Archives of real estate blog entries for December 28, 2008 (Page 4)

Blog posts


A Long Time Ago and Far Far Away... - 08:20 PM
Sounds like the start of a great movie, doesn't it?
Sorry to disappoint, but it's only a bit of history here. Interesting, perhaps.
A package arrived in the mail a week ago from my Mom on the East coast...an assortment of Christmas gifts and a brown envelope with some old photos. Seems she had been cleaning out some boxes and going through a ton of photos and sent some along that she thought would be of interest.
I might even be inspired to share some, at least those that are of the non-embarrassing sort. More on that later.
What was of … (18 comments)

Comparative Market Analyses OK for Asheville's GREEN Residential Properties? - 10:25 AM
The Eco Certified ® Real Estate Consultants at our Buyers' Brokerage here in Asheville often get requests to perform comparative market analyses for our clients (and prospective clients).  
It seems our Buyers understand that GREEN factors can increase the value of a property. And they are correct! Features (see list below) such as those in the green-built home shown in my photo here do enhance the value of a residential property.

GREEN FEATURES
Lower operating costs - Lower utility bills for heating and cooling Increased comfort - Improved indoor air quality Creating lasting value - Third party review Building with … (3 comments)

If You're Using An Assistant To Help With Your BPO Orders, You Must Read This - 10:29 AM
Interesting information on BPOs you might find of value. Please be SURE to read the article I wrote on state laws concerning CMAs and BPOs  that follows.
Via Nicole Ocean (nicolesdreams eBooks):
In the not too distant past, I too have been guilty of using multiple assistants to help me with my BPO orders. My BPO team consisted of this: two people to help me do the data entry side of the BPO orders, with one of my teammates helping by taking photos in a nearby county which was about 30 miles from where I covered. This helped me to expand the territory that … (2 comments)

BPO Agents Beware - 10:32 AM
I subscribe to Roberta's BLOG for many reasons. One of them is the excellent information she provides as seen in the "reBLOG" that follows. I have been doing research in this area of expertise and have discovered interesting information on BPOs you might find of value. Please be SURE to read the article I wrote on state laws concerning CMAs and BPOs  that follows later on this page.

Via Roberta Murphy - Carlsbad Real Estate North County San Diego Realtor (San Diego Previews * Previews Luxury Real Estate):
The world of short sales and REO's is not without its predators in … (3 comments)

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) from the Pet-Friendly Perspective - 12:02 PM
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) from the Pet-Friendly Perspective. Interesting! Could  indoor air quality be of concern for your Pet?
Here in Asheville, we have been looking into that. Both as pet-friendly REALTORS® and pet-lovers, we  realized that this could be an important issue since our own wee dog showed serious symptoms of distress.
At first we couldn't believe that IAQ could be the problem. We hopped on over to Wikipedia to see if there was any pet-friendly information there. Here is what we found on indoor air quality. According to Wikipedia, indoor air quality (IAQ)  " deals with the content of interior air … (3 comments)

Luxury Real Estate in Asheville this Winter - 12:43 PM
Luxury Real Estate . This phrase brings to the fore a question on the minds of many a "green" buyers' broker here in Asheville of late.
That question is: "Can a luxury home also be GREEN?"
It's a good question and one bound to elicit opposing viewpoints. But here in Asheville we are taking some time tonight just to consider the beauty of a winter's eve.
It is one of those perfect nights. The sky is a canvas of pale blue decorated from east to west with clouds of pink and silver and deepest rose.   From the ridge, facing north, it … (1 comments)

ASHEVILLE : "Sweet Spot" for Artists & Eco-Friendly Builders - 01:02 PM
          A gentle soul once told me,".....there's a pathway to contentment here in Asheville.
 It is like the rainbows over the ridges. The surging flow of a waterfall. It's an uncommon force. When you see it you can measure it by your heartbeat ... an all-at-once coming together and letting go... ." ... Yes...Artists and Poets and Creative People love it here. Inspiration. . . and Pure Potential really are in the air!
Something exciting ...on so many levels ...arranges itself like a waterfall over boulders.
Somewhere between the coves and rising ridges, the artists and the eco-friendly buildersfind a meeting place in  … (1 comments)

Tithing Meets the Idea of Flat Fee Real Estate Commissions - 07:11 PM
*This is intended to be a Member's only post not because I am hiding anything, but because those who are not working in real estate may not understand the humor (intended humor, rather).
**Please do not leave a comment unless you read and understand the nature of the post.
***In case you did not read and understand **. This post is not debating the old, very old: Flat fee VS Commission.
A seller has decided to list with an Broker at 600,000 at a hypothetical 6%. The seller says, that's $36,000.00! The agent of course reminds the seller that the $36,000.00 … (0 comments)

Real Estate Trends - 09:23 PM
According to RETrends.com Active Rain is in the top 10 Events that impacted Real Estate in 2008.
9. ActiveRain Explodes Past 100,000 Members
As we discussed in last year's report (Trend #1 - Two Worlds; One Industry) ActiveRain has moved to the head of the social networking line in the real estate industry. With as many as 35,000 users logged on at the same time, no one else has even come close to reaching that many Realtors® at one time. It goes without saying that ActiveRain has proven that social networking has made a home in real estate.


　
… (10 comments)

Bulk REOs and Non Performing Notes For Sale By Mike Norvell Sr - 07:38 AM

 
Its a new year soon, and I wonder what it will bring.
2008 was one of the worst financial years our country has seen, and yet we have survived!
I am busy working on Bulk REO packages, and welcome inquiries from those who would like to bring smaller investors interested in purchasing local properties.
There is much to learn in this business, and I can save you some time by cutting to the chase.
Lets work together on some smaller bulk deals that can lead to long term property managment deals for local Realtors. Its a great opportunity, bring … (3 comments)

Weston FL Luxury Homes for sale-Market Report for Windmill Reserve - 07:50 AM
Weston FL Luxury  Homes for sale-Market Report for Windmill Reserve 
Weston FL Luxury  Real Estate-Windmill Reserve


Weston FL luxury Homes-Windmill Reserve 
2008 Market Report

 
Weston FL Homes-Windmill Reserve-for sale                                                            
20 Homes with a price ranges of $1,395,000-$5,700,000 Weston FL Homes-Windmill Reserve- pending as of Dec. 2008
0 Homes   Weston FL Homes-Windmill Reserve that have closed over the last 90 Days
3 Homes Please note that this community only has 94 custom built lots...some may still be available through the developer.
These numbers are only based on the Southeast MLS....information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Past Market reports for Windmill Reserve:

Other related links for Weston FL
Weston Florida … (5 comments)

FHA loan changes to keep in mind for 2009 !!! - 12:56 PM
 
With 2009 fast approaching, so are some key and important changes in regards to FHA loans. One important thing to remember is that FHA has made these changes official in their mortgagee letters, but that doesn't mean that investors or mortgage companies have to follow them. I will explain later....
 
 
What are the new changes?
 
Down Payment :  The new down payment for FHA loans will be 3.5% down and not 2.25% down. Now, this is a tad confusing, because prior to next year, 2009, it was that the borrower needed 3% of their own monies. In … (27 comments)

I hate those phone calls - 09:17 PM
The other day I got a call from a guy who said he was so and so.  He did not say he was with a company but from previous calls I have gotten if I had said sure I would like a buyer.  He did not do his homework very well because he said he had a buyer that was looking in Laughlin and Las Vegas is quite far from Laughlin.  Well of course it thru him off when I said I do not live anywhere near Laughlin.  It surprised him and he hung up.  I knew it was the same type … (7 comments)

Too Many Home plus Low Rates... - 09:37 PM
Equals Good News
For the first time in about a year, the sale of homes fell below 5-million units, this helps push the total home inventory just a bit higher by 0.1% nationwide.
Believe it or not, but based on that rate it would take over 11 months for the existing home supply to be exhausted.
For new home buyers in northwest Indiana, this is a true opportune time for negative news on housing.
To read the the rest of this great article on  Too Many Homes Plus Low Rates
This great article is brought to you by an Indiana Home … (4 comments)

Are you paying attention to the details? - 09:52 AM
Now more then ever being real estate agent means paying attention to the details, and making sure everything is getting done in time. Statistic shows that in times like this when we are experiencing economic hardship consumers are much quicker to file a complaint or even a law suit. How can you make sure that you will not find yourself at the wrong side of the table? In this business we cannot be sure of that ever as some transactions do get very emotional and people do react no mater what we do but in order to avoid any possible conflict … (7 comments)

Realtor perspective, WHEN you can't do everything, paint... - 12:00 PM
When you can't do everything, a little paint goes a LONG way!!!  Why do I make that statement, well Realtors and Stagers would prefer that clients do everything on the "list", wouldn't we?  Of course we would!  BUT in the real world, some clients just don't have the ability or funds to do so.  So when THEY choose what to do (with your guidance of course), make sure they are choosing the most impactful thing to bring them the return on investment.  Does your staging partner give your clients choices based on a priority?  Of course your staging team can do the work if sellers have … (57 comments)

Short Sale Process Explained By Minnesota Realtor - 02:57 PM
Below is the slide show presentation explaining the short sale process.  This presentation is for informational purposes only.  Make sure you consult your legal and accounting professionals to determine how a short sale will affect you.  The IRS is an excellent resources as well.  Their number is 1800-829-1040.  The call and research is FREE.  Also, take a look at www.IRS.gov.   Type in the appropriate keyword and view/download the publication that pertains to you.  For example, publication number 4681 is entitled Canceled Debts, Foreclosures, Reposessions, and Abandonments.
Short Sale Process| Foreclosure Prevention| Distressed Property Sales Publish at Scribd or explore others: Money/Wealth … (0 comments)

Twin Cities-Minneapolis St Paul Short Sales| Minnesota Foreclosure Avoidance Option - 03:58 PM

Looking at the statistics within the Twin Cities metro market, you will find that there is turmoil our real estate marketplace.  Job layoffs, as well as general economic uncertainty has affected many people.  Approximately 1/2 of the sales withing the metro MLS data indicate some form of distress sale situation-a foreclosure or a short sale.  In order to service this market better, I recently completed the CDPE course work.  This course walks you through the process of dealing the bank, lender, or servicer and explains how to best accomplish a sale for a homeowner who wishes to do a short … (0 comments)

Housing Crisis Video Parody From Youtube shared by Minnesota Realtor - 05:18 PM
Sometimes all you can do is laugh.  Crying won't do any good.  This paraody has a certain amount of truth in it.  Somebody put a lot of effort into making this video.  I thought it was funny. Let's all hope for a better 2009 and some real economic stimilus that actually does something for the overall market and not just large companys and Wallstreet.
… (0 comments)

December 28th- The day the A T & T network crashed in Chicago and the rest of the Midwest! - 10:33 PM
Today as I was driving home from a short vacation in Galena, Illinois  I was trying to make a few calls, using my At& T phone and realized that my treo 680 was not allowing me to press the buttons to make an outgoing  call.  I was constantly resetting the phone trying to figure out what the problem was, getting more frustrated as more time passed.  Luckily my husband was driving, since I was not a happy camper. 
When we arrived home, I had to go pick up my dog from the dogsitter, but needed  to go to the A T & T store … (13 comments)

Related links

New Members for 2008-12-28

 Archives:

31 Dec
30 Dec
29 Dec
28 Dec
27 Dec
26 Dec
25 Dec
24 Dec
23 Dec
22 Dec
21 Dec
20 Dec
19 Dec
18 Dec
17 Dec
16 Dec
15 Dec
14 Dec
13 Dec
12 Dec
11 Dec
10 Dec
9 Dec
8 Dec
7 Dec
6 Dec
5 Dec
4 Dec
3 Dec
2 Dec
1 Dec
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006