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    <title>Jerry Williams's Blog</title>
    <link>http://activerain.com/blogs/jdwilliams</link>
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1309024/not-even-the-economy-can-make-a-fire-roasted-hot-dog-taste-bad-</guid>
      <title>Not even the economy can make a fire-roasted hot dog taste bad!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt; Not even the economy can make a fire-roasted hot dog taste bad!&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;nbsp;Is it just me?&amp;nbsp; Or is homeownership still the American Dream?&amp;nbsp; I love being a homeowner, as a Real Estate agent I love selling the dream too.&amp;nbsp; They say you have to believe in what you sell or you can't sell anything.&amp;nbsp; I say "cheers" to that.&amp;nbsp; To me, a home is a place to love, to enjoy and raise a family in.&amp;nbsp; I like having a yard that makes memories with friends, family and the little ones.&amp;nbsp; I enjoy having a bonfire with dogs trying to steal the hotdogs and friends laughing and playing around the fire.&amp;nbsp; My home is small yet comfortable still but grows a lot of love.&amp;nbsp; We never really were ones for "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" anyway!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; No matter what the market or the economy does for that matter; a home will always be much more than an investment to me.&amp;nbsp; The market can't change the way I enjoy my home, my family and friends in it.&amp;nbsp; The economy can't make a fresh fire-roasted hot dog taste bad!&amp;nbsp; The good spirits and companionship of family and friends can't be dampened by Channel 5's News at 9.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; And you can bet, that Turkey will taste great come Thanksgiving!&amp;nbsp; And no matter the news...it's still old news - just repackaged.&amp;nbsp; I prefer a media diet as opposed to overindulgence but that's me.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Daily, I meet people- families, single people and the like and we all seem to strive and dream of such a place to gather and call home.&amp;nbsp; A place where the busy goes away and we can retreat to peace and serenity.&amp;nbsp; A place where the kids are all happy, marriages and relationships thrive and we call home.&amp;nbsp; I think our spirit longs for us to relax and yearns for us to retreat and focus on the important things in life.&amp;nbsp; A home is like a fortress.&amp;nbsp; It's a place to hold up for a while - make plans for the future and reminisce of the past.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; It's difficult to put a price on such a thing, such activities and such joy.&amp;nbsp; That's why I think that homeownership is still the American Dream and always will be!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I'm not wearing blinders of course, I know with any good thing comes a certain amount of demands and responsibility.&amp;nbsp; There's still the lawn to mow and gutters to clean.&amp;nbsp; How fortunate are we to possess such things?&amp;nbsp; I enjoy doing these chores as well for it's still a time to gather with my kids and teach them the things they'll need to know for the future.&amp;nbsp; I use this time to teach them diligence and work ethics.&amp;nbsp; Priceless endeavors indeed.&amp;nbsp; I take advantage of these activities to parent and raise responsible citizens - young followers of Christ for the future.&amp;nbsp; That's what homeownership is to me.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jerry Williams&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Real Estate Specialist&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Realty Association&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1305 Murfreesboro Pike&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Nashville, TN 37217&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;615-364-4039&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;615-385-9010&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Jerry Williams (The Realty Association)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:18:13 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1309024/not-even-the-economy-can-make-a-fire-roasted-hot-dog-taste-bad-</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1299663/real-estate-jokes</guid>
      <title>Real estate Jokes</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I hope these brighten your day!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title="Real Estate Jokes" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/2/9/6/5/ar125631349756926.jpg" height="127" alt="Laughing Horse" width="101"&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;COMMISSIONS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;An agent who was being paid by the week approached his office manager and held up his last paycheck.&lt;br&gt;'This is two hundred dollars less than we agreed on,' he said. &lt;br&gt;'I know,' the manager said. 'But last week I overpaid you two hundred dollars, and you never complained.' &lt;br&gt;'Well, I don't mind an occasional mistake,' the agent answered, 'but when it gets to be a habit, I feel&lt;br&gt;I have to call it to your attention.'&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Another one..&amp;nbsp; &lt;strong&gt;ASK FOR A RAISE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I have to have a raise in my commission," the agent said to his manager. "There are three other companies after me."&lt;br&gt;"Is that so?" asked the manager. "What other companies are after you?"&lt;br&gt;"The electric company, the telephone company, and the gas company."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Last one...&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; BUY ME OUT&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A very successful real estate broker had a meeting with his new son-in-law. "I love my daughter, and now I welcome you into the family," said the man. "To show you how much we care for you, I'm making you a 50-50 partner in my real estate office. All you have to do is go to the office every day and learn the business." &lt;br&gt;The son-in-law interrupted, "I hate office. I can't stand agents." &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;"I see," replied the father-in-law. "Well, then you'll work in the office and take charge of some the paperworks." &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;"I hate paperworks," said the son-on-law. "I can't stand being stuck behind a desk all day." &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;"Wait a minute," said the father-in-law. "I just made you half-owner of my real estate office, but you don't like office and won't work in a office. What am I going to do with you?" &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;"Easy," said the young man. "Buy me out."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;I found these on realestatehumor.com.&amp;nbsp; Authors appeared anonymous.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;posted by&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jerry Williams - The real estate specialist with free humor. 615-364-4039&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Jerry Williams (The Realty Association)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:48:08 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1299663/real-estate-jokes</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1287097/near-whiplash-selling-houses-true-story-</guid>
      <title>Near Whiplash Selling Houses!  True Story.... </title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Near Whiplash Selling Houses!&amp;nbsp; True Story...&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; I was out showing some new clients homes in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.&amp;nbsp; We had a marathon lined up of about 12 homes.&amp;nbsp; We were shopping from first thing in the morning, 9 am until the sunset almost.&amp;nbsp; We were in a neighborhood that had two houses lined up that we were to see both.&amp;nbsp; So, we wheel into our first showing and after casually browsing through it with my newly found clients..we cross the street to see the second.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; We finish up with neither delivering warm fuzzies, that's ok, we have plenty more to see!&amp;nbsp; We pile into my SUV, every agent has to have one...&amp;nbsp; (o:&amp;nbsp; Or so I thought when entering real estate sales.&amp;nbsp; Anyway, I put it in gear and start backing out the drive and I felt my left rear tire drop off the concrete drive.&amp;nbsp; Oh well, I'm thinking, I&amp;nbsp;have an SUV the ditch is not that deep... what do I do...I keep backing up.&amp;nbsp; About 2 seconds later we come to an immediate halt, there we are all doing the head-bob; my tire had caught the drain guard at the edge of the drive!&amp;nbsp; We all take a second, recompose, look around and burst into&amp;nbsp;laughter!&amp;nbsp; Fortunately, we were only doing about 2 miles an hour.&amp;nbsp; No harm done, except for my poor mudflap, it was separated in the episode.&amp;nbsp; I through it in the back and off we went!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title="Laughing Out Loud" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/8/6/5/5/ar125563984655688.jpg" height="207" alt="Laughing" width="400"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I know we all have events like this and get to laugh at ourself mostly.&amp;nbsp; They were great, of course didn't let me forget that for a while and still bring it up when we talk!&amp;nbsp; Years later.&amp;nbsp; (o:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Good news is they did buy a house that day!&amp;nbsp; We had a light heart and were on a mission and at the end of the day we survived Jerry's off-road driving and bought a home!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Your Real Estate Specialist,&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jerry Williams&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Realty Association&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;615-364-4039&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Jerry Williams (The Realty Association)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:35:32 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1287097/near-whiplash-selling-houses-true-story-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1285180/crap-i-think-we-just-offended-the-neighbors</guid>
      <title>Crap, I think we just offended the neighbors</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I loved this one, it's a common perception we make about others.&amp;nbsp; It's humorous and a short read...I think you'll like it!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div id="reblogging_tag"&gt;Via &lt;b&gt;&lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1284079/crap-i-think-we-just-offended-the-neighbors"&gt;Todd Clark (Broker) (503)524-9494 (Beaverton, Oregon Real Estate Expert) (Palazzo Realty Group)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;:&lt;br&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;I
had a listing that had some neighbors that were nice neighbors, but
their yard
was somewhat of an eyesore&lt;/span&gt;. It really wasn't as much the
yard as it was the
house. It also needed some touch up and my seller was willing to help
out.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;You
see, in today's world my seller and I figured the reason for not
painting the
house and doing the up keep on the yard was because of the lack of
money.&lt;/span&gt; But,
it turns out that they just didn't see a reason too.&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;center&gt;&lt;img title="fence" src="http://activerain.comhttp://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/2/3/1/7/ar12554960971329.jpg" height="400" alt="fence" width="445"&gt;&lt;/center&gt;
&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;This
is where we went from being helpful to (apparently) offensive.&lt;/span&gt;
My seller
offered to pay to have his yard professionally cleaned up, landscaped,
and to
have the side of the house that faced him painted at no cost to the
owners next
door. But, I guess they didn't see it as a way to help him sell his
house, but
rather as an insult to how they kept their yard and house.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Now,
we had an angry neighbor who wanted to do what ever they could to make
the yard
as ugly as possible.&lt;/span&gt; Kids toys everywhere, lawn equipment
left out, yard debris
piled next to the fence, but the one that really said it all was while
trying
to show the home having their kid come out and pee on the fence.&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 13pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;I think we have a
problem. I said and we need to figure out what to do about
it.&lt;/span&gt; We went and talked to the neighbor and explained it
wasn't the seller that
was upset with the yard, they had lived next door to each other for 5
years and
he thought he was a great neighbor, but the feedback was saying
otherwise. &lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;span style="font-size: 13pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;They sat down, hammered
out
their differences, and the yard got cleaned up, the
house painted and my client got his home sold.&lt;/span&gt; This could
have gone on for
forever, it could have gone to court. But instead, two level headed
people sat
down and discussed what the real issue was and worked out a compromise
over a
mis-understanding. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13pt;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;What
do you do when you offend someone? Do you walk away and ignore the
situation,
or be upfront and say your sorry?&lt;/span&gt; Or do you work something
out so they can
understand your side of the story? Lucky my seller did the latter and
it worked
out great for him, but it certainly could have been a lot worse! What
would you
have done in this situation?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t241/YourLifetimeAgent/BlueSignature-1.jpg" alt="Todd Clark's Signature" style="width: 112px; height: 40px;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach&lt;br&gt;
Palazzo Realty Group&lt;br&gt;
Phone: (503)524-9494&lt;br&gt;
Fax: (503)622-8739&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;center&gt;
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&lt;small style="color: white;"&gt;&lt;small&gt;Tigard Oregon
Homes for Sale,
Tigard OR homes for sale, homes for sale in zip code, 97223,97224,
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&lt;br&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&amp;copy;2009
Todd Clark - &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://livingtigard.com/post/1284079/crap-i-think-we-just-offended-the-neighbors"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
Crap, I think we just offended the neighbors&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Jerry Williams (The Realty Association)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:16:38 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1285180/crap-i-think-we-just-offended-the-neighbors</link>
    </item>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1281026/is-nashville-real-estate-recovering-</guid>
      <title>Is Nashville Real Estate Recovering?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img title="Nashville" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/2/1/1/7/ar125536303371127.jpg" height="187" alt="Overlooking the River" width="302"&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Is Nashville Real Estate Recovovering?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;You bet!&amp;nbsp; The market is trending back towards a balanced market.&amp;nbsp; I suspect it will be back on track by 2010.&amp;nbsp; However some areas are already recovering.&amp;nbsp; Trending of Davidson County has gone from in the past 12 months at 9.9 months supply of inventory, and at 6 months to 8.3 and in the last 3 months has dropped to 8.0.&amp;nbsp; These figures are based on single family homes.&amp;nbsp; So inventory is dropping which will usher in a new era for homeowners, builders, agents and perspective homeowners.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So, &lt;strong&gt;Nashville Real&amp;nbsp;Estate is recovering&lt;/strong&gt; and showing healthy signs of improvement.&amp;nbsp; I recently, for instance, I&amp;nbsp;sold a home in Davidson county that had an absortion rate of 3 months supply!&amp;nbsp; There are areas that are doing very well and prices are being fortified by demand already.&amp;nbsp; Something we all have to keep in mind is the simple fact that real estate is local!&amp;nbsp; It always will be and can vary from one side of the tracks to the other.&amp;nbsp; We, I being a Davidson county homeowner included, can be encouraged by the changing market!&amp;nbsp; Home values will start taking a stand when the market balances.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When the market balances, you'll start to hear better news and this will provide optimism back in the housing market so investors will start to be interested again.&amp;nbsp; Homeowners will be encouraged by their sale and will spread the word which will in turn encourage others.&amp;nbsp; According to the National Association of Realtors the market is balanced when we have a housing supply of 5-6 months.&amp;nbsp; When we see these figures fall into position...&lt;strong&gt;Nashville Real Estate will Recover&lt;/strong&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Fortunately, we've not been plagued as badly as other areas so our recovery will take place before them as well.&amp;nbsp; Hats off the Middle Tennessee Real Estate Agents, Appraisers, Lenders and Consumers for keeping our market in check.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Jerry Williams (The Realty Association)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:41:39 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1281026/is-nashville-real-estate-recovering-</link>
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