Archives of real estate blog entries for November 26, 2006 (Page 1)

Blog posts


ActiveRain turns 6 months old today - 07:34 PM
It's official, today is the ActiveRain Real Estate Network's six month anniversary.  We launched the network way back on May 26th, 2006.  Back then we were barely more that a glorifiied real estate directory with basic scoring system.  There was no bloging, forums or community.  It's been pretty amazing how far things have progressed in only 6 months.
We currently have 9,718 registered members, falling just shy of hitting 10k within 6 months.There has been over 22k blog posts made on ActiveRain and blogging wasn't even launched until end of June.We've registered 350k visits to ActiveRain.com and just over 10 million page views, almost all … (59 comments)

Major ActiveRain feature release - Tuesday morning - 05:39 PM
We are doing a large release of new features on ActiveRain.com very early Tuesday morning (4:00 am PST).  The main item in this release will be the beta launch of Groups on ActiveRain. 
For several months it has become very clear that for ActiveRain to continue growing there needs to be a way for members to break off into their own self regulating communities.  The groups will do just that, whether you want to create a group for "Northwest Real Estate Agents" or "Home Stagers".  These groups will eventually have many of the same features as the full ActiveRain community such as forums and the … (43 comments)

Referral Plays "Hard to Get", What Would You Do? - 10:09 PM
Saturday morning from one of my wonderful clients I got a message saying that he has a friend that needs to buy a house right away.  He highly recommended me and wanted me to know that he had already called his friend.  He provided his friends name and telephone number.  I immediately called his friend, who sounded fairly unfriendly.  We talked for a minute and he told me a bit about what he was searching for (though he said price wasn't a factor...RIGHT) and he stated that he needed to go.  I asked when I should call him back and he gave me his cell … (4 comments)

Sports Opportunities Abundant in Bryan/College Station - 10:31 PM
The Aggies won their last game, so I'll use this opportunity to brag about our sports here in Brazos Valley.  With A&M right here we have excellent opportunities for sports watching for all sports fans!  College Station itself has a population of around 82K, but our Kyle Field, home of Aggie football has had an attendance of 87,555.  It's always a thrill to see the stands filled to the brim with maroon shirts.  For miles around people can see the field and hear the fans going wild.
If racing is your sport of choice we have Texas World Speedway south of College … (0 comments)

Golden Gate City Market Update - November 2006 - 10:07 PM
I was speaking with Kristal Kraft earlier this evening about Absorption Rate and discount brokerage -- but that is another BLOG.  Earlier this month she wrote a great BLOG How to calculate Absorption Rate.  Most of the Naples/Marco Island Market looks not so great - especially when you see 280 weeks to absorb the current inventory.  But dig down and there are some areas that are doing better than others.
Lets take for example Naples overall -- the absorption Rate is 160 weeks.  Ouch!  But now let's look at another smaller subset of the Naples Market - Golden Gate City 65.31 weeks, better … (5 comments)

Congratulations Active Rain! - 11:04 PM
Back in July when I joined Active Rain, I thought this would be a neat resource.  Never in my mind did I think that I would form great friendships and learn so much!  There have been a lot of people who have had hit milestones this past month (please forgive me if I missed yours...) 
Sharon Sims - 100,000 Points Angus Woodbury - 100th Post Kristal Kraft - 100,000 Points Tony Marriott and myself - Made the First Page I finally made the top 5 in Florida and I am #21 of almost 10,000 Linda Gatewood  just joined and has begun to play … (30 comments)

Horsin' Around In Texas - Where to Do It - 06:06 PM
So, you're in Texas, you've got a horse, and you want to get out and DO something with your best buddy.  Or you don't have a horse, but you'd love to go trail riding on one.  But where to go? 
Here's just a few suggestions. 
For trailing riding, there are quite a few State Parks that provide equestrian accommodations (Texas having kept most of our lands when we became a state, our parks tend to be state parks rather than federal), some for bringing your own horse, others where you ride theirs. 
Or, you can hook up with TETRA (Texas Equestrian Trail Riders Association), … (3 comments)

IKEA is here! IKEA is here! - 07:53 PM
For months, IKEA enthusiasts have been watching the construction at the intersection of IH35 and FM 1435 in Round Rock.  First, the Outlet Mall opened, to rave reviews.  But we had to wait for the real treat. 
Now, as a Texan, I really have no problem driving 150 miles one way to Houston from Austin for an afternoon of lunch and shopping at IKEA and Penzeys.  But it does take a whole day there and back and can only rarely be done on the spur of the moment.  And the catalogue just isn't the same . . . really, it isn't.  … (7 comments)

Is It A Great Time to Buy? - 09:55 PM
Lately we've heard several different prospectives on the real estate market.  Some news articles say we are in a housing bubble.  Others report about the down market, more talk about this being a buyer's market.  We hear about foreclosures and the list goes on and on.  So what is the truth?
Some of what we hear is true for all markets.  Such as, mortgage interest rates still being at an all time low.  Everyone from California to Florida to New Hamphire would have to agree that interest rates a low at the moment for mortgages.  (If anyone thinks back to what interest rate … (0 comments)

STUCK for an idea???? - 05:00 PM

I started a series of simple staging tips on my Eastern CT Real Estate Blog.    I received permission by the author of "Dress Your House for Success" to use that title as long as I credited her.  I was blogging along and made it to TIP #7 and I am now officially STUCK.   I use the tips in my advertising and marketing - suggesting that people stop by my blog for the Dress Your House for Success Tip Series.  I also refer my current sellers to it. 
So...I was wondering if perhaps a few of you wonderful stagers out there might be willing to provide me with some … (19 comments)

Monday Night Football: Green Bay Packers vs Seattle Seahawks - 08:40 PM
For the second time this year the Seattle Seahawks will host Monday Night Football. This is one for the record books because it could be the last time Brett Farve is in Seattle. Friends and I are heading to the game early because of the weather, its snowing like a mad man up here.
Seattle is hoping to have Hasselbeck back in the line up and with our MVP in the backfield the Seahawks have a great chance at stomping the Packers. Last year these two teams faced each other for the last game of the season with the Packers winning. So … (11 comments)

DOCTYPE Tag - What Is It's Purpose? - 02:21 PM
Have you ever looked at the source code of any web page and seen a line at the beginning of the code that starts with "<!DOCTYPE ..."?  If you do your own web design and perhaps use a standard development tool such as Frontpage (now Impression Web) that automatically inserts the line for you, do you know what  it means?   Does it have any effect on how it is handled by browsers (such as Internet  Explorer or Firefox)?  Is it just comments or for use by the development tool?   Does it always have to appear at the top of the page?  … (3 comments)

Delaware Valley - Safe Winter Driving - 03:01 PM
Besides the daily driving to our jobs, businesses and schools, the Delaware Valley has a tremendous amount of great opportunities for enjoying indoor and outdoor events, recreation, shopping and dining out during the winter season that will also expose us to potential winter driving hazards, such as ice and snow.  The leading cause of death during winter storms is transportation accidents. Preparing your vehicle for the winter season and knowing how to react if stranded or lost on the road are the keys to safe winter driving while enjoying the season.The best time to begin preparing is well before the winter storm … (0 comments)

BreakTime: An Eclectic Mix of Misc. Music Links - Group #4 - 03:44 PM
Here is a random group of music links to interesting (or depending on your tastes, not so interesting) music information, entertainment and educational resources that you might not have known about or to introduce you to music sites for you to explore and possibly find a new avenue of music enjoyment.   Enjoy!
Music Theory Training Sites - Here is a list of music theory training and resource sites -- for Beginners and Advanced.    National Music Museum - Musical Instruments - Founded in 1973 on the campus of The University of South Dakota in Vermillion, the National Music Museum & Center for Study of the History of … (0 comments)

Delaware Valley - Winter Storm Preparedness - 04:13 PM
Winter is a great time to enjoy the recreational opportunities, holidays and events associated with the season.  Adequate protection for the coming winter storms that we will also experience requires preparing in advance for the effects of ice, snow and extreme cold.  "With the threat of snow, ice and severe cold now upon us, Pennsylvanians should prepare homes and vehicles with winter storm kits to assist their families in the event of a weather emergency," said PA's David Sanko.  "We all need to ensure that we're prepared to travel safely to our destinations or to alter our travel plans as needed. We need to travel … (0 comments)

BreakTime: Holiday Music Radio On The Internet - 04:37 PM
For those of you that can't get enough Christmas and Holiday music, here are resources for continous radio broadcasts of Christmas and Holiday music. Some stations broadcast seasonally, others broadcast year-round.Christmas Radio Stations - List of Christmas Music Radio Stations Live On the Internet.AccuHolidays - Choice of various styles of Christmas and Holiday Radio Stations from AccuRadio.Live365.com Internet Radio - Seasonal Holiday Music In Various Styles. (Alt. Link)All Christmas Radio - They play requests submitted online.Christmas Radio Network - Broadcast All Year - 365/24/7.CMT Holidays - Selected Holiday Music, Comedy, Videos, Links. CMT Christmas Radio - Various Country Styles.Web-Radio - Christmas … (0 comments)

A Little Slice of Holiday History! - 04:12 PM
Thanksgiving has passed and everywhere you turn now, signs of Christmas holidays are everywhere!!  The stores have had their Christmas decorations up for days now, some even weeks.  Around town, homeowners are putting up their Christmas decorations.  And reading Bonnie Erickson's post all got me to thinking about Christmas and then I remembered some friends of mine talking about fruitcake - making jokes about it actually.  And well, you can see where this is going.......
Did you know that fruitcake dates back to the Roman Empire???  Way back then, they mixed pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins into a barley mash.  That … (7 comments)

How to have an Appraiser On Call - 07:50 AM
Ray Saenz blogged this morning about appraisers and agents. Linda Davis pointed out that when she has a unique situation, she calls an appraiser to talk about it. So do I.
Then how do get an appraiser willing to take your call on a busy day, and spend a few minutes going over the issue you have - i.e., How would you appraise the wonderful finished space in the attic which has very little standupspace? We often have unique situation that will affect how we price the property for the market.
It's a case of What Goes Around, Comes Around.  We frequently get … (1 comments)

100,000 Points - 08:00 AM
This morning my points hit the 100,000 mark and I join the small group of insane bloggers who have spent this much time on ActiveRain.
Somehow I expected bells to ring and noises to start, just like the slot machines in Las Vegas. But it was just another day to the world. When I started I never would have dreamed of blogging and commenting this much - it just happened. But when I got close to the mark, I did watch for the next digit to hit. Can't spend them, can't fly with them. It's just another mark. Just like sales. I'm … (19 comments)

Boomer Nostalgia & Cyber Monday - 06:46 PM
Boomer Nostalgia - Happy Cyber Monday! The Monday after thanksgiving is the biggest internet shopping day of the year, dubbed cyber Monday. If you are a baby boomer, a person born between 1946 and 1964 your parents did not shop on the internet, but if they went to a toy store they may have purchased toys like these:
Ramblers that were built in the 40's, 50's and 60's are also still available.  Contact you local REALTOR and buy a little piece of nostalgia today! … (11 comments)

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