Archives of real estate blog entries for January 30, 2008 (Page 1)

Blog posts


ActiveRain business insight - Tribe Management - 07:05 PM
I used to get asked all the time, "How is ActiveRain going to make money?".  However, since the HouseValues investment things have slightly changed; now everyone is eager to tell me how ActiveRain is going to make money. 
The funny thing is that most people's understanding of ActiveRain's value proposition is wrong. Most people tell me that the value of ActiveRain is in our member's content. That is false. Although the content on ActiveRain is valuable to it's members, I do not view it as a primary value to ActiveRain Corp. At least in the sense that none of our planned revenue … (25 comments)

Mortgage rates and rocket science - 09:07 PM
I am not a financial markets expert, nor a rocket scientist, so please take my observations on this post with a grain of salt.
It seems to me like the blue line (30yr fixed rate) follows the direction of the green line (Fed Discount Rate). I believe The Experts claim that the opposite is usually true, but I am not convinced. If my hunch is correct we may be seeing the blue line go even lower since the green line just dropped to 3%.
Refi boom anyone?
(My other hunch is that I will be blasted in the comments of this post … (25 comments)

Newport Hills-More Than a Great Investment, it’s a Great Education! - 11:00 AM
Don't just invest in a home, invest in your child's future. While property in Bellevue doesn't come cheaply, you may get an even greater return for your investment dollar than you realize. Newport Hills (Home to Newport High School) was ranked the #1 Suburban Neighborhood (out of the 98 reviewed) to live in by Seattle Magazine in 2007. Neighborhoods that rank high by the magazine have a lower median price and cost per square foot, a significant increase in median price, low crime rate, high number of students passing the WASL, park acreage nearby, shorter commute times, and higher racial diversity. … (3 comments)

Memorex....No Longer..Real Estate Professional Yes! - 07:01 AM
When I was growing up with my four brothers...they had two names for me...One of them was memorex...that's right like the cassette...I can rehash and relive anything...my memory has been incredible my whole life...or at least that is what I thought.

I have always been trained in my careers to carry notepads and to keep a to do list, often times I did but for many years it was not necessary...I could store bank balances in my head....appointments....to dos...even recipe's..I could go on and on...in my mind there was info stored... At the end of 2007 I swore...I would write things … (13 comments)

Panama City International Airport - We're almost a go for construction! - 08:22 AM
I meant to post this the other day and just got too busy to post...
I've just received this excellent news from the Bay chamber of commerce...
Today, Jan. 28th, the Panama City/Bay County International Airport announced the stay on construction for the new airport has been lifted by the US Court of Appeals. The Next step is in the hands of the Army Corp of Engineers to lift their suspension.
The Airport also announced US Air will begin servicing Panama City in April.
We're once again on track!
This is the best news we could possibly have for the residents of Bay County Florida.
Buyers … (0 comments)

OPEN HOUSE Sat 2/2/08 Vacaville, CA - 05:54 PM
 
What? Open House Saturday 2/2 11:00am - 2:00
Where? 642 Arcadia Dr. Vacaville, CA 95687
Why?
This almost 1000sf condo (largest floorplan in the complex) includes:
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom with 2 private vanity areas.2 Balconies, one off of the master bedroom!Large living space open to the eating area and kitchen.GRANITE countertops in both the kitchen and bathroom vanities.Roomy kitchen has lots of counter space for spreading out.Upstairs unit means you won't hear your neighbor walking over your head!Unit is close to parking, clubhouse, tennis court, community pool, playground, mail...and did I mention a FREE work out room for residents?Complex is centrally located with both shopping … (0 comments)

OPEN HOUSE Sat 2/2/08 Vacaville, CA - 05:56 PM
What? Open House Saturday 2/2 11:00am - 2:00
Where? 642 Arcadia Dr. Vacaville, CA 95687
Why?
This almost 1000sf condo (largest floorplan in the complex) includes:
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom with 2 private vanity areas. 2 Balconies, one off of the master bedroom! Large living space open to the eating area and kitchen. GRANITE countertops in both the kitchen and bathroom vanities. Roomy kitchen has lots of counter space for spreading out. Upstairs unit means you won't hear your neighbor walking over your head! Unit is close to parking, clubhouse, tennis court, community pool, playground, mail...and did I mention a FREE work out room for residents? … (0 comments)

642 Arcadia Dr. Vacaville, CA 95687 - 05:59 PM
 642 Arcadia Dr. Vacaville, CA 95687
This almost 1000sf condo (largest floorplan in the complex) includes:
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom with 2 private vanity areas. 2 Balconies, one off of the master bedroom! Large living space open to the eating area and kitchen. GRANITE countertops in both the kitchen and bathroom vanities. Roomy kitchen has lots of counter space for spreading out. Upstairs unit means you won't hear your neighbor walking over your head! Unit is close to parking, clubhouse, tennis court, community pool, playground, mail...and did I mention a FREE work out room for residents? Complex is centrally located with both shopping and … (4 comments)

Homeowners Insurance: 12 Tips for Lowering Your Premiums - 06:16 AM
You can save money on homeowners insurance if you know how. Discounts from your insurance company are available for a variety of reasons, ranging from the type of building material used to build your home to how close you live to a fire station. Here are 12 tips from Insure.com to help you save money on your homeowners policy:
Shop around. Check with several different insurance companies to get rate quotes. Do your friends or family members like their insurance company? Get online quotes from sites like MSN Money.
Raise your deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss … (2 comments)

Torched House Trend: Arson Added to Mortgage Meltdown? - 06:25 AM
    Arson is nothing new in Detroit. It's a time-honored weapon of the angry, vengeful, distressed and dispossessed in a city that gets hurt harder and sooner than others, making it a perfect place to spot early evidence of stress from the real-estate meltdown.
The Detroit Fire Department can't draw a definitive link between its rising arson rate (151 arrest warrants in 2007), rising foreclosures (up more than 65% last year) and falling housing prices (the region's median house price dropped 17.3% in the past four years, to $145,173).
But Capt. Steve Varnas of the department's arson section says he sees a connection: … (3 comments)

Newmark Homes files Chapter 11- Holding their head above water - 04:57 PM

 
Another builder is in over their heads!!  Newmark's parent company in Houston, Tousa, filed Chapter 11 with "plans to fix its balance sheet."
Newmark isn't a large builder in Dallas, but they're definitely one of the larger medium builders and have 27 communities throughout Dallas and Ft Worth.  When Newmark combines with one of their sister companies, they are ranked number 10 among closings in the last Chronicle 100 survey.
They had already reduced their staff down from 3200 to less than 1400... I wonder how many communities are not manned with onsite sales reps anymore.  It's such a pain to have to … (5 comments)

Fort Myers Beach " OPEN HOUSE" Thursday Jan 30, 2008 9 AM Reduced $100k - 01:42 PM
"OPEN HOUSE"     Thursday Jan 28,   2008     9  AM      Reduced $100k
 Wouldn't this put a smile on her face !
Gorgeous 3/2 direct Gulf front home. Totally decorator furnished home.  I will be hosting this Thursday starting at 9  AM .  If you have been looking for a move-in ready beach front this is it.   If you are on Fort Myers Beach  Thursday  morning  stop in and and say " HI".  This beautiful home is a real charmer with light. bright beachy colors and decorator upgrades. Furnished and ready for you to move in !  Just reduced $100k to $1,695,000 .   Call me direct for additional details on ownership opportunities. Bill Gillhespy   239   699-7128  … (1 comments)

Cool Tools: Hex Color Code Chart & Generator - 07:53 AM
If you spend any time playing with blog or website design, you may have the need to find the color HEX CODE to match a particular color in a design scheme ....
This little tool located here: http://www.2createawebsite.com/build/hex-colors.html  can make the job quick and painless.
Here's how to use it.
First drag the slider under "hue" until it is in the general color range you need. 
Then double click in the large box under "Brightness/Saturation".  Begin dragging the cursor around inside the box.  Upward and towards the left for lighter, downward and towards the right for darker.  As you do this, watch the box labeled "Swatch". 
When … (8 comments)

Congratulations Bonnie Erickson! - 08:31 AM
Hey, look at that!
Real Estate Blogger and Active Rain Member Bonnie Erickson is today's TYPEPAD FEATURED SITE
Way to go, Bonnie!  Good job!  Ya thinki if I type "YAY!" enough times, this post will count for points?  :-)
Okay.  I can't control myself:  YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!
… (12 comments)

GEORGIA AGENT ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 10:34 AM
… (0 comments)

Remember the Blizzard of 77? - 07:55 AM
A little Western New York History for the day.  Thirty one years ago the blizzard of 77 hit..  People helped each other during this time.  I remember complete strangers were welcomed into our home and we weathered the storm together.  
Read Also: WNY Winter Driving Tips  
Stay warm in Niagara & Erie county!  With the terrible weather today in Western NY I had to share the video.....  It could be worse today!

Here are a couple of resources to find that answer do we have to get out of bed or is it a snow day:
NBC - WGRZ Closing CentralBuffalo Weather … (0 comments)

February Writing Ideas - 03:07 PM
Here are my idea generators for February:
Things that you can write about in February:
African American History Month (Black History Month) American Hearth Month   http://www.americanheart.org/ American History Month - National Society of Daughters of the American RevolutionBake For Family Fun Month - www.aeb.org/kidsandfamily/bake_for_family_fun_month.html Cherry Month - www.theproducebin.com/national.htm Children's Dental Health Month (National) - American Dental Association Chocolate Month - Write about you local candy shops!Creative Romance Month Friendship Month Potato Lovers Month: www.theproducebin.com/national.htm Responsible Pet Owner Month - http://www.aspca.org/Weekly Occurrences:
First Week of February:  National Consumer Protection Week is observed to highlight consumer protection and education efforts around the country:  www.consumer.gov/ncpw.  It is also School Counselors … (0 comments)

"It's a great time to buy Real Estate!" The consumer responds. Are you listening? - 01:45 AM
 
Hi folks. I wrote a post last week titled "Now is a GREAT time to buy Real Estate! Or is it?" In that post I was pointing out how our local board(and now FAR) are asking us to advertise "Now is a great time to buy Real Estate." My thoughts were and are that this is actually being less than honest and I do not agree with this type of advertising. Pop over and read the post if you haven't already.
Anyway, I've had quite a few consumers who have read and left their opinions on that post. Here are … (75 comments)

And Now for Something Completely Different - Synths - 07:59 PM
I write a lot about real estate. But every once in awhile I like to mix things up. So here is something completely different. Dont worry we will be returning to real estate shortly.
One of the most overlooked and powerful tools for creating percussion sounds in this modern age of soft samplers, emulators, and other sophisticated tools is the humble subtractive analog synthesizer. Learning how to generate exciting drum sounds also takes a lot of the mystery out of creating other percussive sounds, such as basses and plucked-string type sounds, as well as providing an exciting way to personalize your … (0 comments)

GOOGLE Fight******** - 12:37 AM
If you have never checked out "googlefight.com" it's kind of fun & be careful, it becomes addictive too!  Just check out www.googlefight.com and type in anything vs. anything & it will show you the number of associated items on the WWW for each.  For instance:  Ford vs. Chevrolet, or REMAX vs. Coldwell Banker.  It's more or less a popularity contest, but it's kind of fun when you type in things like "my dad vs. your dad".
Just a little fun research.  I hope you enjoy!  Whenever you know of anyone looking to buy or sell Idaho Real Estate, please send them my way … (13 comments)

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