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RISMedia, June 6, 2011—Make this your transformational mantra for engagement in social media. This means not just characters in tweets, but real actions and sharing with others—whether it’s your knowledge, cool tools or any other valuable information you can share. This will help you build new relationships and lead to more fans or likes, followers and others who connect with you; new business will follow. Did you know that fans are 41 percent more likely than non-fans to recommend a product they are a fan of to their friends?*

RISMedia, June 6, 2011—Americans living with disabilities struggle every day to find affordable and accessible housing on low incomes. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia will join Inglis Foundation and the Disability Opportunity Fund from 9 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. on June 14 to inform organizations interested in developing such housing of existing challenges, new HUD initiatives and financing opportunities. Individuals living with disabilities—who are often among the nation’s poorest citizens—can find it challenging to locate affordable and accessible housing, and the organizations who serve these individuals find it equally challenging to help them due to constrained funding and a shortage of resources.

RISMedia, June 6, 2011— With 60 million baby boomers online, marketers need to pay attention to this generation. An estimated 78.2 percent of boomers are online, accounting for one-third of the internet population. As boomers control more than $2 trillion in annual spending, this demographic represents a sizeable

RISMedia, June 6, 2011—Everyone loves the idea of streamlining their marketing with low- and no-cost ideas that can leverage what they are doing in their business. Here are six tips that can help you maximize what you have available to you and at the same time, spread your marketing message to the world.

RISMedia, June 4, 2011—Successful salespeople understand that making the sale has much more to do with developing trust and rapport than it does with issues of lowest price, highest quality or the largest company. Unfortunately, far too many salespeople unintentionally sabotage their chances of making a sale by skipping the "small talk" and getting right down to business. On the surface, this approach might appear to be an effective use of time, but it's a huge mistake that will cost tons of money over the long haul! Any architect will be quick to tell you that a strong foundation must be laid first before you can build the walls. Likewise, before you can expect your prospect to buy your products or services, he or she must first like and trust you as a person.

RISMedia, June 4, 2011— U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced Green Refinance Plus, a program between HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Fannie Mae to allow owners of existing affordable rental housing properties to refinance into new mortgages that include funding for energy- and water-saving upgrades, along with other needed property renovations.

RISMedia, June 4, 2011—Only one market among the 20 tracked by the S&P/Case-Shiller index released recently reported positive price growth in the first quarter. This honor went to Washington, D.C., a market that’s different from others in some ways and similar in others. In the first quarter, the Case-Shiller Home Price

RISMedia, June 3, 2011—When it comes to private mortgage insurance (MI), there are several myths that exist that make buyers reluctant to consider a conventional loan with MI as an option when purchasing a home. One of the more common misconceptions is that cancelling MI is a difficult—not to mention time-consuming—process. The irony is that the majority of buyers don’t harbor those same beliefs or reservations about an FHA insured loan when, in reality, FHA coverage may be less easily cancelled, or take longer to cancel, than MI.

RISMEDIA, Friday, June 3, 2011—77WABC Radio in New York is featuring “Rand on Real Estate,” a talk show hosted by OwnAmerica CEO Greg Rand (@gsrand) that focuses on building wealth in the greatest asset class known to mankind - American housing. In this first segment of a new weekly video series, Rand advises

RISMedia, June 3, 2011—Seventeen local and state REALTOR® associations have been awarded over $60,000 through the Housing Opportunity Program Grants, a National Association of REALTORS® grant program. The funds will be used by the associations to promote and expand affordable housing opportunities

RISMedia, June 3, 2011—Mortgage applications decreased 4.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 27, 2011. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.0

RISMedia, June 1 2011—The word "auction" is derived from the Latin augeo which means "I increase" or "I augment." Auctions have a long history, having been recorded as early as 500 B.C. There were many types of auctions held during the Roman Empire. One of the most significant historical auctions occurred in the year 193 A.D. when the entire Roman Empire was put on the auction block by the Praetorian Guard who offered the empire to the highest bidder. In some parts of England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries auction by candle was used for the sale of goods and leaseholds. This auction began by lighting a candle after which bids were offered in ascending order until the candle spluttered out. The high bid at the time the candle extinguished itself won the auction. The oldest auction house in the world is Stockholm Auction House, established in Sweden in 1674.

RISMedia, June 1 2011—This week’s headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include: free shipping at the REALTOR.org store; limited time savings of up to 40 percent from REALTOR Benefits® Program Partner, Lenovo; and NAR opposes increase to FHA down payments.

RISMedia, May 31 2011— Retailers, spas, and restaurants have figured out how to tap daily deal sites, such as Groupon, to snag new customers. The daily deal sites work with businesses and develop deep discounts on products and services. Deals, typically good for 24 hours, are e-mailed to the site's subscribers. They include a description of the deal and the business and a link to the business website. The concept relies on collective buying power. If a certain number of people commit to buy, then the deal—whether it's 50 percent off dental services or deep discounts at boutiques and restaurants—is on. The daily deal sites get a percentage of the price of each deal.

Ever wonder why businesses use online video? That was a survey question recently posed by PermissionTV.com, and the results may surprise you. By far, the number one reason—cited by over 70 percent of respondents—was increasing brand awareness.