportunities within their network. For example, ad hoc networks are formed to boost members’ Facebook or G+ “like” standing in game like fashion. It’s the only social network I’ve seen with this dynamic to elevate social status, and EA has a lot of dedicated social marketing types on board. Reciprocity is more rewarded than in other networks simply because the social marketing folks play by these pay it forward rules.

EA rewards newbies, whose “stock” prices soar in the first week as EA veterans buy up initially low priced shares for anticipated capital gains. So if you’re a newbie, follow the strategies Cyndee demonstrates; it’s much easier to build traction in your first week, like a debutante coming out party.

–Pat Kitano

What is HARP?

First established in 2009, HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) was initiated as an option for underwater homeowners wanting to refinance their mortgage at lower interest rates with government expectations that it would assist millions of homeowners who found themselves owing more on their mortgages than what their homes were worth.

HARP is known by several names, including:

• Obama Government Refinance Program
• Fannie Mae DU Refi Plus
• Freddie Mac Open Access
• Refinance for Underwater Mortgages
• Upside Down Refinance

Up until now, HARP has fallen short of these expectations – prompting the government to relax eligibility requirements in an effort to help more people stave off foreclosure. Billed as HARP 2.0, the government has extended the program until December 31, 2013 and set out new guidelines for those wishing to apply.

 Why HARP 1.0 didn’t work and why the HARP 2.0 was launched?

One of the biggest criticisms of the original plan was that in order to qualify, homeowner’s loan-to-value ratio was required to be less than 125%, automatically ruling out millions whose home value fell below that figure. This requirement has now been relaxed with HARP 2.0.

How do I qualify for HARP 2?

• Your loan must be owned or serviced by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Later in this post I will show you how to find this information for your loan.
• Your loan must have closed before May 2009.
• You must have had no late mortgage payments in the past six months and no more than one late payment in the past 7-12 months. (You may still qualify even if you were late. Find out how later in this post)

Complete this form in 60 Seconds to check if you qualify for HARP (Scroll down after you reach the page)

How do I find out if my loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac?

• To find out if your loan is owned by Fannie Mae go to – http://fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
• To find out if your loan is owned by Freddie Mac go to – https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

Note that even if you think the loan is owned by a bank where you make your monthly payments, the loan could still be owned/backed by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac.  And may still qualify.

How much underwater I can be and still qualify for HARP?

There is no limit to this. The guideline allows for unlimited Loan to Value Ratio (LTV). What that means is that you can qualify for HARP even if you are seriously underwater. For example, if your estimated home value is $200,000 and your loan balance is $350,000 – you may still qualify if you meet other eligibility parameters.

Do I have to get a HARP loan from my current bank or one of the big banks?

No. There are several lenders large and small who are approved by the government to offer HARP loans to underwater mortgage holders. In fact, some of the recent news articles are talking about longer turn times and higher interest rates from some of these banks. It may be a better idea to work with a smaller lender, like Arcus Lending.

Are appraisals required for the new HARP Refinance Program?

In most cases, an appraisal will not be required. Even where an appraisal is ordered the value will have no impact on the loan decision. On loans where no appraisal is ordered, a Property Inspection Waiver (PIW) fee of $75 will be charged.

What about HARP 2 mortgage rates?

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have waived some of their fees to make sure the rates on the new HARP remains low. Some of the bigger banks are not passing all the benefits to the borrower and their rates are higher than some smaller lenders like us. We also offer no points and no closing cost refinance. To get a quote for the HARP mortgage rates click here.

Can I qualify for HARP if I have a 2^nd mortgage?

You can’t combine a 1st and 2nd mortgage and you can’t cash out with a California Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). But, you can still refinance the 1st mortgage if it meets the new HARP qualifying guidelines. You will have to get the 2nd mortgage re-subordinated. Your 2nd mortgage lender needs to approve this. Indications are, most of the lenders are willing to do it if you are refinancing your first mortgage under the new Obama Government Refinance Program. If you are refinancing the 1st mortgage through our company, we will help you get the 2nd mortgage re-subordinated.

Do I have to be living in the house to qualify?

No – you don’t have to. The HARP Loan applies to all 3 occupancy types –

• Primary Residence
• Second Homes
• Investment (Rental) Properties

Can I be late on my mortgage and still qualify? 

Yes, you can. And here’s how. Say if you are currently 30 days late on your mortgage payment and want to qualify for HARP 2 program. If you have not been late in the last 12 months and this is the first month you are late; you can now start making all your payments on time and qualify after 6 months. Remember the rule – no late payments in the last 6 months and no more than 1 late in the last 7-12 months.

Can I use HARP Again?

HARP refinance can be used only once. Even though the HARP has been extended till December, 2013 if you have used HARP already, you can’t avail yourself of this program again

Can I use HARP if my current loan is owned by other Government agencies like FHA, VA or USDA?

No, to qualify for HARP your loan must be owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Can I short sale my property after HARP 2.0 refinance?

There are no pre-payment penalties or restrictions on HARP 2 refinance. Meaning, you can pay off or sell your house anytime after the refinance. Remember though, the purpose of offering you a program to lower your interest rates and the payment is for you to be able to afford the new payment and avoid short-sale or a foreclosure.

What do I do next if I am ready to apply or if I need more information?

• If you are ready to apply, you can apply online. (Hit the Apply Now Button)

If you need more information, there are several ways to get it:

• Our website created exclusively for HARP
• On Facebook 
• Official Website

If you have applied to the program and are accepted, you should have received the following email:

Hi______,

We look forward to helping you get your message across through the Breaking News Network.

We have “authorized” you so that whenever you send out a tweet through your own Twitter account, and add the hashtag of the city name, it will “retweet” through our Breaking News Twitter feed below. You are authorized for:

@breakingsfnews / #sf

We only ask you to do the following:

1. No more than one tweet per day, so choose the ones you want to have reposted carefully
2. Please don’t spam, tweet the same thing over and over, or constantly link to your website.
3. Be informative; remember tweeting good neighborhood information like events or local news will reflect well on you (because we’re retweeting you). If you’re not “marketing” yourself, then we’ll allow 2 tweets per day.
4. We’ll “de-authorize” you if you don’t follow these simple rules.

What you can do to help support your community:

1. Read our mission statement, it’s pure community service, and we’ll never ask for a cent to promote you.
2. If you like what we’re doing, please let your community know about our service! We’d love to support them too.
3. Please follow our Facebook account too by clicking on our website link and finding our FB page, we are opening that channel up shortly.

What else we offer:

Here’s an excerpt of a March 10, 2008 article I posted on my defunct real estate blog to introduce RETSO #1. The mission right from the start was clear:

First ReTechSouth logo - 2008

Matt Fagioli and I met at several Inman Connect conferences, and we both loved it. Matt wanted to promote real estate technology in his hometown Atlanta, and his conference project entered planning stages. But one comes to the realization that if you haven’t done a conference before, planning one seems ethereally simple – find a venue, set a date and invite people. Introduce Brad Nix to the mix only last week, and the sudden RETechSouth conference happens.

Matt and Brad are leveraging affiliate marketing databases, local Realtor associations and their networks to virally market RETechSouth to their Atlanta community. Their mission is admirable – it’s being produced to educate and excite the community about the paradigm shifts happening in real estate – and that’s an important theme to support.

I give both Matt and Brad a lot of credit for producing their first annual RETechSouth because they just did it. And their commitment is tangible – within one week they have a fine website and video up. Brad mirrors his philosophy to action with his current post Reading about Real Estate 2.0 is not enough. The best thing about Real Estate 2.0 is meeting the Real Estate 2.0 devotees in real life.

These impromptu conferences should be happening all over North America… they energize the moribund local real estate communities…

The biggest occupational trend in the restructuring of the economy has been the newly minted entrepreneur. The media regales us with stories about the new startup incubators like Y Combinator, and the success stories of their progeny. All roads to developing a new business point to leveraging the Internet with some sort of social, commercial or mobile business model.

All new entrepreneurs face five hurdles in developing a new online business:

1. Business model. The first step is the hardest. You need to fix a problem, and it’s best to leverage your previous work experience to identify the problem and craft a solution.
2. Programming – what does the app look like and do? The second step is just as daunting as the first.
3. Creating the simple business plan and timeline. The faster to execution, the better.
4. Funding. How to bootstrap this? You won’t likely have a network set up to reach VCs and other institutional investors, but crowdfunding may be viable.
5. Go to market strategy. Execution of course is the most critical step to success.

1. Business model: Identifying the problem.

1. First timers should start local. It’s easier to build traction when focused on a small arena.
2. Building a service is easier than a product (but remember, VCs and investors generally shy away from service businesses because they are hard to scale). The most alluring aspect of building an online product like Instagram or Pinterest, is the potential to explode. Unless you have access to programming or funding, don’t try building a product. One exception is to clone a product idea for the local market using third party services that provide “plug and play” white label templates, like Chompon for building Daily Deals businesses.
3. Use your local network and past experience. For example, there is now a huge window of opportunity to help local businesses develop social marketing expertise on a turnkey basis. If you have established a local network, you can build this service business like Apsides Media Group and Socially Now by partnering with turnkey social media solutions providers. (Note: we help to build these kinds of businesses).

2. Programming

1. Chances are the new entrepreneur has no experience on the Internet beyond buying stuff at Amazon. Hiring a programmer is a major challenge because you don’t know how to create a spec, and it’s impossible to tell if the programmer is good and the price is right. The best way to build the web service is to teach yourself WordPress or use Tumblr to create a simple model of what you want. That’s your homework. I believe building the web service prototype yourself is important to understand how it will enable the business model.
2. The prototype can look clunky. It needs to reflect the business model, and you need to confirm with your peers and potential users/customers whether there is demand for your service. Iterate until it makes sense. Pivot if you’re going down the wrong track.

3. Create a simple business plan

1. The days of a 100-page business plan are over, unless you are the type who likes to do this. Business plans can be conceptually templated by taking hot or successful business models and applying them to new industries, geographies or service sectors. “Shared economy” or “collaborative consumption” business models are 2012′s buzz and can be implemented at a local level because most sharing requires physical proximity. Here’s a list of startups in this space. For example, if you know the hardware business, you could set up a city tool sharing model similar to Toolspinner.com.
2. One more great resource for new business models: The Unhyped New Areas in Internet and Mobile

5. Go to market strategy

1. Before launch, the web service will likely need some professional app development to make the user interface credible. It’s quite possible to continue to use WordPress, especially if you’re flexible to pivoting and plan to change messaging occasionally. By this stage, you should have developed a business plan that can potentially attract a team, including partners or co-founders who can help with technical development.
2. Your goal should be to prove that the business model is viable for a community. The execution stage is obviously critical, and in the next articles, we’ll look at various go to market strategies.

1) We never push ad sales to our local business communities. We want local businesses to use social media to converse with the community and create a local presence. And doing this is far more effective marketing than a banner ad!

2) We support local civic groups, good causes and arts organizations. In this economy, we want to help you get your word out free. We can help your social marketing by giving you free access to our Twitter feed, and Facebook pages. We also offer you the ability to post blog articles like this one. This is our community service to you. Just ask us at thebreakingnewsnetwork@gmail.com , or via @thebnn. Reference: Why we want to retweet your tweets and get your word out.

3) Are you a local business using Twitter or Facebook? Like local civic groups and good causes, we’ll help you get your word out too via access to our Twitter feeds.

4) Are you a social / local / mobile startup that faces the challenges of ramping up across hundreds of cities? We know you’re short on resources, and we’ll step up for you too. Reference: Hyperlocal Media and Collaborative Consumption Services

We think our friends at hyperlocal business authority Street Fight have done a great job compiling best practices in hyperlocal marketing with this report.

–Pat Kitano

If you’re strained on a budget but have your eye on growing your customer base, what’s a local merchant to do?

In “The Local Merchant” white paper, we talked to dozens of business owners to find out how they are using new hyperlocal channels such as daily deals, location-based services and hyperlocal sites to bring in new business at little or no cost — and turn them into lasting customers. The most successful strategies take these opportunities at more than face value, customizing them to suit their own business needs.

Our goal with “The Local Merchant” has been to inform and educate merchants on how to maximize these channels through 49 pages of  testimonials, best practices and case studies on successes as well as missteps to avoid. You’ll also get a closer look at some of the practices of the hyperlocal companies that, if they haven’t already, will be pitching your way soon.

How much should you spend?
Many hyperlocal marketing channels don’t require you to spend a dime. Create a merchant page on Foursquare and you can begin offering specials to customers who “check in” on Foursquare immediately. Groupon doesn’t ask for anything up front, and it pays you, but you also pay, and sometimes through the nose on loss of critical sales margins.

In our survey of local merchants, we found that budgets for a single hyperlocal campaign ranged from under $100 to more than $15,000, with more than half in the $500-$5,000 range. You will have to find what works best with your budget.

No matter how much you allocate for a hyperlocal marketing campaign, you’ll want to take a strategic approach to how it is implemented. Here are a couple of ways merchants are making it work for them:

More than just a deal
Many local merchants are finding success in combining daily deals with scheduling and CRM tools to achieve happy customers and lasting relationships. It’s well known that merchants have experienced Groupons that over-deliver the amount of customers a business can handle, catching them off-guard and leaving prospective customers disgruntled and their coupon unfulfilled.

Michael Lachowicz architected $120,000 in revenue and 30% repeat customers by combining use of a Groupon with OpenTable, which he was already using to manage customers of Restaurant Michael. First, he put tight restrictions around the deal — limited to certain times of day and a certain number of coupons available. To make sure he kept those customers coming back, he migrated their data over to OpenTable and kept the communication open, as well as using it to monitor their returns to his restaurant.

Targeting that delivers true, transparent ROI
Esquire IMAX is a movie theater in Sacramento that was looking for ways to get “butts in seats” as the saying goes. More of a boutique theater than the local multiplex, and with a budget to match, Esquire ran a campaign with the hyperlocal news site Sacramento Press when they came calling. Not only did the Press offer staff to handle social media needs, but it could update banner ads on the fly with tweets from Esquire, which often included deals, and included targeted messages for particular audiences. Depending on the film playing, the Press could deliver the audiences who would be most interested, rather than a blanket ad on a print publication. The campaign eliminated waste and let Esquire see who was receiving their ads.

Hyperlocal has become a useful channel for all types of local merchants, from restaurants to cinemas to clothing boutiques, spas and even banks.

“The Local Merchant” is a useful guidebook for anyone looking to effectively leverage hyperlocal channels to recruit and retain customers. For more information and to buy now,click here.