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1409 Goose Landing Virginia Beach, VA 23451 - 05/31/12 07:57 AM
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Revealed - 05/31/12 06:08 AM
People have to live in houses through all kinds of weather. Instead of waiting through the rain, or waiting till everything drys up, maybe it is a better practice to see what the house and property do in the wet and rain. This is a good blog post on just that subject.
Via Jay Markanich - Northern VA Home Inspector (Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC):
In the past week we have had a lot of rain around here.
For some time I have had a pre-drywall inspection scheduled. The clients called to ask if we might want to reschedule it due to … (1 comments)
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How Dropping the Sales Pitch Can Build a Stronger Business - 05/30/12 06:35 AM
When you drop the sales pitch and deal with people in an ethical manner, you will gain more trust and a higher standing in the community. More trust equals more referrals and this will eventually translate into more success. When was the last time you reviewed the history of mortgage rates in our country? Don’t just tell your buyers that interest rates are great right now… give them the facts! Don’t just point out how low rates are…show them how financing a loan with a low rate will affect their lives, by explaining the implications in terms of dollars and cents.
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20 Insanely Easy Ways to Use Pinterest in Your Business - 05/29/12 06:29 AM
As social media continues to evolve, so do the tools. Stepping up to the plate with a fierce vengeance is the new social media darling Pinterest. Haven’t heard of it? Let me give you a quick description before we dive into the “why” behind using Pinterest within your business.
What Is Pinterest
Pinterest is a simple way to capture and save any picture you find on the web. Now before you think it’s just another version of Facebook, let me explain. Pinterest is at its core a visual experience. It takes magazine clipping online by offering a way to explore the … (3 comments)
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“I Love My Kitchen, But I Hate Where My House Is” - 05/25/12 06:45 AM
Location, location, location. Great kitchens can be made in a house that already has a great location. Sometimes we have to point out to buyers that one great feature in a house is not always enough to buy it.
Via Barbara Altieri, REALTOR® Fairfield County CT Real Estate (RealtyQuest, CT Homes for Sale and Real Estate):
At a recent party I had a conversation with a fairly new homebuyer from out of state. She was telling me that she moved into her new home a year ago and was thinking of moving out.
My first thought, not knowing her, was that … (0 comments)
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Curing Corporate A.D.D. Caused by Being Overly Connected - 05/24/12 06:20 AM
With the connectedness of modern society, it seems like work never ends, and the sense of pressure can lead to corporate A.D.D., but there are ways to circumvent this from happening or continuing in your life.
What is corporate A.D.D.? It’s not uncommon for work to take over your life in today’s world. Gone are the days where at 5:00, you leave work and enjoy a relaxing evening at home. Today, with cell phones, laptops and tech tablets, you have access to your work email at all times, and if clients have your cell phone number, forget it. They know … (2 comments)
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FHA Ready to Ease Rules for Mortgages on Condos - 05/22/12 06:44 AM
I live in a beach area that thrives on condo sales for both tourists and for the locals. Where else can you buy affordable ocean front property that is not a condo? However, outside of 10-20% down payments, you just can't find financing. To take matters worse, I also live in a busy military area. We have 5 bases in the Hampton Roads area. That means roughly 96% of all financing is either FHA or VA loans. However, these buyers can't even think about buying most condos because of the current strict guidelines imposed by VA and FHA. I was thrilled to … (0 comments)
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10 Best Iconic Modern House Tours in North America - 05/21/12 06:16 AM
—Anyone with a pile of money can build a big pile of a house, and back in the day, that’s what you did. (See, for instance, “Downton Abbey.”) But during the 20th century, a group of architects staged a controversial revolt. Why, they asked, couldn’t less be as impressive as more?<!--more-->
Across North America, sensational — but often reasonably-sized and usually deceptively simple — homes stand as their legacy. Here are 10 of the best. All of them are open to the public, but make advance reservations.
1. Farnsworth House, Plano, Ill.Architect Mies van der Rohe is known for putting his … (2 comments)
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6 Cool Apps for Real Estate Agents - 05/18/12 06:27 AM
Help buyers compare floor plans, investment returns, instant home valuations
With the exponential increase in the use of smartphones and iPads, real estate apps are springing up everywhere. The question is which apps are right for your business?
What's new at your local app store that you may have missed? Here is a list of apps that you may want to consider adding to your smartphone or tablet.
1. No address required Have you ever been showing property and your buyers asked about the value of a property but you couldn't see the exact address? If so, you'll … (6 comments)
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8 Things to Know About Buying a Home Today - 05/17/12 06:48 AM
Use mortgage preapproval to your advantage
The home-sale market is showing signs of life. More buyers are confident now than they were a year ago that now might be a good time to buy. Interest rates are near all-time lows and home prices in some areas are back to 2002-2003 levels.
Some analysts are finally suggesting that we may be headed for recovery. If you have a secure job, plan to stay put and feel this is the right time for you to buy a home, consider the following.
In most places in the country, home prices are … (0 comments)
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Builder Confidence Rises Five Points in May - 05/16/12 06:24 AM
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes gained five points in May from a downwardly revised reading in the previous month to reach a level of 29 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo<!--more--> Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. This is the index’s strongest reading since May of 2007.
“Builders in many markets are reporting that buyer traffic and sales have picked back up after a pause this April,” says Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. “It seems we have resumed the gradual … (0 comments)
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What You Should Know About Pocket Listings - 05/15/12 06:24 AM
Over the past year or so, “pocket listings” have become a more mainstream option for quietly marketing a home. If you haven’t heard this real estate term before, you probably will. Here is what today’s homebuyers and sellers need to know about pocket listings.
A pocket listing is an unofficial, off-market listing Also known as a “quiet” or “off-market” listing, a pocket listing is a property that an agent keeps tucked away in his or her “pocket.” Though the seller has a signed listing agreement with a real estate agent, the property for sale isn’t officially listed in the MLS. Other … (5 comments)
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The Difference Between an Obstacle and an Opportunity? - 05/14/12 06:14 AM
For early Monday morning, this was inspirational. What a great reminder that it is all about how we see things, and respond to them. Attitude is everything. Have a great Monday!
Via Lou Ludwig CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC, e-PRO, (Ludwig & Associates):
Motivational Power Quote
The Difference Between an Obstacle and an Opportunity?
“What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity?
our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty,
and every difficulty has an opportunity.”
J. Sidlow Baxter 1903 – 1999, Author and Theologian
As I see it . . . . . . .
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OPEN HOUSE 1-4 PM Saturday 5/12/12 5024 Bruce St. Norfolk, VA 23513 - 05/11/12 11:52 AM
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5 Secret Sources of Down Payment Money - 05/11/12 06:14 AM
Down payment: the mere utterance of the term strikes dread in the hearts of many a homebuyer-to-be. Coming up with a down payment often seems like an obstacle that must be overcome, as it is the biggest test of our ability to save money most of us will ever face and it’s a test that stands between us and our ability to become a homeowner.I think it’s time to flip the script on how we think about down payments. What if we looked at them less as an obstacle, and more as an opportunity? Saving and collecting a down payment takes … (2 comments)
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Foreclosures Down to 69,000 in March, Inventory Also Down - 05/10/12 06:12 AM
Year-over-year, the number of completed foreclosures decreased about 19 percent to 69,000 in March 2012 compared to 85,000 in March 2011, according to CoreLogic’s National Foreclosure Report for March. Month-over-month, with the number of completed foreclosures in February 2012 at 66,000, foreclosures increased about 4.5 percent in March 2012.
On a quarterly basis, foreclosures decreased to 198,000 in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 232,000 through the same quarter a year ago.
Overall, since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008, there have been approximately 3.5 million completed foreclosures.
In addition to the yearly and … (0 comments)
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A Mother's Day Thought - 05/09/12 06:39 AM
Seeing this sign made me think about things my Mother said over the years. Were they always good or helpful, not really. However, I know they came out of a desire for me to do my best.
We are never too old to remember some of the basics.
1. Be kind to those smaller than you, or those who can not care for themselves.
3. Take everything with a grain of salt. Not everything will be perfect.
4. A joyful heart goes a long way to a joyful life.
5. When you are in a bad place, help others that … (1 comments)
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4 Ways to Capitalize on Shift to Seller's Market - 05/08/12 06:07 AM
Some see signs of the next housing shortage
It's the spring selling season and good news is popping up like wildflowers in many places. The rocky bottom may be behind us with a new challenge ahead: a seller's market with higher prices and not enough inventory.
"A seller's market? Are you serious?" the naysayers will say. "NAR just announced that prices declined again and that the current sales pace puts us on track for doing about 4.93 million home sales in 2012. That's less than the typical 5 million home sales that constitutes an average year."
Signs of the next … (4 comments)
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Renters More Optimistic About Buying - 05/07/12 06:09 AM
A PulteGroup survey of renters says more expect to buy homes in the next two years. They may have watched the value of their parents’ homes soar then crash. And, chances are, they know someone who is losing their home to foreclosure. Still, the hope of homeownership is alive among people who rent and want to buy, according to a recent survey by PulteGroup.
The home builder’s survey results showed that 60% of renters who say they want to buy a home in the future have increased their intent to buy compared to a year ago. And 61% of that … (2 comments)
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Don't Defer Joy - 05/04/12 09:51 AM
In real estate, the list of things to do is endless
Are you deferring joy?
I ask because a) it's so easy to do, and b) having a happy heart is imperative to becoming a successful Realtor.
I'm learning firsthand about joy thanks to my beautiful 16-month-old. Certainly, I had joy before she was born, but recognizing your own joy and actually seeing it in someone else are two different things.
In real estate, the list of "things to do" is endless. There are money-making activities and then there are business maintenance activities. And both have to get done.
Diabolically … (0 comments)
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There is no perfect temperature for your water heater - 05/03/12 09:03 AM
So often we over-look the temperature in our water heater, or assume it is set correctly. This is a good read on temperature as well as how to solve the problem of scalding injuries. While Minnesota requirements are mentioned, it is a good information for all areas.
Via Minneapolis Home Inspections - Reuben Saltzman (Structure Tech Home Inspections):
What's the best temperature to set your water heater to? There's no single great answer. The American Society of Sanitary Engineering Scald Awareness Task Group recently released a white paper on this topic, which essentially says that there is no perfect temperature to set you water … (0 comments)
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Natural Remedies for Mosquito Control - 05/02/12 07:33 AM
With hot days and warm nights approaching, the natural enemy of outdoor activities, the mosquito, is beginning to show itself. With such a warm winter many are predicting a much larger population of these biting bugs. Thankfully there are natural ways to protect you, your family and even treat your yard.
What are these products?
Natural products for you and your family, and ones that seem to really work, are those with several plant derived ingredients. These are topical applications replace other spray or wipe on products. Common ingredients included in these products are: Geranium Oil, … (1 comments)
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Donna Bosze
Chesapeake,
VA
More about me…
Realty Executives Top Producers
Address: 316 Office Square Lane, Virginia Beach, VA, 23462
Office Phone: (757) 338-5334
Cell Phone: (757) 338-5334
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