Control Freaks Anonymous - 01/31/08 09:04 AM
Hello! My name is Pat, and I am a control freak.Most of my clients (not you, Bruce and Bethany!) are control freaks.Some of the best agents I know are control freaks.Some of the worst agents I know are control freaks.Once I got what a control freak I am, once I recognized … (18 comments)
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The Latest Wrinkle In Limited Service Companies - 01/30/08 12:04 PM
Yesterday, I sat down to write an offer on a house in northern Virginia. There was an unfamiliar For Sale sign in the front yard, and I figured it was a local mom & pop I hadn't run across before.
Wrong!
When I pulled up the MLS listing to fill in the … (30 comments)
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When The Only Good Tenant Is A Gone Tenant - 01/30/08 11:01 AM
Like many cities, Washington, DC has landlord-tenant laws that really do protect a tenant's rights. It is extremely difficult to get rid of a tenant who is paying rent, even after the lease expires. If the tenant is a total deadbeat, it is very difficult to evict.
In addition to making evictions … (7 comments)
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It's the Apple And I Feel Like Eve! - 01/28/08 06:56 PM
The first time I saw an email announcing your birth, I had to have you.
I watched the video and wanted to hold you - to see what just under three pounds would feel like in my shoulder bag. I wanted to edit my photos on your big, clear screen. I wanted … (14 comments)
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A Buyer's Finances: How Much Disclosure Do We Need? - 01/28/08 09:44 AM
I have an offer in counter, and one of the sticking points involves financial disclosure of the purchaser's assets to the seller and his agent (who happens to live in the building where my buyer is making the offer).
We sent over an excellent offer with a lenders letter from an extremely … (14 comments)
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"So, did you sell a house today?" - 01/28/08 07:12 AM
This is to all of the spouses and sweeties of real estate agents out there.
Once upon a time, I had a very nice ex-husband who greeted me at the end of each day as I walked in the door, totally pooped from a hard day on the streets, with a great … (17 comments)
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Is 'You Snooze, You Lose" Returning To The DC Area? - 01/26/08 10:56 PM
Earlier this week, I got a call from an agent who showed a listing I have last week. His people loved it, he said, but the husband was out of town until the end of the week. They planned to make an offer Friday or Saturday. This afternoon, Saturday, as I … (20 comments)
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Stone And Perma-Stone - 01/26/08 09:19 PM
There is something beautiful and amazing about many of this areas old stone homes. The one at the right is a 20's vintage craftsman bungalow here in Washington. The wall are thick. The house is solid. The stone exterior is virtually maintenance free.
Nearby, in the same neighborhood is a house … (10 comments)
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Are You A House Wimp? - 01/24/08 08:19 PM
Once I dumped a perfectly nice man because he gave me a blank stare when I asked him if he knew how to fix my leaking kitchen faucet.
"My people call plumbers," was his response.
When, like me, you are a single woman living in This Old House, handy is sexy. And it's … (16 comments)
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When The Settlement's Over, Is The Party Over, Too? - 01/24/08 05:46 PM
Last Friday, I had two settlements with buyers who were referred to me by good friends, and both of these transactions were pretty typical.Both sets of clients were fun and wonderful to work with. And they’re both totally psyched about starting new chapters in their new homes.You know, you look at … (35 comments)
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Move: It's A Four-Letter Word - 01/24/08 05:28 PM
It's been 25 years since my last move. And I can't even imagine what it would be like to whip my house into showing condition, live like a total compulsive neat freak for however long it would take to get the place sold, then have my home invaded by a bunch … (13 comments)
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OK, So I Got A Little Bit Hokey! - 01/20/08 07:01 PM
It was really, really cold in DC today. With the wind chill, it felt like Madeline Island or St Paul!
So it was important to try to make my Open House feel warm and cozy. I decided to combine a fire (real wood) in the pretty fireplace, and to serve something hot … (25 comments)
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Help For All You Undecided Voters Out There - 01/19/08 11:49 PM
A friend of mine sent me an email with a link to WQAD TV in Davenport, Maine which has a little quiz that undecided voters can take to help them decide on which presidential candidate they should be supporting.You can answer a series of 14 questions, and they will match you … (16 comments)
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You Learn Something New Every Day! - 01/19/08 08:58 PM
Yesterday, I learned that it is a good idea to take a look at the property survey before you walk into settlement.I was representing a buyer whose new home is on a lot that had been subdivided. There were little stakes in the ground with little red flags tied to the … (11 comments)
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You Might Be Surprised At Who's Reading Your Blog! - 01/19/08 07:43 AM
Recently, I went to a little social function with a bunch of people I didn't know at all. To my great surprise, the man sitting next to me mentioned that he had started reading my blog. Someone else said she had seen it. Whew!Then, we got into a discussion about blogging. … (29 comments)
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So, Are You A Fair Weather Real Estate Agent? - 01/18/08 09:16 PM
Last week, I listed a cute little house. I promised the sellers to have two opens the first weekend on the market - one on Saturday and one on Sunday. A colleague listed a house in the next block, so we planned an extravaganza.
Then, yesterday it snowed! But it was only … (20 comments)
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Looking For Termites In A Moon Suit - 01/17/08 09:49 PM
In Washington, our termites are not particularly ferocious. They are puny cousins of the Formosan Termites found in parts of Texas, and most lenders do not even require a termite inspection, although it is included in the boiler-plate contract language. Still, every once in a while, the little guys will take … (10 comments)
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What Makes a Great Home Inspector - 01/17/08 09:20 PM
As a brand new agent, I attended my very first home inspection on a condo I listed in the building where I bought my very first place. The buyers canceled the contract when the inspector said the roof was a mess and probably leaked like a sieve, or would in the … (8 comments)
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Pricing Listings: Is It Rocket Science? Or Harder? - 01/16/08 11:15 PM
Pricing listings on the nose is, I believe, the biggest challenge for today's real estate professional.
I did a post the other day about how difficult it is for an outfit like Zillow to provide accurate pricing estimates on-line. And you know what? I'm wondering how much more accurate some of us … (23 comments)
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Never Ever Act Your Age! - 01/15/08 08:13 PM
A few weeks ago, I saw a statistic that really surprised me. And for the life of me, I can’t remember where. But, hey, this is a blog and not the Washington Post. So I don’t’ have a staff fact checker. But it was an article somewhere that said the average … (23 comments)
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My Little Zillow Meltdown - 01/15/08 09:55 AM
Since I actually met the Zillow folks at BloggersConnect last week, I'm almost tempted to take down the couple of rants I've done in a couple of blog posts, but as I learned, "Once on the Internet, always on the Internet".
Here in Washington, there are special challenges for any company … (67 comments)
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My Favorite Newbie of the Week - Elaine Manes - 01/12/08 11:52 PM
For the past few weeks, I've been following Elaine Manes IRIS ~ A Wonderful Space. It's turning into a pretty fun read! So Elaine is this week's newbie.
While I was in New York, she wrote a funny post, You mean... I OWN A COMPANY? I laughed pretty hard at the … (14 comments)
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Censorship: One of the Hot Topics at BloggersConnect - 01/12/08 11:17 PM
For many years, I worked for a brokerage that was eventually gobbled up by a much larger fish, perhaps the largest real estate brokerage enterprise on the planet. And I didn't leave right away. I wanted whatever move I made, whether to go or to stay, to be a carefully thought-out … (42 comments)
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How Some People Are Stumbling Onto My Blog - 01/12/08 08:05 PM
I'm in the process of switching over my outside blog, moving it out of Typepad and into Wordpress. When I was at BloggersConnect, it seemed that Wordpress was everyone's favorite, and I'm discovering why. But there is one feature of Typepad that I will really miss. When people find my blog … (6 comments)
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More About Inman Connect - An Interesting Take on the Mortgage Mess - 01/12/08 06:22 PM
At this week’s Inman’s Real Estate Connect, there were many discussions of the mortgage mess and how it is impacting real estate markets in different parts of the country. But John Vogel, a professor at Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business, gave a presentation that sort of surprised me – if … (5 comments)
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Blogging On The Bus - 01/11/08 11:33 PM
I’m headed back to Washington from the Inman Bloggers Connect and Real Estate Connect. I’m exhausted, still slightly hung over from Wednesday night, and with a head full of ideas from the conference.I came away with a new appreciation for Active Rain as well as lots of ideas for my outside … (19 comments)
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From Real Estate Connect - Brokers Open House Manhattan Style - 01/11/08 10:50 PM
Yesterday during our lunch break at the Inman Real Estate Connect, my New York blog buddie Mitchell Hall invited Kristal Kraft and I to a broker’s Open House with lunch being served at a real Soho loft.Now I have to tease Mitch a little bit. He did manage to get us … (8 comments)
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Me And Blog Buddy Brian Block On The Vamoose Bus! - 01/09/08 03:36 PM
Traveling between Washington and New York, one has lots of choices. There is the Delta Shuttle, which is maybe a 45 minute flight, but there is the hassle of getting to the airport, going through security, and getting from Laguardia to downtown Manhattan. So I've been opting for the train, although … (23 comments)
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In Search of Caffine in Takoma Park - 01/07/08 01:16 PM
This morning, I agreed to meet a Takoma Park buyer at a house we have under contract. She wanted her handy man to take a look at the place, and we agreed to meet at nine o'clock this morning .
OK, so I overslept. I woke up at 8:30, the house is … (18 comments)
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The Older I Get, The More Baggage I Carry – Literally! - 01/06/08 10:28 PM
When I was in my 20’s, I worked for an airline and took lots of vacations. Back then, I could pack for 2 weeks in Europe in a carry-on bag. And I could even pull off elegant if I had to. On my last 5-day getaway I filled two suitcases. By the … (24 comments)
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Return of the My Favorite Newbie of the Week Award - 01/05/08 06:46 PM
After taking a few weeks off, I am back to trolling for newbies on Active Rain. And I found a new favorite.On December 11th, Vinnie Vacca of Glendale, Arizona joined Active Rain. He hung out for a while, then wrote his first post a week later. And now, after 10 posts, … (11 comments)
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More About The Wisdom Of "Buying" Leads - 01/04/08 12:18 PM
In a few posts, as well as comments on the subject, I have been critical of the practice of "buying" leads, be they from a relocation company, from a service like Hungryagents.com or, more recently, in a post about my new friend, Jennifer, with a company called Real Estate Client Referrals.
I … (25 comments)
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The WOW House In A Plain Brown Wrapper - 01/03/08 09:26 PM
On Monday, favorite clients called and asked if we could get in to see one of the few houses we'd not yet seen that are in their target neighborhood and price range.
Why hadn't we gone in? Probably it was the main MRIS photos, which showed a quite plain Jane facade on … (16 comments)
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So, What Do You Do When The Neighbors Paint Their House Purple? - 01/02/08 08:48 AM
A few years ago, I got a call from a colleague. She lived in my neighborhood in a lovely Spanish style stucco home that she and her husband had lovingly restored. It was a beautiful home on a corner lot, and I loved to drive past it on my way to … (29 comments)
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Active Rain vs. RELO - 01/01/08 07:44 PM
For the first time in my real estate career, I am with a firm that does not have a Relocation Department. And I love it!No more sales meetings with the Relo head giving a pep talk about the importance of submitting leads! No more inane contests to see who wins a … (25 comments)
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