Archives of real estate blog entries for February 1, 2007 (Page 6)

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MLS Stats for Douglas County Homes that SOLD Jan 2007 - 11:12 PM
January 2007 brought the sale of 51 homes.  This is great information to know if you have a home for sale or homes for sale in Lawrence Kansas, Baldwin Kansas, or Eudora Kansas.  I calculated the following statistics for you:
Baldwin (4) average price $226,600
Eudora (0) average price $0 (I had closing on one in Eudora for $140,000) on the 29th of January but it won't fund until tomorrow morning.  It is pictured below and is not counted in January's stats.  I will have it for you in February.
NW Lawrence (18) average price $249,864
NE Lawrence (7) average price $160,914
SW Lawrence (11) average … (0 comments)

How To Become "The House Whisperer" - 06:37 AM
I would like to thank Lloyd Nichols who inspired me to write this post.  
"What's she doing?"  "I dunno"   "How long has she been there?"  "A long time"   "Well will you look at that!" The buyers are smiling.  "What did she say?"  "I dunno"   She is coming over..."Mr. and Mrs. Seller....you have an offer coming".  
In the Movie Robert Redford sat in the field all night. He never approached the unbroken horse. Remember? Eventually the horse came to him on his own terms. They formed a bond. It took the horse time to determine IF Redford could be trusted. Many had tried … (9 comments)

Hunters Crossing, Hunters Ridge - 01:57 PM
Papillion is located just south of the Omaha metro area in Sarpy County.  What's great about Papillion is it continues to have a small town feel with its downtown area and its weekly paper "The Papillion Times".  However, Papillion is growing with a great new Shadow Lake Towne Center mall (highway 370 and 72nd street) which opens in the Spring of 2007.  There are multiple subdivisions in the Papillion area including Eagle Hills, Eagles Crest, Tara Heights, Overland Hills, to name a few.  However, today I am going to focus on Hunters Crossing and Hunters Ridge.
Hunters Crossing and Hunters Ridge … (0 comments)

The Five Destructive Behaviors That Can Ruin Your Business - 05:10 AM
I recieved this article written by Don Schmincke and thought it would be a great reminder of how we can make a difference in this indusrty.
He states...
 For over seven hundred years, samurai warriors sought to discover principles for extraordinary leadership in a highly competitive environment. Today's business leaders are on a similar quest, seeking the "truths" of leadership that will propel their organizations to the top.
But while many modern leadership teachers focus on structure, processes, and procedures, the ancient samurais focused on the inner journey of enlightenment that drove them to achieve. Unfortunately, today's business schools, consultants, and books fail … (3 comments)

Massachusetts High End Real Estate is Moving! - 12:39 PM
Considering that the trend for home values on the Massachusetts North Shore real estate has been the lowering of prices for about 18 months, it is encouraging to note that a certain sector of the market is moving along at a steady pace. I'm talking about homes priced over $1 million.And in the "even higher" category of $2+ million homes, the news is even more exciting. In the towns of Beverly, Gloucester, Hamilton, Manchester, Rockport, and Wenham, 20 properties priced at $2 million or higher have sold or been put Under Agreement since September 1, 2006!Of these 40 transaction SIDES (there … (1 comments)

The FSBO Assistant - 02:13 PM
The FSBO AssistantGiving to Receive
One nice thing about For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes is that the owners advertise to the general populace, which makes them easy to find! You have their address in any ad they put out, which means you can do some extremely targeted marketing.Another important thing to know about these "do-it-yourself" types is that most of them fail in trying to sell their own homes, and end up needing the services of a Real Estate Agent. You just need to make sure you're the first agent on their mind!To that end, I recommend giving the FSBOs in … (0 comments)

Take Time Out for Planning - 02:15 PM
ON-TimeTake Time Out for Planning
Have you ever had days, weeks, or even months go by when you were frustrated in your work activities because you failed to implement the things that you know you need to do in order to be more successful? Perhaps you've taken pages and pages of great notes at seminars on the subject of how to improve your business, only to return to the office the next day and implement none of it. The reason this happens to people is because they lack a plan. More importantly, it happens because they are not practicing ON-Time.ON-Time is a … (0 comments)

I "Got Discovered" on AR Part 2-The TV Auditon - 10:58 AM
Monday was my interview/audition that I told y'all about here.
The interview took place at my house.  Prior to the Field Producers arrival my daughter (who was home sick from school) was very anxious for me.  She was surprised that I was so calm.  I assured her it was only on the outside.  The Field Producer, Tom, arrived at 3 and explained the entire interview process.  We began with a mock Home Staging consultation.  A friend came over, Kelly McColgan an agent with Shorewood, and pretended to be the Agent selling the house.  We went through rooms in my house and I … (35 comments)

New Hampshire...Apple picking time! - 08:08 PM
New Hampshire...Apple picking...Home Picking time!
Waiting for a good deal to come along before you make a decision to buy a house? 
Good news is that your wait may finally be over. It seems unlikely that interest rates are going to go down in the near future in fact they may increase by spring. Housing economists are saying we've bottomed but the most importantly it looks like other buyers are starting the home search ...our Internet stats show an increase in buyers searching on our web site. 
Traditionally Spring is when the market comes alive...but to capture and take advantage of the … (0 comments)

Try the garage out for size? - 06:19 PM
What do you do at a final walk through?In New Hampshire traditionally we have a final walk though prior to closing on a home. Many times this walk through happens before the house is empty and sometimes even during the confusion of the movers hauling furniture out.
Typically we have 48 hours prior to closing to have a satisfactory final walk through and it is always referenced in the purchase contract.
This particular home was due to close on a Friday afternoon and the walk through was scheduled right before the closing.
"At the final walk through everything looked good. All furnishings … (13 comments)

15 Deer Crossing, Seabrook, NH - 03:14 PM
… (1 comments)

Are There Not Positives In This Down Market? - 08:13 PM
I am so tired of some agents that I talk with who tell me that they expect this to be the worst year that they will experience during the past five or so. Continue … (0 comments)

A little bit about San Anselmo - 06:19 PM
San Anselmo is a town in Marin County which is just West of San Rafael, the County Seat.  This town was incorporated in 1907, after the 1906 earthquake and is home to the San Francisco Theological Seminary (which opened in 1890) and is considered the antique capital of Northern California.
San Anselmo Avenue is the downtown area and is home to several festivals as well as many wonderful restaurants like Comforts, Insalata's, Fork, Taco Janes and Cucina Jackson Fillmore.  There are also several good shops for clothing, jewelry, accessories, antiques--even a winery and automotive repair.  (Hey, it can be hard to find a … (0 comments)

A little bit about Larkspur - 07:03 PM
Larkspur is a small town in Marin County and it could be my favorite town in the County--for many reasons.  First, the location is so convenient.  You have easy freeway access to the Golden Gate Bridge, which takes you to San Francisco, as well as the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge, which takes you to the East Bay.  There is also the Larkspur Landing Ferry, if you don't want to drive into the City--and many people don't want to, especially if they can't find a place to park. 
Larkspur also enjoys great weather, benefitting from the cooling of the summer fog without actually being right … (2 comments)

A little bit about Mill Valley - 07:36 PM
Mill Valley is a small town in Southern Marin County, which is just North of Sausalito and at the foot of Mount Tamalpais.  (Sausalito is at the opposite end of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.)  Mill Valley got its name from back in the day when a saw mill was established in the center of downtown, which is now Old Mill Park.  Mill Valley was a natural place for this since it is abundant with redwood trees, including Muir Woods National Monument.
Mill Valley is home the Mill Valley Film Festival every October, and many celebrities on a daily basis (Sammy Hagar, … (0 comments)

The Waiting Game - 01:40 PM
I had my first listing presentation here about two weeks ago. They were trying to sell their home themselves. The husband called me and asked me to come to their home. I spent 12 out of the 28 hours between the call and the meeting going through comparables and getting ready. There weren't many comparable sales recently in their neighborhood. I was not happy with the numbers I was getting. I hadn't seen the home yet, but I just thought the amount was too high. 
After doing as many graph and charts as I could, I finally found a way to narrow … (2 comments)

Dog Houses - 08:36 AM
A family pet often represents a major challenge when a house is being marketed. Your family may call your large dog "Fido"--but your real estate agent calls him "Fang"! This is a sensitive issue for a real estate agent to communicate to sellers.Even though he is just doing "his job", a dog's bark will sound ferocious to anyone who is knocking at the door. This is usually a good thing, but when your home is on the market, real estate agents will be bringing a lot of strangers to the door. Most agents are concerned about the unpredictability of dogs they … (1 comments)

House Odors - 08:37 AM
What is "H.O."? You can probably guess--it means "home odors".Be careful of odors in your home. If your family room smells stuffy and stale, or if your cat or dog has left a distinctive odor in the hallway, take action by eliminating the source of the odor rather than merely treating the effects. Smells have a powerful effect on the way people react to a house, and no amount of room freshener or vanilla on the light bulbs can mask a serious odor problem. In fact, such remedies may draw attention to the problem. We have seen homes with an odor … (0 comments)

Buying Property to Build - 08:06 AM
The ideal piece of land cannot be purchased without due diligence. Say you notice a lot for sale in a suburban area that looks like a perfect place to build your dream home. Buying undeveloped land can provide an opportunity to build a house that will meet your needs, but you will need certain information before you sign on the dotted line. Most suburban areas have zoning regulations which govern the type of structure that can be erected, the dimensions, and even the material used on the exterior. Historic preservation groups work with builders in many areas to ensure that any … (0 comments)

Easements - 08:07 AM
Every property has some kind of easement--utility, water and sewer or driveway easements which give access to landlocked parcels. As a property owner, you may be affected by easements at some point.The easement in gross is the most common type of easement used by public utilities. These easements are often under or above the ground, so they do not consist of actual land. If a utility gains the right to an easement in gross over your land, it must pay you for the diminishment in value of your property.Easements by prescription become easements simply through unchallenged use by the landowner for … (3 comments)

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