Thankfulness Needs to Come from the Soul - 11/26/08 03:00 PM

Last year, my husband, son and I went to India to live for 3 1/2 months while my husband took a temporary assignment for his company.  We left the United States the day after Thanksgiving.  Yes, I was somehow able to work remotely from India - that's a whole other story.
To say I was in for an awakening is an understatement.  The experience completely changed my life and how I live on a daily basis.  I had no idea how ignorant I was about the daily struggles to survive that many people in this world go through.
The basic … (1 comments)

An Active Rain Blog is a "Real" Blog! - 11/24/08 09:26 PM

I've had many conversations with bloggers about Active Rain blogs vs. "real" blogs; i.e. a blog hosted by Wordpress or Livejournal.
As a contestant in the Virginia Real Estate Blog Brawl 2, I was even beginning to feel "amateur-ish" with my Active Rain blog as my entry.
After trading a few emails with Bob Stewart today, I must say that I feel better than ever about my Active Rain blog.
Did you know.......
Active Rain gets over 2 million unique visitors a month and over 8 million page views a month.  Of those 2 million unique visitors, just over 85% … (50 comments)

It's OK to Not Answer the Phone - 11/24/08 06:48 PM
Seth Godin wrote a blog post about this today.  Unfortunately, he had purchased a Kitchen Aid teakettle which produced melted plastic in his hand.  Upon calling the "customer service" number for Kitchen Aid, Seth was greeted with a 9 prompt message which, after wasting a good bit of his time, told him they were closed.
Seth makes the statement, "The only reason to answer the phone when a customer calls is to make the customer happy.  If you're not doing this or you are unable to do this, do not answer the phone."
This really got me to thinking about all … (13 comments)

Virginia Real Estate Blog Brawl - Round 3!!! - 11/21/08 07:33 PM
The Virginia Real Estate Blog Brawl is moving on to Round #3 and I would greatly appreciate your vote! I have some very well respected competition and am truly honored to be competing with these fellow bloggers! Please visit www.varbuzz.com today and vote!

… (6 comments)

Hampton Roads - NOT Your National Average - 11/20/08 07:11 AM
Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads area is still faring better than the national average when it comes to real estate values and properties in forecloasure.
According to our REIN-MLS statistics, of the 14,153 residential homes currently on the market in Hampton Roads, 620 (or 4.38%) are foreclosures.If you single out Virginia Beach, you will find of the 4277 residential active properties, 155 (or 3.62%) are foreclosures.As far as values go, here are the REIN figures for the 2nd and 3rd quarters of this year:All of Hampton Roads2nd Quarter:  4820 sales, avg. sales price $275,220, avg. time on market 76 days.3rd … (1 comments)

Dark Evenings. Cold Days. How to Make a Home Warm and Inviting in Fall and Winter. - 11/16/08 02:01 PM
As the weather turns colder and the days shorter, many people tend to go inside and hibernate.  So, how do we make a house feel warm and inviting enough for potential buyers and agents to come out, see it and hopefully, make an offer?  Here are a few tips....
1.  Use a for sale sign with a solar light.  A solar light will keep a sign illuminated for up to 6 hours after dark.  This will bring the property to the attention of potential buyers and also make it easy for showing agents to find.
2.  Wash the windows.  You want … (6 comments)

Virginia Beach - One of the Best Places in the U.S. to Ride Out the Recession! - 11/15/08 09:24 AM
According to Forbes Magazine, Virginia Beach and the surrounding area (called Hampton Roads; even though no one outside of this area would ever be able to mark "Hampton Roads" on a map) is the #6 "Best Place to Ride Out the Recession" and 1 of only 2 resort areas to make the list (Honolulu, HI was the other).
In the article, Joshua Zumbrun explains how coastal areas saw some of the worst booms of the housing bubble.  This was probably due in part to the explosion of the 2nd home market and the "affordability" of these areas with interest only and … (4 comments)

Virginia Real Estate Blog Brawl...Bring It!!! - 11/10/08 06:32 PM

I need your help here......I have some VERY tough competition.
The "Sensational 16" have been released for the Virginia Real Estate Blog Brawl and TinainVirginia.com has made it to round 1!
Thank you to everyone who nominated my blog.  Your votes are greatly appreciated, even though I'll be paying bribes for the next few years of my life!
So, here's the deal....vote for tinainvirginia.com and get stuff.  The higher up I get, the better the "stuff" will be as I find things deeper and deeper into the pile in my garage!
For round one....vote for tinainvirginia.com and email me to … (11 comments)

NEW! Client Listing Reports on Trulia - 11/06/08 02:28 PM
Trulia has a new feature for your clients - Listing Reports.  This is a great way to keep in touch with your sellers - especially when there may be few showings on their house.  This lets them know that there is still activity on their property.

With Trulia’s Client Listing Report, you have a professional report than you can easily email to your clients to show them how many people viewed their home on Trulia. You get:
Individual listing reports, customized with your photo The ability to personalize messages for each of your clients Up-to-date statistics on how many people … (16 comments)

I Never Thought I Would Associate With the Association! - 11/06/08 11:14 AM
When I first started in real estate abut 11 years ago, I was told it was "company policy" that I apply for and become a member of the local, state and national Realtor Associations.
I've never been one who thrives on conformity.  I didn't like the "policy" and I let that be known.  Other than a Code of Ethics which a lot of agents seemed to ignore, the only other thing I really saw the Association doing was organizing and hosting the Circle of Excellence Awards Banquet (aka Realtor "Prom") each year.  Unlike most MLS's throughout the nation which are coordinated … (7 comments)