open houses: Searcy looks good after being away for awhile. - 10/24/07 09:48 PM
Why is it that we always want to go on vacations? Do new things? Travel to foreign parts?
I guess it's our sense of curiosity. It is also good for us to go places, see things, do different things, witness other cultures. One of my fellow Realtors just got back from … (1 comments)
|
open houses: We need name tags on everyone! - 10/19/07 10:41 AM
Along with photos on our cards as Realtors, I have a pet peeve with the bankers, mortgage brokers, Wal-Mart employees, etc., when they have a first-name only name tag. Well how many Jennifers are there? How many Marys? How many Jims? How many Roberts? And there must be several million Lisas. I … (1 comments)
|
open houses: Pictures on cards vs. no picture? - 10/19/07 09:54 AM
Some controversy always exists on real estate cards and what you should have on them. My habit has always been to throw away the cards with no photos because there's no way for me to remember that person without a picture. (Having taught Art, I'm strictly a "one picture is worth … (10 comments)
|
open houses: Opportunity time? Is that what you call it? - 10/17/07 08:06 PM
In our little town of Searcy AR brokers have told agents that they'd be given "opportunity time" which meant that the agent would be the one on "duty" when a customer either called or walked through the door of the office. That lucky agent had the opportunity to turn the customer into … (4 comments)
|
open houses: Not pet friendly? Don't let that be known... - 10/16/07 07:07 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 … (6 comments)
|
open houses: From Treo to Treo to Treo..... - 10/15/07 09:31 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 … (3 comments)
|
open houses: This is a beginning... - 10/14/07 06:09 PM
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 … (9 comments)
|
open houses: The market becomes slow from here until Christmas. - 10/14/07 05:19 PM
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 … (4 comments)
|
open houses: Things have become easier in some ways... - 10/11/07 08:50 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 … (5 comments)
|
open houses: What is a slow day in real estate? - 10/06/07 08:45 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. … (12 comments)
|
open houses: Does a faster cable connection really make a difference? - 10/05/07 09:10 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 … (8 comments)
|
open houses: Who can really represent a buyer well? - 10/04/07 09:16 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 … (2 comments)
|
open houses: Just what in a house is a room???? - 10/03/07 09:51 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 … (9 comments)
|
open houses: What do they teach in driving training these days? - 09/30/07 08:31 PM
I'm freshly home from a trip to South Carolina....well, I'm home but not fresh. The traffic there and in my state of Arkansas makes me wonder what sort of training folks get before getting in control of a vehicle. I was taught to look in the rear view mirror when passing … (4 comments)
|
open houses: A fun rap tune from Searcy AR - 09/25/07 08:28 PM
I'm not a big fan of rap mainly because I can't understand so many of the words that they are saying. But I'm a big fan of my hometown Searcy AR and my Alma Mater Harding University in Searcy. There's a really fun rap tune on youtube that I saw today. … (1 comments)
|
open houses: How many of you are aware of USDA Rural Development houses.... - 09/24/07 07:23 PM
After responding to a blog about Habitat for Humanity I thought it might be a good idea to mention the USDA Rural Development Direct Loan to everyone. I wrote the following. "Habitat for Humanity is no doubt a great idea and it does provide homes for many people. But I worry … (2 comments)
|
open houses: A couple of helpful tips learned at convention this week - 09/23/07 08:33 PM
What I learned at convention is impressive. One of the questions presented to us by one of the speakers was "What percentage of shoppers will be shopping on the internet first in two years?" In other words, before contacting a realtor, they'll be surfing first. My guess was correct when I … (5 comments)
|
open houses: How one may get started in the REO business. - 09/22/07 09:30 PM
Several questions have been asked about how to become an REO agent. I looked back and came to the conclusion that I never solicited the business. I happened to be on "phone duty" one day when a bond money REO came through. They wanted me to check out a little house … (0 comments)
|
open houses: Is there a market for used water heaters? - 09/12/07 10:04 PM
There must be a market for used water heaters and used central units. I seem to be getting an REO a week and they have usually been occupied for a year or less and were owned by the sub-prime borrowers who had nothing to lose.
The one I went to today had … (4 comments)
|
open houses: Attending the REO auction can be good for your career. - 09/11/07 08:08 PM
The consumer seems to thing that if he goes to the auction for a foreclosure at the court house, he may get a good deal. This is hardly ever the case.
I attend them about once a month if I know something interesting is up for foreclosure. At these auctions there are … (2 comments)
|
open houses: Take a different path to your destination. - 09/11/07 07:55 PM
We learned something very valuable back in the early 80's when we were fortunate enough to have a little broker training. We got together and pretended we were making cold calls. Imagine that! Now we have to figure out if someone is on the do-not-call-list before we can call them at … (3 comments)
|
open houses: The weekly caravan to tour listings in the 80's and now. - 09/10/07 07:58 PM
In the early 80's we signed up in our small town to get Multiple Listing Service and lockboxes. The next thing that our California transplant gave us a hint about was touring listings. He said, "Well, in California we all got together on Wednesday and had a caravan to preview all … (0 comments)
|
open houses: REO properties and signs of possible drug use - 09/09/07 02:04 PM
I mentioned in another blog about what I learned about possible traces of drug participation in homes that are REO homes. I have often found light bulbs missing from all fixtures even when it was trouble to take off the fixtures to get to the bulbs. My source, who has evidently … (5 comments)
|
open houses: Finding buyers through open houses. - 09/08/07 08:50 PM
A little more information on open house values has to do with the ease in which they can be done. Many people don't want to plan that far ahead and spend the money on an advertisement for open house.
Our California agent who moved to Arkansas gave us good advice about that....this … (7 comments)
|
open houses: The value of open houses early in a real estate career. - 09/08/07 08:33 PM
When I was a beginning agent and a full-time art teacher, I had very few listings but did all that I could to further my fascinating new career. One weekend I got permission to hold an open house in another agent's listing. (Older agents seem to hate open houses.) It was … (0 comments)
|
;)
Links;)
Tags (Tag Cloud);)
Archives
