Archives of real estate blog entries for September 21, 2006 (Page 5)

Blog posts


Why do you work where you do? - 09:10 PM
Now that you have been associated with your agency for awhile take a moment and think.  Why do you work where you do?
I am still currently with the first agency I ever worked with.  I remember getting my license and being green as green could be.  Sure, I had worked in sales before but this was a whole new monster.
I liked what they were telling me.  I interviewed three companies before I signed on with this one.  I did it partially due to the fact that a lot of people who were in my broker class were already affiliated with them … (1 comments)

Quarter Baths - 12:12 PM
Eileen Landua had a post recently on how bathrooms are described in her MLS.  We probably all agree that MLS descriptions differ by area.  Some are more clear to the consumer than others.  Eileen's post reminded me of a showing experience I had.  The listing sheet described one full bath and one quarter bath.  My clients of course questioned what a quarter bath was.  I prepped them that most often in a house this age it will be a toilet sitting in the middle of the basement without walls.  We checked the house out.  It was a poorly done rehab and … (3 comments)

Better than a gold star!! - 03:47 PM
I'd been feeling kind of crummy today.  Lipnitz and I are both coming down with colds. I just had to tell a client that she wants about $200k too much for her lovely home.  The cold tablets are making me feel pretty spacy.
An hour ago, I received a delivery of a BIG box of cookies, brownies and other yummies from a lovely client. She closed on a house on Tuesday and is getting the keys today.  I have to tell you, it makes me feel so appreciated!  She was truly a joy to help, which makes it even better.
Then, just … (11 comments)

Helpful sites when relocating to Portland Oregon - 05:48 PM
 
Here are some helpful links for those that are looking to make a move to Porltand Oregon, I will update it as I find more.
Looking for a real estate agent? Contact me.
The City of Portland
The Oregon Story
Where is Portland in Oregon?
Portland Maps
Sites of Interest
Portland Saturday Market
The Oregon Zoo
OMSI
Port of Portland
Portland Info
SBA OREGON This site is very useful if you are looking to start a business in oregon.
Bluesfest on the waterfront
Portland Bands    Portand Bands II
Mt hood Jazz fest
Neighborhood Links
Climate Information
ART! First thursday art run
Art on Alberta
ReBuilding Center 
Volcanos in Portland
Portland Parks and Recreation
Snow/Ski Report    … (3 comments)

ARM's Good or Bad? - 01:20 PM
I have some concerns regarding loans and what to expect when helping first time home buyers (or anyone for that matter) get into a home. I have noticed flyers in my mailbox and advertisements on the Internet about being able to still find a sub-prime loan. This worries me a little.
Let’s face it, house prices are unreasonably high in a lot of the urban and cosmopolitan areas in the US right now. Most people want more home than they can qualify for. So it’s understandable that people believe a lender when they tell us about a great program with zero down and … (2 comments)

Get your head out of the clouds! - 12:32 AM
And into Active Rain!  I noticed that most of the same people post blogs over and over again. is it that they have much to offer? Is it that they have nothing better to do? hmmmmm....maybe they are like me and can't sleep at night knowing there might be just someone out there that might read this BLOG?
Well, I have decided to make it interesting tonight.  I have decided to recruit the assistance of others within my Real Estate network to see how well this actually works.
I have a website. It is www.arizonahousetohome.com   I would like to put some spice into … (11 comments)

Hey good looking, whatcha got cooking? - 01:53 AM
 
   OK.....got me thinkin'!
Since the girls got me thinking and hungry. ( Sara and D-A-R-L-E-N-E ) I was thinking of possibly holding a Chili Cook Off in my neighborhood and offering a Grand prize. ( More than $1.72 and a ball of lint)  Has anyone ever done this before? What kind of turn out did you receive? I was thinking of possibly a chili cook off or Best Grill Creation for a prize of $500.00 to be held in the beginning of December. It would be a nice prize for someone to help out with X-mas gifts. Any suggestions?
George Galvan  www.arizonahousetohome.com … (10 comments)

Content is King--Even if It's Haunted - 09:18 AM
Two weeks ago, I wrote about surrendering much of my website work to a talented virual assistant. It turns out she is an animal with search engine optimization, understands how to tweak things I could only imagine and has ideas I had never considered. For a brief period, I thought I would have more time to play this fall.
That is not to be. I received my homework assignment from Jennifer two days ago, and must supply content--lots of original content--to further flesh out the website. This is not a revelation of any sort, because I have long known that bots and spiders have … (7 comments)

Trulia Goes Big Time - 10:23 AM
Trulia is now almost a year old, and has announced its coverage for all 50 states, covering 60 million homes. What is additionally interesting is that the site will be adding heat maps to reflect community real estate activity and is aiming for market analysis and visualization.
Mary Gannes wrote about Trulia in gigaom.com this morning and reports that Trulia is driving around 750,000 visitors per month to broker and agent sites--  representing a 60 percent month-over month increase for the last four months. I know that Trulia works, and have seen an increasing number of visits to our site originating from www.Trulia.com.And … (15 comments)

Quirky Search Terms - 11:25 AM
Bob Pavey asked in my earlier blog how our website ranked for area searches. I responded that search term ranking is a lot like juggling and it depends upon the search term and the search engine. I also wish that every term for every city or community or neighborhood or home could lead to me. That, regrettably, will never be.
But sometimes, visitors land on our site using some pretty strange search terms. We use Advanced Access, because it is robust and allows for some pretty cool web statistics and search minutiae. Once in awhile, I browse search terms to see what lead a … (6 comments)

When Backing Up is Hard to Do - 11:30 PM

When it comes to backing up computer files it seems that Murphy's Law is the law of the land.
Recently, my brother-in-law went through a crisis of losing most of his personal data due to a hard drive crash.  The irony of it all is that this occurred soon after he had purchased an external hard drive and attempted to begin the very process of data backup.  Somehow, the hard drive became corrupted.  In his case, he was able to recover about 90% of his files by removing the drive from the original computer and installing it in his second computer and … (2 comments)

Free Online Courses - HP Learning Center - 07:52 AM
This one is for any of you who have struggled with technology and software issues. The HP Learning Center offers FREE online courses, some of which are ideal for real estate agents and/or their assistants.  I've taken several of these courses over the years and have found them to be helpful.  Most classes are about 6 weeks long, but they also offer a few that are "quick lessons".  They even allow you to sign up to be notified whenever one of the courses you'd like to take will be offered.  Upon completion of each course they provide you with a certificate in PDF … (18 comments)

Saints return to New Orleans - 04:16 PM
This Monday night, the New Orleans Saints return to the Louisiana Superdome for their first regular-season home game since Hurricane Katrina. Excitement is high as the 2-0 Saints take the field against the Atlanta Falcons. Season tickets are sold out, and fans are eager to see the results of the $185 million renovations. 
As we tune in and celebrate with the Saints organization and the City of New Orleans, let's not forget how much more still needs to be done in the recovery effort. Don't forget about the Lower 9th, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and other devastated residential areas. ESPN's Joe Theismann … (4 comments)

Setting the list price in a declining market - 11:33 PM
My Keller Williams office in Henderson, NV is fortunate to have JC Melvin as our team leader. JC is a nationally-recognized trainer and 25-year veteran in real estate. Today he gave us some tips on how to use exaggeration and avoid an overpriced listing.
Let's say that all of your CMA data points to the home selling somewhere in the $375,000 - $390,000 range. Based on that and the seller's current mortgage, you estimate that they'll net about $220,000. Here's how the conversation goes:
Agent:  Mr. and Mrs. Seller, based on what's happening in the market today, it looks like your home will sell … (3 comments)

Real Estate 101a - What is a 'Bedroom?' - 02:20 PM
Welcome!  This is a series of articles that I've cooked up to describe the basic terms that appear in Real Estate transactions. 
Recently, I had new 'first time' buyers that I took out on a tour to show properties... and I realized that most of the common terms that we take for granted are... well, unclear to most first time buyers!
Disclaimer: All of the stuff that follows is according to Washington State Real Estate law, rules, and practices and etc.  Other states may have their own interpretation of this and similar terms.  Right?  Right.
So for this installment of Real Estate 101: … (11 comments)

The AR...Rain Speak...Cheat Sheet...Revised And Linked...To You...ROAR! - 10:25 AM
The “Official Active Rain Speak Cheat Sheet” has been revised and now contains what we call the “The Raintributions” that we received from Active Rain Members. All Raintributions have been placed on the “Rain Speak Cheat Sheet” accompanied by Links to the creative members who participated in this project.
We thank “The Real Estate Tomato”…Margaret Rome…Craig Schiller…John Novak…Karen Hurst…Jay and Francy Thompson. Who else? Well you’ll just have to follow the Link to find out. It will take you right to the Revised Version of “The Official Active Rain Speak…Cheat Sheet” and the People who thought this stuff up.
We apologize … (2 comments)

Make LAZY Buyer's Agents your Friends - 07:26 PM
I have news for you out there.....THE MARKET HAS SHIFTED !!!!!   It's no longer a seller's market.  Listing agents that are unwilling to go the extra mile will perish.  The buyers' agents have the control; just like listings' agents had control two years ago.
If you want to effectively CLOSE a deal, you're going to have to make it easy for LAZY buyers' agents to get buyers into your properties. 
Let me offer a few suggestions:
READ MY SUGGESTIONS 
… (18 comments)

A Restful Night Sleep-Plan Plan Plan! - 09:52 AM
I figured out the key to a restful night sleep! I usually get a great night of restful sleep so when I don’t, I analyze why! Here’s what I came up with:
1)  Always make a list of things to do before you go to sleep. This way you won’t stay up and worry about what you need to accomplish the next day.  Also review your schedule for the following day so you won’t toss and turn worrying about where you need to be and when!
2)  Don’t eat heavy foods and don’t eat after 7pm
3)  Pee before you get into bed!
4)  Don’t … (6 comments)

Whip it Out! - 10:33 AM
I run a lot of listing appointments. I get most of them.  On occasion I don’t go for the close.  I know I should be whipping out the listing agreement and asking for the order but sometimes I’m just not up for it!  I want the listing but I just don’t make the effort to close. When I get an objection like “Ok, everything sounds good. We’ll review what you leave and call you in a day or so” I usually press for the close but not always.  Sometimes I just say “Ok, let me know.”  Maybe it’s over confidence.  Maybe … (8 comments)

Put Your Hands in the Air! Give Me All Your Money! - 06:15 PM
I’ve never been a deposit Nazi! Unless the escrow deposit is completely ridiculous, like $500 or $1000, I usually don’t recommend to my clients that they counter.  I do, however, explain that it’s usually difficult to keep a deposit. The buyer just needs to back out by following the contract contingencies and avail themselves of one.
  The problem is that lately I’ve had a rash of deals going bad after numerous extensions.   I represent the sellers. Other agents represent the buyers.  The most recent disaster happened last Friday after a month of delays on the buyer's behalf.  At the closing, the husband was … (2 comments)

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