Real Living HER Open House list for Sunday, March 01, 2009 - 02/28/09 11:06 AM

 
The Real Living HER's open house list 
The Open House list from Real Living HER is not an archive... this link will reflect the CURRENT Real Living HER open house list at all times. If you look at this a year from now you will see the current Real Living HER open house list, not today's, Saturday February 28, 2009 list. 
What will you find today on the list to look at?  The Real Living HER open house list for Sunday March 1, 2009 says:  edit "There are 160 Open Houses*  There are 173 Open Houses available."
"Columbus" homes … (0 comments)

Part of the housing problem or part of the solution? - 02/27/09 06:12 PM
If you're not part of the solution you are part of the problem? I am not sure who said that...originally or what the problem was....

agents who do not show short sales are part of the housing problem | BuzzDash polls
 
I love polls, related posts :
 
Are You Still Showing Short Sale Buyers? Not Me! (Members Only)
YOU are part of the housing problem not the solution  (Members Only)
Are YOU part of the Housing Problem ???? Sour Grapes Never Make Sweet Wine
Changes on the horizon.... 
MUST READ FOR ALL AGENTS THAT SELL SHORT SALES … (12 comments)

Are you low hanging fruit? - 02/26/09 06:06 AM

... as a real estate blogger.
Todd Carpenter said "I think the low hanging fruit comes from those real estate bloggers who criticize NAR because they are frustrated and want NAR to be better." 
Todd Carpenter is the new Social Media Manager for NAR. I prefer NAR Social Media Czar to Social Media Manager or Social Media Director and would appreciate it if you would ALL refer to him that way....
On Facebook, Sarah Cooper shared an interview Ginger Wilcox did for Agent Genius with @tcar the new social media Czar at NAR. Todd is @tcar on Twitter.   I don't … (29 comments)

"Weak economy slows January homes sales figures " - 02/25/09 09:09 AM
The title is the official word from the Columbus Board of Realtors, in a message sent to members this morning...
The email says:
"The following will be released to the media this morning, Feb. 25, 2009" 
The facts:
"Weak economy slows January homes sales figures" 
The hope? the spin?  The eternal Realtor optimism?
"$8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit expected to boost spring" 
Gary Parson's the 2009 President of the Columbus Board of Realtors tells real estate agents, the media etc. that consumer confidence will return with the warner weather and flowers this spring...
Let's hope so.... 
According to the article:
… (2 comments)

WordPress.org blog HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 02/25/09 07:08 AM
I want to welcome WPReality to ActiveRain.  I want to thank Rita and Brian Burke for introducing me to Sean.   Sean is a member of ActiveRain.

Rita or Brian Burke wrote:
Need help with WordPress? - WPReality can help!
I did.
I really, really needed help.
I needed help long before I accidentally deleted my WordPress content on Sunday afternoon.  I have had the blog since New Years Eve in 2006 but this WordPress.org thing does not come easy for me...
It is ugly... It does not have plug-ins.  I have read WordPress for Dummies as if Lisa Sabin-Wilson was … (12 comments)

Ohio House Bill 257 Failed - 02/24/09 11:53 AM
Old news...
I found out in January in talking to a home inspector that the bill to license home inspectors in Ohio had failed... or Ohio House Bill 257 had not passed.  Or maybe I knew in 2008... and it just did not phase me with everything else going on in the housing industry.
I could have read it here at the end of January:  Ohio House Bill 257 - Licensing of Home Inspectors in Ohio on Tim and Mariana Buell's ActiveRain blog post in December 2008.  Ohio House Bill 257 would have required Ohio home inspectors to be licensed.  The … (4 comments)

Lassez Les Bons Temp Roulez! - 02/23/09 10:28 PM

 

Let The  Good Times  Roll!
This is a Real Living eCard.
… (8 comments)

The Bigger You Give, The Bigger You Get (Back)...Content Ownership on ActiveRain - 02/23/09 07:11 PM
 
Re-Blogging Jeff Corbett about content ownership.
I have a Wordpress.org blog that is mine, mine, all mine...  I own the content... too bad after about 26 months of building it I deleted it by accident yesterday.
There is a learning curve.   It was an awful lot of of work...
 
 
Via Jeff Corbett (ActiveRain):
There are many who believe that there is an inherent risk when posting content to 3rd party sites because you allegedly 'don't own your content'. Its true, when you submit your content to 3rd party sites you become bound by their Terms of Use and other … (11 comments)

Painted Brick - 02/23/09 11:34 AM
Would you paint your brick fireplace? 
Rachel Backus a  home stager in Hudson Ohio recommended painting oak cabinets from the 1970's, 1980's  speaking to the real estate community and other stagers Rachael asked WOOD you tell a homeowner to paint the cabinets?
"WOOD you tell a homeowner  to paint brick?"  or  "Wood you tell a homeowner to paint the fireplace?   just doesn't have the same ring to it as Rachel's title, does it?
Have you ever painted brick?  Were you happy with the results?
This is painted brick... Too bad I don't have a before photo.  This is the … (2 comments)

What's Open Sunday February 22. 2009 - 02/22/09 06:17 AM
What's open Today?  There are 177 open houses on the Real Living HER Open House List for Sunday February 22, 2009* Two weeks ago there were 155 open houses on the list.  

Real Living HER Open House List  This is not an archive... this link will reflect the CURRENT Real Living HER open house list at all times. If you look at this a year from now you will see the current Real Living HER open house list, not today's list. 
What will you find today on today's list to look at?
Columbus  - $108,000 to $679,900 price range homes … (4 comments)

Six reason why ActiveRain is losing its way... - 02/21/09 11:08 AM
The stinkin badges?  Charging for blogs?  Charging for membership?
OK I am not sure I think ActiveRain is losing it's way.  Or has "jumped the shark" although I said ActiveRain "jumped the shark" last summer. Sidenote "jumped the shark" recently jumped the shark, say "leaped the scorpion" from now on.  It's  documented.
I just stole the "Six reasons"  title from a post about Facebook that  Debra Drummond (@MichiganMoves) tweeted:   "Six reasons why Facebook is losing its way"
 

Facebook is five years old.  Happy Birthday Facebook. Confession I am not a big fan of Facebook. 
ActiveRain will be three this … (37 comments)

Buying a Short Sale Property - 02/21/09 10:15 AM
 
My buddy Liz Householder wrote this... this is a "re-blog" of Liz's post.
Liz wrote this about "Connecticut" the state where she lives and sells real estate and blogs...
It's pretty similar in many ways to "Buying a Short Sale Property" in Central Ohio but I am no expert...   :- ) The issued Liz writes about in her fourth paragraph, "If the buyer has an inspection and doesn't want to fix the problems that crop up, the contracts in Connecticut allow the buyer to walk away."  are dealt with in the contract we use here.  The Columbus Board of Realtors … (1 comments)

Does Columbus have Bedroom Communities? - 02/21/09 07:09 AM
I had to look up "bedroom" community, when I saw the term in a Columbus Dispatch Article. 
I "googled"  What does bedroom community mean 
I have heard the term "bedroom community"  before... of course.  I've sometimes wondered if I grew up in one.  Or if what I grew up in was a suburb? Or a separate town that was close to a bigger city.  The definitions I found in Google kinda told me what I already knew about what "bedroom community" means.  Some said the same thing... some contradicted one another.... some said the suburbs are bedroom communities.
Columbus Dispatch … (2 comments)

What's New at Polaris - 02/20/09 05:05 PM
There is a new sculpture in the the "Lifestyle Center" at Polaris.  An obelisk?  An obelisk with a star on top.
The "Lifestyle Center"  is the "Eastonish" part on the south-east end of the Polaris.  We went and walked around outside  last Sunday for a little bit. This is the part of the mall where there used to be a Kaufmann's Department Store.  The Cheese Cake Factory has been open in the "Lifestyle Center" since last fall along with the new Barnes and Nobles ...(Barnes and Noble  used to be in the Polaris Town Center across Polaris Parkway.)   Other stores … (2 comments)

Foreclosure in Worthington brings hope - 02/20/09 09:04 AM
The foreclosure on the Worthington Square Mall was in December 2008 I believe.  I visited the mall once at Christmas time, the first time I had gone over since August 2008. The Victoria Secret Store and The Bath and Body Works store were noticeably gone since I visited the mall in late summer.
An article in Business First Columbus last Friday said 19 of the 43 mall spots are filled, about 50 percent. .. reading about the Worthington Square Mall a couple of weeks ago in another local publication I remarked that 50 percent seemed high to me, it seemed like … (0 comments)

Bayleaf India Bistro is for lovers - 02/19/09 09:31 AM
That's where we went for Valentines Day because sadly I did NOT win the Mortons Columbus Twitter contest... and because neither of us could get reservations at the places everyone wanted to be on Valentines Day when it got close. And because we love Indian Food...
I believe Bayleaf India Bistro is a bit more special because we have NOT gone there a bunch of times like another Indian restaurant in the Polaris area, Cuisine of India. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What I loved
My entree... I tried something new, a salmon dish pictured above.  I usually order the same thing over and over.
… (6 comments)

Got bling? - 02/19/09 06:31 AM

 
 
I noticed someone adding their photo to a comment yesterday and wondered what ActiveRain would do to jazz up the badges so that people would get what they are and not put up their photo in the comments to look  like everyone else.  A normal reaction.
I was re-blogging when I noticed an official stamp on my photo...  The "Rainmaker" seal of approval.
 
 
In the blog about  ActiveRain's NEW Membership plan Brad said:
"The NEW Rainmaker Badge: If you currently utilize any AR product (Listing Router Campaign, Outside Blogs, Sponsored Localism Communities etc.)  the new RainMaker … (17 comments)

My thoughts on the housing bailout plan - 02/19/09 05:54 AM
 
Well not "My"  thoughts... these are Spencer Rascoff of Zillow's thoughts about the housing bailout plans. Zillow estimates the value of homes.
My thoughts on the housing bailout plan amount to:
"Gee I hope it will work"
and
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease work." 
and the like.
This is a re-blog of Spencer R of Zillow's  thoughts but then again the "Prepping for my CNBC appearance tonight" should be a tip off that it is not me.
Although I am NOT an analyst, I agree with much of what I understand here. People have to have jobs.  Overall Columbus is lucky in … (2 comments)

I snagged a new member... Inviting on ActiveRain - 02/18/09 05:20 PM
I mean I invited a new member of course...
Monday February 16, 2009 I invited a new member to ActiveRain. 
Monday the day of the historic announcement about changes to ActiveRain for new members I invited a home inspector from Central Ohio to ActiveRain. I invited someone I don't know, have never met, I've  never talked to, don't have his email address but I have to date received 270 points from inviting him.
I believe I musta "snagged"  this new member with my button that is on the sidebar, which says "Click to Join The ActiveRain Real Estate Network."
I wondered … (77 comments)

Columbus - First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - 02/17/09 04:15 PM
The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was signed by the President today as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  It modified the program that went into effect in April 2008. 

Lesser of 10% of cost of the home or $8000 tax credit All principal residences (single family, condo, fee simple townhouse) are eligible Refundable Income limit of $75,000  ($150,000 for couples) First time home buyer (someone who has not owned a principal residence in 3 years) Can use local or state revenue bond financing as well No repayment (homes purchased after January 1, 2009) Recapture (if home … (7 comments)

Columbus is the 27th Top Twitter City in the World - 02/17/09 09:13 AM
In the World...
Columbus Ohio, of course.
London is number one and that is not London Ohio (outside Central Ohio London is a small town north west of Columbus.)  I think of London England first usually when I hear London.  Now Dublin is a different matter...
And the Columbus record did NOT include me... not that I tweet that much... really.
Columbus Underground has the scoop: Columbus is 27th Top Twitter City in the World
"This ranking bases information on the “Location” setting in your twitter profile, so if you’d like to see our ranking improve, make sure you have Columbus, … (4 comments)

What to wear at the Columbus Fish Market - 02/17/09 07:42 AM
"what to wear at the columbus fish market" was a search that ended up on my ColumbusBestBlog recently but I am going to answer it here.

Columbus is casual... 
We could NOT get into Columbus Fish Market (Music alert!!!) on Valentines Day this year... either location.
We could NOT get into Mortons Columbus on Valentines Day this year... ( I tried to win a Valentines Day dinner...)
Not because we were not dressed right.  We just waited too late to get reservations at lots of great restaurants in Central Ohio. We do most years, we ate at Hoggy's at Polaris … (4 comments)

Home Maintenance is Always Easier (and cheaper) than Repairs - 02/16/09 10:52 AM
 
This is a re-blog of content from home insptctor Kevin Corsa up in the Akron / Canton area:
KEVIN CORSA H.I.S. Home Inspections Stark & Summit County, OH Home Inspector
I am attracted to his company name... of course the company I work for was known as HER Realtors (pronounced as H.E.R. Realtors) and is now Real Living HER (still pronounced H. E. R.)   Just makes me think of bathroom towels with HIS and HERS on them...
Routine maintenance is important for home owners.  I used to post monthlt maintenance tips from Real Living right on my website, MaureenMcCabe.com  … (0 comments)

Changes - 02/16/09 09:12 AM
ActiveRain's NEW Membership Plan
Just in case you missed that ActiveRain changed this morning
WHOOOOOO
Who did you think of today just before 5:00 AM PST? (that is late here... in the eastern time zone, it was 6:15 7:15 AM when I started thinking of who I should get to post their first post, so they would "get in under the wire"  I could have called a couple of people.  I think I had about 45 minutes really when I realized Brad's post said AM not PM.
Who do you wish had jumped onto ActiveRain? Or posted their first post?
The … (17 comments)

You Can Do It Cheap, Or You Can Do It Right - 02/15/09 05:58 PM
 
This story from Jay Markanich a home inspector in Virginia shows one investor (flipper's) viewpoint on how to get the job done and Jay's differing opinion. 
Something to think about when buying a home an investor has "redone" even if it all looks new and shiny, have it inspected by a good home inspector.  And sadly if the investor and their "contractor" has this attitude there will be things a home inspector can't see for you.
This is a re-blog of Jay's post.
 
Via Jay Markanich (Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC):
An entire inspection of a foreclosure recently was … (5 comments)

I had a baaaad reaction to SPAM on ActiveRain - 02/15/09 08:41 AM
I had a horrible reaction to SPAM on ActiveRain about a week ago and Bob Stewart laughed...
I was reading my email on my phone and the "from address" on the ActiveRain comment forward to me was long and filled with dollar signs, exclaimation points and calls to action.
Buy Today!!!
Home Search!!
Find Homes!!!
$$$
I gotta tell you when the "spammy signature" fills the screen of my cell phone I notice it.  And I get hives, and my throat closes...
My reaction to spam made me do a little experiment changing my ActiveRain signature (the link on each comment … (11 comments)

@}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- - 02/14/09 06:02 AM
Happy Valentines Day 
@}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`-

 
 
 
@}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`- @}-,-`-
This eCard brought to you by Real Living, I am a real estate agent with Real Living HER, Central Ohio.  The roses are from me, don't say you didn't get anything for Valentines Day.  Be careful putting them in a vase,  they have thorns.
… (5 comments)

Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are staging the web - 02/13/09 07:54 AM
We talk about staging homes here on ActiveRain, a big part of home staging is de-cluttering. The good news Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are getting together for some spring cleaning and de-cluttering of the web.
"Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Collaborate to Clean Up Web" by reporter Miguel Helft in the Bits Column on the New York Times site quotes Matt Cutts:
"There is a lot of clutter on the Web and with this, publishers will be able to clean up a lot of junk,” said Matt Cutts, an engineer who heads Google’s spam fighting efforts. “I think it is going to … (52 comments)

Where You Hang Your Hat Says A Lot About You! - 02/11/09 08:56 AM
 
OK  I 'll play along... I am re-blogging Paddy Pizappi.  Paddy wrote "I chose to hang my hat at my broker for many reasons - here are my top ten."Hmmm the Top Ten Reasons I Enjoy Being An Associate With Real Living HER... this was done very, very quickly so cut me some slack ...
 
Top Ten Reasons I Enjoy Being an Associate with Real Living HER 
10.  Real Living HER is awesome company... I've said it before and I will say it again.
9.    Stability - HER's been around for decades. I learned just yesterday, Real Living has … (7 comments)

Columbus Zoo is Top Zoo in the US - 02/11/09 07:23 AM
The Columbus Zoo tops the Top Ten Zoos in the USA according to USA Travel Guide.
Hooray!
Here's some photos from a visit to the Zoo a year or so ago.
 


 
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium website says
"Treat your cabin fever with a trip the Zoo. Now through March 1, 2009, Zoo ADMISSION IS HALF PRICE, so there's no excuse for staying home."
First Name Basis
In my slideshow I know the baby elephants name, Bodi yet I can't say for sure what the horned animal is or whether the spotted cat is a cheetah or … (0 comments)

Stimulus Watch - 02/10/09 07:56 PM
Do you know what projects your community / state has proposed for the US Stimulus Plan? Do you know what each is projected to cost?  How many jobs they will create? How much they will cost?
Stimulus Watch 
 
How to use the site -  video the Vimeo site says  "Want to learn how to contribute to StimulusWatch.org? This video walks you through all the features of the site."
The video tells you how to add info to the wiki.  Your contributions to Stimulus Watch can show up on your Facebook page, if you want.

Location Location Location
… (7 comments)

Top 10 Defects Found During a Home Inpection - 02/09/09 06:34 PM
 
"Introducing, U.S. Inspect, America's leading national home inspection company" I have never heard of U.S. Inspect.  I have no idea if they are in the Columbus area.  I am just a sucker for Top 10 Lists!  This is a re-blog of U.S. Inspects post.
Wonder if locally the Top Ten lists would vary.
 
Via U.S. Inspect ~ Residential & Commercial Property Inspections (U.S. Inspect):
Knowing what some of the usual situations our consultants discover during an inspection allows you to be a well-informed buyer. Over the years, and borrowing on over a half million inspections, here’s what we’ve discovered as … (3 comments)

Who do you love? BEST steakhouse in Central Ohio? - 02/09/09 10:36 AM

Who's the best steakhouse in Columbus?
Since PollDaddy Polls aren't currently working well on ActiveRain I am going to ask you to step across to my other blog to vote...  ColumbusBestBlog.com to vote.  I had to struggle with the poll there too but I was able to get the poll posted there.   I am getting tired of bottomless polls and I love polls.
Meat Lover's Poll... who has the best steak in Central Ohio? 

For me dinner at a steakhouse is the best thing for Valentine's Day, way ahead of flowers or chocolates...  Not that we do go … (2 comments)

Central Ohio Open Houses - Today - 02/08/09 01:15 PM
What's open today?  There area 155 open houses on today's Real Living HER Open House list*
Real Living HER's open house list (not an archive... this link will show the CURRENT Real Living HER open house list at all time.)
What will you find today on today's list to look at?
Columbus  - $73,500 to $389,900 price range homes and condos
Dublin - $154,900 to $544,000 price range homes and condos
Powell - $247,900 to $699,999 price range homes and condos
Lewis Center -  $207,500 to  $379,900 price range homes and condos
Westerville - $89,900 to $285,000 price range homes and … (2 comments)

In Foreclosure?'Stay Put' Says Congresswoman - 02/08/09 09:25 AM
Here's a re-blog of a post from Ohio real estate agent Dawn Maloney.   Dawn shares  advice from an Ohio Congresswoman, Marcy Kaptor to homeowners facing foreclosure.  SQUAT!
In early 2008 then Attorney General (now the disgraced former Attorney General)  Marc Dann had a plan to get help Ohio homeowners facing foreclosure.   Get attornies involved to help the homeowners.  The banks have attornies on their side.  
US News & World Reports reported on it back in April 2008 - How Ohio is Tackling the Foreclosure Crisis by Luke Mullins  but that's all history...
Congresswoman Kaptor is from the Toledo area … (2 comments)

Winter Wickedness in Worthington - 02/07/09 10:46 AM
Winter Wickedness at the Worthinton Holiday Inn runs through tonight but I believe it is sold out already... if you are so inclined.
Dean Narciso wrote about "the festival" for the Columbus Dispatch:  Columbus Dispatch:  Winter Wickedness Perversion Fest draws heat
I first  saw something about it on the news last night on Channel 10...  I must not have been paying much attention... maybe half asleep?  I thought "Is that Worthington?" When I heard Worthington I tried to tell myself it was at a Holiday Inn in the Crosswoods area (City of Columbus), not the Holiday Inn in Worthington.
Channel … (4 comments)

What the heck? What's pagesmag.com - 02/07/09 07:12 AM

Anyone else seen this pop up while trying to read posts on ActiveRain?
I am signed in and I just hit cancel and I am able to read what I want to read...
From ActiveRain on my left side bar when I try to  read my Associates I see the pop up above.
Associates
Associates (Posts) <--- Associates link works the (Posts) link does not work. Central Ohio (Posts) Real Living (Posts)
 
I first saw the pop up last night.  I saw it again today when I got on to read posts.  Both times  I went looking for … (22 comments)

Short Sales For Buyers 101 - 02/07/09 06:20 AM
This is a re-blog of Michael Barbera's "Short Sales for Buyers 101"  Micheal is in Worchester (pronounced Wooster? )  Massachusetts with Real Living.
There are short sales all across the US now and of course we have them available in Central Ohio. 
Michael's post shows the key to buying a short sale is patience.
Via Michael Barbera (Real Living Barbera Associates):
Does that price sound too good to be true?
 
Ok, so the property is a short sale. Im not sure how much you know about short sales, so Ill start from the bottom...
 
A short sale occurs when a … (5 comments)

Helpful hint - air infiltration at window panels NEXT to the door - 02/06/09 11:07 AM
 
This is a re-blog of content from Central Ohio Home Inspector Rick Harrington.
I am a sucker for his Themal Scan photos.  He did one of his dog... warm cold nose.  Duh! Dog noses are supposed to be cold.  
A home inspector did a thermal scan photo recently for a client of mine.  WOW!
We are going into a heat wave,  high 30's?  or low 40's this weekend after all the snow and ice.
 
Via Rick Harrington Specialist--Infrared Residential (Patch Independent Home Inspections, LLC):
While performing Thermal Scans with infrared camera here in the Central Ohio area,  (it is … (0 comments)

Icicles ... - 02/06/09 09:39 AM

 
Are these pretty sparkly icicles on an old drafty house without modern insulation?  Nope the Columbus Ohio  home is only about seven years old, the builder did not insulate over the utility room at the front of the house for some reason.  Or the company that does the insulation did not install the insulation in this part of the house.  The builder did not catch that there was no insulation.  
I am not sure if many new home buyers in Central Ohio spend the money to inspect a newly built house.   It would probably have cost about … (2 comments)

ActiveRain HELP - 02/06/09 06:46 AM
If I wanted to change my ActiverRain signature (the link to my profile page) from the bland: 
Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)
To:
FREE Columbus Home Search $$ Save $$ Find Homes! Columbus OH REALTOR Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Homes for Sale $$  Save! $$ Buy Today!
Or should I go with
FREE Columbus Home Search $$ Save $$ Find Homes! Columbus OH REALTOR Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Homes for Sale $$  Save! $$ Buy Today!  614-825-8842
I forget where I make that change. 
Settings?
Profile?
Too much?  What crosses the line for you?  … (15 comments)

A newspaper on a PC? "That's Crazy Talk" - 02/05/09 03:40 PM
"A Newspaper? On a PC? That’s Crazy Talk"  in the Bits column on the the New York Times website,  Sam Grobart shares a  video from a 1981. It a San Francisco television newscast about the two San Francisco print publications pioneering newspapers on PCs.
"Imagine if you will sitting down to your morning coffee... turning on your home computer to read the days newspaper"
"That's Crazy Talk!"
The San Francisco PC owner dials ...and I mean dials... look at the monitors... look at the keyboards but really, really look at that red rotary dial phone.  That's primitive. The PC owner … (3 comments)

Hope not looking hopeful - 02/05/09 06:55 AM
 
This is a re-blog of content from Cheryl Johnson, a real estate broker in California about the Hope for Homeowners Loans, a national program. 
From the NPR article that Cheryl links to:
analysts forecasted only 400,000 mortgage owners would be served by the program. There've been just 451 applications and how many loans have actually closed.... well here's the news from Cheryl  
Via Cheryl Johnson, Bob Taylor Properties, Inc., Los Angeles, CA:
Did you catch this on the news?  So, far, only 25 Hope for Homeowners loans have closed in the ENTIRE country!!???!
Read the NPR article here
Seems to me … (2 comments)

ActiveRain - Little League of real estate blogging? - 02/04/09 09:06 AM
Joe Zekas scared the bejeebers out of me back when he was active on ActiveRain.
One of his lines that comes back to me over and over is:
"Stop slobbering over each other in comments. Advance the conversation or shut up." 
Harsh? 
Joe of YoChicago went on on:
Too many of you sound like you're at a little league game encouraging the uncoordinated kid who simply forgot to swing at the pitch."
Some say it's for the points, some say it's to let people know that they are being read...  or to encourage, or just stop to say "hi!"     … (17 comments)

"Goodbye City Center" - 02/04/09 06:17 AM
Will Columbus Commons be Columbus Ohio's equivalent of New York's Central Park?  Green space in the city...
Today's Columbus Dispatch article "Goodbye City Center" by Mike Pramik and Marla Matzer Rose says farewell to City Center the downtown mall: 
"A Downtown gem when it opened in 1989, the forlorn mall will be torn down by summer. The city wants to develop the land as a park, ringed by housing, restaurants, shops and offices -- all to be completed in five to 10 years."
and Hello to Columbus Commons:
"The city has dubbed the $165 million project Columbus Commons. It is … (6 comments)

Happy Groundhog Day 2009! - 02/02/09 04:15 AM

 
Happy Groundhogs Day from Columbus Ohio Yes it's that time again.  February 2, 2009 Happy Groundhog Day.
Buckeye Chuck in Marion  Ohio should be up soon to let US know whether we get six more weeks of winter or an early spring in Central Ohio.
Ohio History Central (part of the Ohio Historical Society) says of Buckeye Chuck
"From late September until early April, Buckeye Chuck spends his time hibernating. On February 2, against his will, Chuck emerges from his sleep to predict the weather. In 1979, the Ohio legislature made Buckeye Chuck Ohio's official groundhog."
While the … (5 comments)

It's not that I don't like Linkedin. A Distribution Dilemma - 02/01/09 08:39 AM

 
I like polls.
I really love polls.
I like Linkedin, better than Facebook or MySpace but really that is NOT saying much.
Linkedin has polls now, maybe MySpace and Facebook do too but I don't like either so it does not matter.
The fact that you can not edit The Linkedin polls... doesn't work for me.  I usually adjust  a word or two on each poll I do on ActiveRain or my real blog ColumbusBestBlog.com
About Linkedin Polls from Linkedin: 
Add the Polls application and leverage the wisdom of millions of business professionals on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Polls allow … (3 comments)

 
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Maureen McCabe Columbus Ohio real estate

Columbus, OH

More about me…

HER Realtors

Office Phone: (614) 388-8249

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A site written by an agent with HER Realtors in Columbus Ohio.




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