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Is a Realtors'® profession Real Estate or Education?
The National Association of REALTORS has published their latest housing statistics for 2011. They state that sales rose to an 11-month high in December and that inventory is down to a 7-year low nationally. While I think this is great news coming from the mainstream media, the same story contains corrections to previously incorrect reports. The say that November's sales were revised down to 4.39 million units compared to the previously reported 4.42 million units. Once gain, NAR is caught making false claims.
Let's warm up with a big 'ol cup of Success. Whether you prefer cocoa, tea or a hot buttered rum it's all good. We're 20 days into the new year and I hope nobody is slacking on their professional resolutions. This is my reminder to get your butt into action if you're not doing so. I want 2012's success to blow all the other years out of the water!
Meta Keywords Mean Nothing to Google Anymore. Meta keywords are those keywords that you enter separately as in a WordPress Plug-in or page properties tab on your website. As in the picture below you may have something similar on your website or blog. If you don't have this on your website you should, because the Title and Description are very valuable but the keywords here don't mean as much anymore. (ActiveRain does not have a place for this because they take your blog title and the first 150 characters of your blog as the description)
I closed the biggest deal of my carreer last month by shooting video of a home and sending it to my client in China. 
The Accidental Blog Post When we first started blogging, topic selection was probably the toughest part. Finding something to write about, well the blogging brain circuits just hadn't been completely wired yet! Now a year and a half later, eyes, ears, hands are all unified and open to what's next! Blogging is now part of our daily routine, and in general ideas aren't the problem, time to write is the problem! Our blog posts fall into two different categories: Planned Posts and what we'll call "Accidental" Posts. Planned Posts are literally that, topics you planned! They may be on a schedule … (84 comments)
The hair stood up on the back of my neck. My palms became sweaty. My mind raced to find a way out. All this happened within two seconds of a man at my open house leaning in very close and in a whisper saying three words to me, "Are we alone?" 
You just never know what will happen when you post good content to your ActiveRain blog. In December I wrote a post about what Realtors expect from loan officers when they refer a client (http://actvra.in/pFy). The featured post led to a frank discussion about what agents and loan originators should reasonably expect from each other.
Lees Lake in Wheat Ridge
For those of you feeling a little apprehensive about posting a blog, allow me a moment to tell you what happens after you hit the submit button. But before we get there, I know how you’re feeling; there you are with your most private thoughts sitting before you on the blog entry form. You’ve selected a jazzy title; every tag is perfect and each ‘Post To’ block has been checked. All that’s left to do is change the ‘Visibility’ drop down menu from ‘Draft’ to whatever, then the submit button is clicked. If you’re like me, visions of freezing up in front … (71 comments)
My initial walk through is kind of like a mini home inspection. I am looking for issues that should be disclosed like water in the basement. I am looking for issues that will affect financing like peeling paint for FHA buyers. I am looking for issues that could affect the appraisal process. Asbestos on steam pipes is considered a hazardous material and must be identified in the appraisal. I am also looking for the issues that home inspector will bring up to the buyer. A roof that has reached the end of its economic life.
And that's all the Espaňol I'm bringing to this one, but it was way too cool a title to pass up. Please stick around though - the story might interest you. Mary and I have been using the internet since well before it was the internet. I used to have a user account with Colorado Supernet when there was no web - we used tools like Archie, Telnet, and Gopher, and I belonged to a bunch of Usenet User Groups, including alt.urban.folklore - the precursor to Snopes.com. We used early Macs, dial-ups and 240 baud modems, and cobbled-together bulletin board programs … (69 comments)
Bank of America is Watching
48 acres Special Purpose Use - Retreat, Health, School, Spiritual, Lot of Quiet and Green … (0 comments)
Google is trying to reduce rankings for low-quality sites with the Panda update. What makes Panda such a game-changing update?
I just posted numbers on my Austin real estate market stats page for sales of single-family homes in the Austin area for 2011. In the headline I used the word healthy - that is a relative term. What I could have said was the Austin market has not become as unhealthy as many other markets.
Content is King – Looooooong Live the King!
Perception Is Everything - Video Blog Recently had a great reminder on how important perception is. Whether you're looking to be an expert in your field or a leader amongst your organization, remember to always work on making the perception of you the best it can be. Try posting and maintaing a positive attitude at all times. Show others that you want to help. Most of all, have fun! Thanks for watching! … (6 comments)
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Good Service Versus Good Intentions. Today While waiting to get a quick car wash, there was small lounge set up with a coffee station and all the fixings. This is a really nice touch but...take a look. The coffee pot is plugged in but no coffee, it was in disarray, dirty and not the least bit appealing. There is a big difference between Good Service and Good Intentions! 
Too lazy? Really? I run a business. It makes zero sense for me to spend time looking for a rental. That why there are management companies out there that specialize in helping folks find a place to rent.
Mount Prospect Home Sale - Traditional, REO and Short Sale Numbers Two snapshots below are showing real estate trends for the past 3 years in Mount Prospect, IL and are comparing sold properties by the type of sale. 
The number of Charlotte NC homes for sale in December for the Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill Metro Area was 17,581 as of 12/31/2011. The average sales price was $190,564, or 90% of the list price, which is $3,582 or 1.8% lower than the average sales price at the same time last year. The average amount of time on the residential market for Charlotte real estate is 5.06 months. While these numbers are only incremental improvements in the Charlotte real estate market, the steady (and very encouraging!) decrease in the average time on the market tells me the demand for housing is becoming not just wider, but deeper. … (1 comments)
If you have ever taken a cat to a Vet...or for any car ride and they decide they would rather stay home...the unique yowling...using you for a scratching post, locking their "knees" to avoid the carrier.....knowing that the blanket or towel that comes out of the closet only for such trips means hide and seek...mostly hide...it can be and exhausting mis-adventure. Maybe you have dogs AND cats...or birds...or whatever your personal home zoo has for residents.....a house call from a vet a opposed to trying to transport them in a car....is a Blessing !
Fix Fridays are all about things to do around the house, some as this one is about safety and others are more general.Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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