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Ok I’ve had just about enough of this. This article in USA Today has just about pushed me over the edge. It’s no secret the housing market is in a long anticipated glut. The media is pulling no punches in helping cause widespread panic in the housing industry which brings me to my point. 
Ok, I guess I am on a roll this week when it comes to dealing with clueless Realtors. Not that this is anything new, it just seems that I have had a whole bunch of them this week. So, I’ve been thinking. Why is it that so many Realtors are clueless? They’ve all been through very intense (joke) Florida licensing requirements and passed a very difficult (more joking) 100 question multiple choice test. They’ve also jumped through all the bureaucracy at the Board of Realtors (wrote a check) and have had numerous training sessions with their Broker on how to complete … (33 comments)
As REALTORS® we spend a large amount of time educating consumers. We talk about current market conditions at open houses and with friends, we educate our clients on their rights, and the home buying/selling process, we constantly challenge national information broadcasted by the media because it likely isn’t true for what is happening in the local market where we live and work. So, logic would follow if I want to become a GREAT REALTOR®, I need to be a great teacher. 
Avoiding the bipolar website and blog Does your website or blog need Prozac? Does your site ramble on and on touching on everything from phone cards to razor blades and eventually getting around to your listings, local information and maybe somewhere in there what a great agent you are? If so, here is a valuable prescription for your site.
There has been quite a bit of material written about the sinister mortgage programs called Option ARM's, or fixed payment mortgages. Dangerous, Predatory, Deceptive, ______ fill in the blank with your "watch out!" comment of choice. The general consensus on how these programs hurt borrowers is getting to be a little much and beginning to bother me.
A consumer protection complaint has just been filed with the FTC against Zillow by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). They allege that Zillow, the "Internet financial services and real estate provider(sic) is misleading consumers, real estate professionals and financial service providers in online home valuations."
City dwellers love their neighborhoods and are willing to pay the expense to tailor their old homes to fit their current needs. If a homeowner has a home with a large enough "footprint" in a good neighborhood, then popping the top might be the solution.
Let's have a party!
This morning I searched for homes for my Buyer on our NORMLS system. What homes did I choose to send to them? The ones that were presented the best by the listing agents who entered the information. It amazes me what information can be missing when I look at listings. Why is this bad? Two reasons!
According to an article in todays StarTribune the Twin Cities market continues its slowdown but seems to be faring better than other parts of the country. We are still on pace to have the thrid best sales year ever. With the interest rates remaining low and high employment we will not see the lows that other parts of the country will have. 
Point2 just announced a new member directory that is integrated into Point2’s consumer real estate search portal, Point2Homes.com. For those you not familiar with Point2homes, they are a huge real estate website template provider. Several high profile members here have a point2 website, like Jay and Francy Thompson who are also a licensed reseller of them if I'm not mistaken. You can see his listing here http://homes.point2.com/Agent/US/Arizona.aspx about the middle of the page, along with the neighborhoods they service. Like Active Rain, the directory uses location targeting and will display the featured realtors for your specific area. There is also a link to … (1 comments)
Galen over at Rain City Guide, posted this link in a comment to Ardell. I thought it was interesting enough to pass on here.
Come one, come all...prepare to be spooked! 
As many of you know, homes are sitting on the market longer. More people are experiencing their listings expire or being on the market for a year or more. To combat that, I and other Realtors®. ask for sellers to consider the low end of a suggested listing price or a price reduction. So often that idea is met with resistance to our suggestion. I understand the many reasons that it sounds like such an unthnkable request but I'd like to explore some other variables with you. Please, stay with me on this one.
You Can Do It Yourself…
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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