What happened to the IHB and some suggestions...
- Thread starter irvinehomeowner
- Start date
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
[quote author="tmare"]Nice to see you, biscuit. I think we all need to figure out who is missing and try to contact them. Moreakos, who else? [/quote]
I let Morekoas know and he is already signed up. ;D
I let Morekoas know and he is already signed up. ;D
irvinerealtor
Well-known member
[quote author="tmare"]Nice to see you, biscuit. I think we all need to figure out who is missing and try to contact them. Moreakos, who else? [/quote]
I "ping"ed ISM.
I "ping"ed ISM.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
I'll give Girl In The OC a call and let her know to join up.
irvinesinglemom
New member
I "karma'd" IR2. Is that the same thing as a thanks? Jeez, I need to sit down and read all the rules of this new site. Thanks everybody for putting it together, and I'm back in the game now. Been out of it for a long time for a number of reasons (high on that list is the amount of time I've been on my hands and knees cleaning up dog poop on my floors...puppy had two bouts of ghiardia and a general sensitive tummy).
When is the next meetup? Where are activities posted? I wanna come play with you guys! Okay, I will do my homework on this site and figure it all out. See you all soon!
ISM
When is the next meetup? Where are activities posted? I wanna come play with you guys! Okay, I will do my homework on this site and figure it all out. See you all soon!
ISM
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
In today's blog post, zovall answered someone about the closing of the forums:
Seems like we were discussing non-real estate topics too much? I dunno.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
[quote author="irvinehomeowner"]In today's blog post, zovall answered someone about the closing of the forums:
Let me translate the IHB speak for you IHO...
The IHB forums were established to promote discussion of real estate related topics (to generate enough traffic to the point where we could monetize it). As the forums grew beyond real estate, it became a great deal of work, and conditions developed in the forums that were incompatible with having real estate related forums hosted by Ideal Home Brokers (Trojanman and IR2 were taking too much new potential business away from IHB Brokers so why keep the forum going for those free loaders). After exploring all options for changing the forums to a form compatible with our basic mission (including discussions with moderators and other interested parties), it was decided that closing them down was preferable to continuing in a format which was draining our resources and providing little recovery (We tried getting Trojanman and IR2 to join our ranks but since we were so greedy they weren't interest and as such we wanted to give them the big middle finger by shutting the forum down). If there had been an alternative that served our interests as well as the interests of the community at large, we would have pursued it (We just couldn't come up with a better way to monetize the forum despite the fact that we got several good suggestions on doing so from Trojanman). We may open the forums again in the future when we are certain we can focus the content and the conversation on real estate related matters; this will not happen soon (We won't open the forum until we know that our agents, including Shevy, get all the new business from the forum and we shut out Trojanman and IR2 from new business). We apologize to those who are upset over the loss of the forums (We could give a crap less about all of you people who liked the forums...sit and spin).
;D
Seems like we were discussing non-real estate topics too much? I dunno.[/quote]
Let me translate the IHB speak for you IHO...
The IHB forums were established to promote discussion of real estate related topics (to generate enough traffic to the point where we could monetize it). As the forums grew beyond real estate, it became a great deal of work, and conditions developed in the forums that were incompatible with having real estate related forums hosted by Ideal Home Brokers (Trojanman and IR2 were taking too much new potential business away from IHB Brokers so why keep the forum going for those free loaders). After exploring all options for changing the forums to a form compatible with our basic mission (including discussions with moderators and other interested parties), it was decided that closing them down was preferable to continuing in a format which was draining our resources and providing little recovery (We tried getting Trojanman and IR2 to join our ranks but since we were so greedy they weren't interest and as such we wanted to give them the big middle finger by shutting the forum down). If there had been an alternative that served our interests as well as the interests of the community at large, we would have pursued it (We just couldn't come up with a better way to monetize the forum despite the fact that we got several good suggestions on doing so from Trojanman). We may open the forums again in the future when we are certain we can focus the content and the conversation on real estate related matters; this will not happen soon (We won't open the forum until we know that our agents, including Shevy, get all the new business from the forum and we shut out Trojanman and IR2 from new business). We apologize to those who are upset over the loss of the forums (We could give a crap less about all of you people who liked the forums...sit and spin).
;D
irvinerealtor
Well-known member
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
~ Mark Twain
You seem exceedingly unappreciative, Martin. MLS records show that you have a grand total of 5 transactions under your real estate belt out here in CA, and all of them, except the notable sale of your mother's home in Quail Hill, are from IHB members that you chronicled.
Maybe a better policy would be to simply say Thank You and move on?
-IR2
~ Mark Twain
You seem exceedingly unappreciative, Martin. MLS records show that you have a grand total of 5 transactions under your real estate belt out here in CA, and all of them, except the notable sale of your mother's home in Quail Hill, are from IHB members that you chronicled.
Maybe a better policy would be to simply say Thank You and move on?
-IR2
evalseraphim
New member
Well, not to state the obvious, but if the non-RE threads were the problem, why didn't they close those down and leave the RE threads? So much for "exploring all options."
The most important point is the reality that the 3 owners of IHB took a company asset that was producing results. It was generating some leads that were resulting in sales. They took that tangible asset of their company and rather than manage it and nurture it. They made the foolish decision to just abandon it. Basically telling all the customers that they had attracted over a 3 year period of work. To go pound sand.
That ranks up there with about as stupid as you could be in my book. The old saying something is better than nothing really works in this day and age.
I don't think we should begrudge USC for booking some business.
If IHB had had their business plan in place and was working the forum as they should have with Shevy doing some interaction with Forum members and DOING HIS JOB. All of this could have been avoided.
That ranks up there with about as stupid as you could be in my book. The old saying something is better than nothing really works in this day and age.
I don't think we should begrudge USC for booking some business.
If IHB had had their business plan in place and was working the forum as they should have with Shevy doing some interaction with Forum members and DOING HIS JOB. All of this could have been avoided.
I don't know the people involved, but just read the IHB blog and have a hobby of analyzing businesses. So here are some observations.
If I had $100 million and I had to invest it in residential real estate, I would let these guys manage my portfolio. Both IR and chevy seem like very sharp guys who know how to run numbers and choose investments that will make money. They know when to buy and when to sell. That's their strength.
The problem is that no one with $100 million will invest it in residential real estate. The economies of scale are not there. You would have to manage a few hundred homes spread out all over the place and management costs would eat into your return. You would be better off buying an apartment complex and having an on site property manager, like the Irvine Apartment Communities.
So, they are left with two potential client bases. Small individual investors and people who will live in their homes. Choosing a home is an emotional decision, so those buyers really want and need a friend who they trust and will reassure them as they make their decision, not pointy headed guys who crunch numbers.
I think their only potential client base is small individual investors. However, these people are cognizant of all the costs including commissions, so they often have their own real estate license.
My conclusion is: they aren't going to make much money as real estate brokers.
How could they make money? That's not so clear, but one key to making money is always to have access to people with money. The forums did that. They probably had 10,000 people who read it. It was a tremendous asset and closing it was an extremely foolish decision.
If I had $100 million and I had to invest it in residential real estate, I would let these guys manage my portfolio. Both IR and chevy seem like very sharp guys who know how to run numbers and choose investments that will make money. They know when to buy and when to sell. That's their strength.
The problem is that no one with $100 million will invest it in residential real estate. The economies of scale are not there. You would have to manage a few hundred homes spread out all over the place and management costs would eat into your return. You would be better off buying an apartment complex and having an on site property manager, like the Irvine Apartment Communities.
So, they are left with two potential client bases. Small individual investors and people who will live in their homes. Choosing a home is an emotional decision, so those buyers really want and need a friend who they trust and will reassure them as they make their decision, not pointy headed guys who crunch numbers.
I think their only potential client base is small individual investors. However, these people are cognizant of all the costs including commissions, so they often have their own real estate license.
My conclusion is: they aren't going to make much money as real estate brokers.
How could they make money? That's not so clear, but one key to making money is always to have access to people with money. The forums did that. They probably had 10,000 people who read it. It was a tremendous asset and closing it was an extremely foolish decision.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
joeyp: You have been Karma-lized for that insightful post.
zubs
Well-known member
While, I think USCtrojanman has over aggressive animosity towards IHB and its overlords, IR2 seems to have a lot of resentment toward him.
I always thought you two had a rivalry on who can get the most business from the IHB forums.....The funny thing is I get the feeling that USCTrojanman does it as a side business and more hobbylike while IR2 is in it full time.
Which brings me to ...who would I select if I were looking for a realtor in Irvine?....With IR2, I would feel some buying pressure. With USCtrojanman, there would be less pressure because it's just a side job and while he's trying to become a CPA.
But in reality, I couldn't pick any of you cause...u know..got relatives with RE licenses that I need to help feed.
I always thought you two had a rivalry on who can get the most business from the IHB forums.....The funny thing is I get the feeling that USCTrojanman does it as a side business and more hobbylike while IR2 is in it full time.
Which brings me to ...who would I select if I were looking for a realtor in Irvine?....With IR2, I would feel some buying pressure. With USCtrojanman, there would be less pressure because it's just a side job and while he's trying to become a CPA.
But in reality, I couldn't pick any of you cause...u know..got relatives with RE licenses that I need to help feed.
[quote author="IrvineRealtor"]If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
~ Mark Twain
You seem exceedingly unappreciative, Martin. MLS records show that you have a grand total of 5 transactions under your real estate belt out here in CA, and all of them, except the notable sale of your mother's home in Quail Hill, are from IHB members that you chronicled.
Maybe a better policy would be to simply say Thank You and move on?
-IR2[/quote]
Who is "Martin"?
~ Mark Twain
You seem exceedingly unappreciative, Martin. MLS records show that you have a grand total of 5 transactions under your real estate belt out here in CA, and all of them, except the notable sale of your mother's home in Quail Hill, are from IHB members that you chronicled.
Maybe a better policy would be to simply say Thank You and move on?
-IR2[/quote]
Who is "Martin"?
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
[quote author="IrvineRealtor"]If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
~ Mark Twain
You seem exceedingly unappreciative, Martin. MLS records show that you have a grand total of 5 transactions under your real estate belt out here in CA, and all of them, except the notable sale of your mother's home in Quail Hill, are from IHB members that you chronicled.
Maybe a better policy would be to simply say Thank You and move on?
-IR2[/quote]
Just cutting through the cloud of BS they came up with trying to explain their rationale for closing the forum. You and I know they wanted us to join IHB Brokers but their terms were ridiculous and highly onerous. When they asked me about joining IHB Broker and I asked them..."what about my contribution to my buyers?" and they said "well, that'll have to come out of your net commission" I knew it was about greed. Hell, Larry used to rant about the standard realtor compensation structure and he could have been a pioneer and changed how the system worked for real estate commission. Unfortunately he didn't and just became another broker in the bunch.
Oh and for the record, I closed an additional 3 transactions via CLAW in 2007 for my fellow USC classmates (the listing shows the buyer's agent as "OUT OF THE AREA") and closed 4 transactions in Las Vegas with my Nevada license in 2007 and 2008. Besides, if I was successful in closing multi-million dollar commercial real estate construction transactions during my commercial real estate lending days then I think I can more than handle closing any residential transaction. <!-- s
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Btw, what are you talking about being unappreciative? I was more than happy to offer Zov and IR a cut of my commission that I earned from my IHB clients but they wanted a lot more. I know that I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to assist so many people from IHB and I am very grateful for that. And for those buyers that I have closed, I provided a substantial commission kickback as thanks for their business.
~ Mark Twain
You seem exceedingly unappreciative, Martin. MLS records show that you have a grand total of 5 transactions under your real estate belt out here in CA, and all of them, except the notable sale of your mother's home in Quail Hill, are from IHB members that you chronicled.
Maybe a better policy would be to simply say Thank You and move on?
-IR2[/quote]
Just cutting through the cloud of BS they came up with trying to explain their rationale for closing the forum. You and I know they wanted us to join IHB Brokers but their terms were ridiculous and highly onerous. When they asked me about joining IHB Broker and I asked them..."what about my contribution to my buyers?" and they said "well, that'll have to come out of your net commission" I knew it was about greed. Hell, Larry used to rant about the standard realtor compensation structure and he could have been a pioneer and changed how the system worked for real estate commission. Unfortunately he didn't and just became another broker in the bunch.
Oh and for the record, I closed an additional 3 transactions via CLAW in 2007 for my fellow USC classmates (the listing shows the buyer's agent as "OUT OF THE AREA") and closed 4 transactions in Las Vegas with my Nevada license in 2007 and 2008. Besides, if I was successful in closing multi-million dollar commercial real estate construction transactions during my commercial real estate lending days then I think I can more than handle closing any residential transaction. <!-- s
--><!-- s -->Btw, what are you talking about being unappreciative? I was more than happy to offer Zov and IR a cut of my commission that I earned from my IHB clients but they wanted a lot more. I know that I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to assist so many people from IHB and I am very grateful for that. And for those buyers that I have closed, I provided a substantial commission kickback as thanks for their business.