Hate Crimes...Sub Primes....it's time to turn over the rock - 09/26/07 10:06 AM
I keep reading posts about this House Bill or that House Bill that is pending and will jump start the housing industry. I don't believe the House nor the Senate can fix the problem. Gaping wounds are not restrained by band-aids. Lest you get the wrong impression, I don't have the answer to our current market that appears frozen in time since last fall.
I am angry. I have been in countless homes, talking with home owners that can not pay loans that reset. I have been in homes with home owners that can not pay the mortgage and the condo fee. … (2 comments)

Ask the question.....you just might get an answer. - 09/24/07 02:29 PM
It wasn't so long ago that I was having a conversation with my wife over dinner. We were talking about how quickly things had changed in the real estate market. I shared a few ideas and told her, "I think I will write a blog entry about it."She looked at me and said, "You have been writing about it. You sit down at the computer and decide what you want to focus on and thirty minutes later you hit the enter key and voila....another epistle from Dippy.""Instead of telling them what you think they need to hear, why don't you ask … (13 comments)

It is a new day .... and has been for the last ten years - 09/21/07 06:44 PM
The National Association of Realtors is facing a quandry. They are the main link for multiple listing services across the country. An agent must join their local association in order to have access to the multiple listing service. The listings are owned by the brokers that have an agreement with the sellers. It used to be that this information was found in large binders in real estate offices. The internet age has changed that and now most multiple listing services offer online search capabilities.
This was a good thing.........for awhile.
Of course, it used to be that each town had a locally owned … (12 comments)

A note to our Jewish agents and friends on this eve of Yum Kippur - 09/21/07 03:50 PM
May you have an easy fast. … (5 comments)

They say "It's a numbers game" ...I bet that's what they tell all the boys. - 09/19/07 04:49 PM
You often hear that real estate success is easily reduced to a numbers game. Numbers are bandied about and used to show that if you just follow any system, you can not fail. The numbers also indicate that 8 out of 10 do fail.There is no truth to that statement that if you follow any system you will be successful! The truth is found when you understand what the numbers are and how they truly relate to what you are analyzing and if the system you choose is something that caters to your strengths as an agent.If you are blind folded … (16 comments)

Give the public a break............. - 09/15/07 08:08 PM
I just got my mail. Just like every few days there were postcards from real estate agents telling me of home values in my area, telling me they were number one, telling me this is the ideal time to put my house on the market(?), telling me of the homes they have sold recently (? - a quick check of the mls indicates none of the homes has sold in the last 6 months), and advising me that they are the "neighborhood expert". I have been getting these cards for years. The names and faces change, but the mailbox overload continues.
At … (36 comments)

You said WHAT????? - 09/12/07 03:14 PM
There was a time when communication was handled differently. Letters were either hand written or typed, tri-folded and placed in an envelope. A stamp was affixed to the upper right hand corner and the the envelope was mailed to the recipient.
I still own a manual typewriter (for you generation Y folks, that is a machine that has a keyboard much like a computer keyboard. Each key is mechanically connected to a corresonding metal tab. When the key is depressed, voila, an imprint of the letter appears on paper that is in the machine. I won't even begin to go into the … (8 comments)

Why You Should Purchase Your Next Home in the Washington DC area - 09/07/07 12:30 PM
This is a contest entry to the The Active Rain Buyer Challenge
Dear Ms. Hilton,
I received your request for information regarding your pending move to the Washington, DC area. There is a lot to share and I hope to cover the pertinent points with this letter. Should I fail to cover something that you have a question about, feel free to give me a call and I will answer any questions. I understand that you have a very busy schedule and I will make every effort to be available at times that are convenient to you.
You mentioned that you plan to … (16 comments)

Pardon the interruption..... - 09/06/07 10:58 AM
Well I just finished reading my blog on Market Value. If I knew how to use that thing that makes the words blue, I would have linked Market Value to the blog. I don't, so if you want to read it you will have go back and scroll down and locate that tome.
Anyway.
Market value is bandied about quite a bit in our profession. I would like to address one specific place we seem to use it. Listing appointments. Most agents, during a listing presentation, mention that their goal is to sell the house for the highest possible price. They then go … (11 comments)

Market Value................really? - 09/06/07 08:47 AM
I thought I knew what market value was. Back in the day, market value was pretty darn close to the price someone would pay. I went to the new dictionary on line - wicked pedia files and they had it defined in this fashion.
In the US, the most common definition of Market Value is the one promulgated for use in Federally regulated residential mortgage financing:
The most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller, each acting prudently, knowledgeably and assuming the price is not … (9 comments)

The Dark Side of the Moon - 09/05/07 09:28 AM
It doesn't seem that long ago. Homes were listed and before night fell for the first time on the sign in the yard, offers were submitted. Agents faced with the requirement that offers be shared with the seller in a timely fashion found that if an early offer was ratified (even at full price) subsequent offers would be higher and possibly more attractive to their sellers. The art of "E-Bay" styled bidding was born. Agents would counsel their sellers to set a date and time when offers would be reviewed. This gave the appearence of narrowing the window and certainly increased … (19 comments)

The holocost continues............. - 09/02/07 11:18 PM
Well, I just read one post that directed me to another post. One from the Bryan guy and the other from an agent name Patrick...leaving a listing with tears in my eyes .
Both posts or blogs or articles or whatever the proper term for them is made me stop and think. This is not about real estate but there are times when each of us has to come face to face with it.
D-I-V-O-R-C-E
If everyone that has been divorced voted for the same candidate, they would win any national election. If everyone that has been divorced dropped dead tonight.......there might not be enough … (15 comments)

 
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John MacArthur Licensed Maryland/DC Realtor

Metro DC Homes

Washington, DC

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