appraisal: For appraisal purposes, what is a room? How do you count them?
- 01/10/09 01:24 AM
We have been educated by Charles Buell's blog about what makes a bedroom. That man is so thorough! If you've never visited his blog, do so now. He is a home inspector who lives in Washington with his deceased friend Raven. He occasionaly has a squirrel named Nutsy visit him. But with all his quirks he's still a smart guy who writes a good blog. Unfortunately when I first started blogging I didn't know Charles so he probably didn't see this blog. In fact, probably no one else did either. The blog was about something that bothers me to this day. Each time … (45 comments)
appraisal: Not pet friendly? Don't let that be known...
- 10/16/07 12:07 PM
I grew up with outside animals. They were wonderful. Dog named Spot, cat named Kitty, and the animals were happy outside. They never got sick, never needed a vet. I guess you raise your kids the way you were raised. My kids were always mad at me because I didn't allow the animals in the house. They admit now that when I was gone they invited them in from time to time. Once they even brought in the horse!! (I always wondered why we had to spray for fleas once a season.) Now as a real estate agent it seems everyone and … (6 comments)
appraisal: From Treo to Treo to Treo.....
- 10/15/07 02:31 PM
These smart phones are really smart and the folks who made them are possibly the smartest. They make them start having problems just as the warranty runs out. My first one was a Treo 600. I loved that thing. I loved having people admire it as we used it to get into houses through the lockbox. But I didn't love it when people started saying, "What's that awful buzzing sound? I can hardly hear you." Well, a search on Google indicated it was a common problem. I fixed it once....did my own appendectomy from Google's directions....and it worked a little while … (3 comments)
appraisal: This is a beginning...
- 10/14/07 11:09 AM
I was reading someone's blog and they were distressed over some agent's low offer. I am afraid that I feel the same way from time to time. But I start remembering one of the smoothest agents that I've ever met and her starting line to a seller. She'd coo, "This is a beginning....". Then she'd present the offer, get a counter, go out and probably work it out. My favorite thing to say to a seller, if they are handy and at my desk, is, "Don't be mad about this low offer. Just be mad at those people who didn't have the … (9 comments)
appraisal: The market becomes slow from here until Christmas.
- 10/14/07 10:19 AM
I don't know about your cities but in my area, one can feel a slowing of real estate at this time of the year. And once Thanksgiving gets here, it seems that everyone starts taking off for Christmas. Showing houses at Christmas is not ideal because you can't see the house for the decorations! I do remember once, however, a very prominent person buying a big house on Christmas eve. He'd seen it but didn't really make up his mind until the day before Christmas. He called his agent and she'd gone to visit relatives in another state. He was very "put … (4 comments)
appraisal: Things have become easier in some ways...
- 10/11/07 01:50 PM
While calling on two clients today and talking to them about listing, I thought thankfully about how easy it is to go to my computer and pull up the court house information sheet that is available. We pool our funds to pay for the service and it's the best $5 per month that I spend. The info sheets give square footage, taxes, age, history and many other goodies. While leaving one house, I met up with Sue, someone I'd sold a house to about 18 years ago. She said she'd recommended me to her neighbor and than laughed about how I used … (5 comments)
appraisal: What is a slow day in real estate?
- 10/06/07 01:45 PM
A slow day in real estate happens when most of the state meets for a football game and you stay home. Most of the spammers must be watching football because even the email is almost devoid of viagra spam. The cell phone does not ring. Your home phone does not ring. Your husband and his buddies are listening to the football game in the deep woods while supposedly squirrel-hunting. So on the slow day, get busy and clean off the back porch, spider bomb the garage, give away some of the hubbie's junk before he gets back, and have a very relaxing day. … (12 comments)
appraisal: Does a faster cable connection really make a difference?
- 10/05/07 02:10 PM
Having cable internet connection turned out to be better than my experience with satellite internet. The thing that bugged me the worst was going to see a streaming video and having it stop and start and stop and start so I asked the cable company if it would REALLY make a difference if I paid more money ($20 per month) for a faster connection or was it all the same. They said it REALLY makes a difference so I am trying it. It really is better! I have just watched youtube for an hour and the videos were all steady and continuing. … (8 comments)
appraisal: Who can really represent a buyer well?
- 10/04/07 02:16 PM
It is my belief that in order to represent a buyer, you need to know the area well enough to do a good job. I have had experience where a person from a city 50 miles away comes in to a city they don't know in order to show houses that the buyer has found on the internet. The agent has to depend on each listing agent to open the house because they don't have key access, give them stat sheets and direct them to the house. I don't understand why they don't refer the buyer to an agent in the city … (3 comments)
appraisal: Just what in a house is a room????
- 10/03/07 02:51 PM
I've been struggling with doing another bpo and keeping in mind that I am not a fee appraiser and am expected to do a good job for this REO listing. And each time I get to the part that asks how many rooms the house has and I despair again. What, pray tell, is a room? Is a room a large walk-in closet that is as big as some bedrooms? Is a room a big laundry room? Is a room a small space for an office? Is a room the part of a kitchen where you sit down and eat? It must be … (9 comments)
We have been educated by Charles Buell's blog about what makes a bedroom. That man is so thorough! If you've never visited his blog, do so now. He is a home inspector who lives in Washington with his deceased friend Raven. He occasionaly has a squirrel named Nutsy visit him. But with all his quirks he's still a smart guy who writes a good blog.
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