It's Fun To Be The Second Agent! - 02/27/08 09:37 PM
For many years, there were not a lot of "second agents" here in Washington. You stuck a sign in the ground, took a couple of breaths, and voila! You would have a bunch of agents rushing to your office bearing perfect offers - of course all above the outrageous asking price … (23 comments)
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It's About Your Kitty Litter Box - 02/27/08 08:45 AM
This is a conversation that every real estate agent is hesitant to begin with a prospective seller who is a cat person. So for all you cat lovers out there, on behalf of myself and all of my agent friends on Active Rain, this is what that conversation might sound like. … (26 comments)
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Homebuyer Helpers - 02/26/08 09:22 PM
As a real estate professional, I've carefully assembled a group of great people to help to help my clients buy their new homes. They are home inspectors, lenders, and title attorneys. They've been providing great service to my clients for a couple of decades now.
Some of my clients have assembled their … (12 comments)
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Letting Active Rain Pick Up Where Your English Composition Professor Left Off - 02/25/08 10:04 AM
My brother Bob, now in his late 40's, is changing careers. Last year, he returned to college to pick up the credentials he needs to teach high school. He wants to help teenagers learn how to write, and we're all proud of him and sure that he'll be amazing in the … (19 comments)
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Thinking Ahead! - 02/25/08 08:41 AM
In a few months, I'm going to begin marketing a home with one of the Washington areas most fantastic views, and it is at it's best during the winter months.
From the living room, dining room and master bedroom, you get this forever view of the Potomac River and Georgetown University. It's … (9 comments)
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Going Back To Basics - 02/24/08 05:43 PM
There's a lot of talk about going back to the basics as a way of coping with today's market. With all of the new technology that's turning our heads, a lot of us are having to remind ourselves what those basics really look like.
Prospecting: I don't care how many hits you … (56 comments)
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Live From New York! - 02/23/08 10:12 PM
In just half an hour, the first network television show to come out of reruns since the end of the writers' strike will air. It will be Saturday Night Live, and Tina Fay will be the guest host!
I've been a fan of this show off and on since the 70's, … (14 comments)
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Rethinking Marketing - Ourselves And Our Listings - 02/23/08 09:09 PM
Let's admit it. When the market was hot, out job wasn't all that much about marketing our listings.
We'd put a new house or apartment into MLS on Thursday, make it easy to show over the weekend, hold an Open House even, then we would host a contract presentation party the … (12 comments)
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Showing Granny's House - 02/23/08 02:47 PM
I just got home from showing a bunch of houses in my favorite champagne-taste, beer-budget neighborhoods, and one of them looked amazing on the MRIS.
It was the only house in this neighborhood that actually was beer budget. It wasn't the style my buyers were looking for, but they wanted a … (16 comments)
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Can You Price Too Low? - 02/22/08 02:58 AM
I'm putting a new listing on the market, and in doing the market analysis there was a house that just didn't make sense.
It's been on the market for an awfully long time, and it's currently listed with its second agent. It's also priced for a whole lot less than anything else … (24 comments)
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Market Shmarket - 02/22/08 01:08 AM
Every day, I read posts about agents around the country struggling to make a living in this market. But wait! It’s not the market! When I got my license in 1983, we were in the middle of a major buyers market. Interest rates were creeping down from the high to the … (18 comments)
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The Law of Averages and the Value of Your Home - 02/19/08 02:56 PM
Every time I hear a national news outlet talk about the "average" home sale price going up or down or sideways, it makes me crazy!
First of all, they are talking national averages, but it means nothing at all to the listening audience who may be trying to figure out what their … (12 comments)
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Your Name, Address, Email Address and Phone Number Are Worth Big Bucks! Don't Give Them Away Casually! - 02/18/08 06:13 PM
There are lots of web sites out there promising you all kinds of help you might not need if you are buying or selling a house or condo. It might be access to a gazillion lenders or real estate agents who will cut interest rates or commissions for a crack at … (19 comments)
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Happy Un-birthday, George and Abe! - 02/18/08 01:46 PM
I’m old enough to remember when we celebrated Washington’s Birthday on Washington’s birthday – February 22nd! And it was one day out of the year when many stores ran ridiculous sales, usually loss leaders to get you through the door so you’d buy other stuff as well.Then there was Lincoln’s Birthday, … (19 comments)
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Blogging In Bed - It's Risky Business! - 02/18/08 09:34 AM
Over the past weekend, I was trying to lose the last of a cold I picked up last week. And I spent a whole lot of time in bed with the object of my affections - my handsome, adorable MacBook Air. And I started to notice a couple of things.
First, when … (19 comments)
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Dogs And Cats And Condos And Coops - 02/16/08 11:02 PM
I once lived with a cat that I snuck into a no-pets apartment building. She was a tiny kitten when I brought her through the lobby in a small handbag. Things got dicey when, a year later, I locked myself out of my apartment and the resident manager came up with … (15 comments)
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Stop Torturing Yourself! - 02/16/08 01:07 PM
If you are working for a broker who is coaching you to spend your valuable time cold calling, my recommendation is that you find a new broker - fast!
Cold calling is one of the most unproductive use of your time that I can imagine.
It is one of the least fun ways … (28 comments)
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An Interesting Numbers Game - 02/16/08 12:15 PM
In this market, our biggest challenge seems to be pricing our listings right on the bulls eye. But how to do that is sometimes pretty tricky.
Today's Washington Post carried an article about an interesting approach to pricing, so looking for any help I can get, I read every word of it.
Writer, … (15 comments)
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Should Buyers Go Steady Or Play The Field? - 02/16/08 10:25 AM
Sometimes, I'm the second or even third agent when I meet with a new buyer client for the first time, and it's important for me to learn a little bit about their history out in the home-buying marketplace. Many of these people have one important thing in common - their previous … (10 comments)
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Appraisal Madness? - 02/15/08 10:51 AM
OK, I know. When it comes to who's getting the blame for the current mortgage mess, residential real estate appraisers are probably very close to the front of the scape goat line. And we all know that the process can be about as scientific as a roulette wheel! In this new … (11 comments)
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FAO Schwartz for Children of All Ages - 02/14/08 11:23 PM
Earlier today, I found myself in front of an old favorite haunt, FAO Schwartz, in search of a baby present for a favorite client's first grandchild. So I went inside and began my exploration.
My needs were simple. I was looking for something nice, cuddly and made someplace other than China. … (13 comments)
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My Hokey Valentine - 02/14/08 08:10 PM
OK, I haven’t had a chance to spend time on Active Rain today, and I know the Valentine’s theme is in every other post. I don’t’ really care! Here goes mine!Remember when we were little kids and passed out hand made Valentine cards to our classmates? I started to say “favorite” … (9 comments)
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When The Bank Of Mom & Dad Cosigns Your Mortgage - It Could Be An Oops! - 02/13/08 09:30 PM
It may seem like a good idea at the time - you're trying to stretch to qualify for a mortgage on your first place, and in the current crunch, you can't quite get there. One option is asking a parent to cosign the note. But are there consequences that might make … (15 comments)
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The Waldorf=Astoria Just Called Out To Me! - 02/12/08 09:58 PM
As I was walking down Park Avenue the other day, I reached the intersection with East 49th Street of was literally pulled through a revolving door by some unknown force! While I lived in New York for over 10 years, I had never set foot inside of this amazing city landmark, … (11 comments)
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The Bank Of Mom And Dad - 02/12/08 03:25 PM
If you can't quite get your savings to the point where it will get you into your first house or condo, there's a way to speed up the process to take advantage of today's buyers' market - pass the hat to family members, usually parents!
When I bought my first place, my … (16 comments)
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Mac Myths - 02/09/08 10:08 PM
For a couple of decades, I was a loyal PC girl. I was probably led astray by my second ex-husband, and for whatever reason, I thought that Mac-ies were a bunch of fringie ex-hippies.
Then, I noticed that all of my journalist friends used Macs. And every musician I knew used … (31 comments)
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The Object Of My Affections! - 02/09/08 05:07 PM
This is the first post on my new MacBook Air, and all I can say is "Wow!"
I'm not enough of a techie to really describe all of its amazing features, except that it was incredibly easy to turn on, set up and use. That means it exceeds my expectations.
It's faster … (20 comments)
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Garlic Makes It Good, Unless It's Your Breath! - 02/08/08 02:03 PM
Garlic has been one of my favorite food groups since I stopped riding the subway in New York during rush hour. When I moved to the Big Apple from Kansas, subway cars seemed to reek of New Yorkers who consumed huge quantities of garlic. In the summer, it was really bad. … (16 comments)
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Is Marty Ummel Doing Real Estate Agents A Favor? I Think So. - 02/07/08 01:39 PM
When I first decided to work as a buyer broker in about 1990, it was hard to find a lot of good information about how to do it. Most of the books and case law I found came from California, where selling agents represented the buyer as the normal practice – … (15 comments)
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An Important Turn Off When Your House Is For Sale - 02/06/08 09:35 PM
BEEEEEEP!
"Hello. This is Pat Kennedy and I'm an agent with Evers & Company Realtors. I'm planning to drop by your house between 2 and 2:30 this afternoon to set of your burglar alarm. If that's not convenient, please call me on my cell phone at 202-555-5567. Thanks!"
Seriously, folks, if you have … (28 comments)
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My Junk Mail Is Getting More Interesting! - 02/06/08 09:55 AM
Lately, I've seen my mailbox flooded with bunches of publications and offers that claim to have stumbled upon the fountain of youth. And they seem to get more interesting every day.
Yesterday, I opened an envelope that offered me a magic tool, the Vitalizer Plus, that would help me to recreate, in … (15 comments)
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Watching News Reports Between The Lines - 02/05/08 07:54 PM
If you are a Washington Area consumer trying to make sense of news reports about the local real estate market, you really have to listen carefully and read between the lines. If, for example, you are listening to a nightly news report on a national network or cable news program, you … (12 comments)
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Handywoman, Waiting to Happen! - 02/04/08 08:32 PM
Last week, I got a slightly used washer and dryer from a house that I sold - my buyers who were bringing their own machines from their old house. And the price was right! Their movers showed up at my house last Thursday, brought them downstairs to my tenant’s apartment, and … (22 comments)
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Words Of Wisdom From My Father - 02/04/08 08:13 AM
When I was 16 years old, I was practicing very hard for an audition. For two years, I had played piccolo in the Topeka (Kansas) Youth Symphony, and I decided to go for the first flute chair my senior year. The first flute player has a lot of fun. It’s more … (29 comments)
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Is Photoshop For Virtual Tours Cheating? - 02/02/08 10:37 AM
In my office we have a professional photographer on staff, and he is the God of Photoshop. I get a new listing, finish up with the staging, then our guy goes in and takes the photos – and he is really, really good. He has a fabulous camera and lens as … (35 comments)
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I Owe Cindy Jones A Really Nice Lunch! - 02/01/08 09:46 AM
Last Halloween, when many people were at parties dressed like ghouls or handing out candy to neighborhood children, I was reading blog posts (sorry neighborhood kids). And one was a Localism post by Cindy Jones.
Cindy wrote about a neighborhood in Fairfax County called Holmes Run Acres. It's an area of mid-century … (12 comments)
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