New Homes Aren't Perfect - 10/30/06 08:47 PM
When I am working with purchasers who decide they would like to buy a new home, while writing the contract with the new homes sales manager, I ask the manager when will be the best time before closing to complete a home inspection, should the purchasers opt to have one. … (26 comments)
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How much are you willing to gamble over permits? - 10/28/06 07:59 PM
As consumers continue to have more access to more property data over state, county and city Internet sites, an increasing number of transactions in process are getting extra scrutiny over the matter of building permits. People will go on an MLS access site and notice that the property of interest … (16 comments)
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It's that time of the campaign year.... - 10/28/06 05:57 PM
As the House and Senate go into recess for the final campaign swings, once again they are putting elements of housing tax deductions on the chopping block. There is pending and proposed legislation to squeeze yet more dollars out of the already over-taxed middleclass Americans. They, once again, are looking … (0 comments)
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When to pass on a listing - 10/25/06 08:28 PM
Every listing can be a new adventure. It can add to your production and, it has the potential to drive you straight up a tree, financially and otherwise. We are still in a transition market in Northern VA and, many neighborhood prices have not yet finished adjusting to reflect a … (0 comments)
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Business Development Idea: Condemned Properties - 10/22/06 05:03 PM
Around the country, in most states, each county government has a Health Department. Typically, someone from the Health Department is contacted by a county property appraiser or a neighbor of a property that appears to have been abandoned or the current occupants have allowed the property to deteriorate to the … (1 comments)
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Why Realtors go out on their own.... - 10/20/06 04:59 AM
I have been in the real estate industry for 20 years. Like most, I have had some stellar years and, a few that I knew I could have done a lot better. For the first 12 years, I was part of four different large and well-established real estate companies in … (41 comments)
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Who’s watching your marketing and advertising dollars? - 10/18/06 01:38 PM
Who’s watching your marketing and advertising dollars? Lots of folks. The Internet is replete with literally thousands of businesses who compete for your hard-earned dollars with alluring promises to double your Internet hits, triple your ad responses and provide you with so much business that you are going to need … (19 comments)
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How far will you go to identify with your clients?? - 10/17/06 10:10 AM
In building rapport with new clients, what do you do to help them feel more comfortable? In the last decade, there were consultants talking about speech patterns, rate and tonality. When your prospect is naturally a fast-talker, increase your rate or pace of speaking. If they were slow of speech … (1 comments)
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Sometimes we talk too much.... - 10/17/06 07:08 AM
In working with newer agents, I find a consistent propensity to want to say too much and not let the opportunity or issue speak for itself. In an earlier post, I talked about the “Parking Lot Bailout” which occurs when agents spend too much time talking about everything except helping … (17 comments)
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Problem Neighbor - 10/16/06 08:27 PM
As a listing agent, sometimes we play peacemaker and try to facilitate neighbor cooperation when something on the neighbor’s side of the fence may discourage buyers from seriously considering your listing for purchase. After all, the purchaser is not just buying a home, they are moving into a neighborhood that … (3 comments)
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Swimming Pools: Value Added?? - 10/16/06 11:20 AM
In Northern VA, swimming pools are most active late May through Labor Day. Then they spend the rest of the year collecting leaves, frogs and an occasional Labrador retriever in search of his next mallard. People who move here from Florida and California are always in search of the perfect … (11 comments)
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When your client has been drinking..... - 10/15/06 06:32 PM
People have a right to be treated with respect. Sometimes people have problems that lead to looking at life through the bottom end of a bottle. What if one of those people happens to be your tipsy client? I certainly don’t object to someone having a drink and, if they’re … (4 comments)
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Who does which repairs??? - 10/15/06 04:25 PM
Okay, so you’ve finished negotiating a reasonable contract and now, you’re just finishing up the home inspection. There is a list of eight items that need to be repaired. Who’s going to do it?
Let’s say the gas furnace burners and air handler have soot and show evidence of not … (3 comments)
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Guess who’s looking over & 2nd guessing your listing comments??? - 10/14/06 07:32 PM
Web Sites Gather Home Ratings from All Corners
If you have access to the Washington Post, today might be a good day to take a look at the real estate section. There is a huge article on one of the latest trends in consumer participation in the real estate market. On … (3 comments)
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Are you inadvertently helping owners break the law? - 10/13/06 06:16 PM
In many residential suburbs, there is a thriving industry of high density sleeping accommodations for employers and/or property owners who wish to house 20 to 30 people at the same location. If you are admitted to see inside one of the properties, you may see rooms filled with mattresses from … (1 comments)
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$1Million may not be enough to retire on..... - 10/13/06 03:37 PM
A survey recently completed of “affluent” baby boomers reveals that most really don’t understand how much they are going to need and where it’s going to be spent. The figure of $1Million often is brandished as the benchmark savings amount for a comfortable retirement. But many financial experts think this … (1 comments)
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Contract Phrases to protect your Client - 10/12/06 09:30 AM
Depending on market conditions, sometimes there is an ability as a Buyer Agent to include wording that requires the Seller to better ensure working order condition in different parts of the property that may not be covered by other provisions of the sales contract. The normal wording already included states … (6 comments)
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Sorry guys, women really are better Realtors…… - 10/12/06 09:07 AM
Over the last 20 years, I have trained several hundred new agents to learn how to survive and, hopefully, prosper in this very competitive industry. Granted, my sample is limited by my own experiences, but I have read enough other surveys and assessments over the years to know it’s true … (8 comments)
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What magnificent world! - 10/12/06 06:11 AM
If you haven't had the opportunity to read any of Ralph Marston's writings, here's one:What magnificent world +++++++++++++++++++ What if you have more power, much more power in fact, than you realize? What would you want to do with it? What if the way you look at the world … (3 comments)
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How do you qualify Buyer motivation? - 10/10/06 12:55 PM
How do you keep the music playing? How do you know when your previously “I want to buy tomorrow” buyer’s motivation has left, without a forwarding address? I really enjoy working with buyers and have found over the years, that the motivation to take the next step sometimes can be … (13 comments)
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Increasing Problems in Hazard Insurance Coverage - 10/07/06 07:41 AM
Natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are sending insurance premiums through whatever is left of the roof. Insurance companies are restricting coverage in a growing number of areas, especially along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts from Texas to Maine. In Florida and Louisiana, more than 600,000 homeowner policies have been … (2 comments)
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When do you check to see if there is a clear title? - 10/06/06 07:12 PM
About 12 years ago, I was working as a buyer agent for a really picky purchaser who was trying to find the “perfect” home for herself and a nine-year old son. After 30 or 35 houses and not feeling like we were getting any closer to finding the right home, … (24 comments)
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VA Loans – Ugh & Arrghh! - 10/06/06 04:54 PM
I hate VA loans, except when higher income debt ratios are needed or when the purchaser has credit issues that make getting approved conventionally less likely.
Can anyone out there give me better reasons to encourage a purchaser to use his VA eligibility for the 1st or even worse, the … (7 comments)
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“Teaming” or “Relationships” with other industry-related professionals - 10/06/06 11:32 AM
I know that around the country, RESPA impacts on the type and depth of relationships Realtors may have, principally, with lenders and settlement agents. A close eye is kept on anything that might smack of illegal compensation, regardless of the form. Clearly, there have been abuses at the public’s expense … (18 comments)
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Debit or Credit Cards for an Earnest Money Deposit? - 10/04/06 10:54 AM
I had a call recently from a “suspect” who I had shown several properties to, and as some of us have experienced – all buyers are liars until proven otherwise, who wanted to know if we accepted credit cards or debit cards for earnest money deposits. My response was, it … (6 comments)
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Bad news only gets worse over time undelivered…….. - 10/03/06 09:27 AM
Back in 1990, I received some of the best advice I ever received in real estate. You know how hard you work to get a listing sold or a buyer under contract. Then you hold your breath, get out your tap-dancing shoes and imagine you are walking on egg shells … (13 comments)
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When a buyer is about to be fired…. - 10/02/06 09:49 AM
I recently learned about a transaction where the buyer was an employee for a company where the buyer’s agent’s wife is an officer. The buyer agent’s wife was aware of the pending transaction and, she told her husband that this employee is going to be fired, but that the announcement … (4 comments)
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How do you continue Real Estate services after a disaster or during a community "lockdown"? - 10/01/06 05:31 PM
Over the last decade we have seen some very devastating events from tornados to hurricanes to cities hiding in fear of being shot. I remember very well a few years ago in the fall of 2002, when we were going through the DC Area Sniper shootings. During a period of … (0 comments)
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Title Insurance: Who needs it?? - 10/01/06 08:48 AM
How many times have you gone to a closing as a listing agent and watched the drama unfold over whether or not the purchaser is going to buy title insurance? Most of the time, they are clueless about the cost and benefits. Oftentimes, the settlement agent isn’t much help because … (8 comments)
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