business of real estate: Is this the time to buy your first house?
- 09/12/09 09:50 AM
Maybe... Maybe not...
Make no mistake, there are some deals in the market. And combined with the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit (FTHBTC), this can be a great time to buy a first home. Interest rates have remained low... despite a LOT of predictions to the contrary. In fact, with a projected deficit THIS year of $1.8T for the federal government, there is still an expectation that rates will have to rise because of the pressure on the available investors.
In fact, that would be the case laid out by those that say THIS is the time. The FTHBTC … (5 comments)
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business of real estate: Let's just call it an occupational hazard...
- 09/06/09 03:02 PM
No, we don't need to call OSHA... But there IS a danger we real estate agents face almost every day... a hidden danger that can wreak havoc in our regular lives.
I held an open house at one of my listings today, 590 Baltimore Ave in Lilburn, GA. And while rushing out of the house for the 7 minute drive, I forgot to grab some reference paperwork. As soon as I arrived and began unpacking by laptop and setting up my office for the afternoon, I realized that I hadn't grabbed the needed papers. I called the lovely and talented Mrs. … (5 comments)
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business of real estate: Deals in Bankrupt Subdivisions?
- 09/03/09 04:49 AM
I recently took some buyers out looking at houses in an area with a lot of bankrupt subdivisions. The houses were, in many cases, quite attractive and priced very competitively.
But there are a lot of considerations that buyers need to weigh before buying a home in a subdivision where the developer has gone out of business...
We'll start with the dangers... The amenities may not be complete... and they may NEVER be complete. If you are buying a property because of the pool or tennis facilities, and those items aren't there, they might never be built. There is NO telling … (8 comments)
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business of real estate: Strange People... muttering... muttering...
- 09/01/09 03:52 PM
Have you ever hung out around the County Courthouse on the first Tuesday of the month?
The County Courts CAN make for some great people watching on any day of the month (ok, any weekday...), but the first Tuesday on the month here in Georgia is a little more special. There are deals to be had... property deals.
OK, maybe there are deals to be had. Honestly, there wasn't much action on the foreclosure auction front... but I'm getting ahead of myself.
The the tax record on the County's website said that the sale would take place at 8:30am...
First up … (0 comments)
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business of real estate: Get your Thinking Cap ready...
- 08/25/09 02:00 PM
For those that love technology, there are some REALLY cool things coming up in the Atlanta area. For those in real estate that love technology, it is even better...
August 26th, 2009 - Social Media Breakfast - Atlanta: 7:00am to 9:00am, Atlanta Bread Company - Town Center Mall area in Cobb County. We will be talking about social media for business use. As I write this, Ken Cook and I are working up some starter topics... FaceBook Fan Pages and Twitter... and its available tools. This is NOT real estate specific. FREE (you do have to buy your own breakfast)
August … (0 comments)
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business of real estate: Police Response time... 15 minutes.
- 08/22/09 04:45 PM
The listing said to call before visiting the home. The listing sheet said that the alarm code was in the lockbox. I called... the agent reiterated that the alarm code was in the lockbox.
The house had a keypad deadbolt. The lockbox contained a code that accessed the deadbolt.
It was NOT the same code as the alarm... The alarm code was missing. Of course, this was hard to communicate to the listing agent on the phone, as the blaring of the siren was drowning out everything else. To top it off, she thought I was at a different house...
My … (15 comments)
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business of real estate: Are you going to Showcase (Atlanta)?
- 08/18/09 04:16 PM
I'll be there... I'm probably going to hit it early and visit with a few friends that are also vendors. I want to check out all of the latest cool stuff... and I'm curious as to who may show up on Social Networking and blogging panels in the Technology Theater.
There also could be some cool info about Blackberry Apps for real estate...
So, the big question is... Who else is going to Showcase? When will you be there? We could have a Tweet-up...
While you are there, don't forget to stop by and visit with Patty Keller at the AnotherME … (6 comments)
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business of real estate: Impress With WordPress... Tools for Web 2.0 Agents, #2
- 08/15/09 02:36 PM
This is the second in a series of posts on tools and technologies for real estate agents that want to compete in a Web 2.0 world.
Let's get this out of the way at the top of the show... There are two "brands" of WordPress to pick from. The one I will be almost completely ignoring is WordPress.com. That is the version that is NOT self-hosted. Basically, unless you pay to upgrade your account, the URL will be WhatYouPick.WordPress.com. That isn't the only thing, though...
Related posts from other people's blogs can show up on your post... and you don't have … (14 comments)
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business of real estate: Real Estate Agents Annoy Me...
- 08/10/09 01:53 PM
I showed a client 17 properties today. We had narrowed down a list of 35 properties to 20... 3 of which turned out not to be available, although listed in the MLS as Active.
I called 10 agents this morning because they required a call before showing, including 3 that had a combination lockbox which I needed to call for the code. I'm still waiting for 4 callbacks... one of which had a combination box on the house. We stopped by and back-burnered it...
This is a buyer that is ready to make something happen.
But that isn't the whole story... … (17 comments)
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business of real estate: Video is the tool, and these are the artists...
- 08/06/09 02:50 PM
For buyers, getting to know a home is part of the process. Seeing it, feeling it, walking around the taking it in... That is great if you are around the corner, or even across town... but what if you are unable to take that time to tour scores of properties before pulling the trigger? Maybe you are a busy executive, maybe you are relocating and have a day or three in a strange town to buy a house... Maybe you just want more than 8 (or 12 or 16) pictures from the MLS.
Video is one of the solutions. It is … (10 comments)
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business of real estate: An Ovation for Novation
- 07/31/09 03:16 PM
After you find the house, you have to find a way to pay for the house. Sure, there are a few people that just write a check, but most of us find ourselves calling a mortgage broker or banker.
When people ask me who they think I should call, I have a short list. I have several folks that I have interacted with that are still in business... but near the top of the list is Ken Cook, President of Novation Mortgage. There are a few reasons that I give out Ken's number so liberally. The first reason is that he … (6 comments)
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business of real estate: Dear Spammer...
- 07/16/09 03:34 PM
You suck.
Ok, now that we have that out of the way, let's make a few things clear... And this might even be good stuff for my A|R friends to know...
There are two broad categories of links that you will find on the pages here at Active|Rain, as well as other sites...
Follow links Do Not Follow links For the reader, they are one and the same... but they are different for Google (and other spiders). As readers, we can choose to follow any link we find on a page, in a comment or in the sidebar. But it is … (14 comments)
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business of real estate: REEP and Cap & Trade
- 07/05/09 02:46 PM
Changes might be coming... and they aren't good.
Buried in the 1500 page bill is a very long section on the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance program, REEP for short.
It calls for varied provisions such as "Green Guidelines" for new and existing homes, Federal Code Inspectors for those provisions, nationally cohesive building codes and a slew of programs around those items.
It doesn't seem that bad... right?
The guidelines aren't mandatory, but it only takes a stroke of the pen to make the guidelines into requirements for any home that is going to have a federal guaranteed loan. So, … (6 comments)
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business of real estate: Listing Options... Just so you know.
- 06/26/09 09:09 AM
Yesterday I posted about how some companies are adding junk fees to the traditional sales fees for both buyers and sellers. I think this practice is just plain wrong... especially the way it is usually presented.
In order to give my clients options and help them save some money, I offer three different fee structures and two different levels of service for home sellers. Here is the quick rundown:
Flat Fee - $999 listing plan. This is the plan from our discount arm, WhatIf? Realty. This puts your property on the local MLSs, and gets you a standard sign, as … (4 comments)
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business of real estate: Broker Fees?
- 06/25/09 03:15 PM
I’ve seen an annoying new trend. Buyer and Seller “Broker Fees”. It may go by various names, but amounts to the same thing… what Clark Howard would call a Junk Fee.
These are quite different from the other fees that may be involved in a real estate transaction, and there are a LOT of fees. The lenders have fees, the closing attorney has fees, there are state fees, county fees, insurance fees, delivery fees… Simply put, buyers and sellers are paying plenty of fees. Adding some BS junk fee like a paperwork fee, transaction fee, administrative fee or broker fee is … (10 comments)
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business of real estate: Pricing isn't about price. It's about...
- 06/10/09 04:41 AM
I can almost hear you say, "Pricing isn't about price? Then what the heck is it about?"
Here is the bottom line. Just about every home on the market has a narrow range it WILL sell in. Whether it is priced at $50,000 or $500,000, there is a price at which it will sell. Below that price and we tend to see multiple offers. Above that price and we tend to see reducred activity.
Obviously marketing and presentation come in to play... if nobody knows it is there, or when they come to see it the home lacks attraction, then the … (6 comments)
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business of real estate: Stop YELLING at me!
- 06/09/09 07:35 AM
This is a simple question... I have asked it before and the answer has always been a resounding "because that is how we have always done it." What am I talking about?
Why is it that MLS entries are ALL CAPS?
It doesn't make sense. It is common knowledge that ALL CAPS is the www version of yelling. And it isn't like this is a new thing... Even back in the days of BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems) that we had to dial into, ALL CAPS was yelling. This isn't a new etiquette.
I have talked to agents, brokers, admin people... and … (8 comments)
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business of real estate: Mobile & Listed...
- 06/07/09 03:15 PM
I just made two updates on my other blog that I think are worth noting.
Listings! The first is that I was able to re-deploy the Lane’s Listings section. Now you will see the page tab near the top of the site. Hovering over it will show you my current personal listings as well as a link to enter the Send Me FREE Custom Listings page.
Feel free to browse the listings to see if your next home might be listed. If it isn’t, you can go to the Send Me FREE Custom Listings page and enter your exact criteria. From … (2 comments)
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business of real estate: Can a home be overpriced at $29,000?
- 06/07/09 03:04 PM
I wandered out to look at some investment properties this afternoon… One of the properties was priced at $29,000… in a neighborhood of $100,000+ homes. In fact, this very home had sold for over $110,000 in the last couple of years.
Could it be overpriced at $29,000? Yep.
The funny thing is that the wholesaler says it needs like $12,000 in repairs… Maybe if you pick up all of your materials from the curb after they are tossed out of nice homes… I would put the budget at closer to $40,000. and that is assuming that the mechanicals and structure are … (3 comments)
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business of real estate: I don't care WHAT the instructions are... you WILL submit the offer...
- 06/03/09 05:01 AM
I am getting pretty tired of seeing...
Offer will not be submitted to seller unless buyer prequalifies with ___ Mortgage.
Let me give you a clue... Yes, you WILL submit the offer. It may be rejected by your client, but you will submit the offer. If you don't, feel free to send me a note in writing stating that you won't submit the offer per instructions from your client.
I will take that note to the Georgia Real Esate Commission and you will be in a load of hurt... License Law requires that ALL written offers be submitted to the seller... … (15 comments)
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Maybe... Maybe not... 
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