Becoming an estate agent has always been an interest of mine, and I’m an avid viewer of Selling Houses and Location, Location, Location, so I was interested to see a weblog dedicated to the profession. Just to make clear, the weblog is heavily linked to the author, John Mudd’s, business site. I suppose this would be more useful if you were actually house hunting in Tampa Bay, but I took advantage the featured homes to check out how the property market was going in another part of the world.
Back to the weblog, the main purpose of the site is given as being news/links, and whilst any news on the real estate front is reported, there are also tips such as “Getting the Best Price When Selling Your Home” and “What Sellers Should Disclose When Selling”. Many of these posts are followed by Mudd’s contact details and you are encouraged to contact him if you are interested in selling or buying in his locality (or if you just want advice on real estate). This site is definitely used as a promotion for John’s work, as well as for a personal site, and this does feel quite imposing if you are reading for leisure or just out of interest.
I would be very interested to see how this site is received by Mudd’s clients. Accompanying a few news posts are Mudd’s own comments and opinions. A very recent one even comments around America’s relationship with the Middle East. This is surely a risky move considering that his clients and potential clients use the site. He could easily offend people either way. Still, it must be refreshing to some customers to get an insight into their agent/seller like this.
The layout of the site works okay, but as all the links towards the top of the screen are for the business site, you have to scroll right down the screen to find the archives. Mudd’s ‘about page’ (which is well worth a read) can only be found on the business site, so I’d like to see that brought onto the weblog. To look at, the site is a little busy, but then Mudd is a real estate seller and writer, not a web designer.
I’m guessing that you’re going to get a lot more out of this site if you are thinking of moving house (especially in the Tampa Bay Area) or if you’re in the real estate business. Although I don’t fit into those categories, I still found the site interesting and am sure there are many other weblog readers out there for whom the site is worth a visit. I have given John Mudd’s Inside Real Estate Journal a 4 because it is an original and interesting concept. With more work on the layout, a move away from the business site (so that Inside Real Estate stands alone), and more frequent posts, it could command an even higher rating.
John Mudd’s Inside Real Estate Journal