This has nothing what so ever to do with real estate...I wanted everyone to know how proud I am of my oldest daughter. She graduated from high school tonight with honors and received several scholarships. She will be starting college this summer (not waiting until fall) and will be seeking her degree in journalism.
My little girl - I love you!
Congratulations to ALL the graduates of 2008, may all your dreams come true!
Isn't it amazing how we can join a great community like ActiveRain and meet such wonderful people? By meet, I don't mean the standard meeting face to face, shaking hands, or sitting down for lunch, I mean the reading of posts. I have learned so much about my fellow REALTORS across this great country just by simply reading what they write. Isn't that a strange way to feel that you know someone?
Not really...what people write and how they write it tells so much about an individual and their personalities. I feel that I have made some blogging friends in this community. I sometimes think that I actually know them, as I eagerly login and check if they have new posts or check to see if they have commented to my comments left on their posts. And what a GREAT feeling to know that they have taken the time to respond. I would like to mention a couple of people that I feel deserve a mention and give a few points on their personalities that I have determined from their posts:
Don Rogers - O Fallon, MO - If I find myself moving to MO - I will definitely call on Don to find me a home. Don's posts ring with a positive note - Just from his posts I can tell he is a dedicated REALTOR with his prime focus - his clients/customers. He is family-oriented with deep respect for his family. And he likes chocolate cake!
Christina Williams - Crossville, TN - Although we work in the same area and Christina is a "competitor" I think she is a great person and she has the most beautiful smile. She inspires, challenging people do their best. She encourages REALTORS to work together so we may all reach our potential. With her informative posts she shows she keeps her clients/customers a priority.
Todd Clark - Beaverton, OR - I find his posts thought provoking, which indicates a thoughful person, and from his "special guest post" a very loving dad. Todd you would definately be getting a call from me if I were a buyer in Beaverton, OR.
I know there are many, many more people here that deserves a mention, and I hope that I have an opportunity to mention all of them.
Great NEW LISTING in Crossville Tennessee. This home has 3 BD with potential for 4th, built in 1950 this is a 1 1/2 story home that has GREAT potential. Located within the Crossville city limits on corner lot. With master bedroom downstairs, 2 additional bedrooms upstairs and a office/den that can be used for 4th bedroom, 1 full bath, living area and kitchen - large open deck in back great for entertaining. Also a good investment for commercial potential this property has great LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!
Contact Pam Bridges for more details on this listing or other listings in the Crossville Tennessee area.
I would like to wish all the Mother's and the important women in our lives that fill the shoes of mom a wonderful and happy Mother's Day. May your day be filled with laughter, family and love.
I want to wish my mom, Helen, a Happy Mother's Day! I love you and I am so blessed you are my mom!
Recently reduced homes - available in Crossville, Tennessee. Great Prices, great homes! Please contact Pam Bridges with all your real estate needs. Put my experience to work for you. (866) 456-2903 Toll free office - Ask for Pam or contact me by cell (931) 510-4931 or email me: pbadams1@frontiernet.net. I look forward to hearing from you!
April 2007 our house burnt down. Everyone was gone to either school or work and no one was hurt, thank goodness. But the devastation was still present as we walked through the charred ashes of what was left of our home. We immediately contacted the insurance company and met with our agent. After giving us our initial draw of a couple of thousand (to pay for a place to stay, food, and clothes) we were given forms to fill out - we were to list every single item that was lost in the fire with the amount paid and the amount it would cost to replace it. What! My mind and body was so overwhelmed I could not even began to remember what was in my house. To make a long story short we did get the paperwork filled out the best we could, got it turned it, and waited patiently for the insurance company to do their investigation. Everything went through fine and since we have rebuilt. We have been in our new home now for approximately 5 months, but the costs of things are still incurring.
To state the moral of this story: we did not have enough insurance to replace our home and our belongings. Thankfully we had money saved back that we used for vacations or unexpected emergencies. Even after 5 months we are still finding things that we forgot needing, etc. So I ask you...Do you have enough insurance on your home and personal belongings? Check your policy to make sure...and please if you find that you can not replace what you have with the insurance coverage, increase your coverage amount. It will mean a slightly higher premium, but when tragedy strikes (hopefully it never will) you will be covered and not have to use your savings to survive.
We all hope that it won't happen to us, but make sure you are prepared in case it does.
After reading another post about an agent meeting buyer's and showing them homes, only to find out they had made appointments with other agent's, my heart sank.
I would have thought with all the information available, buyer's would understand how pointless it is to use 2 or 3 agents for their purpose of buying. Working in the real estate field is not a hobby, it is a very expensive and competive business. Most of the agent's that I know work hard to help people obtain their dream. They depend on the sale of property for a paycheck.
It seems that buyer's would understand this and choose to contact only one agent to obtain their goal (a home or property). I would like to dispel a few myths about agent's that the general public seem to believe:
We don't get discounts on gasoline. We pay the exact same as everyone else does.
The commission received from a sale does NOT go into a pot and everyone share it.
The agent does not receive the whole lump sum of the commission. Most times agent's only receive a 1/4 of the commission.
One agent can show you any home you want to see. There is no need to contact numerous agent's. Or if a home you are interested in happens to be outside their area they will happily find a referral agent for you.
I ran across a website www.angryrenter.com and it caught my interest. It seems renters and homeowner's across America have banded together and are petitioning Congress to NOT bailout banks that are in financial trouble or home owners that are facing foreclosure, due to overextension.
As of tonight they have over 20,000 signatures for their petition.
Not 10 minutes after running across this website, lo and behold, a spokesman for the group was on a media talk-show. It seems to me they do have some valid points, but I haven't done enough research to know the all of it yet. But if it means tax dollars being used to do this I may have to protest myself.
Have any of you heard about this? What are your opinions?
I have to admit, when I turn on the news, I cringe. Headlines are one of three things: Gas prices, Declining real estate market, or the economy. I guess they all go hand in hand. As I listen to the media hype, I ask myself, could it be possible the media is perhaps creating this hype? But to what purpose...Then like a lightening bolt it hits me, almost every story about any of the three topics is soon followed by a political update on the Presidential campaign. And no matter which of the major news channels you prefer, they each have their own candidate they favor. So in the great nation, where freedom of speech and ideas runs like water over a cliff, it is very possible this could be happening, the use of SCARE TACTICS.
Gas prices are high, the economy is unstable, but the decline in real estate sales, I have to say, I don't agree. Each market is different. I am almost positive the media or "experts" do not travel to every city and town across the United States to question each area of how their real estate sales have been. Because if they did, they would find that in the small town of Crossville, Tennessee our real estate sales in 2008 have surpassed the sales of 2007 (YTD).
Let me finish by saying, no matter what condition the economy is in or the price of gas, real estate is resilient. It is an investment that lasts throughout the ages, to be passed down to our children and their children. If home prices are declining in area you can almost bet that within a year the prices will be rebounding. Real estate is the one sound investment you can make, and with interest rates so low now is the time to make that investment. You could be kicking yourself this time next year if you don't.
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.
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