So what are you selling anyway? Check your photos. - 02/29/08 11:21 AM
Do you get frustrated when viewing the selected photographs that agents put up for us to see?  In our MLS we can put 12 photos up with a listing. Some of the ones that I hate most are of the bedrooms showing the beds and kids toys, the bathrooms showing the toilet bowl brush among other things, the kitchens with dirty dishes in the sink and dish rags hanging on the stove, the laundry room with the detergent on the washing machine and dirty clothes in the hamper.  It makes me wonder what they are trying to sell and it shouldn't … (19 comments)

Meth lab identification. Things to look for when entering properties. - 02/28/08 01:59 PM
I blogged about the signs of possible meth lab usage a few months ago and I think it is important enough to put these signs up for review again.  So here goes.  They came from a person who spoke to our Searcy Board of Realtors meeting and who was an authority and an educator.
We had a speaker come to our Board meeting yesterday and he gave us information on what to look for when you enter a house and could possibly be stepping into a former meth lab.  I'm passing along his information in case you are in the REO business … (33 comments)

Sold house in Beebe Arkansas to a wonderful family. - 02/28/08 01:42 PM
 
This house has found an owner.  A young family who liked the idea of commuting to Little Rock from Beebe has moved in.  They were a delight to work with and loved the house from their first viewing.  Best wishes in your new home, Mike and Shela! 
This house is convenient to Little Rock Air Force Base, Cabot, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Conway, Searcy or where ever you may wish to commute.  Beebe is a growing city.  I can remember when it was ruled by a few old city fathers and they cared nothing about being progressive.
Things have changed.  Beebe is now … (1 comments)

I've been tagged as a Meme? I'm learning. - 02/27/08 09:33 PM
I'd never heard of a meme.  I've been too busy blogging about things but I suppose that in some ways it is a way of getting noticed?  Now if I have to tell you 5 things about me that you really don't know and don't care about knowing and probably won't read, let's begin.
I played basketball in high school because I towered over the other girls.  The advantage to being tall was that I didn't have to run fast (half court then if you are old enough to remember) or grab hard.  They'd just feed me the ball and I'd shoot.  This … (13 comments)

Reading the newspaper each morning is one of my greatest pleasures. - 02/26/08 04:36 PM
 
This blog is because of Gary Woltal's blog about advertising and whether to do print advertising anymore or just stick with the internet.  It made me do a little thinking. Thanks, Gary, for making me think. : )
I'm lost without my newspaper every morning and I don't think I'm alone in feeling this way.  I stumble out of bed, make some coffee, feed the cat, get a little juice and some lemon for my coffee and then walk to the street to get my newspapers.The most important of all of the above is my newspapers.  I get the state newspaper and the local newspaper.  I think I … (8 comments)

The effectiveness of several signs on a property should not be overlooked. - 02/25/08 07:22 PM
 
Two times at least I have taken listings after other agents had failed in marketing them.  Two of those listings come to mind now.
One was a neat log cabin that was in a corner in a very desirable area of town.  When I was called to list and they told me about the property I was surprised to find that it had a large amount of road frontage.  I told them we needed to put up three signs, one in front of the house and two others on the land as it stretched along the road.  These signs made it easy for … (20 comments)

I am sharing my tips on how to sell your home, personally written by me. - 02/23/08 01:14 PM
I decided years ago that the people who list their homes need some tips on how to make it show to its best advantage.  I could talk to them and tell them things but I felt something to put in their hands would be better.  Therefore, I sat down and put down very specific things for them to do.  It has worked many times.  The sellers would go step by step through this list and their homes would absolutely glow.  And they'd be so proud!  I'm sharing this with my activerain friends.
Barbara S. Duncan ABR, CRS, GRI, e-PRO
http://www.barbarasduncan.com/
Barbara@barbarasduncan.com
TIPS ON SELLING YOUR … (12 comments)

The Beatles were so much fun....and they still are....on youtube. - 02/22/08 09:22 PM
Thanks to CJ's Blog about twisting the night away with youtube snippets of the Beatles and Chubby Checker doing, "Let's Twist Again", I thought again about the Beatles.  I must admit that I got on youtube and watched them for a long time one night. 
My thoughts were this.  Those guys did not have perfect teeth but they were beautiful.  They were popular back when you smiled with what you were able to grow....good teeth or bad teeth.  No one knew what an orthodontist was;  few could afford braces;  and fewer still wanted to go through years with all those wire things. 
Now … (8 comments)

Newly listed property in Bald Knob Arkansas with four acres. - 02/21/08 02:53 PM
SOLD The price has finally come in on my new property on Hwy 258 in Bald Knob Arkansas.  It will need some spic-n-span attention but will then become a great country property.  For a foreclosure it has great potential.  Price is $119,900.  The shop is wired and has bath facilities.  We're not sure about mineral rights but think they are probably not leased and remain with the property. 
… (1 comments)

These decorators recommend turning books in bookcase backward???? For neutral look!! - 02/21/08 02:29 PM
This is a weird thing to comment on but it seemed to me to be an insane way of decorating a house.  I thumbed through the Country Home magazine and saw this picture of a decorated room.  Notice the fact that they have turned ALL the books in the bookcase so that you can't see their spines, just the pages, and this gives the background in the room a nice neutral look!  So they explained.
Holy smokes!  What will decorators think of next?  Obviously the decorator was not one who reads and loves books.  It's almost like years ago when people bought … (110 comments)

What's a Jimmy Choo shoe and does it mean anything to you? - 02/20/08 08:50 PM
I do like to read books and one of the last ones I read was "The Devil Wears Prada."  It was so enjoyable that I decided to see the movie and it was terrible.  Books are almost always better than movies.  But in the book the fashion things that were lauded included Jimmy Choo shoes. I'd never heard of a Jimmy Choo shoe and didn't know whether it was some made-up name.
While getting off the blog circuit for a few minutes I was reading the latest issue of Newsweek, "The Editor's Desk."  He was discussing Michelle Obama and her campaigning.  A … (18 comments)

New plant in Searcy Arkansas to employ 200 people. - 02/20/08 02:42 PM
The Arkansas-Democrat Gazette, our state newspaper, had an article on February 14, 2008 giving the information that Searcy Arkansas will have a new plant that will employ more than 200 workers by late 2009.
The plant is Weatherford Fracturing Technologies.  The company bought our old Atlas Carrier Trucking Co. building, which is near the airport, about 6 months ago.  Since then they have reportedly hired about 60 workers. The district manager, Jim Cottom, reported in a news release that the facility is locating here to have easy access to the Fayetteville Shale that is bringing lots of new people to our area.
Fracturing … (7 comments)

Searcy Arkansas welcomes our new Harp's Food Store! - 02/19/08 03:39 PM
 
Wednesday, February 20th
Please help us welcome
Harp's Food Store
2525 West Beebe Capps
9:45 a.m.
The invitation just came in.  We in Searcy Arkansas are to have our new Harp's Food Store grand opening and ribbon cutting tomorrow morning at 9:45.  It seems as if it was just yesterday that they started building this lovely new building at 2525 West Beebe Capps Expressway. 
In the beginning of my real estate career, the location of this store was just country.  We had friends who lived beside this property and it was a long drive (so it seemed) to get to their house.  If anyone had said then that this … (6 comments)

I met a dog named Jurisprudence and it was a pleasure. - 02/18/08 09:33 AM
I was in downtown Searcy AR last week checking with the closing company about a closed property.  Actually picking up my check! : )  As I was walking to my car I met one of our attorneys going to his office.  He worked long and hard and has beautifully redone an old office building right downtown.
He asked me to come in and see his office and I was pleased to do so.  As I was walking into one room this huge animal came running up to me,  either to bite me or sniff me.  It turned out to be a sniff.  The … (11 comments)

Three acre lot in Searcy AR with mineral rights included. - 02/17/08 09:32 PM
SOLD Searcy AR is loaded with new people in town.  The folks are here because of Fayetteville Shale and the extraction of gas from the shale.  We have never seen anything like the excitement of old-time residents who start getting royalties from land that has been in the family for many, many years and all the owner got to do was pay taxes on it.  Now it is almost like a rent house.....collecting a little money!
We see sellers fight over 2 acres of mineral rights when selling a property!  It's like a tug-of-war!  Buyer insists on mineral rights;  seller insists on … (0 comments)

Solicitations for my charitable money often comes with stamped envelope. - 02/17/08 05:07 PM
It probably happened two times last week.  I get lots of mail, as you probably do also, asking for my hard earned dollars to benefit a charity.  I think you become older and wiser.  Years ago I had a charity which sent me stamped envelopes for me to use to send my donations.  I did that for years and years.  Then I went to http://charitynavigator.org/and checked the charity and it was a very low rated one.  I quit sending them donations.
Now when I'm trying to select who might need money, I quickly discard the ones who send me a prestamped envelope.  With … (7 comments)

Do we ever learn all there is to this blogging on activerain? - 02/17/08 08:20 AM
You start thinking you are pretty good at this blogging.  I have been working at it for about 3 months and have learned so much.  Some of the things we need to know, however, don't seem very obvious.  I experienced getting tired of all the forwarded comments from someone's very successful blog and checked the box saying I didn't want them forwarded anymore.  They kept coming.  I believe Karen Stone solved that in her blog.  She said you have to go back to your own comment and check the box there!  I haven't tried it yet but it is nice to … (6 comments)

Is your email ADDRESS on the front page of your web site? Check and see. - 02/15/08 07:42 PM
Dick Betts visited Searcy AR today and taught a class on technology and how we'd better stay informed about all the new things.  I felt guilty when he asked if we text message.  Well, I haven't thought I needed that.  That is wrong!  According to Betts everyone born after 1986 texts all the time.  He also said we have to get our email and the internet on our smart phones.  Guilty again.  I thought I was doing so well just to have my contacts on the phone and use it for the lockboxes.
The other thing he advocated was blogging.  He did … (26 comments)

I went to a Dick Betts class today and got scolded by the teacher! - 02/15/08 07:27 PM
What a day!  I survived Valentine's Day dinner that was made harder by my husband's insistence on perfection. (See earlier blog)  I was up washing tablecloths and doing house-hold chores and the phone rang.  I saw Dick Betts photo on my phone and thought he was calling on one of my blogs!  Instead he bellowed, "Where are you?  We have a front-row seat for you at my classes TODAY and we can't start without you!" 
Ohmygosh!! 
"Dick, is this the day of your meeting in Searcy?  I forgot all about it!  And if you read my blog yesterday you'd know why!"  … (10 comments)

My husband seems to have lost his mind....with Valentine romance! - 02/14/08 10:02 AM
Happy Valentine's Day
This is just a fun story for Valentine's Day but a true story!  It is about my husband and a new side of him.  He has never been a romantic!  The club that we attend decided to delay Valentine's until Saturday night and charge an enormous amount for the dinner.
Well, our buddies decided along with us that we'd boycott the dinner and celebrate Valentine's Day on the proper day, which is today.  We were sitting around the table at the club discussing what we'd do instead. Two of us left to go to the ladies' room and … (23 comments)

Foreclosures seem to have become a large part of my business. - 02/12/08 07:53 PM
As few as five years ago, we had almost no foreclosures in my area.  If we had one sent to us to take care of it was a huge learning experience to figure out what to do.  Last year I closed 19 foreclosures.
I had another one assigned to me today.  Now I know the procedure.  Drive to it, see if it is vacant, leave a door hanger sign with my card on it.  If vacant, call the locksmith and change the locks.  Put signs in the windows warning about trespassing and theft and vandalism. Call the utilities and get them on.  … (4 comments)

The empty house that I showed had a person asleep in the closet. - 02/11/08 07:07 PM
While attending our continuing education and ethics training over the weekend I met this agent from a nearby town. She reminded me of our past relationship.  Her city does not use the same lockboxes that our city uses.  Thus if she wants to show any of our houses, we have to arrange to get her in.  I met her at a house that is on a busy street.  It's a big old house that is probably 80 years old and it was empty.
I let her in and hung around a few minutes to lock it up again as soon as she finished … (63 comments)

Continuing education class was today....with break-outs...UGH - 02/09/08 05:54 PM
My state of Arkansas requires 6 hours of continuing education each year.  We are also required to have a class on ethics every 4 years so I "killed two birds with one stone" today and attended a class that was sponsored by one of our banks in town.  The bank provided the food, the instructor, and door prizes!!  I love them.
It seems that each time I go to an education class anymore the instructors do this "break into small groups, appoint a spokesperson, and report back what you think about this" type instructing.  I hate that and wonder if you do … (27 comments)

When a new agent comes into the business, I lose customers and so do you. - 02/08/08 08:12 PM
I was reading another post where the agent was bemoaning the fact that she'd lost another deal because of a new agent's being a friend to a cousin or some such.  I tried to comfort her with the following words.
My observation has been that every time a new agent appears in our Board, I lose a few customers.  The new agent has friends, relatives and relative's friends who will use them even if they are new and clueless in real estate.  Don't sweat it.  It's just one of the facts of real estate. But it is painful.  I lost a long … (32 comments)

Those true stories about real estate deals? Small town appropriate? - 02/08/08 07:49 PM
I was reading through several blogs over the past few weeks and really get into some of those stories that you relay to us on ActiveRain.  They are first hand, interesting, and pretty specific.  I, however, live in a small town of 20,000 where lots of us know lots of people!
If I tell you a first hand story and it is viewed by many people in this town, the readers would probably know exactly who I was talking about and what the transaction was.  Being fairly new to this blogging business, I'm not sure how to have things read by members … (6 comments)

Home inspector's first sentence, general comments question. - 02/07/08 01:29 PM
We have several good inspectors on Active Rain and I'm probably asking their opinion on this beginning for general comments.  The home inspector went to this house and his inspection is probably a good one but I have questions about whether this comment was a good one.
"The construction of the house is of average quality with typical liberties taken with good building practice with the quality of materials employed.  The inspection did not disclose significant deficiencies in the structure."
So what did he say?  What did he mean?  Is it a way of saying the builder didn't do a good job?  Is … (13 comments)

Tornado warning! What do you do to prepare? - 02/06/08 02:11 PM
Awards luncheon for RE/MAX offices was in Rogers AR and a van load of us was driving the 3.5 hours back home during all sorts of tornado warnings, heavy rain, thunder, lightning!!  We got calls from home saying that we were traveling in between two big storms and for us not to drive too fast or we'd overtake the one in front!  The broker driver had a heavy foot so we had to keep warning him to slow down......
We got up today to the news and heard there were numerous tornados and several deaths in the state of Arkansas.  But while we … (5 comments)

My husband warned me about the seat over the back tires in a van! - 02/05/08 08:34 PM
My husband, the car dealer, told me that if I'm riding for hours in a van that I'd better grab a seat up front;  he said the seat above the rear wheels will give you the roughest ride of your life.  Well, he was right again.  We had a group gather today for a combined 7 hour drive to Arkansas RE/MAX Awards Luncheon in Rogers AR.  I got seated above the tires and each bump was terrible.  My head almost hit the top of the van.
But the nicest agent gave me his seat up front.  He never complained at all.  At the … (5 comments)

Our new Harps Grocery in Searcy AR is almost finished. - 02/04/08 07:53 PM
I am impressed each time I drive home and see the progress made on our new Harps Grocery in Searcy AR, our little town of about 20,000 people.  Our appetites are whetted.  What will they offer?  Great deli?  Fresh seafood?  Produce that will rival Wal-Mart's? 
If you have one in your town you might satisfy my curiosity and give me hints.  There are gas pumps too.  Will we get gas discounts because we buy groceries inside?  I pulled over today and took two photos of the store.  I'm posting them.  Does it look the same as the one in your town? 
… (23 comments)

I loved this novel approach to selling me something that I don't need. - 02/04/08 07:26 AM
We get the junk email trying to sell us leads all the time.  This morning I got one that was different and made me laugh.  The problem is they are using my friend's names to make me think that I am the chosen one and the others didn't qualify for this coveted solicitation.  The funny thing is that we live in Searcy, a city, and they are trying to sell me Searcy County, which is nowhere near Searcy city.  Read it below and chances are you'll get one like it.  One of the names is for our Board Officer. 
Congratulations, Barbara! … (5 comments)

How to annoy a caller right away. - 02/02/08 02:47 PM
David Knox wrote an article in some magazine recently that I was looking through.  Seems as if he titled it "How to annoy a caller right away."  He was talking about offices and how folks in the office answer the phone.  I agree completely that staff and agents should be very aware of their phone techniques.
But I also started thinking of how some agents annoy ME with their voice mails that I have to get so often when they are not available.  I may call to get permission to show, to ask a question, to get a quick response for sure!  … (37 comments)

Sept Oct Nov stats for Searcy AR according to Talk Business Quarterly. - 02/01/08 01:52 PM
 
TALK BUSINESS QUARTERLY GAVE THE FOLLOWING STATISTICS FOR SEARCY ARKANSAS, LOCATED IN WHITE COUNTY.  IF ANY ACTIVE RAIN FOLKS ARE INTERESTED IN SEARCY ARKANSAS WHITE COUNTY WHERE "THOUSANDS LIVE AS MILLIONS WOULD LIKE TO LIVE".  Searcy had one large plant closing and we are still trying to overcome that.  Fayetteville Shale has brought lots of gas exploration to our area and we have an increase in sales tax collections because of the increased sales to new people in town.  New building permits are down, home sales are slightly down in units but slightly up in volume dollar.  New commercial building permits … (1 comments)

 
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Barbara S. Duncan, CRS, GRI, e-PRO Searcy AR

Searcy, AR

More about me…

RE/MAX Advantage

Address: 1507 E Race, Searcy, AR, 72143

Office Phone: (501) 268-1115

Cell Phone: (501) 278-6817

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