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real estate opinions: What Is Real Estate? - 12/13/11 10:48 PM
I often read in the descriptions that an agent is offering to work with investors.
Of course, I understand that “investors” is a very loosely defined term. Basically, because a home is often "the biggest investment in our lifetime", everybody buying real estate automatically is an “Investor”.
Well, in that case we all work with “investors”.
There is a category of people who get through the State test, and get a license… and then either never work in Real Estate, or enthusiastically start working on their first cool million and then fade out to the nearest Wal-Mart with guaranteed … (10 comments)
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real estate opinions: RealEstate.com Gold Rush - 12/09/11 10:13 PM
There is a lot of buzz on AR about RealEstate.com. The guys are actively selling the ownership of a whole city. Sounds enticing.
So, I am on RealEstate.com.
I type “Daytona Beach”. Then in property type I pick “Condo/ Townhouse”
18 results. 5 of those are condo-hotels, which is a very different animal.
4 are not in Daytona Beach, but in Daytona Beach Shores, and 1 in South Daytona, which is clearly stated in the address.
So far we have 8 out of 18, which are actually in Daytona Beach, and are condos/townhouses.
Daytona MLS shows 225 condos/townhouses in Daytona Beach … (16 comments)
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real estate opinions: What Is The Language Of Your Business? - 12/07/11 05:38 PM
Two Russians on Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The car stops and the driver asks for directions. Two Russians do not speak English, so frustrated driver leaves.
One Russian to another:
- Everybody say «English... English, you need to learn English...»... Did his perfect English help him?
I read a featured blog today, and remembered this story.
What is the language of our business? Do the parties speak the same business language?
The post is about the lockboxes, and the author's refusal to give the code to an investor, who was standing outside and wanted to see the property right away.
The … (8 comments)
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real estate opinions: I Will Never Pay Full Price… - 12/06/11 10:25 PM
I Will Never Pay Full Price…
I have known this guy for 5-6 years. He is a retired college professor. He and his wife have bought a unit in condo-hotel and live there since then.
Sufficient to say that I do not know of anyone in Daytona area, who has money and lives in the condo-hotel.
Time from time he would start talking about buying, and every time he smiles from ear to ear and tells me that this should be a deal.
And then a new listing pops up in St. Regis subdivision of Venetian Bay in New … (28 comments)
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real estate opinions: Real Estate is Local… Real Estate is Local….Real Estate is Local… - 12/05/11 10:44 PM
Working with a client looking for a house on the Ormond beachside. Inventory is very low, in the under $200K price range there are few houses, and they do not sit long.
We narrowed to 3 houses. A $179,000 house is showing the just value in the county as $151K. The Buyers are making an offer, which is low, but they are open to a counter.
There is no counter. The house goes under contract for way higher than our initial offer. The Buyers are both upset and surprised. Upset that they did not get the house, and surprised that this … (6 comments)
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real estate opinions: Joystick For AR - 11/28/11 11:57 PM
Why Are You So Frustrated With Me?
I posted about Featured Posts on AR, and some of the comments felt like people are frustrated that I spend so much time on it. It also happened with my some other posts. Whoever is frustrated, have all the right to feel this way, but if this is true, then they are wasting their time on commenting… It is simple arithmetic: if what I write is waste zero, then what you comment is waste zero…
I am also puzzled by the notion that there is the one and only way to spend time. For my … (21 comments)
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real estate opinions: Are You A Good REALTOR Or A Good AGENT? - 11/22/11 04:06 PM
A few days ago I ran into a rant about bad agents, which started with “I know I 'm good REALTOR” and a few sentences later “and I'm a real estate instructor myself!”
For someone, who 19 years in this business, and IS AN INSTRUCTOR using the term REALTOR as synonym of “agent” is wrong. But I did not write it to bash the broker, who wrote it. I am simply using this common (very common usage) for my own goals here.
"I am a good REALTOR" in the strict sense of the word only means “I am a member of … (14 comments)
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real estate opinions: We Will Be Old One Day - 11/18/11 09:51 PM
We are getting older, is that the news? Ha-ha… Everybody knows it.
Knows what? That every birthday you are getting one year older? Yes, we all know that. But getting older is not just more birthdays.
Real Estate agents tend not to understand it.
I am in the resort area, and like everywhere in Florida, we have our fair share of retirees moving to spend their silver years.
Showing them properties may pose a very specific problem. It is considered a taboo to use a restroom in the property they are viewing. Every agent would tell you that it is a … (32 comments)
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real estate opinions: Managing Expectations - 11/12/11 12:55 AM
I am following Trip Advisor, a site where you can find information on local hotels, entertainment, restaurants… I read reviews and it is shocking when you read how great the hotel is, and then the next comment is saying that it was plain terrible. You look at the dates, and it is practically the same.
Same thing with restaurants. One is raving about food, service and ambience and the other is about disappointment, mediocre food and poor service…
Were they really in the same hotel, had different level of service? No, it was the same. And the food and service … (24 comments)
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real estate opinions: Show Me the Money - 11/07/11 09:03 PM
Are You A Good Blogger?
Actually, in the context of real estate transactions closed, it is pretty much… irrelevant. Contrary to InmanNext evangelist Chris Smith’s statement that “Blogging is no longer optional”, it is quite optional. I posted Selling or Blogging talking more about what blogging is and isn't.
I guess this is the statement of fashion, as it is surprisingly far from being a statement of fact.
And what even more surprising, it is the contagiousness of something that is so far from reality. Popularity of this motto can only rival lack of common sense. It is not in the … (19 comments)
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real estate opinions: Why Not Take The Money? - 11/06/11 08:49 PM
A fellow Floridian Ron Bolton posted The government considering a new Senate bill designed solely to lure investors.
It is about the bill sponsored by Charles Schumer (d- N.Y.) and Republican Mike Lee from Utah. It would allow US visas to foreigners investing $500,000 cash in residential real estate in the United States.
For some reason Ron blocked comments, and did not allow reblogs, so I can only respond by writing my own blog.
Ron gives the statistics, which shows how much money foreigners invest in residential real estate in US, and it all sounds OK until the last sentence “I … (23 comments)
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real estate opinions: Do you use Virtual Tours? - 11/06/11 12:44 PM
I stopped using Virtual Tours probably 3 years ago. I did it because I noticed that I myself have little patience for them myself, and I am a pretty good sport: I am usually with 90% of the people in regard to tastes and preferences. So, if I do not like them, why should others?
I do not have the patience for these grossly distorted panoramas, boring music; I am no longer fascinated with this pseudo video effect, to me all that movement is annoying. It was cool at the beginning, like every new gadget, but it is not new anymore.
… (20 comments)
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real estate opinions: Are You Listening? - 10/23/11 03:24 AM
I might have written about it some time ago, but hey, if I do not remember it, it is unlikely anybody else does.
So, here is the story.
A young (he was my student in school when I was a teacher in the cold Russian Arctic city of Vorkuta) friend of mine, called me a few years ago, and told me he was bringing his son to Orlando, and wanted to come and spend a day with us here in Daytona.
We often talk on the phone, and discuss what we do with our Internet. He told me that he would … (29 comments)
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real estate opinions: Want To Be Filthy Rich? - 10/13/11 07:35 PM
I am getting inundated with Newsmax, and I can't figure out what this is. There is some very interesting stuff and there is some that raises the eyebrows or what's left of them...
Today I ran into this ad by some Preston Ely. I never heard of him before, no preconceived notions, or anything. All I see is this ad:
And, of course, it is all, according to Preston:
WITHOUT ever closing on them
WITHOUT using any money or credit
WITHOUT any risk whatsoever
WITHOUT any experience needed
WITHOUT any manual labor (I'm the laziest guy you'll ever meet)
… (20 comments)
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real estate opinions: Hi! I am Looking For Professional... - 10/12/11 11:21 PM
I am a transaction broker in Florida, and I usually (except for a few short sales which are my listings) work with the Buyers. So, every day I exercise being in the Buyer's shoes. And that's how I usually read real estate blog posts on AR, wearing Buyer's shoes and Buyer's glasses.
So, when today I ran into a blog post which ended with a statement that so and so agent is all about INTEGRITY and ETHICS, I knew right away that this would not be my agent.
Am I against integrity and ethics? Nope. However, when I want to buy a … (16 comments)
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real estate opinions: How To Make Yourself A Laughing Stock on Trulia - 09/19/11 05:42 PM
It is easier than you may think and every day I see real estate practitioners doing just that. Showing to the world that they are not worth a penny. That they are naked kings. And then we are surprised that general public have very little respect for us.
I ran into a question on Trulia today, and it was from a guy who wanted to finance a multifamily for $2 Mil with no more than $200K down payment, and, as he put it, he did not want to be cheated.
So, I went to read the answers, and the first one was … (32 comments)
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real estate opinions: Does Lubricating Noose Make Hanging Enjoyable? - 09/18/11 01:49 PM
Ruthmarie Hicks from Westchester County, NY posted The vicious circle called marketing…(a.k.a. spam) which in turn was inspired by Inna Hardison's “Do consumers think Real Estate is a Relationship business? – one consumer’s perspective….”
I think that they both are excellent. Inna's is from the customer's perspective, and Ruthmarie's from the agent's perspective. I already have commented on Inna's and even reblogged it, so here I am commenting on Ruthmarie's.
"For example – I had a buyer that I performed flawlessly for. She was thrilled with what I did, but when the time came to sell her home – her friend … (16 comments)
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real estate opinions: Win/Win Is Not For Amateurs. It Is For Buyers And Sellers. - 09/17/11 10:22 AM
Thomas J. Nelson posted Win/Win Is For Amateurs and It Kills Deals... Wow, win/win is for amateurs? Really?
Well, then I am an amateur...
A featured blog, tons of comments. I do not think it is controversial, I think it is simply semantics.
Thomas himself acknowledges that «it's possible for both to achieve mutual benefits through the give and take of the transaction"
For me this is what I would describe as "win/win".
Here' s the example (and I am sure you can throw tons more of similar or even better ones):
The Seller has the property on the market … (21 comments)
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real estate opinions: Messrs Washingtons... and Jeffersons....and Napoleons - 09/01/11 06:32 PM
Aren't you fascinated by the level of competency that real estate agents and brokers are demonstrating in everything (at times even including Real Estate)?
I am.
How often do you read that the (stupid) banks lose more money on foreclosures than on short sales? How the heck do they know that? Do they know why, what is behind those decisions? Or this is simply a wishful thinking? «Oh, please, do not foreclose; let us sell, as it is much better...»
Better for whom?
Let me look around. I can only see agents and Sellers who benefit. Not the economy, not the nation. And why … (11 comments)
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real estate opinions: You Really Want to Send Me A Referral? - 08/03/11 06:36 PM
Referral is a magic word on AR. Luckily for me, I came for knowledge and pleasure. I did not believe there ever would be any business as a direct result of blogging on AR, and it took quite a long time to really become a source of business. Actually, a major source of business...
Anyway, when I read that somebody would send me a referral in this area, I feel uncomfortable. After doing this for long enough, I figured that it does not really work for me.
I work a specific niche, and it is both a type of product … (60 comments)
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Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach, Florida connection
Daytona Beach,
FL
More about me…
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL. FunCoast Realty, 386-405-4408
Address: 313 S Atlantic Ave., Suite A, Daytona Beach, FL, 32118
Office Phone: (386) 255-5355
Cell Phone: (386) 405-4408
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