Some of us are Charlie Buell.... - 07/31/12 07:07 AM
We often tell consumers, when asked, that the best way to find a Realtor, is to ask your friends, family members or someone you trust, for their references of Realtors that they've worked with and liked.
In today's market, many of the young people are going to the internet. Sites like Angie's List, Yelp, Zillow and even our own revered Active Rain offer insights, and testimonials for consumers to review, but honestly all of those site, the reviews are from strangers that you don't know... so what is their opinion worth to you.  You don't know if they're high-maintenance or low-maintenance... … (21 comments)

Sticking your head firmly in the sand. - 07/30/12 02:48 PM
Today, Charlie Buell wrote a post that advocates the value of pre-listing-inspections.  While Charlie readily admits, or at least begins to admit, and then has a convenient case of amnesia, it's a fairly self-serving stance... although I don't think that Charlie intends it that way.  He's really looking out for the well being of both sides.
That's just the kind of guy Charlie is.
There are a few who've taken issue with Charlie's stance, some of them at high-volume... (including she-who-says-"HA"), and I was going to begin the same... when I decided that it might make a better post on it's … (46 comments)

Pushing past that invisible wall! - 07/26/12 10:47 AM
You can't see it, you can't smell it, you can't really even touch it, and yet it can smack you hard in the face.
That invisible barrier, that solid brick wall that keeps you from accomplishing... well... almost anything.
I had a busy, busy, busy, week last week.  Contracts, Inspections, Closings... it was a whirlwind of busy.  (I know, I know... I ain't complaining... it's wonderful, especially after the horse latitudes of the last few years).
And, as some of you have noticed, I haven't been writing as many posts as usual.  (Thanks to those of you who've reached out wondering … (30 comments)

Twitch-twitch.... can you hold, I have another skull waiting? - 07/18/12 08:16 PM
Cellular phones are getting smaller and smaller... it's bad enough, today, when you see people walking down the grocery store aisles, and sidewalks apparently talking to themselves, when they're actually talking on their bluetooth grasshoppers mercilessly chomping on their ears.
The day is coming, you heard it here first, where phones will be surgically implanted in out skulls... kind of ala the cochlear implant.  No outward mechanism required, all you have to do is twitch your head once to the left to answer the call, and once to the right to hang up.
A double-left twitch will put the call on … (27 comments)

I'm too pretty to go to jail. - 07/18/12 10:59 AM
I pulled up in front of my client's apartment building this morning, and slid into the spot next to the fire hydrant on the congested one-way street.
I pulled out my cell phone, and texted him the message: "I'm here, parked out front", and settled in to wait for him to bring down that balance of earnest money check that I'd agreed to pick up from him, instead of having him run it into my office.
There was a fair amount of activity on the street for the early hour.  People were hustling about, a lady in what was clearly her … (34 comments)

Friday the 13th done fell on a Friday this month! - 07/13/12 10:19 AM

Friday the 13th.
Terminology that can set fear in the hearts of men.  Do we really want to schedule a closing for Friday the 13th?  Do we even want to show a property, or get in the car?  What is it about Friday the 13th that causes our hearts to beat a little faster, our eyes to search for trouble?
Let's dissect, shall we?  The fear of Friday the 13th has a technical name... it's called Friggatriskaidekaphobia.  Wow, that's a mouthful, isn't it? It's from Frigga (the name of the Norse goddess of Friday), Triskadeka (the number 13 in Latin) … (27 comments)

Please welcome Claire Sucsy to the rain! - 07/12/12 02:41 PM
Ladies and Gentlemen... I've finally convinced one of my office mates to join us here on Active Rain.  Claire Sucsy, one of the top performers here in our office has posted her first blog, here in the Rain.
Please make a point of popping over and welcoming her in the fashion we've become accustomed.  I think she'll be a force to reckon with, here. Over the years, I've invited quite a few, and some have joined, but Claire is the first of those to actually join and publish a post and I'd like to encourage that.
Claire has many insights into … (19 comments)

Back to back to back! - 07/10/12 11:43 AM
I mentioned in a recent post that I had three Trulia-sourced leads convert to signed contracts this week.  You know the phrase "feast or famine", or maybe you prefer, since we're on Active Rain "when it rains, it pours" (I can't help but picture the Morton Salt girl when I hear that phrase).
Well, those three sales have now resulted in a trifecta of inspections for me tomorrow.  This is the first time in my illustrious career (c'mon, go with it... let me, at least, believe it's "illustrious") that I will have three inspections in one day.
They're scheduled back to … (23 comments)

Culling the herd. - 07/09/12 12:09 PM
As some of you may know I spend a fair amount of time on Trulia Voices, answering consumer real estate questions.  Trulia Voices is the "discussion" area where consumers come for a little Q&A of real estate professionals.
They ask generic questions, specific question, sometimes they're real estate, sometimes they're mortgage/lender questions, often they're about inspection issues, and of course there's the occasional spam.
I answer questions from my region as well as areas around the country, when the questions aren't location-specific.
There are many, here on Active Rain, who look down their noses at the entire Q&A process on … (23 comments)

 
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Alan May, Coldwell Banker Realtor® Evanston, Illinois & Northern Suburbs

Evanston, IL

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847.425.3779 almay@aol.com

Address: Attn: Alan May, Realtor®, 2929 Central Street, Evanston, IL, 60201

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