Archives of real estate blog entries for December 30, 2006 (Page 8)

Blog posts


New Laws Affecting Real Estate - 06:33 AM
REVERSE MORTGAGES: This new law provides protection to consumers who obtain reverse mortgages. This law prohibits certain self-dealing activities by companies providing reverse mortgages, requires certain additional disclosures for reverse mortgages, and also requires a translation of the contract for a reverse mortgage to the language in which primarily negotiated.  This law requires lenders and mortgage broker to perform certain acts, and also prohibits certain practices when selling reverse mortgages. The provisions of this new law become effective on January 1, 2007. Source: Assembly Bill 1609.
California withholding tax alternative upon transfer:  This new law provides an alternative to the current California … (1 comments)

Real Estate Story - 06:37 AM
News over the last couple of months that prices on resold homes had fallen from their year-ago levels in many
parts of the country has not spooked many homeowners about the prospects for their own houses, a Pew
Research Center study shows. But that is not to say they haven't tempered their enthusiasm. Nearly half of
U.S. homeowners, 46%, say their home has increased in value "a lot" over the last few years. But only about
half of those homeowners think they'll get similar appreciation in the future. The bulk of homeowners overall,
55%, believe the value of their homes will … (0 comments)

Shopping for home in buyer's market - 06:39 AM
Shopping for homes in a buyer's market
It's no secret that the housing market finally, after a long while, belongs to the buyer. Home sales and prices
sagged in 2006, and 2007 is not expected to be too different. According to David Lereah, chief economist for the
National Association of Realtors, buyers have a "window of opportunity" in 2007 to take advantage of lower
mortgage interest rates and seller flexibility
… (1 comments)

Has Your Diligence Ever Killed a Deal? - 01:47 PM
Ardell DellaLoggia wrote a thought provoking blog this AM about deals falling apart. While I think it is rather unfair to play the blame game with your clients (and believe you/me, I have drawn flow charts to figure out who is lying in a transaction before!) - I believe it is unfair to continuously sell a bad deal to your clients.
In her blog I commented about my last year of bad escrows:
An investor who was purchasing a short sale condo which had title issues. Every day a new issue. My client got sick of saying he would "pick up" every … (4 comments)

Las Vegas: Here we Grow Again - oh wait! We never stopped! - 04:07 PM
Out with the old - in with the new! The state bird is the crane and not the feathered variety!
The Las Vegas Valley is running out of land so there is a new trend for housing (besides patio and apartment to condo conversions)
We are trending towards Vertical Living or "Manhattanization".
We are saying our bittersweet goodbyes to many "vintage properties" to be replaced by mega mega resorts. Not to be confused with mega resorts because those will soon be dwarfed! Vegas has done very well with anticipation of growth but I am a bit concerned about too much growth too quick … (5 comments)

Not everyone can see the benefit of staging - 10:00 AM
A home I had bid for a realtor, just sold. I did not stage it as the owners had decided against having the property professionally staged. They sold the home, after six months on the market but it sold for about $10,000 less than original listing and according to the realtor the final price was $5,000 less that if they had allowed me to stage it. Considering that I could have staged it for about $1500- they lost at least $3500 on the deal- more if you figure that those are tax free dollars. And if they would have had it … (15 comments)

The 80 - 20 Rule - 05:15 PM
Hello everyone, I know you know the 80 - 20 rule. In business it is 20% of your customers make you 80% of your profit. In Real Estate it is that 20% of the agents/Realtors are doing 80% of the business etc. While I know that this is not an exact science it seems to apply here as well. When I log in most days I see a lot of the faces that you see below. Could this mean the same here in Active Rain ? You know that 20% of the members are giving back 80% to this community. I would … (11 comments)

Organization or Office Motivation for 2007 - 05:31 PM
Hello all, I used to work for a company that closed the first three days of the new year. There was a mandatory work shop where we where all expected to create a strategic plan for the new year. Then during that year all reviews where measured against you and your stragic plan. So what is you office, Orginization or personally planning to do to kick off 2007 ? Do you do this on a regular basis ? let's Blog my office seems to lack in this area and I know I need to kick start my new year and not … (2 comments)

Blog and Website Content - 06:10 PM
Hello all, knowledge is a terrible thing to waste and in the hands of the wrong person, Look out. What I mean is I recently finished reading some posts about Blog and Website Content. In this post it stated that you always and it re-iterated ALWAYS must pepper you blogs and web site with real estate content. It stated that in this way the search engines would find us and that all illusive buyer would call and email and say those glorious words we all hold dear to our hearts "I want to buy this house". Just brings tears to my … (7 comments)

Who has great tips for the tax season? - 11:39 AM
Tax season has come upon us. I always love when my taxes are done early, how about you? What are some good tips for Realtors to remember when filing tax returns? I want to make sure I don't miss the mark. … (2 comments)

My Other Blog? - 09:28 AM
Question to all bloggers: Can we blog on two blogs with the same blog post? I have a blog on my website and I do not post to it that often. It is a home staging blog and I find it difficult to use its' narrowness. AR is fun because there are so many groups and ways to talk about everything even though it is still business oriented. Is it okay to duplicate my blog posts?

Stage It Forward! 
… (2 comments)

Chicken Soup for the Blogger? - 10:54 AM
As I am cruising around AR this morning before my house guests wake up, I stumble upon a group with a post about my mentor, Mark Victor Hansen, (co-author of all the Chicken Soup for the Soul books) and Blanca brought up a key point MVH makes in his teaching...ask, ask, ask, and ask, and my life passes in front of me, all the good stuff that has happened to me because of his teachings.
I met Mark Victor Hansen 22 years ago when he had only traveled 5 years on his current path. His claim to fame then was his involvement … (13 comments)

Step by Step: The Staging Process for Realtors - 02:21 PM
 
            
 
It seems there is a lack of information available to Realtors about how the process actually works.  It really is very simple, but lacking clarity on the Realtor's responsibilities may be what is holding some agents back from using the service.   Here is a simple outline that may help you navigate your way into adding a stager to your team:
 
1. Find a Stager.
2. Introduce the concept of Staging to your clients.
3. Set up a meeting with your client and the Stager.  They will determine what needs to happen next.
4. The Staging Consultation/Bid. 
5. Staging work is completed in a timely manner … (9 comments)

Do Something Different! - 02:14 PM
The other day, I was reminded of the old saying, "Keep doing what you're doing, and you'll keep getting what you're getting." Oh, how this applies to all of us!
Now that we've reached the end of 2006, we now have a vantage point from which we can really see what we accomplished this year. We have a full year's results to see "what we got with what we did."
The big question for each of us as the new year begins, is whether or not what we got in 2006 was all that we wanted. Did we get all that we wanted … (3 comments)

Lions and Tigers and Bears " OH MY" - 09:31 AM
Change the words to Websites, blogging, postcasts, "OH MY "
I have been spending alot of the holiday pondering these things. Everyone's opinion is appreciated.
1) Do I need a custom site ? Currently under Construction, basically for lead generation. Do I drop Number 1 Expert, I've had a thought to do that for a couple of years now.
2)I bought the recorder Mary McKnight recommended and the mic and have been getting familiar with the instructions. Now do I upload podcasts to I Tunes or go to a real estate specific place like 4MYSales.com ??
3) How many blogs is enough? I currently have … (8 comments)

"Them" - 01:17 PM
The image is a wedding photo of my maternal grandparents who immigrated to Baltimore from northern Europe.  They worked as transient farm laborers and toiled at other menial jobs to eventually purchase a town home in a community known as Fells Point.  Fells Point, adjacent to Baltimore's inner harbor, is now an expensive and trendy place to live.  At the age of 45, I am just two generations removed from this brave couple who ventured to America seeking the dream of opportunity and home ownership.  The buyers and sellers whose interests are served each day by real estate professionals are exactly … (3 comments)

How Much Is Your Blog Worth? - 09:46 AM
Dane Carlson has created a tool using Technorati's API to place a dollar figure on your blog. After you enter your url, it will give you code for a widget to place on your site. The value is created using the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal. According to the tool, ActiveRain's blog is worth $6,209.94. Seth Godin's is given a value of $3,325,705! My blog registers a paltry $3,387. … (1 comments)

Friends vs. Biker Friends - 08:23 PM
Friends vs. Biker Friends FRIENDS: Never ask for food BIKER FRIENDS: Are the reason you have no food. FRIENDS: Will say "hello"BIKER FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and a kiss. FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs. BIKER FRIENDS: Call your parents mom and dad. FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry. BIKER FRIENDS: Cry with you. FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave BIKER FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing and just being together FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back. BIKER FRIENDS: Keep your stuff so long they forget it's … (11 comments)

The Hamptons Real Estate Blog - 10:56 AM
is at
http://thehamptons.wordpress.com/
see you there!
Michael
… (1 comments)

Living In Coastal Volusia Or Flagler County, Florida IS Special - 07:22 AM
I see a lot of statistics and info on the blogs here in AR but I want to explain why living here on the East Coast of Florida can be so special. First off we have two huge NASCAR Races, the Daytona 500 and Pepsi 400 every year, the ROLEX 24, we have BIKEWEEK, Biketober Fest, and of course Spring Break all through March, and many other events through out the year.
Our Natural Special Events are even better tho....
In December the Manatee flock to a beautiful State Park called Blue Springs in Orange City by the hundreds to keep warm. It … (6 comments)

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