House Flipping gone Horribly Wrong - Must Read! - 10/31/06 09:34 PM
Wow.  Turns out that there's a 24-yr-old "Real Estate Expert" in the Sacramento, CA area who has bought no less than 8 properties in the past calendar year.  He was a subscriber to the Carlton Sheets program, among others.  And he's in a world of ship right now.
If you don't know about the story of this guy, Casey Serin... now is the time to learn.  His website is a wildly entertaining read.  Throughout his website, he dodges the gray line of what's right and what's wrong.
Worse: He's put enough info on his website that ... well, he can do some serious … (6 comments)

Measure Twice, Cut Once. Wrong = Glass Crash! - 10/31/06 08:19 PM
Well, the ongoing saga of the house spruce-up and Appraisal.  Power tools are just that: they have power!
So I was working on our patio, cutting the odd bits of wood we needed to complete the project.
I'd clamped these bits of wood to our patio table, so I could get a square, clean cut.
Realize that this is a BIG patio table.  Worse: it was glass-topped.
Radial-saw in hand, I tore into a long-ish piece of plywood.  Initially, there was a bit of resistance.  Then, it glided straight ahead.  Glided ahead to the...
CRASHING SOUND OF GLASS!  I watched as the entire glass top fell … (2 comments)

Halloween: Trick or Treat? Chance to Meet? - 10/31/06 07:39 PM
This really isn't a 'Blog post, as such... more of a side note about how I passed out a biz card today:
Dropped by the local market this afternoon on the way home from the office.  Bought a few things, and stepped up to the register.
"Trick or Treat!" said the cheerful clerk.
"Treat!" I said, as I handed her my biz card on top of my ever-ready debit card.
"Oh... so you're a Real Estate agent?
We chatted for a brief moment about Real Estate.
Turns out she and her new husband are thinking about buying a house, but had no clue about how to find … (1 comments)

Hanging or Updating Doors? The Toothpick Trick! - 10/31/06 02:44 PM
The wife and I just did a re-fi on our own house, which of course means a fresh Appraisal.  Which also meant it was time for a quick spruce-up of the property.  And getting around to those interior painting projects we'd been putting off.
As long as we were painting some walls and a few doors, we figured why not upgrade the door hardware?  Besides, taking door knobs apart is nearly as easy as taping them off, and as long as they're off the doors… well, you can see where this is going.
Well, it turns out that the door knob hardware from … (0 comments)

Tools of the Trade - 10/21/06 07:58 PM
Okay, great. So you're a Realtor, and you have a listing up on the MLS.
Fact is: there a few simple tools that you should have on hand to help you make that listing look ... well, great!
Even better: have these tools available for any current or future listing.  It will make a big difference in the appearance of the property.
1) Pressure Washer.  I've 'Blogged enough about this in the past. But it makes it easy to sparkle-shine the outsides of any listing.  Quick, fast and easy.  You can get a good Pressure Washer for about $250.  Have it available for any … (0 comments)

House Flipped-Out - 10/19/06 12:50 PM
It’s easy to understand the popularity of the Reality TV shows.  Ordinary people doing extraordinary things, oft times for life-changing windfalls of cash and prizes. 
And the current hit show “Property Ladder” is no exception.  However, unlike other mostly unreal Reality shows, the Property Ladder dangles the carrot of real-life circumstances that virtually anyone with good credit can pull off: Find a beater house, put in a few months of sweat equity, and walk away with a jackpot like you’d picked 6 of 7 in the Mega Lottery. 
That’s the fantasy, anyway… and the Property Ladder show plays it up pretty well.  … (0 comments)

You Are What You Drive? Maybe, Maybe Not - 10/19/06 12:37 PM
When I started in Real Estate years ago, I made certain assumptions about the business.  Among those was that I had to get a “Real Estate Car.”  You know, a conservative-looking 4-door sedan.  I very consciously chose a Saturn – American-made (which I still feel is important), and a make devoid of ‘brand loyalties” associated with Ford, Chevy, etc.
And I sold my beloved Corvette to make that happen… we all know that the first year in Real Estate is er, ‘financially challenging.’
So after years of driving around in that stupid Saturn, I stopped to realize: how many times had I actually … (2 comments)

 

Ex Realtor

Mount Vernon, WA

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