Archives of real estate blog entries for October 23, 2006

Featured blog posts


“How many miles per gallon does this home get?” The Home Energy Rating (HERS) Test. - 08:10 PM
One of my clients was in the market for older homes last year, but she was concerned about how these homes would stack up in terms of their home energy rating. As part of her investigation, she made it a point to discover if a home she might be interested in had a home energy rating. (HERS) Knowing that the home energy rating evaluates and measures the home’s energy characteristics, she could then easily compare the energy costs for the three or four homes she was considering.
A local Asheville company, Home Energy Partners had told my client, “The HERS rating is … (16 comments)

Mortgage Advice from Telenovelas? - 09:25 AM
Yes, your read it correctly.  People can now learn about mortgages and take advice from telenovelas.  What next? Days of Our lives teaching us how about mortgages as well? 
OK, some of you may not know what telenovelas are, so let me explain.  Simply put, they are the Spanish version of Soap Operas.  What shocked me was that this story was on the front page of the money section in the Miami Herald Sunday.  Frankly, I am not sure what to make of it.
Are we such a TV dependent society that we need to educate ourselves via Soap Operas?  Is "edutainment", … (19 comments)

Your towns? - 04:42 PM
To kick off our categories launch the current blog topic is about where we live.I remember that when we first launched blogging tools I would read other member's posts on their cities.  The things they loved, the popular things, they included beautiful descriptions and cities.  One I really loved was written by Sharon Lyons about Carolina Beach, NC.For the blog topic I'd like to hear more about the places that you work and live.  What are your cities like?  How do visitors see it?  How is it different for locals?  Please be sure to categorize your posts with the region tags.  … (22 comments)

Reaching Out - 05:11 PM
For some time now ActiveRain has been working toward bettering your experience on The Network and helping you connect with each other.  Through your suggestions we have made a very large list of updates and changes.  We continually work on this and as we see it this is a never ending process.Helping You Connect With Buyers and Sellers.We are however taking a slight curve away from that focus.  In the spirit of enabling you to do your business we are creating channels to help you target the public in your local markets.  These changes will mostly benefit those of you that … (25 comments)

Match their style - the results may surprise you! - 08:48 PM
OK - just back in from a listing appointment.  What's the big deal - everyone goes on listing appointments.  Well, this one was a little different than many.
First, I had the clients come to my office for the listing presentation.  With the aid of a dual monitors I scrolled them through the CMA and marketing presentation.
Then came the pricing discussion.  I had a price range in mind, with support for both ends, and listened politely to the Sellers regurgitate key points of my pricing presentation, at the end of which they selected a reasonable list price 10K under the high end of … (23 comments)

1 year later Listing still on the market! Seller still refuses to hear the truth! - 06:41 AM
I took a listing in Nov. 2005 that was located in Hollywood, Florida. The house was antiquated and needed some modernization. The Seller assured me that the kitchen appliances would be replaced , exterior paint job and repairs of the patio would be done within a month. We priced the listing accordingly at $379,000. My assumption was that if  the kitchen was fitted with new appliances along with a fresh coat of paint, the Home would receive offers.Well, things didn`t turn out that way.The seller reneged on their promise to fix the items that badly needed to be replaced and repaired!Apparently, they … (33 comments)

Conditional License Legislation - 08:05 PM
I know that there is already some bloging on this topic but I did not want to try to squeeze my thoughs on this into a comment. This has been bothering me since I started in real estate. In my humble opinion, more legislation on the real estate license process would be great for our industry. Here is some of why I feel this way.
I have a conditional license right now. The thing that scared me is that I took a class, a crash course and a test to get my license. All along the way I was hoping that some … (17 comments)

You Wouldn't Really Take Your Blog Away...Would You...ROAR! - 03:02 PM
Are you going to take your Real Estate Blog and go home? Come on you must be kidding. Why?
Have you guys noticed that Blogs are disappearing from Active Rain. This is a twist in the rain. Disappearing Real Estate Blogs. Who would have thought it. Not me. Why are Blogs disappearing? POOF…All gone. No more Blog just a picture and what is left of a dismantled profile. What is wrong with this picture?
Is this our fault guys? Or, is there a reason for this that I just don’t see. I know I can be chatty, I know others can … (30 comments)

Realtor.com………from day one……..Part I, the beginnings - 08:52 AM
 
The idea for http://www.realtor.com/ was conceived sometime around 1993 as a component of the “Realtor Information Network”, or RIN for short, and part of an effort by NAR to ensure that us Realtors remained the “go to” source of information and expertise for consumers to do a real estate transaction.
The original RIN was to be part of a 3 part tool; one was a “Realtor desktop”, sort of an online store, e mail client, mapping feature, and several other things; part 2 was “DXM” or data exchange methodology which was supposed to allow the then mostly legacy MLS systems to communicate with one another … (17 comments)

The Redfins Are Coming! - 09:00 AM
Folks may have noticed I frequently mention Redfin in my comments.  Well, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman has stated pretty clearly that Southern California is his next stop.
So, like any good coach, I'm gettin' my playbook ready.  How do you stop the powerful Redfin Two Thirds Offense?
Reading through Redfin's Buyer material, I can see a few weak spots that could be exploited.  Such as the buyer paying $250.00 per 3-hour time block for the Redfin agent to show them properties.
What else do you guys see?  If Redfin set up shop in your area, what responses would you make when buyers and sellers … (17 comments)


Blog posts


I LIVE IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON--ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH - 05:37 PM
 
Specifically, I live in Wallingford, which is located by the Woodland Park Zoo and Green Lake Park.  We are about two miles from the University of Washington and there are very good bus lines that get you to downtown Seattle.  Some homes in Wallingford have views of Lake Union and downtown Seattle and some have mountain views. The homes are predominately "Craftsman" style in this area.  Wallingford is a very desirable place to live--many families live here and they enjoy very good schools and parks. 
Seattle is a very "outdoor lovers" place.  We have the Burke Gilman trail which is great … (0 comments)

Your towns? - 04:42 PM
To kick off our categories launch the current blog topic is about where we live.I remember that when we first launched blogging tools I would read other member's posts on their cities.  The things they loved, the popular things, they included beautiful descriptions and cities.  One I really loved was written by Sharon Lyons about Carolina Beach, NC.For the blog topic I'd like to hear more about the places that you work and live.  What are your cities like?  How do visitors see it?  How is it different for locals?  Please be sure to categorize your posts with the region tags.  … (22 comments)

Reaching Out - 05:11 PM
For some time now ActiveRain has been working toward bettering your experience on The Network and helping you connect with each other.  Through your suggestions we have made a very large list of updates and changes.  We continually work on this and as we see it this is a never ending process.Helping You Connect With Buyers and Sellers.We are however taking a slight curve away from that focus.  In the spirit of enabling you to do your business we are creating channels to help you target the public in your local markets.  These changes will mostly benefit those of you that … (25 comments)

Short Sale Record - 06:39 PM
Whew!  I did it!  Got a lender to accept a short sale of $110,000.  This was my Seller's last hope and to be honest we both thought it was a pretty long shot.  My Broker thought I was nuts for even trying.  But I had a feeling that somehow it was going to work out. My Seller is so grateful and that is so worth it for me.
There have been many recent short sales in the Minneapolis area turned down for much less than this.  I have heard of another one for about $85,000. Anybody else have any recent success stories? 
… (1 comments)

Austin Has Jobs - 08:29 AM
I read last week that the unemployment rate in Austin is down to 3.8%.  This is as close to full employment as I have seen since the height of the dot com days.  When you consider that about 3% of the work force is unemployable, this is an amazing statistic.  Job growth drives the real estate market.  Austin real estate is still hot.  Go figure...  How long will this continue?  I don't know, but I read a peice in which one economist predicted healthy job growth for 10 years.  He said there will be a dip in about the 5th year, … (0 comments)

Lakeway, Texas - 12:29 PM
I was looking at my profile and realized that although I am the agent for Lakeway, I haven't written about it.  I first moved to Lakeway a little over 19 years ago.  At the time, Lakeway was a quiet town west of Austin on Lake Travis.  The way to get here was out Bee Cave Road or RM 620.  Both were 2 lane roads at the time and 620 actually crossed the lake by driving on the top of Mansfield Dam.  There might have been 5,000 people in the city and another 15,000 in the school district.  The town of Bee … (0 comments)

Politics aside, this tax plan is BS. - 01:13 PM
My loan officer just sent over some stats that made me a little upset. I know we all have to pay taxes and that the goverment loves to piss away our hard earned money, but this tax plan is BS.  
The IRS just completed their analysis of 2004 tax returns, the most recent available - and the findings show that those that make higer levels of income pay almost all of the bills. You read that the Bush tax cuts "mainly went to the rich", but these stats show otherwise:
The top 1% of filers paid 36.9% of all income … (16 comments)

Its the little things - 04:13 PM
You never know the impact you will have on those around you. When Jacqui and I were house hunting, we showed up at our current residence without our realtor (I know, very bad!).  The place was locked of course but looked exactly like what we were looking for. The next door neighbor saw us, invited us into her home to see the floor plan (very close to ours) and look over her back wall so we could see the pool and yard.
We did buy the place and fix it up. Over the years we've been very friendly with our neighbor … (1 comments)

VFW - 05:10 PM
Today I got a very disturbing call from the VFW. As I'm sure you know, the VFW is a charity that helps our veterans (Veterans of Foreign Wars). Most major cities have a VFW post. I had never received a solicitation from them and am a firm believer that our veterans deserve a lot more then our government currently gives them.
The strange thing was that they weren't collecting for vets. They were doing a food drive for the elderly in the community. They said that they started an elderly assistance program of gift baskets.  Baskets contained food, household items, etc.  The … (4 comments)

Las Vegas, Nevada - 05:33 PM

Las Vegas is often viewed as the adult disneyland, a true 24 hour town. After all, our city's advertising slogan is "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."  Las Vegas is more than just neon lights. What isn't advertised are the wonderful family communities, beautiful desert scenery and the booming job market. Everyone knows about the opportunities for entertainment on the Las Vegas strip, but the rest of the city has a lot to offer as well. There are several large shopping malls with minutes of virtually every part of the city. If you are a nature lover, Las Vegas has dozens … (5 comments)

The Redfins Are Coming! - 09:00 AM
Folks may have noticed I frequently mention Redfin in my comments.  Well, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman has stated pretty clearly that Southern California is his next stop.
So, like any good coach, I'm gettin' my playbook ready.  How do you stop the powerful Redfin Two Thirds Offense?
Reading through Redfin's Buyer material, I can see a few weak spots that could be exploited.  Such as the buyer paying $250.00 per 3-hour time block for the Redfin agent to show them properties.
What else do you guys see?  If Redfin set up shop in your area, what responses would you make when buyers and sellers … (17 comments)

My Lucky Day - 08:20 PM
Just think, this morning I was pondering Redfin and broker discounting and searching for articles about buying property in Baja California.  Seems like a previous lifetime now.  I got a call mid-morning from California Department of Real Estate. I guess they drew our office name out of the hat for a random audit.  Oh, joy.  I haven't received the written notice yet, but it appears our audit will be scheduled November 7.
You know, we have always tried to do right by our clients, no matter what.  But there is something about DRE going through your files with a "fine tooth comb" … (3 comments)

Upcoming Festivals in Central Texas - 06:03 PM
Any time is festival time in Central Texas (we do love to party on the slightest excuse), but with the cooler weather in Autumn, you can hardly throw a rock without it landing in the middle of an event - there's something for everyone! Just a few of the events that are coming up are:
The Texas Book Festival, October 27-29, Austin, Texas. http://www.texasbookfestival.org/
Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest (16th Annual), October 28, Fredericksburg, Texas: http://www.fbgfoodandwinefest.com/
Thunderpalooza, Thunderhill Raceway, Kyle, Texas, Nov. 3-4, benefiting breast cancer awareness and uninsured children: http://www.thunderpalooza.com/
Austin Celtic Festival, Austin, Texas, Nov. 4 and 5, now in its 10th … (0 comments)

Let's not mistake "Fee For Service" for "Discount Broker" - 02:48 PM
Greetings AR Bloggers!
...And a happy Monday to ya'll...
Allow me, if I may, to make a very important distinction between the (2) primary types of alternative real estate companies in today's business environment.
-Discount brokers charge up-front, for thier "a-la-carte" type services
-Fee For Service Brokers such as Help-U-Sell North Metro, sell homes for a low set fee payable only if the property closes. No charges are ever asked for up-front.
-James
… (1 comments)

Home for sale in Alpharetta, GA (Just Reduced!) - 02:57 PM
… (0 comments)

Home for sale in Alpharetta, GA - 07:20 PM
2215 Traywick Chase, Alpharetta GA 30004 ($268,000)
-James
Alpharetta GA Real Estate Agent
… (0 comments)

Home for sale in Alpharetta, GA - 07:23 PM
9920 Timberstone Road, Alpharetta GA 30022
-James
Fulton County, Georgia Real Estate

… (0 comments)

Condo for sale in Alpharetta, GA - 07:25 PM
1215 Waterville Court, Alpharetta GA 30022
-James
Cherokee County Georgia Real Estate

… (0 comments)

Publishing to Technorati only blog - 05:11 PM
This is my test only.
Please ignore...
<a href="http://www.technorati.com/claim/cxgduw4qw8" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>
… (3 comments)

Warwick, Rhode Island..... a Big City in a little State! - 07:53 PM

City of Warwick, Rhode Island
Why would you want to come to the city of Warwick, Rhode Island? Well for one, it's my hometown! Two, it has a lot of waterfront property. Three, it has a lot of great history.
Here is a little history. Warwick was founded in 1642, and we are the "sister" city of Warwick, England.  Rhode Island became the 13th state in 1790. Rhode Island was prominent in the King Phillip War. But you can find all the history you want on Warwick here Warwick Rhode Island.  You can read about local lore at Quahog.com
Warwick is comprised of approximately 18 … (4 comments)

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