featured post: Is your ActiveRain blog in violation of the Realtor Code of Ethics? - 02/10/08 09:54 PM
...Mine is, but it won't be by the time you read this.
I attended Professional Standards/Code of Ethics Training this week provided by the Michigan Association of Realtors. Our trainer, Bruce Aydt, went over changes in the COE, and this is one that actually was put in January of 2007, yet is … (199 comments)
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featured post: The Little Blog That Could... - 10/29/07 09:49 PM
For the last 18 months, maybe longer, a significant part of my job has been to disappoint people. I get to deliver messages that nobody wants to hear:
“Your home is not worth what you paid for it.”“You owe the bank more than your house is worth.”“Your neighbors got more last … (42 comments)
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featured post: Let's Face it Folks, It is time to PAY Activerain - 09/28/07 03:43 PM
I have been talking about how this thing we know as ActiveRain will be monetized since the day I landed here in August of 2006. Given the whole "situation" with Move.com, it looks like everyone is thinking about it now. AR's owners (am I the only one who wonders WHO they … (139 comments)
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featured post: They just don't get it! - 05/25/07 07:12 AM
A few weeks ago another Realtor in the Birmingham MI real estate market referred to me derogatorily as a “blogger”, somehow implying that blogging is not something that a real estate agent does to sell homes. Oh, how wrong he is. And I am OK that he does not know better. … (66 comments)
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featured post: Sell-Lord Lesson: Peeing Dogs Do Not Sell Homes - 04/07/07 10:33 AM
Yesterday I had one of my top 10 most memorable showings. This is a list that you don’t want to be on as most of those showings tend to be memorable for bad reasons, like finding people asleep in beds when you think the house is empty. That is always good … (51 comments)
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featured post: Just Say No! 10 Things You Can't Do If You Want to SELL Your Michigan Home - 03/30/07 04:08 AM
10. Try to sell "By Owner." Sorry, I am not just saying this because my livelihood is in selling homes. If you want to sell your home, you need to be where the buyers are. Since about 90% of sales in Metro Detroit involve real estate agents, that is clearly where … (42 comments)
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featured post: Dang, Nobody Saw it! - 02/24/07 09:14 PM
I spend too much time thinking. Maybe nobody else even cares about this. Today I am trying to wrap my brain around figuring out when to post to get read. There is obviously a lot out there on AR now. Posting on a Friday night didn't work out too well for … (71 comments)
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featured post: Help Me Escape the Icy Michigan Weather: Join the January Blog Tour! - 01/16/07 05:13 PM
I've been seeing an "explosion" in the real estate blog world in the last few months with new bloggers springing up everywhere. Even seasoned bloggers are adding new blogs or switching platforms and domains. I am hoping we will see some of these newer blogs on the tour this month, in … (60 comments)
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featured post: Sellers: You Need a Home Warranty (and It Might Not Cost You a Dime) - 01/14/07 04:26 PM
First let me say that I am a born skeptic, and I am frugal. I NEVER buy the extended warranty when I buy a new appliance or other major purchase. In my mind I think that extended warranties are a scam and I would like to assume that the product that … (37 comments)
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featured post: The Tribe Has Spoken: Carnival of ActiveRain's Memorable Posts of 2006 - 01/03/07 05:41 PM
First, let me start off by thanking everyone who participated in the Carnival, either by nominating someone or by voting. You gave us all a bunch of great posts to revisit, all 'winners' in their own right. There were 49 posts nominated, and the Rainers whittled the list down to 11 of their … (40 comments)
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featured post: Memorable Posts of 2006: Carnival of ActiveRain (Go VOTE!) - 01/01/07 08:37 AM
OK, folks, a few thoughts before we get started with the real fun. When I had this idea, I was hoping we would come up with the memorable posts of 2006. For each of us, that will be something different. By memorable, I did not necessarily mean best or most popular … (56 comments)
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featured post: THIS is Cooperation! - 12/29/06 08:00 AM
Last month something very interesting happened in the Birmingham/Bloomfield real estate market. It may not sound like something groundbreaking to most of you, but to me it was a BIG thing.
My friend Sara Lipnitz, who is an agent in my office, called together some of the top producing agents in other … (40 comments)
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featured post: Help! My New Listing Has a Fish n' Flush! - 12/26/06 08:49 PM
Usually, I have no problem. Most of my clients have outstanding taste, and they either have used the services of a professional decorator or they could come pretty close to being one. But sometimes I get "one of those".I admit, I am at a loss. My new clients have a decorating … (104 comments)
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featured post: Is Santa Bringing Home Buyers to Michigan This Christmas? - 12/23/06 05:29 PM
Overheard in my office more than once in the last two weeks, “Ever since the elections, it’s been like a Spring market.” The elections they are referring to are our Michigan gubernatorial elections in which the incumbent, Jennifer “She Can’t Run For President Because She Was Born in Canada” Granholm, easily … (88 comments)
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featured post: Be a Blog Tourist! The December Blog Tour is Leaving the Port - 12/13/06 05:16 PM
For the last two months, we've run blog tours of ActiveRainer's 'other blogs,' or the blogs they maintain outside of ActiveRain. Some of us, it seems, are crazy enough to maintain 2 (or more!) real estate blogs. My other blog, for example, is mioaklandcounty.com.
So, here is the invitation. The December … (79 comments)
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featured post: Call 9-1-1! I Can't Find Your Agent! - 11/26/06 11:24 AM
Dear Mr & Mrs. Seller,
I've noticed something funny lately. I happened to Google a couple of local agents' names. I was really surprised that NOTHING came up. I mean NOTHING! Not one lousy link. Not even one from their broker's site.
Shhhhhhh. Don't tell them please. They are my competitors. I … (69 comments)
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featured post: These Listings are in the Bank - 11/11/06 05:26 AM
Metro Detroit holds the dubious distinction of being a leader in the number of foreclosed upon homes. Dmitry, my husband, tracks foreclosures very closely for his investor clients and for our own real estate investments. He's managed to find some great deals through his research.
We are primarily listing agents. We … (37 comments)
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featured post: Staging Your Blog - 11/11/06 04:20 AM
(With apologies to the professional stagers out there. I will never be a threat to staging anything better than you!)
Not long ago Matt Heaton left a comment on Merton and Ambrose's blog after Jay asked how he might get a gold star. Matt's reply is worth taking a look at, … (67 comments)
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featured post: Carnival of ActiveRain: Off Topic/Humor - 11/04/06 04:36 AM
Last night the Tomato completed deliberations over the Off Topic/Humor Category for the Carnival of ActiveRain. Like the rest of the hosting panel, The Tomato was faced with a difficult decision and some very fine reading material. So, without further ado, fresh from the Tomato's vine...(drum roll please...)
The winner is Linda … (22 comments)
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featured post: Mapping Shmapping--Here is a Mapping Tool We Can All Use - 10/17/06 10:08 AM
A few months ago we organized a tour of SKBK Sotheby’s Beverly Hills listings. It was a big success. One of the things that we did was map out all the listings for our web site and flyers. At the time, the maps were a bit of a pain to do … (29 comments)
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