Archives of real estate blog entries for July 27, 2008

Featured blog posts


I finally made it to Aroi Thai Restaurant in Rhinebeck (LOCALISM FEATURED) - 12:32 AM

Today my son and I decided to spend some time together. We like all types of food so we decided to go to Aroi, a Thai Restaurant in Rhinebeck. This restaurant is one of the newest in the area and is rather popular, so on a couple of occasions I tried to get in but it was full. It is not a large restaurant - there is seating for about 49 people inside. The menu offers something for everyone . I especially liked the curries and the use of ginger and coconut milk. There are lunch specials served with soup … (35 comments)

Charlotte NC Economic Report (July, 2008) (Market Report FEATURED) - 10:44 PM
 
Charlotte NC Economic Report (July, 2008)
The Charlotte NC economic report (July, 2008) reflects that job growth and economic expansion continue to sustain Charlotte's real estate market.  With the news of Bank of America's (headquartered in Charlotte) recent decision to purchase Countrywide (it is what it is!), Charlotte is soon to become America's leading financial center.  Bank of America is but one of over 300 Fortune 500 companies represented in Charlotte, NC.

In a recent FORBES article, Charlotte was tagged as one of the top five cities with undervalued market prices in the U.S.  The National Association of Home Builders … (18 comments)

Lafayette California Justs Became a Little More French: Chevalier Restaurant (LOCALISM FEATURED) - 10:41 PM
  Chevalier Restaurant Lafayette Bienvenue Upon hearing that there was a new French restaurant in Lafayette, Chevalier Restaurant, my wife and I knew we had to try it.  Lafayette has become known for a Mecca of fine restaurants.  A few years ago, the Lafayette California Chamber of Commerce started their "Restaurant Row" campaign to bring High quality restaurants into town.  This campaign was highly success.
Our reservation at Chevalier was a Saturday evening, 7:00 pm.  Saturday day was hot but Saturday evening was just perfect: no wind, quite, short sleeve weather.  We chose to sit outside on their patio with many other guests.  … (4 comments)

I couldn't think of an appropriate title. - 06:22 PM
A strange phone call came across my airwaves recently, a guy from the city of Brotherly Love was on the other line.
"Hello, is this Jason Sardi?"
"To my knowledge, yes."
"Hi Jason, this is Darren _______ and I came across you over the internet."
~Thinking to myself, "Great, I hope he didn't come across that roast of Belonger that I churned out."~
"Hey Darren, how can I help you?"
"I'm losing my house."
Silence.  It wasn't the four words that he said, it's how he said them.  Even more, I knew I could do little to help him, at least … (87 comments)

ActiveRain has helped me to become a local expert! 3 Interesting contacts I received this week from my "hyperlocal" blogging - 12:29 AM
A few months back, my friend Adam Waldman started the Local Expert group.  It's not just a catchy title, though, but something that we should all aspire to become in our markets.  This week, I began to see evidence that I have done just that for the area where I live, Pflugerville.  I have written about new developments in Pflugerville, market reports, local restaurants, and more.  I received two phone calls and one email this week that indicate that far more people are reading my posts than I had realized.  More importantly, those who contacted me indicated that they value my … (87 comments)

My Monthly Inspirational Post ..........If you don't need it, it is OK not to read this. - 12:29 AM
I have decided to present one post a month called my 'Monthly Inspirational Post'. I don't care about points, comments or whatever. What my goal is to share something wonderful, uplifting and hopefully a beneficial message to inspire you.
Now please know, this can't always be 100% original, I am just not that good. Well, not yet anyways. I have had a few gems but for the most part, I need help. The goal though is to share something of value that will inspire you. And it doesn't have to move you, but it might very well touch your soul.
So, … (61 comments)

The cheap movie theater in Searcy Arkansas, the Plaza, many years ago (LOCALISM FEATURED) - 12:30 AM
 
This is a picture of the old Plaza movie theater which was located directly across Spring Street from the Mayfair Hotel in Searcy Arkansas, White County, about 50 miles from Little Rock. 
According to my friend who supplied this picture, it was run by a Mr. K.K. King, who also ran the Rialto Theater which was about two blocks away.  This Plaza was mostly for "B" movies, and cheaper to get into. He does not know the date of the picture.  I have been in this city for about 41 years and it was a scene that I never saw. When I got here … (24 comments)

Another staging company left their information at my staged property! - 12:29 AM

I was checking on one of my vacant staged homes the other day and right there on the kitchen counter in front of my sign that says "this home staged by ..." what did I see?
Another staging company's card advertising their services!  I thought this was strange and wasn't sure why it was there.  I wondered how they got their card into the house (the only access is through a reator's lock box). 
What would you think if you found something like this?  Would you contact them and ask about it, or just ignore it?  Naturally, I removed it.  But I'd be interested in hearing what others … (67 comments)

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." - 12:33 AM
 Do you have someone that you need to forgive?
Do you just need to accept them as they are and get on with your life.
Can you see how your life can be adjusted by forgiving them?
In the past few days I have had the chance to experience some "do overs".
Like this bridge across the Kentucky River ( I took this pic on July 4th) I had the chance to reach to the other side and mend some fences. A burden has been lifted that had weighed me down. A series of signs showed me how to forgive two loved ones.
… (137 comments)

An Open Letter to ActiveRain- How the Localism Sausage is Made - 06:22 PM
“Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.”
                                    -Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Having visited a meat plant as a youth- I know this to be very true.
-----
Hello my fellow rainers,
We’re on the cusp of the launch of new localism.
For many it will be but an obscure moment… a holiday celebrated with gusto by those who’ve lived the culture. For the rest, any reference to it could be greeted with, “say what?”
Since the announcement of Localism (in beta) the reaction seems to be about as polarizing as any I’ve witnessed here… … (57 comments)

Active Rain Week In Review: July 20th – 26th - 05:54 PM
Neal Bloom gave me the chance to do the Week In Review during a landmark week – we crossed the long-awaited 100,000 member mark.   So picking just 15 favorites from so many blogs was quite daunting!Doing the Week In Review is fun for a bunch of reasons.  We all have our favorite blogger we subscribe to and read all the time.  But this week, I went beyond that and met some bloggers who were both new and new to me!  It was a lot of interesting reading - a whole lot!
So here is my list:
1.  Celeste "WooHoo Sally" Cheeseman … (34 comments)

NEWS FLASH: Active Rain Set Up - Only $40 - 12:28 AM
Yes... you heard me right.  You can have your Active Rain account set up for ONLY $40!  Come one, come ALL.  This is a LIMITED TIME OFFER!  It's NOW or NEVER!
Before you read any further, be forewarned - I AM VENTING HERE!!!!  You might want to stop and go on to the next post if you'd like a nice positive, happy post.
This morning, I was invited by Ellie Viray to attend a seminar about blogging.  Now... I love Ellie, I love blogging so I decided to go with her to see if I can pick up any blogging tips.  The … (116 comments)


Blog posts


Seeing ActiveRain members in a whole new light - 04:21 PM
Now that people are "recovering" from the Inman Connect/Bloggers Connect conference this last week in San Francisco, all the pictures are making it up onto Flickr and other photo sharing sites.  Literally everyone there had a camera or other photo capture device.  So, here's your chance to see many ActiveRain members in a whole new light :) 
San Francisco Connectism 2008 Photo Pool
Believe it or not these events are actually highly educational, just the after conference socializing makes for much better pictures.  Yes, we tend to have a lot of fun at these things.  I already can't wait for the … (11 comments)

ActiveRain comment volume - 06:32 PM
So I was unpacking my back from the San Francisco Inman Connect conference, going through business cards, other marketing material and such.  I picked up a piece of paper with partial survey results from The Center For Real Estate & Social Technologies' blog survey which was handed out at the REBAR camp and had a laugh.  Here's the results from one question.
As a whole, real estate bloggers received a median of 7 total comments in May 2008.
ActiveRain users received a median of 30 total comments. Blogger users received a median of 1 total comment. Moveable Type/TypePad users received a … (5 comments)

Interesting marketing promotion from RE Bar camp - 07:13 PM
Prior to the official start of the Inman Connect conference this last week, there was the RE Bar camp about blogging and social media in the real estate industry.  At the conclusion of the day "trading cards" featuring about 75 attendees who'd sent in photos where handed out by the guys/gals from Real Seekr and RealEstateZebra.com  Each person featured on a card had carefully been given a super hero name and special power, and on the back of each card was a short bio and contact information for the person. For example we had Jeff Turner (The Facilitator), Brian Block (The … (17 comments)

Dustin Luther style blogging - 09:30 PM
Just now realizing that my blogging voice is best described as "short". It took me a while to not only realize this but also understand that lots of short blog posts is okay.  I usually want to share a thought or insight but have trouble turning a 5 sentence post into a 5 paragraph post. So from here on out expect lots of short little posts, much in the tumblr style.
… (0 comments)

ActiveRain needs a blog post scheduler - 09:32 PM
Wouldn't it be great if you could write a post and then save it in draft with a scheduled posting date and time?  If I get enough emphatic yes's in the comments we'll make it happen.
… (0 comments)

Localism traffic up 50% since re-launch! - 10:02 PM

… (0 comments)

Google Knol is a huge tool for RE bloggers - 10:29 PM
Create a Google Knol account asap and add it to your repertoire of places to contribute content (Mahalo, Squidoo, ActiveRain/Localism and Zillow/Trulia - if you don't care about backlinks).  Early research indicates that Google will rank Knol content very high (also check out this post). Blog here about your local community, similarly to how you would use Localism.
 

 
 
… (16 comments)

What happens if someone else sponsors your community on Localism? - 10:45 PM
I just received this comment in an email and thought it would be good to answer it to the community as a whole:
"We would be very interested in sponsoring the communities we've focused on (listed communities removed) - of course we'd love to have "x city" too but not sure we can "buy enough communities" to get there.
I'm happy you guys are going to make some $$$ - selfishly I hope we still end up with a presence on localism too." I have heard this sentiment more than a few times over the last few weeks and it needs … (14 comments)

Olympic courage inspires my sounds of summer - 05:16 PM
Once every four years summer means just one thing to me - The Olympics! And so as I get myself ready for 3,600 hours of TV (ok - I might only watch 3,500 hours of it), I think back each time to why my interest is so strong.
You see for me it's really about track and field. As a kid I used to run both the 100 and 400. At 12 years old I was extremely fast on my feet and then I got meningitis. The upside of that was once I had survived it, my neurologist was Dr … (40 comments)

New Listing in Dudley, MA - 23 Michael Lane - 06:17 PM

Welcome to 23 Michael Lane in Dudley!
HOME DETAILS:
BEDROOMS: 4BATHROOMS: 2.5SQFT: 2160PRICE: $309,000
OPEN HOUSE 8/3 12-2! Welcome home to this charming country cape on a large level lot. This spacious home boasts of gleaming hardwood floors in the formal dining room, entry and upstairs hall. Kitchen is modern and trendy with granite countertops, center island, ceramic tile floors and travertine tile backsplash. Always a place to enjoy with 2 living rooms featuring a double fireplace. Master bedroom features cathedral ceiling with skylight and a bath with jetted tub and separate shower. Much more!  CALL JCKC REALTY AT 508-523-8632 … (0 comments)

Making a Quick Getaway to Cambridge, Maryland - 01:51 PM
 
It could be one of those summer mornings in Baltimore that promises a hot day ahead. Or maybe it's just clear and not too windy. We don't need much of an excuse to head across the Chesapeake Bay for breakfast. If we drove, it could take a couple of hours, but we share twin engine freedom with some friends, so three of us climbed in and took off for a short hop to Kay's Country Kitchen in Cambridge, MD where we met two more friends who flew in from BWI.  As we approached, we had a good view of the airport area, … (15 comments)

OK folks...time to put on your thinking caps!!! - 02:47 PM
Hi folks. I know it's Sunday and all BUT I'm hoping to make you think a little today. Here's a scenario for you. 
You have a beautiful house on the market that you listed for Mrs. Needersell and you are working as a single agent. 
A couple of months into the listing period you get a call off of your sign from Mr. Wantabuy who is very interested in seeing Mrs. Needersell's house. You make arrangements to meet him over there. Mr. Wantabuy seems like a nice guy and is very interested in your listing so you take him back to … (63 comments)

County-Wide Open House - 04:48 PM
The Snohomish County Camano Association of Realtors did the unthinkable and with zest. We held a "County-Wide" open house this weekend. The major television stations gave us coverage, the local paper advertised with a "full page spread" mentioning all the companies that were partaking. Individual agents were able to advertise their own listing at a discounted price.
We gave away free Realtor pins, Realtor balloons, brochures educating the buyers on first time home buying, our "Get The Facts" campaign brochure as to why real estate is local, financing brochures regarding FHA loans and information regarding our local real estate market.
We … (1 comments)

Great new sign rider: "Reduced, BUT not stupid or desperate." - 07:21 PM
It seems lots of Knoxville, Tennessee real estate wanna be buyers have been reading and believing the nation media's reports of "50% drop in home values", "worst real estate market in 50 years", "new home starts at all time low" and other such fictional bad news.
True, there is bad news is lots of the country but Knoxville, Tennessee is not one of those areas. Sales have been humming along pretty well this year. Overall volume is down somewhat but there are still buyers out there and homes are still being sold.
One of my fellow Realtors, Bill McSpadden, has came … (20 comments)

Featured Highlands Ranch Home - 08:33 AM
Virtual Tour click on the link below.
 Highlands Ranch

 
 
 
… (1 comments)

Gambier Ohio Country Property (off market) - 12:49 PM
8025 Jacobs Road is the ideal Gambier country property with over 6 1/2 acres of rolling land

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Gambier country setting and convenient to Keyon College Sprawling 6.54 country acres with nice trees and privacy Huge floor plan that is designed perfectly for entertaining Spectacular living space with 3-4 bedrooms and 2 full baths An … (0 comments)

2 Amazing Knox County Ohio Homes with Land by Sam Miller (off market) - 01:06 PM
Knox Ohio country homes with land ranging from slightly more than an acre to a country farm with 80 acres. 
5058 Granville Road in Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050.  Featuring 80 acres, a huge pond, barn, woods, cropland and more.  $375,000.  Click here for more details 

 
 
 
 
 
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8025 Jacobs Road, Gambier Ohio 43022.  Over 6.5 Acres of gorgeous rolling country land with a nice private setting with a wonderful hillside view.  $250,000.  Click here for more details 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Contact Sam Miller of RE/MAX Stars Realty 1-800-282-9096.  … (1 comments)

Localism Help Regarding Sponsoring A Community - 09:25 PM
I recently visited Localism and after viewing the site it triggered a couple questions that I hope can be easily answered. 
It seems that an agent can sponsor a community.  How does sponsoring a community benefit an agent?  Is it specifically an exposure and branding benefit or does it go deeper? Pictures of Ohio (or your community).  Are we permitted to watermark our photos before uploading? I appreciate you taking your time and if you have any other advice or suggestions I would love to hear them.
Thanks,
Sam Miller
 
… (8 comments)

Pensacola Real Estate News Subdivision Report: Lake Charlene - 08:32 PM
Original Post on Pensacola Real Estate News 
This article provides a Pensacola real estate market report on the Lake Charlene subdivision. If you are interested in seeing any homes in the Lake Charlene  subdivision, or any other homes for sale in Pensacola Florida, please feel free to  Contact Me for assistance. All of the homes pictured on this page were for sale at the time this article was published. Are you looking for an affordable Pensacola subdivision with beautiful yet affordable homes that is close to the area naval bases. Lake Charlene is worth checking out. I had previously described this subdivision as the … (0 comments)

How Home Sellers Can Protect Themselves From Liability For Unpermitted Improvements - 08:34 PM
Original Article On Pensacola Real Estate News
 
There have been a lot of improvements made to real estate in Pensacola. With so many homes being damaged by hurricane Ivan in 2004, most homes had some type of repair done. Many home owners took this as an opportunity to upgrade their homes. But what about permitting these upgrades? When selling real estate, permits for repairs and improvements can become an issue.
Many improvements made to a home require permits. For example, installation of new windows, new Heating/AC systems, a new roof or  electrical work will require a permit.  However, often times home owners would … (0 comments)

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