Are you laughing yet? That's the whole idea here folks! Just go to www.jibjab.com, upload and edit pics or you or your family members and get ready for a hilarious good time on Thanksgiving day!
You have to become a member of the site to use the videos or make pictures, but there is a free membership option.
After the dinner, take a bunch of pics and get everyone in on the action. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
That word conjures up excitement for many of us. We look forward to being with our families. But for many, the word doesn't bring excitement. Instead, it brings disappointment because our family can be or is dysfunctional.
Getting together at the holidays can be anything but pleasant for many.
Someones gonna get mad. There will be a fight. Tension will be through the roof.
Switch gears with me here for a minute. Ever had someone get mad in a real estate transaction? Or maybe you're at the store and clerk is hot over something. In our society it seems like we have a restless anger that runs just under the surface for so many.
What do you do when someone gets angry?
Many people scatter. This is what I call the disaster effect. When a natural disaster is happening, sensible people run away. They want to get away from potential harm.
Others stick around and encounter the hot head. This is what I call the adrenaline effect. This is the kind of person who goes out to try to drive their storm chaser car into a tornado. You've seen these guys on tv, right?
How about being the person who helps the situation? Many of you know that I worked with teenagers and kids for many years. Anyone who has raised kids knows that teenagers can blow their fuses easily and over the smallest of things.
I learned a little secret years ago about how to break a teenager's anger and resolve the conflict. Are you ready for it?
Make them laugh.
All you have to do is to figure out someway or other to get that kid or person to laugh. Tell a joke. Tell a stupid story. Distract them. We used to use this technique with angry kids. And we would just start randomly looking for anything we could to get that mad teenager to laugh. It would usually take sometime, but when you got that chuckle out them, it was gold. The anger instantly vanishes. And 9 times out of 10, the situation is dealt with for the moment. (This isn't to say that we wouldn't process it further later).
This is a great tool to use with family or anytime you encounter someone who is hot. But I have to tell you, it is a lot harder to do with adults than it is with kids. You really have to work hard when an adult is ticked off. And sometimes, it simply won't work with adults. Sometimes you just have to let the hothead go and stew in his or her own juices.
But if you can get them to laugh, you can break the situation.
So get some good jokes ready. Find some funny stories. Think of the craziest thing that happened to you over this last year and head off for a great day of giving thanks with your family.
Maybe, just maybe, you can be the person who takes a tense situation and turns it into a better day.
It's better than being one of these (that everyone will talk about for the next year)...
Some of the listed blogs above are called "reblogs". They were written by knowledgable real estate professionals and have been posted in such a way that I can share the information with you.
Okay folks, this one is just for fun! I found this "personality test" years ago and tried it out on the girls in my youth group. And it was amazingly accurate!
All you have to do is to take a look at the lipstick a woman uses. You'll notice that it has a particular shape. That shape has been analyzed by some super smart person somewhere and can now tell you all about the woman's personality.
Does she abide by the rules? Is she easy going? Does she have high morals? Is she spirited?
Learn all this and more just by looking at a lipstick!
Here's a screen shot of the website where the information is located.
Now we Realtors can know what kind of people we are working with! And you can know what kind of Realtor or banker or waitress or "whomever" you're working with! Well...at least if they're ladies.
All you have to do is to ask if you can look at their lipstick!
Did you know that Christopher Columbus suffered from heart disease and his legs and belly grew swollen in his later years? Did you know he died dejected on May 1, 1506?
How about this one?
Al Capone, the murderous gangster's death only made page 7 of the newspaper when he died of a brain hemorrhage in 1947.
One more...Real Estate Tycoon Harry Black.
Harry Black was a real estate man in New York City from the late 1800's through 1930. He built the famous flat iron building in New York City in 1902, which brought him instant fame and controversy. Many thought the building would fall over in strong winds. It never did.
He would go on to build the New York Time building, thus creating the namesake for Times Square. He also built Macy's and other countless landmarks as well.
This guy was a savvy businessman. During the height of his glory, he merged his construction company with other real estate companies to make the United States Realty Company. This real estate group became the dominant developer in New York and other eastern cities during that time period. And they did very well. At one point, he was worth an estimated 15 million dollars. That would probably be billions today!
But then the stock market crashed and everything came to a screeching halt. Mr. Black was found with a bullet wound in his head and a pistol in his hand 9 months later. Everyone thought he had been killed by the market crash. After all, so many lost so much in that tragic event. Whether he knew it or not, due to his business skills and liquidity, his real estate company had survived the stock market crash in good shape.
These stories and more are found in this great read called "They Went That-A-Way" by Malcolm Forbes. I love the subtitle of the book, "How the famous, the infamous, and the great died." The book was originally published in 1988 and can be purchased at Amazon.com.
I don't normally recommend books to read, but this is one that is perfect if you're a business person. There are so many stories of people who hit it big and then burned out or died tragically. It will teach you mistakes not to make while giving you a good laugh or making you shake your head. In short, it's a great business primer and an easy and fun book to read.
Some of the other people included are: Buddy Holly, Diamond Jim Brady, Babe Ruth, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. You'll love reading about the people of history and learning from their lives.
So, if you've been feeling squashed by the recession, grab this book. If you've survived the recession just fine, it's a great read for how people have succeeded and failed in all kinds of businesses and endeavors throughout the years.
Are you sick and tired of 1-800 companies or 1-877 companies calling you all the time even though your cell phone is on the Do Not Call Registry? It doesn't seem like spammers care that you go to all that effort to NOT hear from them does it?
Fear not! A solution has been invented if you own and use a Blackberry cell phone!
It's called Call Blocker Pro and are you ready for this? It costs a whopping $2.99.
I found this program the other day when I kept getting calls from some 1-877 outfit that everyone was complaining about on the internet. I thought, "There's got to be a way to outsmart these people." So I went searching at the Blackberry App World and found this little program.
Here's a screenshot from the Blackberry App Store. The program can be downloaded from the internet or through your Blackberry. It is supposed to work with all versions of the Blackberry. I run mine on a Blackberry Curve 8900.
It's easy to install and it works great! The secret to effectively blocking a number is to be sure you put both 1-800 and 800 without the "1". Do the same with 877 numbers or any area code!
Now, whenever a pesky telemarketer calls, I jot down the number, enter into my call blocker program and literally never hear from them again.
Put in a number accidentally? You can take numbers right back out. No problem.
I'm not sure if there is an application like this for the Iphone, but surely there is!
One last thing...get rid of your home land line, use only a cell phone and you've got total control of when the phone is on, off and who can and cannot call!
Now...why didn't my cell phone service provider think of this????
Ever wonder if selling your house in the winter is a good idea of not? What if no one comes to look? Aren't there fewer buyers? Can I decorate for the holidays? These questions and more are answered for you here in this great blog by Chris Brown. Thanks Chris!
This time of year I always start to get the same question. Should I sell my house now or just wait until the spring when everyone else sells their houses? This seems like an obvious answer until you see a few key points.
1. It is too cold, no one wants to look at houses in the snow? In Knoxville, Tennessee, where I am from, we really do not get a lot of snow. As a matter of fact, we are lucky if we see any snow at all. Therefore this common hesitation doesn't apply to this area.
2. No one is looking for houses in the winter time. This is plainly not true. There may be less people looking to buy. However, the ones who are looking are more serious. There may be less property visits during the cold months but the ones who are willing to drag their realtor out in the winter must be pretty serious. Wouldn't you rather have less traffic if they are more serious buyers?
Another point is that with less inventory during this time of year means less competition. During the spring there are going to be a lot more homes to compete against. I would rather be a big fish in a smaller pond, than a small fish in a big pond full of other fish.
3. I can't decorate my house for Christmas. I disagree. I say, don't just put out your Christmas decorations, go all out. Make your home the best decorated house on the block. A house can look truly beautiful, warm, and inviting during the holidays. One very strong buyer desire is to be in the new home by Christmas. Last year I had four sales in December specifically for this reason. One of them actually closed on Christmas Eve to make good on my promise to get them in by Christmas.
Another idea would be to put some lights around the realtor's "for sale" sign too. Please make sure that your realtor replaces the holiday pictures in their marketing after the holidays. It looks nice while it is in season, but after that it just looks dated. More on that on point #5.
4. I like to invite friends over for holiday parties. I can't do that if my house is for sale. Are you kidding? This is the perfect opportunity to show off your home to a large group of people. Don't just invite a few people over, host the Christmas party. Your friends might not be in the market to buy a home, but you don't know who they know who might be in the market. It is estimated that most people know at least 150 people very well at any given time.
5. If we don't sell the house over the winter, it will appear stale in the spring. This might be true but there are tricks you can do to lessen the impact. The most effective change you can make is to adjust the price. If the house was listed all winter and it didn't sell, the chances are the price is too high. Have a price adjustment, even if it is just a small one. Also, update the pictures. Most likely the original pictures were taken with leafless trees and plants without flowers. Your house will look drastically different with some fresh blossoms and updated landscaping. Be sure to take the picture of the house from a different angle as well. Someone who saw your house a thousand times on the internet will be forced to pause and look at the house again in a fresh light.
6. That tax credit expired, it won't help me sell my house. Actually, congress decided to extend the tax credit through April. Not only did they extend it, but they opened it up to more people. If you wait until the spring you will miss this large group of buyers.
7. I'm still not convinced. I really need to sell but think we should wait until the spring. My final point is best illustrated with a story. In my past life I worked at a computer retail store. One day our general manager made a surprise visit to our store. He looked around our sales floor and then looked in our stock room. He proceeded to bring out boxes and boxes of inventory that we had in our stockroom that was not on the sales floor. "You can't sell, what your customers can't see!" If someone is not actively trying to sell your home, no one will know it is for sale, and no one will buy it.
These are just a few points to ponder as we head unto the winter months.
It's been an interesting year in the world of real estate here in the heartland, known as Owasso, Oklahoma. You can see from the chart below that we've had fairly consistent sales throughout this year.
You can see from the blue line that our home sales peaked in June at 110 houses sold that month. Typically speaking, this is a bit early for a peak as we usually see this happen in July. After coming down to 61 sales in August, we saw sales run back up to 97 in September. This may have been due to late vacations and the beginning of school being earlier this year. We finished October with 62 total house sales in the Owasso housing market this year.
The purple line shows the average amount of time that Owassohomes are sitting on the market before selling. In general, the time went down in days from 72 in February to a low of 46 in July. The trend began to extend longer beginning in August, which is our typical pattern. September and October averaged about 60 days on the market for homes in Owasso, Oklahoma.
Now let's take a look at the average selling price for homes in the Owasso, Oklahoma area.
You can see from the chart that our housing prices have held fairly steady. Our housing values topped out at an average of $205,000 in June, but then fell to a low of around $170,000 in August. September and October saw the low value begin to climb back to $175,000 and $184,000 respectively.
Now, let's take a look at the average price range of homes in Owasso, Oklahoma that are selling and closing.
This chart shows you that we are selling Owasso houses priced in the $101,000 to $200,000 price range in higher quantities than houses priced higher or lower. This is good news and bad news for home sellers in that price range. It's good news because that's where the bulk of our Owasso, Oklahoma buyers seem to be buying. It's bad news because if you are selling a house in that price point, you have stiff competition!
It will be interesting to see how the Owasso, Oklahoma housing market finishes the year out. We'll keep an eye on the market and report back at the end of November and December.
If you have any questions or would like a custom Market Report for Owasso or a specific area of the Greater Tulsa area, feel free to contact Bob Haywood of McGraw Realtors
This Owasso, Oklahoma Market Report is brought to you by Bob Haywood of McGraw Realtors. The report is for residential single family homes only and may not include all sales activity in the area. Figures for sold prices used are NET sold price, price after seller concessions or down payment assistance, if they were offered. This report or any part of it may not be used without permission from Bob Haywood.
*Disclaimer: Data based on information from MarketLinx, Inc. MarketLinx Inc. does not guarantee nor is any way responsible for its accuracy. Content maintained by MarketLinx Inc. may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Reported sales were not necessarily listed or sold by Bob Haywood and are intended only to show trends in the area. Disclaimer: The Bob Haywood Estate Blog does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for the accuracy of the information provided herein, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.
Ever have an attitude? This is Cherry Blossom, also known as "Boo Boo." She has an attitude towards most things in life. We like to call it a "Puppytude." In this case, she didn't want to sit on the table, but obliged us long enough to snap the picture. She's a lap dog, under the covers heating pad and the biggest little watch dog in the house!
For market reports of the greater Tulsa and/or Owasso area, contact Bob Haywood, "The Name You Think When You Think Real Estate."
It's a great time to buy a home! The tax credit is now available to existing home sellers as well as new home buyers. If you're looking for a house in Owasso, Oklahoma, check out these great houses for sale!
10721 North 146th East Avenue in Owasso, Oklahoma LAKE VALLEY MLS #930105
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car garage $151,500
This great house for sale in Owasso, Oklahoma is beautiful with arches, an eat in kitchen with upgraded cabinets, covered front porch, patio and a full privacy fenced back yard and a great neighborhood with lots of amenities!
15605 East 94th Street North in Owasso, Oklahoma PARADISE VALLEY MLS # 926579
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living areas, 2 car garage $196,500
This great house for sale in Owasso, Oklahoma has been nicely updated with crown molding, contemporary colors, new paint inside and out and more. It offers a gameroom, an office and mature tress on 2.5 acres!
10718 E 119th Court North, Collinsville Oklahoma 74021 COUNTRY ESTATES MLS #928337
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car garage $147,000
This great house for sale in Owasso, Oklahoma has arched doorways, big bedrooms, a large master bathroom and closet and a privacy fenced backyard.
Country Estates homes have a Collinsville address, but are located within the Owasso, Oklahoma school district.
Blog coming soon!
12024 E 85th Place North, Owasso Oklahoma 74055 THREE LAKES MLS #926828
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, corner lot $124,900
This great house for sale in Owasso, Oklahoma was the builder's model home when the neighborhood was being developed. It has been remodeled and updated and is beautiful. The kitchen was completely gutted and redone in 2003.
Blog coming soon!
All of these great houses are offered by Bob Haywood, McGraw Realtors. For the most innovative marketing in the Greater Tulsa Oklahoma or Owasso area or to schedule a private appointment to see any of these great houses, contact Bob at 918-272-7272 or visit www.BobHaywood.com.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
All you have to do is to figure out someway or other to get that kid or person to laugh. Tell a joke. Tell a stupid story. Distract them. We used to use this technique with angry kids. And we would just start randomly looking for anything we could to get that mad teenager to laugh. It would usually take sometime, but when you got that chuckle out them, it was gold. The anger instantly vanishes. And 9 times out of 10, the situation is dealt with for the moment. (This isn't to say that we wouldn't process it further later).
These stories and more are found in this great read called "They Went That-A-Way" by Malcolm Forbes. I love the subtitle of the book, "How the famous, the infamous, and the great died." The book was originally published in 1988 and can be purchased at Amazon.com.
This time of year I always start to get the same question. Should I sell my house now or just wait until the spring when everyone else sells their houses? This seems like an obvious answer until you see a few key points. 
15605 East 94th Street North in Owasso, Oklahoma
9908 North 120th East Avenue, Owasso Oklahoma
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