Archives of real estate blog entries for August 14, 2007 (Page 3)

Blog posts


Life's Journey - 06:42 PM
 
Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.Only you know what is best for you.Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all of the days of your life.Do not give up … (2 comments)

Do NOT Buy Property In Your LLC, Title In In Your LLC, or QC It To Your LLC (Seasoning) - 03:52 PM
Unless you have no intention of getting any good financing options in the near future. First you need to understand some things: gurus tell you to title your property in your LLC to provide some added fiscal protection - gurus rarely if ever truly understand or are experts in the banking and finance end of investing. Furthermore check with your attorney on the type of LLC you have and who the members are - it may not be protecting you as much as you believe.
Titling your property in your LLC shows a nasty face when you try to refinance and even … (7 comments)

Do NOT Buy Property In Your LLC, Title In In Your LLC, or QC It To Your LLC (Seasoning) - 04:13 PM
Thank you for the invitation James!
Unless you have no intention of getting any good financing options in the near future. First you need to understand some things: gurus tell you to title your property in your LLC to provide some added fiscal protection - gurus rarely if ever truly understand or are experts in the banking and finance end of investing. Furthermore check with your attorney on the type of LLC you have and who the members are - it may not be protecting you as much as you believe.
Titling your property in your LLC shows a nasty face when you … (0 comments)

A Stranger in a Strange Land - 06:49 PM
We spent the last week in Portland, Oregon. A lovely city overflowing with flowers and gardens. We visited the Japanese Gardens, The Rose Gardens, The Chinese Gardens and viewed more gardens at the fish hatchery along the Columbia River.
Now, I've never been to Portland and didn't know what to expect. But, in my new rental Lucerne (nice car), I started driving around. And, yes, I had a detailed map...just in case. But, Portland is much smaller than the Chicago Metro area. And, the River divides east and west so that makes it kinda easy. And, for the most part the streets … (6 comments)

Cumberland County Fair - 01:50 PM
Join us at the 2007 Cumberland County Fair on August 16-25 at the fairgrounds. All of the exhibits will be open daily.
Thursday, August 14 from 2:00-7:00pm the entries will be taken for Adults and Youth in all categories EXCEPT: Baking, Flowers, Poultry, Rabbits, Woodcarving and Crops.
Friday, August 15 from 2:00-7:00pm entries will be taken for poultry & Rabbits & Youth and Adult entries will be taken for Baking, Flowers, Woodcarving and Crops.
3:00pm is the Pretty Baby Contest and the Tiny Tot contest.
The Midway opens at 5:00pm
Come Celebrate With All Your Family and Friends!
… (2 comments)

Lake Tansi Community Association to Meet - 03:17 PM
The Lake Tansi Community Association will meet on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 6:00pm at the Thunderbird Recreation Center. All of the members get together with everyone bringing a covered dish to share.
The monthly meeting features a guest speaker and this month Kristin Rosecrant of Rosecrant's Recycling will present the program.
The theme for this month's meeting will be "School Days". Many of the student's at Brown Elementary School are in need of school supplies. It is suggested that everyone bring some school supplies to decorate their table and then we will donate this items to the school.
If you are not a member, … (0 comments)

Mortgage Basics: Should You Buy or Rent in Ann Arbor? - 12:49 PM
If you want to be on national TV show House Hunters for ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, you can be featured on HGTV if you buy a home in the next couple of weeks with Kathy Toth & Team, Ann Arbor, Michigan.Mortgage Basics: Should You Buy or Rent? - Nearly everyone dreams of owning their own home. But can you afford the house and all of the expenses associated with it?Kathy Toth & Teamhttp://www.kathytoth.com/ … (1 comments)

My New Sun City Home for Sale - 01:47 AM
19826 N. 101 Ave, Sun City AZ. 85373
This is perfect for the home decorator. It is a one owner home, impeccably maintained since it was built. Mr and Mrs Clean lived here.
The home features 2 bedrooms and 1.75 baths with formal dining. Located on a quiet cul-de-sac in Sun City's desiraable phase 3 neighborhood, it is convenient to shopping, freeways, medical care. Minutes away from Phoenix Arizona.
In the spring, take your choice of pro baseball teams. It is located near spring training facilities for the Padres, Mariners, Royals and Rangers. Soon to come will be the Dodgers. It is also near … (1 comments)

Lawrence Welk and the Housing Mess - 06:16 PM
Those of my age had to watch LW every Saturday Night, because our parents did. Those a little older watched because they liked it. I did fall in love with the Lennon Sisters, however.
Today's Inman Real Estate news has a good article about the state of affairs in housing today. See it here.  It relates our current woes to divorce rate, subprime borrowers and super sized homes (McMansions) It also said"The middle class imagined it was richer than it was. Like private equity funds, homeowners borrowed cheap, realized fantastical leverage, and lived large. Many did not plan an exit strategy -- … (5 comments)

CMA verses Appraisal - 09:56 PM
 
I found this video on YouTube and thought it was interesting... Especially the opinion that a CMA uses emotion while an appraisal is black & white. 
Yes, we as Appraiser's are not supposed to judge on decor or personal taste, however we are supposed to note if the house smelled of cat urine, shows wear and tear (and in some crazy cases, mention whether the walls are any other color than white) etc.  ... But I have seen several CMA's and never was emotion part of the factor... in fact nearly all of them showed nothing more than black & white tax sheets with no detail … (5 comments)

Still found on the internet after all these years - 10:33 PM
When I first got started in real estate 5 1/2 years ago, I affiliated with a small local brokerage.  A friend of mine was the broker and had been in the business for over 30 years and encouraged me to join.  So I thought that when I got started, I'd be getting lots of personal attention, working directly with the broker, and learning a lot.  Unfortunately, it quickly dawned on me that I was learning much more on my own than I was learning from the broker.
Whether it was classes at the local association, outside reading, or my own explorations on … (10 comments)

Ocala Florida Homes For Sale @ Majestic Oaks - 11:49 AM
… (0 comments)

I Got Rained On Today - 12:17 AM
Yes I got rained on today not once but three times and it feels good!
The simplest to explain was a letter from a fellow rainer who I'd lost track of, I responded and he did too. Three simple and short letters, but two of us feeling better, a good start to my day.
The second came as a real surprise, a new AR commercial real estate broker. I'll past in the letter.
"Bill,I saw your post on ActiveRain. Do you remember American Mortgage Network in Reno with Jerry ...?We were there together about 20 years ago.Reminiscingly, Jim Walker"
I responded, unfortunatly I didn't … (2 comments)

Cal Ripken -- Public Diplomacy Envoy??? - 08:41 AM
Cal Ripken is now working for the State Department. 
He is serving as Public Diplomacy Envoy (good will ambassador) --something surely by the US.  Cal was just inducted into MLB's Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 with Tony Gwynn.  Both were great players and probably better people off the field.
 
 
 
 
Now keep in mind, I am a Cal Fan.   I first met him as a high senior attending a sports banquet and also crossed paths with him on the sidelines of Terp football games.
Beisbol is not very popular outside of the states.  What is the most popular global sport?    SOCCER!
Would … (5 comments)

Learning Active Rain - 06:06 PM
Since I had some time today, I decided to spend some time learning how to work Active Rain.  I spent most of the day redesigning my profile page http://activerain.com/naplesbuys Feel free to let me know your opinions on it.
The response in views and clicks on my 700 Lambiance Cir #204 unit amazed me.  Could it be all those photos I included about it in my blog?  I have a slide show on my web site http://www.naplesbuys.com/lamb10.htmabout this same unit and I haven't had the response that I had with my blog entry!
I guessed all those photos of the beautiful area that … (0 comments)

Beverly Hills Rocks with Mortgage Fraud - 09:52 AM
Luxury real estate circles are abuzz with the latest report that two top producing Beverly Hills agents have been indicted for their alleged participation in a mortgage fraud scheme. The LA Daily News reports that Joseph Babajian and Kyle Grasso have been suspended by Prudential California Realty, and are under orders not to conduct any real estate business until federal charges against them have been resolved. Both men deny any wrongdoing in the charges leveled against them, which reportedly include multiple counts of conspiracy, bank fraud and loan fraud. Included in the the indictment are two licensed appraisers.
According to RISMedia, … (11 comments)

No More Smoking in Northport, Alabama - 11:40 AM

Got the urge to smoke inside a public place in Northport, Alabama?  Well, you better get used to going outside.  The Northport City Council adopted a smoking ban in most public places.  The vote was unanimous.
The ban includes restaurants, stores, government buildings, and buses.  If an establishment that gets more profits from alcohol than food then you can light one up inside, i.e., a bar.
I used to think that this was a right of citizens, but after leaving a public place smelling like an ashtray, I say to the inside smokers..."take it outside!"  If you want to smoke, smoke, but the … (4 comments)

All Day I Face The Barren Waste... - 11:50 AM

In case you didn't recognize the title of this blog, it's from a Marty Robbin's song, Water.  I really like that song, but if you live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama right now, you might want to turn the old sprinkler off for a while.
The Mayor of Tuscaloosa, Walt Maddox, said the water tank near the North River area had dropped to less than 25% of it's capacity, prompting the mayor to ask North of the River residents to cut off the water use, or at least curtail it a bit.
If you live north of the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa, the city … (2 comments)

The Subprime SQUEEZE is on. - 12:01 PM

I'm not sure that the title of this blog shouldn't be, "Another One Bites the Dust."  I just heard about more mortgage lenders "biting the dust," this week.
It appears that a majority of our nation's banks have tightened the lending standards on subprime mortgages, again. Will it affect our beloved buyers?  Maybe.
Back in 1996, I was in the mortgage business and most of the mortgage lending was conventional (5% - 20% down), FHA, and Veteran Administration lending.  They say what comes around goes around, and here we are eleven years later and the mortgage lenders are back to the "old" ways.  Traditional lending … (4 comments)

I just SOLD the Lowest Price Gulf Access Home in Cape Coral - 01:38 PM
Just came back from the closing...... It truly is a Great time to buy in Cape Coral, Florida. Who would have thought that we would see prices like this again??
I represented the Buyers in this transaction and I would like to thank Chris Cheney from Sellstate for being Professional and allowing this Deal to come to a close with no bumps in the road.
I would also like to make mention that we went under contact with this home on August 3rd and it closed in 11 Days. Thanks to a Great Lender in Jay Beckingham.
Buyers, now is the time, there are … (3 comments)

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