John Rogers El Paso, TX

Sellers: Sometimes you should just take a nice long walk

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:47:00 -0500

About a month go I had an out of town prospect visit my web site looking for a home in my area. They gave me a call informing me they loved all the information on my site and could I help them find a home in my area. The husbands' job was relocating them in a month and the wanted to buy instead of rent since the housing prices were so affordable. I kept in contact and sent them information and by the time they came in town we narrowed what exactly what they were looking for to 5 homes.

After 2 weeks they arrived in town and I proceeded to show them these 5 homes. The second to the last home filled there exact need and you could see it in there face this was the home for them. I'm not the type to pressure my buyers and they decided they would wait till they came back into town the following weekend to make an offer. To my surprise they called me that Tuesday letting me know they would be in town wednesday to make an offer but wanted to view it one more time. I called the listing agent to set up the appointment and he said the seller would be away during this time.

We showed up at the agreed time and to my surprise the sellers were standing at the front door. We greeted each other and I told them my buyers were going to view the home and I would see them later. The seller said in an arrogant voice "We aren't going anywhere just hurry up and look at the dam house". Ignoring him I started showing the house but the seller decided to follow us around. We got in the kitchen and I pointed out that one of the cabinet door glasses had a large crack. They were in the middle of saying it didn't matter they would replace them anyway when the seller blurted out "there's nothing wrong with his cabinets and there isn't anything wrong with his house". That is when the yelling started between the sellers and my buyers started.

I quickly got my buyers out but the damage was done. Even after them cooling off they decided they did not want to deal with the seller and would just rent a house. Prior to this they were willing to make a full price offer which I pointed out was overpriced, with 20% down payment, and were willing to pay go 10% over the listed price if another offer came in. They weren't even asking for any contribution from the seller. We would most likely be going to the closing table this week if those sellers had just taken a nice long walk.

To Duplicate Or Not To Duplicate

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 15:27:22 -0500

That is the question I want to ask everyone today. I have read so many articles about the negative effect of duplicate content it really scares me to do. Even if I wrote the content myself and repost it I'm told it is a bad idea. When I first started my blog on my website I was told I shouldn't repost any of my activerain blog to it.

My question is have any of you done it and what were the effects from it. Did the search engine lay the hammer on you or did you get a boost from it. I ask because there is one other person blogging about real estate in my area. Every time I go to his blog to see what he posted I get a familiar feeling while I read. So I start digging and find that it is an exact reprint of the local paper or a website reporting about a local event. I mean word for word not even a summarization of the report. My deal is a lot of people seem to be reading it.

Now i'm not jealous or anything but it bothers me because I don't feel right doing it myself. I work hard to write a good post and it take something very valuable from me which is my time. If anything I might write a summary of a report in my own words. That takes time though, and lately I have been to busy to make a regular post every day. I could do like him and copy paste what do you think.

I know this is a sore topic just here on activerain so please give me your opinion.

Here are a few links on the subject:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/55710/Lessons-in-Copyscape

http://activerain.com/blogsview/116666/Setting-The-Record-Straight

http://activerain.com/blogsview/The-big-deal-about-duplicate-content?3365

http://activerain.com/blogsview/Duplicating-Your-Blog-Content-Friend-or-Foe?461

http://www.rsspieces.com/2007/06/19/duplicate-content-filters-explained-why-your-personal-blog-and-activerain-blog-can-have-duplicate-content\">

Taking Down Link Exchange Pages

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 21:07:38 -0500

Ok , after reading various post I have decided it's in my best interests to take down the link exchange pages to my website.I am doing this because I have fallen in my search engine rankings. This is not good for business.

Some time in May I had a goggle Pr of 4. Then all of a sudden It dropped to 2. I figured I had done some thing wrong and tried to change up a lot of the content in my site. This caused a change but not what I had hoped. I was on page #1 for various search terms but dropped to page #4 or lower for most. My visits also dropped by 2/3 of what I was getting. Leads dropped to about 2 a week from about 10 a week.

Thats when i really started to worry. So I started reading up on seo to see what i was doing wrong. The only thing I could come up with were In these articles.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/129469/Matt-Cutts-of-Google

http://activerain.com/blogsview/122351/Advanced-Access-Helping-Agents

http://activerain.com/blogsview/105675/AA-Penalty-Over

http://activerain.com/blogsview/141424/My-Google-Penalty-is

I guess I got the penalty too . So now I won't be doing anymore link exchanges. When I checked many of those link backs were missing on others site anyway.When I fist exchanged the links they were there. I guess the removed my links as soon as I accepted there's. I wrote about this before. I will link to people through blogs and work on my blogging so others will link to me. I cant afford to take another hit to my business.

My only other concern is should I delete the links to directories.

Rental 3317 Kirkwall

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Mon, 21 May 2007 15:29:47 -0500

We have rental Avaliable if you would like to see some call me at 915-241-6671

Or to veiw whats avaliable visit

2 Story For Sale in East Gate

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:44:42 -0500

• 1,545 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story - MLS® #340240 $138,950 - Priced to sell

East Gate, El Paso - A beautiful well taken care of home in a very quite neiborhood. With a lovely fireplace and a Balcony connected to the master bedrrom. There are ceiling fans in every room, and tile throughout the first floor.

Property information

Oh Please Don't Bite Me!

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:16:05 -0500

I am a Reservist that has been on active duty the past year and a half. I got of off active duty the beginning of February so I am just getting back into the groove of things. I need to sell some houses so Monday I thought I would do a little prospecting by door knocking. I live in Northeast El Paso so I decided that is where I should start.

Now this is brave of me since I am afraid of dogs. I mean I have one of my own, but I'm scared of other people's dogs (if that makes any sense). If I see a dog in the yard I have a habit of skipping that home unless the owner is outside with a smile on their face. One bit me a few years ago so I am very careful.

Well I got to house number 13 and everything seemed ok. I opened the gate and walked up to the door and knocked. No one answered so I was turning around and heard the scariest words of my life "get em boy". I didn't stop to look and just took off running and hoped the fence. Just my luck as I was doing my Carl Lewis impression my pants leg got snagged at the top and I fell face first on to the concrete. I wasn't hurt bad enough to forget that there was a vicious dog after me so I jumped up to see where he was.

I looked around and all I saw was a little boy and the Taco Bell dog (a Chihuahua).

Water in El Paso

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 18:29:02 -0600

A few years back there was talk of Ft. Bliss being closed due to a lack of water in El Paso Texas. That belief was wrong and now we know there is plenty of water in El Paso. The Hueco Bolson aquifer is our primary underground water source. It is now believed to have an almost indefinite supply of water. It is not our only water supply though.

The largest inland desalination plant is being built on Ft. Bliss. It will produce about 27 million gallons of water a day. This means along with a few other local water sources, El Paso Water Utilities could produce 347 million gallons a day. The average daily is only 140 million a day. The best thing is it is said to be more brackish water underground than in the Hueco Bolson.

$2.6 Billion in Construction at Ft. Bliss

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 17:31:10 -0600

Ft. Bliss is expected to have about $2.6 billion in construction. This is going on to support the 20,000 soldiers and 30,000 family members expected to arrive at the post over the next 4 years. Most of this is to put in place a new infrastructure at Biggs airfield. This includes new ranges, a new commissary, Post Exchange, housing, office, medical centers and more. The construction work is to be bid on and so far most of the major contracts have been given to out of town builder.

Most of the local builders do not have the experience at bidding government contracts. This does not mean they will completely be left. Some may find work through sub contracting while others may still get lucky and win a bid. There will be plenty of work either way since many of the soldiers will find themselves living off post. There are many developments off post that are being worked out to deal with such a large demand of incoming renters and potential buyers. With the army trying to make it so troops would be at a unit longer, more people may just buy instead of renting.

John Rogers

El Paso, Texas Real Estate

www.johnrogershomes.com

Ft. Bliss Bigger and Better

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 14:10:03 -0600

If you live in El Paso, Texas you know how important Ft. Bliss is to our city. What happens with the post effects our local economy in every way. That will not change but the effect will be felt even more now. Over the next 4 years Ft. Bliss will nearly double the number of soldiers with the addition of 20,000.

The post and the city came out winners in last year's BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) decision. Ft. Bliss was demeaned the new home of the 1st Armored Division relocating from Germany, a field artillery brigade and other units coming from Fort Sill, Okla., and Fort Hood. With these soldiers comes up to 30,000 family members.

Ft. Bliss won out because of all the land and training area available to the post. There were concerns earlier that El Paso would run out of water. But a scientific study revealed there was more than enough water to support the city and post for hundreds of years. There will be a lot of construction going on and I will do my best to keep you updated.

John Rogers

El Paso Real Estate

www.johnrogershomes.com

Using to much Credit Can Cost You Your Dream Home

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:54:12 -0600

If you have planned to buy a home in the near future the last thing you need to do is start using your credit. This will hurt you credit score, which is what your interest rate is based on. Even some small purchases here or there can get you disqualified form your maximum loan amount.

Couple years ago I was helping a single mother with 2 teenage daughters move into there first home. She did everything I advised her to do and was qualified for the home she wanted. She was even qualified for grant money for first time homeowners. We found the perfect home in the area she wanted to live in, and wrote up a contract that was accepted within the hour. Every thing was going perfect and in her favor until we got the call from the lender.

Her teenage daughter went on a shopping spree with the credit card she had given her and maxed the card out. This took $20,000 off her maximum loan amount, and she would have to come up with more money to get into the home. The seller decided to put the home back on the market and before we got every thing straightened out the house sold robbing my buyer of her dream home.

Don't rob yourself of the dream of owning a home. Get a free credit report at http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ There is no penalty for checking your own credit. If there is something you can pay off do it. Most importantly save the credit purchases until after you close and the lender funds the loan.

Get Pre-approved

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:40:12 -0600

Rather you use a real estate agent or not it is very important that you get yourself pre-approved before you start looking for a home. This will save you and everyone else a lot of time. It is very important that you know your price range before you go looking at homes. What if you go out looking at $200,000 homes and you find the home of your dreams. You go to the Mortgage Company and they tell you that you only qualify for a $100,000 home. Not only did you just waist yours and the sellers time, but now you have to deal with the disappointment of not getting the home you had your heart set on but couldn't afford in the first place.

Most lenders can qualify you right over the phone. Using a few general questions they can get a close estimate on what you can afford. This is called getting pre-qualified. The lender will give you a pre-qualified letter.

This is not the same as being pre-approved though. Pre-approved mean you have gone through the whole loan application process. The lender has ran your credit report, verified your employment, looked up your assets, and a few other things. They will tell you the exact maximum amount you can afford.

This will make you a stronger buyer than all the other buyers out there that may be talking to the same seller who might be trying to buy the same home. Just make sure you have a good lender such as a mortgage company, bank, or a credit union. Also make sure you don't make any major credit purchases

John Rogers

El Paso Real Estate

SBA Loan Seminar In El Paso, Texas

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 06:37:40 -0600

The SBA is offering 3 seminars for SBA loans. If you are trying to start a small business in El Paso you shound try to attend one. For dates and time click here.

Millionaires

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:10:23 -0600

John Rogers El Paso, Texas

I ran across an article today in the El Paso Times that says 2.1% of EP households are millionaires. The area has an estimated 6,068 households with at least a million dollars in liquid financial assets and not including real estate. El Paso is not known for being a rich area so this was a surprise to me. It just goes to show you there is money where ever you go. The research was done by Claritas Inc, and does not include real estate assets. Other areas mentioned in the Southwest were

Number of millionaire households and percentage of total households for selected areas:
New York: 258,559, 3.4 percent
Dallas-Fort Worth: 61,921, 2.6 percent
Houston: 51,877, 2.6 percent
Phoenix: 47,607, 2.8 percent
West Palm Beach, Fla.: 31,546, 4.1 percent
San Antonio: 19,771, 2.5 percent
Las Vegas: 17,465, 2.6 percent
Albuquerque-Santa Fe: 16,938, 2.5 percent
Austin: 16,111, 2.7 percent
Tucson-Sierra Vista, Ariz.: 11,921, 2.7 percent
El Paso-Las Cruces: 6,068, 2.1 percent
Harlingen, Texas: 5,612, 1.7 percent
Laredo, Texas: 1,163, 1.8 percent
Note: Data are for Designated Market Areas, or DMAs, which are used for TV ratings.
Source: Claritas Inc.

John Rogers

www.johnrogershomes.com

Better Quality of Life for El Paso

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 07:08:00 -0600

Better quality of life for El Paso

By John Rogers

El Paso, TX Real Estate

El Paso has a few projects going on to renovate the city and improve the quality of life in the city. This article by Diana Washington Valdez who just happens to be my former political science teacher at El Paso Community College points out a few of those changes.

One worth mentioning is Sierra Providence's plans to build a $130 million hospital. This along with the new medical school will greatly improve the health care system in the area. A few others are El Paso's library system branching out, the expansion of Ft Bliss, and the new Holocaust Museum under construction. It is always to improve the quality of life for your citizens. It gives them pride and allows them to enjoy being a part of the community. I will be writing about some of the other projects going on in the near future.

John Rogers

http://www.johnrogershomes.com

Take the Scenic Route

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 06:33:49 -0600

Take the Scenic Route

By John Rogers

El Paso TX Real Estate

If you are traveling and just happen to come through El Paso take the scenic route. Or maybe I should say Scenic Drive. Scenic drive has the best place to view in all of El Paso Texas. At 4,222 feet above sea level this view in the Franklin Mountains offers one of the best views in the state. You can see two countries from this view and is a site to see with all the lights at night.

Scenic Drive was first constructed in 1920. The 2-lane road was paved in 1932. It was made a city park in 1988. Many people use it to get to the other side of town to enjoy the view. It may be longer than taking I-10 but the view is well worth it. So if you are taking a road trip that happens to go though El Paso, It might be worth your while to drive through or pull over and enjoy the view.

If you can't stop through you can still enjoy the view through this site Scenic Drive. Use A & Z to zoom and directions pad to move once the site loads

John Rogers

http://www.johnrogershomes.com

Free Internet at Ft Bliss

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 06:09:12 -0600

Free Internet at Ft Bliss

by John Rogers

El Paso Real Estate

I was talking to an old friend stationed at Ft. Bliss the other day. She gave me some information that may be of interest to those of you who might have people making a move to Ft Bliss. The post is getting free WI-Fi. That means anyone with free wireless devices will be able to use the Internet for free. The service will be available at all major locations on post by the end of this year. It's just something more to help out those on post.

John Rogers

www.johnrogershomes.com

El Paso teachers pay

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 06:01:04 -0600

El Paso teachers pay

by John Rogers

El Paso TX Real Estate

Pay for teachers in El Paso is slightly above the state average. In a recent study by the Texas Association of School Boards found that the average teacher salary in El Paso during the 2006-07 school year is $44,941. The State average is $44,615. The state average is up 6.9 percent from $41,743 last school year. . The state-mandated minimum salary for beginning teachers is $27,320. The El Paso Independent School District pays beginning teachers $39,100. These are still below the national average of $46,597 for the 2003-04 school year (2005-2007 data has not been posted).

John Rogers

www.johnrogershomes.com

Texas is a Community Property State.

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 12:46:06 -0600

Texas is a Community Property State.

by John Rogers

El Paso, TX Real Estate

If you are considering a move to Texas you need to know that Texas is a community property state. That means any property acquired during a marriage will belongs to both spouses. It doesn't matter if you bought it as an individual investment or to live in it belongs to the both of you. It does not apply to out of state property unless that state is also a community property state. That means both of you will have to sign the dotted line if you buy or sale the house in Texas. For more information on community property go to TRGC.

John Rogers

www.johnrogershomes.com

Dallas Lost So What?

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 12:26:09 -0600

Ok my Dallas Cowboys lost and are out of the playoffs but I am not mad. Seattle won't make it past NY, Philly or Chicago anyway. I am not mad because we will be back next year and go all the way. We have found that young quarterback we have been looking for a few years. Even better is we don't have to build the team around him because the pieces are already in place. Most of the impact players are locked in for at least the next 3 years. We have a solid young defense that will dominate next year with the experience they have gained. Romo had early success but learned about failure toward the end of the season. He has a lot of heart and will want to redeem himself next year. We will be back and we will win the Superbowl next year. At least we made it to the dance this year.

Anyone Want a Smoke.

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 06:35:02 -0600

Anyone Want a Smoke.

By John Rogers

El Paso TX Real Estate

Well it is finally here, 2007 has arrived. This many not be a good thing if you are a regular smoker in the state of Texas. Austin has voted to raise the state taxes on a package of cigarettes by $1.00. That means the total tax for a package of cigarettes is $1.41. That is a lot of money if you smoke every day. That is at least $365 more that you are going to have to dish out to keep up your habit. Its bad enough city's are having all sorts of bans against public smoking. Now you have to pay a lot more than you did a day ago. Or you can go ahead and try to quit for real this time. It's your choice so have fun.

I am not for or agaisnt smoking so don't take offence

John Rogers

www.johnrogershomes.com

Beware of the Drunk!

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 12:34:23 -0600

By John Rogers

El Paso Tx Real Estate

It's that time of year again. My dear late mother used to call this the, "Drunks Christmas". Most people call this New Years Eve. This is one day out of the year that even those of us who normally don't drink take a swig from the old bottle. It's just one big worldwide celebration. So bring out the champagne and lets have a drink.

There is nothing wrong with having a little drink but better watch yourself. The police will be watching and they will not be very friendly. Maybe it's because they can't have a drink, or maybe they are looking out for the safety of innocent people as you swerve by in that wonderful car of yours. They will not cut you any slack and they shouldn't.

I hate hearing the same old story every year of the family that lost there live because of some drunk driver just had to get behind the wheel. If you are going to drink make plans to get yourself home for yourself and the safety of others. If you don't have a drink and are driving somewhere beware of the drunk.

God Bless you and have a safe New Years.

John Rogers

www.johnrogershomes.com

Look what you have done activerain!

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:27:08 -0600

There are just so many blogs on activerain it's hard to keep up. You could spend 8 hours a day for a whole week reading all you can and you will still miss out on a lot of good blogs. That is actually a good thing though. It means people are learning and even better people are sharing.

The people who have joined activerain have brought so much to the community. There are people who have been in the real estate business since before the internet. They have forgotten more than I have learned in my short time in the business. Now they have a chance to share that knowledge with other people before they forget. All you got to do is write about it in your blog. You can teach an old dog a new trick.

The more people keep blogging the better they will get. It's natural just like learning anything else. Nothing replaces repetition when it comes to learning. Remember the first paper you wrote in school. If you do that is amazing because I sure don't. But you know you got better as time went on. There is always room to learn something new in your life no matter how old you may be.

I have so many ideas I plan on trying out in the next year because of what I have read here. There is a blog for almost any aspect of the business that I can do a search and there it is. I can see what has worked for some one and what to avoid if I can. Any one who is new to the business will be so far ahead of the learning curve if they would just sit down and read what is right here on activerain. I feel like a kid in a candy store and I can have anything I want.

Thank you activerain

Watch who you do business with!

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 11:10:30 -0600

Watch who you do business with!

By John Rogers

El Paso TX Real Estate

I was reading the El Paso Times and an article happened to catch my eye. The title read 2 people face charges of deceptive business by Tammy Fonce-Olivas. Now there is nothing I hate more in this world than a thief. I have had more than enough bad experiences.

Earlier this year there was some major flooding and many homes were damaged in El Paso. A Northeast woman was trying to get her roof repaired and called Dreams Come True Construction. She handed them a check for $993 to fix the roof. They started the work but wouldn't finish it. Court records show they had done this under 2 previous business names 5 times.

If you have done real estate any length of time you no a story similar to this. What gets me is how many time's contractors who want me to refer them to a client have approached me. What if I had referred these guys to someone? My name would be mud right now. My point is just make sure you know who you are working with. If you refer someone and they do a bad job or cheat someone out of there money it reflects on you.

John Rogers

www.johnrogershomes.com

I have my own blog why use activerain

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 09:53:18 -0600

Rather you join or not you should try reading some of the blogs about blogging and increasing search engine rankings on activerain. The have some very experienced people on these subjects. You should never turn down a chance to network with people in your industry. Reading there blogs will give you a feel to see is you would ever work with these people. It's better than just looking through the yellow pages and sending a referral to some one you don't even have a feel about. If you have time read these posts to learn what I'm talking about. Blogging Blunders Myth: High percentage of pages indexed by Google = online success ActiveRain-The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Real Estate Blogging 101 - How to Get Started - Building Your Plan Best and worst real estate blogs on the net Top 5 secrets of successful blogs and how yours can be one of them Ultimate guide to building backlinks and growing your site Staging Your Blog Your Blogging Voice... Where is it? (Realty Blogging Review #2) .

I would pay for some of the information I have learned reading blogs on activerain. Set up a profile it's free. Some people just blog about there listings, they have a section for that. If you have a blog go on and leave a small summary or link to your own blog. Having your own blog means nothing if no one sees it. Use this to your advantage to expose yourself and your listing if nothing else.

--This is intended for people who are questioning why they should join activerain. I have had a few people ask me this--

Time To Give Back

John Rogers (Century 21 APD) — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 11:01:07 -0600

Here we are the season to be giving. This time of year is the time we give the most. Some give all they have and some give what they can. There are some of us that would give if we could find a just cause to give too. Every one of us has a place we like to give donations to during this time of the year. These are the places that are doing good thing for the communities we live in. I wrote in a blog about Operation Santa Claus here in El Paso, Texas. Everyone hears about the big charities, but let people know about the small ones near and dear to you. If there is a good cause to donate to in your community please leave a post letting everyone know about it. It doesn't have to be long but leave some contact information or better yet leave a link to a site or blog that explains this cause. Thank you and god bless you.