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Widgets must be the Forbidden Fruit or are they the Magic Pill - 01/21/11 08:35 PM
Last week I made a post about Widgets asking for advice, info or feedback from other Rainmakers and their advice on how to use Widgets. I got multiple replies from other Rainmakers who want the same advice but no feedback offering insight to the use.
Usually if I pose a question on Active Rain I get a firestorm of advice and some of it is useful. In this case no one seems to know anything about Widgets.
Should I just discard the idea of using Widgets or are they a secret resource that no one wants to share?
… (1 comments)
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Brian Buffini is right again. The family member who is an expert in Real Estate - 01/16/11 11:59 AM
I just dropped a client because they preferred to listen to their son rather than me. The son is not a Realtor and has never practiced Real Estate. Nontheless, he is a Real Estate expert and at almost every turn rainman had suggestions counter to mine.
I almost had the property sold 4 times and each time the client would move the target, at rainman's suggestion, and the buyer would walk. Once I realized I would always be shooting at a moving target I decided to go for it anyway. Big mistake. I could have used my time more effectively recruiting … (74 comments)
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Homes in Springfield MO area under $150K ; 1106 S 9th St Ozark MO 65721 - 01/15/11 07:04 PM
1106 S 9th St Ozark MO is just an example. Newly renovated 4bdr,2ba with 2 living areas on 1/2 Acre. For more Springfield area homes for sale under $150K see www.hashbarger.remax-midstates.com.
Walk to Ozark Historic Town Square; easy access to Hwy 14 & Hwy65
Homes for Sale Springfield MO, Homes for Sale Ozark MO,Homes for sale Nixa MO, Springfield MO Foreclosures,Springfield MO Short Sales to to www.Hashbarger.biz
virtual tour: 1106 S 9th St
… (2 comments)
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Home Buying 101 : Buying a Home in 2011 - 01/15/11 04:07 PM
Buyers: Qualify for a mortgage to buy a home. Many would-be buyers have mentally disqualified themselves, despite the great economic climate for buying a home, because they have heard it is so difficult to get a mortgage.
The fact is, with a 620 credit score and a 3.5 percent down payment (plus closing costs, in some cases), an FHA loan can finance the purchase of your home. Start with the basics - pull your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and check them for errors, following the instructions to dispute any inaccurate information that might drag your score down. Then, get referrals … (0 comments)
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Foreclosure 101; what I tell my buyer clients. - 01/13/11 01:07 PM
With all the hype about good deals on foreclosures most of my buyer clients think that's the ticket for them so I do my Foreclosure 101 lecture. Then we go look at foreclosures and I include a couple non-distressed properties for comparison. I don't tell them which are the private party properties.
The outcome is almost always the same. The buyer quickly sees that by the time they fix up the foreclosure they will be over-invested for the neighborhood so they choose a private party property.
Here's the basics of my Foreclosure 101 lecture:
Chapter 1: When they say As-is, that's … (1 comments)
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The mysterious Widget: Great Tool or Landmine? - 01/12/11 07:00 PM
I think Widgets are a good thing but I'm not sure they are for an average Joe like me. I'd like to use them on all my sites but the cautions are keeping me from it. On my main website I have the ability to ad Widgets but on the same screen there is a big caution something like: "Any support will have to come from the Widget maker"
Are there good Widgets and evil Widgets? Good Widget makers and evil widget makers?
I'd appreciate hearing your experience and comments and would like to be pointed to a good Widget tutorial.
… (1 comments)
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Kitchens sell houses but be very careful what you upgrade. - 01/12/11 06:54 PM
It happens over and over. John and Jane spend $25K on their kitchen and think that makes their home worth $25K more. I have lectured and lectured and it sometimes falls on deaf ears. When buyers look at homes they expect them to have a reasonable modern functioning kitchen (and baths) When a homeowner spends $10K on deferred maintenance that money just went to bring the house up to where it should have been kept. That $10K is money the homeowner should have been spending over the years to keep current on repairs. Now if they spend an additional $15K on the … (1 comments)
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What Price Widgets: Why do Widgets come with so many cautions. - 01/12/11 05:43 PM
I think Widgets are a good thing but I'm not sure they are for an average Joe like me. I'd like to use them on all my sites but the cautions are keeping me from it. On my main website I have the ability to ad Widgets but on the same screen there is a big caution something like: "Any support will have to come from the Widget maker"
Are there good Widgets and evil Widgets? Good Widget makers and evil widget makers?
I'd appreciate hearing your experience and comments and would like to be pointed to a good Widget tutorial.
… (4 comments)
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Home Prices are Stabilizing and Our Economy Springs Back - 01/12/11 09:52 AM
I just heard an interview on Fox Business where a representative of Corelogic offered statistics on home prices. Apparently their statistics were in line with other sources so I tend to believe them. The good news is nationwide housing prices declined by only 5% in 3rd qtr 2010. Decline is not good but 5% compared to as much as 24% earlier in the year is great.
Even better, the rate of decline for non-distressed properties nationwide was only 2%; good news for homeowners who have been able to keep the mortgages currrent and aren't upside down. That would mean price declines for distressed properties … (1 comments)
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The cup is half full; new statistics show home prices stabilizing. - 01/12/11 09:44 AM
I just heard an interview on Fox Business where a representative of Corelogic offered statistics on home prices. Apparently their statistics were in line with other sources so I tend to believe them. The good news is nationwide housing prices declined by only 5% in 3rd qtr 2010. Decline is not good but 5% compared to as much as 24% earlier in the year is great.
Even better, the rate of decline for non-distressed properties nationwide was only 2%; good news for homeowners who have been able to keep the mortgages currrent and aren't upside down. That would mean price declines for distressed properties … (2 comments)
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Success & Happiness: Parable of the Two Wolves - 01/10/11 09:02 PM
At the beginning of each new year I like to reflect on what makes life really worthwhile. Being successful in business isnt it because I know several highly successful unhappy people. I think personal and spiritual growth are the key to success and thats why I want to share the following story with you.
An old man told his grandson about a fight that was going on inside him. He said the fight is between two wolves. One is evil and filled with anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other … (1 comments)
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Success & Happiness: The Parable of the Two Wolves - 01/10/11 07:41 PM
At the beginning of each new year I like to reflect on what makes life really worthwhile. Being successful in business isnt it because I know several highly successful unhappy people. I think personal and spiritual growth are the key to success and thats why I want to share the following story with you.
An old man told his grandson about a fight that was going on inside him. He said the fight is between two wolves. One is evil and filled with anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other … (4 comments)
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Why get a Home Energy Audit - 01/07/11 07:39 PM
Today we had our home energy audit (for $350) and found out our 15yr old house could be more efficient. We did it because we know it could be better and our furnace guy told us about local rebates up to 70% + utility company rebates on top of that.
All this makes me remember the last time we did this waltz in the 70's. We wore heavier sweaters, turned out the lights, lowered the thermostat when leaving home and on and on. As a result we saved energy and the utility companies revenues went down. To compensate the companies raised rates. Suddenly … (1 comments)
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Home Energy Audits : Waltz me around again Willie. - 01/07/11 07:25 PM
Today we had our home energy audit (for $350) and found out our 15yr old house could be more efficient. We did it because we know it could be better and our furnace guy told us about local rebates up to 70% + utility company rebates on top of that.
All this makes me remember the last time we did this waltz in the 70's. We wore heavier sweaters, turned out the lights, lowered the thermostat when leaving home and on and on. As a result we saved energy and the utility companies revenues went down. To compensate the companies raised rates. Suddenly … (3 comments)
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Hashbarger: Energy Efficiency Subsidies are still out there. - 01/06/11 08:45 PM
On New Years Day our furnace started having senior moments (it's 15). It turned out to be servicable but is suffereing from old age. I told the technician it's too bad the Fed Tax credit just ended.
That's true he said but our County and your Electric Co have huge rebate programs that still have money. The key is to have an Energy Audit that shows the house could be 25% more efficient and our County will pay 70% of the upgrade cost and our Electric Co will kick in additional rebates as well.
I especially like the fact that … (2 comments)
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Hashbarger 2011 Resolution for Home Buyers - 01/06/11 08:09 PM
Buyers: Qualify for a mortgage to buy a home. Many would-be buyers have mentally disqualified themselves, despite the great economic climate for buying a home, because they have heard it is so difficult to get a mortgage. The fact is, with a 620 credit score and a 3.5 percent down payment (plus closing costs, in some cases), an FHA loan can finance the purchase of your home. Start with the basics - pull your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and check them for errors, following the instructions to dispute any inaccurate information that might drag your score down. Then, get referrals … (1 comments)
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Hashbarger 2011 Resolution for Homeowners - 01/06/11 07:32 PM
1. Owners: Accelerate paying your mortgage off. During the bubble era, many homeowners were comfortable with refinancing ad infinitum, so long as they could afford the payment. It was not unusual for homeowners to refi their mortgages every year, pulling cash out for everything from cars to college tuition. After the burst, homeowners who have witnessed friends and neighbors lose their homes are exhibiting a new level of interest in paying their homes off - all the way off. While some money pundits say the cash is better used by investing it, many homeowners seek the security of owning their homes … (0 comments)
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Rates and Home values going up; no time to waste. - 01/04/11 11:52 AM
I've been in the business to remember when Mortgage Rates were 17%; we wouldn't even accept that as a credit card rate now.With rates back up in the mid to high 4% range and threatening to go higher and home prices stabilizing it seems a lot of prospective buyers are finally getting the message ; Better buy now before rates and home prices go back up. It's already happening in our area and the selection of desireable homes is dwindeling.Many prospective buyers have learned the hard way that short sales and foreclosure properties are often more trouble than they're worth. By the time … (1 comments)
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What is pushing buyers off the fence and into the car to buy property? - 01/04/11 11:49 AM
I've been in the business to remember when Mortgage Rates were 17%; we wouldn't even accept that as a credit card rate now.With rates back up in the mid to high 4% range and threatening to go higher and home prices stabilizing it seems a lot of prospective buyers are finally getting the message ; Better buy now before rates and home prices go back up. It's already happening in our area and the selection of desireable homes is dwindeling.Many prospective buyers have learned the hard way that short sales and foreclosure properties are often more trouble than they're worth. By the time … (0 comments)
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Bob Hashbarger REALTOR®,Springfield, MO, Homes for Sale
Branson,
MO
More about me…
Self Employed
Address: PO1777, OZ, MO, 65721
Office Phone: (417) 209-4480
Cell Phone: (417) 209-4480
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